1

How to Run a Successful Secondhand

Store?
Table of content.
1.Introduction....2,3,4
2.Insight and meaning of a business.4-6
3.Types and structure of business.7-13
4.Idea of a secondhand store...13-16
5.Things to put in place before setting up...16-18
6.How to structure your store.18-20?
7.Where to source for goods for your store...22-25
Watch the hammer (The auction House)
Car boot sale/boot fair.
Big stores that sells new.
House clearance.
Rat sellers.
8.Challenges of a secondhand store...26-29

How to Run a Successful Secondhand Store.

Chapter 1
Introduction.

How to run a successful second hand store.

Running a second hand business is like
running every other business.
The term second hand means selling used
products. In order to run a successful
secondhand store, you will have to put few
things in place.
Before I start on this topic I will tell
you how I started my secondhand store and
running it for 5years before moving on to
something else. In 2009 I started running a
removal service that brought me into a
profitable secondhand business.
In the process of moving peoples things
from point A to B as a removal business,
people will ask me if I wanted an old piece
of furniture, but I always decline until

one day when a girl I moved house for ask

me if I had any secondhand furniture for
sell because she was moving into an
unfurnished apartment. From that point I
saw an opportunity in that area and decided
to jump on the train of making money.
Running a secondhand business is a very
lucrative business if you know how to
position yourself in the market. I was
shocked when I saw the amount of money I
was making selling what I was getting from
people for free. I can remember getting a
piece of suit 3+1+1 from a customer that I
moved from Dublin to Waterford, I was payed
220 for the trip and sold the suite for
480 immediately I returned from that trip.
At that point I new I would do better if I
concentrated on the secondhand furnitures.
So I decided taking things from customers
who will ask me if I wanted them, or will
ask them if they wanted me to get rid of a
piece of furniture for them. I started
storing things at my home and was selling
them from home but in no time my house was
full of secondhand stuffs and had no
entrance, Then I decided to lunch into the
business fully getting a place outside my

home where I could trade from. I rented a

garage space for storage, then moved to a
bigger retail unit, that was the beginning
of my new found business. I eventually
progressed gradually moving from selling
second hand stuffs into selling my own
brand of new furnitures.

Chapter 2
Insight and meaning of business.
The first thing that comes to mind when the
word business is used is activity then
followed by Gain or profit as some may
call it. To get a proper understanding of
what we are talking about, we have pulled
out the meaning of business from different
sources which points to the same thing in
our conclusion.
What is a business?
Business is an occupation, profession, or
trade.
A business is an organization that uses
economic resources to provide goods or

services to customers in exchange for money

or other goods and services.
A business is the purchase and sale of
goods in an attempt to make a profit.
Business is when a person, partnership, or
corporation engaged in commerce,
manufacturing, or services for profitseeking enterprise or concern.
A business is an activity engaged in as a
means to make profit.
It is any commercial, industrial or
professional activity undertaken by an
individual or a group of people in
reference to a specific area or type of
economic activity.
It can also be an organization or
enterprising entity engaged in commercial,
industrial or professional activities
business can be setup for the purpose of
making profit, such as a publicly-traded

corporation, or a non-profit organization

such as an agricultural cooperative.

Types and structure of business.

There are three major types of business

divided into different minor types.
1.

Merchandising business-This type of

business focuses on buy n sell, this

type of business deals buying in
bulk/wholesale price and sells at retail
price keeping the difference between

their purchase price and the selling

price.eg Supermarket, Jewry store etc.
2.

Manufacturing Business-This is a

business that buys product (raw

materials) With the intention of making
a new product to sell to the public.eg
Glass manufacturing companies, poetry
etc.
3.

Service business-This type of

business provides intangible products

such has expertise, advice, professional
skills to its clients.eg Haulage
companies, law firms etc.
Business structure.
1.

Sole proprietorship-A Sole

Proprietorship is one individual or

married couple in business alone. Sole
proprietorships are the most common form
of business structure. This type of
business is simple to form and operate.

2.

Partnership-Partnerships come in two

varieties: general partnerships and

limited partnerships. In a general
partnership, the partners manage the
company and assume responsibility for
the partnership's debts and other
obligations. A limited partnership has
both general and limited partners. The
general partners own and operate the
business and assume liability for the
partnership, while the limited partners
serve as investors only; they have no
control over the company and are not
subject to the same liabilities as the
general partners.
3.
Corporation-A corporation is a
business structure that has its own
separate legal personality different
from its owners. A corporation is an
independent legal entity, separate from
its owners, and as such, it requires
complying with more regulations and tax
requirements.

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The biggest benefit for a business owner

who decides to incorporate is the liability
protection he or she receives. A
corporation's debt is not considered that
of its owners, so if you organize your
business as a corporation, you are not
putting your personal assets at risk. A
corporation also can retain some of its
profits without the owner paying tax on
them.
4.

Limited liability company-A limited

company is formally recognized as a

separate legal entity to run the
business and is governed by company law.
The liability is limited to the company;
it makes shareholders liable for the
amount of share capital that they have.
This business must have a minimum of
two directors and a company secretary whom
can be a director or an outside agent like

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an accountant or solicitor. The limited

company can be created from scratch or an
off-the-shelf name may be purchased from
a registration agent. The name must be
approved and registered with the Registrar
of Companies. Two documents are required to
be filed which are The Memorandum of
Association and The Articles of Association
which includes a Certificate of
Incorporation that must be filed before a
limited company can commence trading.
Cooperative-Cooperatives are independent
organization associations formed and
democratically directed by individuals who
come together to meet common economic,
social, and cultural needs. Cooperatives

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are founded on the principle of

participatory governance; co-ops are
governed by those who use their services:
their members.
Based on the principles of empowerment,
education, and community, co-ops operate
laterally promoting participation both
within their own organization, and through
a focus on community interaction, and
support.

Chapter 3.
Idea of a second hand store.
Second hand by definition means had a
previous owner. Anything that has been
owned or used by someone before coming into
your possession is a second hand item. The
person who bought it from new is the first

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hand holder why been passed onto someone

else means they are the second hand holder.
A Second hand shop/store is a place of
business where the transaction of used
items is bought and sold for the purpose of
making profit. Its a shop that sells goods
that are not new. Its a premises where
used items are sold. The original idea here
is; every used item has a potential buyer.
Dealing in Secondhand merchandise meets a
need in the world today. Lots of people
wants to buy new things but cant afford
it, so they turn to a second hand shop to
get it. Even the rich pocket looks for
quality and antiques in the secondhand
shop.
Types of secondhand shop.
There are various types of second hand
shop, all specializing in a particular type
of Goods.

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Antique Shop-This is a type of second

hand shop that sells the same type of
goods of better quality or with rarity
value, charging much higher prices.
Charity shop - This type of second hand
shop is setup to fund a specific
charity. These tend to specialize in
clothes. The quality of the clothes
donated for sale depends on the
surrounding area.
Give away shop - everything is given
away at no cost. Some operate as swap
shops and require the customer to donate
merchandise.
Junk shop - sells all kinds of old
goods. The best junk shops are piled
high to encourage browsing and bargain
hunting. These shops also sell lowquality antiques.
Used bookstore - sells used book and
other publications.

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Furniture shop- This type of secondhand

shop sells all type of used household
and office furnitures. You will find
house hold items from the likes of sofas
to fire screens and office chairs.
Vintage clothing shop- often a source of
good quality garments.
Used car shop - Pre-owned cars with
variable quality and price.
Things to put in place before Trading.
Starting up any business needs time and
committed effort. Before you jump into the
idea of starting a secondhand business you
need to know why you want to start the
business and the type of secondhand shop
you want to open. Knowing why is vital to
the success of your business because its
your reasons that will drive you to stay
committed and focus on the main goal. It is
easy to drift away from your goal running a
secondhand shop. A secondhand business is a
very lucrative business if you trade with

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an open mind of no barriers to what you can

sell.
Running a secondhand shop opened my mind to
lots of things in terms of what people buy.
I said it earlier and am going to say it
again; Everything as its buyer what
looks like junk to a person is a treasure
in the eyes of another. Before you open a
second hand shop and start trading you need
to put all this in placeCheck list.
1.
Ask yourself why.
2.
Do your market research.
3.
Choose a name for your business
4.
Examine the different business
structures before you register your
business.
5.
Write a business plan
6.
Rent or buy a premises in the right
location. The type of second hand
business you decide to do will determine
the location you choose.
7.
Make a banner with the name of your
shop for your premises.
8.
Build or buy a website.

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9.
Make sure you have transportation
sorted. Buy a van or have someone take
care of your deliveries.

Chapter 4.
How to Structure your store?
In this chapter we will be talking on how
to structure a furniture second shop. I
want you to know its possible to trade
household, office furnitures, clothes,
shoes and bags in a premises.
To start with, you should always make sure
your shop is always clean and tidy, because
people will only do business with you when
the premises is welcoming.
Make sure you have all paintings and
picture frame hanged to the wall.
Make sure the clothes are hanged on a
clothing rail.
Make sure you have the sofas arranged
accordingly if they come in set.
Make sure you have sofa ramps to put
chairs to create space. The ramps are

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very handy, or better still you can make

your own ramps on the wall so some suits
seats on the wall for more space.
Make sure all books are arranged neatly
in the book shelf.
Make sure all your electronics are
plugged in and working.eg if you have a
television for sale, leave it on so
potential buyers can see the picture
quality. If you have a music player for
sell, play music on it.
Make sure all your merchandise is
arranged in order.
Make sure every product can be seen and
spotted clearly.
Make sure you leave a wide passageway in
the middle or side of the shop from the
back to the front. This way will be the
freeway for moving goods back and forth.
Make sure you stick a price on every
product you have in your store.
You should make sure you write your shop
policy on the wall where everybody can
see and read.

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Sample of shop policy.

No refund is giving in this store.
We will only hold an item for maximum of
two weeks after sale.
Deposits are not non fundable.
Our delivery days are Monday, Wednesdays
and Saturdays.

Chapter 5.
Where to source for goods for your shop.
Sourcing for goods for your second hand
store is challenging at first when you are
just starting but it becomes very easy when
you have mastered the business. You get
lots of things for free but I will not
advise you to depend on that to keep the
business flourishing and making the type of

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profit you want to make. When buying goods

or merchandize for your shop, you should
always bear in mind the size and space
youre working with. Your space should and
must be properly utilize. The first place
you should look to buying merchandize is
The Auction House-It is a public or
private sale in which goods or property
are sold to the highest bidder. A system
where potential buyers place different
bids on assets and services. The asset
or service in question will sell to the
party that places the highest bid. In
most cases, sellers will pay a listing
fee to the auctioneer, regardless of
whether the item actually sells for the
desired price. An auction can be
online(internet) or on site (auction
room). It is advice able to always visit
the auction room to see the goods your
intent to bid for on or before the
auction.
Car boot sale/Boot fairs- This is an
outdoor sale at which people sell
unwanted possessions, typically from the
boots of their cars in an open space.

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This refers to the selling of items from

a car's boots. Although a small
proportion of sellers are professional
traders selling goods, or indeed
browsing for items to buy, most of the
goods on sale are used personal
possessions. Car boot sales are a way of
attracting a large group of people in
one place to recycle useful but unwanted
domestic items that otherwise might have
been thrown away.
Big Stores-This are stores that sells
new goods.eg if you are running a
furniture secondhand shop, you should
register with big stores that sells new
furniture. These stores get to take most
of their customers old furnitures when
they deliver a new one. Most of this
companies will give you this furnitures
for free but some will give you at a
very small cost.
House Clearance-House clearance is the
form of goods sourcing that I like best.
House clearance made me lots of money
and its the most reliable way to get
good prices for goods if you know how to
group price goods. House clearance is

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the action or process of clearing or of

being dispersed. A house clearance is
the process of removing all of the
household items from a property. House
clearance can be free to you costing you
nothing but will cost you moving the
item to your shop. But some house
clearance comes with a price, you will
have to haggle with the seller on how
much they want for the item in the whole
house and the price you want to pay.
Even in some cases you get paid to clear
the house why you still get to keep the
items. The furniture second store will
make you a lot of money if you know how
to position yourself.
Rat Sellers-Rat sellers are people that
goes from place to place, auction to
auction to buy things with the intention
to sell to a secondhand dealer. This is
the list form of way any secondhand
dealer should consider sourcing and
buying merchandise to sell. Most rat
sellers will come to you to display
their product in your shop on percentage
basis. If you intend to deal with rat
sellers, make sure you set the price

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based on what you think as a dealer it's

worth and not what they tell you it's
worth, because at the end of the day,
anything that does not sell will keep
space occupied in your shop.

Challenges of a second hand shop.

The second hand business has lots of
challenges just like every other business.
Most challenges business face today has to
do with the smooth running of the business.
1.
Capital resources- capital
resources includes any tangible type of
resource, such as stores, equipment,
locations, and assets related to the
business. Good cash flow control is
important for any secondhand business.
For a growing business, it's crucial cash constraints can be the biggest
factor limiting growth and overtrading
can be dangerous.

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2.
Customer services- Customer
services in refers to business owners
or employees efforts to build
relationships with customers interacting
with them, and methods to treat
customers with good service.
3.
Space-Depending on the size of your
store, space is one of the major
challenges of a second hand store. It is
advisable to set minimum time an item
would be held for before they are moved.
I have seen a customer payed a deposit
on an item and came back after 24months
looking to collect the same item. So I
advise you should have your minimum
holding time written boldly on your
store wall and your receipt booklet.
4.
Labeling and price Tag-This is
usually a challenge when it comes to two
merchandize that was bought differently.
It is very hard to explain to a customer
the reason why you are selling a side
table for $150 and the same type of side
table for $30.You know the reason is
because you payed more for one than the
other, or you got one for free.

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5.
Secondhand Market view- Market
research isn't something you do as a
one-off when you launch your secondhand
business. Business conditions change
continually, so your market findings
should be continuous as well. Otherwise
you run the risk of making decisions
based on out-of-date information, which
can lead to business failure. Taking the
time to talk to customers has a lot of
advantages. Your suppliers and other
business partners can be important
sources of market information. You
should encourage your employees to share
what they know about the market.
6.
Adapting to Change-Change can be a
major threat to a growing secondhand
store. Assuming that you will continue
to be successful simply because you are
in business is not a good place to
stand. It is paramount to constantly
revising and updating your business
strategy, this can help you notice the
market conditions and the need to
respond to them. An up-to-date plan
helps you identify what action you need

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to change in your store and the way you

operate your business.eg
Changing to suppliers who can grow with
you and meet your priorities. As your
business grows, consistent quality and
reliability will be more important than
simply getting the cheapest offer.
Renegotiating contracts to take account
of increased volume.
Training and developing employees.

7. The right Skills-Most secondhand dealer

miss it here, they forget that learning and
getting the real skill is very important as
buying at the auction. learning to listen
to - and take - advice is one of the
hardest challenges. To grow your second
hand business, you also need to learn to
delegate properly, trusting your management
team and giving up day-to-day control of
every detail. It's all too easy to stifle
creativity and motivation with excessive
interference. As the business becomes more
complex, you also need to develop your time
management skills and learn to focus on
what's really important.

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The ideas in this book are

very practical and will
work perfectly, showing
you how to running a very
successful secondhand
store/shop.