mobile phone busness

[nikita]

hi everyone :roll: ,

Im looking for some help from all of y''all. i want to start up my own mobile phone business but cannot find any decent suppliers, most people are selling handsets for retail price which defeats the point of me wanting to start up my own business. I am located in the uk and though i would prefer a uk seller i am willing to venture into imports. Am also interested in refurbished handsets.

Cheers
Nikita

[mdarwish01]

Hi

First of all, I have to say that the mobile phone market is one of the most competative markets around. Just look at ebay. It is practically impossible to make any profit on them. I would consider another product.

Anyway, I can tell you of a company called dropship-it.com or dropship-it.co.uk, one of the two. Anyway, they will dropship mobile phones for you, which generally speaking is a big advantage, especially for those just starting off.

There is a membership however that is refundable after a certain number of sells.

Let us know how it gets on

[nikita]

Thanks for the advice mdarwish01. Did think of selling trainers, what advice could you give regarding that particular market instead?

[MikeH]

I would say 'frying pan and fire'. That will be very competitive as well. You do not have the purchasing power, contacts, competitive edge, reputation etc. I am not being negative but trying to be realistic. Perhaps target a niche market. For example Hockey trainers, or Cricket clothing. Less competitive and it may be easier to get good SERPS. If you go down this route you could then target all the small clubs and organisations.

Mike.

[nikita]

I feel what you have to say Mike thanks for the advice will think harder :wink:

[Kay]

Hi Nikita

I agree with Mike. It's one of the most competitive businesses you could get into.

Were you planning an online or an offline business? If you were going to do it online you could do it this way:

# Register a domain and arrange webhosting

# Build a website

The above can be done very cheaply these days.

# Join an affiliate agent such as affiliatewindow.com - they have at least half a dozen merchants selling mobile phones.

# Promote your website and earn commission every time someone buys a phone using your links.

I just did a Google search for "buy mobile phone UK" (without the quotation marks). There are 16 million websites already doing this. The word "bargepole" comes to mind.

Try something else. As Mike says, look for a niche.

Good luck! :)

Kay

[chris2007]

hi

ebay, from mt experience is very hard 2 make a profit from. and if u do. as i did. i was only making 7-8% from capital invested. and i was putting allot of hours into it. but then again i suppose it all comes down 2 how much you r getting your product/service 4?

chris

[kimmrunner]

Thanks for the advice mdarwish01. Did think of selling trainers, what advice could you give regarding that particular market instead?

Signing up for ebay marketplace history can tell you the prices, and average places you can sell for - which will confirm margin.

IMHO the best source of dropship/light bulk wholesale goods www.wordwidebrands.com has a free trial in which you can use their market research wizard to compare demand and supply for products both on ebay and the web generally.

There are some surprising niches - andy (yahoo guy) jenkins has a store which sells $80000 per month of tapestries, yet still according to worldwidebrands marketplace it is a good niche to be in.

Focus on a market in which there are related products, some quality cheap, some more expensive. Use ebay to loss lead the small products to get a customer list, and then sell high value items to your list.


Hope this helps

[Gosh]

I used to have a mobile phone shop never could i find new phones at the right price to sell on, what made the money was the add ons such as simm cards, batterys clip on faces and the unlocking. Its a cut throat market with every one doing it some where ie ur local paper shop selling cheap simm cards. Buying in second hand phones are a nightmare having to make sure the phone will not get blacklisted which cost a lot of money and if you sell a hand set that goes black a visit from the police could be on the cards. There is a lot of money to be made from this type of business just have to cover your back and be careful if you buy in second hand phones.

[fonefinders]

Nikita

Please contact me regarding mobile phones. I have been in it for 7 years and found the worsed thing is selling Sim Free. There is so much fraud and people are dishonest. They will always tell you that they can get it for £5 less when they are infact lying and dont even touch certain countries (they are the biggest frraudsters of them all!). I have been doing contract mobiles and yes it is a big market but I find therf you would like to know about contract phones please email me or IM me

Regards
Paul Marks
Manager

[mconridge]

Try www.phonedealerforum.co.uk (http://www.phonedealerforum.co.uk) - Lots of dealers on there.

Also try the Mobile Magazine.

I have to agree with the above. You would have to be mad to get involved in this market. The networks are rolling out their own stores across the country and squeezing the indies out.

Good Luck!

[fonefinders]

Hello

To be a member of Phone Dealer Forum costs £10 a year as I belong to that

Paul M

[fonefinders]

If the Original Poster wishes to contact me regarding Contracts I will be very pleased to talk to him. I currently have agents who work for fonefinders Self Employed - I cannot compete with the networks or the big boys with their deals,infact no one can. But the networks are now keeping an eye on the silly cashbacks and they prefer to stick with quality customers and the like dealers who provide good service. In fact I now am consentrating on Businesses. As i said if the original poster would like to contact me i am happy to discuss this.