Selling from storage unit

[Bluefate]

Hi there,

I’m looking at starting up a business selling various goods from a website. I can’t store stock or run a business from my home as I’m in a rental and my landlord doesn’t want me too.

So, let’s say I can secure a unit. What are my options for receiving returns and important post if I can’t use my rental address?

Thank you

 

[StevensOnln1]

Some storage units have a reception desk that will sign for parcels and accept post addressed to your unit.

 

[Bluefate]

Some storage units have a reception desk that will sign for parcels and accept post addressed to your unit.

Thank you, much appreciated. My only concern would be, if I’m running an e-commerce business and I receive returns often, would this be a problem? I suppose my question is, is there a limit they would accept for returns? Sorry if it sounds a stupid question.

 

[fisicx]

How would you know there has been a return? The reception wouldn’t tell you.

What sort of products do you plan on selling?

 

[Bluefate]

How would you know there has been a return? The reception wouldn’t tell you.

What sort of products do you plan on selling?

To be honest, I do have a lot to learn and I guess I just assumed that I could have a system built into my website to alert me of returns.

At the moment I’ve got a few ideas buzzing round my head. Nothing specific but I was thinking small items that are easy to ship, say kids toys maybe. I’m at a stage where I need to learn from the ground up but I’m limited in my capabilities and I tend to let my imagination run away with me so I wanted to make sure this is something I could even start, with the fact I can’t do it from my house.

 

[Shopclicks]

I'll preface this by saying, unless you have a marketing budget, forget eCommerce. If you don't know how to build a website, then learn.

However, if you want to start in eCommerce and you need to do it without your own premises, you need to find a local business with their own premises which doesn't sell online. This could be a retailer or a manufacturer with products which you can find a market for.

You approach these businesses with a proposition which is beneficial to both of you. As an example, I did this a long time ago with a retailer. I built a website to sell their stock exclusively and charged them a percentage on each sale (there was a sufficient margin for me and was an acceptable marketing expense for the retailer). There were adjustments along the way but I did this for 7 years.

I had zero stock outlay and ran my business from within their premises. I can elaborate if this is something you can see yourself doing.

 

[Bluefate]

I'll preface this by saying, unless you have a marketing budget, forget eCommerce. If you don't know how to build a website, then learn.

However, if you want to start in eCommerce and you need to do it without your own premises, you need to find a local business with their own premises which doesn't sell online. This could be a retailer or a manufacturer with products which you can find a market for.

You approach these businesses with a proposition which is beneficial to both of you. As an example, I did this a long time ago with a retailer. I built a website to sell their stock exclusively and charged them a percentage on each sale (there was a sufficient margin for me and was an acceptable marketing expense for the retailer). There were adjustments along the way but I did this for 7 years.

I had zero stock outlay and ran my business from within their premises. I can elaborate if this is something you can see yourself doing.

Thank you for your detailed reply. I have zero budget at the moment as I’m just seeing if business is something that’s viable for me based on my difficulties (for example, speaking with customers isn’t something I’d be able to do on the phone) but business is certainly something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, especially something to do with logistics/warehouse.

If it’s viable to raise the funds required and realistically and easily be able to handle things such as returns, then E-commerce is probably something I’d look to do, even if time and money are my only barriers.

Thank you for offering to explain what you did, I’m just wondering if it’s something I’d find too complex to achieve, with not speaking on the phone for example.

 

[fisicx]

People expect to be able to talk to the seller especially something like toys as they will have questions.

You might be lucky and just get away with a chat function but a phone number engenders trust.

Without any budget you will struggle. There are thousands of people like you, all hoping to sell on a shoestring. It’s not easy and sourcing the right products will need you to talk to sellers.

 

[Bluefate]

People expect to be able to talk to the seller especially something like toys as they will have questions.

You might be lucky and just get away with a chat function but a phone number engenders trust.

Without any budget you will struggle. There are thousands of people like you, all hoping to sell on a shoestring. It’s not easy and sourcing the right products will need you to talk to sellers.

Thank you. I have people around me that’ll support me, whether they’d be suitable to arrange things with suppliers I suppose will depend.

Although I currently don’t have a budget, I still have a lot to do to even think about getting started, educating myself for a start, so I’m hoping in the near future I can raise some funds. I’ve been building my credit history in the hopes that’ll help. I have a couple of high interest credit cards but I’m not keen on putting that on the business so early on.

I think as long as I don’t need 10s of thousands as a budget, and I can pretty much run the business from a warehouse unit, I’m confident I can at least get it off the ground

 

[DoolallyTap]

You have no money, no plan, no idea, and your first question is how to handle returns to a lock up, why not go to the storage place and just ask them, they will know the answer rather than people here just guessing.
You can easily make a website using EKM or similar. There are 63 million results for 'pocket money toys' on Google so good luck with getting onto page 1.
To find that magic widget you need to think outside the box and be a bit different.

 

[fisicx]

Although I currently don’t have a budget....

Get yourself set up on ebay or vinted and start flogging your old clothes, books, video games and anything else you don't need. Start looking for items in charity shops that would sell on ebay. Get practiced at taking pictures, writing descriptions, pricing products and all the other skills needed to succeed selling online. You will soon discover if it's something you have the aptitude and desire to do.

 

[Socio South West]

Get yourself set up on ebay or vinted and start flogging your old clothes, books, video games and anything else you don't need. Start looking for items in charity shops that would sell on ebay. Get practiced at taking pictures, writing descriptions, pricing products and all the other skills needed to succeed selling online. You will soon discover if it's something you have the aptitude and desire to do.

Best advice I have seen for anyone wanting to start out on the web shop route with a limited budget and limited knowledge.

It looks so simple from the outside but the more you want to offer (shipping etc) the more fiddly and complicated it gets - and if you really want to frazzle your brain try setting up on Amazon from a cold start.

 

[Gecko001]

Get yourself set up on ebay or vinted and start flogging your old clothes, books, video games and anything else you don't need. Start looking for items in charity shops that would sell on ebay. Get practiced at taking pictures, writing descriptions, pricing products and all the other skills needed to succeed selling online. You will soon discover if it's something you have the aptitude and desire to do.

I agree. Ebay is a ready-made way of selling. No need for your own website, but if you have one, Ebay can be used to drive customers to it.

Just wondering about the address though. Will Ebay accept a lock-up storage unit as an address? Even if they do, potential customers might be put off from buying from someone who has a lock-up storage address as they could see it as a possible scam.

 

[Bluefate]

You have no money, no plan, no idea, and your first question is how to handle returns to a lock up, why not go to the storage place and just ask them, they will know the answer rather than people here just guessing.
You can easily make a website using EKM or similar. There are 63 million results for 'pocket money toys' on Google so good luck with getting onto page 1.
To find that magic widget you need to think outside the box and be a bit different.

I’ve looked into business over the years so I have some understanding of some aspects. I should’ve clarified that I felt like my 2 biggest barriers were having a premises and finance. I’ve tried to google and look on here to see if and how I could run a business selling things online, without using my home.

I do have an idea for a business selling a product I’d make but as I’m sure you’re aware, it’ll take 10s of thousands. The idea behind e-commerce is to raise those 10s of thousands and create a brand rather than just selling something someone else has made. Thanks for your advice, much appreciated

 

[Bluefate]

Get yourself set up on ebay or vinted and start flogging your old clothes, books, video games and anything else you don't need. Start looking for items in charity shops that would sell on ebay. Get practiced at taking pictures, writing descriptions, pricing products and all the other skills needed to succeed selling online. You will soon discover if it's something you have the aptitude and desire to do.

Thank you. I’ve sold the odd item online in the past and definitely think it’s something I have the desire to do. I’ve done research on various aspects of starting and running a business but I was stuck with how to sell products online without a premises that would be able to handle returns (as when I’ve googled it/looked on here, until this post I couldn’t find any info.) I just assumed I could have a storage unit and a website (with a proper business plan on marketing etc) and off I go.

 

[Bluefate]

I agree. Ebay is a ready-made way of selling. No need for your own website, but if you have one, Ebay can be used to drive customers to it.

Just wondering about the address though. Will Ebay accept a lock-up storage unit as an address? Even if they do, potential customers might be put off from buying from someone who has a lock-up storage address as they could see it as a possible scam.

Thank you, this is the info I’m looking for. I’m looking at ways to cheaply have a website built (I was thinking maybe a last year student who does IT?) and hopefully use various methods to drive customers to my own website such as eBay, car boots etc.

It’s not just eBay, it’s important people like the tax man that will send letters and that’s why I made the point of essentially running a business from it.

 

[fisicx]

I just assumed I could have a storage unit and a website (with a proper business plan on marketing etc) and off I go.

Nope. Used to be like this but not anymore. There is way too much competition with everyone and their dog setting up a shopify store and selling anything they can get their hands on. It means unless you have something different and desireable you won't even get noticed. You would make more money stacking shelves in a supermarket.

A business plan helps but what really makes the difference is marketing. Which is why you hone your skills on ebay, vinted and other marketplaces. Learn how to source products, research trends and sell in bulk. Learn how to negotiate deals with couriers, speed up your picking, packing and posting. Work out the cheapest was to pack and where to get the right sort of packaging.

These are all skills you will need if you want to run your own website.

And don't forget timescales. There used to be a rule of thumb about breaking even in 3-5 years. Everything after that made you money.

 

[Bluefate]

Nope. Used to be like this but not anymore. There is way too much competition with everyone and their dog setting up a shopify store and selling anything they can get their hands on. It means unless you have something different and desireable you won't even get noticed. You would make more money stacking shelves in a supermarket.

A business plan helps but what really makes the difference is marketing. Which is why you hone your skills on ebay, vinted and other marketplaces. Learn how to source products, research trends and sell in bulk. Learn how to negotiate deals with couriers, speed up your picking, packing and posting. Work out the cheapest was to pack and where to get the right sort of packaging.

These are all skills you will need if you want to run your own website.

And don't forget timescales. There used to be a rule of thumb about breaking even in 3-5 years. Everything after that made you money.

Thank you for your advice, I really do appreciate it. But can I clarify, if I can’t run a business from a storage unit, where would I start? I know I have a lot to learn based on what you’ve said but I’m still struggling with the cheapest way to store stock and even manage returns. I know this seems like a future problem but if I can’t get a cheap premises that can receive returns and post, I can’t see it ever even beginning.

 

[fisicx]

Have you actually asked any of the storage units if you can use them to run a business?

Do the eBay, vinted, car boot thing first. Learn how to sell then worry about doing it full time. It could be years before you are ready to worry about warehousing.

 

[Bluefate]

---

Have you actually asked any of the storage units if you can use them to run a business?

Do the eBay, vinted, car boot thing first. Learn how to sell then worry about doing it full time. It could be years before you are ready to worry about warehousing.

I haven’t no, to be honest I probably am trying to run before I can walk but the reason I’ve been insistent on a premises is, because I have another business idea if e-commerce is out of my reach. So as a terrible example, it’d be a company with a name selling products containing said name, for example “chocolate choices” would be a website selling products containing chocolate. Would you still insist on going though the eBay etc route? I know this would be more building a brand than e-commerce but I’d still need storage and a place to receive important post.

 

[fisicx]

Forget about building a brand. Unless you have a huge marketing budget it’s not worth the effort. Focus on learning how to sell. Learn basic marketing. See if you have the aptitude to make money.

If chocolate is your product get a stall at a boot sale or farmers market. In fact do this for whatever you want to sell. Use your van for storage and your accommodation for post. The landlord will never know.

 

[MOIC]

Step 1. Do your research properly, based on the type of business and products, including suppliers and competitors. Google is your friend, as is Chat GPT.

Step 2. Prepare a cost set-up and cash flow forecast for at least the first year. There are free templates online to help you with this.

Step 3. Raise the funds required, as needed when you have completed step 2. Start with family and friends.

Step 4. Implement your plan, taking into account, you’ll have many more issues to contend with before worrying if a storage unit will accept returns (some will, some won’t). I would advise getting help with this, if it’s not within your comfort zone.

If you lack confidence (or any other reason which may prevent you speaking directly with customers and suppliers) may affect the type of business you decide to do, although communication via WhatsApp etc may be OK for some businesses.

Currently, you’re just scratching the surface with ideas.

You said you feel you may be running before you can walk? This may be true.

Start with Step 1. This could take you at least 6 months.

I wish you luck.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I'd reiterate much of the above

Simplistically, get rolling with a soft-start, buying and selling on eBay.

Get a feel for what sells and what doesn't. Learn how to differentiate yourself
From the many, many others doing the same.

Don't take on debt. Use what you learn to create a researched business plan with detailed projections.

 

[Bluefate]

Forget about building a brand. Unless you have a huge marketing budget it’s not worth the effort. Focus on learning how to sell. Learn basic marketing. See if you have the aptitude to make money.

If chocolate is your product get a stall at a boot sale or farmers market. In fact do this for whatever you want to sell. Use your van for storage and your accommodation for post. The landlord will never know.

Thank you again for your advice. I’ve only just realised I’ve been talking as if I want to run a business from a self storage unit but actually, I meant run the business from a small warehouse unit as I thought this could handle returns, post etc.

I’d rather not do things my landlord wouldn’t be comfortable with, without him knowing as I have very nosey neighbours and I can’t afford to be kicked out. I’ll take your advice and see how I can work around the post problem, thank you again

 

[fisicx]

Thank you again for your advice. I’ve only just realised I’ve been talking as if I want to run a business from a self storage unit but actually, I meant run the business from a small warehouse unit as I thought this could handle returns, post etc.

Yes you can but you are a long way from being able to do this. You first need to learn how to source and sell product. Doesn't matter what you sell, just be good at doing it.

 

[vacuumdoctor]

Going back to your original question - "What are my options for receiving returns and important post if I can’t use my rental address?" - if you do rent a unit then set up your office there so that you can receive returns and post. Alternatively, you can set up a PO Box or Click & Collect with Royal Mail, which means everything will be delivered to your local post office from which you can collect it.

 

[japancool]

I’ll take your advice and see how I can work around the post problem

Take your parcels down to your local Post Office/Parcelshop/DPD/Evri/UPS Drop-off location every day.

 

[Ivanzyt]

Ebay is a great way to start I think as this covers the basics.

If you can't run the physical side of the business from home then you can use a third-party logistics service (3PL) which will store, pick, pack, and deliver your items. Amazon will do this all for you for example but they tend to charge a fortune. But there are plenty of smaller 3PL companies out there. I run one, but to be honest, we would work with established businesses that have a defined need and plan so we are probably not a good fit for you now. But I am sure there are companies out there that will work with people just starting out. A 3PL will even handle all the returns for you and some will speak to your customers on your behalf if, as you mentioned that is something you struggle with.

There are many people who do start businesses from home without ever touching the product themselves.

 

[fisicx]

I agree that a fulfilment service would solve many issues but the problem have is finding an address to which documentation can be served.

 

[japancool]

Accountant, service address.