Part-time Job for Someone Good at Selling Second-hand Tech

[Xnow]

I have a budding company/idea in the works and I am looking for an individual who fancies themselves good at unloading second-hand tech. The idea is to offer clients something low-touch that offers a better return than simply taking everything to Cash Converters but would take a bit longer (3-12 months depending on the value of the item). The facilitation fee will be 15% of the value of the item which is a pretty standard facilitation fee these days.

So, if you enjoy this kind of thing and fancy yourself good at it, let me know and we can begin on a trial basis with some smaller items and see if this plan is actually viable. For practical reasons, you would need to be located in JHB.

 

[Skylark]

What is the 15% facilitation fee, the cut your company will make, 15% of the sale price?
That seems a bit low considering the amount of work, I hope you won't also be including managing the shipping of the sold goods in that fee?

 

[Xnow]

No, you will get 15% of the price of whatever you sell.
Do you think that is low?

 

[Skylark]

No, you will get 15% of the price of whatever you sell.
Do you think that is low?

So the person you want to hire will get 15% clear of the selling price of whatever they sell?

 

[PaladinLaw]

Will you cover the reseller sub that will be required for the person to buy and sell using carb? Should they wish to use carb of course

 

[Xnow]

So the person you want to hire will get 15% clear of the selling price of whatever they sell?

Yes, that is the idea, even after shipping if necessary. Whatever the final price is that the client will get, you take 15% of that.
The bar for success here is just to beat Cash Converters, which I think can be done even with that kind of a cut. Obviously, you have an incentive to make that number as high as possible because you get 15% of it.

Will you cover the reseller sub that will be required for the person to buy and sell using carb? Should they wish to use carb of course

No, hotel stays while you are trying to sell the item will not be covered either
If you want to use a channel that requires a subscription that is your own prerogative but you can't expect the client to pay for that.

 

[Jacobu]

If you want to use a channel that requires a subscription that is your own prerogative but you can't expect the client to pay for that.

I think he meant that you as the business owner should cover that

 

[Xnow]

I think he meant that you as the business owner should cover that

This is a fledgling idea that I am hoping to turn into a business. It hasn't proved it is viable yet and that is exactly what I would like to do.

And as I said, it is your prerogative where you choose to sell something. How is it fair to pay one person's membership costs and not someone else's who chooses to use Facebook marketplace to sell?

At this stage, the plan is 15% of the sales price to the client.

 

[Oj0]

This is a fledgling idea that I am hoping to turn into a business. It hasn't proved it is viable yet and that is exactly what I would like to do.

This leaves you WIDE open to be F'd up the A when warranty issues begin. As a business you will be required to offer warranty, regardless of whether the manufacturer's warranty is still valid or not. With random people "working" for you, you have no control over how they apply QA to the goods they sell. It's the reason I won't touch a single second hand item, even if I know I can run 200% markup on it.

 

[Xnow]

This leaves you WIDE open to be F'd up the A when warranty issues begin. As a business you will be required to offer warranty, regardless of whether the manufacturer's warranty is still valid or not. With random people "working" for you, you have no control over how they apply QA to the goods they sell. It's the reason I won't touch a single second hand item, even if I know I can run 200% markup on it.

You guys are making me think about this a lot which is great!

Let me be clearer, I want to start a business that offers a kind of spring cleaning service. Part of that would be getting rid of old tech (most likely way out of warranty). The point of this would be the outsourcing of selling the second-hand goods rather than selling it yourself or just taking it all to cash converters and getting nothing for it.

the 15% is compensation for you selling the second-hand goods somewhere on the internet rather than the owner. So no, I really don't see the warranty thing as an issue.

 

[Oj0]

You guys are making me think about this a lot which is great!

Let me be clearer, I want to start a business that offers a kind of spring cleaning service. Part of that would be getting rid of old tech (most likely way out of warranty). The point of this would be the outsourcing of selling the second-hand goods rather than selling it yourself or just taking it all to cash converters and getting nothing for it.

the 15% is compensation for you selling the second-hand goods somewhere on the internet rather than the owner. So no, I really don't see the warranty thing as an issue.

You should have a look at the Second Hand Goods Act of 2009. Trading in used goods as a dealer (which is what you're proposing) will mean you HAVE TO keep record of who buys/sells (including IDs of sellers as per Section 21.2(a) of the Second Hand Goods Act).

You will also HAVE TO provide at least six months of warranty - even if the item is 20 years out of warranty (as per the Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which you will also need to follow once you start doing this is a business). The CPA makes zero provisions for used goods. As soon as you fall under the category of supplier and your customers under the category of consumer, the CPA has blanket coverage for the goods with few exceptions - namely, goods auctioned by court order as per Section 45 of the CPA are exempt from the warranty requirements laid out in Section 55 and Section 56.

As a business, you will also need to follow the Companies Act of 2008, the Electronic Communication and Transactions Act of 2002 if you sell online, the National Credit Act of 2005 if you offer payment plans, the Promotion of Access of Information Act of 2000, the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013, possibly the Value Added Tax Act of 1991 depending on revenue, etc, etc, etc.

You will also need a used goods dealer license (as per Section 3.2 of the Second Hand Goods Act) for each location from which you (and/or your "staff") are selling.

There are many more caveats, but those are the most crippling. Failure to comply with the Second Hand Goods Act carries maximum prison sentences varying between three and ten years. That will be on you as the company owner, not on the "freelance" staff you hire.

As soon as they're working for you, even in the "freelance" positions you're suggesting, all legal requirements of the running of the business fall upon you.

Speak to an attorney - they mostly consider being a used goods dealer to be an unenviable position.

 

[Xnow]

You should have a look at the Second Hand Goods Act of 2009. Trading in used goods as a dealer (which is what you're proposing) will mean you HAVE TO keep record of who buys/sells (including IDs of sellers as per Section 21.2(a) of the Second Hand Goods Act).

You will also HAVE TO provide at least six months of warranty - even if the item is 20 years out of warranty (as per the Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which you will also need to follow once you start doing this is a business). The CPA makes zero provisions for used goods. As soon as you fall under the category of supplier and your customers under the category of consumer, the CPA has blanket coverage for the goods with few exceptions - namely, goods auctioned by court order as per Section 45 of the CPA are exempt from the warranty requirements laid out in Section 55 and Section 56.

As a business, you will also need to follow the Companies Act of 2008, the Electronic Communication and Transactions Act of 2002 if you sell online, the National Credit Act of 2005 if you offer payment plans, the Promotion of Access of Information Act of 2000, the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013, possibly the Value Added Tax Act of 1991 depending on revenue, etc, etc, etc.

You will also need a used goods dealer license (as per Section 3.2 of the Second Hand Goods Act) for each location from which you (and/or your "staff") are selling.

There are many more caveats, but those are the most crippling. Failure to comply with the Second Hand Goods Act carries maximum prison sentences varying between three and ten years. That will be on you as the company owner, not on the "freelance" staff you hire.

As soon as they're working for you, even in the "freelance" positions you're suggesting, all legal requirements of the running of the business fall upon you.

Speak to an attorney - they mostly consider being a used goods dealer to be an unenviable position.

I'm glad I brought this here you guys know your sh1t!

I'm hoping in this context it is a simple agency relationship rather than being a second-hand good dealer. But I would have to look into it a lot further.

Thanks for your help!