Help with windfall..

[warren132]

I have recently received some money from my work and i don't want to squander it all on rubbish so i was just looking for some suggestions as to the best way to try and use the money as to try and set up some sort of snooker cue selling business. Like an agent or something were someone or some shop would have my sell there cues or i could buy some cues in bulk and then try to sell them on. Dont have a clue how to go about it or who to ask just an idea i have at the moment. Whats peoples thoughts on this good or bad.

thanks for any input/help i get with this.

[bigandyg]

It is a hard game Warren, some of the big companies like Cuecraft, Craftsman could give you a trade account and go from there. Plenty of help available from people on here, anything I can help you with just ask.

[renzie67]

I agree it is a hard game and without the help of someone like Andy or ADR it is really hard to get established good luck though
Warren I know Ayrshire is a big catchment Area so a good base to start.

[jim evans]

I would say too many people selling in an área that at the moment is in decline think realy hard before you invest your money into something that could lose you your windfall.

[Stupree]

Help with windfall..

The dream of doing something you enjoy and are passionate about is a fantastic one to realise. I would only be able to offer my very basic business advice which is to know what it is you want to be renown for and do it really well. Trying to be everything to everyone had been the ruin of so many business, even those once great and mighty.

My aim is to do similar in my region as the south is a very dry spot for quality cues and would love to replicate Stu Green's success at Green Baize

Good luck mate

[sberry]

I would say too many people selling in an área that at the moment is in decline think realy hard before you invest your money into something that could lose you your windfall.

I would agree with that, people with money to invest are easy prey for good salesmen who will promise you the earth in possibilities. You will be competing with the ever increasing flood of stock coming in from China which compared to some places seems unregulated, untouchable and unbeatable in value. Finally, if you really know nothing about something you should not even be considering putting money into it, you should do the boring thing and spend as much time as it takes to research and learn, go to your bank, if they won't get involved it will be for a good reason.

[ferret]

The only way these days that a online retail business will make a good amount of profit especially in Snooker is if you have some good marketing power behind you.

I was going to open a shop on TSF but decided instead that I did not have the time and it would be better if somebody else with more experience than myself in the area does it and to be fair with the following TSF has whoever opens a shop on here is going to make it a success.

So officially I would like to announce that I am in negotiations with somebody in the trade to sell the forum to them.... da da da, I will also say that I will be sticking around as technical liaison for a minimum contract of 3 years so you not quite got rid of me yet

If you wanted something seasonal and with a good profit margin buy some bouncy castles and rent them out in the summer, give me a shout and I will tell you exactly how to do it

[cueman]

I'd say it was too much of a risk as many others have gained a reputation so starting out with something like this you would almost have to run at a loss in order to get sales and boost your reputation in order to compete.

Also snooker is unlike other sports whereby you constantly need new equipment. Apart from those who swap cues frequently, and they are in the minority, most players only ever need a new tip on their cue. Perhaps selling equipment like tips, chalk, towels, etc would be a better way to start out. You would shift far more in the way of accessories than cues and also less chance of stuff going missing or cues being broken in transit.

[ferret]

cueman makes some very good points there, there is a very big market for accessories that nobody has thought of yet!! I know plenty of people from posts on here that want to spend money of accessories which simply do not exist, I remember one post from a member saying he has a good cue, case, extensions, chalk pouch etc but wanted to spend £100 on other accessories and nobody could suggest anything for him so maybe a accessory range which is handmade would be good to get into.

I seen a pro recently who had a hardcase which his usual case went into to protect it when flying abroad, not seen them before, also good quality cases are always hard to find, the only ones I can think of which are not cheap nor mass produced are John Parris's cases which are all hand made to a very high standard.

[warren132]

All the above help is very much appreciated indeed. Seems i have some thinking to do before i dive in.

thanks

[itsnoteasy]

Might be worth looking at the other end of the market, buying in bulk lower end cues, but better than you get in sports shops, you could put an elk master on them, buff them up,then punt them out at reasonable prices on eBay, in a kind of low profit but high turnover way,you could catch the casual players, those just starting out, and juniors first cue markets. You could give that a try without a huge initial outlay and have less to lose if the markets not there, I would guess you would at least get your money back, but I wouldn't like to guess the timeline for it.

[Byrom]

I would pay some technical wizz like ferret to design a snooker/pool augmented reality ap for google glass and paitent it before someone else does - sell it cheap to the markets and retire on the profits when google glass comes out.

[ADR147]

All the above help is very much appreciated indeed. Seems i have some thinking to do before i dive in.

thanks

i would say it is much more complicated than you might think and not as profitable as you might think either, without question there are easier ways to turnover money or invest, for example at the moment it is possible to buy something like for example a mark VI Bentley for less than it is worth in parts if you look around a very good one can be bought for 16-18k and i would bet that has a 10k profit in it in 5 years. but if you want to know a bit about how the snooker / cue world works come and visit mate. I should also point out that you would be astonished how much money gets tied up in relation to the profits made, you would need to have been in my study to see this but it is not a high margin business.

[ADR147]

Might be worth looking at the other end of the market, buying in bulk lower end cues, but better than you get in sports shops, you could put an elk master on them, buff them up,then punt them out at reasonable prices on eBay, in a kind of low profit but high turnover way,you could catch the casual players, those just starting out, and juniors first cue markets. You could give that a try without a huge initial outlay and have less to lose if the markets not there, I would guess you would at least get your money back, but I wouldn't like to guess the timeline for it.

then you spend your whole life packing cues!

[warren132]

thanks for the info Andrew very much appreciated fella.