Today I would like to talk about creating a startup for the sale and purchase of used equipment.
My name is Anthony. I am a translator.
I used to work in an advertising agency for seven years.
Back in 2011 I started selling advertisements on iphones.com where I also published articles related to Apple devices.
I became the commercial director of iphones.com.
But I wanted to create my own business. I set aside half of my salary for it.
I nurtured the idea for a long time and one day started to implement it.
The largest hoarder of iPhones is Ebay.
Nearly 940,000 iPhones were sold through this free classifieds portal in 2016.
A third of all iPhone sales in the United States, according to Euromonitor International estimates.
However, I wanted to make a more specialized and tech-savvy service.
So that users could buy and sell used appliances like Gadgetpickup does.
I planned to make money from advertising and paid services for privileged listings like Ebay.
I hired two freelance programmers and bought the domain name NeedMyPhone.
It took $20,000 to develop, but the business didn’t take off.
Battle for Traffic When Creating a Startup
I tried many things.
First I published ads on the most famous sites of my country, but the traffic came very slowly.
I tried to negotiate with online stores to advertise on my site in early 2017.
Several stores accepted my offer and traffic began to skyrocket.
Then I decided to offer buyers of used iPhones a service to evaluate the gadget for a small fee.
After all, many people are hesitant to buy used equipment because they might end up with a broken or fake gadget.
The evaluation was carried out by craftsmen from a partner service center.
The master examined the phone in the presence of the seller and the buyer.
He checked to see if the screen had been changed, if the device was locked, and whether the microphone, speakers, and buttons worked.
A buyer of used equipment could also order an online check.
Then a tick appeared next to his ad on NeedMyPhone, and the phones sold faster.
New Idea
After a while I had a more promising idea.
I decided to appraise and buy back used phones from people.
Then I resold them to small partners in small stores.
After that I decided to sell the owner of the used gadget a new iPhone with a deduction of the value of the old phone (trade-in).
That’s what the American service Gazelle does.
Through it passes 3.5 million used phones a year, and the markup is about 25% of the cost of the phone.
The trade-in is more profitable than a regular buyback.
Happy End
I broke the contract with my last partner.
My main task was to find a new, more profitable and high-quality partner.
I was not satisfied with the terms of the contract.
As well as the profit that I was not getting due to the failure of the equipment.
The first reliable partner turned out to be Gadgetpickup.com.
Why Does This Partner Suit Me Better Than Others Do?
First of all, it’s my experience.
The fact that I have used the services of the site more than once.
So I can exclude the fact of fraud.
And I can say with confidence – Gadgetpickup’s reputation among customers is very important.
Gadgetpickup offers very favorable conditions for buying and selling appliances.
Based on the condition of your devices, you will be offered a real adequate price for the goods.
The priority for customers here is value for money.
That is why I realized that Gadgetpickup was the best fit for me.
After all, the company cares about its customers, so their appliances have no hidden defects.
Thanks to this partnership, NeedMyPhone’s turnover tripled compared to the previous year!
At that point I realized that a very important factor that affects profitability and quality of services is competent partners who know their business and don’t cheat their customers.
Plans and Prospects When Creating a Startup
I have many ideas for promoting my own business.
I also want to start buying Apple tablets and laptops in the future in cooperation with Gadgetpickup.
The development of the service may be held back by the lack of qualified craftsmen.
They will have to be poached from service centers, which is a considerable expense.
In any case, it is all still to come!
I tried not to pour out a lot of water, but to speak to the point.
Also, I hope the idea and success of my startup will motivate you to take action.
