[Mr Bee]

Hello guys
So, I'm 14 and I had a reasonable idea as to how I could make some hefty triple digits each month

So, you buy broken BlackBerrys, iPhones, iPods etc, with broken screens and repair them. There's thousands of videos on YouTube taking you through the procedure, then sell them on.

Seems a fairly simple process. So what do you think?



This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

[subjectman10]

Can you handle them with GCSE's?

[Mad Vlad]

(Original post by Mr Bee)
Hello guys
So, I'm 14 and I had a reasonable idea as to how I could make some hefty triple digits each month

So, you buy broken BlackBerrys, iPhones, iPods etc, with broken screens and repair them. There's thousands of videos on YouTube taking you through the procedure, then sell them on.

Seems a fairly simple process. So what do you think?

[Glaswegian Accent]
What's your projected turnover after 3 years? What's your gross margin?



[/Glaswegian Accent]

[iisjman07]

My three concerns would be :

• There's a lot of people doing it
• When buying phones on ebay, they're often water damaged and this is not mentioned
• Phones worth repairing (smart phones) will cost quite a lot to buy even broken, and you profit margins will be affected

[igothacked]

Hi, I think you should concentrate on your GCSE's and possibly when you leave school you will have a bit of time then make an attempt.

[translucent]

What about laptops? I've seem some for £20 on ebay, broken ofcourse - but you wouldn't have been able to tell, it was internal.

[mfaxford]

In terms of doing repairs that's likely to depend on what's broken. Things like broken screens might be fairly easy to replace (but there will be a cost of getting replacement screens). Other things might be harder to fix (or not fixable).

You might get to make some profit, but it's going to take some work.

[Norton1]

(Original post by Mad Vlad)
[Glaswegian Accent]
What's your projected turnover after 3 years? What's your gross margin?

[/Glaswegian Accent]

He's not Glaswegian...he's from Clydebank. You've insulted a proud town.

[Mr Bee]

Yes well, a Blackberry Curve 8520 Damaged, with stated problems of a trackpad that is broken, is £15 tops.
The trackpad is £15 tops too. The kit needed is around £10 as a one off payment. So that's £30 for the phone and £10 for the tools.

Fixed up, they sell for £60-£80.

That's a minimum of £20 profit including the tools cost


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

[markisanark]

(Original post by Mr Bee)
Yes well, a Blackberry Curve 8520 Damaged, with stated problems of a trackpad that is broken, is £15 tops.
The trackpad is £15 tops too. The kit needed is around £10 as a one off payment. So that's £30 for the phone and £10 for the tools.

Fixed up, they sell for £60-£80.

That's a minimum of £20 profit including the tools cost


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

Been there, done that. In short, it seems great, but then add on eBay fees and the time it takes then it is just hassle. Plus, as you'll find, most people who are selling broken phones as 'untested' are doing so because they've tried taking them to a local phone shop and have been told its not worth fixing.

Yeah, save yourself the time & hassle.

[Mr Bee]

(Original post by markisanark)
Been there, done that. In short, it seems great, but then add on eBay fees and the time it takes then it is just hassle. Plus, as you'll find, most people who are selling broken phones as 'untested' are doing so because they've tried taking them to a local phone shop and have been told its not worth fixing.

Yeah, save yourself the time & hassle.

Ah okay. Kick me when I'm down I'm joking bud, thanks for the advice.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

[markisanark]

(Original post by Mr Bee)
Ah okay. Kick me when I'm down I'm joking bud, thanks for the advice.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

Ahah, but seriously, you do get some arsey eBayers and for like £20, its not worth it

[beaver_tron]

first, think about other costs, you will have to buy the phone, yes. but also, all the spare parts. Then when you sell, subtract listing fees, as well as paypal fees and ebays cut. Then dont forget to factor in what people will pay not forgetting p and p.

Then repeat. Also, how much time each task will take, the buying, fixing, listing, posting and banking involved.

For the bit of profit you will make, how much time will it take. If it takes an hour per phone for all of the aformentioned tasks, (it will probably be more) Then, how much profit will you make for that hour? Compare it to other jobs you could currently have, or how much time you have spare to do this.

Also, bigger competition can probably undercut you.

Could be a go-er, first just do the maths. (dont forget you may get angry customers)

[. . .]

(Original post by Mr Bee)
Hello guys
So, I'm 14 and I had a reasonable idea as to how I could make some hefty triple digits each month

So, you buy broken BlackBerrys, iPhones, iPods etc, with broken screens and repair them. There's thousands of videos on YouTube taking you through the procedure, then sell them on.

Seems a fairly simple process. So what do you think?



This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

I do this. I started at the end of GCSEs have made a couple of grand over the years.
However you do get ripped off, people sell you stolen phones for example and at the beginning a few mistakes cost me a fortune, you've got to be able to buy cheap and this is harder then it sounds.

[. . .]

(Original post by Mr Bee)
Yes well, a Blackberry Curve 8520 Damaged, with stated problems of a trackpad that is broken, is £15 tops.
The trackpad is £15 tops too. The kit needed is around £10 as a one off payment. So that's £30 for the phone and £10 for the tools.

Fixed up, they sell for £60-£80.

That's a minimum of £20 profit including the tools cost


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

Ebay fees. Paypal fees. Hassle of packaging and sending it off. Looking out for scammers.

[rifle.eyes]

You might be better off just providing a repair service. That way you don't have to actually buy the phone and worry about selling it on. Plus your profit margin will be higher for just fixing a phone than buying one and fixing it up. And you don't have to worry about other problems that the seller hasn't told you about.

Try fixing a friends before you dive in, might not be as easy as you think! Otherwise everyone would just do it!

[Ryan_94]

It seems like so much time and effort. Also you'll have to put a lot of money up front to make a return on it.

One last thing: what if you can't fix it after all, or mess it up even worse?

[Mr Bee]

That's that main problem I think. For me personally, it is the cost of buying the gear to start it up that frightens me. Then, if it all goes tits up, it's more or less blown.

Then again, on the other hand I think it possibly could work if I played my cards perfectly.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

[Mr Bee]

(Original post by . . .)
I do this. I started at the end of GCSEs have made a couple of grand over the years.
However you do get ripped off, people sell you stolen phones for example and at the beginning a few mistakes cost me a fortune, you've got to be able to buy cheap and this is harder then it sounds.

How much did you start with?
How much was your fortune lost?

Ben


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

[. . .]

(Original post by Mr Bee)
How much did you start with?
How much was your fortune lost?

Ben


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad

£700/£800

I was buying repairing and selling top end smartphones.

I cocked a few iphones up and a couple of HTC phones. Can't remember exactly how much it was but it caused a **** stir. Then again you have to start somewhere right.