Source of supply

Personal Property

Overview: Sourcing Items >  Re-distribution > Outlets

Sourcing has been the biggest hang up in the second hand/antique/auction markets since the early stages of the market. Depending on where the sourcing takes place "pickers" will be found. A small core group of people looking for items to re-sell for a profit. All hoping for the big hit. Also antique dealers, thrift shop owners, collectors, interior designers,  and others will be found sourcing items. Some will be found sourcing items at multiple sources.  The same people will be seen at flea markets, garage sales, and auctions. Although it may seem like a small core group, keep in mind their is a core group in EVERY town, and city in the USA, and growing over seas too.

  The people in the core group are made up of a wide ranging array of backgrounds, and knowledge base. It is recommended to stay at arms length from the core. Friendly, but remember this core is the competition. Depending on the source type, and the items being offered will determine the core sourcing at that time. For example; a large antique sale, or auction will bring out more antique mall dealers, and antique shop owners,  as well as collectors. It is simply amazing just how big the core really is considering the wide range of secondary market goods. Depending on the type of goods being offered will determine the make up of that particular core group. Used furniture, antiques, used cars, used equipment, thrift, and so on...

  Until this model and structure was developed over a period of 15 years, the core was limited to geographical boundaries. Of course some go on buying trips, and others have pickers working directly for them, even in a good structure. For example; a dealer may have 5 pickers equipped with cell phones, and attend a large antique show, or other trade show to buy items. Some are starting to on a limited basis attempt the same sort of concept at auctions. The fact that the use of the cell phone has made communication a bit easier between the dealer, and the collector. The advent on the internet has again been used to a limited roll so far. eBay, and other online auction sites, and so on... The boundaries for sourcing are slowly expanding outward for the core through the development of such things as cell phones, and internet. In the secondary market the use of technology is in the primitive stages. 

  The market is made up of hundreds of sole proprietorships, and small partnerships. Today, even with the primitive technologies; the market shifted slightly. the printed price guides on a variety of topics are basically obsolete  before they hit the book shelf.  Before the internet the prices were based on local supply and demand, and overarching the local market was national price guides.  The antique market was operated as such since the 50's. Prior to that, even the price guides were very limited. Common sources include:
Garage sales, Estate sales, Moving sales, Flea Markets, Trade Shows, Antique Shops, Antique Malls, Specialty Shops, Thrift Stores, Auctions, Private Parties, and Advertisement responses.

The PPSO (personal property sourcing operations)  in the new business will consist of 3 parts: Field sourcing reps. > Centralized Authorization Center > Training Center

Field sourcing reps:

The PPO will develop a network of field reps. to enter the core target sourcing markets based on the level of training the reps choose to receive.  A base pay + bonuses will be paid on the efforts made by the reps in the field. Extensive detail on this operation will be outlaid in the proposal. the starting point will be the source market of storage locker auctions. The company (co) will give the rep training, and equipment necessary for them to attend storage locker auctions, and bid on lockers based on authorization given to them in real time in the field from the CAC (Central Authorization Center) The basic training for SLFR's (Storage Locker Field Reps) include interaction with the core attending the sales. The storage locker core includes a very limited group of auctioneers, second hand furniture, and shop owners. interaction with them over time is vital. As these people are competitors, a diplomatic approach needs to be used. The storage locker sourcing operations includes identifying eviction lockers, riffled lockers, set up lockers, and the locker owners themselves who try to stage lockers. Eviction lockers include crap wrapped, and boxed from evection. Even dirty dippers are wrapped and boxed, as the evection teams are paid for the wrap, and box of everything left from the evection. These lockers are to be avoided. Riffled lockers are lockers that the owners go to the locker in good standing, then take out all items of value, then stop paying rent on the locker. set up lockers, are lockers that are full of garbage set up with the owners knowledge, and Then the owners themselves try to set up lockers instead of paying the trash bill. 

  Proper sales are conducted on a regular basis at storage facilities, and the lockers are untouched by the owners/managers, locked, and tagged. The sale is advertised in the legal paper, or paper with county wide distribution.  Listing the name of the locker renter, a brief description of the sale, the time, and location. With regard to researching the owners of the locker renters, and contacting them to make current the rent, and buying the items prior to the sale, and so on... this will be detailed as one of the functions of the CAC later. For now the introduction will follow the line of field reps attending the sale itself.

  The core group attending the storage lockers are today limited to attending one sale at a time, and some have a few partners if their is two sales going on at the same time. Usually the locker facility will have several locations, and have sales throughout the day. Sometimes two facilities have sales in the same GEO AREA (geographic area) have sales on the same day, and sometimes at the same times. The reps will attend the locker auctions as a part of that geo area unit as a team member. Each geo area will have different teams set up. As time goes on, and the business grows, the geo areas will expand as well. Keep in mind their are locker sales throughout the USA, every day. This discussion is focusing on the START of the business, and it will start with 3 GEO areas. 3 areas is all that will be needed to start because most core locker sorcerers can only attend two at tops.

  The reps will be equipped with the popper imaging and communications to get bid authorization from the CAC when the door opens. When the locker is won, the rep will place the issued lock on the locker, and move on to the next locker. The payment for the won lockers are made from the co, and the reps who win the lockers do not touch the contents. The reps will then go to the next sale. The CAC (which is simply a part of the training center) will then dispatch the pack team to pick up the contents. As the source reps attend another locker location, the pack team is picking up the won items. All the won items are brought to the re-distribution center.

  The storage lockers are the best way to start the sourcing operations because the limited core group of competitors, and the volume of items available. The focus of course will be to win the lockers with potential antiques, collectibles, and other salable items, but the lockers will contain a large amount of thrift goods. Discussed in great detail later the  outlet for the thrift will be a critical part in the success of the system. The second hand thrift outlet will handle these items. Critical, because the core group attending the locker sales DO NOT HAVE such outlets, or it is very limited.  Most thrift obtained from the core group is actually donated today. What this business plan does is exploit all the gapping problems, and holes in the current sourcing models used today.

  The storage locker source is the start, and the system will develop similar units, and team members within ALL the sourcing areas over time. These are all discussed in detail in this business plan. Although the business plan will go into great detail, the ability to convert the thrift into cash will be a function of putting pressure on the other core sorcerers at the locker sales. What will happen is the authorizations will become higher than the ability for the competitors to out bid the co on lockers that have potential of antiques, and dump the HH lockers on them, thus forcing some to leave the core. HH is household goods. 

Centralized Authorization Center CAC:

The PPO will develop an extensive authorization center to give reps in real time authorizations to bid, or buy goods from a wide verity of sourcing  areas. The core competitors will have a hard time trying to compete with such a structure. The core attending the source is limited to personal knowledge, and bank roll at the time. Today a limited core group in cretin source locations are using communications with dealers, and collectors for single items of higher value.  For example at an antique auction a core sorcerer may be on the phone, and bid on behalf of a potential buyer on a painting, or any item of high value. The starting point for the business is the storage locker sales. The CAC will develop profiles, and information on the core competitors attending the sales.  where the competitors outlets are, what the competitors infrastructure is, and the extent of the crew structure is, and so on.. This information will be used to go to the competitors outlet and buy items at that location after they outbid the co at the locker sale. Of course the unit team members attending the competitors outlet location will be a separate PPO team than the storage locker team. For example, if the core competitor operates an auction house, and outbids the co at the locker sale (or any source sale) the auction source team member will be attending that auction house, and could bid on the same item. The competitor will have a loss if in fact the auction team member wins the bid on the item at the auction house.

The CAC is a part of the training center, and the hard copy inputs are to be a part of the library set up at the training center.

Training Center:

The training center is the most important aspect to the entire system. All reps in the entire system will attend continual training on a weekly basis. Reps how choose to work full time will have 4 hours per week of training, and reps who work part time will have 2 hours per week of training.  The training is required because their is not any other training institutions set up for the secondary market with respect to personal property, and very limited real estate, and real estate rental unit investment. No college coerces, or degrees being offered on the antique/auction, or second hand market. The business plan has a very extensive outline, and details on who the training center will work. Human resources, and staffing offices are located at the training center.

 The training center will work with an maintain the internet operations.

Re-distribution RDC:

  The RDC sorts out the items that come into the system into basic groups, Items are already tagged as to where to send it from the pack teams from the field. The packing crates, or in the case of larger items are tagged from the field with the information on what teams sourced the items. This information is used in the barcode price tag, so the team members get the bonuses on the profits when the items are sold. The inventory is tracked with barcode tags for number of reasons. Not just to make sure the members get proper bonuses, but in the case of antiques the bar code tag is used by the outlet unit rep at a trade show, for example; the sales rep can scan the barcode, and bring up any information on that item developed from the CAC. To bring up any history, authenticity files, and so on... The same system is for the antique malls, and shop outlets. More info. on this is outlined in the outlet section in the introduction, and explained in great detail in the business plan.  Although the RDC is just being touched on here in the introduction, the RDC is the nebulas of the system. This is the area that has stopped the secondary market for personal property from developing into larger businesses like other industries in the USA.

  Sections of the RDC will include: labs > rehab > ragout >  pricing center

Labs: Labs will focus on research with respect to barcode, and pricing systems, infrastructure, and other tasks to improve the flow of goods.

Rehab: This area will be refinishing furniture, fixing and repairing lighting, lamps, and other specialty tasks.
Ragout: The rag out area is a very important area, as the materials will be sorted and broke down to materials, the materials will be reprocessed into promotional goods for the entire co system. An extensive outline, and details are contained in the business plan.
Pricing Center: The pricing center will be pricing the items, and determining the proper outlet for the items. Unlike a factory where items are assembled, and created for distribution, the RDC is dismantling goods, and re-distributing goods.

Outlets: Depending on the proper assessment made at the RDC, the items will go to the proper outlets for re-sale. items will have a re-distribution life cycle placed upon them. Flowing through outlets until sold, or ragged out. This aspect is a very large, and detailed area outlined in the business plan. To start the PPO it will take 4 trucks, 4 vans, Re-distribution/warehouse center, training center/offices, Thrift Outlet Location, Antique Mall/Auction center. And members to run the operation.

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