Selling from the USA

xbrit · Post by **xbrit** » Fri Apr 19, 13 11:16 pm

I’m just kicking ideas around. No work here in the States, just sitting on the West Coast.
What if….. I was able to buy Muscle cars over here in the States and ship them back to the UK.
Now I know it’s been done a million times, but if it was organized in a different way.
It’s only an idea and I would like some input. You guy’s in the UK know the market over there better than I do.
Am I losing it or is this feasible? I have a few examples to look at..
These are the prices I can buy at.
The advert or web site could read:-

Want a USA Muscle car. I will find one from the west coast of America.
You send me a requirement for any 60’s, 70’s, Mopar, Ford, Chevy, GM or Truck and I will find one from the west coast of America.
Tell me what you are looking for, i.e. Rust Free, Light Restoration, concord condition, etc. and I will find a suitable vehicle send you pictures and a report.
All the vehicles I source will be drivable but in need of various stages of restoration.
If you agree in a simple contract drawn up in the UK and pay a none refundable deposit,
I will then ship the car to the UK pay the duty and deliver it to the UK within 100 miles of London Docks.
If you don’t want the vehicle you lose your deposit and I will trade it on…

RobTwin · Post by **RobTwin** » Sat Apr 20, 13 3:14 am

Unless you're actually considering importing clams or bivalve moluscs, I'd suggest you get the spelling of 'muscle' correct before you go to print on this one

Apart from that, good luck with your venture...

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sat Apr 20, 13 8:48 am

Always worth a go.
I think you will be busy, but I am not convinced you will make Dollar one profit...that is the challenge........you would be better off shipping them to the continent than the UK. No money here.......

db · Post by db » Sat Apr 20, 13 9:21 am

When I was considering an import, I'd look at cars (always slightly over my intended price

) and try to work it all out but the costs are so bloody complex and vague!!

In the end, that was one of the things that put me off, just not knowing whether the final cost would break the bank or not!!
If you can work that out when you locate a car for someone I think it would help.
Good luck!

Dave81 · Post by **Dave81** » Sat Apr 20, 13 8:43 pm

My honest opinion (in Red):

xbrit wrote:I’m just kicking ideas around. No work here in the States, just sitting on the West Coast.
What if….. I was able to buy Muscle (sorry couldnt help it ) cars over here in the States and ship them back to the UK.
Now I know it’s been done a million times, but if it was organized in a different way.
Your first issue is that it has been done a million times every way you can think!

It’s only an idea and I would like some input. You guy’s in the UK know the market over there better than I do.
Its best described as stagnant. You either have to have a cheap car or ultimately a car that has high appeal (Charger, Mustang etc)! Even then it can take quite a while to shift. Not so bad if its your P&J and not essential, but a pain in the ass if its your business and finance for more stock!

Am I losing it or is this feasible?
It is feasible, as most things are...........but i would suggest you need a decent financial cushion to start with. If you have that then you will need to look at your competition. You have the independant sourcing specialists (as you are proposing), then you have the import specialists like hill shipping etc who will do it all! So you will be fighting for orders and again sales in the UK, so you may have to be prepared for slow turnover! You will then have to pursuade people to give you money upfront to source a car. Easier said than done, if you havent got the history of an established outfit.

In short very tricky and to me high risk vs reward. Budgie on here used to import all kinds of muscle as you are suggesting (but UK based)...............he's turned away from it as his main stock i believe, that should give you an idea of how slow and hard the market currently is in the UK as to making a living from it!

I have a few examples to look at..
These are the prices I can buy at.

The advert or web site could read:-

Want a USA Muscle car. I will find one from the west coast of America.
You send me a requirement for any 60’s, 70’s, Mopar, Ford, Chevy, GM or Truck and I will find one from the west coast of America.
Tell me what you are looking for, i.e. Rust Free, Light Restoration, concord condition, etc. and I will find a suitable vehicle send you pictures and a report.
All the vehicles I source will be drivable but in need of various stages of restoration.
Take lots of photo's and get the buyer to understand what they are buying..........no sugar coating.........as this could be the biggest issue in regards your version of light resto and mine.......cue possible legal issues!

If you agree in a simple contract drawn up in the UK and pay a none refundable deposit (as above.........where would you put your money...... established outfit or one man band.......one of the biggest hurdles imo),
I will then ship the car to the UK pay the duty and deliver it to the UK within 100 miles of London Docks.

If you don’t want the vehicle you lose your deposit and I will trade it on............can you afford the slow turnaround and the possibility of having a lot of hard to move assets and no cashflow

Sorry..................Not trying to sound negative but unless you have a good understanding, (apologies i don't know you from adam so not easy to asses), of the UK/Euro market i believe this is a minefield!

Tis your money and your choice, and if you have a pot of cash that you can comfortably write off then go for it!:thumbright:

Personally i would try 2 cars (1 container) to begin with. I would just buy cheap cars (as posted by you) import, pay the UK taxes and get it road legal (you have not mentioned SVA testing). Then bung it on the bay uk and see how you go..........!

xbrit · Post by **xbrit** » Sat Apr 20, 13 8:56 pm

RobTwin wrote:Unless you're actually considering importing clams or bivalve moluscs, I'd suggest you get the spelling of 'muscle' correct before you go to print on this one

Apart from that, good luck with your venture...

opp's

charger01 · Post by **charger01** » Sat Apr 20, 13 9:01 pm

Pete is bang on the money with this one. Good luck with it but approach the market in Sweden / Germany. That's where the money is for good cars.

xbrit · Post by **xbrit** » Sun Apr 21, 13 2:52 am

Thanks Pete for your input, this is just the kind on advice I need. I have got time, but of course only limited funds.
I didn't realize that disposable income in the UK was that tight.
I could of course find cars over here and arrange shipping with a broker fee.
Back to the drawing board.
Cheers,
Mike

terryr · Post by **terryr** » Sun Apr 21, 13 6:55 am

the only imports i see shifting nowadays seems to be ratty looking 50s 60s pickups ,but i feel the market has now got an abundance of them ,,must have been great for a while as im sure they were paying hundreds for them and selling over here for thousands

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sun Apr 21, 13 9:18 am

No worries, Mike.
Did not want to p15s on your chips, but you do need to be realistic in this financial climate.

I did a test with high end cars as I found there was a lot of competition in the "fix-her-uppers" area of the market; but there was no appetite and importantly no profit in terms of risk versus reward in the UK.

Hobby, yes; viable business model - not so sure...

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Sun Apr 21, 13 9:28 am

No more Corvettes though please I counted 24 on ebay alone.

V8 Sam · Post by **V8 Sam** » Sun Apr 21, 13 11:52 am

What about rest of Europe?

xbrit · Post by **xbrit** » Sun Apr 21, 13 8:54 pm

Don't know how I would get into the European market, you thinking Sweden, Germany?
When I was working for Airbus in the South of France I had a Trans Am, that got a lot of interest, but selling it in France was a minefield of bureaucracy. I assume Sweden & Germany are no easier? Then you have the language problem. I realize nothing is easy or everyone would be doing it, but it worth checking out.
Cheers,
Mike

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Mon Apr 22, 13 9:06 am

There is a UK Company that advertises on ebay UK, cant remember their name. But they have quite desirable cars at what looked like reasonable prices, they advertised the car for sale over here but stated the car was in the US and price would include shipping and all the relevent fees and mot. But only when it was sold would the car be brought over. I think they are In or near Ipswich?

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Apr 22, 13 9:18 am

The killer in all these sort of deals is cash flow........

Mopar Muscle Association UK

Selling from the USA

Selling from the USA

Re: Selling from the USA