Hi Andy. Awww you sound nice I like you. The animal route that you mentioned would be good! Plus far easier with a better profit. £100 a shed??? For all that work cripes. You would get people left and right centre taking advantage of you Andy it would be "ooooh while your here". Rabbit hutches you could do in your own design at home in your workshop plenty of markets you could sell them at. People pay a fortune for anything to do with dogs, cats, horses. Scratch posts for cats sell very well. Bird tables too garden planters, benches, lots you could do. Wishing you all the best with it. If you are starting from a safe financial position then at least you don't have the added pressure and stress. What have you got to lose? You will never know if you don't give it a go. Not sheds though unless they are super duper and you charge appropriately. I'm back to cleaning toilets, for both humans and animals I like wood too I have a little shed full of it all painted in pretty colours lol.
Chicken coops, ferret boxes, wooden tool chests & captain's beds were popular, years ago use to make a lot them where I worked.
It also depends where you live, you could probably charge 15 - 20 k for an "Outdoor room " in London if its bespoke and trendy enough and your website looks like an advert for perfume!
Oooh ooooh wait I've got a really good one Mounting blocks for horse riders they cost a bomb and really easy to advertise as lots and lots of horsey communities on Facebook. The world is your oyster Andy.
Lol, I like you too, you made me laugh at the thought of a shed full of wood al painted in pretty colours. Yes, the comments i've received i've taken well on board and think you have the right idea for me. Rabbit hutches, benches, maybe playhouses etc will do for a stress free sideline. Thank you Miss Pickle.
Never heard of mounting blocks, then again, I only went pony trekking once as a kid. Defo add to my list of achievable constructions. Thanks again.
Andy - sorry if i have missed this, but do you know there is a need for the items you propose to build? Have you spoken to any garden centres or hardware shops that would be prepared to have some sale or return? Or, are you planning on an online store/ selling through amazon/ebay? My worry (for you) is you spend a lot of time, effort and money when its all a bit uncertain. I was watching a dragons den a while ago and they described this as ugly baby syndrome. i.e no one will say a new born baby is ugly, just he looks like a tuff guy or something similar. in other words, friends who say yeah thats great - will they buy from you? As a test and assuming you have all the gear you need... you could make one of each item you propose to sell and open an ebay store which would give you an idea of the expectations. Or, even better see if there are people already doing it and see how much they are flogging. Dont think cheap is good/different. Remember places likes b&q, wickes etc can borrow, manufacture and sell cheap and still loose money on items, so dont go down that road!
Thanks Fathands, Yes, I see what you're saying as i've been guilty of giving off ugly baby syndrome a few times. I think Facebook is a good source for a customer base nowadays. At least with smaller items, I can keep a few stock in Garage. I've just looked on Ebay as it happens. I found one guy doing the same (coal bunkers, log stores, wooden horse jumps, timber garden storage benches, gates, kids' sand pits), quite a variety. They seem to be priced far more than a 5% profit which, correct me if i'm wrong, is the going profit margin on ebay. So I guess I could try through facebook or online Ebay if needed. Like you are saying, I guess I would soon find out if there is a customer base or not. Thanks again.
I laugh at that too ... I take it you haven't seen my beautifully crafted and restored select antiques Well, as the others have quite rightly pointed out quality deserves top money and there are only a few people wealthy enough to afford my work, so they will obviously take a while to sell Come to a boot sale near Okehampton soon no haggling please.
Ahem on a more serious note ... THIS is a brilliant post by CPM very impressive. And fathands too has made some really good points. Great info for anyone starting out but also delivered really well too. Where were you pair when I needed you? Eh? I did get great advice every step of the way though so only myself to blame I'm ever so nosey Andy and I'm always in trouble for getting personal, but can I get personal? Oh good. Is it just to stay busy? Do you have a real passion for wood? Are you escaping anything? How would you be with difficult customers? Are you looking for a man cave? Are you really OCD? What items in particular really really mean something to you? Why are you willing to sell yourself short and work for peanuts? You are clearly not after the money so what ARE you after? All valid important questions. We need to get to the crux of it in order to help Pete this man needs setting on the right path.
Also, call me cynical but this post ran all day yesterday and this morning without my input and Dev didn't get involved? Hmmmmm. I don't buy it. Something is not right Its right up Devs street, he would normally be like a rat up a drainpipe on a thread like this. He's a teacher, he teaches and enjoys every second. He loves newbies. He loves giving expert advice. So where was he? I know he was here
Well, I badly worded that reply. Like a good boot sale, might be poking around the area, depends how I'm feeling.
Its a date Reckon you could have rephrased that last one too though I would normally never entertain men who claimed to be "poking around the area" I will let it go though coz I think maybe I just make you nervous?