Small business - is it worth it?

_sketch_ · Scooby Slapper Joined: 23 Apr 2009 Karma :

Howdy.

To cut a long storey short i have started trading on eBay to make a little extra money 2 months ago.
I stated out buying a faulty iPod for £30 fixing it and selling for £100 then spent 100 on a few bits and sold them for 200 ect ect....

So if it all goes tits up i havent lost much money.

Im at the point now that items are selling most days and im making £500/600 a month (200/250 profit)
I have made some handy contacts and working on a deal at the moment to get a few bits imported from a seller i have been taking to.
i have an Ebay business account and i keep detailed records of everything i buy and sell.

So my question is -

What should i do next? what do i need to do next?

Do i need to register my business? or just keep selling out of my spare room?
Is much cost going to be involved? anyone done this sort of thing before?

Cheers
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A sucker for 2 strokes
Cagiva Supermoto project

Baldwelder · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 26 Aug 2009 Karma :

Hey Sketch
Nice glad to see someone making a few quid Very Happy

1st off you need to register with your local tax office as you`ll be liable for income tax and you must do this within 3 months of starting the business(£100 FINE), Good to see you`re keeping records but you also need to keep receipts for t`internet, phone, fuel(to go post office) council tax, you can claim allowances for wiping your a**e. probably best to phone up and speak to an accountant or ask on here you never know you may get some free advise
Good luck
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Hung like Einstein, Smart like a Donkey

hornetmike · World Chat Champion Joined: 06 May 2008 Karma :

they won't care if make less then 2k. I did a tax return the first year i went self employed part time and they told me not to bother the next year if i didn't make more money.
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_sketch_ · Scooby Slapper Joined: 23 Apr 2009 Karma :

Cheers guys,

So until i make 2k i dont need to bother? was thinking of going back to college part time to do a small business course as it all seems to confuse me somewhat.
Im stuck in a dead end IT job so im willing to put time, effort and if nessassary money to step up the ladder.
____________________
A sucker for 2 strokes
Cagiva Supermoto project

5v3d3b0 · World Chat Champion Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Karma :

Well done

Glad someone is doing well. I've always been interested in refurbishing iPods cause I can see there is a lot of money to be made, but I don't know how I'd learn...

Mushroom · Nearly there... Joined: 30 Apr 2009 Karma :

_sketch_ · Scooby Slapper Joined: 23 Apr 2009 Karma :

Mushroom · Nearly there... Joined: 30 Apr 2009 Karma :

check out the forums and find the process to check if suppliers are legit when you move on to bigger orders Very Happy

5v3d3b0 · World Chat Champion Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Karma :

How would one go about learning? In Spain there aren't that many people doing it I think... Especially not in the "yellow pages" sites

_sketch_ · Scooby Slapper Joined: 23 Apr 2009 Karma :

I fix laptops and PDA's for a living so im used to intricate work and familiar with all the components it also helps that im Apple accredited but the best help with ipods i found is youtube.

The worst thing about working on ipods is getting them open without causing damage, it take a few attempts, patents and the correct tools (about £1.50 from eBay) youtube has loads of videos how to open ipods, change screen, change board.
once the iPod is open its pretty easy to change everything.
If you haven’t don’t anything like that before i would buy something like a Sony PSP with a broken screen, really easy to open and fix and can make a few ££ if you get the parts cheap from China/Hong Kong.
Phones with broken screens are pretty easy to fix, look for HTC phones, when they are faulty they go dirt cheap and when they are working they bring alot of interest and sell for very good money.
____________________
A sucker for 2 strokes
Cagiva Supermoto project

5v3d3b0 · World Chat Champion Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Karma :

I had the old iPod Photo 20 gig which stopped working completely. I opened it up and inspected everything but couldn't find the problem. Basically no buttons were responding. So I know what to expect when opening one just not how to find the problem.
I guess a PSP would be something to try, and if I damage it I'll just keep it for myself Thumbs Up

I checked for "ipod spare parts" but they're crazy expensive. Like 30-40 dollars for a screen! The thing only costs about 80 when it's new on ebay!