SURPLUS STOCK

What do you all think about a state by state or country by country section for members with surplus stock.

You must all have fittings or specialist pool parts ordered but never used and just not got round to sending them back to the supplier.

I am moving premises and the amount of stuff kept for those "JUST IN CASE" jobs is considerable.

From Bisazza mosaic, bull nose tiles, handrails, flanges, larger diameter pipe fittings in ABS or PVC and it all adds up to a lot of dead money.

We have been in our present premises for over fifteen years and with the impending move, I am sure I am not going to skip this excess, but neither do I want to waste time and effort on transporting them to another resting place for another fifteen years.

Anyone in the same boat?

Where do we go from here - any ideas?

Regards

John Green

Replies

Monique Nelson March 22, 2011 at 10:05am

Merry,

That is such a fun idea! I love your take on business - it is so refreshing!

Merry Wise said:

Hi, John! We are near Houston, Texas and have lots of pool service guys, pool cleaners and construction companies near us. We are in the midst of our giant moving sale and I have had quite a few service guys by buying our excess stuff. I am expecting one who is coming back today to buy lots of it.

My plan is that at the end of my sale, I am going to have a service guy Fun Run. I will invite all the guys back who have expressed and interest and put a sign up at the supplier's and let each guy give me twenty dollars and then grab everything they can load in their trucke in thirty minutes! I think it will be fun and clear the place pretty quick.

I know you don't have service people, John, but you might have things other people could use and might try a similar idea adapted to your area! Pool parts can sometimes be used for other purposes- for example, we had a lot of filter tanks, tops and bottoms, and people bought them for planters. The rounded tops can be sunk in the ground. One man bought thirteen of 'em from me!
Merry Wise March 22, 2011 at 5:43am

Hi, John! We are near Houston, Texas and have lots of pool service guys, pool cleaners and construction companies near us. We are in the midst of our giant moving sale and I have had quite a few service guys by buying our excess stuff. I am expecting one who is coming back today to buy lots of it.

My plan is that at the end of my sale, I am going to have a service guy Fun Run. I will invite all the guys back who have expressed and interest and put a sign up at the supplier's and let each guy give me twenty dollars and then grab everything they can load in their trucke in thirty minutes! I think it will be fun and clear the place pretty quick.

I know you don't have service people, John, but you might have things other people could use and might try a similar idea adapted to your area! Pool parts can sometimes be used for other purposes- for example, we had a lot of filter tanks, tops and bottoms, and people bought them for planters. The rounded tops can be sunk in the ground. One man bought thirteen of 'em from me!
John Green February 15, 2011 at 9:06am

SORRY - CORRECT BATA TO BARTER
John Green February 15, 2011 at 9:03am

Than you MeryWise, but in England, we pool installers are few and far between. We do not have the weather some counties enjoy and I would wait another 15 years for another contractor to pass my door, let alone call in.

I have approached one local supplier on the pipe fitting front and suggested we do a barter. I give him all my large fittings and valves - he credits me and I then call off goods as required. we have a good working relationship and this looks like it will work. Obviously he is not going to give me better prices than he can buy wholesale but at least no fittings will end up in a skip.

Regards

John G
Merry Wise February 15, 2011 at 7:55am

Sounds like a good idea to me, except for shipping issues. We are in the same "moving" boat right now- but have been in our present place for over 30 years!! What a mess!! We have "packrat" parts and stuff out the wazoo and I am about to have a huge garage sale as soon as the staff moves into the new digs and I can spread out and price and sell all the "stuff". One thing you might think about, John, is asking your local distributor to put a sign up for you for service men to come by and cash and carry your oddball parts and supplies. If you have a good relationship with a manager at one of the distributors, he might be willing to help you out.
Matt Cellura February 6, 2011 at 2:37pm

I think this is a great idea. I have tried to unload on ebay, but would rather see it go to those who I know would use it.
Bruce Wettstein February 6, 2011 at 10:20am

Is that where someone would start a thread for surplus stock? I saw job openings (maybe I didn't look far enough!) but nothing on surplus material, like the OP was looking for.

This seems like it could be a great place for those of us in the industry to post our surplus to those who could use it, so I am interested to follow this and see what becomes of it.
Bruce Wettstein February 6, 2011 at 9:57am

Could you put up a link for that, Luke? That might be helpful.
Chris Cavanaugh February 5, 2011 at 11:29am

Man Im with you on this. We have been here since 1987, my Grandfather ran it and lets just say if he ordered 1, he would bring in another 10 on stuff you would sell once or twice a year. I have threw alot of stuff away over the years cause of outdated stuff, and taken up space in my warehouse.