The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: aess35 on September 28, 2013, 12:06:26 pm
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:-\ :idea: :-\ Having just made a 16 mile round trip to pick up a bag of chick crumbs..cos I'm unorganised and didn't stock up.,.I'm wondering if there's an opportunity to open a basic farm shop in the area that I live in in Central Scotland. One that's open all day Saturday and doesn't sell designer jackets and boots but you can run into with your wellies on when you're in a rush and grab decent priced animal stuff. I know it's not a case of just doing it but I think there is possibly a need for it..does anyone else think that there is a lack of this type of place or is it just me.
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yes, i very nearly did it here. east coast viners / marriages are both good feed stockists willing to deliver. give them a ring.
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I have a shop down the road at the Trade Centre in Alloa they provide basic stuff like dog food and chicken food and will get stuff in for me if needed, BUT I go to pets needs and feeds in Tillicoulty most of the time, lovely man owns that shop and gives a bit of discount to us ! they deliver all over Scotland but like you, I mis judge just how much food I have left and often have to pop out on a Sat to get some, the one at the trade centre closes early but Pets Needs and Feeds is still open..may have to pop there myself as they have my puppy food!!
I went all over to find some special de urine smeller stuff and found a shop near Falkirk but yes, they are around but hard to find!!
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90 mile round trip for me so anyone is welcome to start up here ;D
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Maybe instead of starting a Business as such one of you could say buy in bulk at Bulk discount prices and sell at retail that way one person makes a bit and the others don't have so far to travel, that way you only stock what you'll use anyway.
I stock 6 months worth of pellets, crumb, Barley and we only supply 2 other people, I make £1.10 on a bag of pellets, I'll never get rich from that then.
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:-\ I don't know but I live 15miles to the west of Stirling and there are no local places that you can just get basic stuff locally and that're open all Saturday or Sunday(renee I know that must sound ridiculous to you!!) ..there was a place up north when I lived near Inverness that had one type of everything and was the ultimate emergency shop so it was actually the best shop as if she didn't have it she'd get it if she knew you'd keep going back. That's the best shop to have I think, one that works with you so you both in turn help each other. I looked on-line today at some industrial units to let locally and I won't be jumping in too quick as the price is frightening, if you had a farm next to a main road with a shed it'd really work. :thinking:
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[quote if you had a farm next to a main road with a shed it'd really work. (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/Smileys/default/thinking.gif)] It would, I take steve to work in N Lanarkshire tomorrow and pass a sign for farm supplies, I rang them up as I want some stuff for cleaning my dog wee wee yard...I was on the phone for ages......I have found a lot of farm supplies but they all tend to be the trendy expensive gear shops rather than the practical stuff. I know when I first had chickens and needed some grit etc, we were going to share the larger bags, that never happened but its a good idea! There must be lots of small time hen keepers that need smaller quantities as some people have normal houses, no sheds and little storage......that's another thing I am after, storage for our dog food, I bought a lovely screw top hard plastic bin for less than £10, it was used in the brewery fo some thing and its great..not seen any more since!! My supplier delivers all over Scotland..Pet Needs & Feeds 01259 752002 1 Stirling Street, Tillicoultry, FK13 6EA
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my local shop is Boquhan Estates, which is a lovely shop with lovely staff but I don't want to be reminded of the fact that I have a lesser lifestyle than the farming elite..I have a lifestyle that I'm very happy with day to day but when I see jackets and boots for sale for hundreds of pounds it makes me feel that I have to go home and look in the mirror to see if I'm living in my own little comfortable bubble too much in my leggings..then when I get home I think NAH f**k em all I'm happy and live my life for me and keep up with no one!! hee hee :roflanim: :roflanim:
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We have a great supplier who delivers for free, for horses, livestock and pets. (Deeside animal feeds). They will get in any special requirements. There are the big boys eg Norvite but they either don't deliver or charge a lot to do so. You can order and pay online by Tuesday and it's delivered Thursday each week. Brilliant :thumbsup:
Also as a community thing DAF have set up second hand tack selling service, advertising the stuff online etc. Only 10% commission so on a £3 set of used reins they only make 30p! Def a community service rather than profit centre. Because of that I have been going over and uploading all of the tack and photos of each item for them as there were hundreds and no time for the lady to do it as she also runs a boarding kennels. Nearly finished now!
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If you do look into this further I'd be interested in finding a wholesale coop supplier and medicine supplier.
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We have Central Saddlery just up the road from us (living just outside Falkirk) and despite the name, they don't just do horse stuff. They sell all feedstuffs pretty much, can get stuff in if you ask, sell wheelbarrows and muck forks, electric fencing and they are open from 9am til 7pm every day of the week, which is just brilliant. I often don't finish work til after 6, and yet I can still pop in on my way home and get whatever I need to feed the animals that night.
Sounds like you need something like that....
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I think you need to think through very carefully about having a shop, especially one which is open for long hours.
Who would man it? If it was you, who would do your smallholding work? If you employed someone else, you would of course have to pay them. If it was a co-op then each person would have to spend less time there doing their share of the manning, but would it be economical and would you be left holding the baby when the others had given up on the idea? How much of your capital would you need to invest in order to have a decent choice for customers right from the start?
Realistically, how much profit would you make? How much trade would you get? Would people come to you just for a few odds and ends, like a corner shop, but do their main purchasing in a big store further away, or by mail order? How many smallholders live within a distance which would make your store sufficiently local and convenient to woo them away from the larger places?
A shop such as you are suggesting opened in our local town and at first it did a fair trade, but then they appear to have found it uneconomical as people never bought much in each visit, just things they'd run out of. The price you charge would have to be relatively high as you can't benefit from bulk buying (storage and sell-by dates) so your overall turnover is likely to be low, and wastage or 'sale prices' frequent.
My feeling is that it might be better to encourage someone who has a shop already, such as your local pet or hardware store, to stock smallholding supplies as well. They will always be looking to increase their customer numbers. That way you can benefit from the advantages but don't have to commit your capital and time to an enterprise which is never going to make you rich.
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It was central saddlery I was talking about, I was taking Steve to work in Bathgate area and passed it..not been in yet but it sounds and appears good.
I guess you need the fancy stuff to make the £....and lots of stock....
My feeling is that it might be better to encourage someone who has a shop already, such as your local pet or hardware store, to stock smallholding supplies as well. They will always be looking to increase their customer numbers. That way you can benefit from the advantages but don't have to commit your capital and time to an enterprise which is never going to make you rich
I agree, lots of shops struggle, they have to have high profit items or sell food to entice people in, its great if you also have loads of family living around to help out or semi retired people living near, a business we looked at was closing as they lived that tiny bit out of the bus route so could not get part time workers.
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The reason that most shops and/or suppliers sell expensive wellies and other accessories is that there is only a very small margin to be made from selling feed. The margins on animal health stuff are equally small. They need to boost profits by selling accessories just to keep going. Feed is bulky and heavy and a lot of work. Accesories just sit on a shelf.
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Around here there is an animal feed store around every corner,
i think about four within seven mile.
Where you can pop in with your landy.
Everything from gas, coal, horse feed, the lot.
Would shop around to get the best price.
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:wave:
Another option would be to see if you could set up a buying group. Find out if there are other people in your area who want feed and what they want, then try to buy it in bulk and get it delivered to one place. May be cheaper if you can order enough at a time.
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I went to most farm supply shops when I had me Tax return Aess35, I wanted at least a pair of posh boots so I ended up in Boquhan Estates and felt a bit of a scruff in my TESCO parka and leggings but turned out to sort of know the lady who served me.......got my boots but kept the price a few £ cheaper from my husband....that was my biggest purchase but the shop is lovely....( not much to fit me though)... :innocent:
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I nearly got caught out the other day.... so ended up going to Pet city :o £13 for a bag of layers ...
so i went home...just enough for the evening sprinkle..then went to our little pet shop down the road..£9,95 for a bag of smallholders layers ..and better service
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I noticed little tiny pink bags of chicken food in Pets at home...not sure how much but certainly playing to a certain market..
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Another thing regarding feed prices, speaking as someone who used to work in a feed supplier's. When the bosses of these places think "smallholder", they think plenty of money, hobbyist, costs not important, so they whack the prices up at every opportunity. They treat "farmers" very differently to "smallholders". You can see why as a lot of smallholders don't have much of a business head and will happily pay over the odds.
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Hiya,
Well I feel your pain too. The truth is, there are plenty of places about in Central Scotland. In no particular order:
- Boquhan Estates, Kippen
- Stirling Mart Shop, Stirling
- New Kildean Mart Shop, Stirling
- McKaskies, Springkerse Stirling
- Central Saddlery, Avonbridge
- Russell's, Larbert
The trouble we have with all of these is 1) the prices seem very high compared with what others on here are paying (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=20808) 2) I typically work from 8:30 till 4:30, which is not too arduous, but if the shop is 1/2 hour drive away, even if they open 8 till 5, that's still not much use. 3) Now I think about it, I've had "service with a spit" at most of these locations over the past wee while. The classic was last month when I wanted growers pellets - "I'm sorry, we haven't got any in stock". "But I just walked past a pile of them - they're right there!". "Ah, but the computer says there's none in stock, so I can't sell them. I'll have to order some in for you" :o .
So, if you can open a better store, and hopefully at a better price, I'll beat a path to your door. Truthfully though, I doubt you could make enough profit after expenses to make it worth your while. The other alternative, as Raine says would be to open a feed co-op. You could buy in some things like wheat in bulk to bag off, and other things like pig nuts by the pallet. If everybody placed their individual orders with the co-op once per month, these could then be pooled to get the best price available, then orders could be collected or delivered, or whatever. You would make your money by charging an admin fee or a premium over the bulk buy price, and also delivery charges for those who wanted that. Now that's an idea that could start off slowly and grow as more people joined.
Worth a thought at least?
Womble.
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- Central Saddlery, Avonbridge
The trouble we have with all of these is 1) the prices seem very high compared with what others on here are paying (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=20808) 2) I typically work from 8:30 till 4:30, which is not too arduous, but if the shop is 1/2 hour drive away, even if they open 8 till 5, that's still not much use. 3) Now I think about it, I've had "service with a spit" at most of these locations over the past wee while. The classic was last month when I wanted growers pellets - "I'm sorry, we haven't got any in stock". "But I just walked past a pile of them - they're right there!". "Ah, but the computer says there's none in stock, so I can't sell them. I'll have to order some in for you" :o .
Womble.
Central Saddlery are open 9am until 7pm everyday- yes that includes Sundays. I agree the rest on your list don't have great opening hours. Central Saddlery isn't especially cheap, but they've got to make a living too. As long as you know what you want/need, and pay attention to their prices, then the prices aren't that much higher. Avoid having stuff delivered from there, because they do seem to charge a lot for that.
Beth
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My friend works for a large retail agricultural suppliers which has grown hugely in the 10 years she has worked their. She says the managers have no real understanding of the customers needs, basically the sell what they get the biggest mark up on .
Over the summer I had pigs for the first time and had no real idea how much I would need, if it was ponies I would have had a better idea. I managed to find a good deal locally £7.20/20kg for a bag of sow nuts but next time I would look at bulk. I have plenty of space for storage and its not that difficult to get bulk deals, the internet is a wonderful thing and its surprising the smaller companies that you can find that have not spent most of their budget on advertising. I would also look at farmers who do their own mixing, some have branched out as they get a better price for their raw material selling direct from the farm. As to running a business the mark up on animal feed is small but if it was a cooperative with the profit or surplus being split at the end of the season or ordering period with the person doing the storage and handling getting a large cut, a bit like village shops where the villagers fund/run the shop. Its sad that some of the large store probably started out as farmers cooperatives but have gone over to the dark side.
I know some of you live in remote areas but I would check out some of the online suppliers, or horse feed places that supply professional yards, sometimes they have accounts with suppliers that sell all pet animal foods which are in a central warehouse so its just a matter of putting something else on a lorry . I have used www.e-feed.co.uk (http://www.e-feed.co.uk), not cheap but I always check their special offers before I order and you can combine different products to make up the order, you have to evaluate what it costs to collect yourself in time and petrol.
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I sell 20kg bag of layers for £8
15Kg Dr Johns working dog £11
Barley by the sack £3
I am hoping to stock poultry medicines though struggling to buy wholesale as I only want small quantity.
My customers ring up before they come.
We be in Devon.
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Central Saddlery are open 9am until 7pm everyday- yes that includes Sundays. I agree the rest on your list don't have great opening hours.
Hi Beth, Actually they seem to be the exception, especially when it comes to opening hours. Unfortunately theyre also the least convenient for me to get to, so I've only actually been there once, though they were absoultely fine.
I've always just walked into these places and paid cash. Thinking about it now, does anybody know if there is there any advantage price-wise in opening an account?
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:-\ I love the idea of running a basic shop but the truth is I'd never actually do it as I don't have the dedication and passion needed to make it a success. I looked at the rent for industrial space being curious and to be big enough it would be app. £20k per year!!! :roflanim: I do think there's a genuine need for one though as the hours offered from most of the current shops isn't good enough. I did however find a poultry supplier that obviously no one knows about..Benview Garden Centre on the A81 from Aberfoyle to Glasgow..it's just past Gartmore. Only prob is you end up spending money on plants too!! :roflanim: