So basically, I am a retail arbitrage type of dude looking for my next prey LOL.
I have been given my walking papers from a company I have been targeting for a few years, and I'm looking at where to zone in on next. I have a few ideas but I thought I might attempt to recruit the wisdom of OzBargain at large and basically crowdsource the optimal new host.
I am mostly interested in Bunnings, Repco , Big W and QBD books. But am very open to other suggestions.
Big W cancels all my online orders (we have a past), so this makes it tricky to go commercial scale with them (though far from impossible). Repco really wants me on deck but I don't love their clearance lines and I kind of want to diversify out of just automotive stuff if for nothing other than keeping my shopping exciting (I do it for the adrenalin rush of finding bargains too LOL). Bunnings has no idea who I am or anything. I have only done very small stuff there.
How I operate is on the ground basically. First, I will study the clearance lines of the retailer. Then I will go around store to store and scope out what is happening on the ground. I will learn all the little intricacies of the company at a micro level whilst partaking in some small scale acquisitions as to justify my time in going around and such.
Over time I become a familiar face at the stores and they learn about why I am actually there. Then deals come to me, information comes to me about what is coming up for clearance etc.
So stores with alot of non online deals would be good prey for me. Stores with alot of inconsistency happening from store to store (this is actually one of the reasons why I chose Bunnings). And big stores where I can fly under the radar are preferred (because once Head Office finds out they generally send me a legal letter to stop targeting their outlets).
Yes, I do realize that this is mostly a place for individuals to get a bargain and not for commercial type buying. But I am going to be commercial buying regardless of OzBargain (and was doing so long before I ever joined here). Also, I am a person that is happy to share my treasures here. Over the past few years I have let millions of dollars in bargains pass me by quietly, because I wasn't on OzBargain. I either didn't have enough money to buy them all, didn't have enough space to keep them all, or just realized that I already have way too much stock that I haven't had time to list on eBay yet so the last thing I should be doing is buying even more.
For years I have looked on OzBargain and kind of laughed that none of the actual bargains and serious deals are ever posted here. Seriously, they are not. Most of the REALLY good bargains are gone instantly to people that target the stores and have insider knowledge about what is happening (friendships with managers and stuff). So shall the forum help me in my new quests, I shall help the forum by posting my treasures here as I see fit.
To be quite honest I am looking for the retailers that are most ripe for my strategy and ones where I can acquire massive amounts of stock very inexpensively using my methods.
Suggestions of which retailers, what you have noticed about how they operate, and why you think they would be a great target?
@brendanm: I will upload my PayPal receipts.
How do I upload and how much are you betting?