Putting my money where my mouth is, for a good cause.

[Factorycol]

I'm just putting this down in writing, so I can keep track of things.

This seemed as good a place as any to document this, as some of you might find it interesting at least.

My Dad very sadly died from Alzheimers / Dememtia at the start of this year, and its not been an easy couple of years watching his decline. Its a horrible disease, as I'm sure many of you know only too well. He was a keen cyclist and the last few rides I took him on will be something I treasure for the rest of my days.

Long story, short. My mum cashed out my Dad's Premium bonds and because she couldn't just buy anyone in the family new bonds, we all got given a bit of £. The idea was that we'd buy some more Permium Bonds and get the benefits to enjoy in my Dad's memory.

This seemed like a good plan, but after a long drive yesterday and a bit of research into the potential rewards Premium Bonds offer, I've got a better one and I'm sure my Dad will approve, because I'm convinced I can do better than any savings account on increasing its value over 9 months.

I'm going to attempt to use my contacts and bike knowledge to buy and sell as much stuff as I can over the next 9 months, so see what I can turn this £1000.00 into.

I'll then donate anything over the £1000.00 to the charity, (I've opened up a Just Giving account so that I can have a year of projects doing things to raise money to help the charity thats helped my Mum cope with this.)

https://www.justgiving.com/fundrais...vPFa8ZSNj3i_rssJ3qRe7zP6GcsPWWVE9r2hEyGdOtV6g
and start again next year... or perhaps use the £1000 for something else that my Dad would approve of if it comes up. Who knows.

So now I'm on the look out for things I can spend this money on, flip, restore or sit on for a bit, to resell to see how much money I can get from £1000.00 over 9 months.

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what this might generate? I have no idea what sort of return this will get, but I want some targets because I think the stanard interest rate is too easy to beat!

Back in the early 2000s, I used to buy and sell retro bikes / parts to fund my racing, but I never kept a record of how it worked out, this will be the first time I've tracked it.

Wish me luck.

Col.

Pic below of my Dad with his new bike that I got him. To say it made me happy being able to hook him up with bikes after all the support he's been to me over my life is putting it mildly.

 

[Magpiegifts]

That's really touching Col. A truly lovely thing to do it's clear this has affected you in a positive way.

 

[greencat]

Interesting idea. I would take a look at old shovel and berm peak's flip bike challenges to see how they add value to bikes. My guess it will take plenty of time to find/add value to the bikes you want to flip. Since it's for charity, you might well find people will to pay a premium.

A friend of mine used to go to conventions, stag doors etc, get celebs to sign photos and then sell them for charity.

 

[d8mok]

Lovely gesture first of all.


In terms of what a £1000 starting point will generate that’s more down to the effort you are prepared to put than the amount you have to ‘invest’

Don’t underestimate the time it takes to buy , sell, package , strip, collect, clean, and list bike parts. Time browsing for things to buy will eat a chunk too.

Put the effort and time and that £1000 can easily have another zero on the end.

However if you plan to buy a bike and sit on it and not put much time I’d be buying a Pace/Klein and waiting. In this instance you might make a couple of hundred.

 

[Factorycol]

I am in a lucky position of working in the trade and also having access to lots of shops back rooms and contact from years working in this industry.

I hadn't thought about the prospect of putting on the listings for anything I sell that the money is for charity, that could add to the pot hopefully as you say.

I'm going to say I'm aiming to turn the £1000.00 into £2500.00

Once something is bought and sold, I'll post it here... my main challenge will be finding things that I'm happy to sell and don't want to keep for my collection lol.

 

[pw_pw_la]

Lovely idea, and happy to support it in any way I can.

Alziemers has ravaged a couple of generations of my family, and is a weight that sits heavily on my parents future as well as my own.

My wife lost her father this week, and we're right now dealing with the immediate aftermath. I took a bike apart and squeezed it into the trunk as we drove cross-country to Texas this weekend. The therapy a ride can provide is priceless, having something to hold onto that fills you with joy during dark times is to be cherished and encouraged. That you and your father had something like cycling to help you both through those times and bring you together is a wonderful thing.

I think being as transparent as possible in any dealings (buying and selling) would be of real benefit. It's a great idea; a beautiful gesture, and I'm certain countless people would feel even better about getting bikes and parts in your hands, or buying the finished results, when they know it's all going to such a worthy cause.

Anything you might need help with over in the US, please don't hesitate to reach out. It'd be my pleasure.

 

[Factorycol]

Lovely idea, and happy to support it in any way I can.

Alziemers has ravaged a couple of generations of my family, and is a weight that sits heavily on my parents future as well as my own.

My wife lost her father this week, and we're right now dealing with the immediate aftermath. I took a bike apart and squeezed it into the trunk as we drove cross-country to Texas this weekend. The therapy a ride can provide is priceless, having something to hold onto that fills you with joy during dark times is to be cherished and encouraged. That you and your father had something like cycling to help you both through those times and bring you together is a wonderful thing.

I think being as transparent as possible in any dealings (buying and selling) would be of real benefit. It's a great idea; a beautiful gesture, and I'm certain countless people would feel even better about getting bikes and parts in your hands, or buying the finished results, when they know it's all going to such a worthy cause.

Anything you might need help with over in the US, please don't hesitate to reach out. It'd be my pleasure.

Thanks so much for the kind words and offer of support.

I've just spend the first €700 / £535 of my budget on a bike from the US, hopefully it'll arrive ok, and we'll see how this project progresses.

 

[Tsundere]

Wholesome endeavour
I've been at this for more than a year with a very similar goal in mind, without the sad loss a loved one behind it, but otherwise the same in the sense of putting forward a modest stake with a view to building a small but ultimately profitable little enterprise. I'm at the stage now where I only reinvest funds generated by sales and my original stake is about halfway cleared, I have a nice little pile of stock that should take me well into profit once sorted and sold, and of course i have accrued most of the tools and other materials I need.

From my limited experience I would say half the battle is in the hunt, I set aside several hours a week for scouring the internet for potential bargains, I like to read a lot and educate myself, I also give a fair bit away, mainly to friends and family but occasionally on here, I've gifted 3 complete bikes over the past year which gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction, but also prevents me from allowing everything to become solely about profit (although if I can buy a bike, harvest some parts to sell on, rebuild it with less valuable but perfectly functional bits to give it away and still not lose money, then what better profit is there?) but there is so much more to it than that, not least riding the bikes myself which was the primary reason behind why I chose to do this, and the pleasure and satisfaction that comes from taking something that has been neglected and restoring it to its former glory.

The fact that you have decided to turn something so heart breaking into something positive is really wonderful, and if I could give you one tip it would be to never lose sight of the fun elements, never let it become a chore. I'm convinced that no matter what you do in life, if you truly enjoy it and approach it in a positive spirit, are prepared to work hard and invest time and energy, and are able to accept that you're going to make mistakes but treat them as valuable opportunities for improving your game, then success is all but guaranteed.

Good luck, I hope to be able to help you on your journey.

 

[Factorycol]

Thanks so much for the kind words and offer of support.

I've just spend the first €700 / £535 of my budget on a bike from the US, hopefully it'll arrive ok, and we'll see how this project progresses.

Gutted. First time I try to do something worthwhile and my pot for this project is now at -£535.00 in my haste to get a good deal to start the ball rolling I got scammed. They are good at it, with loads of photos and history of a host of bikes. I never got the Cannondale I paid for. Please read this and if you see any bikes for sale that are asking for bank transfer only, trust your red flags.

https://www.flidistribution.co.uk/blog/scammers-targeting-retro-bike-community

 

[MuchAlohaNui]

Since this old thread was bumped…

Bonds are slow performers (if they do at all) and a relic of the boomer generation. Putting your cash into one market is risky as well. If you went part bike stuff (quality stuff), part ETF like a Bull or 3x-Bull and the rest in Blue Chips you would be up, way ahead of inflation and had padded your scam loss. Some companies also pay dividends. Look at Microsoft YTD for example. Look at a set of Syncros cranks that sold a year ago and what they sell for now. Just in one year…and I know this is neither here nor there but, better late than never. High end sports equipment whether it’s your old 1st gen Burton Craig Kelly/Mystery Air to your mk 1 Klein Attitude to your Googles, Microsofts and Amazons have beaten inflation in spades so hard they are profitable.

I don’t mean any maliciousness or condescending view point. Maybe you know all this. Maybe someone finds it useful. Best of luck to you and your bike flipping business!