Hey OzBargain,
People like sim starter deals. New activations/ports aren't convenient. Wouldn't discount recharges bring convenience?
Prepaid Recharge Service (Suggestions)
Comments
Step 1 - have phones that need recharging.
Step 2 - ???
Step 3 - phones are recharged. Profit.
I'm simply asking for thoughts and suggestions, comments suggesting I'm not ready to start a businesses are negative and uncalled for. I'm not looking to be torn down, I want peoples thoughts on how to go about this in the best possible manner.
@Bargain Punter I think the point is you're not sure what question you're asking. If you're looking for idea validation, this is a decent place to ask if you're targeting the cheapest end of the market. But if you're looking for help on how to start your idea, whirlpool forums or small business forums like flyingsolo is probably a better place to go.
It's not that I'm looking for idea validation, more how to ensure that I can be trusted a not viewed as illegitimate, and the best way to go about doing that. I do appreciate your suggestions, so thanks for that.
Do you have a business plan? Finance? An ABN?
If the service cost me nothing and saves me from having to swap sims, great.
I'll only consider it if my information is secure and it doesn't end up costing me more time. Dealing with a third party certainly leaves me more vulnerable, ie credit card information stolen etc.
Unless you're going to be verified Optus (or whichever Telco) affiliate, I'm not a customer.
Credit Card information stolen? Why would I want your credit card details? Do you mean when you pay? I only want to accept Pay-ID and Bitcoin. As for information not being secure, what information does one need to recharge a mobile service? Its not like I'm asking for the keys to your house.
How do I know you won't leave me hanging after I pay you in Bitcoin?
Yeah, well that's a problem in itself. Someone takes a leap of faith validates the service isn't a scam or gets scammed and then everyone else knows if its good or bad. Its just the way things work I guess, unless there is another way to go about it.
@Bargain Punter: You may get a few people who'd be that trusting but not enough to cover close to your operational overheads.
I dont know you, you can't be traced, and you're taking my money first to do something I can do myself.
Back to the drawing board, mate.
@[Deactivated]: I could cover some of costs on my end I guess. I mean I can sell a few $30 recharges to a few testers (or a smaller amount) for $15 each, that way there is not much to lose if it is a scam. I'm taking money out of my own pocket to validate the service and if it goes through smoothly people know I can be trusted. I can do it few times, that way the money comes out of my end also. If I'm willing to do this, will this not prove I'm legitimate?
I genuinely want to see if I can make it work, I want to be trusted and I'm willing to be flexible to make it happen.
@Bargain Punter: Any business that only accepts Direct Credit, Bitcoin or Western Union immediately tags it as a scam.
@Baysew: As opposed to what payment methods? What can I do (without making myself bankrupt) to prove that the service is legitimate. it'd be a tad more helpful to give a suggestion instead of just a comment saying its a scam.
@Bargain Punter: You asked
I wanted to ask people if they had any suggestions and/or thoughts for me on beginning such a service.
If you don't accept Credit Cards / Pay Pal it positions your business with scam artists. At least there is some come back if I am not provided with service I pay for.
I expect a business to operate in a business like manner. Seriously, what sort of business accepts Bitcoin?
@Baysew: I thought some people might prefer to pay with Bitcoin. I mean it's 2019, cryptocurrency is used a lot these days. I don't have a problem with PayPal as a payment method. I'm only asking for suggestions. Ebay is probably the best way to go about a service like this.
@Bargain Punter: Not for small retail transactions. Acceptance by merchants
High price volatility and transaction fees make paying for small retail purchases with bitcoin impractical
surely this is against some sort of T&C's…
Didn't ausvouchers setup a service for Telstra Recharges on Ebay?
How are you making money from this business idea ?
They are not
I just don't known how to go about it
I'm thinking of starting a recharge service for phones. I just don't known how to go about it.
Then I don't think you can make this claim
Would people not be happier simply getting the same $120 deal directly for their current service instead of having to buy a new sim
But moving on
starting a recharge service for phones
The 'recharge' seller has ZERO control over the deals etc, they work on a % based cut of the value sold. So the ones who are offering 'discounts', are basically giving away their profit margin.
I use to work for a seller of these, our cut was in the 20-20% range of the value. So buy a $30 recharge and they got to keep $10.
Was it a profitable endeavour or a waste of time?
Was it a profitable endeavour or a waste of time?
At scale its profitable for sure. Very little overhead for us, requires little shelf space (marketing mostly), stock doesn't expire. Vouchers are issued via the 'checkout' POS system, so no extra terminals etc
But as I said, you the retailer selling the voucher have ZERO control over the offering.
Darn typo….. should be 20-30% range, not 20-20% range.
terrible idea
terriblealso just set up a new website
www.rechargeRus.com.au
please come an visit my new ventureThis website does not work. Is it real? Yeah you have to cut your profit margin to offer discounts, but if you don't do that then why would someone want to buy from you? It would suck to do unless you have s shiteload of customers, but you take the risk and you go ahead with it.
Member for less than an hour
Would you have me wait a couple of years, to become a long standing member of the community, before I started chalking out ideas I had? Yes I'm new i can't change that, and thank-you for pointing it out.
You want to start a for profit business based on comments from people seeking to save money
In today's world everyone is seeking to save money, it doesn't matter where I would have gone. Comments would have been no more or less the same.
I don't understand - what is a mobile recharge service?
Recharges for pre-paid phones at a marginal discount. JimmF made a comment about how the service works (look above), they best explained it.
How you looked into how feasible this is? I assume you can purchase the vouchers at a bigger than marginal discount to be able to resell them and make a profit?
That's the sad part. The profit margin is small without a large customer base, and that's why people rarely go about starting such a service (at a discount). I mean it would be impossible to give big discounts because then you'd be losing money yourself, and you don't have the control to do so anyways. Having only a few customers means the operating costs far outweighs any profit gained. But no one is offering even a marginal discount for recharges anywhere at the moment, so at least I'd be a bit better than anybody else.
@Bargain Punter: I think getting a large ongoing customer base will be your problem - most people probably prefer to just recharge directly with their carrier through the app or on their website instead of the process taking a little longer to save $2
This business model is very common in other SEA countries but not in Australia.
I'm talking like 3% discount. And, you get all these sorts of sellers in a single area / plaza with hundreds of booths selling phones and recharges.
I don't know why it's not common here. Maybe because of starter kit deals and everyone here is sim slut.
A few thoughts off the top of my head:
Focus on the savings angle, not the convenience angle. Your target market are people who're willing to switch SIMs and numbers for a few dollars in saving per month. They are not ones who care about convenience. And people generally associate greater convenience with greater cost - so if you focus on convenience, they're likely to assume they have to pay for it.
Work out your margins and your required volume, and make sure they're attainable. For example, if you need volumes of 1000's of recharges for sufficient margins to give a 5% or 10% discount, I'd reconsider this line of business entirely. You'd have to contact the telcos for this information, and I think that might even be harder than getting customers.
"I'm thinking of starting a recharge service for phones. I just don't known how to go about it"
i don't think you're ready to start your own business