"Reconditioned" wood stove business

[kenny chaos]

I don't know if it's because of the drastic drop in oil prices and/or the lack of good firewood but I see a lot of unbelievably sweet deals on used, top of the line, EPA stoves.
I was thinking about picking some up for resale.
Any thoughts?

 

[crazy_dan]

One thing I would be careful of selling enough that NY says you are a dealer, and wants to get in your wallet.

 

[woodjack]

I think you can make a good business of selling second hand stoves. New stoves are expensive and you can sell good stoves for a fraction of the price and still have a good profit margin. However, I think one key to the business would be to provide delivery. That's a huge obstacle for most people. Another obstacle is installation. perhaps you can provide a referral for that and get a piece of the action.

 

[begreen]

If you have the cash to buy inventory, a good eye to pick out worthy investments, the skill to bring the stove to good operating condition, the storage space and the patience to buy low in late winter and spring and sell higher in early fall and winter, then you might have a nice side-business there.

 

[Dix]

I would think you would need some serious liability insurance, to protect your self.

Not throwing ice water on your plan, just mentioning it.

I'm sure you could hook up with an installer, wood guys, etc. Maybe form a mutual admiration society

 

[jbroich]

...And to make yourself even more appealing, offer a firewood "subscription service" of some sort. What do I mean exactly? I'm not sure: but create a system whereby the buyer pays a fee in exchange for which they have a reliable flow of _truly_ seasoned firewood of a certified volume.

 

[paulslush]

I would not sell too many without insurance either. If there is a fire attorneys will be looking to sue whom ever they can. I do some installs and carry a 1Mil policy but I am still not to cozy with that. I have done installs on houses worth close to that, never mind if some one was to get hurt or die. If you want a wake up call do some research on The Station Nightclub fire and the parties that were sued right down to the bus company that transported the band. I know it is on a huge scale but it makes you stop and think.

 

[iceman]

I would not sell too many without insurance either. If there is a fire attorneys will be looking to sue whom ever they can. I do some installs and carry a 1Mil policy but I am still not to cozy with that. I have done installs on houses worth close to that, never mind if some one was to get hurt or die. If you want a wake up call do some research on The Station Nightclub fire and the parties that were sued right down to the bus company that transported the band. I know it is on a huge scale but it makes you stop and think.

hey buddy how are you feeling
good to see you back!!

 

[begreen]

Would it be possible to draw up a simple release form where the buyer acknowledges that this is a used stove, bought "as is" that protects the seller? I would think that the deeper pockets would be the buyer's insurance company in this case.

 

[woodjack]

On the basis of these replies, the collective expertise on this website, the passion for burning, and the pooling of assets I think we have the makings of a national, second hand wood stove company. If we do this right we'll go public in three years, just about when the stock market starts of take off again.

 

[crazy_dan]

Release of liability waivers don't really work. Even if they were to sign one they could still sue you on grounds that you sold it knowing that it was an unsafe unit.
That being said and my previous post were cautioning about being a private person trying to make a few $$

If you are actually wanting to make it a business then yes I think there is money to be made.