We deal in this with mushrooms 7 days a week/365 days a year never closed. Even if you get a few to buy from you a distributor will come in and cut the price. If you think truck brokers cut prices try food brokers. You also have the "freebee's" that you give. You supply someone for free before they decide to buy,if they ever do.

 

Are you talking Vegas? You might want to give second thought to bypassing a Vegas food distributor. You might end up with a new pair of concrete boots.

Plus I can't honestly imagine a restaurant chain is going to buy produce from an unknown. The liability in that would be astronomical.

 

Rev, I think he's talking about the casinos along the gulf coast. Biloxi, Mobile, etc. The Rev has a point that if there is lots of money there is also some muscle.

The other thing is are the buyers paying COD or do you have to bill them. It's hard to repo food if they don't pay.


If you have a step deck I see homeowners advertising that they need things like trees, rocks etc. that are too big for a van hauled from their yard. You'll compete against landscapers, but pulling up in a step deck would certainly show them you mean business.

 

I know a couple of people who do mix produce in straight trucks and sell out of the truck. They still have to have local/state license and meet the health codes.

 

It can be done, but it takes a lot of work to find and keep customers. You're going to have to go off the beaten path and get creative when it comes to securing customers. You're not going to cherry pick the "low hanging fruit" from established distributors.

 

I am always rsearcjing on things to do.Who are these homeowners you speak of?Are these the same low ballers who advertise on uShip - The Online Shipping Marketplace - Ship Freight, Furniture, Vehicles or Moves these the one-homeowner who advertise to move their trees without having a boom or crane?If this idea seem too hard I will not even make those cold calls.I havn't made those calls yet, as I am hoping some of you guys have tried something like this.

I also have two more ideas that I may work on:

1.As I went to ADESA Auctions to check out their auctions, I saw many dealers buying trucks.I then gave a couple my business cards and told them I could haul a couple of cars to their dealerships.The first question was, how many can you haul on your trailer?As I told him 3 full size cars and 1 small one, the look he displamyed didn't look promising.These tow truck drivers get $60-$70 a car to drive about 50 miles.If I have to haul 4 cars from an auction, the gross will be $60/car multiplied by 4 is $240.$240 to haul 4 cars for a 50 mile run is not worth it to me.All the work to load those cars on my ramps and chain them down will be too much work for the money.In the back I saw all these car haulers loading cars that was purchased at Adessa.The competition and the money being paid rulled that out.


2.My second adventure was with https://www.rbauction.com/member/red...mp_generalinfo.
I sent them my w-9,insurance and authority info.They did say they had a couple of guys they use at the auction.They have an auction coming up on 12-15 in Georgia.I think I will go out there and set up shop.I will give out business cards to some of these machinery dealers(sunbelt rentals,JLG and Case).Most of them sometimes need their excavators,bocats,loaders and skid steers hauled to their yard or place of business.I am thinking two excavators on my bottom deck and any misclenous stuff on the top deck.The challenge is getting a truckload going to the same area or enroute.Let's say, I have 2 excavators and bunch or buckets going (legal) 300 mile away.I don't think I can loose charging $1100 or work with him on a reasonable price that benefits .I plan on setting up shop the day of the auction and just solicit while they already have me in the system to haul for them.All these auctions have their own ramps and so I wouldn't even need to use mine.

I personally think this plan #2 will be much easier to do than #1 or the grocery stuff.


A month in getting my authority, a direct shipper(Sunbelt Rental) posted a load on ITS for a truck to haul different equipment they had bought at a Dallas auction.I booked the load without giving them my w-9.I got paid cash when I got there.The point is, there are many machinery dealers out there that buy stuff from auctions like www.rebelauctoauction,Ritchi Brothers and martin and martin auctions.They just need people like me.I will give this one a chance while working on some other one.

 

Henboy....the homeowners I was talking about were referrals from Realtors and Property Management companies. They had flyers in the office of homeowners needing things done. Some were willing to pay good and some where cheap.

Dealers at Adesa pay wholesale rates to move cars so you're fighting a tough battle with them. There was a guy named Aswego that used haul cars in CA 170 miles for $90. Even if it was just 1 car he'd still make the trip. He said they were back hauls. He's not around anymore. $3.00 fuel croaked him.

 

There are lots of guys out there who have auction business as their bread and butter. There's a guy over on the OOIDA board that's been doing it out of FL for years. He's had to pretty much give it up due to rates. Most Ritchie Bros. or Taylor & Martin auctions will have several of the big flatbed carriers there with booths set up. No reason you can't be there too...you just have to undercut them to get the business. From the little I know of that biz, auction buyers are looking solely at who can do the job cheapest.

 

sure you don't have me mixed up with someone else?

 

A lot of car dealers buy from auctions and bring them right to their dealerships. Have you thought of contacting them? You wouldnt have to go to the auctions. Just be where the dealer wants you to be.