Hey Paul (and Think Tank), Sounds just like what we have been doing here in Montpelier. We haven't had to worry about internet sales yet. Our sales also account for half or more of our income, and we sell whatever our volunteers care to fix up. I believe that any sales of goods are subject to sales tax in any state (they are in VT), and you didn't mention it, so I figured I would, because tax evasion, while arguably awesome, is also potentially catastrophic. Colin Gunn Freeride Montpelier www.freeridemontpelier.org freeridemp@riseup.net
P.S. Paul, I looked at your picture website, and we went to college together!
P.P.S. Everyone, I don't think anyone made it to BikeBike with info about our shop, but I am really glad we made it onto this email list. If you are ever around central VT, please drop by!
P.P.P.S Yes, I think we stole the name from Pittsburgh, but I don't know how. Thanks Free Ride!
Hi all,
At the Mount Rainier Bike Coop in Mount Rainier, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC, we are working how to sell our bikes that we refurbish. We really don't have any fixed or regular costs; the city gives us the space (a garage), so we just use our money on spare parts and tools. We have an earn-a-bike program so youth can build up bikes for us, learning mechanic skills, and then after fifteen hours of voluteering, the youths can build a bike for themselves. Volunteers who have already put in 15 hours of work can basically just keep refurbishing bikes. No one gets paid anything at this point. Generally, at this point, we just sell our refurbished bikes in one way or another. Do other shops do this? Also, presumably, volunteers could, after working fifteen hours, refurbish bikes for themselves, and then sell them on craigslist or something. Do other coops have a policy with regards to refurbishing bikes for yourself, one after the other, and then selling them for your own profit? Or perhaps a system where you refurbish a bike and then you have to give a certain percentage of the sale to the coop?
-- PJ Park http://www.biketobrazil.blogspot.com http://www.imagestation.com/members/pjpark http://picasaweb.google.com/PaulJosephPark