Starting all over again!
Discussion
Anyone familiar with the ebay thread may recall that I escaped my ebay business by selling it to a listed PLC 
The stress of running a company that required a 500K monthly turnover just to keep the lights on was all getting a bit much. I was making little or no money, had 30 staff, nearly a 2 million pound mortgage and, well, you get the picture!
After the sale I was to remain on for a period of 5 years but getting my first job aged 42 having always been an 'entrepreneur' was a big ask. Suddenly going from being my own boss to having maybe a dozen bosses had me on the path to nowhere.
A few months later I joined a gym and became 'super fit', boxing, running marathons for fun and the like. It quickly dawned on me that this working for some(one/thing) else was never going to work, so I handed in my notice and went on a 12 month running, thinking time.
I knew, even if I denied the fact, I would begin another business, I've got an interest in a hydraulic engineering company but that's very much an arms length affair so I made a list of 'what I wanted before I'd start a new company'.
Based on previous experience:
NO Staff - I'm not really a people person and relying on people is hard, having them rely on you is also hard!
High barrier to entry - no point starting a business that's easily copied!
No warehouse costs - I'm done with huge mortgages
No Stock costs - I'm done with huge overdrafts and depreciating / walking stock!
No customer service - for most of the above reasons!
Scaleable - I want something that can go global
Low startup costs - obvious really
And the really really hard one!: GENERATE REVENUE - without any of the above!
Well, that list pretty much summed it up - i didn't really want to start anything it seemed. The only thing I REALLY know anything about is vehicle parts, which is a bit like being a doctor of the left finger nail!
Many businesses could do the top of the list but not generate revenue, or have the opportunity to.....
It actually took a year of running until I finally came up with a way to test a theory regarding automotive parts that I figured would be worth exploring and potentially generate revenue.
The problem to be solved:
Most vehicles have more than one part variant that can fit any given application. Air filters for example, you could require a round or square filter. Brake pads; depending on the exact model of your car you may have a Bosch or Brembo braking system, which means most websites either display too much information or not enough and you end up buying and returning the wrong part, often multiple times!
I had a theory; some vehicle parts, like people and families are more related to one group than they are another, therefore the variants could be split up making choosing which is correct, easier.
I already knew how to do this with just ONE supplier, the big problem is that every manufacturer describes their parts differently so I needed to come up with a method for analysing and comparing ALL parts.
The stress of running a company that required a 500K monthly turnover just to keep the lights on was all getting a bit much. I was making little or no money, had 30 staff, nearly a 2 million pound mortgage and, well, you get the picture!
After the sale I was to remain on for a period of 5 years but getting my first job aged 42 having always been an 'entrepreneur' was a big ask. Suddenly going from being my own boss to having maybe a dozen bosses had me on the path to nowhere.
A few months later I joined a gym and became 'super fit', boxing, running marathons for fun and the like. It quickly dawned on me that this working for some(one/thing) else was never going to work, so I handed in my notice and went on a 12 month running, thinking time.
I knew, even if I denied the fact, I would begin another business, I've got an interest in a hydraulic engineering company but that's very much an arms length affair so I made a list of 'what I wanted before I'd start a new company'.
Based on previous experience:
NO Staff - I'm not really a people person and relying on people is hard, having them rely on you is also hard!
High barrier to entry - no point starting a business that's easily copied!
No warehouse costs - I'm done with huge mortgages
No Stock costs - I'm done with huge overdrafts and depreciating / walking stock!
No customer service - for most of the above reasons!
Scaleable - I want something that can go global
Low startup costs - obvious really
And the really really hard one!: GENERATE REVENUE - without any of the above!
Well, that list pretty much summed it up - i didn't really want to start anything it seemed. The only thing I REALLY know anything about is vehicle parts, which is a bit like being a doctor of the left finger nail!
Many businesses could do the top of the list but not generate revenue, or have the opportunity to.....
It actually took a year of running until I finally came up with a way to test a theory regarding automotive parts that I figured would be worth exploring and potentially generate revenue.
The problem to be solved:
Most vehicles have more than one part variant that can fit any given application. Air filters for example, you could require a round or square filter. Brake pads; depending on the exact model of your car you may have a Bosch or Brembo braking system, which means most websites either display too much information or not enough and you end up buying and returning the wrong part, often multiple times!
I had a theory; some vehicle parts, like people and families are more related to one group than they are another, therefore the variants could be split up making choosing which is correct, easier.
I already knew how to do this with just ONE supplier, the big problem is that every manufacturer describes their parts differently so I needed to come up with a method for analysing and comparing ALL parts.
I’m skipping a bit here but my plan was to develop a method to analyse ALL parts that might fit a particular vehicle and work out WHY one part would fit whereas another won’t and ask only a single relevant question as opposed to showing ALL the technical specs and leaving it to Joe public to work out the part differences.
My original plan was to just see if the system could be made to work, I didn’t really want to create a website etc but quickly realised that it would be pretty impossible to test or explain without one!
Ok, nowhere near finished yet but CompareTheCarPart.com was born - absolutely no relation to comparetyres that’s recently been launched!
Have a go if you like but be warned we are still working on it and has at least another week of fault finding to go! Feel free to note issues and errors.
My original plan was to just see if the system could be made to work, I didn’t really want to create a website etc but quickly realised that it would be pretty impossible to test or explain without one!
Ok, nowhere near finished yet but CompareTheCarPart.com was born - absolutely no relation to comparetyres that’s recently been launched!
Have a go if you like but be warned we are still working on it and has at least another week of fault finding to go! Feel free to note issues and errors.
aceparts said:
I’m skipping a bit here but my plan was to develop a method to analyse ALL parts that might fit a particular vehicle and work out WHY one part would fit whereas another won’t and ask only a single relevant question as opposed to showing ALL the technical specs and leaving it to Joe public to work out the part differences.
My original plan was to just see if the system could be made to work, I didn’t really want to create a website etc but quickly realised that it would be pretty impossible to test or explain without one!
Ok, nowhere near finished yet but CompareTheCarPart.com was born - absolutely no relation to comparetyres that’s recently been launched!
Have a go if you like but be warned we are still working on it and has at least another week of fault finding to go! Feel free to note issues and errors.
I wish you all the best however I don't understand the concept, surely eurocarparts does the job?My original plan was to just see if the system could be made to work, I didn’t really want to create a website etc but quickly realised that it would be pretty impossible to test or explain without one!
Ok, nowhere near finished yet but CompareTheCarPart.com was born - absolutely no relation to comparetyres that’s recently been launched!
Have a go if you like but be warned we are still working on it and has at least another week of fault finding to go! Feel free to note issues and errors.
Also with regards to listing all the car parts and then all the places to get them and keeping the prices up to date, surely that's a full time job in itself? I know you can use an existing database however how do you keep prices etc up to date?
Nice to see another restarter! The concept I grasp what’s going to be even harder than filling in the data will be getting traffic to the site and then even harder still monetising it.
Our new marketing director oversaw car keys.com amongst other car related projects and might be worth having a chat with him before getting too deep in.
On diversification we’ve failed on jewellery and clothing collabs but latest is a collab with a fan base of 100k subscribers we’re going to market “produce and ship on demand” items to.
Our new marketing director oversaw car keys.com amongst other car related projects and might be worth having a chat with him before getting too deep in.
On diversification we’ve failed on jewellery and clothing collabs but latest is a collab with a fan base of 100k subscribers we’re going to market “produce and ship on demand” items to.
If you have a car that has for example a choice of three brake pad types, this groups them altogether so that once you’ve determined which brake type you have you can then see ALL the compatible brake pads and choose based on price, brand or location.
Other sites show you everything and leave you to wade through each part specifications.
Other sites show you everything and leave you to wade through each part specifications.
DSLiverpool said:
Nice to see another restarter! The concept I grasp what’s going to be even harder than filling in the data will be getting traffic to the site and then even harder still monetising it.
Our new marketing director oversaw car keys.com amongst other car related projects and might be worth having a chat with him before getting too deep in.
On diversification we’ve failed on jewellery and clothing collabs but latest is a collab with a fan base of 100k subscribers we’re going to market “produce and ship on demand” items to.
Unfortunately, all the tech difficulties had to be addressed before mocking up the MVP. I went in eyes wide open to the fact this is merely a vanity project unless it gains some user base. Our new marketing director oversaw car keys.com amongst other car related projects and might be worth having a chat with him before getting too deep in.
On diversification we’ve failed on jewellery and clothing collabs but latest is a collab with a fan base of 100k subscribers we’re going to market “produce and ship on demand” items to.
aceparts said:
Unfortunately, all the tech difficulties had to be addressed before mocking up the MVP. I went in eyes wide open to the fact this is merely a vanity project unless it gains some user base.
Sometimes you have to “go for it” I hope it makes you millions! Offer is there to speak to any of the team if you think it would help.
DSLiverpool said:
Sometimes you have to “go for it” I hope it makes you millions!
Offer is there to speak to any of the team if you think it would help.
I may well do that thank you!Offer is there to speak to any of the team if you think it would help.
Next week we begin adding manufacturer (OE) parts and the major step - VOICE via Alexa.
The system used for the site is the only one that can be enabled as an Alexa skill. That should hopefully arouse the interest of Amazon who will send me a cheque for a hundred mill or so 😍
flibbage0 said:
I wish you all the best however I don't understand the concept, surely eurocarparts does the job?
Sadly not. They'll often list several items as compatible with the getout clause that you need to check specifications yourself. On one of our cars it turns out the OEM battery and the retaining bar are designed for a tall and square battery. The ECP listed oblong battery was therefore an inch too short and liable to just jump every time you went over a speed bump.
A bit of a pain with an easy to do battery but can you imagine getting as far as getting the brake caliper off and finding the pads are the wrong type?
Aceparts, I wish you every success with the new venture. I've been a customer of your eBay store for many years (for mintex brake parts! ) because I could always rely on getting
the correct quality parts over the random eBay sellers out there.
eltawater said:
Sadly not. They'll often list several items as compatible with the getout clause that you need to check specifications yourself.
On one of our cars it turns out the OEM battery and the retaining bar are designed for a tall and square battery. The ECP listed oblong battery was therefore an inch too short and liable to just jump every time you went over a speed bump.
A bit of a pain with an easy to do battery but can you imagine getting as far as getting the brake caliper off and finding the pads are the wrong type?
Aceparts, I wish you every success with the new venture. I've been a customer of your eBay store for many years (for mintex brake parts! ) because I could always rely on getting
the correct quality parts over the random eBay sellers out there.
Thank you! In the automotive parts world, a 25% returns rate is considered Normal!!On one of our cars it turns out the OEM battery and the retaining bar are designed for a tall and square battery. The ECP listed oblong battery was therefore an inch too short and liable to just jump every time you went over a speed bump.
A bit of a pain with an easy to do battery but can you imagine getting as far as getting the brake caliper off and finding the pads are the wrong type?
Aceparts, I wish you every success with the new venture. I've been a customer of your eBay store for many years (for mintex brake parts! ) because I could always rely on getting
the correct quality parts over the random eBay sellers out there.
When I owned aceparts we achieved a sub 1% returns rate.
My estimate is that amazon UK spend £20m a year on automotive returns alone!
Not wishing to bore anyone but the point is, I set up a small team of three of us and we spent 12 months doing what we knew would be really really hard which is building the part comparison engine that we called PartIQ. We never wanted to do anything with it other than prove to ourselves that it could work. Building the WEBSITE was meant to be a week long job....
The site took the best part of 6 months and still isn't finished! It's actually quite interesting seeing how the prices for the same part from all over the world is largely the same BUT alternative parts, sometimes from the same manufacturer can be 1/10th the price.
We're now beginning the journey to make the whole thing work with Alexa. Not sure it's going to be worthwhile but again I want to prove to myself it can be done.
If anyone would like to give constructive or otherwise criticism please feel free! LINK
Many thanks.
The site took the best part of 6 months and still isn't finished! It's actually quite interesting seeing how the prices for the same part from all over the world is largely the same BUT alternative parts, sometimes from the same manufacturer can be 1/10th the price.
We're now beginning the journey to make the whole thing work with Alexa. Not sure it's going to be worthwhile but again I want to prove to myself it can be done.
If anyone would like to give constructive or otherwise criticism please feel free! LINK
Many thanks.
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