www.Surplushop.com
Surplushop.com, launched six months ago, aims to cut out waste in construction by helping companies to trade their surplus goods online. But it's not a fly-by-night dotcom that requires no commitment. Surplushop.com wants you to settle down with it. "It's a long-term business tool," says Ian Alexander, the quantity surveyor who set up the site. "We wanted to encourage people to make a commitment to cutting waste and delivering the government's sustainable construction programme." "Putting material in landfill may be easy, but it's not cheap" insists Elaine Alexander, Ian's wife, who runs the site with him. "A surplushop.com license can work out more cost effective for the seller and benefit the buyer, because they get a good price, and reduce unnecessary pressure on landfill sites. A lot of the material in landfill is perfectly good and has been discarded because of a change in client specification." Surplushop.com works by selling advertising space and time on a website specifically developed for trading excess building materials. Prices range from £20 for a one-off monthly advertisement to £1000 to place 100 advertisements for a year. "The Amec's of this world have different requirements to your local builder. We wanted to reflect that with our licenses," says Elaine.
She stresses that the site is selling advertising time, not space. "Once a company has bought a license, they can change the adverts as often as they like. You don't just buy 100 advertisements that you can't change for a year." Customers with a license are given a password that allows them to change their advertisements. They may also insert digital photographs to accompany them.
Whereas most goods exchange websites concentrate on large plant equipment, surplushop.com shifts everything from dust extractors to piles of bricks. And Elaine is keen to point out that the site does not use auctions to sell goods. "We sell licenses rather than take a cut of deals," she says. "Although some of the goods on the site are new, most of them are used, and we can't guarantee the quality of them." Nor are all sellers seeking big profits. "Sometimes the price is not the issue," says Elaine. "The seller may be happy to accept any price to move the goods on, so it is better for us if they have bought a license."
Auction sites
Ian adds that auction sites can actually increase administration costs rather than cut them. "When you sell an item on an auction site, eventually you have to raise an invoice for it. With surplushop.com you don't have to do that." Unlike most other sites, surplushop.com doesn't get involved in logistics, so delivery isn't guaranteed; but it does encourage buyers and sellers to talk to each other. "We want companies to form long-term relationships," says Elaine. "There is always an email address or telephone number accompanying the advert." "You may get, for example, Amec and Balfour Beatty talking to each other over selling surplus goods," adds Ian, "then all of a sudden you've got a business partner you didn't have before." So if you're prepared to make that commitment, surplushop.com could earn you some brownie points too.
Source
Construction Manager
