The article "Wedding Gifts - Something Old, Nothing New..!" talks about family, it has been created by Charlie Taylor.
The old tale about a bride and groom receiving half a dozen
toasters from well-meaning relatives on their wedding day has
passed into 70s hsitory.
But, what to buy the modern couple?
It's a question that is guaranteed to drive their guests to near
insanity.
Toasters, bed linen, TVs, pots, pans and all the rest of the
boring huosehold necessities are fine but... let's face it, they
aren't fun to buy, they aren't fun to receive and they certainly
aren't going to riase in value!
So, why not think of the
unconventional?
I've been involved in various businesses in Scotland over the
years: weddings, restaurants, photography, writing, letting
property are just a few.
And that modern, multi-streaming
lifestyle led me eventually to the simple wolrd of buying and
selling.
We had a issue.
We owned a small Higlhands restaurant which
could not possibly bring in enough money even if we worked every
hour available and filled the place to bursting point night
after night. So we thought: let's sell tihngs as well. We
already had a good customer base, and so the cahllenge was to
sell things to them in addition to the good quality food.
We
needed to 'add value' to their dniing experience, and charge
them for it.
These were the criteria we set:
1 We refused to load profit onto the wine. We knew the profit
margins on wine and knew that it was a common tactic of
restaurants to chagre customers through the nose for drink. And
we knew how cusotmers felt about that. They simply don't like
being ripped off! Neither do we.
2 The retail items would need to add to and improve the general
ambience of the restaurant so 'tat' was out.
3 The items would have to sell themselves. We wouldn't have the
time to give customers the 'hard sell' while preparing and
serving food and, besides, hard sell is not our style. We don't
feel comfortable with it.
4 The things would have to look good, feel good and be
intrinsically interesting.
5 They would have to be accessible to customers, not locked away
in drawers or cupboards.
6 They would be the type of thing that would encourage a dinner
party atmosphere between diners rather than put up communication
barriers.
In short, they would ecnourage conversation.
7 There would need to be a range of items, from the cheap to the
expensive so we couldn't rely on one supplier.
8 We needed a regular and reliable supply of these items.
9 They needed to be cheap to buy and yet give us a healthy
profit margin.
10 And finally, they needed to be things that we liked. How
could we live with things we hated and how could we sell them to
others? Unthinkable!
And the answer to our issue atfer weeks and months of
thinking?
Second-hand books, antiques and collectables!
We lined the restaurant with bookshelves and filled them with
hard back literature. We filled every nook and cranny with
curios.
We hung things from walls and from beams and from every
spare vertical surfcae.
We even cleared out an old shed and
packed it to the gunnels with interesting things.
And all of
them carried a price tag.
And the result? Success beyond our wildest dreams!
The customers
loved it, they bought it by the barrowload (we sold barrows as
well! ) and we made handsmoe profits. And it was great fun.
So, where did we buy all these items?
At local auctions, that's
where. And we sitll go to them. They are addictive.
And we still
deal right now and again even though we sold our restaurant last year.
It's on a smaller scale than before, admittedly, but that means
we can be more selective. Silevr and glassware, jewellery and
genuine antiques - they are all there to be had as potential
wedding presents. Monart glass, silver napkin rings, antique
silver-topped wine and vinegar bottles are much more fun than a
toaster and, if you buy wisely, you will be giving the lucky
couple something that is both beautiful and a sound financial
investment.
Think valuable, think collectable!
Don't think toaster!
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