G3 Small Traders Co-operative?

[John Candy]

Do you manufacture and sell items in Gauge 3 (be it a single item or a range of items)?

Would you rank yourself as a "small trader"?

If so, then the following could be of interest to you.

It is the basis of a proposal for a G3 Co-operative, aimed at assisting "small traders" in promoting their products to an audience which they may find too expensive to access if acting alone.

These thoughts are best outlined by copying below the message which I sent to a few acquaintances yesterday, to judge initial reactions.

I am pleased to say that the proposal received a favourable reception from the recipients, which included "small traders".

I invite you to let us have your comments/suggestions.

That which is written below is just a "bare bones" outline of the possible benefits of such a scheme.

COPY TEXT OF ORIGINAL PROPOSAL:-

It is obviously of benefit to small traders to have as wide as possible exposure to their potential customers.

This is achieved by four primary routes:-
1) Traditional magazine advertising.
2) Attendance at exhibitions.
3) Website.
4) Word-of-mouth (and via internet fora/forums).

Of these only the lattermost is free, all the others require investment.

Problems :-
1) The cost of magazine advertising is prohibitive for a small volume supplier (even a minimum size ad is not cheap).
2) Costs associated with exhibitions (particularly those away from base camp, where accommodation and travel costs need to be added to the charges for a stand).
3) To employ a website designer to set up an initial site (and the associated updating costs) can be daunting.

How could a G3 Co-operative work to alleviate some of these difficulties?
1) The Co-op would take out the magazine ads and allocate space to members on an agreed, monthly, basis.
2) Exhibition space would be taken in the name of the co-op and all members would be invited to submit material for display/sale (even in cases where the trader is unable to attend in person).
3) Website : The Co-op would have its own website where each member would be allocated a page free of charge.

How might it be funded?
A sliding scale of charges based upon a trader's size (in terms of range of goods, price and sales volume).

This is obviously only a "broad brush" outline and a lot of discussion would be required to fill in the detail.
Anyone think it could be a "runner"?

John Candy