With the average cost of renting a 600ft shop space at about £22,000 p.a, and add rising marketing costs, that dream of running a retail shop just may be put on hold. There are many ways you can save money when opening a new store.

Lets start with:

• The space:  Speak with your banker and letting agent and work out a favourable lease agreement.

• Staff Recruitment: Use staffing agencies to provide temporary staff. They will help you attend to customers, while you carry out marketing.

• Marketing: Take advantage of social media to connect and announce your store opening You can also and go “old-school” and print flyers to hand out in busy areas of your town.

With these elements sorted, it’s time for the shop-fitting.

While it is easy to get carried away and want to recreate iconic stores you admire, you need to focus and start with the basics in mind. To display the goods you want to sell, you will need display areas with corner shelves, low end bays, gondola shelving etc.

Whether you are refitting an existing store or setting up a new one, ponying up for brand new shelves will cost a pretty penny. At last count, most hardware stores on the high street sell steel shelving for average wall shelves of 1.8m high costing £ 80. For one shelf. That can add up really fast, especially if you have a large store.

Consider the alternative: buying used shelving. Steel shelves that have been pre-owned but carefully kept & refurbished will ensure that you are getting high quality material, while getting a much cheaper option,

The following are five steps to help you buy high quality used shelving at rock bottom prices:

1. Do Your Due Diligence:

Ensure you are buying from a reputable dealer. Many dealers store their used shelving outdoors. With the fickle English weather, this is a complete no-no. The elements will corrode and weaken joints and structures.

Unscrupulous sellers still try to foist these unsafe structures on you. Ensure the seller stores their shelving in an enclosed or covered space.

2. Design:

What kind of shop are you running? Depending on the goods you stock, you will need different types of shelving. It may range from smaller shelves, floating shelves, gondolas , longspan or even rails. You need to ascertain the best type of shelf that fits your needs.

3. Measure and Maximise:

Plan your store layout before hand and get the exact measurements of the space you need. It is easy to over-estimate lengths and thus buy more shelving than you need. After cutting the required lengths, there is a wastage that could have been avoided.

4. Don’t Be Swayed By Low Prices:

With the economy still in flux, small companies are going out of business daily. This leads to many closing down sales and clearouts. While it may be tempting to pick up used shelving from them, you should avoid this. Sure, it will be at really low prices, but what about after sales service? If anything happens to the shelf, where will you find them? Remember, they are closing down.

5. An Eye For Aesthetics:

If you buy from a reputable hardware reseller, they can help you refurbish the shelves. These include painting to cover cosmetic wear and tear, painting to match company colours, help you trim to fit exact specs. They can even carry out structural tests to ensure structural integrity.

Make the smart decision and save on shop fitting costs by buying used display store shelves.

Make the smarter choice by buying used shelving from Monarch Shelving. Call us today and let us walk you through your options.