TSN #21 - Offline Weekend Car Fair

Hey! 👋

The new concept is here, hope you don’t hate it!

Found this idea couple of weeks ago, saved it in my long list of ideas and thought it would be cool to share it first.

Enjoy!

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🎬 The Pitch

Imagine turning an empty parking lot into a solid weekend side-biz that generates anywhere from 5k - 50k EUR for an event. That's the potential of an Offline Weekend Car Fair.

Here's the concept: You lease a large, underutilized parking lot and create a safe, convenient marketplace for private car sellers and buyers to meet. Sellers pay a fee to showcase their vehicles, eliminating the risks of meeting strangers one-on-one. Buyers get a wide selection of cars in one place, saving time and hassle. With minimal overhead and the right location, you could be profiting from day one.

The best part? It's easily replicable in any city, requires no tech skills, and meets a real market need for safer, more efficient private car sales.

📊 Market Insights

The used car market is steadily growing, the opportunity for this business is there:

• Stagnant economic climate boosts used car sales

• Individual sellers are still a significant share of the market

• Buyers still prefer to buy in person

• More data below:

💡 The Concept

• A weekend event where private sellers can showcase their vehicles to multiple buyers in a safe, organized environment

• For car owners looking to sell and buyers seeking a variety of options

• Addresses safety concerns of private car sales and provides a more efficient selling/buying process

💰 Revenue Streams

• Primary: Fees from sellers for parking/listing their vehicles. Start low, 50 EUR for a day. If you bring 100 cars in, you’re in the 5k revenue range.

• Secondary: Sponsorships from local auto-related businesses (e.g., detailing, mechanics)

🛠️ Bootstrappability Score: 9/10

Minimal upfront costs - mainly just renting a parking lot and basic marketing. Easy to start small and scale up as demand grows.

💻 Non-Tech Factor: 8/10

While some online promotion is helpful, the core business operates offline. No complex technology required to get started.

🚀 Getting Started

1. Secure a suitable parking lot for your first event (e.g., school, IKEA rooftop, local airport etc.)

2. Reach out to local car sellers on social media platforms to invite them. Think FB marketplace and your local alternatives

3. Promote the event to potential buyers through local community groups

4. Set up basic infrastructure (e.g., entry point, signage) on the day of the event

5. Collect feedback and iterate for future events

6. Later you can improve it by adding car “check” experts

💪 Pros & 😓 Cons

• Pro: Low startup costs and overhead

• Pro: Addresses a real safety/convenience concern in private car sales

• Con: Weather-dependent business

• Con: Have to start it certain scale

🔍 Steal Somebody’s Homework & Dive Deeper

Want to explore this idea further? Check out:

• This post was inspired by a great find by Chris Koerner, check out his original post here.

• Want to see it IRL? Check out this one.

• The OG Sierra Auto Fair

Thanks for being a reader and let me know how you like the new layout!:)

- Slavo