`src/lib/selling-avenues.ts`

169 lines
// Structured "where to source" and "where to sell / validate demand before you
// buy" reference, with real links. Rendered at /selling-avenues and mirrored in
// docs/SELLING-AVENUES.md. Compliance-first: you may validate demand and take
// CONTINGENT interest before winning, but you must never represent ownership of
// an item you have not yet won.

export interface Avenue {
  name: string;
  url: string;
  note: string;
}

export interface AvenueGroup {
  heading: string;
  blurb: string;
  avenues: Avenue[];
}

export const SOURCING: AvenueGroup[] = [
  {
    heading: "Federal surplus",
    blurb: "US government agency surplus — often no buyer's premium.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "GSA Auctions", url: "https://gsaauctions.gov", note: "Federal personal property; frequently $0 buyer premium." },
      { name: "GovDeals", url: "https://www.govdeals.com", note: "Largest gov-surplus marketplace (state/county/federal); ~10% premium." },
      { name: "GovPlanet / AllSurplus", url: "https://www.govplanet.com", note: "Heavy equipment, vehicles, military rolling stock." },
    ],
  },
  {
    heading: "State & county surplus",
    blurb: "State DGS/facilities programs and county auctions.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "Public Surplus", url: "https://www.publicsurplus.com", note: "Municipal, school-district and agency surplus nationwide." },
      { name: "California DGS Surplus", url: "https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OFAM/Surplus-Property", note: "State of California surplus personal property." },
      { name: "Texas Facilities Commission Surplus", url: "https://www.tfc.texas.gov/divisions/supportserv/prog/statesurplus/", note: "Texas state surplus program." },
      { name: "Municibid", url: "https://www.municibid.com", note: "Local government surplus — vehicles, equipment." },
      { name: "Bid4Assets", url: "https://www.bid4assets.com", note: "County tax-defaulted property + surplus." },
    ],
  },
  {
    heading: "University surplus",
    blurb: "University asset-recovery programs, strong for lab & IT gear.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "UW Surplus", url: "https://surplus.uw.edu", note: "University of Washington." },
      { name: "MSU Surplus Store", url: "https://surplus.msu.edu", note: "Michigan State University." },
      { name: "UC Davis Aggie Surplus", url: "https://aggiesurplus.ucdavis.edu", note: "UC Davis." },
    ],
  },
];

export const SELLING: AvenueGroup[] = [
  {
    heading: "Retail resale marketplaces",
    blurb: "Where the flipped item actually gets sold.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "eBay", url: "https://www.ebay.com", note: "Deepest buyer pool for used equipment; ~13% final-value fee." },
      { name: "Facebook Marketplace", url: "https://www.facebook.com/marketplace", note: "Best for local, heavy, freight-averse items." },
      { name: "Amazon Renewed", url: "https://www.amazon.com/renewed", note: "Refurb electronics at scale (approval required)." },
      { name: "DOTmed / LabX", url: "https://www.dotmed.com", note: "Medical & lab equipment verticals — higher-value buyers." },
      { name: "MachineryTrader", url: "https://www.machinerytrader.com", note: "Industrial / heavy equipment." },
    ],
  },
  {
    heading: "Wholesale & liquidation exits",
    blurb: "Faster, lower-price exits when you don't want to retail one-by-one.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "B-Stock", url: "https://www.bstock.com", note: "Bulk B2B liquidation auctions." },
      { name: "Liquidation.com", url: "https://www.liquidation.com", note: "Pallet/lot liquidation." },
    ],
  },
  {
    heading: "Demand validation (BEFORE you buy)",
    blurb:
      "Use these to prove resale price and demand before committing to a bid — this is research, not a sale.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "eBay Terapeak / Sold listings", url: "https://www.ebay.com/sh/research", note: "Free sold-price history — the single best comp source." },
      { name: "Google Shopping", url: "https://shopping.google.com", note: "New-retail anchor across sellers." },
      { name: "PriceCharting", url: "https://www.pricecharting.com", note: "For collectibles/electronics with model-level pricing." },
    ],
  },
];

// International sourcing + resale venues — government/industrial surplus auctions
// and the dominant secondary marketplaces by region.
export const INTERNATIONAL: AvenueGroup[] = [
  {
    heading: "Europe",
    blurb: "Pan-European industrial/surplus auctions + high-end curated marketplaces.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "Troostwijk Auctions", url: "https://www.troostwijkauctions.com/en", note: "NL-based, industrial/machine surplus across 10+ EU countries." },
      { name: "TBAuctions (BVA)", url: "https://tbauctions.com/brand-portfolio/", note: "Leading B2B auction group — BVA, Vavato, Klaravik, etc." },
      { name: "Vavato", url: "https://www.vavato.com", note: "Belgium — industrial, overstock, bankruptcy goods." },
      { name: "GovPlanet Europe", url: "https://www.govplanet.eu/", note: "Government + military surplus, EU." },
      { name: "Catawiki", url: "https://www.catawiki.com/en/", note: "Curated high-end auctions (art, design, collectibles)." },
      { name: "Ritchie Bros", url: "https://www.rbauction.com", note: "Global heavy equipment (EU yards)." },
    ],
  },
  {
    heading: "Hong Kong",
    blurb: "Government surplus + the region's top resale app.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "HK Gov Logistics Dept — Public Auction", url: "https://www.gld.gov.hk/en/our-services/supplies/auction/", note: "Government surplus/unserviceable stores + confiscated goods." },
      { name: "Carousell HK", url: "https://www.carousell.com.hk", note: "Dominant HK second-hand marketplace." },
    ],
  },
  {
    heading: "Japan",
    blurb: "The largest JP auction + resale platforms (also host government auctions).",
    avenues: [
      { name: "Yahoo! Auctions Japan", url: "https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp", note: "Dominant JP auction site; also runs 官公庁 government auctions." },
      { name: "Mercari Japan", url: "https://jp.mercari.com", note: "Largest JP C2C resale marketplace." },
    ],
  },
  {
    heading: "Australia",
    blurb: "Government, council, ex-military and salvage auctions.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "GraysOnline", url: "https://www.graysonline.com", note: "Government/council/industrial + clearance auctions." },
      { name: "Pickles", url: "https://www.pickles.com.au", note: "Vehicles, industrial, salvage, Defence surplus." },
      { name: "Manheim Australia", url: "https://www.manheim.com.au", note: "Fleet + government vehicle auctions." },
    ],
  },
  {
    heading: "China (high-end & judicial)",
    blurb: "Court-seized/judicial asset auctions + luxury/art houses in Beijing/Shanghai/Shenzhen.",
    avenues: [
      { name: "Taobao Judicial (阿里资产/司法拍卖)", url: "https://sf.taobao.com", note: "Alibaba court-seized asset auctions — property, vehicles, luxury." },
      { name: "JD Auction (京东拍卖)", url: "https://auction.jd.com", note: "JD judicial + surplus auctions." },
      { name: "Poly Auction", url: "https://www.polyauction.com", note: "High-end art/collectibles (Beijing/HK)." },
      { name: "Alibaba", url: "https://www.alibaba.com", note: "Wholesale sourcing + resale reference pricing." },
    ],
  },
];

export interface ComplianceRule {
  title: string;
  body: string;
}

export const COMPLIANCE: ComplianceRule[] = [
  {
    title: "Never represent ownership before you win",
    body:
      "You do not own an auction lot until the auction closes in your favor and you have paid. Any marketing before that must be framed as CONTINGENT interest ('I intend to acquire this; contingent on winning'), never 'for sale now'.",
  },
  {
    title: "eBay pre-sale rules",
    body:
      "eBay allows pre-sale listings only for items you have a firm commitment to supply and can ship within 40 business days (listing must state the ship date). You cannot list an auction lot you might lose. Practically: validate demand and collect contingent buyer interest off-platform, then list once you actually win and hold the item.",
  },
  {
    title: "Contingent buyer interest is fine",
    body:
      "Collecting names, emails and non-binding offers on a 'buyer interest' page is compliant as long as it is clearly contingent and non-binding until you own the item. GovArbitrage's buyer workflow enforces the contingent flag and shows a disclaimer on every interest page.",
  },
  {
    title: "Government auction terms bind you",
    body:
      "Gov surplus is sold AS-IS, often pickup-only, with removal deadlines and payment windows. Model those costs (pickup labor, freight, storage) before bidding — the cost engine does this. Missing a removal deadline can forfeit the item and your payment.",
  },
];

// The worked example Steve gave: a dental chair bought cheap vs. new retail.
export const WORKED_EXAMPLE = {
  title: "Worked example — the dental chair",
  body:
    "An A-dec 511 dental patient chair sells new for ~$20,000. A county-clinic surplus unit in used-good condition might hammer at $500 on GovDeals. But 'buy $500, sell $20,000' is fiction. Realistic used A-dec 511 units sell for ~$6,000–9,000 (see eBay/DOTmed sold comps). Against that, subtract the 10% buyer's premium, ~$500 in freight (320 lb, pickup-only), pickup labor, testing, refurbishment, ~13% marketplace fees and payment fees. GovArbitrage runs exactly this math per listing and reports the honest expected net profit, ROI, and a recommended maximum bid — so you bid to a target return instead of a fantasy spread.",
};