Buy and Sell Blank Magnetic Sheet and Car Magnets

A retail business can be started with little capital, but it needs two characteristics to be turned into a viable and successful business: the profit markup has to be good (unless it’s a high volume item) and there has to be little competition (in your area of operation). Buying and selling blank magnetic sheet fits that bill.

What is magnetic sheet and car magnets?
Magnetic sheeting or sheet magnet is a flexible magnetized rubber-based material with a white or colored coating sold in sheet or roll form it is flexible and can be cut to size using a scissors or craft knife. I will be dealing with two of the most popular types: magnetic sheet (or fridge magnet) and car magnets.

Magnetic sheet (0.5mm thick) is intended for fridge magnets such as novelty magnets, memo holders, save the date magnets, magnetic business cards, emergency numbers etc.

Car magnets (0.8mm thick) is used for semi-permanent and temporary advertising or signage – the most popular usage being car doors (for people that want to remove the signage on weekends, or don’t want to put the vinyl directly onto the car doors).

Business Model
Magnetic sheet and car magnets is sold in sheet and roll form.
The magnetic sheet is sold in sheets of 610x457mm and costs R39.70 (R34.83 ex vat). This is then cut into 4x A4 (210x300mm) sheets (see diagram below) and sold for R100 (R25 per sheet) in packs of four. Meaning a profit of R60.30 (60.3% profit margin / 151.89% markup ) for every sheet you buy. There will also be some offcut you can use to make fridge magnets with.

The car magnets are sold in rolls of 1m x 600mm and costs R98.47 (R86.38 ex vat). These are cut into rectangles measuring 250x500mm (you will get four out), and is sold for R100 for a set of 2. This relates to a profit of R101.53 (50.77% margin / 103.10) for every meter you buy. You can also make a larger sized 300x600mm magnet and sell it for R150 for two for larger vehicles.

Magnetic door sign (car magnet)

Now don’t let the above profit margins excite you too much, you still have to go out and sell it and you are not selling something that people need every day. Read on for how to turn this into a viable business.

Marketing & Target Market
Magnetic sheet is the more popular of the two because car magnets are only bought by people making their own door or other signs (in other words they are having the vinyl cut, or the vinyl printed and then applying it to car magnet).

Magnetic sheet is often purchased by the following people:
• Companies making fridge magnets (magnetic business cards, calendars, emergency numbers)
• People planning a wedding (save the date magnets)
• Craft enthusiasts doing various projects (often after seeing them on Pinterest)

Magnetic sheet has a lot of uses, and you will get buyers in two ways: advertising in online classifieds and selling whether at crafts markets or wherever. Now there will be two types of people: one will know what it is, the other won’t really know. So what you have to do is create samples of how the product can be used (at least one of the above mentioned), now I have dealt with using this product before: making magnetic business cards, photo frames, domed magnets, blank fridge magnets so you should not be short of ideas (or check Pinterest) for even more ideas.

Magnetic fridge magnets

Magnetic business card

Suppliers
The prices quoted above are from Falcon Signage Supplies, they have branches West Rand, East rand, Vaal Triangle, Pretoria, Cape Town, George, Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, East London and Polokwane. Click here for their contact details.

ActionPlan has a guide called “How to Start a Magnetic Sheet Business”

How to Start a Magnetic Sheet Business

This business sells blank magnetic sheet in various sizes (fridge magnet rectangles, strips and A4 as well as car door magnets), to various industries (craft & wedding, home, business & automotive), The margins are excellent but this is a niche business. Here is how to make this a sustainable business.

How to Start a Buying & Selling Business in South Africa

A buying and selling business is one of the easiest businesses to get into; it requires little skill (besides basic mathematics) and can be started with very little capital. There are two underlying components to a successful buying and selling business: 1.