Buy second hand books to resell

Stephen

Mombasa, Kenya

100% repaid

Entrepreneur

Name

Stephen

Member since

February 2015

On-time repayments

326 installments  •  77%

About Me

My name is Stephen Kimani, but my friends call me Steve. I was born in Kiambu County in the central highlands of Kenya twenty three years ago. I was born in a farming community where most people are involved in food farming as well as livestock keeping. My parents are such farmers and I spent my childhood years in our farm helping them in their farming activities.

I went for primary school and later joined secondary school for my basic education. I did a course in electronics maintenance later and I am a qualified technician in mobile phone repair. However, I did not pursue that career because the I found the work too demanding and with very low income.

It is then that I decided to relocate to Mombasa town to live with a relative who had a business of selling motor vehicle spare parts. I worked for him for two years as a shop attendant and then decided to start my own business of selling second hand books. This is what I am still doing to date.

My Business

I deal with selling of second hand school books. I normally get the old books from parents whose children graduate to the next classes. This is a common practice in Kenya where old books are passed on to those who are in lower classes instead of buying new books which are more expensive.

I also sell new books when I run out old books stocks but this is very rare. The business is quite profitable since my profit margin is about 40%. The main challenge of this business is that it is seasonal and it normally peaks when a new school term begins usually in the months of January, May and September.

My business gives me a net income of about $200 per month. I spend this money to buy more stock and for my upkeep.
I run my business from a roadside structure but my dream is to have a secure store where the books will be safe from thieves and the elements.

Loan Proposal

If given this money, I will spend it to buy a new batch of second hand books to boost my current stock. The most popular books that I sell are dictionaries and atlases. I intend to buy 4 Oxford dictionaries at a total cost of $40 and 3 world atlases for $30. These are fast moving books and I am sure I will be able to sell them within a very short time.

The expected return will help me grow my business at even a faster rate and bring my dream of moving into a better place even closer.

Feedback

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Loan Info

Project Type

Classic Loan

Disbursed amount

$100.00

Date disbursed

Apr 13, 2015

Repayment status

On Time

Projected term

4 months

Lenders

H

hilde

seattle, United States

C

CheapThrills

Liminka, Finland

F

flaguy999

Tampa, United States

O

ocnis

Seattle, United States

D

DanielW

United States

Kamil

Lidzbark Warminski, Poland

J

JacobvdW

Netherlands

DavidHS

United Kingdom

W

Wes

United States

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Summary

Amount repaid

$105.14

Amount remaining

$0.00

Date repaid

Aug 11, 2015

Status

Fully repaid

Repayment History

Expected Payments Actual Payments
Apr 26, 2015 $5.53 Apr 28, 2015 $5.53
May 3, 2015 $5.53 Apr 28, 2015 $0.02
May 2, 2015 $5.51
May 10, 2015 $5.53 May 2, 2015 $0.04
May 8, 2015 $5.49
May 17, 2015 $5.53 May 8, 2015 $0.07
May 19, 2015 $5.47
May 24, 2015 $5.53 May 19, 2015 $0.09
May 24, 2015 $5.44
May 31, 2015 $5.53 May 24, 2015 $0.11
Jun 1, 2015 $5.42
Jun 7, 2015 $5.53 Jun 1, 2015 $0.13
Jun 6, 2015 $5.40
Jun 14, 2015 $5.53 Jun 6, 2015 $0.16
Jun 16, 2015 $5.38
Jun 21, 2015 $5.53 Jun 16, 2015 $0.18
Jun 26, 2015 $5.36
Jun 28, 2015 $5.53 Jun 26, 2015 $0.20
Jul 4, 2015 $5.33
Jul 5, 2015 $5.53 Jul 4, 2015 $0.06
Jul 9, 2015 $5.48
Jul 12, 2015 $5.53 Jul 9, 2015 $0.08
Jul 12, 2015 $5.46
Jul 19, 2015 $5.53 Jul 12, 2015 $0.10
Jul 21, 2015 $5.43
Jul 26, 2015 $5.53 Jul 21, 2015 $0.12
Jul 27, 2015 $5.41
Aug 2, 2015 $5.53 Jul 27, 2015 $5.53
Aug 9, 2015 $5.53 Jul 27, 2015 $0.02
Aug 1, 2015 $5.51
Aug 16, 2015 $5.53 Aug 1, 2015 $5.53
Aug 23, 2015 $5.53 Aug 1, 2015 $0.07
Aug 11, 2015 $5.47
Aug 30, 2015 $5.54 Aug 11, 2015 $5.54

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