In only its third year of operation, the innovative on-line golf equipment retailer, Golfbidder.co.uk, has been recognised by the Professional Golfers Association, with its appointment as the ‘Official PGA Pre-Owned Golf Exchange‘. The move will provide a valuable boost to the retail operations of the UK’s PGA professionals.
Golfbidder, Europe’s largest on-line retailer of ‘pre-owned’ premium brand golf equipment is already responsible for breathing new life into the retail operations of nearly 500 golf professionals.
Golfbidder – Key Facts:
Clubs are sold either as ‘Auction lots’ or as ‘Instant-buys’
On average there are 50 lots on site and 2,000 Instant-buys
All clubs displayed on-site are guaranteed to be in-stock
Clubs are delivered to purchasers by overnight courier service
All purchases are offered with a 7-day money back trial and a 12-month warranty
The Golfbidder.co.uk website was launched in January 2001
Golfbidder’s managing director, Liam Robb said, “We have already enabled a large group of golf professionals to combat the threat to their business from the High Street. We offer a no-risk retail channel for customer trade-ins – something that never previously existed. The PGA has been quick to recognise how this can be of real benefit to its members.
“It became obvious soon after opening that we had uncovered a strong but largely unsatisfied demand for a decent choice of good quality pre-owned clubs. Our new association with the PGA will allow us to continue to build upon that demand, confident that we will be able to meet our increased supply requirement.”
Mike Gray, commercial director of the PGA added, “Golfbidder has demonstrated how its business can be of real benefit to golf professionals. We are confident that this new partnership will provide a substantial fillip to our members’ retail operations.”
Included in the deal is an agreement that all PGA professionals will be instructed in how the Golfbidder partnership can enhance their retail operations as part of the curriculum at the established residential training courses
Scott Gourley, professional at Dunbar Golf Club illustrates how the system already works for him and his customers. “It’s a great idea because everybody is happy. I get the price for the trade-ins immediately from Golfbidder.co.uk and that helps me to sell the new clubs. The customer is happy to get his hands on new equipment and Golfbidder.co.uk has more stock for its website.”
Golfbidder started life as a shop in Wimbledon before being transferred to the Internet in January 2001. Since then, the surge in business has been meteoric, with total sales in 2002 topping £2 million, made up of almost 17,000 transactions.
Golfbidder www.golfbidder.co.uk