Improving Your Business Cash Flow

Selling ATV and dirt bike parts can provide you with a pretty nice income. People sell bikes and ATVs that are broken down for less than what you could sell just the plastics for. If you want to take advantage of this earning possibility but don't have the space to store the parts until they sell, it's time to look into a storage rental. Here, you will learn a few tips for preparing, packing and storing these parts until the day that they are sold.  

Prepare

The parts need to be cleaned, identified, photographed and logged before you take them away to storage. Using inventory identification numbers will help you avoid the common mistake of sending out the wrong part when something is ordered.

• Take a picture.
• Immediately give it an inventory number and tag it. Smaller parts should be put in bags and labeled, larger parts tagged.
• Create a spreadsheet with a picture of the part, the inventory number and weight and size for shipping.

Pack

You have two options when it comes to packing up the items – box them individually so you have a firm size and weight for shipping, or leave everything loose in larger boxes so that you can combine different parts into packages quickly when larger orders are placed.

If you are packing things individually for shipment, make sure that you have everything padded, wrapped and taped well. You don't want the parts jostling around in the box as it is transported.

Store

If you live in a mild climate where temperatures don't reach extreme temperatures, you can rent a basic storage unit (such as one from U-Stor-It). If the temperatures climb to one-hundred or higher, rent a unit that is climate-controlled. This will help to ensure that the parts are damaged as they are being stored.

Use shelving units in the storage unit to keep everything up off of the floor. Although the concrete floor may look dry, moisture will wick up out of the concrete and can dampen boxes, cause the metal to corrode, and destroy the decals on the plastics.

Always store the heavier items on the lower shelves. If you run out of space along the walls, and don't want to fill in the center of the unit so that you can access every shelf inside, put some wheels on a pallet to position in the center of the room. This way, you can load it up with inventory and be able to easily move it out of your way when you need to.