Is this someone the community knows?

[cixelsyD]

Very Large Lot of Mercedes Used Car Parts from W123 W201 W126 W124 W116 Chassis | eBay

[NC-Diesel]

I think it;s that Benz Bonz guy on ebay.He assembled a large inventory of parts but has been shopping aorund trying to sell "the business". I suspect business is not all that good for him.

[Mölyapina]

Originally Posted by NC-Diesel

I think it;s that Benz Bonz guy on ebay.He assembled a large inventory of parts but has been shopping aorund trying to sell "the business". I suspect business is not all that good for him.

...so that's who Benz Bonz is. I was wondering...

If I had the $$$, I would like to see the sales numbers from the last couple years (at least) before I gave any thought to buying.

[TheDon]

It would be nice if he put pictures of his inventory or anything really

[europower]

I once not long ago met a man with a million dollar inventory, i aint kidding you, a huge full size wharehouse full of every part mercedes, including whole ailes of euro bosch light sets and coco floor mats etc etc, he couldnt get the money he wanrted and was loosing rent in there so he liquidated for guess how much??
1500 dollars, unbelievable but true.

[sleepstar]

his stuff was always priced at least 2x what you could get it for elsewhere :/

when i opened this thread i thought it was gonna be about that weird shop in emeryville that keeps popping up on CL with the stash of old mercs

[JamesDean]

Originally Posted by NC-Diesel

I think it;s that Benz Bonz guy on ebay.He assembled a large inventory of parts but has been shopping aorund trying to sell "the business". I suspect business is not all that good for him.

Na, the Benz Bonz guy is based in Cleveland, Oh. That guy is from Cali.

Here is Benz Bonz's ebay: eBay My World - mespe

Source: I sold him a few cruise control units last year.

[DieselPaul]

Mespe had his business for sale for around $200,000 a couple months ago. I think that's what people were thinking of.

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

...so that's who Benz Bonz is. I was wondering...

If I had the $$$, I would like to see the sales numbers from the last couple years (at least) before I gave any thought to buying.

"Sales numbers" can be cooked. You would want to see the Federal Income tax returns going back 5 years to see what it was making at the very least......then go from there.

[cixelsyD]

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

"Sales numbers" can be cooked. You would want to see the Federal Income tax returns going back 5 years to see what it was making at the very least......then go from there.

Concur. In fact, in our litigious society, you'd have to do that to finance it anyway. That would be a part of assigning value and risk to the transaction. It's always some multiplier of revenue and a (depreciable) fixed value of the inventory. Unless things have changed drastically in the last 5 years anyway...

[cixelsyD]

Originally Posted by cixelsyD

Concur. In fact, in our litigious society, you'd have to do that to finance it anyway. That would be a part of assigning value and risk to the transaction. It's always some multiplier of revenue and a (depreciable) fixed value of the inventory. Unless things have changed drastically in the last 5 years anyway...

...guess that would depend on whether you're buying the solely the inventory, or the inventory and the business.

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by cixelsyD

Concur. In fact, in our litigious society, you'd have to do that to finance it anyway. That would be a part of assigning value and risk to the transaction. It's always some multiplier of revenue and a (depreciable) fixed value of the inventory. Unless things have changed drastically in the last 5 years anyway...

Unless the guy was laundering money - which I would always be suspicious of anyway in a sole proprietor biz, the Federal and state returns, coupled with the sales tax paid to the state, would show what he paid taxes on if any, before pocketing anything off the books.