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Empower Your Organisation & Community with

Meaningful Information and a Steady Income

Register as a Distribution Hub

South African Conversations uses a ground-breaking model to distribute our magazine throughout South Africa. We partner with non-profit organisations to enrol unemployed people and supply them with magazines to sell and earn an income.

The magazine sells for R50. Distribution Hubs earn R10 per magazine sold. Sellers earn R25 per copy sold. South African Conversations gets R15 per magazine.

Here’s How It Works

Distribution Hubs

Our distribution model sidesteps traditional retail and, instead, partners with non-profit organisations as Distribution Hubs. They get the magazine to unemployed people and negotiate safe sales spaces for them at office blocks, malls, shopping centres, galleries, restaurants, markets, municipal offices – any place with relatively high levels of affluent foot traffic.

This collaboration enables NPOs to continue their vital work while creating a predictable and sustainable income stream for themselves and for unemployed people in their communities, who earn a decent monthly income from selling the magazine.

Hubs are required to order a minimum of 150 non-returnable magazines on 14 days’ credit, at R15.00 per copy, for a total of R2,250. Of this, R750 is due on invoice. The balance is due by the 16th of the month in which the magazine is sold.

Hubs sell the magazines to sellers at R25 cash per copy, from which they pay South African Conversations a total of R15.00 per copy, resulting in a profit of R10 per magazine.

(Hubs may split an order between more than one seller while they test the water, provided each seller wears either a South African Conversations branded T-shirt or button-badge.)

On a quantity of 150 magazines, Hubs generate R1,500 per seller, per month. If they engaged 10 sellers, they would generate R15,000 for their organisation, per month.

Sellers sell the magazine for R50, earning a 100% return on their R25 per copy cash investment. Sellers are encouraged to sell a minimum of 150 copies of the magazine per month, though the arrangement will be between themselves and the Distribution Hub that supplies them.

In our experience, it is infinitely possible to sell 6 to 8 magazines daily in affluent areas. (Some sellers have sold 10 copies per hour!) If the seller works 5 days a week, they will achieve the sales quota of 150 copies per month. 150 magazines x R25 (50% of the cover price) yields a monthly income of R3,750.

Getting started

  1. Register as a Distribution Hub, below. We will contact you to discuss your situation, first order, and how things work.
  2. We will invoice you R2,250 for every 150 magazines ordered. R750 of this is due on receipt of the invoice. The balance of R1,500 is due once the money comes in from the seller you support, but no later than the 16th of the month in which the magazine is sold.
  3. Payments must be made via electronic bank transfer.
  4. Orders for the following month must be received by the 16thof the current month and will be dispatched before month-end, provided that the required deposit is paid.
  5. New orders will not be processed until the previous order is fully paid.
  6. Unsold magazines may not be returned.
  7. Distribution Hubs MUST negotiate space for sellers at the most affluent places in their community, nearby town or city. The magazine is a ‘compassion purchase’.
  8. Distribution Hubs must complete a monthly questionnaire to provide feedback and suggestions for improvement and must maintain a list of sellers and their contact details for communication purposes.

Join us today. Seize this social entrepreneurial opportunity to take charge of your NPO’s financial well-being and to empower your community to generate income.

 

Sellers
  • The magazine is exclusively sold by individual sellers who sign up through Distribution Hubs to sell the magazine at participating venues with high levels of affluent foot traffic, such as office blocks, shopping malls, art galleries, restaurants, flea markets, municipal offices, etc. Sellers earn 50% (R25) for every copy they sell.
  • Sellers must purchase a minimum of 10 magazines at a time from a Distribution Hub at R25 per magazine, totalling R250 in cash. Their first investment of R250 will earn them a 100% profit of R500 which they can use to buy the next batch of 10 or more magazines – establishing their own small business of buying and selling magazines.
  • Hubs may, at their discretion, provide the first 10 magazines on credit to support new sellers, but must be aware that they (the Hub) will remain liable for the payment of R15 per magazine to South African Conversations.
  • Sellers need to sell an average of 7 copies per day for 22 days to sell 150 copies and earn R3,750 in a month. This is achievable if they have a sales spot with ample affluent foot traffic.
  • Sellers may request more magazines before the 18th of any month, though we may not have any in stock since we endeavour to print on order only.
  • Sellers may not return unsold magazines to the Hub. They must learn to be entrepreneurs, find buyers, and profit from their purchases.

Sellers MUST wear a South African Conversations branded T-shirt OR a South African Conversations button on plain clothing while selling. These items enhance their credibility and can be purchased at cost: R8 for the badge or R65 for the high-quality, 100% cotton T-shirt. The T-shirt also serves as an advertisement and makes selling the magazine easier. South African Conversations does not supply sellers directly. We will connect sellers who register on the company’s website with a Distribution Hub in their area.

Sales Venues
  • Distribution Hubs must negotiate sales spots for their sellers at venues with significant affluent foot traffic to maximize sales opportunities. Refer to the details on the Venue Registration Form.
  • Sales venues may be willing to sponsor South African Conversations T-shirts for very poor sellers, as well as a co-branded promotional pull-up banner behind sellers on their property.
South African Conversations
  • The company conducts monthly Zoom training sessions with Distribution Hubs and sellers to ensure their success and answer questions.
  • The Company provides electronic materials for communication with sellers, readers, and venues. This includes electronic flyers to attract sellers, a poster for Hubs to advertise that they are an official South African Conversations distribution point, a poster addressing readers to print and put up in affluent areas and, for the sellers, a code of conduct and sales and money management tips.
  • The company covers the following: creating and printing the magazine, paying courier charges and VAT.

Empower Your Organisation & Community with
Meaningful Information & Income

Distribution Hub Registration

"*" indicates required fields

Please select:*
Are you close to an area where sellers can present the magazine to wealthy people? Please select:*
If it would be difficult for sellers from your community to get to such places, then you should not register as a Distribution Hub because the magazine does not sell in poor areas or on the streets.
Are you, as the Hub, also the venue where sellers will sell the magazine?*
If yes, please also complete the Venue Registration form.
By submitting this form, I:
  • Declare that I am authorized to enter into this agreement.
  • Certify that all the information supplied is accurate and truthful and that I would like to participate in this income-generating initiative, buying and selling South African Conversations magazines.
  • Agree to the terms and conditions of this agreement
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