Simply put, there are no barriers to becoming a vendor. All you need to do is contact your local Big Issue Office who will: Supply you with free magazines to get you up and running. Provide guidance in various areas including sales coaching, health, financial and digital confidence.
Vendors do not have to be homeless. Some of the people we work with are in private or council tenancies and are at risk of becoming homeless, some are homeless and are living in hostels, staying with friends or families or sleeping rough.
Big Issue vendors are either homeless or at risk of losing their home. The money that vendors earn through selling the magazine helps vendors to cover rent and bills. It also offers vendors who are unable to maintain other jobs, due to mental health or other issues, the opportunity to earn their own income.
Sellers still get 50 per cent of the net proceeds from subscriptions, just like buying it in person, and readers can find their local vendor and subscribe directly on the Big Issue vendor map.
The Big Issue is a con. It may not have started that way, but for the last fifteen years, while I have been aware of it, it has been. It is successful because it has a great narrative – buy a magazine and help someone off the street. A simple message – but a complete load of rubbish for many reasons.
Big Issue vendors are self employed. They buy the magazine at a cheaper price than they sell it. Aside from your implied criticism of their job, that vendors are either homeless or vulnerably housed will not be a great selling point to prospective employers.
Each vendor is given a Photo I.D Badge and are given a pitch. Vendors have two weeks to buy a Big Issue red tabard which costs £15, this is refundable when they decide to move on.
As The Big Issue aims to empower people through employment, it's good manners to take the magazine and not see your contribution as just a donation. Plus, the magazine is produced by professional journalists and is a good read.
To save time and money, it is common for large families in which multiple members sell Big Issue North to pool financial resources to purchase a car, which one member can then use to buy everyone's magazines for the week and to drive their partner, siblings, parents, children, cousins, aunts or uncles who also sell the ...
The Big Issue sells more than 70,000 copies every week and has a readership of almost 350,000. So The Big Issue costs £4 but collective sales gives a great boost to those often marginalised by society.
Over the Christmas period, vendors bought Big Issue North from our regional offices for £2 per magazine, and sold it to readers for £4, keeping the money they make. This means that vendors get £2 in their pocket for every magazine they sell – an extra 50p compared to the previous prices.
Inspired by Street News, a newspaper sold by homeless people in New York City, The Big Issue was founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Roddick (husband of The Body Shop entrepreneur Anita Roddick) as a response to the increasing numbers of homeless people in London.
The Big Issue is one of Britain's leading news and cultural magazines. Every week's edition is packed full of original takes on the biggest issues of the day as well as interviews with the most significant figures in politics and entertainment.
The Big Issue magazine is a fortnightly, independent magazine sold on the streets by people experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage. Vendors buy copies of the magazine for $4.50 and sell them for $9, keeping the difference and earning meaningful income.
We do not buy back unsold copies. Many people facing extreme exclusion spend a lot of their time on their own, looking inward & struggling to connect to the world.
Of the 3,500 vendors currently registered by the Big Issue, 25 per cent are Romanian or Roma, 66 per cent British and the remainder other nationalities.
Vogue's main purpose is to entertain the audience whilst The Big Issue explores current affairs and problems within society. This provokes a reaction from the audience thus encouraging them to act.
The Big Issue is a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to supporting and creating work opportunities for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people. They are best known for their fortnightly, independent magazine, which is sold on the streets by vendors. These vendors are not asking for charity.
It is a unique approach primarily because, until the launch of The Big Issue, much of the help extended to homeless people was in the form of charitable assistance. The motto of The Big Issue is “A hand up, not a hand out”.
The Big Issue exists to offer homeless and vulnerably housed people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income by selling a entertainment and current affairs magazine to the general public.
