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.
Big Issue Vendors are able to earn an income by selling Big Issue magazine. Our frontline team set vendors up with selling locations, provide sales support and arrange for cashless payment options.
As long as you're 17 or older, you can work with us, even if you have a criminal record. While a third of our vendors are homeless, the majority are not – people sell Big Issue North for a wide variety of reasons, and if you want to work with us, we want to work with you!
Selling Big Issue North is a genuine, legally recognised form of self-employment. Vendors buy magazines for £1.50 each from one of our offices, then sell them on for £3, keeping the money they make.
Many vendors are homeless, or at risk of losing their home if they do not make enough money to pay rent and bills. Others have mental health problems that prevent them maintaining other jobs. Selling the magazine gives them the opportunity to earn their own income to get them through difficult times.
Big issue sellers buy their product from The Big Issue Company and then sell it on at a profit and keep that profit. They also have to sign up to a code of conduct. In my view that is earnings for work done under a contract and liable for income tax and national insurance like any other form of earnings.
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.
The magazine is produced by the Big Issue Company Ltd. The company is a self-sustaining business that generates income through magazine sales and advertising revenues. Financially, The Big Issue is a social enterprise.
Vendors who sell The Big Issue magazine are their own mini-enterprises, buying copies for £1.75 and selling them to the public for £4, keeping the difference. This allows them to support themselves and their families, while becoming less reliant on tax-funded benefits.
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.
The Big Issue gives Vendors diginity, income and purpose, The Big Issue Foundation plans to help every Vendor use that new found dignity and purpose to continue their journey away from homelessness wherever there is a need for more help.
Out of the 3,637 vendors, 899 sold the Big Issue for the first time in 2022 – highlighting how many are in financial need for the first time. We are very grateful to the amazing support we have received that has enabled us to work with even more people.
The Big Issue audience is affluent and environmentally, socially and ethically aware. 66% agree that they buy products that give something back to society.
To sell the magazine, you do not have to have any ID, a bank account, or any proof of address. Vendors buy the big issue for £1.50 per copy and sell for £3; the profit is theirs to keep.
Each vendor will have filled in an induction form which sets out the rules of the Big Issue to which each vendor must abide to. Each vendor is given a Photo I.D Badge and are given a pitch.
We're relying on cash less than ever before, and the EQ Foundation has joined with the Big Issue to offer contactless card readers to all its vendors. London is now a largely cashless society and most other UK towns are fast following suit. In recent years, contactless has become king.
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. Our vendors come from a variety of backgrounds and face the myriad of problems associated with poverty and inequality.
A simple division suggests that the average Amazon seller sells just 74 FBA items per month. The proportion of sales going through FBA is currently running at more than 55% of total third-party units. This means that Mr or Ms Average will be selling around £51,000 annually through FBA or £4227 per month.
The Big Issue has grown over the years. What started as a magazine has developed into so much more, both in what we do and who we do it for. Parts of the organisation such as the Foundation and the investment arm, Big Issue Invest, are long-established core Big Issue components. But growth continues.
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.
We are one of the oldest and biggest social enterprises in the UK. All the profits made by the Big Issue Group are reinvested back into helping vendors with a 'hand up, not a hand out'.
The northern version of Big Issue is to cease publication in May with the charity blaming declining town centre footfall and rising costs. Big Issue North was "no longer financially viable" but it was an "incredibly hard decision", the magazine management said.
It gives homeless people a hand up not a hand out, empowering them through their own actions. Helping the homeless help themselves is the principle behind The Big Issue. Self-help is a way to break people from dependency and is an alternative to begging. It allows people to make choices and develops their self-esteem.
