Very interesting. I've never heard of the idea. No clue on how to look but what comes to mind is that a bankrupt company will either liquidate and close or will reorganize with the intention of the owner continuing. Depending on the market, competitors will quickly scoop up customers if the business is commercial. If you're considering retail, you may just want to watch for businesses that disappear then check the records. If they went under maybe lease their space and go forward. Now that I think about it, restaurants may be a good candidate since they go under easily and their buildout often includes appliances and fixtures that have to stay in the building. ---------------------------- Jeff The Wooden Crates Organization Message Edited by ChristineL on 10-30-2009 10:06 AM

If you are interested in the bankruptcy process take a look at this book http://www.amazon.com/How-Rich-Buying-Bankrupt-Companies/dp/0821625101

Me too need some advices  on bankrupt. With above reply, i will be able to find solutions for my poor knowledge on bankrupt.

It depends on what kind of business you are looking to take over, like a franchise or a private mom and pop style of business. Nicole is right, most private busineses when they go out of business just sell everything. I have passed by countless restrarents going out of biz and they sell the tables, chairs, booth chairs, ovens, everything. Mainly new businesses will buy this second hand gear and start something up with very low cost accesseries and decorations. Other people will buy the stuff to upgrade their existing setup. I think you should determine what type of business you want to go after, prviate, public, franchise, etc.

I used to buy equipment from business that would go under. Try advertising for them to come to you. Try craigslist.org or the classified section in the paper, remember these business are slow, so the owners have a lot of free time ( reading the paper). Also look for autioneers and get lists of there upcoming auctions.Also check with business brokers, often time these businesses would have listed months before with them. I know that big business uses this strategy all the time.

I have heard of people buying a big chunk of assets or contacts from a bankrupt company, but not of the company itself.  I would assume it would take a lot of research to find out which companies are worth money and just had a bad executor.  However, it seems like a lot of business' go bankrupt for a reason.

This is a very interesting business idea, one that I have researched before. I believe that if you are looking for a business going bankrupt, you should avoid the restaurant industry as a whole. The success rate is not very high at all and you could find yourself going bankrupt. On the other hand though if you were looking into 'flipping' a business you save from bankruptcy you could see some potential for a nice profit. Highly successful business people like Donald Trump have done this countless times. Message Edited by alexvig on 11-01-2009 11:04 PM

I think the key issue here is 'Buyer Beware', as one of the posters above has clearly stated, Businesses usually go bankrupt for a reason.   Message Edited by belluf on 11-02-2009 06:21 PM

Might want to contact a business broker in your area - to see what they know about the industry and availability. You could also contact local banks to see if they will sell what they have outright.

For more information on this topic, please see Business.gov's article on The Six Steps to Buying a Bankrupt Business