If you want to get rid of some unwanted furniture or pick up a bargain then the Stock Xchange is the place to go.

For the imaginatively named business, which was set up by entrepreneurs Dorothy Billings and Barbara Belton Brown, sells everything from kitchen cutlery to four-post poster beds.

It works, quite simply, by arranging the items to be exhibited and sold at the sellers' homes and then getting the general public in to have a look at and buy the goods.

Ms. Billings explained how the business first came about after they got their first taste of the idea seven years ago.

"Seven years ago a real estate agent friend of ours had a house that needed to be emptied of furniture and he asked us if we would sell the furniture for him," she said.

"It was a pretty good house down the town and we did this together and loved it - we had a ball and we thought we'll do this.

"I had just retired as a nursery school teacher and Barbara was interested in it and we just thought 'let's get to it'."

It took a number of years before the concept came to fruition, but once it did, there was no looking back for the pair.

"Anyway, there were a number of issues that happened, but just recently we decided it was time to set up our little thing," said Ms. Billings.

"Before now we have done bits and pieces - for example, if somebody called us up and said 'we have got a table and chairs we want to sell' and some one else says 'I want a table and chairs', we could arrange a sale."

Their first sale, for which the proceeds will go to the Salvation Army, will be held at a location in Cavendish Heights, Devonshire on next Wednesday and Thursday, with further sales planned throughout next month. Among some of the top items up for grabs at the opening sale will be a Boer War Bermuda Cedar sideboard and a sterling silver set of cutlery.

"We are doing our first one for the Salvation Army because one of their executives has left the Island and they have said that instead of replacing him they are going to rent the house he was staying in to the general public, so he has hired us to sell all his stuff," Ms. Billings said.

"The house is being rented unfurnished so everything has to go and we are offering our services for free on this occasion because all the money raised is going to charity.

"The two bedrooms are fully furnished, as is the dining room and kitchen and the lounge is the only place that doesn't have a lot of furniture, so we are going to put some other people's stuff in there."

When they start doing sales for clients they will be getting a 20 percent commission on all the stock sold, while the customer also pays for advertising in the local press, but the business also has its own website where all advertising is free.

The pair have, however, got most of their business so far through word of mouth and emailing a database of customers for advance viewings.

But the best thing about the Stock Xchange is the business relationship between the two, according to Ms. Billings.

"We complement each other in that Barbara is very artistic and she is a great seller - she could sell anything to anybody, and I am the organiser, the emailer and do the accounting," she said.

"We both have strengths and weaknesses and I think we have a great time working together.

"I am the business side of it and and she is the sales side and it works well."

Ms. Belton Brown said the beauty of the business is being your own boss and being able to do your own thing.

"We have both done the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job and now we can both do something where we can work to our own hours," she said.

"I get a buzz out of helping people get what they want and I love coming to see and trying to sell the stuff - so this kind of business is perfect for me."

There are a number of reasons why people might want to sell off their furniture and household items - because they are just downsizing to a smaller house or leaving the Island altogether or, or simply because they are starting afresh.

And, equally, there is an attraction from the buyers' point of view, in that they may want to get their hands on something rare or unusual or are merely in it to hunt out a bargain.

It also has the advantage over online second hand sellers that the hassle is taken out of sales because they are dealt with exclusively by the Stock Xchange management team, without the added stress of having to place the advert first of all, subsequently receiving hundreds of phone calls about and visits to see the product for sale and, if you are unlucky enough, having to arrange and personally deliver that item.

"Not everyone has computers and works that way," said Ms. Billings.

"Many people say to us - I haven't got a computer and I don't know how to do an advert and I don't want to have lots of phone calls from people wanting to buy, so they get us to do it.

"The other beauty of a house sale compared to auctions is that you don't have to sit there waiting all day for your job lot to come up - you can just walk through the house, see something you like and buy it."

To arrange to sell or buy your own second hand goods call 335 6256 or 737 0149, email info@ thestockX.com or visit the website at www.thestockX.com