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A Hustler's Guide To Buying And Selling Anything (Part 2)

biggeemac

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I know in the past, doing this, i used to search for items using keywords that indicate desparation (must sell, bills, divorce, etc). Is that really necessary? Are you guys just sending out emails/texts to people without any clues of desperation in their ad?
 
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TheNextTrump

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I know in the past, doing this, i used to search for items using keywords that indicate desparation (must sell, bills, divorce, etc). Is that really necessary? Are you guys just sending out emails/texts to people without any clues of desperation in their ad?

Surely won't hurt the process, but keywords aren't a major priority for me.

I contact ANYONE that has an item of interest.

I know what my top dollar is, and I know what the (retail) value is.

Even if they have their price above retail, I'll still shoot em an email/text with my top dollar.
 

OVOvince

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Damn, it's been a long minute.

Anyway, I finally managed to successfully sell the iPod a few weeks ago... or a month, and then since I have bought and sold 8 items ranging from headphones/ipods to basketball sneakers.

my net profit has been $475.00

a couple things here

i started off very ambitious with my goals and they were very unrealistic

i did not have a chance to dive into this as much as I liked to, but am seriously impressed with it.

reasons i did not have a chance to go full force was because the copywriter that was working on the advertisement for my service showed me the final draft which blew me away.

my whole plan was to continue to do craigslist/ebay/amazon etc as almost full time while doing my business service part time to split test, collect data, and then go headstrong into a more calculated campaign. however, needless to say, this copy i got reads pretty damn good, so for the past few weeks ive been gearing up and preparing for a huge campaign, which i sent out recently.



New goals now:

maintain a minimum of $500/month from craigslist

from there i will scale my way up and try to hit my first $10k from online buying/reselling alone, rather than a cumulative of everything.


i will be now following a philosophy for investments/consuming---- create a new cashflow to use in a new investment rather than from my savings/checking account.

and i finally quit the delivery job i had, manager was such a punk. he was a few months younger than me and was real cocky too, so im glad i got that over with, and now i can still hit my goal of my first net $10k before my 23rd birthday with my business :)


good luck to everyone else
 
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TheNextTrump

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I got flagged.

Why the hell do people do this?

From my experience 2 reasons:

1. The person is a donk and has nothing better to do with his/her time

2. Your post is coming off shady or simply being misunderstood

I'd have to see your ad to really tell you the reason, but try rewording it if you think that's the problem.

Also, run more than one. Sometimes I run 5-10 ads on one cl site, all in different categories, gives you more exposure and if a couple get flagged you still have a few in action. Reword the titles and text so they don't look completely identical.

Good luck
 

Midas Touch

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Thanks man! I did what you advised right now.

It may be a combination of both. I put bullet points to why they should buy it but I only got 1 reply and I was lowballed (maybe someone from this thread?). I finally changed my copy and then it got flagged. My competition is someone selling gas lawnmowers for $200-$700.

Ridiculous.

I want to get rid of mine for $100.
 
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biggeemac

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I wonder what the consensus is about what types of things to move onto once you have accumulated a decent bankroll.....say, 20k or better. Does it make sense to keep going with small items, or move onto bigger things like vehicles and even real estate?
 
D

DeletedUser394

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I wonder what the consensus is about what types of things to move onto once you have accumulated a decent bankroll.....say, 20k or better. Does it make sense to keep going with small items, or move onto bigger things like vehicles and even real estate?

It's really just a way to move on to bigger things.

Otherwise it would just turn into a full time job.. albeit one that could pay a lot more.
 
D

DeletedUser394

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unless you're going for volume via ebay/amazon (with an actual product) then smaller flips aren't worth it after a while
 
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BananaKing

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Hey Hustlers!

I just wanted to post a quick refresher and add some new lessons for some of you. I started hustling hard this week and thought I'd share some of my most important experiences with you.

01 - "Lowballing Follow Up"
If you send out emails with lowball offers and people reply, but make a funny comment about your offer or how low it is and they'd never sell for that, follow up and make a second, improved offer. They took the time to reply - this means they are willing to sell to you. Use this to your advantage. In my experience, on the second, the latest on the third offer they agree and I am still well below the market average.

02 - "Lowball Combination"
I found that you increase your chances of getting a good deal when buying by adding one small thing. When I lowball, I always add the following: I can come pick it up today, or even now. This got me a lot more responses, since people want to get rid of their stuff quickly.

03 - "Carry Cash"
Sometimes, it happens to me that I send out my lowballing offers and then go for another pickup in the city. Meanwhile, I get a call or email that they agreed to my price, if I come now. Well, if you don't have enough cash with you, the deal is gone (if you are dealing with expensive items, this might be a bit more delicate).

04 - "Count Your Cash"
It happened to me that I agreed on a price for an item and once I arrived there, the price suddenly went back to what it was before the agreement. Since then, I count out the cash I agreed on to buy the item for and put it in my wallet. If I have surplus cash, I put it somewhere else, like my jacket or jeans. When someone tries to pull this off on me, I tell them I have what we agreed on, show them and tell them that I buy it for the agreed price or I'll leave. Works in 9 out of 10 times.

05 - "Don't Be Afraid To Walk Away"
One of my first deals went as follows. I bought an iPod for 50 bucks and put it online for 65. Nothing too big, but took me 30 minutes and was one of my first hustles. 5 minutes after I put the ad online I got a call from a guy wanting to buy it. He wanted to push the price and referred to an offer on another site. I agree on 60. He said he had to come by car for quite a while and started now. Meanwhile, I checked for this site online (I have never heard of it before), and didn't find it. 20 minutes later, he called me again and asked me if the manual for the iPod was part of the package as well (I never advertised it like this). He said that we need to work on the price a little more if I missed the manual, but we would do that when after arriving. The third time he called me, he should have been away around 20 minutes by car, still. He asked me for the original packaging, which I didn't have (and I also never advertised it with it). He said he'd buy it for 50 in this case. While on the phone, I could hear the same ambulance that just passed in my street. I said I wouldn't sell it to him for 50. 60 it is or nothing. He pushed me, since he came so "far". I walked away from the deal and sold it the next day for 63. Just had another guy trying something similar with me. I refused and 10 minutes later I arranged a meeting for 20% of what I got offered before. I am open for bargains, since they are included in my initial asking price. But don't f**k with me.

Might seem like simple lessons, but I found them pretty helpful. Maybe they will help you too. In one way or another :)
All in all, the old saying "Cash is king" cannot be more true. Hustling is about being QUICK. Be quick when you buy and be quick when you sell.
Happy hustlin'!

HAHAHAHA SAME PRINCIPLE OF HUSTLERS AROUND THE WORLD..

Gotta love people with the same skill set like this..

I'm HUSTLING here in the Philippines by the way. (buy and selling cars) :)
 

MitchC

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Not really "danger" it's just annoying.

When I had my personal cell # I would get people that just have no tact and would call me between like 11 pm to 2 am, sometimes when I was trying to sleep.

Plus you never know, there's some weird people out there. I'd rather they have my fake phone number where I can easily block them.

Also it's good for sending out offers because you can type the texts on your computer way faster than you can text on a cell phone.


Someone posted a car for sale on a Facebook group, I messaged him on a female Facebook account, "Hey can you send me some more pics 02xxxx"

About a month later at like 1am I got sent a bunch of hideous death threats about my body being chopped up and left in a river, they used my name and everything, I realized after they would have got it from my voicemail, anyway was very unnerving, turns out it was his psycho girlfriend who saw the messages and interpreted it the wrong way.

Ever since then, fake Facebooks for everything and no real phone numbers ever. No address either but that's another story.
 
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smartman

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no updates to the thread. no good

picked up an iphone 6 with bad esn. turned out to have the icloud lock. i'd be suspicious, but the dude told me all this before he would take the money. it is on ebay right now.
clearing out some video games still lingering around from a closeout I made of a pawn shop from a couple years ago. Really shaking my head at how lazy I get with this stuff.
 
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mnov5534

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I just wanted to share a few of my deals. Basically I sell a lot of stuff online, mainly new mobile accessories that I import. Late last year I had a guy who wanted to buy a Nokia phone off me that I had listed on Gumtree (same as CL in Australia), he came to look at it, its virtually like new. Unfortunately his girlfriend is fussy and wanted one that has a box. Not an easy task for a phone that's a few years old!

He didn't buy it, she got a new Nokia Lumia on a contract, but didn't like it! So he bought her an iPhone instead and he was left with a Lumia he wanted to offload.

So literally while reading the Part 1 hustling thread, this guy called me saying if I'd want to buy the phone off him!

I really didn't want it, its a Windows Phone device, they're not very popular, and he's telling me its worth over $600 something... I told him I'll do some research on the model and call him back! I checked, yeah it was over $600 when launched, unfortunately for him that model had just been discontinued at the end of last year, they sold on eBay for anywhere from $300 - $500... Wide range!

So I told him, I don't really want it, its going to be hard to sell and I can't offer you anywhere near what you're thinking its worth. I said, even if I give you $200, i'll struggle to make a profit with eBay/PayPal fees and postage.

In the end I told him I'd give him $180 for it if he wants, and that's also taking a risk on my part.

He was reluctant, but he wanted it gone that day! He said OK and he brought it over to me an hour later! He said it was brand new in the box, so I looked at the phone, box was opened... And the phone had a scratch on the back, 1 scratch about 20mm long! Well clearly I can't sell it on eBay as brand new in that case!

He brought along an old iPhone 3G and asked if i wanted to buy it also. I didn't! So in the end I told him, the iPhone is probably worth about $50 max, I'll take them both and give you the $180, since I can't sell the phone as brand new!

He took the offer!


1. I sold the Nokia Lumia for $450, 2 days later on Gumtree - $270 profit!

2. Eventually sold the iPhone on eBay for $110, around $95 profit after fees and postage, not bad!

I went hunting for more deals. I need an iPad to test iPhone cables that I import and see which model works better. But I don't want an iPad, just need it for the business. So what should I do, get one for free!


I found a guy selling an iPad Mini 2 16GB 4G, for $320. Negotiated it down to $240, made up of $200 cash and $40 worth of new mobile accessories I sell. I drove for 1 hour to get there, found the little shit was selling a 1st gen iPad, not the second gen with retina display! I was clearly annoyed, but kept my cool.

I negotiated hard, but he wouldn't drop the price to $150 what I showed him the same model sold for on eBay (yes some sold for more, but others sold around $150 - $200 (with ebay fees)!

In the end I left empty handed, annoyed and unsatisfied! I went back to the car and was searching for other iPads in the area, since I'd come so far, I didn't want to go back empty handed!

He messaged me again, we went back and forth a few times. Finally there was light at the end of the tunnel! He agreed on $170 cash and 3 more power banks ($290 total retail value). Total cost to me was $190.

3. Sold the iPad on eBay for just over $300 after fees and postage - $110 profit! Had many offers around $300 on Gumtree, but I rejected them, should have taken them, as its quicker and easier than selling on eBay!


Just last Sunday, I bought an iPad Mini 2, brand new sealed in the box for $170, retail is $369, currently have it listed for $365, negotiable to $360 and have several customers who will contact me to pickup. So far I've had a few fall through this week, another 2 wanting to buy it today. Lets see how it goes.

Honestly this iPad was going to be the one I keep, but I couldn't resist trying to list it and see what I can get for it. Heck if I can get $90 profit off it, why not! There will always be other iPads to be bought!


I've also bought another 2x iPhone 3GS on eBay around the $50 each mark, after cleaning them up and taking nice photos, hoping to flip them and double my money at least. Will update when I have some sales.

I almost bought another iPad mini 1st generation, same specs as the first one when I was out of town last week. The guy was up the coast from me and I agreed to meet him a day later on my way back home. We agreed on $200, then just as I'd taken money out of the ATM and getting ready to go and meet him, he sent a message saying its too low, not to bother!!! WTF!

I gave him another chance because I went to pickup another iPhone literally less than 10 minutes drive from him. I told him i'm 10 minutes away, but he refused!

Checking Gumtree, he's still got the iPad listed at $320 and hasn't sold it. Living in a small coastal town, its not really a large market, I'm wondering if he will contact me again and ask if I'm interested still!!

My original price was $150, so if he wants to sell for $150, I'd probably do the 1.5 hour each way drive, and spend the afternoon at the beach there while I'm at it!

I'm also selling my demo Android tablet which is as new, I sold the last of the new stock a week ago and thinking to sell the ex demo tablet also. I will miss it, because its a nice device and very handy. I guess I'll have to find a deal on another undervalued Android tablet also!!


Seems in Australia, people aren't generally too desperate to sell iPads and higher value items. Lowballing doesn't have a lot of results. If only I could get deals like the one with the Nokia each day, but I'm not expecting one like that to come along any time soon!

Currently sitting on $475 profit, 3 iPhones and 1 iPad in stock! Looking for more deals and making more offers every day, mainly focusing on buying iPads. They go obsolete a bit slower than iPhones and they're hot and very easy to move!
 

Ron Dee

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In my personal experience its the people who make it a point to say "no lowballs please" in their ad always end up taking the lowball.
 
D

DeletedUser394

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no updates to the thread. no good

picked up an iphone 6 with bad esn. turned out to have the icloud lock. i'd be suspicious, but the dude told me all this before he would take the money. it is on ebay right now.
clearing out some video games still lingering around from a closeout I made of a pawn shop from a couple years ago. Really shaking my head at how lazy I get with this stuff.

been pretty busy for once. This is the final month of the speed skating season, leading up to the world championships at the beginning of March. Life consists of training, and training, and then more training.

Keep going with the deals man! Sell all the crap!!! gooo.
 
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smartman

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@mnov5534 are you having good success with the power banks on craigslist in australia? I've been tempted to import some from alibaba to sell in my area, but the ebay resale is kinda grim if they flop on craigslist here. Also, just a heads up, amazon is the best place to be flipping ipads. make yours the lowest priced one, and it will sell in a day or two.

@GrumpyCat speed skating? that's rad. I'm a hockey player here. would love to know what training is like for speed skaters. I would love to get some speed in my game.
 
D

DeletedUser394

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@GrumpyCat speed skating? that's rad. I'm a hockey player here. would love to know what training is like for speed skaters. I would love to get some speed in my game.

Unfortunately, hockey skates and speed skates are so fundamentally different that the training really doesn't overlap.

For example, speed skate blades are about a foot and a half long, are about as thick as two credit cards pressed together (1.5mm) and have only one flat edge that is angled in such a way that you can only turn left.. I'm not kidding. They also detach from the skate while you skate. This is known as the 'clap' skate.

Clap skate in action:

800px-Monique_Angerm%C3%BCller_%2823-02-2008%29.jpg


Hockey skates are much shorter, the blades are much thicker, and the edge is shaped like a dome going inward and you have 2 edges.

Also, how you skate is completely different. With hockey skates your center of gravity is nearly always directly underneath you, and you skate by slightly angling the blades so that you can 'push off'. With speed skates, your center of gravity is constantly shifting from one foot to the other, and you push directly to the side, while gliding on the outside edge of the opposite foot.. something a hockey player would never do unless they want to get run over by an opponent lol.

The only comparable training would be off ice drills. Squats and road cycling basically.

On ice, you can buy a small parachute to attach to your equipment to add resistance (and speed once you build up tolerance).
 

stockyal

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keep going @GrumpyCat took some inspiration from this thread after my ebay collapse :)

after starting importing and selling on ebay i reached £770 worth of sales in 31 days with an average profit of £300-400 a month until competition blew me out. so i started to flip items and it really is a good extra money maker not really a "business" for me but it keeps the money coming in on the side with very little time needed. i use local Facebook sales sites in my town to buy items as well as gumtree. i will then sell on another local Facebook site, gumtree or ebay.

off the top of my head these are my sales so far in the past month:
ps3 brought £100 sold for £130 - 3 days to sell
iPhone 5 x 2 brought £115 sold for £150 - 1 day to sell
iphone 5 bought £85 sold for £150 - few hours to sell
iphone 5 brought £110 sold for £150 - one day to sell
xbox one brought £180 sold for £240 - 2 hours to sell
samsung galaxy s5 £160 sold for £240 - 3/4 hours to sell
xbox one £180 sold for : ( oops kept it.. i couldn't resist) sold my old xbox and an old iPhone of mine haha.

total profit : £300 to £400 a month.

typically i will travel 10 minutes to pick the items up. listing them takes around 5 minutes and i offer postage on ebay or local pick up on other sites so 15 minutes per sale. from the sales above i made £340 profit for estimated 1 hour 45 minutes "work". i don't really see it as work as i enjoy doing it and making the sales is a good feeling.

I don't put a huge amount of effort into this so a 4 digit profit could easily be made by anyone who puts in the effort
 
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Midas Touch

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F*CK YEAH!!!

First f*cking time I made a profit from flipping! I messed up a couple of times and lost money but I learned some lessons. Thanks to TheNextTrump for the advice.

OK here's what I learned:

Weather and season will play a role in what's selling.

Take a BBQ grill for example. People grill only in the summer, when it's sunny. Do you think someone is going to buy a grill during the winter? NO! In fact, flip the script. Buy the grill in the winter and hold onto it until spring/summer to sell it. Yeah, it's a longer flip but you get some more cash.

I finally got rid of some lawn equipment. The reason no one bought it during the winter is because a lot of people don't really do yard work in the winter. When the sun is shining, now my wares are selling. Instead of selling it for $40, I sold it for $100 and I have two people who need this same item. I will search for it this weekend and contact them to sell.

Hustle on!
 
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Ryllban

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Im joining the game as well. Just bought a few items I will be selling on the Swedish market soon.

Just curious about one thing. Everyone who have been doing this for a while now, have you seen any improvement in your copywriting skills or the ability to sell to people?
 

Grinning-Jack

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I've been selling different stuff since the end of 20th century. I learn 1 thing; there aren't exist things which are impossible to sell. On the other hand, it's not easy to sell something that cost over 1000 dollars. I prefer selling cheap items from 5 to 300 bucks.
I'm sometimes good surprised when customers buy real useless items. For example this metal sign board was bought by an American buyer today.lol
 
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Grinning-Jack

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My small daily deal today that I'd share with you.lol

5 days ago, my friend came to me and asked to sell his item that he had been trying to sell for months without any success.

I said ok, I'd be able to do it online for 1 week. He had his deep doubts that I'd be able to sell it on time. lol

Well, I sold it for my friend's price. I earned my 25% on that sale + a bottle of whisky which my friend promised me if I'd sell the item on time. I spent 20 minutes and no penny to promote his item.

The point is; I just showed the customer why he wanted it.lol
 
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Grinning-Jack

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Today, I received a thanks' postcard from 1 our USA customers. He spent his time to hand write me the postcard, he spent his money to ship it to me,
Wow, I'm feeling like I bring a value to my customers/people. Their money feed my family, their feedback feed my spirit.

P.S. Please let me know, if I'd not use this thread for my posts like it.
 

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