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

[gabeBenitez]

Just wanted to give a heads up for people living in the DFW, I've been actively looking at the listings here and noticed a couple things,

People aren't as desperate to sell here, the economy is pretty good and money, ( the chump change) is enough to keep people happy,

However, I have noticed that PREMIUM items, such as high end Bicycles and other expensive hot ticket items have some really good potential.

Saw a carbon fiber bike frame, going for 975, could be bought for asking price and sold for around 1200. Could probably get it for 900 and make any where from 150-300 on the deal.
That's all for about an hours worth of work.

Saw a motorcycle yesterday, Selling due to a death, selling for 2800, could easily be picked up for less. And sold for 3500, looking at about 700 cash in potential profit.

That's 2 deals with a potential of 1000 dollars in profit if you played it right.

Just keep your head in the game, and look for the DEALS. Can't stress enough that the money is made when you buy.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

Back in the game.

Speed skating season is over so I've got a few months to work towards this goal ($31,500 I think it was). I still have dryland training and the cycling season, but that's not as time consuming.

Anyway, I drained the account a while back to put towards another project, so we're restarting this at square 1.

In the past week I funded it with the first $1,000.

Been pretty lazy with regards to all my business endeavors as of late, but I'm ready to get it on.

Working on simplifying my surroundings and eliminating more distractions.

As of right now, and going forward I have 2 recurring revenue streams (to dedicate to this project specifically) that are good for roughly $660/month, which is a start but it would take 45+ months to hit the target.. too long, must increase revenue.

Got new business cards the other day...

 

[ZeroExile]

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'!

That is really true for number 5. The first thing I hustled locally on Craigslist was this elliptical machine, it probably wouldn't work but I used a dolly, pulled it home and realized it worked! Cleaned it and listed it for $60 claiming that we owned it for a few months and need space in the garage then linked to the retail page to show they were getting a good deal. I probably listed to cheap but I just guesstimated.

It was a pain in the a$$ at first since I was 17 and didn't have a car (still don't at 18) so I couldn't deliver it, had to be picked up. Got low balling offers or people saying they wanted it delivered, eventually someone came by to pay full price, no hassle and picked it up themselves. It's that kind of neighborhood to just put their elliptical machine outside when there wasn't anything wrong with it.

Lesson is to be patient and wait for the right fish! But still be reasonable.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Not much to report at this point. Slowly increasing the balance, but need to work harder.

At $1,800 now.

 

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[RBefort]

I kind of let go of my flipping ventures. I was buying decent amount of video game stuff at the beginning, but then inventory/finds slowed down and I also got a little more picky. I no longer wanted to drive and buy for $40 even when I could make $80 profit on it, as that could mean several more meetups to sell things off the bundle. In fact, making only $50 feels small now. Granted, 20 of those transactions and I've made $1k for the month, but little in my market sells for $50+. Plus, I don't believe it is appropriate for the size of my area. I really like sitting at home and selling things at ebay, then taking to USPS 1 mi away, however. Just get tired of arranging when to meet people and actually driving 15+min each way. This was all I was doing for income, and it's hard to see the rewards of your efforts when you blow through that each month. Back to the grind of something else.

 

[Ron Dee]

I hear ya RBefort. Ya eBay and PayPal take almost 13% I still like buying on CL selling on eBay just to avoid the headache of meeting people all across the city.

 

[NerdAtCoolTable]

Really wish this thread didn't die off.

Ive been doing pretty good in the video game department. Looking for new items to add to the inventory.

 

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[mnov5534]

Its been a while since my last post! Been quite busy and made some cash, which I invested into my importing venture to buy new stock.

Summary:

• Sold the iPad Mini 2 which I wanted to keep, eventually I had an offer and made $80 profit
• Bought another iPad Mini 4G on eBay for $290, sold on Gumtree for $70 profit - took 37 days though, so quite long!
• Bought 3 iPad Mini 4G's from one guy on Gumtree, made the deal, literally ran to the station and went to the city to pick them up. I knew I could make money, but dropping $850 on 3 iPads was still unnerving! One sold in less than 2 weeks, the next one took a long time to sell, so I ended up selling for less and taking only $70 profit, instead of the usual $100+
• Bought 2 iPad Mini 2's from Gumtree. I lowballed and the seller was keen to get money for a holiday, her words!! On pickup day, she contacted me asking if I'd be interested in taking another one. I didn't want it, since I still had 3 Mini 1's in stock and sweating on getting my cash back! I said I'll confirm if I will take 1 or 2 before I pick them up. I ended up lining up a deal to sell one of them same day, delivered it more than half an hour out of my way. $70 profit same day, not bad! So I took both and they were a great buy!
• Had a killer Easter long weekend. Sold 2 iPads in 2 days!! One of which was the second Mini 2 bought a day earlier. Even better, sold both on Gumtree for full asking price, with no attempt at negotiating, truly amazing!
• Bought another iPad Mini 2 as a keeper, on eBay, good price, now considering selling it.
• Bought an iPad Air on Gumtree - also a keeper. Need it for testing cable for my business.

All in all, made just under $1,200 profit from flipping so far. Its not bad, but can be stressful when you've got several iPads in stock that aren't moving. I refused to sell too low to clear them, but I probably could have moved them much faster if I settled for smaller profits. Average profit on iPads has been 37%.

As others have said, you make your profit when you buy. If I can't buy low enough, I don't buy! I made heaps of offers, many sellers refuse to drop the price much, but eventually you find ones that do - although they're not easy to find!

I setup alerts on Gumtree for items I want to watch and get emailed daily with new listings, so it makes it easy to jump on a deal as soon as its listed. I haven't seen any decent deals recently, but haven't been aggressively searching for them either. Been focusing more on testing the market with all the new items I've bought.

@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.

Craigslist is virtually non existent in Australia. Tried it a year or so back to sell a computer, all I got was one Nigerian scammer contacting me! There's probably a couple of hundred ads in total on CL for the whole of Australia, no one uses it! Gumtree is in Australia what CL is in the States. Its huge and the best place to sell! Power banks sell very well there, I sell for most items for a bit less than on eBay and end up making more because there's no fees. Also many people are happy for me to post to them, so its also good.

 

[mnov5534]

Man its quiet in here, where are all the hustlers?!!

Well I bought some books at a lost property auction, as it turned out I went a little crazy and bought 10 boxes full!! As I realised I won all 10 auctions, I had an "oh shit, what have I done" moment... Still I figured there's no way I can't make money!

I was quite shocked when I turned up to pick them up and some of the boxes were much bigger than expected. In total it was a whole pallet full of books, and soon it dawned on me that there's no way I'd be able to fit them all in the car on one trip! It was around an hour each way to pick them up, so I wasn't happy!

I brought them home, spent several days sorting through them and separated the textbooks first. I spent just a fraction under $500 including petrol, and I had over $4000 worth of uni textbooks alone.

Today I had the best day so far, made $150. Sold 1 textbook and 15 large novels.

A day after I listed the textbooks on Gumtree I sold the first high school maths book. So far I've sold $300 worth of books in 5 separate sales! I'm hoping to make back my money before the credit card statement is due next month, then its all pure profit from there!

 

[mws87]

I'm in. Ever since I read this thread (or maybe it was part 1?) I began getting rid of all my old crap first, then looking for things to flip 2nd. Still have a bunch of useless things I need to get rid of. Even got the GF interested in it. She has literally hundreds of nail polishes she's used ONCE (yeah, she's a producer's dream customer), apparently the stuff she has sells for a decent amount even used. Crazy.
I'll be chiming in to keep my motivation up! Onward!

 

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[RBefort]

I quit flipping...spent about 8-9 months on it (10/1/14 was first buy), and just slowly selling off what game stock I have left. Mainly flipped Video Games. Made about $7k profit so far...this is after any online fees, shipping costs, supplies, etc. Doesn't account for gas spent, unless i went like 50+ mi each way to buy something. Moving back over to poker until I figure out my next venture. This gig was meant to be not too time consuming while keeping me afloat to work on other things, but it just consumed my time too much.

 

[smartman]

Hustling will burn you the hell out unless you have an exit strategy. I still don't. LOL@me

 

[RBefort]

Hustling will burn you the hell out unless you have an exit strategy. I still don't. LOL@me

Haha perfectly said. It's a way to make use of your time and make money, but not an overly big way to be productive long term. Basically have to decide from the get-go what your long term goals are for flipping...going to scale massively, create a website, hunt like mad to resell on Amazon/Ebay and make 30-60k/yr so you don't have to get a job? Just going to do it temporarily to get funds for another project? Mine was I needed to stay afloat, but really didn't feel like I wanted to scale and do it long term. One day I just had to tell myself I am done with it and will get a job if I have to, and do it on the side to help pay off debts. I still look at craigslist and buy/sell on FB out of habit, but remind myself it isn't what I'm doing anymore.

 

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[smartman]

I wake up every morning and tell myself I have to make 200 dollars. Whether that happens at the bar I work at 2 nights a week, through my ebay sales from the things I imported from china (learned on @ecomman's importing thread), or from craigslist flips. I only look at the bottom line which is cash in my pocket. Sometimes I wake up to the money already made from overnight sales, make it in an hour with a profitable flip, and sometimes it takes all night at the bar. Other times it just doesn't happen because I decided to play hockey all day. Those are the risks and freedoms. I kind of love it. I have more money than ever before and have all my bills paid up to date. It is stressful, but I'm the kind of person that will just grind it harder than anyone else.

 

[xkir0x]

No one hustling anymore?


Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

 

[DeletedUser394]

No one hustling anymore?


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Life is one giant hustle.

I'm sure there are many here still doing this behind the scenes.

Most people use this as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

 

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[smartman]

I hit a wall recently, haven't been able to scrape up much in the old "go-to's". Ipads, ipods, phones, gift cards have gone dry on craigslist.

I have been checking this app Offer Up a lot recently. Sometimes, not often, there is something decent there to buy.

 

[Midas Touch]

Can someone help me out?

I have a few chairs I got for very cheap and pretty good condition. I tried to sell it on Craigslist for the past few weeks and not a single reply! I am willing to split profits. I just want them out.

 

[jon.a]

Can someone help me out?

I have a few chairs I got for very cheap and pretty good condition. I tried to sell it on Craigslist for the past few weeks and not a single reply! I am willing to split profits. I just want them out.

@AllenCrawley?

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Can someone help me out?

I have a few chairs I got for very cheap and pretty good condition. I tried to sell it on Craigslist for the past few weeks and not a single reply! I am willing to split profits. I just want them out.

What kind of chairs?

Have you read my thread where I detailed how I turned $20 into $8500... Selling chairs?

 

[Midas Touch]

What kind of chairs?

Have you read my thread where I detailed how I turned $20 into $8500... Selling chairs?

Yes! That's why I bought them haha. But I can't find that exact thread for some reason. You bought it at an auction, right?

They are wooden bar chairs. Not stools but actual chairs with back support. They have a few nicks and scuffs here and there but nothing too serious.

@jon.a Thank you sir!

 

[AllenCrawley]

Yes! That's why I bought them haha. But I can't find that exact thread for some reason. You bought it at an auction, right?

They are wooden bar chairs. Not stools but actual chairs with back support. They have a few nicks and scuffs here and there but nothing too serious.

@jon.a Thank you sir!

Have you cleaned them?
Take great photos of them?
Wrote great ad copy?
Listed on eBay?
Called local bars and restaurants?

What price did you buy them at?
What did your research uncover as to what price you could sell them at?
What are you willing to sell them at?

 

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[SBS.95]

No one hustling anymore?


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All the time, but as GrumpyCat said, it is all about trying to use that cash and experience and leveraging it into something else. Otherwise you are just making yourself a job. I like what I do, and I work when I want, but at the end of the day it is trading time for money.

I've learned a lot about selling on Amazon because of hustling, which is useful for selling my own products.

 

[SBS.95]

I hit a wall recently, haven't been able to scrape up much in the old "go-to's". Ipads, ipods, phones, gift cards have gone dry on craigslist.

I have been checking this app Offer Up a lot recently. Sometimes, not often, there is something decent there to buy.

Too common. Everyone goes after the Apple products and the gift cards. That's the low hanging fruit.

Pro tip- check your local "tools" section of Craigslist. Lots of deals to be had. It's not as sexy as iPads, but professional-quality tools from Snap-On and Matco will sell online in a matter of minutes.

 

[Midas Touch]

Have you cleaned them?
Take great photos of them?
Wrote great ad copy?
Listed on eBay?
Called local bars and restaurants?

What price did you buy them at?
What did your research uncover as to what price you could sell them at?
What are you willing to sell them at?

I cleaned up one in terms of actually restoring it. I sanded off the gloss, restained it and reglossed it. It took a long time so my reasoning was why not just sell it all as is and let the customer restore it? I'll sell it to them for cheap.

They were taken with my cell phone and in the backyard.

I have two more with different angles.

Ad copy was average at best? I deleted my ads but the main focus was these were quality chairs being sold for peanuts because I needed space.

I have not listed on EBay or called restaurants.

I bought all 19 for $50 and tried to sell for $40 a piece with $30 per chair if someone took all 19. Dropped the price to $35 and $25.

I just did some research on the chair and it turns out it sells for almost $180 per piece!

http://www.restaurantfurniture4less.com/45451-acf.html

Wow and the guy who sold it to me said they go for $80 retail.

What would you recommend?

 

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[AllenCrawley]

I cleaned up one in terms of actually restoring it. I sanded off the gloss, restained it and reglossed it. It took a long time so my reasoning was why not just sell it all as is and let the customer restore it? I'll sell it to them for cheap.

They were taken with my cell phone and in the backyard.

I have two more with different angles.

Ad copy was average at best? I deleted my ads but the main focus was these were quality chairs being sold for peanuts because I needed space.

I have not listed on EBay or called restaurants.

I bought all 19 for $50 and tried to sell for $40 a piece with $30 per chair if someone took all 19. Dropped the price to $35 and $25.

I just did some research on the chair and it turns out it sells for almost $180 per piece!

http://www.restaurantfurniture4less.com/45451-acf.html

Wow and the guy who sold it to me said they go for $80 retail.

What would you recommend?

If it was me I would start by calling some restaurants and bars. Let them know that I have some great chairs that I need to sell. That they were $180 new but would sell all 19 for $50 each. This would leave you some room for negotiation. I would also list them on eBay but would take much better photos first. Have you looked to see if they sell on eBay?

 

[jon.a]

If it was me I would start by calling some restaurants and bars. Let them know that I have some great chairs that I need to sell. That they were $180 new but would sell all 19 for $50 each. This would leave you some room for negotiation. I would also list them on eBay but would take much better photos first. Have you looked to see if they sell on eBay?

Near the end of the last century, Mrs. jon and I traveled the US as retail consultants specializing in "Quitting Business Sales" We had to sell to the walls. That meant the fixtures too. She would just open the phone book and call all the other local retailers. She would normally have the fixtures pre-sold before we finished with selling the inventory.

Cold calls work if you have a good offer.

 

[Midas Touch]

If it was me I would start by calling some restaurants and bars. Let them know that I have some great chairs that I need to sell. That they were $180 new but would sell all 19 for $50 each. This would leave you some room for negotiation. I would also list them on eBay but would take much better photos first. Have you looked to see if they sell on eBay?

Should I restore the other 18 or should I just wipe them off and sell as is?

There's no current listing on Ebay for that specific chair

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_C...old=1&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=45451+Bar+Stool

But I did find something similar to it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-MODERN-...ae59e0&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=10&sd=191638052043

$80 a piece

@jon.a

This gives me hope. I was thinking bar owners would tell me to shove off because why would they want refurbished bar stools from nobody?

Sorry for the late response gentlemen. My computer needs to be tuned up.

 

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[smartman]

I'd probably just make a FB post of the chair, and ask if anyone knows of a bar that needs new chairs(maybe their local bar's stools are in poor condition). You'll get a lot of free leads and a place to start. Selling furniture of any kind of ebay sucks.

The other thing is, definitely offer free delivery. If they want to see one in person first, take all of the chairs with you, so they can purchase them then and there. I get the run around more from restaurant owners than anyone else.

 

[TeflonDon]

Should I restore the other 18 or should I just wipe them off and sell as is?

There's no current listing on Ebay for that specific chair

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_Complete=1&_dcat=153928&LH_Sold=1&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=45451 Bar Stool

But I did find something similar to it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-MODERN-WOOD-LEATHER-BARSTOOL-29-CONTEMPORARY-BAR-COUNTER-STOOL-KENDALL/191684930432?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=33099&meid=e85b17fda4d9445e84f41949d8ae59e0&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=10&sd=191638052043

$80 a piece

@jon.a

This gives me hope. I was thinking bar owners would tell me to shove off because why would they want refurbished bar stools from nobody?

Sorry for the late response gentlemen. My computer needs to be tuned up.

For the restoration question, ask yourself if the costs (both financial and time) to restore them are worth the extra profit. Then you also need to figure out what the extra profit would be of course.