A Hustler's Guide To Buying And Selling Anything (Part 1)

Gary M · Dec 4, 2011

Also, the first thread I read here when I joined after I read tmf was the $100 craigslist thread. And I said I was going to try it. I have never sold anything in my life on ebay or craigslist but I am going to. I have spent the last week searching for items to buy on CL but I haven't found anything where I could make real margin...yet. I have been basically searching for iPads. My excuse has been, "why spend $300 to make $350?" So I then started seaching for cars (yes, Hondas). What i need to get over and realize is that, as MJ said, you have to make $50 before you can make $5,000. So, I am going to make this fun, and there is nothing more fun than making $$$. Ill be back this week (tomorrow hopefully) with where I am and what I have purchased to sell...looking forward to it.

DeletedUser394 · Dec 5, 2011

Nearly 600 views in less than 24 hours. Yikes!

So the first goal with this project is $10,000 unencumbered cash by June 1st 2012. (That'll be just before a new semester). I'd be really pleased with that result.

Made a few more acquisitions and sales today, currently have 11 listings up.

Cash on Hand: $245
Inventory: $960

Total: $1,205

**and 'Sky' the purpose of my '...ok?' post was a poor attempt (my fault) at trying to say: 'The definition/interpretation of the word 'hustler' really doesn't matter to me. In the context of this thread, I only care about making money.' The word 'hustler' is irrelevant and I don't want to discuss semantics, when making money is the goal.

biggeemac · Dec 5, 2011

Well you are doing way better than me. I think I must be surrounded by hustlers in TX because I have only managed to pick up a generator, an iphone, a shi++y car(sold for a $50 profit), and a digital camera in a months time.

Sky · Dec 5, 2011

RyanDrake said:
**and 'Sky' the purpose of my '...ok?' post was a poor attempt (my fault) at trying to say: 'The definition/interpretation of the word 'hustler' really doesn't matter to me. In the context of this thread, I only care about making money.' The word 'hustler' is irrelevant and I don't want to discuss semantics, when making money is the goal.

I agree with you and your thread.

The-J · Dec 5, 2011

I have a question.

Would you say that raiding thrift shops for used handbags, jackets, etc. is time-efficient compared to looking for deals (with albeit smaller margins) on eBay or Craigslist? Thanks.

DeletedUser394 · Dec 5, 2011

The-J said:
I have a question.

Would you say that raiding thrift shops for used handbags, jackets, etc. is time-efficient compared to looking for deals (with albeit smaller margins) on eBay or Craigslist? Thanks.

Hopefully someone who's doing that can provide some insight.

I have some friends that do the thrift shop flips. Takes them a few hours to go through the whole store... It takes me 10 minutes to find deals online. I don't deal with clothing though.

Naturally almost anything online is more efficient if you're short on time.

JEdwards · Dec 5, 2011

How many of your sales are X-mas related? Like as in gifts, and if so are you going to stop buying at some point not to get stuck with product come January..

I think you are doing great, congrats...

bluepensuccess · Dec 5, 2011

Is this like garage saleing on the internet? My neighbor does that. She hits every garage sale in the city and then brings stuff back and sells it at her own garage sale for a higher price. This model probably is more cost effective.

DeletedUser394 · Dec 5, 2011

JackEdwards said:
How many of your sales are X-mas related? Like as in gifts, and if so are you going to stop buying at some point not to get stuck with product come January..

I think you are doing great, congrats...

Hmm, haven't thought of that, but I'd say not many. I've had a few people mention that they were buying things as gifts for their kids (the people that bought games). I'd say 25% are gift purchases, and that's being generous at best.

The fact that I started this in December was purely coincidence, and I plan on continuing long after the holidays are over, so I'm going to keep buying at every opportunity that would give me a healthy profit.

I just sold a GPS device to a professional paraglider (lol) for a $75 profit. Time to go deliver it

DeletedUser394 · Dec 5, 2011

bluepensuccess said:
Is this like garage saleing on the internet? My neighbor does that. She hits every garage sale in the city and then brings stuff back and sells it at her own garage sale for a higher price. This model probably is more cost effective.

No, I just buy stuff off craigslist and then resell it on craigslist for what it's actually worth 5 minutes later.

Might hit up some garage sales in the summer, but I don't plan on hosting any.

Edit: Or maybe it is. Not sure I understand the question.

oddball · Dec 5, 2011

RyanDrake said:
Hopefully someone who's doing that can provide some insight.

I have some friends that do the thrift shop flips. Takes them a few hours to go through the whole store... It takes me 10 minutes to find deals online. I don't deal with clothing though.

Naturally almost anything online is more efficient if you're short on time.

I thought about trying it but CL is just so easy. I can do everything from my computer or phone. You already know if you have a deal before you drive anywhere and waste gas.

As to what Jack asked about xmas gifts, I haven't heard many people getting them as xmas gifts but they could have just not said anything. I really haven't changed my inventory or buying prices so I personally am not worried about getting stuck with products.

Whole Paradigm · Dec 6, 2011

Ryan,

I have around 10k in inventory and I'll start posting CL tomorrow. Do you find that a certain wordage works better than another in your "pitch"? Also, do you post each item once or do you try multiple adds written differently to obviously post the item several times?
Cory

DeletedUser394 · Dec 6, 2011

AwkwardPublic said:
Ryan,

I have around 10k in inventory and I'll start posting CL tomorrow. Do you find that a certain wordage works better than another in your "pitch"? Also, do you post each item once or do you try multiple adds written differently to obviously post the item several times?
Cory

I tend to make my ads more personable. I find that people respond better when you show that you're human instead of some robot business just blankly listing products for sale. Just a sentence or two at the beginning and/or end of a listing seems to work best.

I avoid writing 'check out my other listings', 'OBO', 'negotiable', etc. And don't even bother posting anything for sale unless you have at least one picture to go with a listing. In over 50 sales, I've only been lowballed once. Putting OBO/negotiable opens you up to a whole bunch of crap offers.. I still normally sell between 5%-10% under my original asking (usually when it's a package/bulk deal) but it's still a heck of a lot better than what I'd get if I made it known in the ad that the price was flexible.

An example ad for a GPS device that I just sold an hour ago;

'Purchased this (model #) GPS device, I have no real use for it and would like to make room for other things. Comes with case, usb adapter, and instructions. Only thing missing is the box. It currently retails for $249,99 and I'm willing to part with it for $165.'

I NEVER EVER lie and/or exagerate about a product. If there is a scratch, I say it up front, if there is a flaw, I make 100% sure that they are aware right from the beginning. You just don't want to get into that.. Most of the people I sell to have my phone number, and some even know where I live, so I have no interest in selling crap/things that don't work (The people that pay up to my asking prices/are serious buyers, I make a note of them, keep their phone number/email, and what they want/like to buy and I contact them when I have something else they might like.)

Those buyers know that I buy and sell things (I make it known to them that I can pretty much find them anything they want...within reason), and a few have actually started requesting that I purchase certain things on their behalf.

If someone questions prices then, and only then do I say that I buy/sell _____ all the time so I have a good idea of what _____ is worth. Which is true and normally results in the buyer coming up and matching my original price.

Disclaimer: After posting the ad above, I sold the device within 20 minutes and for the full asking price.

I post each item once, but once it passes the 3rd page (in listings) I delete the ad and relist it. For things like electronics there are so many listings that I have to relist once a day, while for things like computer games, I haven't had to relist those for over a week because they are still on the second page.

My reasoning behind this is that most people know what they want anyway, so they just punch it into the search box, but there are always those people that just want to 'browse' so I make sure I keep my listings within the first 3-5 pages (within whatever category it falls under, not the entire 'buy/sell' section..that would be ridiculous relisting every 5 mins.)

It would take too long to relist everything every day. So I just check once in the morning and once at night to see what page all of my listings are on, and I relist accordingly (if an item is past the 3rd page in it's category).

Hope this makes sense and helps.

theBiz · Dec 6, 2011

Wish i had 16k 2009 Honda Accord Cpe 22K This car would sell for 20+

well im kind of glad you dont.

in under 5 mins i found this, me personally my first time i wouldent pay more than $12,500 and see where it goes from there.
now you always want to be under the "good value". i rarely use kbb because the market matters not kbb but people still look and they never pay excellent price that never use that as a guide.

I just called someone asking $13,500 obo for the same thing. He sold it for 13k he told me. Now im not saying that means its not worth more than 13 because i believe it is im just saying 16k is too much to pay.

if you look their all over the place especially in that area for 16-17. All i know is when i lay out anything over 10k i want to make just below 4k. I would buy this at $12,500 and hopefully sell for 16k.

When you buy cars you have to get such a good deal that no one else can possibly get it for that price, and 16k is not that magic number you want. 12-13 is.

DeletedUser394 · Dec 6, 2011

Another tip: This should be obvious. You need to actually give a damn about the product you're selling and the customer, making it as easy as possible for you to close the deal.

I was going to buy something off somebody, but it felt like I was playing 20 questions. First off, his ad was crap, quickly done, with no pictures, and little description. I'd ask him what he had, he said 'some stuff' I asked him if he had a list. He responds 'No, just some ___ and some other 'stuff'.

HOW EXACTLY DOES THAT CLOSE A SALE??? HOW CAN I BUY ANYTHING WHEN YOU WILL BARELY TELL ME WHAT IT IS.

Closed my email conversation with him after the 3rd try and was done with it. If you can't take the time to assist your potential customer, you'll be going nowhere fast.

If you don't give a damn (or at least pretend to care) you're definitely not getting my business, and probably nobody else's as well.

Rawr · Dec 6, 2011

what are your bread and butter?

I would advise to corner a market on a particular item that is in high demand (ipads, holiday toy) buy them all up and up the price.

DeletedUser394 · Dec 6, 2011

Rawr said:
what are your bread and butter?

I would advise to corner a market on a particular item that is in high demand (ipads, holiday toy) buy them all up and up the price.

Right now, video games.

I have 90% of certain consoles/games currently for sale.

Slowly moving away from games and focusing on other things (which I'd prefer not to say at this moment). A lot of people that buy video games are cheap and/or young, so I'm going towards higher cost items to weed these people out. Still going to buy games on all different consoles if I can get them for the right price though.

Vigilante · Dec 6, 2011

Rule #1 of reselling. (ok, maybe it's not #1 and I don't know what #1 is but everyone says something like that, so I thought I would use that phrase. carry on.)

Don't fall in love with your merchandise. Buy ----> Sell. Buy ---->Sell. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as you are buying right and selling at a premium.

It's about cash turnover and rapid sales at high margins, not about what the widget is. I literally don't care what I buy as long as there is a market for it, and I can steal it on the buy side to maximize the profit on the sell side.

It's all and ONLY about margin and turnover.

DeletedUser394 · Dec 6, 2011

Beat me to it, that was one of my future 'tips'! ;P

When I wrote 'You have to give a damn about the product, or at least pretend to' I was referring to caring enough to post the specs, etc.

It makes no difference to me what I'm selling, but I need to know what it is, what it does, and I need to be able to tell a buyer exactly that.

TadMoore · Dec 6, 2011

Hey Hustlers,

I saw an opportunity yesterday, remembered the thread, and I hustled!

My wife lost her iPhone so I was in the Apple store buying her a new one. (That thing is $700 bucks off contract!) Guy beside me was getting a new laptop, and the genius had moved all his files over for him. The genius was done, they were exchanging closing remarks, and he ended with "I don't know what I'm going to do with my old laptop". I thought of you guys, and the HUSTLER thread!!! Jumped into action, and asked to buy it off him. Offered him $450 for his used macbook pro. We went back and forth, but settled on $500. We walked to the closest ATM, I pulled the money, and done. Just sold it this morning for $900 (less then 24 hours)

This has never really interested me because of the time required, but I don't know... I might have the hustling bug. Oh ya... I agree with using clever ad's... "Give the gift of MAC" was my title. Lady bought it as a christmas gift for her daughter

I guess I'm still in the hole with the wife's iPhone ;(

oddball · Dec 6, 2011

Vigilante said:
Rule #1 of reselling. (ok, maybe it's not #1 and I don't know what #1 is but everyone says something like that, so I thought I would use that phrase. carry on.)

Don't fall in love with your merchandise. Buy ----> Sell. Buy ---->Sell. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as you are buying right and selling at a premium.

It's about cash turnover and rapid sales at high margins, not about what the widget is. I literally don't care what I buy as long as there is a market for it, and I can steal it on the buy side to maximize the profit on the sell side.

It's all and ONLY about margin and turnover.

100% agree. It can be hard when you get something cool like an iPad to get rid of it but the money always outweighs the product IMO. The only item j have kept that I bought was my iPhone. But it makes life so much easier, I don't mind keeping it.

For the most part, I can always get an item again but a good offer won't come around as often. If you always sell for a profit you won't lose money.

Gary M · Dec 6, 2011

Love this thread and I am now about participate for the first time in buying and selling. But fear is getting in my way so I need some help. I found four iPhone 4, Sprint, 8gb, brand new for $1,100 ($275 each). He was asking $300. They are going for $350 at th very least on eBay. I am told the are sealed. My fear is, "what's the catch?" why are they so cheap?

Any thoughts?

oddball · Dec 6, 2011

GMAhead said:
Love this thread and I am now about participate for the first time in buying and selling. But fear is getting in my way so I need some help. I found four iPhone 4, Sprint, 8gb, brand new for $1,100 ($275 each). He was asking $300. They are going for $350 at th very least on eBay. I am told the are sealed. My fear is, "what's the catch?" why are they so cheap?

Any thoughts?

There is no iphone 4 for sprint unless its a 4s. Also, I don't think, but could be wrong, there is no 8gb of either a 4 or 4s. I'm 99% positive 16 is the smallest unless they did like the 3GS and later came out with an 8. If they are 4s' since you said sprint, $275 is way too low for sealed units. I would be extra careful. If it is just a 4, (would be AT&T or verizon), then 275 isn't bad but you can get less.

Gary M · Dec 6, 2011

Thank you very much oddball. Didn't have a good feel through the entire negotiation and now my texts are not getting answered. Think going to stay away from this one and stick to omethjg I know a lot better on my first go here.

tom_rob · Dec 6, 2011

GMA,
I checked out an Iphone here in ATL yesterday that I thought was too good to be true, it was.
I called Verizon to check the ESN and they said they would not activate it because it had a questionable history (stolen?). Thankfully I called before I forked over the cash. The seller knew because after I told him the ESN was no good he responded I could flash the software and use it on other networks... Would have been nice to know before I net up with him.

Tom

biggeemac · Dec 6, 2011

Many times it is too good to be true. I got lucky twice in a row. Picked up a brand new honda eu3000is quiet generator for 1200. They sell on ebay for 1800 brand new.....and thats when the weather is good. Also got a brand new unlocked iphone 4s for 450. Be careful with the dr dre headphones.....a lot of counterfeits.

Gary M · Dec 6, 2011

tom_rob, as soon as I asked about the esn, I have not heard back from him...shocker!

DeletedUser394 · Dec 7, 2011

One of my biggest days so far! Up about $500 today.

I've begun implementing a new strategy that I'll lay out in the coming weeks.

RazvanRogoz · Dec 7, 2011

Too bad that almost everyone is doing this.

I'd love a few tips on dropping the price though.

For example, I need to buy some new work hardware.

This means a big desk, some chairs, a conference table, two IBM laptops, a video projector.

I want to buy them all SH. If you can give me some pointers on dropping the price at least 10%, you're my hero

(I've never haggled before on price and with one small exception, it's the first time I buy this way)

Vigilante · Dec 7, 2011

GMA. Scammers abound. Be specifically on the lookout for fake cashier's checks from out of state buyers. Ryan... how about some SAFETY tips on how to buy and sell and avoid scammers?

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