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

[DeletedUser394]

I was looking up the market value on ebay and apparently the model i have goes for a decent 240+ (its the latest model for the 5th gen)

The local walmart sells it for 230 lol

I bought it with literally everything, the original box, headphones, charger (kind of old looking) etc.

Just to be clear, you're looking at the completed listings that have sold.. right?

What most people list at is irrelevant, and a bunch of people make that mistake with their valuation.

It's also location dependent. If you're selling in person, I'd stick with craiglist (local) prices for valuations. If you're going to sell it on ebay, then obviously you need to be comparing to ebay prices (of completed listings only).

Gogogogogogo. $$$$$$$$$

 

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[RHL]

Gotta get your magnitude on. $100, 200, etc. is nice, but it takes a lot of those to add up to real money. Do you have an automated system to handle the transactions, or are you just able to optimize them well enough to still come out ahead doing micro-transactions like this? Either way, the last thread was killer, can't wait for this one.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

You have to update your ads daily otherwise they get buried. Nobody looks past the first couple of pages.

Writing the ad doesn't make too much of a difference since you're selling an identical product to everyone else. Basic stuff and info is fine.

 

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[GravyBoat]

CHECK YOUR EMAIL PERIODICALLY!

Smartphone dude, instant updates

If you're going balls to the wall on Craigslist I suggest getting a secondary phone (preferably one that can at least check email over Wifi). When I was doing this full time, I had an iPad with cellular data so I could check CL/eBay while driving to make deals.

 

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[TheNextTrump]

Literally, here's what you do. Go on craigslist. Find something that strikes you as interesting or something that you think to yourself "HEY... I BET I CAN MAKE SOME MONEY ON THIS! :-D ". Check ebay completed listings for that item.

^Spot-on

Honestly, everyone get's way to worked up on(not knowing) what to buy.
I can assure you that no matter where your at, if your city/town has a craigslist page. Then there are MULTIPLE profitable items

You just have to WANT to find them! You just have to want to TRACK down a profitable item. It's that simple.
If your budget is $100, click the FOR SALE section, update your MIN & MAX price to $20 -$100

Pull up another tab with eBay's (Completed/Sold listings) and go to town.

Don't find anything? Look harder, look through other CL pages that are with-in driving distance.

If your still not finding anything using this method, then use your hustle instincts. Some items won't be able to be valued using eBay.

Say you come across snow blower that's in (like-new) condition that sold a couple years ago brand new for $600 and their asking $100-$200
It's safe to say that you can at least get a $300-$400 return on it.


Patience and consistent action, and results will come. Just stick to it, and keep learning.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

The 'how much do you make/how much are you worth' style of question is/was and always will be a dumb question.

I'll answer anyway. Take December 9th (when this challenge was started) to January 6th. It's not a month, but we'll call it one anyway.

As you can see I started the month with $5.5k in the account.

One month later I have $10k in the account, and around $1k reserve for future flips.

So $11k-5.5k = $5.5k/month or $1,375/wk.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

@ProblemOd, my $50 rule was because I definitely did not want to be a 'powerseller'. The vast majority of sales (pretty much 99.9%) occurred in person, so I didn't want to go around town all day selling knick knacks for small profit.

If you remember from the previous thread I did a pretty stupid deal by buying hundreds of pairs of childrens shoes which was one of my worse deals.

If you plan to resell online or something, then it's totally different.

Some people will say don't focus on the math, but I quite like it.

It's also all relative to how much cash you have to work with. Let's say your bankroll is $10,000. Making a one time deal for $20 is kind of pointless. But it isn't as pointless if you're only working with $1,000 at which point that $20 carries a lot more weight.

Another thing to take into account is the time factor. If it takes you an hour to go pick up an item, half an hour to clean it up, take nice pictures, and post it, and than another half hour to travel to sell it for a $20 profit (2 hrs total), are you happy with $10/hr? If so, it's a good deal if not, move along.

Also to anyone reading, please note that 4 hours of searching with no luck, or even 4 days isn't that unusual.

There were a few occasions where I went weeks without a deal. That's why I always had a lot of inventory, so the money was always moving even if I wasn''t buying anything.

 

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[curran]

So followed this thread two weeks ago, currently in need of a second income so I said id give it ago, made my first purchase on Friday and got my first flip today Wednesday, made €70.... absolutely over the moon with this

 

[Midas Touch]

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!

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Guys, Im completely new in this forum. Im 19 Years old, all my life, I always dreamed about becoming an entrepreneur. Now since i turned 18 last Year, i searched for solutions, but didnt find one. Today i found this forum, and man i have to say big compliment for all those information and hard work.


I read the complete thread, but coulnd't really get it. I Live in Germany, we do have craigslist but it's really empty, not much offers.

Is it still possible to do this method ?

If Yes, where can I buy and where should I sell it ?

Is amazon a good option ? Or Ebay ?

Is ist a good method to put the offer Online even before you own the obeject ? So you wait until someone buys it online, and then you buy the Item and sell it ?

This way it would be a good way to make no loss ,right ?

Glad you're here and want to make money. Ok, here goes. I'm going to blow your mind.

I don't speak German. But I know how to utilize google.

With an internet connection you can do anything.

http://www.quoka.de/
http://www.alles.de/region.cfm
http://www.markt.de/

You will lose money. It happens, it's part of figuring out what works and what doesn't work. Set aside money that you can afford to lose, buy some stuff that you think you can sell (by doing your own research) and list the items. Then see what happens. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. If it doesn't work, try another angle, or try something else. Repeat, rinse and repeat, and repeat again until you find what works.

Also, use google. Always use google. I pray to google every night before bed.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Guys when i put something on ebay it doesnt appear on the list. How can i manage it to be on the first page at the top ?

No offence, but you really have to do your own research. It isn't hard when you have the most powerful tool in the world at your own finger tips. (the internet).

All I did was take your entire question and put it into google. It took me longer to type out this two sentence post, than to find the answer to your question. Ask less, figure out more.

https://forums.digitalpoint.com/thr...-lift-up-your-item-to-the-first-page.2176420/

 

[biophase]

They operate as a not-for-profit. They never claim to donate money to anyone. They are an organization that provides job training, job placement services and programs for people with disabilities. Money "raised" via their chain of stores goes to these efforts.

Yes I always thought they sold the stuff and donated some of its proceeds to charities. I've always hated that a non profit doesn't include salaries.

Like most of these companies that donate profits to charities, they could increase salaries and effectively reduce profits to nothing and never have to donate anything.

 

[MakeItHappen]

P.S. I wonder how DeletedUser394 is doing nowadays. I hope he returns someday...

He is likely a billionaire by now.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Richkid is henceforth 'GrumpyCat'.. I love cats and I'm usually grumpy, so it was meant to be.

Anyway, sold a couple of my old textbooks that were gathering dust this morning.

+$150

Total since start of second challenge (yesterday night? lol): +$250

The TSX is taking a major beating lately... maybe I can single-handedly prop it up hahahaha.

 

[DeletedUser394]

You calling me unprofessional? lol

That's a decent plan. Can you realistically hit $3k in the next 20 days? (ie do you have past experience selling and do you have previous monthly dollar amounts that you've made from Craigslist?

How are you going to hit $3k?

What's your end goal with this $10k?

 

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[ZCP]

@GrumpyCat making an impact. For those reading, the only hard part is getting started. That part is up to you. Sit or do. Once rolling, the momentum will carry you.

 

[Nicoknowsbest]

@GrumpyCat making an impact. For those reading, the only hard part is getting started. That part is up to you. Sit or do. Once rolling, the momentum will carry you.

I just came home again after closing my first sale. I made a 35% profit margin on a used iPod Classic. Very pleased with this first result and I cannot agree more with what @ZCP mentioned here. Go out and buy your first item. Don't lose momentum because a potential margin seems too low. Buy something today. Buy and sell 10 items and then you can care about your margins.

 

[Andrus]

Just sold an old set of wheels and tires that was sitting in my shed gathering dust for $200 cash. Now I need to find item(s) on CL to grow the $200. It's addicting lol

 

[RHL]

Just sold an old set of wheels and tires that was sitting in my shed gathering dust for $200 cash. Now I need to find item(s) on CL to grow the $200. It's addicting lol

Nice. I think I'm going in on a $22,000 hustle tomorrow morning. Just went to the bank to move money around. More details if things shake out!

 

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[Lathan]

I don't want any part of this. I will return the item.

She should pay for your gas money.

 

[Sean Corroon]

Iam currently in college I dont have a job right now but I buy and sell things to start saving some cash for when Im out of college. I currently have around $22,000 saved up in the account for when I finally have time to sit down and find the best way to invest it! I found that buying and selling luxury watches was where I made the easiest amount of money. I made $2700 in june from one watch alone which I thought was very good return.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

Update time.

Had a sweet day today, up 2.5% on the TSX, which I believe is the highest jump in the past 3 years. Clawed back a decent amount of my losses.

Contributed a total of $6,750 out of $26,000 (~26%)

Easy math. $19,250 to go.

Broke the $20k remaining barrier which is psychologically nice, but mathematically meaningless lol.

With my current hustles in place I can realistically expect to bring in a minimum of $500/month. So $19,250 - $6,000 = I have to figure out where the $13,250 is going to come from.

Let's go!




I've been spending WAY too much time watching movies and browsing youtube.. Once I finish the Wall Street Warriors Season 2 (hopefully tonight) I gotta block the damn site.

 

[Midas Touch]

I think I discovered the reason why I can't sell for the price I want. Let's say I want to sell something used for $50 and it costs $100 new. Instead of listing the item as $50 and getting lowballed to hell, I should list it as $80 or $90 in order to get that $50. If I'm lucky, maybe someone will offer me $80 for it.

I'll report back.

 

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[RisingStars]

Uploaded the excel document. Hope it Works now, I am really sorry

http://www.filedropper.com/productflipping

 

[SBS.95]

I just skipped on a galaxy s5 for 200$. I felt that it was just to good to be true. The person was a kid(17) and just did not seem right. He was posting from a Facebook selling group. He kept lowering his price from 280 down to 200. Something told me that it was stolen.

I only like dealing if they are:

a) from a prepaid carrier like Virgin Mobile, Boost, etc.
b) already broken and "for parts"

With the non AT&T/Verizon phones there tends to be far less scams going on. And with broken phones, I'm obviously selling them as-is so there's never any issues. Otherwise I avoid the phones, especially if it's a Galaxy or an iPhone.

 

[HighestVantage]

Cool thread so far!
Makes me wonder, anyone hustling big ticket items here? (Lets say 5k+ profit margins per item or more)
Would love to hear some stories of you guys on what type of merch you're selling, if you're zoomed in on a niche or diversified etc.

I'm not sure I would call it a hustle... but I bought a sailboat for 10k when I knew it could sell for double. I've had it up for sale for awhile, highest offer I've gotten is 17k, but I turned it down for a few reasons. 1. I live on it and work from it sometimes, which saves me money on renting an apartment. 2. I know it's worth more than that and with a little work and investment I'm looking at a 25k Sale. Rough net profit, 10k. Even after Moorage and other costs.