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

[theBiz]

where are you located? Popular cities it can become difficult due to such high demand, people are ontop of those big time in some areas.

 

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[The-J]

where are you located? Popular cities it can become difficult due to such high demand, people are ontop of those big time in some areas.

in NYC it's such a big market that people often sell for quite far below eBay price due to the sheer amount of sellers and low amount of buyers.

Edit: Scratch that. I mean low amount of buyers looking to pay a decently reasonable price for the phones. There are a gazillion people who deal phones here, even stores deal phones on CL. Plus, they sell for ridiculously high prices, too: they sell iphones for pretty close to what the Apple Store sells em for.

 

[theBiz]

yeah if you call about iphones theyre usually gone in a few minutes. i actually dont know about that whole below market thing... if you call a few people in nyc they are firm on prices, and someone always calls them and offers too much, just my experience and i only dealt with iphones. Im really not into phones, i look at buying and selling in a different perspective but for people into phones and know them well im sure once you find your groove you can make some money driving around all day hustling them.

 

[The-J]

yeah if you call about iphones theyre usually gone in a few minutes. i actually dont know about that whole below market thing... if you call a few people in nyc they are firm on prices, and someone always calls them and offers too much, just my experience and i only dealt with iphones. Im really not into phones, i look at buying and selling in a different perspective but for people into phones and know them well im sure once you find your groove you can make some money driving around all day hustling them.

You're probably right about the people offering too much thing. However, because of how high people are selling them, deals are pretty easy to find. You just gotta be fast enough to nab it before other people do. iPhones are probably the hardest things to find deals on because there are so many people in the iphone business.

 

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[oddball]

cellphones are probably the worst believe it or not... its a good market.. too good.

You need to start with ONE thing and know it like the back of your hand. Buy something that has some down time and market it better than the last guy. Not everyone is going to buy a generator everyday but it will sell.... a cellphone, that guy is getting 10s of calls per day. I remember one of the first things i did was a motorcycle for i think $500 and turned it into over 1k... not everyone buys that everyday, so that guy has trouble selling it NOW theres opportunity for you. If he has trouble selling it why would you buy it? Because he has crap pictures up and isnt listing it enough, not picking up his phone enough/bad negotiator. Theres money to be made on cell phones and such but its stressful and when your half way there they got a call for a higher offer etc.

I agree with your 2nd part completely but disagree with the first part. I wouldn't say its the best market because its not, but its also not the worse. I've made 250% on phones that sold in a day, doubled my money on many, or just made good profit on them period. Like you said, people will get 10 phone calls a day on a phone they put up, and if you are the one selling the phone you have lots of demand. I don't know how many lowballs I've turned down and just told the person, I know I will go home to 5 more emails about the phone, I will get close to my asking price. I usually do too.

With phones you just have to be quick. You have to find the deals and jump on them. So no, its not the best market out there but its also not the worse. I am actually trying to get into motorcycles right now for the reason you mentioned, you can make really good profit although you might sit on it a little longer. Surprisingly, people are still asking a lot for bikes around here. Either too high mileage or price.

 

[theBiz]

sounds good oddball im happy everyone is doing it, this is by far the best business to enter with limited capital and make the most profit. You learn alot about business and negotiating. Everyone doing this should remember to save their money and parlay this into something else, its difficult to sell things out of your house forever.

About the motorcycles before you jump into it full swing, i learned the hard way, look for vehicles B2B. Buy vehicles businesses need. If you slightly travel too its great. One company is doing terrible, you get a great deal like that, put it on the market, cold call companies whatever... eventually a company gets a contract and wants to spend it before they make it. So b2b vehicles have spontaneous buying habits but the profits are huge.

 

[oddball]

sounds good oddball im happy everyone is doing it, this is by far the best business to enter with limited capital and make the most profit. You learn alot about business and negotiating. Everyone doing this should remember to save their money and parlay this into something else, its difficult to sell things out of your house forever.

About the motorcycles before you jump into it full swing, i learned the hard way, look for vehicles B2B. Buy vehicles businesses need. If you slightly travel too its great. One company is doing terrible, you get a great deal like that, put it on the market, cold call companies whatever... eventually a company gets a contract and wants to spend it before they make it. So b2b vehicles have spontaneous buying habits but the profits are huge.

Alright thanks, I will check out the B2b thing.
As for saving for something bigger, thats my plan. My main plan is to get into rental property. Got the idea from one of the older threads on here actually. Slowly learning and reading about it, going to talk to my friends parents who do it too.

 

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[wade1mil]

Great job Ryan! Two things:

Instead of a consulting business, you could sell a $27/$47 eBook with tips and tricks. I'm sure you have 5-10 buyers on this thread alone. Maybe 50-100 with the lurkers.

What you are doing could essentially be transferred to flipping houses, which you could graduate to and make $10-20k per deal.

 

[Autonomust]

sounds good oddball im happy everyone is doing it, this is by far the best business to enter with limited capital and make the most profit. You learn alot about business and negotiating. Everyone doing this should remember to save their money and parlay this into something else, its difficult to sell things out of your house forever.

That is my plan as well I want to learn some of the ins-and-outs like you listed and then move onto something else whether I continue to sell on CL in the future or not.

 

[Clenjamin]

I think the Ebook idea has great potential just needs a little marketing behind it to get it to take off.

 

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[biggeemac]

I definately wont be doing this forever. I dont like the idea of having a business that doesn't create VALUE....or create anything for that matter....except some extra money in my pocket.

 

[DeletedUser394]

ebook is coming. Outline is done, working on content right now. To make it go faster I'm mostly just going to sell off as much inventory as I can and only look for 300%+ deals until the book is done.

 

[johnny84]

Just joined, found this thread and read straight through.
Brilliant insights, and brilliant forum in general. Hello people.
Very glad I came across.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

I definately wont be doing this forever. I dont like the idea of having a business that doesn't create VALUE....or create anything for that matter....except some extra money in my pocket.

I disagree. (Not about doing it forever, but about value). I buy stuff off of people that don't want them anymore, and sell them to people that do.

My service is valuable to the sellers and the buyers respectively.

I take things off of people that want these items gone, and I give them to a whole other group of people that want them. The spread/profit margin is the payment for the service (value) I provide.

90% of the deals (on the sell side mostly) I do makes people smile (especially when it has to do with games that they remember playing as youth).

If you weren't providing value, you wouldn't be making any money in the first place, because if no one valued the items you were trading to begin with, then there would be no money to make.

I don't care about value, I care about money, but you can't make money, if you don't provide value.

Just like how some people say that Wall Street doesn't create any value... of course it does. An example: Fund managers create value to their investors through their services and/or returns.... that's how they make money by providing a service that people find valuable.

 

[Autonomust]

I disagree. (Not about doing it forever, but about value). I buy stuff off of people that don't want them anymore, and sell them to people that do.

My service is valuable to the sellers and the buyers respectively.

I take things off of people that want these items gone, and I give them to a whole other group of people that want them. The spread/profit margin is the payment for the service (value) I provide.

90% of the deals (on the sell side mostly) I do makes people smile (especially when it has to do with games that they remember playing as youth).

If you weren't providing value, you wouldn't be making any money in the first place, because if no one valued the items you were trading to begin with, then there would be no money to make.

I don't care about value, I care about money, but you can't make money, if you don't provide value.

Just like how some people say that Wall Street doesn't create any value... of course it does. An example: Fund managers create value to their investors through their services and/or returns.... that's how they make money by providing a service that people find valuable.

He might see value in a different way than you do. Maybe he wants to provide a different kind of value in a different way?

 

[DeletedUser394]

Apparently.

Value here value there, regardless of what one thinks value means, you need to provide some kind of value to make any money.

 

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[theBiz]

Ryan i would say hes completely correct. I was so impressed when things started working out for me back in the day. As time went on i read books and joined this forum etc and realized it was slow lane. I think he means were not creating any value as far as a sell-able business. All that money your going to make, is worth nothing in resale so essentially your just working a job everyday.

Also tomorrow when you wake up almost none of the processes repeat themselves (YOU have to go buy) so your not building a machine, just creating a job. Again i think its great, i love it, but keep in the back of your head an exit strategy, also making 100% cash is kind of difficult to live like that as well.

Plus once you start really getting aggressive and selling things the same people start to call you, i had 4 magicjacks at one time.... and they figure out what your doing. good luck everyone.

 

[DeletedUser394]

I'm not doing this forever. (and hopefully no one else thinks that they should be doing this as a long term strategy either)

The goal is $10,000 CASH by June 1st.

I'm poring the money into other things, as hopefully everyone else will be doing as well.

 

[theBiz]

misunderstanding

 

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[JEdwards]

It may not be fastlane, but it sure seems to me like you are learning to hustle..

You will find that will be invaluable as time goes on.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

It may not be fastlane, but it sure seems to me like you are learning to hustle..

He's also learning to make money.
He's also learning to negotiate.
He's also learning how to communicate.
He's also learning how to skew/modify the value equation in his favor -- he's buying low and adding value (better pictures? better marketing copy? cleaning the product up?) and repositioning the product in a better sales medium.

These are all Fastlane take-aways that will serve him years to come.

This thread is golden.

 

[biggeemac]

I agree MJ, I am learning a lot. To all, I am saying that my goal is to use this in the short term. I guess I have seen too much of our economy that is built on taking money/value out of peoples pockets without really giving them much in return. I would eventually like to create a business that actually PROVIDES value. In the mean time, i am learning the hustle !

 

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[theBiz]

There are no excuses to not make money doing this, dont lie to yourself and say you dont have this or that blah blah. Once you can make money doing this, you can make money doing anything.

 

[Excalibur]

I have bought and sold stuff from CL. Also have bought stuff from local auctions and resold on CL. Or I get stuff from one auction and resell at another auction. Not always a good idea since none of the local auctions allow a reserve.


When I first got started 3-4 years ago, one of my first items was a credit card processor at an auction of a restaurant that had folded. Paid $35 and sold for $220 on eBay.

Bought a commercial 2 door freezer for $1,800. Intended purpose was for the shave ice business but I ended up going another route. Sold it to a local sandwich shop. He traded me 5 firearms and a non working 2 door freezer. The guns alone were worth what I wanted out of it, the freezer was basically in his way and he wanted it hauled away. Took that freezer and had it repaired for $200, then resold it for $1,500.

I have bought more stainless equipment than I can recall. Triple sinks, prep tables and freezers/refrigerators do well. Have sold several 3 bay sinks for double what I paid.

Bought an under counter fridge off CL for $15. After dealing with jokers/no shows on CL, I sent it to auction. Ended up getting $100 for it.

Bought a propane food warmer from an auction for $27. Sold on CL for $300.

I do scrap metal. Had a guy that was going to take a riding mower to the dump. I offered to take it off his hands. I listed it on CL, best offer I got was $300. Was asking $500. Sent it to auction and it sold for $575. My take was $460.

Bought quite a bit of stuff from another restaurant auction. Ice maker, prep tables, refrigerated prep tables, etc

Ice maker was $150. Asked $900. Sold for $750 on CL. Had various pieces of SS that I made money on as well.

Bought a rust bucket sand/salt spreader from the government for $75. Sold it to a farmer for $425.

Bought a gooseneck Companion hitch for $60 from an online auction. It was something that was added onto the tail end of a party store auction. Probably why it sold for so cheap. Flipped it a week later on CL for $600. Was asking $700.

Picked up a basket case Kawasaki dirt bike off the free section of CL. Flipped it for $100.

Bought a Chevy Astro at a government auction for $205. After a new battery and fresh oil change I sold it for $1,200. Was asking $1,400.

I sell some on eBay but not often. Last summer I had a speciality piece of restaurant equipment. Several offers came in for $1,200. Being that I paid $310 for the item, I would have made an okay profit. Gut feeling told me I could get more, since it retailed for $7,000. Did some research and found a site that sells industrial/restaurant equipment and sold it for $3,300. Put $2,600 in my pocket after deducting commission fees, packing, cost of item, etc.

Bought some "scrap" from the government. 5 pieces. After factoring in cost of items, fuel to go get items, food, hotel stay, etc I sold 4 at a loss/broke even. Saving grace was the 5th piece, a core drill I sold for $6,000.

Bought a Pepsi vending machine for $150. Asked $900. Sold for $600.

I have bought/sold 11 of the Frito Lay step van/delivery trucks. Pay between $500 to $1,200 and flip for $1,500 to $3,200.

Bought a pile of copper wire from an IRS auction for $300. Stripped it and sold it for $1,903. I regret selling because if I would have held onto it for awhile when copper jumped, I would have gotten around $4,000.

Bought all kinds of stuff from Hewlett Packard. One being a row of employee lockers for $250. Resold all of them for $1,200.

Bought a '94 F150 off CL for $800. Fixed a few things on it. Drove it for a month or so, then a guy traded me his '97 Camry, which I drove for a bit then sold for $1,500.

Bought a pipe thawing machine from a local auction for $40 and sold on eBay for $225.

Bought a commercial counter top soft serv machine for $800 off CL. Used it for family gatherings/birthday parties for a few years, then sold for $1,500.

Bought a '99 GMC Sonoma for $500. Drivers door needs replaced. Undecided if I am going to fix and drive or flip as is.

Bought a commercial heated pressure washer system at auction for $96. Called the company to get some information and a manual. I find it retails for $11,200. Time will tell what I flip that one for. Kinda cold out and not motivated to do anything.

Currently liquidating 240 office chairs. Don't think I want to do that ever again.


Not every acquisition has been rosy. I've lost a lot of money along the way.

I might be a bit unconventional in some of the items I deal with, but it makes decent money.


A side note. I bought an 8,000 watt generator from Lowes for $500 that was a return. Nothing wrong with it, customer for whatever reason decided against it. Retailed for $1,300. If I wanted, I could probably get $700 to 800 for it. I personally use it, but that's another option for people, be on look out for discounted returns. Or if you have the capital, make an offer to buy up all of the stores end of season widgets, and hold them till the season returns. Obviously that works if you have the space and money to hold it.


These postings I see where people say it can't be done really baffle me.

For those that think people are asking too much. 1 of 2 things is happening. They are delusional and really think it's worth that, or they're like me where I might price something a lil high, knowing and fully expecting to haggle on price. Then we both walk away feeling like we got a deal.

Don't be scared to make offers!

Believe it or not I am shy and I get it done.

 

[Clenjamin]

Holy wall of text batman.

 

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[ManWithABeard]

[video=youtube;WMRDRycFJ-8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMRDRycFJ-8[/video]
Figured this would fit appropriately here hehe. Awesome thread! Inspired+Subscribed!!

 

[Tyler]

This thread has inspired me to give buying/reselling another look as a way to generate cash to fund other (more passive) operations. Like MJ points out, it is reinforcing/teaching me some valuable lessons - I don't like to negotiate, I don't like to ask for discounts, I've been fearful of being accused of being a lowballer, and I'm generally skeptical of anyone selling something on CL.

Just this week I've made a number of low offers on Nintendo 3DS systems offered on CL. Two people told me to go screw myself, well, not in those words. Two people said they "just sold it." One person agreed to meet me and didn't show up. If the deals had worked out I would have made about $60 profit per unit reselling on eBay.

In the past I would have just given up, but I'm actually motivated to make more offers and keep perfecting my strategy.

 

[Autonomust]

[video=youtube;WMRDRycFJ-8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMRDRycFJ-8[/video]
Figured this would fit appropriately here hehe. Awesome thread! Inspired+Subscribed!!

I needed that thanks man.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

There's been a tenfold increase in the amount of listings on the craigslist in my area (originating from only a handful of people)... could be just a coincidence or a result of this and other threads.

No worries, stepped the game up, and moved on to more expensive items where these guys can't compete (well, they can't yet..)

The trick is to always stay two steps ahead.

Going to start taking it to ebay as well.

Still averaging 1-2 closed deals a day.

 

[WBoone]

I think the Ebook idea has great potential just needs a little marketing behind it to get it to take off.

I have seen many threads on many different forums that are just that...a push for the posters product. However im not saying that about this one because with 1300 post or whatever i dont think ryandrake would do that on this forum.