A Hustler's Guide to the Fastlane - by Michael Grey.

[GuestUser140]

Hi guys,

This is going to be of considerable length but well worth it for many.

After reading on this forum, reading TMF and especially Ryan's killer topic "A Hustler's Guide to Buying and Selling Everything", I started out likewise 6 months ago with $1250 to my name.
The general Goal? To prove that hustling can be fastlane. Scale it.

This thread will document my journey, ask me anything you want.
- I bought all kinds of electronics below market value and flipped them on Craiglist. - Started focusing on particular high-end devices that sell well.
- Contacted wholesalers, kept flipping the products on CL at a mark-up. Much less hassle than buying separately from private individuals.
- Currently (6 months later) buying $18k worth of stock weekly, sell at 15-35% margin. Last week's net profit was $3000. Invest everything back into it. Next week will be a $20k+ order with around $3750 net profit. Got a wholesaler sales rep. who's willing and able to take me to $150,000+ orders/week, at which point I'd profit $30,000/week.
- Started putting ads up in a different city, allocating one day per week to bundle all deals in that city.

I spend 15-20 hours/week on this, but honestly don't count the hours. I'm currently making a pre-tax profit of $10,000/month with no signs of slowing down.
Good money and I'm grateful for it every day, but I'm hungry and nothing is enough till I'm free. Also, it's not fastlane yet (need SCALE & TIME).

My specific Goal? I'm 21 years old and I want to be worth $500,000 15 months from now.
At a $25,000 profit per month, the business would have made $375,000 profit in 15 months, and it should be worth $300k+ on its own. That's $700,000 before taxes.

The Next Steps?

1. I will put up CL adds in all the big cities in a 100 mi radius to make sure stock keeps selling fast. REALIZING THIS ISN'T A SELLABLE BUSINESS, I NEED TO OPEN RETAIL LOCATIONS.

2. Open a highstreet retail location. If it goes well, hire & train an employee (or 2). Keep selling on CL, I have nothing to lose.

3. Work ON the business instead of IN it, divorce it from my time. Open more retail locations. Reinvest everything. Ultimately, sell it all.

Long a$$ post, but may this become an inspiring journey and a thread filled with golden nuggets.
I consider myself a beginner, but ask me anything you want to know.

My question:
Any guys here who experienced success with a retail location? What are the pitfalls?
Any pointers on how to open one?

All the best,
Michael

 

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[InLikeFlint]

Your spacing made a seemingly long post easy to read, can't tell you how annoying it is to read a giant wall of text that lacks paragraphs.

First off, CONGRATS! You went from under two thousand to your name and are now rolling in the money at a substantial linear rate! That is nothing to scoff at, so take a moment to pat yourself on the back for coming this far!

Welcome to the forum!

Two questions I have for you:

How did you find a wholesale supplier?

What electronics are you selling?

I'm currently 17, but a little over a year ago my buddy and I got together and wanted to start a resale business for electronics - apple products, droids, xbox 360s, etc and we went through probably 20+ suppliers from wholesale websites and despite "official licenses" they all ended up to be fakes.

Glad to have you here, and I will definitely keep up-to-date with this thread!

 

[GuestUser140]

Welcome to the forum!

Two questions I have for you:

How did you find a wholesale supplier?

What electronics are you selling?

Thank you, I'd been reading here for a few months but frankly wouldn't post before I had done something.

No disclosures before I made it. It's not important anyway, it could be done with ANY high-demand product.

Second question, I'll walk you through in detail.

How to find a wholesaler?

YOU NEED/CAN USE extras that add $15-40 perceived value to you product, yet cost you $2-8/sale.
Go to Aliexpress. In short: don't buy fake, you'll be fined eventually. I'd rather spend $150 on pastries than on fines.
Don't buy chargers that don't meet your country's safety regulations. DONT buy "third party" batteries or chargers. You don't want a charger to burn up in someone else's house or your own. Enough said.

I'm going to save your time & money right here, these two pieces of advice used properly is 90% of the game:

1. Don't waste your life buying-selling in the same market.
An analogy: when you visit a farmer's market, would you buy flowers at $1 at one stand, then set up your own boot a bit farther to sell them at $1.20? YES, your sales skills and marketing might work.Use those skills, but buy wholesale a $0.65.
2. Don't look too far for wholesalers of premium products (aka Microsoft X-box, Sony Playstation, ...). I'm going to let you think first, then give the answer. Who is currently retailing them online, used? Where?

I'm not native in English, but I'll try my best to elaborate if you so desire.


Michael

 

[GuestUser140]

Golden ideas for you:

$40 NOW > $65 TOMORROW
Why? A) Most people are unreliable at best, don't put deals off. B) $40 invested in new stock can yield another $40 tomorrow => This alone is worth a car at the end of the year.

-Don't get high on your own supply.
Yea, you love that shiny X-Box and since you have bought a few, why not use one for a week? Sell it, fastlaner. You're saving up for one hell of an expensive thing: FREEDOM.

-Demand FIRST, margin later.
Remember MJ's Book: units sold x margin x time? Work all 3 factors, but units sold & time are KEY. Your margin will get better as you buy more and more from your wholesaler.

 

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[TopChef]

Inlikeflint: I was thinking the same thing while I was reading this. Very easy on the eyes. Well done Michael.

I would wonder why you need a retail location? If this is only so you can sell your business further down the line I would say this may not be a good enough reason to go B+M retail. Depending on what you are selling, it may be better suited to sell on the Internet as opposed to a B+M retail shop.

The negatives would be the added cost of the business lease, the cost of employees, the cost of benefits, equipment, theft, the loss of time training and monitoring your employees, etc. All of these things have a cost associated with them in terms of eating away at your profit margins as well as taking away your time to expand the business.


I have two questions:

1) What sales channels do you use? Are you solely selling through CL? Or are you doing Ebay too?

2) How broad is your niche? Are you selling just a few products in a targeted niche or do you sell many different niches at the same time?

 

[GuestUser140]

Depending on what you are selling, it may be better suited to sell on the Internet as opposed to a B+M retail shop.

Niche is smartphones, GPS, tablets, laptops. I sell only the 4 top sellers so far because I work with limited capital and want to make the most out of it. There's room for more, though.

I just listen to my customers. Most people want to try out the device in person, and ask questions before they hand over the cash.
I guess in the US, people are OK shopping online and spending $300-400 before they receive anything, but I people's mental limit here is like $150.

B+M retail = presence = higher sales volume.
I make good money listing as a private person on CL, though most people react "more people should know about this" when I explain it all during a transaction. I'm not known by more than 200 people atm. Imagine if 3.000.000 people knew about our business, which is a reality if I have 8-12 stores.
Nobody's doing the same in my country, I can see how retail operations selling new smartphones & tablets would buy up the business. If not, it should cash flow a lot. I would pay employees a low base salary, but generous commissions. Kind of makes us both happy.

1) I sell CL only - the alternative in my country, but it's entirely similar.
No eBay = less profit x more time to sell stock (2 things we all hate)

Have a neat website that's informational. Made a few sales on there, but that's been mostly through friends-of-customers & word of mouth. Still, they prefer pick-up.

 

[GuestUser140]

I also do hand out business cards when I make a sale and ask their bank account number.

They're surprised at first, but then I tell them they get $25 cash back within 14 days if they refer a friend to us.
After all, many people are looking for the product that we sell, at a reasonable price.

Some customers have even started to buy my product in bulk at a discount, and sell it on to "friends & family".

Handed out 50 cards in the past two weeks or so, these made me an extra $1,000 in profit.

 

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[TK1]

speed+ given so you re not parked anymore

kudos for your actions and this amazing thread!!!

 

[GuestUser140]

Next tip:

Leverage Other People's Money to buy more stock

Business credit line > credit card


Not sure if this applies to the US

Business credit line (NOT a straight loan) allows you to go negative on your checkings account. You pay only interest on the amount you went under zero x days you did it.

- You DONT have to pay it back every month (<-> credit card)
- You pay 10% interest (<-> credit card 20%)*

Work with your own hard earned cash first, document everything (have an accountant help with this), then talk to your bank.

 

[GuestUser140]

I'd like to share everything I've learned so far, but here a couple of questions I'd like to ask the community:

 

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[GuestUser140]

How would YOU scale Craigslist selling?



How would YOU divorce it from your time, even if only partly?

This is difficult. You want to be the brains of your operation, because if you'd teach the whole process to someone else, you violate the commandment of ENTRY.

Still, you need your time to work ON your business instead of IN it after initial experience.

My thought: I source and buy stock, I advertise, I make the phone calls, someone else assists the buyer while he comes over and pays. That someone takes a commission per sale. You don't pay him by the hour, so negative cash flow is impossible.

Other ideas?

 

[GuestUser8117]

How would YOU scale Craigslist selling?



How would YOU divorce it from your time, even if only partly?

This is difficult. You want to be the brains of your operation, because if you'd teach the whole process to someone else, you violate the commandment of ENTRY.

Still, you need your time to work ON your business instead of IN it after initial experience.

My thought: I source and buy stock, I advertise, I make the phone calls, someone else assists the buyer while he comes over and pays. That someone takes a commission per sale. You don't pay him by the hour, so negative cash flow is impossible.

Other ideas?

How would you divorce it from your time? Hmmm. Not sure if this can be done with physical products. BUT, an information product like an ebook would be divorced from your time once you write it.

 

[Kopp]

Thank you, I'd been reading here for a few months but frankly wouldn't post before I had done something.

No disclosures before I made it. It's not important anyway, it could be done with ANY high-demand product.

Second question, I'll walk you through in detail.

How to find a wholesaler?

YOU NEED/CAN USE extras that add $15-40 perceived value to you product, yet cost you $2-8/sale.
Go to Aliexpress. In short: don't buy fake, you'll be fined eventually. I'd rather spend $150 on pastries than on fines.
Don't buy chargers that don't meet your country's safety regulations. DONT buy "third party" batteries or chargers. You don't want a charger to burn up in someone else's house or your own. Enough said.

I'm going to save your time & money right here, these two pieces of advice used properly is 90% of the game:

1. Don't waste your life buying-selling in the same market.
An analogy: when you visit a farmer's market, would you buy flowers at $1 at one stand, then set up your own boot a bit farther to sell them at $1.20? YES, your sales skills and marketing might work.Use those skills, but buy wholesale a $0.65.
2. Don't look too far for wholesalers of premium products (aka Microsoft X-box, Sony Playstation, ...). I'm going to let you think first, then give the answer. Who is currently retailing them online, used? Where?

I'm not native in English, but I'll try my best to elaborate if you so desire.


Michael

Im still waiting for the answer xD it is almost impossible for me to find a legit cellphone,vidoe games,etc.. wholesaler, no fakes...

 

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[InLikeFlint]

Im still waiting for the answer xD it is almost impossible for me to find a legit cellphone,vidoe games,etc.. wholesaler, no fakes...

I second this, near impossible to find legitimate dealers for high end products

 

[CPisHere]

I love your quest.

I own a B&M retail store. I would strongly recommend you NOT go that route with this business.

The costs are VERY high and the benefit is very small for the type of business you currently have.

I won't discourage you, but you will learn as you go and likely end up changing course in several ways (and recognizing that your projected #'s don't mean anything). That's okay. Focus on the path and providing the most value you can and the end will work itself out.

 

[GuestUser140]

How would you divorce it from your time? Hmmm. Not sure if this can be done with physical products.

A brick and mortar that is operated by employees, but managed by you (shouldn't be underestimated) divorces you partly from each sale that's made.

I'm trying to think in this direction... how can I, with a physical product, distribute more?

I've also been thinking about selling online, but these types of electronics ($300+) require a decade long golden reputation before people around here would trust them.
On the other hand, I could contact daily deal websites to get rid of this "surplus" stock and set up an agreement.

 

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[InLikeFlint]

On the other hand, I could contact daily deal websites to get rid of this "surplus" stock and set up an agreement.

THis ^^

You should contact sites like QuiBids or something similar and offer to sell them your products at a slight (very slight) discounted price and offer a bigger discount when they buy larger orders. They go through auctions daily so I'm sure they need stock.

Just typing this out made me wonder where they get their current stock? Anyone have any ideas? I wonder if they would tell someone who asked...

 

[GuestUser140]

Im still waiting for the answer xD it is almost impossible for me to find a legit cellphone,vidoe games,etc.. wholesaler, no fakes...

I second this, near impossible to find legitimate dealers for high end products

Come on guys, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. It's probably right in front of your nose multiple times a week.

Think this way: "Which websites do consumers use to buy games online?"

A consumer does not type in "buy retail Fifa 2012" in Google. Instead, he visits websites he knows he can find used stuff on. Which ones?

 

[GuestUser140]

You should contact sites like QuiBids

Checked it out. We don't have it over here, but we have iBood.com

Quibids seems to be BIG. With such a warehouse, and even their own wholesale service (maybe a source to buy from?), it's probably better to buy from them than to sell to them.

Just typing this out made me wonder where they get their current stock?

My guess? A) Consumer buy backs à la "CASH FOR YOUR OLD GAMES/PHONE/...". B) Retail customer returns that cannot be sold as new anymore in stores.

 

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[InLikeFlint]

I'm going to send out some emails to these sites to see if they give up any information, I'll keep you updated.

In response to your reply earlier, if you are insinuating CraigsList or eBay then that is great but the prices are pretty exorbitant and they are nowhere near wholesale suppliers, it would be one product at a time, at a minimal discount

 

[GuestUser140]

I love your quest.

I own a B&M retail store. I would strongly recommend you NOT go that route with this business.

The costs are VERY high and the benefit is very small for the type of business you currently have.

I won't discourage you, but you will learn as you go and likely end up changing course in several ways (and recognizing that your projected #'s don't mean anything). That's okay. Focus on the path and providing the most value you can and the end will work itself out.

Thanks a lot for the insightful response.

Maybe it's just me, but I am VERY unconfortable with overhead (retail location) and fixed costs. Like, I would rather pay people on commission only instead of paying them a wage. It just feels like pressure. Anyway, I'll get as uncomfortable as needed to make my dreams happen.


About my projected #'s: I know. I feel good if I keep breaking last week's sales. Only thing that matters now is provide great service to my customers, keep my head down and get up to $20,000 profit/month before August.
The main reason I contemplate selling B&M retail = to increase my sales. I haven't reached a ceiling selling on CL yet, but when I do, I want a system that allows me to move more stock faster.

 

[teabag]

your progress so far is encouraging! well done. I'm 22 and I'm kicking my self in the butt for not taking the initiative to do something earlier!

You're selling tech items, that's something EXTREMELY difficult to sell in my country as the competition is RIDICULOUSLY high.

My questions,

How did you find a supplier/s so quick with limited capital in the begining?

Are you selling in large quantities or are you making a decent profit of each product sold in lower quantities?

Why are customers purchasing from you instead of ebay where they can potentially find the same product for same/cheaper/similar price as well as have payment security?

Are you selling brand new items or 2nd hand?

I'm in Australia so our markets are different on what's in demand I guess.

thanks

 

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[GuestUser140]

I'm going to send out some emails to these sites to see if they give up any information, I'll keep you updated.

In response to your reply earlier, if you are insinuating CraigsList or eBay then that is great but the prices are pretty exorbitant and they are nowhere near wholesale suppliers, it would be one product at a time, at a minimal discount

Ryan made $70,000 buying lots and/or from motivated sellers on Craigslist and reselling them on that same website
Follow his way of finding deals and you'll get there too.

Ebay is similar, although products sell for their market price. eBay is great to research prices though. I hear it all the time:

"I put it online for $xxx since I think it's worth that amount." Well, guess what, the market doesn't care.

One tip though:
Your $70,000 will depend on:
75% of you finding a good deal
25% of taking great pictures and writing compelling descriptions. Write as a private seller, act likewise on the phone. Especially in the beginning, people won't be offended at all if they find out you're a business. They love to hear they can always reach you in case they ever incur problems with their product.

Oh, and another one:
Buying on eBay: myibidder.com is a great automated bidding tool. Find deals, set your price, go. If you're strict about prices, you'll win 5% of the auctions.

 

[GuestUser140]

your progress so far is encouraging! well done. I'm 22 and I'm kicking my self in the butt for not taking the initiative to do something earlier!

You're selling tech items, that's something EXTREMELY difficult to sell in my country as the competition is RIDICULOUSLY high.

22 is young. Come on, you'll be working with $50,000 in no time.

I guess (is this correct?) Asia is prominent over there? What's people's opinion on Chinese goods? If I were you, sell brand items in used but great looking condition. I do the same. People don't care about a $2 or $5 iPhone accessory, unless they buy on eBay.

eBay is overtaken by the Chinese when it comes to products up till $15. It's pretty straithforward for a Chinese seller to appear Australian, even on a website with strict rules such as eBay. They can look like mom & pop stores selling from the Goldcoast, while they are packing up phone cases in foggy Hong Kong.

How did you find a supplier/s so quick with limited capital in the begining?

I didn't. Took my $1250 from stocking shelves at the supermarket and looked on eBay / CL. I bought individual items, it took me 3 months to get to $5,000. Contacted wholesale companies, bought $3500 worth of stock - limit your risk by exercising due diligence!
Have done business with three wholesalers, now stick with only one. Since my margin is +- 20% and I reorder weekly, 3500 became 5000 orders, then 6500, 7600, ...

Are you selling in large quantities or are you making a decent profit of each product sold in lower quantities?

I sell one unit at a time 99% of the time. I give people better prices if they are looking for 2, or if they bought from me in the past. There are 2 customers who've bought 10 items at a time at $50 profit, multiple times. I give them a serious discount as I have nothing to lose.
-> See Ryan's barter tricks: "he who names a price first, loses" NEVER name a price first if the guy wants a better price than advertised.

Why are customers purchasing from you instead of ebay where they can potentially find the same product for same/cheaper/similar price as well as have payment security?

They want to meet up in person and hand over money ONLY after having seen/tested the product.

I'm in Australia so our markets are different on what's in demand I guess.

Yeah, but still. People buy stuff all the time. Find out what they need/want, and go from there. Don't buy snowmobiles if you like them/can get them at a good price, but because THEY want or need them.

How's life in Australia by the way? Where are you based?

 

[teabag]

I guess (is this correct?) Asia is prominent over there? What's people's opinion on Chinese goods? If I were you, sell brand items in used but great looking condition. I do the same. People don't care about a $2 or $5 iPhone accessory, unless they buy on eBay.

eBay is overtaken by the Chinese when it comes to products up till $15. It's pretty straithforward for a Chinese seller to appear Australian, even on a website with strict rules such as eBay. They can look like mom & pop stores selling from the Goldcoast, while they are packing up phone cases in foggy Hong Kong.

You're right about the Chinese sellers, they have flooded the ebay market for the small tech goods & accessories at the $15 range. They basically control it.

I sell one unit at a time 99% of the time. I give people better prices if they are looking for 2, or if they bought from me in the past. There are 2 customers who've bought 10 items at a time at $50 profit, multiple times. I give them a serious discount as I have nothing to lose.
-> See Ryan's barter tricks: "he who names a price first, loses" NEVER name a price first if the guy wants a better price than advertised.

Nice. I feel as though the whole meeting up process is down time though :/

Yeah, but still. People buy stuff all the time. Find out what they need/want, and go from there. Don't buy snowmobiles if you like them/can get them at a good price, but because THEY want or need them.

How's life in Australia by the way? Where are you based?

Snowmobiles in Australia haha, that's like trying to sell a heater in the desert

Australia is great, honestly a beautiful country with limitless opportunities. I'm in Sydney, NSW... very populated city!

Thanks for your response, I'll have more questions for sure, soon!

 

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[Soulipsyz]

,
- Currently (6 months later) buying $18k worth of stock weekly, sell at 15-35% margin. Last week's net profit was $3000. Invest everything back into it. Next week will be a $20k+ order with around $3750 net profit. Got a wholesaler sales rep. who's willing and able to take me to $150,000+ orders/week, at which point I'd profit $30,000/week.

So if I understand this correctly, you're selling and moving around $18K worth of stock a week? What is the average base price you sell each product for? You also say you want to get up to $150,000K a week?

Maybe I'm missing something here but I don't see how anyone could sell $150,000K worth of electronics a week on CL. The time spent alone delivering each product seems like too much of a hassle.

Why wouldn't you go with ebay? You'll get slightly less profit, but you'll save a lot more time delivering products and dealing with no-shows/customer problems.

 

[InLikeFlint]

The time spent alone delivering each product seems like too much of a hassle.

Not to mention, correct me if I am wrong, the OP said he sells one item at a time to prevent multiple listings/confusion...maybe we are missing something, because that would equal more than 24 hours a day worth of work

 

[GuestUser140]

Nice. I feel as though the whole meeting up process is down time though :/

Snowmobiles in Australia haha, that's like trying to sell a heater in the desert

Australia is great, honestly a beautiful country with limitless opportunities. I'm in Sydney, NSW... very populated city!

Thanks for your response, I'll have more questions for sure, soon!

I was just trying to get the point across with the snowmobiles ;-) (Can you ski out there anyway?).
I honestly spent some time researching great places to live in the world. Politically, economically and happiness-index-wise speaking, it was always Australia (and Norway) who came out on top. I studied in Norway for a semester and was nothing short of amazing. Still, I would love to spend a year or so in Australia to feel it out as well.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

The meeting-up thing is NOT bad. It's one of the primary reasons people choose me to fulfill their needs. At least they get to try and see the product before they commit to a sale. Your mileage may vary.
It'll give you people and sales skills, don't underestimate this. Eventually though, you can have people do the meet-up for you, on commission.

 

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[CPisHere]

Thanks a lot for the insightful response.

Maybe it's just me, but I am VERY unconfortable with overhead (retail location) and fixed costs. Like, I would rather pay people on commission only instead of paying them a wage. It just feels like pressure. Anyway, I'll get as uncomfortable as needed to make my dreams happen.


About my projected #'s: I know. I feel good if I keep breaking last week's sales. Only thing that matters now is provide great service to my customers, keep my head down and get up to $20,000 profit/month before August.
The main reason I contemplate selling B&M retail = to increase my sales. I haven't reached a ceiling selling on CL yet, but when I do, I want a system that allows me to move more stock faster.

I wouldn't be so sure that a retail location will increase your sales. You have to consider the market.

If I'm buying used electronics, I'm either going to buy it from a established retailer (for convenience/peace of mind), or CL (for price). The market you are serving on CL may well not WANT to buy from a retail establishment, where they will assume the prices are jacked up.

 

[GuestUser140]

Correct, $18,000 is about this week's stock. I trade in EUR though, so it looks much less if you see it from that point of view, maybe it's just mentally.

I challenge myself and make it a game to sell all the stock within 7 days, then reinvest everything back into it.

On the issue of running around to close deals: I don't. I let people come to my house. Noticed this in Ryan's thread as well, maybe in the US/Canada people are wary of this because of all the horror stories in the media? I've tried public meet-ups, but to me (and the buyer) it just looks like your selling stolen electronics.

Why not eBay?
I've sold on there before. Slightly less profit is an understatement, my average sale price is $300 with $50 profit. After Paypal and eBay fees I probably keep only $10, with the chance of a Paypal dispute that ends in the buyer's favour and me losing $300.

I have around 5% no-shows, that's not an issue.

Customer problems? I give them a replacement, no questions asked. I got a repair guy who's more talented than I'll ever be, fixes up everything for pennies on the dollar. He's a private person so he can't invoice me, I pay him in stock.
Naggy customers? I'll happily take it if I know I can fill their needs.

I do want to get up to $150,000 a week, but I need a fastlane system to do that.
To be able to sell more stock, I move 70 miles away and rent "office space" for 2 hours in a youth hostel once or 2x weekly, to have people from that area visit me. I make sure I get at least 10-15 people coming over so it's worth my time. I can repeat this with 4 other locations.

I figure I'll start having problems moving stock starting at $30-50,000 weekly. That's partly the point of this thread, how can I turn it into something bigger? Divorce it (partly) from my time by having sales people work on commission? Opening a retail location to sell more and increase the business' visibility and value? Make deals with experienced online retailers and sell wholesale to them or retail indirectly to their customers? Other options?