The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

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

D

DeletedUser394

Guest
I've been clogging up the other thread, so I'm going to start my own. In here, you will find tips, tactics, and strategies as well as my own personal successes and failures (akin to a diary, but far more interesting) in learning the game of 'hustling'.

For many people (and probably the origin of the word corroborates this), 'hustling' has a negative connotation. I don't live in the ghetto (okay..well I kind of do haha), but in my opinion hustling is an awesome and empowering word. To me it simply means that you can make money in almost anything you do. (provided legal).

Back to topic: The greatest thing about this, is that you can make money ANYWHERE, selling almost ANYTHING. There may not be a market for the stuff in your particular area... but guess what, there is an entire world at your fingertips when you buy and sell online.

I see no reason not to buy stuff in your local area, if only to resell online to some guy 1,000 miles away. It's all about the pursuit of the $$$.

I'm far from an expert yet, but if in one week I can purchase over $1,000 worth of stuff with no initial investment, there's really no reason you can't either (unless you're an idiot... which is entirely possible :groove:).

$1,000 for a few hours of work (6 hours maximum I'd say it took me) sounds good to me. In fact I only left my house ONCE for business purposes, even though I put together at least a dozen deals. What I'm getting at is... this is just a start.

I'm going to build this up to great heights, eventually clearing $1,000+ on every deal. But everyone has to start somewhere. I'm taking you along for the ride, and you're welcome to emulate any strategies and tips you'd like.

There's plenty of money in the world to go around! ;)

-Ryan
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Vigilante

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
596%
Oct 31, 2011
11,116
66,265
Gulf Coast
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.
 

iwantaferrari

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Aug 13, 2013
35
56
Don't even be sorry. The only sorry thing is the person who can't go back and find FREE info.

Free info is unlimited on the web and people's time is limited. Finding a good " free info " lost in an ocean of " free bull shit info " is actually a very hard task. Busy people don't have time for that.

To suggest @RichKid do this would go against pretty much everything this forum is..... To take the initiative and see the need and do it for the community yourself would bring you much rep......

I care so much about my reputation on an internet forum that I couldn't resist:
/!\ I kept that as factual as possible, you will not find advices like "Don't give up" or anything related to mindset /!\

Summary :


What's the hourly wage ?
How To: Value Your Items
Sell to 18+
how to start
how much time to find a deal ?
where to find the deals
where to find the deals
How to advertise the product
What niche do you like ?
How to get a discount
About scammers
Phone vs mail/txt
What margin do you do
How to find good deals
How much deal per day ?
How to increase your item's value
About flaky people
About flaky people
Other niches ?
About controlling a market
Statistics
What's the next step ( <500 $ deals ) , cars ?
Statistics II
Other Niches


*** What's the hourly wage ? ***

$1,000 for a few hours of work (6 hours maximum I'd say it took me) sounds good to me. In fact I only left my house ONCE for business purposes, even though I put together at least a dozen deals. What I'm getting at is... this is just a start.

*** How To: Value Your Items ***

This is really easy and simple to do (provided your item is not one of a kind). EBAY!

The market determines what something is worth, it doesn't matter what you may think it is worth, or what you want to sell it for. If you are not within the average (give or take a few % either way) you probably won't get any offers. There are certainly exceptions, but rare.

I've been dealing primarily in videogames (I also sold/buy/sell, fitness products, books, dvds, EReaders, GPS equipment) because they are cheap, and for the older games bring back a nostalgic feeling which everyone can relate to (which means higher than average demand for the product).

When valuing a game I use two sources: Ebay and Videogamevalue.com. For example, let's take the game 'Super Smash Bros.' for N64.

Punching it into Ebay you get prices ranging from $20-$80. (I generally include at least 50% of the shipping cost into the price of the game, even if I'm only listing it on craigslist) So I split the difference at $50. Then just to make sure, I punch 'Super Smash Bros.' into Videogamevalue.com and the average used copy price is currently $43, so I know that I'm in a good price range.

*** Sell to 18+ ***

Another tip, is that you generally do not want to deal with people under 18. 95% of the time they say 'oh that's crazy I'm not paying that much' or something similar even though I only list things at fair market value (ie what the market has determined them to be worth).

I seem to by far get my best deals with people aged 20+ (oldest person so far was probably in their 60s and I had no problem with them either)

Young people generally don't have much money to begin with, and even if they do, they aren't willing to pay up.

*** how to start ****

Start off by figuring out how you can take $160 and turn it into $200.
Really the figures and size of the deals don't matter. Just start.
Wishing will get you nowhere, but by actively pursuing your goal(s) you'll get to the point where you can flip a car for $4K.

*** how much time to find a deal ? ***

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.

*** where to find the deals ***

I just buy stuff off craigslist and then resell it on craigslist for what it's actually worth 5 minutes later. Also Ebay.

*** How to advertise the product ***

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 theyhust 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).

*** What niche do you like ? ***

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.

*** How to get a discount ***

This is easy enough. If you want 10% off, make your offer at 80% of asking price. Most buyers will meet in the middle.

Example: The item costs $100. You offer $80. He counters at $90. You win, and everyone's happy.

10% is really easy... ~40%+ takes some work.

*** About scammers ***

1) If I can find my potential buyers on facebook, I'm really not worried. (95% I can find)
2) I deal only with cash. (Haven't moved anything online yet, but will eventually).
3) Test whatever you're buying before you hand over the money.
4) If the item is expensive, meet in a public place and/or have someone else with you when you meet the person.

*** Phone vs mail/txt ***

There's an advantage with texting/email because I can make sure what the value of the item(s) is/are (reasearch) in between messages.
You can't do that nearly as efficiently on the phone.

*** What margin do you do ****

I stand to make a 400%-500% profit margin on the item I bought for 20% under asking price.

I don't really bother looking at an item unless I can at least double my money or more upon resale (unless the item is really expensive.. at this point 'really' expensive for me is anything over $500. At $500+ I'd look for 20%-50%+ margins.

*** How to find good deals ***

Buy anything in a 'lot' + sell whatever product you bought from that lot individually = profit.

Buy 10 snowboards for $1,000. Sell the 10 snowboards for $200 each. Make $1000 (or 100%). Really any product, it makes little difference.

*** How much deal per day ? ***

Still averaging 1-2 closed deals a day.

*** How to increase your item's value ***

If you're buying Iphones, buy cases and other accessories to mix and match with them. My Ipods will command a higher price than others, because I have a list of cases and other accessories that a buyer can choose from. The Ipod + Case + accessory sold separately will cost less than what I'm selling the combinations for, but I still sell them.

Just like this morning, woke up to an email offering $300 for a package that actually is only worth $250 if sold it in pieces. That extra $50 in perceived value comes from the fact that I've gone ahead and put everything together, so that the consumer/buyer doesn't have to.

*** About flaky people ***

Every day, and in dealing with more and more people (approaching 75th deal) I see what people are about.

It's amazing how one's word counts for almost nothing. I'm somewhat disappointed as these past few days some of my biggest deals to date have fallen through.

Everything is great until the day comes, and people disappear completely. Not even having the decency to take 10 seconds to let me know that they've changed their mind. It's a great vanishing act.

When you get a tentative deal DO NOT REMOVE YOUR LISTING UNTIL MONEY AND PRODUCT HAVE EXCHANGED HANDS... saves you some time when these people go mia.

Most people are crap (can't think of a better word haha).
Lost count of how many times I've gotten 'Yeah bro, I'll call you tomorrow to pick up'. No you won't. And then I get the truly amazing people that show up exactly when they say 'I'll be there at 7pm'... and lo and behold at 7pm, there they are. Love those people.

Want an easy way to get ahead of the game/in life? Make your word your bond. When you say you're going to do something, it should be as good as done.

Too many flaky people running around out there.

*** Other niches ? ***

Moved on to Ipods now. Bought a 1st gen touch for $40. Probably going to keep it and sell my 5th gen nano. Ipods are my main thing now.

*** About controlling a market ***

Definitely, I'm always thinking 3 steps ahead
clear.png
I control it completely and it only makes up about 50% of my current inventory (becoming less and less as a percentage as time goes on).

*** Statistics ***

Inventory: $1,762
Cash: $325

Total: $2,087

Breakdown;

Games/Consoles: 48%
Cash: 15%
Musical Instruments (lol I buy everything): 14%
Multimedia: 10%
Electronics: 7%
Sports Memorabilia: 2.5%
Watches/Accessories: 2.5%
Fitness Equipment: 1%

*** What's the next step ( <500 $ deals ) , cars ? ***

Depending on where you live, there is usually a cap (3-5) on how many cars you can sell in a calendar year without a dealers license. There are ways around this (register cars in friends/family names) but you could get in trouble if you don't.
As for $500+ there are many things you can buy. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, scooters, bobcats (the machine, not the animal lmao), high end bicycles, guns (real/airsoft), pocket bikes, Atvs, sea-do's, snowmobiles, Camera's, vintage musical instruments, etc.

*** Tool for researching on multiple platforms ***

http://www.searchtempest.com/

*** Statistics II ***

Inventory: $2,467
Cash: $535

Total: $3,002

Here's the breakdown:

Video games/consoles: 36%
Cash: 18%
Musical Instruments: 10%
Sports Equipment: 8%
Bicycles: 8%
Electronics: 7%
Multimedia: 7%
Sports Memorabilia: 2%
Watches: 2%
Tools: 1%
Misc: 1%

*** Other Niches ***

Ipods, Ipads, Iphones, Macbooks, basically anything apple branded, watches, pocket bikes, bicycles, airsoft guns (the higher end models), and musical instruments.

Everything else escapes me at the moment

*** FInal Thoughts***

-This business has limited scalability and should be started only to collect an initial capital in order to fund a real fastlane business.
-The author still worked at a part time job.
- As Far as I understood the Author managed to turn $ 40 into $ 10 000, yet It is not clear to me if it was only through this business or if his part time job helped.
- Seasons ( christmas, holiday, spring) are a very important part of the business.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Excalibur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
116%
Mar 6, 2010
64
74
Nampa, ID
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.
 

Vigilante

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
596%
Oct 31, 2011
11,116
66,265
Gulf Coast
Regarding lowball offers : know exactly what you are looking for. Don't be afraid to make 10-20 ridiculous offers before someone says yes. What do you care? If you didn't get at least one "you are an a**hole" response, you are probably not going deep enough. You are looking for the person who has to sell. You're not in this to find your new BFF. Donald Trump once said he makes 99 insulting real estate offers, looking for the 1 that will say yes.

I was negotiating on a Ford Ranger the other day, just for fun. Ask price was $2700. I offered him $1700. He wanted to field a few other offers first, and ultimately I lost the deal. He sold it for $2300. Had I gotten it done, with cash in hand... I probably could have bought it for $1700 and sold it for $3k. Rinse, wash, repeat. Afterwords, he told me the reason he put it on Craigslist was because the dealer offered him $1050. Think about that. The dealer offers $1050 and either sends it to the auction, or sells it off for $3k.

There's money to be made, but you have to be buying at ridiculous prices.

My son is working in a hard core, blue collar job right now. I wanted him to. His boss is a 35 year old guy, working 40 hours a week for $12 an hour. Everyone needs a taste of that so that you know exactly what you don't want. He had to learn it on his own. He had to reach the breaking point before he was ready to understand there was a much better way.

I am going to flip a car or two over the next 3-4 weeks. That way, when my son and I sit down to talk about his shit job for no money, I can show him how in a few deals, with a few hours, I made 3-4x what he made working 20+ hours a week for almost poverty wages. Once he sees the math he will never go back.

Anyway... anyone following RichKid's method... here's your challenge. Make 20 ridiculous offers, and see what you can get. You are searching for the diamond in the rough. You can't pay retail and expect to make a profit. You have to figuratively find a steal of a deal in order to make any significant money. Be willing to take risks. You don't get what you don't ask for.

I bought a table last week off of Craigslist I had been searching over a year for. It was to replace a family heirloom. Ethan Allen Old Tavern Chess Table with 4 captains chairs. After searching across the country for a year, I found a complete set located an hour away from me. It was worth maybe $1k, but for sentimental reasons, I would have paid whatever. But... it was listed for $450. I emailed them, told them I could come right away, and asked for $300. They confirmed they would do it for $350. Dropped 25% before I even showed up. Turns out, the guy's mother had moved into a nursing home, and they just needed to clear the stuff away. He just wanted it gone. It's beautiful, and in mint condish for a table manufactured in 1969. Point being... the strike price for me was what ever I was willing to pay. The pain point for him was not the $$, but the fact that he wanted to get rid of it. And that is what you are looking for.

You could do this all day long.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,508
Utah
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.
 

TadMoore

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
42%
Sep 21, 2011
55
23
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 ;(
 

theBiz

Silver Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
46%
Jul 9, 2009
1,162
535
NY
Ive been doing this for a living for over 5 years, straight craigslisting it like its my day job.

what we need to make is something that searches craigslist then amazon and ebay and finds deals thats you can make value off of.

i do this, wake up with a cup of coffee in front of my computer.... scan my deals and get on the phone.

Paying your friends most likely wont work out, it costs too much, i outsourced it and it didnt work either $2 per hour, i tried 4 different companies, there is constantly a learning curve and this business is 100% in your mind and negotiating.

The biggest problem with this business is it is far from scalable, even with my program, I SET THE PERIMETERS, when the market changes i have to know when and go in and edit it etc.

The bigger you go with this, the harder things are to sell, when you sell something for $5,000,10,20 etc. it takes longer so you become more cautious.

When your laying out 20k you seem to do a better job scanning websites rather than someone else. Its not fun, its fun to do it once every few months, but it takes massive research and it becomes stressful.


If you want to get into this let me give you a great example. Whatever the next thing you want to buy will be, iphone, car, computer, whatever try to get the best of the best you can for your money. So if you have $5,000 and you want a civic when most civics are going for $5,000 with 60,000 miles try to get one with much less like 20k.

When you buy your next item STRETCH your dollar for yourself as far as you can.... then try and sell it, if you dont there was no risk because you wanted it for yourself anyway. That's how i personally started.

There's no science behind automating it, many programs do that already, its a simple RSS feed, everything for me was free to set up, make it happen.

But before anyone automates anything put in some hard work and learn what your doing before you set parameters you thought were correct that you might end up losing money with.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
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.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
I get those figures on ALL items, not just games.

Buy anything in a 'lot' + sell whatever product you bought from that lot individually = profit.

Buy 10 snowboards for $1,000. Sell the 10 snowboards for $200 each. Make $1000 (or 100%). Really any product, it makes little difference.

Probably 25% of my inventory is games, I've transitioned to other things.

Out of curiousity, I looked at Dallas Craigslist and found dozens of deals (in most categories) in seconds. (200%+). Even found 2 goats (the actual animal) that you could flip for 100% hahahaha.

I think I need to start a consulting service on the side. Teach people how to look for deals in their area, and get payed for it.

EDIT: I just got an idea, I'm going to put up a teaching system/ebook and sell it (there is an obvious need between this thread, others, and PMs I've been getting. More $$$ and actually fastlane!!!! I barely do any work as it is, but with an information product I'll get payed for doing nothing, everytime someone buys a copy.
 

P3HSB

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
198%
Sep 27, 2014
222
440
Los Angeles, CA
Read the thread

First flip ( or lack there of ): Bought an iphone 5c 16gb perfect condition for 140. Seller had the ad for 150

Immediately put he phone for sale on CL and Ebay, Tried to sell it for 240, the others on CL were 250+

Tons of scammers contacted me. Over 15 people flaked on me.

Finally sold it today for 150 after having the phone for over 2 weeks, was getting concerned I wasn't going to be able to sell it. Buying the phone took all the cash I had.

Between the gas and time traveled to buy and sell it, I lost about 20 bucks. Learned a few lessons.

Sounds like a familiar situation I was in recently. Bought an item that was falsely advertised and ended up selling it at break even.

You should try pre-selling the item. It works and its 100% risk free.

1. Choose a product in any niche

rsz_craig1.png


2. Try to spot a a price difference in an item compared to the market value.
3. Head over to Amazon/Ebay to see if you can capitalize upon the imbalance.
rsz_amazon1.png
rsz_ebay1.png


4. Message the seller on CL and try to lowball the item down $10-40 from the listed price. If the price is already low, take it as is.
5. Before making the purchase, put up a CL ad of the same item where you saw a price difference. Take their picture or find one on Google for your ad. Reword their description. Price your item slightly lower than the market. Don't forget to utilized the "scarcity bias". It a secret trick that converted 100% of my sales.
rsz_postingcraig.png


6. If someone messages you wanting the buy the item, then you have officially presold the item without putting any money down! If nobody messages you, then nothing happens! Message back the seller and give an excuse to why you no longer want the product. If you got a message move to step 7. If not rinse and repeat step 1-6.
7. Go pickup the item from the seller.
8. Prep the item to maximize value and make customer happy!
9. Contact your buyer and meetup at a public location.
9. Complete the transaction for a net profit.
giphy.gif


Secrets out. My exact strategy. Step by step. 100% risk free. @MichaelGrey said "If you can sell one, you can sell 10. If you can sell 10, you can sell a hundred."
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
I passed (or past?) $7,000 now, mostly inventory (lot purchases) with around a grand in cash.

I started a new job today. I basically clean dishes, scrub toilets and mop floors (if you're reading this Russ, it's a b&b haha). Not the most glamorous or alluring, and I don't stay up at night dreaming about how awesome tomorrow will be on the job. Chose it because it allows me to make my own hours (and to maybe take on a second job). But I'll clean 10,000 toilets if it gets me closer to my goals (and I probably will at the rate I'm having to clean 'em) and if you can't say the same, why are you here?

I get up in the morning before the sun rises, return emails/calls, then go to work, then get off work and take more emails/calls, schedule meetup times, meet people to either buy or sell items, then run home to eat, then take an hour long train ride to get my a$$ kicked at the gym (wrestling class) for 2 hours, then take the train back home for another hour. Get home by the time most people in the city are sleeping, eat, answer more call/emails. Sleep. And then repeat next day.

You know, I used to say 'I really want to succeed', and yet I never put the effort in. I was kidding myself. Most people (even on this forum) will never accomplish their goals. You have to be willing to sacrifice, to work hard, etc, etc, etc. You're kidding yourself if you think this just happens overnight.

A couple of months ago I had $1.25 in my bank account, weighed less than my dog (he's a big dog...but still I was skinny), did nothing, had no friends, was intimidated by everyone.

Now I'm 70% of the way to my first financial goal (and to a 5 figure net worth... not much but at 19 I'll take it), I have a six pack (ain't talking about beer), have some amazingly awesome friends, I look like I could kill you (in the mma, wrestling sense of the word), and nothing intimidates me except my own potential.

So here it is, if you want something, it's simply a matter of figuring out what you want, how to get it (google knows all) and then quit making retarded excuses and get off the couch and make it happen. It's simple, but not easy. Forget the motivational rah-rah nonsense. If you need external influences to keep you motivated, you've already lost. You have to have that hunger....lol, the irony is that I'm about to quote motivational speaker Les Brown.... 'You gotta be hungryyyyyy!'

Keep hustling.

That's all.
 
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
How To: Value Your Items

I received a question regarding how to find the value of an item you have for sale.

This is really easy and simple to do (provided your item is not one of a kind). EBAY!

The market determines what something is worth, it doesn't matter what you may think it is worth, or what you want to sell it for. If you are not within the average (give or take a few % either way) you probably won't get any offers. There are certainly exceptions, but rare.

I've been dealing primarily in videogames (I also sold/buy/sell, fitness products, books, dvds, EReaders, GPS equipment) because they are cheap, and for the older games bring back a nostalgic feeling which everyone can relate to (which means higher than average demand for the product).

When valuing a game I use two sources: Ebay and Videogamevalue.com. For example, let's take the game 'Super Smash Bros.' for N64.

Punching it into Ebay you get prices ranging from $20-$80. (I generally include at least 50% of the shipping cost into the price of the game, even if I'm only listing it on craigslist) So I split the difference at $50. Then just to make sure, I punch 'Super Smash Bros.' into Videogamevalue.com and the average used copy price is currently $43, so I know that I'm in a good price range.

Disclaimer. I sold a copy of Super Smash Bros. for $50 two days ago.
 

Vigilante

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
596%
Oct 31, 2011
11,116
66,265
Gulf Coast
Ryan. You're 19. I can assure you that I have had failures that make your short term setback look like a Sunday drive.

Get rid of the bullshit defeatist attitude, pick yourself up again by the bootstraps (because by now you know nobody else is going to do it for you), stop feeling like a loser, stop posting like a loser, and carry on.

It wasn't luck. It was seasonality (timing) + hustle. You may have underestimated the significance of the seasonality curve, but live and learn. Do it better next year, and get yourself in position to have a bigger bank roll by then (if you are still interested).

Don't discourage other people by shitting on your own dreams. Life is too short. Knock of the bullshit "I'm a kid and a poser" attitude. I don't care how old you are. You now have a few more war scars on you, and that will make you stronger.

Get back in the game. If you can, edit a few of the posts above to be less hard on yourself. You screwed something up along the way. Good for you. You learned something.

So you got in over your head on the shoes. Get rid of them. List them as a wholesale lot on eBay. Donate them somewhere and take the tax write-off. It's not the end of the world.

Do you know how many times I had to fail before I got shit straight? You are not the first one to crash and burn.

Stop the self pity. Stop the soul baring. Get back in the game and cut the shit. Knowing how to talk the talk is the beginning of the game.

I've enjoyed your posts. You got "likes" because you were trying to make things happen. So go make shit happen, and make your own LIKES.

Hang in there kid.
 

Tom.V

Tom
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
237%
Feb 20, 2012
977
2,314
34
San Juan
A friend of a friend of mine transports coke he earns about 8000 euro's a month he is like 21 or sumthing but i would never do that.
Dealing drugs doesn't count. If what you do risks your freedom, your family, and all of your personal belongings then you're in the wrong business.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

P3HSB

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
198%
Sep 27, 2014
222
440
Los Angeles, CA
Had a small victory last night. Here is how the deal went down.

Process

The Search: Spent 1-2 weeks constantly searching for products and making offers. Used @Vigilante strategy. "Make 20 ridiculous offers, and see what you can get". Guess what, I actually found a diamond! :woot: (Difficulty 10/10 hardest part)
Item: Found a vintage Univega road bike for $80 (Ebay price, $200 and up)
Strategy: For this deal, I utilized @MichaelGrey and @adamhenry strategy "Aka: it's easier to make £50 on a £300 smartphone." So instead of setting my price at $200+, I set the price at $140. I also utilized the pre-selling tactic. Before purchasing the bike, I took the sellers picture and made advertisements to confirm demand for the bike before putting down real money. (felt risky to take other people's pics and use, fortunately it only lasted 1 day)
Advertisement: Posted a total of 6 ads. 5 Billboard ads at my school and 1 Craigslist ad. For my ad copy, I used keywords like "need gone asap, moving out, no room to park bike etc"
Messages: Received 0 offers from the 5 Billboard ads. Received 5 offers from the Craigslist ad within 10 minutes of listing. BINGO!
Picking up the Item: was a 20 mile trip. It was on the way to where I was already heading so it was a hassle free commute.
Getting the item ready: I wiped the bike clean. It took approximately 20 minutes. Had oil under my fingernails but it was worth it. Wanted to WOW and satisfy the buyer!
The meetup: Got home around 9pm at night and called the buyer from Craigslist. We ended up meeting in front of a local Supermarket near my house. Used @Mike Kavanagh advice about meeting in public in front of cameras. It was late at night, so this was a must!
Success: We exchange goods, shook each others hands and both had a smile on our faces.
Duration: 2 days total to complete the transaction. Day 1 was putting up ads and Day 2 was picking up the bike and selling it.
The Math: Bought the bike for $80. Sold it for $140. Profit: $60.00
Shout-out to @Vigilante, @MichaelGrey, @adamhenry, @Mike Kavanagh, for the helpful tips/advice and motivation. :hurray:

And here is the picture of the bike!
Roadbike.jpg

(Disclaimer: what has worked for me might not necessarily work for you. I am just sharing my experience)
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
It ain't all rosy being a hustler.

Every day, and in dealing with more and more people (approaching 75th deal) I see what people are about.

It's amazing how one's word counts for almost nothing. I'm somewhat disappointed as these past few days some of my biggest deals to date have fallen through.

Everything is great until the day comes, and people disappear completely. Not even having the decency to take 10 seconds to let me know that they've changed their mind. It's a great vanishing act.

When you get a tentative deal DO NOT REMOVE YOUR LISTING UNTIL MONEY AND PRODUCT HAVE EXCHANGED HANDS... saves you some time when these people go mia.

Most people are crap (can't think of a better word haha).

Lost count of how many times I've gotten 'Yeah bro, I'll call you tomorrow to pick up'. No you won't. And then I get the truly amazing people that show up exactly when they say 'I'll be there at 7pm'... and lo and behold at 7pm, there they are. Love those people.

Want an easy way to get ahead of the game/in life? Make your word your bond. When you say you're going to do something, it should be as good as done.

Too many flaky people running around out there.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,508
Utah
WTF? 27 pages and no GOLD?

tom-delonge-wtf1.gif
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Vigilante

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
596%
Oct 31, 2011
11,116
66,265
Gulf Coast
Did you über low ball the guy or was it a half-reasonable offer? Just curious.
Working my first deal now. I'll keep ya'll posted. :coco: fist pump

Your JOB is to über low ball. I'm not interested in buying products at market price. When I am buying off Craigslist, I will make dozens of lowball offers to find the right deal(s). I have 0% fear of offending anyone. Why do I care? I am looking for people who need cash and or need to unload what they have.

I will make 10 rediculous offers to get the 1 old lady that says yes. There's no downside. Ryan, having someone hang up on you tells me you are doing this RIGHT. You're not out there trying to win friends. You're looking for CRAZY deals that you can then convert.

This strategy doesn't work if you make reasonable offers. Make INSANE offers, and find the ones that stick. I heard Trump say in an interview one time that he will make 100 lowball real estate offers until he finds someone that will sell at his price.

Be AGGRESSIVE. Take RISK. Hurting someone's feelings --- does not apply --- to buying merchandise.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
Seriously I don't know how many different ways I can phrase the exact same thing.

This is not fastlane. THIS WILL NEVER BE FASTLANE. ALSO IT'S TECHNICALLY ILLEGAL CONSIDERING YOU ARE NOT PAYING ANY TAXES.

Would I rather do this than have a real job? Yes. And that is why the thread was created.
 
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
A word on negotiating;

He (or she) who names a price first, always loses.

Make it your mission, regardless of if you're buying or selling an item, to get the other person to pick a price first.

You maintain control of the negotiation process that way, and control is important.

To give you an example, I almost overpaid on an item just now. Not going to tell you what I paid, or what the item was, but let's say I was going to offer $1,000. That was going to be my initial offer, but sticking to my rule of making the other person start the process, I let him tell me what he wanted for it... he said $750!!

So that $250 was extra profit room that I otherwise wouldn't have had, had I made my offer first (I was the one buying, so typically (and wrongly so) the buyer usually puts out the first counter)... Use your skills and make him counter himself. (lol, it's easy enough).

Half the time I basically make the seller take a haircut on what he's selling without ever even making an offer.

So remember: The dude/dudette that speaks first, almost always loses in the end.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

LibertyForMe

Habits pave the path to success.
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
183%
Feb 5, 2013
809
1,479
Cincinnati, OH
A friend of a friend of mine transports coke he earns about 8000 euro's a month he is like 21 or sumthing but i would never do that.

At first I was like, "DANG! I didn't know there was that much money in soft drinks!" lol
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Runum

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
101%
Aug 8, 2007
6,221
6,298
DFW, Texas
Great thread. Nevertheless it takes time to go throughout the whole thread to catch here and there pieces of information.

This would be cool if you could edit the first post as a real " guide " like:
- the places where you find your deals
- How do you define a good deal
- How do you find good niche where a lot of good deals are available
- What were your first deals
- What niches are the most profitables ( video games ? )
- how did you begin hustling
- how much time did you spend per day in your first 3 month doing it
- How much money were you making in average during the 3 first month
- Etc...

Like a "how to" guide and not a " I sold this today and make $ 100 " guide :).

I believe a lot of people are in the position where they need some $$$ to fund a business !


PS: it's not that people are " too lazy " to look for the whole thread, its just that people are surrounded by tons of information and need to figure out quick what is worth it and what is not. My 2 cents.

Would you like whipped cream and a cherry in top? Even with PS it still reads that people are too lazy to do the work themselves and you want OP to do it for them.
 

SBS.95

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
261%
Oct 14, 2012
535
1,397
Pennsylvania
@RBefort I'm not in the middle of the city either, it's about a 20-30 minute drive to get to the well-populated area I make most deals. I've found the ways to make the most of it are:
  1. Get them to meet you halfway so you are each only driving 10-15 minutes.
  2. String deals together, so you aren't driving 30 minutes to meet one person, you are driving 30 minutes to meet the 1st guy, then 5 minutes later meeting the 2nd guy, and then 5 minutes later meeting the 3rd guy, etc.
  3. Schedule your deals when you already have to drive someplace. Need to pick up milk? Meet them at the grocery store. Been meaning to change your oil? Meet them outside AutoZone.
  4. Arrange a discount for your time/money/gas. If they say they don't have a car, I will often say "Okay that's cool, but I'm going to spend an hour round trip picking it up from you, so we can knock [$x] off the price for me driving out there." If you tell people where you're coming from, a surprisingly high amount of them will level with you. Especially since you bring the promise of cash to them.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Vigilante

Legendary Contributor
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
596%
Oct 31, 2011
11,116
66,265
Gulf Coast

Excalibur

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
116%
Mar 6, 2010
64
74
Nampa, ID
I've been slacking off again. Here's a flip from June. Bought it in May. Had a few weeks of fun driving it. Took it through the parade. Then sold it.

Paid $6,500. Sold for $13,900. Maybe could have gotten more, but I couldn't find too many in this condition to compare. Either they were total rust bucket resto projects, or pristine. Although this one was in pretty good condition.

Found it at a farm auction. Not exactly the target audience I think this car would need for top dollar.

Btw it's a '68 Checker Aerobus.
 

Attachments

  • c-1.jpg
    c-1.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 91
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
Hustling: Taking something and giving high value to someone else. The hustler takes the cut from between the true value and the perceived value of the item, service, or information.

Scamming: To sell something of promised high value for a low value, to which no value is to be had.

Politicking: Tricking people into what has value.

...ok?



Anyway... Made a $115 profit while hanging christmas lights outside of my house 15 minutes ago. The guy drove up and we made a deal.

50/50 chance of making another deal tonight, just working on the numbers with another person.

I made more money this weekend than I could make in a week at one of my jobs (I have 3).
 
D

DeletedUser394

Guest
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.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top