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

[Whole Paradigm]

That little tip about the free section is a gold mine!!

Secretary, desk, tv

Bush corner TV/audio cabinet

PDC Hot Tub****Taken****

Cool I'm glad you found it helpful

 

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[DeletedUser394]

So in two weeks I've officially flattened every competitor in the video game sector. I'm still going to buy & sell games, but as a secondary thing. If you want a certain system (N64, Xbox, SNES, etc) and don't want to use ebay, I'm essentially the only person there is that has what you need. I have over $1500 worth of that crap alone in my closet.

Now I'm taking over the Ipod 'industry'... dealing specifically with the last two generation touch's and the new generation classics. I'm no longer bothering with anything under $150 unless I can at least double my money. For Ipods, my main competitor can barely type coherent english. I'm going to annihilate him (figuratively of course).

I'm giving myself a one month timeframe to control 90% of all Ipod sales on Craigslist in my area. (That would equate to having around 15-20 Ipods in inventory at all times) Also tentatively partnered with another member on this forum that lives in the same city. Not so much to make more money through a partnership, but more so to gain and retain near absolute control over whatever markets I'm working on.

I've come to learn that monopolies are great for business... when it's your business running the show

It's funny... I kind of prefer putting together deals, more than I like the money. Both are great though!


PS: ..too many 'I'.. but I've yet to learn how to speak of oneself in anything other then the first person.

 

[Whole Paradigm]

Good job keep it up

 

[Shades]

You seem to have a lot of inventory. Are you moving it? Is the demand high enough in your city alone to keep pushing this stuff out the door instead of having it sit around? Are you selling at all on ebay?

I just see you set a goal of having 15-20 ipods in inventory at all times. Im not getting that part of it. Why do you want that much inventory? If your buying them at the right price you should be able to sell them on ebay in 24 hours for a nice profit. In the door and right back out the door.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

You seem to have a lot of inventory. Are you moving it? Is the demand high enough in your city alone to keep pushing this stuff out the door instead of having it sit around? Are you selling at all on ebay?

I just see you set a goal of having 15-20 ipods in inventory at all times. Im not getting that part of it. Why do you want that much inventory? If your buying them at the right price you should be able to sell them on ebay in 24 hours for a nice profit. In the door and right back out the door.

Because I like near constant cashflow (well, money coming in more specifically). It's just a personal choice. I like watching the money flow. Everyday.

Also if I get lazy and stop looking for deals, I have all that stuff to move so I don't suffer at all. I can quit for the next month and just sell off what I have if I wanted to.

I close two deals a day on average, and have yet to go a day where I haven't sold something, because I've got like 85 things for sale at any one time. (Sold 4 things today actually)

I don't know how I would feel if I go a few days/weeks without selling something, because that's yet to happen.

Nope, have yet to use ebay, but will one day.

EDIT: Also, by having that much stuff at any one time, I can combine different things to make them more attractive to buyers, and to make more money.

Made an extra $60 profit on one deal a few days ago, just by adding some things together that I had bought on seperate occasions. Had I sold them individually right when I got them, that extra money would have never happened.

 

[johnny84]

So I've had to hock some old stuff just to have money to play with.

A Gibson guitar had to go on eBay because my town is FULL of guitar "hustlers". To butcher an idiom, imagine a small pond full of big fish. I figured I'd move to a different pond. The hangup I have with eBay is not only the fees, but restrictive turnaround. So the thing is sold (sitting at $500, w/6 days to go), but it's in limbo til the auction closes and ships.

Getting away from that market for those reasons and moving into Apple stuff.

And sooo, I managed my first acquisition (with the wee bit of cash that I do/did have), which was an up-front good deal but negotiated another 10% off a MacBook Air. $360 all said and done. Up on C-list as well as eBay. No bites as yet.

Time'll tell.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Expanding on what I said yesterday.

It's just like how a real estate investor might renovate a kitchen or put in an extra bathroom. The total value of the house increases more than the cost of the actual renovation.

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.

If you have a lot or even a modest amount of inventory at all times, you're in a much better position to put these 'increased value deals' together.

If you have one thing for sale, you're at the mercy of whatever someone wants to offer you, because there's little you can do (besides cosmetic touch ups/cleaning the item) to make it's value increase.

 

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[oddball]

Expanding on what I said yesterday.

It's just like how a real estate investor might renovate a kitchen or put in an extra bathroom. The total value of the house increases more than the cost of the actual renovation.

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.

If you have a lot or even a modest amount of inventory at all times, you're in a much better position to put these 'increased value deals' together.

If you have one thing for sale, you're at the mercy of whatever someone wants to offer you, because there's little you can do (besides cosmetic touch ups/cleaning the item) to make it's value increase.

Totally agree. Plus you can get bulk accessories so cheap these days. I buy brand new USB cables and headphones for all my iphones/ipods and they cost me about $2.50-$3 each. But it looks a lot better when they are included. I usually pull an extra $20 because of them. I sometimes use cases as dealer savers. I set my prices pretty high and if they are having second thoughts, just throw it in. Makes them feel like they are getting a better deal.

 

[mapaul04]

Great Thread

I have enjoyed reading through this thread and it inspired me to go out and search for deals on craigslist as well. I looked for a couple hours yesterday mainly looking at electronics (cell phones, video games, computers, and dvds) sent out lots of low ball offers to people selling iPhones but none were interested, based on responses it seemed as if they were all iPhone hustlers not interested or pissed at my low ball attempt. My philosophy was to offer a price that I would be able to make an easy 50+ bucks on the iPhones figuring I could move them fast, like I said so far it hasnt been successful but that was the strategy.
I did make one deal from yesterdays emails, I got a laptop for cheap that will probably make $100-$150 profit. Was just going to list my laptop on ebay and realized its illegal to sell the laptop with software like microsoft office if you dont include the keys and disc probably wouldnt be a problem on craigslist but Im sure you can get in trouble on ebay.

 

[biophase]

Yea I agree, no offense Ryan but you don't lowball enough. You are obviously doing really well as it is but you could be doing BETTER.

You don't have to lowball that much if their asking price is already very low. It's better to just get the item.

I once sold my mountain bike worth about $500 for $175 on craigslist. I had this one guy offer me $150, I said no it's worth $175. He said he'll think about it. Of course, I got about 5 full price offers in the 2 minutes that past before he called me back and said he'll pay $175 but it was too late. If he was a flipper he could have made easily $200 on it.

Why did I sell it for $175? Because I didn't want to deal with taking photos, explaining its features, answering questions, deal with people making offers and I wanted it gone that night. I sold it within 5 minutes. Guy was over at my house within 15.

The guy who bought it from me didn't even take a look at it. It was night time he was wheeled it into his car without ever seeing it in the light. I asked him if he wanted to ride it first and that it had alot of scratches. He said, it's a $175 gary fisher bike I don't need to ride it cause even if it's broken it's still worth it.

 

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[BrandonL]

You were right RyanDrake I wasn't looking hard enough.

dr. dre earphones

Easily worth double what that guy is selling them for.

Be careful. Sounds to good to be true and there are a lot of fakes floating around.

 

[oddball]

You don't have to lowball that much if their asking price is already very low. It's better to just get the item.

I once sold my mountain bike worth about $500 for $175 on craigslist. I had this one guy offer me $150, I said no it's worth $175. He said he'll think about it. Of course, I got about 5 full price offers in the 2 minutes that past before he called me back and said he'll pay $175 but it was too late. If he was a flipper he could have made easily $200 on it.

Why did I sell it for $175? Because I didn't want to deal with taking photos, explaining its features, answering questions, deal with people making offers and I wanted it gone that night. I sold it within 5 minutes. Guy was over at my house within 15.

The guy who bought it from me didn't even take a look at it. It was night time he was wheeled it into his car without ever seeing it in the light. I asked him if he wanted to ride it first and that it had alot of scratches. He said, it's a $175 gary fisher bike I don't need to ride it cause even if it's broken it's still worth it.

I was saying because he said he pretty much always paid asking price. If it is a really good price to begin with I throw a quick lowball offer and maybe they take it, sometimes they do sometimes they don't. If they don't, I have either settled somewhere in the middle or just paid what they ask since it was a good deal. If I can get a $500 item for $200, great, but if I can get it for $150...even better.
I personally have had awesome luck with this in the past.

 

[DeletedUser394]

I'm not lowballing.

Furthest I've brought a price down thus far is 20%. That's all I need.

To further what biophase said, I had a gps system for sale a while back. It was already at a substantial discount and this guy offers me 40% of my asking price. I didn't even bother returning his email. Ten minutes later I get someone offering full asking. When we meet up, he doesn't even test it, and comments on what a great deal it was.

Everyone is free to do what they want. I don't need to lowball people to make money.

EDIT: Like I said, as the value of the products that I'm trading increase, so too will my 'lowballing'. Right now I have no reason to lowball.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

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.

 

[Excalibur]

Plenty of flakes in the Boise, Idaho area. I imagine flakes are pretty much worldwide.

Then I get the idiots that want me to deliver. Sure, if you pay gas, but the reality is I don't have time to go chasing these people down, only to have them say "oh, it's not quite what I am looking for".

 

[wade1mil]

You have really cone a great job, As i also have tried and have some ++ $ increased in my savings and have a proper plan for what to do next.

Thank You

Budgeting Tips

Personal Finance

If you're going to spam this crap on every post, at least make sure the links work.

 

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[Shades]

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.

Yet another reason paying ebay fees are worth it. Cuts out a ton of bull. Cuts your total time invested in each transaction in half, at least.

 

[oddball]

Yet another reason paying ebay fees is worth it. Cuts out a ton of bull. Cuts your total time involved in each transaction in half, at least.

Sometimes not though. I've had people but something and be one of those scams from Nigeria and then I had to wait 4 days till I could open a claim then 4 days to close it since they never answer. Doesn't happen often but when it does it's a pita

 

[DeletedUser394]

Going to test out eBay.

 

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[biggeemac]

Ebay works out good for me. My wife and I are trying to figure out a system to determine whether to list an item on ebay or amazon. The fee structure is quite different. Plus....one is a storefront and one is an auction.

 

[Shades]

Ebay works out good for me. My wife and I are trying to figure out a system to determine whether to list an item on ebay or amazon. The fee structure is quite different. Plus....one is a storefront and one is an auction.

Have been interested in how people are doing on Amazon. Its a monthly fee plus fees for each item sold right?

 

[DeletedUser394]

Question to no one in particular. When valuing an item using ebay.. should I be including all or part of the shipping costs into the value of the item?

For example I have this item today that I have at $200 and the person offers me $150. When checking completed listings on ebay I see that according to my valuation, $200 would be the price of the item plus it's shipping costs (even though I'm not shipping), vs his offer which is right in line with the item's price without shipping costs.

I'm thinking he is right. If that's the case, I'm going to take a 20% hit across the board on inventory. No matter, I'm still pushing forward.

 

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[biggeemac]

Depends on how you want to structure your auctions. People will usually bid more when you offer something for fre....like shipping. Either way, it amounts to money to do business on ebay. My wife and I lucked out last night. A guy from our town bid on a generator we had for sale. It was gonna cost some big bucks to ship it. So he contacted us. We settled on a price and cancelled the auction. Worked out great for him and us and now im 600 bucks richer....WOOT !

 

[biggeemac]

Ebay is the quickest way to get your money back into your deck. I held onto that damn generator for a month looking for a craigslist buyer. After i dropped on ebay.....three days....done !

 

[wade1mil]

Have been interested in how people are doing on Amazon. Its a monthly fee plus fees for each item sold right?

You only have to pay monthly if you sign up for Merchant Pro. Otherwise, it's $0.99 per item, plus a commission of 8-15%, plus the commission for Amazon. On less expensive items, it can be upwards of 25-30% of your sale price. On electronics worth $200 or more, the fees tend to be in the 10-12% range. I put up 15 items about four days ago and have sold all of them.

 

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[biggeemac]

No, its not that expensive to sell on amazon. I dont know about the merchant piece, but just selling normally is like 5%.

 

[wade1mil]

No, its not that expensive to sell on amazon. I dont know about the merchant piece, but just selling normally is like 5%.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong...

 

[Davidla]

Question to no one in particular. When valuing an item using ebay.. should I be including all or part of the shipping costs into the value of the item?

For example I have this item today that I have at $200 and the person offers me $150. When checking completed listings on ebay I see that according to my valuation, $200 would be the price of the item plus it's shipping costs (even though I'm not shipping), vs his offer which is right in line with the item's price without shipping costs.

I'm thinking he is right. If that's the case, I'm going to take a 20% hit across the board on inventory. No matter, I'm still pushing forward.

To make sure I understand the question:

A guy is offering you 150$ on CL that sells for 200$ in Ebay with shipping?

If so, the answer is depends. How much you bought it for and how much you want to make?
There isn't a tight price correlation between CL and Ebay, since many people on CL dont do price comparisons and just want to buy/get rid of stuff.

I bought A camera worth 65$ on ebay for 45$ on CL and resold it for 90$. I was aware of the Ebay price, but seller and buyer didn't care for it.

I do a craigslist vs ebay valuation:

X = price you bought it for

Craigslist price = X + profit margin

Ebay price = Craigslist price + Ebay costs (success fee, shipping)

So if you make net of 150$ selling on ebay, or a net of 150$ on CL its essentially the same. (CL is less work though in my opinion).

 

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[Davidla]

Bought a 95 ford van for 500$ two days ago, got a buyer today for 1200$.

Definitely bigger profit margins there compared to Iphones, but also bigger risks.

Ryan, I like the fact that you have market control in your area. But if it is small enough for you to control, it probably means its small enough to backfire on you one day. Just sayin think about possible problems =)

I've talked to a RE investor who told me a story about how he followed his success with student based rentals, and built 400 new units in a small period of time in a market with 15,000 students. The result? everybody moving to the new buildings, and creating high vacancy rates on his other older properties.

 

[DeletedUser394]

To make sure I understand the question:

A guy is offering you 150$ on CL that sells for 200$ in Ebay with shipping?

Exactly. Thanks for the response, makes sense.