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

[DeletedUser394]

I think I'm only feeling down because I won't be attending the two final games, but when you can't afford it, you can't. I'm kind of happy that I'm ultimately making what I see as the responsible decision.

I still have another 7 or 8 games that I'm keeping, so still a lot more fun to be had! Bronze and Gold (and quarters and semis) need to go.. but watching them on tv isn't the end of the world.

 

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[Pete799p]

The way I would play it is sell enough tickets to earn yourself a free ride. I know a few guys who used to wait hours in line to buy the box office limit of cubs tickets. Then proceed to scalp enough to go the games for free. Plus the line was still a drunken good time.

Great job I wish you all the best.

 

[DeletedUser394]

The way I would play it is sell enough tickets to earn yourself a free ride. I know a few guys who used to wait hours in line to buy the box office limit of cubs tickets. Then proceed to scalp enough to go the games for free. Plus the line was still a drunken good time.

Great job I wish you all the best.

That's what I did.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/off-topic-discussion/36213-how-get-paid-go-any-sporting-event.html

But for the tickets I'm talking about (Quarters, Semis, Bronze, and Gold), if I were to replicate my success it would require over $15,000 in cash (Likely closer to $20,000). I don't have that lying around.

 

[Rickson9]

A good lesson to learn.

The moment an individual feels that they've made it is the moment they start to decline.

 

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[Pete799p]

But for the tickets I'm talking about (Quarters, Semis, Bronze, and Gold), if I were to replicate my success it would require over $15,000 in cash (Likely closer to $20,000). I don't have that lying around.

Yeah thats a lot of capital to tye up in tickets. Sorry I didn't see your tickets thread. Good work.

 

[DeletedUser394]

If I had that much money to begin with, then I'd buy the tickets outright no problem. It's just that it cost me 90% of my cash. (still have about 1k in inventory)

Quarter 1 $250
Quarter 2 $350
Semi 1 $350
Semi 2 $450
Bronze $500
Gold $1,000

So that's $2,900 just for 1 pair to each of those games. (I payed around $2k because I got a discount).
Canadians and hockey... it's madness haha.

Oh well, I'll convert them to cash and sometime in the future I could travel to another one of these events...and not just wait for it to come around again in 15 years.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Ryan,

Just an observation; tickets are a much more dangerous game.

To make an analogy ...

What you're doing with hard goods is buying and selling. This is no different than buying a stock, say Walmart, on the stock market. You buy low, and sell high.

Tickets on the other hand are not like stocks, they are like OPTIONS. Options are much more difficult to master because they have EXPIRATION DATES and usually thinner markets. (Less buyers/sellers).

I like to think TRADING STOCKS like checkers. TRADING OPTIONS is like chess. The latter is far more complicated and risky where you can take a huge hit and wipe out a major % of capital. Due to expiration, w/options you have to be RIGHT within a specified time frame. Stocks, you just need to be right.

Just something to think about.

 

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[Vigilante]

I bought some Taylor Swift tickets. Sold 4 with enough profit to give my daughter four more for FREE. Figured that was a pretty easy game.

So, I bought and sold tickets off and on over the next few months. Until... I guessed wrong. Bought some tickets for an event that I thought would be hot... that wasn't.

Started them high, then breakeven, then lost money getting rid of them. The amount of time and energy it cost me to list, and relist, and relist... only to lose money... caused me to drop the hobby.

It was unpredictable, and like MJ said above... had a finite end date in which the tickets expired.

Time is my most valuable commodity. I can't afford to gamble my time on uncertain return on investment.

The financial loss didn't affect me as much as the time loss.

 

[Eos]

I like to think TRADING STOCKS like checkers. TRADING OPTIONS is like chess. The latter is far more complicated and risky where you can take a huge hit and wipe out a major % of capital. Due to expiration, w/options you have to be RIGHT within a specified time frame. Stocks, you just need to be right.

Would you agree that tickets also provide the opportunity to make big gains due to said time expiration.
By buying from distressed sellers - who cannot make the game/concert/show anymore but do not want to lose 100% of their purchase and selling to those will pay over the odds - avid fans with no other option. Selling to 'Motivated buyers' ? Would that be a correct term to use??

Of course the way to go would be to control a ticket exchange of some form and charge a listing fee and/or take a cut of sales made on the site.

 

[Eos]

Also, I am sorry to post this here, but where is the name change thread?
I have tried to search for it but couldn't see it.

 

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[Runum]

Also, I am sorry to post this here, but where is the name change thread?
I have tried to search for it but couldn't see it.

PM sent

 

[danoodle]

This is a great thread! Anyone have any suggestions when the closest listed city on craigslist is 99.8 miles away from where I live?

 

[Runum]

This is a great thread! Anyone have any suggestions when the closest listed city on craigslist is 99.8 miles away from where I live?

Sounds like a need for a danoodleslist.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

Crisis averted.

I actually sold the important tickets for double what I payed for them. LOL!

I'm happy again hah!

Yes, not really sure I want to deal tickets again any time soon unless it is an amazing deal (like my first ticket deal).

Looks like I'll be watching the big games on tv...and that's fine by me.

Still have tickets to 5 games to enjoy!

 

[DeletedUser394]

My new parameters for this new year (These are the minimum $$ profit that I need to have to even consider a deal.)

Video Games: $200+
Giftcards: $50+
Ipods: $50+
Everything else: Depends on the situation

At some point I'm going to stop with video games altogether because they are driving me insane.

My resolutions for this year: No more frivolous spending and keeping my place clean. (so that I can purchase and find my inventory haha).

Will post inventory and cash sometime later today.

 

[Rickson9]

My new parameters for this new year (These are the minimum $$ profit that I need to have to even consider a deal.)

Video Games: $200+
Giftcards: $50+
Ipods: $50+
Everything else: Depends on the situation

At some point I'm going to stop with video games altogether because they are driving me insane.

My resolutions for this year: No more frivolous spending and keeping my place clean. (so that I can purchase and find my inventory haha).

Will post inventory and cash sometime later today.

Hey Ryan could you express the discount you'll accept as a %?

 

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[Denis]

$50 is a good number. I adjust to it as $50 + whatever I spend on gas to get the item.

The N64 games did start selling. It took a week or two but I am satisfied with the results.

Why are video games driving you crazy? I've found them to be one of the easiest buys as the seller usually does not know or care about their full value.

Keep Hustling.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Hey Ryan could you express the discount you'll accept as a %?

Not sure I understand.

 

[DeletedUser394]

$50 is a good number. I adjust to it as $50 + whatever I spend on gas to get the item.

The N64 games did start selling. It took a week or two but I am satisfied with the results.

Why are video games driving you crazy? I've found them to be one of the easiest buys as the seller usually does not know or care about their full value.

Keep Hustling.

I hate video games, it gets annoying when you have 150+ games and people want to buy 1 or 2 at a time. A good portion of the time I'm dealing with kids (I hate kids).

I want to deal in more expensive items. The most expensive game I ever sold was $50 for one cartridge. Bigger fish to fry.

 

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[Icy]

I hate video games, it gets annoying when you have 150+ games and people want to buy 1 or 2 at a time. A good portion of the time I'm dealing with kids (I hate kids).

I want to deal in more expensive items. The most expensive game I ever sold was $50 for one cartridge. Bigger fish to fry.

Not exactly pertaining towards this, but may be worthwhile for someone getting into this. In my friends experience the games are more profitable than the actual consoles (ignoring the obvious holiday rush season for new consoles). Was with my friend just yesterday who got a PS3 with 5 (good) games for around 200$, and just asking him to break it down to me, and the games are where he will make the profit, the console was just an "add-on". Does this line up with your experiences?

 

[DeletedUser394]

Not exactly pertaining towards this, but may be worthwhile for someone getting into this. In my friends experience the games are more profitable than the actual consoles (ignoring the obvious holiday rush season for new consoles). Was with my friend just yesterday who got a PS3 with 5 (good) games for around 200$, and just asking him to break it down to me, and the games are where he will make the profit, the console was just an "add-on". Does this line up with your experiences?

That is exactly what I have found to be the case.

The games are where the money is at. During Christmas rush I was buying consoles at their actual value, just so that I could package them with games. The games are almost always where the profit is. (98% of the time)

 

[DeletedUser394]

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.

 

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[Denis]

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.

Interesting. Do you not post prices when you sell your items on craigslist?

 

[Rickson9]

Not sure I understand.

For example if you saw a gift card for sale at $100, the most you would pay to ensure that you could resell it would be $50 or 50% off face value.

 

[DeletedUser394]

For example if you saw a gift card for sale at $100, the most you would pay to ensure that you could resell it would be $50 or 50% off face value.

Hmm, then percentages don't play a big part in my decision process.

For example I wouldn't buy that $100 card, because I can't safely make a $50 profit off of it. I stick with $$ instead of %.

I'm not going to buy something to make 10% profit (even if it equals $50, etc).

The minimum profit expressed as a percentage that I would look for in an item is probably 50%.

Still not sure if I understood. The 'discount' word is throwing me off for some reason.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

Interesting. Do you not post prices when you sell your items on craigslist?

Depends on the item.

And most items have a set price, but people like to haggle.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

Responding to your earlier comments about "buying stuff I had no business buying" - we
see this ALL over the place. People buying cars they can't afford, houses, etc. etc.

This year I bought a new car - it was only 30k but I paid cash. Then I see some people
driving 5-series and Navigators (cars I don't believe I can afford) and they are in debt up
to their eyeballs.

I think I asked a long time ago on this forum "at what point can you afford it?" referring
to cars at that point, houses, etc. I think the answer was something like "if you could buy
it 30x over, then you can afford it" ... didn't quite follow that rule with the car... but I'm
getting closer daily ;-)

 

[Rickson9]

Hmm, then percentages don't play a big part in my decision process.

For example I wouldn't buy that $100 card, because I can't safely make a $50 profit off of it. I stick with $$ instead of %.

Hi Ryan, I don't understand. If you bought a $100 gift card (for the Apple Store for example) for $50 (i.e. 50% off), you don't feel that you can safely make a $50 profit off of it?

 

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[DeletedUser394]

Hi Ryan, I don't understand. If you bought a $100 gift card (for the Apple Store for example) for $50 (i.e. 50% off), you don't feel that you can safely make a $50 profit off of it?

Nope, because I buy (only in the case of gift cards) between 50%-70% and resell for 90%. So technically I would only safely make $40 off the deal, and while it may only be $10 away, it's not within my $50+ profit that I need to make the deal.

A gift card example: I bought 5 $50 cards for $30/card. I sold them for $40/card (and made my $50).

Even though the cards are technically worth more, people want deals naturally, so that needs to be taken into account when buying the cards. (or anything else for that matter)

 

[DeletedUser394]

From December 27th to now I've done almost nothing except wake up and go to international hockey games all week long.

Now I'm sick and quite grumpy. In spite of doing absolutely nothing for over a week, I'm up another $500.

I've devised phase 2 of my plan. It will basically mean me working 1 day a week on average, and making money 7 days a week. I'm not sure it's exactly passive income, but I'm going back to school after the summer and if I can get away with not having to work an actual job part time, I'll be quite the happy camper.

I won't be reinventing the wheel, or doing anything new/groundbreaking so I'm fairly confident it will work out.

Phase 2 will be put into practice this summer (building cash reserves now). (Phase 1 is buying and selling on craigslist in case you didn't know lol)

Phase 2 will be in another thread because this one is out of control (in an good way). If I make it to $10k by the end of Phase 1, Phase 2 will be the goal of going from $10K to $100K (6 month-1 year time period for that goal). But that's a ways away, so I don't want to get ahead of myself.

So;

Inventory: $2,287
Cash: $1,240

Total: $3,527

One month ago I started with $0. (In case you're reading this and didn't happen to read the entire thread.)