A Hustler's Guide To Buying And Selling Anything (Part 2)

[CosMoen]

Does anybody have an upgraded ebay seller account or a store front, or are you just selling with a regular ebay sellers account?

 

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[DeletedUser394]

@GrumpyCat do you import any products?

No sir

 

[DeletedUser394]

Does anybody have an upgraded ebay seller account or a store front, or are you just selling with a regular ebay sellers account?

Regular. I don't have the volume to warrant upgrading

 

[DeletedUser394]

Had a productive day, so time for an upgrade. As mentioned previously, I'm upping the challenge numbers.

The $26,000 now becomes $31,500 to account for the new contribution room for 2015 ($5,500 for 2015).

So I'm $10,000 of $31,500.

I also have some left over debt from my previous business. Worst case scenario, I just pay it off any time, but I'd prefer to make it more interesting via including it in this challenge.

Debt is comprised of 2 credit cards ($3,000 balance & $5,000 balance) and a line of credit ($7,500 balance.. I think). So all of that has to be paid of by January 1st 2016 in addition to the extra $21,500 that I have to put in the TFSA.

CC #1



CC #2



I have no idea how to access the Line of Credit online, but that doesn't become due for at least another 6 months, so I'm focusing on the $3K card first.

So to win I've got to bank $37,000. That's reasonable enough.


For every $500 that I bank, $200 with go towards the TFSA, and $300 will go towards CC #1.

Let's go!

 

[samuraijack]

Been at it for a week and a half, not finding much deals. Any tips?

I've been using the keywords from the lambo forums and I've read through both threads. Tried some of my own keywords and also going through all new listings one by one without keywords.

I can't seem to find that many cash strapped people + my low ball offers aren't getting any responses. There's also an insane amount of scams I have to filter through.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Been at it for a week and a half, not finding much deals. Any tips?

I've been using the keywords from the lambo forums and I've read through both threads. Tried some of my own keywords and also going through all new listings one by one without keywords.

I can't seem to find that many cash strapped people + my low ball offers aren't getting any responses. There's also an insane amount of scams I have to filter through.

Is 'New York, New York' NYC? Because I can guarantee that is probably the single greatest area in the world to do this kind of thing. It's also where you'll find the most competition.

If you can't find deals, you have to make them. How many offers did you send out? I hope you know you never pay what they ask.

 

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[samuraijack]

Is 'New York, New York' NYC? Because I can guarantee that is probably the single greatest area in the world to do this kind of thing. It's also where you'll find the most competition.

If you can't find deals, you have to make them. How many offers did you send out? I hope you know you never pay what they ask.

I send out around 10-20. It seems kinda low to me now that I think about it, but I spend a ridiculous amount of time on craigslist just to find those 20 to send out, since 90% of the listings I open are resellers/scammers.

Here's my process.

1. Search closest distance first with keywords (must sell, need to sell, need cash, pay bills, etc...). I haven't really been focusing on specific products.
2. Filter out scammers/resellers + listings with price too high. Meaning if the item is going for $300 on ebay, and he is asking for $350, I won't send an offer because I think even if I lowball to $250 there is not enough profit to justify it (with ebay fees/shipping).
3. Send out low ball offers on items that meet the criteria above.
4. If I find a legit deal (rarely) I try to offer even a bit less.

Any help is mucho appreciated. Thanks.

 

[DeletedUser394]

You didn't answer if it's actually NYC or like Albany or something haha.

Anyway, in the Part 1 thread there was a guy from NYC making decent money flipping electronics. I don't know if he's still around but at the time he had a profile picture of a car and almost every post in that thread that were his were about flipping in NYC.

I'd contact him.

 

[SBS.95]

Does anybody have an upgraded ebay seller account or a store front, or are you just selling with a regular ebay sellers account?

I'm a Powerseller and get some minor shipping and fee discounts. Ebay sent me a certificate in the mail. That's about it.

I have not paid for a store. Reasons:

1) Volume.
2) I buy items that move quickly, because I want that money back ASAP. One of the primary perks of a store is being able to put up items w/out the 30 day end date. I very rarely have items sit for 15, yet along 30 days. If they do, I'll drop the price like crazy, never buy that item again, and move on. While I'm sure this is a good perk for those with their own products, right now it is lost on me.

 

[Nicoknowsbest]

Been at it for a week and a half, not finding much deals. Any tips?

I've been using the keywords from the lambo forums and I've read through both threads. Tried some of my own keywords and also going through all new listings one by one without keywords.

I can't seem to find that many cash strapped people + my low ball offers aren't getting any responses. There's also an insane amount of scams I have to filter through.

Every market is slightly different. Two facts that remain the same, ANYWHERE.
1.) People are buying and selling EVERY DAY, all over the world.
2.) Some people desperately NEED money.

When I started out here in my city, I quickly ran into similar problems. With these two facts in mind, I started digging. I ran some tests, I called some people, I experimented. 3 things I want to share with you that might help you (they helped me too):

In case you cannot find proper deals, change your strategy.

1.) Geo-arbitrage
Find something people WANT and go source it somewhere else.

2.) Pawn shops
People need money for different things and are willing to sell for a lot less. Are these people online? In my case, not really. Think about where you can find them to buy their stuff.

3.) Thrift shops
Buy things for cheap prices and auction them off on Ebay. Same rules as always apply here (great condition, existing market for it,...)

Hope that helps

 

[samuraijack]

@GrumpyCat Thanks, I think I found the guy from the old thread, but he hasn't been active in 2 years .

@Nicoknowsbest I am about to head out to some thrift shops in a couple minutes. For Geo-arbitrage, do you mean finding unbranded products that people want, and source it from china etc... Or do you mean find brand name items that people want, and source it from craigslist/ebay etc...?

 

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[Nicoknowsbest]

Or do you mean find brand name items that people want, and source it from craigslist/ebay etc...?

This.

 

[samuraijack]

@GrumpyCat
Hope you don't mind if I continue to post my findings /questions in here.

So yesterday the only thing I flipped was a textbook for $20 and sold it the same day on amazon for $70+. So after fees it was only $46.24 profit.

And stupid me, I just learned that craigslist has negative keywords, so now I can filter out keywords spammers, scammers, and resellers use.

Does anyone flip brand name items that are heavily counterfeited or do you choose to save yourself the trouble/time to research how to tell counterfeits ? Things like expensive watches/jewelry/shoes/purses/Beats headphones. In NYC, it is like a mecca for these things.

 

[Nicoknowsbest]

So yesterday the only thing I flipped was a textbook for $20 and sold it the same day on amazon for $70+. So after fees it was only $46.24 profit.

Only? Don't put yourself down! This was a nice flip (you more than tripled the price) and made a pure profit of more than double of what you paid for it!

 

[DeletedUser394]

Seriously, almost 50 bucks is great. Work that out to whatever hourly wage you could have gotten, and I bet that's at least 2 hours of work you didn't have to do.

 

[TheNextTrump]

So yesterday the only thing I flipped was a textbook for $20 and sold it the same day on amazon for $70+. So after fees it was only $46.24 profit.

$46.24 return, on a $20 investment and little bit or your time is great.

Do this ten times a week and BOOM, your up and running.

As far as the counterfeits, I'd save yourself the time. I'd imagine NYC is saturated with these items.

Good luck!

 

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[samuraijack]

I'd love to make 10 deals a week so I'm trying to find deals faster, because at my rate I'll be lucky to make more than 3 a week. For instance today, I spent over 4 hours on craigslist today and I'm still empty handed.

Because the competition is so high, I feel like there is something different I have to do and once I find out what that is = $$$.

 

[DeletedUser394]

You could also look towards bigger flips and therefore fewer items.

You could sell 250 items for a $4 profit each
Or you could sell 4 items for a $250 profit each

You end up with the same profit in the end.

 

[samuraijack]

You could also look towards bigger flips and therefore fewer items.

You could sell 250 items for a $4 profit each
Or you could sell 4 items for a $250 profit each

You end up with the same profit in the end.

You know, I was actually thinking of doing the opposite, or at least closer to both ends of the spectrum now after reading your post.

I remember you said you wouldn't waste time with anything under a $50 profit. I used that as my guideline, so I passed up on a few items that I probably could have profited $10-$30 from (but still they take time), and now I'm thinking...that is better than nothing.

But of course I will still keep a look out for the big flips, but now I have to risk more of my cash.

 

[SBS.95]

You know, I was actually thinking of doing the opposite, or at least closer to both ends of the spectrum now after reading your post.

I remember you said you wouldn't waste time with anything under a $50 profit. I used that as my guideline, so I passed up on a few items that I probably could have profited $10-$30 from (but still they take time), and now I'm thinking...that is better than nothing.

But of course I will still keep a look out for the big flips, but now I have to risk more of my cash.

I think you hold yourself back by making "rules" like not buying anything with under $50 profit. There are way more things to consider.

If you can buy an item for $15 and sell it for $60, and don't do it, you're missing out.
If you can buy 10x items for $11 and sell them for $19 each quickly, and don't do it, you're missing out.

Look for:
-profit margin
-how fast you can turn it around and have cash again
-ROI ($35 profit on $10 is great, $35 profit on $200 is bad)

Then determine if it's worth it to you. You don't need to make up any mathematical formulas for it, just decide what's worth your time.

 

[Nova0387]

@GrumpyCat
Hope you don't mind if I continue to post my findings /questions in here.

So yesterday the only thing I flipped was a textbook for $20 and sold it the same day on amazon for $70+. So after fees it was only $46.24 profit.

And stupid me, I just learned that craigslist has negative keywords, so now I can filter out keywords spammers, scammers, and resellers use.

Does anyone flip brand name items that are heavily counterfeited or do you choose to save yourself the trouble/time to research how to tell counterfeits ? Things like expensive watches/jewelry/shoes/purses/Beats headphones. In NYC, it is like a mecca for these things.

Can I ask, do you have a sellers account on amazon or you did the trade-in for the $70? JW because I've thought about using Amazon but neither have yet. Just wanting to know how easy and convenient it is if you don't have a big supply of inventory and only selling products here and there. Thanks.

 

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[DeletedUser394]

@ProblemOd, my $50 rule was because I definitely did not want to be a 'powerseller'. The vast majority of sales (pretty much 99.9%) occurred in person, so I didn't want to go around town all day selling knick knacks for small profit.

If you remember from the previous thread I did a pretty stupid deal by buying hundreds of pairs of childrens shoes which was one of my worse deals.

If you plan to resell online or something, then it's totally different.

Some people will say don't focus on the math, but I quite like it.

It's also all relative to how much cash you have to work with. Let's say your bankroll is $10,000. Making a one time deal for $20 is kind of pointless. But it isn't as pointless if you're only working with $1,000 at which point that $20 carries a lot more weight.

Another thing to take into account is the time factor. If it takes you an hour to go pick up an item, half an hour to clean it up, take nice pictures, and post it, and than another half hour to travel to sell it for a $20 profit (2 hrs total), are you happy with $10/hr? If so, it's a good deal if not, move along.

Also to anyone reading, please note that 4 hours of searching with no luck, or even 4 days isn't that unusual.

There were a few occasions where I went weeks without a deal. That's why I always had a lot of inventory, so the money was always moving even if I wasn''t buying anything.

 

[samuraijack]

@Nova0387

It's really easy to sell on amazon. I've only sold used products so I can only speak on that. Click the "sell" button on the top and it should take you through the process to create your individual sellers account. Its sort of like a secondary account to your personal shopping account.

@GrumpyCat, thanks, that definitely clears some stuff up. I'll do any deal I can get my hands on until its not worth it for me anymore. Build inventory, build bankroll, do bigger deals.

 

[P3HSB]

Bought a bike for $200. Sold it today for $330. Profit $130.
Bought a glass chess set for $10. Sold it today for $35. Profit $25.
Bought a Gameboy Pocket for $10. Sold for it today for $20 through Amazon. Profit $10.

Up about $165 profits for the day! Not bad. (Note this does not happen everyday)

Tip #1: There is a difference between a person who wants to sell vs. a person who needs to sell.
Tip #2: You make money when you buy, not when you sell.
Tip #3: "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" Quote by @Vigilante
Tip #4: Pick up the damn phone!
Tip #5: Add Value.
Tip #6: No emotions. Remember, its just a business transaction.

I just started a couple months ago. I live in LA. If anyone has it hard, its me. All the prices are jacked up. If I go in there soft as "Charmin", I probably won't get anything.

 

[Nova0387]

Bought a bike for $200. Sold it today for $330. Profit $130.
Bought a glass chess set for $10. Sold it today for $35. Profit $25.
Bought a Gameboy Pocket for $10. Sold for it today for $20 through Amazon. Profit $10.

Up about $165 profits for the day! Not bad. (Note this does not happen everyday)

Tip #1: There is a difference between a person who wants to sell vs. a person who needs to sell.
Tip #2: You make money when you buy, not when you sell.
Tip #3: "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" Quote by @Vigilante
Tip #4: Pick up the damn phone!
Tip #5: Add Value.
Tip #6: No emotions. Remember, its just a business transaction.

I just started a couple months ago. I live in LA. If anyone has it hard, its me. All the prices are jacked up. If I go in there soft as "Charmin", I probably won't get anything.

So you're mainly flipping and putting right back on CL?

 

[DeletedUser394]

love it all, except #4 hasn't been too important for me.

In fact at the bottom of all of my adds it says, Email or Text, no calls. lol.

 

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[SBS.95]

love it all, except #4 hasn't been too important for me.

In fact at the bottom of all of my adds it says, Email or Text, no calls. lol.

I've found it depends on the item. If it's some 19-year-old pothead that wants to get rid of his Xbox for $150, I'll text him. He probably prefers that anyway. If it's like a car, or a store going out of business, or a landlord clearing out a ton of storage, then I will usually call, at least if I have legitimate interest.

I love @P3HSB's advice on Tip #2 though, it's way easier to negotiate $20 down in price than it is to randomly charge $20 more for an iPhone than every other person out there.

 

[P3HSB]

So you're mainly flipping and putting right back on CL?

Yes

love it all, except #4 hasn't been too important for me.

In fact at the bottom of all of my adds it says, Email or Text, no calls. lol.

Unfortunately I don't have text message. Yes, very sad lol. So I have no choice but to pick up the phone sometimes. What make this even more difficult for me is I am highly introverted. Every time I am about to pick up the phone, my heart starts racing. Then I have to remind myself in the spirit of the moment, that my heart beating fast lets me know I am still alive.

 

[DeletedUser394]

I'm going to update the financials of this challenge every Sunday.

The start of the new year has been rough. Limited additions lately and woke up pretty sick this morning. Just a head cold I believe, but it's still debilitating enough so I'm going to be pretty quiet the next few days deal wise. Nothing planned until Tuesday, and that may even be pushed considering how I feel.

Just laying around watching football and going to catch up on Vig's business radio show.

So;

TFSA: $10,100 (+ $100 )
CC 1: $4,800 (- $ 200 )
CC 2: $3,000 ( no change )


$36,700 to go.

 

[DeletedUser394]

I've found it depends on the item. If it's some 19-year-old pothead that wants to get rid of his Xbox for $150, I'll text him. He probably prefers that anyway. If it's like a car, or a store going out of business, or a landlord clearing out a ton of storage, then I will usually call, at least if I have legitimate interest.

I love @P3HSB's advice on Tip #2 though, it's way easier to negotiate $20 down in price than it is to randomly charge $20 more for an iPhone than every other person out there.

I once texted the CEO of a decent sized company. Funny enough to sell him a game console for his kid. lol