Bootstrapping and Flipping on Craigslist Self-Employed Work from Home'

[Guest34764]

Every bike I see on Offerup I make an offer.I don't usually search for anything specific.Just sit down for 5 minutes and send out offers, I'll lowball 50% of asking price usually.If you know your bikes you should be able to find some nice deals, I don't always lowball offers.However, I grabbed that Cannondale because I asked for 150$ when the asking price was 300$.

Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't, but every bike you buy you should be 100% confident it will sell.I haven't bought a bike so far that I've been iffy if it'll sell.What a lot of time I do to bikes I don't know the value of is to just google it.Gather as much knowledge about the name of the bike as possible.Ask the person selling the bike for the Brand and model if it isn't clear in the photos.So, for example, I'd google "Cannondale 600 Jakyll price/value" and see what pops up.Takes a few seconds and it's saved me on some deals from buying total trash.

Also, if you're using Offerup make sure to grab their app.I like the website more than the app, but having your phone on you is always handy in situations.

 

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[Jon L]

this thread is amazing. I know you already know this, but you're setting yourself up for amazing success later on. The same thought processes you use sell a $300 bike can be used later on to buy a $150,000 house and sell it for $250,000. Or a business purchased at $2.5M and sold for $4M

 

[Guest34764]

Honestly, I've been surprised by such positive feedback from y'all.

At first, I thought I was being too boring and the thread wouldn't take off, but it seems I did the right choice in making this thread.I'll be real and say that you guys and money are my only motivation.I don't get any motivation really from my family so it's nice to hear such kind words from strangers.It's been a struggle.Thanks y'all, I'll keep it going and show you guys even more profit than before, and I'll make sure to post some good guides.

 

[Jon L]

Honestly, I've been surprised by such positive feedback from y'all.

At first, I thought I was being too boring and the thread wouldn't take off, but it seems I did the right choice in making this thread.I'll be real and say that you guys and money are my only motivation.I don't get any motivation really from my family so it's nice to hear such kind words from strangers.It's been a struggle.Thanks y'all, I'll keep it going and show you guys even more profit than before, and I'll make sure to post some good guides.

You'll never run out of problems as an entrepreneur, but it makes for quite the ride.

 

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[rogen]

What type of work do you do?

Animated videos/video editing, I knew little to nothing about animation but with almighty youtube knowledge you can learn quickly, basically on the go

 

[Guest34764]

There's going to be some real good deals coming up soon.I'm really pushing to sell this Cannondale because I won't have enough money to buy another bike.
Going to try and sell this Cannondale for 390-430$ and then use some money I pushed to the side (150$) and the money I got from the Cannondale to chuck out 400-450$ for a bike that could be worth double.No idea if it'll sell above that in my area but If I could double money on a 450$ bike then I'll call that a great F*ckin steal.I have a few other deals working so I'm not sure if i'll take it.

Unfortunately one of the chain links on the Cannondale bent really bad.I had to spend 12$ on a shitty chain-link tool to get it fixed and now the front shifter isn't changing gears.Not sure if it was always like that, or I might have just put the chain on wrong.I hope it isn't a cable issue because that's even more money I'll lose on it.I already put 2 hours of work on cleaning it.I doubt that's the issue because that just doesn't make sense.I'll have to test ride tomorrow and see If I can get it fixed.I'm sure I'll be able to get it fixed, no point in worrying about it too much.

That's about it for the updates.

 

[Shaggins]

I dont know much about bikes so don't quote me on this. but you may be getting in expensive bike territory and buyers will come less frequent.

ive owned 34 vehicles, and pretty much EVERYTHING I buy I end up selling in less then 6 months, including dirtbikes, mowers, 4 wheelers.... the list goes on.

and here is my experience. when I sold 1000-2000$ cars they sold within weeks. but once you step into a potential big flip such as a $4000+ valued car you better plan on sitting on it awhile unless its a very sought after item. people are willing to let go of a few grand on a whim knowing they are getting a cheap A to B car. (in the bike work, 100-200$ bikes might go like hot cakes, but you may be sitting on the $500+ bikes for a bit longer so dont be discouraged and drop your prices if it doesn't sell in the first week or so unless its really holding you up)

altho this may not be your exact situation I feel like you will see the same problems when you get into higher end bikes. UNLESS! you specifically target the market buyers for these bikes. id recommend joining bike forums aswell and getting in the for sale section. it could also help you with pricing.

And again, dont take everything I say as the gospel I could be completely wrong. just posting my experiences.

 

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[Guest34764]

Thanks for the reply.I'm definitely entering into expensive bike territory.I've had a lot of replies on my Cannondale but I have lowered the price quite a bit because it just simply wasn't valued as high as I put it.I was selling 80-150$ bikes and honestly it took quite a bit.

I believe expensive bikes will sell roughly in the same amount of time.

I will get to the stage where I'm sitting on 3-5 500$ bikes and that will sell within a week, and I'll be making bank.

I believe bikes are very locational in the way they sell.In the city, they are a mode of transportation from A to B.

In a place with a lot of roads and hot weather, it's more of a form of exercise.

If you can focus in on those type of bikes, expensive or not then they should sell really fast.There is no shortage of people to sell to when it comes to bikes.Especially since everyone thinks they need a bike even if they don't.

I'm currently signed up on bike forums and ask for appraisals now and again when I can't seem to price a bike correctly or I'm having trouble identifying a bike.

I will compliment you on 34 vehicles, wow that's pretty incredible.I'm sure you can offer tons of valuable advice here on the forums.Your point on dropping prices reminded me not to drop so low in the first few days.I have a habit of doing that.Thanks for taking the time to respond to the thread by the way, and welcome to the forums (Not sure if you posted an introduction so I'll just welcome you anyways).

 

[Shaggins]

I will compliment you on 34 vehicles, wow that's pretty incredible.I'm sure you can offer tons of valuable advice here on the forums.Your point on dropping prices reminded me not to drop so low in the first few days.I have a habit of doing that.Thanks for taking the time to respond to the thread by the way, and welcome to the forums (Not sure if you posted an introduction so I'll just welcome you anyways).

Thanks. im GREAT at giving advice I just need to learn how to use my own advice sometimes HA.

your post has encouraged me to get back into buying and selling. I like your spreadsheet also, I will be doing the same.

I currently own a pressure washing business and ive been a little slow lately and have been letting my spending habits take over. so time for a change! Thats why I hopped back on here for some encouragement.

 

[Guest34764]

I currently own a pressure washing business and ive been a little slow lately and have been letting my spending habits take over. so time for a change!

That sounds great man.Not sure if you'll be doing bikes but if you are just ask away and I might be able to offer some advice.

 

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[Deri]

Fantastic thread here. Something I would like to get my son doing in the future as he is crazy about bikes and doing them up. But he is only 11atm so something to bear in mind when he can start earning his own pocket money.
Nice one thanks.

 

[Guest34764]

Money is always a good start of the day, especially if it's 400! (those are all 20's baby)

Although it was 100$ off and took a bit longer than some of my other bikes the 250$ profit was worth it.I'm extremely pleased since I more than doubled my purchase.However, as happy as I am I want more.I swear all I'm dreaming about recently is bikes (is this healthy?) and what a good deal something would be.I want to have more money and I'll get more.My deals will only get better from on out.I must have messaged and contacted at least 50 people yesterday asking for bikes and researching and I'll do some more today.

I'll have to start adding some value to this thread somehow because all I've really been doing is posting statistics.Let me know what you guys think on that because I'm not the best when it comes to stuff like that.Anyways, until the next deal ( and hopefully 1k milestone), have a good day.

Current money-550$

 

[Guest34764]

You know the hardest part of flipping bikes?

It's not selling them.
It's not cleaning/fixing them up

It's being able to find a good deal.It can be so damn hard to find a good deal that most of the time it's just luck.I must have spent 4-5 hours total looking and researching bikes from today and yesterday.

Good news though I actually did find a good deal.I said I would be making bigger deals and I'm living up to my word.Tomorrow I will be back down to only 50$.I'm spending 500$ on a 04 Cervelo P3 Dura-aced equipped.It's valued on Bikepedia at 700 ish$ but I plan on selling it for 975$.I plan on sticking to that number as well.It only has rust on the handlebar screws which I can remove with sandpaper, and It has some scratches on the pedals, but that doesn't matter much.New tires as well.

The listing he made has been up for like 3 weeks but no buyers.Want to know why?His posting is absolutely terrible.He has one picture under a tree , and his description is lackluster.Consisting of only one sentence with poor grammar.The bike is listed under 100$ of its value and yet no buyers, and he didn't even include it was Dura-Ace equipped (which brings It's value up 150$).

It's extremely important that your ad has all 24 pictures and a description that can accurately describe the bike.Make sure to list all the parts It has,If It has a mechanical issue (only if it's a big one, if you list minor issues it'll put buyers off), and what size height the bike will fit.All pictures should be focused on the subject and in proper lighting, try to make them as good as possible.

So there's just a little mini-update.I'm pretty sure I'll be buying the bike tomorrow, so the next update will be when I sell it (which might take a little).

Anywho, thanks for reading and have a great day.


EDIT:So I posted the bike on the Bike forums and the general response was that it'd be hard to sell this for an extra 400$.We'll see who wins that challenge, either way any profit is good profit.

 

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[InspireHD]

Which sites are you hitting the hardest lately? Are you still only using Craigslist and OfferUp? I was looking last week sometime and wasn't really seeing anything. I see some bikes people sell are off the rack at Dick's or Walmart or something.

 

[Guest34764]

So I'm buying this Cervelo off of OfferUp, but I should say that the higher end bikes are usually on Craigslist.There are tons and tons of high-end bikes I can find on Craigslist, but on OfferUp it is very limited.Partly because OfferUp is much more local, in the fact that the GPS is only 30 miles (I think you can set that higher).And also that fact that OfferUp has a much smaller crowd than Craigslist does.Since I hit 550$ I started to realise that OfferUp isn't as good for bikes that are 500+ up.There's just so few of them listed on there, so I've hit Craigslist the hardest lately.

Every day I see a lot of new bike listings on Craigslist, but most of the time OfferUp only has a very small handful posted every day.

Although, there can be some really great deals on OfferUP, you just have to spend the time looking.Most of the bikes posted on Craigslist and OfferUp are posted waaaaaay beyond their value, so you just have to sift those listings out and avoid them.

 

[Shaggins]

Try let go aswell. I have a group of friends that use letgo because they dont want to deal with craigslist people. PS already flipped a jeep this week and made 700$ and already purchased a volvo for a 2nd flip

 

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[Guest34764]

Try let go aswell. I have a group of friends that use letgo because they dont want to deal with craigslist people. PS already flipped a jeep this week and made 700$ and already purchased a volvo for a 2nd flip

I also have letgo, but I primarily use it for scouting than selling.Those flips are awesome man, you should make your own thread and help others out too.Good job.

 

[Guest34764]

Going to make this post before I head out to buy the Cervelo (this guy is an absolute douche, but a good deal is a good deal).

Could a mod possibly change the title of my thread to resemble something more flipping?I want this thread to be able to be searchable by title so having the words "craigslist" or "flipping" would be cool.Or something like "Is a 16-year-old kid making more money than you?", just kidding .

Thanks! @Vigilante

EDIT:Thanks Vig!That's prefect.

 

[Guest34764]

I did it again, just like the Cannondale.I managed to entirely wager my money on a single bike.

It's nerve-wracking and exhilarating all at the same time.I can only sit back and see how this plays out.I'll either be up to 1k or around 600-800ish.Not sure, and only time will tell with a bike such as this.The guy I had to meet up with was a complete annoyance the whole way through.He couldn't drive to my house 20 mins away to make 500$, said it wasn't "worth" his time.Okay buddy, we'll I'll be 1k richer, so I can't complain.Sometimes you just got to suck it up for a good deal.I say a good deal but honestly, it was meh, and that's why it's a little nervewracking.The bike was in worse condition than I thought, it rode fine but cosmetically had more damage than I anticipated.

Thank god It's a racing bike where cosmetics don't mean a thing to a buyer in this niche.I spent a total of 5 minutes cleaning some rusty screws with sandpaper and I took epic pictures,wrote copy, and posted the ad 4 times in around a hour-ish or less.My goal for this flip is to put in the least amount of effort, so when I sell it the people who make 0$ will have no excuse for not making $.I don't have a car, I don't have a lot of money, in fact I started with 40$ I got from good grades on my report card, and I don't even have my permit yet.

If I 16-year-old kid can do it, why can't you?What's your excuse to not hustling when you should?

I'm going to stop referring to my bikes as "bikes".Instead, they'll be aptly named, as an "investment".

So let's hope this investment brings home the money.

 

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[ZCP]

Anyone got some guidance for me?

Continue to look for opportunities to create value. If you are really good at what you are currently doing, play it out as far as you can and then try to sell the system to others or find a way to make it passive. Then start on other money trees / opportunities.

 

[Guest34764]

Continue to look for opportunities to create value. If you are really good at what you are currently doing, play it out as far as you can and then try to sell the system to others or find a way to make it passive. Then start on other money trees / opportunities.

This is definitely a good idea and I'll make sure to brainstorm this.

Once I hit around 4-5K I feel like I might be able to hire other's to do the work for me, but making it completely passive would be an incredible task that frankly, I'm not sure it's even possible with selling bikes.My goal is to have a full-fledged Eccomerce channel built, but things could always change in-between.

On selling the system I believe you mean with an ebook or something similar.I have no familiarity with publishing, but I also had no familiarity with selling bikes when I first started.It's a possibility that I will account for.Thanks for posting in the thread ZCP, your posts on here are amazing.

Update on the bike, I got an offer within a few hours.He said 1100 and I said deal, and have followed up on him but he hasn't responded to the messages yet.Maybe, he's just busy.I hope so, 1100 Is a big deal for me.

 

[Invictus]

Update on the bike, I got an offer within a few hours.He said 1100 and I said deal, and have followed up on him but he hasn't responded to the messages yet.Maybe, he's just busy.I hope so, 1100 Is a big deal for me.

While I'm not sure how long you've been waiting, don't be afraid to give it some time. One thing I've learned from working with clients is that people take their sweet time to get back to you. I've put in proposals and offers, completely forgotten about them, and then a week later got an offer. These are people running their own businesses too!

Now, of course, not saying you should wait a week. But don't worry if it takes a little bit of time, and don't feel weird to send a reminder.

Also. Awesome thread! Following this one for sure!

 

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[JokerCrazyBeatz]

You seem like a great salesman , i love it , im ready to see how you go about making your income passive

 

[nradam123]

this thread is amazing. I know you already know this, but you're setting yourself up for amazing success later on. The same thought processes you use sell a $300 bike can be used later on to buy a $150,000 house and sell it for $250,000. Or a business purchased at $2.5M and sold for $4M

Super interesting thread.
Infact Gary Vee started his businesses flipping toys and what not in ebay after buying from Garage sales. He used to make $1000 a week at your age.

Pretty awesome right?
You are on the right track. I will keep an eye on the thread.

 

[BryanGee]

I did it again, just like the Cannondale.I managed to entirely wager my money on a single bike.

It's nerve-wracking and exhilarating all at the same time.I can only sit back and see how this plays out.I'll either be up to 1k or around 600-800ish.Not sure, and only time will tell with a bike such as this.The guy I had to meet up with was a complete annoyance the whole way through.He couldn't drive to my house 20 mins away to make 500$, said it wasn't "worth" his time.Okay buddy, we'll I'll be 1k richer, so I can't complain.Sometimes you just got to suck it up for a good deal.I say a good deal but honestly, it was meh, and that's why it's a little nervewracking.The bike was in worse condition than I thought, it rode fine but cosmetically had more damage than I anticipated.

Thank god It's a racing bike where cosmetics don't mean a thing to a buyer in this niche.I spent a total of 5 minutes cleaning some rusty screws with sandpaper and I took epic pictures,wrote copy, and posted the ad 4 times in around a hour-ish or less.My goal for this flip is to put in the least amount of effort, so when I sell it the people who make 0$ will have no excuse for not making $.I don't have a car, I don't have a lot of money, in fact I started with 40$ I got from good grades on my report card, and I don't even have my permit yet.

If I 16-year-old kid can do it, why can't you?What's your excuse to not hustling when you should?

I'm going to stop referring to my bikes as "bikes".Instead, they'll be aptly named, as an "investment".

So let's hope this investment brings home the money.

To be fair though in most situations I would expect the buyer to come pick it up. I guess it is all in how bad he had to sell the bike, if it is a good deal as it sounds I don't think he is being unreasonable. Just my .02 cents.

 

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[Guest34764]

This bike is depressing me.

It's beaten me to the bone without it selling.I haven't made a post in this thread due to the reason of this one bike.I didn't want to update with nothing to show, but It's been a bit too long since I've updated.

I will sell this bike, I don't buy things that won't sell, It's just the way it is.I don't care if it takes another 2 weeks or however long, I really don't want to quit on it, and since I put all my money into it, I truly need to sell it.I'm still selling it for 1K, any lower and I will honestly feel like shit.

I don't know why this is troubling me so much, It's not even that I can't sell it.It's just staring at me in the garage like a huge bastard it is.

1.Admit to your mistakes, this bastard was my first mistake, I'll make many more, but this was the first.

2.Understand why it was such a big mistake, the bike is in a very small niche ( the triathlon niche), I shouldn't have been blinded and realised this bike would take forever to sell.

3.Learn from your mistakes and apply the solution in real life, will I ever buy another bike in the triathlon niche?

No.

I'm I going to update this when the bike sells?

Nope, It doesn't even deserve a ounce more of my time, that bastard.

Once It's sold I'll move on to bikes in the 300$ range and focus on mountain bikes ( the biggest hit so far).

I guess I should say I'm sorry for you guys for not updating, but in reality I'm sorry for myself for not seeing such a dumb move.Nonetheless, this bike will be sold, I don't care If I have to spend more time on it, I'm getting my 1K and moving on.

I'll update when I buy another bike/sell one, and I'll put up some more tips or something along the way, I'm not sure.

Until next time, see ya.

 

[Scot]

This bike is depressing me.

It's beaten me to the bone without it selling.I haven't made a post in this thread due to the reason of this one bike.I didn't want to update with nothing to show, but It's been a bit too long since I've updated.

I will sell this bike, I don't buy things that won't sell, It's just the way it is.I don't care if it takes another 2 weeks or however long, I really don't want to quit on it, and since I put all my money into it, I truly need to sell it.I'm still selling it for 1K, any lower and I will honestly feel like shit.

I don't know why this is troubling me so much, It's not even that I can't sell it.It's just staring at me in the garage like a huge bastard it is.

1.Admit to your mistakes, this bastard was my first mistake, I'll make many more, but this was the first.

2.Understand why it was such a big mistake, the bike is in a very small niche ( the triathlon niche), I shouldn't have been blinded and realised this bike would take forever to sell.

3.Learn from your mistakes and apply the solution in real life, will I ever buy another bike in the triathlon niche?

No.

I'm I going to update this when the bike sells?

Nope, It doesn't even deserve a ounce more of my time, that bastard.

Once It's sold I'll move on to bikes in the 300$ range and focus on mountain bikes ( the biggest hit so far).

I guess I should say I'm sorry for you guys for not updating, but in reality I'm sorry for myself for not seeing such a dumb move.Nonetheless, this bike will be sold, I don't care If I have to spend more time on it, I'm getting my 1K and moving on.

I'll update when I buy another bike/sell one, and I'll put up some more tips or something along the way, I'm not sure.

Until next time, see ya.

Try finding local triathalon, cyclist, or running groups, advertise to them? I remember whenu used to "run" I was in a running group and they were talking about training for Iron Man and spending thousands of $$$ on a bike. This could be a group to sell to, especially if it's a hobby group, the $1,000 range could be a sweet spot.

 

[#nowhere]

This bike is depressing me.

It's beaten me to the bone without it selling.I haven't made a post in this thread due to the reason of this one bike.I didn't want to update with nothing to show, but It's been a bit too long since I've updated.

I will sell this bike, I don't buy things that won't sell, It's just the way it is.I don't care if it takes another 2 weeks or however long, I really don't want to quit on it, and since I put all my money into it, I truly need to sell it.I'm still selling it for 1K, any lower and I will honestly feel like shit.

I don't know why this is troubling me so much, It's not even that I can't sell it.It's just staring at me in the garage like a huge bastard it is.

1.Admit to your mistakes, this bastard was my first mistake, I'll make many more, but this was the first.

2.Understand why it was such a big mistake, the bike is in a very small niche ( the triathlon niche), I shouldn't have been blinded and realised this bike would take forever to sell.

3.Learn from your mistakes and apply the solution in real life, will I ever buy another bike in the triathlon niche?

No.

I'm I going to update this when the bike sells?

Nope, It doesn't even deserve a ounce more of my time, that bastard.

Once It's sold I'll move on to bikes in the 300$ range and focus on mountain bikes ( the biggest hit so far).

I guess I should say I'm sorry for you guys for not updating, but in reality I'm sorry for myself for not seeing such a dumb move.Nonetheless, this bike will be sold, I don't care If I have to spend more time on it, I'm getting my 1K and moving on.

I'll update when I buy another bike/sell one, and I'll put up some more tips or something along the way, I'm not sure.

Until next time, see ya.

Yes, you've to learn through your failures.

BUT....

You did well until now. That's just statistics. Not every deal can turn over in a matter of hours or days.

Just a short story about flipping stuff of mine, to show you that it's pretty normal. Nothing to be sad about:
I used to flip gardening equipment. Bought a mowing tractor.

Long story short: It just didn't sell. Had the same "depression" about it, like you now. Took 10 days off (pursued other things). Listed the tractor again... Boom... One day later it sold for a healthy price.

Sometimes you just have to be

A) patient, because not all variables are in your influence
B) not too hard with yourself, because of A) and because of energy "extinction" (physically seen impossible). It just doesn't get you anywhere nearer your goals to be that way.

Accept, feel sorry for yourself a limited time span (SHORT) and then accelerate again!

How can you do better tomorrow than today?

 

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[ZCP]

Obtain another $300 and work another line of bikes. Use 'the bastard bike' as a lead magnet.

Do not wait. Use it to your advantage.

 

[Guest34764]

Obtain another $300 and work another line of bikes. Use 'the bastard bike' as a lead magnet.

Sounds like a plan, back to square one for now.