Let's Flip Stuff for Fun and Profit!

[Lex DeVille]

This morning I was listing stuff on Facebook Marketplace. My daughter asked what I was doing, so I told her. We talked about how she does chores and how that creates value for me, so I pay her. Then I explained this is kind of like that, but it's a different way to create value.

If I buy something for $1 that's worthless to me and sell it for $10 to someone who wants it, then I made $9 by creating value for them. I explained that when she does chores she's limited to what she can earn. But if she could buy something and sell it for more than she bought it for, then she would gain some control over how much money she earns. She's 6, so I wasn't sure she understood. But then she asked if she could list some toys she doesn't play with for sale to someone who might want them. And I said...YES!!

This afternoon, I dropped into an estate sale. While I was there, I started looking for things to flip. I spent about $55 on necklaces, a painting, and a small piece of wall decor. Next, I went to our local landfill thrift store. Landfill is a fancy way to say "the dump." I was surprised by the quality and cleanliness of items in the store. It's off the beaten path, so there are a lot fewer people who shop there compared with the town's other thrift stores. The prices were awesome. I bought a bunch of $1 and $2 necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc. In total I spent about $45.

So for $100, I came home with a bunch of items that can easily be stored, listed, and shipped. I'm reasonably confident I can flip all of these items for a higher price than I paid for them. Some of the items are worth $100 or more on their own, but the most I paid for any single item was $14. Others will require a creative marketing angle to move them at a solid price. Anyway, I had a lot of fun so I'll probably do more soon and take my daughter with me so she can learn.

For now, I thought I'd see if anyone wants to do some flipping and see how it goes for them. @KJFast @MTF

My criteria for buying flippy stuff:
- Always buy what you know (or have thoroughly researched)
- Never buy what you don't know UNLESS...
- It looks really bizarre and old, and makes your hands smell funny when you touch it
- Set a budget and stick to it
- Try to find small items that will be worth a big price and will also be easy to ship (that's one reason I like jewelry)
- Try to find items you can build a story around
- Avoid broken items (unless you know you can easily fix them or unless the buyer wouldn't care)
- Always be thinking about items you might bundle to create more value
- Always be thinking about how you can create more value
- Niche down... (some people like fish stuff, some like light houses, some like hunting etc. get to know your niche)

Places You Could Look for Good Deals
- Estate Sales (love these)
- Thrift Stores
- Garage/Yard Sales
- Church sales (these are good because old people bring stuff and donate it and all money goes to the church, so there's a high incentive to price low so the church can make some cash, and there's a good chance some of the items will be worth a lot.
- Dumpster Diving
- Online Estate Sale Websites (make sure you read their shipping terms)
- Online auction sites (even ebay can be used for this)
- OfferUp (MJ said he's used this one)
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- NextDoor

Places Where I Am Listing Stuff for Sale
- Facebook Marketplace
- Ebay
- Private Websites
- Craigslist
- Who knows where else.

Okay, that's all I can think of for now. If anyone tries flipping anything, share below.

I'd love to hear what cool deals you come across and what you're able to turn it into. I'm sure I'll share mine once I start making sales.

 

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

[KJFast]

This morning I was listing stuff on Facebook Marketplace. My daughter asked what I was doing, so I told her. We talked about how she does chores and how that creates value for me, so I pay her. Then I explained this is kind of like that, but it's a different way to create value.

If I buy something for $1 that's worthless to me and sell it for $10 to someone who wants it, then I made $9 by creating value for them. I explained that when she does chores she's limited to what she can earn. But if she could buy something and sell it for more than she bought it for, then she would gain some control over how much money she earns. She's 6, so I wasn't sure she understood. But then she asked if she could list some toys she doesn't play with for sale to someone who might want them. And I said...YES!!

This afternoon, I dropped into an estate sale. While I was there, I started looking for things to flip. I spent about $55 on necklaces, a painting, and a small piece of wall decor. Next, I went to our local landfill thrift store. Landfill is a fancy way to say "the dump." I was surprised by the quality and cleanliness of items in the store. It's off the beaten path, so there are a lot fewer people who shop there compared with the town's other thrift stores. The prices were awesome. I bought a bunch of $1 and $2 necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc. In total I spent about $45.

So for $100, I came home with a bunch of items that can easily be stored, listed, and shipped. I'm reasonably confident I can flip all of these items for a higher price than I paid for them. Some of the items are worth $100 or more on their own. Others will require a creative marketing angle to move them at a solid price. Anyway, I had a lot of fun so I'll probably do more soon and take my daughter with me so she can learn.

For now, I thought I'd see if anyone wants to do some flipping and see how it goes for them. @KJFast @MTF

My criteria for buying flippy stuff:
- Always buy what you know (or have thoroughly researched)
- Never buy what you don't know UNLESS...
- It looks really bizarre and old, and makes your hands smell funny when you touch it
- Set a budget and stick to it
- Try to find small items that will be worth a big price and will also be easy to ship (that's one reason I like jewelry)
- Try to find items you can build a story around
- Avoid broken items (unless you know you can easily fix them or unless the buyer wouldn't care)
- Always be thinking about items you might bundle to create more value
- Always be thinking about how you can create more value
- Niche down... (some people like fish stuff, some light light houses, some like hunting etc. get to know your niche)

Places You Could Look for Good Deals
- Estate Sales (love these)
- Thrift Stores
- Garage/Yard Sales
- Dumpster Diving
- Online Estate Sale Websites (make sure you read their shipping terms)
- Online auction sites (even ebay can be used for this)
- OfferUp (MJ said he's used this one)
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- NextDoor

Places Where I Am Listing Stuff for Sale
- Facebook Marketplace
- Ebay
- Private Websites
- Craigslist
- Who knows where else.

Okay, that's all I can think of for now. If anyone tries flipping anything, share below.

I'd love to hear what cool deals you come across and what you're able to turn it into. I'm sure I'll share mine once I start making sales.

Hey, thanks for the tag. I tried flipping before and failed/moderate success. Was making maybe £1-£5 profit off any flips. Best flips I did, I made £10. Realised doing this wasn’t amounting to much but my ebay is nicely built with reviews.

I could definitely give it another shot, don’t live too close to a city (hour journey by public transport.

What are estate sales?

I live in a small town and don’t drive so not sure there’s loads near me but could travel to the city. Also note there’s online auction sites/other platforms you listed I could definitely use.

I will have a think tomorrow because I feel like I’m making progress with my mindset and tomorrow planning to do some of the tasks from 12m to 1mil.

Flipping could be a potential path for funding this business and myself while broke though, can use my credit card too. I’m very good with budgeting and managing cash flow, so won’t be an issue there. Just a matter of finding what to buy!

 

[Lex DeVille]

Hey, thanks for the tag. I tried flipping before and failed/moderate success. Was making maybe £1-£5 profit off any flips. Best flips I did, I made £10. Realised doing this wasn’t amounting to much but my ebay is nicely built with reviews.

I could definitely give it another shot, don’t live too close to a city (hour journey by public transport.

What are estate sales?

I live in a small town and don’t drive so not sure there’s loads near me but could travel to the city. Also note there’s online auction sites/other platforms you listed I could definitely use.

I will have a think tomorrow because I feel like I’m making progress with my mindset and tomorrow planning to do some of the tasks from 12m to 1mil.

Flipping could be a potential path for funding this business and myself while broke though, can use my credit card too. I’m very good with budgeting and managing cash flow, so won’t be an issue there. Just a matter of finding what to buy!

An estate sale is when a company sells off a person's (usually a dead person's) assets. The company takes inventory of everything in the estate (usually in a home) and they put a low price on it to move it fast.

On the day of the sale, the company opens up the home to the public, and anyone can walk through and buy whatever is available. Sometimes they're set up as auctions. Either way, you can get killer deals on valuable stuff.

Do your research before you buy and you'll earn more than £1-£5.

You should be looking to flip stuff for like £40 profit minimum. If you don't think you can get at least that, then don't buy it. If you spend £100, you should make like £300+. Don't spend over your budget until you start to see results.

If you're far from the city, shop online.

Chances are, there are estate sales near you. They might be called something else in your country. Auctions, probate sales, etc.

 

[Jobless]

Expand on this?

It looks really bizarre and old, and makes your hands smell funny when you touch it

 

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

[Lex DeVille]

Expand on this?

For instance, this bronze statue of pan sold for $250. It's bizarre looking, it's old, and if you pick it up, the metals will make your hands smell funny. You can find stuff like this in thrift stores, and definitely at estate sales.

 

[Oso]

What a strange time to see this. I've spent the last ~2 weeks going to every Goodwill within a 40 mile radius looking for things to flip that aren't card game related, and have left disappointed every time.

So far, my biggest "successes" have come via antiques (do a lot of research here) and older furniture (again, do a lot of research). I'd like to learn how to repair older video game stuff, but the returns are pretty marginal, so I've shelved that idea. I purchased the items at thrift stores, antique shops (it's crazy how many "antique shops" know seemingly nothing about their product(s)), and a few early-season garage sales I encountered.

I'm not sure if I can share it, but I'm not making money off of it, so I'll throw it in here. I'm not sure if this site is limited to the US, but it's one of several I use to find garage sales. Yard Sale Search - Find or advertise garage sales for free!. Of course, there are countless others like it, but that's been one of the most consistent for me.

For anyone looking to do this, as people have mentioned in other threads, a good way to figure out a niche is simply searching through what's selling on Ebay. That's how I obtained my initial list of "antiques to look out for." (It helps that I naturally like old shit, so it was an easy pick for me).

For those of you that are savvy in regards to fashion and all that, I 100% recommend checking out places such as Goodwill. I know there's a ton of money to be made there, but I know absolutely nothing about it, and have absolutely no desire to learn. But, if you're in a position of needing cash flow, it may be something to look into.

Finally, if you want to go full-blown crazy in this, buy one of those smaller transit (?) trucks, and do what those dudes on American Pickers do. There's a ton of money in what they buy. Stuff such as old signs (think: Coke, Gas/Oil companies, car companies, etc.), art, old motorcycles, etc. The only limitations are really your starting capital and time.

Cheers.

 

[KJFast]

An estate sale is when a company sells off a person's (usually a dead person's) assets. The company takes inventory of everything in the estate (usually in a home) and they put a low price on it to move it fast.

On the day of the sale, the company opens up the home to the public, and anyone can walk through and buy whatever is available. Sometimes they're set up as auctions. Either way, you can get killer deals on valuable stuff.

Do your research before you buy and you'll earn more than £1-£5.

You should be looking to flip stuff for like £40 profit minimum. If you don't think you can get at least that, then don't buy it. If you spend £100, you should make like £300+. Don't spend over your budget until you start to see results.

If you're far from the city, shop online.

Chances are, there are estate sales near you. They might be called something else in your country. Auctions, probate sales, etc.

Okay great. thanks.

After some thinking last night I’m going to start flipping immediately today. I’ll have a browse online and make my own buying criteria.

Estate sales definitely sound like a good future option if I’m still flipping when I start driving.

 

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

[KJFast]

Been surfing about the web and got confusing though I thought I’d pick a niche and learn it inside and out. I’ve got my first niche to learn already decided, getting to know market trends now by looking at ebay and other areas. It’s a niche I’m sort of familiar with and a high selling one.

Plus it’s within my price range!

 

[Lex DeVille]

I've spent the last ~2 weeks going to every Goodwill within a 40 mile radius looking for things to flip

Is that the only thrift store available? Usually, I find cheaper and better items at local thrift stores. Goodwill has become pretty market savvy over the years, so they price items higher unless an item is broken.

For anyone looking to do this, as people have mentioned in other threads, a good way to figure out a niche is simply searching through what's selling on Ebay. That's how I obtained my initial list of "antiques to look out for." (It helps that I naturally like old shit, so it was an easy pick for me).

I don't know if you do this, but searching sold listings on Facebook is also a good idea. I'm pretty sure the market for items is completely different from Ebay, but some people will do better selling locally through FB than through Ebay.


Thoughts on Jewelry
For those looking for something to start with, you really can't go wrong with jewelry. What I like about it is:

- You never know what piece will speak to someone
- Can be bought cheap and sold for a lot
- Small enough for all basic mailers (no searching for cardboard boxes)
- If you can't sell one piece, you can bundle it with several and sell it
- Can always tell a good story around a piece of jewelry
- Sellers frequently undervalue their jewelry
- Buyers frequently overvalue jewelry

ChatGPT
With my latest purchases, I'm uploading a few photos of the pieces to ChatGPT and letting it tell me about the item. That way I get information that I might not have had before. For instance, it told me enough about a medal that I was able to track down information about it and better understand the time period, it's historical value, etc.

 

[KJFast]

Is that the only thrift store available? Usually, I find cheaper and better items at local thrift stores. Goodwill has become pretty market savvy over the years, so they price items higher unless an item is broken.


I don't know if you do this, but searching sold listings on Facebook is also a good idea. I'm pretty sure the market for items is completely different from Ebay, but some people will do better selling locally through FB than through Ebay.


Thoughts on Jewelry
For those looking for something to start with, you really can't go wrong with jewelry. What I like about it is:

- You never know what piece will speak to someone
- Can be bought cheap and sold for a lot
- Small enough for all basic mailers (no searching for cardboard boxes)
- If you can't sell one piece, you can bundle it with several and sell it
- Can always tell a good story around a piece of jewelry
- Sellers frequently undervalue their jewelry
- Buyers frequently overvalue jewelry

ChatGPT
With my latest purchases, I'm uploading a few photos of the pieces to ChatGPT and letting it tell me about the item. That way I get information that I might not have had before. For instance, it told me enough about a medal that I was able to track down information about it and better understand the time period, it's historical value, etc.

Might start with jewellery as my niche instead. Been feeling confused with my niche I picked though started to learn some market trends.

I like the fact it’s easy to post, my picked niche wouldn’t have been as easy to post and would probs require me to drive to find fb marketplace deals

 

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

[Lex DeVille]

Might start with jewellery as my niche instead. Been feeling confused with my niche I picked though started to learn some market trends.

I like the fact it’s easy to post, my picked niche wouldn’t have been as easy to post and would probs require me to drive to find fb marketplace deals

Jewelry is everywhere, and it's very inexpensive.

If it looks silver in color or has the numbers 925 engraved in it, then it's sterling silver. If there's a name engraved in the item, it may be by a designer (and could be worth a lot more). It could also just be the owner's name.

Jewelry is all about stories.

What fantasy is the shopper trying to live out? How does X piece of jewelry fit into that fantasy?

Are they classy and elegant? (Do they value gold, silver, gemstones, etc.)? Do they want to fill their wrists with shiny treasures?

Are they an environmentalist? What pieces will help them prove their commitment to the environment (i.e. bracelet with flowers and honey bee charms).

Are they tough and masculine? Do they imagine themselves an outlaw motorcycle club member? Maybe they don't even own a motorcycle. So what, those huge skull and crossbones rings still play into their fantasy.

Are they religious? How do they prove their religiousness to the world? Do they wear the crucifix around their neck?

Think about the different stories people want to be part of. That's what jewelry is all about. The stories people tell themselves about themselves.

Jewelry's value is found in personal branding.
Like all branding, personal branding is about telling stories.

Get the story right, and get the piece in front of the right person, and suddenly it doesn't matter what it *should* be worth. The piece becomes worth the price you put on it.

 

[KJFast]

Jewelry is everywhere, and it's very inexpensive.

If it looks silver in color or has the numbers 925 engraved in it, then it's sterling silver. If there's a name engraved in the item, it may be by a designer (and could be worth a lot more). It could also just be the owner's name.

Jewelry is all about stories.

What fantasy is the shopper trying to live out? How does X piece of jewelry fit into that fantasy?

Are they classy and elegant? (Do they value gold, silver, gemstones, etc.)? Do they want to fill their wrists with shiny treasures?

Are they an environmentalist? What pieces will help them prove their commitment to the environment (i.e. bracelet with flowers and honey bee charms).

Are they tough and masculine? Do they imagine themselves an outlaw motorcycle club member? Maybe they don't even own a motorcycle. So what, those huge skull and crossbones rings still play into their fantasy.

Are they religious? How do they prove their religiousness to the world? Do they wear the crucifix around their neck?

Think about the different stories people want to be part of. That's what jewelry is all about. The stories people tell themselves about themselves.

Jewelry's value is found in personal branding.
Like all branding, personal branding is about telling stories.

Get the story right, and get the piece in front of the right person, and suddenly it doesn't matter what it *should* be worth. The piece becomes worth the price you put on it.

I like it. Neat titles and descriptions made on ebay to appeal to the right person, with jewellery purchased cheaply. I see the potential.

I was going to try the video games/consoles niche but jewellery makes a lot of sense for this. Auction sites could be good locations for sourcing and definitely fb marketplace, garage sales.

Are you just getting into jewellery flipping?

 

[Lex DeVille]

Are you just getting into jewellery flipping?

I've flipped it in the past, but haven't done it in a few years in any serious way.

---

The flipping process can be engineered several ways.

If something doesn't sell, I'll increase the price by like $50 and see what happens.

If it still doesn't sell, then maybe I'll sell it to someone who thinks they can sell it.

In this case, I would post the item where flippers look for deals like FB Marketplace or local FB Groups or even on Ebay.

Instead of a detailed product description, I'll say very little.

For instance, if it's 925 silver, I'll take a picture of the numbers, but I'm not going out of my way to say it's sterling silver because I want the flipper to think they're getting one over on me.

In their head, I want them to say...

This guy doesn't know what he has! Probably worth 10X what he's selling it for. He's got it listed at $30 and I can probably get $200!!

For this, the price needs to be low enough that flippers will take a chance on it, but high enough to be worth it for me too. If the flipper flips it for $200, more power to them.

Also, this is why it's a good idea to do your research and know your niche.

 

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

[Oso]

Is that the only thrift store available? Usually, I find cheaper and better items at local thrift stores. Goodwill has become pretty market savvy over the years, so they price items higher unless an item is broken.

It seems to be the most common around here, which is odd considering I'm in one of the biggest US cities. That said, I have a meeting in a few hours, and it's about 2 hours away from me. I already have a list of about 15 places to stop at between here and there. Another ~10 if I'm willing to drive another 45min. out that way. Which I probably will.

The absolute best spots I've encountered are the hidden gem shops (as I'm sure you've found/know). You'll know what I mean. These are typically "out of spot" shops. Think: an antique/pawn shop in the middle of a "new-age downtown area." Pawn shops in busy/crowded cities, etc.

There's a small farm/college town about 30min from me. Within the last 5 years, they've more or less completely stripped down their "John Deer" image, and now their downtown area is filled with swanky clubs and restaurants.

Except one shop that's been there since the late 90s. Some weird "occult" store. I go in, find this badass statue for ~75$. Find it consistently selling on eBay for ~1300$. Shipping is atrocious (of course), but I'm still clearing 1k+ in profit.

I don't know if you do this, but searching sold listings on Facebook is also a good idea. I'm pretty sure the market for items is completely different from Ebay, but some people will do better selling locally through FB than through Ebay.

Yessir! The card game market taught me this, actually. And I hate it. This happens with most of my items I list.

The exact same posting will have varying listed prices based on what platform I'm selling it on. This is 90% of the reason as to why my spreadsheet is getting out of hand.

I may end up trying to jewelry route, but there just seems to be so much involved in that.

Cheers!

 

[KJFast]

Okay going to look again tomorrow. Sort of have an understanding of Jewellery niche now but feel very disjointed after scrolling ebay/auction sites. Going to put more focus into reading 12m-1mil tonight and getting back to a state of flow. I’ll spend about £50 when I think I’ve found flip(s) that could make me £40+ profit.

As said, completely new to this and when I tried it before only managed £1-£5 of profit, without any prior niche knowledge and reselling *anything*

I’m guessing the best deals are normally found at estate/garage sales, car boots or large auctions?

 

[403burnout]

Another good place to look for things to sell are you-pull-it junkyards. Flipping car parts to ebay is how I made most of my money in college.

Almost all you-pull-it yards you pay by what the part is, not what it comes off of. A headlight will cost $25 whether it comes off a BMW 7-series or a Chevy Cavalier.

There is slightly higher barrier to entry which makes the space not as crowded as other niches. You need to have tools and some mechanical ability to remove parts (although taking stuff apart isn't that hard.)

 

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

[MJ DeMarco]

- OfferUp (MJ said he's used this one)

`
This is oddly big in Utah...

Classifieds for Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming | ksl.com

Buy and sell items in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. Post your items or search through thousands of listings.

classifieds.ksl.com

 

[NervesOfSteel]

by creating value for them.

These are very Inspiring words to express my opinion in my first thread!

 

[MTF]

For now, I thought I'd see if anyone wants to do some flipping and see how it goes for them. @KJFast @MTF

I used to flip rap CDs. In fact, it was my first "real" registered business. I used to buy them in bulk from the US and sell them in Poland individually.

I know someone who used to buy or get for free old Polish furniture, refurbish it and sell it to some buyer in Europe for a 10x (financial) return. But the amount of work was crazy and so were the challenges transporting it over longer distances (and it arriving in one piece).

I rarely buy stuff, though, so these days I wouldn't know what to flip.

 

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

[Lex DeVille]

I listed 5 pieces of jewelry on Ebay for $97 and another 5 on Facebook for $29. So far, the Ebay jewelry isn't seeing any views or saves. The listings on Facebook are seeing quite a few views and saves in comparison.

I need to improve my photos and add videos for Facebook. Right now, it's hard to tell what size things are. Today, I'll add a more listings and add a quarter next to the jewelry so people have something to compare with. I have a ring sizer somewhere around my house. Just gotta find it. As for necklaces and bracelets, I'll have to research the best way to size those.

Last night, I was looking through Temu and saw jewelry for sale at $1 - $3 that I saw sold on ebay for $50 or more. So if you need a place to source low-cost items... That's another option. At that point, you're practically an ecom importer lol.

 

[Ing]

Yes, flipping things can be fun. I do that all the time.
An advantage is, you can stop and start again, as you have time.

My dad went away last year and I m at emtying his house. When you are at that situation, it’s a pain. There’s no fun doing it. So We put so many things on the garbage dump, I m just sad.

So he had a lot of old arabic carpets. In the end it was not worth selling and I threw them away. So carpets only, if you really are in carpets.

There’s a good 50year old piano, like new. Not to sell in Germany. Too heavy for flipping.

I flipped quite many small construction machines last year. I repaired a bit and sold with a big margin.
You need a lot of place and in takes quite a long time, until someone is interested,on the other side they, come, pic up an pay. Don’t talk a lot and don’t negotiate.

On the other side: flipping cars. I did that several times. Ppl come, steal your time, don’t buy. I had an old car sold yesterday. After offering for 2 months, about 10 ppl came and stole my time. So no old cars.

Have fun!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Question: What's the point of asking if something is available if you just turn around and disappear?

I'm trying to sell a working dryer because I don't want to bother moving it, and every inquiry is "Is this still available?" and then a prompt disappearance.

I get 2 per day.

Is anyone actually interested in getting it? Or do they just want to know if its available so they can disappear 3 seconds later. The whole experience is just lowering my expectations for the average human, which BTW, is already terribly low.

 

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

[ZackerySprague]

Couch flipping! Really good side hustle!

 

[Lex DeVille]

Question: What's the point of asking if something is available if you just turn around and disappear?

I'm trying to sell a working dryer because I don't want to bother moving it, and every inquiry is "Is this still available?" and then a prompt disappearance.

I get 2 per day.

Is anyone actually interested in getting it? Or do they just want to know if its available so they can disappear 3 seconds later. The whole experience is just lowering my expectations for the average human, which BTW, is already terribly low.

I think a lot of people get cold feet. They're buying used for a reason, and its tough to make the decision to part with money that could be used on other things. It's also not clear in FB Marketplace that you can actually replace that text with your own text to initiate conversations.

I've had the most luck by doing the following (including for two washer/dryer sets last year)

1) "Hi First Name,"
2) "It's available, just listed" - Lends to thoughts of "oh I better move fast then"
3) "Do you want it?" - Get commitment
4) If their response is yes, "What time can you pick it up today?" - More commitment
5) "I can help you load it" - Going out of my way for them now

Bonus: If they ask, "Will you take X (which is usually $50 less) I respond with, "Will you pick it up today by noon?" If yes, then yes.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Couch flipping! Really good side hustle!

How do you move them, is it with a truck or trailer? Do you deliver? I sold a couch and love seat last year and thought it was kind of a pain in the butt. Not many inquiries even though the furniture was in excellent condition. It did sell eventually, though.

 

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

[ZackerySprague]

How do you move them, is it with a truck or trailer? Do you deliver? I sold a couch and love seat last year and thought it was kind of a pain in the butt. Not many inquiries even though the furniture was in excellent condition. It did sell eventually, though.

A truck, a fews year ago, a friend and I tried it out. We were lucky. He had a truck and I rented a storage unit. I learned from a guy called JT Franco on his YouTube channel.

I see people still doing it on YouTube. For every couch they bought for say $150 dollars, they would flip it for $450. Making a $300 dollar profit.

You could rent out a truck for say $20 dollars plus gas for every mile. Such an easy side hustle to get cash when needed! I miss those days. I should have went all out on it!

One of my most favorite memories. I have found a couch on the side for free. Picked it up and made $150 bucks! Easy. That was fun!

 

[Bounce Back]

Question: What's the point of asking if something is available if you just turn around and disappear?

I'm trying to sell a working dryer because I don't want to bother moving it, and every inquiry is "Is this still available?" and then a prompt disappearance.

I get 2 per day.

Is anyone actually interested in getting it? Or do they just want to know if its available so they can disappear 3 seconds later. The whole experience is just lowering my expectations for the average human, which BTW, is already terribly low.

So I've experienced this especially on OfferUp (even though its the platform I've had the most luck with) and I eventually began wondering if its bots to make the platform seem more active. But then again there are a lot of people who like to waste time out there.

 

[403burnout]

Question: What's the point of asking if something is available if you just turn around and disappear?

I'm trying to sell a working dryer because I don't want to bother moving it, and every inquiry is "Is this still available?" and then a prompt disappearance.

I get 2 per day.

Is anyone actually interested in getting it? Or do they just want to know if its available so they can disappear 3 seconds later. The whole experience is just lowering my expectations for the average human, which BTW, is already terribly low.

This is easily my #1 gripe with Facebook Marketplace. There's not enough friction when it comes to inquiring about an item. It's actually too easy.

Everyone is already scrolling FB on their phone 24/7, and now there is a way for them to send messages without actually having to write them. Flakes were still around when Craigslist was king, but there were significantly less of them because if someone took the time to copy down your phone number and write a message it took some effort beyond just tapping a button.

I sold a car on Facebook recently. It was priced very fair, and I knew it was going to get a lot of interest. The first sentence of my post was "Will not respond to 'is this available', if you're serious about buying write out a message."

In spite of that being my first sentence, I had over 100 responses in 24 hrs, and over 70 of them were "Is this available?". It worked great as a way of screening out the 2/3 of people that didn't read my description.

What's funny is that a handful of the ~70 people who sent "Is this available" came back the next day and sent follow-up "?" messages since I had ignored them.

 

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

[NervesOfSteel]

"Is this still available?"

2) "It's available, just listed"

This is the default, auto-suggested message prompted to the user by the App/Web service to post it to the seller as the very first message itself!

The apps are coded to offer an "Is it still available" option to every user and most users, including me, use it as a bookmark for the items on sale!

LOL

 

[REV5028]

Thought this was a fun thread, thanks for starting it @Lex DeVille !

After reading through this thread, over the weekend my partner and I checked out a couple of thrift stores in town. We didn't find much, but we started digging through the books at one of them. At $0.50 per book, we grabbed a dozen or so that we did some quick checks on - listing prices from others on ebay and AbeBooks range from about $7 - $100. Even if we end up getting $30 for all of them it's still 3x what we paid for them. We definitely didn't go into it as well-researched as we could/should have, but we had some rookie fun getting out and doing something different.