Trying flipping

[Le Poisson]

So as a bit of a low-risk investment, I'm trying something. Not sure how it will turn out.

I picked up a pop-up camper off CL yesterday for about $1000. Apparently the listee had put it up, took listing photos, then busted the cable on the first showing. So his price was lowered considerably, and I've got a pig in a poke.

The plan is to replace the cable ($50.00) wash and wax it, and replace the cover to the storage locker ($300) and then list it back on CL for 3X what I bought it for. IF that works out I come out ahead by about $1500 for a couple hours work.

Worst case scenario is that I spend $50 on a cable, then open up a mildewed mess and sell off parts, recovering about half my purchase price (empty shells are selling for $500) and taking a loss.

Realistic scenario is that I do the work and come out ahead by about $500 - which is still better than what I['d make pimping myself out on a streetcorner.

If it doesn't sell at all, SWMBO is already in love with the idea of owning a camper... which means we'll end up owning a camper. Its my worst, worst case scenario and although its not in my plan, I can live with a total loss of $1500 for a new toy.

Let the fun begin.

[bzzzt]

It can be good or it can be bad. I've never lost money on a car/trailer flip, but it can be an exercise in doing a ton of work for slave wages.

My worst one was a car I ended up putting in about 200 hours and made $200 on it. The PO was absolutely brutal on the things they tried to fix themselves and it caused me a lot of work. After that, I won't buy a flipper at night. If I can't check it out in the daylight, there's probably a reason.

[arebelspy]

How'd it go?

[Le Poisson]

Just got it opened. Need to sew some seams on the canvas, but not in bad shape inside.

We are going to field test it a couple times, then sell. I already have a few people on FB asking to rent it though - could generate a revenue stream that way.

[paddedhat]

When I was a pup, mom and dad had an old (ancient actually) pop-up.  The canvas needed patching and seam work several times, and the go to place to get it fixed quickly and easily was an outfit that made and repaired tarps for the heavy trucking industry. Might be worth looking into.

At the start of my RVing career I flipped two pop-ups. Both were fair condition trade-ins at a local dealer, that I bought right. I repaired/restored them for very little money and got a full season of camping out of each, before selling them for what I had into them. Not profitable, until you put a value on renting one for two weeks and many weekends that we used each, or the fact that most buyers experience extreme depreciation when purchasing any camper.

[Roboturner]

If its a hobby you should definitely go for it!

I've been fixing broken Playstations for about 3 months now, sometimes I have to take a loss (like when the APU chip is fired) but I'd say a good 85% of the time I can fully flip. I'd say ive flipped about 20 now, with a profit of $1000.  Probably only amounts to about $10/hr but fun nonetheless, a hobby that doubles as a side-hustle.

[Syonyk]

*looks at the stack of broken cell phones on his desk, awaiting screens that seem to be literally shipping slow boat from China*

Yup. :)  Good fun!  You can either make good money reselling stuff, or obtain nifty things very cheap if you can repair them.  The $300 in batteries and $300 in tooling to repair a $2000 ebike someone gave me for free is one of my better deals on that front, but I've done it a lot with laptops and phones as well.

[Cheddar Stacker]

My parents acquired a campsite and a camper 30 years ago, then stopped using both about 20 years ago. My brother and I took over the title to both, and cleaned up the campsite last summer. I was hoping to check the condition of the camper but we ran out of time and haven't been back yet. I'm not sure what I plan to do with it yet, but it may need to wait a couple more years until I have more time to deal with it. Should be a fun project either way.

[bzzzt]

I already have a few people on FB asking to rent it though - could generate a revenue stream that way.

I have an aluminum car trailer that I rent out occasionally. I don't rent it enough to make money, but it pays for the plates and sometimes the insurance.

It's already saved me two tow fees since I've owned it. I bought it right and maintenance is minimal being AL, so I ought to be able to sell it for at least what I paid for it if I ever decide to get rid of it.

I also own a 24' enclosed car trailer. I mainly bought it for storage since a buddy lets me park it behind one of his buildings for free. I bought it back in 2010 when the economy was down and someone needed the money, so I'm thinking about cleaning it out and getting rid of it since the market for used enclosed trailers seems high right now. I see people asking 40% more than I paid for mine for older, rougher trailers.

[Le Poisson]

One of my best buys ever was a $75 utility trailer that I've owned for about 15 years now.

In that time I've replaced all the wood in it, and the tires and the tongue, plus countless sets of trailer lights - but its literally saved me thousands of dollars, and made some cash too hauling stuff away for people. It also means our family car capacity can be instantly trippled for camping trips/dump runs/etc.

I'm a big fan of cheap trailers.