Buying and selling to make a profit, who does it?

[coffeelover]

I used to do this stuff years ago. However I was never on the lookout for such deals and would just roll across them.
I would never make much money at it because I usually kept one of the items for myself and sold the other one. Money I made off the item I sold usually broke me pretty even. I've gotten some kick ass TV"s and computers this way.

I would have a  lucrative month once a year or so after a few great finds due to a store clearance etc.

I ran across some awesome finds the past few days and I picked up some computers. I already sold one on amazon but holy moly to ship this stuff is expensive! You have to put the laptop in another box separate then what it came in and pay for that box. ( I looked and looked and couldn't find a good box. Got tired of wasting my limited time looking) then pay for shipping and insurance on laptop.

I put the stuff on craigslist but not so comfortable with this site much anymore. I also put the computers on a facebook groups but nothing of mine sells in this group. As soon as I listed my computer online I get sales in a days.. Why is this..? No idea.

All told packing and shipping this particular laptop cost me 33.00! That was with the cheapest I could find too.

Ugg what do you do as a small side hustle for extra money?

[bobechs]

Ugg what do you do as a small side hustle for extra money?

When ever I see change lying on the ground, in parking lots, on sidewalks, in airports, etc. I always bend down and pick it up no matter how small; i.e. even pennies.

I know a lot of people nowadays think a penny isn't worth the time invested in picking it up and I've got to say there is some truth in that.  But for me it is kind of a matter of principle -- it's just the way I roll, and it reaffirms my core values as a cheap, stingy bastard.

Btw, if anyone cares I can report anecdotally that the old practical joke of epoxy-gluing a quarter to the pavement seems to have completely faded away.  I guess the epoxy now costs more than the quarter.

[HipGnosis]

I recently sold a mtn bike on offerup - it's a website and app that is kinda a cross between craigslist and facebook.
The app walks you thru taking a picture of your item and making your post.  You can add nice pictures (from websites), but you HAVE to use your pic first (It took a cpl days for me to figure that out).
It sold in 3 days for my asking price.

I have a B&D work-mate in my garage I will post next - I got two when they were on sale.  Just gotta get to it for a pic of the box...

[zephyr911]

I've done those things occasionally, if a deal fell in my lap, but mostly back when I was a broke spendypants. Hard to find enough profit margin to justify the time investment now. Hell, I have shit in my garage I've made up my mind to sell on Craigslist and can't manage to find the time when I'm thinking about it, to even upload the pics I already took.

Oh, maybe I should add that to my post-FIRE list... finally sell all the shit I already decided I don't need... hehe

[AngryOcean]

I usually do it with hobby related stuff. Our area is terrible for resale on items so people usually post things fairly cheap on varagesale (like craigslist) or our other classified page. If I can get a good deal on there I will post it right away on a dedicated national hobby forum. It has been quite lucrative,but finding boxes and working out shipping can be a pain. I usually post an item for a little higher that usual and if it doesn't go after a few days I will just inure shipping in that price. People usually bite on that principle.

[aneel]

My husband has been doing this successfully for about a year. I think he key is matching your item genre to your platform. My husband buys and sells knives - they're small and don't weigh much, so they are easy to ship and he focuses on eBay.

Conversely you are looking at bulky items like computers, I would recommend a local sale area for so.ething like that since the shipping will eat you alive.

[fishnfool]

I love reselling stuff, flea or online. Bought a car last year for $2800, put in $100, sold it a few months later for $6800. It was only on Craigslist for 15 minutes when buyer called me.

Those kinds of deals don't happen often,  most of the time ya make a little here and there. I sell at a flea market once a year to get rid of stuff, mostly found items or were given to me. I can make an easy $300 to $500 when I go there. The latest selling site is Letgo, I haven't used it yet but some friends have, it's very easy to use vs craigslist they say.

[elaine amj]

We are exactly the same as u, OP. We occasionally find super deals and buy and sell. I remember when my babies were little and I was researching carseats, there was a big buzz about a certain model of Fisher Price carseats that were discontinued. U could only find them at random Big Lots stores (for $50 - a killer deal). DH managed to hunt down someone in management (after a lot of phone calls) who agreed to arrange for ten of them to be shipped to our local store. We kept two for ourselves and sold the rest on eBAy. I think ppl paid about $150 each plus shipping.

After that we did "hot toy" of the year for a few years. i remember Fisher Price digital cameras (one we shipped to BC!) and zhu zhu pets. A nice side hustle we havent done much in a long time. We've only done small time stuff though - no huge quantities.

I do find it requires knowing what people are willing to pay for something so takes some research.


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[rocklebock]

I have for about 15 years, on and off. I paid a lot of my grad school tuition by selling stuff on Ebay. I slowed down after that, but got more serious about it again in the last couple years. Last year I made about $1500 after expenses, and I'll probably do about the same this year. As OP found out, expenses are higher than a lot of sellers realize (My personal rule of thumb is that I don't make a profit unless I can sell something for a minimum of 4 times what I pay for it), and it's easy to get overstocked and kill your cash flow. But it sure is fun as a hobby business. After I FIRE I plan to keep doing it, maybe branching out into antique mall and market booths a bit.

[aperture]

I started this year with de-cluttering around the house and putting stuff on eBay.  There is a learning curve - listing, photographing, shipping and picking the right stuff.  Lately, I started going to estate sales, garage sales and thrift stores. I buy small vintage unique stuff for <$5 and sell it for >$30 usually.  I think it works best when I stick to what I like selling, but I stretch myself too.  It is a blast to pick up some 1970s kitsch paperweight for $1 and post it on ebay, the wake up to find it sold overnight for $35. Of course, I have other stuff that has not sold, yet.  I have lots of time though, and I can always have my own garage sale if I get tired of it.  So far, I am up ~$1,800 for the year, but lots of that was emptying my own closets of unused crap. -ap

[Cyaphas]

Finding local ma and pa auctions is fun for my SO and I, estates are probably the best. We did really well buying 4 old hand crank sewing machines for $15 a piece and reselling them for anywhere from $150-200. I have some very high end tools I bought for next to nothing. Power tools and various household goods go for next to nothing. It's fun, but it can be annoying having things lying around that are just waiting to be sold.

[RobFIRE]

I've done a little bit of this. In my case buying laptops that aren't working (either won't power on or have broken screen etc.) and selling for parts, all on eBay. Example: first one cost ~£45 and sold parts for ~£105 after fees and postage, so ~£60 profit. Some parts sold within days and others took up to a month to sell. That was a few months ago. Recently bought another 3 laptops and am about half way through selling their parts a week later. It's fairly specific in terms of finding machines that aren't working but not missing parts or with valuable parts broken, and only for machines I particularly know about. So overall probably only a market for me to do that for up to 2 or 3 machines a month.

Takes a bit of time to test the parts, work out the right price and create the listings, but if/when I do again I have listings ready to copy and paste and will know the pricing better. I consider part of the time to be hobby time playing with laptops, and coordinate taking the items for postage with other errands, so next laptop could be ~£40 profit for effectively a couple of hours of eBay listing work. Really for me it's a way of satisfying my desire to play with second hand tech but at a slight profit.

I think if you have knowledge and interest in particular area(s) and can find the items at good prices on eBay/charity shop etc., and then clean them up or just present them well, and understand the prices and fees and how often items sell, then it's perfectly doable. I'd say a side hustle like this that could earn say $500 a month part time or, if necessary, $1000 a month with more effort is a good part-FIRE option (or post-FIRE safety blanket) as it could cover a good portion of basic living costs.

[HPstache]

I do it all the time with vehicles and auto parts... it's a bit of a trick to know what to look for, but lots of good money in it.  I'm limited to 3 vehicle sales per year without a dealers license...