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.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Just got back from the auction warehouse. Huge building. Not great instructions about where you're supposed to enter. I think that little door on the far left next to the open one is where you go in, but I went up the ramp on the far right.

Once inside, you cross the entire warehouse to reach the customer service area on the other side so you can pay (unless you paid online), get an invoice, and get help to locate your lots.



I only bid on one lot, and it was a small package. For big pallets, they have staff onsite with forklifts and/or pallet jacks to help move them out to your vehicle, and they help load vehicles too.

After opening my package and reviewing the items, I found that some of the jewelry was about the quality I expected, while some of it is much higher quality and will sell for a great price.

Overall, I was in and out in about five minutes, super easy, and I feel confident that it was worth the price, even at a slightly higher bid.

 

[Guest050x2]

Damn, good work.

I've got stuff listed on ebay and Markeplace, but not on Craigslist. So far, I've got around 40 items listed, and it's been crickets. Not even so much as an "Is this still available?" message.

Right now I've got 1 bid on 1 ebay item. Most of my other ebay items are listed on buy it now, but I'll probably list more as bids this week if I don't see some movement soon.

One ebay item (a painted photo of Jesus) I thought would get a lot of traction, but it hasn't even had a single view. I listed it on Sunday evening.

I believe the money is out there, but so far it's not where I am lol.

I can't even agree with the "good work" part because, quite frankly, this definitely seems to be a legitimately "luck-based" business model. "Luck-based" in that "are you lucky enough to find the deals when they're available?"

There is absolutely no reason I should've been able to purchase that car for 16k. Anyone who keeps a car that old in that pristine of condition more than likely knows its value/potential value. But I got lucky in that I picked it up at an estate sale, and they gave 0 craps about it. They just wanted it gone.

My honest opinion? I don't think it has anything to do with your prices or products. I've found one of the biggest aspects to this is really just matching your audience with the platform. For example, the Jesus painting is doing poorly on eBay (which, tbfh, surprises me as well), but I believe it'd move on marketplace.

Marketplace seems to harbor a lot of older, white conservative people still and religious people. I believe that's why my antiques have been moving so quickly on marketplace. Most of my customers have been older white people. Even my non-white customers have been conservative. I feel marketplace is amazing for anything with historical value, religious pieces, antiques of any kind, etc.

I'd say just try listing your items cross-platform to gather a clearer understanding of what your audience on that specific platform is telling you. Also, 100% keep a spreadsheet of everything, though I highly doubt I need to tell you that, lol. You're a legend.

I've been working on something for people that want to potentially start this as I believe it's a decent way to get some cash flow.

For people interested in potentially starting.

Platforms/Places (Buy)

* Salvation Army
* Commercial thrift stores (Goodwill, etc.)
* Clearance sections of commercial department stores (you can especially make easy money targeting the right shoes/clothes at the right time)
* Any type of social media marketplace
* Similar to the above, any type of "Craigslist" style site (Offerup, Bookoo (?), Craigslist, etc.).
* Garage sales
* Estate sales
* Pawn shops
* Antique stores
* Furniture stores (specifically for furniture, obviously)
* Any store "lower than Walmart." This sounds hella stuck-up/shitty but money. If your city still has a "k-mart" style store, go there. It'll essentially be the same inventory from Walmart but cheaper. Which leads to...
* Dollar stores

** I also highly recommend spending the 5$ to create a "I buy <items>" post on Craigslist. I did this for antiques and received 20 something emails. I now have an ad running on CL 24/7 specifically for antiques. **

Platforms (Sell)

* Amazon
* eBay
* Anything Craigslist related (offerup, etc.)
* Marketplace
* Any other social media channel
* Create your own site, list items/turn it into an auction site (something I'm looking into)
* Item-specific sites (autotrader.com for cars, <website> for motorcycles, etc.)

** As stated above, I highly recommend cross-listing all of your inventory until you've established what's selling on that respective platform for you.**

Cheers.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

If anyone is struggling to obtain capital, pay close attention to this thread which is why I'm following it.

I'm sure you could flip goods and earn more than working 40 hours @ $15/hour paying at some fast food joint.

Opportunities like this likely are in every big city if you just do a little research.

No, not Fastlane, but could be a better alternative to capital accumulation on your terms, versus manning a greasy grill flipping burgers.



This item retails for $3,497



Could you sell it for $1,500 and make a quick $500?

Maybe.

If not, you'll end up with beautiful skin. LOL.

 

[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.

 

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[Nav94]

Flipped a lot of Microwaves, Most of the time people just want to get rid of microwaves that don't work (I mean everyone needs a hot food every time you want to eat) So I get a microwave that doesn't work and all they need is a small fuse (90% of the case) Now you can sell it for $100-$120 .

 

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[Eurojanek]

Local business makes water boilers. Not all bottom parts come out of press in perfect specs for futher production. So I buy the scrapped ones, weld them up and sell locally. They are more expensive as your usual market quality ones, but are made from 3mm sheets of steel, super heavy duty and I give 5 years warranty. So far about 20 sold at 50 dollars profit a piece, no advertising used, just word of mouth.

 

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[Guest050x2]

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.

 

[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.

 

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[Guest050x2]

Update on the shenanigans that occurred.

Ended up spending a few hours out longer than I had expected to that day, but found some amazing pieces. First, the locations I visited: antique stores, a few pawn shops, 2 estate sales, a few hole-in-the-wall thrift stores, and a garage sale.

What I found:

* A handful of antique pieces
* An old video game collection with a handful of games I know are worth 100$+ each
* Random pokemon card collection I found at a thrift store
* Collection of sport cards at 1 of the estate sales (I know nothing about anything sports related, but there's like, 15 boxes of old rookie/signed cards alone, some with big names (jordan, etc.))
* Collection of signed celebrity memorabilia that, while I have no idea what it's worth, was picked up for next to pennies, so I'd like to believe I'll at least make my money back, lmfao
* And my favorite thing I bought? That I don't believe I found? A 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4. 15k original miles, bought from the original owner. Purchased for 16k and have a pending offer of 40k.

I want to solely focus on cars and motorcycles now, ngl. Subtracting potential profit from the car (because that'll never be consistent), I'm up ~7k. The video game collection ended up fetching more than I thought it would, and I still have pieces of it.

The quickest selling platforms for me, by far, have been marketplace, craigslist, and eBay. Every antique I've put on marketplace has sold within a couple of hours, so either my prices are off, or I've found a decent audience/product mix. I'll be keeping the pokemon stuff, but taking the sports cards to a few different shops in my area that have been in that business for decades.

Finally, the celebrity stuff will probably just get thrown on eBay, where I'll hope and pray. I haven't even started researching what some of it is going for. I look forward to seeing what I discover.

As I am done with developing the primary features for my TCG app, I may spend the next couple of weeks traveling to nearby states to see what I find. Indianapolis is only ~4 hours away, after all. Ohio is only ~6.

The money is out there!

Cheers.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I'm trying to sell a working dryer because I don't want to bother moving it,

Removing the "Will not help move it" seemed to help move the item, LOL.

@Lex DeVille have you looked at weekly pallet auctions?

Since you are here in UT, they have them weekly. I never bought anything but they are for active flippers. Each pallet is like a crap shoot of returned items, very similar to buying a default storage unit.

Here's this week's

Erkelens & Olson Auctioneers | Pallet Auction & Elite Pure Med Spa Equipment 03-21-2024

palletauctions.salesandauction.com

Donate it to a dog rescue. They will come pick it up. They always need washers and drye

I sold the dryer, but that's a great idea, I haven't figured out who the reliable rescue is out here quite yet.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

LOL, I sold one item and in 1 day got immensely irritated. Apparently this is just normal morons being morons because they need to click click click...

I love Facebook Marketplace. But can Mark Zuckerberg please fix this one thing?

I love Facebook Marketplace. It's the best part about Facebook. But there's one thing about it that really annoys me. Can we please get it fixed?

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Lex DeVille]

A few wins to start the week.

Sold a baseball bat (made about $7 on it). Sold a Craftsman battery charger with no battery that I got for free for $20. Currently pending pickup on a ring for $29. The ring cost $1 and all 25 pieces of jewelry that I bought that day cost around $26 total. I sold a bracelet from that set that was $1.5 for $8 on eBay, so assuming the ring picks up, anything that sells after that will be all profit.

 

[Lex DeVille]

I'm done bothering with FB Marketplace.

It's mostly useful for items of need rather than items of want. I've listed around 50 rings over the last week and had about 10 messages in total. Of those messages, every single one either said "Is this available?" or "What's the size?"

Those who asked if items were available didn't respond at all. Those who asked about the size...the size was listed in the title. Most of the rings are adjustable.

In the time I waste listing and responding on FB, I've already sold several of the rings through my website for a price 5x as high.

That said, my ex had an interesting experience the other day.

She listed a pair of old worn high heels on FB for $10. Her inbox was shortly FLOODED with men wanting to buy the shoes, referring to her as "goddess" etc.

I told her to pull the shoes and relist them at $100 and let's see what happens because there's a thrift store just down the road that has a large selection of high heels. Might be an opportunity for a female seller; however, you'd want to figure out the logistics so you don't get murdered...

 

[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.

 

[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!

 

[Lex DeVille]

Yesterday I slapped some old knives on ebay. I figured nobody would want them because they're dinged up, scratched up, etc. That's why they've been at the bottom of a box in my closet for years. So far, they got the most attention of all of my listings.

For comparison, my jewelry items got 1-2 views. My knives have 20 - 40 views overnight. One is a Benchmade folding knife. I listed that one at $100 and it had the second most views of all and currently has 2 watchers. One knife sold at $20. I got that one for free a long time ago when I purchased a pair of boots.

Apparently people like knives on ebay.

 

[Bounce Back]

Another trend I've seen with sites like Aliexpress/Temu, etc. from watching Flippa businesses for sale:

If you can make a rock solid long form one page sale site even if the product is all over ebay/Amazon it seems to be a viable seasonal business around the end of the year with the holidays that traditionally give out gifts. Basically the one product "gift idea" type ad catches the eye for people who have been trying to figure out a gift. Typically you find these sites for sale right after the peak season as they don't want to wait a year and want to sell while the numbers look good in Stripe still but there doesn't seem to be much to it.

 

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[NervesOfSteel]

Flipped a lot of Microwaves, Most of the time people just want to get rid of microwaves that don't work (I mean everyone needs a hot food every time you want to eat) So I get a microwave that doesn't work and all they need is a small fuse (90% of the case) Now you can sell it for $100-$120 .

been there, done that during college days! Most of the time the microwaves required a cord change! LOL!

 

[Lex DeVille]

For March I earned a total of $341 flipping items.

Still have a lot of inventory out there. Still getting almost daily interest. The most surprising item I've listed is this old hammer.

I spent $0 on it. I found it by running over it with my lawn mower at my old house. Listed it for $10. One person offered $15 if I would hold it until morning, but he didn't show. Now it's pending pickup for $10 again this morning.

 

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[Ing]

In my job I drive 1-2 hours a day. (edit : btw.: for me driving is an advantage of my job, as I love it. Without my job, I would do it though!)
I watch workshops and construction sites along the way and sometimes I see something lucrative.

Some months ago I saw a shed; better hangar made from pu insulation plates. They changed some damaged ones.

I stopped and talked.

In the end two days later I borrowed a truck and removed their waste- 300 m2 of 100mm PU insulation (sandwich) and deposited it at a friend s farm.

I thought about building a big shed or garage and rent it out or use it. But well, no place.
Than we thought about extending his workshop. Not possible tax wise.

Now, after 2 months I decided to sell it all and got 2600€ for it.

Now I m looking for the next one.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

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[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.)

 

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[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

 

[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.

 

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[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.

 

[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.

 

[NervesOfSteel]

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.

In 3rd Grade, I flipped "He-Man" stickers to my classmates for 2x margin!

I never thought Flipping was something to be considered "valuable" ... LOL


I was told, this was morally wrong, but the 2x money drove me crazy, and the scent of money still does!

 

[RichOC]

I love this thread, I really like flipping because it's such an easy concept. I'm going to join in by starting with a load of tech i have that i need to get rid of (also including a load of stuff that i got completely for free, so it's all profit baby). Once I'm rid of all that, I'll try and see how far I can push flipping. I'll be honest though, i don't love the idea of spending a huge amount of time going round charity (thrift) shops etc, so i might have to try and get creative with my sourcing.

Something i love about flipping is that even if it's not a consistent "business" it's all about becoming someone who can spot real opportunities and actually choosing to take advantage of them. in my instance for example how i came upon a fair bit of free inventory, and I've seen lots of instances where people leverage their circumstances or chance occurrences, to cash in, in ways that wouldn't apply to just anyone asking where to get items in a forum post.

 

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