What to sell to make money?

Loquisimo · #1 04/07/10, 10:03 AM

Here's my problem, I need to make a decent chunk of change pretty quickly. I need to buy a new car, and even though the car I'm looking at is around $13k, I want to pay cash. I also want to pay off student loans (just under $6k at the moment) and buy land for a homestead (around $18k-$30k for the land, then buying a used mobile home, maybe having to drill a well, etc). So I need to make lots of money quickly. So what can I sell on places like Craigslist (not ebay, I hear lots of gripes about ebay) that can make me a good enough profit margin to buy the stuff I want to buy? I have a source for wholesale stuff from China, they usually charge maybe 1/4 of what the ebay cost is. I tried working as a computer repairman, but there's so much competition around here from laid off tech workers that I never get any calls. So I need stuff that I can sell.

blooba · #2 04/07/10, 10:23 AM

If it was that easy, we all would be doing it. Research, Research, Research before putting out any money. Good luck! Wish I could help you more.

lisa's garden · #3 04/07/10, 12:08 PM

A lot of it depends on where you live and how many people look at craigslist in your area. I hate the thought of anyone selling more junk from China. You could look into buying items at resale/thrift shops such as the Salvation Army and then taking photos and listing online. But I don't think that you will raise that much money quickly.

Do you have plants that you can divide, pot up and have a plant sale? That seems to go over well in my area (Rockford, Illinois). People like to save money and you can sell plants a lot cheaper than the big box stores. Recycle pots that people are throwing away this time of year and see if there is free compost to be had.

Check Freecycle.com for people looking to get rid of pots, etc. They don't like to have you resell your stuff, but I know that some people do it anyway.

Good luck!

ldc · #4 04/07/10, 02:26 PM

People here buy baby clothes in great condition, and antiques for all most nothing - since this "economic downturn"! Hope you find something for yr area. Aren't you in the Sac Valley? I went to school in Davis. Any flea markets left? ldc

lharvey · #5 04/08/10, 07:09 AM

I actually have been dabbling with CraigsList just lately.

In March, I've taken an initial investment of $50.00 and now have over $1300,00 to play with.

It's kind of a game with my friend and I we each started out with the same amount of money and he is just ahead of me, for the moment.

So far, we are keeping it in state and are only playing with one category as we both know this category quite well.

I have not resold everything I've purchased but have broken up bunches of stuff and sold them individually and other things I have kept.

Some days there are lots of things, some days there is nothing.

lisa's garden · #6 04/08/10, 11:43 AM

I had another thought concerning this question. This may not appeal to everyone, but it can work for some folks.

Unfortunately, with all of the foreclosures going on right now, the banks are hiring companies to go and clean out foreclosed homes to get them ready for sale. The person losing the home has a certain amount of time to go and collect any belongings that they want (sometimes they leave everything, sometimes they take everything of value, including the kitchen sink - seriously). After that grace period is over, the company cleaning out basically has the right to keep everything else (check laws in your area before assuming this, but here this is how it works).

You would need a truck and/or trailer, and would need to establish as a real business so that banks will hire you. But you would have the opportunity to be paid by the bank and possibly sell the items left behind by the previous owners. Watch out for people trying to come by and pick things up.

If you were to get into this type of business, you can also offer your services to storage rental companies. If they have a customer who stops paying, they have a certain amount of time to pay up and retrieve their stuff. After that the storage co. hires someone to clean out the space. Some of them pay to have the stuff hauled away and you get to keep whatever is cleaned out.

With all of the people who have lost jobs and homes over the last couple years, there's bound to be plenty of business for a company like this. It is unfortunate, and most of us hate to feel like we are taking advantage of a situation, but someone will do this type of work and it needs to be done.

MrPG · #7 04/17/10, 09:31 PM

If you have access to old computers, you can get them cheap or free and scrap them for parts (I buy e-scrap, am still learning but so far it has been profitable).

Key is that you know ahead of time how much something is worth, and have a buyer already lined up for e.g. CPUs, RAM, motherboards - so as soon as you have it, you can turn around and sell it again, getting back your cash plus profit, so that you can turn it around once more.

Further, if you can get the items for free, all it will cost you is your time in picking it up and then taking it apart.

romysbaskets · #8 04/18/10, 08:28 PM

By buying a good car used that has had an excellent service record....why buy new? They lose thousands in value their first year! Our last car, nearly three years ago...$1,300 cash, booked out at $4,000 at the time. It has only needed one repair, received that repair as a gift from my daughter's boyfriend/mechanic. Ok the property, for sale by owner for a mobile or nice manufactured home...with the current economy folks are willing to hold paper for payments that pay interest. Why not trim down your expectations a bit and you will find everything falling into place that much faster? Low payments to a private party, a car you own outright, cheaper insurance since it is not NEW, and the student loans....well make the payments until your ship comes in. I believe in hard work and sacrifice and you will do just fine. There are so many schemes out there....best to find a good honest way to earn your money with a smaller goal in mind. Made in China is not an item we buy anymore! I look hard to find made in America, raised in America meat and grown in America produce. I don't buy anything made in China and most folks I know don't either. The world is saturated with low quality mass produced items from China. How do you decipher what would sell when the market is sagging with the overproduction of those objects, clothing etc..... When you look on ebay, there is so much competition, stuff is nearly given away....so many penny sales..... I support craigslist at this point as an excellent way to buy and sell and make money. Cars, furniture etc...picked up and resold. That is just one of many ways...I like the above suggestions!

txquilter · #9 04/19/10, 09:00 PM

lharvey - I'm curious - what type of items are you selling on Craigslist? $50 investment and you've profited $1,300 so far? Any time I've ever tried to sell anything on Craigslist it has always resulted in a lot of phone calls, no shows and attempted scams.

I so desperately want to get out of the Corp. America grind and work for myself so I'm very interested in turning some residual income quickly as well.

Any secrets you care to share?

seagullplayer · #10 04/20/10, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txquilter

lharvey - I'm curious - what type of items are you selling on Craigslist? $50 investment and you've profited $1,300 so far? Any time I've ever tried to sell anything on Craigslist it has always resulted in a lot of phone calls, no shows and attempted scams.

I so desperately want to get out of the Corp. America grind and work for myself so I'm very interested in turning some residual income quickly as well.

Any secrets you care to share?

I had the same questions as soon as I read it!

Nevada · #11 04/20/10, 09:55 AM

The best is to make product yourself. The problem with reselling is that one of two situations arises.

The profit margin is too slim when trying to sell in a competitive market like eBay.
You get a great one-time deal, but the product is no longer available.

If you can beat one or the other then that great, but I kept finding myself with no product to sell.

I burn open source (free) software products onto CDs, then sell them at eBay. There are a variety of products that have enough value to make it a good product, and customers have good reason to buy from you. One or more apply to most customers.

They don't know that the open source product exists.
They don't know that the open source product meets their needs (you educate them in the eBay auction).
They don't know where to get it.
They don't know how to download.
They're concerned about getting a computer virus by downloading.
They don't know how to burn a CD.
They have a dialup Internet connection, so downloading large files is impractical.

This product type won't make you rich, but if you're just looking to boost your income by a few hundred each month it's a good reliable market, and you'll never run out of product. I don't want to make a lot of extra competition for myself so I won't post any more details here, but if you PM me I'll point you in the right direction.

romysbaskets · #12 04/20/10, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nevada

The best is to make product yourself. The problem with reselling is that one of two situations arises.

The profit margin is too slim when trying to sell in a competitive market like eBay.
You get a great one-time deal, but the product is no longer available.

If you can beat one or the other then that great, but I kept finding myself with no product to sell.

I burn open source (free) software products onto CDs, then sell them at eBay. There are a variety of products that have enough value to make it a good product, and customers have good reason to buy from you. One or more apply to most customers.

They don't know that the open source product exists.
They don't know that the open source product meets their needs (you educate them in the eBay auction).
They don't know where to get it.
They don't know how to download.
They're concerned about getting a computer virus by downloading.
They don't know how to burn a CD.
They have a dialup Internet connection, so downloading large files is impractical.

This product type won't make you rich, but if you're just looking to boost your income by a few hundred each month it's a good reliable market, and you'll never run out of product. I don't want to make a lot of extra competition for myself so I won't post any more details here, but if you PM me I'll point you in the right direction.

Hi!
I did that too! Years ago and it was cool to get the little bits of cash, sure came in handy. I am doing better on my seeds/plants/flowers and seashell crafts now though plus some writing. I found a nice little niche on ebay and then others jumped on the bandwagon. They would buy from me, burn more and resell in direct competition with me. My current sales bring in far more than a couple hundred a month. It is essential I make what I can to help. I am always doing more little things... I have resold some stuff for a friend on ebay and it is rough going....low profit, high competition and time consuming...rather play with my plants and crafts then that. I have had great experiences with craigslist! Sure there are some that flake out but then again.....I tend to expect some fall out.

Doing something you enjoy like I do, sure makes a difference.....not that I expected that it would make me money, grin. I always include little bonuses in my boxes too. I appreciate every transaction and have a great deal of pride in my transactions. I answer all questions to the best of my ability.

It is wonderful if you can find and maintain some income even for a while with the free downloads...been there and done it...yes, it works!

lharvey · #13 04/21/10, 06:36 AM

txquilter.

Sorry for the delay getting back to you but been on vacation in FL

I look for two different categories actually. Electronics and Music Instruments.

I've done OK on this and sometimes it is loads of stuff and sometimes it isn't.

These categories I know very well and I know how to sort the wheat from the chaff. Some people are just plain scammers trying to sell something that it isn't. You can sort them out on the phone if you know your subject.

Really though "if it is too good to be true, it probably isn't"

jacqueg · #14 04/22/10, 05:07 PM

I met a man at my last moving sale who offered to take the stuff that didn't sell off my hands. I took him up on it because I was moving out of state and had enough to do without sorting things out to go to the dump or goodwill. The free help was a good deal for me, and he got a lot of good resellable stuff, in return for doing the sorting and making a couple of dump runs. He was a laidoff teacher, and wasn't sure he'd go back to that. He had all kinds of contacts in the used merchant world, and knew who would buy what. He would just visit all the local garage sales, and select the best ones to make his offer. Had a pickup and a trailer.

txquilter · #15 04/23/10, 09:32 AM

I do make crafts and quilts that I sell but as most of you know the profits on those are not always great and they tend to be labor intensive. I'm headed out of town today to work a craft fair with my parents so hoping to make some $$ there.

I would like to find a way to get more people back to the mindset that a handmade gift is much more appreciated and personal than something bought in the store and made in China. Unfortunately that takes time...

Good luck to everyone on their ventures!

Chuck · #16 04/23/10, 09:36 AM

the best thing to sell is something that is digital and renewable - my son sells the video I bring home after making the news as stock footage - each clip can sell an unlimited number of times and there's no garage full of product necessary. At the rate he's going, he'll make a living wage at it this year - and he's twelve.

www.pond5.com

Chuck · #17 04/23/10, 09:37 AM

if you can't sell video, you could learn to make digital backgrounds (like this) or write something that can be sold online through amazon (kindle?) or something like that.

Win07_351 · #18 04/25/10, 06:25 PM

I've noticed that tools and power equipt. (snowblowers/mowers etc.) seem to sell well too.

Wisconsin Ann · #19 04/26/10, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck

the best thing to sell is something that is digital and renewable - my son sells the video I bring home after making the news as stock footage - each clip can sell an unlimited number of times and there's no garage full of product necessary. At the rate he's going, he'll make a living wage at it this year - and he's twelve.

www.pond5.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck

if you can't sell video, you could learn to make digital backgrounds (like this) or write something that can be sold online through amazon (kindle?) or something like that.

Now THAT is something I could do. Used to have a large still portfolio with a stock photo agency. Great way to pay for college. I love to travel, I ALWAYS have the cameras with me. I have access to a lot of good art computer programs...And now I have verification that someone still buys things like that.

Thanks! as to your son...would he like to adopt me? Congrats on having offspring that has that much talent? chutzpah? ingenuity?

AshleyB · #20 04/30/10, 04:36 PM

Since it is now yard sale season you could stock up on books homeschoolers use often and then sell those a bit later in the season online. You can usually get paperbacks for around a quarter each, and hardbacks around a dollar. Homeschoolers buy LOTS of books.