Flipping Items

[jdbelt1960]

Good Evening everyone, Can anyone give me thoughts on my buying items on EBAY and turning them for a resale hopefully for profit? We may chisel a seller down for price and buy an item and then turn around and list it for the higher price. Not that this works most of the time.

[postcardcountry]

I know someone who does this on a "limited basis".  He has a specific set of items he is interested in and has a good record if he buys low.  He has something set up so if one of his interest items is listed he gets an immediate notification.  If the price is substantially lower than he can sell it for, he immediately buys it.  FYI he has a buying ID and different selling ID.   So yes, it can be done but you have to have knowledge (he has 15 years) and funds.

[pickapaper]

There are a lot of people who buy items on eBay to turn around and resell them on eBay.   Often people will buy lots (groups) of items and then resell them by the piece. 

We know a guy who gets most of his inventory this way.  He makes low ball offers on a ton of items every day and says it is surprising how many of them get accepted.  

Personally, I don't have the patience to sit down and scan a category looking for things to resell.  I stick with garage sales, estate sales, and the such. 

[a_c_green]

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@jdbelt1960 wrote:

Good Evening everyone, Can anyone give me thoughts on my buying items on EBAY and turning them for a resale hopefully for profit?

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I do that here all the time, but my value-added is in buying items that need work and then doing the work. Thus my finished items get better/higher prices than what I paid to get them.

Chiseling down a seller is not going to work well enough or often enough to make it worth your while, IMHO. You might have a bit more success in finding badly-listed items from sellers who have no idea what they have, something that you recognize as a higher-value item (or one that you can clean up, or fix up, or at least photograph much better than they did), and go for that. Good luck.

[12345jamesstamps]

I would concentrate bidding on auctions to obtain items to re-sell.

[chapeau-noir]

That is an old trick. One caveat - you may find that there is a reason the item you chisled that seller out of was so cheap to begin with. 

[inhawaii]

It can be done PROVIDED you find the right item at the right price.

Especially if you're buying in bulk, again, if you find the right item at the right price.

[tools*]

I only made a profit of $700 with the last thing I bought on eBay, although I didn't re-sell it on eBay.

20 years ago, I spent about $5,000 a month on eBay for resale. I don't spend $5,000 a year on eBay today, because the good stuff just isn't offered in my categories anymore.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

If you do this, be sure to use separate buying & selling accts to avoid possible drama. 

[bashort]

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@jdbelt1960 wrote:

Good Evening everyone, Can anyone give me thoughts on my buying items on EBAY and turning them for a resale hopefully for profit? We may chisel a seller down for price and buy an item and then turn around and list it for the higher price. Not that this works most of the time.

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can be done, much harder than it used to be, the trick is to find your niche and then learn everything about said niche so you can then spot items that are massively underpriced.

There used to be a goldmine here of industrial type items on auctions because the end buyers for these items are not interested in auctions, they need it quickly.

Now the barriers to entry to the casual sellers and much less use of auctions have slowed that gravy train but not ended it.

[reallynicestamps]

 

"Chiseling" is less useful than knowledge.

Buying a bulk lot because you spot something of high value that the seller missed.

And being emotionally ready to dump the unsaleable stuff  into either the trash or a donation box.

But seeing that the hinged Bluenose offered for $200 is the Man on the Mast variety and saleable at $1500?

No chiselling needed.

Move fast before another knowledgeable seller spots it.

[johnrj1226]

No matter where I sourced an item to sell, the price cost had to meet one standard I had to be able to resell for 5 to 6 times as much as I paid for it..  This assured me to   make at  least 46.%  per cent gross profit before taxes.  If my research said I could sell it for more - I did..  Always sold for a profit and priced item at the  midpoint of price range other same or  similar items sold for. after discarding the very highest and lowest selling prices..  This way I had no surprises.  Yeah had to make a SWAG  or two along the way but still came out  on top. 

[iamalwaysright]

What does chiseling a seller mean? Like price negotiating?

[roccotacodad54]

   Good point. I don't sell but look at lots and just throw or give away the "chaff" after separating it from the "wheat".

  Sometimes a gem is hidden in a lot sale.................

[johnrj1226]

"Chiseling someone" generally means to cheat or swindle them, often through trickery or deceit. It can also mean to obtain something unfairly or dishonestly.