Two methods of chatteling....

There are (at least) two different methods of chatteling....

The first method is to focus on things which you can easily sell - items which are in wide demand. The key to success is being able to get them at a low price, to look for motivated sellers.... Common items. For example, I've bought and sold laptop computers (though doing this is too competitive for my tastes nowadays - too many people do the same thing), MP3 players, and other items....

When I did this, I've bought on the internet and sold offline. (I did this several times with laptop computers.) I've also bought at one online auction site, and sold on another online auction site for a profit....

The other approach is instead to find scarce items, which might appeal to someone for a high price. That is, their appeal isn't wide, but there IS appeal there for a niche market. And because these items are hard to get, you can charge more money for them....

Here, you can get amazing mark-ups. For example, I found a book yesterday (published in the 1960s), which I bought for 10c. I checked online to see what it was selling for (by looking through the prices at www.abe.com ), and it usually sells for $35 to $45. (Only 500 copies of this book were ever printed.) This is also where "antiques" fall under....

If you want to sell things this way, the key is to never pay too much! Look for interesting items, which seem rare (not widely made items), which have some kind of emotional appeal about them.... This kind of "junk" often gets sold for pennies or a few dollars. Often, you just have to just go with your instinct. When you keep your purchasing price low, you can afford to risk making some mistakes.... One good "find" will more than make up for any mistakes!

I'm just starting to do this, so I'm still learning the ropes on the "second" approach to chatteling, but it seems like an good way to do it.... The internet makes it even more lucrative, since (by using services like eBay) it's much easier for potential buyers to find you....

- Dien Rice