Chattel chatter, anyone?

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Robert J.

Spring is coming, the weather will be warming up ... and it will be a great time to move some chattel!

Hi Robert,

In all honesty, I haven't "chatteled" for a while...

However, here's a quick story of perhaps how not to do it...

Quite a while ago, I was buying and selling laptop computers. This was a few years ago now, and at that time, a second-hand laptop would sell for around $2,000... (Of course, they're much cheaper now.)

I really did just buy and sell them for a profit. I didn't fix them up in any way. Just buy low, sell high, buy here, sell there...

However, I think what I did was a dangerous way to do chatteling! Why?

What happens if the laptop works when I bought it, then breaks down before I've sold it?

Firstly, I was only usually making about 10% margin on these. (I'd say, buy them for about $1,800, and sell them for around $2,000, making around $200 per "flip"...)

But, if a laptop broke down - I could lose the whole lot! It would be about 10 "flips" worth, down the drain...

Secondly, a lot of people were buying and selling second-hand laptops. These were usually laptop repair stores, which would buy broken laptops and fix them up to sell. Anyway, because there were quite a few of those around, they drove the prices up, at least at auctions.

(I went to a few auctions, and was bewildered at the ridiculous prices these untested, possibly-not-working laptops sold for... I never bought at an auction, because the prices were crazy, at least in my area.)

Anyway, that's why I got out of it in the end. I never did have a laptop break down on me (I always flipped them quite quickly, within a week or two). However, I was always worried it could happen, and take a lot of my profits!

Better, in my opinion, to go for those things that won't break down easily...

Just think of the "Parade of Life," as Gordon teaches...

I should get back into this (though probably not with laptops)... Chatteling is always good for some quick cash...

Best wishes!

Dien