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  #1  
Old September 5, 2012, 11:38 AM
shelbyc
 
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Default Chatteling Learning Path

Hey guys,

I was wondering if someone could point me in the direction of the best way to learn more about Chatteling.

I see Gordon has written at least two books on the subject "The Beginners Guide To Chatteling" and "The Chattel Report" both of which look like he gave master resell rights to several other people.

Who should I buy from and are there any different updates to these courses that aren't available through different vendors?

Is there still a hidden subforum about chatteling here at sowpub? If there is, is the only way to get access to purchase "The Chattel Report" through Sowpub?

I also see that Gordon recommended Skip Rossell's book on chatteling.

Will each of them add something different to my chatteling tool chest? Is there a best first purchase, second purchase and so on?

Thank you for your advice, and if this thread is inappropriate please let me know.

-Shelby
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  #2  
Old September 5, 2012, 02:44 PM
GordonJ's Avatar
GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: West Palm Beach, FL
Posts: 3,471
Default Yes, I NO longer own the rights to the Chatteling work.

Shelby,

I suggest you start with Skip's report. He has an easy way to find profitable chattel deals on auto-pilot.

But, just for fun and future reference, go to craigslist and go shopping using the minimum parameter at 4999 bux and the upper one at 9999...and see what comes up between these price ranges. Here is where you'll find those 1 to 3k deals or better.

THEN, if you really want an eye opener, plug in 25k to 49k.

And keep in mind, airplanes and big boats go for 6, 7 and 8 figures. Chatteling at the upperEST level.

Start small, work your way up if you want.

Not much too it really. Buy and then sell for a profit. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Gordon


Quote:
Originally Posted by shelbyc View Post
Hey guys,

I was wondering if someone could point me in the direction of the best way to learn more about Chatteling.

I see Gordon has written at least two books on the subject "The Beginners Guide To Chatteling" and "The Chattel Report" both of which look like he gave master resell rights to several other people.

Who should I buy from and are there any different updates to these courses that aren't available through different vendors?

Is there still a hidden subforum about chatteling here at sowpub? If there is, is the only way to get access to purchase "The Chattel Report" through Sowpub?

I also see that Gordon recommended Skip Rossell's book on chatteling.

Will each of them add something different to my chatteling tool chest? Is there a best first purchase, second purchase and so on?

Thank you for your advice, and if this thread is inappropriate please let me know.

-Shelby
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  #3  
Old September 5, 2012, 06:35 PM
shelbyc
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Chatteling Learning Path

Thanks Gordon, I like auto-pilot

I thought it pretty much was that simple, I've been doing it since I was a little kid and didn't know it was called chatteling until I got here a few days ago.

To start with do you find it's better to reinvest all your profits or 50% back into buying chattel?

Also do you keep a profit and loss book on all your deals, or do the poor man's bookkeeping?
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  #4  
Old September 5, 2012, 07:33 PM
Dien Rice Dien Rice is offline
Onwards and upwards!
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,358
Default Re: Chatteling Learning Path

Quote:
Originally Posted by shelbyc View Post
I was wondering if someone could point me in the direction of the best way to learn more about Chatteling.
Hi Shelby,

I'll send you a message/email soon...

Meanwhile, for others who want to know, The Chattel Report is available from here... http://www.thechattelreport.com

Best wishes,

Dien
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  #5  
Old September 5, 2012, 07:39 PM
shelbyc
 
Posts: n/a
Default Skip Rossell Link Down

Hey Gordon,

I'd like to purchase through you but I get a not found page for your link:

http://www.doomgloombliss.com/skip.html

Please let me know when this is fixed.

-Shelby
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  #6  
Old September 5, 2012, 07:40 PM
shelbyc
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Chatteling Learning Path

Thanks Dien
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  #7  
Old September 6, 2012, 03:53 AM
Ankesh's Avatar
Ankesh Ankesh is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Mumbai, India
Posts: 692
Default My experience with international chatteling

Here are a few things I've learned while chatteling.

* I mainly deal in international chatteling. Buy in India or Asia. Sell to USA, UK, Canada, Australia and else where (Probably 85% of my sales come from those 4 countries).

* I spend 5-10 hours a week with 1 specific type of product. 70% of my time goes into packaging the goods for shipping. And filling out the customs forms. The rest of the time goes in customer support and answering questions to people via email. (I already have 2 sources to where to buy the product from now - so hardly any time goes into procuring the products. More about that later.)

* I make lower four figures net profit per month with this venture. Depends from month to month. Its just been a couple of months so I'm not yet sure of the variance in sales cycle due to the time of the year. But its a decent side project for the amount of time put in.

* (I won't be going into product details a lot - but the main criteria for selecting the product was: it had to be small enough to be shipped cheaply. But it still had to have a reasonable profit margin.)

* My sales price is 1.5x to 2x of the price at which I buy the product. I know folks like Ben Suarez and all recommend that your selling price should be 4x to 7x the cost price because advertising and paying to middlemen is expensive. But my product can't sustain those margins.

Because of this factor, I doubt if I can scale this side venture to a 7 figure project. I can only collect the low hanging fruit - sales that don't require a lot of advertising expense. Over time, I think I'll be able to increase my sale price to 3x the buying price. But thats about it. So at most, this will be a mid to high 4 figure per month project. Still awesome for the amount of time put in however.

* One advantage that I have that others don't: I have bank accounts in India as well as USA. I have companies incorporated in both countries too. Delaware incorporation is not that hard anymore thanks to the internet. (Although I had gone through a USA based lawyer. Costs more money but peace of mind.)

* How I got started: I was on a forum where some folks were complaining about a dealer who was late in shipping this product. (Keep an eye out for "problems.") I looked up if I could buy this product in India and at what price. Ebay, Alibaba, Google etc were my first place of research. But then followed up with a bit of calling.

I then made a post on the forum: if people were willing, I would ship the product at cost^ to them from India. But I would not offer any refunds or anything. Thats how I got my first few clients over the next few days. Thats how I learnt what shipping process is the best. And what packaging is sturdy.

^ In hindsight, offering to sell at cost publicly was a bad idea. I have to deal with so many people that ask me why can't I ship the products at cost to them anymore.

* The above bullet point is the most important lesson. Find buyers first. Don't procure the goods until you know for sure that you'll be able to sell it. You may not be able to do this with local chatteling, but in my case - I asked my clients to pay me before I went and bought the goods for them. I had absolutely zero risk when I began.

* Making more sales. 100% of my sales at this point come from 2 sources. 2 websites. I don't even have a website of my own for this product as of yet. I sell where a "hungry" crowd already hangs out. This way, no advertising expense. The venture takes as little time as possible. (I really don't want to make this a full time thing. 30 minutes a day on this is my goal.)

* Procuring the goods. It was research and calling and then haggling on price. I tested buying from 7 dealers. But I buy from only 2 of them as of now. I alternate between the 2 so that if something goes wrong with 1 of them, I don't have to close down. This is important: as Dan Kennedy says - one of anything will kill you. Always have backups.

* Storing the goods. Initially I went and bought the product only after I had received the payment from a client. Now however I keep a few orders worth of goods at hand. Keeps things smoother and doesn't slow down the shipping. Also gives me time to deal with a supplier situation without stopping sales coming in. You don't want to stick up a lot of money in inventory however. I think a weeks worth of products is a good idea - 7 days is more than enough to deal with supplier problems or finding a substitute supplier.

* What else. Escrow is good for international transactions. But it adds 10% to your cost.

* The downside to Escrow. Money remains stuck for 20 days or so (the time it takes for shipping). So you can't buy the goods with the money client pays. I had to "borrow" money from my other activities to not slow down my ability to buy and ship the products.

* Indian postal service is a pain. But its a pain that has to be dealt with because of no other better alternatives unfortunately.

* I constantly have to keep an eye on foreign exchange. This can suck big time. Forget about trying to time the forex market. Book your profits and worry about optimizing the business - not the forex trades.

Thats about it. Feel free to ask me questions - anything besides what product I sell.

Action Summary:

* Keep an eye out for problems.

* Then do the research and find out if you can solve that problem cheaply.

* Then make an offer to folks facing the problem: you will solve their problem at cost. Let them fund your learning curve. Get rid of any risk while starting out.

* Look out for problems with solutions with high profit margin. The lower the profit margin, the harder it is to scale up. Rule of thumb is 4x to 7x is required to scale up with advertising for most products. (Unless you're selling high end products like boats and planes.)

* If the profit margins are not much, then look out for places where hungry crowds already hang out. So that you don't have to put in the effort and expense for people to find you. But be aware that this model has a ceiling.

* Have backups in place - more than 1 source from where you can procure the goods.

* You will make mistakes. The trick is to minimize risk while starting out. And having money in the bank later on to help you deal with the mistakes.

* Buy low. Sell high. Sell first.

Last edited by Ankesh : September 6, 2012 at 04:42 AM.
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  #8  
Old September 6, 2012, 04:20 AM
Dien Rice Dien Rice is offline
Onwards and upwards!
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,358
Default Re: My experience with international chatteling

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ankesh View Post
Here are a few things I've learned while chatteling.
Thanks Ankesh for sharing that!

It's quite amazing that you can do so well... and with just 30 minutes a day, too!

By the way, I also wanted to compliment you on your new "Warrior Bulletin" website...

http://warriorbulletin.com

It's full of great business and marketing articles... It's well worth checking out. Great stuff!

Best wishes,

Dien
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  #9  
Old September 6, 2012, 04:48 AM
Ankesh's Avatar
Ankesh Ankesh is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Mumbai, India
Posts: 692
Default Re: My experience with international chatteling

Thanks Dien for mentioning http://warriorbulletin.com/

I'll be getting a bit more aggressive with it this month.

As for international chatteling - I spend a bit more than 30 minutes a day on it as of now. About 8-10 hours a week. But my goal is to optimize things to spend only 30 minutes a day on it. Less than 4 hours.

Main issue is packaging - so will try and learn how that can be less time consuming. Or else just hire a student or something a bit down the line.
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  #10  
Old September 6, 2012, 09:30 AM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: West Palm Beach, FL
Posts: 3,471
Default I think that was a short term deal for me, I can't remember.

Thanks, but get it directly from Skip, OK?

I coined the term "chatteling" back in the mid 90's and MY method is a Fly Low and Collect the Dough way of selling everyday mundane "parade of life" stuff which just keeps going and going.

Today, there are scores of way as evidenced by the many TV shows about Chatteling. American Pickers, Pawn shops, Storage Wars, Antique shows...

these are all ways of doing IT.

Skip and others like to look for certain stuff. I don't. There isn't a right or wrong way, it is what suits you.

I look at dollars, not things. It has been the hardest concept for most of the chattlers who have bought one of my reports to understand.

I think the Skip, with a list of THINGS to look for works better for most people.

It is easier, faster and you don't need to know very much.

I look for undervalued stuff. Also, 99.9% of people will not build their network of buyers.

IF you have buyers already lined up, it makes the whole thing easier because I know what to look for, but even then, I search strictly by dollars and seldom by items, Brand Names or that way.

Again, it is whatever suits you.

I do NOT operate a business, all of my formal businesses have been either sold or retired. I like to FLY LOW and Collect the Dough.

I shy away from licensed stuff, but do make exceptions if the profits are there.

The PROBLEM with chatteling for MOST people is it requires constant effort and especially if you look for things to sell, you may go days without a good deal, by looking at dollars instead, one can find good deals every day if they know they can "buy over there and sell over here" for a profit.

This is pretty much the condensed versions of all my chatteling works. Again, it ain't woodworking, so there is no need to make it complicated.

Gordon




Quote:
Originally Posted by shelbyc View Post
Hey Gordon,

I'd like to purchase through you but I get a not found page for your link:

http://www.doomgloombliss.com/skip.html

Please let me know when this is fixed.

-Shelby
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