shelbyc
September 10, 2012, 02:01 AM
Summary of my chatteling progress since 9/6/12 - if this post is too detailed let me know, I find other people's stories to be motivating so I will try and share as well.
Purchased Skip Rossell's book
-Read it through
-Got excited started looking for deals midway.
-Found a few, emailed away, why doesn't anyone put numbers?
-Waited eagerly for responses
-Figured I'd be better off using my time in a productive manner, decided I'd setup a picturing station.
Setup picturing station, see below:
http://sowpub.s3.amazonaws.com/stationmain.jpg
I'd built this for my defunct eBay business a few years ago, it's only slightly ghetto but I used what I had. The light cube is also from then. Sorry about the lighting I just took this today, you can see my two eager business partners Charlie the brown one, and Sammy the black one. Charlie is a little hefty and would probably eat away my profits rather quickly as he is constantly hungry.
9/7/12
Withdrew a $100 to start chatteling with.
Went to work
Finally received a response back on an ad I asked about, but we couldn't schedule a meeting time due to scheduling conflicts. I asked her if I could keep her number and call her when I'm out there again, she said okay.
Decided that since I wasn't having any luck with Craigslist I'd start with stuff I've been meaning to sell but haven't taken the time.
-Listed two auctions for a Logitech Revue Google TV (http://www.ebay.com/itm/251147858968?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1562.l2649), and a Microsoft XBOX 360 Kinect (http://www.ebay.com/itm/251147872228?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_2815wt_1142)
-Sold the Revue with a Buy It Now. I put Buy It Now's based on the idea that quick cash to get me started would be better than waiting to get a few dollars more.
I was stoked this evening and could barely sleep, normally I don't have any trouble, but when my mind get's whirring...
9/8/12
-Woke up early 7:00, imagine that on a weekend! I had an epiphany, I originally thought I'd have to make $431 a day to hit my goal by December 31st, I realized I only had to use the law of exponential growth with doubling my money to hit my goal. The reason I think this is a good idea is that the more money you have to play with the bigger deals you can afford. In my other thread it's been pointed out by Cornell that this has been tried before and it generally breaks down at the $200-$400 range if you're trying to double on each purchase. Ankesh shared that it would be better to just take a 15%-20% profit on more things to make it up. I still haven't formed my opinion, I'll deal with it when I get there.
-Once my wife got up, she asked me if we were going to yard sales like we used to. I said sure, drove around for a good 10-15 minutes looking for one yard sale, I'm pretty sure it was last weekend :) Ended up finding an Estate Sale up the road from me. As luck would have it, it was a nice house with good items and they were selling it all. I rummaged around and looked at a few things when I went out back, they had a beautiful stainless steel barbecue with a surround. I was pretty sure that I had seen a similar BBQ without the surround on Craigslist for $300. Did I hit gold? I went and asked the owner how much he wanted, he told me $70.00, I didn't even haggle like I normally would just pulled out the money. I rushed to the car and told my wife to wait by the BBQ in the backyard I had to get the truck.
I went and got the truck and dropped off my business partners (the dogs) who were waiting semi-impatiently in the car with my wife. When I got back we loaded up the BBQ, that sucker is heavy and I asked about some weights I'd seen. I left all in all $132.00 poorer, but I got the weights and the BBQ, and I don't know how I lost $2.00.
I found out afterwards that my wife doesn't know how to get to a backyard and had never been to an estate sale. If you've never been, it can be a little bit awkward walking into someone's house and asking what's for sale. My wife only found the BBQ about 2 minutes before I got back, but before she found it she heard the owner talking to someone on the phone asking about it, he said he'd sold it for $70.00 but if they could beat that he'd sell it to them. This is why it's good to have a helper and be ready to take it with you, but sometimes you can't.
That was my day.
9/9/12
Day off
9/10/12
Today I had a little extra time so I thought I would start cleanup. The prior owner missed the taste of a charcoal grill, and decided to use the grill with charcoal and wood chips instead of propane. It took about 3 hours to clean it but I finally got it done. I know this isn't always the best use of time, but my old ebay business taught me presentation matters, and can be the difference between a quick sale with more money or a slow sale for less money.
Here she sits:
http://sowpub.s3.amazonaws.com/BBQMain.jpg
Initial research indicates that the owner wasn't lying about the $1400 price tag, what I'll get out of it I don't know, but it sure does make a tasty burger.
http://sowpub.s3.amazonaws.com/dinner.jpg
and the weights:
http://sowpub.s3.amazonaws.com/weights.jpg
Purchased Skip Rossell's book
-Read it through
-Got excited started looking for deals midway.
-Found a few, emailed away, why doesn't anyone put numbers?
-Waited eagerly for responses
-Figured I'd be better off using my time in a productive manner, decided I'd setup a picturing station.
Setup picturing station, see below:
http://sowpub.s3.amazonaws.com/stationmain.jpg
I'd built this for my defunct eBay business a few years ago, it's only slightly ghetto but I used what I had. The light cube is also from then. Sorry about the lighting I just took this today, you can see my two eager business partners Charlie the brown one, and Sammy the black one. Charlie is a little hefty and would probably eat away my profits rather quickly as he is constantly hungry.
9/7/12
Withdrew a $100 to start chatteling with.
Went to work
Finally received a response back on an ad I asked about, but we couldn't schedule a meeting time due to scheduling conflicts. I asked her if I could keep her number and call her when I'm out there again, she said okay.
Decided that since I wasn't having any luck with Craigslist I'd start with stuff I've been meaning to sell but haven't taken the time.
-Listed two auctions for a Logitech Revue Google TV (http://www.ebay.com/itm/251147858968?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1562.l2649), and a Microsoft XBOX 360 Kinect (http://www.ebay.com/itm/251147872228?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_2815wt_1142)
-Sold the Revue with a Buy It Now. I put Buy It Now's based on the idea that quick cash to get me started would be better than waiting to get a few dollars more.
I was stoked this evening and could barely sleep, normally I don't have any trouble, but when my mind get's whirring...
9/8/12
-Woke up early 7:00, imagine that on a weekend! I had an epiphany, I originally thought I'd have to make $431 a day to hit my goal by December 31st, I realized I only had to use the law of exponential growth with doubling my money to hit my goal. The reason I think this is a good idea is that the more money you have to play with the bigger deals you can afford. In my other thread it's been pointed out by Cornell that this has been tried before and it generally breaks down at the $200-$400 range if you're trying to double on each purchase. Ankesh shared that it would be better to just take a 15%-20% profit on more things to make it up. I still haven't formed my opinion, I'll deal with it when I get there.
-Once my wife got up, she asked me if we were going to yard sales like we used to. I said sure, drove around for a good 10-15 minutes looking for one yard sale, I'm pretty sure it was last weekend :) Ended up finding an Estate Sale up the road from me. As luck would have it, it was a nice house with good items and they were selling it all. I rummaged around and looked at a few things when I went out back, they had a beautiful stainless steel barbecue with a surround. I was pretty sure that I had seen a similar BBQ without the surround on Craigslist for $300. Did I hit gold? I went and asked the owner how much he wanted, he told me $70.00, I didn't even haggle like I normally would just pulled out the money. I rushed to the car and told my wife to wait by the BBQ in the backyard I had to get the truck.
I went and got the truck and dropped off my business partners (the dogs) who were waiting semi-impatiently in the car with my wife. When I got back we loaded up the BBQ, that sucker is heavy and I asked about some weights I'd seen. I left all in all $132.00 poorer, but I got the weights and the BBQ, and I don't know how I lost $2.00.
I found out afterwards that my wife doesn't know how to get to a backyard and had never been to an estate sale. If you've never been, it can be a little bit awkward walking into someone's house and asking what's for sale. My wife only found the BBQ about 2 minutes before I got back, but before she found it she heard the owner talking to someone on the phone asking about it, he said he'd sold it for $70.00 but if they could beat that he'd sell it to them. This is why it's good to have a helper and be ready to take it with you, but sometimes you can't.
That was my day.
9/9/12
Day off
9/10/12
Today I had a little extra time so I thought I would start cleanup. The prior owner missed the taste of a charcoal grill, and decided to use the grill with charcoal and wood chips instead of propane. It took about 3 hours to clean it but I finally got it done. I know this isn't always the best use of time, but my old ebay business taught me presentation matters, and can be the difference between a quick sale with more money or a slow sale for less money.
Here she sits:
http://sowpub.s3.amazonaws.com/BBQMain.jpg
Initial research indicates that the owner wasn't lying about the $1400 price tag, what I'll get out of it I don't know, but it sure does make a tasty burger.
http://sowpub.s3.amazonaws.com/dinner.jpg
and the weights:
http://sowpub.s3.amazonaws.com/weights.jpg
