The Chattel Challenge - Operation Benjamins
 

Hey guys,

In response to my recent post Chatteling to $50,000 by December 31st, I have decided to create an official challenge thread. It seems like there are some other people on here who would like to have some fun, learn to chattel better and put some Benjamins in their pockets.

This is what this thread is for if the moderators are okay with it.

Before we get started it would probably help to lay down some guidelines of what specifically this thread is for and what I'm trying to accomplish by creating it.

To start with you should probably understand my basic plan and see if it's something you might want to try for yourself with some modifications.

My basic plan is to hit one, two or three of my target goals of $5,000, $25,000, or $50,000 by December 31st using the vehicle of Chatteling. The reason I set three goals was because the $50,000 goal excites me, it's only 17 weeks away and I feel that if I could do that it would be a big accomplishment. The other two goals are my guidelines, even if I don't hit my $50,000 goal by then they'll at least give me a way to make a reasonable estimate of the amount of time it would take me to hit that goal. Once I understand what it will take I can either adjust my plan or find a new plan. The other bonus is even if I don't hit it, at least I'll have $5000 in my pocket :)

Next you should understand what I'll be sharing in this thread. I have decided that since this forum has been a great addition to my life, I'm going to share the products I find and sell, triumphs, failures, stats and tactics. The only things I am not going to share are information someone else has charged me for or shared with me privately otherwise I'll do my best to be an open book and share what I've learned.

Now for my disclaimer, I am doing this challenge and sharing my results because I think it will be fun. This forum is filled with the most knowledgeable, kind and generous people I've ever met on the internet and I'm going to try and give back a little of what I've already gained in the week or so I've been here. If I stop having fun or feel it's in my best interest to stop pursuing the project I'm going to do so, but I urge you to keep going if you're enjoying it. I also won't take any responsibility for you, your purchases and outcome of participating, the world's a crazy place and sometimes things workout differently for different people.

Now that you know the basic plan, what I'm doing and why I'm doing it I think you should decide if this would be something you could have fun with as well.

If it is, commit to doing it with me with a short post of your stated goals, expectations and plan below. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing an adventure.

I'm already having fun and learning new things, come join me!

The Operation Begins - My Progress - Don't Reply To This Message
 

Don't reply to this particular message. I will post my updates in response to this thread to keep it organized.

9/6/12 - 9/9/12
 

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:



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, and a Microsoft XBOX 360 Kinect
-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:



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.



and the weights:

Re: The Chattel Challenge - Operation Benjamins
 

Shelby, very much enjoying this.

Getting motivation and information! It'll keep me coming back for more, just to watch you tweak your system. Thanks for posting it!

When you sold with the buy-it-now button ... I'm assuming you are ebaying yet again?

Re: The Chattel Challenge - Operation Benjamins
 

I think I'll use a combination of eBay and Craigslist as well as other venues as I find them. It will probably depend on what sells best where.

It would be cool to watch you do it as well, hop on and post when you sell something!

Minor detail, it is chattel
 

SowPub gets indexed in google very quickly, keep your spelling accurate on all subjects, you'll get a better google result.

Here's how easy it is....
 

Here's how easy it is....

I needed potatoes for dinner so drove down to the small neighboring town....drove through town to the grocery store - nothing unusual - got the spuds, hopped in the van and headed back through town...and there it was.

Had been put out at the curb while I was at the store....a rattan love seat and matching table.

Hustled it into my van...made a 20 minute drive and headed back home with $225 in my pocket...guess the cost of the potatoes were well covered.:)

As simple as knowing where there are buyers for what you have and then selling to them when you find what they will buy.

Re: The Chattel Challenge - Operation Benjamins
 

Rock on Cornell! Another good find.

Re: Minor detail, it is chattel
 

Thanks Gordon didn't realize I was making a mistake calling it Chatteling :)

I thought it was a verb not a noun.

9/10/12 - 9/13/12 - Update
 

Here's an update for those who are interested.

I listed the Grand Hall BBQ on Monday with Craigslist. On Tuesday I discovered that my ad was not even in the search results.

This phenomenon is called "Ghosting". Ghosting is when Craigslist tells you that everything is fine with your ad, but it doesn't appear in the search results so effectively your ad is there but not. No one will see the ad if it gets ghosted.

Apparently Craigslist will ghost your ad for a number of reasons including:
-Editing it too much
-Not having a verified account
-Listing it in the "wrong" category
-Using HTML
-Hosting pictures on sites they don't like
-and more…

I believe my ad was ghosted because I edited it a thousand times to figure out how to add the video I made and get the pictures up right. I'm a bit of a tweak and like to use the hosting I already have for things, not a good idea with Craigslist.

So I'm out the $70 for the grill and $50 for the weight set so far, but should eventually get the money back. I think the grill will take a while to sell at the price I listed it at.

Here's the ad:

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/app/3264998782.html

On the plus side I've sold the XBOX Kinect and put $65.00 in my pocket to play with. The Logitech Revue was sold but the buyer backed out, I will have it sold shortly as well.

I've also started compiling a list of things to look for on Craigslist in addition to Skip's report that I can quickly flip. If you want to get started doing this as well and are having a hard time PM me and I'll share the list with you.

Michael Senhof emailed me with some Craigslist interviews he did and I think they are very helpful, especially if you're just getting started. Here's the link:

http://www.hardtofindseminars.com/Craigs_List.htm

Here's some things I picked up:

When meeting people be very specific on what time they will come, don't waste your whole day waiting for Craigslist flakes. Have them call you when they are on the road.

Print out the ad and use it as a receipt, if you are scared to ask for their money say, "Shall we finish the paperwork." Don't help them load until you have the money.

Everything has some value, even old carpet, one man's trash is another's treasure.

Screen people over the phone, if you are uncomfortable meet them in a public place before giving them your address, also be wary of people and use common sense. I read a story on Craigslist about a guy who was selling a laptop, he arranged to meet at a McDonalds, the buyer showed up looked it over and ran with it, his buddy was waiting in a car. The seller ran after them and punched the guy who dropped his laptop and broke it. The two guys got away, the seller is stuck with a broken laptop.

Everyone has different tactics, you can either buy and sell chattel quickly for low margins, or stick to your guns and bring in the higher margins.

On listing: Take good pictures, host them through something like Flickr, be detailed and point out benefits, if your item has a warranty add that in.

Other things I've personally learned:

Write your number out like five-five-five-etc-5-etc-5 or make it into an image, so the scrappers won't pull it and file it away on a scammers database.

Use a junkier email address, scammers abound on Craigslist and the people who are really interested will call or text.

Add a way to identify scammers in your emails, here's something I'll probably add in to my future ads:

"If you are not a scammer please type the word bear in your response"
"If this ad is up the item is still available"

You can use filters in your email to sort these.

Hope that helps some people make some money, I'll report in when I have more to share, unless this thread is a bore to people.