Ask me in March, cause April gets busy.

[GordonJ]

Before even turning on your computer, one must start with

A PLAN (ARE YOU SURPRISED?)

And an evaluation, or analysis, whatever you want to call it, an inventory or list but you start with what you have (assets), where you are at and where you want to go.

Take Chatteling. The goal is to make money. How much does one start with? What additional assets besides cash on hand also exists, such as copywriting or marketing skills or experience.

By far and away the question asked most often is: What do I buy? And my answer remains, as it has for the last 30 years...it isn't about the WHAT, it is all about DEMAND and supply.

A better question is HOW MUCH profit IS in IT, whatever the IT is? And we can only know that from what the current market tells us, so we keep an eye and awareness on FINISHED/COMPLETED transactions, on eBay they do it for you so beautifully, and you know what is actually being exchanged.

For a beginner, it might be helpful to look around your place and SEE what things you have laying around, and WHY you have them? What would you buy again, today, if the thing broke or was taken? How much would you pay?

Then maybe hobbies, I once spent thousands on the game of golf, and today, just hearing the word makes me cringe, such has been my parade of life. I also worked in the largest chain of used golf equipment which bought and sold used golf clubs, which aided to may already extensive knowledge of the game and equipment.

So, on my asset lists might be golf. Today, NO. But at one time, I made a lot of money in that market. I learned long before there were TV shows about PAWN shops, got my Chatteling start in Hawaii with Honolulu Pawn shops, and was always amazed with how these guys came up with VALUES or what they would pay or lend for an item, knowing if they had to sell it, what the profit would be.

On the TV shows, we saw they would often call in EXPERTS, they had a NETWORK of people who could provide them with knowledge they lacked. So, if someone brings in a pocket watch, they could call in the guy who knew what the market value is.

For me, that is the first place I go, eBay, to see any given market VALUE, on almost anything, because of those completed/sold listings, and especially look for number of bids and once I see it wasn't just 2 or 3 in a bidding war, if there were dozens of different bidders, I see DEMAND, AND then go to "similar listings" and then to the marketplaces, and search for that item FOR SALE. Be it Craigslist, or Facebook Market place or local buy and sell groups.

I know there is PROFIT to be made in RV'S, both the kind you drive, or the ones you PULL, and today, I have seen many of these spring up in back yards, my grandfather lived in one on my Aunt and Uncles property for years, with today's uncertainty, they make nice guest houses, or when the kids move back in and want their own space...or

even if to be used for their original purpose, to go camping or to travel and take your hotel with you. Today there is pent up want/need to get out and travel, so I KNOW that these small canned ham type RV's are going to boom beginning next month, and BIKES will be in demand too.

My advice, as always, seems to be; start where you are at with what you have...and if you have 500 to invest in buying and selling, then get your feet wet with smaller transactions just to get a feel for the time, effort and slop and mess involved. And build your networks, so, when the time comes to get advice, you have someone who can tell you if there is PROFIT in it first...

which is where I start. How much PROFIT is in the item and how much can I get out of it, A) if I want a FAST SELL (always for me) vs B) do I want to hold out for market value? Some like to store things, I don't.

To begin, look around the room, what do you see, now spend an hour searching eBay for SOLD/COMPLETED listings of your "stuff" and you will quickly discover how valuable a tool it is for the Chatteler.

Gordon

Originally Posted by unpinkpanther

Hey Gordon:

Here is the question

Step by step, which specific eBay filters do you use to land at "opportunity pages" like the ones you shared in the recent Skip Rosell/Chattel thread?

Let me explain:

Obviously from previous posts, I know you search "Sold Listings" a LOT, correct?

Assuming you were teaching a 5-year-old, where would be the "Start Here" step, after "First, visit eBay.com"

Do you input a keyword first?

Do you start with a price range in mind?

Do you select/ignore "Auction" or "Buy It Now" (and why?)

Where do you go next after landing on the "opportunity page(s)"?

Thank you