Do you buy and sell anything
Discussion
The closest thing to "buying and selling" is doing repairs to my own cars and bike. I did sell a lot of my old belonings for cash and got a fair bit of money, but I wouldn't say there was any real gain in it.
Every time a friend has suggested to buy cheap cars and repair them with them, I have shyed away from it because I know they end up money pits and just end up eating up your time with little gain. Thing is that same friend often puts in their own car into the garage for repairs. I think the flipping thing only works if you're not putting time and money into them.
Every time a friend has suggested to buy cheap cars and repair them with them, I have shyed away from it because I know they end up money pits and just end up eating up your time with little gain. Thing is that same friend often puts in their own car into the garage for repairs. I think the flipping thing only works if you're not putting time and money into them.
A friend buys and sells football programs, older the more expensive, sends out 40+ a week minimum price £10. Buys them from charity shops and has people sourcing them from all over the country, puts ads in newspapers.
Another buys dinner services, premium brands are sold very quickly. Tea sets are sold to tea and coffee shops.
Another is a carpenter, he has sent up a C and C machine to make wooden train sets, the little pull along sets, They sell for £25 a time, he sells 20 a month and they go all over the world, including China.
Another buys dinner services, premium brands are sold very quickly. Tea sets are sold to tea and coffee shops.
Another is a carpenter, he has sent up a C and C machine to make wooden train sets, the little pull along sets, They sell for £25 a time, he sells 20 a month and they go all over the world, including China.
Petrol lawnmowers, kind of by accident as I wanted to try something different on our decent size but very slopey garden and went through a few in the process. Often picked up decent branded non-runners in otherwise good condition, cleaned them up and got them running nicely after cleaning out the carb in most cases, sharpened the blade up then sold on for a good or very good margin.
Best one was a self-propelled Mountfield with a claimed drive issue. Turned out the sellers simply didn’t understand/had forgotten how it operated - locked up solid when engine wasn’t running like a parking brake, but drove fine with the engine running. Sold on for a good profit a couple of weeks later.
Best one was a self-propelled Mountfield with a claimed drive issue. Turned out the sellers simply didn’t understand/had forgotten how it operated - locked up solid when engine wasn’t running like a parking brake, but drove fine with the engine running. Sold on for a good profit a couple of weeks later.
Friend of ours fills a container with whatever he can get discounted/cheap in China.
Ships it to France. Sells everything - makes a good profit.
As he says, people will buy any old s
t.
Those little battery powered fans, 1,000 cheap plastic spatulas..paddling pools.
Think he does 3 containers (pre-COVID?) these days..
Lives in Singapore. Works in IT, Often buys sight-unseen.
Ships it to France. Sells everything - makes a good profit.
As he says, people will buy any old s
t.Those little battery powered fans, 1,000 cheap plastic spatulas..paddling pools.
Think he does 3 containers (pre-COVID?) these days..
Lives in Singapore. Works in IT, Often buys sight-unseen.
Helped a friend who did a bit of buying and selling a few years ago, he lived on the family farm so had loads of empty storage and vehicles to move anything he bought, he said he enjoyed it and made some cash which went through the business, but wasnt making much, just used the downtime from farming life.
The best he had was buying a container full of kids sledges on the hottest day of the year at an auction, storing them for 18 months until we had a load of snow, sold the lot to a company for a decent profit.
A few other people I know that do something on the side spend hours making a few quid, when they could do the overtime on offer and make more.
The best he had was buying a container full of kids sledges on the hottest day of the year at an auction, storing them for 18 months until we had a load of snow, sold the lot to a company for a decent profit.
A few other people I know that do something on the side spend hours making a few quid, when they could do the overtime on offer and make more.
Cautionary tale, A friend of mine bought container load of clothes(?!) paid for shipping container & shipping etc to Ghana (he is Ghanaian) and basically it was all nicked. Ie goes into customs / goes missing / eventually empty container is located in zone ab788 or wherever. A stitch up obviously, didn’t bribe the right people. He was still paying back the loans some years later.
Edited by CoolHands on Monday 19th October 19:40
CoolHands said:
Cautionary tale, A friend of mine bought container load of clothes(?!) paid for shipping container & shipping etc to Ghana (he is Ghanaian) and basically it was all nicked. Ie goes into customers / goes missing / eventually empty container is located in zone ab788 or wherever. A stitch up obviously, didn’t bribe the right people. He was still paying back the loans some years later.
I'm assuming you mean customs?Used to. Didn't have a specific type of thing I traded in, mostly avoided things that people might trade in specifically - so didn't generally bother with things like watches, models, records, antiques etc.
I made pretty good money at it.
A standout purchase for me which is a bit PH was a Halda rally computer controller (just the bit that goes in the cab).
Bought it from a car boot for a fiver and sold it to a guy in Norway I think for over 500. That was a worthwhile morning. Shame he didn't have the rest of it really!
I made pretty good money at it.
A standout purchase for me which is a bit PH was a Halda rally computer controller (just the bit that goes in the cab).
Bought it from a car boot for a fiver and sold it to a guy in Norway I think for over 500. That was a worthwhile morning. Shame he didn't have the rest of it really!
I've done OK out of buying and selling cars and watches.
Not enough to make a living, nor would I want to make a living from it, but made a few grand here and there.
I buy things privately, at a good price, usually from someone who has written a really bad advert with bad photos etc then I own the car/watch for a while then clean it up and make a really good avert with great pictures, and usually turn a profit.
I only buy things I actually want to own though, so if I get stuck with it, I'm happy to keep it for however long.
I enjoy it.
Having said that, I am becoming more and more reluctant to sell cars, because the world is now seemingly full of absolute nutcases who seem to think that a private sale carries the same warranties and guarantees as buying it from a dealership. I make it very clear to people that I am a private seller and that their 'warranty' runs out the second they leave my driveway, but this hasn't stopped the last couple of buyers coming back to me after a 1 - 2 months or so trying get me to pay for something that has since broken on the car, and even threatening me with solicitors, as has happened to numerous others on PH.
Not enough to make a living, nor would I want to make a living from it, but made a few grand here and there.
I buy things privately, at a good price, usually from someone who has written a really bad advert with bad photos etc then I own the car/watch for a while then clean it up and make a really good avert with great pictures, and usually turn a profit.
I only buy things I actually want to own though, so if I get stuck with it, I'm happy to keep it for however long.
I enjoy it.
Having said that, I am becoming more and more reluctant to sell cars, because the world is now seemingly full of absolute nutcases who seem to think that a private sale carries the same warranties and guarantees as buying it from a dealership. I make it very clear to people that I am a private seller and that their 'warranty' runs out the second they leave my driveway, but this hasn't stopped the last couple of buyers coming back to me after a 1 - 2 months or so trying get me to pay for something that has since broken on the car, and even threatening me with solicitors, as has happened to numerous others on PH.
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