Today's Profit

Well, if one is going to budget and save and the like, it seems that at some point in time, one should learn to make some money. I'd like to offer the suggestion of 'flipping' (that's what we industry types call it, anyway). Simply put, flipping is buying low and selling high. Easy concept with varying degrees of difficulty. Maybe I'm especially inspired today after having experienced a 67% profit on a recent acquisition and resale. I'll walk through the process and see if it might not shed some light on what to look for, timing issues, and applying that business acumen that sometimes comes naturally and sometimes is learned over time.

It started a few weeks ago when a neighbor was having a yard sale. I had waved to him a time or two and talked with him once, but thought it might be a good opportunity to get to know him a bit better. So the kids and I walked over for some chat time with a few shekels in our pockets. We shared a late morning chat and learned about this man's fascinating life. A retired chef, he now does many things to keep himself busy. Among them is his frequenting auctions and sales to find equipment, mostly electronic in nature, only to fix them up and resell them to a growing community of satisfied customers. I became one that day when I purchased a saw from him. I was working on a project that very day which required my cutting some lengths of board for a sqare foot garden we were hoping to enjoy this spring and summer (and hopefully fall too with the three growing seasons here in the Carolinas). A saw seemed the perfect tool for this inexperienced hand. Within hours, I was cranking out results befitting a real handyman. Best three dollars I spent that day.

Fast forward to today. Inspired by his success stories of sales gone by, we tried to organize a community yard sale, which took place this morning. He enthusiastically joined us in both trying to turn a small profit from our, um, stuff, and in reaching out a friendly hand to our fellow neighbors. He made the signs, we posted the free listing online. He spread the word in his circle of influence, we communicated the idea to everybody on the street. After all that, basically the two of us saw a few cars stop by over the course of five beautiful hours. Much fun and excitement (I put the kids in charge of finding 'community yard sale music' that we could play from our house to get people in the mood), and even a sale every now and then. Met a few more people and freed up some of our cramped storage space. But then he came.

He looked like a bit more of a handyman than me, but then that's not saying much. A young twenty-something lad in a well-used small car hopped out by himself and started investigating our, um, stuff. He poked around a bit at my daughter's jewelry box filled with fifty cent wonders. He passed on all of it. But as he was turning to go, that same saw caught his eye as it sat on the blue oil-stained tarp in the middle of the yard. He kept clicking the, the, ...the sawing button, as if he was testing to see if it would work. Now I might be lean on useful knowledge, but occassionally I learn a little from experience. So I used the same lines as my neighbor did with me weeks prior. "It works", I said. "May need a new blade and a little re-wiring", I continued. By now I had broken key sales rules I learned in the telemarketing trade from my past. "Whoever talks first loses". Ooops. I had uttered three or four sentences before he grunted something about a plug in. Outlet, here we come. We walk over to the power source by the front door and I proceed to finagle what's left of the cord into the socket. A quick silent prayer regarding fire safety is tossed up and then I am in the midst of watching a test drive of this tool (a man's tool...no, a man's man's tool). I calmly assent as he reaches for his wallet. He starts pulling out ones and I start planning my dickering response. One, two...three (the investment is now covered)...four, five (bingo, we hit the asking price!). He turned away quickly to go, so I couldn't actually see the look of satisfaction in his face. But I am sure by now, he has completed a project for the afternoon, smelled the same wire-burning odor as did I just weeks ago, and stored it somewhere to remind him to pass it along to the next guy. If that is you, beware. Yes, the saw does work. And it could greatly improve with just a new blade and some re-wiring. But trust me, it's a three dollar saw. Five tops. But this guy might be wanting to flip it for a profit.