A $32,000 Flea Market Find

A $32,000 Flea Market Find

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Today we’re going to talk about our first buy of 2023 —a $32,000 find! We are one week into the new year and this is an amazing find that we are stoked about. The $32,000 estimate is on the conservative side of what we should make on this flip. 

The other day Melissa walked in on me taking pictures of an item that I had picked up. It was an ambulance stretcher. 

A $32,000 Flea Market Find

Negotiations Are Part Of Reselling

One of my contacts from the flea market had messaged me a picture that he had three hospital or ambulance stretchers on a trailer. I asked him how much he wanted and he started with a high number like he always does because he knows we negotiate back and forth. He told me he had a lot and to come look at them. We ended up getting 12 hospital ambulance stretchers.

One key point is that when you buy in bulk you can get a better deal on an item. That is what I did; I negotiated to buy them all from him. I was trying not to show my excitement about them because I knew what they were worth. He originally said he wanted $500 per stretcher and I fired back $2,000 for all. Then from there we ended up at $2,500 for all the stretchers plus a few other items like a wheelchair lift and two oxygen manifolds.

We know each other pretty well and we have done deals together before. The best part about the whole deal is I rushed over to him and I only had $120 in my wallet. I got him to take the $120 and give me one of the stretchers I could take with me. I told him I would pay him $400 the next day and then I’d give him the remainder of the money, the $2,000 balance, in another week. 

He went back and forth with me, but we agreed. At the end of the night I took home the stretcher and got it listed for $3,400 on eBay. I actually had an offer for $2,300 within the first six hours, but it was a little low for me and I countered with $3,000 but the guy didn’t take it. I was hoping to make the money for the rest of the stretchers with the sale of the first one.

A $32,000 Flea Market Find

Relationships Are Important

This transaction proves one of the biggest tips we can give you for this business, which is to create relationships. We’ve talked about this before because it is so important in this business and life. It has to be a two-sided beneficial relationship. You can’t go into it thinking, I need to create relationships to be successful in my business because I have to do this. Both sides have to benefit. 

I have spent thousands of dollars with this contact and he has also made me a lot of money. This contact is a scrapper and he gets this stuff for free or pennies. He gets a lot of commercial items and if he can’t sell them he takes them to the scrapyard. If he had taken these to the scrapyard he would’ve made $15 to $20 each. Instead, he made $2,200 for the stretchers and few hundred for the extra items.

We figured out it was $183 per stretcher, $200 for the wheelchair lift, and $50 each for the oxygen manifold.

His business model is quick. He gets items and sells it within 24 hours or turns it over to the scrapyard. 

For me, I will make more, but I also have to hang onto it for longer. It might take me a year to make that $32,000. He was getting his money at that moment, walking away with $2,500. So it was mutually beneficial.

I also have to spend time listing the item, packaging it, and shipping it. Now, I will be able to list the item in multiples since there are two types of stretchers. 

How To Build Relationships

To build relationships it’s important to tell people what you do. Let them know you buy and resell items. Seven years ago when we jumped into this full-time, I used to be very consistent at the flea market every weekend so the vendors got to know me. Eventually we exchanged contact info and now they text me about items they think I’ll like before they even take them to the flea market. Go to some of the same thrift stores, flea markets, and auctions. See the same managers and vendors and be nice to them and start conversations. 

With this vendor when I started seeing him over and over at the flea market, and realized he had commercial items, I got his phone number and asked if he had anything I was looking for. Slowly we built that relationship.

We even built a relationship with a Lowe’s manager who would get scratched and dented items and price it down, and would then negotiate with me. 

It’s just one of those things where you really have to be consistent. Wherever you’re going, whatever you’re doing, be consistent and you’ll start to see those people to be able to create the relationships and the contacts that you need to.

With this listing our contact made money and we will too, so it was a win-win. The first find of 2023 is in the books. We’ll let you know how it goes!

Show Notes

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Robert Stephenson

I grew up in Central Florida and have lived here my whole life. I first got into buying and selling items when I was 16 years old, and have been hooked ever since. It has mostly been a hobby that makes some extra cash, but sometimes it serves as my main income as well. I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I find too many fun toys for my family (or myself), and just love the whole process.

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