How We Flipped A Chair From The Trash Into $57,050! (So Far…)
We just hit the 2-month mark for the 2019 flipping challenge! So we thought it was time for an update.
For those who may be new to Flea Market Flipper, we started a flipping challenge at the beginning of the year for ourselves and open to anyone to join in.
The stipulations are to start with one item that is $20 or less, then sell that item and reinvest the money into another item or items. Then sell those items and reinvest the money again.
The goal is to see how far you can get by the end of the year.
That could mean extra bonus money for Christmas.
It could mean an extra savings account for your family.
Maybe by the end of the year you decide to take that vacation you have been dreaming about.
Or maybe you decide to pay off all your debt in one sweep.
Whatever it is, how amazing would it be to have that extra money at the end of the year?!
So far we have $57,050 in inventory – all purchased from money made from a chair we found in the trash! We will jump into that in just a bit.
We decided to take the flipping challenge serious this year. And in doing so we decided to make some pretty audacious goals (and post about them which holds us accountable!). By the end of 2019 we want to buy a house with our profits!
We want to purchase an investment property from profits that came from a chair we found in the trash!
How cool would that be?!
Since we don’t have a 401K, our retirement plan has always been property investment. In the past few years we have gotten a little behind on our goal of 10 properties (we had 3 then sold one, so now we are down to 2), so this will help us grow our retirement funds in the long run, while also providing housing for someone in our area.
We estimate we would need $100,000 – $150,000 to buy an investment property in our area. So our goal is $125,000 in inventory by this summer – and turn all the inventory into cash by November.
Inventory Goal
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So now it’s time to get to work to keep this challenge moving along.
It’s no secret that one of my struggles is getting items listed in a timely manner. Finding items to buy is such a thrill to me, and of course selling them is as well. The part in the middle where you have to take pictures and list them is just the work that goes along with it and has to be done. It’s the part I sometimes procrastinate with.
But not for this challenge! We made a big goal and I think it will be completely doable as long as I keep moving items. 🙂
Flipping Challenge Flips
Here is the timeline of flips for this challenge. So far we have sold 6 items in the challenge for a total of $4,350 in sales and $2,993 in profits!
This was the chair that started it all. We saw it on the side of the road during one of our evening walks, and went back to pick it up.
It needed a small repair (a piece of wood underneath was cracked so I repaired it), but once I repaired it and made it sturdy again, we sold it on Facebook Marketplace for $50.
Then we took that $50 and bought two exercise bikes.
One was an Schwinn Airdyne exercise bike that we bought for $15 we sold on eBay for $500!
The other was a Life Fitness bike we also bought on OfferUp for $30 and also sold for $500.
With the money from those I purchased a Murphy bed from one of the flea market vendors for $175. We sold it on eBay for $1,100!
With some of the profits we purchased this medical vest from the flea market for $35. It sold on eBay in about a week for $1,600!
The same day the vest sold we also sold this Oxygen Machine. We picked it up for $35 at the flea market and sold it for $600 on eBay.
Breakdown of Profits
Chair
Picked for: $0
Sold for: $50
eBay and Paypal fees:$0
Shipping costs: $0
Total Profit $50
Airdyne Bike
Picked for: $15
Sold for: $500
eBay and Paypal fees: $65
Shipping costs: $125
Total Profit $295
Lifefitness Bike
Picked for: $30
Sold for: $500
Parts purchased: $28
eBay and Paypal fees: $65
Shipping costs: $190
Total Profit: $187
Murphy Bed
Picked for: $175
Sold for: $1,100
eBay and Paypal fees: $143
Shipping costs: $80
Total Profit $702
Medical Vest
Picked for: $35
Sold for: $1,600
eBay and Paypal fees: $208
Shipping costs: $40
Total Profit: $1,317
Oxygen Generator
Picked for: $35
Sold for: $600
eBay and Paypal fees: $78
Shipping costs: $45
Total Profit $442
Total Invested: $290, Total Sales: $4,350 Total Profits: $2,993
Now comes the really fun part – spending the profits to make even more! 🙂
In addition to going to the flea market and scrolling through reselling apps, I decided to hop online and check out a local auction to see if there might be anything worthwhile.
And I think it’s safe to say there was a lot of things that were worth looking at!
The auction house is about 45 minutes away from our house so I drove over there to look at some of the items before the bidding started that night. I picked out several items that had good potential for flips and made notes to myself of how high I was going to bid.
Then the auction began.
All online auctions do things a little different, and this one allows an extra 5 minutes once the highest bid is placed to give a chance to bid it up more. That’s a nerve-wracking 5 minutes when you have the highest bid!
I may have gotten a little trigger happy – I ended up spending $1,884 in the 20 minutes sitting at my computer! Ha.
I don’t usually spend that large of an amount at one time, but we needed to spend it to keep the challenge rolling! 🙂
Here is a video we posted last week on all our auction finds:
Breakdown of Inventory
At this time this is the inventory we have accumulated from the money in the challenge as of February 28, 2019:
Railroad Jack – Picked for $20, Listed for: $350
Railroad Jack – Picked for $20, Listed for: $350
Paint Sprayer – Picked for $30, Should Listed for: $2,000
Commercial Air Compressors – Picked for $166.66, Listed for: $8,000
Commercial Air Compressors – Picked for $166.67, Listed for: $6,000
Commercial Air Compressors – Picked for $166.67, Listed for: $6,000
Cooktop – Picked for $165, Listed for: $1,500
Cooktop – Picked for $45, Listed for: $800
Hood – Picked for $60, Listed for: $1,000
Cooktop – Picked for $58, Listed for: $550
Camping Stove – Picked for $5, Listed for: $500
Stand-on Ride On Floor Scrubber – Picked for $255, Listed for: $3,500
Stand-on Ride On Floor Scrubber – Picked for $397, Listed for: $5,000
Sit-down Ride On Floor Scrubber – Picked for $617, Listed for: $10,000
Walk Behind Floor Scrubber – Picked for $60, Listed for: $2,500
Vulcan Commercial Steamer – Picked for $245, Listed for: $3,000
Market Forge Commercial Steamer – Picked for $186, Listed for: $3,000
Buffer – Picked for $16, Listed for: $750
Buffer – Picked for $16, Listed for: $750
Buffer – Picked for $17, Listed for: $300
Commercial Ice Maker Parts – Picked for $29, Listed for: $500
Boat Air Conditioner – Picked for $29, Listed for: $500
Commercial Wet Vac – Picked for $17, Listed for: $200
That is a total of $2,787 spent on items, for $57,050 in listed inventory!
Whoa. I actually had no idea we were up to that much until we listed it all out here. And guess what that also means – I still have $206 left to spend!! 🙂
Our goal for the challenge is to get to $100,000 in inventory by July so we can be sure it all sells by the end of the year. Then buy an investment property with the cash.
Since we aren’t letting ourselves touch the money for any other purpose than the challenge, it’s like it’s own separate savings account!
It’s still early in the year and we would love to have you join us in this challenge!
Here are the challenge rules:
✔️ Start with an item that is $25 or less and flip it
✔️ Keep re-investing the money it items to flip
✔️ Keep selling your items
✔️ Tally up your profits by the end of the year
And that’s it! It’s that simple!
What could you turn $25 (or less) into in the next 10 months?
Join the challenge and keep us updated on your progress! (This will also add you to our flea market flips and eBay tip updates. You can unsubscribe anytime).
Don’t forget to check out the top 5 reselling mistakes that could be costing you money!
And if you are ready to jump into this flipping thing for a serious side income or more, then check out our FREE Intro Workshop to get started the right way!
We want to hear from you!
Are you a veteran flipper or new reseller who wants to get started? Comment below!
Related posts
What We Flipped To Make $12,200 in One Week Of Flipping Flea Market Items
How To Use OfferUp To Find Items To Resell
Resources
Beginner’s Guide To Selling On eBay
Of course, you are paying taxes on your profits?
Every year
How do you know what something might sell for??
We check eBay completed listings and Google. 🙂
Wait, how’d you sell one medical vest for $1000? I’d be interested in any proof!
I don’t think I can post screen shots in a comment. Here is one we posted on Facebook. 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/fleamarketflipper/photos/a.829737213806288/2049580755155255/