We do an annual picking road trip and we’re going to share some updates about this year’s trip.
We had something sell right before we got on the road, so we’re going to talk about what we did. Well, someone reached out and said they wanted to buy the pump organ we had listed on eBay. I reached back out to them and asked where they were located. This was the day before I left and I didn’t have time to ship it out. I said I could deliver it to them on the trip if they were on our route. Sure enough, they were only 30 minutes off of our route, so I loaded the pump organ in the trailer and delivered it to the buyer on day three of the trip. We paid $30 for the item and sold it for $900 and we delivered it.
He had a really cool story too, which is something you don’t always hear when selling on eBay. He saw this organ and it was the same one his grandmother had and he knew how to play, so it was sentimental to him.
It’s always great when you can make a little extra cash when you’re going on a road trip. It gave us some gas money and we also took that cash and turned it into a competition for our kids.
Kids Flipping Competition
Our idea was to give each kid $100 to purchase items at stops along the way, picking up items they want to flip when we get home. They each have a bucket in the trailer to fill with items. We’re going to stop at more thrift stores than we normally do so they can look for items. Then when we get home we’ll do an auction and sell the items to see who can make the most money.
It’s going to be a little fun game with the kids to get them more involved in picking, but it’s not going to be big items.
Some days you might need to make flipping a competition for yourself or with other flippers. We often do listing challenges to motivate ourselves to get more items listed.
Hawaii Detour
This is our fourth year doing the picking road trip, but this year we added a new component. We are doing a cruise to Hawaii with our kids, and exploring different islands. We’re hitting the thrift stores over here trying to find small items, and also taking time to explore with a Jeep we rented. We’re planning to check out Hawaii’s national parks too. If we don’t find anything to flip in Hawaii, that’s okay because we’re still driving back across the country.
We try to find items to flip that can pay for the trip. When sourcing on the road we look at OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace.
Last year’s road trip we ended up spending $1,020 on 17 items, valued at approximately $32,000. We’ve sold $23,000 to date (8 items), but we still have a few items to list. Last year we picked up a NordicTrack for free and sold that for $350. We sold the Solo Flex for $400, which was also a freebie. We picked up some cells for $10 each and sold them for $150. We had a double oven that we picked for $100 and sold for $2,000 in 24 hours. We sold a JennAir cooktop for $1,750 and got that for $100 too. We also had the two TurboChef ovens that we picked for $400 each and sold for $8,500 and $10,000.
We noticed we gravitated more toward appliances on our last road trip with it being 80-90% of our purchases. We’ll see what we find this year!
Take Breaks From Your Business
We planned for our summer trip because we knew a break was good for us. You might need a break too. In the United States, we are working all the time. But it’s important to take time to reset and recharge so you can come back refreshed and with more energy.
Even though we’re working a little bit on the trip, we are also enjoying our time together. If you have not done a little getaway, try to make time for that, even if it’s just a day or two. You will be ready to get back to business when you get back.
Show Notes
Appliance Flipping Course: http://applianceflipping.com/
Pay For A 16-Day Hawaiian Cruise With One eBay Sale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K-WwC0qI-s
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fleamrktflipper/
You can find us at: https://fleamarketflipper.com/
FURTHER RESOURCES
Let Us Find High Profit Items FOR You!
FREE Workshop How To Turn Your Passion of Flipping Items Into A Profitable Reselling Business
Download These 47 Household Items To Resell TODAY!
