Let’s talk about the flips that almost didn’t happen.
One that really stuck out was one of our first bigger flips when we went full-time 10 years ago.
The item was a parking lot security tower from a local auction. I was able to do some research on it before I actually bid on it. The biggest reason why it almost didn’t happen was that Melissa didn’t want me to buy it. It was for good reason though because it was more money than we had ever spent on a single flip before.
I realized what the profit potential, what the margins could be on this. I think I sold it for less than I could’ve got, but even at what we sold it for, we had a great profit. We spent $5,000 on this item. It was hard to find eBay comps because nobody was selling this item. The retail price on this item was around $150,000. I knew if I could buy it for under $10,000, that I could make some real profit. I ended up buying the tower for $5,000 and flipped it for $25,000. It was definitely our highest flip that we have sold on eBay.
Our comfort zone for purchasing items is usually $50-$100 per item. But this one was a lot more and it worked out.
Other Flips that Almost Didn’t Happen
Another item we almost didn’t flip was the bulk jet skis. I bought those for $3,500. We used them on the lakes and had some fun. Then we turned around and sold them for $17,500.
It was a great deal that we were able to get those and sell them. That was another one that Melissa was nervous about.
One of the last big flips I did was a $1,000 item that we sold for $15,000. That was an oven. We bought it out of town when we were at a conference. The seller initially wanted $1,200 but we got him down to $1,000 and it sold within 30-45 days. We went to another conference and shipped it out while there.
That person was so happy and excited. She texted me a couple months afterwards and said, “Thank you so much. Most stuff on eBay is crap, but you’re a great seller and we greatly appreciate it.” She was happy with the unit and asked if we had another one. If she had purchased that item new, she would’ve paid $30,000-$40,000 and instead she got it for $15,000. The store made $1,000 from us because they were only selling it in the local market, we made money, and the buyer saved money.
Parting Out Flips
Another example of flips we almost didn’t do was the Sleep Number beds. I had to go from the delivery room right after our daughter was born to pick up 20 of the 60 kingsized Sleep Number beds. We spent $3,600 on them and sold them for between $30,000-$40,000. We ended up parting them down and doubled the money by parting them out.
With the majority of huge flips I’ve done, there has been hesitation. We have a great relationship though, and Melissa knows I’m not gambling money. I always know I can make my money back at least by parting an item out if I have to.
What we do with the high profit flips isn’t risky. It’s more of an investment. We know it will be tied up for a little bit until the item sells, but then we will 10x our profit.
That’s why we’ve stuck to this business model because it makes the most sense to us and maximizes the time that we have.
Show Notes
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FURTHER RESOURCES
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