We recently traveled to a mastermind in Boise, Idaho and while there, we found an amazing flip inside a thrift store with a great ROI. Today we’re going to share the one skill that helps us get 1,000-2,000% ROI (return on investment) on our flips.
I walked into this thrift store and was looking at all of the electrical items , doors, toilets, sinks, and other stuff like that. Then I moved to the back of the warehouse and saw a tall freezer looking thing on a pallet in the back and asked if it was for sale. It was a steam oven, brand new, with the plastic wrap on. It even had the installation kit on top of it in a box never used. I knew these were expensive, and I asked the guy how much it was. He said $1,700, but he’d take $1,500. Right off the bat when he said that, I said, “If you can go to $1,000, I’ll pick it up tomorrow.” And he said, “Sold! If you pick it up tomorrow, I’ll take $1,000 for it.”
My friend who was with me asked how I got the manager to do that, so let’s talk about it.
Research and Negotiation
I did a little bit of research before I went up and negotiated the price. I looked at the used ones on eBay and saw they were selling for upwards of $5,000. I knew I could make my money back and some extra since this was new. Then when I started looking up new ones, they were priced between $30,000 to $43,000, so I knew we’d be able to get some really good money.
For ROI, we are trying to 10x our investment. We aim to sell items typically at 50% of retail price. We listed this for $19,997 and only invested $1,060 into it (with taxes). But right off the bat, I was able to reduce the item price down from $1,700 simply by asking and then using the skill of negotiation. I saved almost half of what they were actually asking.
When you’re selling items you have to be willing to negotiate too. If I want to sell this, I can negotiate $10,000 down if I want and still 10x my profit because I got such a great price on the buy. I’ve had it listed a week and had a couple of watchers on it and I sent out some offers because that’s how I negotiate.
Why Do We Get These Deals With High ROI?
Why does negotiation work? Why would anybody donate something with this ROI to a thrift store? The thrift store probably had it for a while because it takes the right kind of person to buy this item since it was in a smaller market. We like to bring these items to the large market on eBay and ship them because that’s where the profit is.
I believe this item was donated to the thrift store because it had a small dent in the side. It was already strapped to a pallet and once it was installed, you wouldn’t see the dent. It was cosmetic. The only thing I can think is that maybe something fell on it and it got dented; they couldn’t sell it as new. For me, I just pulled three screws out, laid it on the side, tapped out the dent, and now you can’t see it. I always note there are scratches and scuffs on items when I list it along with the proper expectations.
Why is negotiation important? It can cut your cost of goods significantly, allowing for you to have better profit margins. Once you really practice negotiation, it becomes kind of a game. You can do a lot of negotiation online before you even meet people in person
Do you negotiate? Does it make you uncomfortable? Are you amazing at it? Do you enjoy it? Let us know!
Show Notes
Live Workshop: https://learn.fleamarketflipper.com/reseller-jumpstart-workshop
Check out our free training: https://learn.fleamarketflipper.com/flipping-workshop-new–0b9f0
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fleamrktflipper/
FURTHER RESOURCES
FREE Workshop How To Turn Your Passion of Flipping Items Into A Profitable Reselling Business
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