New unit won today

I guess maybe I should revisit the fleas but I have heard that up north and in CA they are allot stronger than in FL??  

Yep, I bet there are regional differences. In my area there are 4 flea markets and some of them run during the week, not just on weekends. Fifty miles away in either direction there are more fleas. It is big business here.

Forgot to mention the flea at Alameda near San Francisco. I think a spot there is now $125 for the day.

I guess everybody uses their own method.  I had a booth at the flea market last year, and it was okay, but I did not feel like it was worth my time.  My best and most consistent outlet is craigslist, followed by a couple of thrift stores I sell directly to (I don't generally consign).  Then lot's of stuff goes to individual buyers that take certain items (baseball cards, jewelry, lawnmowers, books, etc).  Lot's of stuff goes to the local auction house (I've found that the "shows" have also affected the local auction houses.  Shows like "Auction Kings" has everybody heading there too, so if you are looking for a deal, it's not the best place to go, but if you are selling stuff, you generally are getting top dollar right now).  Some stuff still goes on eBay, although that is one of my last resorts now........they have given all the power over to the buyers and they don't want the small guy there anyway.  Then, there are also the garage/estate sales.  I've had some good ones, but lately I have been doing so well with my thrift shops and everything else that I'm not letting all the stuff build up for a good sale, so I probably won't be doing as many of those as I used to.

Oh yeah, and TreasureHawk, keep in mind that while the "home runs" are harder to get, there's a lot of money to be made on the "bread and butter" units that a lot of guys overlook.  High quality stuff can be hard to find.  Also, a lot of the high quality stuff can be hidden.  I've had more than one unit I thought was going to turn out to be garbage, but once I dug into it, there was a lot of good stuff in the back.  I just had one recently where they made a little cubby hole in the back of the unit.  They had two sofas set up on end and a TV and stand blocking everything else.  I ended up with a really nice Queen bedroom set with a sleigh bed, matching dresser with mirror, and a night stand.  Also had a washer and dryer and a lawnmower hidden back there.  Ended up doing really well on that one, but it did not look that good from the front (I bought it because I was pretty sure something was back there, most of these people wouldn't set there stuff up like that unless they were trying to hide something).   

I have to agree with Teacher ebay is last and most expensive. CL wprks and you have to build relationships with used book stores, thrift and consignment shops, picture frame shops and I even have an antique dealer that I work with on the rare real antique find. I haven't tried auction houses ye but it's on my list. In Atlanta we have some flea markets but overall they are very low end selling lots of cheap knock offs so I seldom sell there. Teacher or anybody, do you have an actual ebay store or do you just list on ebay. I put up a basic store which saves on fees but it costs 15.95 a month. I've also started a store on the free site    webstore.com but they don't have enough exposure yet to be real viable.

Partial quote from post above:

I guess everybody uses their own method........  Oh yeah, and TreasureHawk, keep in mind that while the "home runs" are harder to get, there's a lot of money to be made on the "bread and butter" units that a lot of guys overlook.  High quality stuff can be hard to find. 

These two statements are accurate in my opinion.

For me the flea and eBay are the top two choices because of the kind of things I sell. YOUR RESULTS MAY BE DIFFERENT.

I sell collectibles, better tools, camping gear (in season), electronics, computers, etc at both the flea and on eBay. I also sell this stuff on Craigslist. I haven't done ANY business with thrift stores, but I have sold some stuff to music and sporting goods re-seller stores.

When I get ordinary household stuff like dishes, pots, shoes, etc I will pick out the best and either sell off the rest to flea market sellers who sell at lower end markets, or I will just give it to Goodwill.

I have power seller and top rated seller status on eBay and that gives me a 20% discount on fees.
I have never seen the advantage of having an eBay store.  eBAy works for me it may not work for some people.  I do know that I would never have gotten $81 for a plastic gun case and the manual  that went with it on clist or at the flea.

This is where experience comes into play.

Buying lockers is all about making money on most things in there, i don't care how much or where i make it, as long as i make money on most things.

When i inventory lockers and plan the sale, because you have to have a plan on how to sell. I put a price on everything, even things you might think is "dump material" many times have i been suprised by just put an add on craigslist for something i normally would have taken to the dump. And 2 or 3 days later someone picks it up for between 5 and 20 bucks.  Last year i sold " dump material" on craigslist for close to 500 dollars.

Another thing i have seen and experienced, is that, it isen't what i see that makes me my money, every time it is what i don't see in the units that brings me the profit and return i want.  So by just bidding on what you see is limiting. But it is your referance, something to put a value on your locker and to set a bid cap.

Just remember this:

1. What you see should be your guide to how much you want to bid and what the locker is worth. This is also what will bring your investment back +  a minimum profit of X2 your investment.

2. What you don't see is what can bring you the extra profit and high turnover. This is where you can score bigger and many times  X3 or X5 or even X10 your investment.

3. Knowing how to create an profit from anything, and you can if you want to, and put some effort into making good money on most things. You just have to be creative and willing to work.

There is a few unwritten rules to this business, and if you follow them and at the same time are beeing creative, then you will be making money, good money.

Hey....all very good suggestions and really well thought out responses by everyone in this thread

Now this forum is cooking with gas!  haha

Oh, and by the way....I POPPED MY CHERRY Today.... I found out (just by it occurring) that most all the bidders on this circuit are only interested in "Individual" or residential type units

They roll up the door on one and it is an entire Real Estate companies offices...HON filing cabinets...nice desks...office chairs...and it is ONLY me and one other guy bidding.....I got the unit for $160

We move to the next facility and the same thing happens door goes up only this time it was an absolute metric ton of office furniture...I could see at least 4 executive desks and about 6 or 7 HON filing cabinets...plus like 300 dollar huge commercial silk trees, artwork ....both packed full

this crowd seemed not to know how to process the business stuff...and me and the guy go at it again...win that one for $300...

When doing the paperwork...I see that the tenant was Hannah Barlottea Homes....who is a well known, very high end custom home builder here in town.....  this unit was so full to the brim I couldn't even get in it at all to see everything...but based on HB Homes and the mansions they build...I bet it will all be sweet!

I know most businesses are going out of business and not into business but over the years, I have always done REALLY well with nicer quality office furniture....especially HON filing cabinets.....Craigslist has a ton of surfers in the business (goods) for sale section and everything will sell there....for a price

I can't imagine not at least doubling my money on these 2 units as they are both full and clean...

Now I just need to move this ton of stuff to my place and the fun begins....one filing cabinet and one of the desks are already presold to guys I know so looks like I'm in the business for a while anyway...haha

Just really strange that this entire crowd would go to war with one another over old TVs and dirty rugs and bit those units up to 600 or 700 but walk away cold from high end office stuff....bizzare  haha
  

Just really strange that this entire crowd would go to war with one another over old TVs and dirty rugs and bit those units up to 600 or 700 but walk away cold from high end office stuff....bizzare  haha
  

First of all congrats on getting some lockers...yesterday you were ready to quit !

As to the office furniture, either they didn't want to do the work (or didn't have truck and manpower) OR maybe it's like it is in my area....almost all of us pass on it. It's a glut on the market here where business furn is plentiful.

I saw an architect unit with really nice industrial shelving that I would have liked, an old plotter, etc. (boxes of old douments and plans) I would have liked it (for the shelving mainly) at around $275 and let it go at $300. I saw the guy put the plotter on eBay and it didn't sell at the $200 he was asking. He hasn't been back to an auction since (been 8 weeks since he got it) and he hasn't had another item on eBay. Guess he is on vacation.

Meanwhile let us know how it goes.

Yea...there is a glut on plenty of things in a down market but even if I sell the $400 filing cabinets for $40 each I will make my money back. Plenty of peeps with home offices need filing cabinets

that is the bulk of what this stuff is.....just have a gut feeling about this ****...It's what I know

I plan on going out and buying more next week for 2 or 3 days of tours...I'm not afraid to have to hold some inventory...It's gonna take allot more the $460 worth of inventory to make any decent bank ...haha

We do pretty good with the Hon stuff up here.  Desks usually do pretty good too.  I imagine you will do okay on these first purchases.  Get some pictures and get it listed!

We do pretty good with the Hon stuff up here.  Desks usually do pretty good too.  I imagine you will do okay on these first purchases.  Get some pictures and get it listed!

No shnit...haha  I gotta move it all to photo is as somehow, both of these units are packed like Jenga cubes
I couldn't even climb in them and look around when I was all lathered up with the "buy high" to survey all the crap...LOL

Yeah, I know the feeling.  I still get it on every purchase, even 8 years later.  It's like getting a good winning hand in Blackjack.......usually.  Sometimes there's a little "buyers remorse"!  LOL

Yeah, I know the feeling.  I still get it on every purchase, even 8 years later.  It's like getting a good winning hand in Blackjack.......usually.  Sometimes there's a little "buyers remorse"!  LOL

I hear ya....   I would probably be more prone to buyers remorse on the higher dollar units....I saw a sweet one go for over $1900 but there needs to be lots of goodies at that number to double your cash....

It is just human nature to want to second guess your decision making ex post facto..haha  but the high is fun...it can be addicting....I can see that for sure....