I'd watch CL for things like Pack Rat tool boxes, weatherguard truck boxes etc, that are selling cheaply.

Buy them, sit on them for a bit, clean them up and double your money.... Can do it pretty consistently if you get a good feel for the market and buy in right...

A good description, with proper pictures and you can get a higher price.

sell/grow drugs. ROI is amazing. cost+benefit/risk is also high. i have a friend that grew for 3 years during college and bought a 350k house in cash after landing his first official job

Oh yea, this.

Storage wars??? Back before I retired, a lady I worked with had a lady friend that bought storage units & sold the stuff as her means of making a living. Said she made about $60K a year doing it. It might be a bit more competetive now days, and it definitely does take time to deal with it. Since you have a job & you're going to school, you'll need to try to find something time efficient.

I enjoy reading your replies. Thanks for considering this. I think "flipping" what I know is the best way for me right now. I'm on the hunt for wheels, or other oem parts that people sell cheaply locally, that I can put on eBay or craigslist...it'll happen. Watching the pawn shops is a new one that I hadn't considered much. Might need to add that to the routine.

The best I could do was recently buying a $100 Datsun Z, and parting it out for $400 and was still able to keep all the valueable parts I need for my own car (rear end, trim, some interior etc etc).

pawn shops are a thing-
go to them often, take mental notes on what does not sell fast or is priced too high.
over time they will drop the price, or be open to a deep discount price just to move it-

i had my eye on a snap on rolling tool box with a top box in one of the local shops original price was 900-
i waited three weeks and checked on it over that time then walked in and offered 350- they looked up what they paid and how long it had sat there and took my offer-

deals can be had-

I subscribe to the fact that the "right" buyer exists for whatever you have. Sometimes it takes legwork to get your stuff to that person, but usually you can make money if you see a deal, and can wait long enough for the right person to track you down.

I think sticking to what you know is a good start, but you won't get a the kind of ROI you are looking for by fixing up and selling junk cars.

Once you build up a little more $$ by flipping cars, I'd say your best bet would be to dabble in the stock market, IMHO. Become a day trader, and see if you can make some quick profits. You would have to take some risks, but only invest 75% of the money you have -- and that way you have something to fall back on. Stick with stocks that are volitile - avoid the blue chips. You may loose your $$, but you can cash in big time too.

This is a very interesting idea -- I may do something like this myself...

-Z

I just want to really track my earnings/losses for a year and see what I can do. I also want to try new things. I am always hunting for a good deal, and flipping junk cars has just come naturally to me because there are always so many cheap broken VWs sitting around, lol.

I'm not out to make a ton of cash, but watching a very small investment of money grow will be a fun venture for 2012. I have nothing to lose except $200...I have been looking for an excuse to get into day trading. Perhaps this is it.

Facebook IPO is around the corner. Just a thought...

-Z

I wish I had pumy money into Ford a couple years ago. My father bought a significant amount of stock at about $2.00 a share or so, and walked away with a decent check. You know what they say about hindsight...

It may very well be the best, cheapest $200 dollar lesson you'll ever learn. I wish you the best, but the only market "timing" I can do, is that it opens at 9:30 and closes at 4:00. I've done well over decades of investing (not gambling) and I've hit a few grand-slams (and much better), but I've also gone down swinging on a few I was cocky-sure about too :). Diversify so a strikeout doesn't put you out of the game. There are exceptions to everything and YMMV...

ps: Remember this: You can "double down" for "infinity -1" and win every time, then 1 loss will find yourself broke...don't be greedy :).

Alright progress report....this thread is going to be my own personal motivation to keep this up. So far for the year I am at a positive. I found a local deal on some rare parts that the guy just wanted out of his shed.

I started with a $250 investment in those rare parts. I turned around and sold those parts to someone who could use them for $500 (which was still a great deal for them!).

I am up $250.

I also have sold some old tires that were kicking around the house for $80, and I sold a non-working dishwasher for parts for $40.

I am at $370 profit for the year plus the initial $250 back, so the account is at $620, and it is only January 12, 2012.

I am hoping I can keep up this pace because I would love to end the year with about $5000 in my pocket in order to clear some unsecured debt before I leave Grad School. I now have enough play money in the account to begin looking for junk cars to either part out or fix and sell. Turning this $620 into $1000 shouldn't be too hard...the hardest part is waiting for the right car to pop up for sale locally. I find January and February to be good months for people getting rid of their junk because they want to make up for Christmas spending...

Need to watch for that next deal. Updates soon.

Hmm - is that a legit part of the agreement with your friend? The tires and dishwasher were not based on the original $200 agreement, were they? Or, was the agreement "Start with $200, and whatever you have in your possession, and go from there..." ??

Also - where'd the extra $50 come from ($250 for the rare parts in the shed) ?!?

(Must be that new math they're teaching in grad school these days.... ;) )

Just tryin' to keep you honest,
-Z

Develop the skill of this guy...turn a $200 entry fee into $10,000. He does it all the time...nets about $250K per year playing pool.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1326390501.jpg

I wish I could play pool, poker, basketball, or any other sport. If someone would pay me $250k a year for grant and program administration for local governments, then I would be set. I have that skill set locked down, haha.


Z-Man -- Lol! You are very good at focusing on the details. The dishwasher and tires aren't part of the deal, but I am keeping a spreadsheet of everything I sell this year (while keeping the challenge portion separate)

We decided to up it to $250 based on the fact that I found the first good deal, and we were both struggling to find a good deal at $200 that would net any profits. He found a set of wheels and tires for $250 that he stripped the tires off of and sold the tires and wheels separately...so we are about even at this point, lol.

This is really just an excersise in tracking and saving my efforts this year. I have been doing this piece-meal for years now, but I wanted to sit down and actually see what the end result could be.

I love that you are already pinning me down though. Keep me honest. :)

For me, it's finding Gibson Les Pauls and SG's on Craigslist and reselling them. I've made $400 on guitars by doing nothing. Gotta know what your looking for.

I once read a book called "How I turned a Million in Real Estate into 25 dollars in cash". I can loan it to you if you think it will help...

yard sales are the best deals

then craigslist esp moving sales

then fleamarkets esp just before rain !!!!!!!!!!

then church run junk shops

local pawnn brokers are nuts on prices
or want you to dicker too much too long too hard to get a deal

goodwill has very very little and far tooo many stores everywhere