Set a Goal - The $2000 Challenge

I started this blog about a month ago and I have made about $260 profit along with two pairs of shoes that I'm still trying to sell. I want to set a reasonable goal for myself. In six months, I want to make $2000 in profit. That's about $333.33 a month. I set this amount based on what I made this month and I hope to surpass that amount every month. It's a challenging, but reasonable goal.

It's always good to set a goal to push yourself.


Summary:
Target goal by the end of six months: $2000 profit

Fastest Turn-Around Time - Sold iPhone 4

So I bought an iPhone 4 this morning for $120, and I sold it a few minutes ago for $200 through Craigslist. These are one of those rare occasions where everything just went perfectly.


Sprint iPhone 4 Black 8GB
Sold for: $200
- Cost: $120
= $80 Profit

Bought an iPhone 4

I bought an Sprint 8GB iPhone 4 with charger. The ad was posted for $160 and I offered $100, but in the end we negotiated to $120. I didn't really look at the charger, but after the deal I realized it was some cheap generic charger that looked like the real thing from a glance. It's not a big deal though; it would have just gave me a reason to hassle it down to $110 or so. I was going to hassle it down to $110, but he agreed to meet me at my location, which is super convenient since I don't have a car (I live in a city where you don't really need a car). I posted it on Craigslist for $200 and $220 on eBay. But I doubt I can sell it on eBay for that high. I had a free Buy it now listing from before (check previous post), so I just edited the auction and changed it to the iPhone.

Summary: Bought an Spring 8GB iPhone 4 with charger for $120.

iPhone 4 - SOLD!

So I bought an iPhone 4 about two weeks ago for $120. I put it up on eBay and Craigslist. I just sold it earlier today for $180 cash. That's 2 for 2 for Craigslist. I netted a profit of around $60.

Sold for: $180 cash

- Cost: $120

- eBay posting fee: $0.50

= $59.50 Profit

 

P.S. eBay has free listings (including fixed auctions) up until February 21. That saves $0.50 per Buy Me Now auctions you list. I created almost twenty random, 30-day buy me now auctions and will edit them when I pick up something new for sale. Right now, I'm trying to flip the Nike Roshes that I bought. I have listed them for free using this method on eBay.

Summary: Sold the iPhone 4 I bought 2 weeks ago and made $59.50.

Nike Roshe

So a little background history about how I got into flipping things. This story goes back to when I first started college. I had more money (I had a few different scholarships that just deposited money in my bank account every semester/year) and freedom than I ever had in my life at the point. Being a young kid who never had more than a few hundred dollars I started splurging and wasting my money. But one of the things that I bought actually turned into an investment. I bought shoes, more specifically I bought Jordans and Nike SB's. Certain models, which I bought, were actually hard to get and were highly sought after. That's when I realized I could wear them and resell them for more later. So I had amassed a huge collection of shoes, where I could wear a different pair every day for an entire month. At this point, I posted my shoes on shoe forums to sell and I wore them carefully until someone bought them. Yes, people buy used shoes. I bought all my shoes worn, and sold them back for a profit after wearing them. I averaged anywhere from $30-150 profit from each shoe and I had a lot. I would browse sneaker forums and eBay every hour for good deals.

That was then. I have since stopped collecting shoes. However, I still have a bit of a knowledge of what sells. So this brings me to my next purchase. So a deals site I frequent had a posting that Zappos.com was selling Nike Roshes for $49.99 each. These shoes are pretty popular right now and I know certain colors can easily sell for $100+ on eBay. I checked out the site and it appeared the sale had ended as the prices were back to $70 (which isn't worth buying if you're only able to sell them back for $100). So I decided to actually call Zappos and see if they can honor the sale price they were offering earlier that day. I casually spoke with a very nice lady and asked her if they could honor the earlier special price of $49.99. She told me she heard about that deal but don't remember the exact price (even though I told her) and that she remembers it being somewhere around $40, so she'll sell it to me for $40.  I was flipping out with excitement after I heard that. I asked to buy two and she took my order over the phone and even offered free VIP for life (apparently I have free next day shipping for life with Zappos now!). So I bought two pairs of Nike Roshes for $80, which I'm going to list on Ebay for $125 each! 

Here's my receipt:

Zappos.com has the best customer service I have ever experienced before. I was so happy with my experience that I asked her if I could leave a feedback about my experience and she directed me to another associate. I actually went out of my way to leave a wonderful feedback for their service. 

Summary: Bought two pairs of shoes for $80 total that I can flip for $250 (not including fees/shipping). Zappos.com has the best customer service ever!

Be Careful Buying Stuff on Craigslist

I bought another iPhone on Craigslist, a regular black 16GB iPhone 4 for Verizon (just a side note: Sprint iPhones sell for more than the Verizon). I bought it through Craigslist. I emailed a few different iPhone listing with low ball offers (low ball is a term meaning offering a price that is much lower than the value of the item) and only one responded. The price originally listed for $220 and described the iPhone as in perfect condition which included the usb cable and box. However, in the response email he stated that the lock button doesn't work well and he would accept my offer of $130. I know I could sell the phone for around $200+ in the stated condition. We exchanged texts back and forth and I arranged to meet up with him at my apartment that night.

Unfortunately for me, it start raining (which makes things feel rushed because you want to get out of there quicker) and I met him right outside my apartment under a dimly lit overhead. I quickly inspected the phone, checked the ESN, (for Verizon, you can check the ESN through http://www.checkesnfree.com) and checked out the lock button. I couldn't get it to work at all. So I asked him to drop the price down to $120, knowing I could make over $50 on the phone even with the lock button being messed up. He accepted and we traded. As soon as I got in a brightly lit room I could see that the phone was not in perfect condition.

There were scratches on the front and back, dings around the corner, and a very small crack on back of the phone. Also, the box was labeled for AT&T and not Verizon, so I knew it wasn't the original box. It was my fault for not thoroughly checking. So this is my advice to you all who buy from Craigslist, MAKE SURE YOU INSPECT THOROUGHLY! After all these faults, I value the phone for possibly around $160 so it still wasn't a loss but I definitely would not have offered him so much if I knew that actual condition. I probably would've paid $80-$100.

So I put the phone up on eBay for a buy it now of $200 and will drop it down in increments of $10 every time it doesn't sell. I don't expect it to sell for $200, but I'll take my chances.

Here is my eBay description:

"Apple iPhone 4 (Black)

16GB

Verizon - Clean ESN

includes: an iPhone 4 box and official Apple USB cable.

Condition: Moderate scratches around the phone. Small dings around corners. Miniscule crack on top right back of case as seen in the pictures. The lock button also does not work. Other than that it is 100% functional.

Since the lock button does not work, there is another way around it.The fix was really simple and involved invoking a new ‘Gesture’ which made a small virtual button appear on the iPhone screen. To access it, head into Settings > General > Accessibility > Assistive Touch and toggle it to ‘On’. Hit Create New Gesture and a small white button will appear permanently on your screen, until you turn it off of course.

The button gives you a virtual Home button, and if you select Device, then you can Lock the Screen, control volume, shake the device, rotate the screen etc. You can also position it in several areas around the screen i.e. move it to an innocuous location on the screen.

Free shipping and I usually ship next day."

Summary: Bought Black 16GB iPhone 4 for Verizon for $120 on Craigslist.

iPhone 4S - SOLD!

So I finally sold the iPhone 4S on Craigslist for $300 which saves me the hassle of shipping it out. So let's give a break down of the balance:

Sold for: $300 cash

- Cost: $180

- eBay posting fee: $0.50

= $119.50 Profit


Summary: Sold the iPhone 4S I bought 2 weeks ago and made $119.50.