Notes from Chris

Episode 1774

Jeremy Vanderslice and his wife were both in grad school and money was tight. Not only that, but there was also debt to pay. Jeremy sold off all his unwanted belongings on Facebook Marketplace and eBay to raise some quick cash. He was reading The $100 Startup at the time and looking for a way he could continue to make some extra money on the side … but just as I discovered more than twenty years ago, he soon ran out of unused household items to sell.

That was his point of inspiration… what do you do when you want to have your own business, but you hate taking risks? You sell other people’s stuff for them, and you split the profits!

Before long, at least twice a month people were dropping off carloads of stuff for him to sell. Jeremy typically splits the money 50/50 with the owner but he’ll sometimes lower his fee to 30% for more expensive items.

At this point in the business, he doesn’t say no to selling an item, even if it will only give him 3 or 4 dollars… he figures it takes just a minute or two to shoot some pictures and post the ad online. The dollars add up. Even better, after he’s established a relationship with an owner, they’ll often bring him a higher ticket item to sell that will make him a hundred dollars or more in no time. It’s all about building trust.

Jeremy typically works with three or four sellers at a time because he has only so much storage space in his basement. Using this strategy, he’s earned as much as $1,500 in a month, all in a small amount of spare time. Fortunately, this business gives you the freedom to grow. If you have more space or you want to earn more money you can sell for more people.

He recommends starting out by going through your own house and selling things you don’t need, then moving on to friends and family who are moving or decluttering—especially parents or grandparents who’ve collected a lot of stuff over the years. Tell them how well you’ve done selling your own stuff and when they say they don’t have time to do that—offer to sell their items for them and split the money!

The extra income has minimized Jeremy’s financial fears and has allowed him to take a few more chances in life. For example, it’s given him the financial confidence to invest in stocks, something that seemed risky before. Also, his wife wanted to leave her job and start her own private practice as a Speech Language Therapist. Jeremy’s new revenue stream has helped them take the leap and get her business off the ground as well.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Jeremy and check out his new book which talks about his reselling journey at his website, NoOverheadBook.com.

SEE ALSO:

• ESL Teacher Resells Furniture for Big Profits: When a Missouri ESL teacher sells a couple of barstools on a whim, she begins a furniture flipping journey that leads to a full-time income.
• Q&A: Reselling for others: should I charge a flat fee or percentage?: A listener and her teenager have been getting off to a good start selling on Facebook Marketplace. They now have the chance to sell for others, and are wondering about some best practices.
• PE Teacher Resells Concert Tickets, Earns $12,000/Month: After selling a few tickets to concerts he couldn’t attend, this teacher found himself with a lucrative side hustle that changed his life.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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