So, You Want To Be a Picker? Part 1

So, you want to be a picker?

There are some of us that are born to pick. Maybe you grew up with a family member that drug you from yard sale, to estate sale, to auction. It was maddening as a child, but somewhere along the line you got hooked too.

Or perhaps you see the TV shows like American Pickers or Storage Wars and think, “I am way smarter than those people, anybody can do this.” Maybe you want to do it as a hobby or on the side to generate some extra income. Maybe you want to quit your job and do it full time (not recommended). Getting that deal and flipping it for 2, 3. 4 or 5 times your investment will often keep you coming back for more.

I am still a newbie but I have learned a lot in a short amount of time and thought I would share a few tips, suggestions and tools that I use on a regular basis to be profitable in my endeavors. I am going to break these posts up into several bite sized posts over a period of time, rather than serve up a 10 course meal in one post.

I will start with my number one free tool, and there is a good chance you already have it.  

My number #1 tool is the eBay App on your smart-phone.

If you don't have a smart-phone, you might as well hang it up. It is the best tool for determining the value of hundreds of thousands of items.  I can't imagine picking without an iPhone or Android.  

When negotiating with people, you will hear over and over, “ _____________ is selling for $300 on eBay.” 

My response is always, “Wow, that's awesome, let me look it up.”

AND HERE IS THE KEY.... They have typed in their item description and seen their item listed for $300.  You don't want to search the active listings.  Anyone can put ANY price on any item and it can sit there for years without being purchased. eBay gives you the option to search "sold" listings. This is an item's true value, what it is selling for.

It can be tough to crush someone's dreams right their in the front yard during their yard sale, but it must be done. If their supposed $300 items is actually selling for $40, then it is worth $40 tops.  You need to be able to get it for $20 or less in my opinion.  

My android has a “Refine” button after I have entered my search. It is located towards the top left of my screen. Scroll down and check the “sold” box. Now you will be looking at the last several items that have sold.

You can also sort between new or used just to make sure you are comparing apples to apples.

Here is an example. I recently bought a watch winder. It is for high end watches that run on kinetic energy and need to be moved even when not being worn. There was only one listed on eBay and required an opening bid of $200 even though it was missing the power supply.

I honestly couldn't find any sold listing to compare with, but I new I was not looking at $200 based on MSRP. I paid $25 and decided on an opening bid of $75, with a Buy It Now option of $100 (I think those were the numbers anyway).

It sat online for a few weeks without any bids, but I was pretty sure that it was worth $75-$100 based on other research I had done. Finally the right set of eyes saw it and the Buy It Now option was used.

The other seller may eventually get $200.  He may also go to his grave owning a nice watch winder because he was never willing to sell it at its actual market value.  

For items that I will be selling online, there is no better tool than the eBay app. It has saved me from making stupid purchases dozens of times. It has also enabled me to buy things that I knew nothing about and make some quick money because I knew I was getting a steal of a deal.

So... If you wanna be a picker, make sure you have the eBay app on your phone and familiarize yourself with refining your searches before heading out to that yard sale or flea market to make your first pick.

Feel free to comment with any questions you have about buying, selling, picking, etc...