Buying and Reselling Items from BF

I didn't see a topic related to this, so I thought I would start one as I am interested in hearing what other people do when it comes to BF or Holiday Deals.

In the past, there have been hot items (Tickle Me Elmos, Wiis, different toys, etc...) around the holidays that have been hard to find and buyers needed to wait in lines for hours to have a chance to purchase. It has been very profitable for people to buy these items, then sell them on eBay, Craigslist, etc to make a profit due to the demand of that product in the holiday Season. Some people may consider this unethical, but that aside, it can be a good way to make some extra money on the side.

Does anyone see any items upcoming for BF or Christmas that may fit into this category (High Demand, Limited Supply) that would be worth buying in bulk and reselling? I know there have been people on FW that made thousands selling Wiis, would love to hear thoughts for the 2009 season. It seems with the amount of good deals found at WalMart, Best Buy, and other stores on BF, that there may be an item that fits in this category.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

heyeaglefn said: I didn't see a topic related to this, so I thought I would start one as I am interested in hearing what other people do when it comes to BF or Holiday Deals.

In the past, there have been hot items (Tickle Me Elmos, Wiis, different toys, etc...) around the holidays that have been hard to find and buyers needed to wait in lines for hours to have a chance to purchase. It has been very profitable for people to buy these items, then sell them on eBay, Craigslist, etc to make a profit due to the demand of that product in the holiday Season. Some people may consider this unethical, but that aside, it can be a good way to make some extra money on the side.

Does anyone see any items upcoming for BF or Christmas that may fit into this category (High Demand, Limited Supply) that would be worth buying in bulk and reselling? I know there have been people on FW that made thousands selling Wiis, would love to hear thoughts for the 2009 season. It seems with the amount of good deals found at WalMart, Best Buy, and other stores on BF, that there may be an item that fits in this category.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

RE:
that would be worth buying in bulk and reselling?

Where would you buy them in bulk?

Anything worthwhile will have a supply chain you cannot get into.
Even if you could, $100,000.00's up front to buy.

A new Elmo may be hot, you never know.
Just when you see some for 1/2 price, WM will beat the price.
If short on supply then maybe a money maker.

I could not face myself in the morning knowing I profited off of someone because of some crap a child wanted.

biglittle said: #1 Yes, there are products out there. #2 You're late to the game. #3 I doubt anyone is going to share their money makers.

Yea, I dont want to give up my annual trip to Jamaica from my moneymakers

heyeaglefn said: Maybe the Swine Flu Vaccine?

That is number one on all my family's list this christmas.

Maybe the PSPgo or a 55" LED TV

Does that mean you have already stuffed your warehouses?

Canucklehead said: If you don't know already... you're too late...

Halloween is the new Christmas...

NotaPROavJUNKIE said: Mong said: I could not face myself in the morning knowing I profited off of someone because of some crap a child wanted.

Then you are probably sick everytime you walk into a retail store/outlet. Someone is always profiting from something a child wants, ie toys, food, clothing...

If there were no profits, there would be no stuff for a child to want. Just because there are one or two more people in line for profits, in addition to the hundreds that are already in line working for the companies (Manufacturers, warehouses/distributors & retail outlets), means that you now get a bad feeling means you need to take a real hard look at America and it's business system.

You should have to ask how you get your profits??? Maybe it is something High & Mighty like police or fire dept...Do you feel sick that those people are getting personal profit (VERY GOOD paychecks, better than toy seller WalMart employees) from trying to save/rescue a child, because every child would want that...

You should judge elsewhere...probably start with yourself wanting to judge other people for trying to make money to FEED THEIR OWN CHILDREN

Very sad excuse,

Your comparing men/women putting their lives at risk everytime they go to work with greedy shameful people that buy 20 "hot toy items" so parents who just want to watch their children smile on christmas pay you 4x the cost.

If you need to feed your kids, get a job. Unreal.

NotaPROavJUNKIE said: techtim said:
Very sad excuse,

Your comparing men/women putting their lives at risk everytime they go to work with greedy shameful people that buy 20 "hot toy items" so parents who just want to watch their children smile on christmas pay you 4x the cost.

If you need to feed your kids, get a job. Unreal.

Obviously this beyond your comprehension. They put their lives at risk for a GOVERNMENT FUNDED PAYCHECK. I highly doubt if you made any police of fireman a multi-millionare, that they would continue to risk their lives for the same paycheck, let alone do it for free. I also don't think you will find very many heart surgeons doing heart surgery FOR FREE on a child witout money. They do it for the money. Everybody does everything for money.

Everybody has greed and shame. Even parents who want to watch their children smile have greed for their own children. If they didn't have greed for their themselves and their own children, then every child in this world would be fed, clothed and healthy.

What some people also have is the inability to understand the trade/barter/money system.

When was the last time you gave away everything you have to needy children? ANSWER: EXACTLY You have not; Pure fact. Why? Because of your own greed.

Also, FYI: I did have a nice job that was 100% sales to the government. Sold Fire & Police Command Vehicles. Then recession. Right now I wish I sold road construction supplies, Looking hard for a job, but I still am not relying 100% on public funding to feed my children....Should we all stop buying & selling things & just rely on government support?

People who do that type of thing are just a small business that may someday open up a small store. Then a larger one. Some of us will fail as a business & go work for someone else. I am thinking of trying to work for a toy manufacturer, so I can profit from small children...Is that okay with you? Or maybe I can work for a pharmicuetical company so I can profit from small children who are sick...Is that okay with you?

So, again, judge elsewhere or keep your close-minded opinions on the soapbox in the middle of the city, while also selling pencils to small children.

Yep, Its the governments fault you decided to be a cars salesman instead of advancing your education and earning a degree. get help.

heyeaglefn said: Maybe the Swine Flu Vaccine?

Or Tamiflu

I myself have waited out in the cold from 6pm on Thanksgiving to wait in line at Best Buy to buy the hot ticket deals and yes sell 2/3 of what I bought for a profit.However I dont roll people for ridiculous amounts.I simply get paid to sit in possibly 27 degree weather for 12 hrs while the people that buy them off of me were home warm with their family and getting a good nights rest.

amannamedhorse said: those hot items go for a lot less after eBay /paypal and ups/usps get thier cut.

All irellavent.....
Do you not know who pays all of those costs.

Meh. Nothing wrong with selling luxury items for a profit--no one is going to die without the hot toy of the year. I sold 22 wiis a couple years ago for Christmas; it helped heat my home, pay rent, feed my kids etc. If little Johnny's parents were upset about having to pay double, they could have sat in line overnight with me out in the freezing cold, or they could have opted to wait until wiis were more widely available. This year I'm not selling anything, but if I were in financial straits again, I wouldn't think twice about it. People who get all up in arms about it, just don't understand how capitalism works. They want what the person who stood in line overnight got without having to hustle for it.

yesidonoitall said: gollum said: You didn't hear this from me, but stock up on the transformers 2 dvds and blurays... better yet, grab all the vhs copies of movie and you could probably retire by the end of the year!


Tell me where to buy them please.

Send $100 to my paypal and I will

dieharddrive said: And I assume volunteer firemen are doing this for the money?

I addressed that in the very item you are quoting, so here I will be requoting myself here for your clarification : " I highly doubt if you made any police of fireman a multi-millionare, that they would continue to risk their lives for the same paycheck, let alone do it for free."

So some added clarification of my words....Volunteer firemen do it for free because most of them already have steady paychecks from another job. Now make them multi-millionaires, I doubt there would be very many that STILL DO IT BEING MILLIONARES...Kudos to those who do it now for nothing & even bigger kudos to those who do it now for free AND are CURRENTLY millionares.

I am not trying to take anything away from those people, just trying not to be judged for earning an HONEST living...Many people who don't do this stuff commit crimes instead to get their money.

For those who really want to get on their soapbox about this: Instead of people volunteering their time to sit here and judge people doing things honestly, maybe their time would be better spent volunteering their time to fight & judge crime & criminals. That way they could FEEL EVEN BETTER ABOUT THEMSELVES FOR JUDGING PEOPLE. Those are just wasted efforts and they appear/look like the crazy people on street corners yelling about whatever religion or government they should or should not be obeying or fighting against.

My sincerest apologies if I offened any publice service workers / volunteers, but I think most people understood my example, as there is no large cry of outrage...

dieharddrive, I hope you can see my piont of view. pepole act like were criminals who need a verbal reprimand & their one line insulting quip is just how it is gonna get done. I mean COME ON MAN, the very reason they are reading this site is because of their own greed and now they are judging someone for having a different view of greed WHEN NO ACTUAL CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED....Is that not being a hypocrite?

I don't mind if people make a buck off xmas, just not on the toys I want to buy for my kids ok?

It's just my opinion, but I think parents are less willing to shell out whatever it takes to buy a hot toy this xmas. Just the other parents I talk to (so a very small sample popluation) are being very cost conscious about a lot of their expenses. It seems like the attitudes are shifting towards separating "wants" and "needs." We've budgeted a fixed amount for xmas spending this year, so only bargain shopping for us. (I hope the kids like the landscaping rock I bought because coal was too expensive)

I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to make money, but good luck trying.

Take for example a Wii. You get some with the prospect of getting a lot of money on eBay. So you put it on eBay & find out there are 4,500 other auctions for a Wii...

handyguy said: Take for example a Wii. You get some with the prospect of getting a lot of money on eBay. So you put it on eBay & find out there are 4,500 other auctions for a Wii...

Totally agree. When the Wii first came out the profit margin on resell was between $200 to $250 average above retail due to demand. Each year after that the resale profit margin was cut in half. This year, of course it is over and there is no resale market for the Wii due to lack of demand. So much lack that they dropped the retail price. I knew of the continued drop and bought and sold accordingly. Yes, it was a lot of work to stand in line for people who have the money to buy them at a premium for the convenience of having someone else wait in line for them. It was my part time job for 3 years. The first year netted me $10,000 profit in December only. Ah, those were the days. In the summer of 2007, I knew we were headed for a recession due to the Fed's stupid decision to raise interest rates which I knew was too early and would kill the housing market. So I made appropriate financial moves to protect myself from the stock crash that was coming. Buying and reselling from Black Friday deals is the same thing. You must know whether there will be enough demand to warrant camping out in order to secure the deals for profit. This year I'm sitting at home comfortably because I know the resale market is flat.

This thread is exactly why I despise the Black Friday stuff. The "creepy men" described above, who pile out of their cars just before the doors open, jump the line, buy all the stuff, try to eBay it, then bring all the stuff they couldn't sell back after Christmas.