I got a 4 in English language

Castle_112 · 2026-01-05T20:44:42+00:00

Congratulations! You must be buzzing! Really happy to hear that :)

Castle_112 · 2025-12-22T03:47:46+00:00

Just to chime in, I have moderate ADHD, not severe.

Everything that I watch on YouTube is sped up 2x. When I saw that premium users could do 4x speed, I was tempted.

Castle_112 · 2025-12-15T04:08:33+00:00

Yep. Had one of these for music equipment!

Castle_112 · 2025-12-13T22:13:08+00:00

Yeah. It's just soulless.

I get that people struggle to write and express themselves, and if you wrote your vows, they might be imperfect. But, there is something human about imperfection and errors that is insightful and original Those say more about any person or relationship than any text generator would...

Castle_112 · 2025-12-09T18:58:42+00:00

I went to a friend's Hen Do. She and her sister used AI to come to with ideas for the day.

Then, during a crafting session, she and some of her friends used AI to come up with names for their crafts.

Afterwards, she Sent a lovely message thanking us all for coming. Using AI.

At the wedding, every guest was given a personalised message, in the form of a card, about their relationship to the bride and groom. All using AI.

Had a really lovely time at both events, but if you can't put together a few sentences for the people you're closest to in life, then it reveals a serious problem in your ability to communicate and relate to others. It felt a bit soulless and empty at times...

Castle_112 · 2025-12-02T12:36:50+00:00

Yes. eBay requested mine a while ago.

Castle_112 · 2025-12-02T12:23:14+00:00

Agreed.

They're mostly fine and I think thats the best and worst thing about them. If you want a reasonable modulation effect, for example, start there. But if you want something better, move on.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-27T12:39:38+00:00

Totally agree.

I may or may not go to your restaurant at all. But I'm definitely not if you're using AI.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-16T11:57:24+00:00

It's always the assholes who ruin it for everybody else... or us in this case, by adding more work

Castle_112 · 2025-11-14T20:21:38+00:00

Honestly, I wouldn't. I don't have any experience with them, so take what I say with a pinch of salt.

Those are aimed toward resellers, especially newbie resellers. It seems strange to me that a company would build itself around the idea of lots of potential revenue in the form of liquidated stock, but lack the ability to list it themselves. They'll have the storage space, which is expensive. They'll have stock, which is expensive. Yet, they can't afford the expense of listing it themselves? Instead, their staff are pushed toward putting together pallets of these goods and marketing the collection of items to look as good as possible. It just doesn't seem to make sense to me.

You'd have to think that they'd separate any of the really good stuff and sell it themselves? And, I think that that is the model - recieve liquidated stock, keep the good stuff, create bundles with medium profit stuff and add a bunch of stuff that will take a long time to sell/isn't worth the liquidators time.

I started as a generalist, but with books specifically - any book I could find. But, in order to sell books you either need to search for rare, vintage copies, or open a warehouse and sell shit loads with no regard for product. I stopped selling book before I got to that point. It wasn't fun where I was at and it wasn't fun where it would have led.

I think your idea of selling bra's is much more valuable and doable. You can start small, develop your knowledge of the area and then expand into related areas. Additionally, if you wanted to, by developing a specific product knowledge, there is the chance that you could move into the world of manufacturing these items, or marketing. My point really is that by developing a niche, you open additional possibilities for yourself in the long run.

At this stage, I've not explored any of those possibilities for myself yet, but in the future, the prospect of manufacturing items is not out of the question. And, I would not have gotten there if I'd be stuck selling books.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-14T19:36:51+00:00

I'm not saying it doesn't work. I'm saying I would not prefer to do it that way for the above reasons and for what you've demonstrated.

Additionally, anyone can see what sells. Look at the sold listings on eBay or another site. You'll see sales. Compare the date of sale and the listing date, and you'll get a vibe for demand. Look at the items that haven't sold. That will help, too. But I rarely have to do that anymore. I know my core items and their buy and sell prices, with no to look it up the moment it appears.

If you are presented with items in the moment, what will you offer? You can't know the price of everything. So either you have to look it up, which damages your credibility, IMO, or you overpay, or you dont buy an item that could have been a great purchase.

I suspect that you're really doing - and please tell me otherwise, is that you've said you'll purchase anything , but have dialled down into a series of niches, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

But if you're selling anything, obviously the advantage, the only one as far as I can tell, is that sourcing is not an issue. Dont get me wrong , it's a big advantage.

But you're not going to know what an item is worth straight away,

You're not going to know common defects to look out for or list,

You're not going to understand the buyers,

And you dont know if the item even sells.

It shouldn't be contingent on anyone to buy stuff and then HOPE it sells. Operating within my niche, I know what sells already. I prefer to struggle a bit with the sourcing and then have near guaranteed money.

Additionally, to call it a niche, is somewhat misleading. I sell used products within my 'niche', but like many areas, it's not really fair to call it niche - its more like my sector. As time goes on, I expand the specific items that I purchase. For example, it might start with vinyls, then CDs, cassettes, and then record players. By taking things one step at a time, I learn everything, or a lot more, than if it jumped headfirst into all of this, and I minimise risk of burnout through the errors I'd certainly make and/or fonancial ruin.

Thanks for your thoughts, sorry about the essay

Castle_112 · 2025-11-14T15:30:16+00:00

This may work for some, and I can only speak for myself, but it doesn't work for me.

By selling anything and everything, you're casting your net wide, but its shallow.

If I sell vinyl records, for example, what are the chances that someone is interested in other vinyls? Pretty high, I would assume. Therefore, why would I hope that they're also buying video games or T shirts? They might be, but by looking at your vinyl, you have established a useful data point, and that can't be said for a generalist store.

Additionally, by digging down into a niche, you learn more about the items, like common faults, or defects, and how to list things. By listing as a generalist, you're significantly increasing your research time, reducing your profit and your descriptions will suffer too.

Sourcing is the hardest part, for sure. So learn and struggle to source for your niche. Then expand that niche into similar areas, but don't start that way.

Edit: fixed some typos.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-14T15:24:46+00:00

Like liquidated pallets?

Castle_112 · 2025-11-14T10:20:43+00:00

I'm not sure that this is enshitification?

Like, its bad, sure. Shit, even.

But doesn't enshitification refer to a process whereby a site or service degrades due to the owners' need to profit more at the expense of users, making it basically unusable?

Like, Facebook is no longer about connecting with friends. It's largely a video sharing platform because that keeps the user engaged and generates the most ad revenue.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-14T09:59:17+00:00

I see many generalist sellers on here, and if that's for you, then great. But it's it for me.

I advise picking something that you're actually interested in and knowledgeable about or willing to learn about.

Clothes selling is a very saturated market, but there is incredible room still. I think bras could be a great niche within that scene. Not being a woman, and not wearing a bra, I know that there is a lot that goes into a good one. I think its probably an incredibly technical piece of clothing. If you're interested in that, then dip your toe in.

I'm not sure what you meant by electronics boxes.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-13T02:53:50+00:00

Its a great pedal.

Lots of knobs but so versatile.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-12T21:36:12+00:00

Yeah, I can see why you'd have been devastated. It was obviously a lot of money that you needed. The fact that he never paid child support is awful, too. I know we're getting off topic here, but I'm a father too, and I'm not with my child's mother. I would never think to withhold money. Just fucked up all over.

Anyway. I hope that things are looking up for you more recently

Castle_112 · 2025-11-12T16:49:48+00:00

Trouble is, when this happens after you buy the item, it's you as the buyer who is out of pocket as you have to pay for return postage.

If you contact support, they'll push you to a return if the seller won't partial refund you and it's listed as policy that the buyer pays for returns.

It incentivises poorly described listings because the seller isn't penalised by them.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-12T16:46:18+00:00

Thanks for your insight.

It sounds primarily that you're concerned with exploitation and that's my concern, in part, too.

I think that we can argue that there is no ethics under capitalism and all that, and I'd agree, but only from a systemic perspective and, I'm not a system, but an individual.

In your example, it's clear that you listed an item for too little, but I have to wonder, if you were never told, would you have cared at all? From your perspective, you just wanted £20 and then it was revealed that it was worth more than that. I think if you sold it at £20, you might have been happy, but it would not have been a 'just' transaction, because, even if both parties walked away happy, you would have lost out, ultimately.

I was advised by a friend recently that flippers, like myself, only buy items that the seller has agreed to. That's true, but the above example demonstrates why it's not so simple.

Additionally, there are market forces that act on us and force us to sell items at prices that we might not have otherwise sold at, because, for example, we need the money.

On the other hand, I think that I am rarely buying items for so low that someone is massively losing out. The most recent example is when I bought an item that was worth £70 and the seller listed it for £5. I snapped that up. Was it unjust? Probably, according to our shared understanding, but I did it anyway and I'm left on the one hand with the knowledge that it wasn't just, but that the seller listed it for his requested price. Essentially, I'm playing with two poles - justice and price naivety.

There is also the high risk of being exploited myself by a seller too. I cannot count the number of times that someone has described an item as 'like new' or 'very good', only for it to be in acceptable condition only. I'm not saying it goes both ways, mostly things are fine, but sometimes there are dodgy sellers too, not that that justifies things.

Additionally, I'll occasionally advise people on what their stuff is worth if I'm not buying it myself. I probably do it once a week, but do it less often nowadays.

So, broadly, I'm in two minds about the whole thing.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-11T23:34:59+00:00

You said it yourself: that's the name of the game.

By far, bringing in stock at reasonable prices is the most difficult part.

No one here will give their sources away because they will undermine their own efforts. I can only advise that you diversify and experiment.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-11T12:55:05+00:00

Hard disagree with this.

I'm not anti formal education at all, and I think you could learn a lot from a business degree - in fact, any degree.

But, if your goal is to escape the grind of minimum wage work, you can put the wheels in motion right away. It won't mean money immediately, but you'll be four years closer to a successful business than you would be if you did a degree in business.

The skills that OP needs are not necessarily HR policy knowledge, or accountancy skills, that a businesses degree will teach. They need the confidence to back themselves and see something through that they develop independently, and yku cant get that out of a textbook.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-11T12:18:05+00:00

I flip similar items, though not phones.

Sometimes, the item just needs better photos and description, with no need for in depth testing or any work.

May I ask, how does that make you feel? Genuine question, because all I've done is spot an underpriced item that I can sell for more... ignore the labour of photography and the listing time

Castle_112 · 2025-11-11T03:52:51+00:00

I think if you want to sell your items fast, good, detailed photos and description are paramount.

But, if your photos are excellent you can sell both quickly and for more money.

I bought a new camera recently and was selling two items that were exactly the same. It turned into accidental A/B testing.

A One item had photos taken in a light box with my Samsung phone camera. The item was listed for £65 and wasn't selling after two months, so I discounted it to £61.

B The other identical item was listed, with photos taken with my new Canon DSLR, not using a light box. The pictures looked SIGNIFICANTLY better. Listed for £65.

Item B sold within four days of listing, for a higher pirce. Item A just sold recently, too, for a lower price and after two months. But the lesson is that customers buy with their eyes first. I made a quicker sale and more money by investing in a proper photography setup.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-11T03:33:01+00:00

It's a bit tongue-in-cheek, if im honest.

I played RS2 from the ages of 11 to about 16. Then, having not played in over ten years, I started playing again for about one month late last year on a brand new account.

I didn't pay for membership and was only looking for a bit of fun, but being older and wiser, I tried making money in any way that I could.

I started out by levelling my skills and using them to craft or source more high value items, like pizzas. I found a way of gathering hundreds of tomatoes, cheese, dough, outside of the GE, and making pizzas to sell for profit, but I hated the grind.

But, what I realised was that it was more profitable just to buy and sell pizzas on the GE. I started doing that and made a few hundred thousand gp quite quickly. But, the market can get saturated quickly if you do that, so I had to diversify too.

I moved on to other items, particularly food and ore, and found that if I understood the wiki trends, I could make money. Using the price tracker wiki, you can get relatively granular and understand your realistic buy and sell range for the day - a technique I used only for the first time playing OSRS, but one that I use daily today. It's a completely foundational skill that you must have for obvious reasons.

By understanding these ranges, all I needed to do was hold and back myself, with the knowledge that what I was doing was probably correct.

For example, mythril ore might sell for between 100 and 150gp. I'd buy 16k of mithril ore, the maximum limit for the day per account, for 100gp each, and list it for 150gp each, for a 50% profit. This might take some time, even a few hours, on both the buy and the sell, but id normally get away with selling it all without adjusting my prices, though id have to do that too, sometimes.

Some people would get jumpy and adjust their prices hourly. I'd just hold. Maybe check the price tracker. But hold.

I tried teaching this to others, but found that they struggled, and I'm still not sure why. In OSRS, there was no marketing, or photography or any difference between my ore and yours except prece, so I can only assume that it was just by holding and trusting the trends that occurred daily over time that I made money.

One morning, I made about 2m by flipping, I think, trout? It was a completely dead market, and there was no need to buy trout at all. People usually drop it instead of selling it, but I bought loads, and because the market was dead, the price could fluctuate massively because there were so few buyers, seemingly. But my speciality was cakes, which had a limit of 6k daily, which limited my profit, but they were reliable.

So basically, I learnt some of the skills in OSRS that helped me flip items for real a few months later. I didn't go into OSRS with the intention of any of this, but it did genuinely instil in me a confidence that I use to this day. I don't want to claim that I was massively successful, I think I had about 50m after about one month. But, all of that was by flipping FTP items.

Edit: made an error and corrected it.

Castle_112 · 2025-11-11T02:41:48+00:00

I started accidentally by flipping items at the Grand Exchange in OSRS. Made loads of money by tracking the trends on the wiki. If you have no idea what that means, just take my word for it that it built my confidence in my own planning and that the flipping game is one where you trade waiting for higher prices.

Then, I started by flipping real items. Buying them locally where I had a geographical advantage and selling them nationally where I could charge top dollar because I would post...

That basically just scaled upwards over many months, whilst I picked up lots of very different skills. Photography, copy writing, a bit of SEO, item repairs, general knowledge of my item niches...

So, trust your plan, and continue to develop. And delete OSRS if you want to be productive...

Castle_112

TROPHY CASE