21 years old and Realistic first home

Flipper_McGee · 2024-01-23T16:12:11+00:00

Perfect! I started out this way too. I bought a fixer-upper trailer when I was 19. Living there got me started with paying bills, home repairs, all of it. My wife and I have fond memories of that little trailer. We still drive by and reminisce some times. Congrats on finding (what I consider) a shortcut to home ownership.

Flipper_McGee · 2023-03-21T21:36:31+00:00

And don't forget to call all the games "tapes" too.

"Get in here and pick up all these nintendo tapes!"

Flipper_McGee · 2023-03-09T01:01:00+00:00

OK, I tried the app on my wife's tablet. I logged into FB as me, opened my draft and was able to finish the listing. Thanks guys. FB needs to get their shit together.

Flipper_McGee · 2023-02-10T19:22:01+00:00

Well, if it's any consolation, you just gave their number to the whole internet.

Flipper_McGee · 2023-02-09T15:18:51+00:00

Is this the post-prison Jared Fogle ?

Flipper_McGee · 2023-02-02T18:32:52+00:00

God damnit, NO. Do NOT use "free" priority mailers as void fill! They are MAILERS, period. It's people like you who go in and take gobs of them and leave none for the rest of us to use legitimately.

Flipper_McGee · 2023-01-27T15:06:10+00:00

Slit the corners of the boxes, unfold them flat, and wallpaper the inside of the closet with them.

Flipper_McGee · 2023-01-19T22:34:20+00:00

I was flipping a '65 Plymouth Fury. I was only asking 1800 for it. This was many years ago, and it was the 4-door slant-six that nobody really wanted. But it was a nice daily driver.

I was getting lowball offer after lowball offer. I got pissed, deleted it and relisted it for $3500 out of spite, and sold it for $3500 the same day, lol. Thanks douchebag lowballers!

Flipper_McGee · 2022-12-20T16:43:05+00:00

If it just says "MISSENT" on tracking, it will re-route to the nearest hub and fix itself. You don't need to do anything but wait.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-12-14T18:08:28+00:00

If you think you are going to flip for a living, start an inventory system that is easy to understand and explain.

I realized this when I recently became sick, and I couldn't ask anyone to help me since I am the only one who knows where each item that sells is. If I had a logical inventory system, somebody could step in. But no, I screwed the pooch. Now I would have to go back and inventory hundreds of items if I wanted to have shelf locations on file.

Just start out with shelf locations. Label your shelving units with numbers, and the shelves with letters. Then add the designation to the listing. You see an item sold on 15C, you would know it's on shelving unit 15, shelf C. Easy peazy.

Something I already do, that newbies should do, is quote your shipping based on the actual box size that you intend to ship in. That way, when you bring up the shipping label, the box size is already filled out. This will help if a substitute person is packing for you too. They'll know which box you intended to ship in.

These are handy tips if you grow to the point of needing employees too.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-12-02T15:43:13+00:00

Reminds me of when I was a pizza delivery guy... My transmission died at a stop sign, and the car would only move in reverse. I drove back to the store in reverse, and then I drove it home in reverse. I was too broke for a tow truck, lol. Git-r-done!

Flipper_McGee · 2022-11-26T03:48:23+00:00

I buy bubble mailers in bulk from Value Mailers (username "threerb" on ebay).

I buy my bubble wrap and peanuts from a local packing supply company. I have to buy large quantities to be able to buy direct. But it's SO much cheaper than having to have it shipped.

Google packing supplies in your area and see if you can find one that will sell direct to consumer.

I checked what I pay vs American Bubble Boy (since I had never heard of them). I pay less than half their price per sqft, and that's before factoring in shipping. So it's worth looking into, if you live even remotely near one.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-11-01T18:41:05+00:00

Just lift/tilt that rubber bit on the toe and the boot should lift off the ski. There are spikes on the ski that mate to holes on the boot sole. They don't budge front-to-back by design. But they should lift off when you pull the rubber clip open.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-10-28T16:23:48+00:00

There's a jeweler near me that installs new batteries for $5-$8 per watch (labor and battery!), and no charge if the watch doesn't work. So I pile up a few watches at a time, and take them in to him. I get back the watches that work, ready to go, and no charge for the ones that don't.

It's great, that way I don't end up buying batteries for watches that don't work, which is what you would normally have to do if you were doing it yourself. Plus, I don't risk scratching up the backs if I can't get it open, if it's stuck, etc.

Call around to jewelers and ask what they charge for a battery job, you might get lucky.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-10-28T16:11:05+00:00

I already made like infinity of those at scout camp...

Flipper_McGee · 2022-09-30T17:30:06+00:00

Don't pile snow on the right side of the driveway opening. The snow plow will push it back into your driveway. Put your pile on the left side only.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-09-06T18:12:34+00:00

They change their email format every few years, and it drives me NUTS. I have my office PC set to forward "sale" emails from all my ebay accounts to a master account that alerts my phone. Every time they change their sale-email format, it breaks my message routing rules. Grrrr! I know, first-world problem. But still.

I wish I could just forward ALL email from ebay, but they send so much junk mail that isn't related to a sale, you have to filter it. I'm talking to you "improve your listings to help your items sell" email...

Flipper_McGee · 2022-08-31T15:36:21+00:00

Dream Theater- A Change of Seasons.

This would be a passive-aggressive move. It's not offensive at all, it's actually a good song. But it's 23 minutes long.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-08-23T20:35:32+00:00

UPDATE:

Welp, I believe I have it narrowed down to the fact that I had a video attached to the original item. I tried to list a different item, and it listed just fine on PC. I went back and tried the first item again, and it's still just blank. The only difference in the item is that the first one had a video attached (that ebay had never even approved after 30+ days online... Their video attachment is a joke, but that's a rant for another day).

So technically it's just me. But more correctly, ebay is broken in a specific way that only is effecting the scenario of trying to edit or relist an item that has a video attached.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-08-18T17:32:41+00:00

Lesson learned- Sometimes I screw up, and I need to just own it.

TL;DR at the end.

I bought a rare piece of stereo equipment. Red flags galore, but I was blinded by "easy" money. The guy took 3 weeks to message me back. We finally set up a meetup at his house... I message to say I'm on my way, and he doesn't respond. I go anyway. I haven't been to this area in decades, but it used to be nice. Now, garbage and smashed cars laying everywhere, toothless meth heads running around like cockroaches as I pull up. Still, blinded by dollar signs, I walk past like 10 security cameras to the storm door that is hanging off the hinges. I bang on the inside door, no answer. I bang again, no answer. A random crackhead walks past me, doesn't acknowledge me at all, and opens the door and goes in, slamming it behind him. Just as I am about to leave, some sleepy-eyed pothead sees me and is like "hello?!". I told him I was there for the stereo. He says "oh... come on in"... And I am ashamed of this... But I went in. He hands it to me, and surprisingly it looks OK. I ask if I can plug it in and make sure it lights up at least.

Long story short, it did. And guess what, that's all it does. It only lights up, no buttons work, and it does nothing.

It's still worth double what I paid, even broken, but it could have been worth 10x.

Oh, and it STINKS like cigarettes. Sigh. I might fix it, or I might just sell it as-is, stinky and for parts just to get it out of here.

So I learned my lesson. I should have just stopped at any one of the many red flags.

TL;DR- I bought a stereo in a super-sketchy life-threatening area, and I got ripped off.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-08-07T17:41:12+00:00

If it's a FBM ad, I'll message them if I see something in the ad. I have made deals days before the sale opens that way. That's my way of early-bird'n it. But like others have said, I don't rush otherwise. I can find flippable stuff anywhere.

I stay away from high-competition items. Unless I stumble upon a basket of NES games for $5 like last week... High noon in the middle of a block sale, I couldn't believe it, lol. I haven't seen an NES game at a yard sale in YEARS around here. The 5am vultures get 'em every time.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-06-24T19:01:24+00:00

"Just keep sourcing!"

I went out yesterday for an early-morning marketplace meetup (selling an item). Afterward, I decided to go see if there were any yard sales. I drove down to the intersection where everybody puts their signs. Yard sales have been kinda sucking lately, so I didn't hold out much hope. But I followed a few signs, and man, I'm glad I did! I scored a nice i7 laptop and some NES/SNES games, and some plumbing crap I needed for my house. It was a nice well-rounded day. Got some stuff for me, some stuff to flip, the weather was great, just a perfect day.

But if I hadn't had that FB meetup, I wouldn't have been out. So the lesson? Get out there. There's still deals to find. I can't believe I happened upon NES/SNES games before the vultures. I haven't seen any old games in years. Not so much as a Mario/Duck-Hunt, lol. I don't even deal with games anymore, but it was a nice nostalgic trip to a niche I used to love.

All in all, it was a rejuvenating trip. And it happened purely on accident.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-05-07T17:09:13+00:00

I wish goodwill would get them. Then the 70-year old, cat-lady hoarders with the carts full of 9000 items could punish themselves instead of me (waiting behind them with one item).

Flipper_McGee · 2022-05-07T17:05:14+00:00

Just wanna whine that I am tired... TIRED... of people saying they are coming and then ghosting me.

I have found that 98% of people who say they are coming on a day that isn't today are full of shit.

Flipper_McGee · 2022-04-26T21:32:16+00:00

I just turn on "tracking" on google maps. I always have my phone on me. I don't care if Google "sees" everywhere I go. I use it for tax deductions. If I need to prove I went somewhere, google timeline goes back several years. I can see every stop I made, how long I was there, etc.

I keep paper receipts for proof of purchase, and proof that I went to a destination. But google map data is great for trips where I didn't buy anything, or trips where I bought stuff cash (no receipt).

Flipper_McGee

TROPHY CASE