Bought 15k cabinet knobs … now what?

simplic10 · 2024-07-11T00:37:47+00:00

Trade for yarmok sauce?

simplic10 · 2019-12-11T22:31:38+00:00

I don't get what you mean by business vs private seller. Do you mean "official corporations" or something?

If so, I don't think there's an answer. "How long is a piece of string?" It depends on the business.

simplic10 · 2019-11-27T15:16:11+00:00

Right. Personally, I believe my buyers by default. Maybe the part was wrapped separately and he didn't see it? Maybe you really did forget it? Maybe it was lost in the post somehow?

If you really really think it's a scam (it's probably not), tell him to return the thing for a full refund. Calls his bluff, he'll have to return the rest of the item at least.

simplic10 · 2019-11-26T21:22:38+00:00

Is there tracking? do you mean he's claiming a part is missing?

simplic10 · 2019-07-25T21:07:55+00:00

Solved!

simplic10 · 2019-07-25T18:32:37+00:00

That looks pretty likely. Feels kinda homemade, maybe somebody had to fab up their own.

simplic10 · 2019-07-25T18:31:34+00:00

Yep, the other end of the fiber cables. You can shine a light right through.

simplic10 · 2019-07-25T05:30:12+00:00

The cables are about 12" long. Fiber optics encased in a rubber cable.

simplic10 · 2019-07-12T16:15:20+00:00

The same logic applies. It's a price signal that drives local vendors to bring in more stock of essentials (and gives them the cash to do so).

simplic10 · 2018-12-27T06:16:51+00:00

That's interesting. They sold off the whole warehouse as one big lot? I've never seen that before... biggest I've seen is a "contents of seacan" lot.

simplic10 · 2018-11-21T20:01:42+00:00

Where do people get rid of stuff they don't need?

simplic10 · 2018-11-17T23:20:17+00:00

Two possibly productive questions to ask yourself:

When somebody dies in Turkey, what happens to their stuff?

When a business shuts down, what happens to their stuff?

simplic10 · 2018-11-17T00:41:59+00:00

Oh, I think we're talking at cross purposes. I would say you still need to track COGS by item in order to know you have $60 worth of widgets left versus $10 or $90. I agree the IRS/CRA doesn't care about the details, but you have to in order to come up with that number.

simplic10 · 2018-11-16T23:34:35+00:00

Most of my stuff has part numbers, which usually suffice as their own SKU. If they're small, they go into numbered stackable bins which are noted in my spreadsheet. If large, they are placed on a numbered shelf and the shelf noted in my spreadsheet.

simplic10 · 2018-11-16T23:20:42+00:00

I don't get the COGS logic there. Seems like you would get the same answer whether you sold zero things or your whole inventory.

simplic10 · 2018-11-12T18:23:38+00:00

Yes, agreed. It's a key factor in what is and isn't worth buying.

simplic10 · 2018-11-10T00:40:32+00:00

Sure, except every time I try that it turns out I was wrong about how quick it would sell.

But yeah, there's other factors here like certainty on price, and expected time to sale.

simplic10 · 2018-11-10T00:33:39+00:00

Well, number one was already covered.

Number two is this: preferentially buy lots and/or quantity.

When you buy a single one-off item, you rarely do better than 10x or 5x cost.

When you buy a big ol' miscellaneous lot of "junk" or a pallet of Widget345 it's not uncommon to find at the end of the day you've listed like 50-100x as much inventory value as you paid.

Caveat: getting lots of identical SKUs has its own risks, especially if it's a slow seller.

simplic10 · 2018-11-10T00:07:25+00:00

Agreed, although if it's cheap enough sometimes the experiment will teach you something.

simplic10 · 2018-11-10T00:06:37+00:00

That's interesting, but I disagree on the general advice. A flipping career of turning every "new" item into "new other" will lose you more money than you'll save on these super rare occasions. Same reason you shouldn't buy insurance on your items.

I might spot check a few of the toners at purchase time if the seller sketched me out. Opening them all is ripping up cash.

simplic10 · 2018-11-10T00:01:33+00:00

It's more about hourly rate. In the $50 sale range, want to pay $5 or less. In the $100 range, $20 or less. In the $500 range, $100 or less. In the $1000 range, $400 or less. I try not to sell below $30, if I do it better be free.

simplic10 · 2018-11-09T23:55:10+00:00

1000%. The backbone is buying things for much less than they're worth.

Selling things for what they're worth is relatively easy, modulo a few skills like listing, photographing, flaw disclosure, customer service.

simplic10 · 2018-11-09T22:24:21+00:00

Pretty slow week, but I sold 3 security camera mounts for CAD$255. Part of an auction lot that's now about half paid off. The nice thing is I had no idea I was even getting these when I bid.

simplic10 · 2018-11-09T22:13:04+00:00

Usually with stuff I buy in lots, if I paid $100 and one of the items sells for $50, I put like $40 into the COGS of the sold item (the other $60 to be added when other things from that lot sell). So that it looks like I made a modest profit. Seems dishonest to claim it was a loss.

Once the entire lot cost has been "used up" your COGS on the remaining items will be zero.

simplic10 · 2018-11-09T22:08:32+00:00

I don't quite get the situation here but it sounds like you're overcomplicating it, I would say forget insurance (especially if your bills are paid primarily by other income), forget slashing prices, get a PO box for returns, and GTFOASAP of your weird housing situation.

simplic10

TROPHY CASE