# Craigslist Cheapskates



## Motor City (Jan 6, 2014)

I have sold 2 blower this fall, where the person buys it from me and goes home and re-post the snow blower for a higher price. And its not like their going to make any decent money for their time. Both drove a fair distance to pick them up. So by the time they deduct the cost of gas, and if they get their asking price, they may clear a whole $40!

I price my stuff pretty fairly and just don't understand why their wasting their time for this little amount of profit.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

flipping is the name of the game there. they do it with everything else why not this.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Yeh. But if you're going to flip you ought to make it worth your while. $40 is peanuts after driving 50 miles.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i emailed the guy about the toro 521 he had on cl last weekend and he emailed me back saying it was sold. I looked on cL a few hours later and there was that 521 relisted for $250. original price $100


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

anything to make a buck I guess...
at least they are working for it! 

Scot


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

sscotsman said:


> anything to make a buck I guess...
> at least they are working for it!
> 
> Scot


Agreed. That was my same thought.


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## Motor City (Jan 6, 2014)

The crazy thing is, the guy today lives in an area that the houses are a pretty decent price range, $300k+. I don't understand why, for $40 bucks. Its kind of dumbfounding, to say the least. 
I had a machine earlier in the week I tried for, 8hp Simplicity for $200. Someone got to it before me. I saw it later that night for $395 and they didn't even fix what was wrong with it. It would't move in reverse. Which I figred it probably needed a belt or maybe friction wheel and or adjustment.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

Motor City said:


> The crazy thing is, the guy today lives in an area that the houses are a pretty decent price range, $300k+. I don't understand why, for $40 bucks. Its kind of dumbfounding, to say the least.
> I had a machine earlier in the week I tried for, 8hp Simplicity for $200. Someone got to it before me. I saw it later that night for $395 and they didn't even fix what was wrong with it. It would't move in reverse. Which I figred it probably needed a belt or maybe friction wheel and or adjustment.


 I GUESS there is some politicaly correct word out there . but I will be boned if I know. it comes down to this " PEOPLE ARE IDIOT'S"


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## SlowRider22 (Oct 17, 2013)

Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but you are looking at the profit on one single item opposed to a whole collective. Yeah sure $40 in itself isn't much, but combine that with a few other, possibly higher profitable, items throughout the week and now you have a couple hundred dollars worth of supplemental income. 
In my early college career, I did some craigslist re-sells on the side. It wasn't going to get me rich by any means, but that extra 100-200$ per month paid for my month's gas expense


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

Maybe you should just raise YOUR PRICE.


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

I agree with mileage and personal time 50 miles for $40 is pointless or worse. However I often go a distance to pick up a Gilson, even a parts machine. My wife and I often make a road trip out of it and the snow blower stop is incidental. Don't over think it, they may just be idiots.

Pete


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Spectrum said:


> I agree with mileage and personal time 50 miles for $40 is pointless or worse. However I often go a distance to pick up a Gilson, even a parts machine. My wife and I often make a road trip out of it and the snow blower stop is incidental. Don't over think it, they may just be idiots.
> 
> Pete


My wife and I have done this many times. It's a great way to spend the day together and the puchase, whatever it is, as you so well stated, is incidental. 
And, there are some who just want the thing out of their garage. That Husqvarna I bought from the old gentleman was just that. He wanted it *gone*. I drove a hundred mile round trip but it paid off.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

Motor City said:


> I have sold 2 blower this fall, where the person buys it from me and goes home and re-post the snow blower for a higher price. And its not like their going to make any decent money for their time. Both drove a fair distance to pick them up. So by the time they deduct the cost of gas, and if they get their asking price, they may clear a whole $40!
> 
> I price my stuff pretty fairly and just don't understand why their wasting their time for this little amount of profit.



understand how a retail business works. there are items at a Walmart that they make 2 cents on. it becomes a volume business. if he sells 10 of those Craigslist blowers he makes 400. 

to make 40 in this economy one has to work a min wage job for 8 hours. flipping a snowblower is easier, and he gets to see the various makes and models, and build a knowledge base.

how is making 40 bucks being a cheapskate ? If he paid you $100 for the blower, and resold it for $140, he made 40% which is kicking arse and taking names in retail, to have that kind of markup. 

factories that make the stuff only make 6% to 20% net. that means when they invest $1 million into a plant/factory, they may make only $60,000 net profit for the entire year from that location, after payroll, taxes, upkeep, materials, insurance, etc.

the economy isn't the "big money" economy you think it is- most people driving these new cars and living in new homes, are doing it on CREDIT and just making the payments, and barely. they really don't own the stuff outright, and probably never will. they lease i.e. rent their cars, and some rent their homes too

the SSI, pension, retirement, welfare, disability, etc. systems have the older generation thinking you just sit home, check your mailbox every month, and the check comes in the mail, and the money grows on trees. while away the time watching TV until the mailman brings the check...

actually that system is fake and bogus, that's what is destroying the country, because it enslaves the younger generations to pay for it. our kids and grandkids. so to get out from under it, they buy snowblowers and sell them for 40 net profit on the black market, and not have to pay into that system 

and I can't blame them one bit.

that's basically what we're talking about here, it's the black market


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## rut3556 (Feb 13, 2014)

The way I look at it is as long as I'm getting my price for it I don't really care what the next guy does with it.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

rut3556 said:


> The way I look at it is as long as I'm getting my price for it I don't really care what the next guy does with it.


I remember a few years back, when Cl was just getting really going, I would see posts reading something like this: "ATTENTION!! Don't buy that 98 pickup truck that is posted in farm and garden section. He bought it from me last week for $xxx and now he's selling it for $xx+!" I immediately thought to myself welcome to the free market system buddy. What's the problem with making a profit? That's how the free market system functions. 
I sold a Troy Bilt tiller to a guy a couple years ago for $400. He told me he was going to restore it and make it all pretty and yada, yada, yada... I saw it on the neighboring Cl site four days later for $1350.00. No exageration. He sat on it for about six months but he did eventually get $900.00 for it w/o doing a thing to it. I resented that he lied to me about his intentions, but it is his right to ask whatever he wants.


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## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

rut3556 said:


> The way I look at it is as long as I'm getting my price for it I don't really care what the next guy does with it.


Amen. 

I sold a non-functional generator on CL to a guy who showed up with a van filled with similar CL purchases. He drove out, picked them up, took them to his shop, did what he could with them, resold them. Good for him I say. If I lose this job I might even try it myself.


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

Many yeas ago, my cousin sola a lot for 30Gs, the guy who bought it flipped it for 35Gs a week later. My father in law saw a bike in a neighbors dumpster, and he took to, and put a sign on it for $10, and put it in front, and sold it. And that's the way it is.
Sid


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Brand new - never used Ariens for $625...

Ariens Snow Blower


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Shryp said:


> Brand new - never used Ariens for $625...
> 
> Ariens Snow Blower


How *old* is that blower? Never used??


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

micah68kj said:


> How *old* is that blower? Never used??


Looks like an 80s vintage to me. Yes, it does look to be in good shape, but even if it has not been used in 20 years that should be disclosed in the ad. Calling it new and never used implies it is brand new in my book.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Shryp said:


> Looks like an 80s vintage to me. Yes, it does look to be in good shape, but even if it has not been used in 20 years that should be disclosed in the ad. Calling it new and never used implies it is brand new in my book.


Hey SHRYP, 
I texted this person asking how old the snowblower is and do they have the owner's manual?
Never got back to me. Hmmm...
If I hear from them I'll let you know.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

Sid said:


> Many yeas ago, my cousin sola a lot for 30Gs, the guy who bought it flipped it for 35Gs a week later. My father in law saw a bike in a neighbors dumpster, and he took to, and put a sign on it for $10, and put it in front, and sold it. And that's the way it is.
> Sid



I was dropping off some stuff at the Goodwill store, noticed next to the dumpster, an old Magnavox tube stereo console. Manager told me, they were throwing it out, could not sell it for $30, and that I can have it for free.

came back with tool set, removed amp, speakers, turntable, radio

listed and sold them on Ebay

amp- $150
turntable - $150
speakers - $150

for a total of about 2 hours easy work, taking it apart, then packing the stuff up and shipping it- $450

now compare that, to working for minimum wage 7.50/hour for 8 hours, 
grossing $60
clearing $45 after taxes
for scrubbing a sink, flipping burgers, mopping the rest rooms, etc. and coming home tired

even if you worked 2 weeks at minimum wage, i.e. 80 hours, you would not clear $450

and that's the way it is

liberty and freedom, and working for yourself, is always better than working for someone else, even if you make LESS money working for yourself, you're WAY ahead and you are a success- because you don't have to listen to anybody, but yourself

this country has been de-industrialized to large extent, there are very few good jobs left to get- just minimum wage service jobs. that's why these guys are flipping blowers to make $40, they'd have to slave for 8 hours at McDonald's to make that much- can't blame them, flip away I say !!


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Shryp said:


> Brand new - never used Ariens for $625...
> 
> Ariens Snow Blower




Wow! thats an unusual one!
It really does look new..but its also 25 to 30 years old! That is an early to mid 1980's machine..I suppose its possible someone stored it, never used, for 30 years..could happen.

Its also possible its a *lightly used* machine that has been cleaned up really well..
a close inspection of the augers would tell the story..

Scot


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## rut3556 (Feb 13, 2014)

And it could be an NOS machine that's been hidden away in a crate somewhere. I personally know of several motorcycles that fall into that category.


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