Buy and Sell for Extra Cash

Anyone can buy and sell for extra cash. Several opportunities are available, requiring very little experience, or even no experience in a particular market.

It stands to reason that to buy and sell for extra cash one does need some cash with which to get started. It does not need to be a great amount of cash, but, as with any venture, discipline is all important in managing your profits in such a way that you will be able to purchase extra stock every time you buy more stock.

Auctions

Every main town has an auction house, where one can buy or sell unwanted goods. An auction house are a good place to buy junk that can be restored or repaired, and then sold at a profit. A good line of products to buy at an auction house is books. Books generally do not go for high prices at an auction. Books are delivered to an auctioneer in boxes, and then sold off in boxes. A box with 80 to 100 books may sell for as little as R20 at an auction. After sorting, you may lose a few books due to them not having covers or being in really poor condition, but once the books have been sorted and given a price, it is obvious what a good investment this can be. You need to buy regularly to build up a good stock. Sell your books from home, or at flea markets.

Electrical products are also a good proposition if you’re able to perform basic quick repairs. It is not unusual to see auction job lots of toasters or kettles which can be bought for R5 or R10 a piece. A quick repair job, which is often the same fault on all of them, and you will be able to sell the item for R70 or R80 each. Sell from home, at flea markets and via community notice boards.

Fresh Produce Markets

Everyone has to eat. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be bought, in bulk, inexpensively from fresh produce markets. There are usually no minimum quantities on purchases at fresh produce markets, as long as the packaged unit is kept intact. This means that if you are buying fresh beetroot, spinach or carrots, you need to take a bundle of 10 bunches. Some fruits are packaged in packets in boxes, and you will need to buy a box. Start in your local area, with the basic lines during the week, selling potatoes, onions and pumpkin. On Friday mornings buy a few extras, such as tomatoes and some fruit. Bananas are a good buy any day of the week. Fresh produce market agents will get to know you, and offer you deals that may suit you. You buyers will also get to know you, and will look out for you.

Sell fresh produce from home, at flea markets, or find a good spot next to the road in a busy area. For slightly less profit, but good for repeat business, buy fresh produce for local restaurants. Restaurateurs welcome any idea that will reduce their workload. Approach a few restaurant owners with your idea which would entail the restaurant owners buying their fresh produce from you instead of from who they usually buy their fresh produce from. They may be paying a little more for the fresh produce (so that you can still profit a little) but you don’t charge much for your fetch and deliver service, or for your time and effort, which means they save in the long run, and you have regular work, that pays a little, rather than totally relying on direct sales of your purchased fresh produce, from home, at a flea market, or from the side of the road.

Wholesalers

There are wholesalers everywhere. Buy goods from them, and sell these goods, from home, at a profit. To start off, look at sweets. The single unit price of a sweet can be as little as 7c, and can be sold for 20c each. Throw a bag of sweets into a small bucket, and let your customers choose their own sweets. Have several buckets, with different price ranges. Large bags of puffed maize snacks are inexpensive, and come in a wide variety of interesting flavors. Buy 2 or 3 bags, and re-pack them into smaller packets. You should get 20 or so packets from a bag, and will easily be able to make a very good return on your expenditure. Sell from home, outside schools (with permission), at flea markets, or get a good spot on a busy road.

© copyright Tony Flanigan 2011