Steve Weber - Barcode Booty: How I found and sold $2 million of junk on eBay and Amazon, And you can, too, using your phone

Barcode Booty

How I found & sold $2 million of junk on eBay & Amazon

And you can, too, using your phone

By Steve Weber

All Rights Reserved 2012 by Stephen W. Weber

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The information in this book is offered with the understanding that it does not contain legal, financial, or other professional advice. Individuals requiring such services should consult a competent professional. The author and publisher make no representations about the suit-ability of the information contained in this book for any purpose. This material is provided as is without warranty of any kind.

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this book, errors and omissions can occur. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damages arising from the use of this book, or alleged to have resulted in connection with this book.

This book is not completely comprehensive. Some readers may wish to consult additional books for advice. This book is not authorized or endorsed by any company mentioned in the text.

Published by Stephen W. Weber

PURCHASING:

TOOLS:

SALES:

FULFILLMENT:

LEGAL:

eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days

Etsy 101: Sell Your Crafts on Etsy, the DIY Marketplace for Handmade, Vintage and Crafting Supplies

The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site

Sell on Amazon: A Guide to Amazons Marketplace, Seller Central, and Fulfillment by Amazon programs

www.MyBarcodeBooty.com

Thank you to all the people who graciously donated their time and expertise to contribute ideas, examples, corrections, clarifications and other improvements to this book:

Bill Knauss, proprietor, Bill's Bookshop, LLC.

Brian Freifelder, proprietor, Fivedollarcd.

Chris Green, CEO, FBAPower.

Paul Hanrahan, online bookseller.

Wayne James, proprietor of A Book in Time.

Sue Johnson, online bookseller.

Craig Jones, online bookseller.

Benoit Maison, director, Vision Smarts.

Melissa Miller, author, MyMochaMoney.com.

Janet Langford, proprietor, GrandmaToAbby Books.

Priscilla Ramsey, personal shopper.

Andrew Rigney, FBA seller.

Jeremy Shick, proprietor, ShickWebDesign, LLC.

Cynthia Stine, FBA seller.

Rob Woodbridge, founder, Untether.tv.

One weekend last February, my wife and I packed a big suitcase, put our two children in the car, and drove up Interstate 95 to visit my mother-in-law near Philadelphia. Saturday morning was bitter cold, but to get some fresh air, I took my 5-year-old son for a drive.

Right down the road, before the car had warmed up, I spotted ita big TJ Maxx store. I hadnt shopped there for 20 years, but recently Id heard TJ and similar discounters were becoming gold mines for Internet sellers like me. For 10 years, Id been an online bookseller, and kept so busy with it Id never thought about selling anything else. But it never hurts to try something new.

We made a quick U-turn, pulled into the TJ parking lot, and backed our minivan up to the front door. Grabbing a shopping cart, we strolled through the door, right past the purses, beyond the bathrobes, and around the skirts. I craned my neck, squinted through my bifocals, and grinnedalmost there.

Toys! my boy squealed. Or did I say it first? Anyway, it was truethe back shelves were jam-packed with toys of every kind. Hundreds of them! Dart guns, dolls, train sets, miniature china, soccer balls, board gamesall marked way below retail. Was it my imagination, or could I see more variety right here than in a mammoth, big-box toy store?

Looks like Santa had some leftovers this year, I told my son. Lets look around.

I didnt know where to begin. On the bottom shelf, partly hidden toward the back, was the biggest, most intriguing box in the store. Inside was a giant, remote-controlled robot.

Id never seen anything like it, and I wasnt prepared for the price$30, batteries not included. Gulp. I almost threw it back.

Lets get it, Daddy! my son shouted. I glanced around at a few raised eyebrows from the older ladies rummaging through the dress racks.

I felt my ears getting red. I caught my breath. The ladies went back to their shopping, and I pulled the phone from my pocket.

Who are you calling, Daddy? my son asked.

Just checking something, I said. After pointing my phone at the barcode on the robot box, my phone emitted a soft beep and then displayed its Amazon price, $280. Holy cow! I muttered, Ive made about $250, and we just got here.

I dropped the robot into the cart, with the same satisfaction I might get from hitting a hole-in-one, or pulling a slot-machine arm and hearing the jackpot rain down, red lights flashing. But this was no gamble. Thanks to my phones free scouting app, I knew my likely profit before risking a dime.

The feeling was familiar, but the surroundings were refreshing. In the past decade as a secondhand bookseller, Id worn out the knees on five pairs of jeans by scooting around in musty basements and moldy attics hunting for books. Here, in a brightly lit room with the smell of perfume, soft music, and friendly people, it hardly felt like work at all.

Diversification is good. For a decade, Id made my living selling books, mainly on Amazon. Id developed a knack for spotting valuable books just by looking at the cover. It wasnt foolproof, but on the average day, I could gather up several boxes of books, paying a dollar or two apiece, then resell them for an average of $8 or $10. Now, with a price-scouting app on my phone, I could improve my book-picking tremendously, and expand into toys while I was at it.

And why stop at toys? Now that Amazon has opened virtually all its categories to us independent sellers, I could sell virtually anything. Instead of waiting until the weekend for yard sales or library fundraisers, I could scout for inventory anytime, practically anywhereWal-Mart, the pharmacy, the local warehouse club.

This stuff isnt rocket science. You can do it for fun; you can earn a living at it (I do both). Thats what this book is about: cashing in on stuff other people have written off as junk. Thats exactly how I stumbled upon the robot (and most of the books Ive sold). The bean counters at a big retail chainperhaps Target or Toys R Usdecided those robots didnt sell fast enough, or they didnt have enough left for a big display. So, to free up cash and shelf space, they dumped the rest at TJ Maxx for pennies on the dollar, making the robot cheap and relatively hard to find. Thats where I came in. I made the robot easy to find again, listing it on Amazon.com for $380 (yes, $100 above competing sellers). I sold the robot in 10 daysperhaps not fast enough for Toys R Us, but plenty fast for me.

Using my phones scouting app, I found 11 more money-making toys that day at TJ Maxxvintage Cabbage Patch dolls, last years Thomas the Train accessories, special-edition Monopoly games. All were in short supply online, commanding $75 to $120, while gathering dust at the back of TJs, marked down to $20 or $30.

After an hour of treasure hunting, I left the store with my son, who helped me load the van. Hed forgotten about the robot after finding a football jersey (an Eagles McNabb No. 5) and a giant puzzle (marked down 75 percent). Not including those goodies, Id spent $130 to get $1,000 worth of inventory.