Hustle Tip - How To Make Money Going Shopping
If you are like most people, a trip to the store means you are going to come home a bit poorer but with a few more things. What if I told you how you can often come home having made a profit from your trip!
It is possible, just not every single time. Here’s how to do it.
GIG APPS
If you have read any of my side-hustle income reports, you’ve seen me mention these apps. I’m talking about Field Agent, Easyshift, and Gigwalk. But due to a recent problem with Gigwalk I no longer recommend using their app. Instead, I have found a new competitor, an app called Observa
Check these apps to see if you can earn a bit of scratch photographing products on display.
This isn’t what this article is about but might as well earn a bit if there is a job waiting, right?
RETAIL ARBITRAGE
As I delve deeper into frugality, I find myself rarely visiting a store for my own shopping wants. Now I mostly go to stores to complete the gigs on the previously mention apps.
While I am there, I always check the clearance section(s) to see if there are any great deals.
Because if the deal is really good, I can buy the item to resell. This is what is known as retail arbitrage.
Here is a recent example where I turned my trip to the store to do a $6 gig into much more.
In Walmart I checked the clearance section and discovered that there were two boxes of Lexmark ink on discount. The sticker showed that they were marked down from $70 to just $7. Hmm, might be some profit to be had here.
Hopping onto the eBay app, I scanned the barcode, selected “Show only sold”, and saw that these inks were selling for about $35 each.
Since the ink weighed just a few ounces, it can ship first class for less than $3.
eBay and Paypal take up to about a 13% fee off the top. I quickly calculated it in my head as such.
- $7 Ink
- $0.50 Sales Tax
- $4.50 eBay/Paypal fees
- $3 Shipping
Total: About $15
Remember, the inks were selling for $35. Buying these inks gave me a great possibility at making $20 per. $20 X 2 = $40!
You can do this with anything that is a bargain. Find an amazing pair of jeans at a huge discount? Check them out to see what they sell for online and if they are selling for a lot more than the price you can get them at, flip them for profit!
IT ALL ADDS UP
So $40 isn’t going to change your life (neither is the $6 I made doing the gig). But it is when you keep doing it. Small amounts WILL become large amounts if you keep accumulating them.
I urge you to always be hustling, even if you are just going about your normal shopping trip. Because the opportunities are out there. Adopt the hustling mindset and you shall see them appear.
Oh and BTW, one of those inks sold that same day, the other the next.
And if the thing doesn’t sell? Keep your receipt and return it to the store (if this is something you worry about, make sure to check the return policy on clearance items).
All-in-all, it’s a low-risk way to make money!
Crazy to see how the same product can cost 5 times more on eBay than in the store!
Totally different than my country lol
Ahh, out of all the stuff on clearance, the ink was the only thing worth reselling.
And there was only 2 of them. So not a normal thing.
There is something, some people have it, and I believe it can be learned, but you need to have an eye for what will resale. Some things just will not sell online, and although you got it at a huge discount, it is just an item that will clutter your home.
Its like going to a second hand store and seeing some boxes of cosmetics. They are all one dollar. The ones on the right might sell for a dollar, but the ones on the left are usually $100 an ounce... so what are they doing here?
This is where checking the eBay app for sold items comes in. After a while of checking and researching items, you find yourself learning what sells or not. A kind of natural experience learning as you go system that pays you.
Oh, and I have made hundreds off of $1 cosmetics from the thrift store. Found a bunch of Rodan+Fields before, and they are big bucks.
I do sometimes do the same job here in Uganda. In Uganda, more clothes are a bit cheaper than in Rwanda, since its easy to come from the mombasa port (Kenya) to Uganda, sometimes, sellers get them from Kenya and then keep them in their houses since they sometimes fail to pay taxes or have a huge quantity of clothes. so, i do reach their houses, buy the clothes at a cheaper price and then take them to rwanda. Since, Rwanda has some tight policies and goods in east africa are allowed to move freely or at a low cost, i then sell them at a higher price.
Nice hustle @jona12 - is it scalable?
yeah...sometimes. it has seasons but most profitable in festive periods. I can find them in other normal days but the profit is so small. so i first work in my shop after campus and when an opportunity comes in the stock, i just grab it.
If you are going to give Walmart your money, you might as well do it with these reduced prices where they barely make any and you can make most of the profits ;-)
I just don’t buy anything unless I really need it, when I do I prefer to buy local
Yea, I don't buy much anymore. A few PC games here and there, maybe one a month or so. Most of my time is working on my hustles. I was only in Walmart to do an app gig for a few bucks, but checking the clearance racks can turbocharge the payout for going.
So my younger cousin Leah lives with me, and she would absolutely LOVE this idea.
Thanks for sharing
I'm surprised that more teenagers aren't doing stuff like this to earn money. I am going to teach my kids the ways of reselling when they are young.
yeah, no kidding
$70 to just $7 ? What a great deal.. I think if I ever go US in some day, I would have gone crazy.. Prices in here can be expensive because everything is imported.But I have been doing grocery or household shopping online, often they have $10 off on $60 purchase.. I think its good saving .. no?
For grocery shopping that is pretty good. Sometimes the supermarkets around here have a special day where if you spend over $100 they will take 10% off or something like that. I mean you gotta eat, so why not save a bit if you can?
Most people that visit American stores for the first time are amazed at the large variety we have to choose from.
yes it's also good they do free delivery! as detergent package could be heavy an stuff. And yes I watched youtube videos and always amazed at the large variety or sales America has. it's crazy.
I respect the hustle! I have even bought stuff off eBay and then turned around right away and sold it again on eBay at a higher price!
Hah! I have heard of people doing that but I have only did it once. I bought those travel perfect pushups and made a couple bucks :D
That's a really nice idea.
My problem is that I'm from mid-Europe and this isn't possible in here.
And it seems like everything is cheaper in the USA than it is in Croatia.
I remember when I looked for a computer and parts were a lot cheaper than here. Too bad they wouldn't ship it here.
Yeah, this is more of a way to earn money in American stores than elsewhere. But yeah, lots of stuff in the stores can be had for a pretty low price. Many businesses competing with each other can have that effect.
Thanks for the comment :D
Wow, I can't believe I've never thought of doing that before. Thanks for the idea!
I don't go shopping all too often (only grocery shopping on Sundays while in school), but maybe I'll take a trip to the clearance section next time!
I hope you find something good, let me know :D
these products are very expensive in my country. for do shopping, I prefer to come to your country :D
I was once arrested in Turkey for supplying the black market.
the rules are very strict :) can go to jail. We need to be careful.