If you found something left on the side of the road, would you be able to turn it into $100,000? Well, that is exactly what you can do by being a flea market flippers. Taking an item someone else doesn't want, sell it on ebay, facebook, craigslist, etc. then doing it all over again.
My guests today have an amazing business where they take unwanted items, fix them up a little bit, list them for sale online, and make lots of money doing it.Today, I am excited to have Rob and Melissa from Flea Market Flippers on the show.
It is true, they once found a chair that they flipped and it led them to $100,000 of inventory that they could then flip again.
Let's learn from Rob and Melissa Stephenson how to become flea market flippers and become successfully unemployed.
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How Rob and Melissa make money for their family flipping items they find for a profit
Rob and Melissa operate a website called Flea Market Flippers.
They buy items and find things in the trash, take pictures of it, and sell it in local markets and on eBay.
Sometimes they find items that don’t need any work and other times they need a lot of work.
Just today, on their way back from a run, Rob and Melissa found five teak chairs on the side of a dumpster. They looked worn, but they just need to be cleaned and they will probably make about $1,000 on them.
They are able to provide for their entire family by doing this. They’ve been doing this full time for about four years.
Listen to the Podcast Episode
You don't need to know the value of things before you become a flea market flipper.
How to find the value of an item you find being a flea market flipper:
- Locate the item
- Determine what it is (brand, model, etc.)
- Use your smart phone to look up the item on google
- See what prices others are selling it for
- Make sure you note the low, middle, and high price
With a smartphone, it is easier than it used to be to flip items you find.
It’s not like you need a buyer’s guide, because you can just look it up on google or any search website.
If you find an item that you don't know if you can make money on it, just search for it and see what others are selling it for online. That will give you a good idea of what you can sell it for.
When they first started, they would buy or find an item and guess on the value and demand. Now they can look it up before they buy or take an item home.
Watch the Flea Market Flipper interview here:
What Rob and Melissa did before they started flea market flipping.
This started out as a side hustle. Rob grew up going to yard sales, because his parents did this as a hobby.
Rob did this as a side job when he and Melissa were first married. He did this for the first nine years of their marriage and they would use the money he made for vacations.
Melissa was pregnant with their third child, and they had decided she was going to step back from her personal training job and stay home.
A couple of weeks later, Rob found out his job was cutting back on his health benefits, which was the only reason he was working at that job. At that point, they decided he would quit his job and do flipping full time.
It forced them to jump into the business.
Take us through the journey of transitioning to flea market flipping full time, and how did you scale that to provide for your family?
This is where they needed to step up their game. They weren’t really doing it a lot of hours before, maybe five to fifteen hours a week, and they made about $40,000 a year.
When they went full time, their first year, they hit $130,000.
Build Your Own Flea Market Flipping Business
Join the FREE webinar to become a flea market flipper
https://successfullyunemployed.co/fleamarketflipper
Taxes is something you must deal with in the flipping flea market items
The $130,000 is gross income for Rob and Melissa.
So, they need to report those taxes, not on the gross, but the net which is after taxes.
They buy stuff very low, to keep inventory costs down, and they try to make ten times what they paid.
They pay income tax and sales tax, as well as state tax.
Items you can write off on your taxes as a flea market flipper:
- Gas for travel
- Cell phone
- Cell phone bill
- Shipping
- Home office (part of it used for the flea market flipping business)
- Car expenses and repairs
- Registration and taxes on your car
- Anything used in the business
Since they are self employed, they can write off a lot of stuff, like gas.
How to get started flipping items you find as a flea market flipper
Rob and Melissa started flipping items as a side hustle. Think of something you really enjoy doing and jump into that.
This is what they did and they just needed to put more time into it.
Get started with stuff around your house. Most people have a lot of stuff around that they need to get rid of. They use Facebook and eBay.
Before you invest any money into a business, make sure it is something you really enjoy.
They find stuff regularly that people throw away in the trash. They recently found a Dyson vacuum cleaner and a golf bag. They will make about $200 from those things and they found them for free.
Facebook is more popular than Craigslist.
Scaling the business to be a full time flea market flipper
All of the money is found in the deals. They capitalize on the used stuff in their area that is undervalued.
They don’t typically focus on new items, but it is another aspect of flipping.
Some people will do this with discontinued items.
How to find items for free and flip them in as a flea market flipper
They have large garbage pick up in their area one day a week and they have a contact that goes around and picks up items.
This person will take pictures and send them to Rob and Rob then buys items from him and sells the item.
There is no shortage of finding things to sell.
They never used to tell people what they were doing, but now they do and it has paid off. It is important to find contacts to work with.
Facebook Market Place is a great place to buy and sell things
Like anything, if it is new, it may take some time to get the hang of it.
Facebook is very user friendly now. Before, they had to use HTML and upload pictures from a digital camera. Now, you can do everything from your phone.
There is a learning curve, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.
To be a flea market flipper, don't miss this…
Start with free stuff. Take the money you make and use it to buy other things.
Someone they know started with $.50, and wanted to buy an RV.
It took her a year and a half doing this part time, and she is now up to $25,000. She only spent $.50.
How Rob and Melissa are making the world a better place.
Rob and Melissa are keeping things out of landfills by recycling items.
They teach other people how to take control of their money and do what they do to help them either quit their jobs or pay off debt.
The advice Rob and Melissa would give their youngerselves
Melissa would tell herself to worry less. She tends to be a higher stress person. The last couple of years she has been working on it and she doesn’t worry as much. Pray about it and give it to God.
Rob would start off sooner than later. He is wired for this and should have started doing this full time ten years earlier. He is going to do this forever, because he likes it so much. Just get started.
The tools Rob and Melissa use in their business to make money
They use their smartphones every day.
Rob likes to scroll through OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay to see what is out there.
These are his favorite apps.
He buys and sells on these platforms.
Rob and Melissa's Suggestion to Become Flea Market Flippers
Be consistent. The algorithms on these selling platforms like it when you are active.
Even if you are only selling a couple little things, it is the only way to move forward.
Build consistent routines. You may find things one weekend and not another. It doesn’t need to take a ton of time.
The Non-Fictino Book Rob and Melissa Recommend
Melissa recommends The One Thing, by Gary Keller.
Rob doesn’t read a lot, but he likes podcasts. He gets great ideas from everything he listens to. He listens to podcasts about three to four times a week.
Rob and Melissa Teach How to be Flea Market Flippers
Four years ago, Rob and Melissa started Flea Market Flipper University.
After you sign up, you work through beginner, intermediate, and advanced modules.
You will learn all about the business, including packing and shipping products.
How can listeners find you?
Build Your Own Flea Market Flipping Business
Join the FREE webinar to become a flea market flipper
Go directly to their site: www.fleamarketflipper.com
Interested in the being a Flea Market Flippers? Join their free workshop here: https://successfullyunemployed.co/fleamarketflipper
