Soooooo you think a SCAVENGER at a yard sale should get $ 30/hr OMG that is just to funny ! A TOTAL DIRTBAG DREAM !

ELMER

Way to answer the question elmer....So you don't have an answer but instead just know when a deal is 'right' and not taking advantage? If you think this thread is all about buying cardboard at US$0.01/ton and quickly turning it around for double your money (old Steve Martin bit) you haven't been paying attention.

__________________
I was certified as a Forum Master by my score in the GIM Aptitude Test (Score: 72)
With one caveat, the score result stated: Other members immediately recognize your avatar and actually seek out your posts to see what your opinion is on any current subject.
I find that highly doubtful!

Don't ya get sick of people who BRAG when they buy for nothing and then take advantage of someone else ! This is the only way they can make a living without a REAL JOB !

elmer

Elmer,


So all the while i am working my "REAL JOB" and getting payed in "Real $dollars :rolleyes_m:

I am supposed to sit there and watch my purchasing power(In $'s ) Go down? And take it like a good ol boy as you do?

I can't go buy a used Leather jacked for $150, that someone paid $600 for? And turn around and sell it to someone(Who is looking for a "Used" leather jacket, and is "Happy" to pay $250 for it?)

I can't buy a bus pass thats worth $800 for $170, from a guy WHO PAID $800 for it, but no longer needs it, and wants to rid himself of it? SAVING ME $630...

I can't do that ?

I can't buy Silver bullion from a girl who needs the cash to pay off the credit debt she got in trouble with? (She got the cash needed to pay it off, i made $500 buying it and holding it a few months)?


I can't buy a used Honda off a lady who wants it out of her front yard? She gets paid $$ and is "HAPPY" I turn around and sell it for 30-40% profit and im "HAPPY"?

Thats not right in the hard working, blue collar world you live in?

Give me a break dude :rolleyes_m:

Under your definition ..

I AM A DIRTBAG!!!

i will say it again.....

I AM A DIRTBAG!!

and proud of it.


Peace




Silver Monkey


I AM A DIRTBAG

I can't provide a service that party A is HAPPY with, if it benifits part B (ME)?



My guess is you have a Government/Union job, and your pay has keep pace with inflation..

This is NOT the case for the majority of people.

We use the ideas and practices of this thread, for the most part, to protect ourselves from the unfair cost of inflation, to our savings. Every $dollar(Whatever currency you use)saved this way, can be better invested and work FOR US, not against.



Peace


Silver Monkey

Yes !,
Sounds like the FED,
And the member banks...
As they ALWAYS are talking about how they are "taking care of us"...
I would also be interested in your barometer of
at what point "advantage" is taken.
Just trying to learn
Regards,
Haystackneedle

is this thread for American dirtbags only ?
can a Canadian dirtbag join in

over time, we've become a disposable society
a chip on the side - throw it out
a loose wire - throw it out
hole in the pants - throw them out

what people are losing is the will and ambition to fix things
the " DIY handyman attitude " is going the way of the dodo
true, some items like tv's and electrical equipment
may be a bit much for your average handyman

if someone has a chair that wobbles
but can't be bothered to fix it with a homemade brace
then proceeds to toss it out in the garbage
why should anyone condemn the person
who picks that wobbely chair out of the garbage
puts a brace on it,
and then sells it for a couple bucks

i try to think long term,
not if, but when TSHTF
and people can't run down
to the dollar store or wal-mart for a cheap replacement
people's attitude are going to change real fast about what is worthless / useless

who knows what is going to be valuable in the future
( bleach ? - for purifying water ?)
i'm trying to get my sister/niece to rethink what they throw away
and " what if " they had to suddenly do without some of
the " luxury " items they have grown up with - stove/fridge

in the future, i can see people
who wouldn't give a second thought to throwing out a $500 " loose wire " tv
argueing over a pair of pants with a hole in them
that they, now proudly say that they will mend themselves

it's all about attitude and what you think is valuable

__________________

Hey Agnut, and all the other dirtbags,
I just wanted to say I'm a wanna be Dirtbag, I just recently met a pro-dirtbag and he is an inspiration. First I'd like to credit Mr. Agnut for starting this awesome thread. Ever since last spring I've been going to yardsales every weekend. Been picking up some great stuff, my favorite buy was a brand new/still in the box Country Living Grain mill with the Nut auger for $30. I still grin from ear to ear thinking about that one!

Anyway I collected allot of stuff, including some Sterling, which I zero in on at every sale. But finally I tried to earn some money back from my long summer of investments, I had my own yardsale. Now I had a thick wad of cash in my pocket afterwards but I didn't really profit that much. Selling back the stuff I didn't really want, didn't make me any money but I learned lots of lessons on what value is. So after the long Summer I'm left with lots of good stuff that I picked for pennies on the dollar. But the real score was meeting my new mentor.

I'd seen (lets just call him Don) at lots of sales throughout the summer, he was one of maybe a dozen dealers that always were just leaving the sales as I was arriving. Don was always very jovial and friendly as he handed over cash and loaded his vehicle with stuff. Well a week or so before I had my own yardsale Don invited me over to his warehouse. I didn't make it to his place yet but he came by my yardsale and picked up a few things. He collected his pile of what he wanted to buy from me and asked my price. I said $30 and he just handed it over without a moments hesitation, no dickering, "well can I get it for $20" he just said thats "what I want to pay". And then we started talking and He told me he sells on E-bay and I should be doing the same thing. Oh man my mind started spinning, how do I go about that, man thats a good idea, etc... He invited me to his place again and this time I said definitely. This was a Saturday. On Sunday I saw him at another sale. He had just bought a Table for $75 and was loading up his Pickup.

So, I finally went to his warehouse and he had a huge place filled to the rafters filled with stuff, it was amazing. He showed me his little corner table with lights and a white mat where he Photographs his items and then he showed my how he lists with Ebay, procedures etc.. And then I saw what he had picked up from me, remember he paid me $30, Don sold 3 old dolls for $200 and had a few other things still available. I was happy for him, we both made an exchange earlier and were happy, what he did with his stuff after that was his business, and he sold those dolls to somebody else who gladly paid his price. (you get that Elmer?) And that table I saw him buy, he was packing it up to ship out, he sold it for $350 plus shipping!

Oh man am I hooked. And just like Agnut, Don is freely sharing his knowledge and experience with me, I wanna grow up to be a dirtbag too!

One more part of this story, a couple of Saturdays ago Don invited me to go "pickin" with him. We went to a half a dozen sales or so together. I picked up my usual assortment of stuff but I got to see and learn what the pro was doing. Just a sample a book he paid $20 for is listed at $450 and a piece of industrial cleaning equipment which retails for $2800, he paid $100 and he is selling it for $1000. We were at the same places together, I could have bought them just like he did, but I got something much more valuable. I got an amazing education. Thanks Don!

One more thing, I started selling stuff at Amazon a couple of days ago. I made 3 Sales within the first 24 hours. Two DVDs and one calculator, I spent $16 on those 3 items last week and Amazon owes me about $65.image...use_smiley.gif

Thanks again Agnut, And say hello to Ponce for me, GIM is worse off without him.

Only $30 per hour ? I wouldn't waste my time. Lightweight !

A week ago elmer posted :

“This Thread is simple ! Learn how to live like a TOTAL DIRTBAG and make Profit off JUNK !”

At the time I couldn’t tell whether he was joking around or really serious. Actually, either is funny to me.

This is a wonderful opportunity to examine our feelings about making the most of our money. Some are content to buy bargains at stores and go no further. Some will attend garage or estate sales for bargains. Some will search ads and hunt down bargains for themselves or for resale. Some will even buy out defunct companies’ inventories for profitable resale.

We must know that when we buy for resale we invest time and money and take risk. It is little different that starting a business. But this is the business of life and should be an integral part of our thinking. It doesn’t matter whether we are buying an item for ourselves or for resale, the bottom line is getting the best value for our money.

A paycheck is a digital form of the work we performed. It is weighed against the time invested (and sometimes the crap we have to put up with). A job pays money and is a direct reflection of our time spent. Not too imaginative or inspirational. And not subject to much criticism.

A business satisfies a need or want from another. The price charged is what the market will bear. Sure, it can be overpriced or misrepresented. But competition and reputation will straighten out these imbalances. Too high a price or dishonesty and a business will be history in short order. I have seen it many times. When the market speaks, the successful businessman listens.

In a sale for cash or barter, both the seller and buyer have to come to a meeting of the minds. If the seller is asking too much, the buyer can either refuse or negotiate, aka haggling for a better deal. If the seller is asking too little, it is what he thinks it is worth. And that is his business. There should be no coercion or misrepresentation. Both parties have to win or there would be no transaction. The seller got what he wanted as well as the buyer.

Years ago I collected Italian micromosaic art. I had a scene of Venice above my computer. It was spectacular, made of thousands of tiny pieces of glass which made up the scene. It is an almost lost art and I know of only one person in the world who is creating new pieces today. They cost thousands of dollars and are about the size of your thumbnail. This micromosaic art has been created for hundreds of years and the earlier works are in museums and collections around the world.

Anyway, I had bought this scene of Venice on Ebay for $300. I enjoyed it for a few years and then sold it on Ebay for $900. Was I a TOTAL DIRTBAG ?

Should I have sold it for what I originally paid or let the bidders determine what it was worth to them ?

I let the market speak and I listen. Ebay is a great place for finding the value of many, many items.

I once bought an automotive inventory of a closed business. In it were a Porsche speedometer and clock. I didn’t pay much attention to them and casually looked them up on Ebay. They happened to be not for the normal Porsche 356 model but the Carrera and were quite rare. I put them on Ebay and got about $300 for the pair. Since I got them for essentially nothing, should I have given them away ? Or was I a TOTAL DIRTBAG ?

When I buy, it is hopefully at wholesale price. And when I sell, it is what the market will bear. Hopefully retail. And where I wrote in my last post that we cannot buy anything new. It becomes used when it is paid for. It is a state of mind that we should adopt in order to clear up all this new versus used controversy.

Just because I don’t have a storefront doesn’t mean that I am any different that an antique store. I have owned a lot of antiques throughout my life and enjoyed them and yes, made a profit from many of them.

“New” is an illusion. Get over it and yourself. Nobody cares whether you bought it “new” or used. An item carries its own value in this world and it is my quest to find undiscovered value in items that are wanted and needed by others. One man’s JUNK is another man’s treasure. The profit I make is the reward for using my imagination, time and investment. It is a game to me and the world is my playground.

Thanks to all the fellow TOTAL DIRTBAGS who jumped in and posted your opinions.

Elmer, you are most welcome to become a fellow TOTAL DIRTBAG. All I ask is that you have an open mind about such activities. Nobody gets cheated and both buyer and seller should be winners in bartering and horse trading. It has been going on since mankind could communicate, long before there was money.

Best wishes,

Agnut

He who can laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.

Once you lose your ignorance, you can’t get it back.

DIRTBAGS UNITE !!

it's been awhile since i did any dumpster-diving
maybe tonight . . .

__________________

Just want to say this is one of the best threads on this site. People after my own heart here.

Coin roll hunting, auctions, flea markets, yard and garage sales, dumpster diving, garbage picking, bartering etc.. Finding a deal, making the deal happen and profiting from the deal in terms of money or an exchange of goods or services is an excellent life skill. I have no shame or pride and will pull my truck over to pick up a broken stove on the side of the road as quick as I will buy junk 90% at the flea market for 5x face. Take the deals as they come and be ready to act on them. If you don't someone else will. Run your operation like a business and treat every deal no matter how small as an opportunity to compound into something great. If that makes this white collar professional with blue collar roots a dirt bag....so be it. Doesn't bother me in the least. I laugh all the way to the bank. I always tell people, there is money all over the streets. You just got to open your eyes and look for it.

__________________
I wasted my time till time wasted me. - Jon Oliva

Agnut,

Thanks for the great thread!!! As long as both parties are happy with their transaction, who cares what anyone else thinks?

Sung to the Dr. Pepper jingle:

I’m a dirt bag,
he’s a dirt bag,
she’s a dirt bag,
we’re all dirt bags,
wouldn’t ya like to be a dirt bag, too!

Be a dirt bag – wanna be a dirt bag!
Be a dirt bag – born to be a dirt bag!

Hello Aware !
THANKS ! for that amazing post !!!
Haystackneedle

Well I am glad to see all you TOTAL DIRTBAGS UNITE ! May God Bless all of you !

ELMER

Hi Silver Monkey. Your post #336 was perfect ! Some good examples there. Why should we stand still and be shorn like sheep when we can protect ourselves by buying and selling wisely ? Don’t you just love being a TOTAL DIRTBAG ? I do and couldn’t be more happy.

Most people are oblivious to the ravages of inflation. Sure, they complain about prices rising faster than their wages. But they don’t have the cause/effect understanding that is necessary to motivate them to act.

First there needs to be recognition of the trend.

Second there needs to be study to counter this trend. A study of history is most helpful because mankind has been here before.

Third there needs to be righteous anger at this trend. Like “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”.

Fourth there needs to be ACTION to protect oneself.

All of these four steps are necessary before we are able to change our lives for the better.

I offer hope for us all who read this thread. That goes double for me as I have benefited greatly. Until I began this thread, my mind was like a fat guy sitting in the recliner waiting for someone to save me. Well, that ain’t gonna happen.

Putting the mind into gear and hitting the gas is the best way I can put it. Now I know where I’m going and how to get there. Thinking about intricacies of my transmission business have opened up all kinds of advantages over my competition in price, quality and unique offerings. Right now I’m the only one in the world offering some products. They get better fuel mileage and lower RPM. Since these are not patentable, I have to “make hay while the sun shines”, before my competition figures out what I am doing.

I have been the first to offer some products in the past and know that others will in time imitate me. I was first to have manufactured shafts and spools for the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 transmission. The factory wouldn’t sell them so I had them custom made, even better than the factory ones. It cost some $60 to 70K but I believed in what I was doing. For years I had the market to myself.

Another time I had governor gears made for the Audi 80 transmission. You see, everyone was rebuilding them and selling them for $1,095. But the reason they needed them was that the ring and pinion has burned up. And this always took out the governor gear which could only be bought with the rest of the governor attached. It was $200. So when I had my custom gears and a customer called, I asked him if he needed a governor. The answer was always yes. I then told him that I included a new governor gear for free with my rebuilt transmission. Cost me about $14. So anyone who called was left with the choice to pay $200 more elsewhere or buy from me. I call that “the tail wagging the dog”. A $14 investment to make a $1,095 sale. Again I had the market to myself.

Another time I built sand rail racing transmissions. I noticed that everyone was taking off in second gear and having to shift to third; going against inertia and doglegging to boot. Also, the aftermarket ring and pinion and second gear were weak and often failed. I found a stock ring and pinion ratio and a gear set from a Chicago manufacturer that fit my gear ratio calculations. I could take off in first and slam back to second when racing up the hill. I built the transmission and had the prototype racing around on the sand dunes in a month. Others saw how it outperformed theirs and they bought several of my units as a result. It was less expensive, more reliable and blew away the competition. A win-win for everybody.

Now I have given you three examples of what worked in my past as well as one I am beginning to offer now. What is the common thread here ?

They ALL came as a result of figuring what was needed by others and providing it. These examples cornered the market and made lots of money too. And in every case, everybody won.

My philosophy has always been that business is bad where somebody loses. The difference between what you buy an item for and what you sell it for is the reward for your efforts and thought. It could be something as simple as buying a book for a dollar and finding out that it is rare and can be sold for $100. Discovery of going market value is one of the most enjoyable aspects of bartering and horse trading. Lots of surprises, mostly pleasurable.

Not many will even see this thread. I knew this when I began writing it last January. I don’t want everyone to “get it”; just the ones on GIM who see the benefits of this type of wise money management.

Elmer, you have your beliefs and we have ours. This bartering and horse trading thread must continue with discussions of automobiles and housing as well as others. We don’t have time for any more disagreements and must move on. Let’s just say that we agree to disagree. But I believe that within a year or two the world will be changed such that you may understand the reasons for what we are discussing here. Our world is going from form to function. What is functional will become far more important that whether it is new or used. Or if someone is being cheated by buying an item for more than a seller paid for it. I am against cheating anyone. Your definition of what is cheating is wrong and confused. If I buy an item and sell it for less, is the buyer cheating me ? You can’t have it both ways.

The nature of preparations is that they are forward thinking. And the best preparations are within ourselves. Mental tools.

Best wishes,

Agnut

Some people think and some people think they think. Don’tcha think ?

uh Elmer, your statement makes what we all know true!

All retailers are scumbags/dirtbags.
Go look at all the jewlery sales now. They mark stuff up for 500-1000%
Then sell for major discounts.

The moment you buy a new car, it immediatly loses 10-30% once deriven off the lot.

Look at designer clothes, even levis,

The material, making, and selling the item does not warrent 50 plus dollars.

if you want to buy something, say an engine, clean it fix it, then sell it for what you paid for it, that's on you.

Did you buy an eagle two three years ago for 400?'
Then you'd be a dirtbag for selling for 800.

Just some thoughts

Hi Canadian-guerilla. Nice post.

All DIRTBAGS are welcome here, the more TOTAL the better.

I agree; we are a throwaway society. Sometimes I have to consider if the item I am picking up, even if free, will cost me to haul it to the dump. They charge by the pound.

And sometimes I pick up something that I don’t know what I will use it for. Example; an iron wood burner that weighs over 200 pounds. Maybe for experimenting with heating a house or garage workshop. When I got it, I didn’t have a place or use for it. But now with the 10 acres and loads of free firewood around us, it is looking better all the time. My son saw the wood burner and found a smaller one and dragged it home. Monkey see, monkey do. We might heat the spa with it because they are very expensive to heat up to 104 F. I got the spa when I sold some auto parts that had been kicking around. Even if we don’t use the spa, it is holding several hundred gallons of water for emergencies.

So you never know when an item will come in handy for later.

My older son didn’t think much of the 4X8 and 4X4 wood shipping containers we trailered home the other day. But now he is hot for more; he wants them for wood storage and all kinds of other storage. We are going to pick up more as soon as time permits. And at the same place, there are wood pallets as well as the 1” thick 42”X40” plywood pieces. All for free. Ponce says he is jealous. HeeHee

As I wrote before, these boxes may be a benefit for you too. Check with a local moving company.

I am trying to set us up to disconnect from the outside systems as much as possible. Think what your home is connected to and imagine what could replace it. In our case, we need a large water tank for the well. I have two gas generators and have been looking at diesel generators. On Craigslist there was a used Lister one cylinder diesel for $400. I think these are like the ones Australians use on ranches in the outback. I hear they run forever and don’t use much fuel. A small one for lights and a TV and computer would be all we need. A big gas generator for the freezers is already in place. Last winter we lost power for several days and kept our foods frozen.

If it gets cold where you live, thermal underwear (#25 on the list of 100 things that will disappear in a crisis/collapse) is a good item to stock several sets. I work in 30 to 50 degrees and am comfortable all day. Also knit caps because so much body heat is lost through the head being exposed. I got several caps on sale at Wal Mart for a buck each. When shopping, buy extras of an item because as you said Canadian-guerilla, you may not be able to just go to the store and pick them up. It is bad enough that prices are going up so much but even worse is that they may become unavailable at any price. We take toilet paper and socks for granted but they are both consumed in time. Might be good trading material someday too. Bullets, liquor and food are too dangerous in my opinion.

Things are an investment in our futures. They take time, money and effort. In a collapse, it will be more important to have prepared to not be miserable than to have attempted to have been unaffected at all. Face it, we will have to deal with inconveniences in such a future. But we better think right now of what our not having would be catastrophic. And get them first.

This bartering and horse trading thread’s purpose is to better equip you for difficult times. I feel that the time is short and we can have a dramatic change any time now. I don’t mean for you to run around in panic mode but rather to think daily of what is most crucial that you still lack.

It would also be sufficient to learn more effective use of our money even if hard times are not coming. But I don’t see how we are to escape paying the piper. Have you noticed the foreboding internet articles coming out lately ? That is because the enormity of our situation is continually becoming more obvious. It won’t be long before the mainstream also begins to report the same. That is, when it becomes undeniable. I don’t know why they call it the “news”; by the time they report, it is too late.

Having cash on hand may provide one with the ability to pick up bargains at the bottom. Trouble is, nobody knows what will be money in the future. Some dollars, some precious metals; trading items. You will have to follow your own conclusions as I am not sure what will be the hot ticket. As I wrote some time ago, some luxury items may be selling for almost nothing. In hard times, survival items are at the top of the list. What use is a piano or a telescope when there isn’t food on the table or a roof over your head ?

Barter is often mentioned in referring to transacting after a collapse. But I don’t see much written telling others how barter deals go down. We are so accustomed to using dollars as the intermediary that we give little thought to it. The overview of bartering is that both parties part content with the exchange. If one feels he has gotten the lesser value, “change” may be offered by the other party to equalize the small difference. This change could be eggs, chickens, a pair of socks, nails or any number of items. This “change” is used like coins had been used in the past.

Notice that there are no dollars or coinage used in this bartering ? You don’t need them as long as you can deal with others and both are reasonable parties. Of course, the velocity at which bartering can be transacted is slower than using dollars. And it is not possible to have a sophisticated world such as we now have. Try buying a stock with chickens or nails. Speed is lost but personal dealing is gained. And something else is gained :

I wonder how the government could collect taxes from bartering since it is generally transacted privately between two people. And an equal trade would net no profit so where is the tax on that ? With understanding this, you can see that the government and bankers would be horrified if most items were bartered.

I can dream, can’t I ?

Is it beginning to dawn on you that you are so accustomed to using dollars that if these dollars became unacceptable, you would be left with bartering and horse trading as the only means to get what you want ?

But if we were to have to use bartering we would be dealing locally and at a much slower pace. A much different world than we have today. Something like in the movies “The Postman” or “Waterworld”.

While this may be hard to imagine, there is an upside in that we would be on our own. We really have been on our own all along but with the politicians and bankers and special interests and a plethora of other intermediaries taking their cut of the deal. Riding on our backs is more like it.

As I wrote before, bartering and horse trading existed long before there was money as the intermediary. In the beginnings of money, gold and silver were reliable workhorses for the heavy lifting. But some evil genius devised a way to make money from dealing in unbacked currency and the rest is history. We are living in yet another end of the timeline of fiat currency. This time it is called the dollar. But all of the world is dealing in the same irredeemable currencies. Some of them are weaker than the dollar and some are stronger. The Zimbabwe dollar is much weaker due to its unbridled issuance and as a result is rapidly becoming totally worthless. The Euro has become stronger, maybe because it has not been overissued but also because it is a recent currency and has yet to age and then die as all other fiat currencies have in the past.

In time, all fiat currencies will fail unless their issuance is limited. Interesting that those who hold the power have always over issued and therefore destroyed the currency. You would think they would have learned by now. Or is there a more sinister agenda; to inflate the currency and fleece the populace through the years ? Sure seems so since currency has always been destroyed through over issuance. Cui bono ? Who benefits ?

Only gold and silver are money. Because we may not be able to use them in a catastrophe does not mean that they have lost their value. It may take time until things settle down and their true value is once again recognized. Compounding the problem is that we live in the electronic age and concerns of total computer control of our wealth are entirely possible for the first time in history. Mark of the beast, 666 and all that.

It is no wonder that when I spoke with a friend the other day, he was angry as well as discouraged. He said that he didn’t know where he could reliably put his wealth. He got out of the stock market completely a while ago and knows about the precious metals and has some but still cannot find any investment that he feels will serve him for the rest of his life.

I think many Americans feel the same way. And why is this ? I blame the fatal flaw of unbacked currency. It has no intrinsic value; only confidence. Or a con game really. At the end of the con game the mark is always left with a loss. In the case of the currency con, it will be the vaporization of the mark’s life’s work. The contemplation of this is so enormous that the mind is repelled into denial. Can’t happen; it just can’t. Oh but it can and has many, many times.

So where do we put our wealth besides gold, silver, real estate, provisions, etc. ?

Some of Ben Franklin’s quotes :

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.

Genius without education is like silver in the mine.

He does not possess wealth; it possesses him.

He that can have patience can have what he will.

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.

I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things.

If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/au..._franklin.html

There are literally thousands upon thousands of quotes and their study may reveal answers. I have found peace with my concerns and invite you to do the same. It is a personal journey and different for each of us. All you have to do is begin seeking. Google was my starting point.

Hope I didn’t put you to sleep with my drivel.

Best wishes and JMHO,

Agnut

It is fun to watch you SCAVENGERS tell stories about getting JUNK and SCRAPS and how much fun it is ! OMG The TOTAL DIRTBAG DREAM !! Looking for wood boxes ! LOL


ELMER

You are way to hilarious to be banned! Reminds me of the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live years ago...

Hug, you have my sons and me still laughing. Thanks.

“Now where do you think this criticism is coming from ? hmmm…………..SATAN ?”
Church lady aka Dana Carvey

Couldn’t resist

Agnut

P.S. Elmer, I'll reserve one of those wood boxes for you; just bring a mattress, a can of Sterno and a pickle jar for the bathroom and you‘ll be all set.

Agnut,

Man i dont even want to think about what i could do if i had 10 ACRES of land, and sturdy strong sons around, who took an interest in horsetrading.

The last few months i have found interest in sports betting LOL.(Along with my BAD habit of buying Precious metals ;)

Turns out its just another thing in a long list of things i am good at ;)


made about $1000 in last 2 months!

I looked at it as just another way to keep my money working for me, and set aside $500 as max amount to risk.


I know its a risk and gambling ect..ect..

but so far a 200% return on a risk of $500 is pretty nice.

I sold 1/3 of my Gold/Silver over last 3 weeks.

I am sitting on a pile of cash, and want to make it work for me.

Any ideas?


Thanks


Silver Monkey :bull-buddy-icon:

Wow Aware ! Looks like you have moved way ahead in a short period of time. A mentor like this Don is precious beyond measure.

Years ago I also had a mentor named Tom. He always reminded me a bit of Yosemite Sam. He owned a business property and houses in town. He used to say, “Keep those checks coming in the mail”. He was renting several properties and lived a life of leisure, only doing what he wanted, when he wanted. We would bid for and win storage lockers and sell the contents. He taught me what to look for and to be patient. Since he was wealthy, he could afford to be picky and often not bid on anything the whole day. But when we did win an auction, it was a winner ! Many times our cost. He taught me to be patient and treat this like a fun game. If someone else outbid us, we moved on to the next container. Watching the other bidders was part of the fun. Some would bid on the first containers and exhaust their money. Good for us for our further bidding. And some of the last containers had only a few bidders left with any money so the competition was thin.

We were only allowed to stand at the door entrance and look in before the bidding. When we saw high value like tool boxes or antiques we calculated and bid accordingly. This was in the San Diego area. And sometimes there was what we called a “setup container”; it showed a lot of promise but was set up by someone to give that appearance. Lots of closed boxes containing trash and a couple of good items showing. Bidders would ASSUME that the closed boxes contained more value and that was their fatal mistake. Buying a pig in a poke.

The rule is to bid only for what you can see and not for what you dream may be there.

Get out there and beat the bushes is an old expression but it works wonders. You have to get out there and keep your eyes and especially your ears open. By mingling with others I have not only learned a lot but have been told of some fabulous opportunities. I cannot emphasize enough asking others if they either have an item OR know someone who has it. I call it networking and sometimes come home with several phone numbers and addresses of new connections. I don’t always pursue them but when they appear to have the greatest potential, I am on the phone and ready to travel.

It is this exposure to deals that is the foundation of finding great deals. You aren’t going to find anything by sitting at home. I have gone to garage sales that looked like there wasn’t much there and asked what else is for sale and ended driving away with a truckload. Thoreau said, “"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

Think about it and look around at the next garage sale you attend. What do you have that other buyers don’t ? If no more, you will gain equally of what they gain. But if you will look deeper and begin to ask questions and talk to sellers, you will sometimes make a killing.

Oh, and always remember if the seller is going to have a half price sale at the end of the day. You can still haggle then and pick up some items for almost nothing. Think of what the seller is thinking just before he closes shop. Does he want to keep an item you are interested in or get it out of his garage ? Package deals at this time can work wonders. Time to back up the truck.

Bad weather keeps many buyers at home and this is an opportunity. I have been in stormy weather and knocked on doors of houses that had advertised and never opened for business. Although surprised, the sellers were most happy to show me what they had. After all, they had done all the work to set up for a garage sale and had been rained out. I guess I was like a ray of sunshine to them. HaHa I have bought several items under stormy conditions. Maybe it is part of perseverance or my morbid curiosity of what I would miss if I didn’t take the chance, but I get out there and beat the bushes whenever I have the time. My younger son goes with me and we split the profit 50-50. I figure if he is making money right along with me, he will become more involved. He made some good money on a ladder and a big screen TV. We bought them together for resale but I decided I wanted to keep them so I paid him what we agreed would have been his half of the profit. He has also picked up several Xbox games and some clothes for ridiculous prices.

Moneymaking activities with your children is a bonding experience. But there is much more to it than that. What you teach your child will become a part of his ability to deal with the world. Does he learn this in school ? No; it is your responsibility and I can’t think of a better way to get this across to them. It is a win-win situation on a deep level. Your children will remember you and what you shared with them long after you are gone. And they will be better equipped for their future. It may even pass on down through the generations. I can envision it now; “great grandpa got my grandpa started in deal making and grandpa got my dad into deal making and dad taught me. Now I am teaching my sons and daughters”. There is 5 generations.

If you haven’t done it yet, try it and see how the first Saturday morning garage sales go. I recommend it highly. Doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor; it is playing the game and sharing yourself with family that is all important.

And remember that we are moving from form to function. And to be on the lookout for items that will be useful and in demand in a dramatically different future.

"A tooth is more valuable than a diamond."
Cervantes

See ? The form of a diamond isn’t as valuable as the function of a tooth.

Best wishes,

Agnut

P.S. Where will we be in 6 months or a year ? A recession or a depression ? Now is a good time to think of these things and figure what will be offered for sale under such circumstances. I am not connected to buying defunct business inventories now but have made good money in the past. These are larger deals and may appeal to many of you. I’m not sure where to look for such deals; local trade papers, word of mouth, newspaper classifieds, auctioneers, etc.

This is something for us to discuss and prepare for well before it begins to happen. As I warned in July of discretionary money disappearing, I also see future business slowdown and closures. Therefore equipment and inventories will have to be liquidated. This is risky business but can be enormously profitable. One good deal and it can pay the bills for a year. This isn’t theory; I have done it and you can too.

P.P.S. Yes, it is a shame that Ponce is no longer writing on GIM. He has so much wisdom to share.

Hi Agnut


You will never catch me or my boys looking for wooden boxes for a living ! OMG what a loser !

ELMER

So anyways i had another great weekend betting the piggies(Pigskin)

won $400


took Missouri over Kansas
took San Diego over Baltimore
took Chicago over Denver(Wow what a game in Overtime)
took Phili -24 over New England(This is the NFL and -24 points is only the 7th time since 1985)

Under dog was 4-2

now 5-2

went with the trend and now have WAY more cash in my pocked then i did.


Just another way(for me)to diversify cash, and make it grow.

I am still looking (On Craigslist and in papers) for deals, but i dont seem to find any.

OK time for another update. My beloved CU forgot to order my coin for today sos I'm sitting here without any halves to search (major bummer), and NO I don't have a life elmer. But when I went to my dump bank this AM the teller put a couple of Bens on the counter and said "Do you want these?" Of course I said "Yes please". So got ME $10 worth of silver for a buck. Good day but I still wish I had coin to sort. HH Mark

Hi silver monkey. Now that my sons and I are on 10 acres we can do all kinds of things that were out of the question in a residential setting. We can grow a large garden, an orchard, cut firewood, store large items and experiment. Also having a well and our own septic system make us more independent from the system.

At 60 years old, I have to be careful with all the changes. Disrupted schedules and heavy demands of settling in can leave one open to becoming sick. Our health and peace of mind are part of the balancing act in the quest for a more secure future. In other words, don’t drive yourself nuts. There will always be tomorrow and you can only do so much in a day.

Sports wagering and card playing are forms of gambling. I got a kick out of reading your posts. If you are good at it and don’t bet more than you can afford to lose, it may be a source of income. Your posts reminded me of something I hadn’t thought of for 27 years. Funny how some things can jog the memory. My wife and I hosted a party and one of the attendees was a professional sports wager. He had several bets going and since it was the weekend, he needed to be close to a TV and phone. We positioned him in a room while the party continued. He was betting $500 here and thousands elsewhere. This was in 1980 when a dollar was not in jeopardy of being toilet paper or fire starter as it is rapidly becoming today. He was attired in fine clothes and had a beautiful woman on his arm. Looked like something out of an old Bogart movie.

I personally bet only in deal making. The reason I do this is that the downside or potential loss is that I still have the items I bought, even if they didn’t sell as fast or for as much as I anticipated. Another reason is that I hate to lose money and have become so accustomed to making profit on deals that to even break even is a tragedy. HaHa

You asked about ways to make money in deal making. Well, as I said, we are in a transitory period. Markets falling and so much more unstable, especially the dollar. It depends upon if you can find an item that can be sold quickly for a considerable profit margin. Although time from buying to selling is always important, a falling market makes time until sale a high priority consideration. Wait too long and it will be like getting stuck with the old maid. I like selling cars but the months it sometimes takes for title and registration to clear can be a BIG negative when the markets are falling. Also if there is major work to be done before reselling, it can take weeks.

On the other hand I have bought and sold cars in a few days and doubled my money. Each deal is unique and must be treated with thought and planning; like you study the spread on your sports games.

If I were looking for car deals right now I would be looking for something like a Toyota with a 4 cylinder that needed either minor mechanical work or cosmetic work. Often merely washing and waxing a car can net great returns.

Booty is in the eye of the beholder.

The overview is to be looking for high miles per gallon cars. Could be a Honda or a Nissan or a VW. These should be desirable under most future circumstances. With looming gas price increases and maybe gas shortages too, high MPG cars will be in greater demand as the situation gets worse. So study the market, like cars for sale privately and you can get a general picture of what you can offer a car for.

A gas shortage is much more important to the average consumer than gas prices rising. It may not seem so today but believe me, people get crazy when they can’t get a necessity. And if gas shortages are bad, I hate to imagine what food shortages will look like.

I suspect that TPTB will inflate us into using less gas. Less joy riding and more ride sharing. And food prices will accompany the gas rises. We have been seeing this for a while but I believe that we will see more acceleration in the coming years.

Have you noticed that oil was almost $100 a barrel recently and has dropped to about $92 as of 11/29 ? And what time of year is it ? Christmas season. Do you think the oil price will continue to drop after new years ? Sure looks like a setup to me to get us through the holidays without a retail sales crash. I have heard that half of the profits of stores is made during the Christmas season. No wonder that oil prices are held in abeyance. Imagine a poor retail season and all the resulting going out of business sales in January. A Helluva way to start the new year.

Inflation turning into hyperinflation can be made to work for you if you buy an item and sell it for a lot more. But this begs the question; What is a lot more? Of what ? Paper dollars ? In such times, purchasing power is changing all the time. This is where the analogy to not try to catch a falling knife is soooo appropriate.

Why not deal in luxury cars if they can be bought for a song ? I’m not saying this would not work but I like to have an item that the buyer needs rather than wants. We don’t NEED a Porsche or a Mercedes or a Jaguar or even a late American made luxury car. And we really don’t need a piss poor MPG SUV. I also feel that lower priced cars will be easier to sell than late model cars. I see that the newspaper ads are full of them as well as there are many parked around with for sale signs on them.

Recently I read that motor homes will be in greater demand as the sub prime mortgage debacle continues. I remember the 1987 market crash and the next 10 or so customers were calling for VW bus transmissions. I asked a caller and he said that if people lose their apartments and homes, they would still have something to sleep in. At that time I was shocked. This was long before I woke to the reality of where our society is heading. My point is that as history teaches us lessons, we should be listening and taking notes rather than making paper airplanes and throwing spit wads.

Life…..is a classroom and those goof offs will become pool cleaners or asking, “Would you like fries wit’ that, sir ?”

History is about to repeat itself once more, cloaked in seemingly different times and distractions, only to be recognized in retrospect. Who was that masked man ?

Nobody in the mainstream media is going to tell you real inflation adjusted numbers, charts or warnings of what is really occurring. I have been watching CNBC for years and have yet to ever see this mentioned. It is not in THEIR interest to wake us up, now is it ?

Sometimes the omission of something speaks louder than all the noise on the boob tube.

Silver monkey, we can be deal making in our day to day lives but must be ever vigilant to the big picture. We are in a slow motion market and currency crash that is cloaked in underreported inflation. If the markets rise 15% in a year as real inflation is 12%, we are losing ground in real purchasing power after taxes. It is unfortunate that we have to be the reporters ourselves; it is quite time consuming to slog through all the (dis)information.

This is a time for listening to warnings and a time to get ready. Cash in hand, provisions of all kinds and a way to protect them may be the best solution. This bartering and horse trading thread is about deal making but also about wise spending. And this wise spending and therefore wise saving can be as effective as deal making, especially while the knife is still falling.

This may be a time to consider your mode of transportation. What kind of miles per gallon, maintenance costs, insurance premiums and debt do you presently have ? I have owned hundreds of cars and only made payments two times. I didn’t enjoy either time.

We must be futurists, always looking to where we will be in a month, a year, five years. So with oil production peaking, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that a high MPG car or scooter will make more sense as time passes. Being in the automotive field gives me insights that most Americans will only see after it is too late to take advantage.

When the oil barbarians come and ask, “What’s in YOUR garage ?”, I hope you have a vehicle that sips fuel rather than guzzles it. Of course, that is not the whole picture and it is different for each one of us. If you put a lot of miles on a car it is more important to you. If gas were $10 a gallon and you drove 50,000 miles per year and had a gas hog getting 10MPG, the $7 increase from today’s price would cost you… wait for it……$35,000 friggin’ dollars MORE per year !!!

Yeah, that’s right. 50,000 miles divided by 10 miles per gallon equals 5,000 gallons consumed. And times the $7 per gallon increase from today’s price, it is still $35,000 friggin’ dollars MORE per year !!! I still can’t wrap my mind around it. Anybody got that kind of discretionary money laying around ? Not me !

However, if gas were $10 a gallon but you only drove 1,000 miles per year, the $7 increase would only cost you an extra $210 per year if you had a car that got 33 MPG. See, there are many ways to look at this.

Do these two extremes shock you into actually doing something about your transportation situation ? Hopefully you already are aware and have pre positioned yourself to watch the fireworks rather than to be IN the fireworks.

Pause here and look again at the above few paragraphs and get out a pen and paper and calculate what you would be spending if/when gas were to rise to $10 a gallon. This may be in our future in a few years and now is the time to find and equip a high MPG car for the future. Now I have a Datsun diesel pickup truck that gets about 40 MPG. I also have a Mercedes 240 diesel that gets about 33 MPG. And I have three VW Rabbit diesels out back that would get 50-55 MPG if I ever get the time to rebuild their engines and transmissions. I bought then for $200 to $300 each and their value will only increase with time. I could sell them for a profit right now because as oil prices rise, owners will pull their cars out of the back yard and fix them up as a defensive move. There are damn few cheap ones for sale in this scenario.

A running Rabbit, Jetta, or Golf diesel will cost anywhere between $1,500 and $6,000, depending on condition. These are in the years between 1980 and 1992. I even saw a 1981 diesel Rabbit sell for $8,000 on Ebay. It was restored but still, WOW !

Why a diesel ? Well, it is a matter of preference right now but may become more financially beneficial in the future.

First, a diesel gets better mileage than a comparable gas powered car.

Second, a diesel has no spark plugs and starts with glow plugs and runs on compression ignition. A small point here is that an EMP would not prevent these early diesel cars from running. Remember the recent movie “War Of The Worlds” where all the cars were stranded along the freeway ? Their electronic ignitions were fried.

Third, diesel fuel can be stored for years better than gasoline.

Fourth, these diesel cars don’t attract much attention and can easily be wired to prevent theft. I believe that it will be a good idea to be as low key as possible in the future.

These times demand that we think for ourselves. It has been said that men would rather die than to have to think. We on the GIM website are sifting the truth and sharing insights. It is an invaluable place to grow and change the way we see the world. GIM is the red pill; the more you read here, the more truth will be revealed.

The nature of a crisis is that it catches almost everyone unawares and unprepared.

Can you see a crisis coming ?

I see financially dead people.

Best wishes silver monkey, especially in your sports betting. As long as it makes you money and is fun.

agnut

P.S. Some of my best deals have been when I was just driving around and saw a for sale sign or a car sitting in the side yard or by word of mouth. I traded for a rusty 1971 Datsun 240Z a while back and saw on Ebay that the dashboard alone was selling for over $400. Until I did some searching around I would have never known.

P.P.S. “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
-Robert A. Heinlein

Thanks for the compliment Victor. I’m surprised as anyone that it has gone on for so long. Hopefully further postings will continue to open possibilities and understandings of how bartering and horse trading works.

Your post couldn’t have been said better. It is well worth rereading several times. Every sentence you wrote is at the heart of this thread.

Here is something I wrote a week ago but didn’t post :

Remember that a penny saved is actually two pennies earned. Ol’ Ben Franklin didn’t have the govt taxing half of our income back then.

Imagine being able to put away $20 per week that you had not been able to in the past. Seems like small potatoes but over time it can become life changing.

For example, in a year this would amount to $1,040. That is without pyramiding it through deal making along the way. This $1,040 would pay for a nice yearly vacation but I tend to think of it as foundation for greater and more deal making ability. I look in terms of many years of pyramiding until it is enough to take care of my needs. Some could be parked in precious metals and some could be held in cash for security against bank failures.

If gold and silver double in a year, that is great so long as the dollar doesn’t lose half of its value in the same time. Let’s not deceive ourselves; gaining on inflation is increasing wealth. Maintaining parity with inflation is actually standing still through time. Nothing wrong with this as long as you realize it and don’t feel the need to increase your wealth.

Imagine if you could double your initial investment every month. Start with $100 and at the end of a year you would have $409,600 ! This is in theory but it becomes difficult for the mind to expand this rapidly as well to find the increasingly larger deals each month.

A $100 investment in precious metal would be worth $200 if it doubled in a year. That would mean that silver had gone from $14.50 to $29 and gold has gone from $809 to $1,618. Do you feel confident that this will happen at the end of 12 months ?

You see, nobody knows for sure. Personally, I have been watching and waiting for the precious metals to take off and although they have risen from silver at $5 to $14.50 and gold has risen from $275 to $809, that is approximately a 200% gain. But that has taken 7 years. These are just rough figures so don’t get your panties in a bunch. I am trying to illustrate a point. Take 7 years and divide it into 200% and you get about 28% per year.

You see what I am getting at and why this bartering and horse trading philosophy is so important. The overview is that having precious metals in hand is a great insurance policy. But (and this is a big fat butt too) if you want to increase your wealth, the best way I know of is to pyramid your money. The garage and estate sales is a great way to learn at the beginning. Moving up to increasingly larger deals gets harder but don’t be discouraged; you will also grow in the meantime until you find your comfort level as to the size of the deals. You may stop in the fourth month with turning $1,600 into $3,200 and continue at that level. There’s your sign and your comfort level. Also at this level you may be able to find more that one deal per month. And even if you were to continue the rest of the year making no more that a profit if $1,600 per month, you would have $14,400 at the end of the year. I know it’s a far cry from the $409,600 mentioned above but this is to illustrate what happens where you find your comfort level.

An additional point is you would have $14,400 at the beginning of the second year and every year after that. What you do from there is up to you but it would provide you enough capital to buy a larger deal. And if you found only one deal that doubled your capital, you would have an extra $14,400 each year. Long ago I learned that is the same work to make a $1000 deal as it is to make a $10,000 deal. A German auto parts dealer told me this and I never forgot. I have found this to be true and you will too if you get into this type of deal making.

Whatever you profit could be partially put into precious metals. How much is up to you of course. It’s like a gambling casino but the difference is that the odds are greatly stacked in your favor and you own the casino. You can work hard at it or close down for a vacation. No sense getting fanatical about it. It will always be there. More like your own gold mine; the more you work it, the more ounces you get out of it.

A working man doesn’t stand a chance with all the inflation running beyond his wage increases. He is trapped and can’t understand that the future bodes ill for his prospects. Many recommend a small business as a way out of the trap but I have learned that only certain types of business leave one with fuller control. Otherwise, you would be working for the landlord, power company, phone company, tax man, insurance man, and everybody with his hand out.

Bartering and horse trading is a sort of “stealth business”. No rent or monthly bills unless you get large enough that it makes sense. I met a lady that works out of her house and buys and sells antiques. She does almost a half a million dollars per year and said that she nets about half of that. Not too shabby when working out of your living room.

Best wishes,

agnut

Bartering and horse trading is a sort of “stealth business”. No rent or monthly bills unless you get large enough that it makes sense. I met a lady that works out of her house and buys and sells antiques. She does almost a half a million dollars per year and said that she nets about half of that. Not too shabby when working out of your living room.

Best wishes,

agnut[/QUOTE]

Hey Yeah ! People are lined up at her house giving her all their antiques ! Then she Steals them and makes 100% profit So this OLD LADY is making $250,000.00 a year working out of her house ! OMG That is just to funny @!
Ok how many people belive this XXXXXXXXXit . This lady does not even have to look for wooden boxes or $300 cars ! Hmmm she has a great life !

TO FUNNY
ELMER

Amazing !

Best wishes,

agnut