Am I asking a reasonable price for this trailer

[fordmantpw]

I realize the OP had picked the trailer up as part of a package deal, but I dislike the idea of taking something and trying to flip it for an overnight 50% markup (or greater) without adding anything to it.

Had he cleaned up the deck, repaired the rails, added fenders, added a tailgate, and repainted the whole thing, then resold it for $2K, that would have been something different. But, at this point, all he did was take new photos.

So, if you saw something on CL that you didn't need, but you knew was worth 5x what the listing price is, you wouldn't spend $20 on it to sell for $100?

I don't see any issues with doing that. If it was worth $xx to the original seller, and he got $xx-$50 and was happy, so why should he care? The second buyer sees it may be worth more and can make a buck, so he lists it at $yy. He is putting his money at risk to make a buck or two.

I actually did this with a brush hog I bought. I bought it back in Oct/Nov for $350. I uesd it for 4 months, and all I did to it (other than use it) was sharpen a blade (I could only get one off). I bought a bigger tractor, so wanted a bigger hog. I advertised my old one for $650 and ended up selling it for $575. I was just more patient than the person I bought it from and held out for more $$. Nothing wrong with that...free market as another poster put it.

 

[CliffordK]

Certainly I think the "house flippers" were part of what put us into the housing crunch earlier (not the whole issue, but part of it). They were pushing up house prices to ridiculous levels. Adding an extra few thousand here and there. Until, the market didn't support those prices, and the entire global economy melted down.

As far as buying something on Craigslist only to resell. Nope, I'll let someone else get a good deal. Perhaps I'll consider value added. Find a tractor that lists "doesn't start", and give it a couple of kicks and see if I can breathe some life into it. Then, if I am happy with the condition, I might consider selling it.

Certainly I won't use Craigslist to dump some piece of junk on some unsuspecting dupe. If I know I have an engine needing a major engine overhaul, I won't claim otherwise, or ignorance.

I like getting a "good deal" on Craigslist every once in a while. The "flippers" take that away. And, if there is something I don't need that looks like it will have some general interest, I'd be most happy to find someone who is happy to get it, not someone just wanting to turn a quick buck off from lowball offers.

 

[clemsonfor]

Here is the thing, there is nothing wrong with this.

I dont do it, but i have considered it but often dont want to invest the timea nd effort to make the money. I have come close but not made it before to buy something.

The house flippers is not really the same. Yes they buy a turd and redo it, some just painted over stuff and slap a new kitchen in and there is stll foundation issues or mold or asbestos or Knob and tube hidden with romex at the pannel. THis is just wrong, but this is where buyer beware. If they have a qualified inspector they can see signs many times where something may be ary, like romex in a panel, no ground and old wires at a switch, then they should call an electrition etc.

But no one forces someone to buy a home, esp if the price is more than it should be. But there were decent homes with jamb up remodels in GOOD areas that sold for big money causing the comps to push up then some guy does a hack job and someone is to tight on cash to inspect it and they buy the turd painted gold and were all burned. Its buyers and flippers that are the problem in that scnariao.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Certainly I think the "house flippers" were part of what put us into the housing crunch earlier (not the whole issue, but part of it). They were pushing up house prices to ridiculous levels. Adding an extra few thousand here and there. Until, the market didn't support those prices, and the entire global economy melted down.

I realize that this is a matter of some opinion, but IMO, the house flippers were a symptom of the disease, not a cause. The root cause (again, IMO) was banks pushing easy mortgage credit in order to create derivatives that they could sell to institutional investors. The availability of credit and the incentive to get everyone possible into a mortgage, even after the pool of "good" borrowers was exhausted, pushed house prices up. The combination of easy credit and rising house prices enabled the flippers to do what they did, but they were just riding the wave. Without the banks doing what they did, there would have been no wave to ride.

 

[Beltman60]

yeh we all turn on our tv's and will watch pickers or the pawn shop guys do it but **** if I try to do it
one mans loss is another mans gain
one mans pleasure is another mans pain (just ask the guy who is dating my X)

 

[3v0]

It would be a better world if people did not drive up prices just to make a buck. If you want to play that game or not is up to you.

 

[joshuabardwell]

It would be a better world if people did not drive up prices just to make a buck. If you want to play that game or not is up to you.

You say this as if the seller of the item sets the price at which the buyer will buy it. I wish! I can set whatever price I want, but I can't "drive up the price" because at a certain point, nobody will buy it. If the original seller under-priced his item, that's too bad for him. What am I missing?

 

[fordmantpw]

You say this as if the seller of the item sets the price at which the buyer will buy it. I wish! I can set whatever price I want, but I can't "drive up the price" because at a certain point, nobody will buy it. If the original seller under-priced his item, that's too bad for him. What am I missing?

I agree with you. It's called supply and demand! We should all be able to buy tractors for a buck, right?

 

[clemsonfor]

Yea i forgot about the bank part of the equation. Just ask a potential buyer thier income without proof, preapprove or approve someone for a house that basically will take thier entire sallery! I bought a home in spring of 08. they told me i could spend say 160K on a home, yea i could but that would basically mean that i could not pay other bills. I dont think they cared if you had other bills like student loans, if you wanted a car, or if you had cable or a cell, let alone the necessities like food power and water?? I would have been almost worse than paycheck to paycheck if i took the amount they wanted to lend me. I knew what i could afford and set my limit around 125K.

Most idiots dont know how to budget, and with the banks selling the loans the first month there was little to no risk when doing the FHA, fanny or freddy loans.

 

[two_bit_score]

We'll see how long the new ad stays up.

I realize the OP had picked the trailer up as part of a package deal, but I dislike the idea of taking something and trying to flip it for an overnight 50% markup (or greater) without adding anything to it.

Had he cleaned up the deck, repaired the rails, added fenders, added a tailgate, and repainted the whole thing, then resold it for $2K, that would have been something different. But, at this point, all he did was take new photos.

So I guess you'll go back and cover his losses? Or, is that just him getting what he has coming for trying to make a buck?

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