Turning the hobby into a side-business

[Mobius]

I've been thinking about turning my hobby of game collecting into a little side business. I'm not looking at making it a major thing, not a store or a way to make a living, mostly just as a way to make a few extra bucks and maybe to allow collecting to pay for itself.

Does anyone else do this? How do you go about it? Have any tips? I'm thinking along the lines of buying large lots off craigslist and maybe garage sales, then parting them out on eBay.

[NES_Rules]

I've been kind of doing that lately, selling off duplicates I've accumulated in the last couple years. I'm not making a lot, about half what I spent in total this year. So, I may not be making a profit, but it does help alleviate the cost of buying hundreds of games a year.

I don't think this would be a good time to start doing this if you plan on making money though. With this economy, prices are down, so you may be able to buy cheap, but you won't make much (if anything) selling right now. If you've got a lot of disposable income, buy all that you can and hope the prices go back up in a reasonable amount of time.

[DJTrueStory]

I don't think this would be a good time to start doing this if you plan on making money though. With this economy, prices are down, so you may be able to buy cheap, but you won't make much (if anything) selling right now. If you've got a lot of disposable income, buy all that you can and hope the prices go back up in a reasonable amount of time.
I'm with NES on this one, selling duplicates on ebay/amazon works to bring in a little cash, not a whole lot though... barely worth the gas/hassle/paypal and ebay fines. Games are selling ultra cheap right now, games that used to be 50 bucks (take Metal Marines/Super Mario RPG/etc) I've been seeing some "buy it now" prices in the low 30s with free shipping. Worst yet, now that VGA is grading video games, sealed copies are going up in price, while boxed/unboxed copies seem to be plummeting. A line is being drawn between collectors and players that never really used to be there before. If you want to invest in video games, now is a great time, pick up some old classics sealed for half price... Video game collecting is amazing if you ask me, but if you ask the general public, for the most part (over here at least) they really don't give a damn. However, it's only a matter of time before video game collecting takes off, and even if it doesn't, it's gotta be a fad at some point... because of that video games are a good investment, but as far as trying to sell video games now... I wouldn't recommend it, wait for the ecconomy to boom a little, and for the games that are selling for 30 to go back up to 50 or 60, shouldn't take too long, I'm guessing we'll bounce back sooner rather than later.

[The 1 2 P]

Ebay has been my side business for the last 4+ years. Finding cheap games/lots in the wild at Goodwill, craigs list, pawn shops or thrift stores helps but theres no gurantee that you will find worthwhile stuff there every single week or month for that matter. I'd say to pick stuff up when you are normally out and about instead of going out of your way to check certain stores every other day. But do check craigs list everyday because you can do this from the comfort of your own home without wasting any gas.

[DJTrueStory]

I'm thinking along the lines of buying large lots off craigslist and maybe garage sales, then parting them out on eBay.

The problem with this is fairly simple. I tried doing what you're proposing before, and here's what went wrong. You make about a dollar an hour.. if that. Say you go on craigslist and buy a box of 12 super nintendo games for 25 bucks, and you think it's a good deal cause you see megaman X, castlevania IV, and Super Mario world. While these games used to be worth something decent, now you'd be really lucky to get 8-10 bucks a peice. Sports games, you'd be lucky to sell for a buck. But say you end up with 50 dollars you can make from ebay with those 12 games... let's look at this

1. All the games need to be cleaned tested, which takes up time if you do it right. If you're selling them on ebay you better be. You need to track 12 auctions, go to the post office more than a few times (as some people pay/want you to ship things immediately, yet others wait a week or two to pay you) You had to drive around aimlessly looking for good games at a yard sale/craigslist, spending hours searching online for games, hours driving/gas money. Between ebay/paypal you get about 7-8 percent jacked off the top (from your gross, not net) and that's assuming that you don't advertise your games any (then it goes to 10-12 percent off the top) So in the end, for those 12 auctions, you'll end up with a little less than 20 dollars after ebay fines.... is seaking out, finding, driving to go buy and hope the games arn't crap, testing them to find out if they're crap, with no chance in hell of returning them if they are, spending gas money getting the games, as well as several trips to the post office, packaging 12 different games, listing 12 different games (which even if you're doing it speedy takes HOURS, and finally dealing with ebay dumb dumbs who try to screw you out of money/send back games/etc (we all have ebay horror stories) Not to mention your games might not even sell at all, and you still owe ebay money.

You really have to know what you're getting yourself into, the people who make it on ebay are the kind of people who own stores, that people come drop games off for nickles and dimes, and you don't gotta go anywhere they just fall in your lap, by people willing to trade in 8 games so they can have the one they want. Also, selling on ebay, those are the people you're competeing with, and you gotta beat/match their prices.

Is all that work/hassle worth it when you're collecting something you love, deffinately! If you're seeking out games to play, deffinately... if you're trying to make 10-15 dollars by putting in 10-15 hours/gas money/stress, only to have to get a "jackpot" of 12 good games for 25, only to watch it go away... not in the least.

[Mobius]

I guess I'm not really concerned about falling prices because if I'm going to start buying lots with the intention to resell, then I'm going to be paying less, too. I'm not so interested in making big bucks off of rare/collectible games as I am in just selling things for more than I pay for them.

Is anyone doing this now and finding that lower prices are losing them money?

Edit: DJ posted while I was typing this, so I'll respond to that, too. I'm not really looking at buying small, $25 lots and making money off of those. I'm thinking more along the lines of something like this:

http://madison.craigslist.org/ele/975473584.html

If I can get a good deal on a lot like that, then break it up into several smaller lots (like several Game Boy + games lots, N64+games, etc) then it might be worthwhile. I guess that's what I'm looking for advice on. Does that work, and what are good ways to find large lots besides craigslist?

[Cornelius]

Yeah, I definitely do this. It is really the only way I can justify my collecting habit. Since 02.13.07 when I started keeping track, I've made about $4,000 and amassed a pretty sizable collection of about 1500 titles and plenty of different systems.

My key recommendation is to keep track of what you spend and sell. Otherwise it is just too easy to get out of control, particularly with the bigger expensive lots.

I also go contrary to a lot of advice on this site, and say buy anything that is a good deal. This has meant I've started collecting for a lot more systems than I might have otherwise, but that's worked out fine for me. It was all a good deal, so if I decide to dump my Colecovision collection for example, I'd at least break even.

I've gotten most of my best stuff from Craigslist, because I could get the large lots that you just can't get at thrifts, but I do shop at thrifts, too.

[Sega_Naomi]

no profit to be made using PAYPAL + EBAY


no one will make me believe that

ever!
especially with the new policys
CLAIMS + NO BAD FEEDBACKS TO BUYERS??? HAHAHAH come on


+ all those CRAZY FEES!!! KILLS EVERY DEAL YOU MAKE OUT THERE

best thing is to sale locally! period

[Mobius]

Yeah, I definitely do this. It is really the only way I can justify my collecting habit. Since 02.13.07 when I started keeping track, I've made about $4,000 and amassed a pretty sizable collection of about 1500 titles and plenty of different systems.

My key recommendation is to keep track of what you spend and sell. Otherwise it is just too easy to get out of control, particularly with the bigger expensive lots.

I also go contrary to a lot of advice on this site, and say buy anything that is a good deal. This has meant I've started collecting for a lot more systems than I might have otherwise, but that's worked out fine for me. It was all a good deal, so if I decide to dump my Colecovision collection for example, I'd at least break even.

I've gotten most of my best stuff from Craigslist, because I could get the large lots that you just can't get at thrifts, but I do shop at thrifts, too.

Yeah, this is what I had in mind. Where do you do most of your sales? eBay? Everyone else in this thread seems to be badmouthing it, but I see the eBay link in your signature.

[AB Positive]

I used to do this... until like the person that averaged to a $1 an hour I realized that pimping my PC repair skills at $25/hr (or more sometimes) works a lot better.

It might help in order to keep costs of collecting down, but not enough to make a buisness out of right now in this economy. At least not unless you plan on having a full-on shop.

[DJTrueStory]

Edit: DJ posted while I was typing this, so I'll respond to that, too. I'm not really looking at buying small, $25 lots and making money off of those. I'm thinking more along the lines of something like this:

http://madison.craigslist.org/ele/975473584.html

If I can get a good deal on a lot like that, then break it up into several smaller lots (like several Game Boy + games lots, N64+games, etc) then it might be worthwhile. I guess that's what I'm looking for advice on. Does that work, and what are good ways to find large lots besides craigslist?

That's a great lot, if you can get it for 100 or less I say go for it. Just at a glance there's at least 200-300 dollars worth of individual games/systems. If you have the time/knowledge/patience to do go through all that for 100-200 bucks go for it... I'm just saying if you work a job that pays 20 bucks an hour... working an extra day at work will make you all the money that this would, and going through this would take several days/gas money/hassle. Also because you're selling all the games/not holding onto any (since you're doing it for profit as a side buisness) it turns the gaming you love into work, something that actually stresses you out. But... you'll find all that out after a couple months of doing it, I say try it, buy a big lot, then sell everything from that lot... do everything you need to do, go through all the motions (getting/testing/listing/shipping/etc) and at the end of it all look at how much money you made, and ask yourself if it was worth it. When you have that answer, you'll know if this is for you or not.

[TheRealist50]

I'm doing something similar but nothing major. I buy cheap games for a couple bucks and sell it to my friend for maybe double the price (which most times is like 5-10 dollars) or I trade it to them for NES games or whatever they are willing to trade...mostly its just doubles that I pick up, but If I run into a game I know my friend is looking for then Ill gladly sell it to him for next to nothing even If I don't have it already.

I want to get other people into the hobby instead of turning a profit. I despise what this guy does at my flea market. I mentioned him awhile ago...he was selling Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast at $90. I ran into him at my pawn shop rummaging through the NES games...too bad I beat him to it. But he buys games for retarded cheap and jacks the price up to 30 bucks per NES game...yes...30 bucks per NES, doesn't matter what game.

I buy cheap games and if my friends don't trade for it then I put it on my local ad for double what I paid...again its only like 5-10 bucks.

[DJTrueStory]

btw, I know there are lots like the one you mentioned out there. The reason I used a 25 dollar example is that if you actually want to make a side buisness, you'll buy all the major lots in your town up in a few days... (or at least I did) then all you're left with is people selling 12 games at a time, I haven't seen a major old game listing... (not even one with more than 15 games) listed on craigs list or the local paper in my area in over 12 months.

[Mobius]

btw, I know there are lots like the one you mentioned out there. The reason I used a 25 dollar example is that if you actually want to make a side buisness, you'll buy all the major lots in your town up in a few days... (or at least I did) then all you're left with is people selling 12 games at a time, I haven't seen a major old game listing... (not even one with more than 15 games) listed on craigs list or the local paper in my area in over 12 months.

Now that's something I hadn't thought about. How big of an area do you live in?

[Chainclaw]

If you want to make some money out of your hobby, have you thought about offering services to the gaming community instead? There are people who build superguns, do AV mods for old systems, replace batteries, sell game reproductions, do cosmetic mods, fix broken systems, build controller converters, build custom controllers, and use that to fund a couple extra game purchases.

[ryborg]

Does anyone else do this? How do you go about it? Have any tips? I'm thinking along the lines of buying large lots off craigslist and maybe garage sales, then parting them out on eBay.

Since I paid off my college education doing exactly this, yes, I'd say it's quite possible.

If you're going to sell on ebay, do it right. If you're a terrible writer, you have a lousy digital camera, and you can't fulfill your duties as a seller, don't bother. A few of my friends tried copying my style (today, games only make up like 1-2% of my sales), but they all either got suspended, lost money, or made very little.

I don't bother with Craigslist deals unless they are amazing because of the time and effort involved. It's just simply not worth it most of the time, especially when you can find just as good deals on ebay. I've been burned too many times by flakey sellers or items that were simply not as described.

The only problem with buying lots to resell on ebay is that you're fighting with all the other resellers out there, and believe me, there are a lot out there (including some I recognize from this board). Be prepared to snipe or pay a little more than what you had in mind.

[darkslime]

I usually do this when I go out to look for games in the wild. If it's a good deal, I'll buy it and sell all of the doubles.

I always do craigslist, it's a lot easier than selling online.

[pseudonym]

I resell items to fund my own collections, VHS, DVDs, LPs, Games, and it works well enough. I've had some luck with Craigslist and other sites like it, mostly by posting wanted ads.

[Gameguy]

I usually only buy big lots if there are games in there that I personally want. Anything I don't want I sell off, and I usually end up breaking even. As long as I can get games I want and just about break even, I'm happy. There really aren't enough cheap games available to have a steady supply for a business, at least by my area. The used game stores by me make most of their money with current games and rentals, I rarely see any of the older games actually selling.

Also think about space concerns, would you have enough room to store those big lots until you can sell them? Having to rent a storage unit defeats the purpose of doing this.

When I sell off my extras, I mostly use craigslist or kijiji, and it can take months to sell something. I'm not really in a rush so I don't mind waiting. Luckily there's usually a video game swap meet held annually, it's somewhat near my area. I end up getting a bunch of games I want while trading or selling off some extras. The swap meets are really fun, I enjoy spending my spare time attending and seeing everyone(that's the real reason to go).

[Kid Ice]

no profit to be made using PAYPAL + EBAY


no one will make me believe that

ever!
especially with the new policys
CLAIMS + NO BAD FEEDBACKS TO BUYERS??? HAHAHAH come on


+ all those CRAZY FEES!!! KILLS EVERY DEAL YOU MAKE OUT THERE

best thing is to sale locally! period

Wrong.

The only time I sell locally is when I'm just trying to get rid of something fast, or if something is too heavy to ship.

eBay has a competitive, national audience. eBay and Paypal's fees are still a bargain to reach so many people.

All the complaints about eBay to me are laughable. That's why I hardly ever go into the Everything Auctions forum or whatever it's called now. Yes it costs money to potentially reach every person in the world connected to the internet. Go figure.

I sold a magazine that was part of a $20 trade for nearly $300 on eBay. I could not have gotten $5 for it locally.

If I had a choice between investing $10000 in ebay or in a local business, I would choose ebay without even thinking about it.

[TheRealist50]

Wrong.

The only time I sell locally is when I'm just trying to get rid of something fast, or if something is too heavy to ship.

eBay has a competitive, national audience. eBay and Paypal's fees are still a bargain to reach so many people.

All the complaints about eBay to me are laughable. That's why I hardly ever go into the Everything Auctions forum or whatever it's called now. Yes it costs money to potentially reach every person in the world connected to the internet. Go figure.

I sold a magazine that was part of a $20 trade for nearly $300 on eBay. I could not have gotten $5 for it locally.

If I had a choice between investing $10000 in ebay or in a local business, I would choose ebay without even thinking about it.

well said. eBay is a good place to sell. I couldn't for the life of me sell anything in local ads (general selling, not video games) I toss is on ebay and I sold it in a few days on buy it now. Even with the fees I still sell it for a lot more then I could on my local ads. I sell games in local ads because like I said earlier, as long as I get my money back I don't care how much I sell it for. But bigger stuff like comics and sports cards and other collectibles they go straight to ebay no question about it.

[otaku]

I increased my income by 33% for 2008 via game sales (actual profit) if you buy and sell the right games at the right time money can be made. Its alot of fun to.

[DJTrueStory]

Now that's something I hadn't thought about. How big of an area do you live in?

Just under 80,000 in the city, and just over 200,000 in the county. I still buy lots and sell them on ebay... but I don't do it for profit, i do it for games. I Buy lots when I can find them that are cheap/ can make a good return, then pick a few games out of the lot to keep for myself (but also so the rest of the games are worth as much if you sell them individually) And when it's all said and done you basically handled video games in order to get free video games. If you do it just for money the money isn't worth it, but if you do it for games (either use this money as your buying money for video games, or buy/take some/sell) then it's very rewarding. That's been my experience anyways.

[jcalder8]

I've never tried to do it as a side business. If I find a game in the wild that I've already got and I know I can flip it then I'll pick it up but I don't want to put in the effort to actually make money out of it.

[gum_drops]

Its very much possible, I funded my collection by picking up lots on ebay and reselling the games I didn't want, as many others have done. If you have the time its a fun way to build up our collection.

Get turbo lister or a similar program, as listing through ebay is mind numbing and slows you down. If you have photoshop you can take your pics and batch edit them all with the correct contrast, cropping and border/graphics all with a couple button presses instead of doing each one at a time. Try and set up a nice looking auction layout that you can use for all your listings. A grading scale is nice to use on certain items. Collectors will always buy from someone who has a clear definition of the items condition over someone who just throws words like mint out there.

[vintagegamecrazy]

I like to make a bit of profit from my excess game, I do service work in 3 different countys so thrift shopping comes at no expense to me at all since I'm out so much. I buy whatever I need for my collection then find something relatively valuable and resell it, I don't make enough to not spend from my paycheck by sometimes I make enough to have extra cash to spend that I didn't have before. It helps to resell to boost funding but I would never be able to make a business out of it, with Turbo lister I don't have to spend that much time listing so I do actually make a profit on ebay even if its small. I would recommend that approach.

[Cornelius]

Yeah, this is what I had in mind. Where do you do most of your sales? eBay? Everyone else in this thread seems to be badmouthing it, but I see the eBay link in your signature.

I do a mix of eBay and Craigslist. I find with systems I can bundle them with essentially worthless games and get about what I would on eBay, maybe a little more. It requires some patience sometimes, though (esp. for Genesis and N64 stuff). I skim out the higher priced games to sell on ebay, and since they all fit in bubble mailers, it is easy to package and ship.

I'll also echo what a couple other people have said, and it isn't worth it just from the financial aspect. For instance, I won't buy a lot if it has nothing for me to add to my collection, unless it is simply too good to pass up. My goal is to break even after I keep what I want and sell the rest, but I usually do better than that, especially now that my collection is bigger so I keep less out of most lots than I used to.

I also just plain enjoy getting my hands on gaming stuff, even if it is only temporary. And since I have the time to spend hunting and picking stuff up, it is a no-brainer.

[Cellplanman]

I usually only buy big lots if there are games in there that I personally want. Anything I don't want I sell off, and I usually end up breaking even. As long as I can get games I want and just about break even, I'm happy. There really aren't enough cheap games available to have a steady supply for a business, at least by my area. The used game stores by me make most of their money with current games and rentals, I rarely see any of the older games actually selling.

Also think about space concerns, would you have enough room to store those big lots until you can sell them? Having to rent a storage unit defeats the purpose of doing this.

When I sell off my extras, I mostly use craigslist or kijiji, and it can take months to sell something. I'm not really in a rush so I don't mind waiting. Luckily there's usually a video game swap meet held annually, it's somewhat near my area. I end up getting a bunch of games I want while trading or selling off some extras. The swap meets are really fun, I enjoy spending my spare time attending and seeing everyone(that's the real reason to go).
Where/When is the Game swap? And do i bring "all" the games i have for trade with me?

I've been thinking about turning my hobby of game collecting into a little side business. I'm not looking at making it a major thing, not a store or a way to make a living, mostly just as a way to make a few extra bucks and maybe to allow collecting to pay for itself.

Does anyone else do this? How do you go about it? Have any tips? I'm thinking along the lines of buying large lots off craigslist and maybe garage sales, then parting them out on eBay.
I recently did this, but it takes A LOT of time. I recently bought something like 50consoles, 100controllers, cords etc.., 1500games, and a few other things for $6,000 and to organize everything, store everything, list everything, test everything takes a lot of time. Before buying this, I was collecting PS1 games, and a few NES/SNES games here and there (Contras, Killer Instinct for SNES, mike tyson punch out boxed, etc..) but this was my new project.

[bangtango]

I'm just saying if you work a job that pays 20 bucks an hour... working an extra day at work will make you all the money that this would.....

There are people out there interested in buying games to resell as a business so they can avoid real "work." They assume they can do it for a living.



I used to do this... until like the person that averaged to a $1 an hour I realized that pimping my PC repair skills at $25/hr (or more sometimes) works a lot better.

You have the right idea.

Again, some people want to get into this "buy games to resell" plan because they are too lazy to work a real job or become "good" at a certain trade, like you obviously are with PC repair. Myself I make a little money as a ghost writer, though it isn't enough to make a living with.

Side note: That is NOT directed at you mobius, since for you it'd be a side business. I'm just giving my thoughts on the topic in general. So don't take any of this personally.



Wrong.

The only time I sell locally is when I'm just trying to get rid of something fast, or if something is too heavy to ship.

eBay has a competitive, national audience. eBay and Paypal's fees are still a bargain to reach so many people.

All the complaints about eBay to me are laughable. That's why I hardly ever go into the Everything Auctions forum or whatever it's called now. Yes it costs money to potentially reach every person in the world connected to the internet. Go figure.

I sold a magazine that was part of a $20 trade for nearly $300 on eBay. I could not have gotten $5 for it locally.

I expect you already know this anyway but.......

I think you'll find that most of the people who complain about Ebay are people who do a terrible job of writing a listing. A listing might have terrible spelling, grammar or punctuation. Sometimes they don't put clear shipping terms or costs. Other times they won't tell you about the condition of an item.

Sometimes it also goes back to pure laziness on the part of a seller:

I notice a lot of sellers use "stock information" on things like games and systems. They do this to "save time" when all it ends up doing is saving the buyer some money due to fewer/lower bids. I hate bidding on stuff in which ALL of the information and photos are Ebay "stock" stuff.

These people find a big lot of games on Craigs List or in Goodwill. So they want to get them all listed as quickly as possible. So they do half assed "stock" listings just to get them up for bidding without ever thinking about the fact that a decent seller puts effort into a listing.

If someone has an item that people actually want and they can write a listing worth a damn, then they are going to make money regardless of Ebay fees, Paypal fees or the "bad" economy.

[eskobar]

You can read the entire thread and everything resumes to :


BUY SMART


If you are careful with the things you buy, like if you see a near mint Fatal Frame at 9.99 usd (has happened several times this year), you can buy it and you know that you can get at least double or triple of its cost.

If you apply this "quality standard" you will not be flooded with unsold carts and stuff from lots.

In my experience, i have to sell many of my spares of rare games to keep gaming; i did 3,000 this year and i did not invest more than 1,000 usd. Same last year. For some games you don't need to care about recession.

Good Luck !!!

[swlovinist]

True story, I will try not to ramble. I have been selling on ebay for about 9 years(I sell about 150 items a year). Needless to say that I am very part time seller that has been through the bumps and bruises of ebay. Over the past fifteen years I have gone from a collection that fills one box to a collection that is now an entire game room(about 6500 different games). Here are some tips that I have for you.

1. Craigslist is a hit and miss, but if you play your cards right it can be great. Be upfront about buying and selling video games, make an ad in the wanted section, and post what video game items you are looking for. I mostly use craigslist to add to my collection, but it has worked out fairly well. I would use it for selling items also

2. Right now ebay is not that great, but I would still use it for the rare/wanted items. You will not make alot of $$$ but if you are using ebay as a side hobby, go for it. I am on a strict budget of $40 a month and I use ebay to stretch my income. In the end that $40 for games turns into $150 of game money now and then. On average, I make about $100 a month of profit.

3. Do not give up easily, ebay and craigslist are both inconsistant. I can go a month without any calls or emails, then BAM! I get hit with some awsome scores back to back. Just be patient.

4. Make up some business cards(I recommend overnightprints.com) and dispurse them everywhere to the people that you do business with on craigslist.

5. Dont forget that there are other aveneus to use, even though they are hit and miss as well. ChasetheChuckwagon is a place that you could utililize to sell and buy, as well as the buying and selling forum of this own site(which rocks by the way). Atariage and Cheapassgamer are some other sites that have proven themselves as great forums to buy on.