Rob and Melissa Stephenson, from Flea Market Flipper, talk about how to make extra cash this summer by reselling.
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How To Make Some Extra Cash This Summer!
Rob: What's up, pro flippers? On today's episode, we're talking about making some cash and more specifically over the summer.
Rob: All right guys, so today we are talking about how you can make a little bit of extra cash this summer or a lot of extra cash this summer, and we're gonna talk about, yeah, different ways that you can actually do that.
That has worked for us and hopefully it will work for you as well.
Melissa: This actually came about, well actually, we did this whole podcast once already and we recorded it and then guess what? There was no sound that was on, so it was pretty annoying. But now we're doing it again because this is a really cool topic that we are, we love, and we were talking about our summer road trips.
So, we're in the process of planning our road trip for this summer, and so we kind of wanted to unpack what that looks like and how we actually go on a summer road trip for four to six weeks and make money while we do it. So.
Rob: That's it. But before we do that, we wanna talk a little bit more how this actually came to be.
So, we never really thought that taking a road trip, finding items on the road and being able to flip those items was a thing. So about four, was it four years ago or five years ago?
Melissa: It was 2020. Five years ago. Yeah.
Rob: So, five years ago, my brother-in-law passed away. We wanted to get my sister's mind off of stuff.
I have two nieces. My sister that lost her husband , has two nieces and we wanted to go two daughters, but yeah. Oh, sorry, two daughters. My nieces. We wanted to go on a road trip, kind of go around the country, this first time we have, have ever done something like that.
Melissa: First time going out west and we kind of wanted to see all the national parks and see what it was like.
Just, you know, and just we had them plan it, be like, hey, where are some places we wanted to go, you know, like map out the Grand Canyon and kind of our route to go see all these different places. So.
Rob: So we ended up doing that, but my other sister got wind of it and she has two daughters as well. So we ended up doing, I bought a 15 passenger van.
We ended up going on a road trip, with my two sisters, my four nieces and our three kids, our three kids, and Melissa and I, and we all packed into this 15 passenger van. The only problem was, the only problem was, with that 15 passenger van, it was pretty filled up. We didn't have enough room for luggage, so we decided we would take a trailer, throw all the luggage inside the trailer and enclosed trailer that we have, take all the luggage, inside of that.
And then we took off and took off down the road. And we mapped this plan out. A couple days into it, I'm like, well, we're traveling around, why don't I start looking for some stuff that we can flip, flip.
Melissa: That was like two weeks into it, I feel like. Was it? It was maybe a week into it. Yeah. You started to look. Yeah.
Rob: So then I started looking at some of the places when we stopped at a hotel for the night. I started looking for some items that we could find in that area or into the next direction that we were going. And it actually started working. So our first year that we did this, we weren't planning on doing it, but we had extra room in the trailer because we only had so much luggage.
And I thought, let's fill up that trailer, bring it back and make some cash. So we ended up doing this and first year, how much did we spend?
Melissa: So I totaled up for the last four trips we did. This is like going out, you know, from Florida all the way out west and like for four to six weeks each year. That first year though, we bought seven items for a total of $1,235 spent and came back and sold them for $22,175.
Rob: Woo hoo. So. We weren't even setting out to do this, but then we started seeing what the potential of this was. So, that was the exciting part. So then we got hooked. Yeah, we got hooked on it. After that, we didn't take the 15 passenger van the next year.
We actually took our SUV, but still took an enclosed trailer, so we could pack it down.
And what did we get the second year that?
Melissa: So the second we bought 14 items, a little bit more purchased for $870. So a little less in inventory 'cause came back and sold for $17,150.
Rob: Woo-hoo. So this is more than paying for our trip to be able to go around the country, see amazing sites, and still make money while we're doing it.
It was so much fun. So that was year two. And then year three we did it with?
Melissa: We came 17 items, purchased for $1,400, $1,455, came back and sold them for $25,250. And then the , 2023 was eight items, purchased for $1,100, came back and sold them for $21,500.
Rob: That's so awesome. We had so much fun doing that. The thing about this was, us, we're only having to go out a little bit of money. So you saw the last year was 1,100 bucks, year before $1,400, year before that $870 to make close to $20,000 on average, $20,000 , in this, that's all the money we're going out. Now, that's not including what we had to pay for shipping, pay for eBay fees and all that stuff after the fact.
But that's all the money we had to go out to make. $20,000 on average, for the summer, which is amazing. It's amazing to be able to do that. And we got super, super excited doing this. And last year we actually took a break and we didn't go out for for the summer. So this year we are hitting it back.
We're gonna hit it hard. And we had a couple ideas of what we're gonna do on this year's road trip.
Melissa: Before we, before we dive into that though, so I wanted to talk a little bit more. So, one of the thing, a question that we get all the time, not a question, but like a, sometimes people will tell us, you know, hey, you know, you're in central Florida.
It's a busy area that's why you can get all this stuff. So that was another reason why we kinda like, let's disprove that. So we've been able to find items, you know, in rural areas and I mean, sometimes the people are like, oh, go pick it up off my porch and leave the money under the rug, or whatever. In rural areas we're like, okay, that's weird, but okay, we'll do that.
And then, you know, busy areas and all over the country. So, it does, it's not just in one spot, which is pretty cool that you can find this stuff all over the country. And the reason why is because, and, and this is the whole base of our whole business model in the local market. These items aren't worth that much.
So we, we come back, we put them on eBay that can reach a national market and then they can sell for what they're actually worth. And that's a big thing that a lot of people are like, well, well how can you buy it for a hundred dollars and sell it for a thousand dollars? Why couldn't that person, they could do it, but they're not willing to put it on eBay and ship it.
So they just want it gone typically. So.
Rob: Yeah, absolutely. So.
Melissa: I wanted to talk about a little bit about the, a couple of the flips we had.
Rob: The flips. Yeah, that's a cool part. So a couple of these items that we were able to pick up for the last couple years, kinda the highlights of what we did that really moved the needle for us. Yeah, let's definitely,
Melissa: the turbo chefs were one of a good one.
Rob: Huge, huge, huge, the turbo chefs. So we found, I found a turbo chef when we were staying in Salt Lake City , for the night. Jumped into the hotel. We actually, I was laying in bed, searching what was in there around the area that we were at, and I found a turbo chef.
Shot an offer to the guy. Ended up, leaving the next morning without hearing back from the guy. We ended up for going further west. Ended up going, was it Boise or somewhere further? Yeah. Further west. The guy messaged me back in a couple days and said, hey, yeah, I'll take your offer of, I think I offered him 500 bucks.
I think he had them listed for $800. I think he did.
Melissa: Yeah. $500.
Rob: Offered him $500. He said yes, he would do $500. I said, okay, well we are not there anymore, but we're coming back through in a couple days on the road trip back. And I told him what day we're coming back and I said, hey, can I message you that morning and let you know what time it's gonna be?
See if we can meet up. We did it when I got there. He goes, he had one on a little dolly. He wheeled it outta the business. He said, I actually have three more of these, so I'm happy that you bought this one. I said, you have three more. If I took two of them, would you gimme a better deal? Would you do it for 400 bucks a piece?
And he goes, yeah, I would. So we ended up buying two and that was all the cash that I had on me. We ended up meeting this guy and then having to go, keep getting back on the road and go quick. So I didn't have a lot time to go. Yeah.
Melissa: He had to go too. So.
Rob: I wish I had, I wish I'd gone to the, ATM, got some more cash and bought all three of them.
But it also was limited space inside the trailer at that point as well.
Melissa: No, they weren't that big. So, but they ended up coming, we came back and we sold one of them for $10,000 and one of them for $8,500, like- just killer- $400. That was a, a big chunk of that that year. So that was a pretty cool one.
Rob: So that was awesome.
And we ended up, it was cool because I couldn't pick it up at the time that I wanted to, but, a week later on our way back through, we were able to meet up and get them on that. So really, really cool that that was, that that happened that way. That was really cool for us to do that.
Melissa: And I will say too, you were.
You have gotten a lot better. Like he knows where we're going. Like what, what city are we going to next? And he'll look around, before it'd be like, oh, we're going an hour or two out of the way to go pick up stuff and now you're like, 10 minutes off the highway. Let's, let's go find this stuff. So you're getting a little bit closer, for where we don't have to go as far, which is pretty cool.
And I feel like we can't talk about our road trips without talking about the bus wash. Absolutely. Because that was our favorite road trip flip. I think.
Rob: The cool thing about this one was, it was on the first year that we did it when we weren't really looking for items. Starting off that way. But then at our last stop, which was Outer banks, before we came back down to Florida, I was on there.
I was looking around and we actually found this bus wash. I had bought one previously, or I had sold one previously. So I knew it's a very unique item, really weird looking. And I found this and I sent the guy an offer and he said he would do it. The only problem was we were in an enclosed, I had an enclosed trailer.
Way too big. This is like 12 foot tall. The enclosed trailers are barely six foot tall, so there's no way, and I couldn't lay it down. It wasn't, it was too long to actually fit, inside the trailer. Plus we had the trailer full, it was our last stop, so I ended up making arrangements to come back the following weekend.
So we ended up going back home, coming back the following weekend, which kind of a a, a fun side note was, it was mine and Melissa's anniversary, which was crazy.
Melissa: I got a bus wash for my anniversary.
Rob: She got a bus wash. We drove back up. I pulled a open trailer that I had. We picked up the bus wash, but I also bought two other things while we were up here.
So when we went home. I started looking in that area, knowing that I was coming back the following weekend, and I secured two other items. One which was a bowling arcade, which was one of our worst flips ever. And the other was actually a oven, a big oven, residential oven, but a nice one. The cool part about that one as well, when I got there, the guy's like, hey, you're flea market flipper.
And I was like, yes I am. And we will be selling this for a lot of money because that's what we do, but you should do it. So, yeah. So anyways, he got it for free. Sold it to us for like 200 bucks. We sold it for, I think close to $3,000, $2,750.
Melissa: It was $2,500 or $2,700.
Rob: Yeah. Okay. Somewhere in that area. We sold that. The bus wash we paid $500 for and we sold it for $14,500? $14,500. $14,500.
So definitely a unique, a really cool story and an amazing flip that we did on our first year out there on that road trip.
Melissa: Yeah. And I know we've talked about this one before, but that one, that was not the good buy was, we ended up like after all of a sudden and done it, sold for like $575, but after time invested and you know, it just was not worth it.
Like I think we ended up losing $10 after shipping. Yeah. So like, no. And you know, $10 is not the worst in the world. And, but you should have just walked away because it was not. You thought you could get $2,000 for it, and it was not in as good a condition as you thought it was. Such a great point. And that's a huge thing, like if you get to somewhere like you, you know, we buy a lot of stuff on marketplace.
We buy stuff, you know, we're negotiating before we get there, or we get there and it's like, ugh, that's gonna be a lot more work, a lot more of a project than I wanted to take on. You don't have to, you can say it, sorry. You know, it's just not in as great as shape as I thought. And you, you know, you don't have to be rude about it.
Be nice, be cordial. Absolutely. But you don't have, you're not obligated to take that item. So.
Rob: Such a great point. Walk away if you need to walk away. I have a problem sometimes doing that. But I learned my lesson and I'm now
Melissa: and because it was a game you love, like you're a sucker for old games, so you like definitely coin operated games.
Rob: Love that stuff. But we lost a little bit of money, definitely some of my pride. And, other than that it was okay. We actually sold the item we made. I mean, when it was all said and done, I think we paid $200 and sold for five something. But after shipping costs, after eBay charges ended up losing a little bit of money on it.
So, yeah.
Melissa: But I mean, you still, that's another point too, though, is whenever you're going to get something, even if it's across town from you, like say you're gonna go an hour away, see what else is in the area because you could maybe, you know, get two or three things that could come back and it's totally worth your time to go pick up.
Not just the one thing, but a couple of things. So we try to do that all the time. And even if we don't secure another item on marketplace or something, maybe stop at a thrift store, you know, across town that you don't normally stop at, or, or something like that 'cause that can make your time worth a lot more.
Absolutely. So you never know what you're gonna find. So.
Rob: Absolutely. So, and that brings us into how you guys can do this. If you guys want to make some money, do a road trip over the summer. Maybe it doesn't even have to be like we go for four or six weeks, maybe it doesn't have to be that. Maybe it's a weekend trip to a town next to yours, or do a little road trip, make some money, find some items before you go, go over there and do that.
And secure some cool items. But one thing, go ahead.
Melissa: No, I was gonna say we, well, and even if you don't have a trailer, like we've done it with an extend hitch or we just put it in the back of the car, it doesn't have to be something big. You know, just maybe think outside the box next time you go somewhere and see if you can find some things to pay for the trip.
So, absolutely.
I remember we went to the Keys, just, this was just, last year, wasn't it? Last summer.
Yeah. Yeah, last summer.
Rob: Last summer we went to the Keys and I took an extended hitch, with us on the way down to the Keys, knowing that I wanted to find something to pay for the trip. We found out a range that was actually from Orlando down to the Keys, like six and a half hours on the way back up. On the way back up, I actually found something that was like an hour north of the Keys. So Jupiter somewhere in that area, ended up getting it for like $120. We ended up selling that for $3,200 or $3,400?
Melissa: I think it was $3,000.
Yeah, no, you're right. No, it was $3,200, with shipping, I thought it was was $3,200 or $3,400.
You're right. So.
Rob: 3,200 bucks. We ended up selling that. Paid for the trip. Had a great time. But that's one of the things, and I didn't take a trailer with me. All I took was an extended hitch, just a little thing that went into the hitch and it was just about the size of a barbecue grill. And I was able to put the oven on top of that, strap it down, bring it back, clean it up, sell it.
Make some really, really good money on that. So just be thinking about that kind of stuff. Even if you're traveling for work or if you're able to get away for a weekend, you can do that.
But another thing that we wanted to tell you guys about
Melissa: This is as we're planning this summer, we're trying to think of some things and you had an idea, so you thought you'd throw it out there.
Rob: And this one's gonna require some input from you guys. So I wanna hear from you. We wanna hear some comments back from you guys. Some of your favorite flea markets, that are close to you or that you visited and it might not be close to you, but you visited and you really, really liked the flea markets.
Let us know. What we're thinking is we might hit up three or four flea markets on our road trip throughout the summer this year. And it's gonna be probably in a month period. So a couple different weekends we're gonna pick, different flea markets that might have some really cool stuff, might be great places to visit.
And then we are going to be reaching out and we'll see if we can do a couple masterminds at these flea markets, to where we'll have people that are local. Give them the opportunity if they wanna come and spend the day with us , do a mastermind, a work day where we'll actually jump into the flea market, walk around, find some cool stuff, talk about it, do some coaching, on that.
And as well as looking in the local area on Facebook marketplace, looking at some of the thrift stores. So spending a day of work and all inclusive day, I, yeah. Immersing your guys, immersing you into this, this business. So anyways, that was, was our thoughts for this year that we might be able to do that.
See some people on our road trip , help them grow in their business. So that's really, really the goal. So , please nominate, nominate your favorite flea market, that you have in your area or that you visited, maybe in another state or another city. Let us know what they are so we can dig a little bit deeper and try to find some cool places that we can stop this summer.
Melissa: You can reach out on social media, DM us or send us an email at rob@fleamarketflipper.com and nominate your favorite flea market and we would love to look it up and see if it could be a great place to stop and maybe host a mastermind. So.
Rob: Absolutely, you guys rock. Thanks for spending some time with us today.
We cannot wait to see you on the next episode.