The Flipping business is a profitable gig with no ceiling to it. You’re in a profits and marketing world vs. a paycheck and employee world, and that’s what makes the difference.

If you want to get into flipping things for money on Craigslist, eBay, Thrift Stores, and more, I highly recommend getting into it because anybody can do it and there’s a LOT of money to be made.

If you want to start getting into flipping things, here are some key tips I’d recommend:

1. Don’t be afraid to buy.

So many people are afraid to spend money on something or buy something, they start having thoughts like “What if it doesn’t sell?” They can’t decide whether or not they should buy something because they’re nervous and paralyzed by fear and uncertainty.

The truth is, to really make forward movement in the flipping business and large profits very quickly, you need to move quickly and buy without hesitation. Obviously don’t just start buying random things aimlessly without doing your research on whether there’s a profit, but you need to start making decisions and buying.

If you feel fear, then that means there’s something you don’t know. And if there’s something you don’t know, then you must find out. This is where good research skills and knowing how to determine value on items come in handy. It’s a skill set that must be learned, developed, and trained. Confidence comes from competence. 

The key is that once you are pretty certain you can make a profit on something — pull the trigger and buy it.

Don’t let doubt overcome you because that’s how you miss out on deals. Have the balls, courage, confidence – whatever you want to call it – to buy. It’s the only thing that pays.  After all, we make our money when we BUY. So always have the courage and confidence to make those buying decisions. Don’t overthink it.

2. Move fast.

Speed will get you rich. Speed is money. Speed is opportunity. Speed is freedom. Speed is everything.

If you can move quickly, you’ll spot deals quickly, acquire them quickly, and flip them faster than the next guy.

Think about it this way:

Would you rather make $500 in one month…

Or $500 in one week?

OR, even better…

$500 in one weekend? How about in a single day?

How fast you move will determine this.

• How fast can you buy the item?
• How fast can you get it ready/staged/cleaned to take photos?
• How quickly can you craft an ad that sells then post the item up for sale?

These are questions you should be thinking about and asking yourself. You should always be asking, how can I move quicker? How can I optimize? How can I be more efficient?

You also want to STRIKE FAST when opportunity comes along.

One of the top issues most people have is they see a deal, but then they spend too much time over-analyzing it, overthinking it, over-researching it, and before you know it, self-doubt creeps in and they end up not buying, violating tip #1.

Here’s a good exercise for you to do:

From now on, whenever you’re stuck trying to decide if you should buy something, give yourself 60 seconds.

60 seconds MAX.

That means in 60 seconds or less, you must make a buying decision.

Think of how much money you’ll make flipping things if you start operating this way! Your decisions will be so fast that any possible losses won’t even matter! Operating in this type of mechanical way will quickly put you into positive cashflow.

Bottom line is this: a flipping ninja knows the importance of speed and always moves, thinks, and acts quickly.

3. Know that everything sells.

“Everything sells.” That’s one of The Flipping Ninja’s 2 Commandments.

Once you truly understand this concept, you will explode. #1, #2, both tie into #3. Once you have the balls to buy, and once you move quickly, all while knowing that everything sells, you’ll enter a whole new playing field of flipping.

Translation? You can start making some serious money with flipping.

The truth is, someone, somewhere, will pay you money for your item. Now I’m not talking about how much it’ll sell for right now, I’m strictly trying to get it into your head that EVERYTHING SELLS.

Once you understand that everything sells, going back to #1, you will have the courage to buy. You won’t be afraid to throw $50 bucks on that dresser because you know everything sells.

You won’t have a problem spending $150 on that Yamaha Keyboard because you know it’ll sell.

Now you just have to fine-tune your knowledge in every different category of items and niches and learn to determine values ninja-fast, so that you can start getting ideas for what something might sell for. I train you to do this along with everything else you need to know to make money flipping as a side hustle, step-by-step quickly in my Flipping Ninja Blueprint training system.

4. Negotiate with sellers.

Never offer full asking price, UNLESS you absolutely know that it is a steal deal. In that case, I wouldn’t even bother risking trying to negotiate with the seller because someone else may come and grab it!

But in most cases, when you see an ad for an item, don’t be afraid to offer less. Never feel like you’re insulting a seller by offering a lower price.

Try offering $25 or even $100 less than the item. If it’s a bigger ticket item like a car/vehicle you’re trying to get, it’s completely normal to offer several hundred to even a thousand dollars less than their asking price.

This will add up long term, and every $25 (or more) you save here and there will add up to hundreds and thousands of dollars back in your pocket over the course of a year. Every dollar saved matters in every deal.

The secret to negotiation is really detaching yourself from all emotion. Never get emotional. Go all in with your offer. Sure – every now and then a seller may feel offended. But we’re not running for president here. We’re in business. Counter offer, accept, or move on to the next deal.

If you’re interested in learning how to negotiate on Craigslist, make sure to check out this podcast episode called Craigslist Negotiating Secrets: How To Negotiate Craigslist Deals And Make Money Every Single Time. It’s worth a listen and following just 1 or 2 tips from it will put thousands back into your pocket over the course of a lifetime.

5. Stay strong when selling.

Buyers will try and negotiate the hell out of you. They will test you hard. Via email, via text, via phone, and in person. Most times you must stay stone-cold and firm on price. Especially if you can see that the buyer is emotionally attached to your item. They’ll pay whatever asking price. Learn to say no to low offers. It’ll train you to be tough.

Now obviously, this isn’t a complete strict rule. A lot of times, I DO accept lower offers if an item has been sitting on the market for a while or hasn’t been selling for example. Or if I just want to get rid of it quickly. But – when you DO accept a lower offer, make sure it’s not just because you feel obligated or pressured. Don’t let emotion get in the way of your profits. You must detach all emotion and stay firm.

The point I’m making here is — give discounts if you want — but just make sure it’s not because you feel “on the spot” or because of pressure. I know it can sometimes feel weird when negotiating with people, especially when it’s in person and they are trying to haggle. Get past the feeling of discomfort. Try embracing that feeling. Really FEEL that awkward or uncomfortable feeling, and just observe it. It’s quite interesting :)

Just like #4, giving in to lowball offers frequently will add up and you’ll be missing out on thousands of dollars in the long run.

6. Develop “The Eye for the Deal”

Craigslist is a high traffic website and market. It gets over 50 BILLION page views per month. More than 60 million people use it per month in the US alone. There are deals CONSTANTLY being posted, 24/7. You want to be on the lookout at all times and as often as possible to be able to spot these deals and act quickly. There are tips and tricks to finding deals and being successful on Craigslist.

One tip is to setup alerts for certain keywords. For example, I’ve got an alert setup for the keywords: “yamaha keyboard”. This means that anytime someone posts a new ad with the words “yamaha keyboard” in it, I get an email immediately.

I can then quickly check the deal out and analyze it to see if I can make money from it. This is great because you can setup alerts for MULTIPLE different things, and have first dibs on them when people post them. You’re automating the process which is key to being successful. The more you can automate, the more time you’re getting back, and the faster and bigger you can scale.

With practice and experience, the Eye for the Deal becomes a reflex, as natural as blinking, but infinitely more profitable.

If you found these tips helpful, please share it with your friends or anyone you feel might benefit from making more money flipping things!

Get on my Flipping Ninja Blueprint training system today and I will transform you into a Flipping Ninja and money-making machine. If you are serious about wanting to make hundreds to thousands of dollars through flipping things, invest in it today. Flipping has allowed me to do so many cool things like earn over $100k in sales in one year, buy my first house, buy cool exotic cars, even take a 100% paid-for weekend vacation to Los Angeles, and so much more. I’ve always been a believer in investing in yourself, and paying any price whether in time, energy, money, or resources — into yourself. You are your greatest asset, after all.

Pay the price today so you can pay any price tomorrow. Invest in the greatest thing in the world — yourself.

To your success,
A.J.