March 7, 2018

The “Money Shot” Technique: How To Double, Triple, or Quadruple Your Earnings On Every Item You Flip

By AJ Hakimi (The Flipping Ninja)

Here’s a technique I’ve used to consistently earn 2x, 4x, and even 5x more money on any item I flip.

What if I were to tell you that you could easily double, triple, quadruple — and even 10x the profit you make on any item you flip?

Most people are terrible at selling and marketing. They leave hundreds of dollars on the table that in the long run easily add up to thousands — all because they fail to learn basic marketing and selling principles. On top of that, they’re afraid of say, charging a “high” price for something because they think the world will come and punish them for making a profit.

As if it’s unethical or wrong to buy something low… re-market it… and resell it for a profit… (isn’t that how virtually every business has operated since Day 1?)

A caveman would go out and find some berries and bananas and other cavemen-y stuff. Then he’d be like “Holy smokes! I got a killer deal on these! I’m gonna go across the street and flip these berries, man! I’m trynna get me one of these:

The more common problem I see though isn’t fear of charging a higher price…

(Any moron can UP their price)

The real challenge lies in this:

They suck at selling it. Marketing it. Presenting it. They don’t know how to do it in such a way that COMMANDS a high, above average price.

All that is about to change after you read this post.

This is what I call The Money Shot Technique.

 

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The 'Money Shot' Technique

The Money Shot Technique is a simple tactic you can use that'll earn you 2x, 3x, 5x, even 10x more money flipping things than usual. You'll outsell 99% of others, and customers will be HAPPY to pay you higher prices.

I’ve used this technique hundreds of times, and it’s made me thousands extra than if I did it the old way. And it only takes minutes to do.

First things first…

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Warning

DO NOT Google “Money shot”...

Since I know you’re gonna go do it anyway, just make sure you’re NOT at work when you do…

Didja do it?

Good, you got it out of your system. Now…

You likely saw a few different definitions of what “money shot” means.

So let’s get this out the way now before you get all bent out of shape about it (yeah, you in the back, Gladys)…

Gladys is mad. Don’t worry — we’ll address her at the end of this post. She’ll be getting her own money shot. ;)

… the definition closest to what we’re talking about here is this one:

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mon·ey shot

noun
informal


"A money shot is a moving or stationary visual element of a film, video, television broadcast, or print publication that is disproportionately expensive to produce and/or is perceived as essential to the overall importance or revenue-generating potential of the work."

It’s that magic moment. It’s that unforgettable scene or moment that SELLS, and sticks with you forever.

It’s the Titanic shearing in half in the middle of a freezing ocean. Remember that scene?

Even if you barely remember Titanic – you’ll always have that epic (or not so epic) picture in your mind of this huge, magnificent ship… split in half, everyone screaming, scared, and holding on for dear life – as it goes down.

Powerful, right? James Cameron the director totally killed it there.

Let’s look at the above definition again:

“[the part that is]…disproportionately expensive to produce and/or is perceived as essential to the overall importance or revenue-generating potential of the work.”

I’m gonna beat this dead horse some more with another example just to make sure you’ve got it (stay with me because this will make you hundreds of dollars if you use it — and quickly too — so it’s critical you understand it):

Let’s say you were a badass hunter who needed to eat.

The only way you could eat is to go out and kill one of these:

(yes… that is a Woolly Mammoth from about 10,000 years ago… and yes, you were alive then in this example… just roll with it)

Now these are some HUGE beasts. I’m talking MASSIVE. And dangerous. One “accidental shove” and you’re done.

But you, you’re smart.

So you strategize quick. There are dozens of ways to kill this thing and take it down.

Here Are Some Ways You Can Kill This Woolly Mammoth: 

  1. Swiss Army Knife.
    (these existed 10,000 years ago… trust me I was there)

    You go up to it, whip out your little Swiss Army knife and jam it in somewhere. Then just see what happens. I mean ya never know. Some 1 in a million chance MIRACLE can happen where the Woolly Mammoth DOESN’T lose his shit and step on you/kick you. Legend has it that it’s happened before and some people have pulled it off. But I mean let’s get real… will it even notice?

    (I’ll stand over here behind these big rocks and watch)

     

  2. Big, Badass Spear.

    Alright, we’re doing better now. We’ve got this killer spear. It’s razor sharp, it’s long, and it’ll pierce through easily. We can even throw it. It’s definitely capable of doing the job. Only kicker is — we’re gonna have to take multiple jabs at it, repeatedly from many angles. It’ll take a little more work but at least you can kill this beast and take it home to eat. You see most hunters out there doing it this way too, why not do the same?

    You wake up early in the morning and go out.
    You spend a whole day taking down one Woolly Mammoth with your spear.
    It’s hard work. You’re tired and exhausted.
    But you sort of feel accomplished by the end of it.
    Even though you almost got yourself killed, you “took home the bacon”, right?
    And that’s what matters, right? You’re working hard. You’re #grinding

  3. You take The “Money Shot” (BEST OPTION)

    In comes The Money Shot.

    Here’s where you and I hang out. The money shot is pure magic. It’s a high-powered, state-of-the-art sniper rifle. One bullet is all you need.

    One shot. One kill. You aim, and with a smooth and swift pull of the trigger and…

    BAM!!

    That 11 foot, 6 ton, yummy-looking beast drops down to the ground easily and instantly.

    You’re thinking: “Wait, is this even possible? I can’t believe this… I barely even tried! I’m not even sweating like I would before when I’d spend the whole day trying to take this thing down with my spear!”


    Not only were you sitting comfortably while you pulled it off… You still can’t believe you took down this Woolly Mammoth so quickly and effortlessly! Now you’re fired up and motivated.

    You think to yourself: “Before, it’d take me A WHOLE DAY to kill just one. It was tiring. Sometimes I wondered if it was even worth it. I nearly quit a dozen times. I’d spin my wheels and run in circles with little return. But now… with my new tools and smarts — I can easily QUADRUPLE my results while MAKING MORE and WORKING LESS! I could go get FIVE TIMES as many Woolly Mammoths!”

    You got it. And that’s the secret and power… of the money shot. You’re working smarter. Not harder.

The money shot is that perfect shot of the item that’ll be used as the main display pic. The first pic they’ll ever see. The very first thing they’re exposed to regarding your item.

“OKAY A.J. Stop dragging this on and tell me what the damn ‘money shot’ technique is and how I can use it to make boatloads of cash while ‘working less’ before I click off and go watch cat vids on YouTube.”

Hey, I love cat vids. I’ll even watch ’em with you.

But first, I’m gonna teach you in a way that you’ll never forget.

We’re gonna hit up a thrift store right now — in real life.

I’m gonna take you through a real life example right now and demonstrate The Money Shot Technique in action.

“It’s like he’s actually here with me in person showing me how to do this, holding my hand!”

I am. Get your shoes on, let’s go make you some cash right now.

We’re gonna pick something together to flip for a profit — and then — using The Money Shot Technique — we’re gonna see how much we can multiply our profit.

We walk in and see these 2 stools. They look pretty deese.

$14.99 each. Sweet, we can totally flip these for more. Let’s buy them.

We drive home together and we get right down to it (hey, it sounds dirty, but you can trust me).

Hmm… they’re kinda wobbly. No problem. We turn them over and tighten up some screws. Done. No big deal.

Let’s flip it now. First, we need to create an ad for it.

Easy enough, right? You take your smartphone, take a couple pics, think up a description for them, then start thinking to yourself… “If I can get $60 bucks for em, I’d be stoked! Man, that’s a $30 profit!”

So you post this: 

Um… first of all, what?  $60 bucks? You’re happy with a $30 profit?

Second… Look at the ad.

It sucks balls.

I mean what the hell there’s a damn garbage bin the corner. It looks like you’d have to pay someone to TAKE these stools from you.

There’s barely any details.

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Flipping Ninja Pro Tip:

Q: What do you get when you create sucky ads, sucky pics, and sucky descriptions?


A: Sucky prices. Sucky profits. Sucky everything. You'll starve. And grow hair on your fingertips. Then lose friends.


The quality of your ads are the only thing separating you right now from earning $1,000/month flipping things on your spare time. Make your ads good if you want to do well.

Let’s try $250 instead. That’s over 7x more profit — IF it sells.

Now you’re thinking, “Alright A.J., you’re full of it. You know no one’s gonna buy those for $250. I wouldn’t even spend $50 on em, honestly.”

Well, you could be right. Who knows. We’ll see.

But that’s also because you’re still trying to take down a Woolly Mammoth with a Swiss Army knife.

If you want to command a big $250 price for these chairs…

…Then you’re gonna have to use a better weapon that can do the job.

You’re gonna have to aim right… and COMMAND a $250 price tag (come on, haven’t you ever heard that cheesy inspirational “shoot for the moon/something about landing upon the stars” quote?)

In Comes… The “Money Shot”

The "Money Shot" is that ONE special photo. 

It's the magic shot that INSTANTLY SELLS people.

The shot that does the trick. 

The magic bullet.

Among all those photos you took, it's the 1 or 2 that are KILLERS.

The sexy shot that forces people to BOLT to their phones and call you like their lives depend on it.

You know exactly what I’m talking about. The “Holy shit, I’ve got to own that – NOW” feeling. Where price becomes irrelevant and people instantly develop a burning desire to OWN whatever you’re selling.

It’s the shot that’ll be used as the main display pic. The first pic they’ll ever see. The first thing they’re exposed to.

It’s like your Match.com or Tinder profile pic (talking to you again, Gladys)

You want to blow them away with it. It needs to command instant attention from the masses and say LOOK AT ME. It needs to get them drooling.

"Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Would you capture it, or just let it slip?"

-Eminem (talking about The Money Shot Technique)

Eminem

How about we try one of these instead?

That wasn’t too hard, was it? We just played around with it, turned the fireplace on, moved some things around, *maybe* added a light filter or two (making it look dreamy af), nothing too crazy or misleading. 

We’ve come this far, let’s finish this up. Let’s create a compelling ad that really sells the product.

Details and specifics are always good:

Notice the “Money Shot”. Notice the whole ad.

But most importantly… Notice the price.

Now THAT’S starting to look like somethin’ worth $250 bucks.

Someone can see it–and even if they’re not in the market for it–they’ll notice it (whether consciously or subconsciously) and think, “Wow, those are sexy… why?”

They won’t be able to figure out why. Or put their finger on it.

Their eyes will glance over the price and it won’t even be a thing. They won’t even notice it being “high”. Because… it’s not.

NOW A $250 PRICE FOR THE FIRST “BEFORE” AD, THAT WOULD BE HIGH!!!

But the second… No, it just makes sense.

That my friend, is seduction.

Seduction (Flipping Ninja Style)

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The art of seduction is knowing what people really want and giving it to them in a way that takes their breath away. They don't know how to turn it off, and they don't want to. Until they buy. It's beautiful and rewarding -- all at the same time.

4 days later it sold… full price.

 

And what’d we spend, 30 minutes?  We drove to that thrift store which was only 13 minutes away. We threw the 2 stools in the trunk, took ’em home, gave ’em a wipe down… Took the Money Shot… posted them up.

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Flipping Ninja Pro Tip

When crafting your ads, your job is NOT to create desire, but to channel and direct it to whatever it is you're selling. 


"The power, the force, the overwhelming urge to own that makes your ads work, comes from the market [prospect] itself, and not from the ad." - Eugene Schwartz


Meaning if they don't want it, your awesome pics/ad won't matter.


You can't just take a "money shot" of an old sock and expect someone to want to come pay you lotsa money for it...


...Unless that person was specifically LOOKING for an old sock


In that case, your money shot will let you command more money.

Black Stool Gains

(that totally came out wrong)
(k... making that comment made it worse... NOT a good headline)

$30
Spent on 2 stools
30min
Approx. time it all took
$220
Profit

Made $220 just like that.

Now if you did it the first way like before, best case scenario would be $30 bucks profit…
…IF it even sold yet and IF whoever bought it didn’t low-ball you even more.

So in reality, 4 days later you’d be sitting at a $0 – $30 profit.

Does  a $0-$30 profit energize and motivate you? It doesn’t for me. Especially after playing this game for so long (don’t worry — you’ll learn it all if you stick around and sign up for my email list here, where I share more tips privately with you:).

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Checklist For Taking The Perfect Money Shot:

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    Great lighting?
  • check
    Great angle(s)?
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    Taken with a  nice camera (any smartphone within the last 5 years)?
  • check
    Staged as well as possible?
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    Packaged & presented like a million bucks?

The CRAZY part about all this is…

They both take the SAME amount of time! You’ll be spending the time either way. Why not do it smart?

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Think of yourself as a model agent. Your job is to find talent, potential, opportunity (items you want to make money flipping). Then sell, represent, and promote the hell out of it.

Your product/item is your “model”. You want it to look amazing. She might be having a bad day… she might be feeling sick… she might feel unmotivated… but your job is to take care of all that and handle it. Be there for her. You need to take the best “money shot” you can.

There will be a handful of good pics and you know that, but you’re looking for that ONE pic that’s magazine cover worthy. The one that’ll get you famous. That one shot that’ll sell your item for a much higher price than anyone else and get you richer.

Seek it out relentlessly and capture it.
It’s the difference between making a $30 profit and a $220 profit.


When you’re buying and reselling things, when it’s photo time…  create and take that money shot. Make it your b****… It’s your job.

 


“Wow, this is some advanced, next level stuff A.J… Who even thinks of this stuff in so much detail?! That’s never even crossed my mind… I’m excited to try it out now that I kinda see what you mean… A few examples would be helpful though.”

Hey, what’d I say? I got your back. Here are a few examples. Look at them. Study them. Look at the angles. Look at the lighting. Look at the different positionings. Look at some of the photo enhancements added as well. Maybe even some filters. Look at how the photo is cropped. Just take it all in.

There’s no “formulaic” approach to taking these. Well, there is… but I want you to just “feel it out” for now. Don’t think too hard about it or too much. Just let it flow and happen naturally. What I’m saying is that although there are basic guidelines to taking great “money shots”, once you learn the rules, you can break them (which I cover much more in depth in The Flipping Ninja Blueprint). For now, just take it all in so you can start getting ideas:

[pics]
[pics]
[pics]

When you’re taking money shots, again, you’re looking for that emotional pull. It could be a sparkle. It could be the perfect angle showing your item fully in its best light. It could even be PART of an item… as long as it’s special.

For example, look at the way the light reflects off of the keys on this piano despite all of it not being shown:

[image]

When you see this picture among the dozens of other crappy piano ads, it stands out right away. It’s sexy. It’s beautiful. It gets you emotionally attached.

Or look at the lighting and shadows on this one. There’s almost a mystery to it. It’s intriguing:

[image]

It’s that easy. Once you know the tricks… the strategies… the tactics. You’ll be doing all this with your eyes closed.

Just imagine… $200 here… $500 there… $150 here… $325 there…

Now you’re at $1,000/month.

What would that do for you? How would that impact your finances? Your life? What would you do more often?

I mean the “flip” we just did now with the 2 stools was a quick and easy $220. What if you hit up a couple more stores? How about the dozens of other niches out there?

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Other Niches You Can Flip Stuff In

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    Electronics
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    Furniture
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    Toys/Games
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    Art Pieces
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    Watches/Jewelry
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    Antiques
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    Laptops/Computers
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    Cell Phones
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    Pet Supplies/Equipment
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    Halloween Props/Costumes/Holiday/Seasonal Items
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    And so much more!

The possibilities are endless. Here’s the story of how I flipped the world’s strongest laser pointer you can legally own just the other day and made a quick $196.

As you can see… All of this can easily (and quickly) be the equivalent of picking up an extra full or part time job depending on how far you take it… it’s really up to you…

Whatever you decide — I promise you this:

Once you get into the habit, you'll become addicted. It'll be like a game. But a game where you make money and get paid to play.

Imagine if this flip we just went through, was something you did on your own, on our way home from work. What would that feel like?

I hope this has helped you. If it has, I’d love it even MORE if you kept me in the loop and shared your successes with me.

Shoot me an email at AJ [at] TheFlippingNinja.com with your comments and questions. I read ALL emails personally and respond to them.

Oh and by the way – if you’re looking for more, extra training, or you’re someone who’s done kind of “tinkering” with the idea of making money flipping things, I’ve created something for you. The Flipping Ninja Blueprint is a full training course and program where I personally show you the ropes – start to finish. It’s 10+ hours of video content, 300+ pages of pure gold. Worth more than a college course, if you ask me.

Click here to learn more

P.S. Always remember… have “the eye”. When you’re looking at things, let’s say at a thrift store for example or on Craigslist, don’t just see the item as it is… try and imagine creating your own “money shot” for it… For example, those 2 stools we saw at that thrift store earlier, if you go back up and see, you’ll notice they’re kinda dusty/dirty. Look beyond those things.

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Start seeing yourself as an artist. A creator. A director. A visionary. Who can create epic stuff that moves people (to action... to want to buy... etc).

James Cameron directed the movie Titanic. He had a vision before he even started it all. And it was EPIC (as a matter of fact, just yesterday I was at the grocery store and I saw a magazine cover with that famous Titanic shot on it… and it’s February 2018!! Weird timing.)

Now keep in mind…

You’re not trying to create Titanic. It doesn’t have to be SUPER EPIC AND PERFECT to a point where you start slacking and become paralyzed and end up never posting anything up for sale.

You’re doing it on a smaller (yet just as significant) scale. Just be quick. You’ll get faster as you do it more, but keep that in mind.

You’re looking to create “the money shot” in your ads.

And that – you can do with a little bit of awareness and creativity.

Especially now that you know about it.

Now go get ‘em.

Oh and I almost forgot… One last thing.

Remember how Gladys was all grumpy and bent out of shape earlier after Googling “money shot”?

Well, being the magnificent instructor that I am (I mean come on, I created the official course on flipping, [yes… I am glorifying myself in my own post])… I didn’t want her goin’ spreadin’ rumors back at the nursing home about what I teach.

On top of that, I wanna leave you, my reader, with one last thing. Something you’ll never forget. Something that’ll inspire you to take action.

So I decided I will personally get Gladys involved and make it an interactive learning experience.

Here’s how it went down:

"Look Gladys, you're 103 years old. And you're gorgeous. I'm pretty sure you've got a few recent photos of you lyin' around here, yeah?"

A.J.

Gladys

"Well, dear, I'm much older now, but if you look over there in that shoebox..., say that shoebox was one Carl found at a puppet store when I wa—"

"GLADYS YES OR NO GOD DAMMIT!

A.J.

Turns out she did (I hadda hear her long ass puppet store story though, you’re welcome).

But they were plain, boring, basic shots of her.

Shots of her outside the nursing home.
Shots of her on her damn rocking chair she’s been sitting on for the past 27 years.
Shots of her at her grandson’s birthday party sitting the background.

So I thought, “Gladys, we’re gonna take a money shot of YOU.”

Hmm… How can we present Gladys in a way that captures immediate attention and is unforgettable? None of that boring stuff every other old lady is doing.

“Gladys, we need to sell you!”

first let’s re-visit our definition:

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mon·ey shot

noun
informal


"A money shot is a moving or stationary visual element of a film, video, television broadcast, or print publication that is disproportionately expensive to produce and/or is perceived as essential to the overall importance or revenue-generating potential of the work."

Here’s Gladys’s Money Shot: 

What do you think, fit the bill? 

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Checklist For Taking The Perfect Money Shot:

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    Great lighting? Damn right. Broad daylight, perfect for what we need. 
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    Great angle(s)? Check. If that angle doesn't make you wonder how many times we hadda keep trying til we nailed it, it ain't good enough.
  • check
    Taken with a  nice camera (any smartphone within the last 5 years)? Yep (she probably didn't even know what was going on honestly).
  • check
    Staged as well as possible? Dude. She's 103. She's at the playground. Mid-swing. You'll never see anything like this. Yes. Sold.
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    Packaged & presented like a million bucks? I was thinking more like 1.5, 2 million max, but yeah, she's defo packaged right.

Looks good to me. Time to post her on Craigslist.

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Flipping Ninja Advanced Pro-Tip

If wanted to get serious about selling Gladys, we'd take more than 1 money shot. We'd test. We'd see which one performed better. So there'd be 2 ads posted, say, one with the above Money Shot, and one with this Money Shot:

 

Then we’d sit back and wait while the market decides which the winning ad will be.

It doesn’t matter which you like better. What matters is only what the market likes better.

Ya get it?

If you enjoyed this post, make sure to sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get fun, educational and money-making tips (and awesome, crazy stories) right to your Inbox. No junk mail, no spam, no nonsense, just me and you, sharing tips on how to make money flipping things. :)

Did you like this article? Do me a solid — Let me know in the comments what the most useful passage was for you, so I know what’s striking a chord with you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

AJ Hakimi (The Flipping Ninja)

Hey there, I'm AJ, also known as 'The Flipping Ninja'. My flipping journey has been transformative, allowing me to buy sleek cars, indulge in exotic vacations, and even purchase my first house at 24, which I turned into a passive income source. With over 3,000+ items flipped and sales surpassing $300k, it's not just about the numbers. It's about the freedom and empowerment flipping brings.

After years of experience, my mission is to share this life-changing skill. I believe flipping is a powerful side hustle for anyone, from college students to working professionals. Ready to transform your life with flipping? Let's embark on this journey together.

Interested in my full journey? Read More about how I became 'The Flipping Ninja'.

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