January 20, 2021

Flip of the Week: Unique Hunting-Dog Table Lamp

By AJ Hakimi (The Flipping Ninja)

Bought for $8, and sold for $40 in 4 days. Small items make big profits too. 

The shelves were full. There were so many items I could pick from but one stood out from the rest. Imagine browsing through a full shelf in a vast thrift store; toasters, blenders, rice cookers, radios, flat irons, coffee makers, and other things I didn’t even bother giving a second glance—but I saw a dog… as a lamp. A dog lamp. And I knew right then and there, it was profit.

Look at the full shelves – not to mention the lamps on the other side!

It wasn’t the most obvious item but mixed in with the normalness of the other lamps and appliances, it stood out like a sapphire peacock amongst brown hens. Good thing I’ve been pretty accustomed to looking for weird items to flip. So, when I saw the item, I took a closer look at its features. There were no signs of bad wear – it looked well taken care of from its previous owner. And the quality of the dog sculpture wasn’t ugly. In fact, it was well made, as far as my untrained eyes could tell. 

Also, when I checked the price, my doubts vanished. 

Just $8! Imagine that. So I took it home.

Next time you go through the thrift store, make sure to look for the weird and the conspicuous. There might be someone looking for such an item on the internet. I know this doggy’s new owner loved it.

The reason for my excitement when I discovered the lamp is because there are tons of dog lovers in the US and the market for folks with dogs is MASSIVE. I’m talking about a multi-billion dollar industry of dog owners just buying random dog stuff—don’t quote me on that, but it’s HUGE. 

Fun fact: the customer’s dog is actually the same breed as the dog in the lamp! How cool is that? So when he saw it, there was little convincing needed.

So once home, I did my usual routine. Set up the stage for the shoot, took the photos, wrote an ad description, then posted the listings online. All that was left was to wait.

Looking back, I think the biggest factor that grabbed my customer’s attention (if they weren’t already sold when they saw the pointing dog—which is highly likely) was probably its money-shot.

The contrast between its lamplight and the shadows created a focal point that attracts people’s attention. 

The first thing a prospect sees is the image. That means that the primary job of your feature image is to get people to click on your item listing. 

So that probably grabbed their attention. 

The rest of the images were mostly with good lighting showing different angles. Naturally, the prospects that are interested in buying would be curious about the item’s condition. So I showed it to them by providing plenty of high-quality photos from different angles. 

Depending on the item you’re selling you could have a variety of different angles to choose from. I highly recommend showing off as many as possible without being redundant.

The next thing your prospects will move on to will be the ad description. The job then of the description is to convince them (if they’re not already) to buy your item. 

Here’s a screenshot of my ad description 

This is a pretty straightforward ad copy. I’ve already made more in-depth case studies on ad descriptions on my previous FOTW articles – the Roland Keyboard and the Catnapper.

This flip was very profitable. The customer and I negotiated a bit before it was sold. We were both happy with $40. He got a dog lamp that matched his doggo and I got my profit. Win-win!

Conclusion

If you see a dog lamp, buy it. No, seriously, just buy it. As long as it has a reasonable price (like $7.99). I bought this lamp along with other items much bigger to save time. But seriously, the point I’m trying to make is there are plenty of flippable items out there. Use your own judgment and try to experiment on which items would sell. Of course, when you experiment make sure to start with something small – since there are always risks. 

The dog lamp was sold in just 4 days

Bought for $7.99

Sold for $40

My initial investment multiplied by 5 in our days, and I’m super satisfied with it. Plus, the time spent working on it was less than 30 mins. So buy the dog lamp :)

 

Overall Rating:

Profit: ⭐⭐

Quick $32. Not great, but hey, $32 is $32, that’s like a night at the movies for two — date night! 

Transport:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Easy peasy transport.

Time Spent: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I bought many items along with the dog lamp, so I’m giving it a five.

OVERALL: 4/5

Overall I’d give it a 4/5 considering these factors:

  • Time spent: <30 minutes
  • Transport: Super easy.
  • Profit: 5x the cost. 

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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