Flippers?

Anonymous-0 · Feb 5, 2010

What are your opinions out there on guys that are flipping stuff out there? Tractors, machinery,etc.-I thought of this after watching that American Pickers show. Seems like it's a little shady to take advantage of older people who have worked hard to accumulate what they have and only to have somebody pressure or hassle them into selling stuff. I don't mind people making a living, but man seems a little over the top and greedy to me. But hey, maybe I'm just naive and have to live with the fact that this is the way the world is now.

Mike (WA) · Feb 5, 2010

Guess I don't have a big problem with it. If the pickers hadn't come along, the "stuff" would have just sat there until they died, at which time heirs would have taken most to the dump, in all likelihood. This way, they get something, and I didn't really think the pickers were taking advantage of them.

bodid1998 · Feb 5, 2010

Furthermore there is alot of people out and around us doing the same .But they are not on TV .I will have to say,myself included I usually would not tell someone they are to cheap on an item I am wanting to purchase but they have several times on this show .I will compliment them on that.

Dustin IL

railhead · Feb 5, 2010

happens all the time in every aspect of business. Suppliers find what their customers need/want, buy it and sell it for a profit. What"s the big deal?

ryanwheelock · Feb 5, 2010

What channel is that show on??

Anonymous-0 · Feb 5, 2010

Primary reason I'll let stuff rot to the ground before being allowing a stranger to steal it. Happened at home many times when the kids (us) weren't around. Typical avenue is to take advantge of older individuals whom don't have a clue what something is worth. Don't mind if they make a few dollars but not double or triple the investment.

rrlund · Feb 5, 2010

History Channel. Direct TV 269. Monday nights at 9 eastern.
As far as what they're doing,where else are these things gonna come from that show up at the flea markets?

Howard H. · Feb 5, 2010

"Flipping" might make a fun hobby, but in my opinion, a person has to CREATE some real value on their own through the job they do to be successful in the long run.

Hoping to luck onto "good deals" constantly in order to make a living is a poor way to do that (in my opinion).

Besides, no one is right all the time! I saw an old, rough looking McCormick Deering at auction a while back go to an internet bidder. It looked pretty good on the internet photo, but it was rougher than a cob up close and in person.

The bidder wound up getting it for $2700 or something like that - the internet bidder (a tractor jockey) was cussing to a friend of mine about how rough it was and how much it cost him to have it hauled over to his place (half a state away).

I saw it sell on Ebay a month or two later for about $1600...

My point is, by the time you factor in gas, wear & tear on the old truck, meals, screw-ups, etc, it's a tough way to expect to make a living!

And it doesn't really create any new value...

Howard

Zachary Hoyt · Feb 5, 2010

I buy old violins and banjos at flea market and repair them and resell. I don't usually make much of an hourly rate on them, but it's a good way to learn the skills. I did 'flip' a banjo that I bought once, but I don't feel too bad about it. I had put up a 'wanted' ad on craigslist saying I would pay $50 for any banjo that had most of it's hardware, and a guy emailed me and ended up selling me a banjo. It needed a little work and some research to find out exactly how old it was(circa 1905), but he hadn't bothered to look it up online even though he had internet access and there was a label with the company name on the banjo. A lady in Texas bought it from me for $500 after a couple of months of advertising, and she thought it was a good deal at that price, so go figure. If the guy had been someone whom I didn't believe had internet access I would have felt bad, but as it turned out I figured he got what he put in the effort to get, which was not much.
Zach

Luke S · Feb 5, 2010

I was surprised at how much those guys on the "picker show" were actually paying for stuff. Seemed like they were paying all the money and then some to me.

Gun guru · Feb 5, 2010

I have thought about all the foreclosed homes and buying one and then do a fix up, maybe dump $10k into it and make $40k......But it is risky, you need a lot of capital to do it.

paul · Feb 5, 2010

I like Pawn Stars - he seems to make a healthy mark-up; but people walk in his door of their own free will. It's their business what they accept for their stuff. Most people going to a pawn store need cash, and are selling out grandpa's heirlooms, but that is the nature of the younger generation, so be it.

Pickers bothers me a little. I assume with the cameras and all, it actually isn't knocking on a random door & stealing from the old & feeble.... But, it has that feel to it, and I don't like that at all. Really bothers me.

I assume one of the bigger buyers from the Pickers fellas is Applebee's and other such chains - they seem to like metal signs, oil cans, and other old stuff that can be screwed onto a wall.

--->Paul

Anonymous-0 · Feb 5, 2010

Howard H. I dont understand how you think you have to add value. All you have to do is find
a seller that will sell you a bargain or find a purchaser that will pay a premium price. I have been making a living doing this for 38 years.
Certainly every deal is not a money maker and sometimes the makret changes overnight but in the fall I will hay equipment or combines what ever is not selling at that time then hold it for spring when the market picks up..
As for taking advantage of the elderly if you pay what the seller ask is that taking advantage of anyone..??

PJH · Feb 5, 2010

A guy I know has been a sort of con man all his life. He was after his uncle to sell him a little Massey 35 with several pieces of equipment. His uncle priced it to him for the favorite nephew price of $1200, including all the equipment. He got the plow, disk, cultivators and tractor home that day before dark, but had to leave the brush hog. Next day a stranger shows up at uncle's house - said he was there to pick up his brush hog. Uncle said that's my nephew's brush hog. Stranger said, No I just bought it, and a tractor, plow, disk, and cultivator for $3800. Uncle refused to speak to nephew for the rest of his life.

JayinNY · Feb 5, 2010

I wouldent do it in todays housing market, but a few years ago my brother flipped 2 houses, one dump he bought for $16,000, and sold for $45,000 and lived in it for 2 years, about ten grand in repairs. The other he bought for 80 grand and sold it for close to $130,000. I think that bubble has burst thought.

JayinNY · Feb 5, 2010

I wouldent do it in todays housing market, but a few years ago my brother flipped 2 houses, one dump he bought for $16,000, and sold for $45,000 and lived in it for 2 years, about ten grand in repairs. The other he bought for 80 grand and sold it for close to $130,000. I think that bubble has burst thought.

JayinNY · Feb 5, 2010

I wouldent do it in todays housing market, but a few years ago my brother flipped 2 houses, one dump he bought for $16,000, and sold for $45,000 and lived in it for 2 years, about ten grand in repairs. The other he bought for 80 grand and sold it for close to $130,000. I think that bubble has burst thought.

kendak · Feb 5, 2010

can't figure out how they find all that stuff ..around here everything like that goes to the scrap yard by what we call scrappers...every morning there is a line around the block waiting for the scrap yard to open...saw one guy bring in [9] truck loads of 2cyl. JD tractors...couldn't leave the job & didn't have the money to buy...had to bite my tongue & look the other way ...Kent

agpilot · Feb 5, 2010

Hi PJH:
Yep, that seems to happen quite often.. either just before the older person dies or right after.. Greed is a common trait. ag

agpilot · Feb 5, 2010

Hi Mike (WA) You are right on about stuff going to the dump ( or for scrap iron) My brother had tons of stuff like used medal aircraft propellers that were worth at least couple thousand each that ended up going to scrap metal yard plus thousands in tools etc and all got dumped because his kids didn't care. Such is life I am told. ag

flying belgian · Feb 5, 2010

Happened to a distant relative of mine. He owned a 40 acre farm that was being surronded by city. Hot shot local developer came to him and offered to build him a brand new house in exchange for the 38 tillable. He could keep the 2 acres with the new house. After deal was made he built him a two bit shack worth maybe 50,000. Developer plotted the 38 and sold it for millions. Funny thing is the relative always seemed satisfied with his new house.

Spook · Feb 5, 2010

I think it's harder than it used to be. There used to be auctions every weekend, and some weekdays. There were consignment auctions also. But high scrap prices and the internet and ebay have really created some new channels for equipment. I talked to one guy who was buying lawnmowers at garage sales and then selling them on ebay and then cl. He complained that so many others wre trying the same thing that there was no money in it anymore.

Pat-CT · Feb 5, 2010

Alot of people around these parts seem to do that, Buy some junk tractors get them running and sell them for some profit. Seems like a pretty good business i mean its great in some respects. I would do it just to break even just so i get a chance to have experience with every kind of tractor that i can.

some of the people on that pickers show are jsut plain mean and nasty. It really is bad at how rude some people are. You can just kindly same im not interested

Howard H. · Feb 7, 2010

JM -

I mainly answered from the context of thinking what my young kids will make careers of.

Producing cattle, repairing cars, becoming a doctor or nurse, working in a factory - all actually create something of value - as opposed to just hunting around for bargains in someone's barns...

The other thing is - I've seen plenty of smart/conniving "wheeler-dealers" that would love nothing more than to bamboozle some unknowning person out of something valuable...

A good friend of mine is right now trying to keep a large stationary engine collection of an elderly relative from falling into the hands of a crooked pastor who pressured him into signing over power of attorney... Several people in the community - including the cops - have warned my friend what sort of crook the "pastor" is...

It might not be exactly illegal, but its not for me...

And the original poster was asking our opinions...

Howard

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