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Hustle Tip – How To Make Money Going Shopping

If you are like most people, a trip to the store means you are going to come home a bit poorer but with a few more things. What if I told you how you can often come home having made a profit from your trip!

It is possible, just not every single time. Here’s how to do it.


 

GIG APPS

If you have read any of my side-hustle income reports, you’ve seen me mention these apps. I’m talking about Field Agent, Easyshift, and Gigwalk. But due to a recent problem with Gigwalk I no longer recommend using their app. Instead, I have found a new competitor, an app called Observa

Check these apps to see if you can earn a bit of scratch photographing products on display.

This isn’t what this article is about but might as well earn a bit if there is a job waiting, right?


 

RETAIL ARBITRAGE

As I delve deeper into frugality, I find myself rarely visiting a store for my own shopping wants. Now I mostly go to stores to complete the gigs on the previously mentioned apps.

While I am there, I always check the clearance section(s) to see if there are any great deals.

Because if the deal is really good, I can buy the item to resell. This is what is known as retail arbitrage.

Here is a recent example where I turned my trip to the store to do a $6 gig into much more.

In Walmart I checked the clearance section and discovered that there were two boxes of Lexmark ink on discount. The sticker showed that they were marked down from $70 to just $7. Hmm, might be some profit to be had here.

Hopping onto the eBay app, I scanned the barcode, selected “Show only sold”, and saw that these inks were selling for about $35 each.

Since the ink weighed just a few ounces, it can ship first class for less than $3.

eBay and Paypal take up to about a 13% fee off the top. I quickly calculated it in my head as such.

  • $7 Ink
  • $0.50 Sales Tax
  • $4.50 eBay/Paypal fees
  • $3 Shipping
    Total: About $15

Remember, the inks were selling for $35. Buying these inks gave me a great possibility at making $20 per. $20 X 2 = $40!

You can do this with anything that is a bargain. Find an amazing pair of jeans at a huge discount? Check them out to see what they sell for online and if they are selling for a lot more than the price you can get them at, flip them for profit!

IT ALL ADDS UP

So $40 isn’t going to change your life (neither is the $6 I made doing the gig). But it is when you keep doing it. Small amounts WILL become large amounts if you keep accumulating them.

I urge you to always be hustling, even if you are just going about your normal shopping trip. Because the opportunities are out there. Adopt the hustling mindset and you shall see them appear.

Oh and BTW, one of those inks sold that same day, the other the next.

And if the thing doesn’t sell? Keep your receipt and return it to the store (if this is something you worry about, make sure to check the return policy on clearance items).

All-in-all, it’s a low-risk way to make money!

6 comments

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  1. Josh

    I like the arbitrage mentality. My wife have recently started flipping clothes and video games starting with our own collections. If you can keep a sharp eye and know of department stores that do good clearance, there is small money to be paid.

    For us, it pays our car insurance and other miscellaneous expenses that we spend but not necessarily plan for.
    Josh recently posted…15 Side Hustles to Make Money in 2018 (and Surveys Aren’t One)My Profile

    1. MrDD

      I’m not shy about using different ways to make a buck. If you check a few stores every month I don’t see why you couldn’t pull in a hundred or two in profit every month.

  2. Cato @thedollarbuild.com

    Retail arbitrage used to be my go-to strategy to make money back when I was in college and could only make so much from a part-time job. I’ve mostly given it up for now since it typically requires committing a decent chunk of time to acquire the item, post it for sale, and ship it. That’s not to say it’s not a lucrative side business! It definitely adds up. I remember being excited about items I could make just $5 off of back then. Nowadays, I’m looking to clear $50 an item to make it worth my while. But I kind of miss hunting for bargains I could make $5 from…it can be an exciting and slightly addictive activity!
    Cato @thedollarbuild.com recently posted…Why You Don’t “Need” to Invest in BitcoinMy Profile

    1. MrDD

      Yeah, I usually will look for at least $10 profit on an item nowadays, and that’s on cheaper items too. Say you find something on discount for $25, but you can sell it for $45-50 online. After fees and costs that is about a $10 profit and I would pick it up.

  3. fin$avvy panda

    Haha I love your buy low sell high mindset! The US always has better opportunities than Canada. We literally have $hit here. ???

    I can tell you that we won’t really find great bargains here. We also don’t have those task apps lol.

    Overall, bravo to your finds 🙂
    fin$avvy panda recently posted…Make Compound Interest Your BFFMy Profile

    1. MrDD

      Haha, you can swear here – it’s not a family site! 😀

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