Did you know you can make megabucks with a $4 item? 
A few days ago, a local call center requested for a motivational speech, particularly one that empowered their agents to ooze charisma over the phone. It was an easy job. I simply gave the basics of tonality, pacing and leading as well as emotional infusion. The crowd loved it. Management happily paid me $170. That wasn’t exactly something to jump up and down about… but not bad for an hour’s work. I packed up my projector and had my assistant shut off the recorder. (It’s my practice to record presentations made.)
Back home, I unwound a bit with eBay, a large box of Yellow Cab pizza and cans of soda. The $170 disappeared in a flash, what with the pizza costing $30 and the rest going to a pile of $3 to $30 ‘good deals’ eBay offered me. My wallet was forlorn but my belly satisfied. I started to grumble about inflation.
Then it hit me. There were scores of guys selling $3 items and making a decent living off it. If they could survive off it, there must be something to it.
I scrolled the ebay listings again. Whew. Hot items with multiple bids included low priced $3 CDs . Most were of the ‘how to kind’. My mind started freewheeling. What if I jumped into the bandwagon?
Next to me were a pile of CDs containing my different audio and visual lectures. The titles looked good:
“How to Charm Your Boss Out of A $900 Raise”
“How to Make $400 a Day in Forex”
etc.
I selected a few and whipped up draft listings under my ebay account. Normally, I’d dispose of high end Pradas or iPhones on the auction giant. Today, I’m attempting the opposite end of the spectrum.
I created compelling ad copy, and snapped up pix of the home made CDs. No fancy labels, mind you- this way it looks customized and rare.
I decided to start the auction at $3. Shipping was pegged at $10. I clicked LIST and away they went.
Hours later, I checked my PC.
I had bids. In fact, the average CD had 8 or 9! I got excited
On the third day, end of the listing, all CDs had a winning bidder with the price jacked up to $9 to $20.
I shipped out five CDs that day. Net profit was good. I incurred .3c cost per CD and just $5 for shipping (each CD left in a paper sleeve). I charged $10 for S/H and bidders paid anywhere from $6 to $20. All in all, I earned a margin of at least $15 per CD. Now that was something.
But I wanted more.
I entered my eBay account again and availed of the option “Make Second Offer” to the losing bidders. This option lets them purchase a lost item at the winning price. Now, I didn’t have big expectations, but I did not have anything to lose by trying.
Next day I checked my account.
My jaw dropped. Almost everyone responded. That was about 9 new buyers per CD!
The post office did good business with me that day.
So how much did I earn?
Go do the math.
Good luck!
