One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure: $0 to $1000 in a day

Society looks down on people who collect the scraps of others, but what they don't realize is that they could get more money in one day than what they get in one week working at their daily job from selling other peoples unwanted goods.

I am no "make-money-quick guru" that teaches you how to make $1000 from $0 in a day with secret methods, but I have made a couple thousand dollars from selling freebies that others throw out to the garbage. Super simple, and so obvious to do. Just overlooked, because most people don't want to be seen as "scavengers". As the saying goes;

"One man's trash, is another man's treasure."

I think the idiom should be "one person's trash, is another person's cash."

I hear many people telling me they are fed-up when all their wages go to bills, and they aren't able to get a pay rise from their boss. I don't judge them negatively as I understand what it's like when you make just enough to survive.

I advise them to take matters into their own hands and create another income source, instead of waiting around for someone to hand it to you on a silver platter.

You don't have to start a business. You could simply sell second-hand things people give away and profit from it. After some examples of how I did it, I will share some takeaways to try yourself.

In my high school days, I had my first experience selling an old pre-loved Logitech sound system to a buyer on Gumtree.com.au for $50, an Australian local online private sale market for second-hand products.

I remember how exciting it was for me to make money from something I no longer needed, which was given to me by a mate that wanted to throw it out. I technically made a $50 profit in less than an hour.

I soon ravaged my parents' house looking for anything that I could sell for quick cash. It was that simple to make money from nothing. At the same time, I got praised by my mum for cleaning the house: although a lot of her belongings "mysteriously" disappeared.

Later on in life, I moved out of my parents' place and stayed in a rental home. This time, instead of just selling, I was in need to buy second-hand furniture and appliances. I didn't want to buy anything new, as I didn't intend to stay in the rental for long with plans to build my own house. I kept in mind to re-sell all the things I got, so I wouldn't have to transport everything to the new home when I left.

I was lucky to have also received a lot of free second-hand furniture from friends and family who were going to throw them out anyhow. I didn't take everything that people wanted to get rid of; I went through specific inspection procedures to ensure that I could re-sell them quickly when I moved out.

My strategy with buying and accepting second-hand things was to first look at the brand and its demand in the marketplace, compare it to the retail price, then get the average selling price of similar items on the market. Branded stuff is easier to sell as most people trust it and search for it regularly, especially if it's cheaper than retail.

as an example;

My friend gave me a "FRIHETEN" Ikea couch that had some torn leather on the seams. I saw on the Facebook market that these types of sofas would often get sold quickly at around $500 with minor damage.

The retail price is $940AUD, So comparing the couch's quality to those on the market, I could sell the couch slightly cheaper for between $400-$450. Seeming somewhat more inexpensive than others on the market makes your item more appealing to interested buyers.

If I was to buy something to re-sell;

I look for a specific brand that people trust, get the retail price, then compare prices on the market. I would then bargain with the argument that I saw a better quality product for cheaper on the market, and if they sold it to me for a lower price, I would buy theirs now. To re-sell it later, I would mark the price back up to the average cost to profit around $50-$100.

For a product with minor damage, that had a slight variant from the retail price; I would bargain on the basis that for such a slight difference in price, I might as well buy a new couch. I tell them that I would buy their sofa now if they dropped the price more. When it came to re-selling it, I mark the price up to what they initially had and make it non-negotiable.

I was working in a construction fabrication workshop, where I was exposed to a lot more opportunities to sell "unwanted goods".

We had a job come up at a house making renovations and was asked if we could help them remove their old kitchen-set to replace it with a new one.

I asked my boss at the time if it was ok for me to take it, so instead of demolishing the kitchen, I took it apart piece-by-piece and brought it back. I sold the complete kitchen for $1000 extra, on top of getting paid to remove it.

While I was there, I also sold their carpets, bedroom doors and a steel balustrade, profiting another $500.

From the same workshop, I also sold scrap steel for $0.20/kg and aluminum for $1/kg in 2018. In a fabrication workshop, there are loads of scrap metal.

How to make $1000 with $0 in a day?

Sell "garbage" worth $1000 that people throw away (a kitchen set in my case), or two pieces at $500 value, or three pieces worth $333.3, etc.

Go on platforms such as Facebook market or Gumtree and find things people are giving away for free in your local area, then sell it. I found an abundance of household items like cupboards, shelves, mirror cabinet, chairs, and cots, that sell very well.

Profitable workplace items that get thrown out are things like; network cabinets, office tables, office chairs, older computer monitors, a kitchen, etc. It would be best if you took advantage of that, don't worry what people think of you, remember that you could get a few hundred for those.

Suppose you are serious about making money from selling used products. In that case, once you sell a few freebies and make $300. Re-invest it and buy something with a higher value that someone might be happy to get rid of, and sell that for a profit of $600, etc.

Conclusion

Selling used items may not replace your stable income. Still, you can make a few hundred dollars extra on the side, if not thousands, just from selling what people consider garbage.

The mindset is not just about making money, but also seeing it as using the earth's resources efficiently and not wasting them in the trash.

If there is one thing I learned from this practice, it is that; there is always someone out there who considers one man's trash as treasure, no matter what the item is.