How to make cash from old records
Today’s Adventure in the Biz Opp Jungle:
‘In which Charlie loses sleep, puts videos up online, reveals how to make cash from old books and records, and passes on an amusing true story from a reader.’
Hi
I slept in fragments last night.
Venus wouldn’t go to sleep and cried until midnight. Isis woke up a 4am with toothache. Eventually there were four of us in the bed.
(And the little one said, “Roll Over”.)
I’ve slunk into my study to write this email while crying wafts through the floorboards from the bedroom below. A thick cloud of tiredness has descended over my brain. It’s taken me half an hour to get round to writing these 4 paragraphs,
So if today’s email cuts off half-way and turns into....
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Then I’ve fallen asleep.
First things first....
How to see my online video productions
I’ve had a few confused emails asking about the freebie videos I’ve been putting online.
One video is about the 3 secrets to guaranteeing an income stream from an online business. I explain why I believe – and I’ll even show you proof – that these 3 paths to making money are the only sure-fire routes to success.
The second is about the 8 obstacles that cause most people to fail in a business opportunity... and how to overcome them.
A few people haven’t seen these videos and want to know why.
Well, the reason is that I’m only sending these videos to folk who have joined ‘Project X’.
If you’d like to get sent the next video sessions, as well as written PDF reports, then you need to put your name down here:
It costs nothing to join the Project X Priority list. But if you’d like a sneak preview of what members have getting so far, then you can watch these two online videos here:
And here:
But if you want to get the rest of the stuff that I release in March, you’ll need to put your name down NOW otherwise you won’t get offered a place. When Project X is finally launched you’ll need to be on this priority list to get the details.
As you’ll discover, the best businesses I have developed for Project X are going to be snapped up by the early birds. This is strictly first-come first-served. So if you’re not on the list you may not even get an opportunity to give this a go.
If you’re already a Project X member, then I’ll get some new stuff to you soon. I’ve been deep in research and development since I started back from my paternity break, and I’ve now selected the final list of business ideas to pass on.
I’ll hopefully get the materials and tools into production in the next week or two. At that point I’ll have a firm idea of the launch date. I’ll then be able to send out the next session.
Next things next...
How to make cash from old records
I got an interesting email from a reader who is clearing out his loft. He’s got a load of old vinyl from the ‘80s.
“I’m talking "mega" bands/artists like Johnny Hates Jazz, Depeche Mode, Culture Club, Duran Duran etc etc.”
He has come across a biz opp manual called ‘Vinyl Records Riches’ and wanted to know:
"Is there really a market? Particularly for vinyl?I have my doubts because on ebay there are literally 1000s of vinyl offerings with no bids or going for silly money, £20 for 49 albums....”
There are a few similar reports and manuals online that promise to help you make good money from old records. And I think my reader is right in his concern – if anyone can buy popular LPs on eBay for a few pence, how can you make money selling these records?
This is an objection also levelled at Amazon bookselling. Because the same is true of most mainstream books. You can buy popular titles for as little as 1p.
Here’s my tuppenceworth....
Yes, the glut of second hand products on ebay/amazon means that it's harder to make money.
If you sell mainstream pop records (or popular general fiction), or decide to sell off your collection, there's probably not going to be much profit in it.
But running and Amazon or eBay business is about more than having a load of odds and ends to sell. It’s about finding certain types of records or books that you can sell with a huge markup.
The trick is to find a niche that has many obsessive fans and devotees – and where the product isn’t so easily available/ Then you try to corner that market.
If you set up a niche website or eBay shop selling a very specific type of record to super-fans, like...off the top of my head.... horror film soundtracks, eastern european psychedelia, afrobeat, ‘cheesy listening’, comedy spoken word classics.... then you could probably get something good going.
For example, I like Turkish psychedelic music from the 1970s. It was a period known to psyche rock fans as ‘the Anatolian invasion’. On eBay, second hand LPs in this genre are going for £24. Even the second hand CDs are a tenner.
You’re not likely to have these in your loft, perhaps, but if you can locate some of these records, you can use clever marketing to turn them into a part time business,
By specialising in a niche, you’ll quickly become known to fans who search online for records in that niche. You could become the first place lovers of that niche type of music go to. Even if the records are on sale elsewhere cheaper, you’ll find that people start to shop only on your site because they trust you and like what you’re doing.
You can even set up a email newsletter to increase loyalty and profits. When you get hold of a rare record you can email your customers and offer it at a decent mark-up. You know there will high demand for a copy, which means the price can be high.
You can even use “loss-leaders”. That’s where you sell records for 10p, purely to build a customer base. They you make your real profits by flogging rarities to these buyers.
The same goes for books. The profitable niches are in specialised areas where there aren’t so many copies on the market. If you’re selling old Stephen Kings and Joanna Trollopes you’re not going to succeed. Check out those two authors on Amazon and you’ll see you can buy any of their books for 1p.
But then look at books on ‘architecture’ and you’ll find books ranging from £3.44 at the very cheapest, to £20 – and that’s for second hand stuff.
Put ‘maps’ into Amazon and you’ll see that even a second hand Ordinance Survey map costs £2.70. There’s a second hand Ben Nevis route map that costs £27 used.
Either of these niches look potentially profitable to me. So if you try one of these vinyl biz opps, make sure it’ offers some kind of niche strategy like this. If it doesn’t, send it back.
And finally today...
Why a woman needs an energetic man
After I announced the birth of my second child, I got an amusing email that looks at things from a very male perspective:
“I'm sure everyone is doing fine but I do hope that your wife appreciates all of your efforts bringing a child into this world.
A woman is the oven which without input of energy becomes a fridge. As soon as she has warmed up she should take you out for a fantastic meal and tell everyone that she is grateful to have you as her energy.
I suggested to my wife that she do the same. She's going out with the gas man now.”
Later alligator
Charlie Wright
The Biz Opp Jungle