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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 10:29 pm
by Ego
Hah! You're right. We did not do a lot of free camping in Mexico, in part because the campsites were inexpensive and we liked to sleep in the poptop. He mentioned a love for Mulege. I haven't been there in a while so I don't know first hand. Exchange rates are good right now.

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 7:46 pm
by Ego
A few months ago one of my vendor friends showed up with cases full of Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap. Hundreds of bars of the stuff. I bought everything he had and sold enough to cover the cost of buying it plus a little more. I still have a few hundred bars which I was planning to save for myself. On Wednesday he showed up with a case of 32 ounce bottles of the liquid soap. I bought them all for $3 a bottle. They sell for $20 on amazon. I figure the case should last a few years. He promised to bring more next week. I guess I am going into the soap business.

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Dr. Bronner's soap is one of those things I would buy for myself if money were no object, but I have trouble paying a premium for it because.....I don't know. As I was shaving today (btw, Bronner's liquid soap is excellent shaving cream) I was thinking about it. It has fewer ingredients. Is it the purity? What am I trying to buy when I buy Bronner's soap?

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I've got someone driving in from Arizona to check out the Bike Friday this evening. Fingers crossed!

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 8:32 pm
by JasonR
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 8:48 pm
by jacob
Ego wrote:I guess I am going into the soap business.
Loop closed? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T1MckpC_Gc

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2016 10:03 pm
by Ego
JasonR wrote: And if you figure out the part about the two cosmetics we're all supposed to be using, enlighten me. It's been driving me nuts.
Dr. Bronner published his life work, The Moral ABCs and used to sell it for $2. Now it is on their website for free but remains impenetrable to me: https://www.drbronner.com/ci_services/i ... /rs#page/1

The company is headquartered here and his grandchildren bring their Foam Experience fire truck to the gay pride parade every year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz73ooecRj0

A few years ago we were watching as everyone in the truck stripped down to nothing and pressed their foamy parts and pieces against the transparent plastic walls of the foam wagon for all the spectators to see. I'm sure the answer you are seeking is buried somewhere in there.

@Jacob, I am still searching for a loop closure as good as that one. It will come. I half-believe my interest in microbiome stems from a desire to find a way to do literally what I now do figuratively.... namely, sell back to people their own shit.... but that wouldn't be nice.... unless, of course, it solved a problem for them. :?

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The couple who came from Arizona to look at the Bike Friday pulled up in front of the building in a big rig truck. They are long-haul truckers and purchased a Bike Friday for the wife a few days ago in some other city. He rode my bike to the bank (he said) to withdraw cash while the wife knitted on the porch of my building. When he came back he said the bank would only allow him to withdraw $1000. I'm not sure if this was his ham-handed way of negotiating, but I told him he could pick it up tomorrow in the morning after hitting the ATM again for the other $850. He said they have to leave town at 4am. I said, "okay, I'll be here. I get up early." I don't think they'll be back. Oh well.

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 8:00 pm
by AussieGirl
Hi Ego,

I'm really enjoying this thread. It is very interesting. I'm curious about how you value your time. I know you posted about assessing the ease of selling something as part of the decision to do it, but do you consider it will take you X time and you value your time at Y? I'm thinking about following your example to earn some side money (don't worry about competition I'm in Australia) and would really value your thoughts. What do you think is a realistic earnings per month to target once you get in the swing of things?

Thanks,
AussieGirl

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 9:03 pm
by Ego
@AussieGirl, I find it hard to put a value on my time while selling this stuff because I really enjoy it. I go to the swap meet for fun. I like meeting people who are doing interesting things so I enjoy meeting them to sell a backpack or a pair of boots. Selling a bed, on the other hand, is not as much fun so I do take into consideration the time vs profit potential for boring items. For instance, I have not listed the food dehydrator or the air filter because I figured the likely profit is not worth the trouble.

How much could I potentially make if I did it as.... work.... rather than an income generating hobby? Well. I know some of my vendors who sell only at the swap meet make a lot of money. I know where and how they buy. A few years ago I registered as a buyer to test the system. I know what they pay. I could easily muscle in on their world and would be able to triple or quadruple my income. But it would be work. The stuff is sold in big bins so I would get my hands on a lot of good stuff for almost no money but I would also have to buy a lot of junk along with it. I would have to sell the junk. I know I would be good at it, but it would be work. So I have a lot of friends at the swap meet who bring me the stuff I like. I pay a bit of a premium and enjoy myself.

I have no knowledge of Australia so I couldn't begin to guess earning potential. Even in the U.S. the potential varies significantly from city to city and item to item.

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 9:16 pm
by AussieGirl
Thanks so much Ego for your insight. I'll continue to read with great interest.

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 7:10 pm
by Ego
A tenant moved out and left several things. The only thing that was interesting was a bunch of unopened high-end food in the fridge including a vegan pie crust. Mrs. Ego bought a giant bag full of partially spoiled pears at the Middle Eastern market for 99cents and made a delicious mushy pear pie. She used flax seeds as the binder and oats, cinnamon, dates and nuts on top. Delicious.

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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2016 1:41 pm
by Ego
Ran into a friend this morning getting onto the ferry. I knew about certain aspects of his life, but today we had time to talk so I followed my own advice from the Social Capital thread began peppering him with questions. He told me a good something-from-nothing story.

Since he was a kid he had always been a Hollywood movie buff and he had always liked writing. Years ago he had a chance encounter with the owner of a neighborhood newspaper. Not a big paper. Just one of those thirty-page sheets that are distributed for free outside of grocery stores and libraries. He mentioned to the owner that the paper should have movie reviews and he offered to write a review for free. He did. The owner liked it and began paying his movie admission in exchange for reviews. His reviews were popular, the owner knew he could write and knew he was reliable, so whenever the paper needed a last-minute reporter for a sporting event or community meeting, he'd call my friend and pay him a stringer fee for the work. Now he is retired and the stringer work is how he earns extra cash. Today, not only does he get free admission to the movies, he now get's paid to go to the movies and sometimes he gets to see them before they are released to the general public.

The glee on his face as he told me the last line was a splendid sight.

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 8:23 am
by Ego
The final resting place of our cast off clothing.
https://aeon.co/videos/this-is-the-fina ... f-clothing

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 4:27 pm
by sfchristo
+1 on the cast off clothing video. Makes me realize even more what a life of incredible abundance I lead (just did a huge cleaning of the house and donated 10 bags of clothes).

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 5:19 pm
by jacob
I have a "saga of stuff" that's nearing completion now, finally, after 7 years. I didn't get much for nothing but several people did enjoy something from nothing and I was able to keep track.

It started when I got an old borked/frozen Schwinn bicycle (free) on freecycle back in 2008 or so. I spent $50 converting it into a functional single-speed and then used it as a commuter for a few years. When I moved to Chicago, I traded it for a Windows desktop from a forum member because DW needed a computer to run Office for her accounting studies and he needed a bike. A year later, the bike was returned to me. I sold it for $50 to another forum member. DW finished her studies and so the computer was used mostly as a DVD player. Meanwhile, I borrowed the keyboard to run the ERE site (I keep all this blog/forum/book stuff on a separate computer now.) This year, the in-laws' computer died, and so we're handing the computer over to them, including my borrowed keyboard. I, therefore, bought a new(*) one and deducted it as a business expenses.

I leave the net expenses and benefits as an exercise for the reader but I think everybody around got a lot of usage out of each and every dollar or piece of material that were ever involved in all these transactions.

(*) Seems to make IRS sense that it'd be new and all. Also, I think keyboards are like underwear and socks. One of the few things that I don't like to buy used.

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 12:30 pm
by Ego
On top of the trash this morning was a body analysis scale. The CR 2032 watch battery that powered the scale was dead. It required a screwdriver to replace the battery. I have strips of these 2032 batteries as it is the most common coin sized battery and can be ordered on ebay for 75 cents for a strip of 5 from China. I replaced the battery and it works perfectly. Apparently this thing can measure BMI, bone mass, body fat percentage, body water and muscle mass. Look out!

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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 12:47 pm
by jacob
Before we moved to Chicago, I used to acquire broken bicycles this way, where by broken I mean they had a flat tire. Also acquired a weed whacker because it had run out of string. California really is something else.

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 1:02 pm
by Ego
The young woman who I believe threw this out gets a lot of packages in the mail. Maybe two or three a day. A few months ago I had to have a talk with her about flattening her boxes so that they wouldn't take up all of the space in the recycle bins. She suggested, with absolutely sincerity, that I present a Home Depot style class for all of the tenants on how to flatten boxes so that they fit in the bins.

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 3:06 pm
by cmonkey
DW found this old Betty Crocker cookbook at our local antique store for $1. It current sells used on Amazon for $25 and new for over $40. I would probably list this as 'New' for $30-$40 and try to get more because it is in amazing condition.

She has seen them around so she'll pick them up as she finds them. This one is going as a gift.


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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 4:15 pm
by C40
Ego wrote: She suggested, with absolutely sincerity, that I present a Home Depot style class for all of the tenants on how to flatten boxes so that they fit in the bins.
This had me laughing for ten seconds

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 8:43 am
by JasonR
o

Re: Something From Nothing

Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 3:19 pm
by Ego
Ego wrote: We've been lugging a few very old oil paintings from place to place since we bought them in the early 1990s when we were.... I don't know... insane! They represent the last of our remaining possessions from the accumulation phase when we were flush and foolish with cash. We haven't hung them so they've got to go.

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This painting has been listed on craigslist for nine months but has received very little interest from buyers. The other day a woman contacted me to ask about it. She said that her grandmother was a gyspy and the painting reminded her of one the grandmother had on her wall. Today her son came to buy it for my asking price.