10 ms·

After my little sister had her first child and realized how expensive baby stuff is, she started a lucrative side-hustle and ran with it for years. Basically, s

After my little sister had her first child and realized how expensive baby stuff is, she started a lucrative side-hustle and ran with it for years. Basically, she bought baby stuff from a warehouse that got their inventory from returns at large retailers like Target and Walmart. She focused almost entirely on baby strollers, but also backyard swing sets for kids, and got it all for pennies-on-the-dollar. She became friendly with the customer service repos at the stroller manufacturers and could usually get replacement parts for free (it's a warranty replacement if the service rep says it is). She knew all the stroller model numbers and their associated various part numbers. She got really good at repairing the strollers in her garage, and then flipping them on Craigslist. Her garage looked like a baby stroller showroom. She made decent money doing it, but the best part is her "customers" (other new mothers, most of them poor) were always so happy and appreciative because of the deal they were getting. Everyone was happy. The real secret sauce to her side-hustle was the relationship she had with the lady who managed the warehouse where she bought the baby stuff. The warehouses usually have auctions on large lots or pallets of stuff; you bid on whatever's on the pallet, you've got no choice. The lady used to let my sister come to the warehouse periodically (usually just before a big auction) and cherrypick what she wanted, which was always the baby strollers and swing sets. The side-hustle wouldn't have worked without that. (My sister (and her husband) used to flip houses, too, and I think she sold the warehouse lady a house.)

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
phyzome 2y ago
[flagged]
- s1artibartfast 2y ago
  Why do you say that? Command economies arent exactly known for being free from personal dealing either
  - throw10920 2y ago
    That comment is seeking to manipulate, not inform, its readers. I flagged the comment because it's not appropriate for HN.
- mywittyname 2y ago
  Almost every successful "side hustle" comes down to arbitrage buoyed by who you know. That doesn't make this any more or less "free" market. Negotiating deals are common in every type of economy.
  - phyzome 2y ago
    Is insider trading just a kind of arbitrage too? :-)
- inopinatus 2y ago
  Yes, the free market. The commodities biz has an old adage; “long-term contracts solve supply problems; spot prices solve inventory problems”. This is a clear instance of the latter. Arbitrage is an essential facet of marketplace correction, it’s practically the first derivative of pricing. One may also see it as a reminder that economies are a gestalt.
neilv 2y ago
Interesting and impressive hustle, and some delicate lines to be careful of. > She became friendly with the customer service repos at the stroller manufacturers and could usually get replacement parts for free [...] The real secret sauce to her side-hustle was the relationship she had with the lady who managed the warehouse where she bought the baby stuff. I think both of these could be OK. Such as if it was within the manager's/rep's authority to do this, and it was aligned with the business. (For example, the appropriate level of decision-making might have decided that the business gets better rates, or has lower headaches, from letting certain good buyers cherry-pick. And a quality brand of baby stroller might prefer not to see the brand associated with "broken" strollers on the used market, and has an interest in someone repairing them, even if that cannibalized some new sales.) > and I think she sold the warehouse lady a house. Where I'd guess this might be a problem is if some question came up over whether the warehouse manager was supposed to be letting cherry-picking happen, and then there's this big-ticket transaction, in which the manager, hypothetically, could've gotten a quid pro quo deal (e.g., preferential access, or a discount on fees, or even discounted pricing).
- 0xB31B1B 2y ago
  Who is going to get you in trouble for this. The “warehouse police” don’t exist.
  - NotYourLawyer 2y ago
    The warehouse lady has a boss presumably. And the boss might be annoyed at the diminution of value for the items going to auction.
    - lostapathy 2y ago
      Warehouse lady might also have added value by turning 5 pallets of low-value junk into one pallet of slightly more value plus 4 pallets of low-value junk. If pallets normally bring say $100 each but by letting the stroller lady consolidate the strollers into one pallet that she'll pay $250 for, everybody won.
joering2 2y ago
What? she was fixing strollers?? ask her to STOP immediately and pray none of the customers will sue if the stroller breaks and child is hurt in the process. Your little sister has no idea in what kind of trouble she might be and could be criminally liable and state attorneys do not play nice when it comes to neglect of children wellbeing. Unsure which state this is in, but most have 5 years statue, so if she stops selling today she should be in clear by May 30, 2029. Please pray for her!
- SkyPuncher 2y ago
  This is such a hilarious comment. You’re right that there’s risk, but it’s nothing like what you’re saying. She’s selling on Craigslist/FB marketplace. People aren’t expecting perfection.
- afavour 2y ago
  If all that is true (not doubting just have no clue), how does the used stroller market function at all? Are parents suing stroller-selling parents?
  - yencabulator 2y ago
    Generally, consumers buying from businesses are more protected than consumers buying from consumers.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  Babies and toddlers fall down constantly, wtf are you ranting about? It's a stroller not a racecar.
  - sircastor 2y ago
    To be fair, strollers can get away from you, and they can get moving pretty fast. This is especially terrifying around traffic. Having your child strapped in adds to that terror.
    - 2y ago
hilux 2y ago
Slightly related - I overheard a little argument at my local (hospital charity) thrift store yesterday. Turns out some of the volunteers were marking down items - which may be within their authority to do - and then buying these marked down items for themselves ... before they even hit the store shelves. Oops.
- bruce511 2y ago
  I was in a charity shop recently and the manager explained to me that a big pile of recently-arrived stock (of clothing in this case) was not yet for sale because it hadn't been picked by the volunteers yet. Since the shop is staffed by unpaid volunteers they get first bite at anything coming in. I gather they pay normal rates for whatever they take. I have no problem with this at all. This seems like the very least perk they could be offered. Frankly, if I was running the place each volunteer would get their stuff for free (up to some value per month.)
  - hilux 2y ago
    Giving volunteers huge deals on potentially expensive stuff (some over $1000) seems against the spirit of "volunteering" at a store whose proceeds go to the Children's Hospital. Now that I think about it, this may even be against some IRS regulation governing non-profits. > I gather they pay normal rates for whatever they take. Well, what's "normal" is the question. At the store I frequent, the volunteers themselves set the rates.
    - bruce511 2y ago
      The charity shop in question wasn't selling stuff for $1000. I suspect you'd be hard-pressed to find something for $100. Of course this approach is open to abuse. But I suspect pricing was usually on the "low end of normal". There are multiple volunteers, all donating their time so the charity gets some income. I don't think there's much risk of there being excessive abuse. I'm pretty sure the IRS isn't interested. If the store wanted to give stuff away they could.
  - asteriske 2y ago
koolba 2y ago
> The real secret sauce to her side-hustle was the relationship she had with the lady who managed the warehouse where she bought the baby stuff. The warehouses usually have auctions on large lots or pallets of stuff; you bid on whatever's on the pallet, you've got no choice. The lady used to let my sister come to the warehouse periodically (usually just before a big auction) and cherrypick what she wanted, which was always the baby strollers and swing sets. The side-hustle wouldn't have worked without that. (My sister (and her husband) used to flip houses, too, and I think she sold the warehouse lady a house.) Did she bribe the warehouse manager explicitly or just implicitly via some quid pro quos?
- SkyPuncher 2y ago
  In my area, these types of operations are almost always some mom-n-pop shop. Possibly with a few employees. It wouldn’t surprise me if the owner felt good about doing this.
- catlikesshrimp 2y ago
  "Did she bribe the warehouse manager explicitly or just implicitly via some quid pro quos?" Yes.
- Steven420 2y ago
  Being friendly and knowing someone's name is usually good enough
  - filoleg 2y ago
    This. If I am about to post something I don’t need anymore to FB marketplace, first I will hit up a friend or two of mine who I would have in mind as people who might want it. And only if they don’t want it, then it goes to FB marketplace. I don’t expect or accept any “bribes” or favors for that. It is just a natural choice for me to go through them first, as that’s just a win-win for both of us, and everyone involved is a known entity. I would bet the same principle works here. The whole idea of the auction is to get rid of unwanted items and get paid for it, and that’s exactly what’s happening here as well.
sircastor 2y ago
Very adjacent, but if you have an infant or a small child, look for a “Buy Nothing” group in your area. It’s a gifting group and makes the cost of caring for a young child much more manageable. Clothes, diapers, formula, toys, other care items. It was absolutely crucial for us with our little one. And you can feed all your unused stuff into it as well.
- lemax 2y ago
  Or better yet, join the buy nothing group of the closest affluent local area.
  - giraffe_lady 2y ago
    Nah because they have nicer stuff that can more easily be resold and micro-optimizing personal finance is a cherished cultural practice of the american professional classes. Those groups are fewer, and less active, than they are in less affluent areas.
  - sircastor 2y ago
    Clever, but Buy Nothing groups are geographical. The idea is to benefit your local community.
ofcrpls 2y ago
https://www.liquidation.com/c/target https://www.liquidation.com/c/target Link for anyone interesting in viewing how this experience works.
- djborschtbeets 2y ago
  This was a rabbit hole I was not prepared for tonight. Target electronics returns - auction ends tomorrow, current bid $200. The stuff in there I'd be semi interested in: $500? Total value: ~$9000 @ 300 pounds in a box in Kentucky. Okay. Lets say this auction ends around $1000. You then pay an 11% premium, $1110. Shipping 300 pounds from Kentucky to Pennsylvania? $500, maybe? $1600 later, you get a whole slew of sellable good that you got at nearly 17 cents to the dollar. Sell most of it off and you've got yourself a years worth of free legos.
  - fuzzfactor 2y ago
    One word: cashthedayofthesaleasiswhereisnowarrantiesofanykind. Sometimes the best of deals. Go one step further and raise you hand for "sight unseen", woo hoo ! Caution: when you acquire electronics by the pound, you need to figure out what to do with all the tonnage ;)
  - hattmall 2y ago
    Liquidation.com is more like the "prosumer" shopping site. If you want to get the real deal it's https://bstock.com/target/ https://bstock.com/target/
    - bdcravens 2y ago
      On many of the Bstock sites you have to be approved (as long as you have a tax certificate from the state, which is easy to get, it's not difficult) (My wife and I have a reselling business side hustle)
mistrial9 2y ago
I am surprised at all the legal nitpick and enforcement-oriented scrutiny about the warehouse lady in this thread. Women with small children form informal networks - it is as old as dirt. What is the actual net value of these industrial goods anyway? excess retail inventory is excess for a reason - there is so much of it, it is cheap to make in large quantities. It is almost like the legalistic, rule oriented mindset of techies plus the isolated in-the-spotlight story here invites a sort of dog pile of finger wagging. Does anyone have any idea how much random preferential treatment is involved in commerce overall ? Some mid-level after-market warehouse manager just has to get busted for this benevolent side hustle with a person of their choice, over baby supplies? Sure strictness has some virtues but overall with this story, give the people a break and find something actually significant and monetarily weighty to pick on..

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

phyzome 2y ago

[flagged]

s1artibartfast 2y ago
Why do you say that? Command economies arent exactly known for being free from personal dealing either
- throw10920 2y ago
  That comment is seeking to manipulate, not inform, its readers. I flagged the comment because it's not appropriate for HN.
mywittyname 2y ago
Almost every successful "side hustle" comes down to arbitrage buoyed by who you know. That doesn't make this any more or less "free" market. Negotiating deals are common in every type of economy.
- phyzome 2y ago
  Is insider trading just a kind of arbitrage too? :-)
inopinatus 2y ago
Yes, the free market. The commodities biz has an old adage; “long-term contracts solve supply problems; spot prices solve inventory problems”. This is a clear instance of the latter. Arbitrage is an essential facet of marketplace correction, it’s practically the first derivative of pricing. One may also see it as a reminder that economies are a gestalt.

neilv 2y ago

Interesting and impressive hustle, and some delicate lines to be careful of. > She became friendly with the customer service repos at the stroller manufacturers and could usually get replacement parts for free [...] The real secret sauce to her side-hustle was the relationship she had with the lady who managed the warehouse where she bought the baby stuff. I think both of these could be OK. Such as if it was within the manager's/rep's authority to do this, and it was aligned with the business. (For example, the appropriate level of decision-making might have decided that the business gets better rates, or has lower headaches, from letting certain good buyers cherry-pick. And a quality brand of baby stroller might prefer not to see the brand associated with "broken" strollers on the used market, and has an interest in someone repairing them, even if that cannibalized some new sales.) > and I think she sold the warehouse lady a house. Where I'd guess this might be a problem is if some question came up over whether the warehouse manager was supposed to be letting cherry-picking happen, and then there's this big-ticket transaction, in which the manager, hypothetically, could've gotten a quid pro quo deal (e.g., preferential access, or a discount on fees, or even discounted pricing).

0xB31B1B 2y ago
Who is going to get you in trouble for this. The “warehouse police” don’t exist.
- NotYourLawyer 2y ago
  The warehouse lady has a boss presumably. And the boss might be annoyed at the diminution of value for the items going to auction.
  - lostapathy 2y ago
    Warehouse lady might also have added value by turning 5 pallets of low-value junk into one pallet of slightly more value plus 4 pallets of low-value junk. If pallets normally bring say $100 each but by letting the stroller lady consolidate the strollers into one pallet that she'll pay $250 for, everybody won.

joering2 2y ago

What? she was fixing strollers?? ask her to STOP immediately and pray none of the customers will sue if the stroller breaks and child is hurt in the process. Your little sister has no idea in what kind of trouble she might be and could be criminally liable and state attorneys do not play nice when it comes to neglect of children wellbeing. Unsure which state this is in, but most have 5 years statue, so if she stops selling today she should be in clear by May 30, 2029. Please pray for her!

SkyPuncher 2y ago
This is such a hilarious comment. You’re right that there’s risk, but it’s nothing like what you’re saying. She’s selling on Craigslist/FB marketplace. People aren’t expecting perfection.
afavour 2y ago
If all that is true (not doubting just have no clue), how does the used stroller market function at all? Are parents suing stroller-selling parents?
- yencabulator 2y ago
  Generally, consumers buying from businesses are more protected than consumers buying from consumers.
bongodongobob 2y ago
Babies and toddlers fall down constantly, wtf are you ranting about? It's a stroller not a racecar.
- sircastor 2y ago
  To be fair, strollers can get away from you, and they can get moving pretty fast. This is especially terrifying around traffic. Having your child strapped in adds to that terror.
  - 2y ago

hilux 2y ago

Slightly related - I overheard a little argument at my local (hospital charity) thrift store yesterday. Turns out some of the volunteers were marking down items - which may be within their authority to do - and then buying these marked down items for themselves ... before they even hit the store shelves. Oops.

bruce511 2y ago
I was in a charity shop recently and the manager explained to me that a big pile of recently-arrived stock (of clothing in this case) was not yet for sale because it hadn't been picked by the volunteers yet. Since the shop is staffed by unpaid volunteers they get first bite at anything coming in. I gather they pay normal rates for whatever they take. I have no problem with this at all. This seems like the very least perk they could be offered. Frankly, if I was running the place each volunteer would get their stuff for free (up to some value per month.)
- hilux 2y ago
  Giving volunteers huge deals on potentially expensive stuff (some over $1000) seems against the spirit of "volunteering" at a store whose proceeds go to the Children's Hospital. Now that I think about it, this may even be against some IRS regulation governing non-profits. > I gather they pay normal rates for whatever they take. Well, what's "normal" is the question. At the store I frequent, the volunteers themselves set the rates.
  - bruce511 2y ago
    The charity shop in question wasn't selling stuff for $1000. I suspect you'd be hard-pressed to find something for $100. Of course this approach is open to abuse. But I suspect pricing was usually on the "low end of normal". There are multiple volunteers, all donating their time so the charity gets some income. I don't think there's much risk of there being excessive abuse. I'm pretty sure the IRS isn't interested. If the store wanted to give stuff away they could.
- asteriske 2y ago

koolba 2y ago

> The real secret sauce to her side-hustle was the relationship she had with the lady who managed the warehouse where she bought the baby stuff. The warehouses usually have auctions on large lots or pallets of stuff; you bid on whatever's on the pallet, you've got no choice. The lady used to let my sister come to the warehouse periodically (usually just before a big auction) and cherrypick what she wanted, which was always the baby strollers and swing sets. The side-hustle wouldn't have worked without that. (My sister (and her husband) used to flip houses, too, and I think she sold the warehouse lady a house.) Did she bribe the warehouse manager explicitly or just implicitly via some quid pro quos?

SkyPuncher 2y ago
In my area, these types of operations are almost always some mom-n-pop shop. Possibly with a few employees. It wouldn’t surprise me if the owner felt good about doing this.
catlikesshrimp 2y ago
"Did she bribe the warehouse manager explicitly or just implicitly via some quid pro quos?" Yes.
Steven420 2y ago
Being friendly and knowing someone's name is usually good enough
- filoleg 2y ago
  This. If I am about to post something I don’t need anymore to FB marketplace, first I will hit up a friend or two of mine who I would have in mind as people who might want it. And only if they don’t want it, then it goes to FB marketplace. I don’t expect or accept any “bribes” or favors for that. It is just a natural choice for me to go through them first, as that’s just a win-win for both of us, and everyone involved is a known entity. I would bet the same principle works here. The whole idea of the auction is to get rid of unwanted items and get paid for it, and that’s exactly what’s happening here as well.

sircastor 2y ago

Very adjacent, but if you have an infant or a small child, look for a “Buy Nothing” group in your area. It’s a gifting group and makes the cost of caring for a young child much more manageable. Clothes, diapers, formula, toys, other care items. It was absolutely crucial for us with our little one. And you can feed all your unused stuff into it as well.

lemax 2y ago
Or better yet, join the buy nothing group of the closest affluent local area.
- giraffe_lady 2y ago
  Nah because they have nicer stuff that can more easily be resold and micro-optimizing personal finance is a cherished cultural practice of the american professional classes. Those groups are fewer, and less active, than they are in less affluent areas.
- sircastor 2y ago
  Clever, but Buy Nothing groups are geographical. The idea is to benefit your local community.

ofcrpls 2y ago

https://www.liquidation.com/c/target https://www.liquidation.com/c/target Link for anyone interesting in viewing how this experience works.

djborschtbeets 2y ago
This was a rabbit hole I was not prepared for tonight. Target electronics returns - auction ends tomorrow, current bid $200. The stuff in there I'd be semi interested in: $500? Total value: ~$9000 @ 300 pounds in a box in Kentucky. Okay. Lets say this auction ends around $1000. You then pay an 11% premium, $1110. Shipping 300 pounds from Kentucky to Pennsylvania? $500, maybe? $1600 later, you get a whole slew of sellable good that you got at nearly 17 cents to the dollar. Sell most of it off and you've got yourself a years worth of free legos.
- fuzzfactor 2y ago
  One word: cashthedayofthesaleasiswhereisnowarrantiesofanykind. Sometimes the best of deals. Go one step further and raise you hand for "sight unseen", woo hoo ! Caution: when you acquire electronics by the pound, you need to figure out what to do with all the tonnage ;)
- hattmall 2y ago
  Liquidation.com is more like the "prosumer" shopping site. If you want to get the real deal it's https://bstock.com/target/ https://bstock.com/target/
  - bdcravens 2y ago
    On many of the Bstock sites you have to be approved (as long as you have a tax certificate from the state, which is easy to get, it's not difficult) (My wife and I have a reselling business side hustle)

mistrial9 2y ago

I am surprised at all the legal nitpick and enforcement-oriented scrutiny about the warehouse lady in this thread. Women with small children form informal networks - it is as old as dirt. What is the actual net value of these industrial goods anyway? excess retail inventory is excess for a reason - there is so much of it, it is cheap to make in large quantities. It is almost like the legalistic, rule oriented mindset of techies plus the isolated in-the-spotlight story here invites a sort of dog pile of finger wagging. Does anyone have any idea how much random preferential treatment is involved in commerce overall ? Some mid-level after-market warehouse manager just has to get busted for this benevolent side hustle with a person of their choice, over baby supplies? Sure strictness has some virtues but overall with this story, give the people a break and find something actually significant and monetarily weighty to pick on..