Second hand goods.

This might look too easy and that's because it is very simple.

I have had lots of experience selling used or secondhand goods, and it is a lucrative way to earn money if you have specialized knowledge in almost any field.

• Consider what you know now about any product, then see if you know enough terminology to work the rest out by doing some research.

A quick example. Buying and selling bicycles. I worked in a bicycle shop as a kid, and certainly am not a bicycle expert, although I do remember some brand names of bicycles like Repco Peugeot, Rally Apollo to name a few bikes and quality components such as shimano and campagnolo.

• So I go online and look at some bikes or if I am offline I go to a couple of bike shops and look around.

I soon see that not much has changed, quality costs a lot more than cheap stuff as always.

If I don't yet know how much to pay for a product I go to a shop and look at current prices of good quality items I want to sell. Quality men's and some ladies bikes are good as they cost thousands of dollars each!

Now an old top quality anything has value in relation to new price, the reason is that the quality end of the market has a better perceived value when you go to sell it.

There is no better way to get value than to buy only the best quality you can find, as your buyer wants the best too, and if a new one costs thousands and your buyer can't afford or does not wish to spend that much he is a perfect buyer for your high quality used product.

When buying any used product I choose the top brand names in near perfect condition. I buy from photo's if they are very detailed. i do not drive anywhere to look unless I am pretty sure I can buy it at a very good price. Luckily I have discovered that you can, and usually by email or on the telephone.

Ways to get the best product to sell for the biggest profit.

Read the Reason for sale if it is in the ad.

• Reason for sale: "No further use" or "upgrading to new model" or "moving to smaller apartment" although clues, become good clues if the product is for sale in a well to do area and there is a time limit.
• Buy from one market and sell to another. Find the sellers who do not value their used products as much because they can afford to buy the latest and greatest.
  

• Your looking for quality, so go where the money is. The most likely seller is buying a new one, or is finished with the product you want to buy. His ad will give him away. Look for ads that have reason for sale first, but the main thing is to find the right sellers by looking at ads in suburbs where the money lives.
  

If you use Google it is easier still.I can research the products, and then use the keywords found in my ad searches.

After I have the "keywords" to buy with I am ready to find my seller online.

Think outside the square. Here is an example:

Buying a bicycle.This one is easy.

The right seller in this case will be an expert bicycle rider/racer.

Surprisingly with used items it is often the expert who undervalues high quality.

I understand this because these pros often set a very high standard for equipment and because they can buy top quality at near wholesale prices and know where to get the best deal, often within a club or other obscure sources that I will not be able to access.This becomes like any other habitual thinking to them and a bit of a mindset.

Because someone is an expert rider does not mean he is an expert seller.

Look in newspaper ads, at Uni, in the corner drug store window, or milk bar and keep your eyes open for bikes or other items for sale.

Again if you have access to a computer and the Internet it is easier and quicker.

EBay has a lot of used items like bikes for sale, and is without question a good place to look. If you know a bit you can profit from the sale of many things like lawnmowers, cars, motorcycles, models, antiques, furniture, household items, guitars and other musical instruments, the list is exhaustive.

We all know something about something, and with an Internet connection we can easily find out more by searching online for information.

Here is a typical scenario taken from my recent experience of buying and selling.

My 19 year old with my help just purchased a bicycle from EBay very cheap. It will sell for twice what he paid for it even after he keeps it and uses it for some years.

He needs it to ride to University for 3 more years, so he will keep it, and has sold his old bicycle which was worth what he got for it, thus upgrading to a very expensive one in perfect condition for the same sort of money.

My daughter bought 2 couches for her home recently also from EBay. One for $300 with 4 chairs, the other for $12.00 with 2 more recliner chairs in even better condition than the $300 one. She sold the $12.00 one for $450.00

I purchased some heavy machinery with 200% margin left in it just last week.

It is not hard to spot a bargain on EBay, you just need to know why it was so cheap before you buy it and don't make that mistake when you sell.

People sell things all the time on ebay without even finding out the value. With the correct reading of ads, it is easy enough to locate the bargains.

Here is what we do.

Bikes. I know a bit about bicycles as many people do. I look through the adds for auctions that have say 6-10 days to run.

I select just one broad niche market like men's road bikes, or ladies bikes or kids bikes.

I read the adds and do not even look at the ones that have a single picture Unless I can see every detail and get all the information I need from the ad I do not bother with it.

I then make an offer by email long before the auction is due to complete.

Next time you read an eBay ad, read carefully between the lines for any hints of the price he will take and look for lists of technical and manufacturer data. If I do not know a product well, I learn a bit from each add so it can save time doing research

I will also put a very low maximum bid on any items that have poor ads and may be overlooked then if they sell for my price I know I can sell them again for more with a better ad. I hope this enables you to get cash fast if you need it.