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Comment by pkorzeniewski | Hacker News Reader

Great read. The last advice - to sell one common product over and over again, each time increasing the price and optimizing the selling process - sounds great and quite fun if you sell something you're interested in. I think it's a great way to learn the "magic" of marketing before starting a "real" business, without risking too much.

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What's the value you're providing to people by reselling for more? There has to be some value, else why would they pay you more.

>There has to be some value, else why would they pay you more.

No, and increase in demand raises the price.

I think there could be value for a customer if the product is presented differently. For instance, offer free shipping, give personal reviews, offer warranty or guarantee. Its about differentiation in the market. It really is a study of competitive markets and disruption.

The value can be as simple as they couldn't get it for any less. For example, if the wholesale price of an item is $1.50 at 10,000 units, someone who only needs one may happily pay $7.50 since the alternative is coming up with $15,000

But the author gives example of reselling iPods. I'm not aware of discounted wholesale pricing on iPods, so how would you make a profit without ripping people off (i.e. selling over Apple's price)?

There is wholesale pricing on Apple devices. How else could a store make money on them? Stores don't buy stock directly from Apple; they buy through an authorized distributor.

P.S. In case it wasn't clear to you, Apple devices cost the same from anywhere. That makes them a good example here.

Here's $329 for a mini at Apple.com: http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad_min...

And here's the same price at Walmart.com: http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad_min...

Walmart makes a profit because they bought the mini at a wholesale price from an Apple distributor.

If a phone/tablet/game console is new and sold out locally, what's wrong with selling some at a markup? (Especially at Christmas time)

The common ones are providing it cheaper than they can find elsewhere, at a convenient time and/or place, and at a convenient quantity. There are also guarantees, support offerings, etc.

I'll pay more for something that is better documented. If I can see better pictures, maybe a video of the owner using the item itself, more details, a more complete story of ownership. Goods can be commodities, but stories, presentation, and trust are unique.

I was expecting someone to give some standard "value is what people pay for it" or "making the product more visible adds value". But the things you listed actually do add value and seem like a win-win for the reseller and the customer. Thank you for a great response to that question.

Short answer:stock. The simplest form of resale provides value to the guys on the big end by relieving them of the pain of dealing with many small transactions and to the small guys by keeping stock(#) and letting them buy smaller quantities of stuff.

(#) Which is obviously a risk - who knows if you find buyers for all of the 100 thingumajigs you had bought wholesale. And taking this risk is a part of the value provided by the reseller.

All of the answers to your question seem to be missing the point. He is talking about buying a used or discounted item and trying to sell it on for a little bit more. The point is to experiment with your sales technique to learn what works and what doesn't, and also simply to practice selling.

Why might someone pay you more? It is as simple as presenting the product in a better way; in a way which gives the buyer more confidence or otherwise makes them more likely to buy.

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