Being a Kingpin is rough! Deals to do, Daredevils to smash, and a woman to woo (I’m married, I only get to woo one!). The life of the Kingpin is full of ups and downs for sure and lately I’ve expanded my game to a larger scale.
Trader A
My parents owned a second hand store for almost 20 years and now are full time gunsmiths and in that time I guess I learned a thing or two. Their store was named A&B Traders, the A&B standing for our and another families last name, and I wanted an homage of sorts to that. Also works with Captain A, my handle.
So that is what I’ve done! I have a website – www.trader-a.com and worked something out with the boys in Frontline blue and have an ad on their site, with art from my favorite Goat. I also have…wait for it…business cards! Ok, I have business cards coming in the mail. I’m legit yo!
So far things have been working out. People contact me, I give them a quote and it’s a go or it’s a no. Then I list em! Simple as that! I’ve already scored some merch from the people out there and my local area is knowing that I’m purchasing as well. I try to give a good deal on their stuff, not too much that I don’t make a good profit, but not too little as to be sad for them. For a lot of people, they just don’t want to take the time to sell it themselves. It can take a ton of time to pic and list stuff, and then you have to ship it. I personally love my little shipping area. I have boxes…boxes! And tape and bubble wrap! I have actually really come to enjoy the shipping process, as it is usually quite simple for Warhammer. I check my account, find the item, wrap it and drop it in a box. I use a thermal label printer and slap that bad boy on, purchasing postage directly through eBay. No waiting in line at the post office for me! It’s also fun as I know that shipping equals dough in my pocket. It has been a lot of fun.
In The Weeds
Lately I’ve been in the weeds with Warhammer. I picked up a nice Tyranids lot for a steal that had some sick Forge World models in it. The Forge World paid for the lot and the rest has been profit. I also just picked up and listed a huge Ork lot. I pictured and listed about 50 things in about 5 hours. That felt good! I also got some metal Fantasy stuff yesterday, picking up some Skitarii today, and have a Tau army coming in next week. It feels good to have something you start begin to move and take off, but also a bit scary. We’ll see how it works in the long run, but I’m excited very much so far!
What About You?
“That’s great Cap but what about us!” I hear you say over the interwebs?
My thought about this is that I’m still cherry picking stuff out of the lots I buy for me (don’t tell the wife!). The ork army came in a lovely Battlefoam 1520 pack. I love those things! I also picked out the Deff Koptas for what I hope to be my Skaven DEldar Corsairs army. I’m lifting the idea from Ten Inch Template with Koptas for jetbikes and flying things and the rat theme being something fun I can sink my teeth into. I also want this army to be something well converted and painted. Another article for another day.
Lets say you want a Thunderfire Cannon but don’t want to shell out the $50 for a used one and don’t have the skills or bits to make one out of scratch. Doing a search on eBay using the title and description feature I came across this army.
– space wolves squad pack
– space marines devastator squad
– space wolves wolf guard terminator squad x2 (total of 12 terminators)(one lead)
– space marine thunderfire canon (lead)
– canis wolf born (lead)
– ranger black main (lead)
– Logan grimnar the great wolf (lead)
– land speeder x2 ( one with cyclone missile launchers)
– predator tank
– vindicator tank
– dreadnought x5
– 5 boxes of spare parts
– 1 unbuilt spare twin cyclone missile launcher
– space wolves codex
The lot listed above will set you back $280. Keep the Thunderfire Cannon, list the rest individually will gross you $375. You get the Thunderfire Cannon for free and will pocket around $70 after fees. Lot of work? Yes, but if time is what you have then time is your commodity. Use it to your advantage. Don’t have the $280? There are lots of ways to raise money – eat out less, sell something, do odd jobs or work extra, spend less, find a smaller lot and start there.
Other Places to Score
Craigslist – I love and hate Craigslist. I like buying on Craigslist but don’t enjoy selling on Craigslist. I’ve picked up some great deals lately on Craigslist so I will continue to buy there and sell when I have to for large items I don’t want to ship.
Garage Sales – These will be hit or miss but you can score if you put in the time to find merch.
eBay – Search Buy It Now items recently listed or Auctions nearly ending to find deals.
Forums – Your local gaming forums often have buy, sell, trade places. Just be diligent and keep an eye out.
Frontline Sales – Get on the email list and keep an eye out for the 25% off sales! Get it new and cheap!
Conclusion
