Guess what? All profit is good profit.
Despite all the whining I see, any profit you make on a product is awesome. Any profit anyone ELSE makes is awesome, too.
I was motivated to write this post because of all the whining, bitching and moaning from others out there that take personal offense at the profit that others (whomever) either are able to actually realize, or gasp, have the audacity to ASK.
Most of the bitching, moaning and grumbling is voiced (penned?) by resellers against Thrift Stores. See, resellers frequently buy used merchandise at Thrift Stores, then resell it. Over the last couple of years, thrifts have been getting smarter, and starting to price things a bit higher, since they CAN. Now, I see many resellers just raging and venting that "These thrifts are not going to make sales", "These thrifts don't understand who their customers are", "These thrifts get this stuff for free and they are stealing from their customers". In response, this makes me laugh my fucking ass off. (LMFAO).
These same resellers feel that Thrift Stores should not charge so much, since thrifts get their stuff for free. These same resellers however, are trying to sell their goods, and bitch and moan and whine when they get requests to sell these items at a lower price. Not all resellers, of course.
The Thrift Stores themselves are resellers. They have a mission. That mission is to make as much money as they can to further their mission.
You as a reseller might wish thrifts did not charge as much. You might wish they left enough room for you to purchase and resell and make a profit. But the job of thrifts is NOT to source product to resale for you. Their job is to generate profits. END OF STORY.
Another misconception by many people is that too much profit is wrong. I've asked so many times, what is the exact percentage that is too much profit. Is it 20%? 200% 2000%? No one is able to give me an exact number.
Here is the deal, people. The market dictates what is valuable, what isn't, and how much it is worth.
First example. A guy sitting next to a stream full of clean, sparkling water will pay a hell of a lot less for that bottle of Disani, as opposed to a guy traveling through the desert that is out of water and has to walk another 100 miles. This example is to provide the extremes of the reality of the marketplace. Most purchases will obviously be somewhere in the middle. But in this example, if I am walking along the same path as the guy in the desert, and he asks me for water - I take stock of my supply, determine if I want to sell, and ask whatever price I want. The guy (potential customer) will evaluate the product and price, and make a determination. If he decides to forgo the purchase, then both parties continue on. No one has forced the customer to buy, no one has forced the supplier to sell. If the price is say, $100.00 for the water, and the guy who needs the water says yes, and purchases - he got a deal. If he called up Disani and asked for them to deliver him a bottle of water, it would be significantly more than $100.00.
Another example. I see that a store is selling a product. I analyze this product, and make a determination that if I buy it at the price offered, others might be willing to buy that product from me later at a higher price. So, I head on down to the store, and see they have 13 in stock. I buy all 13. I am taking a risk (no matter how well calculated) that I will not only be able to recover what I spent, but that I will be able to make a profit. Later, I've offered this product for sale at THREE TIMES the purchase price. Many, many people will look at this price and after evaluating this price will pass. Someone out there, however, might determine that the price of this product is appropriate. They agree to purchase this item from me at three times the original price because they felt it was worth it. If no one wanted to pay this price, I would likely start to lower my price until it met the price someone was willing to pay. Market forces at work, and such a wonderful thing.
One final example. Let's say someone is clearing out an estate. They contact you and tell you "I have a basement full of stuff, do you want to buy it all and haul it off?" You go over, take a look and tell them, "Sure. I'll give you $500 for all of it". To be clear, the amount offered isn't relevant. You could tell them, "I'll give you ONE DOLLAR for all of it, and haul it off for free". In either case, they agree. You then haul it off. At this point, any profit you make is yours. Just like any losses are yours. If you then have to pay to dump it at the landfill, and spend gas money, and are out $123.00 (for example), the person you bought it from is not responsible for any of that expense. But, suppose you find a chest buried in a box, and in it are diamonds, gold nuggets and a map to the location of where Teamster Jimmy Hoffa is buried - still all yours. The person you purchased from was happy with their decision. You are happy with yours. It was a fair agreement. Such is life, and such is the market.
I'm going to add, just for those of you out there that need to hear this: theft, stealing or dishonesty is wrong. If you are engaging is such behavior, then you suck.
If you are a reseller, and you are whining that the cost of goods are too high, then I suggest you find a different product, a different source.
If anyone has an exact percentage of what is the right amount of profit, and you can prove it without using emotion about how you "FEEL" about it, I'd like to hear.
For those of you bitching and moaning out there, STOP WHINING!
This originally posted on: [http://resellingroi.com/blog/all-profit-is-good-profit/] (http://resellingroi.com/blog/all-profit-is-good-profit/)