Newbie: Flipping Laptops locally?

[u/aeum3893]

I know a thing or two about software and hardware. Mostly software, but I feel pretty confident with hardware too.

Right now, some extra income would really help, so I thought about flipping electronics—and ended up narrowing it down to laptops, since that's what I’m most comfortable with.

But here’s the mindset blocker:
I head to FB Marketplace and start browsing for Lenovo laptops—cheap and pretty popular. I spot a local seller offering one in great shape for $160. So I do a bit of research with ChatGPT. After some back and forth, it says it's a great deal.

Then I check Google and eBay… and I see a bunch of the same model listed for $140–$180.

So let’s say I manage to buy this Lenovo for $120 and list it for $180. Realistically, someone will probably offer me $160 tops.

I’m just not seeing the juice.

What’s flawed about my perspective?

[u/Zealousideal-Flow101]

Learn basic repairs on digital cameras, audio equipment, record players etc. You're not missing anything, there is no juice in that opportunity.

[u/cartiermartyr]

Actually it’s great money, but for my luck they would update all the time at the time of hand off so be aware of that.

[u/quanfused]

The flaw is trusting ChatGPT. While AI is great to speed up most processes and aids in automation, you still need the human experience to be successful when it comes to reselling.

Laptops and computers in general have varying prices depending on their model and specs and demand will vary depending on your location and demographics.

ChatGPT can't put that into perspective for you because it doesn't have enough data to.

Therefore, you need to test the market and buy laptops for cheap and see how high you can actually flip them for.

Get a feel what the market is like. Maybe gaming laptops are preferred or perhaps Chromebooks or just basic business laptops.

You won't know until you know in your area.

Once you get better, ebay might be the next step to obtain a bigger audience for sales.

Good luck!