Headdi Retti's Glass Art Studio
02-05-2011, 11:30 AM
Ok, well so the titles Alittle Hokie... I am hoping that in writing this it will help atleast one Member out. It has for me been my saving grace as I certainly would not have had the tools, torches, bench, oxy-con's , kiln or even the glass to work with if it wasn't for this method of gettn what the Hell I want whilst being broke as a Glassholes joke! Thee hee hee...
My reason for writing is twofold 1st: This forum has given so much to me over the last months that I have been a Member. And in so doing I wanted to give back. Of course being a newbie, broke and no skills how can I give back?... Well I hope its with some insights that I have used to get what I need whether be it a torch, kiln ,tools or even a boat...
2nd: I have had a # of people pm me and ask how did you get your oxy-con's so cheap or how did you get that kiln so cheap... so I thought maybe this information could actually help someone... Its something I've been doing over the last year or so just to make sure ends meet while spending boo koos of time with my wife Karen and our daughter Kaci. ( I have my NC realestate license ,my NC Brokers license , my NC Notary, NC dealers license , NC pool and spa license, and my CDL ) Unfortunately 95% of my loans were were with countrywide @ that time over 3 years now. The car industry used went to pot in 2001 and hasn't really recovered so Fuck that, and I have no desire as a Old Veteran and Hippi to hit the open road to drop loads. So this is how I make it all work, Till I get my Glassart skills flowing.....I use to do a similar type deal many years ago using the thrifty nickel, or local classified paper, (dont dismiss this BTW) but now there's the internet and Craigslist, and speaking of boo koos theres boo koo ... more on this in a minute... Most are way more Tech Savy than I on the internet. So you will be able to cover way more ground way more efficiently than I. Also I have no computer, Iam so far in the stixx there s no coverage except for satellite. TWC now has lines out but since I live 1/2 mile off road it Whould be $1600 to hook up and then the monthly's so Fuck that, I use my EVO, for everything, any Android will work...so if words get replaced sorry its the phone I proofread but don't always catch everything... Let's get started...
Ok, everybody probably uses Craigslist, and Iam sure to check daily I know some use search engines for entire regions this is good especially when keying in on a certain item.... and I definitely do this too... but here's how I roll with finding items..
1st I know I want equipment so like all I will search for those items ... but I actually also look for any item that is a good deal ... and the method I use and like the most is what I call displacement usually from one realm (city,town,or item catagorized cheap and in wrong place) .. and buy item and place in a better realm (city, town, category) I also use displacement to move from one forum say boo koo to Craigslist...BTW for those who have not heard of boo koo get on it its the bomb If theres one close by. They are mostly around military towns but are all over and gaining popularity fast, and tho started around military towns they are more far reaching now. And are again "all over" ...
I will give example in minute let me set up 1st, I like to surf and sail but with no budget how was I gonna make this happen. What I do is scour for items I already know value of and if I can make a reasonable profit taking all things into consideration (time, distance ,gas) I will buy and advertise it in different realm, and sometimes same realm different catagory....
EX: I started just gettn rid of crap I havn"t used in years , I use part to pay bills and the rest goes to flo, I use flo to buy other items ... in my case I like surf and boats so I buy ,surfboards , windsurfboards, dingys ... clean categorize correctly and resale... sounds easy enough right well that cause it is....now displacement form town to town how does this work?..... this is my favorite but is usually Alittle more work... I find freshwater boats, engines, Anchors, rode chain, anything inland(no rust, and usually great condition) or surfboards, and windsurfboards (will work on any item you know Alittle about) .I then put that in a CL close to coast, here I use about 4 or 5 CL's and 2 boo koo's that are no more than 2 hours Maxx from my house. Unless deal warrants the drive....
I turn these item's into cash,and the process never ceases unless you decide to let it.... I of course cherry pick items I want to keep and sell the rest at a profit but also give a good deal to buyer so everybody's happy...
I save my specialty items for specialty forums, hears what I mean.... If you are going to buy or sell a GTT torch there is no reason to go any where other than here to buy or sell it ...why?..this is the place where you will get the absolute most out of it...and atleast you are buying from another artist so forget gettn a GTT torch and get your money from buying and selling other item so in time you can lay out the cash for that GTT and if done correctly you will have a deal to the tune of about 50% off, ....as I almost always double+ my investment ....
Now kiln's and oxy-con's , well unlike GTT's they are everywhere ...if you look.... here's how I got my kiln, its a evenheat 24-13 big sob with digital rampmaster ll, and never fired still on pallet.... well the people new what they had and had paid straight up 2 grand to have it shipped to there shop. They had it online for CL for $900, which considering what it is and size was a decent deal but way more than I could spend. At time bills hit hard and I only had $350 in flo.... how the !@#! was I going to get this kiln?...
So I new I was going to have to ride thru jacksonville in morn to go to Emerald isle, where Karen teaches Zumba and yoga. So I glance thru jax boo koo just to see what was new... noticed right away a 4k liquid cooled Honda RV generator for $350 a steal in itself... I called let him know I would stop in on my way back from island and pick up after taking a look.... which is what I did, now on this I of course planned everything time wise as to not waste time or fuel to see... so I new he was asking a awesome price but like all I went immediately online to find out new cost... and on this item new cost was about $3600 for a 2011 model, and the one I was gettn was a 2002 but with the same exact specs., ...I looked over and we settled on a price of $260... btw learn to ask for the deal then just shut your cakehole for a few and see what happens ... l would've paid the $350 but it never hurts to ask...
Ok, got home placed ad on Raleigh CL, for $1200, you heard right remember 2011 were $3500+, and since I only had $260 in it well you know gotta start somewhere....anyway two days went by with little intrest then several at one time gentle who needed for RV came and offered $900 I hit him back with $960 and we loaded that mother up... all this took place over the course of about a week ...
So now after removing the $260 what I paid, I got $700 bills to play with ....and still got all $350 from original flo.....now the kiln is starting to look like a reality.... I call kiln dude now that I got cash to work with and he's had it up for 2+ weeks and no sale, so I let him know Iam acouple hours south and If I ride up there I am not coming back empty ....I've already thoroughly researched item and its new so I know what Iam gettn, and how much its worth, so now its time to make the deal. So I tell him straight up that I will be there in two hours and will by sight unseen if we can get together on price before I leave.... I told him this exact phrase " how close to $400 can you get "...... silence..... try not to say anything just wait.........then he says " there's no way I can sell that cheap!".... right on that's Kool is there a number that you will sell at......again shut your fuckn cakehole......him "well the wife says she won't sell for any less than $650... me" well how about $600 even and Iam on my way...silence.......ok she's says that's fine but no less....
2 hours later that huge kiln is in the back of my truck, and I'm reality I got $0 in it. I had $700 bills profit from generator and paid $600 for brand new kiln....
I am starting to find specialty forums very interesting....Cause I have a lot of old items I bought years ago and forgot about now Iam finding large market places for all kinds of items which opens so many more doors. Here's just an example of one Iam doing now , I dug out a old piece of equipment for makn sound track and recording or just a high tech games sound card 20 years ago, its a LAP
My reason for writing is twofold 1st: This forum has given so much to me over the last months that I have been a Member. And in so doing I wanted to give back. Of course being a newbie, broke and no skills how can I give back?... Well I hope its with some insights that I have used to get what I need whether be it a torch, kiln ,tools or even a boat...
2nd: I have had a # of people pm me and ask how did you get your oxy-con's so cheap or how did you get that kiln so cheap... so I thought maybe this information could actually help someone... Its something I've been doing over the last year or so just to make sure ends meet while spending boo koos of time with my wife Karen and our daughter Kaci. ( I have my NC realestate license ,my NC Brokers license , my NC Notary, NC dealers license , NC pool and spa license, and my CDL ) Unfortunately 95% of my loans were were with countrywide @ that time over 3 years now. The car industry used went to pot in 2001 and hasn't really recovered so Fuck that, and I have no desire as a Old Veteran and Hippi to hit the open road to drop loads. So this is how I make it all work, Till I get my Glassart skills flowing.....I use to do a similar type deal many years ago using the thrifty nickel, or local classified paper, (dont dismiss this BTW) but now there's the internet and Craigslist, and speaking of boo koos theres boo koo ... more on this in a minute... Most are way more Tech Savy than I on the internet. So you will be able to cover way more ground way more efficiently than I. Also I have no computer, Iam so far in the stixx there s no coverage except for satellite. TWC now has lines out but since I live 1/2 mile off road it Whould be $1600 to hook up and then the monthly's so Fuck that, I use my EVO, for everything, any Android will work...so if words get replaced sorry its the phone I proofread but don't always catch everything... Let's get started...
Ok, everybody probably uses Craigslist, and Iam sure to check daily I know some use search engines for entire regions this is good especially when keying in on a certain item.... and I definitely do this too... but here's how I roll with finding items..
1st I know I want equipment so like all I will search for those items ... but I actually also look for any item that is a good deal ... and the method I use and like the most is what I call displacement usually from one realm (city,town,or item catagorized cheap and in wrong place) .. and buy item and place in a better realm (city, town, category) I also use displacement to move from one forum say boo koo to Craigslist...BTW for those who have not heard of boo koo get on it its the bomb If theres one close by. They are mostly around military towns but are all over and gaining popularity fast, and tho started around military towns they are more far reaching now. And are again "all over" ...
I will give example in minute let me set up 1st, I like to surf and sail but with no budget how was I gonna make this happen. What I do is scour for items I already know value of and if I can make a reasonable profit taking all things into consideration (time, distance ,gas) I will buy and advertise it in different realm, and sometimes same realm different catagory....
EX: I started just gettn rid of crap I havn"t used in years , I use part to pay bills and the rest goes to flo, I use flo to buy other items ... in my case I like surf and boats so I buy ,surfboards , windsurfboards, dingys ... clean categorize correctly and resale... sounds easy enough right well that cause it is....now displacement form town to town how does this work?..... this is my favorite but is usually Alittle more work... I find freshwater boats, engines, Anchors, rode chain, anything inland(no rust, and usually great condition) or surfboards, and windsurfboards (will work on any item you know Alittle about) .I then put that in a CL close to coast, here I use about 4 or 5 CL's and 2 boo koo's that are no more than 2 hours Maxx from my house. Unless deal warrants the drive....
I turn these item's into cash,and the process never ceases unless you decide to let it.... I of course cherry pick items I want to keep and sell the rest at a profit but also give a good deal to buyer so everybody's happy...
I save my specialty items for specialty forums, hears what I mean.... If you are going to buy or sell a GTT torch there is no reason to go any where other than here to buy or sell it ...why?..this is the place where you will get the absolute most out of it...and atleast you are buying from another artist so forget gettn a GTT torch and get your money from buying and selling other item so in time you can lay out the cash for that GTT and if done correctly you will have a deal to the tune of about 50% off, ....as I almost always double+ my investment ....
Now kiln's and oxy-con's , well unlike GTT's they are everywhere ...if you look.... here's how I got my kiln, its a evenheat 24-13 big sob with digital rampmaster ll, and never fired still on pallet.... well the people new what they had and had paid straight up 2 grand to have it shipped to there shop. They had it online for CL for $900, which considering what it is and size was a decent deal but way more than I could spend. At time bills hit hard and I only had $350 in flo.... how the !@#! was I going to get this kiln?...
So I new I was going to have to ride thru jacksonville in morn to go to Emerald isle, where Karen teaches Zumba and yoga. So I glance thru jax boo koo just to see what was new... noticed right away a 4k liquid cooled Honda RV generator for $350 a steal in itself... I called let him know I would stop in on my way back from island and pick up after taking a look.... which is what I did, now on this I of course planned everything time wise as to not waste time or fuel to see... so I new he was asking a awesome price but like all I went immediately online to find out new cost... and on this item new cost was about $3600 for a 2011 model, and the one I was gettn was a 2002 but with the same exact specs., ...I looked over and we settled on a price of $260... btw learn to ask for the deal then just shut your cakehole for a few and see what happens ... l would've paid the $350 but it never hurts to ask...
Ok, got home placed ad on Raleigh CL, for $1200, you heard right remember 2011 were $3500+, and since I only had $260 in it well you know gotta start somewhere....anyway two days went by with little intrest then several at one time gentle who needed for RV came and offered $900 I hit him back with $960 and we loaded that mother up... all this took place over the course of about a week ...
So now after removing the $260 what I paid, I got $700 bills to play with ....and still got all $350 from original flo.....now the kiln is starting to look like a reality.... I call kiln dude now that I got cash to work with and he's had it up for 2+ weeks and no sale, so I let him know Iam acouple hours south and If I ride up there I am not coming back empty ....I've already thoroughly researched item and its new so I know what Iam gettn, and how much its worth, so now its time to make the deal. So I tell him straight up that I will be there in two hours and will by sight unseen if we can get together on price before I leave.... I told him this exact phrase " how close to $400 can you get "...... silence..... try not to say anything just wait.........then he says " there's no way I can sell that cheap!".... right on that's Kool is there a number that you will sell at......again shut your fuckn cakehole......him "well the wife says she won't sell for any less than $650... me" well how about $600 even and Iam on my way...silence.......ok she's says that's fine but no less....
2 hours later that huge kiln is in the back of my truck, and I'm reality I got $0 in it. I had $700 bills profit from generator and paid $600 for brand new kiln....
I am starting to find specialty forums very interesting....Cause I have a lot of old items I bought years ago and forgot about now Iam finding large market places for all kinds of items which opens so many more doors. Here's just an example of one Iam doing now , I dug out a old piece of equipment for makn sound track and recording or just a high tech games sound card 20 years ago, its a LAP