14Bucks.com starts with a good idea: how to turn $14 to $1,000 in one year. Even though the 70-fold annual return in one year is too aggressive, this idea could still make 14Bucks.com a good showcase of how to use a very small capital base to make (small) money.
However, the attempt seems to be abandoned. No more entries have been written since the last post on June 10.
Anyway, pick up one idea or two from this final post on how to make some small profits. If you happen to have teen-aged kids, you might want to let them try these, and, in the process, make more sense of money:
Check out garage sales. Most everything at a garage sale is priced to sell and sell fast. If you can drag yourself out of bed early enough on the weekend to be one of the first to arrive, you'll have the best shot at finding underpriced items and collectibles. More helpful tips may be found here.
Go to book signings. By buying a book and getting it signed by the author, you've immediately increased its value. The same goes for CDs and LPs. If you have an opportunity to get them signed by band members, go for it. It's money in your pocket.
Buy in bulk. I guess Legos are a hot commodity these days. If you can find a large box full, they can be repackaged into smaller lots and resold for more money. Along the same lines, two months ago I saw a 257-count Avon decanter collection for sale in the classifieds for $500/obo. Not really knowing what they were, I checked eBay and found they were going for $3-$10 a piece. Considering there were probably a few valuable ones in the collection, a 300% return was pretty much guaranteed. Sadly, I only had $14 to spend.
Exploit your local university. The city of Madison is home to the University of Wisconsin, thus nearly always in a state of drunken revelry. These people buy water, beer, soda, hot dogs, bratwurst, t-shirts and practically anything else they see on their way to the game. Ask someone who lives near a stadium to let you set up shop and give them a small cut of your profit. Also, if you can figure out what the freshmen need for their dorms, their parents will probably buy it from you – at a very high price – on move-in day.
