Happy Thursday!

Really quick before I dive in, I get this question all the time: “How do I actually make money with all these AI tools?” Thats why I built Playmakers- my AI agency program where I teach you how to charge local businesses $500-$5,000 a month to set up and manage AI for them. You get three live calls a week, plug-and-play automation templates you can deploy for clients on day one, a 5 Day First Client Challenge, and my personal lead lists with businesses in your area ready to connect.120+ people are already in the community building agencies right now. Go to playmakersai.com and check it out.

Okay, let’s get into it.

A while back I gave myself a challenge: make $10,000 in profit in 10 days, starting with a credit card, a garage, and a Facebook account. I didn't come up with this on my own. I have a friend named Shannon who has made millions doing one thing: buying other people's returns for pennies on the dollar and reselling them. So I asked him to fly from California to Texas and walk me through it in real time.

And if you get fired up about this challenge like I did, watch the YouTube episode Shannon and I posted about it!

What we bought that first day still kind of stuns me. A stack of LG appliances that retail around $1,150 a unit, and we landed them for $243 each including freight. Then a mixed pallet of patio furniture, Blackstone griddles, gazebos, and sheds. Twelve units, $2,600 total, right around $200 a unit out the door. One of those gazebos alone sells for $3,000 new.

Let me walk you through exactly how this works so you can copy it this week:

What You're Doing:

Big retailers get a flood of returns and overstock every single day. Costco can't put a customer-returned washer back on the floor, and they don't want it sitting in a warehouse either. So they sell it off in bulk at a massive discount to people like us. You buy the pallet, you sell the items individually on Facebook Marketplace at roughly half of retail, and you keep the difference. If it sells in a store, it can be bought as a return.

Get On The Auction Site and Learn The Grades

Most of this product moves through liquidation auction platforms like B-Stock, which is where Shannon and I did our buying. You log in and see hundreds of live auctions across every category you can imagine, from appliances to coffee to musical instruments.

Before you bid a dollar, understand the condition grades, because this is where beginners get burned.
-"New" and "Like New" are what they sound like.
-"Used Good" means customer returns, and that's the sweet spot. Someone bought it, changed their mind, sent it back, and it's basically fine.
-"Used Fair" starts getting into real issues, so steer clear early on.
-And avoid anything labeled "Mixed" or "Salvage." That can be almost anything, and a lot of it is junk.

beehiiv launched Community- a feature that takes your newsletter replies out of your inbox and puts them somewhere your whole audience can see them- and talk to each other about them. Every newsletter and podcast you drop posts to your feed automatically. You don't promote it. It's in front of the people who already love your content, and the conversation keeps going long after you hit send.

You can add Community access to any subscription you already sell. It takes just minutes to set up, and you can decide on free, freemium, paywalled, or paywalled with upsells inside. All of it works on day one. Get more juice from everything you produce. Use code CHRIS30 for 30% off three months on beehiiv.

Pick A Category and Do The Math First

Shannon likes appliances because they're big, they're heavy, and most people won't mess with them. Those barriers scare off competition, which means less bidding and better prices for you. Outdoor gear like patio sets, grills, and sheds is another strong lane, because demand spikes the moment the weather turns.

The research is what keeps you safe. Before you place a bid, open the manifest and see what's on the pallet.
1. Look for items still in the box with factory stickers, since those are the easiest to sell. 2. Check Facebook Marketplace and Lowe's to see what these items really move for used in your area.
3. Bid low enough that one or two sales cover your entire investment.

We paid $243 a unit on appliances worth four to five times that. Our safety net was enormous.

Store It

You don’t need a warehouse. Shannon has 2,200 people in his community and most of them run this out of their garage. And a 10x10 storage unit runs a bit over $100 a month and the first month is often free. Plenty of facilities will even unload the truck for you.

Same goes for delivery. Rent a truck from Home Depot for around $20, or find a local guy who'll run deliveries for $50 a pop. Offering free local delivery also becomes a selling point later.

List Fast and Right

This is where the money is made or lost. When your pallet arrives, resist the urge to fix the broken stuff first. Get your best-looking items listed immediately.

Take a quick video walking around each item, then upload photos. Use every photo slot Facebook gives you, and show the flaws too. A scratch you disclose builds trust. A scratch you hide gets you a bad review.

For the listing itself, let ChatGPT do the heavy lifting. Ask it to write an SEO Facebook Marketplace title and description with the model number, color, and key features. Then add two or three sentences in your own voice about why you're doing this, whether that's saving for your kids or building something on the side. That personal note creates a connection a generic ad never will. Drop the retail price and a link to the Costco or Lowe's listing right in the description so buyers can see the deal for themselves.

Bluevine released a study I wanted to tell you about. Almost half of small business owners using AI are getting back at least four hours every single week. This lines up with everything I've seen running my own stuff. 

Four hours is a whole Friday afternoon you didn't have before, and 74% of SMB owners are already using or testing AI, so the competition down the street isn't sitting this one out. The study is specific about how regular owners are using AI in their financial lives day to day, and it's quick to read. So when you finish reading this email, go check out the Bluevine study. Find the one thing in there that applies to you, and go build with it.

Sell With Speed

Momentum matters more than perfection here. The stuff that sold fastest for me was stuff I never expected (like garment steamers I didn't even know existed). So get things listed, and let the market tell you what's hot.

When inquiries come in, and most arrive as "Is this still available?" over Messenger, respond fast and respond with a next step. Don't just say yes. Say, "Yes, I can meet you at 3pm today, does that work?" Build a few templates and keyboard shortcuts so you're not retyping the same answers all day.

When something isn't getting attention, boost the listing, which gives mixed results, or cut the price. Be willing to cut. Storing this stuff costs money, and a smaller profit always beats a gazebo camping out in your garage.

What This Costs/ Returns

My challenge was $10,000 in profit in 10 days. It took me about twelve and a half, and I only missed the timeline because I procrastinated on listing and responding.

To get started, you need a credit card, a garage or a cheap storage unit, and an internet connection. Your first pallet can pay you back with one or two sales, and everything after that is margin. Find an auction that looks strong in your area, run the resale numbers before you bid, and get your first items listed this week.

And again- And if you get fired up about this idea like I did, find out more by watching the YouTube episode Shannon and I posted.

Have a great week!

Chris

P.S. I share deep dives on business ideas and complete playbooks three times a week on YouTube and every podcast platform.