Pick-tionary: BOLO - Be On the Look Out

BOLO: The acronym, not the tie.

If you spend any time perusing the internet for blogs and groups and comments about picking and flipping items on eBay and Amazon, you are no doubt going to be seeing the word BOLO being bandied about. What it means is Be On the Look Out. It originates from 1960s American Police jargon and is basically the same as an APB, or All Points Bulletin. But we're not out looking for crooks, we're looking for big picks with which to make decent dollars.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the phrase BOLO. Maybe it's that I just don't like acronyms (although I was delighted to find that 'Scuba' is one). Perhaps the word reminds me of the hideous neckwear. Maybe seeing this phrase in all caps over and over again just gives me the willies. And, technically, shouldn't it be BOTLO? Either way, I hesitate to use it here at Part Time Picker. But I do want you to know all about it. Why?

Because when you are combing the net for picking blogs and comments and such and you come across somebody posting a BOLO, you should sit up and pay attention. BOLO posts are a great way to build your mental radar for potential picks.

The online community of eBay and Amazon sellers is very generous with sharing their tips and finds. They love to brag about the huge profit they just made on an unassuming item, as do I. While many BOLO posts are about very specific items that you may never find and shouldn't waste your time searching for, it never hurts to know. Heck, I even keep a notebook handy to keep a list of potential BOLO picks I may have otherwise overlooked.

Two Facebook groups I like to scan for BOLO posts and comments are Stay at Home Moms Selling on eBay (those moms make up a large demographic of picker blog interactions online) and Thrifting With The Boys, who have one of those preposterous cable shows that make everyone think they can get rich quick by picking antiques.

So, yeah, that's BOLO. 

The Picking Roadtrip

No doubt about it, Picking is popular. Television shows such as Antiques Roadshow, American Pickers, and Storage Locker Idiots have taken the once obscure hobby of 'thrifting' and turned us into a nation of treasure hunters and wanna-be antique flippers.

As someone who has been in the picking game for a decades (admittedly more often for collecting junk than reselling it), I can tell you without a doubt that the big scores are getting harder to find. I live in a pretty large city and most thrift stores are bereft of super deals these days. Throw in the ease and popularity of reselling items on eBay and books and games on Amazon and it can seem like there isn't any good pickings to be had anymore.

It's great that anybody can make money picking and reselling items online. The bad news is that everybody is trying to make money picking and reselling items online. Competition is fierce. Especially in the densely populated, hip cities.

A possible solution, one that has been practiced for a long time by antiques dealers, is the Picking Roadtrip. The idea is simple enough: Head out to the small towns where the bumpkins don't care or know the value of what they've got, buy up all their good stuff, and head home to sell it at a tremendous profit. Sounds simple and fun, but is it a reality?

I know several vintage clothing boutique owners who have sustained successful business for many years using the Picking Roadtrip as their primary means of inventory acquisition, so clearly it can work. I asked them for some roadtrip picking pointers for this post, and here is what they clued me in on:

• Have a plan and a budget. Randomly wandering the countryside looking for amazing deals is going to get frustrating but fast. The romantic notion of stumbling onto a barn full of affordable and resellable antiques is extremely improbable. Know where you are going to go, how much it will cost you (gas, accommodations, food), and what you are hoping to find.
• Know what you want and what it's worth. Some folks don't take to kindly to you researching their goods on your fancy computer-phone right in front of them. You need to be prepared to buy items quickly when those deals show up.
• Know how to haggle. If you are picking from garage sales, flea markets, and swap meets, you darn well need to be able to haggle. The ability to negotiate price can turn an ok deal into a big score.
• If you are going with a friend, agree beforehand how you will be dividing goods. Roadtripping with a partner is great fun, but it can go sour real fast if one person thinks the other is not being fair. It's also a good idea to plan on how expenses and driving time is going to be divided.
• Have a shipping plan. You may find more great stuff than you can cram into your car. It's a great problem to have, especially if you have a plan and budget to get those extra items back home.
• Leave time to explore. Allocate time for those side-trips and wild goose chases. 
• Have fun. Enjoy the trip and the experience of going to new places. You may very well come up empty handed, so you might as well have a great time.

Now, I, myself, have never taken a roadtrip with the sole intent of picking. However, I often make picking a part of any roadtrip or vacation. I simply love to visit junk stores, flea markets, and garage sales in new places. Some great deals can surprise you in unfamiliar turf, and often the pickings are much better in the smaller towns.

PS - I just learned about the Antique Road Trip video game, so there is that, too.

The Ethics of Thrift Store Picking

Don't let a guilty conscience haunt you.

The Ethicist, a series published by the New York Times and written by Chuck Klosterman, recently discussed a question about the ethics of bargain hunting. Someone wrote in:

"I make a good salary and can afford to shop and buy new clothes at a regular retail store, but I enjoy shopping at a particular thrift store where I find great bargains. I sometimes buy items that I don’t need. My question concerns my enjoyment versus the needs of others who are less fortunate (and are now deprived of the opportunity to buy items that they probably need more than I do). Am I guilty of fulfilling a shadow pleasure at the expense of those in need?"

The response was that if a business exists to aid the underprivileged, it is wrong for you to shop there if you can afford to shop elsewhere. "...like showing up at a soup kitchen..." was a phrase used. However, it is mentioned that many thrift stores exist not only to sell items to the impoverished, but to sell items to anybody as a means to raise money for other charitable work.

I think this is spot on. I've gotten to know the employees and even directors of several charitable thrift stores in my years of picking, and they all tell me they are happy to have all types of customers. In fact, many of these stores are dependent upon large sales numbers to complete there charitable mission; Be it job training, humanitarian aid, or funding an operation completely unrelated to poverty. As long as you are willing to pay what they are asking, it's all good. And if someone desperately needs inexpensive clothing or home furnishings, most large cities have organizations that can provide these things at no cost to the recipient.

I understand that these businesses aren't there for me to make a profit. I often still conceal the fact that I am purchasing things to be resold. If I am 100% guilt free about my picking from thrift stores, why would I not be completely open about it? Perhaps I am slightly conflicted. Certainly I am afraid of being ejected from the store (as many conspicuous scanners are these days). I also make it my priority to be respectful and courteous to all employees and volunteers where I'm shopping.

Sure, I'll haggle, but I will never use intimidation tactics to get a better deal. It is much, much better in the long run to be considered a valued and even 'preferred' customer. That great deal you may get from aggressive haggling now will likely cost you a lot of discounts in the future.

Fortunately, I have developed a technique to resolve any ethical conflicts that my picking my cause. I resolve to keep things balanced with the stores I pick from. It's simple. My solution is to donate back to the stores.

I rarely take a trip to the Goodwill on a picking mission without bringing a few boxes of goods to drop off. It has even become a regular occurrence to return home with much less than I started out with. I have found local non-profits that deal with books, clothing, housewares, toys, and even building materials.
Besides making me feel good about myself, regularly clearing out all the excess possessions is a bit of a necessity for a borderline hoarder like me.

This past winter I even took things a step further and volunteered at a local non-profit second hand store. I spent the day cleaning and organizing the housewares section of the store... and it was a blast. 

So remember, many of the thrift stores that we rely on for our Part Time Picking business rely on us and our donations to keep their business going. So donate that big pile of stuff that you will likely never get around to reselling anyways.