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Author Topic: I'm not going to be able to afford this  (Read 4567 times)

rcjordan

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I'm not going to be able to afford this
« on: September 25, 2013, 11:29:52 AM »
So I wrote a search program which downloads craigslist ads (either nationally or regionally) then using rudimentary keyword filtering it ferrets through them to serve up things I might be interested in  ...cars, boats, rvs, tools, materials. It works and it's going to bankrupt me.
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IrishWonder

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2013, 12:09:43 PM »
Make a business out of it. Spend the profit on buying stuff.
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rcjordan

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2013, 12:13:07 PM »
Then I'd have to deal with humans, Irish.  I'd rather be broke.
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IrishWonder

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2013, 04:29:36 PM »
Ahh finally a people hater who surpasses me in people hating  ;D
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Brad

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2013, 05:06:04 PM »
Quote from: rcjordan on September 25, 2013, 11:29:52 AM
So I wrote a search program which downloads craigslist ads (either nationally or regionally) then using rudimentary keyword filtering it ferrets through them to serve up things I might be interested in  ...cars, boats, rvs, tools, materials. It works and it's going to bankrupt me.

Damn, that's like taking Amazon intravenously.

There has to be a way to monitize it.  Turn it into an app and watch everybody else go bankrupt?
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rcjordan

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2013, 05:47:25 PM »
>people hating

Legendarily so. I was featured in a book in the mid-90s.  My lone-wolf ethos goes back at least as far as my toddler years.

>Amazon intravenously.

Like I've said, Bezos calls me daily to be sure I'm OK.  But this is FAR worse. It's like crack. Kinda spooky, too. I just pinged "i see you" to a friend who put up some ads minutes before.  Now he thinks I'm working for the NSA.
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ergophobe

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2013, 09:07:13 PM »
Just make it grab the prices and total them. You enter the amt in your bank account.

Then at the top of the page it says in a HUGE FONT:
If you buy everything I found for you today, at this rate you will be broke in ### years/days/seconds
If you buy everything I find for you for one year, at today's rate you will spend #### millions/billions/trillions
It will take you ### years/centuries/millennia for your debt to equal the US Federal deb
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Gurtie

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2013, 06:44:14 AM »
and then you'll go ahead and buy it anyway :)
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rcjordan

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2013, 10:36:00 AM »
that's what usually happens
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Drastic

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #9 on: September 30, 2013, 03:36:03 PM »
>There has to be a way to monitize it

A couple at least, but trying to get rc to do "real w*rk" is like getting Mark to admit he likes Nascar.
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rcjordan

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #10 on: June 24, 2014, 11:58:52 AM »
(consolidating threads: http://th3core.com/talk/members-only/what-are-you-working-on/msg31740/#msg31740 )

>I'm currently slashing the jugular of my bank account. Depending on the relative scarcity of the target, I can tune the scanner and pick up a deal pretty quickly --sometimes within 4 or 5 hours.  Even quicker if I'm willing to drive more than 45 minutes.

>>Damn, that's like taking Amazon intravenously.

>It's the crack cocaine of craigslist.

Damn, this is getting serious (both as an addiction and as a possible revenue stream).  I programmed in a "distressed sale" search for my driving area. Yesterday, I scored on that. Basically, it was "all the power tools you can haul away for $250." Anybody need a band saw?
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rcjordan

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2015, 03:42:23 PM »
update:

Superpower is awesome   ...though stuff is starting to pile up. And my bank account is wearing thin.  But the flow of goods on CL is absolutely astounding.

I just had a sailboat delivered to my dock for $375  (yes, 3 digits). In good shape.  Just what I need, another boat. But, hell, $375!!
http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=209

So I'm now sifting through the CL boat listings for aluminum sailboat trailers up to a 3 hour radius --a feat in itself. Separating ads for JUST boat trailers takes tons of tweaking --probably have 4 hours of work in the setup-- but it's pretty amazing to see the end results.
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littleman

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #12 on: April 06, 2015, 03:48:07 PM »
Seems like you are all set up for an arbitrage situation, though it does sound high-stakes.
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rcjordan

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #13 on: April 06, 2015, 03:57:33 PM »
>arb

Yeah, I could flip some stuff but it'd be a PITA.  Margins would be thin. And there's the issue of having to physically handle the product.

I think there might be a market for working with insurance adjusters, but even at $75/hr, they'd probably balk.
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rcjordan

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Re: I'm not going to be able to afford this
« Reply #14 on: April 06, 2015, 04:01:10 PM »
<added>

Here's a tip: After viewing thousands of ads, I've come to believe that the magic price-point is 1/3rd of new price for many items. In many cases, it doesn't seem to matter how old something is (how long since the 'new' price was valid), it just seems to sell when it hits that range.
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