If you are like most people, a trip to the store means you are going to come home a bit poorer but with a few more things. What if I told you how you can often come home having made a profit from your trip!

It is possible, just not every single time. Here’s how to do it.

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GIG APPS

If you have read any of my side-hustle income reports, you’ve seen me mention these apps. I’m talking about Field Agent, Easyshift, and Gigwalk. But due to a recent problem with Gigwalk I no longer recommend using their app. Instead, I have found a new competitor, an app called Observa

Check these apps to see if you can earn a bit of scratch photographing products on display.

This isn’t what this article is about but might as well earn a bit if there is a job waiting, right?

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RETAIL ARBITRAGE

As I delve deeper into frugality, I find myself rarely visiting a store for my own shopping wants. Now I mostly go to stores to complete the gigs on the previously mentioned apps.

While I am there, I always check the clearance section(s) to see if there are any great deals.

Because if the deal is really good, I can buy the item to resell. This is what is known as retail arbitrage.

Here is a recent example where I turned my trip to the store to do a $6 gig into much more.

In Walmart I checked the clearance section and discovered that there were two boxes of Lexmark ink on discount. The sticker showed that they were marked down from $70 to just $7. Hmm, might be some profit to be had here.

Hopping onto the eBay app, I scanned the barcode, selected “Show only sold”, and saw that these inks were selling for about $35 each.

Since the ink weighed just a few ounces, it can ship first class for less than $3.

eBay and Paypal take up to about a 13% fee off the top. I quickly calculated it in my head as such.

• $7 Ink
• $0.50 Sales Tax
• $4.50 eBay/Paypal fees
• $3 Shipping
  Total: About $15

Remember, the inks were selling for $35. Buying these inks gave me a great possibility at making $20 per. $20 X 2 = $40!

You can do this with anything that is a bargain. Find an amazing pair of jeans at a huge discount? Check them out to see what they sell for online and if they are selling for a lot more than the price you can get them at, flip them for profit!

IT ALL ADDS UP

So $40 isn’t going to change your life (neither is the $6 I made doing the gig). But it is when you keep doing it. Small amounts WILL become large amounts if you keep accumulating them.

I urge you to always be hustling, even if you are just going about your normal shopping trip. Because the opportunities are out there. Adopt the hustling mindset and you shall see them appear.

Oh and BTW, one of those inks sold that same day, the other the next.

And if the thing doesn’t sell? Keep your receipt and return it to the store (if this is something you worry about, make sure to check the return policy on clearance items).

All-in-all, it’s a low-risk way to make money!