Socialist policies lead to a whole mess of problems by restricting the free market and trying to go against reality.
In particular, price controls will destroy incentives and productions which lead to food shortages. Venezuela, a country with a great climate and natural resources, has people starving in the streets.
People elimating police for firearms
Local riots on super markets
People hunting cats and dogs for food
Smuggling of basic products for day to day living (milk, food, diapers, toilet paper)
All of this happens due to shortages caused by government intervention.
Under government policies, they try to force vendors to produce and sell products at a loss. What kind of sense does this make?
With shortages of supplies caused by people not working, how can a country survive?
Forced labor is the only way. A country would have to threaten its citizens to produce. If there is no carrot, the citizens have to be punished with the stick.
This article linked from ZeroHedge states that Maduro is implementing new polices to get able bodied men to work in agriculture in order to counter a food shortage. The new law will require able bodied men to work in agriculture for 60 days which can be extended if necessary and believe me, 60 days will turn into multiple years.
This is a mandate to make people work. It is forced labor. And since we want to call things by the proper name, this is slavery. This is the result of socialism.
However, governments can try to control human behavior but they cannot control human incentives. I make the prediction that as men get forced to work on farms for several years most likely in horrid conditions, there will be an increase in able bodied men self mutilating themselves to avoid forced labor. After forced labor, the next step in socialism is depopulation.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Wednesday Night Humor: Obama's half brother to vote for Trump
With all of the terror in the news of people shooting each other and blowing each other up, it is nice to see some humor in the headlines now and then.
Linked by Fox News, Obama's half-brother to vote for Trump.
This isn't news, it isn't a story, it is completely trivial and a waste of time but at least it is hilarious. It is just like Alex Jones crashing The Young Turks with the special Bill Clinton shirt.
Linked by Fox News, Obama's half-brother to vote for Trump.
This isn't news, it isn't a story, it is completely trivial and a waste of time but at least it is hilarious. It is just like Alex Jones crashing The Young Turks with the special Bill Clinton shirt.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
John Kerry probably believes that A/C and refrigerators are as big a threat as ISIS
I want to think that John Kerry was probably exaggerating when he said that air conditioner and refrigerators are as dangerous as ISIS. Unfortunately, he probably really does believe that.
The article comes from FoxNews.
Remember this statement forever.
The article comes from FoxNews.
Remember this statement forever.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Where to stock up on inventory to sell online
The biggest challenge encountered while selling products online is finding out where to get inventory. When selling products online, there are 4 types of expenses that are involved with selling a product. You have to deal with the cost of the product, Amazon/Ebay fees, cost of packaging, and the cost of shipping. Out of all these fees, the cost of the product will be the most variable and will have the most impact on whether or not a sale will be profitable.
When it comes to used video games, GameStop will probably give you the best selection of games to find however GameStop and other similar shops will charge the highest prices for used games. Since these shops specialize in games, they have a much better idea of what used games go for and they probably have databases that update what a used game should sell for on a daily basis. Well, either they have a database or they just have one guy looking up the used price on Amazon and add an additional markup.
With pawn shops, you can usually get much better deals however the selection will be far more limited. Since pawn shops act as a middle man, they only pay a fraction of the market value for used video games to customers who wish to sell. Pawn shops exist to serve people who are desperate for money. Since they pay so little for games, you can buy them for much cheaper then they would go for at stores like GameStop.
In the last few weeks, I've visited several pawn shops and picked up PlayStation 3 games for $1 to $5 per game. Some of the games I picked up would have gone for close to $10 or more at GameStop.
An important note about pawn shops is that their inventory is completely dependent on the clients in their local area and each pawn shop has different policies for pricing. With this in mind, it will be necessary to check several pawn shops. In one store I visited, I was surprised to find Super Nintendo games (although there was nothing good there).
Another issue I had with some pawn shops is that they might not price their games as they have so many. I suspect that the clerks made up the price on the spot while I was at the counter and I am sure they just searched the price on Amazon.
Lastly, you could try to find some old games at local yard sales however I've not had much luck with yard sales. Often with yard sales, the homeowners are just trying to get rid of junk and make fast cash. The other week, I asked a guy how much he wanted for a Magic Bullet blender and he said it was $20. I wasn't interested in buying it but then he made the offer of letting it go for $10. In this particular deal, I wasn't trying to buy his blender. He was trying to sell it to me.
In addition to all of these methods, it is also useful to network with as many people as possible to get future prospects of inventory.
When it comes to used video games, GameStop will probably give you the best selection of games to find however GameStop and other similar shops will charge the highest prices for used games. Since these shops specialize in games, they have a much better idea of what used games go for and they probably have databases that update what a used game should sell for on a daily basis. Well, either they have a database or they just have one guy looking up the used price on Amazon and add an additional markup.
With pawn shops, you can usually get much better deals however the selection will be far more limited. Since pawn shops act as a middle man, they only pay a fraction of the market value for used video games to customers who wish to sell. Pawn shops exist to serve people who are desperate for money. Since they pay so little for games, you can buy them for much cheaper then they would go for at stores like GameStop.
In the last few weeks, I've visited several pawn shops and picked up PlayStation 3 games for $1 to $5 per game. Some of the games I picked up would have gone for close to $10 or more at GameStop.
An important note about pawn shops is that their inventory is completely dependent on the clients in their local area and each pawn shop has different policies for pricing. With this in mind, it will be necessary to check several pawn shops. In one store I visited, I was surprised to find Super Nintendo games (although there was nothing good there).
Another issue I had with some pawn shops is that they might not price their games as they have so many. I suspect that the clerks made up the price on the spot while I was at the counter and I am sure they just searched the price on Amazon.
Lastly, you could try to find some old games at local yard sales however I've not had much luck with yard sales. Often with yard sales, the homeowners are just trying to get rid of junk and make fast cash. The other week, I asked a guy how much he wanted for a Magic Bullet blender and he said it was $20. I wasn't interested in buying it but then he made the offer of letting it go for $10. In this particular deal, I wasn't trying to buy his blender. He was trying to sell it to me.
In addition to all of these methods, it is also useful to network with as many people as possible to get future prospects of inventory.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Sports video games are worthless
If your thinking about buying and selling used video games, one very common issue you will run into is what games do you want to buy. Very early on, you will realize that sports videogames, of almost any variety, are worth almost nothing. Regardless of where you go to buy games (GameStop, pawn shops, yard sales), you will typically see these games on sale for a few dollars. If you check the lowest prices online, the lowest price will usually be a few cents.
With the life cycle of used sports games, they usually sell new for the standard price of $50. After a few months, the drop to $30. After a year, the value plummets to $5 or $10. Any longer than a year, the value drops down to pennies without any possibility of increasing in value.
With sports video games, the main gameplay mechanics never change however a new game in the franchise gets released every year for the sake of updating team rosters and a minor (if any) graphics upgrade. For this reason, only the most recent edition of any sports game has any value. In the used game market, sports games absolutely flood the market and no particular year offers anything unique or different.
A market flood of used games defines the sports genres however I've also noticed other game franchises that suffer from this same phenomena. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and Assassin's Creed are all franchises that flooded the market by releasing a title year after year after year.
I'm sure that there might be a profit to be made with sports games but the only way would be to sell tons of volume with razor thin margins. Unfortunately, I'm not in the position to take that opportunity.
With the life cycle of used sports games, they usually sell new for the standard price of $50. After a few months, the drop to $30. After a year, the value plummets to $5 or $10. Any longer than a year, the value drops down to pennies without any possibility of increasing in value.
With sports video games, the main gameplay mechanics never change however a new game in the franchise gets released every year for the sake of updating team rosters and a minor (if any) graphics upgrade. For this reason, only the most recent edition of any sports game has any value. In the used game market, sports games absolutely flood the market and no particular year offers anything unique or different.
A market flood of used games defines the sports genres however I've also noticed other game franchises that suffer from this same phenomena. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and Assassin's Creed are all franchises that flooded the market by releasing a title year after year after year.
I'm sure that there might be a profit to be made with sports games but the only way would be to sell tons of volume with razor thin margins. Unfortunately, I'm not in the position to take that opportunity.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Getting Started Selling Online
Selling products online is a very basic way to earn some cash. Making profits will all depend on getting inventory and moving it but knowing how to sell something online is the actual work you have to perform.
The first thing that needs to be done is to choose a platform to use. The two biggest platforms out there are Ebay and Amazon. Which ever one you decide to choose, you will have to create an account and link your banking account in order for you to receive payments.
Personally, I prefer Amazon because the interface is a lot nicer. The down side about Amazon is that it restricts selling dvds.
The second thing to do is to start listing inventory. Since Ebay and Amazon are so large, it is most likely that the thing you want to sell already has a listing. With Amazon, there is just a button that says "sell yours" and you get a field where you can list your price as well as shipping time and condition notes.
When someone decides to buy one of your products, you will get a notification of the order and a address to mail the product. You have the option to purchase shipping directly from Amazon but I just buy my own shipping. After packing the product, you can choose different carriers such as USPS, FedEx, or UPS to mail the product.
For really small packages such as videogames, the best shipping option will be USPS first class parcel service. Videogames usually cost only $2.50 no matter where it goes to. Larger products will have to be sent via other methods such as domestic or ground shipping which is more expensive. I sent a guitar hero controller for PS3 to California and shipping cost me $15.
After shipping a product, you will get a receipt that has a tracking number on it. Make absolutely sure to keep the receipt because you have to enter in the tracking number into Ebay or Amazon in order to confirm that you shipped the product out.
After all this gets complete, your payment will be held at either Amazon or Ebay for a few weeks in case the customer wants a refund or has a dispute. After that time period clears, the funds will be deposited to your bank account.
The first thing that needs to be done is to choose a platform to use. The two biggest platforms out there are Ebay and Amazon. Which ever one you decide to choose, you will have to create an account and link your banking account in order for you to receive payments.
Personally, I prefer Amazon because the interface is a lot nicer. The down side about Amazon is that it restricts selling dvds.
The second thing to do is to start listing inventory. Since Ebay and Amazon are so large, it is most likely that the thing you want to sell already has a listing. With Amazon, there is just a button that says "sell yours" and you get a field where you can list your price as well as shipping time and condition notes.
When someone decides to buy one of your products, you will get a notification of the order and a address to mail the product. You have the option to purchase shipping directly from Amazon but I just buy my own shipping. After packing the product, you can choose different carriers such as USPS, FedEx, or UPS to mail the product.
For really small packages such as videogames, the best shipping option will be USPS first class parcel service. Videogames usually cost only $2.50 no matter where it goes to. Larger products will have to be sent via other methods such as domestic or ground shipping which is more expensive. I sent a guitar hero controller for PS3 to California and shipping cost me $15.
After shipping a product, you will get a receipt that has a tracking number on it. Make absolutely sure to keep the receipt because you have to enter in the tracking number into Ebay or Amazon in order to confirm that you shipped the product out.
After all this gets complete, your payment will be held at either Amazon or Ebay for a few weeks in case the customer wants a refund or has a dispute. After that time period clears, the funds will be deposited to your bank account.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Historic Exchange Rates of Mexican Peso and it's Decline
Today, the Mexican Peso is worth roughly 5 cents. I thought that the collapse of the Mexican Peso was the reason that millions of Mexicans immigrated to the United States over the last few decades. In order to research this further, I pulled up the historical exchange rates for the Mexican Peso.
To my astonishment, one Mexican Peso was worth about 40 US Dollars in 1980. It declined steadly until 1981, and then there was a massive spike downward in 1982 when one Peso was worth 17 US Dollars. The next big decline occurred in 1983 when one Peso was worth 8 US Dollars. I don't know what caused these massive spikes downward but there was a major earthquake in 1985 that killed 10,000 people in Mexico City and caused between 3 billion to 4 billion USD in damages. At the beginning of 1986, one Peso was worth 1.64 USD.
The next biggest decline I researched was the 1993 peso crisis. At the beginning of 1994, one Peso was worth only .32 USD.
To my astonishment, one Mexican Peso was worth about 40 US Dollars in 1980. It declined steadly until 1981, and then there was a massive spike downward in 1982 when one Peso was worth 17 US Dollars. The next big decline occurred in 1983 when one Peso was worth 8 US Dollars. I don't know what caused these massive spikes downward but there was a major earthquake in 1985 that killed 10,000 people in Mexico City and caused between 3 billion to 4 billion USD in damages. At the beginning of 1986, one Peso was worth 1.64 USD.
The next biggest decline I researched was the 1993 peso crisis. At the beginning of 1994, one Peso was worth only .32 USD.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Buff up food supplies. FEMA simulates 395% increase in food prices.
Link directly to ZeroHedge here. The article speaks for itself, but it might be a good time to stock up on store-able food, canned food, water, and other supplies. While it is recommended to save up 6 months of food per person, maybe you might want to store up a little more. Maybe at least a years worth.
Depending on where you get it, a one year supply of food can cost up to $2200 per person. Regardless of how much you think you need, just go get it and make a habit of stocking up. After all, you don't want to be this girl that trashed a convenience store just because her EBT card wasn't working.
Depending on where you get it, a one year supply of food can cost up to $2200 per person. Regardless of how much you think you need, just go get it and make a habit of stocking up. After all, you don't want to be this girl that trashed a convenience store just because her EBT card wasn't working.
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