A Good Tip On Making Some Extra Money

[Megastink]

I thought I would share a tip with all of you. I used to spend HUNDREDS, maybe thousands each year on new gear. You know the story: something new comes out, you have to have one of each color. It feels good buying them, but after the season is over (November for me) I realize two things:

1) I spent money than I intended (I HAD NO BUDGET)

2) I never/rarely used the new baits I bought eariler in the year.

After years of being broke come summertime and having boxes of baits that never saw water, I had to do something. What I have done every year since takes a lot of discipline, but it was well worth it when the time came to buy new baits, rods, reels, you name it. It is a system of steps:

Step 1) Inventory- Open a box and remove all the lures. Once they are all out, start placing the lures that you ACTUALLY USED OVER THE PAST YEAR back in, starting with the ones you used most often (congratulations, you just discovered what your confidence baits are). Once all of the baits you used last year are back in your box, take a look at whats left. Those baits go into a separate pile and not in the box. I DONT CARE if you think it has a cool paint job or you htink it will work in a certain lake that you havent gotten to in a while, do not put it back in that box! It obviously isnt that good if you didnt use it last year. Repeat step one with all of your boxes no matter how many boxes you have. Do it for all of your crankbaits, jigs, topwaters, frogs, spinnerbaits, etc.

Step 2) Inspection- Put those boxes of the baits you do use back in your boat or tackle bag, they are safe. Move onto the piles of 'unused' baits. Sort through them, looking for rusty hooks, general condition of them. If the hooks are rusty, just remove them, you dont have to replace them (I'm getting there). A little bit of fine sandpaper can remove some rust spots from the eyes. A moist Mr. Clean Magic Eraser can be used to buff out a dull paint job. Once they are all clean, break out the camera and a white sheet.

Step 3) EBAY!!!!!!!- This is the toughest part for a fisherman, letting go of his baits. But face it, you just don't NEED that many, and step one has already sought out the ones you have confidence in, so any remaining baits are, really, just taking up space. Your unused baits are LIQUID ASSETS (look it up if you have to). A form of currency for many anglers. Set-up an ebay and paypal account and start selling them. Place a white sheet on your kitchen table or coffee table, lay out the baits in lots (keep reading) and take good close-up picture with good natural light. Also, show your wife what you are doing, she'll be THRILLED!!!!!!!

I like to organize my baits by brand and sell like baits with like baits, especially hard baits (trying to appeal to fans of that brand/model). For instance, I recently sold a lot of 14 Norman Deep Little N's in various colors. I made 40 bucks. I liked those cranks, I just never used them. When it comes to high-end imported baits such as Lucky Craft, Megabass, etc, I sell each bait seperate or in pairs. The resale value on those baits are riduculous; almost as much as if they were new.

Last winter, I sold 30 Lucky Crafts; I've stopped fishing them. I decided that I didn't catch more or bigger fish on them vs my bandits or fat free shads, or I sold them. I made $1,000. One thousand!!! That's a new Lowrance Structure Scan unit! This yea I sold a handful of Lucks and a lot of Strike Kings and Normans. I made $700. Thats $1,700 in two years. What can you do with an extra $1,700?

Note: you dont have to use ebay, but I think if you want the most bang for your buck, use it. You can also use forums like bassresource.com's Fisherman's Flea Market.

Step 4) Shipping- once you have your money from a buy (and ONLY once you have your money), ship on time and keep your prices honest; you'll make repeat customers that way. I start most bait lots around $5 with $5 flat rate shipping and single "expensive" baits $5 with $2 padded envelope shipping. Note: YOU SHOULDNT MAKE MONEY ON THE SHIPPING!

Step 5) Count your dollars- You did it! I know it was hard to let your baits go, and yes, you probably, technically sold them at a loss (got less than you paid for them). But look at it this way: if you have a hundred baits that you aren't going to use, and you can get $2 per, thats $200. Thats a new Revo or Smoke or what have you. If you have MOUNTAINS OF UNUSED BAITS, you just may have a down payment on a boat or a fancy-schmansy GPS unit, or a boat maintainence fund. You know that new Powerpole that you have been eyeing up? Go buy it!

This system works, and its good to budget your money. Whatever I sell during the winter, that is the amount I allow myself to spend for the rest of the year. You can sell rods, reels, whatever you like. Have an extra boat cover? Trolling motor prop? Grease gun? Throw it on ebay if you're not going to use it! Make some money and buy something that you will use.

Money doesn't buy happiness, but it does buy me a new Powell rod... I don't see the difference...

-Joe

[whittler1]

There is some excellent advice.

[Ern]

Very good advice. I do this myself. Stuff that is "junk" or un-used to me is exactly what the next guy wants. I got rid of enough stuff last year to pull off Christmas for my wife and pick up some other folks "junk" that I wanted....without spending any more cash.

[roadwarrior]

I'm a "collector", I would never do that. At least 95% of my stuff has never

been in water except the pool when they were first purchased. Every year I

promise myself I will fish "something different". We'll see...

[BriBass]

that is a great idea.... and great advice its a very expensive hobby but this will sure help!

btw.. whats your ebay name?? :eyebrows:

only kidding LOL

[NorcalBassin]

Nice ideas but the Bait Monkey is not happy with you.

[bait__Monkey]

Hey used guys! me tink dis a great i' dear. better yet...u's sell all yer stuff and we go git sum new stuff! bring sum mor money, 2. we gonna need lots mor dis yer. 1st lets git rid all those new rods we bought last year and gits us som NRX. okay?

hey glenn...wats happen to my pretty pictur? u give it to ur pretty wife?

[Fishes in trees]

I don't know. This seems odd. This whole notion of sorting through your gear, deciding what you don't need and selling it sounds very responsible to me. Are you on some sort of court ordered 12 step program and right now you're focusing on responsibility?

I guess I'm as much a collector as a fisherman. I know I've got more than a few lures that probably won't ever see water and even more that saw water in the past and got crowded out by new stuff. I'm OK with that.

[Megastink]

Hey, its not for everyone. This started because I realized that I spent a lot of time second guessing my choice of lure in tournaments. I spent more time retying than I did fishing.

I started doing this to refocus on my strengths. I realized that I when I fish for fun (which were my best days on the water) I really only leaned on three or four techniques, with one in particular.

So I limited my bait selection. I only brought three or four boxes with me to each event, and one of those boxes was terminal tackle. A few packs of plastics,and instead of flip-flopping baits, I stuck to my guns and threw what my initial gut instinct told me to until the conditions told me to change.

My little theory spoke for itself:

The year prior to limiting my bait selection, I fished seven club tournies (as a non-boater, mind you) and I won one event. The following year, after refocusing myself and limiting myself to my strengths, I fished six club tournies and won four of them. I'm not God's gift to fishing, but I did have a splendid year. And I do think that refocusing my strengths was the reason (and MAYBE my four new Premiers had something to do with it.....)

[ClackerBuzz]

I've had great success with ebay too. A lot of times I'll list my items as "local pick up only" but in the description I will add "I am willing to ship if buying pay's exact shipping fees, not a penny more"---it works amazing b/c buyers know they aren't getting ripped off.

[Ratherbfishing]

I'm not trying to be a troll (I swear) but how did you sell 30 Lucky craft baits for $1000.00? That's 33 dollars and some change (not including shipping). I know they're expensive (far too much for my blood) but you must've had some rare/collectible examples. Are they really that pricey?

To me selling stuff on ebay is like investing in the stock market by buying high and selling low. I guess I'd rather just stop buying and just continue to use what I have. If you fish much at all, you're bound to lose some baits that you'll want to replace. But yeah, if you aren't going to use them, you might as well recoup some of your expenses.

[von]

I applaud you megastrike for your will power. The bait monkey is strong!

I too, have discovered what you're talking about. I've realized, I don't use half my tackle box when I'm out on the water. With an over whelming selection of colors, sizes, and techniques, half the time you're wondering which one? which one will it be? I understand, if my living depended on fishing, sure I'd keep the wide selection. But I'm just a weekend warrior. So this year, I've begun thinning out the tackle box and limit my selection. With less to think fluster about, one should be more efficient on the water.