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Comment by codexon | Hacker News Reader

That lesson doesn't apply to reselling commodities on Ebay. That is the entire point of my comment.

The only rebuttal here is from someone who was using bulk discount arbitrage to make a profit. This is not a very good lesson to learn for the amount of time and effort you put into it, especially when you aren't even making the product "better".

And of course I don't like this guy. He sells himself as a business guru like those get rich quick guys, and he is famously arrogant for criticizing the value of other companies like Facebook.

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His eBay comment was about getting good at the skill of selling things and making money. He does not advocate this as a business but rather a way to practice. It is not risky at all. He tells you to buy 1 iPod and sell it. When you sell it buy another and repeat the process until you feel like you improved your messaging, sales pitch, pictures, etc. Worst case scenario you get stuck with 1 iPod. How is that risky? Did you think he was advocating this as a business? He's not, just practice.

Also, if you don't like him that's fine but why not still try to learn something? The reality is in life they are going to be plenty of people you don't like, plenty. If you can't learn from others because of your own personal bias you're going to hold yourself back big time.

He tells you to buy 1 iPod and sell it. When you sell it buy another and repeat the process until you feel like you improved your messaging, sales pitch, pictures, etc. Worst case scenario you get stuck with 1 iPod. How is that risky?

Why do I have to keep repeating myself? No one gave an example of how you can feasibly mark up a commodity like an iPod to get anywhere above the 10% Paypal and Ebay fee except when you buy in bulk. And when you buy in bulk you risk a lot more than 1 iPod.

And I am not arguing about this because he is Jason Fried. I am arguing about it because this is bad advice.

The whole point is trying to figure out that part for yourself. If someone told you exactly how to do it then you wouldn't learn much would you? You need to try it with 1 ipod not bulk and see if you can make a profit. It is difficult, it is challenging, that is the point. How do you think you get good at something by taking the easy way?

The point is to try and figure out how to make a profit on your own. Its not to ask someone else how they did it and just copy it. If you copy someone elses homework it does not make you any smarter, you gotta do the homework yourself.

Don't be so afraid to fail. If you try it and your not very good, its ok! Just try again and again, you'll improve. But looking for someone to give you the answer for this is not a recipe for success, its cheating yourself out of an opportunity to learn something new.

Whether you like him or not, he runs a successful, profitable business--which is proof he has some idea what he is talking about.

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