Three guys in Maywood, NJ have a strange side hustle. They buy massive collections of vinyl records, video games, and vintage toys to resell for profit. In other words, these guys side hustle from home.
Gabby Marani, 27, Jonathan Aisoni, 31, and Joe Pitre, 35, met in college and bonded over their mutual love for education and chess. After graduation, Marani and Aisoni would go on to become engineers, and Pitre, eventually to teaching at the local community college.
As the group began to settle into their life-roles, they realized they needed an outlet for their own creative business ventures. They set their sights on a side hustle from home, and started buying and selling collectibles.
“I’m an engineer and we tend to think in black and white,” said Aisoni. “But when I started to see the colors of our business — the history and stories behind the stuff we sell — I find it hard to go back to the cubicle.”
The group tends to buy in bulk, which means spending anywhere from $1,500 to $50,000 on vintage relics. As they see it, spending that kind of money means little when purchasing a collection that someone has built their entire lives towards.
“These people are entrusting us with their lives, all seven of those boxes right there, plus another 10, 11 in storage, are life stories,” Aisoni explained.
From there they organize their newfound acquisitions and gear up for a resell. That can be anything from garage sales to flea markets or online selling, which was their primary way of doing business during COVID-19 lockdowns.
How to Side Hustle from Home by Reselling
Much of their merchandise is marked 30 to 40 percent less than the market price, but they’d rather take hits on individual profits and build trust with their clientele. “Play the long game,” as each put it, in hopes of one day opening up their own store.
“When we go to flea markets or do sales, we want to see people happy, we want to make a good deal with them, we want them to win,” said Pitre.
From left to right: Gabby Marani, Jonathan Aisoni and Joe Pitre
It’s hard to argue against the group’s business philosophy. Customers left their garage sale with big bags of vinyl records and other vintage collectibles. Profits are steady and make for a good “rainy day fund” according to Pitre.
That said, the side hustle is hard work for the group. Organizing their massive hauls has become increasingly difficult and competition in North Jersey is fierce.
“This business is very dirty. There’s a lot of people who screw their customers over, it’s robbery,” said Aisoni.
For now, the group wants to maintain the integrity of their side hustle and continue to see the business grow; one day hoping to achieve their dream of opening a store, the name of which would be, “J.J. and the Sandy Man,” Marani tells me.
“Look, this is my passion, if I was doing this just to make money, those records would be priced a lot higher,” said Aisoni. “But I’m in this for the long run, I know I might not be a millionaire, but I know I’ll be happy.”
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