ESL Podcast 704 - Reselling Products for Profit

to stand in line - to stand with many other people, one in front of another, waiting to do or receive something when only one person at a time can do or receive that thing

We had to stand in line at the bank for more than 20 minutes. I wish they had more employees to work with all the customers.

to go on sale - to become available for people to buy or to begin to have a lower sales price

As soon as the movie tickets go on sale, we're going to buy one for each member of our family.

to sell out - for a store or seller to not have any more of an item because they have all been sold

In the days before the big storm, all our local stores sold out of bottled water, canned food, and flashlights.

to resell - to buy something and then sell it again without first using it, usually because one wants to sell it for more than one paid

Shayla already has a piano, but she bought a great keyboard for only $20 at a garage sale and now she's going to try to resell it to make some extra money.

to scalp tickets - to buy tickets, especially for a concert or sporting event, at the standard price and then sell them to individuals at a much higher price

Some people make thousands of dollars by scalping tickets for the most popular concerts.

markup - an increase in the price when one resells something; the percentage difference between the price when one buys something and when one sells it

If we buy these cameras for $50 each and sell them with a 50% markup, our sales price should be $75.

profit - the amount of money one makes from a business activity after paying all expenses; the difference between one's total revenues (amount of money received) and total expenses (amount of money paid out)

Nobody expects the restaurant to make a profit in its first year.

to jack up the price - to increase the price of something; to make something much more expensive than it normally is or than it previously was

If universities keep jacking up the price of tuition, many young people won't be able to get a college education.

to gouge - to hurt someone by charging a very high price

When the airport closed and all flights were canceled, hotels could have made a lot of money by gouging travelers with expensive rooms, but instead they offered discounted rooms at reasonable prices.

premium - extra; an additional amount of money; additional value; something that makes something better than other versions of the same thing

The airline offers premium seats with more leg room and better food to first- class travelers.

in demand - desirable; wanted by many people; with many people wanting to buy or have something

Computer programmers with experience developing applications for mobile phones are in demand right now, so they can find jobs easily.

to be stuck with - to have something that is undesirable, but that one cannot get rid of because nobody else wants to have it

When Helena turned 80, she started getting rid of a lot of her clothes, furniture, and papers, because she didn't want her kids to be stuck with it after she passed away.

to unload (something) - to be able to sell something; to be able to get rid of something, usually because other people want to buy it

The store owners bought too many units of the new product, and unfortunately they haven't been able to unload them to buyers.

supply and demand - the economic theory that prices are set based on the interactions between the number of people or businesses willing to make and sell something at a particular price (supply) and the number of people or businesses willing to buy something at a particular price (demand)

Supply and demand teaches us that, in most cases, the lower the price of something is, the more people will want to buy it.

dough - money; cash

How much dough did you have to spend to buy that new car?

to junk up the market - to make many extra items available for sale, so that the price of all those items has to decrease in order for there to be enough people willing to buy them

Some people think international trade simply junks up the market with cheap imports.

to shoot (oneself) in the foot - to hurt oneself; to do something stupid or foolish that has negative consequences for oneself

When Harvey dropped out of school, he really shot himself in the foot.