A savvy teenager managed to make $1.7 million in revenue at just 16 years old by buying and reselling some of the most sought-after gaming consoles.
While many of us spent our time baking banana bread, Max Hayden from New Jersey spent the coronavirus lockdown establishing his money-making system of purchasing dozens of the newest PlayStation and Xbox consoles and selling them for more than double their retail price.
The teenager focused on selling a selection of items which became scarce during the pandemic, including outdoor heaters, Pokémon trading cards, and the consoles he sold for as much as $1,100.
As a result of his strategic selling Hayden managed to end 2020 with a profit of more than $110,000 on $1.7 million in revenue, according to sales records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, and his success encouraged him to continue his venture the following year.
Hayden's father, who is also named Max Hayden, admitted he was initially uncomfortable with his son benefitting from a health crisis but came around to the idea when he acknowledged Hayden was reselling luxury goods rather than necessities people were in desperate need of.
The teenager put his all into the venture as he spent about 40 hours a week handling orders, managing inventory, supervising his two employees and analysing spreadsheets on top of carrying out his school work.
His business now operates officially under the name MH Book Store, the website which describes itself as 'the most convenient solution for all of your high-demand e-commerce needs' and allows customers to sign up for information about 'upcoming sales, hot trends, and new arrivals'.
He spoke with other resellers and kept up to date with trends to help fuel his business, offering out dumbbells and hair clippers in the early days of the pandemic before moving on to above ground swimming pools, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles.
Though many gaming fans struggled to get their hands on such consoles following the initial release, Hayden simply got ahead of the game by pre-ordering 10 consoles from Target's website in September 2020 using his own savings.
"It was public knowledge but most people weren't starting to look that early," Hayden told The Wall Street Journal.
Hayden kept on top of items through chatrooms which offered tips about when retailers might restock their supplies, as well as befriending a worker at Walmart to get a heads-up about items coming back into stock.
Though the teenager has faced backlash from some customers for the price of his items, his business has received a number of five-star reviews.
Topics: Xbox, Coronavirus, PlayStation
Emily Brown