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#59 - 1.2 Million Yen on a Weekend with Other People's Stuff: The Zero-Inventory Side Hustle Model

リミ｜海外ビジネスPodcast編集長

A set of old silverware that had been tucked away in someone else's storage room turns into over 600,000 yen after just one week of online bidding. And for the side hustler who came in to clear out the entire house, about 1.2 million yen is transferred for two weekends of work—with zero procurement costs and zero inventory of their own, simply by taking photos of 'other people's stuff' and listing them online.

Today, I listened to this podcast.
The Side Hustle Show Episode 739: '$5k in a Weekend Selling Other People's Stuff'
A program where host Nick Loper invites side hustle practitioners as guests every week to break down business models, right down to photography and commission rates.

The guest is Sue Antinoro, who runs an estate auction service in the suburbs of New York.auctionmastery.com She has been on eBay for 25 years and guides people through her own services. She has now switched to a different system, holding no inventory of her own and generating sales solely from items entrusted to her by clients.

You want to earn 100,000 yen a month on the side. But the unwanted items you have that can sell on Mercari run out quickly. You don't have the capital to buy stock. You want to complete everything from home—for people like that, I have organized a side hustle model of 'selling other people's stuff without holding any yourself,' cross-referencing 60 minutes of podcast audio with primary Japanese sources like the Yano Research Institute.

Why a 'no-inventory' side hustle works

There are three standard patterns for side hustles.

  1. Selling your own unwanted items (Mercari)

  2. Buying and selling (reselling/flipping)

  3. Selling your own creations (handmade goods, note, etc.)

In all of these, you need to hold 'inventory' or 'creations.' Procurement costs money, and creation takes time. That is why many side hustlers stop here.

What Sue does is a completely different school of thought.

She works in the homes of people who want to clear out their houses due to moving, end-of-life planning, or inheritance. The owners or their families think, 'I just want to throw it away' or 'I want a service to take it all at once.' She approaches them with a proposal: 'Before you throw it away, please let me run an online auction for just one week.'

She takes on everything in the house, but she doesn't move it out.She photographs everything on-site, sells it online, and the items only move when the buyers come to pick them up directly. Sue spends two or three days at the house taking photos and labeling items, runs the online bidding for a week, and only needs to be present on the final pickup day to finish the job.

The client receives half of the sales from items that would have otherwise only incurred 'disposal fees.' Sue receives the other half. Since the payout for both sides is significant, the client decides, 'It's better to just have her do everything.'

This is the reality of a side hustle that works with zero inventory and zero procurement.

By the numbers: About 1.2 million yen in two weekends

Here are the recent figures Sue shared on the show. Calculated at 1 dollar = 150 yen.

  • In a two-part auction that just finished, sales were about 17,000 dollars (approx. 2.55 million yen). The house was packed with enough items that it 'couldn't be listed without splitting it into two parts'

  • The split is roughly half for the client. Sue's take-home pay was about 1.2 million yen. She summarized the effort required as 'two weekends' worth of work'

  • When a set of silverware goes up for auction, it sells for over 4,000 dollars (approx. 600,000 yen) almost every time. Last month alone, all 4-5 sets sold for over 4,000 dollars

  • A bidding war between two people for a single 1800s bugle (military signal horn) lasted for several hours, ending at about $5,000 (approx. 750,000 yen).

  • A Beatles LP signed by Ringo Starr, including the frame and shipping, went for $1,500 (approx. 220,000 yen).

  • A single old children's book once turned into $5,000 (approx. 750,000 yen).

  • Only for silver and gold items does the client get 65% (Sue gets 35%). For everything else, it's 50/50.

Hearing that 'silverware is 600,000 yen' or 'a single bugle is 750,000 yen' might make it sound like she is visiting special homes. Sue says, 'Not at all, that's not the case.'For an entire house, almost any household can generate $5,000 (approx. 750,000 yen) in sales—this is her rule of thumb.

And every listing starts at $1 (approx. 150 yen). No reserves (minimum bid prices) are set. This is the golden rule of auctions. The reason is in the next chapter.

Why do items sell with a '$1 start'?

Intuitively, starting at $1 is scary. You think, 'What if the silverware gets sold for 150 yen?'

However, on the auction-specific platform called Auction Ninja, there is a demographic that enjoys the act of bidding itself. Sue says this on the show:

'If you set a reserve, people see it and think, "It won't reach that anyway," so they stop bidding. If it starts at $1, they bid thinking, "I'm in first place." Once two people start competing, the price goes up on its own.'

In fact, Sue says most bidding is concentrated in the few hours before the end. There is also a mechanism where if a bid is placed within the last 5 minutes, the timer extends by 5 minutes, so the 'snipe' strategy of 'joining only in the last 30 seconds' does not work.

The basis for Sue's insistence on 'no reserves' was also concrete. When one client set a minimum bid price for five pieces of furniture, none of them sold in the end. When she returned everything to a $1 start for the second auction, everything sold.

An auction is a place where the price is determined not by the seller, but by the buyer's emotion of 'wanting to win'.Those who entrust themselves to a design where 'if Person A gives up, Person B enters' are the ones who ultimately maximize their share—this is the conclusion of a practitioner who has fully utilized the platform.

80% photos, 20% text—what determines the hourly wage of a side hustle

The thing Sue spends the most time on in this job is product photography. This was the one point she repeated on the show.

'Whether or not you can take proper photos determines everything about this side hustle.'

What she actually does is simple.

  • Shooting is done inside the client's home. Do not move items. Only bring in light sources and backgrounds.

  • Black foam boards (available at home improvement stores) are for backgrounds for glass and silverware.

  • White boards are for backgrounds for dark-colored utensils and ornaments.

  • A total of 5 to 10 photos: top, bottom, left, right, and a close-up.

  • Always include one close-up shot of any chips, scuffs, or scratches (to prevent return claims).

  • For items where the size is hard to gauge, have someone stand next to them or place a measuring tape nearby.

The hourly wage of a side hustle is determined by your photography skills. This applies equally to a set of silver tableware, a children's book, or a trumpet. Even if you don't know whether an item is good or bad, a good photo will increase the price, while a bad photo will result in zero bids.

When you encounter an item you don't recognize, use Google Lens on the spot. Taking a photo with your smartphone will bring up similar products or model number candidates. Use this to fill in the title and product description. A comment from Sue's program really hit home.

"If you don't know what something is, just ask AI. It turns a 30-minute investigation into 30 seconds."

Why this model works in Japan right now

This is where the situation in Japan comes in. Why does this mechanism work "now" and why in "Japan"? I will explain it using three figures.

1. The end-of-life and estate cleanup market is expanding.

According to the "Survey on End-of-Life Related Businesses" released by the Yano Research Institute in 2025, the market size for identity guarantees and pre-death organization combined is projected to reach approximately 25.73 billion yen in fiscal year 2025, a 109.7% increase from the previous year. Furthermore, another survey released by Kamakura Shinsho in the same year, 2025, states that the market size in a broad sense, including estate cleanup, exceeds 500 billion yen.

Most of the "market" referred to here is controlled by waste disposal, transport, and waste management companies.There are still almost no people seriously asking, "How much would this be worth if I sold it item by item?".

2. Yahoo Auctions' fees and listing experience have been streamlined for individuals.

With the revision in June 2025, Yahoo Auctions unified its successful bid fee at a flat 10%. The fee rates, which were previously split between LYP Premium members and general members, have been consolidated, allowing users to continue listing without paying a monthly membership fee.

In addition, an AI listing assist function has been added, which automatically fills in candidates for the title, category, and description when you take a photo with your smartphone. Once you get used to it, it takes 3 minutes per listing. Furthermore, it is now possible to list simultaneously on Yahoo! Flea Market, allowing you to reach both those accustomed to bidding and those accustomed to flea market apps.

If you combine this with Jimoty (for picking up large local furniture), Mercari (general flea market), and Hard Off or Kaitori Oukoku (for immediate cash), you can sell off almost an entire house's worth of items through "individual listings."

3. A society with high mortality and vacant houses—a tailwind of timing.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Vital Statistics of Japan (Final Count) for 2024," the annual number of deaths in 2024 reached a record high of 1,605,378. This is an increase of approximately 30,000 from the previous year and marks the fourth consecutive year of growth. This calculates to 4,400 households per day facing the question of "what to do with the inside of the house."

And many of those family members are the son or daughter generation working in Tokyo or Osaka. They don't have the time to return to their hometowns for a week to clean up their parents' house. That is why they call companies to haul everything away at once. But if there were someone who could insert a photography and listing process before that "bulk haul-away" to keep a share of the value—a gap is created right here.

Why you won't clash with existing estate cleanup companies

You might feel, "If there are already estate cleanup companies, is there any room for a side hustler?" This becomes clear when you overlay Sue's explanation in the podcast with the structure of Japanese businesses.

The revenue model for existing businesses is to charge the client for transport and disposal. Buying items is treated as an 'extra' service, and the perspective is fundamentally that of a junk dealer offering pennies on the dollar. It's at the level of 500 yen for a piece of furniture or 1,000 yen for a whole box of tableware.

On the other hand, what a side-hustler does is simply 'sell each item individually and seriously.' For example, if you list a piece of furniture on Yahoo! Auctions starting at 1 yen and leave it for a week, it will typically sell for 3,000 to 8,000 yen. Compared to a business buying the same item for 500 yen and hauling it away, the client's net proceeds are 6 to 16 times higher.

Therefore, side-hustlers do not compete with businesses; they position themselves upstream from them.

  • Partner with real estate agents: There are always homeowners who want to empty out their old houses before selling them.

  • Partner with life counselors at nursing care facilities: Items need to be sorted before moving in.

  • Partner with moving companies: They receive requests from people who want to downsize before moving.

  • Partner with estate liquidation companies: They receive requests from people who want to pull out only the 'sellable items' before disposal.

Sue herself mentioned that she receives many requests through introductions from local realtors and a woman who does home staging (a job decorating houses before they are sold). If we translate this to Japan, this corresponds to local real estate agents, community comprehensive support centers, moving companies, and life counselors at nursing care facilities.

One 'assumption' that Sue herself broke free from

Sue reflects on this in the program:

'For 25 years on eBay, I endlessly continued the cycle of sourcing, selling, storing, and shipping items myself. I was constantly battling with warehouse space and cash flow.'

The turning point was a remark from a female friend who was busy moving.

Her friend couldn't find a new house and the moving deadline was approaching. As a last resort, she came crying, saying, 'I have no choice but to rent a trash container and throw everything away.'

This is what Sue said:

'Don't use a container. Let me have it for a week. Let me sell it online.'

As a result, the items that were going to be thrown away were sold, and not only did she avoid paying for the container rental, but she even had cash left over.'You don't have to hold your own inventory to generate sales with other people's inventory.'—The person who had been doing eBay for 25 years says that this was when she finally realized that structure.

'This is a model where I no longer have to hold inventory in my own house. It was the moment I said goodbye to 25 years of worrying about storage space and cash flow while I worked.'

I believe this is where the highest resolution lies for side-hustlers in Japan.In one week, Sue rewrote 25 years of believing that the essence of a side hustle was 'sourcing good items cheaply.'The person who rewrote it is now preparing educational content, and the fact that this 'teaching side' has just begun to spread in the US market is the current situation as of May 2026.

Japan is even further behind than that.The market that Sue spent 10 to 20 years digging into is almost entirely blank..

The boundary between those who hit a wall after listing and those who continue

The failure patterns Sue discussed on the show are also a list of landmines for side hustlers.

1. Listing items without reaching 100 listings

In auctions, "if your inventory is thin, buyers will ignore you." Sue said, "If you don't have at least 100 items, you won't even get looked at." It's easy to collect 100 items from a whole house, but it's hard to start with just your own unwanted items. That's why the "collection phase" mentioned later is necessary.

2. Not placing your top 5 high-value items at the front

Even on Yahoo! Auctions, the time spent on your page is determined by "what is displayed at the top." Sue mentioned that she manually rearranges the "Pick 5" (recommended items) and the order of the first 20 items every time using Auction Ninja's features. On Japan's Yahoo! Auctions, you can also edit the recommended slots and thumbnail order after listing.Just by consciously placing "items that stop people with their thumbnails" at the topyou can change the page's bounce rate.

3. Setting a reserve price

As mentioned above. The risk of not selling when starting at $1 (or 100 yen in Japan) is small, while the risk of items remaining unsold due to a reserve price is much greater.

4. Not including close-up or scale photos

If there are no photos of chips or damage in the product description, you will inevitably get complaints later saying, "It was chipped when it arrived." Sue says, "People who include lots of photos end up with lower return rates."

5. Leaving sticker residue

If adhesive from listing labels remains on the surface of antiques or vintage items, their value drops. Use low-tack labels or tie paper tags on with string. On the show, Sue laughed and confessed, "I did this with an antique wooden box and damaged the very item I wanted for myself."

5 Steps to Getting Started

So far, we've covered the "why" and the "what." From here, I will organize "how to start" into five stages.

Step 1: Experience the listing model with 20 of your own unwanted items

List 20 unwanted items from your home on Mercari or Yahoo! Auctions. Photography → Listing → Responding to questions → Packing → Shipping → Rating. By cycling through 20 items, you will internalize how many minutes each item takes and where your time is being spent. The reality that "80% is photography" becomes personal.

Step 2: Collect 100 items of inventory from "someone other than yourself"

Ask relatives, friends, and neighbors, "Could you let me hold onto items you plan to dispose of for two weeks? If they sell, I'll give you half the proceeds." If you can't collect enough, post a one-liner on local social media (the Japanese version of Nextdoor, Jimoty, or neighborhood association LINE groups): "I will appraise items you plan to dispose of during spring cleaning for free, and if they sell, I'll hold them for you and give you half the proceeds."

Step 3: Narrow your platforms down to two axes

Don't make it complicated.

  • General items → Simultaneous listing on Yahoo! Auctions + Yahoo! Flea Market (flat 10% commission)

  • Large furniture/appliances → Jimoty (local pickup, no fees, no shipping costs)

Mercari and Rakuten Rakuma are excellent as "individual listing platforms," but managing multiple accounts causes management costs to skyrocket. Starting with Yahoo Auctions and Jimoty as your two main pillars is sufficient.

Step 4: Find one partner

To keep this going as a side hustle, you need a channel that provides a steady stream of requests. The easiest entry point is a life counselor at a local nursing care facility. If you ask, "Do you have any families who have a large amount of items that need to be disposed of before moving in?" they will almost immediately reply, "Yes, we do."

Real estate agencies are the same. Talk to an agent handling old detached houses and say, "I can take over the process of clearing out the contents." Once you team up with one person, it will spread to two or three more through referrals.

Step 5: Complete one project in one month

Take one house, clear out 3-4 rooms, and complete the process from photography → listing → handover. Keeping photos and notes of every step along the way will become a proposal document for your next client. If you have one case study of **"an item of furniture that sold for an average of 5,000 yen, which would have been 500 yen if bought by a dealer—turning into 10 times the net profit,"** your proposal will be far more persuasive.

Things you can do today

  • On your Yahoo Auctions personal listing page, take photos of just three "items scheduled for disposal" from your home and list them. Do not uncheck the box for simultaneous listing on Yahoo Flea Market. Once you experience one week of bidding and the difficulty of taking photos, you will understand through experience where the "hourly wage" of this side hustle is determined.

  • Post a one-line message on a local social network (Jimoty, neighborhood association LINE, or the Japanese version of Nextdoor) saying, "I will sell off items you plan to dispose of during your spring cleaning, and give you half the proceeds back. Free appraisal." If there is zero response, call one local nursing care facility and convey the same proposal.

This note is a place where I translate the latest examples of overseas micro-businesses into Japanese, using English-language business podcasts as primary sources.

Reference Information

#SideHustle #SideHustleIncome #MicroBusiness #EstateLiquidation #YahooAuctionsSideHustle #noteSideHustle #CreativeAward2026 #BusinessCategory

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