Crazy Arbitrage in Real Life (you can do it too!)
As I sit in my living room, surrounded by four full-size violins, I can’t help but reflect on the journey that has led me here. I used to be a completely average person – I had a few hobbies, but nothing really special.
That all changed when I started working at a trading firm. I started to think like a trader – I was constantly looking for opportunities and optimizing my life. I began to appreciate the finer things in life and noticed how the smallest of changes can make a huge difference.
I started to really appreciate the beauty of a great violin, and when my siblings moved out of the house, I decided to keep the four violins they had left behind. I started to think of ways I could make some money with these instruments.
Then it hit me – I started a renting business for my violins. I would rent the violins out to people for a month at a time, and charge a very competitive price. My crown jewel was an Italian violin made in 1900 – it was a real beauty.
After four months, I started to notice something strange. My violins seemed to sound a lot better than before, even though my technique was regressing because I had stopped practicing. It made sense – the wood was “ageing” and “settling” in at a cellular level. At the same time, I sold off my new car and started using public transportation to get to work. My car was nothing special, just a hand-me-down Lexus that drives pretty well. But I knew the value of the car would depreciate over time, so I decided to sell it off and invest the money in something with more upside potential.
Fast forward half a year, I put my violins out to sale, and I sold two of them for a price at least 50% more than what I bought it for. I had performed a classic arbitrage – I had people play my violins for a few months to appreciate its value, while selling a car before its value went down. With this newfound money, I was able to get myself a nice Tesla car! I’m working towards my dream car – a Bugatti, preferably gold. I’m also planning on buying more violins and continuing my rental business for free profit.
I’m looking for more assets that go up the more you use it, so I can diversify my portfolio even more. The lesson I’ve learned from this experience is that you don’t need to be an expert trader to make money. With the right mindset and a little bit of creativity, anyone can make a profit. So if you have something you’re passionate about, don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities and find ways to turn it into a money-making venture.
Curiosity, are you from france? In which shop are you?
I went to school and work in America, not sure why it tags France so i'll switch it up
Fuck did I just read
Love this! I did something similar in the education space and eventually sold my business for $130K as a college student. The world offers endless opportunities if you put time into developing your creative faculties.
Great play! You earned cash return on an appreciating asset (well, I guess that is how real estate is supposed to work?).
The violin point makes a lot of sense - don't audiophile play newly bought high-end headphones for hundreds of hours to "break-in?" Sounds like that's what happened with your violins.
I think i'm losing my grip on reality, is this an exotic shitpost or a genuinepost
The ultimate asset with appreciating value is a good employee
Would this work with fleshlights? Asking for a friend.
I've played violin for 10+ years and have played half a million dollar violins and am acquainted with some pretty elite luthiers, and I call total bullshit
You mentioned your violin was an Italian one made in 1900. Presumably this violin has been played for tens of thousands of hours. It has already "settled" a long time ago--you playing on the violin for four months would have 0 effect on the sound. Brand new violins will be fully settled within a couple years.
If you had said that you took vintage violins and repaired them and refitted bridges/soundposts then yeah maybe you could get some improvement out of it, but I absolutely do not believe that playing on a 100 year old violin for 4 months makes a difference whatsoever.
You probably just had beginners luck, but this is absolutely NOT a strategy that scales. Based on your knowledge of violins, you probably bought a $1000 violin and sold it for $1500 which is a solid profit, but good luck trying to use that strategy on $100k violins
This has nothing to do with arbitrage.
gosh people on this site need to touch some grass
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