After the 2008 financial crisis, I realized I knew nothing about investing. I immersed myself in a "popular science book" study of the mathematical concepts of diversification, risk, gambling, behavioral economics, and of course -- auction theory. I found these topics intellectually fascinating. Of course, I later learned than most of the real financial sharks of Wall Street and banking simply relied on lying and cheating (not math) -- then settled any lawsuits, admitted no wrong-doing -- and still netted a huge payoff.
Be that as it may, I still wanted to "test" the concepts I'd read about using real auction lots. Of course, to do that, with my limited finances, I needed cheap (but still saleable in the collector's market) items. Sex always sells, so in that "sector" I bought this modern Chinese stretched canvas painting (a knock-off of a Gil Elvgren Classic) on eBay. It's a "re-creation" of the 1957 scene, "That Low Down Feeling," which has been heavily exploited in many modern products. I flipped it immediately, for a 70% profit (ok, it was only $70, but it was fun-- and I had some "walking around" money.)
You can only promote these low-end "junk" offerings a few times, and then you have to find an all-new gimmick.
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