A random assortment of fun sales from the past year or so:
Pair of like new victorian court style heels by Baci. One of my honey hole thrifts sometimes gets a lot of donations from rich people in the nearest big city. Never heard of this brand, but the shoes were beautiful. Purchased for $5. Sold for $55. https://imgur.com/a/SVQ3U
Vintage bamboo king size flat sheet. This sale is when I started really liking sheets. But you have to be careful to look for stains/holes before buying. Purchased for $3. Sold for $33. https://imgur.com/a/g5Y1Q
Thanks to Mad Maine (on youtube) for introducing me to Bennington Pottery. Was at a total “nothing” yard sale one day – not really junk, but not really anything really quality, when I spotted a box with a nice lid, and when I looked inside, I found this set of never used trigger style espresso mugs that looked at least 10-20 years old. Purchased for $5. Sold for $65. https://imgur.com/a/IXDdG
Remember Orlon? I purchased this barely used soft Campus Luxury Line sweater at a local independent (mostly junky) thrift for $3. Sold for $33. Buyer was very happy with it, said it was his new favorite sweater – loved hearing that. https://imgur.com/a/3xv23
Thanks to everyone on SL who introduced me to selling partly used perfume/cologne! I happened by a yard sale when the only person around was a young helper who sold me this 95% full Cartier after shave for only $1! Sold it for $44. https://imgur.com/a/q1IR6
Another thank you to someone (maybe Ryan?) who mentioned a long time ago that old Crabtree & Evelyn stuff can sell for good money. Who knew? So I bought this set of 3 boxed bar soaps from a lady for $2 (bargained down from $3), and sold them for $33. https://imgur.com/a/LRzhx
And another thank you for J&R’s numerous old podcasts and what sold videos about selling fabric! This 3 yard piece I picked up at an estate sale for about a dollar, and didn’t know much about what the material was made of, but knew it was damask in kinda cool colors. I was very pleasantly surprised when it sold fairly quickly for $44. https://imgur.com/a/xbOqs
I think these were one of the first pairs of Dansko clogs that I bought, thanks to what I learned on SL, and I was lucky to find them in this awesome color! Pretty beat up and stained, but because of the color was able to sell them for $44. Paid $5 or less. https://imgur.com/a/Om7Y0
And here’s another example of something I wouldn’t have purchased if not for Scavenger Life. Bought this strange vintage metal plug-in sconce lamp for a dollar or less at a church rummage sale b/c I really liked the wreath design. I was thinking “this seems like something Ryan might buy.” Sold for $45! https://imgur.com/a/kYmts
For anybody relatively new reading this, please keep in mind that these are the fun sales! I have plenty of not so fun sales where I make less than $10 profit, or sometimes even lose money on something – but those are not as fun to talk about.
Well, maybe I will share one dud for contrast. About 2 years ago, I purchased this new without tags Vera Bradley purse for $10. I knew it was a lot to pay, but i figured I could get $20 worst case since it was in mint condition. Ha. I think I sold it for $9.99 after more than a year. So after fees I lost money on it. No more Vera Bradley for me. https://imgur.com/a/vepQr
If you enjoyed reading this post and want to see more like it from me in the future, please give me a thumbs up, which will motivate me to do this again.
I love grabbing vintage nautical decor whenever I see it. I bought a bag of these worn out fishing net floats for $2.00 at an auction. This was the first one to sell. I priced it high at $50 and took a best offer of $39. Unfortunately, the buyer messaged me stating that her box was empty when it arrived at her door. I thought something was fishy (har har!) so I mentioned that USPS keeps close tabs on the package weight throughout the shipping stops so they’ll know exactly where the item disappeared and told her to call eBay. I don’t think that’s entirely true, but it worked. I haven’t heard from her since. Fishing Net Float
These Coca Cola metal trays were some of the oldest items I had in my inventory. I bought them when I was a noob and didn’t know about reproductions. Good thing I only paid $7 for them. Original Coke trays from the 20s and 30s can bring lots of money. If you ever encounter these, look on the side of the lip. They always print on them the real manufacturing date if they’re reproductions. They finally sold for $17.50, so at least I didn’t lose anything. Coca Cola Serving Trays
Here’s my big sale of the week. I acquired this wood stationary box at an auction for $12.50. It wasn’t really old despite the nice finger joint corners. I cleaned it up and put a coat of mineral oil and wood wax on it. It didn’t take long to sale for a BO of $75. Wood Stationary Box
This creepy thing was a fun item to sell. I dug this Facial Toning Mask out of the bins at Goodwill Outlet. At my local outlet, all electronics are .99 cents despite the weight. The box was pretty beat up, but the inside contents have never been used. The creams and things were all sealed. The face mask was still wrapped in plastic. But of course, I had to test it out. This thing was so weird. It shocks your face. And it hurts! The things people do for beauty, I guess. It ended up selling for full price of $60. Nightmare Electric Beauty Mask
Finally, let’s talk about remotes. A lot of times, thrift stores will have the remote control death bin, and I will always dig through it looking for specialized ones. In my experience, the fewer the buttons on a remote, the more it’s worth (with the exception of heating blanket controllers, but I’ll still grab those up if they’re cheap). This particular remote is for a stairlift. It has two buttons: up and down. It sold in a week for $70. Stair Lift Remote
To answer your question about the remote, what I do to test them is to put batteries in it and point it at my camera on my phone. You’ll see the little diode flash purple indicating that it’s sending a signal. You can’t see them with your naked eye, but digital cameras will pick it up.
This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Doublythumbs.
This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Doublythumbs.
This set of 4 brown drip dinner plates have been sitting in a death pile for months, as my listed china (and pessimistically, not selling china) storage has been growing. Finally got them listed, perhaps at too low a price, and they sold quickly. Have moved a fair # of brown drip pieces, by different makers, but am sitting on a lot as well. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-of-4-Harker-Pottery-Quaker-Maid-Green-Brown-Drip-10-Dinner-Plates-USA/323165749333
Went a little crazy on purchasing clothes at an estate sale a few months back, as most everything was a dollar. Nothing stood out as a large $ item, so they’ve also taken a bit of a back burner on the listing side of things. Finally got this Teddi of Hollywood cheetah print shirt listed, and it sold quickly. I can’t imagine wearing it in the heat of summer, in all its non-breathing glory: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Teddi-of-Hollywood-Cheetah-Print-Pullover-V-Neck-Shirt-3-4-Sleeve-SM/323155554252
I paid about $2 for this antique bride’s basket, sold for $55. As I understand the tradition, attendees will put money in a bride’s basket for the newly married couple. This silver plated one can then be used later as a server. I saw this tradition at only one wedding that I’ve been to, but she held a regular basket. The person who put money in the basket then danced with the bride for a minute or two. http://www.ebay.com/itm/182839287566
Like Steve, I sold a piece of vintage testing equipment this week. This one is a current meter from a company in CT. I didn’t have a good way to test it, so I sold it as-is. http://www.ebay.com/itm/183028585973
Here’s an example where friends don’t really have any idea of what is valued on eBay. I agreed to sell some clothing for a friend on commission. None of her kids’ clothing is going for much, but here’s a pair of vintage striped men’s Lee jeans that I sold for $47 through GSP. http://www.ebay.com/itm/183091675781
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