I finally had a pretty good week of sales last week. Like you, I also tried the Send Offer feature and got a really great response. I might try to do that biweekly at least. Here are some of the neat things I’ve sold.
I went overboard on a glass paperweight collection at an auction. I ended up spending $120 on 10 weights, but a lot of them were signed which can sometimes increase their value tremendously depending on the artist. Unfortunately, none of mine were signed by anyone really collectable, but I did manage to sell this one for a best offer of $75, so I’m more than halfway to my initial cost. I just need one more good one to sell before I start making a profit. Next time I’m going to research the artists before committing to paying that much. https://www.ebay.com/itm/303442889508
Here’s an amazing little sale for those who like to sell flatware. Be on the lookout for Cooper Bros & Sons Queen Anne pattern (which really doesn’t look that much different than similar patterns from other companies). The buyer bought two sets of four salad forks for a best offer of $186 total. Eight forks… almost two hundred bucks! https://www.ebay.com/itm/303121653145
Here’s a sale that worried me whether I left money on the table. I listed this Nutone door chime for $60 for parts only. It sold within an hour for full price. I researched well enough beforehand and knew that these can sometimes bring over a hundred or two, but this one was missing pieces and whatnot. Still, I wonder if I could have gotten a bit more for it. Oh well, I’m happy for the quick cash anyway. https://www.ebay.com/itm/303458298932
Here’s my high sale of the week. I acquired this KOWA transistor pocket radio at an auction for a few dollars. It wasn’t in the best condition, but research showed that these can bring big bucks. I tried an auction listing and got some watchers but no bites, so when that ended I listed it for $150. Took a best offer of $120. https://www.ebay.com/itm/303458598904
All small bread and butter sales for me except for one BOLO item which I sold for over 40% off for $60 – vintage Escada bolero blazers from the 80s/90s. The more heavily bedazzled the better. I could have held out longer and gotten closer to my initial asking price of $109 but after spending weeks moving my ebay office across the house, I just wanted to clear out as much inventory as possible. https://www.ebay.com/itm/264582055383
I’ve learned well enough how to package glass, but I don’t enjoy the packing because of the time it takes for stuff thats usually not all that profitable. I think with turntables, the higher profit margins would make for a more enjoyable experience with the shipping. Maybe I’ll try it some day.
My week was also bread and butter, but I can always come up with some interesting stories.
I had a few interesting commission sales. I learned about chintz, which is still pretty popular. This plate sold for $21.50. https://www.ebay.com/itm/184048067313
I was given some reams of fabric to sell. I had to estimate how much material was on each ream, and then break them down into reasonable lengths. I sold this vintage purple cotton patterned fabric in 3 yard pieces, and, for some reason, they all sold last week. After last sale, I realized I still had a bit over 3 yards left, so I copied the listing and sold the last one very quickly. Each 3-yard length cost about $11-12 (depending on if the buyer accepted an offer). https://www.ebay.com/itm/184087346666
From my radio auction purchase last year, I sold an RCA Victor tube radio for parts or repair. I paid less than $3 each, and this one sold for $27. https://www.ebay.com/itm/184038924599
Out of that radio lot, I had listed a Zenith Trans-Oceanic radio with an instruction manual and a small advertising brochure. A buyer just wanted the brochure. I asked him what he wanted to pay, and he said $15. I thought that was reasonable, so I created a separate listing for him. (Spoiler alert: I sold the radio this week for $100). https://www.ebay.com/itm/184140683261
Right before the holidays last year, I sold 3 listings of USAir tablespoons to one guy. He would pay for a listing, wait until I had printed a label, and then buy another. This time he bought two listings of 10 teaspoons at one time. These were all give to me by one of my parents’ downsizing friends. https://www.ebay.com/itm/183970418873
Still crickets for me here, way off from previous years despite having about twice as many listings this year. Sending out offers to watchers (25% off or more)? Crickets. Putting things on 50% sale? Crickets. And to top it all off, I got an insulting message from eBay to “help” my listings not moving, telling me to price items right, provide item specifics, and use Promoted Listings; all of which I do already. Sheesh.
Not to encourage anyone to try and sell mugs especially with increasing postage prices now, but I do find that at least military ones sell, if not for high prices. This diner-style one from Naval Surface Force Atlantic Fleet sold for $14 plus shipping. It was a freeby. https://www.ebay.com/itm/273863385600
Same with hats – only military ones are selling for me. This US Army 1st Cavalry Division baseball cap from their time running an Afghanistan task force in 2011 – 2016 sold for $23 plus shipping. It was $1.50 on sale at Goodwill. https://www.ebay.com/itm/273989929035
Old style shaving is making a comeback. Self-contained Rolls Razor kits have been cluttering flea market tables for years but now people will actually buy them to use so they do sell. They were kind of the first safety razor and there must have been millions of them made. There’s a bit of a trick to get the kit all put back together and if improperly done, the honing stone will crack, so check for that if you’re buying. And if the stropping is done incorrectly, the leather strop gets nicked. This one (no cracks or nicks) sold quickly for $33 plus shipping and was $5 at a local flea. Having the instructions helped the sale; it would have done even better with an original box. I put a note in the box for the buyer to please watch one of the Youtube videos on how to disassemble, use, and reassemble these if they did not already know how. https://www.ebay.com/itm/274196039998
These unbranded 1930s boxing gloves were out of my dad’s estate. I had high hopes at about $100 as the brand-name ones can sell for, but it took dropping the price to $45 plus shipping to sell them after a year. They went to Australia for $75 total cost to buyer. https://www.ebay.com/itm/273833373301
This US Navy submarine Commanding Officer’s presentation challenge coin was a recent higher-priced one that went for $44 plus shipping. The Los Angeles class attack subs (there’s over 30 of them) are named for US cities so sometimes there is hometown interest as well as from military collectors. That class started in the ‘70’s when the US military was dying from lack of funds, low-quality recruits, and post-Vietnam negative perceptions. The Navy probably thought using city names would help, getting the military mentioned in local news with a positive story. https://www.ebay.com/itm/274141773415
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