Trash to Cash. A podcast about making a living on eBay.
What Sells On eBay: CHL Hockey Pin, Stereo and Auto parts, Zenith Record player 8-Track Stereo, Vacuum bags, Big man jeans, Timberland boots, Iroquois dessert bowls, Pipe filters
It has been a few months since I last posted here, so here goes. Shipping was not included on any of these.
A while back at an estate sale, on the last day they had everything in the garage for free, these HP booklets went for $18.
Normally I pass on tote bags but I liked the graphics on this one. Cost $1, sold for $16.59.
Singer foot attachments are mostly low value items but I see them quite often at estate sales (and on eBay) for very cheap prices. I sell 4-5 of them each month. My cost on this was .34 cents as part of a lot, sold for $8.
Elgo American Plastic Bricks actually predates Lego by about a decade, but you hardly hear of them now days. The red pieces are kind of common but the white pieces which are windows, doors and trim have a decent price. I paid $7 total for a full box of them which I split up into 1 white and 6 red lots. So the cost of this white lot was $1 and sold for $26.
Normally woodworkers Mortise Marking Gauges only go for a few bucks, but this one is a more desirable Marples made in England. Cost $2 and went for $30
These took about a year to sell, but Jade-ite mugs are still a favorite of mine. Paid $11.34 for the pair and sold for $50.
I paid $10 for these model 938 Smith & Wesson Handcuffs. They went to a buyer in Russa via a mail forwarder in Florida. They sold for $55.
Last year I bought a large lot of Boy Scout items. Two of the better items cost $5 each. The patch sold for $34 and the scarf for $54.
My best recent sale was a pair of Church’s New Yorker Shoes made in England. $15 is more than I normally pay but they were great quality and sold for $110.
I resized all of the above photos, so hopefully they are not to large for the forum, but if they are, please let me know. Also, I left off the linking to the eBay listings
to save time and also because probably most people due not click on them.
This group of Staedtler Mars pen stuff sold for $33. I paid about a dollar in a tools/machinist online auction at the beginning of March (before life got so crazy). https://www.ebay.com/itm/184219087572
I paid $12 for this copper framed mirror in an online auction over a year ago. I must have thought it would go for higher. It sold for $38. https://www.ebay.com/itm/183596411510
A neighbor was throwing out a bunch of stuff in nice carrying cases. Actually, I think this was her son’s. I pulled it off the street the morning of garbage day. This is the first item to sell; a camera tripod for $21. https://www.ebay.com/itm/184222233811
Another balance scale from an auction in late February sold. It needs repair, but the brand seemed valuable and hard to find. Paid about $3, sold for $50. https://www.ebay.com/itm/184222181172
I’ve seen you post about selling on consignment for friends and family. How much to you charge for doing the consignments? I’ve had friends ask about selling stuff for them but I usually just tell them I have too much stuff to list. Now that yard sale season is shut down I was thinking I might do some consignments but I’m never sure how much to charge or how to work it.
I have only done consignment for a few close friends where they are just looking to make a few bucks and don’t care whether they get top dollar or not. This is important because if they are “emotionally attached” to something, it could get dicey.
I charge 50% of the sale price after fees for eBay and PayPal are taken out. If someone gave me something more valuable, maybe $200 or more, I would consider a smaller fee. I had written out a consignment agreement at one time, and I listed a lower fee for valuable items. I’d have to find that document if you really wanted my breakdown.
In general, I don’t list consignment items worth less than about $15-$20. If I’ve already taken the photos and then find out I was off, I’ll list it anyway, but I would rather lot up a few items and price higher.
Most of my commissions are for a family friend whose wife passed away a little over a year ago. I used to do it for her, and now I’m helping her husband sell off her remaining stuff. Lately, he will go through her stuff and send me photos of what he has. I will say yay or nay, and he is saving the “yay” stuff for me. I was supposed to be visiting that area in May, but that is up in the air now. I still have lots of jewelry to go through. I didn’t realize how big of a collector she was. I think maybe she had a bit of a spending/hoarding problem.
Thanks Sharyn. That sounds good to me. I may reach out to some of the people that’ve asked in the past.
I still have a fair amount of my own stuff that I need to list but with the way things are going I’m trying to think of how to source more stuff. The last few days I’m really having trouble getting motivated to do anything. BUT I hope to get out of the funk and start getting back into a regular listing rhythm.
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