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I bought a large number of trading cards and autographs last week, nothing at a spectacular bargain but a good number of items at prices I was happy with.
Most notable was a large quantity of duplicate football autographed cards from the Panini points website — 10 of one card, 20 of another, that sort of thing — with each costing me 150 points each, which is about $4 to $6. Panini drops new cards on their site every week, sometimes they’re great bargains and other times overpriced. The rarest serial numbered autographs get sold almost immediately (bots are big in the card world), so in the last few months I’ve shifted to scavenging for cheap undervalued cards (usually autographed rookies of less heralded players who don’t have too many cards) and buying them in large quantity.
It can be a race to the bottom right after the cards ship, so it’s a matter of finding the right cards that are a good deal whether you sell them for $10, $20 or $30. I stockpile the points (always available for purchase on eBay, rates fluctuate) and last week I spent about 8000 points on 97 cards. Essentially, my all-in cost on the 97 cards is about $450 and I will make my money back $10 and $20 at a time. I have a handful which I think I can price a little higher, but we’ll see how it all shakes out. I have found that I really enjoy making these listings because after one sells and I scan the next and can make the new listings in about thirty seconds. Just swap out the pictures and that’s it.
I also picked up this autograph of Willie O’Ree, the first black NHL player, for just a few bucks. I’ll submit it for authentication later this year at a cost of about $10 and once it’s certified, this autograph should net me an easy $50 profit.
What did you find this week?
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I did a little bit of yard sales and checked 2 thrift stores this weekend. Didn’t find a whole bunch, but one item noted below turned out to be a homerun after I researched it yesterday.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266390193862
Wilson Electronics 801201 3G Wireless Cellular/PCS Dual Band Booster Kit
Paid $1 at a sale this Saturday.
Other items of note:
5 pair of Allen Edmonds shoes at local Goodwill for $3.99 a pair. It was nice to see shoes marked up at reasonable prices at this goodwill again! A few weeks ago they would have had these at $10-20. I hope this is the start of a trend. I just started drafting them today at lunch. They will sell for between $30-70 each.
A Star Wars Remote control droid for $4. Figured it would be worth $50 or so. It turns out it is a Galaxy’s Edge Droid Depot custom droid and will sell for $150. Nice! I’ll get it tested and listed this week.
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I took a big gamble on a book auction thia week. Maxsold sale had several book lots with many older editions of well-known novels. One listing had the complete Tolkein series with the 3 LOTR books, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion, but they were only showing the spines. I did some research and the only thing I could tell conclusively is that they were early editions with one possible first edition of The Fellowship of the Ring. Someone else wanted them too and they ended up costing me $222 for the lot of about 100 books. A lot more than I’d typically risk on a batch of old books, but I took a chance based on my research.
Long story short, none were first editions, but all were early editions, with The Hobbit being the best as a US 10th printing hopefully worth at least $200 with the others in the $50 – $100 range. Fortunately, the lot also contained several other less well known but valuable first editions and early editions, including a first edition Virginia Woolf and T.H. Lawrence. I’ll get them all posted this week and expect the listings to total between $1500 and $2000. Not the $3000 that the Tolkein first edition would have brought, but I’m making money.
To soften the blow, I also won a lot of electronics for $1 that I should reap about $200 from an early Sony Walkman and a Discman and a Garmin Nuvi with lifetime maps.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/235161954562 Thank goodness could easily read the signature for once on these pottery bowls. Paid $4 for the pair and a similar has sold for $50. Artist known for thin but strong Asian blend techniques. You can’t swing a bat here in my area of California without hitting some 70s-80s art pottery, so I just try to find the nicest examples I can. My favorites though are 50s and 60s which are a little bit harder to find.
I found these at my favorite thrift, which I have not been frequenting due to word getting out, limited days and hours, and there being a big line much of the time. I was the 120th person or so to get in the small store that day (they give out numbers), thought I was wasting my time but actually had a nice little haul. I may have to reconsider making an effort there. The old ladies are painfully slow restocking but do restock once the big morning rush comes in. I have had a couple of great scores shortly before they close.
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Three fifteen-gallon tubs of cloth samples. £75 (90 USD).
I’ve never heard of Teflon-coated curtains… now I have. One hundredweight of Dupont’s finest textiles, imported from the US, plus some native Liberty and Sarah Churchill. I’m an idiot.
Whoever had the stuff made an apron from a bit- that’s genius!
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