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This is the time of year that we all love as scavengers, because you can put in the work of researching and scavenging and all the prep that goes into making new listings and have the potential to see some sales quickly. Or at least that’s what happened for me this week. Let’s all keep this in mind when things are slow in February.
The clunker of the week was a return on this documentary about a Philadelphia prison for a defective disc. A $20 sale and I refunded the buyer without even requiring a return, so -$4.20 net and the DVD cost me a buck. So -$5.20 in the hole. Nowhere to go but up, no more returns this week thankfully.
This Barack Obama 2013 inauguration ticket cost me $17.50 last October and sold for $59. It only took a few months to sell after sitting in my death piles for no good reason, since I created the listing in the same manner as I do every item in my main niche of trading cards. Two photos, front and back scans. Get that easy stuff listed folks!
These And1 sneakers in UNC Tar Heels colors sold for $84.99, a 15% offer off of my BIN price of $99.99. Shipping to Canada meant my net profit after fees was $63. I bought these in August for a $0.99 winning bid (listed in the wrong category) plus about $10 shipping out of an order with a total shipping fee of $45, and finally got them listed a few weeks ago. They sold quick! Funny how that works…
I sold a couple very obscure authenticated autographs which had been in my inventory for a while: this Alex Groza signed program for $79.99 which I need to get packaged up later today, and this beautiful signature of 19th century composer Italo Montemezzi for $120 which is already on its way to the UK.
Alex Groza was a top basketball player in the 1940s whose career was ended because he was implicated in the CCNY point shaving scandal. I didn’t know any of that before I found the listing, but it looked interesting and it took me just a few minutes of research. I paid about $40 for this autograph as part of an enormous $600 order in April of 2022 and it’s something I would pay $20 or $30 for today. There is a great market for vintage authenticated autographs but this is a bulky oversized item and it’s maybe a little too obscure. His autographs on more common items (like index cards) usually sell for over $100 but there appeared to be less of a market a big dumb encapsulated program like this. Especially because you can’t even read the program since it’s encapsulated. PSA and the other big authenticators have an option where you can get a letter of authenticity instead of getting your item encased in plastic, and I’m not sure why the original owner didn’t do that.
I bought the Montemezzi autograph in March of this year for about $17.50 as part of a $300 order which was much more profitable than my April 2022 order with the Groza autograph. Also a more diverse order — a few high quality graded and ungraded trading cards, a handful of lower-end trading cards, some old sports photos, some vintage obscure autographs. I love to learn about new types of items and it’s always fun to learn about what sells and what doesn’t. I thought this autograph was especially unique and that it would sell for a nice price. Honestly I did a little better than I thought considering how obscure this composer is — his wiki bio notes:
He is best known for his opera L’amore dei tre re, once part of the standard repertoire. It is now seldom performed.
The market for autographs like this is really interesting. I tried selling them in my consignment port, no luck. Probably because their titles use generic consignment “auto autograph certified” language with no extra keywords. No customization, your title is just based off their algorithm. So I had them shipped home to me. If we want to get really technical, that is another few bucks onto my COGS. Then I tried selling both of these autographs via eBay auctions with a starting bid about half of my BIN prices. I have 500 auctions every month in collectibles categories, so I try to use them, and I like running auctions on bulky items. I ran these at auction a few times and always had a few watchers but no bids. Then I put them back in my store and both sold in the same week. Sometimes the key to selling an obscure item is simply to wait for that right buyer to find your listing.
What did you sell this week?
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/335027862143 This scavenge of the week from last month sold for $116.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/235231011438 This sold in a day or two for $40. I paid $2 at the old lady thrift store. My daughter and I discussed the superstition of finding and then passing on a lucky guardian. Hope it works out ok for us not keeping it. 🙂
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Every time I see your posts, I am amazed at the profits you make from these discontinued or seasonal items from Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn etc. Really interesting.
That lucky guardian is absolutely terrifying. But I’m sure to someone it’s beautiful. I will keep my fingers crossed for you no returns, no returns, no returns.
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@Craig the Halloween retail window is short and though people are looking for those brands, the lines PB and WS release each year are pretty limited for this holiday so the old stuff sells well. Christmas is a bit trickier – people like it but a lot more of it is produced. Easter seems meh.
I love the angle of RA and reselling. The retailers need to worry about producing a whole line of great stuff and getting their ideas executed well in Asia. We can just come along and cherry pick the best of their items, wait for it to no longer be available from the retailer, and sell at a premium. Sometimes I have to wait until the other resellers sell out first. Once in a while people send me a frustrated message about how they could have bought it for much less back in the day. Those are not my customers.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/266388873321
Harley Davidson MESH Reflective Functional Jacket w Armor Pockets Women’s Size S
Another of the $5 Harley jackets. Love selling these!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266240904165
Vintage NFL Buffalo Bills Logo 7 Winter Coat Jacket Mens Large
Sold for $110 on offer. I paid $5 for it. I’ve been patiently waiting for football season to kick in so this one would sell.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266416475017
Panasonic Toughbook LIND 12V Cig Charger CF-LNDDC120 CF-33 CF-31 CF-54 FZ-55
Sold for full price! Paid $1 at a yard sale. I was going to take a $60 offer but my wife convinced me to hold out. She was right (as she usually is!) Why did this sell high? No clue! The sold prices are all over the place.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266405300802
SIG Sauer BDX Combo Kit Kilo1400BDX/SIERRA3BDX Range Finder and Rifle Scope
Sold for $400 on offer – paid $100 at a yard sale a couple weeks ago.
And here are 3 low dollar items I’ve picked up at yard sales that I knew wouldn’t be big money but dag gone it – they’re fun! Sometimes you just have to sell things purely for the enjoyment of it. It keeps things fresh and interesting.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266126430803 Max headroom badge for $8
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266371701816 Stranger things Barb shirt for $15
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266402937120 Mickey/minnie Salt/pepper shakers for $15
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The Harley jacket and Bills coat are such nice items, like the perfect example of what it means to be a scavenger. What a great return on your $5!
That Max Headroom badge is one of my favorite items you’ve ever sold. I agree with you completely, once you get to a point where you have a sizable inventory, everyone’s store should have a few items that are in there for love and not money. Maybe you make $5 if they sell, but more importantly, you list them because you know that some buyer is gonna be really, really happy when they get your package in their mailbox. Love those buyers!
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The majority of my sales this week had to do with the MaxSold auction I put together for my neighbor. I’ve been working on it since the beginning of summer, and we waited to have it after he had moved into his new house.
The high sale was a group of art. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if there wasn’t a signed & numbered framed Andy Warhol print in it (photos 3 & 4). While we were amazed during the final bidding, I didn’t actually do the research to find out why. Guess I wanted just to finish off the day and get to bed. Then, @lukastreasuretrove mentioned here what it was. My neighbor’s wife had bought it before they were married, and it hang in their dining room for decades. He wasn’t aware of what it was, and it wasn’t his style. I had quite a bit of work getting this auction together and didn’t do the research. However, at least two buyers did and duked it out in a bidding war. The buyer’s son picked it up, and he actually like some of the other art in the lot, so that was nice knowing that some other pieces will get displayed. Sold for $5450. Even with fees and commissions taken off, this is my highest sold ever.
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574682
The next highest is a 40 piece sterling flatware set for $767. The buyer actually wasn’t particularly happy when she looked at it. Either she was angling for a partial refund or my pictures were too good and made the set look more shiny than they were. I had a talk with her, told her to get them professionally polished and said that other sets have gone for similar prices on MaxSold (which is true). I did not offer any money back.
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574638
The serving pieces from that set went for $310 to a different person (who didn’t complain).
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574639
While I may not have recognized the Warhol, I did recognize the two Agam’s; both signed and framed. When I was a kid, my aunt & uncle bought an Agam movable piece of art when they were in Israel, and I’ve seen his stuff in museums. I also picked up a framed print on fabric from a rummage sale years ago. The two prints sold for $385 & $310.
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574559
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574563
Steve had just showed a Dual turntable that he had sold in one of his videos when my neighbor showed me the old stereo system with one in his basement. It also had some other nice equipment. I was not surprised it went for $130.
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574567
I was a bit surprised when this pair of chairs sold for $125, but not as much as everyone else. Mid-century modern definitely sells; even this set with tired, old cushions.
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574592
There were some other high priced items like jewelry & vinyl records, but a few others I found interesting was a stone bust of Poseidon that went for $51 and two IBM Selectric typewriters for $45 that my husband pulled out of the attic.
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574615
https://maxsold.com/auction/84317/bidgallery/item/5574641
The pickup went very smoothly with my husband and son as volunteers as well as my neighbor and three of his friends. One buyer who bought the most number of items, all low prices, didn’t speak English very well. My husband speaks Russian and happened to be the one helping the buyer and his helper.
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Wow, that Warhol sale is just incredible. Congratulations! It’s another example of why we’re all still posting in these forums. Always new things to learn about and new stories to tell. Did the bidding war happen towards the very end of the auction? What a thrill!
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If I remember correctly, the price was edging up a bit before the lots started closing, but the bidding war happened mostly at the end.
When the lots start to close, the auction goes into live mode, which pushes the lots ending soonest to the top. Since the bidding war kept pushing the Art lot out by 2 min every time a new bid came in, we didn’t really see what was happening until the majority of other lots had ended.
You can actually see the bid history if you select it within the listing. I just checked it, and the bid was $801 just prior to the auction closing.
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