What Sells On eBay: Minnetonka moccasins, Vintage Litter Bag, Circle star crock, Swingster jacket, AccuReach massager, 1948 Sun Valley Idaho poster

Awesome poster find and sale!

Here are some highlight’s from last week:

I took a cue from Steve last year and picked up a Hammond M3 organ for free off of Craigslist and parted it out. It’s made several decent sales, as slow as they come. Sold the complete set of upper keys to a fellow in Japan for $50, after removing each key from the heavy metal base, and sending just the keys and screws. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hammond-M3-Organ-Upper-Manual-Keys-Screws-Replacement-Parts/323081777211

Picked up this unusual embroidered wool shawl from an online estate sale for $11, and sold it within a week or two of listing for $72. Would love to have shared a story or any other information in its listing, but had nothing to go on. Luckily, it didn’t hinder the sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Thick-Black-Felted-Wool-Shawl-Hand-Embroidered-Gold-Yellow-Flowers-Fringe-O-S/323293793859

I have had these 4 botanical watercolor prints forever, but I can’t remember having them hang in my home, so I don’t know their story aside from the artist being from KY. Removed them from their old frames, and sold just the prints. After listing them for over 2 years, they finally sold for $60: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-of-4-Vintage-Botanical-Flower-Watercolor-Art-Prints-Helen-Guymon/322517583966

I purchased a large lot of vintage feedsacks last year in an online auction – some burlap, some white with advertising, and some colorful fabric used for sewing clothes and quilts. Finally got around to laundering and ironing the latter 2, and listing them 2 weeks back. I priced competitively and they’ve been moving steadily. Sold 4 in the first week. Here are 2 of them: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-FeedSack-Fabric-25-5-x-36-Unopened-Brick-Red-Blue-Tulips-White/323315907389, https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Eshelman-Red-Rose-Dog-Puppy-Food-Yellow-Feed-Sack-Feedsack-22×36-Unopen/323315914537

I picked this canvas folding camping stool up for $2 at a Goodwill on a recent trip. After some research, I found that new ones, with clean and crisp canvas, were sold on Civil War reenactment sites for $15. I priced this one, with great patina on it, at $25 and it sold within 48 hours. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Folding-Wood-Canvas-Camp-Stool-Civil-War-Reenactment-Reproduction-18/323317671147

My Mom collects these small ceramic quilts, but is downsizing her collection. Have sold 2 of the 3 she’s given me in recent months, for $20: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hill-Design-Celebration-of-American-Quilts-GOOSE-IN-THE-POND-Ceramic-Decor-1989/323294981378

Good luck with sales, and have a great weekend!

These are all my June sales. I have had a sale since June 27th. [Insert Ebay conspiracy theory]

I remember hearing years ago that someone bought a painting or print at a flea market because they wanted the frame. When he took it apart, he found a signed copy of the Declaration of Independence. It sold for a bit more (millions, I think) than Steve’s find, but that poster still got some good money.

Some of my decent sales (for what it is worth in these very slow summer months):
I paid a little under $2 for this hand woven sewing basket. It sold for $29 to a craft/antique store in the midwest.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182830896024

I bought this cassette player for $1 and sold for $25. There was talk elsewhere on the forum about how older players stop working in storage or in transit because the belts dry out. I haven’t heard anything, so hopefully it is working fine.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/183287823401

I bought a stone chess set in an online auction, and a few pieces broke in transit after picking them up. I decided to break up the set and only sell the unbroken pieces. The board already sold a few weeks ago. Both partial sets sold to the same person for $35 total. I paid less than $1.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/183256593887
http://www.ebay.com/itm/183256602282

Sharyn,

It was an early printed copy, not signed, but yes, it sold for millions. The guy bought it for 4 bucks at a flea market I used to set up at. here’s the story from Snopes:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/declaration-of-financial-independence/

And, just to keep hope alive for all us scavengers, here’s a more recent example of a purchase on ebay that turned out to be worth thousands….because of the seller’s detective work:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2018/07/02/collectors-detective-work-lifts-300-ebay-postcard-to-50000-babe-ruth-auction-gem/#7f9a7006b229

Well done Steve! What an amazing find. Good things come to good people.

Thank you to everyone for the sold shares, very inspiring and helpful.

That poster was a fantastic find! Congrats!

Hey Steve another great video and another great story! Congrats on the big sale I liked your patient strategy of testing the waters in an auction, brilliant. As your series progresses, it looks like your building your own scavenger field of dreams – do you look behind every framed picture or did the girl in the poster whisper “psst! hey Steve let me out I’m pretty!”
thanks
sally

I found it because I didn’t want to list the other poster in the frame.

I’ve never sweated the time between shipping and it’s arrival to the customer even with big $1800 amplifiers but I was second guessing my packaging and safe delivery of this poster.
Should I have put the mailing tube inside a box?
Did rolling it damage it in anyway?
Stuff like that.
I awoke this morning to positive feedback for it.

My big “eBay” related events this week were purchases rather than sales. I made some long needed purchases to help my business. First, I bought a Jiffy-2000 garment steamer. It’s much better than tumbling clothes in the dryer over and over again and light years better than the crappy travel steamer I used to have that barely made a dent in wrinkles.
The 2nd purchase was an ESDDI light kit consisting of 2 stands, 2 lights, 2 bulbs and carrying case. It was $55 so affordable for what I got. My house does not get much in the way of natural light. I was hoping the lighting kit would work miracles on the many clothing items where I just can’t seem to capture the garments’ true colors. These helped somewhat but aren’t the miracle I was hoping they’d be.

My current full time gravy train job is coming to end. It was originally a 3 day assignment that ballooned into a year and half. Great pay, got to work from home but they owned ALL my time. I seriously can’t even take a shower without having my phone within arm’s reach. I’m relieved to be almost done with the job but also a little freaked out because I got used to that nice paycheck. Its motivating me to ramp up the eBay business a little more than before. I have great ideas to help with my listing efficiency but not sure I have the self discipline to follow the plan.