This monitor base came off an older Samsung 19” monitor of mine that finally gave up the ghost. It isn’t very exciting and I only got $20 plus shipping for it, but it was nice to learn there’s a market for what I would consider junk. In the free section of Craigslist recently there was a business giving away a small cache of about 20 old monitors. And I’ve seen old monitors on the curb on trash day, too. Unfortunately there’s no market for the monitor itself but at least my nearby Goodwill took mine for recycling. https://imgur.com/tDmMugv
This braided leather whip was a family estate item. It sold for $50 plus shipping. I listed it in Western Americana, not adult. It went to Florida? https://imgur.com/n5TnbHC
This vintage saltwater fishing reel was found in the attic of a house we bought. It was corroded and not really in working order and turned out to be a K-Mart brand but still brought $15 plus shipping. https://imgur.com/I3F3dAE
I usually would not touch a commemorative plate but this one was specific to a small town in Maine so I took a chance and paid $3 for it at a Goodwill. It sold for $44 plus shipping. https://imgur.com/WT3s66o
These vintage US Merchant Marine bullion officer shoulder boards are identified as such by the buttons and harp specialty insignia. Part of a large box lot, I have about $2 in them and they sold for $50 plus shipping. https://imgur.com/oEHtElP
This so-called “challenge” coin is part of a large consignment from a friend who recently retired from the Navy after 30-something years of service with about 800 coins, all given to him over the years. The challenge coin tradition started as a military offshoot of the European love of medals and medallions that was brought to the US by the Eastern European soldiers who comprised a significant portion of the US Army Special Forces in the 1950s and 60s. (That’s also where the green beret headgear initially came from.) It started out as a very personal item of elite unit camaraderie, in a single design specific to that one unit, and one’s name would be engraved on it. On liberty it would be pulled out and slapped on the bar to see who’d buy the next round of drinks– if everyone there had their unit coin to slap on the bar, the challenger would buy. If anyone did not have their unit coin on them, that person had to buy the round. In only the last 20 years or so all the US military branches have adopted them in a big way – especially the Navy, for some reason – and it has exploded as a collecting area. The military traditions have changed and the coins are now items that are given to others as personal awards, mementos, visitors gifts, etc. Any given unit now might have multiple different designs of coins, one for the commanding officer, one for the senior enlisted, different ones commemorating important events, and so on. Civilian government officials have them now as well. This particular coin was from the Chief Petty Officers Association at Naval Station San Diego and it sold for $39 plus shipping. https://imgur.com/qV7fBDS
I didn’t sell anything that interesting or valuable last week, so I guess I’ll just discuss something with a story.
I had a sale of a vintage table lamp. I wrapped it up, printed out a label, and shipped it out. In the meantime, the same buyer bought another vintage table lamp. I like to be proactive, so I sent a note saying that I had already shipped out his first lamp before I received his second purchase, so I would be sending the second one out the next day. I received the following message from him: Thank you. Of my 300+ purchases on Ebay, no seller has been as swift to respond and communicate.
He then gave me positive feedback for both items. I paid about $1 each, and they sold for $22 and $17.50. The buyer used the title “Father”, so I guess he must be a priest.
Thank you again Steve,
and thanks to Temudgin, and to Sharon for your time posting.
Sales have been quiet for me, maybe rust does sleep! In any case, over the last month there have been several interesting sales on items not often shared or discussed on the forums.
Those are some crazy shoes! I’ve never heard of Z-Coils. I probably would have passed over them before now just thinking they were some novelty thing. Thanks for the new info! I had a pretty good week of sales. Here are some highlights…
This may not have been the highest priced sale, but it was entertaining. These old wooden ice cream spoons were found on the bottom of a box lot of random goodies. I paid a bit up on it, so each sellable item cost me $1.50. They sat in my store for quite a while but finally sold for $10. The buyer gave me a great review too. https://www.ebay.com/itm/303031944380
Here’s my favorite sale of the week. This really old Stanley tape measure came out of a box lot of old tools. Each sellable item was $1.10. I didn’t think much of it at first. It was an obscure tape measure so it was hard to research. But one did sell close to a year ago for over $100. So I gave $130 a shot. And it sold in less than a day! Maybe I should have priced it higher, but I’m happy with that price regardless. So be on the lookout for these manual push-pull style measurers. https://www.ebay.com/itm/303279807683
This was one of those sales that I thought would sell much faster than it did. I saw this awesome looking Sanko Ware tea kettle at a rummage sale and paid .50 cents for it. But when I went to list it, I found that the market was somewhat flooded. I gave it a $30 price and it finally sold after many months. https://www.ebay.com/itm/302967588344
My big sale of the week came in the form of an industrial gravity convection oven for use in labs and such. This was being thrown away at my dad’s former place of employment and he bought it for scrap price, probably just a few bucks. It worked just fine, just needed cleaned up. It sat in my inventory for quite a long time until I finally got a best offer of $300. I couldn’t push the accept button any faster. It was a pain in the ass to pack but it arrived and I haven’t heard any complaints. https://www.ebay.com/itm/303094071255
Home › Forums › What Sells On eBay: Lava lite, Headshell and Cartridge, Wax cat, MED Massager, Z-Coil shoes, Brunswick crank phonograph