Scavenge of the week April 27-May 3, 2025

[craig rex]

I didn’t have much time for reselling at all last week, so I really didn’t have much time for scavenging. Though the beauty of how I purchase inventory — trawling thousands of weekly eBay auctions from the big fish in the card world — means that I can do it whenever. I mostly stuck to one specific seller who has a wide variance in listing quality. Some are basically perfect and reach market price or higher. But sometimes they have lot listings which are organized in a less than optimal way, or only have one picture for a listing, or the picture doesn’t match the title, or the listing is in a random weird category. I really like when one of their listings has all of those problems because then it’s like being a detective to figure out what am I buying, what is it worth, can I make money on it and it’s hard not to do all that without stopping to appreciate all of this. It’s fun, and I know some people who don’t have ever have fun in life, really.

But this week of buying was a lot of fun for me. I got a hockey puck signed by Tampa Bay Lightning’s Emil Lilleberg for $5 and a Howard Hughes authenticated type 1 photo for $40 and a big pile of low grade vintage cards for $10 or less, like this 1959 Fleer Ted Williams for $7.50. The low grade vintage will all go to consignment, then to live auction. It is fascinating in the card world how much of a factor different selling formats have on sold prices. You want to send hot players to live auction or regular auction, especially rookies and autos. Certain niche modern inserts sell for pennies at any kind of auction, but price them reasonably at BIN/BO and one day, that perfect buyer will find your listing and click add to cart. I’ve noticed a trend lately that cards with a memorabilia piece do really well at live auction. I’m sure that the trends will change in a few months, let alone a year. But it’s so interesting to watch.

The consignment company that I use doesn’t do memorabilia, or authenticated photos, so I will have to do the grunt work of listing those on eBay. But the puck should net me $10 to $15 profit and the Howard Hughes photo, we’ll price to the moon and see what happens. I’ve done well with these types of items in the past, but it can be a waiting game.

What did you find this week?

[Sharyn]

I was finally able to go to some yard/rummage sales this past weekend. I didn’t get much, but I did buy a fun box of vintage tools. I managed six listings from it. Here’s a couple:

This is just a metal hook, but it is cool looking:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187197623280

This is a manual drill. From what I can gather, it is pretty old; almost antique. It’s not in great condition, but I’ll be happy with anything over $20.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187197619324

[Retro Treasures WV]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267244258208

Nike Air Jordan 1 Retro High Size 9 Lucky Green Black Mens DZ5485-031

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267244257000
Dr Martens Leona Platform Heel Leather Boots Women’s 6 [37] Black Smooth

I got both pair of these shoes at a yard sale along with a PlayStation and a bunch of games , a couple more pair of shoes, and some odds/ends that are also good. About $500 worth of great stuff for $50.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267243864818
Beltone Model C-1 Hearing Aid Charging Case With Box Tested

if only the hearing aids would have been there! This was an estate sale that was real fun to pick through on my lunch break right across the street from where I work. There was a TON of stuff! I was pretty picky as there was a bunch of stuff I would normally pick but the STR/ASP just wasn’t good enough.

i ended up with a bag of stuff for $25. The wild card is a vintage oscillator test equipment device. It may be worth a couple hundred to the right buyer. I need to photograph it still but will list for $500 based on a comp.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/267243860790
Garmin Dakota 20 Handheld GPS Navigator With Belt Case Tested Working Bundle

I got two of these at a yard sale along with some other odds n ends. I took a swing on a few other items here but they ended up just being $15-20 items once I researched. Still profitable but I don’t really want to source items like that  each of these GPS units will sell for $50+ with a great STR.

 

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