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I have changed my scavenging patterns a lot this year. I used to hit almost every library media sale in my area, but I passed up a local sale again this past week which used to be a regular stop for me every few months. I’ve founded lots of nice $20 weird books there. I love selling those types of items! But I usually only find one or two at each sale after an hour of digging. I might buy a few more things, but they’re either busts (which I end up donating to my local library) or for myself. Amazon flies immediately hover over all the good books with bar codes, so I’m left searching for the things they miss. I love that hunt, but you really need to find a bunch of $20 items to make for a profitable trip, like my Chicago haul was. I am hoping to take more trips like the Chicago trip in 2024. I like scavenging that way.
Until then, I have my favorite consignment trading card sellers whose $0.99 auction listings occupy so much of my time each week. I have bought and sold so much in the last few years, it’s been a lot of work even if it rarely feels like actual work. I’ve been getting much more selective and specific with what I’m buying lately. It’s no longer every card which I think has profit potential. I’ve become more focused on listings which will sell now whether on eBay or my consignment shop, unless it’s an extreme bargain. I like digging through these listings daily because every so often these sellers have other oddball items at auction. Since they sell on consignment, I guess they’ll sell anything and everything, and sometimes card people venture into other areas.
I don’t really have any idea whether this 1860s Civil War photo is valuable or not, but for $10 I’ll enjoy doing the research. Cheaper than a library sale! I like the photographer’s stamp on the back, not so sure about Man from Imlay City.
I won 11 certified autographed 1980s golfers wire photo prints from the same seller, almost all for $1.25 plus maybe a buck or two each for combined shipping. It costs me almost $5 each to have these processed by the consignment site I use, so it might be best to list them myself. Because the individual buy in prices were so low, I might make two lots since there are some duplicates and see how a $50 lot price works out.
I won my second 1980s Texas Wrestling contract in the last month, both were very obscure wrestlers and I won the bid for around $20. This consignor acquired what must have been a large collection of these contracts and auctioned them in two separate batches. I’m hoping there will be a third batch in the next few weeks when there are less people paying attention. It will take me a while to get these listed, but I will start around $100 and see what happens. $0.99 auctions are not a good way to sell one of a kind items with a very small buyer pool (say less than 10 people in the world) unless you’re the type who’s happy with a sale price that is probably be on the low end of your item’s value. I’ve learned to be happy with that sometimes. But I could still never be a consignment seller.
What did you find this week?
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This week was so fun at the flea market! Everything I bought was $1! I bought some Ikea linens and some clothing from the $1. Plus a pair of decent condition Hoka sneakers for $1. Then he had an atomic Silver Pine Fransican plate – unfortunately only a single – for $1. https://www.ebay.com/itm/235347114731 I’ve sold this before and love this pattern. This is the guy who gets the overpriced stuff and rejected stuff from the college kid thrift by the ton.
Then, there was a surfer guy selling his mom or grandma’s stuff. Got a little bit of vintage Christmas from him. Had a nice chat as my son needs surf lessons and he teaches in Ventura and sells used boards. Another story of someone selling big on Facebook because he had one bad experience on Ebay. He had loads of small Disney, M&M, and Peanuts stuff. I could have made a deal for all of it, but it’s just not my jam and I encouraged him to put it up online himself. I bought some Dept 56. He was sweet and grateful for the advice but reluctant to deal with Ebay. He was hoping to get half the value at the flea.
Finally, there was a cute lady – she calls me and everyone mama with her accent – everything $1. Somehow she ended up with a bunch of Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware returns. I probably should have bought the long tail monogrammed stuff for a buck. Have already sold a few items from her booth. https://www.ebay.com/itm/235344506074 https://www.ebay.com/itm/335165798664
My last find was in our Christmas Wrap box. I paid $1 a couple of years ago. Had a barcode so I looked it up and was shocked at the prices. Unfortunately some of the cards are missing. https://www.ebay.com/itm/235347316635
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