- This topic has 6 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 months, 1 week ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
It feels like all the big sports card and autograph consignment sellers who I buy from every week are doing their own spring cleaning right now, or else we are in silly selling season because I have been finding deals left and right. So much new inventory for my consignment port at great prices. Items for lot listings at below the rates I typically pay. Random weird items for a song. All this new inventory is keeping me motivated to stay on top of my spring cleaning. Out with the old, in with the new. Selling things with higher margins and a better sell-through rate. It’s nice to see my business changing and growing.
My favorite item from last week was this AAGPL multi signed baseball for a mere $17. AAGPL was the league that the movie A League of Their Own was based on, and I love the little inscriptions and details all over the ball. Makes up for the slightly faded signatures. Mostly playing a hunch buying this type of item, as it’s not something that is easily searchable in Terapeak, but I would be shocked if I can’t find a buyer at $50 to $100.
In terms of pure profit margin, this authenticated autographed action figure of Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin cost me just $10 with all 5 Terapeak solds $100 and up. Even better, all 4 similar active listings are at $70 and up and every one of them has watchers. I’ll probably start mine between $100 and $150 and take the first decent offer I get, though the Penguins have been on a run lately with two weeks left in the NHL season. So it might make sense to hold on to this until their playoff fate has been determined.
From the dollar store this week, we have this signed and numbered Philadelphia Eagles 60th anniversary lithograph with a scary looking shipping charge — but I buy from this seller every single week, and (I think) at this point if I have any bulky items in my order, they just charge me a flat $14.95 for the shipping. At least that’s been the case for the last month. Maybe they do this for everyone, but in my mind it’s a VIP perk. It’s gotten me to do a lot more research and bid a little higher on these weird items. This looks like a slow, longtail item (who is buying things like this?) but there are a few solds of other Stan Kotzen lithographs in Terapeak and a handful of active listings at decent prices. With a total COGS of about $5, I should be able to do something with this. If I had any interest or desire in selling things locally, maybe that would be the way to go as I could see my ideal buyer living within a short drive from me. We’ll start by tossing it up on eBay and reevaluate after a few months.
What did you find this week?
-
-
-
-
So this isn’t a scavenge of this week, but it’s a scavenge…from a week. Who cares really? There are no rules!
During lunch I was doing some listing of some vintage clothing I bought at an estate sale a couple weeks ago. The first item was a vintage 90’s Tommy Girl sweatshirt. I noticed right off the bat that something was off. The stitching wasn’t quite right. The material was lower quality than it should be. The embroidery backing material was intact (nicer clothes use a water soluble backing).
The shirt was clearly fake and not even a great one at that. When I was shopping this estate sale it was a quick stop on my way back from my lunch break. clothes were $1 each so I didn’t do much inspection, just grab & go.
Back in the 90’s/early 2000’s flea markets were PACKED with knock off name brand stuff. I remember it well. It’s the most West Virginian thing in the world to go to the flea market every weekend. I would bet there is a collector market for crappy knock off stuff, but not on ebay! In the trash it went.
There is one fake item I’m holding onto though for educational purposes. I was super excited to pick up what I thought was a NWT Polo Ralph Lauren shirt. If you’ve followed my store you’d know I’ve become somewhat of an expert in Ralph Lauren vintage NWT stuff. Yeah…pretty darn fake. The tag is wrong. The material is wrong. The embroidered Pony is lacking detail, too small, and puckers the fabric oddly. The craftsmanship is just…off. They even have one of the tags that explains the method they used to dye and age the shirt. I can even tell THAT tag is fake.
There were multiple fake tommy and nike shirts mixed in, but not everything was fake. The best was a 90’s nike baseball t-shirt that says “Chick’s dig the long ball” and has a kissed ball on the back. I’m gonna list it for $60. There is tons of information on Nike tags that helps authenticate clothing.
Anyone remember “Big Johnson” T shirts? They were super popular in the early 90’s. I remember kids wearing them to school…and no one batted an eye! It was a different time then!
Unfortunately I didn’t find a Big Johnson tee, but I did find another similar double entrendre innuendo brand called Bump n Grind. It’s a pretty funny shirt but sans scantily clad women. That one I’m listing for $50.
-
So this isn’t a scavenge of this week, but it’s a scavenge…from a week. Who cares really? There are no rules!
Sometimes my scavenge of the week isn’t technically from last week. No rules!
It’s the most West Virginian thing in the world to go to the flea market every weekend. I would bet there is a collector market for crappy knock off stuff, but not on ebay!
New Jersey thing to go the flea market every weekend, too. At least for my grandma. Fond memories of going to those trips. Can still taste the sausage sandwiches and remember the exact location of the booths I liked. I agree with you on there being a collectors market for weird knockoffs, in addition to the overseas demand for those types of items.
Anyone remember “Big Johnson” T shirts? They were super popular in the early 90’s. I remember kids wearing them to school…and no one batted an eye! It was a different time then!
There were so many weird 90s brands! I remember Coed Naked and Big Dog shirts.
Any videos you recommend to learn how to tell real from fake Nike, Ralph Lauren etc? Seems like a useful skill to have.
-
-
I don’t have a specific recommendation. For Nike’s if you find a specific Jordan in the wild you can look up many specific guides for that style. Research into Nikes online is quite plentiful.
Whether it is shoes or clothes, it really comes down to a couple things – differences in the tag, the stitching, and general workmanship.
The best way to learn is hands-on. You have to handle some real items and some fake items to get the feel for it. You can’t exactly go to a store and buy fake clothes/shoes, so those you have to unfortunately buy your education occassionally. I unknowlingly bought a couple pair of fake Jordans from Goodwill a year or two ago. I got a great education out of it, and the single pair that were real paid for the education.
One of the pair of jordans was identified as fake by shining a light on the perforated areas. A real pair has highly reflective material underneath the perforated leather. The fakes had reflective material, but it was nowhere near as reflective as the real ones. Otherwise, they looked almost indistinguishable.
Another pair after going through one of the online guides was glaringly fake…once you compared them side by side. A casual view walking down the street noone would ever know.
Honestly this was the hardest part of some of the hoarder shoes, as brands like Prada and Versace are SURPRISINGLY low quality for a “premium” brand. Some shoes I flagged as being fake turned out to be very real.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.