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When we leave to travel, we plan to lighten our load. A fraction of our house will go in storage (mostly my tools my wife’s creature comforts and photos), the rest will be donated if it has value or taken to the dump.
I’m not sure what life looks like after travel. If it is back in the USA, then I will definitely build an eBay or similar store again.
Sorry for the delay in responding.
My wife’s parents went on a long stay visit to Boston to help out with young grandchildren and have left an empty house here. The long-stay visit turned into a two-year lease and their house 1 mile away from my house is empty. We decided to sell our house and rent their house. Our plan is for my daughter to graduate high school in the spring of 2022, then my wife and I will begin slow travel around the world. Thus we had planned to sell our house in the next two years, but with the market potentially peaking early this spring, we thought that now is a good time to get out.
@Steve, I know that neighborhood well. I used to ride my bike through there on my way to and from work everyday (at the KP clinic on Sheridan). I am near 72nd & Kipling. If COVID ever goes away, I would love to buy you a coffee if you have any free time in town. I am an early riser in a household of late risers, so my mornings are always my own. (Actually, I am not working during the week, so pretty much 90% of my time is my own).
Just before Thanksgiving, my wife and I decided to sell our house. Listing anything on eBay went out the window and nearly 100% of my attention has been focused on painting, painting, fixing and, painting. I don’t know how you guys (J&R) do all that you do.
Anyway, I just wanted to jump on to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and to vote YES on chili dogs. I think you could be diversifying your customer base. I would make them a summer offering and also offer Icees (or the hipster version of Icees). Best regards to all in the New Year – stay safe and healthy, because this shitcoaster (pandemic) has not stopped moving.
Early in the summer, I sold generic famotidine from Costco. There was a brief shortage and I was able to supply someone in need with stock that I had purchased for my own use.
You may wish consider getting Lasik as an elective procedure instead of eye exams and eyeglasses.
Just a couple of interesting sales from last week:
At a homemade garage/estate sale, I picked up four large boxes of Christmas Village stuff for $50. One of the boxes included 10 of these Enesco Rudolph figurines https://www.ebay.com/itm/193581513542 This one sold for full asking price of $34.50
The other boxes in that lot held dozens of Lefton villiage pieces and figurines. This gazebo wasn’t a super high-value sale at $14.50, but it was easy to list and ship and I paid about a dollar for it among all the others. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193585515493
I pick up patches everywhere I find them. I found multiples of these vintage motorcycle safety instructor patches and sold two to this buyer for $19 https://www.ebay.com/itm/193684320468
Happy sales to you all, Daniel.
Steve, thanks so much for continuing to do these videos. I really value hearing from other sellers what has been successful for them and your videos every week anchor that discussion.
My criteria for buying items for resale includes that they should be small and inexpensive. Belt buckles sometimes fit the bill, but lately I have ended up with some that are low value ones. This 1988 KU Basketball belt buckle redeemed the category for me. It sold for full price of $44.50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/193659580460
This is the second time I have sold this Omega Juicer Part. The first time, the buyer probably had the wrong model number as he indicated that this part didn’t fit. It sold for full asking price of $28.50. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193649070347
At an estate sale, I thought the election cycle would be good for selling flag-themed items. I bought everything in the house which included a set of Warren Kimble Colonial ceramics. They have not been fast movers, but I have already recouped my investment with a couple of sales like this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/193679867710
On a lark, I picked up a box of old comic books from a garage sale. They were not in great condition, but they were from the 1970s and 1980s. I paid $30 for the entire box and got about 6 lots of various comic books and magazines out of it. I usually ascribe to the wisdom of Ryanne and Jay – list it and forget it, but I was most comfortable listing this lot of 12 Heavy Metal magazines as an auction. I was not dissapointed in the sale price of $37 https://www.ebay.com/itm/193710828038
I picked up a bunch of HVAC equipment – mostly new in the box from a garage sale of a guy retired from working as a FLUKE sales rep. I picked up this and another tool that were part of a display for $20 or $30. This one sold for full asking of $124.50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/193668214644
Patches are another thing I am always on the lookout for. I picked up a bunch of military and police patches for $1 each. (One of the best fell through a crack in my deck – was sad for a day). This one sold about an hour after listing it for full asking of $14.50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/193718601960
I sold this Dickies hat for $9.50 and the buyer asked for a return because it was “crushed”. I sent a label and got it back – not crushed for damaged in any way. I blocked the buyer and issued a refund. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193650356197
Thanks again to Steve and everyone that responds in this thread. I read all your comments every week and learn so much.
I am fortunate (knock on wood) that returns have been rare and seldom scammy like this one. I had a similar return request last week for a used baseball hat that the buyer complained was crushed. I think the complaint is silly, but whatever – I accepted the return, sent the buyer a label and moved on. When the hat gets here, I will give a full refund. I have learned not to focus on the injustice of a single sale, and rather keep looking forward to the next thing I bought for a dollar that may sell for $90.
It was a busy week for me:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193643762646 – Garage sale find – paid $5 – NOS Pyrex Percolator Pump Stem sold for full price $44.50
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193708509175 – Garage sale find – paid $80 for 6 boxes of supplements and 7 boxes of this night cream – sold all stock for $29.50 and $38.50 each respectively
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193624526087 I have a soft spot for toys and I pick up lots of old stuff usually for a buck or two. They are not big moneymakers, but it makes me happy to make a kid happy somewhere in the world. This little people tractor sold for $8.50.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193707028197 Estate sale find for $1 – mildly erotic calendar from 1981 in mint condition – sold within 24 hours for $29.50
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193638950240 I’ve picked up a number of yearbooks usually for a $1. They are rare sellers, but I try to price them high because they are obviously limited editions. This one sold for full asking of $38.50
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193665944011 Vintage Swedish made compass by Silva bought for $2 and sold for $28.50
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193697929593 This was my greatest find in the past week. two years ago, I bought this old pachinko machine for $10 and it came with a trough of balls. I donated the machine a last summer and the balls were sitting around. Finally, I did research and discovered that the old balls that are engraved like these are much coveted. I listed them in lots of 75 balls for $68.50 and sold three lots in a week – two for full asking and one for a best offer of $55 (turned off best offer after I got full asking on two lots).
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192577537569 Some people do great with men’s ties, but I suck at it. I don’t know how to pick them, nor how to photograph them. My hats off to anyone that is good at it. This vintage new Christopher Reeve Collection tie sold for full asking of $13.50 and I was so glad to see it go.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192878662028 Unbelievably, I had an overseas buyer pick up 29 vintage male nude large format photographic negatives for close to $1200. These are some of the last of a trove I found in 2018. These negatives and hundreds of others were all in a suitcase in a basement at an estate sale. I paid $10 for the suitcase, and have sold approximately $30,000 worth of negatives from that single lot. (Sorry if this is repetition for people that are repeat readers of my post here – I am not trying to brag, just alert other scavengers of the potential of this sort of find).
Best regards to everyone.
Hi japepete. I lived in Austin from 1980 to 1997, then San Antonio from ’97 to 2000. I love the Texas Hill Country. I am presently living near Denver (which will soon have more Texans then Coloradans I think).
I do not have a clearance category as you describe. I have yet to hit the ceiling of free listings in my store, so I just leave everything with rare sales in a category. I think if I had put things on clearance, I would have missed out on some late sales of items that went for full price when I had long since given up on them with my rational brain.
Congratulations on your escape. I suggest you take some time out from working either of your jobs to watch my favorite escape from work movies: Office Space and Shawshank Redemption. (I know Shawshank is a prison escape movie, but it feels so much like a really bad office job if you watch it again.)
Best wishes.
Welcome @nikki318. I really enjoyed your story of geographic arbitrage. Personally, I went down the Scavenger Life rabbit hole in 2015, and I haven’t come out. Best regards, Daniel.
@Steve, this was one of your best videos ever. I loved seeing the television antenna collection and the vintage TVs in your basement. I hope you will continue to give brief tours of Steve-world from time to time.
Things have picked up for me in the last week after a one-week hiccup where I had few sales. This 1980s era transformer toy is the sort of thing that sends me elbows deep into bins of toys at garage sales. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193613443305 I love finding vintage toys and selling them.
At a garage sale over the summer, I rolled up just as a neighbor was dropping off his knife collection to sell. We chatted briefly about knives and then I asked for a price on the whole collection of about 15 knives. He said $20 and I said “sold”. I priced each from $15 to $49.50 and this one sold for a best offer of $40. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193634407576
My sister-in-law turned me on to the low esteem and high value that silverware in which silverware is often held by sellers and buyers respectively. I picked up this mixed set of vintage Interpur, (almost canoe muffin) for $5 and sold for $44.50. I might have gotten more by selling individual pieces, but I’m a little tired of flatware TBH. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193690191550
I came across a homemade estate sale when out garage saleing. The house had been picked nearly clean, but I still found four various sizes of these NOS Coleman generators as well as some other items for $5. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193688839336 This one sold for full price of $24.50.
This lens calibrator for a camera was still new in the box. It has no electronics and only a hinge for moving parts, so I bought it with confidence for $2. It sold within a week for full asking price of $42.50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/193683440212
An older friend from my neighborhood had a garage sale and she had set aside this box of vintage postal keys for me. She swore her husband made money selling these keys on the internet and insisted that I buy them from her for $5. I was skeptical but dutifully purchased them. It took some trial & error, but I hit on a strategy of listing the keys in lots and listing the key codes in the description. This was my last of five lots and it sold for full price of $44.50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/193378746991 I still don’t really know why people buy these keys. Anyway, I think I owe my neighbor lunch.
@robb_ amazing identification! Did you use a google image search?
