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05/03/2018 at 1:37 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Vintage ashtray stand, Leather jacket, Cabinet photos, US Marshal patch, $600 book #38993
I would bet on people just collecting old advertising items, but you never know. Maybe they don’t make soap the same way that they use to. Like maybe the FDA started prohibiting a certain ingredient for health reasons but it makes for really strong soap. I know it wasn’t the scent because it didn’t smell like anything.
05/03/2018 at 12:51 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Vintage ashtray stand, Leather jacket, Cabinet photos, US Marshal patch, $600 book #38988Nice sale on that book, Steve! I had a very good week of sales last week. There were so many interesting sales that it’s hard to choose which ones to talk about. I’ll keep from making this long so here are five fun ones…
I got these Viennaline Rhinestone Cat Eye Glasses at an estate sale for a couple bucks. I just went with my gut instinct because I’ve seen other people sell them for big money. I priced them higher than most and they sold for the full $130.
Vintage Cat Eye GlassesHere’s the part from that heavy drain snake machine that I talked about on Monday. The guy who bought it just needed this one part and offered $300 for it ($50 less than my original price for the whole unit). So I spent the afternoon disassembling it piece by piece. It was really fun actually, getting dirty and using skills and tools that I don’t get to use much anymore. Now I’ve got six other sellable parts listed. Let’s see if I can make over a thousand bucks off these things!
Marco Drain Snake PartI acquired this old bar of soap from a box lot at an auction that I got for $2.00 (each sellable piece came to .20 cents). I thought it was neat, but it would probably be a long-tail sort of item. I was wrong. This one and another bar sold within a week of listing them for $15 each. I’ll keep my eyes out for more of these since most resellers might not think to mess with them.
NOS Bar of Colgate SoapHere’s a fun sale. It’s a primitive wood toilet! Or a chamber pot or commode or whatever the proper word is for it. I got this at an auction for $35, which surprised me because everything else that day was going super high. I brought it home and cleaned and oiled it up. It took just a few months but it sold for a best offer of $200. It’s going to a guy who needed it for his disabled wife to use in the garden shed when she’s out gardening. At least that’s the story he told. He could have been lying, but I didn’t care. The price was good and I wanted it out of storage.
Wooden CommodeI’ll sometimes find these old metal document embossers when I’m out thrifting. I’ve learned that the devices themselves are pretty common and don’t sell for more than $20 or $30. But the seals inside are what could potentially bring in some cash. If they’re really unique, people with want them. Mine was just for some insurance company but it did have the Maryland state crest so it was kind of cool I guess. It sold for $30.
Document Embosser04/30/2018 at 12:51 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 358: Knowing What You Know Right Now, Would You Start Your Business Today? #38785April 22-28
Total Items in Store: 1572
Items Sold: 34
Total Sales : $1701
* WAY above yearly average of $739
* WAY above 2017 total week sales of $641
Highest Price: $300 (Coil Guide Arm part from an old Marco Plumbing Drain Snake)
Average Price: $50
Returns: 0
Cost of Goods Sold: $88
Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $8
Number of New Items Listed this Week: 37Cool podcast and that’s a great question at the beginning. I still consider myself relatively new to selling on eBay. It’s been a little more than two years since I’ve sold my first two things on auction. I had to look it up just now. They were two old handheld video games. The kind with the LCD display. They sold for $15 each and I felt like I was rolling in money! Little did I know two years later I would be pulling in around $1K a week. So I think it’s absolutely possible to start out brand new selling on today’s eBay platform. Like you said, there are advantages and disadvantages when comparing today’s eBay from that of 10 years ago. But there’s still one constant that remains the same… you’ve got to put the work in if you expect to get a livable wage out of it.
So now onto my numbers. BOOM! RECORD TOTAL SALES! I killed it this week! I sold a bunch of high priced items. 5 of my 34 sales were for over $100. I resold that frame that was returned last week for $100, sold a rare book for $270, and even sold an antique potty for $200. But my best sale makes for a fun story. I bought this old junky plumbing drain snake at an auction for $50. I don’t know what even compelled me to do it. The thing could barely fit into my car. But I brought it home and listed it a few months later for $350 local pickup only. Well the messages kept coming in… will you please consider shipping it to me? I didn’t want to mess with shipping. It weighed about 180 pounds. So finally, one guy said he just wanted one part and he’d pay me $300 for it. So I spent all Sunday afternoon disassembling the thing. Sold him the part and I’ve still got several other sellable pieces. We’ll see if anyone’s interested in them. If they sell, I could stand to make way over a thousand bucks!
04/26/2018 at 10:03 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Daredevil Dan stunt set, Settlers of Catan, Models & Trains, Bench vice, Post card, used Cassette tapes #38442I might give that a try. Is that then shipped via USPS? They weigh 88 lbs together, so it’s be the heaviest thing I’ve ever had to ship.
04/26/2018 at 5:48 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Daredevil Dan stunt set, Settlers of Catan, Models & Trains, Bench vice, Post card, used Cassette tapes #38421Oh yeah, I assume Fragile stickers mean nothing to USPS workers. Not their fault though really. They’ve way overworked and can’t really take the time to special handle packages. I still use them on glass-containing boxes though for a couple of reasons. It shows the buyer that I took the extra effort to label it correctly so if it does break, they’re less apt to blame me. And also it might make insurance claims easier if the package clearly says Fragile. I had a lady send me picture of her box that arrived almost completely crushed. It was covered in fragile stickers too. Thankfully, the mug inside survived so we both had a little laugh about it.
04/26/2018 at 5:40 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Daredevil Dan stunt set, Settlers of Catan, Models & Trains, Bench vice, Post card, used Cassette tapes #38420That’s a fantastic table! That’s a shame it didn’t sell for what you were originally asking for. I think it was worth that for sure!
I have a couple reasons for those spikes that you may conciser. The first day spike may be due to the new listing triggering buyer’s saved keywords. And the last day spike may have something to do with the message that eBay sends to watchers telling them that the listing is about to end. And the 8th day spike… lol I don’t know! But that’s some really interesting data! Thanks for sharing!
04/26/2018 at 5:19 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Daredevil Dan stunt set, Settlers of Catan, Models & Trains, Bench vice, Post card, used Cassette tapes #38418I love selling those bench vises. I usually get them for really cheap at auctions and can sell them for quite a bit if they’re certain old brands. I made a few notable sales last week…
I’ll start with my big sale of the week. This poetry book titled Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire was laying on a table along with a bunch of junk left over from an auction that someone left. They must have thought it was pretty worthless. I was intrigued by the title and the artwork inside, so I took it home with me. After some research, I found that this was a really rare edition, and perhaps even rarer because it wasn’t numbered in the way it should have been. I believe it was a reviewer’s copy. I priced it $50 higher than the highest price sold and it got bought for full price of $160.
Poetry Book “Flowers of Evil”I sold another Technics stereo component from the system I bought last summer at a yard sale for $25. This was the cassette deck. It worked great, but has some scratches on the top so I only listed it for $45. So all I have left are the two speakers (which I’ve received a lot of messages about shipping, but I just want to do local pickup) and some of the smaller parts like remotes, hinges, etc. I’ve made $330 so far from that buy
Technics Cassette DeckHere’s a neat Jadeite glass towel bar rack that I got at an auction. I spent a little too much… $25 for this and another jadeite ashtray, but it paid off after selling it for $44 (the ashtray sold too for $40). I love jadeite glass. I’ll buy it anytime it’s available if it’s cheap enough.
Jadeite Towel BarThis Goofy Disney watch came from a small box lot of all kinds of watches that I got for $35. I didn’t have time to look up every watch in the box, but there were several old looking Mickey Mouse ones in there, so I took a gamble. I remember when Jay and Ryanne sold that MM watch for big money. Well unfortunately, there weren’t any valuable ones. But this one sold for $30. I’ve made my money back with the sale of that and one other from that box so it was worth the gamble.
Disney Goofy WatchLastly, I wanted to mention this sale of an old watch face and inner mechanism. I have a listing with dozens of these being sold as a lot aimed for someone who could use them for parts. I got a message from a girl who just wanted one specific piece. I don’t usually go in and break up lots, but she offered $30. A very fair deal. So I made a custom listing, she bought it and I just Photoshopped that piece out of the pictures from the old listing.
Old Wristwatch MechanismApril 15 – 21
Total Items in Store: 1552
Items Sold: 27
Total Sales : $795
* above yearly average of $715
* above 2017 total week sales of $443
Highest Price: $160 (Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire 1947 Limited Edition Poetry Book)
Average Price: $29
Returns: 1 (Antique Picture Frame (Didn’t like the color))
Cost of Goods Sold: $68
Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $195
Number of New Items Listed this Week: 35Great podcast! I always look forward to listening to you two every Monday! I love the Old Man Corner segment. You should do it every week. LOL!
Sales were a bit soft this week compared to the previous couple of weeks, but I’m still above my average so I can’t complain. I had an item returned that cost me a bit. I had my store set to free return shipping (except on really big items) about a couple months ago when they begin this push for it hoping it would drive up my sales. So I had to eat the return shipping cost of that antique picture frame that I was bragging about selling last week. It shipped from California so I cost me $24 to ship back. All because the person said it wasn’t the same color as what it showed in the pictures. Well I compared them when I received it and they look identical! So I’ve decided to go through and turn free return shipping off of everything except first class items. Even though sales have been phenomenal lately, I don’t have the data to prove that it’s due to FRS.
I went to another auction on Saturday and literally filled my car up with photo slides! I spend about $100 on slides alone, but I got thousands of them! A quick peek through some of the binders shows a lot of old trains and airplanes and Civil War Reenactments, so I think I’ll make my money back very quickly. I also scored a box lot that had A FREAKIN GUN buried at the bottom! It’s just a little .31 cal. Derringer black powder pocket pistol, but holy molly I couldn’t believe it. I can’t sell it on eBay, so I might throw it up on Craigslist and see if anyone is interested in it.
04/19/2018 at 5:33 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Dallas lunch trays, Porcelain bowls, Paint by number kit, Ford trucker hat, Technics amp, 3M transparencies #37985Nice sales, Steve. I’m always amazed at the audio equipment that you get your hands on. I had another great week of sales last week. Here are some highlights!
I saved this vintage Buckaroo Big Smith jean jacket out of the Goodwill outlet bins last summer. It looked almost unworn! No stains or holes and barely any wear at all. Paid $1.64. I priced it at $150 and sold it after several months for a best offer of $110. It’s going to Germany!
Vintage Buckaroo Big Smith Jean JacketHere’s something that I didn’t think would sell for as much as it did. It’s an old celluloid plastic ring box. It’s kind of fancy with neat designs, but I almost just chucked it in the yard sale pile until I looked up other sold examples. They actually bring a little bit of money. This was out of a box lot so it cost maybe a couple bucks. I sold it for $43.
Celluloid Plastic Ring BoxEver since I’ve learned about them, I always check the bottoms of these porcelain trinket boxes for Limoges. These can sometimes bring over $100 each for the more fancy ones. This one came from a box lot and it cost me a little over a dollar. I sold it for $54.
Limoges Porcelain Trinket BoxHere’s my big sale of the week. I acquired a box lot of used flatware at an auction for $2.50. Inside were these really nice Towle stainless pieces, enough for 8 place settings with a few extras. I figured I could make more if I sold the 5-piece single settings individually rather than as a whole set. I listed them at $23 each. After a few months of not a lot of interest, I finally got the cha-ching showing someone bought all 8 settings for a total of $184. That was easy!
Towle Stainless Flatware04/16/2018 at 9:48 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 355: We Catch Up w/ Maria & Ryan from Passport Vintage Austin, TX #37819Thanks for the compliments! I owe it all to the inspiration I get from Scavenger Life and everyone on the forums!
04/16/2018 at 2:18 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 355: We Catch Up w/ Maria & Ryan from Passport Vintage Austin, TX #37779April 8 – 14
Total Items in Store: 1546
Items Sold: 42
Total Sales : $1409
* above yearly average of $705
* WAY above 2017 total week sales of $307
Highest Price: $184 (8 Place Setting Set of Towle Stainless Steel Beacon Hill Flatware)
Average Price: $34
Returns: 0
Cost of Goods Sold: $83
Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $148
Number of New Items Listed this Week: 59Wow, it’s been one of my busiest weeks yet. I didn’t quite break my person record for Total Sales, but I smashed it with Total Items Sold. I was in the zone all week too with listing and packing everyday after work. Unfortunately, I’ve been neglecting my chores around the house so I think this week I’ll slow down on the eBay side and focus on life.
I made my last car payment last week. I just decided to go for it and pay the last 4K off in one lump payment. And I could do that thanks to the extra income I’ve made off of eBay. So for the first time in over a decade, I’m debt free! Now on to buy a house…
Went to an auction on Saturday near my place and got a carload. Nothing too crazy, but I did manage to score a couple 14K gold pens buried in the bottom of a box lot that will pay for the whole bill. And a few Pyrex Flameware coffee pots too.
04/12/2018 at 12:38 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Big jeans, Fire King soup bowls, Pioneer tape deck, vintage Gym bag, Red Wing bowl, What’s Your Poison glasses. #37561The picture frame link broke. Here it is again…
Antique Picture Frame04/12/2018 at 12:37 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Big jeans, Fire King soup bowls, Pioneer tape deck, vintage Gym bag, Red Wing bowl, What’s Your Poison glasses. #37560Nice sales, Steve. That was one sleek looking reel to reel player, no wonder it sold for $1200. I had a great week of sales last week. Here are some highlights!
I was given this old Compu-Trainer electrical training machine by my dad last winter. When I initially looked it up, others have sold for $15 or $20 so I didn’t think much of it. When it finally came time to list it, I couldn’t find any others for sale so I said what the hell and listed it for $150. It sold for full price in less than a day! It’s possible that I even underpriced it, but I was super stoked about the sale anyway.
Compu-Trainer Electrical Training MachineI’ve learned a lot since I began parting out broken audio equipment. Turntables are where it’s at! I’ve sold more parts from them than from any other piece of equipment I’ve parted out. Here’s a neat item that I got from one recently. They’re plastic platter spacers used to lock the platter into place during shipping. They were probably meant to be thrown away after the customer received their turntable, but for whatever reason this person kept them. I didn’t understand what they were at first but it all clicked when I found where they were meant to go. I figured they would be useful to someone and I was right! An easy $9 right there.
Technics Turntable Platter SpacersHere’s my big sale of the week. I found this Sony boombox at an estate sale and instantly knew it would do well. I only paid a couple bucks for it. The thing was REALLY heavy! The main body was all metal. Unfortunately, the cassette portion needed some work done. The belts were fine, so I couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t work. I listed it for repair for $225 and took a best offer of $152.
Sony FH-7 StereoHere’s a neat example as to why you should think before throwing stuff away that you think is junk. These were the instruction manual and paperwork from a Garmin trail GPS that I bought years ago. The GPS unit had since been broke and thrown away, but I found this extra stuff in a drawer when cleaning recently. So I listed it for $20 and it sold in short time. Easy sale!
Garmin GPS manual & extrasI use to pass up on these kinds of old picture frames all the time at auctions because I just thought they were almost worthless. It’s the picture or art inside the frame that’s worth money, right? Well this was in a box lot of other art so I figured I’d list it and see if there was any interest. It sold within a month for a best offer of $100! Who knew? I’ll be buying these up from now on when I see them.
Antique Picture Frame04/09/2018 at 4:00 pm in reply to: What advice or guidelines do you have for using the best offer option? #37433I have a good strategy for dealing with best offers. I don’t mind taking BOs for 10 or 15% off, but if I get one more than that, I’ll counter with what I think is fair with a message that reads “Hello. $xx is as low as I can go at this time. Thanks.” It’s quick and courteous, lets them know that you’re done haggling, and lets them know that they’re dealing with a person and not some big business. It’s good to be confident with your pricing too. I’ve gotten some sap stories along with the best offers and I’ve had to learn to stand my ground.
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