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Jadowa,
I love your story!
Wow, that was quite a wild ride that you have been on. I thought you might have had some good stories when I asked, but I wasn’t expecting such a great story as that!
The thing I like most about your story is that you were able to change with the times to always make money. Also, you were able to change the business (or in the process) to match the lifestyle that you wanted.
I would call your story a great success that is still working its way out, as with all of us on this journey. I think you will be able to add a lot of good information to this blog in the future.
Mark
karlacreekbank,
I am not familar with Lee Roberson, but my family is very familar with Cades Cove. Cades Cove has the cabin of John Oliver – the first white settler in the Smokey Mountains. John Oliver is my wife’s 4x Great Grandfather. We used to go down there ever year to visit while her Grandma still lived there.
Maybe Lee Roberson has some relation to John Oliver.
Mark
Hi Jadowa,
Welcome to the group. Looks like you are just South of Indianapolis.
Can you say more about what you sell?
What has your journey on ebay been like for almost 20 years?
Mark
Yes, and the traffic is getting worse with all the construction. So glad that is only 2 days a week.
Yes, also to getting into a schedule when you are full-time. I was just thinking about that. There are so many things to grab your attention. If you don’t have a schedule, you will be all over the place.
Mark
T-Satt,
I am an early riser also. I wake up between 5:15AM and 6AM depending on the day. I try to get to bed by 10PM, but when I am getting a lot of sales like last night, I need to stay up till about 11PM.
I still have a 50 minute drive up to work (without traffic. With traffic is more like 60- 90 minutes).
The good news is that I work from home 3 days a week.
If I go full time with ebay, I would probably still get up early because I have to drive my daughter to school. However, I would probably get up that early anyway to get things done.
Mark
Hey, who flipped the bozo bit? Or who turned on the faucet?
This was suppose to be a nice relaxing Tuesday in May. Tuesday is usually my low day, 1 maybe 2 sales.
But today I have had 5 sales on ebay for $226 (decent avg of $45) plus one on Bonanza for $28. I also had 3 good questions asked that I have had to answer. It feels like it does in December, but this is May.
Not that I am complaining, but is anyone else seeing this type of activity in their store today?
Mark
Mike,
I am with you on this one. I heard about this scam on another podcast and have always kept this in mind.
If they want another address I think they have to cancel the order, change their address, then re-purchase. Is that correct?
Mark
Brian,
Man, I wish I could find a sealed record from the 60’s or 70’s that is actually still popular!
Did they advertise this in the estate sale promo, or did you just stumble upon it?
Did they state they had a lot of records?
I am just trying to see if I can define the MO for this type of item so that I go to those estate sales.
Mark
T-Satt,
Also, my calculations show that you would also get a discount of $78.75 (10% of your 9% fees on $8750). for staying Top Rated. So now we are only talking about $65. And that is if the return rate and price doubles. I am with you, nothing to get upset over or fret about. Hey, maybe you will get even more sales and it is a wash or you actually make more money.
Mark
Brian,
Oh, I forgot about the cigaratte cards I already have. I don’t think there are any that are a complete set, but some are close. I also have original boxes for some of them. I estimate that I can get close to $500 alone for the boxes sold separately. I was thinking of selling the boxes first because for some reason, I have no connection to them. There is one box that I have which goes with a set of cards from around 1910. I think that is so cool to sell the box with the cards! I am going to get a jump on the price. The box is worth maybe $100 and the cards around $300, but when I sell them, I will list closer to $500 because it will be a great set.
The cigaratte cards are all over the place. Some are basically fortune cards. Other themes are cowboys, American heros, cars around 1910 (really cool and worth a lot), houses, landmarks, boxing (also worth a lot, but most are not in good condition, but a lot of world champions). There are also Navy Battleships, flags of all nations, Seals of the United States, Countries of the World, colleges (these are also worth a lot), military, etc. One card really puzzles me and I couldn’t find anything about it anywhere. It is a small cards that reads “June 11 1912 tuberculosis blue star day TOBACCO card”. Most have been to commemorate the day, but not sure who made it, when, and the exact reason. I have about 40-50 of those and was going to list with quantity if I could figure them out.
Mark
Brian,
The Cracker Jack Planes is a set of 147. I only have 48-50.
That is a good idea about a year for the maps (if I can get an exact year), I didn’t think of that.
I was thinking of listing by manufacturer or by location, but year is also a good idea.
Mark
Brian,
That is crazy finding a Rolling Stones sealed album from the 60’s. I sometimes find sealed records that old, but it is something no one is looking for.
How much did they charge you for the Rolling Stones sealed album?
Mark
Nancy,
That is very strange that Smart Post would work for T-Satt and I and not for you. What size box are you trying to send? 15 X 8 X 6 shoes box size and smaller is what seems to work. Any larger than that and the price goes way up. Is that what is happening to you?
I wonder if others on the blog could chime in to say if it is working for them or not.
Mark
T-Satt,
No problem.
Smart Post continues this week to keep making me money. I’m lovin’ it!
Mark
Brian,
Yes, that was one of my favorite sales of the year. Yes, I can expense the mileage to the estate sale which is great also. The amazing thing about those Cracker Jack plane cards is that they are in very good condition. For 70+ years old, that is amazing. I got about 50 of them for $30 (were $50 to start and on sale for 25% off, and then got him down to $30), so the price was right also. I am thinking of keeping them for right now. I have about 600 other Cigarette cards from circa 1910. I picked all of those up at a garage sale for $600. I estimate that I good ask for about $4000 – $5000 on ebay if I break them into sets and some by themselves. The thing that holds me back is 1. Somehow I connect to them and 2. They are so much work to get listed. So, I am sitting on about $5000 of Cigarette cards right now and that sounds weird saying that.
The maps were nothing real special, just your run of the mill Sunoco, Esso, Flying A Service fold out maps. But what was so interesting to me is that there are about 50+ of them and all from the 1960’s and all in excellent shape. They bring back memories of using those types of maps as a kid on road trips. Some can fetch $25 on their own, but most are the $5-$10 kind that I will lot together. They are for a number of major cities in the US. There is Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, the Penn Turnpike, CN rail, Denver, Washington DC, Milwaukee, Duluth, St. Louis, San Francisco, Michigan, Indianapolis, Richmond, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Lucas County, South Bend, California, and detailed map of Railroads in Colorado. Most people should be able to connect with something in there.
Mark
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