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The library sales in my area are nothing like big city library sales! My local library actually maintains a wall in one of their meeting rooms with a perpetual library sale.
Last summer the library near my day job had a big sale. Hardly anyone was there. The idea of a line at opening is hard for my small town brain to even comprehend! I walked in on my lunch hour and scored multiple boxes of good stuff – Vintage star wars novels, manga. I need to get those books listed now that Ahsoka is out and they’re gonna be dropping more and more Expanded universe stuff in (Thrawn baby!).
My hopes are high for them dropping some serious nerd stuff from the 90’s books.
Items in Store: 2574
Items Sold: 30
Total Sales: $937.00
COGS: $128.00
Total Profit: $809.00
Average profit: $26.97
Average sales price: $31.23
New Listings: 65
Items scavenged: 14
Listing 2023 weekly Avg: 40Had a wonderful vacation. It was nice to disconnect and have a good time! I kept my store on time away with extended handling time. We got back home on Friday and I was able to finish up the listings I drafted as well as create a few new ones. I had to do some inventory management and then start the process of shipping a TON of items from the extended time away.
Here was my post where I set out my summer listing plan:
https://www.scavengerlife.com/forums/topic/the-numbers-april-30-may-6-2023/#post-100005
I officially COMPLETED my 1000 item summer listing goal! WOOT!!! My final tally was 1019.
Last summer I listed 620 items and sold 342 items for $10343.
The summer of 2020 (which is an anomaly year), I listed 191 items, and sold 370 items for $13533
This summer my final numbers were 1019 listings, 404 sales for $17833.
I said at the beginning of summer I wanted to crush 2020 and I did!
Now for the rest of the year I think my plans have shifted. The September/October vacay plans are caput as I’ve already taken vacation and I don’t have enough days left to take an October one due to some unplanned sick days. With my listing at work strategy I think I can list 50 items a week pretty easily the rest of the year. Instead of not listing after Thanksgiving I think I’ll just keep my listing to only at work on my breaks/lunch and have my kids do photographs at home. At 50 items a week the rest of the year I would hit 2287 new listings. Eh, I can do better than that! I’m setting the goal post at 2500 new listings in 2023. That’s an average of 62 over 18 weeks – 1113 new listings.
I may flame out in the winter once the time changes but at least I’ll have ran hard by the time that point comes. I’m hoping by front loading in Sept & October I can coast to success in the last 6 weeks.
Premium hoarder update:
Sold 7 items for $201. No homeruns this week just the bread n butter. I started a spreadsheet to track my profit on this sale. My investment so far is $6400. I set up the spreadsheet to deduct Final value fees from my total to get a closer idea of when I hit my break even point. To date I am at $5353.34 total sales MINUS FVF’s. So $1000 more in sales and I’ll be in the green. Sneak Preview – I’ve had a great start to this week. I’m at 8 hoarder items for $800 after 3 days so I’m hoping to officially be in the black by the next time you hear from me.
As the dude says: “well that’s like, her opinion man!”
I don’t think that one is even worth responding to.
you could always do a thoughtful owner response acting as if maybe there was a misunderstanding. Recently I had a crappy buyer on eBay leave me a poor feedback because I wouldn’t give her a 75% discount and let her keep the item. eBay wouldn’t remove it so I replied to the feedback. I got several glowing positive feedbacks over the next few days that definitely felt like they read that feedback and were clapping back at her feedback.
another thing you could do is introduce yourself and simply offer to clean up for her if you are there when she is. She may go back and revise it.
I did a little bit of yard sales and checked 2 thrift stores this weekend. Didn’t find a whole bunch, but one item noted below turned out to be a homerun after I researched it yesterday.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266390193862
Wilson Electronics 801201 3G Wireless Cellular/PCS Dual Band Booster Kit
Paid $1 at a sale this Saturday.
Other items of note:
5 pair of Allen Edmonds shoes at local Goodwill for $3.99 a pair. It was nice to see shoes marked up at reasonable prices at this goodwill again! A few weeks ago they would have had these at $10-20. I hope this is the start of a trend. I just started drafting them today at lunch. They will sell for between $30-70 each.
A Star Wars Remote control droid for $4. Figured it would be worth $50 or so. It turns out it is a Galaxy’s Edge Droid Depot custom droid and will sell for $150. Nice! I’ll get it tested and listed this week.
On vacation with extended time away and had 30 sales and almost cracked $1k this week. I call that a rousing success!
Here are some of the highlights:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266353526623
MISS RODEO USA by ACME Red Fringe Boots – Cowboy Boots Size 6.5 M
Sold on $50 offer. This one was notable due to the negotiation at the yard sale. Lady tried to be firm on price at $20 when I offered $10. I inadvertently used the silent treatment to get the price way down to $7 from my initial offer of $10 by bundling with another item. I was actually trying to find a couple loose dollar bills in my pocket and couldn’t find them all while wondering where I may have dropped them. I realized my silence was getting to her so I just leaned into it a while longer. I did find the dollar bills stuck to my wallet so double score!
Never underestimate the silent negotiation. Some people will do anything to make it end.
Ugg…ebay is jacking up looking at sold listings if they are a catalog entry.
Sold for full price $40. I bought this for $7 at a pawn shop I occasionally stop to look at on my lunch break for video games and DVD’s. With the way streaming is going, DVD/Bluray sets are going to see a resurgence. The pipedream of always having access to everything all the time has been burst by Disney and HBO. With the bloodbath of content removals. Disney also announced DVD box sets of multiple Star Wars and Marvel shows which does not bode well for their continued streaming availability.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266312077293
Denby Blue Jetty Water Rice Bowl 5″ England
Yes you read that right – $50 for a SINGLE rice bowl. I’m well into the profit on this denby stuff and I’ve only sold 3 items!
https://www.ebay.com/p/4012044162?iid=266370510740
RCA U1000 Unison 4 Line Corded Telephone with Digital Answering System – Black
Sold for $85 – paid $3 at a yard sale 2 weeks ago. I’ve sold many business phones over the years. They tend to sell fairly quickly. When I picked this one up I assumed it would sell for $30-50 with no research. I was pleasantly surprised to see it sold for MUCH more.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265784268540
Fisher Price Loving Family Victorian Grand Mansion Dollhouse House Only 2008
I’ve had this listed for a year. This was technically a leftover as I’ve sold off all the dolls/furniture that came with it for a nice profit. It sold for $100 full price. Yay! I’ll make $20 on shipping by using UPS instead of Fedex. Yay!. I have to find/make a box and ship it….BOOOOOO!!!! I’ve sold multiple loving family dollhouses in the past. The right box has a way of magically showing up at just the right time.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265707738810
Mcdonalds Play Food Vintage 1980’s Lot of 15 pieces fries Nuggets Burger
Paid $1 for this at an independent thrift store. Back when I got this, they also listed a COMPLETE 1980’s McDonalds drive thru play kitchen with a ton of parts/accessories. Saw it on their fb page and wrote them. I was ready to leave work as soon as they opened. Sadly, it was already gone. Oh well, at least I still have this sale!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266334304583
Frye Harness 12R Men’s Size 10.5 Black Leather Pull On Boots 87350-1 Made in USA
From the premium hoarder sale. Sold for $200. Paid $10 as these weren’t part of the shoe haul – just out in the regular sale.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266322755125
Star Wars Endor Commando Snapback Hat Heroes & Villians Mesh Patch
Sold for $30. Paid $3. I bought this at a yard sale a couple weeks ago without researching it. My gut just told me it was awesome and that somone would pay me at least $30. My gut was right!
Items in Store: 2539
Items Sold: 32
Total Sales: $1,038.00
COGS: $139.00
Total Profit: $899.00
Average profit: $28.09
Average sales price: $32.44
New Listings: 0
Items scavenged: 0
Listing 2023 weekly Avg: 39Got a bunch of listings drafted and went on vacation on Thursday. Didn’t get everything done that I wanted to prior to leaving but that’s ok.
Sold 6 premium hoarder items for $350 – the highlight being a $200 pair of Frye boots.
This was a $400 bat new. The rules on baseball bats are alot more complex than they were when I played baseball. This bat is not allowed in any Little League. It is only good for travel ball.
I figure this will be a spring sale but you never know!
I got it at goodwill back when they charged flat rates for purses. I would have paid $3.
I’m always on the look for painted leather bags after I sold one many years back for $100+.
High quality leather always catches my eye.
That’s pretty clever to take photos to do your research prior to the 50% off day.
I was doing that at an estate sale earlier this month and the lady running it told me I could put in silent bids slightly above the 50% off price and if it was still there at the end of the day prior to the 50% off day they would pull those items and hold for me if I was the high bidder.
I got all the items I wanted and didn’t have to show up until the end of the day.
I wonder if that was an option here?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266344461422
Affliction Denim Killers USA Made Straight Jeans Mens 40×34 Leather Cross
So these are the jeans I tried an auction on because I saw an identical pair in terapeak go for over $1k on bid. Other sellers told me the terapeak auction was likely a glitch and not real. There were no other comps higher than $70.
I got not action on bid so I listed at $150. Countered several offers at $100 and sent several offers to watchers at $100. Someone came along a paid full price. Would this have been that magical buyer that would have paid the $1000 at auction? Maybe. We’ll never know. I’m happy with my $150.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266361660260
Jeon Los Angeles Genuine Leather Shoulder Bag Jazz Theme Large 15x13x7
I had to list some death pile stuff to clear off a shelf in my listed inventory shed. This has been sitting in a bin on a shelf for YEARS. Sold within a few days for $125 sent offer.
3 quick examples of premium hoarder shoes that sold this week:
$250 – https://www.ebay.com/itm/266367737056
No super amazing home runs at the huge city wide yard sale, but plenty of solid items. The highlights from this week:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266370510967
Whirlpool Part# ECKMFEZ1 Automatic Refrigerator Ice Maker Kit 355962 New Sealed
Paid $1. new in box fridge parts always do well. This one should sell fairly quickly.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266370510740
RCA U1000 UNISON Phone System 4-Line Base Station DECT 6 Digital Receptionist
Paid $2. Executive phones can be really good money. Keep an eye out for them.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266370510295
Nike Elite Quad Zip System Max Air Hoops Backpack Bag – Black / White
Paid $5. Nike basketball backpacks have high STR and routinely go for $50+ used.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266370509775
SOC Sandpiper of California BUGOUT Backpack Coyote Brown Military Tactical
Paid $8. Good brand with good STR. Should sell quick.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266370525803
Jim Henson’s Bear In The Big Blue House What Will You Find Pop Up Game 1999 NEW
Paid $1. I love sealed older toys. This show was a fave of our oldest. Great show to nap to! Anyways, rare item with a rare buyer. I hope to sell at Christmas season.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266371173849
Louisville Slugger META 29/19 USSSA Composite Baseball Bat SLMTX10S-21
Paid $30 for this and one more bat. More paint wear than I would like but still valuable. Will likely sell for $150 offer. I bought the other bat to negotiate a better deal and hedge my buy cost. The other will sell for $30-40 and get me in the profit.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266371628742
Belleville 675 ST Gore-tex Boots Mens 12 R Cold Weather Waterproof Steel Toe
Paid $2. Combat boots are always plentiful at yard sales. These are really nice ones in a great size. Should sell pretty quickly.
I bought a TON of women’s shoes at one sale – 22 pair. All very nice. A bunch of Ralph Lauren leather driving shoes and other nicer brand shoes. Paid $3 a pair – many will sell for around $50. The cheapest will be $30-35.
24 pair listed sub $100
12 pair $100-$200
14 pair priced $200 and up.
I’ve listing all the used unboxed shoes and multiple of those have sold for $200+ which I did not anticipate when I bought them.
Everything left unlisted (about 50) is new in box and most of them will be $200+
So 60+ more will sell $200+. I’m being fairly aggressive with pricing and offers to keep things moving. Multiple pairs I’ve had listed for $300-400 I’ve ended up selling for $200-$300.
I crunched my numbers and in order to beat my total gross sales of 2020 I would need to average $1667 per week gross sales to match 2020. The weak first half of the year really put a damper on things. In the last 6 weeks my gross sales have exceeded the combined gross sales for the first 5 MONTHS of the year!
Is that doable at this point? I’m thinking yes. We shall see!
Also, I’m at 954 new listings for the summer. I’ll wrap up the last 46 to complete my 1000 listing summer goal this week – several weeks ahead of schedule.
Items in Store: 2571
Items Sold: 40
Total Sales: $2,352.00
COGS: $244.00
Total Profit: $2,108.00
Average profit: $52.70
Average sales price: $58.80
New Listings: 110
Items scavenged: Alot
Listing 2023 weekly Avg: 40Saturday was the big community yard sale in the city I live on the outskirts of. There were 120 listed yard sales in the same 10 mile stretch I normally scavenge, and in reality I bet it was 150+. On a normal yard sale Saturday it takes me about 2 hours to drive my route and see all the sales. Saturday we went for 5.5 hours to finish the route and did drive-bys or straight up skipped a TON of sales.
I’ve never seen this many sales in one day in this area. Unfortunately many of them were junk, overpriced, or a wall of generic clothing. There may have been good things at many of them early in the morning but you can only be the early bird at the first few sales wherever you start.
I didn’t buy anything I was super excited about – a few $100+ items mixed in there. This was my last hurrah of the summer with vacation coming up on the scavenging front. From here on out for the rest of the year my general scavenging will be pretty light*. Listing wise I have a pretty good system going and I think I’ll keep listing 50-80 items a week the rest of the year.
* Ah you saw that asterisk huh? Well my “general” scavenging will be light but in September there will be another round of premium hoarder acquisitions. I still don’t know how deep that rabbit hole will go long term.
Premium hoarder numbers for the week:
Shoes: 5 pair for $1200
Clothing: 10 items for $458
My running total so far is 56 items $5620 in sales. This week I will finally cross over into the profit. Making my money back before I do another big purchase is perfect. My solds are averaging $100 and my current listed premium hoarder listings average $100 (196 for $20633)
I still have a bin of clothes to list and about half the shoes.
