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Not all spooled wire/cable has length markings, but some definitely does (the link goes to a removed listing so I can’t see what kind you have). On a similar note, a couple weeks ago I scored 51′ of brand new 13 hose syrup soda beverage bundled line left over from a new restaurant install. I was about to try to measure it when I noticed the markings. One end says “000 FEET”; near the other says “050” FEET, which was very convenient. (It’s usually sold rolls of 100′ and up.) I just need to find a buyer.
Wow, he had some serious talent! It’s even more impressive knowing how it was done.
I actually just got done with a couple acrylic “paintings” (I painted 2 wooden butterflies I made this week). I’m happy with how they turned out, but his mouth paintings are far superior to my work!
It’s a saw sharpening vise. You use it to hold a saw blade (hand saw) while you sharpen and set the teeth.
Catmom: Nice find! It’s a real shame about people who think the world is their trash can. Luckily there are people like you who make an effort to do something about it. But finding that awesome bakeware was an awesome bonus.
Temudgin: Now that’s the kind of sourcing I want to stumble into! Hopefully you’ll make a nice bit of cashola from the stuff.
It’s great to contribute to the podcast conversation again!
After the summer slump, my sales were pretty good for about 6 weeks. But they’ve gone down again the past couple weeks. 3 weeks ago I has several really good sales that skew my average numbers a bit. But here’s my last three week’s numbers (gross, not including what buyers paid for shipping). It’s hard to judge the cost of a lot of the items, as they are from buys and finds that have long since paid for themselves:
Current number of eBay listings: 584
The past 7 days:
(Ebay): Sold $179 ; 15 sales ; COGS $20 or less
(Facebook / Craigslist): Sold $45 ; 2 sales ; COGS $0.002 weeks ago:
(Ebay): $533 ; 24 sales ; COGS $50 or less
(Facebook): $35 ; 1 sale ; COGS $0.003 weeks ago:
(Ebay): $1,089 ; 23 sales ; COGS $50 or lessI don’t think they’re any kind of cymbals. The only thing that comes to mind are maybe they’re intended to be ring holders/display. I’m probably wrong, but they have the right shape.
Jay – I’ve only been questioned twice and I’ve been doing it off and on since around 1991. I just try not to linger:
1) In the mid-90’s I was stopped by a police officer who asked what I was doing. I told him and he didn’t have a problem with it.
2) This past January I had a guy at a church next to the post office come driving up to me really quickly telling me not to dump in their dumpster any more. I explained that I’ve NEVER put anything in their dumpster; I only look for things I can resell. But someone does dump in their dumpster (and fills it to the rim). I know because I’ve made almost $2,000 from their dumpster. Once it was completely FULL of 48 sealed cases of Teavana tea makers (see my profile picture; it was taken after I’d already removed some of the cases). I made over $1,300 from that score alone.
Several other times, it’s been full of cases of sealed bags of chips, snack crackers and other items. We kept many cases, gave dozens away and sold a ton more through auction. I got several sealed cases of Harry Potter wands from that same dumpster. But now they keep chains across their driveway to keep people out. For half of this year, that was the ultimate honey hole!
I do agree with the title of this thread. Crating an object that large is quite a project. I also agree with the commentary concerning the “university” hype. The marketing language feels smarmy and smells more like bullshit than value.
But who can argue with tag lines like “TJ made $800 on his first flip after Flipper U and then found a $2,000 Slurpee machine after a coaching call!”? Because obviously finding an expensive Slurpee machine is the direct result of an online “coaching call”!
We can all cherry pick our home runs. I too have had some pretty great ones, but they aren’t the norm. And bolstering self-proclaimed guru status with the occasional great flip is a house of cards waiting to collapse.
@ Jay – I have a 6-foot pile of the stuff in my eBay storage room. I also have a huge garden tub (which I’ve never used) in the master bathroom that’s filled with air pillows, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, etc… Lately I’ve been acquiring the stuff faster than I can use it, but I’ve had droughts where I couldn’t list certain larger items until I found more packing material.
If needed, I can store tons of material in the loft of my woodworking shop. I never have, but the space is there if I need it. I also know that it’s sellable locally if I ever want to purge some. I just hate seeing that kind of thing go to waste, given how over-priced it is when you have to buy it new.
Every month or so I find a few sheets of the quilted stuff; it’s beautiful, highly protective stuff, but can only be broken down at the perforations (if you cut it smaller it deflates). It’s very rare that I find the large discreet-bubbles bubble wrap. If I had a local reselling friend I’d be glad to share some of the wealth from time to time.
There’s an Ashley Furniture store in one of the strip malls I frequent (“normal people” get joy from the fronts of strip malls. I prefer the back sides.). But they have one of those enormous construction dumpsters that sits in a ramped pit with railings around it. It’s a great source for large sheets of cardboard. But it’s physically difficult to get anything smaller out of it.
Some of my sweetest shipping honey holes are:
* Once Upon A Child – Good boxes and lots of air pillows (though if their dumpster is nearly full, they cut them open to save on space).
* Ross – The dumpster is often filled with large clear trash bags full of smaller clear bags (that new clothing comes in). Crumpled, the bags make an awesome lightweight filler that bulks nicely and pads as well as packing peanuts in small boxes. (Then I use the trash bags in my kitchen trash can, scavenger style). It’s also often filled with large clear bags of plastic hangers, which I sell on Facebook by the hundreds.
* Ulta Beauty – They often have air pillows and the small bubble wrap. That’s where this recent jackpot of large bubble wrap came from. I also get a lot of cosmetic displays (I grab and sell the nicest ones on Facebook Marketplace) and beautifully printed fabric advertising banners/signs (that I sell on eBay) from this one. It’s amazing how frequently they go through displays. They’re usually cheap, too-specific “junk”, but some have been exceptionally nice.
* Michael’s (the craft store) and Bealls – I often find small-bubble sheets and bags made of small-bubble wrap in these dumpsters.
* Dollar tree – A good source for smaller, longer boxes. I also score cases of “gently expired” snack items and crushed box items like zippered food storage bags, aluminum foil, etc… all of which are perfectly fine to use.
Are the enclosures branded MCM or just the drivers within? When I had my electronics store / repair shop, I bought a lot from MCM, including replacement speakers. I don’t know who makes their speakers, but I’m pretty sure they’re private labeled re-brands. But I may have seen at one point that they did have a speaker cabinet building shop (I think; it’s been a few years now).
I know they sell DJ/band style speaker cabinets, but I’ve never seen anything like those in their catalog. Pretty cool!
@Jay – Most certainly! This may be your house but you can also be the guest of honor. This is all about compiling points of wisdom and you and Sharyn made some great ones. Thank you.
I just saw this news on YouTube. Hopefully it will be good for users of the site.
