Labor Day Finds!

It's been a good while since I've posted.  Please accept my apologies.  Life, family and business all take precedence.  But here I am!  I've had a nice, steady flow of sales from my eBay store this weekend, which is a nice change over the past few weeks.  

Last Monday was Labor Day here in the states and all of our Goodwill thrift stores were 50% off all day long.  So, off I went to hit up the Goodwills and made out like a bandit!  I think I spent a total of around $35 all day and scored some nice, profitable inventory.

I paid 50 cents for this and, since it's headed to Canada, the buyer had to pay shipping! --->

Here's my bit WOOT from my Labor Day finds.  I believe this cost me $1 and it's brand new.  Pendleton shirts are a great find, so if you happen upon one for a low price and it's in excellent condition, grab it!  

This lovely shirt is headed to Kazakhstan, so the buyer had to pay shipping.  See?  Offering  free shipping (only to US addresses), doesn't mean I'm losing money!

I've already dedicated a post to selling board games, BUT let me emphasize, once again, how profitable they can be!  I paid no more than $3 each for these games on Labor Day (that was just 6 days ago!):

 Because of it's size/weight, I did NOT offer free shipping on this one.

 Interesting tidbit about this Inventors game... this was my husband's favorite board game as a child!  Several years ago, before I caught the eBay selling bug, I bought him one off eBay for Christmas and paid over $40 for it.  Mine didn't sell for that much, but it was STILL a nice, quick profit.

Another super fast seller for me is a Boy Scout uniform shirt or pants.  I paid $1 for this uniform shirt and it didn't last more than a couple of days in my store.   I always make sure to indicate all patches and such that are attached to the uniform piece.  My son is a Boy Scout, so I am well aware how much these uniform pieces cost new.  This buyer got a bargain!

 And, now I'm going to reiterate another of my previous posts, where I talked about selling Microwave Glass Turntables.  Talk about a nice profit!  I can generally get these at thrift stores for anywhere from 50 cents to $2, but usually no more than $1 each.  This is one I purchased during my Labor Day shopping trip.  

Are YOU looking to improve your eBay business?  Join our wonderful, active group called eBay Underground (aka EBUG)!   I guarantee that you will learn a LOT and make some new eBay friends.  Come, join us!

Sometimes, You've Just Gotta Take a Chance

And, that's just what I did, recently.  After driving to the next county to take my daughter to her Orthodontist visit, I had to pay a visit to the nearby Goodwill that I only get to visit about every six weeks or so.  There wasn't much to get excited about during this visit... until I spotted NINE sealed boxes of this item.  It's an extension set for a game called, "The Settlers of Catan."  Now, I'd NEVER heard of this game, but those nine boxes sure caught my eye.  And, as a bonus, they were marked at $1.50 each.  I used my handy dandy smartphone to do a little quick research and found that there were some listed on eBay for around $16.  I figured that my $13.50 wasn't an awful lot to invest and was hopeful that I'd sell at least one to cover my expenses.  

I listed them on both Amazon.com and eBay and have sold six of them, so far (some on each venue)!  I've priced them at $16.75 with free shipping on eBay and $10.99 + $5.49 shipping on Amazon.  So, for my $13.50 investment, I've made a profit of just over $50 with three left in inventory.  One sale was to Canada and one to New Zealand!  And, these are super easy to ship because they fit nicely into a poly bag and weigh just under 16 oz.  No, I'm not getting rich selling these, but at this rate, they'll all be gone in another week, they are easy to store and easy to ship, so it was an easy profit.

Another chance I took last week was purchasing two big bags of various construction type blocks.  I could see some Wooden Lincoln Logs and K'Nex in there, so I grabbed them up and paid $8 for the two bags.  Once I got them home, I had to task of sorting through them so I could get them listed for sale.  Here are the results!

Not too shabby for an $8 investment, huh? 

 

And, finally, my most favorite sale of the week.  Back in April, I picked up this cutting board that was in the shape of a pig, was obviously from the 1970's, and was new in its original package.  I believe I paid $2 for it.  Three months later, it sold for $42.49 ($49.99 - 15% sale)!  I'll take that any day.

So, the lesson here is... don't be afraid to take a chance!  Sure, there are LOTS of Lincoln Logs and Legos listed for sale on eBay on any given day.  So, I had NO way of knowing if mine would sell quickly or sit for a year.  Fortunately, they both sold within just a few days.  The game extension set has been a quick seller, as well.  Now, as for that pig... well, there was really no way to do research on it since it was a pretty unique item.  So, I took a chance!  It was different, for sure, and there are folks who collect anything "PIG."  So, I just put him out there for sale and waited for that right buyer to come along.  They usually do and they always have $$ to spend.

Pre-Digital Instant Photos a la Polaroid

I remember when it was a big thrill to have a Polaroid instant camera and to be able to see your photos instantly.  That was WAY before digital cameras!  But, if you think that those old Polaroid dinosaurs are worthless, today, THINK AGAIN.  They are HOT sellers on eBay!  So, when you see them at the thrift stores, grab them up.

Sure, Polaroid stopped production of instant cameras in 2007 and stopped producing film for these cameras in 2008.  BUT, "The Impossible Project," has come to the rescue!  They are making instant film for classic Polaroid cameras, helping those cameras make a "comeback."  I recently sold a Polaroid instant camera to The Impossible Project and was super-excited about that sale! 

Now, you may be wondering how I test these cameras to ensure that they actually work.  Well, once upon a time, I found a couple of those cameras that still had empty film cartridges in them.  If you remember, the film cartridges had the battery built in to them.  So, I held onto them and used them to test cameras (insert empty film cartridge, close film door, press shutter button... if it acted like it was taking a picture, it worked!).  But, eventually, the batteries in those film cartridges went dead and I haven't found any, since (and, I'm just too cheap to buy a new pack of film solely for this purpose).  So, now, I just indicate that the cameras seem to be in good condition but that I am unable to test the camera, since I have no film.  It hasn't hurt sales one bit and I've never had a problem with any of those sales. 

Be sure to mention in your listings the type of film your particular camera takes.  Most of them take Polaroid 600 film, but there are a few that take a different type.  Indicate whether or not there is a strap included and if there is a flash, auto focus, etc.  You can usually pick up one of these cameras for a dollar or two at thrift stores and yard sales.  My average selling price is $24.99.  It's a decent profit for little work and they fit perfectly in the small 7" X 7" X 6" free USPS Priority Boxes. 

Hey!  I just sold another one, so I'm off to get it packaged up and ready to be shipped out to its new owner.