Friday, October 21, 2011

$%*!

Some worthless human being(s) broke into my husband's car sometime in the early morning. He works third shift at a hospital. They broke the window and there are now a million little pieces of glass all over the car. They sold the GPS and my iPod which I left in there after visiting the gym last night. These selfish, useless morons however left all the change in the car as well as CDs, DVDs, and a checkbook. Not to mention the GPS is over 2 years old so it's not even a hot model. The iPod was a 80g iPod classic that was purchased secondhand last year for 60$. So explain to me how pathetic your life must be to steal electronics that won't even get you probably 50$ at a pawn shop. I feel sorry for you.

Replacing the window will cost almost $400. Who knows when we'll get a new GPS & iPod. This whole situation has just made me more driven to succeed, bust my ass, and make lots of money. eBay and otherwise.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Goals


This past weekend I went to a church rummage sale. I've been going to it for the last few years (since we moved down here) and have always walked away with some goodies. It's a donation sale, which is a double-edged sword in my opinion. It means I can pick my prices but then I have to negotiate with the cashier. I must say I am getting more assertive as I do this. I came to the sale with a $10 bill, a few ones and some odd change. Here's what I found:
  • kids' clothes--an Old Navy sundress, 3 boys' tank tops, Children's Place athletic shorts, Disney Princess pants, infant pants NWT, girls' Old Navy shorts, and 2 pairs of boys' swim trunks (1 NWT)
  • a Longaberger cookie mold
  • Wilton Barney cake pan
  • lots of books
  • 10 DVDs

They asked for $15, I countered with $10, and they accepted. Most of it I will hold on to for the spring consignment sale. I think I can easily triple my profit. I'll list the cake pan on eBay. Turns out the Longaberger mold is a dud, but I'll either sell in a lot or put it in the consignment sale (they do household items as well).

DH & I would like to go on a vacation this December so I've really got to get to goal setting with my eBay business. I've decided I will start small this week at $100.

Also, I'm going to set a goal for the spring consignment sale. I have plenty of time to get some inventory so I am aiming high. I want to bring 1000 items and earn a $2000+ check. Let's get started!

Tastefully Simple

I am hosting a Tastefully Simple online party. I'm hoping to be able to get some holiday shopping done inexpensively. Their food is so yummy.

What's nice about TS is that you order online and they ship directly to you or your recipient, anywhere in the US.

If you'd like an invitation let me know so I can get some products for cheap!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Consignment Sale Success!!

I had an easy, profitable experience with the recent consignment sale! It was as amazing as I had hoped and I am already fired up for the spring one. Here is the list of my sales and profits:

Items Purchased from Garage Sales

Sponge Bob Connect 4 Paid $1.00 Sold for $2.93 Profit: $1.93
Milles Bornes Paid $1.00 Sold for $3.90 Profit: $2.90
Pulling My Leg Paid $1.00 Sold for $3.90 Profit: $2.90
Witch Doctor Paid $1.00 Sold for $1.95 Profit: $0.95
IZZI brain teaser Paid $.25 Sold for $2.60 Profit: $2.35
Build a Bear hoop Paid $.50 Sold for $1.30 Profit $.80
Barbie DVDs Paid $2.00 Sold for $6.50 Profit $4.50
Bean Bag Chair Paid $3.00 Sold for $6.50 Profit $3.50
Gymboree Shoes Paid $1.00 Sold for $5.20 Profit $4.20
Bloomers Paid $.40 Sold for $.98 Profit $.58
Pirate Ship Playset Paid $2.00 Sold for $5.20 Profit $3.20
Voltron/Monster Paid $1.00 Sold for $1.30 Profit $.30
Building Set Paid $2.00 Sold for $4.55 Profit $2.55

Items from Goodwill
The Children's Place Skirt Paid $.40 Sold for $5.85 Profit $5.45
Circo Jeans Paid $.40 Sold for $3.90 Profit $3.50
Guess Skirt Paid $3.00 Sold for $6.82 Profit $3.82
Cherokee White Sweater Paid $1.00 Sold for $3.90 Profit $2.90
Kaskey Hockey Kids Paid $2.00 Sold for $5.85 Profit $3.85
Diva Sweatsuit Paid $1.00 Sold for $3.25 Profit $2.25
Guess Jean Skirt Paid $.75 Sold for $1.95 Profit $1.20
Jumping Beans Giraffe Paid $.20 Sold for $2.28 Profit $2.08
Jumping Beans Reindeer Paid $.75 Sold for $2.93 Profit $2.18
Noah's Ark outfit Paid $.40 Sold for $2.28 Profit $1.88
Monkey & Mommy Paid $.80 Sold for $1.30 Profit $.50
Ralph & Sonoma Paid $.20 Sold for $.81 Profit $.61
Dr. Seuss books Paid ?? Picked up over time Sold for $3.90

Items from VOA Thrift
Glo Bonz Paid $.90 Sold for $1.30 Profit $.40
(Which is great considering when I got home and opened the Glo Bonz container,
I realized half the pieces were missing and instead the container was filled with
marbles, checkers, and various pieces and parts from toys)
Football Toy Box Paid $8.00 Sold for $22.75 Profit $14.75 (So glad to be
getting rid of this after having it listed for months on Craigslist with no bites)
Umi Shoes Paid $3.00 Sold for $6.34 Profit $3.34
Leopard Print Circos Paid $.50 Sold for $1.30 Profit $.80
Smart Fit Blue shoes Paid $1.00 Sold for $2.60 Profit $1.60
Black Circo Flower Shoes Paid $1.00 Sold for $2.60 Profit $1.60
Baby Smart Shiny Shoes Paid $1.00 Sold for $2.60 Profit $1.60
Build a Bear Blanket & Pillow Paid $.90 Sold for $1.46 Profit $.56
Pirates Dice Game Paid $2.00 Sold for $3.90 Profit $1.90

Goodwill Outlet Trips
Trip #1
Little People Tractor $2.60
Godzilla Monsters & Dinosaurs $2.60
Profit-to-date -$3.07

Trip #2
Nancy Drew mysteries $3.25
Blankets $.98
Smart Fit boots $2.00
Profit-to-date $11.59

Personal Belongings... The few things that were originally purchased NOT to resell
Disney Tree Purchased back in 2006 for $20.00 Sold for $4.55
Longaberger Basket My dad gave me to sell; Sold for $6.50
String Lights Purchased last year, I believe at 75% off which would have been\
$5.25 Sold for $6.50
2 Sets of Pencils Purchased at I believe 75% off or $3.00 for all Sold $3.24
Wig Purchased for $4.00 Sold for $2.60
The Game of Life Given to me by my dad to sell, Sold for $2.60
Christmas Tree I believe purchased at 75% off, which would be around
$24.50 Sold for $18.20
NCAA game Bought $4.00 Sold $2.60


The prices sold for up there are AFTER the 35% cut the sale gets. After the cut and the consigner's fee, I will be getting a check for approx $177.

Lessons learned for next time:
Start MUCH earlier with the tagging and packaging. Like months in advance. Like now. That way my living room doesn't look like a tornado and I actually have time to bring all my inventory.
Color-code my hangers. I was confused as to why some folks' hangers had ribbon on them. Well when I went to pick-up my remaining items it made perfect sense. You have to find your items in a sea of chaos. Some other people duct taped their hangers with pretty colored tape. I'm thinking I might order labels from Vista Print for next time. They'll be pre-cut as opposed to having to get the duct tape off the roll, and will probably cost about the same after Vista Print's freebie deals.


P.S. No clue why a few lines of this post are highlighted.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Consignment Sale

So tonight we dropped off our items at the consignment sale. It looks like it's going to go well; everything was so neat and organized. I ended up having time to list 131 items but only had time to tag and bring 94 of them. 2 additional items I put in inventory I realized I couldn't sell--one pair of pants was stained and our old vacuum was missing a piece. They said everything I did bring looks good, with the exception of one pair of shoes that was too scuffed, which I figured. However a lady told me she'd pay me for the shoes anyway, so I got a quick 2 bucks in my pocket. I'll get 65% of whatever I make minus a $25 consignor fee. Tomorrow Carlos & I are going to shop the pre-sale.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Consignment Sale Inventory

I've been finding more and more junk to take to the consignment sale. It's sort of sad that I've acquired so much random stuff. This sale also does household items so I'm getting rid of a lot of the holiday decor we have, since it's a pain to put up and no one comes to visit anyway. So far, I have items worth $579.50 (before the 35% taken out) listed in the database. My goal is to get to $1000. $1500 would be nice but I doubt if I have that much stuff. We'll see. The deadline to enter inventory is Monday at 10 AM so we'll see what I get done tomorrow. I have all the Christmas stuff in the attic, some books, board games, a few items from the thrift in the trunk of my car, an end table, and some various toys to list.