Rack City

In the words of the auctioneer on Auction Kings, "ya bought it!"

Or rather, a guy bought it! It being my husband's iMac. W00t. What will the money go to? Probably paying off bills... And tonight's fine dinner... at Subway.

Paying off the mattress: Week 2

Well the week started off strong but seemed to fizzle. Here's what sold on eBay:

NEW NIP KOBE BRYANT LOS ANGELES LA LAKERS NBA WRISTWATCH WATCH BASKETBALL WORKS

Sold for: $22.50

Cost: $9.88 (bought this for DH as a stocking stuffer. It sat in the living room for months and being as I've surely lost the receipt, on eBay this sucker went.) 

1986 EUC THE FAR SIDE COFFEE MUG CUP GARY LARSON MIDVALE SCHOOL FOR THE GIFTED

Sold for $35.50

Cost: .50 (church garage sale)

Thank god this is gone. It was listed half a dozen times. It's going to someone in the UK; hopefully it makes it there in one piece. I have another one to list still! Ack. I should just keep it in my classroom as I'm teaching gifted this year... 

That's it on the eBay front. The buyer of the Blues Clues mat from last week STILL has not paid. I sense an unpaid buyer case getting opened tomorrow...

On Half.com:

Bill Engvall Show - The Complete First Season (DVD, 2008, 2-Disc Set) (DVD, 2008)

Sold for: $4.51

Cost: FREE (Dave & Buster's was giving these out like a year ago... guess they had extra inventory? Or a promo?)

Making Social Studies Come Alive: 65 Teacher-Tested Ideas for Classroom Use by Madella Williams, Marlene Slobin and Marilyn Kretzer (...

Sold for $5.31

Cost: ?? (personal collection)

Dead Island (Sony Playstation 3, 2011) (2011)

Sold for $19.81

Cost: ?? (one of 4 games DH got when he bought a PS3 on Craigslist)

On Craigslist:

Sold my iPod for $100

Cost: Around $200 at Christmas, don't need it anymore as I now use my phone for music!

Total- Week 2: 187.63 (!!)

Grand total: $318.50

$1034.80 left

It's nice having a goal. I can't wait till the mattress is paid off, as there's a million other things I want to save money for. DH is trying to sell his iMac; if he does that will be a substantial amount to throw at the loan. I'm sort of annoyed at eBay currently, since I'm listing way more than I'm selling, so I've been taking a break for the past few days. Not to mention I didn't go saling yesterday but opted to this morning, and the sales sucked. Hopefully it will pick up, hopefully that Blues Clues lady will pay(she has 453 positive feedbacks... wth?), and hopefully the 50% off sale at VOA will be amazing as will sales next week:)

Oh, btw, did Week 3 Day 3 of Couch to 5K. It felt so good. I keep telling myself it doesn't matter how slow I go, I'm still lapping those at home on the couch. DH has been running with me, and hopefully while he's on vacation next week we'll work super hard.

I really do love my spouse. But...

Sometimes my husband drives me absolutely bananas. We were tossing around the idea of going to Niagara Falls for a few nights when he's on vacation next week, but I said we were broke. We could only go if he helped me get stuff up on eBay and if it sold. So finally I get him to feign some interest and have him get an item ready to be listed. He gets pictures taken and then I try to have him tell me what came in the playset. He starts acting stupid like it's the hardest thing in the world to describe the items. And he doesn't even take a picture of the box. Duh, the buyer will want to see the condition of the box it came in. Not to mention, he can't even send the pictures to me right! He sent all 10 files in one email so now it's barely opening and I can't get the pictures to upload.

Is reselling really that hard?

I just don't get it...

I've had a Far Side mug (Midvale School for the Gifted) listed 5 times on eBay. First I tried Buy it Now, I got one very low offer, and then I tried auctions 4 times with free shipping. No interest. Put it up again on auction. I lowered the price ever so slightly, and added shipping. Now I have 3 watchers and already 3 bids, with 2 days 23 hours left. eBay I don't understand you, but your unpredictability keeps me coming back.

Went to a GW and the VOA today after my very early morning dentist appointment. Neither store disappointed. I found some vintage Little Tikes dollhouse pieces, a few plush, new in package Catholic audio Bible (and doing the voice of Matthew, Sean Astin. "Mommy, Matthew sounds an awful lot like Special Agent Oso!" "Nah, I was thinking more like that kid from the Goonies."), and lots of mugs. Found my second Sandra Boynton mug in less than a week!

I am doing well with the listing, and will finally use up all of my free auctions for this month! Yeah!

Paying off my mattress: Week 1

So I'm going to begin my journey towards getting my mattress paid off by telling you what sold last week! I must admit I came close to my goal this time! I'm not going to subtract shipping in this challenge; mostly because I'm too lazy to get the receipts.

LOT OF BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE CROSS JEWELRY PENDANTS NECKLACES SARAH COVENTRY AVON

Sold: $19.99

Cost: Free (came from my dad)

HUGE BIG LOT SET MIXED COLLECTION OF 40 MILITARY PATCHES UNITED STATES US ARMY

Sold: $59.99

Cost: Free (came from my dad)

DISNEY STORE MUPPETS MOVIE SHOW STUFFED FOZZIE BEAR PLUSH DOLL 15" JIM HENSON

Sold: $18.49

Cost: .90 (Volunteers of America)

NEW NIP RARE BLUES BLUE'S CLUES BIRTHDAY PARTY ACTIVITY MAT PRESCHOOL NICK JR

Sold: $22.99- buyer hasn't paid yet

Cost:  $2.92 (Volunteers of America)

On Half.com:

Book- Eat This, Not That 2012 $9.41

Cost: $2.00 (school garage sale)

Grand total...$130.87

$1222.43 Left

I did prove that if you keep working towards something, it will happen. That old adage, "If you build it, they will come," "If you list it, it will sell (eventually)," 

I also have had no shortage of buying new items. I went to the VOA twice, two different Goodwills, the Salvo, and of course garage saling. I try to tell myself I won't get to go as often when the school year starts, and I need to stock up for when garage sale season ends, but I think I'm just a little bit obsessed. Some of the neater deals I found this week-- winter clothes at Salvo for 19 cents each (found 33 pieces), a Dyson at a sale for $20.

I also signed up for a new (for me) consignment sale at the end of August. I'll be doing at least 3 this fall, maybe more depending on if I want to drive for them.

garage sale success

I did not list anything today, but I did end up making 8 listings yesterday. I did manage to make it to the grocery store and did Week 2 Day 3 of Couch to 5K.

I forgot to mention that the garage sale was a great success. It was great to unload some items; I made profit on the majority of what sold. Made almost 300$. Actually sold $201.25 to one person! It was insane. The profit is going to pay for my husband's red light ticket (Big Brother is WATCHING) and we picked up some bookshelves yesterday. I hope DH will put them together tomorrow as I'm planning on using them to reorganize my clothes closet.

Tomorrow I'm also planning on posting some of the sale leftovers on the Facebook garage sale page for my county. We'll see how that goes. I posted a few items a few weeks ago with no responses.

Goals

#1, if anyone is reading this, can you add me to your blog roll? I want to get connected to more thrifters. I can do the same for you, if I can figure out how to do a blog roll... I do have one on Pinterest! =)

Anyway, while I was visiting with my dad a few weeks ago, he kept telling me how I need to budget better. And it's true. While I am really frugal with some things, we blow money in other ways. Like eating out and going to the movies. It's alright in one aspect, as we are dinks (dual income, no kids), but I know we need to save for the future and get bills paid down.

One such bill is the loan for our mattress. When we got married we bought a queen-sized mattress. But after a few years, and the addition of the dog, it wasn't cutting it anymore. DH works third shift, and it is hard for him to get to sleep during the day, especially since they are constantly doing construction outside (building more houses in our development). So last fall, we went all out and bought the most comfortable bed in existence. Even after having it for almost a year, I am still in awe at how fantastic it is every time I lay down.

The mattress was a good purchase, but I regret that we bought it with a loan. Well, we bought it with a 1-year same as cash loan. So technically, if we get it paid off by 10/12/2012, we will have no interest. The problem? We still owe $1353.30.

I feel stupid. Owing over a grand for a mattress? Granted it is the best mattress ever, we should have saved up for it. Well, what's done is done, and I've decided we will get this mattress paid off in time if it kills me. 'Cuz, if it kills me, then DH can pay it off with my life insurance policy. Ahaha.

Anyway, there are approximately 12 weeks left until interest starts, so I need to make around $170 a week on eBay. A very lofty goal, but it can be done if I work at it. I'm going to work at getting 5 new listings up each day. So far today, I've done two. Also, I have a ton of teaching books I went through which I don't need currently as I'm no longer teaching Social Studies. I will put those up on Half.com. Half.com is much quicker to do than eBay since you don't have to take any pictures and whatnot.

I'll keep you posted.

One more thing I'm going to "brag" about... I signed up for a 5k in August. It's a super cool one where they throw paint on you. I've never been a runner nor ran any races. Well I'm trying to do the Couch to 5K plan. Tonight I ran Day 2 of Week 2. It's not a huge feat to most, but to me, I'm thrilled. I got it done. And the best part is the feeling afterwards. It feels so good to be exhausted and sweaty because you feel like you accomplished something. I will stick with it. I don't know if I'll be able to run the whole thing, but the point is I will do my best, and I will have fun.

Thoughts

Four years ago today, my mom Diane passed away. She had Type 1 Diabetes for over 40 years, and eventually it took its toll on her heart. She had a triple bypass in 1/2007, but it was unsuccessful. She had a defibrillator put in in the summer of 2007, but even it couldn't save her. She had a heart attack in her sleep July 15, 2008. She was only 50.

For most of my life, my mom and I were best friends. Most weekends in high school I spent shopping with her rather than going to parties and those "typical" extroverted things. Our relationship changed when I met my now-husband, but I believe if she had survived those things would have been fixed with time.

The last few years of her life, my mom and I got hooked on selling books and other media on Amazon.com. It all started when I tried my hand at reselling my college textbooks on Half.com. Then I learned about Amazon, and we were off. We had a book scanning device on a PDA, and would hit up thrift stores, garage sales, and the amazing bag sales at the library. It was so much fun. I'd list, she'd package, and we'd both scout for inventory, typically finished by a lunch out somewhere.

When she died, I was determined to keep the Amazon business going. I was stubborn and blew off the warnings of "close your store for awhile and get your affairs in order". No, I could do it. I had to, for her sake. Well between the chaos of me moving out within weeks of her death and getting married (my dad and I did not get along; time healed this and we have a good relationship now), going to school full-time, doing work study, and a field experience, I failed and I was kicked off of Amazon by October. Did you know that once you're kicked off Amazon, you're kicked off for life? Trust me, I've tried multiple times, unsuccessfully, to get back on. Alas, I was forced to temporarily quit book selling. I finished college, got a job, moved, bought a house, etc, etc, but never did give up that "thrill of the find" mentality.

Last summer, I started again, selling on eBay as well as doing consignment sales. I am hooked again, and have learned to only take on what I can handle.  This time I will be successful in the long haul. Every time I go to a garage sale or thrift, I still think of my mom. I wish she had lived to see these changes in technology, like the barcode scanner that's on my Droid, or the 4g internet which allows me to check completeds on eBay in instants while still in the store. .

Since I was in high school, I've fantasized about one day opening a brick-and-mortar thrift store. Well my dream of opening a store is still alive. I think I'd call it "Diane's Thrift Store"...

Nah, I'm back...

I was reading through previous entries on here, and I just decided to keep writing in here. So I'm going to post the entries I wrote on my tumblr, and then delete that tumblr! Here they are:

More sales, just a few...

HUGE BIG LOT SET OF 22 YA YOUNG ADULT FEAR STREET HORROR CHAPTER BOOKS RL STINE

$19.99 - 5.00 shipping= $14.99

Not really a moneymaker here. Most of these came from my classroom library. I got moved to teaching gifted LA in a very small classroom so I don’t have the room for all my books. I probably paid about 50 cents for each book, or $11 total.

Remington Hot Rollers Tight Curlers H-10801 Pageant Prom 300 Watts (20) Wax Core

$55.99- 13.95 shipping=$42.03

This item here was definitely what Darrel from Storage Wars would call the WOW factor. I picked these up for $2 at a flea market last week. They didn’t even come with the clips. I hope the buyer is satisfied

Back Home

Back home after being up in NE Ohio visiting with my dad for a week. I got a lot of thrifting fun out of it! We went to the flea market, some garage sales, and thrift stores. It was a good time but I’m glad to be home. Here’s one thing that sold recently…

LOT SET OF 8 MICHIGAN AMERICAN CHILLERS BOOKS JOHNATHAN RAND SIGNED LIKE NEW

$17.99-$4.58 shipping= $13.41

I bought them in sets at the VOA so I probably paid no more than $4 total. I bought them on a hunch because they were in such good shape and just seemed unique. When I got home I discovered one was signed by the author.

I’ve decided I’m going to have a garage sale this Saturday. I have so much stuff that takes up space, and I’m tired of waiting until the consignment sales. So I’m hoping to clear out a bit of space in the process. 

What It Sold For

Back into the eBay groove… Sales are slooooow but it’s like this for everyone since it’s June. Here’s what sold for me:

HUGE BIG LOT SET OF 34 GOOSEBUMPS CHILDRENS CHAPTER BOOKS RL STINE SCARY HORROR

$29.99 - free shipping ($7.04)= $22.95

BIG SET LOT OF 15 JUNIE B JONES BARBARA PARK SERIES CHILDRENS CHAPTER BOOKS

$19.99 - free shipping ($4.58)=$15.41

Church Sale Gold Mine

I love summer Saturdays. Sundress and flip flops, ice cold fountain drink, and a morning of dragging the husband to garage sales! He always manages to find something for himself, and he gets lunch out of the deal.

This morning included a dozen or so sales, but the one I will brag about is the church sale we encountered. I must echo Janessa who posted today “I heart church sales!” Like her I look for clothes to resell at consignment sales. I find that more often than not, if you hit a church sale at the right time, they give you the whole, “fill a bag for x price” routine. This one was no different! They were having fill a bag of children’s clothes for a dollar! Well, don’t mind if I do! The workers kept eagerly reiterating, stuff it full of whatever’s at the table, so I was able to grab:

• 2 diaper covers
• 1 dress
• 2 pairs of shorts
• 1 pair of swim trunks
• 2 skirts
• 15 pairs of pants
• 2 pairs of shoes
• 6 fleece/hoodies/sweaters
• 22 shirts
• and 5 coats…

I stuffed 3 bags full and paid $3! I also snagged a huge bulletin board for 50 cents and a partial roll of contact paper, little set of stationery, and little plastic container to store Pringles for free. Add in the two sets of baked goodies Dear Husband purchased (I told you he always manages to find something) and we spent $6.50. Booyah!

This is the post when I reveal my lack of organization.

Holy crap on a log. 

So I’ve been thrifting for profit for about a year now, and I do way more buying than I do selling. In fact, I haven’t even listed anything in about six months. I have items thrown in very nook and cranny in this house. And it’s a big house (well for two people). The garage is covered so much in fact that we can’t park our cars in there, the crawlspace is overflowing, my spare bedroom has bits and pieces everywhere, not to mention all the bags and boxes of recently acquired goods.

Well. It is time I fix this. Expect some before and after photos!