Up, up, and away!

My sales have been terrific lately! Of course, that is motivating me to list more and more.

First, let me tell you about an odd coincidence and thrifter's dream scenario from Mother's Day weekend. Carlos and I were back up north, visiting our parents. We had went to this little hole-in-the-wall thrift that I miss dearly, and then out to lunch. Carlos told me I could pick one more thrift to go to... You know, for some reason he doesn't like spending his whole Saturday at Goodwills! Go figure! So I picked the one across the street from our old apartment, because given the two GWs I had to choose from, this one is generally better to me. We make it to the GW and Carlos has to go to the potty quite badly, but apparently the cashier tells him the light is out in the bathroom. So he heads out to use the facilities in one of the nearby stores in the plaza. However, he comes back and says that 1. the hardware store doesn't have a public restroom, and 2. he wasn't going to go to the bathroom at Alco (discount store) because it was going out of business and looked like a ghost town. He said everything there was 90% off. I end up going into the Goodwill bathroom to check the light and low and behold, it works fine. So Carlos quickly does his business and then we are off to check out Alco! They had just marked everything to 90% off the night before. Literally 10 minutes before we got there, the manager announces that it is time to fill a cart for $10 because he wants to close the doors within the hour! I felt like a contestant on Supermarket Sweep! I picked up everything sellable, which wasn't even very much. But even still, I managed to get nearly $700 retail of items... vacuum filters, some pregnancy tests, catfish bait. You name it, if it was still sealed and not broken, I took it home with me. Paid $10.68 with tax.

Thank you Carlos's full bladder as well as the miscommunication about the GW bathroom light!

From Alco, so far I have sold:

Lot of 4 New NIB Remington Clean Xchange Razor Replacement Cartridges Nanosilver


Accepted best offer of $13.00 plus $7.30 shipping

and

4 New Sealed First Response Rapid Result Pregnancy Tests Expiration June 2014

Accepted best offer of $10.00 plus $7.30 shipping.

So I have already cleared my initial investment and then some.

Additionally I've sold:

NIB NEW HINK PINK Riddles Word Game by Discovery Bay Games
Sold for $19.99 plus $8.00 shipping; paid $4 (discount store)

New in Package Sealed Vintage Bar of Dial Gold Deodorant Soap 5 oz Still Smells!
The second bar sold, to the same buyer. $9.99 again and $4.00 shipping; paid .50 (estate sale)

New Pack of 5 Philips Norelco Nivea HQ150 Advantage Shaving Lotion Cartridges
$9.99 plus $2.80 shipping; paid 50 cents (VOA)

Lot of 5 Anthony Horowitz Books Alex Rider Series Scorpia Ark Angel Snakehead
Accepted $17.00 plus $4.00 shipping; paid $5 (VOA)

Lot of 10 New Mens Fruit of the Loom Boxers Size Sz Extra Large XL Underwear
Accepted BO of $20.00 plus $6 shipping; paid $8 (Morse Rd. GW)

And, saving the best for last...

Little Einsteins Pat Pat Rocket & Transform & Go Rocket Four Figures Included

Sold for $69.99 plus $15 shipping!! Paid $8 at a consignment sale!! In the words of Ms. Frizzle, ya-ha-ha-hoo!!!!

Best Feedback Ever

I got this feedback the other day...

"Thanks my Girlfriend Loves it, because it looks like me"

It cracked me up because it was for... The Chia Gnome.


Ch-ch-ch-chia.

Going with your gut

A few posts back I blogged about an estate sale I went to. I went once on the full-price day and returned on half-price day. I spent a total of $12. Well so far, I have sold the set of 3 vintage lip balms for $9.99 and I woke up this morning to having sold a vintage bar of soap for $9.99.

New in Package Sealed Vintage Bar of Dial Gold Deodorant Soap 5 oz Still Smells!


Sold for $9.99 plus $4.00 shipping.

It just humors me what people will buy. And this was an example of going with your gut. I walked back upstairs probably about 3 times to look at this soap (it actually came in a two-pack so I will still be able to list the second bar!) and I could not get eBay to work on my phone... So I just took a gamble. Paid $1 for both bars. And I think it was a pretty good turnaround!

I think that's most of the fun of selling on eBay... going on a hunch and seeing that it pays off.

Last week I went to a church sale on Friday evening. I've posted about this particular sale a few times before, I just love it. It's right down the street from my job, and they hold the sale twice a year. You pay what you believe is a fair offer. This time I was at first very disappointed, scanning through the toys and books and finding only junk. Then I went over to the craft table, and found a bunch of new cross-stitch kits. I have never sold cross-stitch kits but have heard some can be pretty profitable. I grabbed a handful, then kept shopping, finding a Boynton mug (my fourth!) before eventually stumbling upon the kids' clothes and getting a ton for the fall sales. I paid $7 for everything.

I listed one of the cross-stitch sets so far. I kid you not, it sold in 5 minutes.

New Displaymates CCS Counted Cross Stitch Kit Christian Inspiration 07324 Box

Sold for $17.00 plus $5.80 shipping.

Now, the downside is... this buyer, who has a 1293 feedback score, hasn't paid!! He/she purchased this on Tuesday. But, I'm not sweating it too much. If he doesn't pay, I am super confident I can resell easily, given the fact he bought it so fast!

Since last time, I've also sold:
New NIB Hands Free Black Bluetooth Blue Tooth Digital Watch with Microphone

Sold for $23.00 plus $8.00 shipping, paid $13 I believe at CVS 75% after-holiday clearance
I very much overestimated shipping here. I think it ended up being around $4. Which is good, because...


NEW NIB CHIA GNOME DWARF PET HANDMADE DECORATIVE PLANTER GRASS GROW A BEARD

Sold for $14.99 plus $5.00 shipping. Believe I originally paid $5 or less at CVS clearance

...I seriously underestimated shipping here. It was closer to $12! WHOOPS...