Swimming in sweaters...

I've been working hard trying to get my Christmas sweaters photographed and listed. I know, I'm a little late, but I'm doing what I can. So far, no interest... sigh... It better pick up or I will have to start wearing them myself... Yikes... I am happy to say I actually used up my 50 free listings this month! It sucks having to pay the insertion fees, but my hope is this junk will sell...

Since we spoke last time:

LOT OF 5 SHEETS VINTAGE SCRATCH N SNIFF INNOCENT MOODIE STICKERS BABY POWDER


 
Sold for $3.99 plus $3.00 shipping... You might remember I bought a pack of 75 sheets for $9.99 in the summer... This is the second set I've sold... I still need $2.01 to break even, but I have 65 sheets left.

NEW AKAI Pro SynthStation25 USB MIDI 25 Key Keyboard Controller For iPhone iPod

This was a gamble, and I lost, essentially... I paid I think $30 for this... Sold for $39.99... However did get great feedback out of it... You win some...

Sooo relieved.

These past few weeks have been so stressful for me. Let's begin on the medical front.

About three weeks ago, I went in for my routine eye exam. The doctor gave me a peripheral vision exam, and noticed a visual defect in my lower left eye. So I had to go back the following week to repeat the test, and then had to go to an opthamologist. He then examined my eyes again and I had to repeat the visual field test, which I again failed. Good news at that point was that my eyes themselves looked good, and the nerves and everything were fine. So then I had to get a brain MRI to see if there is anything of concern in my brain which is pressing on my optic nerves or inflaming anything... You know, like multiple sclerosis or a tumor... Well great news! I found out on Tuesday that there is nothing of concern in my brain! The doctor says I am a medical mystery. Chances are it is a birth defect in the way my nerves fused together and it just hasn't been detected until now. I get to go to the neuro-opthamologist in January to see if he has any theories, but it appears to be non life-threatening. After all, I went 25 years not even knowing I have a blind spot!

That was a huge sigh of relief. Well then today I tackled my other stressor... I finished my final projects for both of my graduate classes. I keep telling everyone, it's not that the classes are hard, it's just that they are time-consuming! My case study was all I've been thinking about for the last week. But everything is done, all the citations were entered, the work samples copied, and inteviews put on DVD. Tomorrow night I present and then I'm done till January... Hoping for A's... :)

Now is time for me to get caught up with my odds and ends. I am ready to get back to working out (I gained 3+ pounds last week at Weight Watchers!) and I am ready to dive in on holiday listing on eBay. Recent sales:

Halloween Fall Thanksgiving Hershey's Kisses Pumpkin Spice 4/Four Bags NIP

Sold for $25.99 plus $6.00 shipping; purchased for around $3.00 a bag (Kroger).
Thanks to Julie at The Thrifty Momma Says for encouraging me to go out and check for seasonal candies! It's worth a look! I have some gingerbread Oreos to list as well as candy corn M&Ms.

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

Sold for $15.99 plus $7.00 shipping ; purchased for $2.92 at VOA.
I purchased several of these back in the summer and they have a great sell-through rate. You probably already know this, but decor and toys from preschool shows do well, especially as their popularity runs through quickly but they keep getting new generations of fans.

VINTAGE BROWN SOUP'S ON UNITED SOUP MUG CUP UNITED AIRLINES

Sold for $7.99 plus $5.00 shipping; purchased for 15 cents (yes you read that right) at VOA.
Remember those days when they actually fed you soup on airplanes? Yeah, me neither...

LOT OF 4 BLANK TDK MC90 MICROCASSETTE CASSETTES TAPES NEW NEVER USED

Sold for $9.99 plus $3.00, cost me nothing! Apparently someone at DH's work was cleaning out her desk... DH's boss grabbed these and gave them to DH... Said to give them to me to sell on eBay... It's all a matter of who you know... :)

NEW NIB NIP Star Wars The Clone Wars EMBO CW33 BOUNTY HUNTER HASBRO FIGURINE

Sold for $9.99 plus $4.00 shipping; purchased for $3.99 at discount store... purchased a bunch of these, hope to unload them during the holiday season...


Happy Thanksgiving & Black Friday sales to you!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well let me rephrase that. The weather outside is not yet frightful, and I could easily go all winter without seeing snow. But alas, I live in Ohio, and I doubt this year will be as mild as the last...

But it's beginning to look like Christmas selling season on eBay. Just this morning, I've gotten more inquiries and bids on my items than I have in quite awhile. So I can only hope that it's a good sign and will stay this way because I need the money!

I am going to try to take advantage of the selling season specials (pardon the alliteration, I am an LA teacher after all so sometimes I can't turn off my crazies) like the one currently which is free fixed listing. I don't have a store so I rely on the 50 free listings each month, but I have a feeling I will go over those in November & December. I have acquired more than a dozen ugly Christmas sweaters and last week ending up finding some seasonal candy which I hope will go too.

The few sales I've had since I last posted...

SANDRA BOYNTON COFFEE MUG PLEASE HASSLE ME I THRIVE ON STRESS TEA CUP VINTAGE


Paid... 59 cents? (GW) Sold for $12.98

NEW NIB Lego Studios Jurassic Park III Spinosaurus Attack (1371)


Paid... $5.00 (GS) Sold for $45.00 ...EEEEE!! BOLO!

NEW NIB NIP NICKELODEON GAK IS BACK GACK REBEL RED


Paid... $4.99 (discount store... originally bought for myself as I was falling into the nostalgia trap...) Sold for $11.50


Also, rumor has it that this recession is on its way out... I wonder what that will mean for us resellers in the next 5 years?

Well, hello there!

It's been awhile since I've written. All is well in Thrifty Teacher land. I have been focusing my energies on work as well as my Master's Classes. I am learning so much and am loving my job. I've also been picking up a few extra hours a week doing aftercare duties (daycare so-to-speak; the cherubs work on homework, get a snack, we take them outside.... easiest money I've ever made!) which will hopefully help for Christmas presents as well as the never ending debts. I have no clue how I'm paying for college next semester. I'm just hoping the funds will miraculously fall from the sky I guess. But my plights are no different from the average middle class 20-something!

My love celebrated his 28th birthday about a week and a half ago. I tried my hand at making him an X-Box cake. I think it turned out decently. It would have been better if I had been patient enough to wait for the cake to cool, but alas. It was delicious nonetheless.

I have been mostly absent from eBay these past few months. I have plans to be in full swing for Christmas. We'll see how that goes. Here's my most recent sales:

SANDRA BOYNTON COFFEE MUG IT'S JUST ONE DAM PROJECT AFTER ANOTHER BEAVER TEA CUP

Sold for $12.00 + $7.00 shipping; paid probably 59 cents. I'd been looking for Boynton mugs for over a year and what are the odds that I found two at different stores in about a week's timeframe.

VINTAGE GREEN GUCCI SNAKESKIN BRACELET BANGLE 24KT GOLD PLATED FIRENZE ITALY

Sold for $49.99 + $3.00 shipping; this one was so close to having a $1.00 price tag slapped on it and being sold at my garage sale! Fortunately my intuition told me to check "Firenze Italy bracelet". Ends up this is a Gucci. Then I remembered my mom telling me my grandmother had brought it back from her trip to visit the Pope in Rome some 20+ years ago. IDK how much it originally cost, but it's all profit for me.

Wilton Ballet Slippers Ballerina Recital Dance Shoes 2105-2065 Cake Pan Mold

Sold for $15.99 + $7.30 shipping; picked up with a bunch of other items for probably $10 total at a donation church sale. 

3 Disney Higglytown Heroes Plush Dolls Bean Bags Squirrel Eubie Wayne Fran Kip

Sold for $10.00 (Best Offer) + $3.00 shipping; paid 90 cents for all at VOA. Originally snagged them thinking they were Little Einsteins.

NEW NIB CENTENNIAL OLYMPICS MONOPOLY BOARD GAME 1996 ATLANTA GA GEORGIA USA

Sold for $12.99 plus $8.00 shipping; paid $3.00 at GW. Originally sold to an annoying guy who left me negative feedback for trying to cancel his transaction without refunding him first. UM. Cancelling the transaction automatically refunds the money. He denied my cancellation request then emailed eBay saying I must be upset that I sold this game for less than it's worth. Yeah, cuz I spent so much on it. *eyeroll* Anyway it sold problem-free to another buyer.

LOT OF 5 SHEETS VINTAGE SCRATCH N SNIFF INNOCENT MOODIE STICKERS BABY POWDER

Sold for $3.99 + $3.00 shipping; picked up a bag of 75 sheets of these stickers at a consignment store for $9.99. Still have 70 sheets left!

And finally... add this one to your BOLO list!

NEW WITH TAG 2001 RED JELLO JELL-O JELLY BEANS SHOTS JIGGLERS CANDY MOLD

Sold for $9.99 + $3.00 shipping; paid $1.99 at Ohio Thrift. 

It was the 2nd time I'd sold one of these. The most exciting part is it sold within hours of being listed. I literally listed it, took a nap, and woke up to the sale!

Happy Thrifting to you, till we meet again.

Slammed

Ugh. eBay and I are not friends right now. In this past month I've had to open 3 unpaid items cases. Two closed without any communication from the buyers, and one was like "oops so sorry". How do you order something by accident? Then I had a lady's "son" order without permission and she's asked me to cancel the transaction. Riiight. To top it all off, I got a neutral feedback from someone who said my communication could have been quicker, even though I apologized and tried to explain to her that it was the first week of school when she ordered and I have a life job. Now I just got hit with a negative from a super annoying guy who kept emailing me over Labor Day weekend. Yes, I admit, I was bad with communication, but, hello, banks can close on Labor Day so I can too.

This better not get me in trouble with the eBay powers that be!

Today I dropped my goodies off at consignment sale #2. I have good feelings about this! Shooting for at least $200.

Consignment Sales

Got my check for the Polka Dot Tots sale: $95.71. Not a bad start! Second sale is this weekend, so I'll be dropping my items off on Tuesday. I have $1017 worth listed in the database. We'll see how much I get tagged in time!

Back burner...

Well my eBay adventures have been put on the back burner as school and college take precedence. This fall I'll focus on doing consignment sales; in fact I did one this weekend. It was a new-to-me sale. What I liked about it:

• They mailed you the bar codes & tags so I didn't have to print anything
• They sorted all the clothing for me at drop off so I didn't have to 
• They gathered all my unsold items together for me so they were in one location when I went to pick them up.

What I didn't like:

• No online database to see what sold
• The sale is under new management so they're still working out the kinks, and I don't think they had as much business as the other sale I do.

Nevertheless, I was able to make a wee bit of money (I'll let you know how much when they update the totals) and I still have loads more to sell for the other sales. My goal for fall consignment season is to make at least $1000. We'll see!