Monday, December 1, 2014

Cyber Monday or Flippin’ Sh!t On eBay

So, my bloggy hubby, Scope challenged all of us lazy slackers former bloggers who are content these days just curling up like pampered pets at the feet of Facebook to venture back out in Blogaritaville today for a Cyber Monday post and a link-up with him.  I figured I could handle one measly little blog post.  Sure.  Why not?…. Assuming I could figure out my password.   

Or that Windows Live Writer still acknowledged my existence.

Which it didn't.

Now I'm forced to compose my posts in Blogger like an animal.  No borders around my pictures or anything!  *sniffle*  
F**k you, Windows Live Writer.  

But anyway....

I figured that since I have spent so much of my time lately in thrift stores, garage sales, and on eBay, I might as well tell you a bit about my eBay adventures.  Here are some of my better (and more high-five worthy) recent sales:


Out in Seattle last Christmas, I bought this Green Day American Idiot t-shirt in a thrift store for $2.99.  I really liked it, but it was too short on me (What?!  I know!) and my kiddo, Wednesday, wanted nothing to do with any shirt that had “idiot” sprawled across the front of it, so I listed it on eBay and it sold to a buyer in Australia for $18.00.  Sa-weet!



There’s this really awesome local thrift store here in Chicago that I walk to every Monday for their 50% off sale.  I bought this uber-slutty Coogi nautical-themed mini dress there for $3.00 and it sold on eBay for $50.00.   Cha-ching!  (Ohhhh, slutty sailor dresses, how I love thee!).  I wish I could find one of these every day! 



I bought this black, white, and red Anthropologie mesh skirt that had a really cool Tim Burton kind of look to it at my favorite thrift store.  I got it for $2.19 and it sold for $17.50.



Over the summer we had a huge community garage sale where I bought this 1973 Woodsy Owl (Remember him?!  “Give a hoot!  Don’t pollute!”) for $4.00.  The seller wanted $5.00 for it, but Woodsy was pretty beaten up and I tried to talk him down to $2.50, but he wouldn’t go any lower than $4.00.  Arg!  Dilemma!  I crossed my fingers and hoped his damaged spots wouldn’t be too bothersome to scare off any eBay buyers, but I shouldn’t have worried.  Woodsy sold fast and he sold for $27.00, so woo-hoo!



At the community wide garage sale, I also bought these Ninjago Lego minifigs as part of a set of two huge bags of Lego pieces.  The bags cost a total of $20, but I parted the various Legos out and these figures alone sold for $65.00!



These Batman Lego minifigs were part of the same garage sale Lego bags as the Ninjago ones.  This grouping sold for $42.00.   With all the different Lego groupings and sales I made from those Lego bags, I made over $150 in profit so far, and I’m not even done listing them all yet!



Other community wide garage sale finds:  This 50’s/60’s style Girl Scout Brownie plastic figurine which I got for 25 cents.  Yeah, just 25 cents!  I soooooooo felt like I was ripping the lady off!  It sold on eBay for $15.00.



And this little plastic tabletop globe which I got for 50 cents and it sold for $20.50.



And this Tupperware Shape-O-Ball which I bought for $2.00 and it sold for $20.00.



Man, we did great with our summer garage sale loot!  But back to thrift store scores.  I bought this huge Warner Brothers Studio Store Harry Potter snow globe at a thrift store for $2.73.  I about fainted when I saw it.  I know they are hard to find and can go for quite a bit of money.  This one had some minor damage and was missing its box, but I was still confidant it was worth it.  It ended up selling on eBay for $37.99.



I bought these Serta Sheep beanie babies at the local thrift store for $3.28 and they sold for $20.00 in about a day.



I bought this red vinyl snake skin jacket for $5.46.  This one took awhile to sell, but it eventually sold for $25.00.



This old 1970’s Sears Winnie the Pooh teddy bear was sitting alone and abandoned at the thrift store.  I got it for $1.09.   It sold for $20.00 to a buyer in England. 



I also bought this big bag of old Polly Pocket dolls from the early 90’s at the thrift store for $3.38 and it sold to an Australian buyer for $35.00 within an hour of listing it.  



And. lastly, I bought this life sized Jack Skellington Halloween decoration at the drug store for $15.00 and it sold on eBay for $90.00.  Woo-hoo!



And that’s what has been keeping me so busy lately, all the bargain hunting, listing, packing, and trips to the post office.  Whew!  I’m not sure how many of you guys are still around and reading ye olde blogs anymore, but I’ve missed you guys an awful lot.  What’s been up with you?   :-)




© Coracabana

12 comments:

Cora said...

After more investigation, it now appears it's more likely my Windows Live Writer issues are not WLW's fault, but the doing of the Google Overlords. Shoulda known. Oy.

LegalMist said...

Great job with eBay, Cora! My husband always finds things at thrift stores for $2, then comes home and looks them up on eBay and finds them selling for $50 or $60 or some other outrageous amount. But the only time I've ever tried to list one of them for him, no one bought it. Even after I lowered the price. And even though similar items sold for the same or a higher price while mine was listed. It was disappointing. What is your secret to success?

--LegalMist

Cora said...

LegalMist: I think a lot of the time you just have to wait for the right buyer to come along. I sold a vest on Thanksgiving that I have been listing and re-listing for over a year! I was honestly thinking of just donating it back to the thrift store and considering it a dud, and then--BOOM--someone bought it with the buy it now feature. *stunned* You just never know.

ShanaM said...

You are the eBay Queen

words...words...words... said...

Cora!

So great to read your blog again. I have just two things to say.

1. I NEED THAT RED JACKET.

2. I have no idea how Wednesday let you sell that Jack Skellington. Did you hide it in the attic or something?

Happy Cyber Monday :)

Cora said...

Shana: I try! :-)

Words: Ha! That Jack Skellington was a duplicate. She has an identical one hanging on her bedroom door. That's the only reason I got away with it. So happy to see you back in Blog World too! ((((HUGS))))

Scope said...

And I still say that's not a Girl Scout, but an obvious Communist with a big red star on her hat.

And people, she is the Queen of eBay. She'll pick up things that I just can't imagine selling, and she'll make loads of cash. Then I'll talk her into buying something, and it's a dud.

VEG said...

Dude, you are like a entrepreneur of bargain hunting! I salute you. I used to be an avid ebay shopper but now everything I ever want is based in the US and I refuse to buy anything from anyone who uses the Global Shipping Program (which is most American sellers, sadly) as it's so damn unfair and brutally price gauging any buyer not in the U.S. So it's ruined Ebay for me. Sob! Good for you though making a small fortune on stuff! I should try that (haha!).

Cora said...

Scope: If you're talking about the laser discs, they aren't duds. Some things just take awhile to find the right buyer, that's all. I think ANYTHING can sell on eBay, but not everything can sell as fast as we would like it to.

Veggie: Hey there, girly!!!! How are you?! I hate to have to admit it, but I use the Global Shipping Program. I know, I know. *hanging my head in shame* I know it inflates the shipping costs quite a bit, but it also provides more security for the seller and buyer than regular post does. They provide tracking all the way to the buyer's door which regular post can't do. Also, if it gets lost in the mail somewhere along the line, the seller is protected as long as they can prove it made it to the GSP center which is in Kentucky (and soooooo close to where I am). At first, I was appalled by GSP, but then when I really started to weigh the benefits I decided it couldn't hurt to give it a try. I've only had good experiences with GSP so far. They get the packages halfway across the world in lightning fast times too. Okay, I'm done pimping GSP now. *steps down off soap box* :-)

Vapid Vixen said...

Holy crap!!! You're killing it! Nice work. I have a question on how you set up your listings. Do set a price at the beginning or do you just start it at $1.00 or whatever the lowest possible bid is allowed? It's been awhile since I've sold anything.

Cora said...

Vapid Vixen: I never ever do the $1 listings because I'm not that much of a gambler. I'm too terrified that I would lose money that way. I usually look up what the items have sold for the past 30 days and price mine somewhere in the middle and kind of hope for the best! :-)

Panharith said...

And I still say that's not a Girl Scout, but an obvious Communist with a big red star on her hat.



แตกใน xxx