When did I buy that?

With cold and rain firmly entrenched in middle Georgia, Ella and I slept late on Saturday, ignoring the siren song of a few yard sales advertised on Craigslist.  Instead, I continued going through my backlog, and getting as much listed on Ebay and Amazon as possible.

 

As I opened box after box, though, all I could ask is, “when did I buy that?” or “why did I buy that?”

 

For example, I found a tote full of books on tape.  I don’t recall picking them up.  Maybe Ella did. 

 

Where did I find all those McDonald’s Happy Meal toys?

 

More KISS stuff? I thought I got rid of it all.

 

Why did I buy those stupid drum pedals? Or the compound bow that is missing pieces?

 

That teacher’s lot just won’t go away no matter how much I list.

 

Why is there a pair of cowboy boots in every corner?

 

Oh, that’s where those $100 books are.  Seriously, I found two $100+ books buried in the bottom of a box.

 

It’s nice to have stuff to list, but I really need to be more judicious with our money this year.  And I swear that once I get this mountain of inventory listed, I will NEVER let it back up so badly again.

 

The silver lining to all this listing, of course, is sales, and my phone cha-chinged quite a few times this weekend.

 

Late last year, we found a little thrift store in Macon, and Ella spied three Strat-O-Matic sports-related board games for $1 each.  I normally shy away from used games, but Ella was adamant, and it turns out her instincts were correct.  These are highly collectible games, and even with missing pieces, all three games sold for a best offer price of $80.

 

Ella gets all the credit for buying these games

At another sale, I picked up a box lot of Forgotten Realms books and box sets for $20.  The three box sets were worth $10 to $20, and were listed separately on Amazon.  The remaining individual books were mostly penny books, but listed as a lot sold for $90.

 

Combining books into a large lot can bring big bucks

I also listed a small lot of six Vampire Academy books.  On a $6 investment, the Vampire books rung up $28.

  

Small lots of books are worthwhile, too

In an effort to diversify beyond Amazon, Ebay, and the booths, we’ve also started selling on the local Facebook sites, as well as Craigslist and the local Bookoo.  On Sunday, I finally sold a large lot of Thomas the Train stuff to a buyer from the aforementioned Bookoo for $100.  I picked it up at a thrift store for $20.  We also sold a bicycle and a Robosapien, but no one seems to want our collection of Nerf guns.

 

Thomas the Train sold; our Nerf collection didn't

This week is tax week for me, with state sales taxes and my last installment of federal estimated taxes due for 2014. 

 

I hate paperwork, but c'est la vie.

Belated Happy New Year

As usual, I’m running behind on everything, and the new year just started. Between trying to get ahead on paperwork, keeping our booths fresh, listing, packing, and working my day job, I’m feeling a tad bit overwhelmed despite having a semi-relaxing Christmas break.

 

I say “semi-relaxing” because while I had 18 straight days off last month, I spent the majority of time getting ready for the holiday, as well as working our online endeavors and the aforementioned antique booths.

 

Because you know “it’s all about the booth, ’bout the booth, ’bout the booth, no trouble.”

 

Sorry, I still can’t get that song out of my head.  I even heard it on the way into work this morning.

 

But, I digress.  Nothing earth shattering happened last month, but I do have a few interesting stories to tell.  So, here goes.

 

During the run-up to Christmas, I was shopping in the local “damn it” store (as in, damn it, I forgot the milk, and now I have to drive to the high priced store near the house), and watched as a little old lady (excuse me, senior citizen), push her buggy laden with groceries out of the store.  By the time I got to my truck, she and her buggy were wandering around the parking lot.

 

Always the good Samaritan, I asked her if she needed any help.  She couldn’t find her truck.  I asked what it looked like, and after checking the parking lot, I couldn’t find it either.  She then casually mentioned that her husband was in the truck, and that he must have left her.  Sure enough, she fumbled through her giant purse, found her phone, and called him.  He had gone home, and left her there.  After she assured me that he was on his way, I left, hoping that he actually showed up.

 

On the Tuesday before New Year’s Day, Ella and I went to test drive Nissan’s NV200 cargo van. My truck gets paid off this year, and we are in the market for a vehicle that can haul a little bit more stuff, and it seemed to fit the bill.  It’s a nice little van and gets good gas mileage.  Unfortunately, I decided against purchasing the vehicle despite the dealership jumping through hoops to get one more vehicle sold before January 1. 

 

My goal, though, is to have enough money saved by August so Ella and I can purchase the van in time to visit her relatives in Ohio, and then follow Highway 127 back to Georgia during the World’s Longest Yard Sale, which covers 690 miles, and boasts “thousands of vendors” every year.

 

Sounds like fun, don’t you think?

 

November and Christmas sales in our antique booths were good, with $827 and $1034 worth of merchandise sold in November and December, respectively.  Rent is approximately $540 per month for all three booths, which leaves a “profit” of $781 for the holiday season.

 

I’m a little worried about this month, though. Since we pulled all the unsold Christmas crap .. uh … merchandise out of the booths, the shelves are looking threadbare at best, and too cartoony (leftover toys) at worst.  We need to fill all three booths, and quality yard/thrift/garage sales are hard to find right now.

 

Therefore, in an attempt to give our booths some street cred, we attended an auction on New Year’s Day that, according to the posted pictures, had a lot of vintage stuff, for lack of a better word.  The morning of, I looked at all the pictures, did my research, and made a list, complete with prices, of the items that I thought would be worthwhile on which to bid. 

 

Unfortunately, I watched with disgust as the large crowd bid up prices not only beyond a reasonable buying price, but also above what I considered a decent selling price in the booth.  After enduring the auction for as long as I could, we decided to leave early, only to find our truck blocked by several vehicles double and tripled parked.  Needless to say, Ella was not pleased that we had to wait until the auction was over to leave.

 

I too was irritated, but was more upset at an Amazon return that I got the next day.

 

I had approved a return from an Amazon customer after Christmas based on her description of a new in package $90 toy being “ripped.”  What I got in the mail was a crushed box, missing pieces, missing instructions, and the toy, which obviously had been played with on Christmas morning only to be broken. 

 

We are required to take returns on Amazon, so I fretted for a bit before calling Customer Support.  They said since the toy was returned in such a bad condition, I could charge a 50 percent restocking fee.  So, I refunded the buyer $45, and she actually thanked me.

 

Since the item only cost me $5, I still made $40 on the deal, so I am not too upset. I am waiting for the almost certain negative feedback, though.

 

Sales were brisk over the holidays, especially since I was able to list a bunch during my time off. In December, I sold 166 items on Amazon, Alibris, Biblio, and Half, with an average price of $16.21. 

January sales continue to be good, including this Gracie Combatives DVD set that I sold yesterday for $107.  I remember the yard sale last year at which I picked it up.  It was priced at $3, and when the owner didn’t have change for my $20 bill, she offered to give it to me.  Obviously, the point of this game is to buy low, and sell high, but I just couldn’t take advantage of her.  So, I offered her the only other bill that I had in my wallet, a lowly $1 bill, and she took it.  I felt guilty and happy at the same time as I left.

 

It’s cold in Georgia this week, so weekend sales are still missing in action.  It’s both a blessing and a curse because obviously I need fresh inventory, but the lull is giving me a chance to catch up on everything else.

 

Have a great weekend everyone.

All the right junk in all the right places

Because you know I'm all about that booth,
'Bout that booth 'bout that booth, no trouble
 I'm all about that booth,
'Bout that booth, no trouble
 I'm all about that booth,
'Bout that booth, no trouble
 I'm all about that booth,
'Bout that booth.

 

With apologies to Meghan Trainor for tweaking her lyrics, I’ve had that little earworm in my head for days now, and after spending way too much time shopping for and working on our antique booths, the lyrics just sort of morphed into a relevant little ditty.

 

I spent a surprisingly busy mid-December weekend humming that tune.   On Friday, Ella and I went to a health-food/vitamin store that was going out of business.   We had visited the store a week or so ago, but prices were still too high for me as a reseller.   This week, though, the owners, in a last ditch effort to rid themselves of merchandise, had “make an offer” signs on everything, including the books.

 

While Ella perused the essential oils, I scanned every book in the store, and found a tote full of good sellable items, and made an offer of $20.  The owner countered with $30, and we split the difference at $25.   I’ll easily sell them for at least 10 times that amount.

 

We also went to a few sales on Saturday morning despite the cold.  We didn’t have much luck, but did get intrigued yet grossed out by the pizza in the back of the car at one sale.  Yes, whole unboxed pizzas in the backseat of the car.  There were about 10 of them, some with slices missing, most whole, though.  I wanted so bad to snap a picture, but with the owners standing right there, I thought it would be rude.

We hope our table sells before Christmas; if not,
we'll store it until next year

 

Our last stop was a little antique shop that had advertised a sale on Craigslist.  Ella had spotted a table with elf legs in the listing’s pictures, and wanted to take a look.  As it turns out, the table was a retired Dept. 56 Krinkles Patience Brewster display table with a $350 retail price tag, and a $300 antique shop price tag.  A quick Ebay search showed that the table was actually selling between $200 and $600 online, so the antique store price wasn’t unrealistic, just out of our financial comfort zone.   However, the shop had all Christmas items at 75 percent off, and after a little discussion, we walked out with the table for an amazing $75.  It went into our antique booth the next day for $275.

 

Later Saturday, we headed to an auction about an hour down the road.  The ad on auctionzip.com made it look like an auction of Coca-Cola merchandise, but they only had the collectibles on display for an auction in January.  Irritated by the perceived bait and switch, we still managed to bid on and win a few sellable items.

 

Sunday was spent packing Ella’s Christmas boxes for relatives, and packing my weekend sales.  With today being the busiest mailing day of the year, I’m not looking forward to dragging all five big boxes to the post office this afternoon, even if they do already have postage on them.  I hate standing in line.

 

Since Christmas is only 10 days away, I fully expect online sales to slow down now, and what sales I do have, when possible, I’ll bump up to Priority just to make sure they make it by the holiday.

 

Unless something extraordinary happens, I won’t be blogging again until the first week in January.  So, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and/or happy holidays, depending on your level of yuletide cheer or political correctness.

You snooze, you lose

I woke up to this message from a potential Ebay customer:

 

Would you do a "best offer" on this and let me pay you $50 now? That's all I can spend. Please let me know. Thanks!  Clint :)

 

Clint was referring to my Mattel Electronics Vintage 1977 Football Game with instructions that I had listed last week for $60.  I decided that it was too early in the morning (4:30 a.m. Eastern time) to quibble over $10, so I changed the Buy It Now price to $50, and sent Clint an email.

 

Within minutes, the game sold, and I figured Clint had been waiting by his computer for my answer and subsequent price reduction.  I happily packed the game, and took it to the post office on the way to work this morning.

 

I loved this game as a teen

Three hours later, I received this message from Clint:

 

Well I guess literally if ya snooze ya lose. I went on ebay first thing this morning to see if you messaged me yet and saw that eBay item number 301414143159 had been sold. If the buyer of that Electronic football game flakes out on paying, please let me know. I'll pay promptly. Thanks!  :)

 

I was momentarily confused, and logged on to Ebay to see just who bought the game.  Apparently, Jennifer from California was up either real late or real early (1:30 a.m.), depending on your point of view, and grabbed the vintage toy, and I didn’t notice the difference in names when I printed the postage.

 

Sorry, Clint.

 

I had the exact same hand-held game in the late ‘70s, and while it’s relatively common to see them at yard sales, it’s rare to find both the original box and the instructions.  Even without a box, these games sell for decent money, so always pick them up.

 

Speaking of vintage, I write occasionally about my love of old technology.  I grabbed this slide ruler at an estate sale earlier this year for $1, and it finally sold.  I tried one time to figure out how to use it, but decided that using a calculator was less trouble.

 

I still can't use a slide ruler

I also sold two new in package Betamax videocassettes.  If you are old like me, you will remember the format war between VHS and Beta in the 1980s, which was won by VHS.  Even though the last Sony Betamax was produced in 2002, apparently someone still needs tapes.

Someone still wants Beta tapes

Another BOLO that I run into occasionally is a Minnie Mouse cake pan from Wilton. I found this one buried in a pile of other less valuable cake pans at a recent church sale.  I found Mickey, which doesn’t sell for quite as much, and I kept digging until I found Minnie.

 

Minnie is still hot stuff

Sales have definitely picked up, and I’ve begun spending most of my evening and early morning hours packing items, not that I am complaining.  Given that mailing deadlines are fast approaching, I’ve begun using Priority Mail for most items, even if it means losing a buck or two on the transaction.

 

After all, there are only three weeks before Christmas.

No, that’s MY Little Pony

Throughout the year, Ella accumulates thrifted items to bestow as holiday gifts to her out of state family, and it’s a holiday ritual for me to complain not only about helping to wrap all the presents, but also about shipping the multitude of boxes to Maryland and Ohio, the cost of which usually outstrips the value of the presents contained therein.

 

Still, it’s a family tradition for Ella, and far be it for me to stand in the way of her holiday cheer.  However, as her designated wrapper, I get to see first-hand all the junk, I mean goodies, heading out of state, most of which I have no memory of Ella picking up.

 

Case in point, on Thanksgiving, she handed me a My Little Pony toy in a faded and slightly crushed box that needed wrapping.  After checking it out on Ebay, I told Ella that her niece was not getting that vintage pony.  It sold within a day for $60.

 

I had to steal this My Little Pony from Ella

In other toy news, most people have an over-inflated sense of worth regarding their precious Barbie collection, and try to price them accordingly.  I was in a thrift store last week, and saw an unusual Barbie priced at $20, which is way more than I usually pay for dolls.  It was pretty, though, so I checked it on Amazon, and was amazed to find prices north of $100.  Naturally, I picked it up, and it sold for $100 yesterday to a customer in France through Ebay’s Global Shipping Program.

Aine was too pretty to pass up

I visited the same thrift store the next day, and saw another Barbie in the same series, and thought, cha-ching!  Unfortunately, it was worth less than the $20 price tag.

 

Talk about fickle.

 

Overall, sales have picked up considerably since last week across all venues.  Or course, it helps that I actually had time to list over my four-day holiday weekend. 

 

Over at the antique mall, our booths are doing fairly well, too.  In November, we sold $827 against a rent of $468, for a net gain of $359.  With both booths bursting with holiday items, toys, and collectibles, we hope the coming weeks will prove fruitful as well. 

 

In other booth news, after humble beginnings (small booth) in the spring and an ambitious land grab (large booth) in late summer, we are expanding into a little nook of a booth, perfect for books, and, if I have my way, all things geeky (my input) with a feminine touch (Ella’s input, obviously).  It’ll be a work in progress in December, unfortunately, but since it only adds $68 to our monthly rent, we hope it more than pays for itself.

 

Weekend yard/garage sales have pretty much dried up around here so I’m hoping our Grasshopper and Ant philosophy that turned our house into a warehouse will keep our coffers full until the new year.

 

Happy sales everyone.