Exhausting weekend - One week later

Last week, I posted about my bulk buy of media at an estate sale.  It included many boxes of books, new DVDs, new computer/video games, and CDs.  I paid $910 (initial scouting plus estate buyout), and drove back and forth between my house and Macon (about 20 miles) three times to get it all home.

After working all last week, and most of this weekend, on listing, I decided to take a look at my progress, and to see if I am even close to getting my money back out of the deal. 

I have listed all the sellable books on Amazon; non-sellable books, worth less than $1, have been donated.  I also have reserved two boxes of low-ranked books for Amazon’s FBA program, and I have several boxes of books, and a Star Trek book collection, that will be listed on eBay as sets.  Neither the FBA nor eBay books are included in my tally.  I also have listed all the CDs, and a tote full of video games.

So far, I’ve added … drum roll please … 321 items to my inventory, of which 56 items have sold for $506 (plus shipping allocation).  So, in a week’s time, after expenses, I have made about half my money back.

The other 265 items have a combined listing price of $3024.

I still need to list all the new DVDs and the rest of the new computer games, but Ella, who is coming home from Ohio on August 26, has decreed that she wants to see the DVDs before I sell them.  I guesstimate, though, that the DVDs and games will bring in at least another $1000, probably more.

I write this not to brag, but to point out the benefits of buying in bulk.  I’ve been fortunate enough on several occasions to purchase collections, including 500+ classical music CDs, a Christian bookstore closeout, and, of course this one.  I’ve also missed out on a few because I was too timid to pull the trigger on the sale.

Granted, initial monetary outlays can be huge, by thrifting standards, and your positive return on investment can be measured in months or years, as opposed to weeks. 

However, the benefits, both immediate (initial bump in sales) and long-term (I’m still selling classical CDs) can help keep your bottom line steady as opposed to the sales slumps/spikes that we’ve all come to know and hate.