eBay Sales

The past few weeks I haven't been listing a lot on eBay. My life has been crazy and eBay took a place on the back burner. But this past week I made an effort to list as much as possible every spare moment I got (which weren't many). My sales weren't incredible but I'm very happy with them.

This was actually a toy Muno (from Yo Gabba Gabba tv show) guitar I bought for my Princess at a garage sale around 6 months ago. I paid $1.00 for it.  She played with it off and on for the first month but then she got tired of it and it ended up in the bottom of the toy storage bin. I rescued it and listed it BIN for $15.00. It sold 2 days later.

These Lego Duplo train tracks I found in the bag of toys I bought this past weekend at a yard sale. There were 14 curved pieces. I had no idea if these would sell especially considering they were all curved pieces. They sold in 3 days for $10.00 BIN.

I have gotten into selling designer jeans. I'm not sure how this happened but they are sellingg well for me. I picked up this pair of Miss Me jeans for $4.00 at my local Goodwill. I had never sold Miss Me jeans before but from hearing my nieces talk I knew they were a good, and expensive, designer brand. This pair sold today auction for $29.00. Miss Me jeans are definitely going on my "Too Look For" list.

I also sold some Boyds bears for $12.99 that I paid $2.00 for  months ago (I'm glad to see them go), a Rainbow Brite Hammy Sprite Toy from the 80's sold for $10.00 that I bought for $0.50, a pair of True Religion jeans for $36.00 that I paid $6.00 for, a pair of Seven for all Mankind mens jeans I paid $3 dollars for sold for $24.99, and a lot of 4 My Little Ponys I paid $0.75 for sold for $6.00.

Total sales for the week $143.98. Out of pocket expense $18.25. That is a great sales week for me. 

My First Unpaid Case

Since I started selling again on eBay in July I had been very lucky and had great buyers. I had a few who didn't pay right away and I had to send them an email. But as soon as I did they apologized and paid right away. But not this latest one. I let it go over a week before I opened the case. Why do I feel a little guilty? It was only a $15.00 sale.

Hopefully this will have a happy ending. If not I will just relist my item and life will go on.

Yard Sale Finds 11/19/11

The past few weekends have not been very successful yard saling weekends. Yard sale season doesn't really wind down in California since we don't get the harsh winters other states do. But we do get rains and that tends to keep sellers in bed on Saturday morning. Last night rained so I didn't have high expectations for today. But that wasn't going to keep me from looking.

The very first yard sale we stopped at I found these 4 Department 56 North Pole Series houses and people. At Christmas time when I lived in SoCal I would go to Downtown Disney and wander around the Department 56 store and stare in awe at the gorgeous displays they had. I also stared in awe at the price tags on these homes. I have never tried selling these on eBay but I got all these for $5.00 so I knew without researching them that this was a good buy. At the same garage sale I bought a bag of misc toys for my nephew for a dollar. These are scattered all over the floor already so I couldn't get a picture.

The fourth garage sale (there were a few in between I didn't buy anything at) I bought this Little Einsteins rocket. The seller could only find one figurine. I had read on Yard Sale Mommy's blog that these were a good seller on eBay. For a $1.00 I was willing to take the risk

These are for me. I bought two boxes of fake fruit for $2.00. This is the first year that I'm going to have a Christmas tree and a two year old in the home so I'm concerned about breakable ornaments. I thought this would be a good alternative and a great deal. 

Not pictured items I bought: A Stephenie Meyer "The Host" book for a $1.00 (I am a huge fan of the Twilight series so I'm excited to read this), a baby doll bassinet for my Princess, a stack of clothing for me that I bought for 10 cents each, and a few random odds and ends.

All in all I went to a least a dozen garage sales and had a car full when I got home and was only out $15.00. Now that's a success yard sale day.

Black Friday Is Coming

A week from today we will be enjoying a wonderful turkey dinner with our loved ones trying not to think of all the Christmas shopping we haven't done yet. And I had such good intentions this year but I have only crossed off half the names on my list.

This is my first time selling on eBay during the holiday season. I have been collecting toys and designer clothing to list hoping to take advantage of the holiday eBay shoppers which I keep hearing so much about. Of course today I didn't bother listing anything for auction. I figured no one will be online bidding on Thanksgiving day when they have yummy turkey to eat and a food coma to get through.

I have a stack of different size boxes and envelopes, bubble wrap, tape, Ziploc bags (I put everything I can fit in a Ziploc bag before I mail it. I figure this will keep it a little safer especially with the rain coming), labels, and every imaginable mailing supply you can think of stacked in my garage.

I think I'm ready for this holiday eBay selling season. Let the bidding begin!

Starbucks Deal

Starbucks is offering a buy one, get one free Holiday drinks beginning today thru Sunday November 20th. These are available from 2 pm to 5 pm.

With the chilly weather we have been having around here (and I live in sunny California) this is a great time to invite a friend to join you for a cup of coffee and catch up.

That hardest thing to save

Sometimes the hardest thing to save is my sanity.

What To Sell on Ebay

This is a no brainer. We all know it's the holy grail of toys. And it's almost as hard to find at it would be the Holy Grail. I'm talking about Vintage Barbies.

I have been shopping at yard sales for many years and until a couple months ago I had never found any on my adventures. Then one ordinary Saturday morning I walk into someones garage and the first thing I see are FIVE vintage Barbies. I approached them slowly fearing they were a mirage. As I reached out for them I realized that they were very real and authentic vintage Barbies. I quickly grabbed them before anyone else could and asked the woman selling them "How much?" She starts out by telling me that they are very old. She played with them when she was young. That vintage Barbies were very collectible... and on and on. The more the spoke the higher I saw the price going. Finally she gave me the price: $5.00 each. Being a veteran yard saler I of course had to to counter with a lesser price. After much back and forth between us I finally ended up buying all five with some extra clothing for $15.00.

You would think I would have ran home and listed them right away. But no. They sat in my garage for a couple months. I couldn't decide if I wanted to list them separate or as a lot. Also, a few of the dolls had some issues.

This doll had the dreaded green ears. Apparently on some of these dolls when the earrings are left on the metal in them cause the ear area on these dolls to turn green.

A week ago I finally decided to list them as a lot including the above Barbie, two Midge bubble cut Barbies, a slightly newer Barbie, and a Skipper doll. I took pictures of all the issues the dolls had. My starting bid was $40.00 and the first day I got a bid. I also got 15 watchers. My listing was set to close on Saturday afternoon. On Friday night when I went to bed I had 55 watchers and 7 total bids with the highest bid being $75.55. Not as high as I was expecting but I knew I still had most of the next day to go.

On Saturday morning when I awoke I ran to my phone to see if I had received any more bids. I had!! My dolls were at $199.00. I almost fell over. They had surpassed my expectations. But the story doesn't end there. By the time my listing closed I had 70 watchers, 25 bids, and I had sold my Vintage Barbies for $306.89. And the best part about it was the buyer paid right away!

Now I will admit I know nothing about vintage Barbies and who knows if I could have received more if I had listed them differently. But for a $15.00 investment I am ecstatic about my $306.89 sale.

So even though I probably don't need to tell you, be on the look out for vintage Barbies.