Tuesday, August 14, 2012

You Need To Spend Money To Make Money

Unfortunately the saying is true. Most of my inventory comes from yard sales and I will admit I’m cheap. I rarely spend more then $1.00 on an item. I don’t have a lot of knowledge on what to buy and what sells so I would rather not pay out a lot of money and risk having to donate it again. But as I look over at a sea of knick knacks and items I always wonder how many treasures I am leaving behind.

This weekend I was yard saling with my honey (his choice I didn’t drag him with me) and he asked an owner “How much is that fishing pole rack?”. It was only $3.00. He paid the nice lady and off he went with his newly purchased rack. I walked past that rack at least 3 times and didn’t have a clue what it was. Even if I did I don’t know if I would have paid $3.00 for it. But I looked on eBay and found one just like it here that sold for $64.50 plus shipping. Not a bad return on $3.00. He of course is keeping his because he decided we (I don’t know how I got included in this we) need to get outdoors more.

I could say that I can go with my gut feeling on what to buy but my gut isn’t very knowledgeable either. But when it does have a feeling it is usually a good one. A few weeks ago I went to the Salvation Army and they were selling small totes full of toys. They had Barbie furniture, clothing, accessories, dolls, and lots of other items inside. But each tote was $7.50. I must have put them in my cart and taken them out again about half a dozen times. Did I want to spend $30.00 on four totes? No. But my gut was telling me “Do it” so I did. And my gut didn’t let me down. To date I have sold $170.00 worth of items. I still have items listed that haven’t sold yet and other items yet to list. I am expecting to sell all my items for at least $300.00.



This weekend I had the same dilemma. I went to a yard sale where they were selling new in box toys. I got a stack together of about 10 toys. I asked the owner how much for the stack and she told me $40.00. Logically I knew that I could make that back by selling just one or two of the toys which would make all the rest profit. But I didn’t want to have to give her most of my yard sale budget for the day (yes I was pouting a little). And she wouldn’t go any lower in price. I did finally hand over the money. I am actually thinking of trying my hand with Amazon with these toys. I am a little scared to try something new but I might just jump in. Wish me luck.

So I am going to admit that the past couple weeks I haven’t listed. I’m not going to make excuses. I’ve just been lazy. And my sales have reflected this. But I have a cruise to finish paying and I need money so I am setting a goal of listing 5 items per day this week. I listed 5 yesterday so I am starting the week off right.

10 comments:

  1. Great buy on the fishing pole rack! Bulk buying is the way to go sometimes but you need that up front cash which can be hard to part with unless you know for sure that you can flip your items for a good profit. You did well with the Barbie stuff and you got those nice totes too. Good luck with the NIB toys!

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    1. I love it when I get storage with my purchase. It's like a bonus thrown in. And I certainly need more all the time to try and be organized.

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  2. NIB toys are easy on Amazon. Just type in the UPC code, type a short description, and that's it.

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    1. Scott - I'm going to sign up this weekend jump in with both feet on Amazon. I have heard it so easy so hopefully even I can do it. Love your blog. I read it weekly.

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  3. I love selling Barbie clothes and shoes-so easy to ship.
    I do that indecisive in and out basket dance too(not with people around.I don't want McGrabby Hands to snatch it while I'm thinking).It's hard spending past your comfort zone on items even though you know you'll make money.

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  4. Veronica,
    I got a phone call from my childhood best friend who is sending me her Barbie clothes to sell on Ebay. I asked her to check the labels and they are the black and white (we're both 54 years old so the clothes are from the 60's-70's). She said that they smell musty. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can get the smell out? Are Barbie clothes washable?

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    1. You can try airing it out (in a shady place). Vintage clothes are very fragile. If you do wash them be careful with them. You can try soaking them in Woolite or Oxiclean (I've tried Woolite) diluted with water. Remember to keep like colors together. Do not rub the material. I usually leave it overnight soaking. Rinse carefully and pat dry. This is what I have done in the past and it has work. But I am far from an expert. Just be very careful with the clothing. I have accidently pulled at seams before. You can also try listing it and putting in the listing that it has a musty smell from being stored for a long time. Most collectors are ok with this and they have their own way of cleaning them safely. I have done this several times in the past. Good luck!

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    2. Thank you! I thought of listing them as-is instead of trying to clean them myself. I may just do that. Depending on what's in the batch, I may list some things separately or in a lot. I can't wait to see it all.

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  5. Amazon is super easy. No need to to photograph, type in descriptions, or anything. I will sometimes, however, list things on both ebay and amazon. Double the expose...LOL

    But amazon is super easy. I list most books and NIB books, electronics, etc. on Amazon.

    Good Luck.

    Margaret @ http://www.LiveLikeNoOneElse.com

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  6. I think you'll love Amazon. Just make sure the toys are in mint new condition including the packaging if you are listing as new on Amazon. You can always check what items are going for on Amazon with their free check price app. I have no regrets about expanding to Amazon. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions along the way.

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