eBay

duggmills · ‎03-18-2018

What has been your biggest sale in terms of dollars?

This is pointed question with a realistic suggested answer. Yes, sometimes strange thoughts pass through my mind.

Question: What has been your biggest sale in dollars?

Answer: None of your business.

"Fly the Big Ones"

vanman1029 · ‎03-21-2018

$650 for a Jimmy Hoffa autograph I obtained from him when I met him at a Teamster rally.

swenson8781 · ‎03-21-2018

@banana*shoe*boutiquewrote:
This thread is fun. I don't really have anything exciting to share. Just saying I like it.

I did sell some Matilda Jane toddler clothes back in the day at prices that make me cringe now....and that was back when there was no SNAD, no returns, no INR, just honest people buying and selling and duking it out in FB lol

I agree, very fun thread! I sell clothing, so my best was maybe a $100 sweater, that's about it. Neat to see what others have sold & for how much!

Banana, I remember the days of those toddler clothes, was selling kids clothes back then. I would see some 'custom' outfit sets listed that were priced through the roof... and ALWAYS sold with many bids! The brand names escape me right now though.

gracieallen01 · ‎03-21-2018

About 15 years ago, on ebay, an $1800.00 Polish naval sword - shipped to Hungary.

Not saying 'NO' doesn't mean 'YES'.

The foolishness of one's actions or words is determined by the number of witnesses.

Perhaps if Brains were described as an APP, many people would use them more often.

Respect, like money, is only of 'worth' when it is earned - with all due respect, it can not be ordained, legislated or coerced. Anonymous

retrose1 · ‎03-21-2018

@odditiesandantiquities1wrote:
I picked up an item at a thrift store for .99 and it sold for $1482. That was when I first started selling. Sure paid for a lot of new inventory. I have had higher sales since but the return for investment on that one was incredible.

I think that scoring big when you first start out is one of the worst things that can happen to a seller. When the dust settles and 6 months later the newbie is in the basic ebay routine of maybe 10% sell thru with one bid per item, they wonder where all the big scores are and that ebay is doing something to hold them back. It can be really depressing.

(*Bleep*)

tproffitt · ‎03-21-2018

$650 for a human skull from the late 1800s purchased at an estate of a doctor.

kathieskorner · ‎03-21-2018

$950 for a pair of ratty looking old Washington Redskins bobbleheads which the buyer had me ship to a restorer - found in a whole box of Redskins junk purchased at an auction for $5.

Also bought six 1950s Kentucky Derby glasses for $30 at an estate sale - sold them individually at auction for a total of $1650.

Those were back in the good ole early days of ebay. Now I rarely use auctions and only list fixed price for items under $100.

d-k_treasures · ‎03-21-2018

A Marx playset in the box for 2250.00 that I bought for 35.00 at a house auction. Not complete, some broken parts, and the box was rough, but I had turned down 1500.00 the day I listed it as an auction starting at 9.99, since I figured it would do better.

But that was back when I would sell something here that would bring that much(pre-2008). Now - when I get them, I flip them locally and let someone else have the hassle of selling it on here(post 2008). Had one I bought for 5.00 that was bringing 3-350.00 here, but sold it for 200.00 locally the next day. No hassles.

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

odditiesandantiquities1 · ‎03-21-2018

@retrose1wrote:
@odditiesandantiquities1wrote:
I picked up an item at a thrift store for .99 and it sold for $1482. That was when I first started selling. Sure paid for a lot of new inventory. I have had higher sales since but the return for investment on that one was incredible.
I think that scoring big when you first start out is one of the worst things that can happen to a seller. When the dust settles and 6 months later the newbie is in the basic ebay routine of maybe 10% sell thru with one bid per item, they wonder where all the big scores are and that ebay is doing something to hold them back. It can be really depressing.

Generally I would agree to that depending on what it is you sell, your age, experience and other factors. In my case, three months later I had a store and the sales were very progressive.

kathieskorner · ‎03-21-2018

It is all about expectations. Because of the rare find stories like those posted here - a lot of sellers come here expecting to make their fortune on ebay. However I was enough of a realist that I knew that the good ole early days of ebay mania would never last. Nothing draws imitation like early success stories.

80-90% sell thru rates fior first time listings were great while they lasted but not sustainable in the long term. Today's average monthly sell thru rate of 5-10% is acceptable to me as long as the annual turnover rate is at least 60%.

And even in the early days I never expected ebay to be my sole source of income.

odditiesandantiquities1 · ‎03-21-2018

I agree with that. When I first started on eBay I was working. Now retired and on a pension, I don't have to worry about any basic needs.

a-lotta-stuff · ‎03-21-2018

From my first group of ebay listings in 2001, a "Moondog And His Honking Geese" 7 inch EP (record) that I sold for $2700 to a dentist in Germany. He paid in cash - 27 crisp new consecutively numbered $100 dollar bills (and a twenty for shipping). Boy did I over-pack that. Best part - paid ten cents for the record, it sat for six years in my record store at $5.00 before ebay came along. Second best part: Burn it on to CDs and sold 183 of them to most of the 'losers' at $25 each. Those were the days.

And the dentist opened a Moondog web site (still up and running) and then re-sold it for $3500 to someone who pressed it as a 10" and 12" record. One is up on ebay now.

And like most people posting on this post, my first set of listings in January 2001 sold for more then EVERYTHING else I listed that first year.

banana*shoe*boutique · ‎03-21-2018

I agree, very fun thread! I sell clothing, so my best was maybe a $100 sweater, that's about it. Neat to see what others have sold & for how much!

Banana, I remember the days of those toddler clothes, was selling kids clothes back then. I would see some 'custom' outfit sets listed that were priced through the roof... and ALWAYS sold with many bids! The brand names escape me right now though.

@swenson8781

Oh yes, the OOAK customs went for $400 often! They were uber twirly and had detailed appliques done by hand. I learned to sew just so I could make my daughter clothes and I did one of those twirly dresses. It took me days and I didn't even applique it. I sold a few of my own for $100 or so. If you figured out my hourly wage after cost of materials, it was under $1 lol

Gymboree was my major bread and butter back then. I had "back room priveleges" at 6 Gymbos in the Chicago area. My kids barely wore anything twice and it was all paid for with buying and selling but it took a long time to make those friendships with the store managers.

Then one day, I was sick of my kids wearing Gymbo and that was that.

Now they're 12 and 14 and everything they wear is covered by a hoody 😞

bubbleman2010 · ‎03-21-2018

There is always the flip side of the coin when dealing in higher end merchandise the how much have you lost selling on ebay due to fraud. I'd like to have the 1000s of dollars I have lost here over the last 14 years since paypal became mandatory.....