Buying to sell on eBay

[richards*rock*collection]

I am taking the off sales time to go to garage sales and I am getting the best things for next to nothing and trying somehow to store, clean and maintain only the best vintage collectibles I can find. I have found little piles of Elvis records on top of trash heaps and other horror stories. If and when these items sell I am happy to find a home for them, I love them so much.

Wo is, the younger generation does not spend a lot of moola on this lame stuff, unless it's really cool, so folks, keep trying to sell good stuff on eBay, small sellers will find their niche if they keep at it long enough, and keep finding weird stuff!

[frodobagginskennedy]

My way to buy is of course cheap.....but also....I have to really like it.  Eventually everything sells.  Except this little girl figurine I have with a blue dress and yellow bonnet.  I have had this listed forever but no One wants her.....sad.....lol

[notakeres]

I go to garage/estate sales almost every weekend and list on Sunday.  I'm a very small seller and specialize in about 5 areas, but often experiment with different items.  It takes time, but the idea is to enjoy the hunt and hopefully, the sale.   Just buy what you like and have at it.

[autopartspuller]

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@frodobagginskennedy wrote:

My way to buy is of course cheap.....but also....I have to really like it.  Eventually everything sells.  Except this little girl figurine I have with a blue dress and yellow bonnet.  I have had this listed forever but no One wants her.....sad.....lol

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I have another Selling account where I sell collectibles (among other things).  I go about it a differently way.  I look for the most unusual items, Frequently the ugliest stuff I would never have in my own home.   For some reason, the ugliest, weirdest stuff always sells.

[ed8108]

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@frodobagginskennedy wrote  Eventually everything sells.

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Isn't EBay already cluttered with item listings, aren't there enough items  continuously listed for years and have remained unsold ?

Unfortunately there are also more than a few items on ebay not being offered at competive prices, with the result of most probably discouraging some potential buyers to even visit ebay.

Reality is that sales are not steady & not as good as in the past, for more than just a few sellers. 

I expect we may see a very different ebay in existence, two years from now.

A greatly improved or a disappointing ebay ?

[gamersbaystore]

I haven't had much luck lately with treasure hunting myself. I've been proactively going to estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, etc, you name it. I came home empty handed 4 weekends in a row now 😞 Its become a waste of time and gas, so I'm stopping for a while.

I'm still getting the best deals on media lots on ebay anyway (movies, cd's, games, etc). I still got a lot of new product, but its the usual media stuff I already sell.

I've also noticed that estate sales are becoming increasingly misleading about what they have for sale. I've lost count as to how many estate sales I've gone too where it was just a giant empty house filled with garbage, and nothing that was shown in the pictures is even there. Estate sales are now the absolute last place on my list to look for anything.

[chapeau-noir]

All I find at garage/yard sales around my area is junk or very large items - everything good has already been sold online.  Oh, and everything has a high price tag because this is $eattle Metro.

Curb surfing is the way to go.

[chapeau-noir]

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@gamersbaystore wrote:

I haven't had much luck lately with treasure hunting myself. I've been proactively going to estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, etc, you name it. I came home empty handed 4 weekends in a row now 😞 Its become a waste of time and gas, so I'm stopping for a while.

I'm still getting the best deals on media lots on ebay anyway (movies, cd's, games, etc). I still got a lot of new product, but its the usual media stuff I already sell.

I've also noticed that estate sales are becoming increasingly misleading about what they have for sale. I've lost count as to how many estate sales I've gone too where it was just a giant empty house filled with garbage, and nothing that was shown in the pictures is even there. Estate sales are now the absolute last place on my list to look for anything.

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Yeah, what's up with that?  I've quit going, too, because 'estate' just means endless knickknacks and loads of polyester. 

[gamersbaystore]

Even Goodwill and thrift shops have nothing of value to offer anymore. Goodwill launched its own auction site years ago, and there's more Goodwill accounts on ebay than there are stars in the Milky Way.

Walk into any Goodwill store today, and its a bunch of stained clothes, a few VHS tapes, and broken electronics they know they couldn't sell online.

[willsgarden62]

It's an exciting hobby. I used to do that back a long time ago. Nowadays, I just use eBay to have a yard sale four times a year to declutter and help family and friends do the same. There's just something magical about treasure hunting and finding just the thing somebody's looking for. I miss it sometimes. As long as you buy things you love, usually it's just a waiting game for sales, but since I've not done eBay in a really long time, I'm not sure how the selling waters are these days.

[chapeau-noir]

I was glad to retire and just start selling here as a  part-time job. I made my living at this full time and the 'treasure hunting' aspect turned into just 'shopping'.  I actually hate shopping so it made a chore out of something I really enjoyed - it's hard to explain, but treasure hunters might understand.  Now I'm back to treasure hunting things for my wonderful buyers - more fun! It's harder to find those treasures in my area, but I hook my little trailer up to my bicycle and tootle around - good exercise and a bit of fun.

[trustedbasset]

Yes but I still find stuff there every once in a while. I found a report museum piece for $3.99
That sold for over $50.00 and a wood carving figure for $6.99
That sold for $76.00. Nothing that would pay a rent payment but it puts some gas in the car.

[trustedbasset]

I live in the rural area next to st Criox river. I could walk to the river if I could walk. 

The best sales are barn sales or sometimes you find an estate where gramma just went to the home. They want to get rid of all the 60’s and 70’s stuff. It’s usually pretty cheap. Orange and avocado colored Brady Bunch stuff sells  pretty good.

[trustedbasset]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

I was glad to retire and just start selling here as a  part-time job. I made my living at this full time and the 'treasure hunting' aspect turned into just 'shopping'.  I actually hate shopping so it made a chore out of something I really enjoyed - it's hard to explain, but treasure hunters might understand.  Now I'm back to treasure hunting things for my wonderful buyers - more fun! It's harder to find those treasures in my area, but I hook my little trailer up to my bicycle and tootle around - good exercise and a bit of fun.

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I’m mostly retired too. It seems I still have to pack a lot though. It’s the worst part of selling I’d packing. My house is full of packing boxes, pillows, peanuts and bubble wrap. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@trustedbasset wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

I was glad to retire and just start selling here as a  part-time job. I made my living at this full time and the 'treasure hunting' aspect turned into just 'shopping'.  I actually hate shopping so it made a chore out of something I really enjoyed - it's hard to explain, but treasure hunters might understand.  Now I'm back to treasure hunting things for my wonderful buyers - more fun! It's harder to find those treasures in my area, but I hook my little trailer up to my bicycle and tootle around - good exercise and a bit of fun.

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I’m mostly retired too. It seems I still have to pack a lot though. It’s the worst part of selling I’d packing. My house is full of packing boxes, pillows, peanuts and bubble wrap. 

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Our basement is full of that stuff, but I really go through it selling computer equipment and parts.  The DH orders something from Amazon and opens it and yells up the stairs at me "Sweetie! Packing material!" I come running downstairs all excited.  I get more interested in what the item is packed in lol.  I have several neighbours and a community college IT department giving me their packing materials, and now have been bird-dogging the lobby at my local gym - if I ask, they'll give me all of that packing material their various products come in.

One of my projects since I retired this month is cutting down on all the inventory and clutter so we get most of our basement at least somewhat back. Right now it's like a worm hole.