E-bay silliness ....

[Thumper]

I'm getting ready to head back out to "pre-shop" this weekend's estate sale, but thought I'd share a bit of silliness with you. If I can ever figure out how the buying public thinks, I could become a bazillionaire.

I seem to find little "niches" from time to time where I concentrate on a specific item and learn as much as I can about it if there's a profit to be made. I was heavy into "gun books" a few years back and made a $9500 profit buying and selling. I've made a small fortune selling old razors.

Then I got into "breaking things down" for parts. I concentrated on small boat motors for a while ... little "kickers" up to a max of 15 HP. People will pay through the nose for parts! I'd buy a whole "broken" motor on eBay for $50-$75 (my personal maximum) ... tear it down in about 30 minutes, throw away the broken part, and sell the left-over parts ON EBAY for a total of $650-$750! I probably cannibalized 20 motors this way. Heck, I'd usually get my money back on just the prop or carbureator ... the rest was pure profit.

Then I got into the smaller stuff. The old Proctor Silex juicers for example. I can find them all day long at Goodwill, Salvation Army or other thrift stores. I find them at estate sales ... they're everywhere. I buy them for a dollar ... take the ceramic reamer (just lifts off), throw the juicer away (heavy, bulky to ship) and sell the reamer for $20!

Lately I've been buying old Aladdin Thermos' ... they're a dime a dozen and there's at least one in every household. I buy the beat up old Thermos for $0.50 - $1.00 ... unscrew the stopper, throw the Thermos away and sell the stopper for $20. I bought 11 Thermos' at the house I was at yesterday for $5.50 (the guy was a bit of a hoarder). They're all going into the trash ... but I'll make an easy $150 selling just the stoppers. I listed one last week and it sold immediately. As soon as it sold, I listed another ... it sold in under 4 hours! Now I'm replenishing my inventory. The silly part ... just like the juicers or the boat motors ... you can buy the whole things for peanuts ... why pay through the nose for one little piece off of it?

Example: I just did a quick search and a complete used Thermos in great condition brought in 4 bids and sold for $7.50 (Thermos, stopper and cup). The same exact used stopper (ONLY) just sold for $21.95. Now I ain't complaining mind you, just wondering how people think. :confused:

Ok dufes ... I'm out'ta here. I gots ta' go buy some junk to sell! ;)

[Buckrub]

I think you've done an amazing job of figuring out how the buying public thinks. You know more about goofy little items that sell for high dollars than probably anyone on Ebay. I'd never figure all that out. I have 2 old thermos bottles.......but can't imagine selling the cup or stopper! Or an old safety razor. Or some old kitchen part or juice squeezer. Or lordy knows what other crazy little things.

I still imagine I have a gold mine in this crazy house. But only you could figure out what it is.

[Thumper]

That's what's so much fun Bucky .... it's a heck of a learning process and it's constantly changing. My grandfather was a salesman for a typewriter business that had been in town for a bazillion years. When word processors came out, all the old farts at the company sat on their butts and refused to believe typewriters would ever go out of style. Once the computer age kicked in, the place went down the tubes and had to close it's doors after 100 years of being the biggest office supply store in Orlando. Similarly, years ago people were taking a 35mm camera and making a homemade game cam with them. There were plans on the internet and there was a certain camera that was easy to wire in a motion detector. You'd wire it up, stick it in an old ammo box and chain it to a tree. I was buying those cameras in local pawn shops for $3.00 and selling them on eBay for $30-$50! Once storebought game cam prices came down (and then digital kicked in), you couldn't GIVE those cameras away! It was time to move on ... that camera was like my grandfather's typewriter, except I knew I had to find a new niche.

I have fun finding new niches and learning the ins and outs. I don't get carried away with big, expensive items like estate jewelry or works of art, just little crap I can pick up for 50-cents, sell for $25, stick in an envelope and drop in the mailbox! What keeps it interesting is that what sells this month, may not sell next month ... and it'll be time to find something new to market. Those books I mentioned above? I was selling some of those for $200-$300 EACH 10 years ago. Now I'd the procurement prices have risin, yet I'd be lucky to get $40-$50 for them. So, I don't even fool with them anymore.

[Buckrub]

So.......how many gold mines do you end up buying that truly turn out to be only the shaft? Seems you never do that........which says to me, that you know a lot more about this than even we know.

Every think of writing a book? Need a ghost writer? I only charge 140%.

[Thumper]

I'm a brilliant buyer ... thanks to Mr. iPhone and Mr. Google. ;)

I search eBay, see what items are selling for (NOT what they're listed for) and if there's enough room to make a profit ... I buy it ... or at least negotiate a price I can live with.

I bought $250 worth of stuff this morning and should be able to turn it into $1000 without too much effort! Waaaay too much to list, but I did snag some neat cast iron, a nice Griswold frying pan and a super rare Wagner Ware sauce pan for $7.00 each! :D

[Buckrub]

American (nose) Picker