Ha! That worked out well!

[Thumper]

I bought a little old (1939) 10" desk fan at an estate sale a while back and just stuck it on a shelf until I could get around to messing with it. It is in great condition visually, but the switch is missing and there is no power cord. I assumed it didn't work and I'd just sell it for "Parts or Repair". I only paid $5, so I figured I could at least make a couple bucks on it. Well, being the first of the month, I thought I should get to work and list some stuff. I've been slacking quite a bit lately as I normally like to keep around 150 listings going at all times, but I'm down to 95 right now. Sales were pretty decent in July (closed at $1500), but I just got a bit lazy with posting new listings and I need to get back to work.

Anyway, back to that fan. It's an off-brand fan that really isn't very popular in the collector field, so they normally don't bring much money. That's why I've been in no rush to mess with it. Dayum! I started digging around last night and found out it's a pretty rare model and one of the few of that brand that collectors are looking for! They're selling for $150-$175 and the last one was sold for parts (damaged and not running) for $135. Hmmm, that renewed my interest a bit, so I cleaned the dust off of it this morning, ran a test cord to it for a direct hook-up (no switch) and it runs like a champ! It should be an easy $150 fan! I realize that may not sound like much, but it's worth the price of admission just to go out and discover little treasures like this and save them from the trash heap! Plus, it puts a couple bucks into my play-money pile. We have a cruise coming up next month, but I'm already looking into options for NEXT year's cruise. ;)

[Bwana]

Though you may not carry a gun Thumper, you are very much a hunter and what you are doing sounds like ALOT of fun to me.

Way to go and please keep the stories coming.

[Thumper]

Thanks Bwana. Most of the items are fairly mundane and probably wouldn't garner much interest here, but the thrill of the "hunt" is what I enjoy most about this little venture. I'm just dreading the day when it stops being fun. It may never happen, but there's always that possibility. For now, I'm enjoying myself and it's something I can handle PHYSICALLY ... plus it gives us enough money to get away from the house from time to time.

[DeputyDog]

I bet it helps keep it from getting boring by changing your targets. I remember when the cast iron was the target but it seems that everyone looks for it so you adapted and found other targets like the fans.

[Thumper]

Yeah, good point Deppity. Believe it or not, it started out with old razors, then moved to cast iron, then to fans. Actually, none of the "targets" ever go away ... it's just that I get interested in one and learn all I can about it. Once I have a good grasp on what is what, I move on to something else to "educate myself" on. I still look for razors and cast iron, but I'm pretty well versed on what sells and what prices they bring, so I'm now learning as much about fans as possible. Just broadening my horizons so to speak. After the cast iron, I started concentrating on normal, run-of-the-mill kitchen knives. There is some HUGE money to be made there and the folks who run the sales very seldom know about them other than silver or silver plate services. They normally just tape a sign on the kitchen drawer full of regular flatware and kitchen knives that usually says something like $0.25 - $0.50 apiece. I used to zero in on the kitchen knife drawer until my buddy got interested and started going with me. He was immediately drawn into the knife thing and I pretty much leave it to him. BUT, if he makes the mistake of heading into the garage first, I'll usually slip into the kitchen ahead of him! ;)

I've made a small fortune on Cutco Knives. If there is a butcher block of them, many of the Estate Sale people price them accordingly (but not all). A small set of Cutcos can go anywhere from $700 - $1500 !! I can sell the singles for anywhere from $35 - $100 depending on the knife. I usually score with the loose knives in drawers and I once found a nice little Case tomato knife in a drawer and picked it up only because of the name. I can usually get $12-$20 for a Case kitchen knife. I picked it up for a quarter and once I got it home, found out it was a collector piece because the movie makers used this particular knife style to make Freddy Krueger's glove for "Nightmare on Elm Street"! I sold it for $150. I had no clue when I bought it!

7459 http://s3.amazonaws.com/img.iluria.com/product/20B19F/4D3AE7/450xN.jpg

[Thumper]

Ha! I just found that old thread.

http://www.goodhunting.info/showthread.php?6819-Well-I-ll-be-a-son-of-a&highlight=Freddy+Krueger%27s+glove

[LJ3]

Yeah, good point Deppity. Believe it or not, it started out with old razors, then moved to cast iron, then to fans. Actually, none of the "targets" ever go away ... it's just that I get interested in one and learn all I can about it. Once I have a good grasp on what is what, I move on to something else to "educate myself" on. I still look for razors and cast iron, but I'm pretty well versed on what sells and what prices they bring, so I'm now learning as much about fans as possible. Just broadening my horizons so to speak. After the cast iron, I started concentrating on normal, run-of-the-mill kitchen knives. There is some HUGE money to be made there and the folks who run the sales very seldom know about them other than silver or silver plate services. They normally just tape a sign on the kitchen drawer full of regular flatware and kitchen knives that usually says something like $0.25 - $0.50 apiece. I used to zero in on the kitchen knife drawer until my buddy got interested and started going with me. He was immediately drawn into the knife thing and I pretty much leave it to him. BUT, if he makes the mistake of heading into the garage first, I'll usually slip into the kitchen ahead of him! ;)

I've made a small fortune on Cutco Knives. If there is a butcher block of them, many of the Estate Sale people price them accordingly (but not all). A small set of Cutcos can go anywhere from $700 - $1500 !! I can sell the singles for anywhere from $35 - $100 depending on the knife. I usually score with the loose knives in drawers and I once found a nice little Case tomato knife in a drawer and picked it up only because of the name. I can usually get $12-$20 for a Case kitchen knife. I picked it up for a quarter and once I got it home, found out it was a collector piece because the movie makers used this particular knife style to make Freddy Krueger's glove for "Nightmare on Elm Street"! I sold it for $150. I had no clue when I bought it!

7459 http://s3.amazonaws.com/img.iluria.com/product/20B19F/4D3AE7/450xN.jpg

I love me some cutco knives. Those sumbitches are sharp!