Milestone Part Deux !

When eBay first hit ol' Al Gore's I-net, I joined immediately and started making $$$ "on the side". But ... I actually bought a good portion of my inventory on eBay .... then flipped the crap for a profit. A few of those items were just grossly under-priced and I'd be the first shark to grab the deal before anyone else got to it, but usually, I'd buy in lots (many of a certain item) then sell them separately at a nice profit. I also would buy blown up outboard motors for $50 or so (kickers up to 15HP), spend 30-mins. tearing one down, trash the bad part(s) and sell the good pieces. I'd generally have about a $750-$850 return on those parts. The problem was, back in the day, a buyer could look at a seller's buying history. Nothing like trying to sell something for $100 when the buyer knows you just paid $5 for it the day before! So, I opened two accounts. I'd sell on both accounts, but if I made a purchase (on eBay), I'd only use one of those accounts to buy and sell on the other ... away from prying eyes. Well, a year or so ago, I crossed the $150,000 mark in total eBay sales between the two accounts, but I finally closed one and simply operate from one account now. (buyers can no longer access a seller's purchasing history) Problem is, I've lost the figures for the total sales I had on that account before I closed it. :(

Soooo, I've had a couple of sales this morning and the last one put me over the $100,000 mark for sales on my PRESENT account! $100,037.38 to be exact. I'm just glad I still have fun with it. If that ever ends, it'll be a major blow to our "cruise money" collection jar.

You live in the very best part of the country too, for that kind of business. A country boy can survive!

BKB

Not really P-hole. I envy the Yankees and what's available "up North". I’d LOVE to hit some old farming communities, something we don’t have much of down here. There are a lot of old homesteads up there. I remember when I used to go to Ohio for hunting season, I'd actually start drooling when I'd see all those old homesteads with packed barns and out-buildings. BUT ... they're also big on auctions up there and auctions just aren't my cup-of-tea. The problem in this area is that there are very few OLD Florida natives. Generally, the Yankees get old, can't take the cold weather like they used to, then sell out up North and move to Florida. Once they get here, they buy a small 2-bedroom place, hit Rooms-To-Go for their new furniture, stock the kitchen and most of the rest of the house from Walmart, then the old man hits Harbor Freight to fill his new garage with crappy, Chinese tools. There are VERY few "barns" down here. Granted, I'll find a little goldmine from time to time, but they're actually far and few between. I LOVE going down South (Ft. Myers/Naples area) and hitting all the local Thrift Stores down there. That's where many of the rich Yankees relocate to and they love to replace stuff after a couple of years. Those thrift stores are a real honey-hole for 2nd hand stuff and we many times come home with a car packed FULL of junque. Generally, I pick crap up wherever I can find it. Yard/Garage sales are great places to find stuff, but I get overwhelmed with the number of them and have a problem deciding where to go, so I usually pass and VERY seldom attend one unless I spot something from the road when driving past one.

As for the outboard motors mentioned above, I had to get picky with the local stuff because most had been in salt. Those Yankee motors were usually pretty clean and only saw fresh water during their lifetime.

Iguess I was just going by the number of old folks that live in Florida.

BKB

Yessir, it’s a natural assumption .... old folks = old stuff, but it only works if they’ve been here all their lives or didn't dump everything before they moved here. Still, it’ll work if you’re flexible and think outside the box at times. ANYTHING will sell, you just have to develop an eye for what will be profitable.

Pretty impressive business you've got yourself into Thumper. Good on you!

Thanks Bwana. I'm having fun with it.

Here's a good (recent) example of what I mean about buying "lots". A guy cleaned out his grandfather's barn after Gramps passed away recently. He found a bunch of old weights like you'd use on a platform scale at a feed store or the like, then he listed the lot on eBay for $100. I snapped those puppies up immediately. I separated them and matched up lots of 4, up to 7 weights each and sold the individual lots. So far I've made $596.00 on that $100 investment and still have an additional $125-$150 worth of weights to sell. (In fact, I sold a lot just last night and it's awaiting pick-up by USPS as I write this) It's just another way of procuring inventory, then flipping it without even leaving the house!

Example:

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I'm still on the lookout for a Griswold dimple cast iron :D

Yessir. I’ve sold some nice ones, but any Gris iron has been rare as hen’s teeth lately. :(

Just got the ones I bought from you all cleaned up Jim, going to season them up this weekend. They probably haven’t been this clean since they left the factory.


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Nice job! I have a butt-load of iron here. If I send it to you, will you clean it up for me and return it? ;)

I have that same round breakfast griddle. Is that a Gris?

On edit I think mine is a wagner.

BKB

Ii have a Gris griddle like that one.. Don't use it often.. but the skillet (w/lid) and chicken fryer catch hell. ;) I have a dimpled (hammered) DO - but it's not a Gris.. slips my mind at the moment what it is..

I have an older Lodge (pre 1960) of that griddle. It is my go-to biscuit pan.


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Yes, it’s a Griswold. I got them seasoned last night.

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