I reached a milestone this month!

I made my first eBay sale on April 21, 1999 and since I had a full time job, as well as a business to run, it was more of a fun little hobby to do in my "spare" time. In the beginning, I found a niche that needed to be filled (vintage gun books) and started perusing every used book store I could find, as well as different resources on the net. I'd buy low and sell high ... like any business. Participation was sporadic ... I'd bust ass for a while, then I'd slow down for a while ... it became a cycle. The best part of it was, it was fun and I figured if it ever became a burden and wasn't fun anymore, I'd bail. Well, it's always been fun and when my health issues kicked in, I had much more time to dedicate to the cause.

This month, in just under 20 years, I broke $150,000 in sales! ($150,123.32 to be exact) Sure, that's gross, but near as I can tell, my CODB is at about 30% - 35% ... which is a heck of a lot better profit margin than any other business I've dealt with! Of course, the yearly average is only about $7500.00, so it's not like making a legitimate living, but it's fun and puts a bit of travel money in my pocket.

We're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate! Well, not for my personal milestone really. My birthday is Friday and Lynn is taking me someplace nice for dinner tonight. Problem is, she won't tell me where. I'm not "allowed" to wear my usual ... jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoes ... so it must be some hoity-toity joint. I hope she doesn't expect ME to pay the tab .... I'm broke! ;)

Mr. I'm Broke...sell more stuff! Actually it's been interesting to watch your adventure as you've figured out how to make a good little side business from ebay. People hear about people doing this all the time, but you are the only person I've actually met in real life that does it. I think it's pretty cool what you have accomplished.

I agree with BS. I have enjoyed your "Adventures in Dumpster Diving and How to Make BIG Bucks by Doing So."

Seriously, I do enjoy your stories, the effort you put into it, and am REALLY glad I don't live there or am afraid I might become a collector instead of a business man like yourself. That being said, it would be cool to tag along with you sometime to see a pro in action.

I second that emotion!

I’m glad we got to ride along!

BKB

I think a little financial stimulus package is in order with this burgeoning enterprise. A little economical growth in a community is always a good thing.

That don’t include your Craigslist sales, or the times you’ve price gouged us dufes on items here and there. ;)

Big Sky nailed it for me too. :)

Congrats Jimmy. Ebay's an interesting place. Some swear by it and others at it. I like the way you can snatch some really cool 2nd hand stuff out of the mouths of the moths and the recycle bin. Like Filson and Pendleton wool stuff for instance.

Will

Thanks guys. I will admit it's not for everybody. It's like a hobby, one may like to collect English teacups and another may like collecting old oil cans. The oil can guy would never even take a second glance at a frigging teacup, just as the teacup collector would never considering looking at old oil cans. If you have no interest in playing around with eBay, it won't work for you. One thing you HAVE to do is, get out of the "collector" frame of mind and get into the SELLER frame of mind. Almost anything you come across ... SOMEONE out there probably collects it! I was in a thrift store once and found an old board game. I can't even remember what it was now, but it appeared someone bought it years ago (it was probably received as a gift), stuck it in a closet, and never even opened it. I bought it for a dollar or two and it even had the original dry cell battery it originally came with. I sold the game for something like $15 ... BUT, I kept the battery separate and sold it for something like $50. It was pristine (no leakage) and believe it or not, there are a TON of battery collectors out there. Who'da thunk it? The point is, you have to think outside the box. The fun part is learning about stuff (through i-net research) that you never had a clue about.

I love digging through kitchen cabinets to look for jadite (for example). I had no clue what jadeite was when I first discovered it, but people love the stuff. I was digging through a shed in a backyard a while back and pulled out a couple of dusty old cardboard boxes buried under a pile of junk. The boxes were full of jadeite coffee mugs! I counted 58 of them and bought them for $1.50 apiece. I sold those mugs for $20-$25 each. (sets of 4 for $95.00). The old guy had owned a diner years ago and kept the cups for some silly reason when he retired. They were just "cups" at that time ... collector items today!

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Since that time, I always keep an eye out for jadeite. I found a batter (mixing) bowl a few months ago that had a chip on the lip (that KILLS collector value) along with 3 teardrop bowls that were flawless. I didn't pay squat for them ($75 total for the 4). I sold the chipped bowl separately for $80 and the "set" (a set is 4, I had 3) of the bowls sold for $295 (in fact, I just sold them 2-weeks ago).

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I found a Griswold waffle-maker in a little thrift store of all places for just a few bucks. They're not the most popular item in the world, but it still sold for $142.50

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I don't want to bore you, but that's just a VERY small example of what you can do if you put your mind to it. In fact, I just returned from a local thrift store (Lighthouse Ministries) where I bought 5 items. Today is their "Wacky-Wednesday", a sale they have every week, where everything is 50% off. I found a nice set of vintage, Irwin auger bits for $5. I haven't taken pics yet, but the one I'm posting here just sold a few days ago for $122. Mine is the same set, except it also has an expansion bit with a set of two different blades. That should add another $10-$20. You can find stuff most anyplace. I love the little charity or church thrift stores ... Goodwill/Salvation Army, not so much.

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These are just a few of the recent examples, I could go on and on, but after a while, it could all get boring. I mean, this IS a hunting/fishing site, right? ;)

I figure you are always on the hunt to fish out some new item to hawk on eBay. Therefore, your post fit right in with the rest of the hunting and fishing posts on this site...as if anyone ever paid any attention to that.