I was at an estate sale quite a while back and found an interesting ice chest/cooler in the garage buried under a pile of crap. Man, that thing weighed a TON and was made of stainless steel. Heck, for $10, I figured maybe I could do something with it. It had Dr Pepper embossed on the sides. Bummer, the hottest selling stuff is Coca-Cola, but what the heck? Well, I got it home and started researching it. I could find Coke, Pepsi and 7-up (in nice condition) selling in the $100 - $300 range ... but couldn't find any Dr Pepper units for sale on The Bay. I threw it out into the garage and forgot about it for a while, then one day, decided to take another look. I found ONE listed for $1800.00!!! WTF? I figured either I was sitting on a goldmine, or this guy was out of his frigging head. I texted him and asked how he came up with that price. I also told him I have one, but as a courtesy, I wouldn't list it until he sold his. He told me they are rare and he's a collector. As far as the price, he said it's hard to know since there are so few of them that ever hit the market, so he just threw the $1800 against the wall to see if it would stick. I noticed also, a few days later, his listing vanished, but it did not show up as being sold. Hmmm, no clue what that was all about.
Anyway, fast forward, I left mine in the garage and pretty much forgot about it. Every once in a while, I'd check The Bay, but never saw one listed. Yesterday I decided to pull it out, wipe the dust off of it and carried it down to the dock for some pics, then listed it to try getting it out of the way. The nice Coke, etc. coolers were still selling for $100-$300, but still no DP coolers listed. Crap ... I figured I'd play the same game for a few weeks ... throw a crazy figure out there and If I get no bites, I'll slowly lower the price, BUT ... what's a "crazy" figure? I thought the $1800 was insane, so I figured maybe I'd try $950. As I was making the listing, I thought to myself, that's just plain nuts, so I lowered the price to $850. DAMMIT!!!! It was snatched up immediately after I listed it! I knew then I'd probably screwed up and most likely should have auctioned it. Oh well, I'll live with $850 from a $10 purchase.
The new buyer texted me and thanked me for giving him the opportunity to buy the cooler. He said he's a collector and due to a family emergency a year or so ago, he had to sell off part of his collection to raise some quick cash. It then clicked ... this was the same guy who'd listed that $1800 cooler! I reminded him of our conversation and he remembered me. I told him I noticed his listing was pulled before it sold and asked whatever happened to it. He said he sold it to a very close, long-time friend and fellow collector for $1000, but has regretted it ever since. He was HAPPY to find my cooler for a "measly" $850. DAYYYYUMMM! Nothing like winning and losing at the same time!
Oh well, both seller and buyer are happy ... and I suppose that's what it's all about. But still ....
If ya' see one'a these at a yard sale, (it's small, approx. 21" X 17" X 12"), snatch it up and send it to me. I'll pay the shipping plus the $3-$4 you'll prolly pay for it.
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Originally Posted by Thumper
