Before I start I’d like to thank everyone who donated towards the payment of that ticket I got last week! I’ve received 115$ so far, which is a little over half of the total value (220$) of the fine. These funds have definitely helped take a bit of the sting from that unexpected expense.
My improved sales have also made life a little more comfortable. I had an awful month of September, pulling in only 644$. In the four weeks since I’ve made 2181.50$ – over three times as much. September is generally a poor month for online sales, but my increased profits are largely due to a renewed focus on getting my stuff listed.
On a side note, I’ve been using Kijiji a lot more recently. I like it for big or awkward items that are a pain to ship, and for items with a general or local appeal. I sold my most valuable item this week using Kijiji; I also had it listed on eBay, but it sold locally first.
Without further ado, here’s my most recent sales!
1. Collection of foreign coins: On Kijiji for 30$. I gathered these from places all across the city. I keep the Euros and British Pounds (these can be exchanged at a good rate) and put the rest in a coin bank. Once the collection grows large enough (in this case, there were between two and three hundred coins) I put them on Kijiji. Just another way to make a buck … or thirty!
2. Photo rights: To a local newspaper for 60$. Here’s another interesting source of income. I posted a scan of this great Montreal photo to a Montreal history focused Facebook page. People were pretty pumped, and some even managed to figure out where the house is today. (I walked the whole street trying to find it, but didn’t see a similar enough house and presumed it demolished. In my defense, it seems to have lost all its ornaments).
A few days later a journalist contacted me about an article she wanted to do. Her paper does a local history segment every Sunday, and she thought this shot would be a cool thing to focus on. I was paid 60$ for the rights to use the photo, and I get to keep the physical copy and any future rights that may come into play.
The photo was likely taken between 1910 and 1920. The present day address is 8112 / 8114 Henri-Julien in the neighbourhood of Villeray. Found April 2014 in Mount Royal.
3. Expo 67 theme song: On eBay for 30$. Found June 2015 in Cote-des-Neiges.
4. Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior: On eBay for 37$.
5. Grundig radio: On Kijiji for 30$. The picture I took apparently made this radio look nicer than it actually was. Two people came by and expressed disappointment about the its condition. The second guy offered me less than half that I was asking. I made the deal though, because at that point it was clear the radio was worth less than I was asking. Still, I’m happy to get the 30$! Found late August in Montreal West.
6. Collection of bridge tokens: To a reader for 25$. There were over 30 in all, salvaged from two different places. About half came from a smelly spot in Rosemont.
7. Original Yousuf Karsh photograph featuring Colonel Garnet Strong: On eBay for 235$. This was one of many fantastic paper finds I found in a recycling bin last August. Unfortunately, it never made the blog because I was extremely busy with a temp job at the time. The photo was cool both because it was done by Karsh (known for his famous portraits of Churchill, Hemingway, Martin Luther King, JFK, Pierre Trudeau, Marilyn Monroe, Pablo Picasso, Audrey Hepburn, Albert Einstein, and many others) but also because it was a WWII-era shot of a Canadian military officer.
I first had it listed just as a photo, but a friend of mine offered to frame it for me at no charge. I’ll be sure to give him a cut of the profit, as the frame definitely increased the photo’s value. I kind of wish I could have kept it, but it’s hard to turn down that kind of money. Found August 2014 in Mount Royal.
8. Collection of Post cereal hockey shooters: On eBay for 149$. Found around a month ago in Mount Royal.
9. Yard sale: 151$. This may have been the last one of the season, though if there’s a nice sunny weekend day coming up I may do one more in front of my storage space. I like doing yard sales, but after a summer full of them I’m looking forward to taking a break!
10. 1951 Centennial Model Singer 221-1 Featherweight Sewing Machine: On Kijiji for 450$. I’m pumped to see this go! It’s my biggest sale in quite some time. In fact, I think it’s the most valuable thing I’ve ever sold on Kijiji. The sewing machine was beautiful and in terrific condition. The model was of particular value to quilters due to its light weight. It ended up going to a local fashion design student. Found with a tonne of other great stuff May 2015 in Côte-des-Neiges.
Total: 1197$, 16438.25$ since the new year began.
Hi,
Something new stuff in WWII.
JF
________________________________ De : Things I find in the garbage Envoyé : 5 novembre 2015 09:25 À : jf.urruty@hotmail.com Objet : [New post] Recent sales (October 12 – October 25)
martng posted: “Before I start I’d like to thank everyone who donated towards the payment of that ticket I got last week! I’ve received 115$ so far, which is a little over half of the total value (220$) of the fine. These funds have definitely helped take a bit of the st”
The Singer is adorable! Regular ones that still work don’t do much around here EUR40-50 max if at all. I’m keeping mine – found on the curb across the street – as a decor piece. But I also have a late 1940s Elna light weight special model that may be worth something, I realize after reading this. But I’m still attached to it, it was my late uncle’s.
Maybe it is. I was pretty surprised when I saw how much these specific models were going for. However, I think sentimental value often outweighs the monetary, so I’d say keep it unless you’re hard up for cash for need the space.
i have really enjoyed your blog — till you posted your ticket… well that was not bad, but it was like you wanted” people to help pay for it..
I find that rather disturbing.. and not in the best of taste.
I would never ever expect someone to donate money for my misfortune.
But I guess, …………never mind..
go away
Martin would not HAVE a garagefinds blog if he didn’t scavage for items. You’ve apparently enjoyed reading his blog in the past, based on your post. It isn’t like he said donate or don’t read anymore! I get a lot of enjoyment from reading his blog from both seeing photos of what he finds as well as reading the time-consuming research he does on his finds. If you don’t want to make a donation, then don’t. I was happy to make a donation due to how much I love (and am secretly jealous of) all of his cool finds.
Personally, I find it disturbing and not in the best taste that YOU, winnipeg.manitoba, would comment about that!
I didn’t ask at first for people to help, but many volunteered – read the comments of “Ticketed!”, the first post that mentioned the fine. I didn’t ask for that response, but I certainly wasn’t going to turn it down the support.
A little history of the “donation” button: It took a long time for me to warm up to the idea of accepting donations. A very good friend of mine (and her mom) insisted that it was a good idea, but I felt guilty and didn’t want to be a mooch.
However, they did eventually convince me. I realized people like contributing to things they enjoy. Plus, it’s not like I don’t deserve it. I’ve spent countless hours (easily in the thousands) working on this blog, producing original content that is available totally free of charge. This despite the blog being more of a hindrance to my income than anything else – the hours I spend writing (which I recently estimated make me under 2$ an hour) could be more profitably spent looking for more trash or listing things on eBay. Yet I continue producing, because I enjoy doing what I do and sharing what I find.
In short, I don’t feel bad at all and don’t think anything I did was in poor taste. I also question the idea of the ticket as a matter of misfortune, but I’ll leave that topic for another day.
It’s great you’re having an upswing in sales.
Glad to hear about the good fortune with that old photograph. And happy you’ve (finally) actually clapped eyes on the extant building. It’s too bad though, that all it’s architectural embellishments are gone now.
That was a sweet sewing machine. It looked in perfect condition when I looked at it. I’m very happy it found a good home with a fashion design student. 🙂
I trash-picked Old Orchard and Marcil streets in NDG thoroughly last week.I did not come away with too much,but found some very nice salt and pepper shakers,six unopened cans of Coca Cola(which I took home and have finished drinking since) as well as some unopened bottles of very quaint perfumes and shower gels.It was a worthy experience.I have some free goodies to enjoy in the bathtub.Who in their right mind throws out unopened bottles of shower gel and perfume?
Good question. Depends how you define “right mind” I guess, ha ha. Sometimes people are moving and simply run out of time to deal with their extra items. This relates to poor planning on their part, which is unfortunate but understandable. Some people just don’t care though.
Perfumes can be worth decent money, so I would look those up. One of the things about this profession that has surprised me most is how much money I’ve made from second-hand scents. Likely around 1000$ now, give or take.
[…] have continued to pick up as the holiday season approaches and the cold weather sets in. Unlike last time there were no big-ticket sales (nothing sold for over 100$) but the smaller profits still added up […]
[…] find so far has been the collection of Post Shooters hockey game pieces, which sold for a nice 149$ back in October. I also saved a couple of Expo 67 colouring books, and a cool die-cast tin toy from the […]