I’ve continued to stay on top of my listing duties in recent weeks. A few days ago I reached my all time high of 180 listings on eBay (plus 39 on Etsy, and 11 on Kijiji). The more you list the more you sell, as the folks at Scavenger Life told me way back when, so my increased focus should result in higher profits. I may want to look into opening an official eBay store soon, as it’s a more economical option for sellers with a certain amount of listings.
Speaking of Scavenger Life, I did another interview with them a few weeks ago and forgot to mention it here on the blog. Check it out if you’re interested in learning more about me and my craft! Here’s the original interview from July of 2014 if you want to see how much my process has changed over the past few years. In addition, I very much recommend their blog and podcast for anyone interested in making money through flipping, whether by eBay or otherwise.
A lot of my sales from this period were low-value items, some of which had sat around for many months. I’m always happy to see these old finds leave the house. Only one item sold for three figures, but I still had a reasonably good if unspectacular couple of weeks.
1. Alex Coville 1967 centennial coin set: To a reader for 40$. I very much liked this coin set but I’m not at the point where I can regularly turn down easy money. Found early January in TMR.
2. Opium by Yves St Laurent: On eBay for 30$. I’m pretty sure I found this in Cote St-Luc last winter.
3. Hemingray blue glass insulator: On eBay for 25$. Found on Esplanade in the Mile End last summer.
4. Yahama receiver: To my roommate for 40$. Found wrapped in plastic (with remote and manual included) last summer in Westmount.
5. Mirror: On Kijiji for 25$. Two people came by and said the wood was darker than it looked like in the pictures. That fact was a deal-breaker for the first guy, while the second offered me 20$ (I had set the price at 40$). I countered with 30$, and we ended up settling at 25$. At that point I just wanted the thing out of my house. Found sometime last summer in TMR.
6. Monsieur Lanvin bar of soap: On eBay for 5$. Found last spring in Cote St-Luc.
7. 10k gold ring: On Etsy for 120$. One of many pieces of jewelry I found three summers ago in the Plateau. I didn’t mention any of it on the blog because the lady was very angry at me for looking through her trash. I was paranoid she’s find out and want it back – I don’t worry much about such things anymore. I ended up making a pretty penny from the pieces I found there, many of which were gold.
8. Birks sterling silver travel mirror: On eBay for 80$. Found last summer in Hampstead.
9. Imco’s Pipe Companion: On eBay for 23$. All I remember about this is that I had it listed for at least nine months.
10. Dolce and Gabbana eau de toilette: On eBay for 14$. Found last fall on Cote St-Luc road in NDG.
11. Marc Jacobs change purse: On eBay for 35$.
12. Okami-San and her Seven Companions DVD: On eBay for 30$. One of the many anime DVDs I found in the Plateau late last summer.
13. Black Butler DVD box set (anime): On eBay for 60$. I’ve now made nearly 400$ from that collection, with plenty more to come!
14. Frontier Town pamphlets: On eBay for 10$. These took forever to sell but are finally gone. Found maybe two summers ago in TMR.
15. Vintage Wagner Ware cast iron pan: On Kijiji for 70$. I enjoy fixing up old cast iron. This pan didn’t look like much when I found it, but with the help of some elbow grease and seasoning I got it looking pretty clean and shiny. I finally listed it on Kijiji last week, and it sold quickly to someone who wanted some top quality cookware for their new place. Found February 2015 in Outremont.
Total: 607$, 2693$ since the new year.
Love your blog and details of your finds. Keep ’em comin’!!
i enjoy your blog, just wondering who buys old perfume? always boggled my mind..like why?
If you told me years ago that I’d be making good money off used perfumes I would have said you were crazy. I’d guess that I’ve made close to 2000$ off perfumes in the past couple of years, so it’s become an important part of my income!
I think some people collect them for their bottles, which are often very well crafted. Others obviously want them for their scents, which actually stay “good” for many years if stored properly. Some people particularly enjoy certain brands and vintages, and are willing to pay good money to add these scents (which are becoming rarer with time) to their collection.
I don’t personally understand perfumes, and don’t really recognize famous scents like Chanel #5 “in the wild”. However, some people do, and are really into perfume collecting. All I really need to do to make money off them it type the relevant information into eBay and see what it sold for.
A number of things gone, which are now only taking up space in your blog.
I listened to both of the Scavenger Life podcasts, and enjoyed them thoroughly. I’m looking forward to the third, whenever that comes to pass. 🙂
You seem to be off to a much better start than last year 🙂
Did you post about that Hemingray blue glass insulator? I have no idea what a glass insulator is but pretty sure I would have taken it off your hands!
I never mentioned it on the blog. I found it around when I was moving last year and was suffering from burnout. Glass insulators were used for electrical wiring back in the day, I’m not sure of the specific science behind it. However, lots were made out of very solid and often colorful glass, making them very beautiful and now collectible. Some of the more unusual ones can sell on eBay for close to 1000$ each!
http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_udlo=&_udhi=&_ftrt=901&_ftrv=1&_sabdlo=&_sabdhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=h2j3l6&_dmd=1&_ipg=50&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_nkw=glass+insulator&_sop=3