What a week! Well, two weeks actually. This was definitely one of my best sales periods ever. I sold 20 items on eBay, an average of about one and a half items a day. I usually do half that, and sometimes less. These weren’t all small sales either – 8 items went for 100$ or more.
I wonder if the time of year has something to do with it. The warmer weather seems to energize people, perhaps leading to more sales. However, the fact that I had (not anymore!) more listed on eBay than ever before surely had something to do with the hot streak as well.
Aside from that, I also received a very generous donation of 500$! It came totally out of the blue, and was obviously much appreciated. The donor felt inspired by one of my recent posts and decided to pay it forward. It’s good to know that people like what I do, and moments like these more than offset the bad ones (such as the occasional negative comment on a message board).
And now, without further ado …
1. Anime collection: To a reader for 120$. To clarify I did not sell the entire collection, just the titles I decided not to list on eBay. The buyer got a pretty good deal, and I no longer have to store them. Found with my sister last October in the Plateau.
2. Marcin Zaremski sterling silver and inlaid amber cufflinks: On eBay for 81$. These were made by a Polish modernist designer. Found in Westmount in June 2015.
3. Lot of vintage MIT audio cables: On eBay for 125$. These MIT cables are apparently fairly desirable – check out the prices some are going for on eBay! Mine weren’t the super valuable ones, but they still netted me a nice amount. Found last fall in TMR.
4. Vintage Doxa watch, 14k gold case: On eBay for 175$. This took a while to sell, largely because my starting price was too high. I’m happy with the final outcome though. It may have been worth more if the innards were original, but the old mechanical movement had been replaced with a quartz which made it less desirable for collectors. Found March 2015 in Hampstead, in what was one of my most profitable spots of the year.
5. Vintage Ski Hawk Club pin: On eBay for 20$. This sold shortly after I mentioned it on the blog, so I expect one of my readers got it! Found a few weeks ago in Montreal West.
6. Vintage enameled pill box, made in Siam: On eBay for 22$. Found in Westmount in May 2015.
7. Texas Instruments PC-100C print cradle, with calculator: On eBay for 150$. This was a neat find, one I made just a few blocks from my house. It came with a TI-59 calculator, which was one of the first programmable calculators to reach the market. It worked fine, and after a bit of cleaning with a microfiber cloth I listed it on eBay. It sold within a week, and the buyer just left me some nice feedback. I love old electronics, and get a kick out of finding them – especially when I can flip them for a nice profit. Found a few weeks ago in the Plateau.
8. WWI-era CFB Valcartier pennant: On eBay for 165$. This was one of the more valuable pennants from that collection I found early January in Montreal West.
9. Vintage 1950s Speakman Anystream shower head: On eBay for 210$. It took me a while to get this thing listed, largely because I wanted to clean it up with some CLR first (and was hoping to find some in the garbage). I finally got around to doing it a month or so ago, and now it’s out of the house for a very nice price. Found April 2015 in Hampstead.
10. Faberge perfume: On eBay for 45$. Found in Westmount in May 2015.
11. Tenjho Tenge DVD set: On eBay for 50$. Another anime DVD set from the batch I found back in October.
12. Riley & McCormick 1964 Cowboy Catalogue: On eBay for 42$. The buyer was from Calgary, and had the same last name as one of the store founders. Found last summer in Westmount.
13. 1980s Ray-Ban Wayfarer II sunglasses: On eBay for 100$. Found a little over a month ago in TMR.
14. Lacoste sunglases: On eBay for 70$. Tossed recently by the privileged folks in TMR.
15. 1950s ALPS “Flutter Birds” tin toy birdhouse: On eBay for 100$. This was in nice condition, but the birds needed to be re-strung. I didn’t have the patience to do it myself, so I sold it “as is.” Found late fall in TMR.
16. Michael Birch cat-eye glasses: On eBay for 55$. Found maybe nearly two months ago in NDG.
17. Lot of Expo 67 publications: On eBay for 80$. More of the lot can be seen here. Found mid December in TMR.
18. Ford Anglia toy car: On eBay for 17$. Found last fall in NDG.
19. Collection of tobacco pipes made by Shalom of Israel: On eBay for 85$. Found in Cote St-Luc back in December.
20. Telephone Pioneers of America charm bracelet: On eBay for 15$. Found amongst a large collection of miscellaneous baubles a few summers ago in Rosemont. Also a great example of how much better my photography has gotten over the years.
21. Audio Hex bluetooth speaker: On eBay for 27$. Found a few weeks ago in TMR.
Total: 1754$, 5355$ since the new year. If I could somehow keep up this pace for the full year I’d make over 40k. Not going to happen though! Regardless, I am currently on pace to meet my goal of 24k for the year.
Relevant links
1. Facebook page
1. My eBay listings
2. Etsy store
3. Kijiji listings
4. My donate page
Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. I often fall behind on emails, so I apologize in advance if it takes me a long time to get back to you.