June was the month I first started bringing my junk to the auction house. I had a lot to deal with at the time (including picking during move-out season, my move to a smaller garage, and that stressful yard sale) so I didn’t have time to take pictures of all my wares. Below is a rapid fire look at what sold at auction.
Auction results:
- Mickey Mouse coin bank: 8$. Found in the Plateau.
- 1976 Champion Gilles Villeneuve poster: 22$.
- Small rug: 20$. Found in Outremont.
- Victorian lamp stand: 18$. Found in Outremont.
- Plaster plant stand: 10$. Found in St Michel.
- Wooden trunk: 16$. Found in Ville St Laurent and brought to auction that same day.
- Agatha silver ring: 12$. Found in Outremont.
- Le Creuset casserole dish: 18$.
- Parti Quebecois election sign: 95$. Found in Rosemont.
- Handmade wooden vase: 10$. Found in Outremont.
- Vintage cowhide doctor’s bag: 80$. Found in Westmount.
- Spiderman deluxe box set: 16$. Found in Cartierville.
- Large vintage speaker, as is: 9$. Found in the Mile End.
- Vintage rocking chair: 32$. Found in TMR.
Total: 322$ – 80.50$ (25% fee) – 14$ (listing fees) = 227.50$
I’m satisfied with all of these results. A few, like the wooden trunk were slightly disappointing, but I was also quite happy to get these things out of my space. The disappointments were more than offset by the successes. The PQ sign went for about what I thought it should, but required much less effort to sell than if I was forced to go the Kijiji / eBay route. The doctor’s bag went for a lot more than I expected – I actually had it priced at 20$ during the pop-up market in April (I’m glad it didn’t sell then!). The Gilles Villeneuve poster went for a good sum as well.
Overall, I’ve very happy with the auction approach thus far, and especially the amount of work and storage space this avenue saves me. I expect that auction results will be a staple of these sales summaries going forward.
eBay sales
- 2 SAP textbooks: 95$. I wasn’t sure about listing them at the time but enough have sold to make the effort worthwhile. Found in the lower Plateau.
- 1950s / 1960s African missionary slides: 60$. These were part of that big photo haul I found thanks to a tip from a reader last year. Found in St Michel.
- Vintage Triumph car badge: 50$. Found in TMR.
- Simmons pocket knife: 30$. Found in the Mile End.
- United Colors of Benetton silver cross pendant: 15$. I’m surprised this was such a hard sell, it took about three years to find a new home. Found in NDG.
- Primrose plate cocktail shaker: 70$. I figured I’d get a good price for this! Found in NDG.
- Vintage Quebec flag: 30$. Found in the Plateau.
- Priest stole: 15$. I gave the buyer a 50% discount when I noticed that one of the tassels had been accidentally torn off. It wasn’t a hard fix, but I wanted to make sure the buyer was happy with what they ordered. Found in Outremont.
- Miniature Expo 67 flag: 22.50$. Found in NDG.
- House of Seagram printing plates: 18$. Found in Montreal Ouest.
- Vintage car plates: 90$. Found in TMR.
- Studebaker letterpress block: 27$. Found in Ahuntsic.
- Stadium motorcycle goggles: 45$. These were probably made in the 30s or 40s. Found in NDG.
- Vintage Bulova watch: 45$. Found just down the street.
- Antique silver grouse foot pendant: 27$. Found in Westmount.
Total: 639.50$. A bit of a slow month, but that’s to be expected in the summer. If some of those numbers look funny it’s because I started a 10% off sale around this time, I don’t usually set prices with cents in them.
Yard sales
- 800$. This was the one that got a bit out of hand. Still, the overall profits weren’t bad. I realized recently though that the lightbulbs to my photo equipment were also stolen, which will cost me around 50-75$. I may have had another minor sale in June, but I can’t remember for sure.
Gold / silver scrap
- 800$. This batch was composed largely of silverware from the collection I found back in April. Some were good to sell on eBay, but others were worn past the point of being desirable (ie: some of the prongs of the forks had been grinded down somehow and were sharp / uneven). So, into the scrap pile they went, along with other unexceptional or damaged bits of jewelry.
Overall total: 2467$, 12066.50$ so far in 2018. I consider that a decent month – twelve of those brings me close to 30k gross for the year.
Amazing. But I can tell it’s all a LOT of work in addition to the hunting/picking. It sounds like it would be fun and an easy way to make money, but when you know all of what’s involved, a full-time job! Enjoyed looking at your things!
Yes it’s definitely a full-time job, often with overtime. This past couple of months has been particularly busy for all the reasons stated in the intro. These days I’m revamping my business approach to accommodate the auction house by looking through all my random boxes of junk and making lots of similar items, purging excess, and reorganizing in general; once that’s done I hope my workload & stress levels will decrease for good.
Thanks for sharing! This wooden trunk is awesome, very disappointing to have it sold for such a low price. I had one month to kill this summer so started to collect garbage it in my country as a test-run. Pretty positive so far.
My apologies if it has been already dealt with on this blog but how do you deal with taxes in Canada? Are you going to report these 2467$ as income to be taxed?
Yes, I think that picture masks a few cosmetic issues but I think I could have sold it for more otherwise. However, that’s the things with auctions – you never know what you’re going to get. That’s why I prefer to use “Buy it Now” on eBay, but there’s not enough time in the world to list everything like that. All in all I’m happy with the auction approach, and the good has definitely outweighed the bad.
I will report that income yes and will pay taxes on it. I figure it’s a bad idea to smudge numbers when there’s such an obvious paper trail, lol.
Thank you for another great summary. Glad that the auction house is a new option for you which — so far — is proving to be worthwhile!
The grouse pendant, does it have a pin on the back like a brooch? Then I think it is a kilt pin.
Oops, yes it is not a pendant but a brooch / pin. But the pin was missing, which hurt its value. Should have mentioned that in the post.
Marty – I noticed that on ebay there are many sold lots for vintage silverplate forks/ spoons. Artists want them and they are usually listed as lots of spoons or forks only and good and not so good condition. 100 pieces sell for about $100 There are lots of mixed forks and spoons too. Artists do not want them cleaned up.
Hmm, intriguing. Thanks for the info. If I accumulate a collection like that I’ll keep it in mind
Damn those yard sale thieves stealing your photo equipment light bulbs! May karma bite them in the ass.
You’re amassing quite a few different ways to rid yourself of product! You’ve come a long way from your humble beginnings in the business back in 2012. May your stress levels shrink and your profits grow!
Interesting, as always! It’s surprising to me what things sell for (either higher or lower than I would expect). Glad the auction is working out for you.
Great to see you doing so well with your sales.
I’d be happy to take wooden and metal trunks off your hands for a better price than what you got at auction. I have a place in the country and keeping mice away from my stuff in the shed is a priority.
Enjoy the weekend.
Michelle
Have you considered “junk drawer lots” on Ebay. It might be something for you to try with the tiny stuff you find.