Tag: dumpter diving

Recent sales: October & November

garbagefinds20 Comments

Instagram

I’ve been making a bit of extra money selling larger finds via Instagram stories. Basically, I post a pic (which stays on my page for 24 hours) and offer same day delivery of the item(s) in question. It’s been a good approach thus far – a lot of my Instagram followers are very local so delivery is easy, and it’s helped keep my storage spaces clear of junk.

Set of four vintage chairs: 70$. I found these in Côte Saint-Luc. I try to price things to sell, while adding a bit extra for my delivery efforts.

Set of four vintage dining chairs: 80$. I picked these up in Cartierville / Nouveau Bordeaux.

I sold a few other things this way, but those were the highlights.

eBay

October – 7 sales for 295$.

November: 13 sales for 1329.75$.

Parker Ingenuity pen: 75$. Found in Westmount.

Sterling silver Parker 75 ballpoint pen: 75$. Found in Cote St-Luc.

Malcolm Campbell high school ring: 40$. The school was located in Cartierville and closed in the mid-80s. A private Armenian school is now in its place. Found in the Mile End.

Montreal Expos 1969 yearbook: 50$. From in the inaugural season. Found in NDG.

Amber necklace: 340$. The one on the left finally sold after spending about two years on eBay. I didn’t know how to price it, so I decided to start high and gradually lower the price. The strategy did eventually work, and the buyer seems to be happy. The one on the right is still available for around the same price, though it seems to be a bit less popular than the one that just sold. Found in the Plateau back in November of 2016.

Tandy 102 portable computer: 115$. A fun piece of computing history! Found in Outremont.

St Laurent oil quart: 355$. As mentioned in a recent post. Found in Nouveau Bordeaux.

Bakelite poker caddy: 120$. Found in CDN.

Expos 1970 pocket schedule: 95$. Also found in CDN.

Auction

Total: 2086$ after fees (156 total lots). I consigned a lot of stuff around this time! The prices stated below don’t take fees into account.

Illum Wikkelso lounge chair: 170$. I’m happy with this. The wood was in good condition, but the cushions were dirty and needed to be replaced. Found in TMR.

Vintage garbage can: 85$. As mentioned in a recent post! Some of you weren’t surprised by the price, but I sure was. It makes sense in retrospect, but I guess I never really thought about how much a trash can might be worth. Found in Cote St-Luc.

Pyrex lot: 65$. This was part of that massive Mile End lab Pyrex haul that I was too busy to take many photos of. Regardless, I’m very happy with how it all did at auction – the realized prices were pretty good and it required very little effort on my part. This is just one of many (perhaps 20?) Pyrex lots that sold.

“Gab” by MC Thomas: 55$. One thing that I love about the auction house is that I’m occasionally able to make decent money from random art. I found no information about this artist online, but at least two people appreciated its spacey look. Found in TMR.

Pyrex Vision lot: 26$. Not bad. Found in the Mile End.

Lot of four Normand Hudon signed lithographs: 70$. Hudon was a noted Quebec cartoonist and caricaturist. These came from an interesting summer spot in TMR, unfortunately I was too busy at the time to document what I found there.

Pioneer Laserdisc player, tested & working: 46$. I don’t remember where I found this, but I do remember it sitting around in my garage for months before I finally made time to test it.

Chrome floor lamp: 80$. I picked this up while driving around Rosemont with a roommate. It was a casual run (ie: I wasn’t expecting much) but I ended up making about 75$ from two auction-able finds (this lamp, and a vintage trunk).

Total: 3860.75$, 24126.50$ so far in 2018. I’ll share my December sales and recap the year pretty soon!

Recent sales: June

garbagefinds13 Comments

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.