ebay – Page 4 – Things I find in the garbage

Recent sales (July 18 – August 14)

August 15, 2016 garbagefinds10 Comments

It was pretty slow going for a while there. In fact, there was a period of two weeks (between July 23 and August 7) where I didn’t sell a thing. Thankfully sales picked up a bit and I ended up having a decent if unspectacular month.

1. Yard sales: 330$. I had a sale a couple weeks ago that I didn’t advertise whatsoever. I made around 100$, which is below average, but while everything was out on the curb I was able to weed out the clutter that wasn’t going to sell anytime soon, if ever. That set me up nicely for yesterday’s sale. I wasn’t able to put out as much as I usually do, but still had success because the things I brought were of better quality. I ended up making 230$, despite it being super cloudy and near rain for much of the day. I think I would have been cleared out if it had been sunny all day.

By the way, those framed images I mentioned in my last post didn’t last too long. The first to sell was the only non-religious one. The second was actually kitschy Jesus, who I figured would be the hardest to sell. The last supper sold last. I priced them all at 5$, which was maybe too low but I was happy to move them quickly. Looking back, this stuff might actually be in style, at least in the artsy / hipster Plateau.

2. IBM Selectric Typewriter: On Kijiji for 50$. The Selectric was very popular in the 1960s. It was very bulky and quite heavy. Found this May in Rosemont.

3. Perfumes: To a reader for 40$. I found a nice, nearly full bottle of Miss Dior near Snowdon metro last week that went for 30$. It was vintage, probably from the 70s. The other two were smaller, half full perfumes by Annick Goutal that I found in Outremont. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures.

4. Macbook Pro, for repair: On eBay for 250$. I bought a new battery for it, so my actual profit was around 200$. This is the one I found back in February. It seemed to work at first (at least after I took out the old battery which was bulging and impacting the trackpad), but after a while it became really slow and painful to use. It was a 2009 model, so chances are the original hard drive was cooked. It’s probably an easy fix for whoever bought it. Found in TMR.

5. Vintage Tiffany jewelry box: On eBay for 50$. I’d guess this box was made in the 20s or 30s. Anything Tiffany related is worth a bit of money. Found January 2016 in NDG.

6. Rodenstock Rocco eyeglass frames: On eBay for 44$. I listed these a long time ago. I have a faint recollection of finding in the Plateau a couple years back, but I can’t be certain.

7. 1964 Lindsay Place (Pointe-Claire) High School yearbook: On eBay for 40$. I’ve heard of people having success selling old yearbooks, but only recently did I try doing it myself. This yearbook, one of several I listed sold within a day. I was pretty happy about that. I’m sure the rest will be long tail items, but eBay’s fees for listing books are lower for just that reason. Found in TMR.

8. Rosen remote control: On eBay for 27$. I don’t think there’s anything less exciting than selling remote controls. I don’t even know what this remote was for. Still, selling them is pretty easy and they make me a bit of extra cash. I only recently realized that this was market I could capitalize on.

9. Vintage Alan Stuart designer toothbrush: On eBay for 30$. It was in its original box. Saved from a cheesy bag in June of 2015.

10. Silver turtle bracelet: On Etsy for 30$. My first Etsy sale since May.

11. Vintage Lancome Magie Noire perfumed dusting powder: On eBay for 80$. This stuff seems to be pretty collectible! Found last month in Outremont.

12. 1977 Grey Cup pennant: On eBay for 100$. I found this over two years ago. I kept it myself for awhile, using it as a decoration. I like collecting Montreal related stuff, and especially enjoyed the image of the Big O. However, I didn’t end up putting it up at my last place, and when I didn’t display it at my new place either I figured I might as well sell it. I got a very good price so I’m pretty happy. Found May 2014 in TMR.

Total: 1071$, 15051$ since the new year.

Recent sales (March 14 – March 27)

March 28, 2016 garbagefinds23 Comments

I had another great couple of weeks. I made my first four-figure sale (!) and sold a lot of items otherwise. Things won’t keep up at this pace, but it’s nice to have a bit of extra cash for a change. This March might have been my most profitable month ever, and at this point I’m wondering if the goal I set of 24k profit for the year was a bit conservative! We’ll see how it goes, as summer is generally a slow time for online sales but things are sure looking good so far.

Now, here’s the former trash that I’ve converted into cash…

1. Broken DJI Phantom II drone camera / gimbal (for parts or repair): On eBay for 200$. This was the first time I’ve found anything drone-related in the trash. The technology is pretty modern, so this gimbal sold for a nice amount even though it was broken. Found about a month ago in TMR.

2. Vintage plastic ring box: On eBay for 25$. I considered using this to package one of my Etsy sales, but instead decided to sell it. Found last March in Hampstead.

3. Anime DVDs: On eBay for 130$. This profit came from three different listings, but I’m grouping them all together because DVD sales aren’t particularly exciting. They were all part of the anime collection I found last October in the Plateau.

4. Delta Phi Epsilon sorority 10k gold pin: On eBay for 210$. Found alongside an Omega watch this January in TMR. That ended up being a pretty profitable pile of trash.

5. Lydia Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound miniature sewing kit: On eBay for 25$. I had this sitting around for quite some time before finally listing it recently. Found in Park Ex way back in 2013.

6. Montreal Alouettes 1961 season ticket card: On eBay for 15$. This sold pretty quickly, making me wonder if I should have upped the price a bit. I’m happy it sold regardless. Found last summer in Westmount.

7. Collection of 19 pre-war Polish magazines: On eBay for 40$. They all came from a dumpster in Glenmount, which is a tiny neighbourhood within Cote-des-Neiges. I spent a while there digging through old, often ruined books, saving the ones that looked most irreplaceable. I assume that it’s relatively hard to find Polish stuff from before WWII given the devastation that occurred there. Regardless, I’m glad they’ve found a new home. To see the magazines (and others I’ve since given away or sold), check out the link above.

8. Danese Milano cube ashtray: On eBay for 40$. Found in Snowdon sometime last year.

9. British isles pamphlet / map: On eBay for 20$. Found in Westmount last summer.

10. Parker Pen “Wadsworth” compact: On eBay for 35$. Found December 2015 in TMR.

11. Boss DB-12 Dr. Beat Digital Metronome: On eBay for 16$. This ended up going to some remote part of Labrador, reducing my profit by at least a few dollars. I do flat rate shipping, so this kind of thing is bound to happen on occasion. As long as I still make money I don’t worry too much about it. Found in the Plateau last May.

12. Broken Mondaine watch: On eBay for 65$. This watch didn’t end up working but I still managed to profit from it. Found late November in the Plateau.

13. Vintage tartan pen knife: On eBay for 58$. Found last April in NDG. Kudos to my mom for letting me know these knives were collectible.

14. Lot of Expo 67 photos and documents: On eBay for 1250$. My first four-figure sale! After taking months to consider my options I recently began the process of listing the Expo 67 haul I found last October. Not long after I listed the Hostesses’ Handbook I received a message from a potential buyer and we got to discussing the photos I had yet to list. I think I negotiated myself a good deal here, with my patience and my willingness to test the market as I do likely earning me a better price.

I’m also generally happy with how the deal worked out. I earned a nice chunk of cash, and the buyer is someone who will use the items to further various intellectual and artistic projects. I’m confident this stuff won’t be collecting dust somewhere, or simply part of someone’s inaccessible private collection.

To clarify, the Hostesses’ Handbook was the most valuable part of the deal, netting me 250$. The photos went for an average of 15$ a piece, while the miscellaneous documents went for an extra 50$. The collection made me a lot of money largely because it was so extensive. Nearly everything included in the listing is shown in the link above.

Total: 2129$, 7484$ since the new year.

Recent sales (February 1 – 14)

February 15, 2016 garbagefinds6 Comments

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.