I have 52 auctions running on eBay this week. Each of the items, except for two, were purchased locally in Grand Forks during the last week. The two exceptions are re-lists of two successful auctions won by someone who eBay then NRU’d because their first seven feedback were all negative.
Here’s why I bought each item, what I paid for each, and what my expectations are for each.
1. 1939 Stoeger’s Catalog & Handbook - This is a reprint of their original 1939 catalog. If I had realized it was a reprint - and I should have since it’s identified as one right on the front cover - I wouldn’t have bought it. At the time I picked it up I was talking with Dave, a friend who buys books and records for resale, about a record I currently had on eBay and wasn’t paying a lot of attention to what I was doing. I paid $1 for it and thought I had a $150 - $200 catalog. If I get the opening bid of $9.99 I’ll be happy.
There’s a lesson here. When you’re buying items for resale - pay attention to what you’re doing.
2. 1952 Reading Beeks County Bicentennial Cookbook - this is one of those community/church type spiral bound cooks books you often find at garage sales. I paid $.25 for it and hope to get between $10 and $20 for it.
I buy every community/church/organization cookbook like this I find if I can buy them for $.50 or less. If they were published prior to 1960, or if they have some tie-in to some historical event, I list them individually with a starting bid of $9.99 and see what happens. If they don’t sell I re-list them one time with the same $9.99 starting bid. If they don’t sell the second time they go into a group auction.
The more recent ones I keep until I have a 20 to 30 of them and then list them as a mixed lot. They usually sell for between $10 and $20 and I’ll make a little money from them.
3. Lot of 20 community/church/organization cookbooks - These are the rest of these I purchased during the last week. My total cost was $5.75. I hope to get $15 for them.
4. Five different Stampin’ Up catalogs - I paid $.25 each for them. I purchased them because there are a lot of crafters into stamping and Stampin’ Up is the elite of stamps. Stampers buy them for a source of ideas and as a source of what stamps are available on the secondary market. I hope to get $10 to $15 for each of the three annual ones and $5 to $10 apiece for the two supplements.
5. Stampin’ Up cassette set - This came from the same place as the catalogs. She was asking $5 for it, I offered her $1 and ended up owning it. I bought it for the same reason as the catalogs - the Stampin’ Up name and the stamping mania. I wouldn’t have paid more than $1 for it. I hope to get between $10 and $20.
6. Fifty-six various scrap booking books and magazines - They all came from the same sale. She was asking $.25 each for them, I offered her $5 for all of them and she took my offer. I’ve never bought any scrap booking related items before, but it was the very next sale after I’d bought the Stampin’ Up items, and I thought - there are an awful lot of scrap bookers out there too, so lets see what happens. I have no real expectations for these - I’m just testing to see what happens.
7. Several vintage crochet patterns and booklets - I bought a zip-lock bag containing 27 of these for $3. Six of them were torn or stained so badly that I threw them. I bought them because 2-3 years ago I used to find the one-pattern sheets quite frequently and most of them sold for anywhere from $4 to $20+ each.
I’ve never had much luck with the booklets, but since they were part of the package I listed them. If they don’t sell I’ll put them all in a lot and try that way. If I get a $40 to $50 return on my $3 investment I’ll be happy.
8. Four different Interview magazines - I paid $.50 each for a total of $2.00. I bought them because I’d never seen this magazine before, and with the celebrity covers, my gut told me they might be good. A search of eBay’s closed auctions when I got home reminded me that my “gut” doesn’t always know what it’s talking about.
Issues from the 1970s sell pretty well, but these are from the mid 1980s and not that great. I started them at $9.99 each, hoping that one will attract a bidder and I’ll get my money back. I have a on-line store at TIAS (The Internet Antique Store) where I sell mostly magazines and catalogs so if they don’t sell I’ll put them in the store for $6 or $7 and let them sit until they sell.
9. Fire King Libra coffee mug - You see a lot of different Fire King mugs at garage sales and flea markets. Some sell for low to mid three-figures on eBay. Some you can just as well throw in a box and give to your husband the next time he’s going skeet shooting. This is a so-so one and I paid $.25 for it. I’d expect it to bring between $15 and $20 on eBay.
10. Family Affair paper dolls - Paper dolls are collectible. 50’s to 70’s TV show related stuff is collectible. So I figured at $1 it was worth it. $10 to $15 will make me happy.
11. Occupied Japan figurine - There are a lot of people who collect Occupied Japan, but there is a lot of it available on eBay too. Really good pieces will reach low to mid three-figures on eBay. This is not a really good piece. I bought it at the same sale as the Stoeger catalog reprint and paid $1 for it.
Dave’s wife collects it so I knew he’d buy it if I didn’t. I saw it before he did, so I bought it just to perturb him a little (there’s a lot of one-upsmanship that goes on at garage sales). If I get my opening bid of $9.99 for it I’ll be satisfied. If it doesn’t sell, I’ll sell it to Dave for $5.
12. Orange Fire King soup bowl - I bought this last Thursday at the last garage sale I went to. There were thirteen garage sales that opened that day and I hadn’t bought anything at the first twelve. Thinking I had to buy something to make the day productive I paid $.25 for this.
Actually, I went overboard and also bought the Civil War book ($.50), the Fire King Azure dinner plates ($1), the Dungeons & Dragons book ($.50), and the Leonard Bernstein CD ($.50) at the same sale (I have this mistaken idea that I can’t go home empty handed). Normally, I wouldn’t have bought any of these items and if I get the opening bid for two of them I’ll have my money back and be happy.
Two Dayton Hudson Santa Bear items - These are both re-lists. I bought these two items three weeks ago at a garage sale. They both sold on eBay but the high bidder was NRU’d by eBay for not paying for winning bids a couple days after the auctions ended. I paid $2.00 for the mugs and $.75 for the mouse.
These two items are good examples of how markets can change on eBay. Two years ago I would have gotten $50 to $75 for the mugs and $150+ for the mouse. Since then the market became saturated and most collectors who wanted them already have one. I’ve started each at $19.99 and if they each get one bid I’ll be happy.
Last weeks garage sale purchases are unusual because they don’t include any really good items. Normally, I’m able to buy at least two or three really good items.
However, they do serve as a good example of what you can do buying things at garage sales to sell on eBay. My total outlay for the above items was $24.25. I’m guessing that these items will generate about $200 is sales.
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