Ebay Vacation & Goals

In a few weeks I'll be leaving for vacation.  This was my planned last week of listings for ebay.  I listed a few auctions on Tuesday, but decided that evening I was done listing till after we get back.  I made sure my paypal account was stocked for my BIG bill this month (the biggest I've ever had).  Last late September our family went on a big Disney vacation with my Ebay earnings.  We are headed to Cape Cod in a few weeks for a vacation with my husband family which we have  also paid for with my Ebay earnings.  So what's next?  When we come back my I will start my fund over.  Most of it will start going towards paying debt off.  We have a small amount that we would love to clear out in the next year.  We are also planning another Disney vacation in the fall of 2012. 

Since it will be a month till I start listing again here are a few goals I have over the next few weeks. 

-Office clean out.  Our office/Ebay room is the pits.  I need to get it organized so that its usable as both and office, Ebay room and nap room. 

-Stock.  I do have some things to list the week I get  back, but hoping to stock up on more items to sell over the next few weeks.  My main focus will be on shoes, since those have been hot for me.  I also hope to start building my inventory of non-clothing items.  Clothing sells great, but it can also be hit or miss.

-Giveaway or Donate.  I have a small pile of items that haven't sold or that I've  bought and found defects on when I got home.  I need to go through those items and decide what to do with them. 

Sandals are HOT

For the past week sandals have been a very hot seller for me.  I've sold 3 pair in the last 24 hours from buyers using the BIN (Buy It Now) method.  I also still have Clarks listed with bids, so that will be another pair selling this week.  The brands that are selling well for me are Keen, Born, Teva, Dansko (thanks for the reader who plugged that brand), and Clarks.  I've also sold some Born oxford/slip on type shoes in the past week as well.  One was a BIN, other other was bidded out. 

Are you selling shoes?  What brands and types are selling well for you?

.05 Auctions Today Only

Today 5/24, Ebay is having .05 auctions for any start price.  If you are still using up your free listings for the month, then this will be effective after your free ones are gone.

Halter Dresses

With my adventure in clothing sales, I've been picking up halter dresses as I find them and they have been a hot seller for me.  I have not listed a huge amount, but every one I have listed has sold.  American Eagle has been what I've been selling most, but other brands are selling as well. 
Most of the sizes I have sold have been on the smaller sizes.  They have ranged from 0-2, but I have sold a large size as well.  I'm not overweight, but my frame doesn't accommodate a halter dress.  Oh, how I would love to wear one, but I figure if I can't wear them, I can at least sell them.  I also have had luck with spaghetti strap dresses as well.  I've only sold those in smaller sizes.

Scrabble Tiles

I was searching some other products when I came across an auction for Scrabble Tiles.  They had a bid on them, so I did a quick search.   I found a small amount of listings and the completed auction listing showed some past sales.  I wouldn't say this is an item that will sell super quick, but I think I might collect some and try doing a BIN (Buy It Now) type listing.  HERE, HERE and HERE are some past auctions.

Tea Collection

Tea is a brand of childrens clothing.  I've been getting their catalog for a few years, but never have broke down and bought anything.  Their clothes  can be pricey, but they do run sales that make simple sets resonable.  I first encountered them at a garage sale a few years ago.  I got an adorable dress with matching bloomers set.  I was to cheap to pay the $3.00 for it, but my mom loved the dress, so she bought it.  I still have it and I've been debating on selling it. 

I recently came across an article at the Goodwill I'm looking to list.  Trying to figure out if its a dress or shirt, but I think I've decided its a dress, so hope to list it in the future.  Check out this list of completed auctions HERE.  Keep your eyes open at garage sales.  The tags on the clothing usually just read Tea. 

Thrifty Finds Part 2

It's taken me all week, but I finally have the chance to get around to my last weekend scores just as the new weekend is here.  I'm finding between my family life and all the listings I'm doing on Ebay, this blog has taken a back seat. 

Last weekend, my friend and I stopped at this garage sale.  It was later in the morning, but this lady still had a nice amount of clothing left.  I was excited when I walked up because I say a Kelly's Kid catalogs out, but needless to say, there wasn't any of those brands.  But, she had mostly Gymboree items, which are a hot seller.  Even better, most items were priced at .50.  I started weeding through what she had.  Sets weren't together anymore and since it was the end of the day, alot of the items that were left had some spots or were showing some wear.  By the time my friend and I got done, I rounded up $3.00 worth of items to resell.  By this time, there was no other customers, so she offered us items for .25 a piece.  Of course, we stuck around and shopped some more.  I ended up buying 8 more items for $2.00. 

The picture above is what I got.  Most of the things I bought were Gymboree, but I did get Gap, Ralph Lauren and a new brand for me Kids by M.E.  With everything I bought, I'm hoping to clear at least $50.00 profit from it.  So, keep an eye out for those name brand kid items.  Especially winter ones, buy now and list later.

Thrifty Finds Part 1

What a great thrifting weekend I had.  I started out with a friend late in the morning, but it paid off.  Everyone was wheeling and dealing without much asking.  After hitting up some yard sales for a few hours, I then headed over to Goodwill and spent a few hours in there.  I scored some good finds in there as well. 

The first sale we stopped at I hit big with Mary Kate and Ashley videos.  My girls love these series and the ones they made when they were younger are an annoying sweet innocent video series.  HERE is how they do on Ebay.  I will be selling a few eventually, but most of them are staying with us.  I got 10 videos for $2.00

Another sale we went to I was able to score some really nice Keds and a brand new Gymboree bathing suit.  I offered .50 a piece for both items and the lady accepted it.  Hoping to have a good turn around from those items.

One of my big finds of the morning was all the Mary Kay items shown in the picture.  Not something I would usually shop for to resell, but that was one of the bargains of the morning.  The lady offered the whole lot for $5.00.  There is probably at least a couple hundred dollars retail worth of product.  Come back tomorow to see some other deals I scored.  What deals did you find?

Linked at Thrift Share Monday

Buy It Now

Thanks to the inspiration from Mitzi over at A Niche to Find  I started playing around with Buy It Now this week on Ebay.  With the new changes, you get 50 free a month and I can say after 1 sale I am hooked.  This week I listed some Graco toys that I paid .15 for.  I've listed them in the past and they always sell.  I started the auction price at 9.99 on Wednesday afternoon with a buy it now of 14.99 and they sold by Thursday morning. 

Over the next few weeks I'm hoping to start listing more Buy It Now items.  I love the potential of not waiting for 7 days for an auction to end.  I personally would rather sell it slightly cheaper in order to turn it around faster.  What is your experience with Buy It Now?

Thrifty Finds

I've been a little slow about posting.  We've been very busy around here and I haven't had time to sit down and post.  What a great weekend for getting out.  Despite the rain we had off and on, I headed out for a few trips and got some good stuff.  I was able to get out for a few hours on Friday and Saturday to my favorite local Goodwill Outlet.  I also took the kids out Saturday morning and hit up a few sales before the rain came in hard and my kids patience fizzled out.

Most of the items I bought at the Goodwill were clothing items and some Thomas tracks.  My top find at Goodwill though was this Longaberger basket that is show in the picture.  I only paid .63   I still can't believe I lucked into it.  There were a few people standing right by it in front of the bin.  They were busy looking at something else when I spotted the basket.  I was hoping it would be what I thought it was, but doubted that it was just because a ton of other people had rummaged through the bin already and it was still sitting there.  So, I causually reached over and grabbed it, held my breath and turned it over and there was the stamping.  I was super happy.

I had 2 other top finds this weekend that I was happy with.  The first was a Leapster, in a case with 4 games.  They only had $5.00 on it.  I love to bargain and almost asked if she would take less, but I sucked it up and paid for it.  I'm letting my girls keep 3 of the games, but the rest I will sell off.  I also got a pair of Keens for .50.  These were marked $1.00 and certaintly worth it, but I did ask the lady if she would take .50 for them and she did.  Very happy with my finds.  How did you do?



Linked up at Thrift Share Monday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Flea Market Finds, MagPie Monday

Awana Vest

This isn't a post about an item to resell.  Although if you want to know what these sell for on Ebay you can check HERE.  Defintely better to list these in the fall.  Anyways, my kids do Awana's at our church.  For those of you that don't know about it, I would describe it as a Vacation Bible School meets Boy/Girl Scouts.  Kids memorize bible verses to receive pins and badges that they wear on this vest.

I have a list of things that I always keep of items our family could use.  I never imagined I would come across this vest, but finally today I found it.  These vest only cost us about $10.00 when we buy it from our church, but if I can find it cheaper, I'd like to.   Today, was a success story that I didn't think would happen.  The best part..it only set me back .11.

Happy Thrifting...

Graco Mix & Move Toys

Graco has style of toys known as Mix and Move.  I believe these were for older style swings, strollers and highchairs.  Anytime I find these toys, I buy them.  I usually can get between $5 and $10 per toy.  I even have asked people at garage sales if they will sell them seperatly.  Some of the toys will say Mix and Move, but I have come across some that don't.

When I did a search on Ebay, I couldn't find many auctions for these.  Either they are becoming harder to find or people just are not listing them.  I personally forgot about them until I recently came across 2 of them.  HERE, HERE and HERE are a few completed auctions that I found.

Stockpiling for Fall & Winter Sales

Now is a fantastic time to start looking for winter items.  I have always been a mom who shops for winter during the summer months, but now I keep a eye out for Ebay items.  Right now I have a tote size stack in my closet ready to go to our storage barn to keep till fall. 

One of the items I've been grabbing is winter coats.  I look for brands such as Columbia, Gap, and Old Navy.  Also, look for snowsuits.  Complete sets are great, but even snow bottoms have sold well for me in the past.  Winter boots, especially name brands such as Lands End, Columbia, Stride Rite are great.  I've never really tried selling other brands, but I will probably give it a try this winter.

Another item to grab up is Halloween costumes.  I start listing those in early September.  I have had great success with those.  I've even sold cheap Walmart ones and turned a decent profit.  Children's Place and Old Navy are always popular as well. 

Lastly, I know I've done a post on this, but homeschooling books.  I always grab up Abeka items when I see them.  I try to look for anything that is homeschool curriculum.  Most of those items sell very well and I generally start listing those in July.

I know storage is probably a issue for most people.  We recently got a storage barn, so I've claimed a corner.  I also have a closet that I can store in.  If those spaces aren't an option for you, think about under bed bags or totes.  We have plastic containers that I keep playdoh and play food in.  They slide perfectly under are bed and would probably hold a nice amount of shirts neatly folded.  What about a relative or a friend with a bigger garage or storage barn?  Perhaps, that would be a short term option.

What items do you pick up early?  Do you have any good storage hints?

Thrifting Weekend

This weekend I got to get my first full garage sale hunting spree in.  My hubbie had to work, so I ditched the kids with grandma and grandpa.  I left my house about 7:15 and didn't get back home till around 5:30.  We hit up 4 different communties.  The sales were decent, but there was alot of driving in between houses.  Some of my top items at garage sales were Robeez (I got 4 pair for $3.00) and some Janie and Jack items.  Most were between .50 and $1.00.  I also went to a church sale and got some Chico brand items to sell.  They were at the end of the their sale, so everything was .25. 

After the sale, we went to a new Goodwill outlet.  If you have one of these in your area, you need to visit it.  I spent $15.00, but I got a ton of clothing items to resell.  I also picked up some Vintage Ray Ban sunglasses and a version of Windows XP to sell.  I just need to figure out if this is still registered on someone else's computer. 

Anyone else get good deals?