Vintage toy train power supply

Bought: $9.03 Sold: $55.56 Fees: $5.91 Profit: $40.62

This is a power supply for a toy train set - a Canadian set released in 1965 by the Eaton company. Tri-ang is, apparently, a known Canadian toy train company as well, which helps. Toy train enthusiasts spend money, and vintage things always sell. This unit provides both AC and DC power to the tracks and accessories and has a speed control. I wasn't able to test this, as I don't have a train set, but Robin's dad was able to confirm for me that it provided AC and DC power as appropriate. That being said, I listed this for lower than I otherwise would have and listed it as "AS IS / For Parts" which is what eBay requires for people not to be able to return something if it doesn't work. I made it clear in the listing that I can't guarantee that this works. That being said, there is a lot of reasons people may want this even if not working - it is vintage, they may be able to fix it if it doesn't work, or they may be able to re-wire the inside and keep the case. That being said, I am a bit weary of a possible return request, but I am confident I did what was require to protect myself. As my last sale of 2015, I am hopeful that the buyer is happy and this won't bring a headache in 2016.

Turtle night light

Bought: $7.90 Sold: $16.67 Fees: $2.50 Profit: $6.27

This is a nursery night light shaped like a turtle that also projects constellations onto the ceiling from his shell. Pretty cool, and popular. I guess, however, that people buying things to be used to toddlers tend to want them new, and so this sat for quite a while. I was just eager to get it out and recoup my investment. When someone made an offer for $16, I readily accepted. A small ROI, but I really was more concerned about not being about $7.

Board game made in West Germany!

Bought: $0.78 Sold: $34.60 Fees: $3.96 Profit: $29.86

This may be my best ROI to date, I paid less than a dollar (it was 99 cents before a 30% off discount) and I made almost $30 on it. This is a very simple children's matching game from the 80's. So why is it worth so much? Because it was made in West Germany - which makes it rare, especially in complete condition. If you found a game made in East Germany I'm sure it would go for even more. This just goes to show how important it is to take your time and look up anything you don't know. This to me just looked like a children's game from the 80's, but for a dollar I figured it would be worth looking up, and am I ever glad I did!

Interesting side note. One of the few other people selling this on eBay was a seller from Ottawa, who has a store with almost 2,000 items and clearly does it full time. She has become my nemesis, and I obsessively check her store and sold items to see how much better than me she is doing. It is even more odd that a rare game from West Germany ended up with two copies in Ottawa. 

Nightmare in French

Bought: $4.50 Sold: $27.68 Fees: $3.62 Profit: $19.56

Yet another Nightmare game sold! This one, however, is the French version - called Atmosfear. when I first grabbed it in VV I didn't really look that closely, just recognizing the box, and it was only once I got it home that I realized. It was complete and so on eBay it went. It sold to Quebec, which makes sense. Nightmare is by far my best selling item. I think this the 6th or 7th one I've sold - and I have two more incomplete ones in my basement still to be listed (I will combine to form one complete, and a second for parts to use to complete future sets). These don't sell for a lot, but seem to sell consistently, even in non-October months. 

Anime Wall Scroll

Bought: $9.00 Sold: $20.82 Fees: $2.77 Profit: $9.05

This is a wall scroll - essentially a wall hanging - from a Japenese Anime show called Trigun. When I found it, I couldn't find any listings on eBay and it was dated to the early 2000s, so I figured it was probably collectible to some - anime things tend to be - so I took a risk even without knowing of any sales on eBay. When I got home and researched it some more, I found out that you could still buy it new on Amazon for $15 (with free shipping!), so I listed mine for $15, hoping someone would find mine and not realize it was also on eBay. It took a while to sell this, and didn't make the profit I was hoping, but it is another expensive (to buy) item sold and gone!

Big Bucks!

Bought: $4.50 Sold: $27.76 Fees: $3.57 Profit: $19.69

Found this board game, which I had never heard of, but seem to sell for a decent price. It sat for a while, as older board games tend to do, but sold today, and is off to Quebec. Nothing too exciting or interesting about this one just another sale.

Gameboy Cases

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $6.91 Fees: $0.81 Profit: $3.85

These are five authentic Nintendo Gameboy cases. Chris got these for me at VV. They are vintage, and while, seemingly, difficult to find authentic ones, they still only sell for about $1 each. It is good to know these sell, I will keep eye out for these if I ever see them cheap.

Vintage Infrared Photorelay

Bought: $11.30 Sold: $34.62 Fees: $4.51 Profit: $18.81

This is a vintage, though new in box, infrared photorelay - it shoots out a laser and if the laser is broken it makes a loud noise. A very early version of a burglar alarm, or notification of someone having entered your shop. It was sold by Radio Shack, though the Canadian version of this was called Archer, and the american version, which were the exact same, had a different name. This meant that mine was less easy to find on eBay, but I figured that it might be found by a Canadian, and it was! This is off to Newfoundland - my first to that province. I picked this up at VV, and while a bit pricey, it paid off. Vintage electronics usually have a desire, and having the box always helps. I was a bit worried that this wold take a while to sell, but I'm glad to be proven wrong. 

More Play-Doh

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $41.49 Fees: $4.69 Profit: $32.29

This is another Play-Doh product. This was by itself, with no box, and not even complete. It is a battery-powered conveyor belt with a stamp that can be pressed down to form the dough. It is part of a larger anniversary set (which sells NIB for over $400). I was shocked to see how much part of a set sold for, but this just further reinforced my recent discovery that some Play-Doh products can sell for a lot. It is well worth knowing that even a single piece from a larger set can sell by itself. 

Vintage See N Say

Bought: $3.00 Sold: $13.84 Fees: $2.19 Profit: $8.65

I was in Brockville with Robin, and I had some time to kill while she was at lunch, so I stopped into this local thrift store run by a church. It wasn't very big, but it had a few items I picked up. I had to make all these purchases without the aid of my phone, so I was blind buying. I knew that vintage See N Says were collectible, and this one was marked as 1989. The ROI isn't great, and it sat for a while. Not sure I'd buy one of these again unless I found a really old model. 

More Meccano

Bought: $45.00 Sold: $46.97 Fees: $6.77 Profit: -$4.80*

*These numbers are updates, and not this one sale.

This was a lot of Meccano parts that came from the large box of Meccano I purchased this fall. This is the third lot I've sold from that box, and I have almost made my money back. I have sold maybe 5% of the box. Once it all sells it should bring in a big ROI. It is nice to sell these lots as soon it will all be profit. This lot (of the pieces shown above) sold for $9.19. 

Star Wars Comics

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $30.46 Fees: $3.77 Profit: $26.69

I picked up four Star Wars trade paperbacks (bound comicbooks) a few months ago at VV, and sold one already. The first sale made a profit, so these two are pure profits, and I have one more still for sale. These two were bought by the same person. I figured that the release of the Star Wars movie increased demand for these - even though these are comics by DarkHorse, not Marvel, and thus not official cannon. Still, these were a nice ROI. 

Not all keyboards are the same.

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $41.68 Fees: $4.68 Profit: $32.49

I always check the electronics at VV, and in particular I look at the keyboards and mice. Most are worthless, but there are some that can bring in some good money - namely gaming keyboards and mice. These often include extra buttons and shortcuts that enable gamers to do things quicker or easier. This keyboard, for example, has a whole set of extra buttons to the left of the normal QWERTY keyboard. Not all gaming keyboards are valuable, but if you find one they are worth looking up. At since VV usually prices all their keyboards for about the same, $3-$4, it is easy to make some money on these. 

Skating with Disney Princesses!

Bought: $11.86 Sold: $55.57 Fees: $5.79 Profit: $37.92

These are Disney Princess children's ice skates that are adjustable between four sizes. They looked new, except that the toes of both were cut in a few places. It was clear that the box had been thrown around and the blades had been cutting the plastic on the other skate. Otherwise looked unused. Canadian Tire sells these, though this appears to be an older model (maybe last year's?), but I figure they had to be worth more than $10. Oddly, they are off to California! Maybe it's harder or more expensive to buy ice skates out there? I hope they like them!

Anyone want some old (new) napkins?

Bought: $4.50 Sold: $20.62 Fees: $2.66 Profit: $13.46

When I saw these four packs of unused Pocahontas napkins in VV I knew I had to buy them. I was sure there was some Disney fan out there who would buy these. Robin laughed at the notion and said no one is going to buy 20 year old napkins. Well, I guess she is wrong yet again. This is exactly the type of item that I like buying. Ideally a new in box, or in this case new in plastic, item that is recognizable and collectible and vintage. These are things, collectible vintage items I mean, that I know people want, and supply is low (more so for NIB items). Items from the 80's and 90's are now nostalgic to people of my generation, and people in my generation tend to have disposal income to spend on nostalgia. There may be more money to be made in antiques, but I love finding vintage things and selling nostalgia.

Counter for things Robin said that will never sell that in fact did sell: 4

Student School Supplies Sell!

Bought: $1.57 Sold: $33.00 Fees: $2.53 Profit: $28.90

This is a iclicker, which is used in large university lectures. Each student has one, a teacher can then put up questions and each student has to answer the multiple choice question and earn participation marks. These devices cost close to $100 new, and every school year new students need them. I can't believe how cheap I found it. It was sold to a couple in Florida who purchase textbooks and school supplies to re-sell to local university and college book stores. Not a bad flip. I will be keeping an eye out for these, especially come the end of the school year in May. 

Can't return something? Sell it on eBay!

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $13.69 Fees: $2.23 Profit: $11.46

My parents watch this show, which I've never heard of, and somehow ended up ordering two copies of it, and weren't able to return it so they gave it tome to sell. I was somewhat shocked how little this sells for on eBay, but at the same time it's a show that clearly isn't that mainstream so probably has a smaller audience. Anyways, it is always nice to make some money when I spent nothing on the inventory. This item is off to Sudbury, and will likely actually arrive before Christmas - maybe it's a gift, who knows. 

Star Wars Micro Machine Polly Pocket

Bought: $4.50 Sold: $6.78 Fees: $0.60 Profit: $1.68

This is a Star Wars Polly Pocket type play set. It is the head of C-3PO plays et by Micro Machines. When you open it up it reveals the The Mos Eisley Cantina. Originally it included a Millennium Falcon ship and a number of small characters. I bought this hoping it had the figures inside, but sadly it only had Han Solo and nothing else. Incomplete it doesn't sell for a lot. I was worried I wasn't going to make my money back, but today someone messaged me saying they lived in Ottawa and could they pick it up (saving on shipping). I'm just glad I managed to recover my money on this. These are collectible, and can sell for a lot, but they need to be complete. Lesson learned.

What's more boring than baseball? A board game about baseball!

Bought: $11.29 Sold: $47.79 Fees: $5.11 Profit: $31.39

Yet another Avalon Hill board game, this one about baseball. There are very few board games about baseball, which makes this one a bit more collectible, but at the end of the day, it is still a game about baseball, and thus not overly popular. I picked this up with a few other Avalon Hill board games at VV a few months ago, and they are slowly selling. I am almost sold out of them, I think I have two left. I am hoping I will find more of these, since they are consistently good sales but they aren't overly common. These will be on my watch list at garage sales come the spring for sure.

EyeClops Bionic Eye

Bought: $9.03 Sold: $13.54 Fees: $2.03 Profit: $2.48

This is a handheld device that connects to a TV, and displays a magnification of the item under the eye. This item originally sold for around $40, but technology has surpassed this item, and the value of this item has dropped significantly. I have no idea why I bought this, but in hindsight $9 is a ridiculous price to pay for this. I lowered the price of this so that it could sell, to recover my investment. I'm glad this has finally sold, after almost 4 months, and I managed to make a few dollars as well. 

Don't get stuck in Rush Hour!

Bought: $3.15 Sold: $13.54 Fees: $2.15 Profit: $8.24

I see the board game Rush Hour all the time at thrift stores. It is a small game by Thinkfun, and involves using logic to get a car out of a puzzle, with various puzzles in each game. It is a single player game, and not rare by any means, nor is it very sought after. When I saw this version, the collector's edition, I saw that it sold for a bit more, and at such a cheap price I picked it up. It sold within a week. Not a huge profit margin, but a quick sale for a few bucks never hurts. I've sold a number of smaller priced items this week, but they all add up!

Hot Wheels!

Bought: $2.02 Sold: $13.49 Fees: $2.55 Profit: $8.92

I picked this up at Goodwill along with two other Hot Wheel sets, and figured that at $2 I couldn't lost money on a set that included the box, and that was vintage (this is from 1993). A problem, apparently, with Hot Wheels sets from the early 90s is that they were boring. There doesn't appear to be a lot of appeal for them. I still made a small profit, but hardly fantastic. I've sold two of the three hot wheel items I picked up that day, both in under a month, so they are typically good flipping items. I wish I knew more about them, and their collectiblility. Something to research more into. 

What's a TV tray?

Bought: $4.73 Sold: $26.96 Fees: $3.37 Profit: $18.86

This is a Barbie TV tray from 1993, made in Ontario. It is made of cheap tin, and it is a bit beat up. It had some scratches and dents I couldn't remove, as well as some rather permanent dirt. I thought that I'd be able to get something for it, it seemed like a smart buy from VV for $4. I couldn't find any other examples on eBay, but I listed it for $20, and it sold in a couple weeks. Barbie things are collectible, TV trays are collectible, it is 22 years old and in decent condition. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut. 

Another Harmonica!

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $21.57 Fees: $2.4 Profit: $19.13

My grandparents moved houses a few years ago and de-cluttered slightly, and let us take anything we wanted from stuff they were getting rid of. I didn't take much, having no use for it, but Chris took a few things he thought he could flip on eBay. He finally decided it was too much work, and passed them on to me, so this cost me nothing. It is a vintage Harmonica made by Yamaha still in box and wrapped in tissue paper - it appears to have never been used. Robin was not overly encouraging that this would sell, she things used harmonicas are gross, but this is my 2nd one sold now! Anything vintage and at all collectible has a price someone is willing to pay. This is off to Vancouver!

Another baseball action figure

Bought: $7.90 Sold: $20.23 Fees: $3.24 Profit: $9.09

The 2nd of 5 of these NIP McFarlane sports action figures to sell. This one is off to Calgary. I'm making a small profit on each, and so far they haven't sat too long. I'm hoping the other three move quickly. I'm sure that there are some of these that are more collectible than others - like any collectible - but I just don't know enough about them to know. 

Some Neon 90's Nostalgia

Bought: $1.00 Sold: $20.23 Fees: $2.91 Profit: $16.32

I couldn't believe when I found this at Goodwill for a dollar. It is the epitome of the 90's - a neon orange fanny pack displaying a Canadian TV station popular only in the 90's. It was as a steal at a dollar. I knew this was going to sell somewhere in Canada - it is off to Thunder Bay - but I wasn't sure that anyone would pay what I wanted. I asked $25, but accepted an offer of $15, because I couldn't realistically see anyone spending more than that on a fanny pack. 

More Play-Doh!

Bought: $4.73 Sold: $60.06 Fees: $6.32 Profit: $49.01

Yet another Play-Doh set, this one is from Cars 2. I still can't believe how much people are willing to pay for Play-Doh sets! I think it helps a lot to find ones that are collectible from other another media - such as TV shows or movies. It also helps to have them being complete. I am going to keep my eye out for more Play-Doh sets in the future. 

The Hockey Sweater

Bought: $16.94 Sold: $40.04 Fees: $4.45 Profit: $18.65

I picked this up a few months ago at VV, and was sure I'd sell it instantly. It is an official wool-knitted Habs hockey sweater. I think the thing that made it hard to sell was that it was a Youth XS. I had a lot of questions and interest at first - a lot of people wanted to know what child size this would fit (which I of course had no idea), but I made sure to include measurements of everything. I really hope this doesn't get sent back as not fitting. It sold a minute after the loom, to someone in Toronto. I figure it is a Christmas gift, so hopefully they like it and don't return it. 

Loom and gloom

Bought: $11.85 Sold: $66.73 Fees: $7.84 Profit: $47.04

This is a child's loom made by Brio, a Swedish company. It is rather large, about 2" long. When I saw the box in VV, it was sitting on top of some fabric and I wasn't sure what it was, but it is always a good idea to check big boxes. I checked the loom in the store, and it appeared to be all there. There was a partly-finished project on it, which I left on since I didn't want to damage anything when trying to remove it. One of the arms of the loom had come loose, but nothing some superglue couldn't fix. I had a number of watchers, and some low offers, but I was content to let it sit. I knew it would sell, and it did. Just as arrived home from my office Christmas party, I got the notification that this sold and less than a minute later a notification for another item. I had to check to see if they were the same person - they weren't. Pretty odd that two items sold in less than a minute of each other, but I'm not complaining! 

It's hard to find good help...

Bought: $16.94 Sold: $20.01 Fees: $3.19 Profit: -$0.12

This is one of the many collectible Simpsons play sets - this one is the Krusty Burger. These were quite collectible at one time, and still are for some. Chris likes to shop at VV, and often picks things up for me, which I greatly appreciate. He makes it to VV much more than I do, and often gets great things. Whenever he is there he sends me photos of items, but sometimes I am in court when he does this and can't really give it my full attention. When he asked about this, I told him that it would be a small profit margin, and to only get it if he was going to use a 30% card. He said he was, but then released his card wasn't full when he got to the cash. So, I lost 12 cents on this sale, but it sold, didn't sit around for a long time, is going to a good home, and hopefully I will get good feedback. I'll forgive Chris this once as he is overall a very good buyer. 

Sports fans collect action figures too!

Bought: $7.90 Sold: $20.15 Fees: $2.70 Profit: $9.55

McFarlane Toys makes a lot of action figures - for comics, TV shows, movies, and sports. They have baseball, football and basketball figures. Like any collectible, they are released in waves (a set amount at one time) and they eventually go out of print. This is the Willie Mays figure from the 2nd wave. These things are collectible to some. 

I found five of these in a VV, and got them for just under $8 each. I knew that I wouldn't make a killing off them, but they are collectible, they should sell, and if I sell all 5 that is a $50 profit, Part of me, the collector part, understands that these things have value to certain people, and I just couldn't leave these behind. I wanted them to go to someone who would actually appreciate them and wanted them. There is a difference in someone finding this at VV and thinking it is cool and buying it, and someone who is searching for this exact figure to complete their collection. Part of why I enjoy what I do is that I get to get collectible items to collector's, it feels good.

Limited Edition Movies can be collectible

Bought: $11.29 Sold: $133.72 Fees: $12.92 Profit: $109.51

I picked this up at VV for $10. It's a limited edition release of the movie Inception. It comes in a metal briefcase (copied off the one in the movie) with a metal top, and some postcards of characters in the movie. Now, as an avid movie collector myself, I'm aware that some of these limited releases are highly sought after. This one is, as they all are eventually, out of print and also very desirable going for around $100. I'm not too sure why considering there really isn't any added bonus except the large metal briefcase it comes in, but that must appeal to some. This sat on eBay for a while, not surprising considering the price for a movie, but a few weeks ago I got an email from someone in Belgium asking if I'd ship there and what the cost would be. I enabled shipping to Belgium as an option, but they never bought it. I never turned it off, and someone else in Belgium bought it. They paid $55 to ship this - almost half the cost of the item itself. This is my first international sale outside of the US, so I'd a bit worried that it won't get there or that the person is trying to scam me. Fingers crossed it all goes well. 

Uh Oh Play-Doh!

Bought: $5.64 Sold: $47.94 Fees: $5.42 Profit: $36.88

Chris picked this up for me. It is a Play-Doh set featuring the Transformers from a few years ago that has been discontinued. Mine was the only one on eBay, but a few had sold recently for $50 and mine was complete and in box (though used). Almost immediately upon posting, I got tons of offers! I had 6 people make offers over 2 days - clearly this was a popular item, but no one wanted to pay what I was asking. I was tempted to sit on it and wait until I got $50, but I was getting so many offers I just wanted it sold, so took the highest offer I got. eBay only lets you go back and forth on offers three times, and this one guy who rejected my last offer emailed me the day after saying he wanted to buy it, but he couldn't make any more offers and I couldn't take down the listing and re-list (giving him three more offers) because the item always had offers from other people (preventing me from taking down the listing). Anyways, it was a very good ROI, Chris did well. 

Sesame Street Light Cover

Bought: $1.57 Sold: $19.96 Fees: $2.82 Profit: $15.57

This is a Sesame Street ceiling light cover. It is made out of glass, and about 12" square. When I saw this for such a cheap price I knew I had to buy it. I didn't research it in the store, and was somewhat disappointed by how cheap they sold for, but it is still a sale and a very good ROI. Not every item can bring in $40+ profits, but making $15 on a $1.50 investment is always good. 

First sale of the month!

Bought: $1.10 Sold: $13.30 Fees: $1.89 Profit: $10.31

Another VHS sale. Again, it's a Sing-Along that was never made on DVD. These are collectible for some reason. I actually have two identical copies of this VHS. Now that one has sold, I will list another. It is crazy that in 2015 I can make $10 off of VHS tapes. They aren't huge profit makers, but it is easy to find, cheap to buy, and easy to store until they sell.