Four copies of Cariboo sold

Bought: $16.28 Sold: $124.99 Fees: $15.95 Profit: $92.76

I sold my four remaining Cariboo games yesterday! One to one person and three to another. The guy who bought three said they were to take to take at a local children's hospital, which is nice to know that the games are going to help sick kids. I had these four copies, along with the one that already sold, sitting in my pile to list all summer, and when I finally got around to listing them last week all five copies sold in a week. I really should have not have putting off listing these as long as I did. This game is always worth grabbing if you can find it.

Flipping Experiment #1: Comic and Anime statues, comics and posters - Month #5

September 27 - Lot of 6 Hooters Magazines

Sold for: $19.99 Fees: $4.19

In among the comics we got were a number of adult magazines. This was a lot of the 6 Hooters magazines. They don't have great resale value individually, but figured someone may want to buy 6 of them for $20 and we were right. I was just going to throw these out, since I have no real desire to sell adult magazines and I would never buy them to sell, but $20 is better than nothing.

The Numbers:

Initial Cost: $2,000

Number of items sold in September: 5

Number of items sold overall: 24

Gross Profit for September: $215.96

Fees to eBay: $34.84

Net Profit for September: $181.12

Net Overall Profit: -$395.90

Chris and I have each recouped $802.05 of our initial $1,000 investment so far.

September 2 - Intron Depot 1 - Masamune Shirow 1981-1991 Art Book

Sold for: $19.99 Fees: $2.72

This is an anime art book that was part of the lot. There was a number of art books among the comics, and I don't think they will be fast sellers, but it is nice to make $20. We are slowly making back our investment.

September 17 - Overkill #1 Comic

Sold for: $3.99 Fees: $1.25

Another comic sold. Not a huge profit, but at least it wasn't a dollar comic. Chris and I are still trying to figure out the best way to list these. We are likely going to lot similar comics together to save on fees and shipping. That being said, even if we made this profit ($2.75) for all 300 comics we wouldn't be doing too badly.

September 17 - Tenjho Tenge Aya Natsume Statue

Sold for: $170.00 Fees: $25.67

Another statue sold! It has been a while since one sold, and it sold for a good price! This one was in good shape as was the box. Another over-sexualized woman character that I am sure Robin is more than pleased to get out of the house.

September 25 - Soul Saga Collected Edition #1 Comic

Sold for: $1.99 Fees: $1.01

Another comic from the lot sold. The vast majority of comics are worth a dollar at most. So even when we sell a comic for $2 it is worth more than most comics. While we only take home 98 cents after fees, we are slowly selling off the comics. The comics were not the reason we bought the lot and just an added bonus, so any money we get from them is a bonus.

Goldilocks Block Puzzle

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $24.99 Fees: $3.42 Profit: $19.32

This is a Goldilocks picture cube puzzle. This is the second one I've sold. I actually came across one of these the other day and didn't buy it because this one hadn't sold and wasn't sure there was much demand. I'm now wishing I had grabbed it. These are not huge sellers, but $20 on a small investment is never bad, and they are small so don't take up a lot of space. 

McFarlane Shaquille O'Neal

Bought: $7.90 Sold: $14.99 Fees: $2.37 Profit: $4.72

This is one of the McFarlane sports figures I picked up over 6 months ago. I bought about 8 of them, and they were all $7.90. I looked up most of them in the store and just bought them all. I've sold all of them except for two, and all for a good profit. This one and one other have been sitting for months, and this one finally sold for a small profit. I'm glad it sold to get it out of my basement and to recoup the investment. Serves as a reminder to make sure to research every item and not to assume that just because something has value that something very similar will as well.

Cranium Cariboo Board Game

Bought: $2.00 Sold: $22.00 Fees: $3.04 Profit: $16.96

This is a very popular children's board game that is out of print, and yet still one of the most recommended game for toddlers and as such is very desirable. I pick them up whenever I see them. Because they are meant for young children, they are often quite abused and/or missing pieces. So often I'll need to buy a few to make a complete one. Over the summer I collected about 8 of these games and just kept putting off listing them and they just collected. Finally bite the bullet and listed them all. I varied the price depending on condition. This was the one in the worst condition and I had it for the lowest and then took a best offer even lower. That being said I got this copy at the Glebe garage sale, along with a couple other copies, for cheap, so still made a profit and a big box is gone.

Perfect Wedding Planning Game

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $35.00 Fees: $4.62 Profit: $25.87

Chris' 5% finder's fee: $1.29

This is a board game from the 80's geared towards girls with the point of the game being to plan the perfect wedding. It includes photographs of wedding dresses, cakes, and decorations all from the 1980s. I'm not sure that this game would sell well if released today, but is a nice relic of its time. This game can sell for a lot more if complete, but mine was missing the engagement rings that each player wears and the wedding ring that the "winner" wears - these seem to be commonly missing. That being said, considering how slow sales have been I am glad something sold and made a small profit, even after paying Chris.

Battle Masters Board Game

Bought: $20.00 Sold: $129.99 Fees: $12.87 Profit: $97.12

I bought this at the Glebe garage sale. It had two notes on it when I bought it - one saying "$20" and one saying "I suggest selling this for $20, it sells on eBay for $100 USD." This was at a church rummage sale, and most things were a dollar or two, so this was by far the most expensive thing there, but it was nice that they told me how much profit I could make. This game is huge, and it is hard to tell from the picture, but the box is about 2.5" feet long. It is big and awkward and was terribly inconvenient to carry as I walked around the Glebe. It also has a ridiculous number of small pieces that I had to count. It was worth it in the end, as it had a great ROI, but like most expensive board games it sat for a number of months. This is one item that I am glad to see go, especially considering this is my first sale in four days.

Play-Doh Cookie Monster

Bought: $3.00 Sold: $99.99 Fees: $9.97 Profit: $87.02

This is yet another Play-Doh Cookie Monster Letter Lunch set. This one had almost all the letters, was only missing 2, and had almost all the pieces. It sold for my asking price, which is a good price for this set incomplete. I still have no idea why this one set is worth so much, but I love finding them.

Monster Mash Board Game

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $19.99 Fees: $2.82 Profit: $12.66

Chris' 5% finder's fee: $0.63

This is a vintage board game from the 1980s. It is a rather simple game - press the button, the three panels spin and create a "monster" and the first person to swat the corresponding card with their "thwacker" gets the point. These sell pretty well and quickly, although not for a huge profit. Still, a fast turn around is always nice. 

Chris has finally managed to convince me to give him a commission on items he finds for me to sell. He earns 5% for items under $100, and 10% for items over. This is his first earned commission. While I'd rather be able to be out sourcing as much as I can on my own, having a full time job I can't get out as much as I'd like to. Chris helps me bring in new stock, and so it is time I give him back some of the profits. 

Columbia Uptown Voyager Tote Bag

Bought: $10.16 Sold: $69.99 Fees: $7.18 Profit: $52.65

A few weeks ago I was in VV and having no luck finding anything, so I took my time and walked up and down every aisle and was trying to see if there was a new area I could branch off into. I ended up looking at the bags, and there was a lot of them since it was back to school time, and I noticed a few that had what I thought were high end name brands. I saw two Columbia bags, this one and another, which I knew was a good name and the bags were interesting looking - they looked like they had been made to resembled down coats. One was a tote bag, this one, and one was a purse. They were both in great condition, so I took a chance and bought them. I tried researching them online and on eBay but had no luck at all. All I was able to find was an image on Google image search with the name I used in my listing (and this blog post's title) but nothing else about it. I had no idea how much it originally sold for, when it was sold or even if I had the right name. Robin, who knows a lot more about fashion than me, laughed at it and said it was hideous and that it would never sell for more than I paid for. While I normally tend to listen to Robin when it comes to fashion, I decided to trust my gut and list it high. I listed it for $70 with OBO preparing to take offers, but it sold for full price! This is not only a great sale because of the profit and ROI but also because I was totally out of my element and taking a chance. I hope that the purse eventually sells too...

Counter for things Robin said that will never sell that in fact did sell: 11

Project KGB board game

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $30.00 Fees: $4.04 Profit: $21.45

This is a vintage board game from the 70's. It is a rather interesting board game. There was two of these games, both Project KGB, but game 1 and 2. You could play both games by themselves, or you could combine them to play a third game. The game was in rough shape, but it isn't that common. I've seen these at antique stores a few times for $40-50, and I had mine listed at $50, but I took an offer of $30 because I wanted it gone and wanted money in my pocket!

Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory

Bought: $7.50 Sold: $74.99 Fees: $7.81 Profit: $59.68

My third sale of this Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory in as many weeks. This was actually my last one, which I bought off a kid at the Glebe Garage sale, except that this morning while out of town for Court, I stopped into a Salvation Army and bought another one! So, I'll have to get that new one listed soon. This buyer actually paid my full asking price, which is a nice flip for these. I'm going to keep buying these if I can find them for under $10 as I can consistently sell them for $60-75.  

Commission sale: Clusterfuck sex party game

Sale Price: $14.99 Fees:$2.20 Profit: $12.79

My 50% cut of the Profit: $6.40

This is something else that Chris asked me to sell for him. The value of this is so low it was hardly worth the effort, but for Chris I made an exception. This is a small card game that was released as part of a Holiday promo pack for Cards against Humanity. It is a bit hard to find, since only made available then, but not really highly desirable either. An easy $6, but not something I'd go out of my way to sell again.

Creepy Crawlers Molds

Bought: $5.64 Sold: $49.99 Fees: $5.54 Profit: $38.81

I picked up a box of a Creepy Crawler set at VV which sold quite well, but unfortunately the box didn't contain the set as listed on the box, instead it had 18 different molds. Thankfully the molds sell well on their own, and instead of wasting time listing these individually I just put them together as one lot. Creepy Crawler stuff seems to sell fairly well - this is the second mold lot I've sold, and I've previously sold unopened gel that was used with the molds. These are worth picking up if you see them cheap enough.

Sailor Moon Cards Round Two

Bought: $45.00 Sold: $199.99 Fees: $18.91 Profit: $136.08

So after my great $500+ sale of sailor moon cards earlier this summer I've been keeping my eye out for them, and someone posted an ad on Kijiji for their old cards. They had just over 250 of them, and they wanted $50, but agreed to take $45. I was a bit weary to spend so much when I still have no idea what gives specific cards value, but I decided it was worth taking a risk. I was able to identify about 90% of them, and included in the listing the cards I could identify. I originally did an auction starting at $99, but despite a number of watchers, no one bid. I then relist it as a BIN for $200, and decided to see what offers I got. A number of people messaged me asking for only certain cards, but I was reluctant to split up the set without knowing what value each card had, and much easier for me to sell as a lot. On the third day of the BIN listing someone bought it at full price - too bad they didn't search four days previously or they could have bid and got it for 50%. It is being shipped to a re-shipper in the states, so the buyer is overseas somewhere. Regardless, still a good return on my investment. I still have no idea why the other lot sold for so much more - not sure if there was one unique card in the other set or a number of rarer cards. Still, I will continue to keep my eye out for these. 

Also, it has been a while, but Robin thought this was a terrible buy and that the last lot was a one-off, and that these would never sell for anything more than I paid, so...

Counter for things Robin said that will never sell that in fact did sell: 10

Marx Pinto and Corral Fence

Bought: $32.00* Sold: $180.00 Fees: $17.33 Profit: $130.67

About a month ago my mom asked if I would help to set up a yard sale at her church near my cottage. I agreed because she said I could grab anything I wanted as I was setting up before the sale started - how could I turn own the chance to grab stuff first. I was quickly put to work carrying boxes and boxes of books upstairs, but I noticed a few vintage toys which I quickly grabbed. I also found a few books and some comics. I gave them all the change I had, which was $32, and they were happy with that. I've decided to allot the entire $32 to the first item that sold, this one, and so when the rest sell they will be pure profit. This was the best thing I found. A vintage Marx Pinto and Corral, which included the box, the horse, the fence and all the accessories and it was in remarkable shape. It had a lot of interest right away, and it sold within 48 hours. It actually sold two weeks ago, but the buyer asked if I could wait until the following Thursday for him to pay, which I agreed, and then he paid by way of echeck, so I had to wait for it to clear much like a real check, which didn't happen until today. So it took a while to get paid, but I finally did, and it was a great sale. Sales have been slow recently so nice to get this money in today. I hope the other items I picked up sell soon, but if nothing else sells, $130 for a few hours of work is well worth it.

GeoTrax Rail & Road System Elevation Track Pack

Sale Price: $20.00 Fees: $2.29

Overall Lot: Bought: $50.00 Profit to date: $120.07

Another Fisher-Price GeoTrax set sold - this one off to BC. I accepted a best offer on this, but considering that I've already made back my investment and at these are taking up a lot of space I'd rather just move them. I'm down to only a few left. 

Commission sale: 7-UP Fido Dido Watch

Sale Price: $19.99 Fees:$4.34 Profit: $15.65

My 50% cut of the Profit: $7.83

This is a watch from the 1980's that Chris bought years ago and asked me to sell when he moved. Unfortunately, I replaced the battery and it didn't work. It may be a simple fix, I'm not sure, but sold it AS IS / For Parts, so it can't be returned for not working. It is a pretty nice watch, especially for a collector. Would have sold closer to $50 if working, but still, $20 for a broken watch isn't bad.

Star Trek RPG

Bought: $5.64 Sold: $34.99 Fees: $4.44 Profit: $24.91

This is the player's guide to the Star Trek RPG, which I figured would sell well because of the fact that it combines two nerdy things - Star Trek and RPGs. It actually sold a lot faster than I thought it would - in a few weeks - considering that a lot of the RPG books I have sit for much longer. 

eBay is your partner, not your enemy

So, a podcast I listen to has this theory that we shouldn't bash on eBay, and while they do take a large cut of our profits, that they are providing a great service (letting us to sell to people around the world that would be impossible otherwise), and that they are your partner in selling. They want to see you do well because it means they do well. They are big supporters of calling eBay when you have an issue and talk to them. Yesterday I received my first negative feedback, left by the buyer of the Artful Dodger hoodie. The feedback was

The buyer never contacted me before leaving this and seemed quite pleased when he bought it. So I messaged him asking what the issue was and if there was anything I could do to help fix it. I was careful not to suggest that I wanted the feedback removed or changed. He responded saying that it wasn't clean, that it gave him an allergic reaction and that he needed to take an anti-histamine, that he had to get it dry cleaned and that he had to replace the pull string because it was worn. He said I could fix it by giving him $35. I knew that the hoodie has been washed, and the string was fine. I wasn't going to get into a debate with him, and I could tell it was an attempt to get a discount after the fact. I was at work and couldn't respond, and he sent a further message saying that if I paid him $35 he would gladly leave good feedback. This is where he made a mistake. eBay does not allow you to threaten bad feedback in exchange for a discount, it is called feedback extortion. So I called eBay, and after I got through to them, I explained the situation and they put me on hold for a couple minutes, read the messages and agreed with me and removed the bad feedback. He also commented that my reply was professional and appropriate. So, a 5 minute phone call, which was quite pleasant, and I am back to 100% positive feedback. It is good to know that eBay is willing to work with you as long as you work within their rules.

Hot Wheels Mighty Minis

Bought: $7.90 Sold: $29.99 Fees: $3.77 Profit: $18.32

I bought this months ago when I was still buying used Hot Wheels, but have been burned too many times on them not being complete. This one was thankfully complete and appeared to have unused (stickers hadn't even been applied yet). Not a huge profit, but I'm glad it sold. Still going to steer clear of Hot Wheels in the future, there is too much headache and not enough meat on the bones.

Playmobil 4468 Dolphin Basin

Sale Price: $29.99 Fees: $3.81

Overall Lot: Bought: $130.00 Profit to date: $119

Another of the lots I bought of Kijiji. With this sale I have almost broken even on my investment, and I still have a number of lots left. The three most expensive sets, and the reason I bought the lot, still haven't sold, but I am hopeful and when they do I should see a good return on my investment.

Artful Dodger Hoodie

Bought: $16.94 Sold: $80.00 Fees: $7.20 Profit: $55.86

I have been quite hesitant to get into flipping clothing. A lot of people do it and do quite well at it, but I just don't know about fashion, so I have avoided it. That being said, months ago I saw this hoodie in VV and had to buy it. It looked brand new and had a great pattern. It is an Artful Dodger hoodie, which is a clothing line released in 2006 and quickly bought and promoted by Jay-Z. The line is no longer produced and apparently quite popular still. It sat for quite a while, and had a lot of watchers, but someone finally made an offer of $80 on my asking of $125 and I took it. He lived in Hull so he picked it up, which saved on shipping. I'm glad this sold and that my first foray into clothing was a success - I'm still going to avoid it unless something really jumps out at me.

Schleich Oracle

Bought: $5.00 Sold: $43.99 Fees: $5.16 Profit: $33.83

I picked this up at the Glebe garage sale. I have now sold four of these. I have no idea why I've found so many of these - three of which were new in box. I have never seen any other Schleich toys, and nor do I understand why this boring fantasy set is desirable. Why does Ottawa have so many being sold used? I am really confused by it, but I am not complaining about the profit. 

Avalon Hill Game

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $49.99 Fees: $5.45 Profit: $42.29

I was pumped to find another Avalon Hill board game at VV, and it was pretty cheap as far as their board games go. It was an older sports game, but still sells well and sold pretty fast. It was complete and in pretty good condition considering its age. 

Money Belt Clip

Bought: $11.29 Sold: $44.99 Fees: $4.94 Profit: $28.76

I saw this in the display case at VV, and while it didn't have any markings on it it looked vintage and I figured there had to be a market for it. The price tag was a bit more than I would normally spend on a risk, but I took a gamble. It had a number of watchers and eventually sold for a decent price. I'd pick one of these up again if I could find vintage ones for a decent price.

Paris Au Pont Neuf 3D Puzzle

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $29.99 Fees: $3.74 Profit: $21.74

I've had this Puzz-3D for a while which I picked up before I decided I didn't want to sell these things. Now that it has sold I am stressed that it may be pissing a piece. I hope that it is complete and/or the buyer doesn't complain. The stress of selling used puzzles is too great to make it worthwhile. 

Twilight 2000 RPG Board Game

Bought: $7.50 Sold: $39.99 Fees: $4.59 Profit: $27.90

Another board game from the lot I bought off Kijiji. This is a military based RPG game. The game was missing the dice but had everything else. I would easily have grabbed this if I saw it in a thrift store. Any older RPG game is worth looking up. This lot from Kijiji continues to pay off.

Money made off the lot as a whole so far: Spent: $120 - Sales: $410.94

Sony Discman

Bought: $6.77 Sold: $49.99 Fees: $3.59 Profit: $39.63

This is a Sony Discman. It is one of their sport models, which includes a hand-strap and the ability to control it with a thumb-joystick-button on the top so you can use it easily while running. Both discman and walkmans continue to sell pretty decently, but I have limited my purchases to the Sony brand which seems to sell the best. 

Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory

Bought: $5.00 Sold: $52.43 Fees: $5.78 Profit: $41.65

Another one of these sold. I had three, and this is the 2nd sale in a week. I am not sure why these became popular all of a sudden - likely because mine is now the cheapest on eBay. I've taken an offer on both, mainly to move them and I am still making good profit on them. I picked this one up on Kjiji for $5 which was a good deal. 

Smurf Glasses

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $9.00 Fees: $1.74 Profit: $2.75

Another item that I bought at the beginning that I shouldn't have bought. These are two smurf classes. These were given out at gas stations in Canada in the 1980s. They are collectable, but don't sell for a huge amount. They are also glass, so shipping is a pain. The buyer is in Belgium, so I am really hoping that they make it there unbroken, but I have my doubts. Fingers crossed!

August Recap

I sold 40 items.

I spent $213.98 on those items.

I sold those items for $1,265.33

I paid $135.47 in fees to eBay.

I made a profit of $1,071.59

I sold 6 things on consignment and made $242.20

From my Flipping Experiment with Chris:

We sold 3 items

We sold these items for $92.98

We paid $14.53 in fees to eBay.

We made a profit of $78.45 - meaning $39.23 each

My total profit this month was $1,353.02

This was a very good month. It seemed slow throughout the month, but that is why checking at the end of the month to get an accurate picture helps put things in perspective. Despite feeling slow, it clearly wasn't a slow month. I sold, on average, over a thing a month and made over a $1,000 in profit. I sold a number of things for Chris on consignment, and while I am not going to be seeking out more consignment anytime soon, I am glad I am able to help Chris sell some stuff and raise some money for him and his new baby, while making a profit for myself at the same time.