Archie Comics

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $49.99 Fees: $5.42 Profit: $44.57

Normally I wouldn't touch Archie comics, there isn't any money in them - except about a year ago Archie was relaunched as a modern comic. They are sold in standard comic format, with an ongoing story, and written and drawn by mainstream artists. I am personally buying/collecting them and they are good from a nostalgic point of view. I was at VV and found the first 8 issues (with two copies of issue #1) and the last three of those issues were still in their bag (the donator was getting them mailed to them). I knew these would sell and so grabbed them. They weren't in perfect shape, but pretty good for a VV find. This was the same day that I bought all the D&D stuff and asked for a better deal on them and was given it. Well when I got to the cash, the cashier couldn't figure out how to price comics and so just gave them to me with the lot of D&D stuff - so they were free. Overall, a nice free $45. 

Commissioned Sale: Vintage King Arthur Brass Letter Opener

Sale Price: $49.99 Fees:$8.20 Profit: $41.79

My 50% cut of the Profit: $20.89

This is a vintage brass letter opened with a facsimile of King Arthur's grave stone on the top. Chris asked me to sell this for him when he moved since he had no use for it. It was actually one of my parent's and I remember seeing it around as a kid, but at some point Chris got it - likely when my parents downsized in their move a decade ago. 

Flipping Experiment #1: Comic and Anime statues, comics and posters - Month #8

December 30th - 5 Chaos Comics

Sold for: $39.99 Fees: $7.08

When Chris and I sorted the comics we were left with a few random lots. This was one of them. Five comics from the same publisher but none from the same series. We threw them together and set a relatively low price for these issues, and it worked. We could have sold these individually and probably made a bit more money, but at the end of the day we wanted to move these as quickly as possible, and getting $8 a comic is a good deal so we'll take it.

The Numbers:

Initial Cost: $2,000 

Number of items sold in December: 10

Number of items sold overall: 43

Gross Profit for December: $320.44

Fees to eBay: $56.39

Net Profit for December: $264.05

Net Overall Profit: $314.26

Chris and I have recouped our initial investment, and each made a profit of $157.13

December 3rd - Mon-Sieur Bome Vol 21: Honey Buny Karen & Rio

Sold for: $50.00 Fees: $8.34

This is one of the many figures we got in the lot. This is one of a collection called "Mon-Sieur Bome" which seem to be collectible, but slow sellers. We had this one up for $75, but took an offer of $50. Now that we have broke even on our investment, I am glad for any sale, as it is all now profit. We still have a ton of stock from this lot to sell, so glad to see it go.

December 4th  - Lot of 3 Purgatori Empire Comics

Sold for: $23.00 Fees: $4.76

Yesterday I finally managed to list the last of the comic lots. We have almost 75 listings of comics (mostly lots, but some single issues) and it feels good to have them all photographed, packaged and listed and ready to sell. It took us 8 months to get around to listing these, since we primarily focused on the statues and life got in the way. Now that these are done, our next task is to photograph, package and list the posters. Once these comics sell, we will see some good profit. 

December 5th - Top Cow Classics Black & White Witchblade #1 Dynamic Forces Sketch Cover

Sold for: $20.00 Fees: $4.39

Another comic sold! So glad we finally got around to posting these, as they are selling quicker than I would have thought. Also, a single comic selling for $20 is always nice. This is a limited edition sketch cover, which makes it somewhat desirable. I wish all the comics in the lot sold for this amount.

December 20th - McFarlane Toys Angela Figure

Sold for: $24.99 Fees: $5.73

This is a figure of Angela released by MacFarlane Toys. Angela is a very interesting comic book character - she first appeared in Spawn comics at Image, but after a legal dispute over who owned the copyright to her, she is now a character in the Marvel universe. This toy doesn't fetch a whole lot,but always glad for items for this lot to keep selling and making us money. We've sold 37 items from this lot and made back our investment and then some, and still have 100s of items to sell.

December 20th - Lot of 4 Vampirella Ash Can Comics

Sold for: $19.99 Fees: $3.68

Another lot of comics sold. This one was a lot of four Vampirella ash cans. Ash cans are small comics, about the size of your hand, and are often in black and white. Typically ash cans are printed to protect copyright of a franchise, but these ones were seemingly printed just to be collectable items. We had a number of these and created two lots of them. This was the smaller of the two lots.

December 24th - Lot of 2 Volumes of Purgatori

Sold for: $49.99 Fees: $8.30

These are two trade paperbacks, volumes 1 and 2, of the comic series Purgatori. $50 is a great price for two trades, and this sale came at a normally slow period of the month which is always nice. 

December 26th - Two Dawn Comic Listings

Sold for: $42.49 Fees: $5.67

Someone bought two lots at the same time, both for comics of a character named Dawn. Always nice to sell multiple items at once and comics are continuing to sell.

December 29th - Three Epoch Model Kits

Sold for: $49.99 Fees: $8.44

I was cleaning up my eBay storage area in the basement when I came across a pile of models from this locker that I had never listed. They was a number of them, and I had never listed them because I couldn't find anything about them. They were all model kids, in that you needed to build and paint them yourself, which was quite different from all the other pre-built and pre-painted models. I finally just listed them as best I could and put up essentially random prices. These three were the same company and weren't very big figures, so I listed all three together for $50 and it sold in two days. These three at least had a brand name and name of the characters, which made it easy to list (and sell), but some of the others aren't so easy so we will see if they sell.

SWATCH Watch COLOR THE SKY GS124

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $39.99 Fees: $3.60 Profit: $34.14

This is another Swatch watch. I love selling these. You can find them cheap since they don't look that fancy, they are collectible and they all have the year on them so they are easy to find. Once you have the model name and number, they are easy to list and collectors look for them. This one actually sold to someone in Ottawa who wanted to do local pickup, but it didn't end up working so mailing it. 

Sony Discman

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $20.00 Fees: $1.80 Profit: $13.69

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.68

Another Sony Discman. Nothing special about this one, but always nice to turn $5 into $20. 

Rubik's Race

Bought: $3.38 Sold: $16.00 Fees: $2.44 Profit: $10.18

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.52

This is a two-person board game based off the Rubik's cube. It is from the 70's when Rubik cubes were rather popular. Chris picked it up, and while interesting, it didn't sell for as much as I had hoped, but it moved quickly (only a few weeks) so it wasn't a terrible buy. 

Commissioned Sale: Tales to Astonish #86

Sale Price: $9.99 Fees:$3.08 Profit: $6.91

My 30% cut of the Profit: $2.07

This was another comic of my friend Hayley's that I found in her cottage garage this summer. It is a relatively early Tales to Astonish comic that included a story on Giant-Man and the Hulk. It was in pretty rough shape, but it still sold for $10. 

Commercial Crazies VCR Game

Bought: $3.15 Sold: $19.99 Fees: $3.47 Profit: $13.37

This is a vintage (1986) VCR board game about commercials. When I saw this I thought it was unique and interesting and thought it would sell fast. It sat for months, and I was actually shocked when it sold tonight. I guess VHS games are on the out.

Yahtzee Replacement Score Cards

Bought: $7.89 Sold: $19.99 Fees: $2.69 Profit: $9.41

I found a bag at VV that had 6 boxes of Triple Yahtzee score cards. All 6 boxes were from 1991, and while the boxes had all been crushed opened, the score cards had never been used. I figured for $7 it was worth a gamble. I listed them for $20 each, and it's been a few months but one finally sold! I made profit on the first one, and if the others eventually sell I'll net $100! These will be slow sellers for sure, but I'm confident they will eventually sell.

Playmobil Set

Bought: $90.37 Sold: $110.00 Fees: $11.12 Profit: $8.51

Back in the summer I walked into VV to see three large Playmobil boxes sitting on the display case. One of them was this set - the Coliseum -which I knew went for over $100. They wanted $30 a box, which I normally wouldn't pay, except I knew that if all three were complete it would be worth it. It was clear they were all from the same person, and I was worried that if I bought one and not the others that pieces from that set would be in the other box (and I turned out to be right as pieces for all three sets were between all the boxes). It turned out that this set was nearly complete - thankfully since the most valuable - but that the other two sets were only about 50% complete. It did include a few other small sets, but nothing amazing. I knew that I'd probably just break even on this, so it sat in my pile of things to list eventually for a couple months. I finally bite the bullet and listed them all. This one was the first to sell, and I recouped my investment so it wasn't a lose. The other sets will hopefully sell in time and I'll make a bit of profit, this sale was really about recovering from a risk that didn't pay off. That being said, not going to stop taking risks.

Lego Set

Bought: $6.77 Sold: $44.99 Fees: $4.95 Profit: $33.27

Chris' 5% Commission: $1.66

This is a complete Lego set that Chris picked up for me at VV. Lego usually sells well, and it didn't take long for this one to sell. 

Four Model Sets

Bought: $15.76 Sold: $79.50 Fees: $7.16 Profit: $56.58

Chris' 5% Commission: $2.83

These are four military model kits Chris picked up at VV. All the boxes were opened but they are all brand new and still sealed inside. These are all older models, probably bordering on vintage. I listed them all individually, and someone made me an offer on one, it was a low offer, so I countered. He replied that he also lived in Ottawa, would be willing to pick up and pay in cash (save me shipping an save some eBay fees) and that he would make an offer on a few others. He made me an offer of $62 for three of them, and I asking $90. While 2/3 of my asking, I was glad to make that profit and move them so quickly. He messaged me the next day making me an offer on the 4th, and so I sold all four for just under $80. A great return and they moved fast. He also told me to let him know if I come across any other models, complete or not, as he will likely either buy them himself or knows someone who would be interested. I tend to stay away from models that aren't sealed just because so hard to tell if complete or not, but he said that some buyers will buy incomplete sets for parts if cheap enough. It is something to keep in mind.

Heroclix Lot

Sold for $75.00

So, I didn't want to try and list each of these Heroclix figures on eBay for $1-2 each, so I put an ad on Kijiji for all 94 of them asking $75, figuring I would take any offer above $50. Within a few days I got a message offering to buy all of them for $75 if I would deliver them. It wasn't very far so I agreed. Chris bought the whole lot at VV for $75, and I'd already pieced out two lots to sell on Ebay and one already sold. This sale prevented me from losing a ton of money on this, and I'll make a bit of money on this lot. Right now I'm sitting at about $30 profit after the one eBay sale. I'm going to avoid Heroclix in the future.

Oakley XL Mens Snow Pants

Bought: $22.59 Sold: $110.00 Fees: $10.86 Profit: $76.55

Whenever I'm in Toronto my friend Hayley always indulges me and takes me to VV. Last time I was there, she actually noticed these unworn Oakley snow pants. They were a bit expensive at $20, and took up most of my suitcase, but I took the risk and bought them and listed them at $125. I took a best offer of $110, and they are off to Colorado. A nice profit, and worth the hassle of bringing back from Toronto. 

Royal Canadian Legion L.A. Convention 1998

Bought: $2.36 Sold: $3.00 Fees: $0.27 Profit: $0.37

Chris picked up a whole bag of pins for me at VV for $3, mainly because he thought a Coca-Cola pin that was in there was worth money. It wasn't, but a number of the other pins looked like they might sell well. This was the cheapest of the pins I listed, but it paid for the whole bag of the pins so I'm not out any money if the rest don't sell. This one is actually going to someone in Ottawa, so delivery should be fast. I considered dropping it off, but too busy this time of year.

Tomy Zoids Iron Kong

Bought: $4.74 Sold: $449.99 Fees: $41.64 Profit: $403.61

Chris' 10% Commission: $40.36

Chris was at VV recently and found a number of military models, all of which had opened boxes but were still sealed inside. I looked them up and told him to buy them - I've tentatively sold 3 of them already - and then he sent me a picture of this one and said it was also there, clearly from the same buyer, open box but sealed inside and asked if I wanted this too. I looked it up on eBay and when I saw that reproductions of this model were going for $250 and no one had the original, let alone new in open box, I told him to jump on it. I did some research and it turns out that "Zoids" was a franchise of what started as models released by Tomy in the 1980s and eventually spun off into an anime series. This is the "Iron Kong" figure and was from the first line of Tomy models released in 1983. So, this is one of the first Zoid models in essentially new condition. I figured I would put a high asking price, almost double what any on eBay were going for, and would consider offers. I woke up today to someone having purchased it outright. This is a great sale, and Chris earned his first 10% commission (which he gets on anything for which I make a profit of $100 or more). 

Twilight 2000 American Combat Vehicle Handbook

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $10.00 Fees: $1.79 Profit: $8.21

This is a book to be used in the RPG boar game Twilight 2000. It came inside the box for the game which I picked up in the large lot off Kijiji. I sold the game a while ago, and listed this on its own. Not a huge profit, but a free $10 is never bad.

Mass Effect Game Guie

Bought: $3.94 Sold: $25.00 Fees: $2.33 Profit: $18.73

This is a game guide for the video game Mass Effect. I was shocked to learn that game guides for some older popular games so well. I always look them up when I see them at thrift stores, but so far this was the only one that was worth buying to resell. Not a bad profit for a book that is easy to store.

Bermuda Triangle Board Game

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $29.99 Fees: $3.85 Profit: $21.63

Chris' 5% Commission: $1.08

This is a vintage Milton Bradley board game that Chris picked up at VV. Vintage board games, especially interesting ones, are my favourite thing to sell. Easy to check if everything is there, limited supply (especially if complete), and there is usually a steady demand. 

HeroClix Infinity Gauntlet Set

Sale Price: $39.99 Fees: $4.59

Overall Lot: Bought: $78.87 Profit to date: -$43.47

Chris picked up three big bags of Heroclix figures at VV for $78. He called and asked me and I tried to do some quick research, but it was hard without knowing which figures they were, so I told him to take a risk and get them. After sorting through them, I wasn't sure I would break even. I had almost 80 figures, but most sell for abut $1 each and the idea of listing 80 different items for $1 profit each is mind numbing. I decided to list two sets, both of ones that were still in their packaging and both themed around the Marvel Infinity Gauntlet series. One lot had 6 figures, one had 5. I listed one for $40 and one for $30, in the hopes that if both sold I will have almost broken even, and I can sell the rest for cheap and just recover my money. I've accepted this was a bad buy, or at least a bad buy to flip into more money, and now I'm just trying to recoup as much as my investment as I can in the least amount of work. The larger of the two lots sold, so I've recouped just under half my investment. I think I'll post the rest of the pieces on Kijiji and Facebook buy/sell groups for $50 and see if I can just move them quickly that way.

Top Gear Board Game

Bought: $3.00 Sold: $19.99 Fees: $2.74 Profit: $14.25

I picked up this Top Gear board game at a book sale, and I was the only copy listed on eBay for almost a year. I couldn't believe it didn't sell faster. Top Gear is a very popular show and I had the only copy for sale. I'm glad it finally sold, but it's pretty surprising it took so long.

Fraidy Cats Board Game

Bought: $5.00 Sold: $39.99 Fees: $4.67 Profit: $30.32

Chris' 5% Commission: $1.52

This is a board game from the 1980' that involves a battery-powered dog who runs around the board bouncing off the walled-edge and you have to move your cat token around the fence and hope you aren't stopped on a piece of the fence that the dog hits or you go flying. A game that sells pretty well, and is hard to find in good condition. This version was complete but had some damage, but still sold.

Commissioned Sale: Sennheiser RS 116 Wireless Headphones

Sale Price: $60.99 Fees:$7.00 Profit: $53.00

My 50% cut of the Profit: $26.50

While moving Chris we found these sitting in a closet and he forgot he had them, so told me to sell them. They are basic wireless headphones from a decent company. He still had the box and they were essentially unused. Pretty good sale.

Top Secret RPG Board Game

Bought: $7.50 Sold: $39.99 Fees: $5.02 Profit: $27.47

Overall Lot: Bought: $120.00 Profit to date: $284.75

This was one of the board games I bought from the guy on Kijiji. This game was in pretty rough shape, but was complete. This game had a large number of expansions in, almost all of which have already sold. I've already made a great profit on this lot, and I still have a number of games from it still to sell. 

MechWarrior 2

Bought: $3.38 Sold: $49.99 Fees: $5.39 Profit: $41.22

When I go to Toronto, I often stay with my friends Hayley and Stephen, and when I do they often take me to VV. The problem with thrifting in Toronto is bringing back anything I buy, since limited to storage room, but on this one occasion I actually couldn't find anything to buy and was about to leave when glanced over at the CDS and in between all the music CDs was this computer game. I quickly looked it up on eBay and saw that it sells for $50 so grabbed it. Not a bad profit for a 10 minute stop, and it took up so little room in my suitcase too!

Commissioned Sale: Marvel Essential Classic X-men 1 & 2

Sale Price: $39.99 Fees:$7.23 Profit: $32.76

My 50% cut of the Profit: $16.38

Another sale for Chris of the books he gave me to sell when he moved. 

Guitar Hero & Band Hero Game Wireless Receiver

Bought: $1.57 Sold: $39.99 Fees: $4.59 Profit: $33.83

Chris' 5% Commission: $1.69

Chris loves finding these. He thinks they are the best things to sell. They are generally quite cheap and often sell well since people lose or break them. I don't mind selling them, but my concern is always that I can't test them so I have to hope the work. So far I've never had any issues, but you never know.

Commissioned Sale: Marvel Masterworks The X-Men Volumes 1 & 2

Sale Price: $59.99 Fees:$9.60 Profit: $50.39

My 50% cut of the Profit: $25.20

Another set of Marvel trade paperbacks that Chris dumped on me to sell when he moved. I had at least 10 people message me since these have been listed asking to buy one of the two. I refused to break up the lot, mainly because it would mean more work for me and I was sure they'd sell eventually, and they did! I realize now that this isn't the best picture as you can see me in the reflection... oh well, glad that didn't deter the buyer!

JRR Tolkein's Animated Return of the King

Bought: $1.12 Sold: $9.99 Fees: $2.32 Profit: $6.55

This is one of the last few remaining VHS tapes I have listed. I haven't bought VHS tapes in over a year and am unlikely to ever buy them again - there just isn't any money in them. A few months ago I actually considered taking down all my VHS listings and just donate the tapes, but Robin convinced me to keep them up, it doesn't cost anything and they don't take up a lot of space, so I listened to her, and I'm $6 richer because of it. This is an animated version of the Return of the King. I don't believe it was ever put on DVD, but even still it doesn't fetch a huge price. 

Ready Set Spaghetti Board Game

Bought: $3.15 Sold: $24.99 Fees: $3.28 Profit: $18.56

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.92

This is a board game that, if complete, can sell quite well. Unfortunately this copy was missing 3 of the ingredients, but I listed it low for this game and it sold. It can still be played without them, so it's not the end of the world. The annoying thing about this game is that the board doesn't fold, and so its quite a large box, which makes it awkward and expensive to ship. The buyer is from New York, one of the closest places in the states to ship to, and it cost her $26, so shipping more than doubled the cost of this item. It really makes me envious of the US shipping costs when I see shipping like this.

Playmobil 7474 Small Zoo Enclosure

Sale Price: $14.99 Fees: $2.24

Overall Lot: Bought: $130.00 Profit to date: $35.93

This is another one of the Playmobil lots that I got off the guy on Kijiji. This is just a small zoo enclosure, though the base is waterproof and meant to hold water. It's a small set, but each of these sets adds to the ROI of this purchase. I'm still waiting on the two big sets from this lot to sell, that is where I will see the biggest return, but I've broken even and made a profit so all these sales are good.

Swatch Watch BunnySutra STGK101

Bought: $28.24 Sold: $200.00 Fees: $18.89 Profit: $152.87

Ever since Chris told me that Swatch watches sell, I've been keeping an eye out for them and I've picked up a handful of them. This one was in the display case at a VV and as still in its original case. They wanted $25 for it, but a quick eBay search showed it was worth a lot more so I quickly grabbed it. It is called "BunnySutra" and the watch faces has diagrams of bunnies fucking on it. It is an amazing watch, and if I wore watches I would totally have kept it. That being said, a $200 sale is always nice too, so I'll take that. But I can always tell people that I sold someone a watch with bunnies fucking on it - that is almost worthy of making it on to my CV.

Spyro the Dragon & Riptor's Rage

Bought: $9.02 Sold: $59.99 Fees: $6.82 Profit: $44.15

Chris's 5% Comission: $2.21

Chris picked these two Playstation games up for me. I normally don't delve into video games, since the market is pretty saturated, but I have a list of a handful of games to always keep an eye out for and Spyro is one of them. This is the first Spyro game and its sequel. I remember playing these games, and they are a ton of fun. Pretty good profit. I can see why people like flipping video games, but I just don't see them often enough to make it viable as a sole flipping item. 

Golan Board Game

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $30.00 Fees: $4.32 Profit: $23.43

What I love selling the most - vintage board games. This one is called Golan: Syrian-Israeli Combat int he '73 war. This sat for some time, not surprising considering that war games are not the most popular and this is a war game focused on a rather specific event. That being said, vintage board games are often hard to come by, especially complete, so if you wait long enough the right buyer will come around. 

Play-Doh Transformers Press

Bought: $6.76 Sold: $12.99 Fees: $2.54 Profit: $3.69

This is the mould from the Play-Doh Transformers set. It is just the mould, and it has a crack in the handle. I listed it low, and it took forever to sell. I actually forgot I still had this. I picked it up in a large bag of Play-Doh stuff from VV, and so I recouped my investment with this, and when the other stuff sells it will be pure profit. 

New Old Stock Shagnelle Pre-cut Latch Hook Rug Yarn

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $18.00 Fees: $2.68 Profit: $10.81

I found a bag of these Shagnelle bags of pre-cut latch hook yarn. These bags had never been opened and appear to be from the 70's. I figured for $4, it was worth buying. It turns out that Shagnelle was a Canadian company and not a lot of people are looking to buy this company. I priced it at $30 hoping I'd get some offers. Got a really low ball offer tonight, but he said he couldn't do much more due to $20 shipping cost to the states, so I accepted it. Sold them, but not a huge profit.

Atmosfear Board Game

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $19.99 Fees: $3.00 Profit: $12.48

This is a board game in the "Nightmare" series and is the last one in the series. It is still a VHS based game. This copy wasn't complete, but I priced it low to sell. I wanted to see if this copy would sell. I actually have two complete copies of this game, along with 6 complete copies of Nightmare, which I really should get around to posting since apparently these don''t just sell at Halloween. 

KRE-O Transformers

Bought: $11.85 Sold: $25.00 Fees: $3.66 Profit: $9.49

I picked this up over a year ago and while the price was high, it had good sales on eBay and it was NIB. I'm not sure why mine never sold - not sure if priced too high or if the toy lost popularity - but I recently lowered the price to try and move it and it sold today. The woman who bought it messaged me saying how excited her son will be, it's what he wanted for Christmas and it is no longer being produced. Glad it finally sold and that some kid is going to enjoy it this Christmas. 

Lego Flashlight

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $20.00 Fees: $3.04 Profit: $12.45

This is a Lego Minifig flashlight. It is about 8" tall, and if you push the Lego button on his chest it turns on and the bottom of both feet have lights in them. I've had this for a while and I am surprised it took so long to sell. This would be ideal for any kid who likes Lego. I actually have a second one (didn't get them together) that I've had even longer, though it is just a regular Lego Minifig, not a fireman, but it hasn't sold yet. 

Yet another D&D Book

Sale Price: $14.99 Fees: $2.43

Overall Lot: Bought: $146.89 Profit to date: $110.86

Another D&D book from the VV lot. This one is off to Winnipeg. Slowly selling out of these books, but each one that sells is pure profit as I have long surpassed my initial investment. 

November Recap

I sold 42 items.

I spent $263.60 on those items.

I sold those items for $1,534.75

I paid $178.24 in fees to eBay.

I made a profit of $1,092.91

I sold 3 things on consignment and made $43.90

From my Flipping Experiment with Chris:

We sold 3 items

We sold these items for $255.17

We paid $38.80 in fees to eBay.

We made a profit of $216.37 - meaning $108.16 each

My total profit this month was $1,244.97

Another month were I made over 1K, but not by much. I had a lot of sales, more than one a day, but things were more lower dollar items. Part of the problem is that I haven't been able to go out and source much this month, been far too busy. It is nice to know that even when I can't be actively working on increase my supply that I am still selling and making money - it is truly a passive income at times. Chris has been sourcing a lot, which is a great help and he enjoys his commission. We also managed to find the time to sort, photograph and package all the comics from the storage locker lot and I have posted almost all the lots now. That was a huge chore done, and hopefully we will start to see the benefits of that soon. Now all we have left from that lot is the posters, and hopefully we can get those done in the near future.