Replogle Moon Globe

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $55.00 Fees: $6.00 Profit: $44.49

This is an awesome globe of the moon from the 1960's. It is made entirely of metal and includes crates as well as the landing spot of all rockets that had been sent there. It was made sometime before 1969 because there is no spot for the Apollo 11 landing, but there is a zone for "proposed Apollo landing area." These moon globes can sell really well, and can sell for a lot more but mine had a lot of wear and rust, and a pretty big dent, so I sold it for lower. It sold pretty fast. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for these again for sure.

Play-Doh Three Little Pigs

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $34.99 Fees: $4.11 Profit: $26.37

This was a small Play-Doh playset that I got at value village in a hanging baggie, and it was actually brand new in box! I've sold one of these before and both times they sold quickly. Anytime you can find an unused play-doh set for cheap, it is usually worth grabbing. 

Heye Puzzle

Bought: $5.64 Sold: $30.00 Fees: $3.88 Profit: $20.48

This is a Heye 1,500 piece puzzle. This is, apparently, one of the best selling puzzle brands. They are easy to spot, they come in a triangular box. I counted the pieces and I counted 1,500 so hopefully I didn't miscount. I know I said I wouldn't sell puzzles again, but this brand seems to sell well enough to make it worthwhile. I got this one to try it out, listed it for $45 and took a best offer of $30 mainly because due to the awkward shape of the box shipping to the states was $30. I'd probably buy this brand again if the puzzle sold for more (closer to $100). That being said, any sale in less than 24 hours of being posted is nice.

Commissioned Sale: Six Disney pins

Sale Price: $74.50 Fees:$12.36 Profit: $62.14

My 30% cut of the Profit: 18.64

Someone bought six of the Disney/McDonald pins and so it was a nice sale. Five of these six pins I'm pretty sure are not officially licensed (the first one is the only one that I can confirm is legitimate). The others all look and feel different from the other pins and I can't find them on any of the pin sites. That being said, they are all very cool looking and even if unlicensed are still pins. Hopefully this buyer has no issue with them, and hopefully returns to buy more!

Cross Country Ski Clips

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $50.00 Fees: $5.46 Profit: $42.29

Chris' 5% Commission: $2.11

These are a pair of cross country ski clips. They are only the heel pieces, it was missing the toe pieces and all the screws but they were unused. Chris found them in a bag for $2 at VV and figured they were a good buy - he was right. They sold in less than a day of them being listed. 

Vintage 1991 Crash Test Dummies Tour Shirt

Bought: $3.96 Sold: $49.99 Fees: $5.46 Profit: $40.57

This is a vintage Crash Test Dummies shirt from their 1991 tour. Vintage tour shirts can sell well, and while I wasn't sure if a Canadian band would sell, I listed it for $50 and waited. It actually sold to someone in DC, which was a bit surprising. The best part of this shirt was to look at what places the band stopped at, especially comparing the Canadian stops (all Universities) and the American ones.

 

I also like that they just played, seemingly, at the Universities, but in Kingston instead of playing at Queen's, they played at Stages, which is a dingy night club. Also, the Canadian ones were all during the first week of September, so they were clearly playing as the band during frosh for all these universities. 

Commissioned Sale: Three Disney McDonalds 102 Dalmatians Pins

Sale Price: $9.99 Fees:$3.51 Profit: $6.48

My 30% cut of the Profit: $1.94

Another set of pins sold, these ones were given to McDonald's employees to wear to promote the Disney movie the 102 Dalmatians. 

TI-83 Plus Graphing Calculator

Bought: $6.77 Sold: $24.99 Fees: $2.22 Profit: $16.00

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.80

Chris got this TI-83+ Graphing Calculator for me at VV, but unfortunately it had a small area of dead pixels. It still worked though, and so I sold it cheap and noted the dead pixels. While not as much as these normally bring in, I still made a small profit. 

Commissioned Sale: Disney Countdown to the Millennium 33 of 101 Uncle Scrooge McDuck Pin

Sale Price: $8.99 Fees:$2.83 Profit: $6.16

My 30% cut of the Profit: $1.85

This is a Disney pin. This one is part of a series of 101 pins that were released counting down to the Millennium, each numbered and featuring a different Disney character or movie. This one is number 33 and features Uncle Scrooge and the date of his first appearance - 1947. 

Playmobil 4273 Roman Commander's Tent

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $24.99 Fees: $3.45 Profit: $21.54

An incomplete Playmobil set that was in the lot of sets I bought from VV. I already sold enough to make back my investment already, so this sale was pure profit. Thankfully despite being incomplete, this set still sold pretty well. 

Flipping Experiment #1: Comic and Anime statues, comics and posters - Month #9

January 24 - Replicant Magazine

Sold for: $19.99 Fees: $4.75

This is a magazine of garage models - it is just a catalog. A catalog from a decade ago. I have no idea why someone would want to buy this, but it sold so I'm not complaining. 

The Numbers:

Initial Cost: $2,000 

Number of items sold in January: 9

Number of items sold overall: 52

Gross Profit for January: $284.94

Fees to eBay: $52.90

Net Profit for January: $232.04

Net Overall Profit: $548.30

Chris and I have recouped our initial investment, and each made a profit of $274.15

January 1st - Burst Angel Jo Figure

Sold for: $74.99 Fees: $11.61

The first sale of 2017 and it happened literally at 12:01 on January 1st!

Another action figure from the storage locker, and always happy to see numbers over $50 for these things. I would love to be able to move a lot of these in 2017. Here's hoping!

January 2nd - Hulk Trade Paperback

Sold for: $9.99 Fees: $2.76

This is a trade paperback of the Hulk. Not a huge sale, but any money we can get out of this lot is good.

January 3rd - 9 Witchblade Comics

Sold for: $30.00 Fees: $5.79

Another lot of comics sold, this one featuring the character Witchblade. I'm so glad we lotted these up and didn't try to sell them individually. We may make a bit less money this way, but they move a lot faster, people save on shipping, and we get them out of storage to make room for more things!

January 15th - Two Ascension Comics

Sold for: $4.99 Fees: $1.61

January 16th - Hajime Sorayama World Cutey Honey

Sold for: $60.00 Fees: $9.96

This was one of the models we got, but I didn't list it until a few weeks ago. We had a handful of figures that were not statues, but rather build your own models. Also, they had no names or brands and instead just had a photograph. It turns out these are called Garage Models and someone builds the mold and makes them and they are usually sold in limited quantities and often for a high price (since limited and unique). I was able to determine this one thanks to some few English phrases on the otherwise Japanese instructions. Not bad for something I almost threw out

January 20th  - Ghost in the Shell Poster

Sold for: $59.99 Fees: $9.55

This is one of the 69 posters that we got in the lot. Chris and I sat on these for quite some time before listing them. We finally bite the bullet last weekend and spent a Saturday trying to photograph and package as many as we could. We got through 40 of them, though it was quite an ordeal that ended with broken glass, Chris cutting himself, and lots of frustration with trying to figure out how to best photograph posters that have been rolled up for over 20 years and do not want to lay flat. That being said, we got 40 done, and I slowly listed them this week and the first one sold! For a very nice price too. Most of the posters are listed between $40 and $75, so it should be a very nice bonus to this investment once they sell. A number of them already have interest. I'm hoping we can spend another night and get the remaining ones photographed and listed, and then we will have everything from this lot listed and available to be sold.

January 21st - WWE Lita Poster

Sold for: $15.00 Fees: $3.96

Another poster sold, this one of a WWE Diva Lita. I wasn't sure this one would sell, but it sold within 24 hours but took the buyer over a week to sell. Not a huge sale, but some more money from this lot.

January 24th - Star Trek Guide

Sold for: $9.99 Fees: $2.91

Among the comics, and statues and posters were a few random books. This was one of them. I was going to throw it out, but figured I might as well list it and see if it eventually sells. We didn't make a whole ton on it ($3.50 each) but that's $3.50 more than if we didn't sell it. I really want to get the most I can out of this lot, and it continues to deliver. The fact that we recovered our initial $2,000 investment with less than 50 sales is great, and now all sales are just more money in our pocket. With over half of the posters listed, we only need one more day of taking photos and packaging the other half and finally everything will be listed.

Commissioned Sale: McDonald's Sydney Olympics Pin

Sale Price: $4.49 Fees:$2.25 Profit: $2.24

My 30% cut of the Profit: $0.67

Another pin sold, this one a McDonald's Olympic pin (of which there were a handful). Not a huge profit on this one, but even if all 300 pins sell for only $5 I stand to make $500 - and many are listed for more than that. The reason I agreed to do this selling by commission is not because of the profit of each individual pin, but of the sheer number of them.

Commissioned Sale: Old Century Stretch Run Board Game

Sale Price: $59.99 Fees:$10.38 Profit: $49.61

My 50% cut of the Profit: $24.81

This is a horse racing game that Chris picked up at VV and never played and asked me to sell for him.

Bone Complete Epic

Bought: $8.00 Sold: $29.99 Fees: $3.75 Profit: $18.24

This is a huge bound complete collection of the comic strip Bone. This is a huge book (weighing in at 5 lbs), so shipping on this was very expensive and it is not that collectible of a book. I would have kept it but I already have a copy. This was bought by someone with an Israeli ebay account, but it is only going to the Israel embassy in Ottawa, so it doesn't even have to leave the city.

Lot of vintage handheld electronic video games

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $25.00 Fees: $3.21 Profit: $21.79

This is the last items from the baggies of handheld games I bought at VV back in the fall. These are all no name electronic handheld devices. The rest all sold and made me a profit, so these were pure profit. Someone asked if I would ship to Chile, and since no money into these and since they weren't moving I agreed. They will be sent with no tracking and could take three months to arrive, so I am preparing myself for a refund claim in the future, but fingers crossed that doesn't happen.

Commissioned Sale: Mickey Body Parts Set 4 Pin

Sale Price: $19.99 Fees:$4.23 Profit: $15.76

My 30% cut of the Profit: $4.73

Another pin set sold. This one is a Disney Mickey body parts pin set. This one is a bit odd, not sure why only one foot and hand, but there you have it. 

Commissioned Sale: Disney McDonald's Employees 101 Dalmatians Promo Pins

Sale Price: $14.99 Fees:$3.59 Profit: $11.40

My 30% cut of the Profit: $3.42

One of the assistants at my office asked me if I would sell a number of Disney stuff that she had inherited from her parents, both of whom had worked at Walt Disney World and McDonald's. The vast majority of items are pins - over 400 of them - and these were the first to sell. Each pin won't sell for a lot on it's own, but the sheer number of pins will make for a decent profit in the end. I've listed them all individually for now to see how they do, but I may have to lot them up to get them to move (mainly since the cost of shipping for one pin is rather high, people will be more likely to buy if they are getting more pins for the same shipping cost). That being said, these are two McDonald's employee pins that they were given to wear to promote the movie 101 Dalmatians. 

K'nex Ultimate Big Air Ball Tower

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $54.99 Fees: $7.46 Profit: $47.53

When I sold all my K'Nex on Kijiji earlier this year this was the only one I didn't sell because it was already listed on eBay, and I made back the cost of buying this one in the sale of the rest so it didn't cost me anything to keep it. It sold, I made a good profit, and I get a giant box out of my basement. 

Lord of The Rings TREEBEARD ENT Action Figure 15"

Bought: $11.29 Sold: $65.00 Fees: $7.60 Profit: $46.11

Chris' 5% commission: $2.30

This is a Lord of the Rings Ent action figure that was still new in box (though the box was a bit dinged up). It is huge - 15" tall - and so shipping to the states was quite expensive but someone in Canada finally bought it. This was a good find by Chris. It must have just gone out to the shelf when he found it, because this would not have sat long. Glad I was the one making the profit off it.

Cariboo

Bought: $5.64 Sold: $34.99 Fees: $4.04 Profit: $25.31

Chris' 5% commission: $1.27

Another Carbioo sold. This game always sells well and never sits in my store for more than a few weeks. 

Play-Doh Pet Grooming Play Set

Bought: $6.76 Sold: $14.99 Fees: $2.24 Profit: $5.99

This is a vintage Play-Doh pet grooming play set. Honestly I'm not quite sure why I picked this up, considering it's rather expensive for a Play-doh set and it doesn't sell that well. All I can say that I picked this up very early on (you can tell by the photo - I was still using just my tabletop), so this was likely sitting in my store for over a year. It just goes to show that patience pays off.

Rotring 2000 Isograph

Bought: $11.29 Sold: $49.99 Fees: $5.39 Profit: $33.31

This is a vintage technical drawing pen set. It was still in the box and appeared unused, or if used barely so. It was a bit pricey, but it looked like it would sell for a decent profit, and it did. This was my first sale in over a week. This is the longest I've gone without a sale since I started selling on eBay and it has been very stressful. I am hoping the drought is over with this sale and I return to my usual one sale a day now!

4 Waddington's Jig-Map Jigsaw Puzzles

Bought: $8.99 Sold: $40.00 Fees: $4.75 Profit: $26.26

These are four puzzles released by Waddington as part of their "Jig-Map" series. Each puzzle is in the shape of a continent or country and depicted inside the puzzle is images from that location. I wasn't sure how well these would sell when I found them, but they were too cool to leave behind. I built them all while watching TV and they were all complete. I'm still not a huge fan of puzzles, but these were just too unique to leave behind. 

Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory

Bought: $6.77 Sold: $39.99 Fees: $4.73 Profit: $28.49

Yet another Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory that I've sold. This one was complete except for the blue wheel. The price has come down a lot on this set - not sure if demand has decreased or supply has increased - but it is still worth buying and flipping if you can find it cheap enough. 

Playmobil 4468

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $14.99 Fees: $2.97 Profit: $12.02

This was an incomplete Playmobil set that was inside a Playmobil box I bought at VV. I already sold the set that this was in, so this was just extra money. Selling parts of sets can work to wring a few more bucks out of a lot. 

D&D Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $14.99 Fees: $2.35 Profit: $12.64

Another of the D&D books. I made a profit on this lot a long time ago, so it's all profit now. I'm glad that these keep selling. This is actually the third D&D this buyer has bought from me, and he lives in Ottawa!

Curious George Book Bag

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $40.00 Fees: $4.58 Profit: $33.17

Chris' 5% Commission: $1.66

This is a pretty cool Curious George book page that Chris found at VV. I couldn't find any comps on eBay so put it up for $50, and took a best offer of $40. It was made for the movie, and not the books, so it's pretty new. It had a few flaws (like missing a zipper) so I'm happy with the ROI.

Beavis and Butt-Head Bobble Heads

Bought: $6.31 Sold: $39.99 Fees: $4.52 Profit: $29.16

I found these together but in two separate hanging baggies at VV, but thankfully I saw both. They are bobble heads made by Funko and they make sound effects when their heads bob. The batteries were dead, but sold without them, and cleaned them up a bit and they sold in less than 24 hours. Also, you can see my new photograph background (I got a light setup for Christmas) and I think it looks pretty good!

Playmobil 3269 Knight's Dragon Rock Castle

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $36.00 Fees: $5.24 Profit: $30.76

This was another Playmobil set from the lot I bought on Kijiji. It wasn't quite complete, and I was asking $50 but I took an offer of $36 mainly because it was a huge box taking up a lot of room, and I've already broken even on the lot and so it is all profit at this point, and it's the start of a new year so eager to make sales. 

Total profit from this entire lot so far: $66.69

Hap-P-Kid Toys Star Wars Starriors Space Ship

Bought: $3.38 Sold: $17.00 Fees: $2.45 Profit: $11.17

This is a toy spaceship that is quite possibly one of the ugliest ones I've ever seen. When I saw it in VV, I knew it I had to buy it because it was so odd. Doing some research and it turns out it is actually called the "Star Wars Starriors Space Ship." How they weren't sued by LucasFilms I don't know. That being said, it is clearly a knock off item and I wasn't sure it would ever sell, but I listed it and forgot about it. This was probably bought late 2015, but it finally sold! Not a huge profit, but it is just such a ridiculous item that it was worth the sale.

End of 2016

My first full calendar year of flipping has come to end.

As I sit here doing my numbers, I cringe at the thought of what I'm going to owe in tax...

2016 by the numbers:

I sold 400 items.

I spent $3,270.34

I sold these items for $17,158.75

I paid $1,761.48 in fees to eBay.

I made a profit of $13,913.85

I am pretty impressed that I sold exactly 400 items last year. That being said, it is time to look forward to 2017. My store finally has over 500 items in it (I actually finally broke that hurdle on December 31st). I am hoping that larger inventory means more sales. When I started 2016 I had just over 100 items in my store. I am hoping that in 2017 I can break $20,000 in profits. It's a large goal, but have to aim for something!

December Recap

I sold 33 items.

I spent $347.46 on those items.

I sold those items for $1,784.30

I paid $185.61 in fees to eBay.

I made a profit of $1,251.23

I sold 4 things on consignment and made $64.54

From my Flipping Experiment with Chris:

We sold 9 items

We sold these items for $320.44

We paid $56.39 in fees to eBay.

We made a profit of $264.05 - meaning $132.02 each

My total profit this month was $1,447.79

The end of the year, and I almost made my target of $1,500 a month. I had consistent sales, with over one a day on average. I had no sales for almost a week leading up to Christmas, so these sale figures are really for three weeks. Sales picked up a lot right after Christmas (people spending Christmas money and/or buying themselves the gifts they wanted but didn't get). If last year is any indication, I am hoping for a profitable January! Bring on 2017!