Commissioned Sale: Lot of 6 Copeland Spode India Tree

Sale Price: $79.99 Fees:$12.19 Profit: $67.80

My 30% cut of the Profit: $20.34

One of my mom's friends asked me to sell some china and crystal she had for her on eBay. She had quite a lot of it and it was mainly brands that seemed to sell, so I agreed. These have been sitting in my basement for close to a year before I finally got around to listing them, of course I got around to it just before I left for two months, so it falls on Robin to mail this now. I've always been hesitant to sell fragile things, and I'm quite nervous to see if these arrive safely. I did my best to pack them well and safely, so we will see. This lot of 6 cereal bowls sold to someone in Canada, so it doesn't have to cross the border so hopefully gets treated a bit better. We shall see.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $99.46

Commissioned Sale: Sorcerer's Apprentice Pin

Sale Price: $9.99 Fees:$2.96 Profit: $7.03

My 30% cut of the Profit: $2.11

Another pin, this one featuring three Mickeys as the Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia. Robin is going to make some good profit from all these pin sales.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $91.31

Gap Kids Yo-Yo

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $12.00 Fees: $2.28 Profit: $5.21

This is a Yo-Yo sold at Gap Kids that includes an electronic counter. I found it new in box at VV and figured someone out there would want it. It sat for along time with no interested and then I got a reall low offer today, much lower than I wanted, but I was in the mood to sell and I'm not sure I could realistically get anymore than this for it, so I accepted the offer. At least it's a sale!

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $89.20

Commissioned Sale: Lot of 95 Disney Pins

Sale Price: $750.00 Fees:$121.14 Profit: $628.86

My 30% cut of the Profit: $188.66

This is what I was hoping would happen - someone contacted me asking if the could buy some of the pins and combine shipping. When they said they wanted to buy 95 (almost all of the 101 countdown to the Millennium pins I had left), I offered them a discount and threw in free shipping (it was shipping inside Ontario), so they paid $750 for 95 pins! The fees were a lot due to the high price and I included the $30 shipping in that cost, but at the end of the day I made a very tidy 30%. Unfortunately since I'm in Moncton, I asked Chris to mail these for me. I didn't feel it was fair to ask Robin to do it, and Chris agreed to do it for $50. So at the end of the day I made $138 on this sale - not too shabby!

Flipping Experiment #1: Comic and Anime statues, comics and posters - Month #12

April 30th - Marvel X-Men Women Poster

Sold for: $55.00 Fees: $8.96

Another one of the vintage X-Men posters. This one featuring three of the X-Men women in bikinis by the pool, including Rogue with her confederate flag towel. I'm surprised this one took so long to sell, I thought for sure it would go faster. A nice sale to end the month on.

The Numbers:

Initial Cost: $2,000 

Number of items sold in April: 6

Number of items sold overall: 83

Gross Profit for April: $154.96

Fees to eBay: $29.17

Net Profit for April: $125.79

Net Overall Profit: $2363.28

Chris and I have recouped our initial investment, and each made a profit of $1204.66

April 10th - X-Men Poster

Sold for: $39.99 Fees: $7.01

This is a poster of a few of the X-Men drawn by Jim Lee in the 1990's. We had two copies of this poster, and both were pretty badly squished and as such had folds. I explained that in the listing and first buyer had no issue, so hopefully this buyer isn't bothered either. These posters have been selling a lot better than I expected, wish I had listed them sooner. This is also the first sale of my 12th month of selling stuff from this locker. It has almost been a year since I bought it all, and Chris and I have recovered our initial investment and then made back that amount again, and now are still making money, so it has paid off quite well.

April 18th - Witchblade Tomb Raider Comics

Sold for: $19.99 Fees: $4.07

A lot of three comics from the Witchblade Tomb Raider cross-over. None of these comics sales are huge sales, but they add up, and there are enough of them to make it worthwhile.

April 21st - 2 Wildcats Comics

Sold for: $4.99 Fees: $1.77

This is two copies of the same comic issue - WildC.A.T.S. #50. It has a wraparound foil cover, and is the eptiomy of the horror that was the 90's comic collecting fad. No idea why this guy had two of these, I guess he figured they would be worth big bucks one day. The value of this comic was about $5, but we knew with shipping costs we would never sell one for that price, so we hoped by offering the two for the value of one someone would pay the shipping, and they did! No idea why anyone wants two copies of a bad comic, but a sale is a sale.

April 23rd - Two Vampirella Ash Can Comics

Sold for: $30.00 Fees: $5.75

We had a lot of 7 Vampirella Ash Cans for sale, and someone asked if I would sell just two of them. I agreed, but charged him 50% of the whole lot, which he agreed with. I know that these two are the most valuable of the lot, but I'm sure the other lot will still sell (I lowered the price now) and $30 for two comics is not bad at all.

April 27th - The Tenth Comic

Sold for: $4.99 Fees: $1.61

This is just a single comic of a not-very popular comic that ran for 14 issues in 1997, but $5 for a comic is a good price considering you'd be lucky to get even $1 for most modern comics. Sold to someone in Manitoba, always nice to see stuff staying in Canada.

Star Wars RPG Book

Bought: $7.90 Sold: $30.70 Fees: $3.96 Profit: $18.84

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.94

Chris picked this up at VV, and it is the instruction guide for playing the Star Wars RPG. The book usually sells closer to $50, but this copy was pretty beat up and the pages had separated from the spine. It was a fast sale (only a few weeks) and a good profit - until I share it with Chris and Robin...

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $87.12

Commissioned Sale: Lot of 6 Asterix Comic Trades

Sale Price: $45.00 Fees:$7.95 Profit: $37.05

My 50% cut of the Profit: $18.53

These are six Asterix comic books. These can sell well depending on the edition, as some are rarer than others. I see theses occasionally but haven't ever picked them up. Chris picked these up at VV at some point with the intention to sell them himself but never got around to it and so asked me to sell them for him when he moved. Not a bad price for 6 books.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $79.96

Hard Rock Cafe Ottawa Pin

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $39.99 Fees: $4.37 Profit: $35.62

Chris picked up a bag of pins at VV last year because he saw a Coca-Cola pin in it that he thought might be worth selling (it wasn't), but a few of the other pins were. This is the third pin I've sold from the bag, and by far the most profitable from it. It is the old Hard Rock Cafe logo for the restaurant that was at the Ottawa Senators arena when it first opened. That restaurant has now closed and it is no longer called the Palladium, so this pin is rare for all those three reasons. Hard Rock Cafe also for some reason has a collector base, and so I listed it high and waited. I was in no rush to sell this as it doesn't take up a lot of room, and I wanted to get good money for it. $40 is a great price for a small pin that was essentially free after the first two pin sales. The only down side is that I told Robin any profit I made off of pins while I'm away in Moncton she gets since they take a bit more time to package up, as I forgot I had some pins of my own and thought she would only be getting my small commission on the Disney pins. So, I'm a man of my word, and so Robin is going to make $35 on this sale and I make nothing. 

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $72.55

Commissioned Sale: Beauty and the Beast Pin

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

My 30% cut of the Profit: $3.42

This pin had a lot of viewers recently, I'm assuming due to the popularity of the new movie. Not sure why a $15 had 6 viewers, at that price why not just buy it if you were interested? 

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $36.93

Avalon Hill Board Game

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $50.00 Fees: $0.00 Profit: $45.49

Chris' 5% Commission: $2.27

Always my favourite thing to sell - Avalon Hill board games. This one was unplayed, although the box had a lot of wear. I had it on eBay, but someone posted in the Facebook board game group asking for this, and I sent him a message but he said my price was too high. Then today someone else posted in the group looking for it and the first guy sent him my way and he was perfectly willing to pay my price. Selling locally when I'm in Moncton is a bit of a hassle, and I'm not going to ask Robin to meet a stranger. I told him he'd have to wait until I'm back, or if he wanted to go to Chris' place, which he said he would, so Chris is giving it to him tomorrow, but he paid me by e-transfer so already been paid. Can't complain about no fees, altough between Chris's and Robin's commissions, I'm not taking home a lot of profit myself. 

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $33.51

Vintage Miller Lite Beer Sign

Bought: $11.29 Sold: $55.00 Fees: $6.38 Profit: $37.33

Chris' 5% Commission: $1.87

Chris found this beer sign at VV and it suprinsgly worked. Vintage beer stuff sells well, espicially signs. This one was pretty beat up but I managed to clean it up well. It isn't for a very good beer, so doesn't have a huge fan base, and it is big and heavy so shipping to the states was probably too expensive for most people. Someone in Toronto bought it though, so shipping isn't too bad and made a nice profit. 

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $16.22

Commissioned Sale: Pinocchio Pin

Sale Price: $4.99 Fees:$2.75 Profit: $2.24

My 30% cut of the Profit: $0.67

This pin is part of the 101 Countdown to the Millennium series (Disney released 101 pins that celebrated their past). This one is pretty cute and Pinocchio's feet dangle, which is a nice touch. Not a huge profit, but it's a sale and one more pin gone. I've decided that since pins are such a pain to package and mail that while I'm away in Moncton that 100% of my profit from pins will go to Robin's Commission.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $2.04

Commissioned Sale: DisneyQuest Orlando with Mickey

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

My 30% cut of the Profit: $3.42

Another pin sold, and this one for a good price. Robin is going to mail it for me, so that will mean 40% ($1.37) is going to the open bar for our wedding.

Robin's 40% Commission while I'm in Moncton: $1.37

Crime Busters Detective Game

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $29.99 Fees: $4.04 Profit: $21.44

This was a pair of logic problem solving games. I found these together at a hanging baggie at VV, and there were none on eBay but I figured it was cheap enough to take the risk. A not bad ROI at all, especially for something I wasn't sure if it would sell. Robin is mailing this one for free along with Little Tikes since they are being mailed together on Monday.

Little Tikes Dollhouse Furniture

Bought: $6.78 Sold: $60.00 Fees: $6.65 Profit: $46.57

Chris' 5% Commission: $2.33

Chris picked up this large bag of Little Tikes dollhouse furniture for $6, and it sold in less than a month. A great ROI, and considering I already sold two of these pieces for $15, this was a great lot overall. 

I'm actually out of town for work and will be for over two months, so I've left the shipping of sold items to Robin. I have full confidence in here, but it is very hard to not personally do all parts of the sale. She has agreed to do it as long as 40% of every sale she mails goes towards the open bar at the wedding, which I've agreed to. She, however, did mention that the first day of mailing was free of that condition so this sale didn't help get any wedding guests drunk.

Commissioned Sale: Eight McDonald's Pinocchio pins

Sale Price: $30.00 Fees:$5.50 Profit: $24.50

My 30% cut of the Profit: $7.35

This is a collection of eight McDonald's employee pins featuring Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, released likely to promote the VHS release of the movie. The artwork is really bad on these, but it's a nice big set so $30 isn't bad. 

Commissioned Sale: SDCC 2014 Comic Con The Walking Dead Messenger Bag

Sale Price: $50.00 Fees:$7.98 Profit: $42.02

My 50% cut of the Profit: $21.01

This is a Walking Dead messenger bag that was sold exclusively at the San Diego Comicon in 2014. At the time I was living in Windsor and my local comic book store owner had gone to the con and bought some to sell locally, so I picked two up (one for me and one for Jess, Chris' wife, as she was quite into the walking dead at the time). When they moved it was another thing he asked me to sell for him. I forgot how much it cost originally, probably $40, so if it wasn't for my commission he would have made back his investment. 

Discwasher D3 Vinyl Record Cleaning Instruction Booklet

Bought: $3.38 Sold: $15.00 Fees: $1.35 Profit: $10.27

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.51

Chris picked up this record cleaning kit (essentially a brush) that came in the original box with the original instructions. They tend to sell for about $20-30, though mine was missing the liquid. I got a message asking if I would sell the instructions alone for $15 with free shipping. I agreed, and will simply mail it in a regular envelope with a stamp. Before I send it I will photocopy it and include the photocopy in the box and brush and hope that sells as well.

ATMOSFEAR III Anne de Chatraine

Bought: $5.64 Sold: $19.99 Fees: $2.85 Profit: $11.50

This is the third expansion to the French version of Nightmare. I usually buy these when I see them as they sell relatively quickly. Not a huge profit but a fast and easy sale.

Marx Princess Wildflower

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $100.00 Fees: $10.11 Profit: $89.89

This was one of the toys I picked up last year at a church rummage sale, and paid very little for the whole lot and made all my money back on it already so this is all profit. It is a vintage Marx indian action figure that includes the box and had all the accessories. I was shocked at how good condition this was in.

Dungeons and Dragons: Gnomes and Halflings Book

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $17.99 Fees: $2.86 Profit: $15.13

This is one of the D&D books from one of the two massive lots of them I picked up at VV last year. I have already made my money back on the lot, so this is pure profit. I am down to only having a handful of these books left. Maybe I'll find some more cheap this summer at a garage sale - one can only hope.

Marvel Heroclix Infinity Gauntlet Set 6 figures

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $22.00 Fees: $2.95 Profit: $19.05

Chris's 5% Commission: $0.95

This was the last remaining lot of Heroclix figures from the ones Chris picked up at VV. Overall I didn't make a huge profit on these, but I didn't lose money so that is always a plus, and I'm glad they all eventually sold.

Killzone 3 Helghast Limited Edition Helmet

Bought: $11.29 Sold: $35.00 Fees: $3.28 Profit: $20.43
Chris's 5% Commission: $1.02

This is a really cool video game limited edition gas mask helmet. This was part of a limited edition release of the video game Killzone 3, and this helmet opens up and the game was inside it. This was just the helmet, no game, but it still sold quickly and for a decent profit.

Commissioned Sale: Animal Kingdom Countdown to Extinction Pin

Sale Price: $9.99 Fees:$2.96 Profit: $7.03

My 30% cut of the Profit: $2.11

Sold another pin, this one is actually one of my favorites from the collection. This was a pin released to announce a new ride called Countdown to Extinction, that I think is now actually closed. 

Dyson Vacuum Cleaner Head

Bought: $22.59 Sold: $85.36 Fees: $9.00 Profit: $53.77

I found this Dyson attachment at VV, and it appears to have never been used. It was a big name brand so looked it up and saw that it sold well, so was willing to take the risk for the price. It sold pretty quickly, which is always nice. Not something I would have thought I'd buy to flip, but it pays to be open to new things. 

Commissioned Sale: Disney Pilgrim Mickey & Minnie Mouse Pins

Sale Price: $24.99 Fees:$4.86 Profit: $20.13

My 30% cut of the Profit: $6.04

These were a pair of Pilgrim Thanksgiving pins. I'm not sure why these sold the week of Easter, but I'm not complaining. They are off to Florida. Most of the pins I've sold are to people in Florida, I guess because that's were WDW is.

Goosebumps Storytelling Card Game

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $19.99 Fees: $2.77 Profit: $14.97

I found this in a hanging baggie at VV, and I couldn't find any online but I figured it was too cool to pass up. It's a Goosebumps storytelling card game! 

Donald Trump Tie

Bought: $6.78 Sold: $35.00 Fees: $4.12 Profit: $24.10

I read that Trump ties were selling quite well after the election, and so I decided to see if I could spot any at VV, and saw this one. It looked brand new, and had a relatively simple pattern. I put it up for $45, but gladly took an offer of $35. I guess I'll keep my eye out for more of these.

Playmobil Blackbeard's Pirate Ship

Bought: $7.90 Sold: $25.00 Fees: $4.07 Profit: $13.03

I picked up this Playmobil ship at VV probably close to two years ago. It was incomplete, and while complete sets go for a decent amount this one was missing far too many pieces to sell for a lot, and it is big. Big things cost a lot to ship, and so this sat for a very long time. The buyer is in the same province and shipping is still $20. I really need to keep in mind that large things cost a lot to ship and so the item has to be valuable enough or rare enough to justify the cost of the shipping. It is a lesson I've been very slow to learn.

Nightmare II Expansion

Bought: $5.64 Sold: $20.00 Fees: $0.00 Profit: $14.36

Chris's 5% Commission: 0.72

Chris picked this up for me at VV. It sells better around Halloween, but I listed it on eBay and it had 5 watchers, but then someone posted on a Facebook board game group asking if anyone had any of the Nightmare expansions and sold to him (and saved on fees). 

Panasonic Shockwave RQ-SW5V

Bought: $4.51 Sold: $18.00 Fees: $1.95 Profit: $11.54

This has been sitting in my store for quite some time now. I had it listed for $25, but since sales have been slow and I just wanted to move it I took a best offer of $18. I normally only pick up Sony Walkmans, but I make an exception for Panasonic Shockwaves. They don`t sell as well, but they sell well enough. 

Cariboo Island

Bought: $3.38 Sold: $29.99 Fees: $3.93 Profit: $22.68

Cariboo Island - the less fun younger brother of Cariboo. This game sells eventually, but never as fast or for as much as Cariboo. I still pick it up when I see it, but for some reason it sits for a long time. I actually have another copy that I still need to list. First thing I`ve sold not on commission this month, so at least there is that. 

Commissioned Sale: Raconte Moi Des Histoires

Sale Price: $249.99 Fees:$32.60 Profit: $217.39

My 50% cut of the Profit: $108.70

This is a set of 26 French short stories that are each accompanied by the story being read out-loud on a cassette tape. This was a bi-monthly subscription service you could sign up for in the 1980's, and this is the complete collection including two binders for the stories and a carrying case for the cassette tapes. Chris and Jess were given this as a gift to use with their new daughter, but seeing as they don't have a  cassette player and that they would rather the money to use for other things for their daughter they asked me to sell it. I put it up for a high price since this is probably almost impossible to find in complete condition, and I figured someone would remember this from their childhood and want to buy it for their child. I was shocked when it sold outright and they didn't even make an offer. A great price for the item, and a nice cut for me to start off the month. 

March 2017 Recap

I sold 28 items.

I spent $234.29 on those items.

I sold those items for $992.84

I paid $113.68 in fees to eBay.

I made a profit of $644.87

I sold 13 things on consignment and made $129.93

From my Flipping Experiment with Chris:

We sold 14 items

We sold these items for $1,017.95

We paid $159.86 in fees to eBay.

We made a profit of $858.09 - meaning $429.05 each

My total profit this month was $1,203.85

This month felt slow, and while my personal sales were quite low, we had a great month from the storage locker items. I still broke $1,000 overall, which is always nice.