Commissioned Sale: Cast Member Animal Kingdom Safari Pooh & Tigger Pin

Sale Price: $14.99 Fees:$3.63 Profit: $11.36

My 30% cut of the Profit: $3.41

This is a pretty cute pin. It is a cast member pin, so was only available to people who worked in Animal Kingdom and it features Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. 

Commissioned Sale: McDonald's Disney Hercules Pin

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

My 30% cut of the Profit: $3.42

This pin is of Disney's Hercules that was worn by McDonald's employees to promote the movie. This pin has had over 5 watchers since I posted it months ago. Why five different people would all watch an item that costs under $20 and not just buy it baffles me.

Commissioned Sale: Three Disney Pins

Sale Price: $15.00 Fees:$0.00 Profit: $15.00

My 30% cut of the Profit: $4.50

A buyer messaged me on eBay saying he was interested in a pin, but that he lived in Ottawa and asked if he could pick it up. I told him it wasn't a problem, and asked if he wanted any others. He said he had a $5/pin rule (sounds like a rule his wife imposed), but that he would look and he chose two others he wanted. I meet him at the Tim Hortons down the street. Seems like a lot of work to only buy 3 pins for $15. Hopefully he will be back for more. At least it was a local sale, so no fees.

The Tragically Hip Puzzle

Bought: $9.03 Sold: $70.00 Fees: $7.88 Profit: $53.09

Chris' 5% Commission: $2.65

Chris picked this Tragically Hip Puzzle up at VV, and it was new still in shrink wrap. I tried to find what it originally sold for, but I wasn't able to. I listed it for $100, and jumped on the offer of $70. Not bad profit for a puzzle. 

Flipping Experiment #1: Comic and Anime statues, comics and posters - Month #13

May 265th - Superman / Fantastic Four Poster

Sold for: $19.00 Fees: $4.11

This is a poster featuring Superman and the Fantastic Four. This is a bit odd since Superman is published by DC and the FF is published by Marvel. It came from a crossover mini-series. Not really that desirable of a poster since so specific. This was our only poster that had an element of DC in it, I guess the original collector was not a fan.

May 26th - Lady Death Comic

Sold for: $25.00 Fees: $5.21

This is a limited edition Lady Death comic, that was limited to 1,000 copies. Lady Death is not an overly popular comic, but the limited nature helped. This comic had a really bad dent in the lower level corner, which normally would significantly reduce the value of a comic, but this one being so rare it didn't hurt that value that much. Anytime you can get $25 for a comic is a good day.

The Numbers:

Initial Cost: $2,000 

Number of items sold in May: 11

Number of items sold overall: 94

Gross Profit for May: $590.95

Fees to eBay: $93.48

Net Profit for May: $497.47

Net Overall Profit: $2860.75

Chris and I have recouped our initial investment, and each made a profit of $1430.37

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $267.20

May 2nd - Masamune Shirow The Poster Collection

Sold for: $179.99 Fees: $25.03

This was one of the posters we got, and it was actually a limited edition set of four posters from the anime Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow. There was none on eBay, but I knew that this was collectible so put a high price and was going to consider offers, but someone paid full price so I'm not complaining. This was a great sale

May 2nd - Marvel Hulk Poster

Sold for: $37.00 Fees: $6.66

This was one of the Marvel posters, and one of my favourite ones, featuring the Hulk and his friends. These continue to sell well, just wish I had more of them to sell.

May 8th - Three Lady Death Comics

Sold for: $15.00 Fees: $3.75

We sold these three Lady Death comics together. We had duplicates of each, and they are all from different series, but Lady Death was in all them all. $5 a comic is not a bad price. These comics will continue to sell for a while, and they will sell slowly, but it nice to keep getting money from this lot.

May 9th - Two Rising Stars Comics

Sold for: $4.99 Fees: $1.61

These two comics are the first two in a mini-series released in the 90's. Not particularly valuable, but they sold! It's money in the pocket.

May 12 - McFarlane Toys Akira on Motorcycle

Sold for: $99.99 Fees: $14.92

This was one of the nicer condition figures in the lot. I originally had the price higher, but lowered it about a month ago and it sold for full asking price. I'm glad that these figures are continuing to sell.

May 14th - DC Direct  ARTEMIS Figure

Sold for: $15.99 Fees: $4.24

This is one of the cheaper figures in the lot, and I was worried they wouldn't sell because of how cheap they are, and that there was a large amount of them on eBay, but after a year it sold. Not a huge profit, but better than throwing it away.

May 17th - Marvel Press She-Hulk Poster

Sold for: $79.00 Fees: $11.99

Another great vintage Marvel poster, this one featuring She-Hulk. I'm glad these are selling, just wish I had more of them since they are selling so well.

May 17th - Three Lots of Comics

Sold for: $65.00 Fees: $8.20

A guy purchased these three lots of comics along with another comic I had up, so I combined shipping and it was a good sale all around. This is a great price for 6 comics, over $10 each.

May 17th - Danger Girl #1 Treasury Sized Comic

Sold for: $49.99 Fees: $7.76

This is a treasury-sized copy of the first issue of Danger Girl #1. Treasury-sized comics are not common, but sometimes are printed as a collectible item. Essentially this book is just a reprinting of the first issue, but much larger. This measures 14" x 9" compared a normal comic of 10" x 6". Collectible to some people, but I've never understood the interest in them. They are a huge pain in the ass to store since they don't fit traditional boxes and it is hard to find bags that fit them. 

3 Vintage Vancouver Expo 86 Souvenir Tin Tray

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $29.99 Fees: $3.69 Profit: $24.05

I saw these in a hanging baggie at VV and despite not being able to find anything similar on eBay, I grabbed them. They have a great vintage look, and are from an expo 30 years ago. I just put what I thought was a fair price. They sat for over 6 months, but finally sold today for my full asking price, and they are off to New York!

Commissioned Sale: McDonald's Crew Pin

Sale Price: $4.99 Fees:$2.32 Profit: $2.67

My 30% cut of the Profit: $0.80

This is a McDonald's crew trainer pin. Nothing too fancy about this one, just a pin worn by employees at McDonald's. 

Commissioned Sale: Seven Disney Pins

Sale Price: $49.99 Fees:$8.11 Profit: $41.88

My 30% cut of the Profit: $12.56

I was contacted by a buyer asking if I could combine shipping on these pins, which I agreed to. They wanted to buy these seven, so I gave them a $5 discount off my original asking price. This is the type of sale I am hoping for with the pins - one person buying a multiple of them. Makes life easier for me, and makes me more money.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $295.97

Commissioned Sale: Tank Books

Sale Price: $13.00 Fees:$3.61 Profit: $9.39

My 50% cut of the Profit: $4.70

Another thing Chris asked me to sell for him when he moved. This is an interesting item. It is a series of 6 complete novels that have printed small enough to fit inside a cigarette carton. I bought this for Chris for his birthday one year, but when it arrived, the tin box it came in was badly dented and some of the books got damaged (the Tolstoy one you can see the damage). I wrote and complained and they sent a new one, but let him keep the first set. So Chris said I should sell it for him. A damaged set of books isn't worth much, so I'll gladly take the $13. Since there isn't much profit here, I'm giving my entire 50% to Robin for mailing this one.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $295.97

Mr. Diamond Board Game

Bought: $3.15 Sold: $20.00 Fees: $2.86 Profit: $13.99

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.70

This is a child's board game from the 90's. I was hoping to get more for it, but it's been sitting for a while and I got a reasonable offer so I took it. The problem with older children's games is that buyers are likely buying them for their kids to play with, and not for themselves, so they won't want to spend too much. That being said, it's still a profit.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $291.27

Canadian Armchair Football Board Game

Bought: $3.34 Sold: $40.00 Fees: $4.89 Profit: $31.77

I picked up this board game probably over a year ago, figuring that someone fan of the CFL would want it. There were no others on eBay so I priced it high at $50 and sat on it. Finally got an offer for $35, and I countered with $40 which they accepted. I'm sure it is a terrible board game, but probably not a whole lot of board games made centering around the CFL. 

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $285.95

Commissioned Sale: Disney World Railroad Pin

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

My 30% cut of the Profit: $6.04

My second $25 pin sale in just as many days! I'm glad these more expensive pins are selling, makes it all worth while, even if Robin does get all this money while I'm away. She more than deserves it.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $273.24

Marvel Classics Comics Series #11

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $9.00 Fees: $0.88 Profit: $8.12

This was one of the comics I got at the church sale last year, and I have a long time ago made my investment back on the stuff bought there, so this is pure gravy. A guy bought this comic along with 3 lots from the storage locker, so a great sale overall.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $258.75

Commissioned Sale: Disney Magical Moments Poster Series Mulan Pin

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

My 30% cut of the Profit: $6.04

This is one of the pins from my favorite series of the pins I have to sell - a movie poster series. This pin features the movie poster for Mulan. These higher dollar pins are always nice to sell, makes it all worthwhile to make over $5 a pin - too bad Robin gets it all while I'm away...

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $245.35

Vintage Snoopy Watch

Bought: $5.64 Sold: $20.00 Fees: $2.83 Profit: $11.53

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.58

This is a vintage Snoopy watch from 1958. It had no band, and had a lot of wear and tear to it, and the face was quite cloudy but it works (no battery required, just wind it up). A nice small sale.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $239.31

Blitzkrieg Board Game

Bought: $1.57 Sold: $24.99 Fees: $3.38 Profit: $20.04

Chris' 5% Commission: $1.00

This an Avalon Hill board game. While it doesn't sell for a lot of money, it was quite cheap, and I can't pass up AH games, The shipping on this game was more than the game itself (that's the problem with shipping to the states, and when an item weighs almost 2 kg), 

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $234.93

Commissioned Sale: Disney Adventureland Safari Hat Trading Pin

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

My 30% cut of the Profit: $7.35

A $30 pin is always a good sale! I wish all the pins were this valuable, but I'll take the ones I can get.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $227.32

Play-Doh Cookie Monster

Bought: $25.00 Sold: $124.99 Fees: $12.33 Profit: $87.66

This is always my favorite Play-Doh set to come across, especially when it is complete. I found an ad on Kijiji selling two Sesame Street toys, and the ad said "also thrown in is a cookie monster toy" with a bad photo, but I immediately recognize it as this. So I bought all three toys just for this one, and it sold at a great profit. I actually listed the other two toys together and I expect they will sell eventually, so I will make even more profit on this lot.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $217.62

Commissioned Sale: McDonald's Olympic Pin

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

My 30% cut of the Profit: $2.11

This was a McDonald's Olympic pin from the Atlanta Olympics. A nice little pin with a nice little commission that is going to Robin.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $182.56

Ready...Set...Read!

Bought: $3.34 Sold: $30.00 Fees: $3.84 Profit: $22.82

This is a talking educational toy from the 1980's. It reads along with a set of books that are placed in it. I figured eventually someone would want to buy it, I had the only one on sale on eBay. It was rather heavy (almost 2 kgs), so shipping made it hard to sell for a high amount. I was also unable to test it any further than turning it on and having it tell me to put a book in, since I had no books, so it appears to work but I'm not entirely sure. A woman messaged me saying hers broke and was looking to buy it, and I took a best offer. I'm hoping it works and that she is happy with it.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $180.45

Dragon M1A1-HA Abrams Model Kit

Bought: $3.94 Sold: $30.00 Fees: $2.70 Profit: $23.36

Chris' 5% Commission: $1.15

This is a model kit that Chris found at VV. A local guy asked if he could pick it up, so Chris is meeting with hi for the hand-off since I'm out of town. This was the last of model tank kits, and I did pretty well on them.

Commissioned Sale: The Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror Pin

Sale Price: $21.00 Fees:$4.36 Profit: $16.64

My 30% cut of the Profit: $4.99

This is one of the more expensive Disney pins I listed, featuring the Tower of Terror. Not a bad price for a single pin.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $154.31

Discwasher D3 Vinyl Record Cleaning

Bought: $0.00 Sold: $15.00 Fees: $2.61 Profit: $12.39

Chris' 5% Commission: $0.62

This is the record cleaning kit that Chris found at VV and that I already sold the instructions for separately (although I photocopied it first and included it with this one). So, not a huge sale, but nice to be able to sell it twice.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $149.32

Thomas the Tank Engine Track Pieces

Bought: $32.17 Sold: $49.99 Fees: $6.15 Profit: $11.67

I stopped by the VV in Moncton and while I didn't find much, I did find a big of box of TOMY Thomas the Tank Engine pieces for $29. I bought the box, and I split it into four lots - the train tacks (this one); the engines; the houses; and the road and bridge pieces. The first of the four lots sold and I made back my entire investment and made a small profit. I listed them all below what I normally would have mainly because I want them to sell while I'm in Moncton and I really don't want to bring them back to Ottawa. That being said, it feels good to be able to list and sell while I'm away from home. 

Vintage Clarinet Reeds

Bought: $2.25 Sold: $24.99 Fees: $2.52 Profit: $20.22

This is a partly used box of vintage clarinet reeds. The box originally had 25, but it still included 16 unused reeds. When I saw this at VV I figured it was a good buy since I knew that reeds can be expensive, and I figured someone may prefer these vintage ones. Not a huge profit, but $20 profit on $2 spent is never bad, and these were quite easy to photograph and list.

Robin's Commission while I'm in Moncton: $107.55

April 2017 Recap

I sold 20 items.

I spent $112.86 on those items.

I sold those items for $721.00

I paid $76.92 in fees to eBay.

I made a profit of $531.22

I sold 12 things on consignment and made $382.35

From my Flipping Experiment with Chris:

We sold 6 items

We sold these items for $154.96

We paid $29.17 in fees to eBay.

We made a profit of $125.79 - meaning $62.89 each

My total profit this month was $976.46

This was a relatively slow month, although I still almost broke $1,000 due largely to commissioned sales. I don't believe I listed more than 5 items in April, which hurt my sales. I was away for 9 days of April, and I ever thankful that Robin is mailing items for me so that I can continue to make money and not have to shut down my store.