Zathura Board Game

Bought: $4.50 Sold: $19.99 Fees: $2.83 Profit: $12.66

This is a board game based on the board game from the movie of the same name. It appears to be somewhat collectible - likely because it wasn't a great seller when it came out. This copy, unfortunately, wasn't complete - although only missing minor pieces - and the box wasn't in great shape. This would sold for a bit more had it been complete or in better condition. I am going to try and move away from buying games for $5 to sell for $20, there just isn't that much meat left on the bone by then. Especially considering that board games are often big/awkward and shipping becomes expensive. This game was $20 to ship to Saskatchewan. I'm going to try and focus on more value for my money games.

Ready! Set! Spaghetti! Board Game

Bought: $3.38 Sold: $24.99 Fees: $2.66 Profit: $18.95

This is a board game from the 90's that I had never heard of, but Chris picked it up at VV and it seems to sell well. It is an interesting game, where each person has a string attached to their fork and needs to remove the obstacles to wind up their string. The game was complete, but not in great shape. 

Hacienda Board Game

Bought: $3.95 Sold: $30.00 Fees: $0.00 Profit: $26.05

This is a modern board game that I found at VV. Any modern board game I buy, as long as it is from a well known company and Rio Grande makes good games. I posted this on the Facebook Game Board group when I got this a few months ago and promptly forgot about it. This morning I got a message on FB asking if it was still for sale, and I replied it was. When I went to look for it, I couldn't find it to save my life. After 20 minutes of looking I finally found it - it was on the main floor of the house, where Robin has forbidden my flipping stuff to ever be. I guess I had hidden it from her when I got it, and never moved it. I hit it pretty well, because I had forgotten where it was. Finally found it, and sold it a few hours later. Not a fast sale, but no fees and good profit. 

Vintage Star Wars Die Cast Ships

Bought: $70.00 Sold: $90.00 Fees: $4.36 Profit: $15.63

I saw an ad on Kijiji for six vintage Star Wars die cast ships, and knowing Chris' friend collects Star Wars ships, I send the ad to him. He was interested in three of the six, and said it was a good price, but didn't want all six. He asked if I would buy them, sell him the three he wanted and flip the others. I knew I wouldn't make much profit on it, but I was willing to help him out, especially since he lives in Toronto and couldn't buy them himself. Of course the three he wanted were the more valuable/rare ones, but I gave him a deal for the three he wanted at $40.00. I then listed the other three as a lot on Ebay for $60. They sat for a while, but yesterday I got an offer of $50, which I accepted. The guy lives in town, and offered that he could save on shipping if he wanted to pick them up, but said it was easier to ship - fair enough. So, I made a bit of profit, but I did not go into this deal to make money, I was just trying to help out a friend, and am glad that I didn't lose money. 

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion

Bought: $3.94 Sold: $59.99 Fees: $5.05 Profit: $51.00

I normally avoid books, as it just isn't what I want to spend my time on. A lot of people flip books, and do quite well for themselves. That being said, it normally involves scanning the bar codes of hundreds of books and looking up their value online - not my idea of a fun time. That being said, I still look through the used books at VV for two reasons - to look for books that I might want for myself, as Robin and I have quite the collection in our library, and to see if anything obvious jumps out at me. With Chris being almost a Doctor in English, and my own interest in literature, I have a basic sense of what may be valuable. Ultimately I am often looking for first editions or something odd or unusual. When I saw this old looking version of J.R.R. Tolkien's lesser known novel I figured I'd check the edition. It turned out it was the first UK edition - and since Tolkien is British, this is the actual first edition. It was a quick buy, and thankfully eBay is a good place to sell first editions. One advantage of selling used or rare books on eBay over Amazon is that it allows you to post more pictures and provide a more thorough description of the book and collectors want to know that information. At the end of the day, I learned a bit more about this novel, and I made a nice profit. 

A VHS tape sold!

Bought: $0.50 Sold: $9.99 Fees: $1.08 Profit: $8.41

This is a snowboarding VHS tape that I got at the Brockville Salvation Army. It was the first, and only time, I made it to the Brockville SA before it closed down. This is a snowboarding VHS that was never released on DVD, so has some desirability. Not a huge profit, but it is hard to turn down something for 50 cents when you know it will sell. This VHS actually originally came with a CD included as well, but I just had the tape. A couple of people messaged me asking if I had the CD - I'm guessing that is harder to come by now. I haven't picked up any VHS tapes in a long time, I don't even really give them a look anymore. I'd gladly sell off the remaining ones - there just isn't enough money to be made on them.

Playmobil Castle

Bought: $9.84 Sold: $30.00 Fees: $4.24 Profit: $15.92

I picked up a Playmobil castle at BFM for just under $10. It was partly built, and had a bag filled with parts to it. I took a risk, because if the castle is complete it can fetch over $100. It wasn't quite complete, was about 85%. The main problem was that the base plate was quite large, and together it weighed over 8 pounds - so shipping to the states was ridiculous. I got a message from a buyer asking if I could take out the base plate - he wants to expand the castle he already has - and would that reduce shipping. So I repackaged it, and it cut the shipping in half. I was originally asking $50, but was just glad to see it go so took an offer of $30. I took a risk, and it could have paid off significantly, but it didn't. That being said, I didn't lose money, so it's a win all around.