March was a slow month for us. We slowed down a bit on listing and didn’t buy any liquidation lots this month though, so we have no one to blame but ourselves. While we’re still over the $10,000 a month mark (our lower limit), we have fallen back to around the point we were at last year at this time. While that’s not the worst, it’s definitely not where we want to be. Our goal was to grow our gross sales 25% this year, so we better get moving if we want to hit that number!
Last year at this time, “Marlboro Man” sherpa jackets were selling for around $300. This one, in dirty condition and a vastly inferior color (natural brown is best), took more than 6 months to sell and we had to put it on sale to avoid keeping it during the summer. Anything that is genuine sherpa will sell based on material alone, no matter the brand.
Genuine “Made in the USA” leather boots are almost always a good buy. Let’s face it, there’s probably a neglible quality difference (if any) between vintage leather goods and current ones. However, you could never convince a crotchety old man of that and we’d never try! Otherwise, they might stop buying them from us! There were similar boots on the market priced $30-40, but out pictures were way better and so was our idea to include “USA Made” in the title. We waited for about 6 months for them to sell.
Snowsuits are vastly undervalued by thrift stores (yay!) and we routinely get them for under $20. While that may seem like paying up, if I could buy $20 items that sold for $60-100 all day long, I would! This one actually had a lot going for it (color and brand), but took a while to sell because it was women’s. We have sold unbranded men’s snowsuits for over $300 based on their colors alone, so keep your eyes open!
While it’s unlikely that you’ll find this exact brand of boots (HAIX), do keep in mind that you should be picking up any footwear (or clothing, for that matter) that is job-specific or technical in any nature. Such items tend to be extremely expensive, leading people to look for alternatives. These boots are specifically designed for Paramedics and EMTs, and while I don’t know how they differ from normal boots, they retain their value extremely well. Also look for combat boots, roofing shoes, fishing boots, and other activity-specific shoes, boots being the favorite.
Hopefully you’ve read our Guide To Selling Cowboy Boots on eBay, but if not, here’s the summary: there is a ton of money to be made selling used cowboy boots on eBay. People are extremely brand loyal, and since boots tend to be extremely expensive, you can make good money by providing a “low” cost option.
Rock Revival jeans are free money if you find them on the rack at any thrift store. Even at $20 we buy them up, knowing that they sell fast and we can still double or triple our money on them. Women’s Rock Revival tend to sell in the $30-$40 range and take much longer to sell than the men’s versions.
We actually bought these shoes on an eBay for auction for $30, expecting them to be worth flipping…and we were right. They sold for $120 the week after we got them….and then got returned. After they got returned they couldn’t get any traction (haha), and ended up taking more than a year to sell. Once they finally did sell, we didn’t manage to do much more than pay fees and get our money back. If you see Skechers Shape-Ups definitely pick them up….just maybe not in a size 16.
I almost passed these boots completely by. They were rumpled up on the bottom shelf at Savers and looked absolutely unremarkable. Since I will buy and flip pretty much anything with the Tony Lama brand written on it, I picked them up hoping for a miracle. A quick polish and some newspaper stuffed in the toes, and they looked 100 times better!
With the recent influx of resellers, there has been a race to the bottom on the price of jeans. The main reason for this is that jeans can be very slow sellers. If you want to entice someone into buying your jeans just because they’re a good deal, you’re going to have to sell them very cheap. However, if you take a long-term view, you can price them high and wait for the person who wants that specific style of jeans in their size. I’m very picky about the jeans I wear and will only buy two different types, both specific styles of different brands. So if somebody wanted BKE Tyler straight leg jeans, I had the only one this size on eBay and was selling them for more than 50% off MSRP!
This is the type of clothing that really benefits from using a stock photo. Using stock photos is totally allowed on eBay as long as it’s not your only picture. We could not get a picture that showed the logos well without it looking like a rumpled mess.
The take-away from this sale is that pretty much anything with a logo plastered all over it will sell. Champion, Nike, Reebok, Adidas, whatever it is, doesn’t matter.
Nikes always sell well if there is something remarkable about them. Look for shoes that are unusual styles or colors or, like these, are from a line created for/with a specific player.