Top eBay Hardgoods Sales: May 2019

May was an absolute roller coaster of eBay sales.  At different times of the month, we were up 15% from last year or down 10%.  We had two $1,000 days and 1 day with absolutely no sales whatsoever.  Like, not a single one.  This hasn’t happened to us in years!  A quick call to eBay confirmed that our account was in good standing and they didn’t know what the issue was!  Our $0 day was sandwiched by two $400 days, so we’ll just write it off as a fluke, I guess!

Overall, we did just under $10,000 for the month.  Steady, but not quite where we want to be.  In the next few months we’re hoping that our other side projects slow down a bit. so we can get back to buying pallets and hit our $30,000 month goal!  But that’s a post for another time…

Let’s talk about what sold!

When people want a nice tennis racquet, they don’t head to a thrift store.  Because of this, all racquets at our local thrifts are cheap (and the same price, no matter what they are).  We never pay over $5 for one, and this one cost us $2 including the case.  Unless you’re actually into the sport they’re for, you probably won’t be able to recognize what’s good and not, so just look up anything that seems nice!  Be sure to note in your listing whether the grip is in good shape, and the grip size (usually found just above the grip).

Kirstie and I have found a sweet blender for ourselves, my parents, and dozens to sell at thrift stores!  We have paid up to $30 for blenders, and still flipped them for huge profits. This one represents Professional/Commercial kitchen gear and, if you ever see those words, be sure to look the item up!  Businesses buy them, people who want the best buy them, and maybe you’ll just want to keep them for yourself!

We were at a local church thrift store when this was brought out…with a price tag of $350.  My uncultured mind thought it was a meat grinder and I was looking forward to making jerky until I realized it was for vegetables and fruits….

We found one other item we wanted and asked if the person on duty would be willing to cut us a deal. They asked what we were thinking and I *almost offered $350 for the juicer if they would throw in the $50 steamer I had found for free.  At the last second I offered $250 for the juicer and asked what they could do for me on the steamer.  I ended up getting both for $275!  (The steamer has since sold for $150+shipping).

This item could have probably gone for $1200-1300, but we wanted to sell it fast and get our money back.  Also, it wasn’t perfect, and while someone would have paid more, I’d rather make 4x my money and have an ecstatic customer than try to squeeze for every last penny.

Discontinued speakers like this one are a very long tail item.  When I bought it, I knew I would have to wait for a speaker to go out in someone’s boat so they would come to me for the replacement.  It took almost a year, but it was an easy way to turn $5 into $60!

Look for marine and outdoor speakers, but don’t pick up opened ones unless you’re daring.  Also, be wary of speakers (or any car parts for that matter) still in the package. People often buy new parts and then send their old parts to the thrift store in the new parts box. Just make sure you know what you are buying!

This is one of those strange items that no one really knows why it sells on eBay.  We have sold probably a dozen boxes of vintage tampons on eBay, but they always surprise us.  This was a “less desirable” box and others have sold for up to $40.

People theorize that these are purchased for movie props, or because people want to use their preferred brand which is discontinued, but let’s face it, no one knows why these sell and doesn’t matter!  They just do!

This bag was actually from an eBay auction that we won, because we knew it was easy money in the bank.  Perhaps people were turned off by the $40 in shipping, but very few people bid and we ended up getting the bag for $27 + shipping.  Leather bags sell, Frye sells… so if you get them together, you always have a winner!

I received probably 10 messages about this book from a man who wanted to “take it off my hands” if I would just drop the price to $40…and offer free shipping to France.  Sorry, man.  I didn’t want to ship it, and because I own my own business, I didn’t have to!  Don’t let your buyers bully you into offering too good of deals or bending over backwards.  Demanding buyers are problem buyers, and there is always someone else with money!

We bought this mini painting after watching a YouTube video about how original, unnamed oil paintings are an upcoming trend.  We had to guess at what the paining was actually about (but no one could contradict us), and it sold in about a month.

We love selling musical instruments, but they are hard to find and harder for us to test.  Kirstie plays 7 instruments proficiently (serious), but I don’t remember much from my 7 years of piano lessons.  I know nothing about bagpipes, and so I spent more than an hour watching YouTube videos, putting this thing together, and making sure it was complete and functional.  We only paid $25 for these, so at $100 profit, we can afford to only list 3-4 items like this per day.  It’s not all about speed!

As with most medical-type devices, these wheelchair cushions are stupid-expensive when new.  We picked them up for $5 apiece and they each sold in less than a week.  Be sure not to list anything that needs a prescription (not allowed!), but keep an eye out for knee braces, sleep cushions, rehab devices, etc.

Luckily, this item was sitting in the bottom of a liquidation box we had, or I never would have found it or looked it up if I did.  It’s just a mechanical pencil.  For some reason, high-end mechanical pencils are very desirable, and this one sold quickly.  

We always look up unusual video & computer game equipment that we find, and get lucky pretty often.  People love nostalgic controllers and we routinely pick up joysticks, steering wheels, pedal systems, etc.  You really should test these, but we’re not gamers.  We typically plug them in and make sure they are recognized by the computer.  Then we press all the buttons are make sure none of them feel broken.  If the item passes these two tests, we put it up for sale and haven’t had any problems!

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