A Lot for a Lot

On half-off day at Goodwill, I found these three beautiful Eileen Fisher shirts.

They were all the same size, style and material; most likely donated from the same savvy lady. I didn’t find them all at once. Where's the fun in that? I had to dig through racks of clothes, but it was worth the work. I paid $3.00 a shirt, $9.00 for all three and placed them on Ebay as a set. The listing went like this:

Lot of 3 Eileen Fisher Medium Linen Shirts

The listing received a lot of attention through out the week and 10 minutes before it expired, the shirts were selling for $35.00. I was really happy with the selling price, but something happened later that really surprised me. The next morning when I was getting ready to ship items, I brought this listing up again. I about fell off my seat when I saw the final selling price was $78.00.

What happened?

The last few minutes of the listing, a bidding war had ensued. At least two customers wanted these shirts so much (and why wouldn’t they? New these shirts sell for $150 to $200) they went back and forth, each time raising the price they were willing to pay.

This happened another time with a Seven for All Mankind Long Flare Denim Skirt. I purchased the skirt in Newport Beach, California while on vacation. I love shopping thrift stores when I’m out of town. It’s where I get all my souvenirs. So, I find this amazing skirt and actually paid $20.00 for it. I know what Seven for All Mankind sells for new and just had a feeling this funky looking skirt was something special. It was long, I'm talking to the floor, fully flared, boycut with patches, button fly with a fashionably destroyed hemline. I even wore this skirt a few times before I sold it, just to get my taste buds wet with high fashion.

Like the “Lot of 3 Eileen Fisher Medium Linen Shirts”, this skirt jumped up in price during the last 10 minutes of auction from $68.00 to $142.00. I was just as shocked. This is why I love Ebay. It has such a great selling platform for both buyer and seller. Just read through my disappointments of the week and you’ll see it works the opposite way as well.