Are you shocked it's not clothes? I recently acquired this set of 3 Vintage Gurley Thanksgiving Candles from an estate I purchased. I knew they were old and in perfect condition. When I searched ebay I discovered someone had previously sold the pilgrim girl for $33.00. Needless to say, I was super excited to list them, but a little disappointed when the whole set only sold for the opening bid of $9.99- Maybe I should stick to clothes!
This Women's Ann Taylor Size 2 Zebra Print Cotton Dress was just 1.00 and sold for $13.50
I've recently been finding Coldwater Creek travel pieces for $1.00 at the thrift store. The secret to getting multiple bids on these is to add "same material as chico's travelers" in the description- because they are indeed 95% acetate and 5% spandex and are great for travel. That way anyone searching chico's travelers will also see your listing. This Coldwater Creek Size L Floral Travel Skirt sold for $14.00
So here's the risky item of the week. I purchased this Diane Von Furstenberg Size M Silk Wrap Dress for $30.00 at a second hand shop. Diane Von is the designer who created the wrap dress back in the 60's and her items do very well on ebay. This risk paid off when the dress sold for $82.23. Over $50.00 profit and I only had to list 1 item. I've got some other risky items listed, (my 40.00 investment item hasn't sold yet!) hope I can share a happily ever after story again with you next week. Let's see how I did for the week.Ebay Total:$269.71
Costs: 50.00(clothes), 49.31(ebay fees), 48.66(paypal fees)
Total Profit: $121.74
Small week- but I learned so much. Sometimes it pays to take risks and sometimes it doesn't. I think I will definitely be sticking to selling only clothing ... unless I happen to see something super special. Wish me luck. Love, Kelly
Don't do that, the Gurley candle was probably a bigger version. You are going to learn so much being at Qcumberz. You do estate sales. One day you're going to turn around and you are going to know this stuff, without even thinking about it. I hope you don't mind me telling you, but I noticed two of your auctions are up as Anthropologie, Eight Sixty sells at Nordstroms/Dillards. The other, I'd be very careful, the Nick and Mo. They have ranges in their line. Buffalo Exchange sells it at 20.00 dollars and I'm pretty sure thats from that same line (this is their New Merchandise not the resale clothing). I hope you don't think I'm putting my nose where I shouldn't, I just would have felt bad if you had an issue and I could have told you about it. Ok I'll shut up now.
ReplyDeleteA great tip I read to know if you think you have an Anthro item is to check the RN number which is on the tag/label. If it is Anthro then it should have RN66170. Otherwise, it might be a label they once carried, but the particular item you have wasn't one they did. Did that entirely confuse you? Hope not! :D
ReplyDeletehttp://reviews.ebay.com/The-1-Solution-to-know-what-apos-s-authentic-Anthropologie_W0QQugidZ10000000015360675
love your blog so much!! you guys are resell geniuses and have inspired so many of us. i have a question- some of the clothes i buy from goodwill have letters written in sharpie on the tags. do i need to disclose that when i sell an item? i'm not sure if goodwill is doing that or if it's the original owner's initials.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing as Dhamma re: the Gurley Candles. I specialize in vintage/unique/collectible/jewelry/etc. and dabble in clothing.
ReplyDeleteeBay can be across the board...the exact item can sell from high/low/in between from one week to the next depending on supply/demand and who's shopping at any given time. Season plays a big part as well and these might have sold for more at auction in the fall. My strategy for selling off-season or if I know an item is worth a certain price is to put it in as a fixed price until sold. Hope that helps. I enjoy reading your blog!
Moriah - thanks for that tip about Anthropologie - I will keep it in mind! And Kelly, thank you so much for mentioning Antropologie a while back - I actually just wrote a post a few days about it. Check it out at athriftyfind.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteLove it! And guess what?!! We now have 99 cent mondays here in vegas!! (another post on the excitement of that)
Candace,
ReplyDeleteWhat goodwill dubs as "Better Quality" items they mark with intials and the color of the week: Pi is for pink, Y is for yellow, G is for green, etc. So you'll find these codes written on the tag or in the collar. I do not disclose this in my listing. I've never had anyone complain about it. I know many consignments shops use the same "label the clothes" system, so I think many people who buy used clothing expect it. Hope that helps.
Great job!
ReplyDeletethank you so much for the feedback- definitely helps!
ReplyDelete