Best of 2012

         I haven't been blogging as much as I should, which is going to be one of my New Year's Resolutions :) 2012 was a good eBay sales year even though I slacked off quite a bit. One of my most memorable sales was for a Men's Brunello Cucinelli Cashmere Sweater purchased at a Salvation Army for $3.00 and sold for $200.00 plus shipping. It's sales like these that keep me on the hunt for more.

 

        I have learned so much this year about what sells and where to look for inventory that I am sure that 2013 will be a more successful year, as long as I FOCUS..............The good news is that Griff Host of the eBay radio will be conducting a lecture in San Diego on February 21, 2013. That should help my motivation. Visit http://www.meetup.com/SurfsUpeBay/boards/view/viewthread?thread=29834472 for more information. I am so excited, I wil be posting highlights from this event. Stay tuned.

Garage Sale Saturday

So I went out to a community nearby a few weekends ago and I have been meaning to write about it but you know how that goes........ better late than never I guess.  I spent $30.00 total and estimated to make about about $130.00. Since I've procrastinated quite a bit I have actually made $70 back and I've only sold the iCoaster, North Face Boots and the Abercrombie tank. 

Slow Summer Daze..........

Sales have been so slow lately, summer is generally a slow point of the year but this one has been slower than usual. Some blame eBay's rewrite of Cassini but who really knows. A positive result is that my listings have increased, my accounting is more up to date than before (not caught up, but I'll take it), more blogging has been done (written, not posted), more tweets and more pins. Since I've started doing all this sales have picked up....finally. Social Media has exploded so quickly every time I turnaround there is a new site I just have to use and they are not replacement sites, they are all unique and wonderful in their own ways. Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, FB....what's next???


Here are a few of my recent sales: 

Paid: .50 cents at SA
Sold For: $15.00 in 2 days!

Paid: $1.25 at SA

Sold For: $20.00

Paid: $1.25 at SA

Sold For: $25.00 plus shipping

Calling all Christian Dior Purse Experts

                                              Christian Dior Victim Purse- Fake or not?

A few weeks ago I was at my local Salvation Army I found a great pair of Guess Jeans with a name (always a plus) and a rastafarian muu muu, but when I went to pay I noticed this laying on the floor: 

It was priced at $15.00. I purchased it on a whim, I knew if I didn't I would always wonder if I missed that "needle in the haystack" us thrifters are always searching for, after all it is only $15.00 for peace of mind....right??

However, now I have no idea how to "authenticate" it. The nearest Christian Dior is several hours away from me, besides that I am left with the wonderful online community of Christian Dior experts to assist. I have searched online for this purse to no avail. I have been able to locate the Christian Dior Victim Saddle purse, which recently sold on eBay for a whooping $799.00. It was new of course.

In the past I have always avoided designer purses from thrift store and yard sales for fear that it would be fake and eBay would ban me for life. But this purse is different. Many aspects of this purse look real. The tags says "Christian Dior Paris Made in Italy" and has numbers, but I have some concerns. The purse is in very, very rough shape i.e. missing pin, missing rhinestones, and dull hooks. Which leads me to question if it were real would the hooks be done and rhinestones fall off? No matter how often it was used and abused??

Any advise and/or expertise will be much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

                                       

Missed Opportunities

            I have been thinking about blogging since my last post, yet I haven't done it. My week in review is a month past due and situations that have occurred between now and then that were once worth blogging about are no more. Moreover, I have been staring at my "to list" pile and while I do list daily, it continues to grow. I just can't catch up. On the plus side I am almost up to 300 listings from the 250 I've been stuck at for a while. But I still have another 50+ to go. Now if I could just stop buying until all my listings are done I'd be in great shape.....right, like that will happen. Am I the only one who cannot pass up an opportunity to make money?? 
             I have had consistent sales. One of the favorites is a National Geographic snuff jar I bought at a yard sale for a dollar and sold for $20 plus shipping. 

I also sold a pair of Lucky Jeans for a dollar at a different yard sale and sold them for 

                                                     $30 plus shipping.

I also sold a Teddy Bear that I acquired  while in Reno at The Goodwill for 25 cents and sold for

$13.00 plus shipping. 

    I came across what I thought was a mirage at my local Salvation Army, a brand new pair of Calvin Klein Jeans, with Macy's tags. I listed them right away and almost instantly sold them for another $30.00 plus shipping to someone in Bosnia. I paid $2.00 for those. 

                                                     Thanks for reading!

I just came across the best comic for all you opportunists' out there! It just sum's it up so well, I had to share. Hope it makes you smile.

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to go thrifting in Reno, Nevada with my sister-in-law. And today I had my first sale from that trip. I sold one of the coffee mugs I purchased at Goodwill, chipped and all. I paid .59 cents and sold it for $20.00 plus shipping. Thanks for putting up with me Summer! I love starting the weekend with a great sale......and my local Salvation Army is having a 75% off EVERYTHING sale today.

Twitter

I have a Twitter account!! I know it has been on my to do list for over a year now, But I never realized how important it was until today when I was reading "Blogging for Income: The fast Track Plan for High Traffic & Big Profits" by Brandon Connell. Yes, while working my 9-5 job I was reading or scheming on how to escape such a daily torture..... help me out and follow me on twitter!! Thanks in advance.

                    https://twitter.com/#!/premier_finds

Week in Review 4/2/12 thru 4/8/12

Last week was good.. I can't complain. I sold 20 items while I was on vacation in Reno. Auctions ended on Sunday and I was back in town Monday, ready to ship! One of my favorite sales was for a Columbia Camouflage Kid's Jacket that was purchased at my local Salvation Army less than three weeks ago for $3.99 and sold for $29.99 plus shipping.

Another item that finally sold was a set of Fitz and Floyd Salt shakers that I purchased at a yard sale well over 2 months ago for $1.00 and sold for $16.00 plus shipping.

I was also very happy to sell this set of Littlest Pet Shop toys that I purchased well over 3 months ago at a yard sale for $1.50 for another $16.00 plus shipping... it has been a week of selling the old and not listing the new just yet unfortunately. I am still playing catch up at my 9-5 so listing new stuff is on the back burner for now.....

The weekend is just around the corner and I cannot wait to get to listing.....

New Endeveaors

I recently stumbled upon a book called, "Barcode Booty: How I found and sold $2 million of 'junk' on eBay and Amazon, And you can, too, using your phone" by Steve Weber. I downloaded the book on to my Kindle soley based on the name alone and sure enough the book was amazing. I would have never fathomed that this book would change my life forever. Clever name = good book, right??! Thanks to Mr. Weber I now cannot leave any store without scanning the clearance section. The good news is that I have already made money that I otherwise would have missed. It wasn't a huge profit but it makes it worth it when you do not have to go out of your way to find resale items. 

I found this item for 75% off in the clearance section making it $12.00. I listed it around midnight the day I purchased and when I woke up the next morning it sold for $50.00 with free shipping. It was a very quick flip.

I also found an Easy Bake Oven at a different location on clearance for $12.00 plus tax of course and that sold in 10 days for $70.00 plus shipping ($113.00 total). And I also located another item at my local Big Lots with a lot of potential. I purchased 3 items for $29 each that are out of stock on Amazon and eBay. However, I did find one style listed at Sears online for $170.00 plus tax and shipping. It's been listed for a little over a week now. Hopefully it sells soon.

I also found some cosmetic items that do not have a huge amount of resale arbitrage but they may drive more potential customers to my eBay store www.premierfinds.com

ROI's vary dramatically but don't overlook the fact that a lower profit doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't buy it. Do your research. Example: A popular item gets more views and more views equal a greater chance that those viewers will look at other items that are listed in your store that they otherwise would not have viewed.

I am having so much fun with my newly acquired knowledge and I hope you do too!

Thanks for reading. Please comment or ask questions.

eBay Search Site

I recently discovered a website that searches for items on eBay soley based on incorrect spelling. Therefore minimizing the items bids. Good for buyers and it should hopefully keep sellers on their toes......spell check is our friend!

www.typohound.com