Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Bing Rewards
Ok, so this post isn't about yard sales or thrift stores, but I've been using Bing for a while as my search engine (even though I love Google) because Bing rewards me with $5 Amazon gift cards about once a month. It's kind of like Swagbucks, but not as annoying (I find that you have to jump through a lot of hoops to earn points through SB, so Bing has become my primary source for $5 Amazon gift cards for now). You only need 540 points to get a $5 Amazon gift card and you get some for signing up, plus you can earn about 15-20 per day so you can get a gift card each month without much effort other than a couple of clicks here and there and some regular searches (you get 1 point for every 2 serarches up to 10 per day unlike SB which is totally random and I've never gotten more than 10 without some serious effort). Sign up here to start saving those Amazon giftcards for the holiday shopping season!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Back in the Game
Hooray! I feel like I'm out of my eBay slump. A couple of weeks ago, I only had about 3 listings which were items that I'd relisted for probably the second or third time. Doesn't someone want to buy my LG washer/dryer stacking kit that I no longer need because we've unstacked ours? Oh well, I'll keep listing it until the right buyer comes along.
I didn't do any yard saling this past Saturday because when my alarm went off at 6AM, my husband convinced me to stay in our nice warm bed instead of brave the almost freezing temps with the tail end of a chest cold. So no new yard sale finds for me, but I did have some good finds from the previous week so I used this weekend to do some listing and have about 20 auctions going, which is just the right amount for me considering this is a part time gig.
I spent more than I've ever spent at yard sales, a whopping $35 but that's because I got a lot of NWT kids clothes. I'm most excited about the complete set of American Girl books (many first editions) that I got for $2. When I got home and separated them out by the characters, I realized that I was missing one Josefina book, but it was pretty much complete and a great buy at $2 for the lot. I've already got them up for auction in lots by character. Addy must be in high demand because I have the most watchers on that lot.
I love the surprise Buy It Now sales when my auction gets bought right away, like this Laura Ashley Girls holiday outfit that I got at a church yard sale for $2 (sold for $25 within a day of listing it).
It seems like even if it's not NWT, as long as it's the right brand and looks nice, it will sell well especially holiday outfits. Hoping to make it out to some yard sales this weekend!
I didn't do any yard saling this past Saturday because when my alarm went off at 6AM, my husband convinced me to stay in our nice warm bed instead of brave the almost freezing temps with the tail end of a chest cold. So no new yard sale finds for me, but I did have some good finds from the previous week so I used this weekend to do some listing and have about 20 auctions going, which is just the right amount for me considering this is a part time gig.
I spent more than I've ever spent at yard sales, a whopping $35 but that's because I got a lot of NWT kids clothes. I'm most excited about the complete set of American Girl books (many first editions) that I got for $2. When I got home and separated them out by the characters, I realized that I was missing one Josefina book, but it was pretty much complete and a great buy at $2 for the lot. I've already got them up for auction in lots by character. Addy must be in high demand because I have the most watchers on that lot.
I love the surprise Buy It Now sales when my auction gets bought right away, like this Laura Ashley Girls holiday outfit that I got at a church yard sale for $2 (sold for $25 within a day of listing it).
It seems like even if it's not NWT, as long as it's the right brand and looks nice, it will sell well especially holiday outfits. Hoping to make it out to some yard sales this weekend!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Making a profit before even making a sale
So, a few weeks ago I bought these Vera Bradley purses and wallet for $5. I listed them a couple of days ago and already the purse with the matching wallet has sold for $30 and one of the other purses has a bid on it of $10, so I've already made at least $35 from this purchase. Tonight, I was checking the pockets of the wallet and purse and I found some loose change and a Target gift card. Out of curiosity, I checked the balance on the Target gift card and sure enough it has $8.97 on it. So even if I hadn't sold these purses, I'd already made a $3.97 profit. Just goes to show that you should check old purses and wallets before getting rid of them and if you're in the yard saling business, you can't go wrong by checking the purses and wallets that are for sale for some extra hidden treasure. Happy yard saling!
Budget Halloween Costumes
Is it really Thursday already? Hooray! That means it's Friday tomorrow and then I have another glorious weekend ahead of me. This weekend is completely open unlike last weekend when I tried to cram a month's worth of Halloween festivities into a 48-hour period.
I must say I am particularly proud of our family Halloween costume ensemble this year. It's the first year that we've all dressed up as a family and I think we just may stick with it.
I got my daughter's Dorothy costume on Halloween clearance at Target last year for $5. I also managed to find a Toto-looking plush dog at Goodwill about a month or so ago for 99 cents. I reused her Easter basket as her Trick or Treat pail. I had bought this from a daily deal site that I had referral credit on, so it essentially didn't cost me anything. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to score a great deal on some ruby red slippers, so I had to cough up the $12.99 for them at Target the week before Halloween. I'm going to make sure she gets good use out of them though! So her costume cost about $20.
For my costume, I found some NWT Gap maternity overalls on CL for $5. I can't imagine anyone paying $60 for these originally and I'm not sure if I'll ever wear them again, but maybe I can resell them to another pregnant lady and recoup the cost. The shirt is a plaid maternity shirt from Goodwill for $4.99 and the hat is also a GW find for $1.99. I grabbed some hay while we were at the pumpkin patch so that I didn't have to pay for straw at the craft store. So my costume cost around $12.
My husband's tinman costume is the most budget-friendly costume of us all. I made his tin hat out of a paper plate and tin foil that we already had in the pantry. I also had some red felt on hand, so I cut out a heart and used a safety pin to attach it to his shirt. Since it was a warm Halloween, he ended up just wearing dark grey shorts and a grey t-shirt. Total cost for his tinman costume: $0!
Not sure what we'll do for Halloween next year as I decided that I wouldn't get a costume on clearance this time. I might go the handmade route next year - we'll see. I've got a year to figure it out and 4 people to outfit for next year. I would love to hear any other budget Halloween costume ideas! There's so many great ones out there!
I must say I am particularly proud of our family Halloween costume ensemble this year. It's the first year that we've all dressed up as a family and I think we just may stick with it.
 |
| Oz Family: Tinman, Scarecrow, and Dorothy |
I got my daughter's Dorothy costume on Halloween clearance at Target last year for $5. I also managed to find a Toto-looking plush dog at Goodwill about a month or so ago for 99 cents. I reused her Easter basket as her Trick or Treat pail. I had bought this from a daily deal site that I had referral credit on, so it essentially didn't cost me anything. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to score a great deal on some ruby red slippers, so I had to cough up the $12.99 for them at Target the week before Halloween. I'm going to make sure she gets good use out of them though! So her costume cost about $20.
For my costume, I found some NWT Gap maternity overalls on CL for $5. I can't imagine anyone paying $60 for these originally and I'm not sure if I'll ever wear them again, but maybe I can resell them to another pregnant lady and recoup the cost. The shirt is a plaid maternity shirt from Goodwill for $4.99 and the hat is also a GW find for $1.99. I grabbed some hay while we were at the pumpkin patch so that I didn't have to pay for straw at the craft store. So my costume cost around $12.
My husband's tinman costume is the most budget-friendly costume of us all. I made his tin hat out of a paper plate and tin foil that we already had in the pantry. I also had some red felt on hand, so I cut out a heart and used a safety pin to attach it to his shirt. Since it was a warm Halloween, he ended up just wearing dark grey shorts and a grey t-shirt. Total cost for his tinman costume: $0!
Not sure what we'll do for Halloween next year as I decided that I wouldn't get a costume on clearance this time. I might go the handmade route next year - we'll see. I've got a year to figure it out and 4 people to outfit for next year. I would love to hear any other budget Halloween costume ideas! There's so many great ones out there!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Recapping after Vacation
It's been a while since I posted about my yard sale finds. Mostly because for the past month or so I've either been in preparation mode for vacation, on vacation, or doing laundry after vacation. Ebay land has been slow for me, but I'm guessing that's because I've been slacking in eBay land. I did manage to go to a couple of yard sales the weekend before we left on vacation. One sale in particular advertised lots of girl clothes and maternity clothes, so I was particularly looking forward to this one as I was still in need of some maternity khaki shorts for vacation. It's amazing how a good sale can motivate you to get out of bed that early in the morning.
Thankfully, the Lord provides and I was able to find a small pair of khaki maternity shorts, a small pair of maternity khaki pants, a couple of maternity dresses (one NWT from Motherhood no less), 2 pairs of shoes for baby (StrideRite and Pediped), 2 Janie and Jack sweaters for baby (one NWT), a swimsuit for my 3 year old, and a Caribbean style dress for my 3 year old (perfect for vacation). All for just $10. This was an ideal sale because obviously the wife had priced and organized all of the things beforehand and then told her husband to go man the yard sale while she looked after the kids. He didn't even look at what I was buying or the prices, so I probably could have offered him less than $10, but I think it was still a good deal considering I got what I was looking for and more.
My next stop was a neighborhood yard sale in a neighborhood that's not allowed to have yard sales except for one or two times per year designated by their home owners association. I was short on time since I had to be home by 9 AM to relieve my husband so he could go have a guys' day out of paintballing, so I didn't stop at all the sales, but I did manage to pick up 3 Vera Bradley purses and a matching wallet for $5 from one sale (photos below). I think these will do well on eBay. Apparently my husband is not a fan of these purses since he made a comment that he hoped I was selling them and not keeping them for myself. Hopefully someone else will appreciate them enough to buy them. Just have to figure out what pattern they are and how to list them now.
I'm hoping to get back into the yard saling and eBay swing of things this weekend as life returns back to normal.
Thankfully, the Lord provides and I was able to find a small pair of khaki maternity shorts, a small pair of maternity khaki pants, a couple of maternity dresses (one NWT from Motherhood no less), 2 pairs of shoes for baby (StrideRite and Pediped), 2 Janie and Jack sweaters for baby (one NWT), a swimsuit for my 3 year old, and a Caribbean style dress for my 3 year old (perfect for vacation). All for just $10. This was an ideal sale because obviously the wife had priced and organized all of the things beforehand and then told her husband to go man the yard sale while she looked after the kids. He didn't even look at what I was buying or the prices, so I probably could have offered him less than $10, but I think it was still a good deal considering I got what I was looking for and more.
My next stop was a neighborhood yard sale in a neighborhood that's not allowed to have yard sales except for one or two times per year designated by their home owners association. I was short on time since I had to be home by 9 AM to relieve my husband so he could go have a guys' day out of paintballing, so I didn't stop at all the sales, but I did manage to pick up 3 Vera Bradley purses and a matching wallet for $5 from one sale (photos below). I think these will do well on eBay. Apparently my husband is not a fan of these purses since he made a comment that he hoped I was selling them and not keeping them for myself. Hopefully someone else will appreciate them enough to buy them. Just have to figure out what pattern they are and how to list them now.
I'm hoping to get back into the yard saling and eBay swing of things this weekend as life returns back to normal.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Goodwill has replaced yard saling for now
I've lost my momentum somewhat with this blog, hence the long break in posts, partly because I've been so busy at work and home, but also partly because my favorite blog Yard Sale Mommy is on hiatus. I must say that I miss her Monday morning link ups that offer a chance to show off my spoils and see everyone else's spoils from the weekend. I sure hope she comes back soon! In the meantime, I figured I should still keep up my momentum since I do have a few followers (thank you!) and it's fun to share this venture with the world since my husband just thinks I'm a little crazy when I bring home more "junk" (to him).
I must admit that I have taken the last couple of Saturdays off from yard saling. Both of these were because my family was up earlier than usual and I felt guilty for leaving them. Plus, the week before had been a fairly unsuccessful yard saling adventure which added up to a lot of driving for a whole lot of nothing. It was partyly my fault because I planned my route around a house that advertised vintage toys. When I got there, I came to find they had some neat things, but wanted eBay prices for them. I did end up getting 7 vintage Little Golden books and Wonder books, but totally paid more than I usually do for books ($2/book, ouch). I had seen closed auctions for these individual books at $5-$7 each so I'm still hopeful. I'm on the second go round at auction and if none of them sell this time, I will combine them as a lot.
Since I haven't been yard saling, I needed to get my fix another way so I've made several trips to Goodwill over the last few weeks. We had a birthday party in a different area of town and I stopped at a new-to-me Goodwill, but there were no toys to be found. I did pick up some I Can Read books and American Girl books and was pleasantly surprised to find that their books were priced cheaper than my local Goodwill. Unfortunately, it's not worth the gas money to reap the savings, so I'll have to continue to pay 99 cents for paperbacks and $1.99 for hardcovers at my local GW. It's not so bad since just yesterday I picked up a complete set of Diary of a Wimpy Kid hardcover books for $10. They should bring in $20-$25 hopefully. On this same trip, I got a Burberry plush collectible bear for 99 cents and a plush dog that looks like Toto for 99 cents (for my daughter since she's going to be Dorothy for Halloween this year). I've been picking up more plush recently since they're cheap at GW and seem to be in high demand for the most part.
For the most part, my daughter does pretty well when she comes with me to GW. She thinks it's the toy store because we usually park ourselves in the toy aisle, which is fine by me since I don't have to say no when she asks for something, although that usually means I come home with more than I should. Oh well, she likes it and I can always sell it when she tires of it. Which reminds me - during our last trip to GW, she asked me rather loudly "Are you going to sell this mommy?". All I could do was smile.
I must admit that I have taken the last couple of Saturdays off from yard saling. Both of these were because my family was up earlier than usual and I felt guilty for leaving them. Plus, the week before had been a fairly unsuccessful yard saling adventure which added up to a lot of driving for a whole lot of nothing. It was partyly my fault because I planned my route around a house that advertised vintage toys. When I got there, I came to find they had some neat things, but wanted eBay prices for them. I did end up getting 7 vintage Little Golden books and Wonder books, but totally paid more than I usually do for books ($2/book, ouch). I had seen closed auctions for these individual books at $5-$7 each so I'm still hopeful. I'm on the second go round at auction and if none of them sell this time, I will combine them as a lot.
Since I haven't been yard saling, I needed to get my fix another way so I've made several trips to Goodwill over the last few weeks. We had a birthday party in a different area of town and I stopped at a new-to-me Goodwill, but there were no toys to be found. I did pick up some I Can Read books and American Girl books and was pleasantly surprised to find that their books were priced cheaper than my local Goodwill. Unfortunately, it's not worth the gas money to reap the savings, so I'll have to continue to pay 99 cents for paperbacks and $1.99 for hardcovers at my local GW. It's not so bad since just yesterday I picked up a complete set of Diary of a Wimpy Kid hardcover books for $10. They should bring in $20-$25 hopefully. On this same trip, I got a Burberry plush collectible bear for 99 cents and a plush dog that looks like Toto for 99 cents (for my daughter since she's going to be Dorothy for Halloween this year). I've been picking up more plush recently since they're cheap at GW and seem to be in high demand for the most part.
For the most part, my daughter does pretty well when she comes with me to GW. She thinks it's the toy store because we usually park ourselves in the toy aisle, which is fine by me since I don't have to say no when she asks for something, although that usually means I come home with more than I should. Oh well, she likes it and I can always sell it when she tires of it. Which reminds me - during our last trip to GW, she asked me rather loudly "Are you going to sell this mommy?". All I could do was smile.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Yard Sale Finds: Vintage Books and More
After my Friday night Goodwill trip, I was stoked to get up on Saturday morning and hit the yard sales. I even woke up before my alarm and was up earlier than when I have to go to work.
I was out the door by 6:30 on my way to 7 AM sales - this week I headed south instead of north to try my luck in that direction. When I got to the first 7 AM sale, there was no sign of life. There were a few boxes and an old dresser in the driveway along with 2 parked cars so I wasn't sure if they were just getting a late start, but I wasn't going to hang around to find out because I would miss out on other 7 AM sales. I was a little bummed because they had advertised a Britax car seat cover and some brand name shoes like Doc Maartens that I thought would do well. From reading the Ebay Underground blog, I've been itching to try my hand at selling shoes.
At the next sale, I got all of this for $10:
At the last sale of the morning, I got all of this for $10:
I was out the door by 6:30 on my way to 7 AM sales - this week I headed south instead of north to try my luck in that direction. When I got to the first 7 AM sale, there was no sign of life. There were a few boxes and an old dresser in the driveway along with 2 parked cars so I wasn't sure if they were just getting a late start, but I wasn't going to hang around to find out because I would miss out on other 7 AM sales. I was a little bummed because they had advertised a Britax car seat cover and some brand name shoes like Doc Maartens that I thought would do well. From reading the Ebay Underground blog, I've been itching to try my hand at selling shoes.
At the next sale, I got all of this for $10:
I'm hoping to sell the bumbo on CL for at least $15 (paid $5). Inside the bumbo are a pair of Pedipeds (I got some shoes after all) that I think could get $10. The baby bunting goes for about $15, maybe more as it gets colder since I can't imagine planning for winter in this heat. The cowgirl outfit has a lot of NWT listings on eBay so I'm not sure about a used one, but I'll try $10-$15 for it. If nothing else, my daughter will wear it. There are also two Eric Carle rattles/car seat toys that could fetch $8-$10. Finally, I love the look of the Pottery Barn owls, but not the price. I'm wondering if I can sell this owl plush as a cheap alternative.
At the next yard sale, I got this lot of vintage Dr. Seuss and Beatrix Potter books for $5. I separated out the large Dr. Seuss books and the smaller ones into 2 lots and am hoping for $10-15 per lot. UPDATE: I sold the lot of smaller books for $20 already. I also saw a closed listing for one Beatrix Potter book for $25 so I'm hopeful that these will do well.
I'm amazed to find unopened toys at yard sales because I can't even get from the store to the car most times before opening a toy for my daughter. I got this Thomas the Train take along Christmas set for $1 with a free DVD. I might hold off until closer to Christmas, but even in August these are doing well used and I have a new one.
At the last sale of the morning, I got all of this for $10:
The Lincoln Logs are almost complete, but I think I'll combine them with the other Lincoln Logs I got at Goodwill and see if I can sell them as a big lot like this one. I also got a Batman tote which might do well at Halloween for the little boy who wants to be Batman and have a matching bucket for candy. I also got several books including a decent number of Early Readers (may wait to collect a few more so I can sell these as a big lot), a new Dr. Seuss book, a Little Critters book, a kids Bible, and a couple of Magic Schoolbus books. I'll keep the other books for my daughter for now unless I find more Magic Schoolbus books and can sell them as a lot.
Overall, it was a successful morning and along with my Goodwill finds, I feel like I have a good inventory of items to sell. In fact, my guest room looks like a crazy mess with all my stuff to sell on eBay and various unfinished projects. I'm hoping to make my way throgh it slowly but surely.
I'm linking up to My Life on a Taffy Pull's garage sale treasures for the first time.
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