I’m very excited to introduce my Budget Buddy today. The lovely Wilma of No Place Like Home Collectibles is here to share a story about her incredible success selling an item on ebay. Folks like me that love garage sales would kill for the type of profit she made. Plus, I completely admire her ability to sell what she finds. I just want to keep everything! So without further ado, here’s Wilma:
Do any of you ever watch “The Best Thing I Ever Ate (And Where You Can Get It)” on the Food Network? Well, that program got me to thinking about the best thing I ever sold (and where I got it).
Colonial Model 700 “New World” Globe Radio (1933)
About 5 yrs. ago I went to an annual city-wide yard sale that I attend every year in September. I went with no expectations. One of my secrets (don’t tell anyone) is that I go in the early a.m. while it’s still dark. Now this city is nestled around a lake shore, and the streets make no sense at all to me. It’s extremely easy for me to get lost, and back then I had no GPS. I just followed the yard sale signs and hoped for the best.
Kimberling City, Mo. map compliments of Google Maps
Usually, I say a prayer before buying trips. I think it helps me be able to spot a good “Estate Sale” sign as well as keeps me safe in that early morning fog. On this particular morning, that was exactly the case. I squinted and saw an “Estate Sale” sign through thick fog which gave an address that meant nothing to me at the time. I drove block after block until I saw the house. Of course, it was still dark when I arrived, and the sale hadn’t started. Exactly when I drove up, the homeowner walked out with her dog on a leash so he could do his early morning “business”.
I rolled down my window and asked if I could look. She reluctantly agreed, and the rest is history. I bought a van load of wonderful antiques. Old crock bowls, antique pottery, an old radio and much more. I paid her what she asked, literally tossed everything in my van, and sped away to the next sale. I had no idea what I had just “tossed” into the back of my van!
When I researched the radio, which looked like a world globe, I found that it was a Colonial New World Globe radio made in 1933 which you can read about here. They were made in black, brown and white. White is the most rare, and that was what I had! I had paid $20.00 for it which is what the lady asked for.
I listed it on ebay with a reserve of $250.00. A reserve means that if no bid reached $250.00, then it would not be sold. To my utter amazement and joy it shot up to over $800.00 right away. But, it was a 7-day auction so it wasn’t completed yet.
When my auctions shoot up to high amounts, it always make me nervous. I’m afraid what I have isn’t what the bidder thinks it is, and the they might want their money back.
At that time I owed $1700.00 on my charge account. I prayed that the radio would sell high enough to pay off my credit card bill. When the auction ended, the radio sold for $1903.00!!!
Now for “keeping it real”. These radios are very fragile because of the way they were made. They have to be shipped very carefully. I agreed with the buyer in California that he pay $50.00 shipping and anything over that I would pay (bad idea). I took it to a UPS Store, and they ended up charging me $250.00 for shipping! Ouch! It was sent some special way, whatever, whatever… I complained about the price to the owner, but it didn’t do me any good.
So, the buyer paid me $1903.00 + $50.00 shipping which equalled $1953.00. If you subtracted the $250.00 I paid for shipping, it came out to $1703.00 Do you remember how much I owed on my charge account? $1700.00!
If you view my ebay “About me” page, you will see my radio proudly displayed.
Thank you for reading my story.♥
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Wow, is that not an amazing story or what? I can’t tell you how much I love to hear about incredible ebay profits like that! It’s something people dream about doing, and Wilma succeeded just by hitting up a few garage sales and doing a little research. We so encourage you to do the same. You never know what you can find at estate sales. They are treasure chests ready for the picking!
To be BFF’s with Wilma, you can find her on her blog, facebook, twitter, her e-bay store, and her etsy store.
And, if you would like to be a Budget Buddy, just send me an e-mail with your idea to Cat [at] BudgetBlonde [dot] com. Have a great weekend everyone!
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Wow, is that not an amazing story or what? I can’t tell you how much I love to hear about incredible ebay profits like that! It’s something people dream about doing, and Wilma succeeded just by hitting up a few garage sales and doing a little research. We so encourage you to do the same. You never know what you can find at estate sales. They are treasure chests ready for the picking!
To be BFF’s with Wilma, you can find her on her blog, facebook, twitter, her e-bay store, and her etsy store.
And, if you would like to be a Budget Buddy, just send me an e-mail with your idea to Cat [at] BudgetBlonde [dot] com. Have a great weekend everyone!
wow amazing! That is a great story. I liked how you set your intention to find the good deals and it lead you right to something that helped you manifest your goal.
Thanks so much for sharing this post! A truly inspiring story! I would love to go yard saleing with Wilma! I could learn a lot from her. I sell on ebay too, mostly vintage and contemporary clothing and a few collectables..I have a hard time letting go of my collectables even though I buy them to sell…lol:) I also love the fact that God knew just what you needed!
Amazing story! Wilma is quite the treasure hunter! I’m a new follower coming from Wilma’s blog 🙂
Holy cow, what an awesome story!! I’ve never had luck like this at an estate sale 🙂
I am new follower to your blog… what a great story!!! Def a stroke of luck for her 🙂
Look forward to reading more of your blog… hope you have a great week!
Awesome story! I never would have thought to look twice at that. Really makes me question my yard sale eye. 🙂