eBay the Right Way

eBay Seller Chat with Deborah in Arizona: Renaissance Costumes, Pirate Shirts, Needlework, Sells Many Odds and Ends 👸🏻

• Suzanne A. Wells • Episode 192

Share episode

Suzanne's Virtual Assistant Service

Join my online school for eBay sellers here.

Use coupon code 2022FREETRIAL$ for a limited free trial.

Set up a consulting session or listing review Suzanne@SuzanneAWells.com

Email your comments, feedback, and constructive criticism to me at Suzanne@SuzanneAWells.com

Get your BOLO Books in my eBay Store here. 

Join my private Facebook group here.

Find me on YouTube here.

Visit my website here.

Happy Selling!

Support the show

Unknown:

Hey, eBay sellers, you have landed on Episode 192 of eBay the right way. Wow. We are getting close to 200 episodes. Today's date is November, 20, 2024 and my guest is Deborah in Arizona. No announcements this week, so we will jump right into the talk.

Suzanne Wells:

Hey listeners, welcome back. I have Deborah with us today. And where are you located?

Unknown:

Um, in southern Arizona.

Suzanne Wells:

Okay, where it's nice and balmy and warm.

Unknown:

Yeah, we're finally maybe having a little bit of change in weather, but it's been hot. Yes,

Suzanne Wells:

you're ready for that. Okay, okay, well, we usually start off with talking about what brought you to eBay, and when

Unknown:

I think I joined about 2009 but I didn't start selling till, I think it was 12 or 13. Okay, my husband had sold books on Amazon, and I had helped him. And I thought, well, I can do my own thing. So I sold books on Amazon for a while, but I kind of got out of that, especially when they started charging money to

Suzanne Wells:

Yeah, Amazon made it. They made it complicated. It was so easy at first, and then they started enforcing, or coming up with all these new rules and policies, and it just got to be a headache,

Unknown:

right? And it was hard to find your listing, so it just, it just kind of died.

Suzanne Wells:

What was the the catalyst that made you think, you know, I think I'm gonna get away from books and sell some stuff on eBay. Um, well,

Unknown:

I've always had an interest in antiques. My aunt had an antique room, and I was intrigued by that. I always liked to collect things. So my husband and I lived in Yuma, which is kind of a desolate place, but surprisingly, they had a lot of antiques. I don't know how, but we started collecting and when we moved and I had an antique store in Yuma for a time, a season, the season there is only in the cooler weather, everything shuts up tight during the summer, but so I sold antiques for a while there. So when I did get on eBay, I thought that I was going to sell glass, because that's what I had bought, like depression glass and that. And pretty quickly realized I really didn't want to sell that it's too hard to ship. And I don't know it just seemed to paint.

Suzanne Wells:

So it's not for everyone, and that's okay, right?

Unknown:

So I did, I can't remember who I listened to or watched, but I did kind of do a little thing on what, what was a good way to start. And I actually went to the 99 cent store and bought calendars and sold calendars on eBay. Those were my first sales,

Suzanne Wells:

really? Yes, calendars, um,

Unknown:

they were like, uh, cartoons, or, I know, I mean, I think there was some John Wayne ones. They they were very specific. So you could write what, you know, what they were, they just weren't a general calendar. So, I mean, not that I made very much money, but I think it was a good way to get into it, just to learn.

Suzanne Wells:

And absolutely those would be pretty easy to ship. Yeah,

Unknown:

they're ship. They don't break. They can bend, but you can but having sold books, and I was always very careful how I wrapped books, because my husband, he has a huge library, and when people did not send him books that were properly wrapped, he would get. So I always made a point to, you know, always wrap something the way that you would want to receive it, right? So

Suzanne Wells:

calendars would be time sensitive. Did you have a lot of them left over, or did you not?

Unknown:

I didn't buy it. I mean, it was at the 99 cent only store, so they were at that time actually, like $1 so I just buy. That. And if I, you know, sold some, then I bought a few more.

Suzanne Wells:

So it's a great idea, yeah, so

Unknown:

that was kind of how I got started.

Suzanne Wells:

And then what did you graduate to? Um,

Unknown:

I actually started selling clothes, okay, which I thought I would never, ever, ever sell. That was not something I ever wanted to sell. But I started selling clothes, and I discovered the padded envelopes, the flat rate, and that is my go to I love that's my favorite way to sell something. So sometimes, the decision whether I'm going to buy something is whether it will fit in there or not. Yeah, yeah, that's a common issue. So and that, you know, they're easy to store. It's not like a box. Boxes, you know, take room. Even if they're flat, they take room, right? Envelopes are lightweight, easy, and that's just my go to clothes. And the other thing I got into was I really like costumes. As a kid, I love to dress up, you know? And so I started finding costumes like at the thrift store or something, and like, they weren't, they were okay, but like, Gee, I could make this so much better. And so I used creativity, you know, to make them look better and to get some more, you know, money out of

Suzanne Wells:

them. Oh, so you bought them and kind of jazzed them up.

Unknown:

Yeah. Especially I like, I have a lot of, like, medieval dresses, you know, like, from there and stuff like, add, you know, sometimes, you know, they're not made necessarily that well. So a little bit of sewing. I'm not a seamstress, but I can hand sew. I can glue. I can, you know, be dazzled, right? Be dazzled. So I like doing that. And that takes, that does take time, so I don't always do that, but that I like that, because it's, there's some creativity with it, you know? Well,

Suzanne Wells:

yeah. And if people don't realize, if they're not in the cosplay world, how popular costumes are, like, people need them all year round. Oh, yes, I stop at Halloween. Yeah. I sell them year round. And, you know, the Renaissance festivals, they have those all the time. And you know, whether it's for that or if you're needing a costume and a play I've had, like the wardrobe masters buy stuff for me. You know, we've been looking for this for our wardrobe stash. And, yeah, you know, when I see stuff like that that's unusual, or, Oh, this could be a costume, like even doctor's coats, lab coats, pour blood all over them, or fake blood, or whatever they do, and anything like that. That could be costume. But I love that you you embellish them to make them better than the way you found them,

Unknown:

yeah, and add, like, some kind of a hair ornament or a necklace or something to give value to the costume. It's not something you could just necessarily just go to the store and buy,

Suzanne Wells:

right? That's a great idea. I love that. And

Unknown:

men's, men's costumes are actually harder to come by, so they're kind of a little more premium if you can find, like, a jacket, you know, like a pirate jacket or something like that. Those are good resellers. I have another 99 cent store only story. They, you know, they're very when they were open, they were very seasonal. And so they'd have, like, summer things. And they had always had Hawaiian stuff. So for a while they had, like, a full Hawaiian costume. I mean, they weren't, like, wonderful, but it was enough to, you know, have good old party or something. Well, they had a men's one, which is really unusual. So I actually have a little store of those costumes, which I bought for like they weren't $1 anymore, but, you know, maybe a couple of dollars. And I added a few lays and stuff, and I have sold those for at least a few, you know, every few months. So men need Hawaiian costumes too.

Suzanne Wells:

Hawaiian costumes, that's great. So back to the pirate. What drops into my head is Jerry Seinfeld. Oh, Pirate shirt. Have you sold any pirate shirts?

Unknown:

Oh yeah, I found I my dirty little secret is I have a really, I have a. A room full of stuff, so way more than I could ever list, oh, my death pile. Yes. Okay, so do I need to do? I need to come to your house and shop your death pile, if you like costumes and that kind of thing. Yes,

Suzanne Wells:

I would love, I'd love to do that for people, just like they have too much well, I'll come buy some stuff from your pile.

Unknown:

Yes, I have, I have, like, shirts and things, but it's, it's good, like my daughter and I, we went to a movie cosplay Festival, and actually we needed medieval costumes, so I was able to find several that I had in my store, not not listed, but in my store, and let her choose what she wanted to wear. Wonderful. I had one so I didn't have to buy anything. I already had it.

Suzanne Wells:

Now, can you recall us one of your highest dollar sales on a costume item.

Unknown:

Um, they're usually in the $50 range, nice, like that. But when you if you're able to buy them for a small amount, yeah, if you can find them off season, it's way better. I

Suzanne Wells:

was just gonna say we're recording this on November 1. Yes, in the thrift stores, they're going to be marking down those costumes because they need that floor space or rack space for sweaters and winter stuff, I guess. Yeah, that's just like the candy. It goes on sale on first. Get your candy and get your costumes. Yes,

Unknown:

exactly, you know they say that, you can just hold on to them, for someone will need them. Someone will need them.

Suzanne Wells:

Well, that's that's a great specialty costumes. Well, what other kind of things do you sell? Well,

Unknown:

I, since listening to you more recently, I've gotten into a Pottery Barn like the shams. That's a great thing. I I've I finally found a set. I'd been searching for a Pottery Barn like Dubai, and I never found one. And I finally found one with the shams. And that was killed me, because it was like a$99 sale. Oh, it's the typical Oh, if it was just one more dollar they had offered. Oh, okay,

Suzanne Wells:

well, I'm not$100 thread. People squeeze in$99 so I'm

Unknown:

a rule. I follow rules over $1 Yeah, really found that set. I was so excited, and now I've actually found more. And the Shams even selling just one, you know, you I've, you know, you bought them for like, $1 or two. Sometimes I gotta,

Suzanne Wells:

I know, like, what if, you know, people think, oh, it's not a set. It's not going to sell. Well, you know, what, if their dog ate one of them, or, you know, it got messed up in the wash, their husband put the reds in with the whites, or whatever. You know, they might only need one, or maybe they want three on their bed instead of two,

Unknown:

exactly. And they're, they're quite pricey. So yes, they are.

Suzanne Wells:

Yes they are. Maybe they just loved that set, and they're getting it piece by piece for the nostalgia of especially if it's vintage like these, Ralph Lauren, vintage bedding, the sheets, the comforters, the pillows like that is those go for so much money, and I've started looking at the draperies and balances and stuff that I don't normally look at because I'm seeing on the group, what kind of prices these people are getting. And I'm like, really, for that green and burgundy and gold striped curtain, you got that much money?

Unknown:

Exactly? Yeah, I just last week I found some Pier One curtains, okay, and some decorative pillows. I've got the pillows listed. I haven't done the curtains yet. It was, it was a very good day, because it was also the day I found the Lisa Frank, Tim, yeah, I think I you put that on the group. I was like, That was exciting, because that was just literally minutes after I list, you know, listed, it it was, and it was, I kind of think I have that, that ability, and I know a lot of people do to know that there's something there, and I just have to find it and be there. Yeah, so I did that last little look, because there's something, although I found, already found the pier. One things that was like, that's pretty good, but there's got to be something else here and there it was, you know, hiding. And I. Love to research and find things out about stuff you know, Lisa Frank originally made if you're in Tucson. Oh,

Suzanne Wells:

that's right, okay. And just for the listeners, now there is fake Lisa Frank, yes. And so do you know the difference between the real and the fake? Like, what the characteristics are,

Unknown:

not really, but it was$2 so it's like, but I was pretty sure it was old.

Suzanne Wells:

Well, just, you know, for the listeners, like, just know that there's, oh yeah, like, modern fake, like, it's trying to look the same, and it has to do with, like, the year, if you look at the year, or there's some other characteristics of that,

Unknown:

yeah, it it looks like it would say Lisa Frank, but it doesn't exactly say Lisa Frank. The colors

Suzanne Wells:

are just all a little like this. Doesn't look right.

Unknown:

Yeah, as the same, the same. That was actually from a goodwill, the same goodwill, I don't know. It's probably about a year ago or something I found, nope. What are those Trapper keepers or something like that? Oh, yes, yeah. Like, from the 80s, and this was obviously, it had been found by someone else, and left, and I was like, then I was not sure whether it was real or not, or how old. I thought, you know, I'll take a chance. And and I, and there was a lot of things in there, so I separated it still. It's the Pegasus. I have not sold it. I've gotten a lot of low offers, but I haven't taken them. It's like, I have a lot of people watching. So it's like, I'm just gonna wait.

Suzanne Wells:

Now I'm gonna ask you the revealing question. What year were you born? 62 okay, okay, so you know the Trapper Keeper from high school, like, or did they come out after? No,

Unknown:

it would have been no, no. My kids, it was kind of in my kids era. Oh, really, okay, but it was kind of expensive stuff. So Well, I was

Suzanne Wells:

born in 66 and I remember those from high school, the Trapper Keeper. I don't know. I always look for them, but

Unknown:

well, with, with Lisa Frank, I'm not sure. But no, no. Lisa Frank, that

Suzanne Wells:

was a 90s thing. Oh, okay,

Unknown:

that's yeah. I was talking about keeper, yes, yes, I do remember, yes, I remember those.

Suzanne Wells:

I mean, don't you just wish we had known we had a crystal ball and we had known, save your concert T shirts, save your eyes, save your you know, stuffed animals. Save all that. You know, your toys, your Fisher Price, little people, some of those little people sell for crazy money. Well,

Unknown:

I still have some things at my mom's house. Okay, someday I might get to some of those. The treasure trove, that's right, it is Barbies, um, some. I still have some vintage clothes at her house, so for you. So those things will be someday, like the

Suzanne Wells:

ski jackets with the stripes on the front or the rainbow color. And just like I had one of those, why

Unknown:

didn't I keep it? I, like my mom worked at a nice department store, so Okay, I think I have an eye for nicer things. Yeah, recognize them and but I loved gunny sacks clothes. My favorite Yes, Jessica McClintock, gunny sacks.

Suzanne Wells:

So yes, prom dress that you have,

Unknown:

I still have some of those clothes.

Suzanne Wells:

I saved my babysitting money to buy my own prom dress. I was one of four kids, and it was, we were middle class. I mean, we always had everything we needed, but it was something special. You better get out there and hustle and figure out how to make the money to buy that. I'm still doing that.

Unknown:

You do a good job and encourage people how to do it,

Suzanne Wells:

yeah? But, I mean, it's out there, but yeah, back in in high school, it's like, I remember going to a lady's house that had a like, prom and bridal dress store in her basement. Oh, wow. And she would, she would either let you rent them, or you could buy it and wear it and then sell it back to her. And I was like, That is a brilliant idea, because you go to the mall those dresses even back then, like they were pricey. Do you know where one time?

Unknown:

Yeah, exactly, yeah. Sometimes we got the wannabe Denny sack. It wasn't quite well

Suzanne Wells:

if you were always a bridesmaid, never a bride, you had your bridesmaids dresses to wear to prom.

Unknown:

No, I was, I was never a bridesmaid, but

Suzanne Wells:

in high school, but I had friends that you know, had older siblings and. They were the bridesmaids. So they just, they had their dress, and that's what they wanted from Yeah, I won't sell prom dresses on eBay now. I just they get returned. And although you can sell, like the, some people sell them as, like a zombie outfit, zombie the zombie bride, you know, if it's

Unknown:

a, yeah, I have a wedding dress that's vintage. It's not great, but I thought maybe it would sell for Halloween, but it didn't. But that's yeah, that's okay. Well, maybe next year, yeah, or somebody will need it for something else, or maybe it'll

Suzanne Wells:

sell as a real wedding dress, because now weddings are becoming very casual, and, you know, outdoor, and the bridesmaids are wearing cowboy boots with a short dress. And, you know, it's, it's anything's really acceptable, exactly,

Unknown:

exactly. So a little more fun, yeah, exactly, and

Suzanne Wells:

easy on the wedding participants. Like being in a wedding used to be, you know, we had to buy the dress and the shoes and all the things. And now it's, here's the color. Go get your own dress. We'll see you there. Yeah,

Unknown:

cuz everybody looks looks better in a different style,

Suzanne Wells:

right? Pick what's flattering on you and what you feel comfortable and confident in, because some of those other styles, like, where everybody wore the same thing. It's like, that does

Unknown:

not look good on me. No, it looked good on the one that was like the one who chose it.

Suzanne Wells:

Yeah. So also for the listeners, if you know, you hadn't thought about dresses that way, if you're a clothing seller and you're looking through the dresses and, you know, go online and look at what wedding parties are wearing these days, because it's very laid back and low key in in some situations. And I've sold dresses and, you know, put in the title bridesmaid, if it was something that might qualify. Yeah,

Unknown:

dresses are a pretty good seller. Just overall I find,

Suzanne Wells:

yeah. So how many items do you have listed

Unknown:

right now? I have 349, that's good, that's healthy, good for you. It kind of comes and goes. It's kind of, it's kind of been down right now, just a lot of things going on in life. Mm, hmm, I'm about ready to. I've worked in retail for a number of years, and I'm giving that up very soon.

Suzanne Wells:

Oh, you are, so that's your like, full time job.

Unknown:

Um, it's part time. But I've, I've had enough retail.

Suzanne Wells:

So are you like a clerk or a sales associate or management?

Unknown:

Um, no, just, just a clerk in retail, but I've been there for a long time, and as I said, retail has changed a lot, and I just don't want to be there anymore.

Suzanne Wells:

Yeah, kind of ready for something else, ready to work at home,

Unknown:

then we have, we have elderly parents, and those issues are coming up. So I think it's just better to clear my slate as much as I can, because you don't know what's going to happen, right?

Suzanne Wells:

And I'm kind of going through that with my dad right now, he's in Atlanta, and I have two siblings there, so I'm about three hours away, but the doctor appointments, oh yes, after full time job, and he is 87 and it's just, it's just constantly all the time. You know, you can't drive anymore. And, you know, eye doctor, cardiologist, internist, dermatologist, you know, all the things, and it's like, oh, it's just exhausting.

Unknown:

It is, yes, my my husband is been taking care of most of that because he's really good, he's really smart and understanding all the medical things. But you know, it's also just the everyday things that are becoming harder and

Suzanne Wells:

so, right? Yeah, and it's, you don't need more

Unknown:

they need more attention. I can't our parents were very independent,

Suzanne Wells:

right? Yeah, they don't want to be like that. Yeah, they don't want to rely on their kids. But get a point where it's not safe for you to drive, or they don't remember their appointments, or the scary thing is all the medications, and there's like no one doctor overseeing all of these medications. Oh no. And I don't think that generation thinks about that. They just do what they're told. And I think it's different for our generation. We kind of question things like, well, how, what are the side effects, and how's that going to interact? And all these commercials are like, suicidal thoughts and actions, homicidal thoughts and actions. I don't want any of that.

Unknown:

Yeah. And then put in, if you're. Parent was computer savvy, and they're losing some of their ability to know what's good and what's not right, right? That is sort of a ticking time bomb,

Suzanne Wells:

absolutely. So it's not an easy job. Is your husband retired?

Unknown:

Uh, yes. He had his own business. And I, I helped him some with with that, but

Suzanne Wells:

so does he help you with the eBay? No, no, he's not into treasure hunting and stuff. Oh well. He's into

Unknown:

treasure hunting. Yes, he likes books. He's he's still a book collector, but he holds on to things. Ah, he

Suzanne Wells:

doesn't want to let him go. Yeah, so

Unknown:

I'm like, You got all these books? You know, you used to sell on Amazon. You could sell on eBay, but, you know, that's up to him. Well,

Suzanne Wells:

if he has that many, I mean, here's what I might do, because I'm sneaky, like, go in there and price check them, maybe sell them. He is He going to notice they're gone? If he has 1000 books, Is he really going to notice

Unknown:

that he probably has 2000 Okay, so he just, he knows is in, he's, he's a scholar, and, like I said, he's very intelligent, so he knows a lot.

Suzanne Wells:

You would notice, yeah, at some point you're, you might want to downsize a little bit so you'll be ready for that.

Unknown:

For sure, you did, if probably my, I think I shared this with you, maybe in a message one time, but probably my, my best sale. He helped me with that one because he gave me, I didn't have $20 for it, right? But, yeah, it was a goodwill, and we went in and I saw this item in somebody's basket, and it's like, oh my gosh, I know what that is. And I could tell by them looking and they're looking at their phone that they did not know what it was. Okay. It was, it was stif, right? But it was not just a stuffed animal. It was, it's what it what it is called is stif Christmas pyramid. Okay, so it's sort of like, you know, those things were at Christmas, like you put the candles in them and it makes them go around. Oh,

Suzanne Wells:

where does the smoke or the heat from the camera, right? Except think

Unknown:

of a really big one, okay, got stif bears on it. It has two, like, two or three tiers and but I could tell they did not know what it was. Now, I would buy that immediately, because it's stif, right? They were having trouble figuring it out, so they set it down, and I was kind of I didn't get to it quick enough. Somebody else picked it up. They did the same thing, though they couldn't figure it out either. And it was$20 which this was quite a number of years ago. So, I mean, that's a lot for me to pay for anything myself, I think, right? But at that time, it was probably more like a $50 item or something. So anyways, they they were trying to figure it out, and finally they put it down, and I just snatched it up, but I didn't have $20 so my husband paid it. So anyways, we ended, I ended up selling it for, I think it was about $400 Yes, it was worth quite a bit, but, I mean, it took, I knew it was good, but it wasn't who thinks pyramid. Okay, I was thinking Christmas. And, you know, all the keywords that you think of to put in to try to research. Finally I found it. And then that was the word pyramid.

Suzanne Wells:

But there's a name for that type of decoration with the candles that makes the thing. I'll have to find that name. It's German. The German, they're German. And

Unknown:

I looked, actually, yesterday, I looked, and there is one that's brand new in the bottom, in the box, and it's not, I mean, they've been around. It's been around for quite a while, but they were asking, I think, $1,000 for it. Wow. And this was, this one was not new, but it wasn't in bad condition. It just wasn't totally 100% complete. But anyways, that was probably my most fun sale. But oh my gosh, I would say $400 yeah, that was exciting. Good for you. So I did pay my husband back the $20 so okay, he did help me once I. That's all he got.

Suzanne Wells:

Was his $20 investment. Half of the sale. You

Unknown:

didn't get 200 Well, you know, for a few years, I helped him look for books, and I had a good eye for finding books that were worth money, and I didn't get anything for him. So that's right, hey, buddy, you gotta hustle it. Yeah, that's right. Oh, well. Another one where wasn't great. That's, that's really the highest kind of thing I've ever had. But another one I learned from you is the grandma's recipes. Yes, I went a different goodwill, and I just saw a box, and you couldn't tell there was anything in it. It's like, I open like, oh my gosh, this is what everybody's talking about, you know. So I had fun with that. I like, looked at all the recipes, but they're mostly desserts. They weren't like, I don't know main dishes. But anyway,

Suzanne Wells:

so, I mean, really, what else matters?

Unknown:

I guess, you know, I don't know what I was in there, but anyways, I sold it for $50 which I thought was quite nice, very good, $2 or something for like, were they the little recipe cards? Yes, yes. It looked like, it looked like a little wooden kind of cupboard, not really a chest, but look more like a cupboard. I saw a few of them without recipes in them, but with so I thought that was fun. It just sold a doll. It was a huge doll. It was 23 inches, and it didn't I had to buy two boxes to put it together. Okay, to Frank and box it. Yeah, yes. But then I had to make it smaller because the shipping was so high. So I ended I ended up selling it to someone who was fairly close, just like in California, I had a number of inquiries, like on the East Coast, and it just was too expensive. Yeah, my mother, actually, my mother in law, had been given it from a lady, a neighbor who had died, and it was just sitting in her garage, and she asked me if I wanted it. And I'm like, I really don't, but I hate for this thing to disintegrate sitting here. So I was a person who bought it. Was like, this is the last doll I needed. So, but complete my set. So, oh, okay, so, yeah. I mean, I get a lot of satisfaction when people are happy with what they got, what they wanted. You know, that makes it makes you feel I think it makes me feel good that, you know, I make someone happy, right?

Suzanne Wells:

You were part of that. Now, what kind of doll was it?

Unknown:

Um, gosh, it was a big plastic doll, vinyl, um, there

Suzanne Wells:

was no brand on it. I can't remember. Okay, I will put you on the spot. I just, you know, I've sold some toner t o n, n, e r dolls. I sold those for somebody else, but they weren't that tall. It

Unknown:

was one that I'd never heard of before, but it was very realistic looking, as far as a doll, and it had some old clothes on it. And, oh, that's, that's a plus the clothes. It was a nice, it was a nice condition. But I was gonna originally, like, mail it, like flat, but that made the box too big, so we I did it sitting down. Oh, okay, yeah. But I put, like, so much bubble wrap and stuff around it, so it had a

Suzanne Wells:

very nice, kind of folded her over, okay, yeah.

Unknown:

Had a very nice, soft ride.

Suzanne Wells:

Yeah, I've done that with big plush, like, put their arms and legs, you know, up across their chest, and rolled it in a ball and shrink wrapped it, like with the stretch wrap, you know, use for, oh, right, yeah. And stuff like, stretch wrapped it so it wouldn't come up, like, come apart, like, explode out of the box when they opened it. Um, yeah, but that's a great idea to make it as small as you can without compromising its journey. Um, to keep the shipping as low as possible.

Unknown:

Um, another thing I like to sell, and they fit nicely, actually, in those padded envelopes, is tiles, right? And kids like that. Pretty tiles, yeah, there's, I mean, there's all kind especially here. A lot of them are made in this area, right? So get them for a pretty low price, and sell those. They they seem to do grid, you know, I like those.

Suzanne Wells:

Yeah, I've found a few of those, and depending on the company that made them, or even if they're just handmade and have no information, if it's interesting, I. Um, yeah, absolutely. They're very easy to ship. You're right, exactly

Unknown:

easy. And I found one that was a Disney Land one. It was like the Louisiana street or Orland street or something. It was, I think it wasn't like, it didn't pop out as Disney. So I think that's why people didn't notice it. But then I took a really good list, like, Oh, this is from Disneyland. So that was, that was nice. It had the metal, like, edging

Suzanne Wells:

around. Okay, interesting. Yeah, you have to leverage what is available to you. And if you're in an area that manufactures something special that's not available everywhere, that's great to take advantage of. And don't assume that somebody's already doing it. You know, you might just find straggler items that that have great value because that's what made area, yeah, yeah. Well, I

Unknown:

feel like, you know, I'm always looking for that thing that goodwill hasn't figured out yet.

Suzanne Wells:

Well, they can't mark up everything. They won't sell anything.

Unknown:

Last year, I found a couple of completed needlepoint stockings. So those were nice. I I've sold kits for years and years. I didn't even know it was a thing that people sold kits, you know? I just found them and I I sold them. So that's a nice item too. That's easy to show

Suzanne Wells:

about that. Why the kits go for so much obviously, if they're not made anymore. But is it somebody who's remaking something they made a long time ago? Because, I mean, there's enough new ones that are nice and pretty and like, what is it about that I don't know. I don't pay 80 to$100 for cross stitch kit.

Unknown:

I don't know if it's nostalgia. I don't know. I'm I mean, I remember making in the 70s, it was a thing. Yeah, I made some of them, and I've sold actually, and I have listed some completed ones in in frames. So a few of those. I don't know. The only thing, the only caution about those I found is, you, I always stick em in the freezer

Suzanne Wells:

because, oh, the kids, because there might be bugs in them. Yes, I

Unknown:

have. I have been disappointed by some that I've, ooh,

Suzanne Wells:

that is a good point. I've never thought about that. Yeah,

Unknown:

there's an anything, basically, that's wool. As a matter of fact, I'm just now disappointed because I found a saint. I've never found anything that was Saint John, yeah, and I just took another look at it, and it's got holes in it.

Suzanne Wells:

Yeah? They the moths like that acrylic too. Yeah, yeah. And sometimes in the store, you don't see it to you with it,

Unknown:

yeah? And I think sometimes there can be a weak spot that you didn't later, you know, becomes

Suzanne Wells:

a bigger hole, right? Exactly? Yeah?

Unknown:

And yeah, I try, you know, try to look at stuff in the store, but yeah, you don't always see everything. So I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know if I'm going to try to cut off maybe it's a really interesting jacket. It has like, keys and things on it. So I don't know if I'm going to maybe try to sell the little metal accessories.

Suzanne Wells:

Just cut those off and sell them. I've done that with the st John buttons, and actually cut the buttons off and the label, yeah, the garment itself was not optimal, and I knew that when I bought it. I'm like, Well, this is $3 I know I can sell these buttons for 25 and they actually sold for 39

Unknown:

so I remember that, yeah, like

Suzanne Wells:

nautical or, you know, anchors or something. It's key. Has a theme to it, um, because those buttons are gorgeous, and maybe somebody needs those specific ones. Or maybe they're just going to take a target jacket and put that on it. Make

Unknown:

it, make it. Wow. I'm wearing Saint John, not really well the the market here. I mean, basically, unfortunately, what we mostly have is goodwill. Okay, most of, most of the other charities have shut up their stores. I mean, there's a few, but there and I, it's been a long time since I've really done yard sales and such. But maybe now I'm because I'm going through a transition and in my life, you know, maybe, maybe I'll get into that,

Suzanne Wells:

that well, you know, if it's warm enough to have them there year round, right?

Unknown:

Well, it's too high this summer.

Suzanne Wells:

It gets too bright in the summer. Or is too hot, but yeah, estate sales too, and then the online auctions might. There might be some around you that you could drive to pick up. Yeah, it's like you gotta push yourself into different ways of getting inventory. Sometimes that is, did the other thrift stores close up because of COVID, or was it just happening anyway?

Unknown:

Um, no, they were mostly, one was before COVID, one was after. I don't really know they were, they were they were local charities. They were larger stores, but I don't know, maybe they just didn't feel like they were making it was enough effort, you know, to keep it open. So okay, but I do love there's a store we we have a family cabin that's in the mountains, and there's a little town that has a lot of thrift stores. Love going up there. That's fun. But there's a specific thrift store, and I found a few things, some limits that I just sold the Halloween. That's great.

Suzanne Wells:

Oh, right, okay. Lee, Max, right.

Unknown:

So that was a nice, I think I was about $6 it was a it was a lit up like they were wolves on a rock. And so that was a nice sale. I had some other things that I added to it, so that's always a good way to I had, I'd had no action on the things that I had listed, so adding them to that, I sold it right away. Oh, good.

Suzanne Wells:

That's a great idea. So,

Unknown:

and what else? Oh, two times I've gotten glasses there. One was a pair of, well, they were both designer ones. I can't recall the name, but I found some really nice glasses there, and I hadn't really thought about one was sunglasses, and one was regular glasses and, and you listening to some of the things you know, you've said, encouraged me to even try that, because I didn't, didn't really think about that, but so that was, that was nice to find a few things up there.

Suzanne Wells:

Oh, good. Well, yeah, put that on your route. Yeah. Okay, well, we are almost to the end. That went by fast, and it did. It did, oh

Unknown:

my gosh.

Suzanne Wells:

You have any parting words for the listeners? Um,

Unknown:

yeah, I had some thoughts. Um, just from my own my own thoughts is, is to find what it is that you like to sell, because if you don't like it, you're going to get stuck. Or at least in my experience, I've gotten stuck. I have something I've bought, and I really just, I just don't want to sell it. It just doesn't mean anything to me, or it's too hard, or it's too I don't really want to clean that, or I don't, you know, so I try to keep all those, is this really something that it's going to go through quick, right?

Suzanne Wells:

Am I going to get on this and get it listed in a few days? Or I'm going to be like, Yeah,

Unknown:

and I have, I guess I have a standard too, you know, like shoes. I couldn't abide sending shoes to someone that were dirty because, like, my daughter received some that I had ordered from someone, and I just couldn't do that to someone, you know, if I wouldn't want it in the state that I'm sending it, I I can't send it. So, you know, well, and

Suzanne Wells:

we all have those, why did I buy this? Moments, we all have that, you know, you just, you get home with it, and you start evaluating it, and it's like, why did I buy this? So I'm,

Unknown:

I'm, I'm trying to be more, more picky about what I'm getting less, less is more,

Suzanne Wells:

right? And it's an evolution. Yeah, it is. You work with something enough times that you don't really like and, yeah, I can figure out something else, because this is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. You're not

Unknown:

supposed to read it exactly. But on the other hand, try new things. Absolutely, yeah, yeah. Want to get so stuck in something, you know, that's just, I'm only looking for this, but always trying to find something new, but in but also enjoyment. I don't think if you don't enjoy it this, it's just going to be

Suzanne Wells:

harder well, and I'm a firm believer that everything sellers have more success, maybe not in all cases, but just my observation that you know, who's more successful, Walmart or that little boutique that only sells, you know, Western, where you. Who gets more customers? Well, the more stuff you have in there, the more customers you're going to get, and they come for different reasons. So just I like being an almost everything seller,

Unknown:

quite a variety, you know. But I have purged, I've purchased things that I don't want to sell anymore, right? That's always a good like, jackets, they take up too much room. Yeah, they do. I'm gonna, you know, I have coats now. I'm gonna donate them to a worthy charity. Good, take too much room, you know? Yeah, things that I'm just like, don't I don't want to sell those. I don't need to so

Suzanne Wells:

well. And, yeah, that comes with time you figure it out. So

Unknown:

those were things and and things do sell. I've had things still. I mean, I don't give up on some things. And,

Suzanne Wells:

well, especially if you see other people selling it, like so and so sells this all the time. And now I've got one. When's vine gonna sell? So anyway, well, thank you for sharing your wisdom. Deborah, it was great to meet you, and we'll look for some more your sales on the Facebook group.

Unknown:

Thank you so much. I had such a nice time, and it was so good. Okay, have a great rest of your day. Thank you. Okay, now on to parting words. And in this episode, the parting words are me eating my words. Deborah talked about the Christmas pyramid with the candles. The heat from the candles makes the top piece spin. And I was thinking there was a specific German word for these, but I was wrong. They're simply called pyramids or carousels. So Google that Christmas pyramid, Christmas carousel, if you don't know what I'm referring to, they are beautiful and quite expensive. Next week, my guests are Marla and Ed, who run an online auction business. In addition to selling on eBay, I actually bought some items from them not realizing Marla has been in the Facebook group for a while and posts her sales. So talk about a small world. They will share some insights from both the auction company's perspective and tips for resellers buying items for resale, so make sure you tune in for that next week. Thank you, listeners for supporting this podcast. I appreciate you. Make it a fun week on eBay. Bye for now. You