You can never have enough BEER!

Item Found:  Blow Up Corona Bucket w/ Beer
Price Paid: $.85 per unit
Projected Value: (12 Units) x $25 =  $300
Profit =  $290

Item has been found at a Thrift Store!

Information about item: BEER! Enough said! Beer has been around for thousands of years and is currently a 7 BILLION dollar business. Holy Budweiser Charlie Sheen! Had to make a Charlie Sheen joke sooner than later, and this is by far the most appropriate topic. As for this item, it was located at a local thrift store where 1 was blown up as display and another 11 were brand new sealed in individual bags. The tags indicated it has been in the store for several days (Turn-over is very high in thrift stores) therefore hundreds of customers missed out on a golden opportunity. Inflatable beer promotional items have been used in the advertising industry for years. It's an easy, fun way to promote a product. Hence GoodYear's Blimp, a similar concept that floats over major stadiums/arenas as an advertising gimmick. Beer memorabilia like anything else I list on this Blog is highly collectible. If it's promotional, and it was never sold in stores, the item presumably has value. The amount is debatable, but inflatable beer items sell between $10-$50. A $300 profit on a dozen items that are easy to list (all identical) is a perfect fit for an eBay store. Think convenience! Listing individual items can get tedious, so make your life easy and sell in bulk if possible! Don't make the mistake of sampling one item, go big or go home! 

MICROSOFT or Big Mac?

Item Found:  Microsoft Money 2004 Software
Price Paid: $5
Projected Value: $25

Profit =  $20






Item has been found at a Thrift Store!

Information about item: Perhaps not the most interesting item, but the item will still yield a profit. Microsoft is known for it's operating system and it's software, most notably Windows program. Here we have a Money management tool, year 2004. This is the deluxe version, therefore worth more over the regular version. Any type of software, whether it is made by Microsoft (easy to sell) or Mac (also easy to sell) it's always a good re-seller. Original software is great, and if you have the original box and Manuel, you will certainly get more value for the item. This is actually the general rule in anything. The more an item is complete, the higher the re-sell value. I guess you have to be a hoarder and save every item a box comes in! Unfortunately I have been doing this since an early age. As for computer software, this one is quickly becoming out-dated, therefore it does not hold high value, but if you manage to find modern software from the last few years, it should surely fetch good money. I have sold numerous items, and personally Microsoft items are the easiest to come by, and quickly sell. Mac stuff is great when you can find it. In the past I did manage to find a MAC OS software, practically new which sold for $150. As for this one $20 profit will cover gas for a few miles.

Can you make money from a Microwave?

Item Found:  Sharp Half Pint Microwave
Price Paid: $30
Projected Value: $150

Profit =  $120













Item has been found at a Thrift Store!

Information about item: From experience, do not rule out anything when shopping for new merchandise. This includes home appliances. Certain appliances can no longer be purchased in stores, therefore you are forced to look into the secondary market to purchase an older item. This microwave was produced probably over 10+ years, but it has a very modern look, a beautiful square design and comes in unique colors including purple, orange, red, black, white, blue, and yellow. The fact this item is compact and is attractive, this model made by Sharp is a great seller. (Perfect for small apartments, dorms, or even small kitchens or offices. Purchased for only $30, it's an easy item to sell. Average price for this item is between $75-200 depending on color and condition.

Lord Of the Rings! (Collection)

Item Found:  Lord Of the Rings Collection
Price Paid: $80
Projected Value: $500

Profit =  $420

Item has been found at a Flea Market!

Information about item: Lord of the Rings, too much to say regarding the history of the topic. Known for the novels and recent blockbuster movie hits. Here we have a collection of The Lord of the Rings figurines, (larger boxes are busts) Made by Sideshow Weta collectibles, these high quality busts are worth approximately $50-150 each depending on which bust. It's important to understand the value of figurines, especially vintage comics, or new movie memorabilia. Remember, if an item was mass produced, the value is probably extremely low. But, if you have very unique, limited edition items, you might have a winner on your hands. Each of one these is limited produced, and therefore can bring in high money. As for negotiating, the vendor knew these have good value, but was eager to unload. If you are a weekly seller at a flea-market, you don't want to carry your items back and fourth every week. You want to make sure you can turn-over your merchandise in good time and worry about the items your bringing next week. Finding merchandise is the easy part, but locating the right buyer is the difficult task. When I see a collection of items, I always ask how much for the entire lot. Rarely, do I only ask for a single item. You want to take risks, otherwise you will be left with smaller profits. Buying in bulk does have it's advantages since most people are happier to unload more items at a lower price versus selling each individual item. I purchased 9 Lord of the Ring items, the seller wanted between $10-15 each. For the collection his asking price went down to $100. I stood at $80 for the collection.... The dealer agreed! Negotiating just saved $50 off his original asking price. He is happy to see $80 and merchandise gone, and I am happy to have received items valued at $500

Capodimonte - Made in Italy!

Item Found:  Capodimonte Porcelain
Price Paid: $20
Projected Value: $120

Profit =  $100
Profit Margin = 500%

Item has been found at a Flea Market!


Information about item: Capodimonte! Where can you not find Capodimonte pieces these days... Made in Italy, first produced from 1759 to 1780 at the Royal Factory. Early pieces are very difficult to locate and are highly valuable, but you still find tons of 20th century pieces; including the most popular floral porcelain designs, figurines, and lamps. A number of factories produce porcelain/ceramic and other quality items under the Capodimonte name. Most items do not have much value, and the majority of items found will presumably have slight imperfections. For example, 90% of porcelain flowers I encounter at second-hand locations are never in perfect condition. They flowers are ALWAYS cracked, chipped, and or missing leafs. It's very difficult to find a 100% perfect floral item, or even a 100% perfect figurine. The quality make is high on some of these items and this is why collectors will pay good money for certain pieces. I personally love the company designs and cannot help myself when seeing Capodimonte. Hey, maybe at some point I will find the perfect piece, but for now I will settle with this large type of floral bowl that I recently found at a flea-market. The woman wanted $25, but I was able to knock the price down to $20.00. The price was good, but my motto is to never pay asking price. Well, if the offer is low enough, I will some-times agree, but do remember, it never hurt's to ask. As for the logo, most items are marked N with a crown above. As shown below;

Logo: N with a crown

Just a game of GOLF!

Item Found:  Golf Club Set with Bag
Price Paid: $40
Projected Value: $225
Profit =  $185

















Item has been found at several Thrift Stores

Information about item: Golf Clubs can be found anywhere! A new hobby of mine has been to search for valuable golf clubs. As previously said, there is value in almost anything. That being said, I started purchasing Golf clubs as well. After a few unsuccessful searches, and a few wrong purchases. (Yes, mistakes do happen). I ended up with the perfect set of golf clubs. It only took a few hours to complete. Why rent a set of golf clubs when you can own a great set! The value of the entire set of golf clubs is about $225. The price paid for the bag and clubs only amounted to $40. Cost per club was roughly $2.50 a piece. The bag, only $8.00. Even an avid golfer can play in style when shopping at a thrift store! The name brands found in this bag include; TaylorMade, King Cobra, and Adam's.

Ray-Ban Still COOL!

Item Found:  Vintage Ray-Ban Sunglasses Case
Price Paid: $1.00
Projected Value: $45

Profit =  $44
Profit Margin = 4,400%

Item has been found at a Thrift Store

Information about item: Founded in 1937 by Baush & Lomb, the company is most famous for their Avator's. When you picture a highway patrol cop, you imagine Ray-Ban Aviators! Even the Blue's Brothers rocked Ray-Ban's in their infamous movie. Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to locate the original accompanying sunglasses, but thanks to a number of people who still love Ray-Ban's, original cases are still desirable. Imagine the number of people who own a pair of sunglasses, but lost their case. The investment in purchasing a vintage case is well worth the price to the owner. This rule of thumb applies to anything, ANYTHING! If you have a guitar case, camera case, or any type of holder/case that has a logo on it, it does have value!

TY Beanie Babies are still alive!

Item Found:  Original TY Beanie Baby
Price Paid: $1.00
Projected Value: $150

Profit =  $149
Profit Margin = 14,900%

Item has been found at a Thrift Store


Information about item: The Beanie Baby Craze! O-M-G! For good reason I use those words. Back in the mid 90's TY Beanie Babies exploded! EXPLODED! For some reason it became the fab of the 90's to collect Beabie Babies. Originally deputed in 1993, beanie babies were originally released as 9 animals including Chocolate, Cubbie, Flash, Legs, Patti, Pinchers, Splash, Spot, and Squealer. Most people did not start collecting Beanie Babies until 1994-1996 where the number produced by TY was alarming. It did not help that the company "Retired" beanie babies, making it difficult to acquire earlier designs. This is where business meet's dolls, limit the supply, increase the demand. Although, bring out a new beanie baby every other day, and you have millions of sales on your hand. Well, let's get to the point, Beanie Babies. By the way, I fell victom to the craze and still have my original TY's boxed in the closet. Yes, the hoarder in me cannot discard these cute, adorable dolls. Reason: They barely have value, less than what I paid. The average TY beanie baby have a re-sell value of $.50 cents. Yes, that's cents. (Stay away from the mini Mcdonald's Happy Meal toys)((Worthless)) Now, back to the moral of this entry. Certain beanie babies DO have value. Mainly the one's that were never released to the public (only a few hundred made), or the early models. It finally hit me last week to research the industry again because EVERYWHERE I go, you find people, stores, wanting, trying, desperately to sell their beanie babies. Don't get me wrong, they are very cute, and the company still bangs out extremely precious dolls. Back to my point, I do keep getting off track because TY beanie babies are a very interesting trend. (Are, or Were an interesting trend?) The beanie you see in the pictures above is a 2nd or 3rd generation TY produced in 1993. Mainly the one's produced in 1993 still have value. They are the hardest to find since the company yet to blow up and limited numbers were produced. You can identify an early TY by the unique tag, very different from what you see now. (BEWARE: The premium dolls with the same tag don't have high value) It has to be from the beanie line. The other way you can identify a 1993 TY is by the Tush Tag, it's a very dull tag in black and white. Don't be fooled by newer tags that have the date 1993 since it's listed as the original production year. If you see a heart on the tush tag, throw the beanie at the first child you see. (Don't hurt the kid, it's a figure of speech, but it's basically worthless and can be chewed and destroyed by the nearest child) Condition always matter as in anything in life..... To conclude, it's always beneficial to research a market prior to searching for a product. A little research goes a long way and in a mater of days I was able to locate an original "New Face" beanie baby for $1.00. Where else can you get a 14,900% return!

YES, Yes We Can!

Item Found: Barack Obama 1,000 pc Puzzle by Hasbro (6 Pack)
Price Paid: $5.00
Projected Value: $50

Profit =  $45
Profit Margin = 900%

Item has been found at a Flea-Market


Information about item: Barack Obama 1,000 pc Puzzle by Milton Bradley / Hasbro. Fully Shrink Wrapped, contains 6 individual NEW Barack Obama puzzles. Current President of the United States (Number 44), you cannot go wrong paying 83 CENTS for a puzzle. At this price, the item makes the perfect gift for a family member or friend. Although, if you have beaver fever, no wait, the expression is ebay fever? Well, YES YOU CAN sell these puzzles online. Brand New toy items do sell better during the Holiday Season, but space is always a factor for a hoarder. Therefore, these items need to sell by Yesterday! Wait, why did I purchase this item? Because it's an amazing deal! Hey, a dollar store cannot even compete!

Nintendo Game & Watch Multi-Screen Found!

Item Found: Nintendo Game & Watch BlackJack
Price Paid: $2.00
Projected Value: $50

Profit =  $48
Profit Margin = 2500%

Item has been found at a local Thrift Store! 

Information about item: Nintendo is currently best known for their presence in the video game industry. Most people don't know the company started producing playing cards before entering the video game market. This began in 1980 with the introduction of 4 Liquid Crystal Design (LCD) games. Fireman Fireman, Time-Out, Exterminator, and Flag-Man. These 4 games were later recreated into the Game & Watch series which were produced from 1980-1989, bringing everyday arcade classic's like Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Popeye, Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Zelda and other popular titles to everyone's home. The introduction of the GameBoy changed the handheld gaming market, replacing the infamous Game & Watch series. Due to these games being the first real Nintendo video game memorabilia, certain titles can fetch upwards of $1,000! What you are looking at is a BlackJack Muti-Screen game produced by Nintendo in 1985! Common, but not the rarest Game & Watch. Still an amazing find at a Thrift Store!

Welcome Letter (Ebay You Changed my Life)

Welcome to Ebay Hoarding, Tag Sale, Thrift Store, Shopaholic! What to expect? After close to 10 years of shopping, I have decided - today, is the first day that my life needs to be properly documented. For good reason, I hide behind my identity as I classify my life as a hoarder. Yes, I have reached the very first step of identifying the problem. I am a hoarder, and I have a problem! My problem? Compulsive shopping has taken over my life! It's difficult to concentrate in a world that has so many interesting items, antiques, collectibles...etc. Now your questioning the title of this blog? Well, the hoarding began thanks to the popular auction site; eBay. You can find it onnnnn eBay! Don't get me wrong, I love the site, it's a fantastic place, but after selling my first item, I got hooked. I could not stop buying and selling, searching, hunting. When I sleep, I dream about the next great deal I could find. Everyday has potential to find the next great item. If you follow this blog, it's meant to document the life of a hoarder, the life of a shopper via Tag Saling (<---Not a word, but go with it), Thrift Store hunting, Flea-Market Searching, Dumbster Diving (Just kidding), or am I?, and any-where else a great deal can be found!

Follow this Blog and I will continue to add interesting stories, photo's, and anything closely related that I feel is important. Prepare yourself for the roller-coaster ride of items that you will encounter.