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!