What was your most surprising or highest Ebay sell?

[samsid99]

I was just wondering and thought it might be fun.

What has been your most surprising ebay sell?

I am new ebayer , and I haven't even come close to a high ticket item yet.

But I just thought it would be fun to read about the surprising sells.

My best sale was for two meal vouchers that I had left over from a july trip.

[zoeyandmakennasmom]

I got 20.50 for a salad shooter that only cost 20.00 on sale. I started the auction at $2. There were other salad shooters up for auction at the same time but the starting bid for those was $9.99. Even when the bids for mine went over $10 people were still bidding on mine instead of starting to bid on the other salad shooters.

[elfbo]

A parallel connector logitech quick cam. I started the auction at $5 because It was a few years old and i just wanted to get rid of it as I had upgraded to a usb connector cam. The camera sold for 65$. I had originally purchased it off of ebay for about 25$. Too bad I hadnt picked up a few more at the time, hehe.

[tinaluis]

An old DISH Network satellite receiver we had laying around -- in fact, we tripped over it so many times in the basement that we almost threw it out. Someone here on the DIS mentioned that satellite receivers sold well on eBay so I did a search of completed listings and was astounded at the price they were going for. I listed it with a "Buy It Now" price of $224.99 and an opening bid of $.99 and it sold in about an hour. We were doing the happy dance here :tongue: ! We couldn't believe that something we'd considering throwing away would sell for so much. In fact, I was so relieved when the buyer posted positive feedback because I was sure that he thought it was something more than what it was. He was thrilled and so were we!

[luvthatduke]

Ok, after reading your posts I have
a slightly OT question:

I just sold my first item on eBay, with good results.
Now I have other things to sell, which would
KILL me to let go for .99 or 2.99, etc...
If I start my bidding at 9.99, according to
your input it seems that people would be
less likely to start bidding...
But, don't I risk having to sell something
that's truly worth more than 9.99 for
just a buck or two?

Does this mean I must/should risk my
auctions by starting them low in order
to get people to bid higher?
I am a total rookie and trying to understand
the best strategy, while getting and giving
a fair price to all...

Any help is much appreciated! :confused:

[PatriciaH]

-A box of old trains, track, etc..(sitting in my parents attic) for $500.
-A box of old "Plasticville" (model train sets, houses, cars, people, etc..) for $525. DH was going to throw those out and I told him just list it. :hyper:
-Hallmark Wizzard of Oz ornaments for $40+ each (sold for $9)
-Not Ebay, but we took a Babe Ruth autographed pic we had in storage (DH's old boss lived in our building and when he moved he did not want to take a lot of his stuff-he said to keep it, sell it or throw it out) to a sports store near Boston. We got $1,400 for it along with some old baseball programs!

[pcottrell]

luvthatduke,
You could set a reserve price. If I really did not want to part with something for less than a set price, that is what I would do.
HTH,
Paige

[BringBackTapestries]

I bought 3 specialty CCTV pieces at a local discount store. The boxes were crushed but item inside was perfect. Paid $3.00 EACH for 4 of them. Sold ONE of the 4, 2 weeks ago for $500.00. I have 3 more left, one is listed as we speak!
also
I paid $100.00 for an LCD projector at a yard sale, and sold it to a very happy bidder in CA for $750.00
also
I paid $85.00 for a huge lot of faucets and plumbing supplies at a yard sale, I kept back over $400.00 worth of parts to sell off my plumbing van, kept back 3 more faucets valued at another $300.00, and sold everything else that I couldn't use (mostly commercial stuff) for my initial investment of $85.00, and sold one of the faucets a week later on Ebay for $520.00. It was an $1100.00 Kohler Kallista.
My favorite sale, however, is I bought an old Pulsar Time Computer watch (James Bond wore one on one of his movies) at a yard sale for $1.50. 11 years later, (yes, 11 years later retrieved from the attic because no one local had a battery to fit it) I listed it on Ebay, with a partial band, in unworking condition. It brought $185.00. The buyer later told me that he bought the watch for the cardboard box it was in. It alone was worth more than the $185.00 bid.
Ebay is good to me sometimes.
Darn, my home theater speakers just ended without a bid!
:Pinkbounc

[Cindy B]

Most suprising-- that can be so many things.

Just yesterday i listed a textbook on half.com after a NPB on Ebay. I paid $5 for the textbook, (with some Amazon credits!)

So I listed it for the price it would be originally--$65!

It sold for $65!


A lot of our computer stuff sells, I'm shocked. We got over $400 for an old laptop once!

[fknaut]

$305 for a Star Trek ornament that originally cost $21.00.

[BringBackTapestries]

I once saw an auction where a seller sold an old watch. It was missing the band, the crystal (glass front), BOTH hands, and it didnt work. No joke. She listed it for $10.00, and it sold for over $3000.00. It was quite rare and a buyer needed the movements inside.

[TiggerStac]

Mickey Mouse Bean Bag for $150.00!!!

[revrob]

HOLY COW! I can't imagine bringing that kind of money in on ebay! I thought we had done so well on the Thomas the Tank Engine trains of my sons that we just sold for $152.

[disneychrista]

A Lot of Blue Clues toys that I had listed twice already with no luck. I started it at $0.99 and it went for $40+ .

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

While cleaning out my grandparents' house for my dad to move in after they passed on, I came upon a watch that nearly was tosswed in the garbage. It said Rolex, but in the back of my mind I suspected it to be a fake. "Where would my grandfather get a Rolex?". I toyed with the notion of listing it on ebay for over a year. I considered the cost of repairing it and making it look decent again, but I was looking at a minimum of $150. And, if I had it fixed, what would I do with it? It had no sentimental value-I never knew it existed and my Dad seemed disinterested as he wanted to throw everything in the trash.

I listed it early this year, after lots of research to ensure it was authentic. I started the bid at 17.95 with a reserve of $150 (I think). The watch didn't work properly, it didn't have a bracelet, the crystal was yellowed and it desperately needed to be cleaned. It was a diamond in the rough! The final bid was for over $300, ending in a real bidding war in the final minutes.

[bsusanmb]

I began collecting Disney Pins when they first came out - and it became an addiction - an expensive one! I knew the only way to quit was to sell them.

So, I began listing them on ebay - I had the Mickey for President and the Presidential Seal of USA with Mickey on it - I sold them for $300. I sold one pin at a time, I believe I have about 300 pins and made a profit of over $5,000.

Amazing. And I don't want any more pins - I envisioned myself being hauled away to the poor house with pin bags in hand - glad I got over it!

Susan:smooth:

[disneysteve]

I picked up a cruise ship display model (the kind that the travel agents get) at a yard sale for $1. It sold for $213.

I bought 5 pieces of old sheet music for $.50. I auctioned them individually for nearly $200 total.

[Sammy]

Not quite the $$ in the previous posts, but a while back I picked up an infant-sized "onesie" undergarment on a clearance rack for $.50. It was still in plastic wrapping and had a Suzie's Zoo character on the front. I listed it on Ebay and two people had a bidding war on it. I ended up selling it for $25.00!! I couldn't believe it!

[kfeuer]

My mother-in-law was cleaning out the home of an elderly aunt (she had to go into a nursing home). She offered us this ugly green vase. I didn't like it, but figured I'd sell it at our next garage sale. It rolled around the back of the van on the 7-hour drive home.

When we got it home I looked at it a little more closely and realized it looked old. I flipped it over and it was marked--turned out to be part of a rare collection by the Roseville pottery factory and it sold for $1,580 :eek: Collectible or not, the thing was U-G-L-Y!

[sorchamac]

My best and most surprising were a set of scholarly books about JRR Tolkien. I had paid $5 each years ago. I was going to be happy if I got $10 for them. One sold for $200, one for $100, two for about $50 each. Talk about surprised! The people were very happy to get them.

You'd be surprised at what stuff might be worth to someone. A first issue of Victoria magazine goes for $20-30. Older quilting magazines can be worth money. 1st edition/1st printing of books from first books of famous authors can go for good money.

That's why you shouldn't use BuyItNow unless you are really sure what something is worth.

Sorcha

[mom2twinz3]

My surprise isn't as good as some, but one day I passed a house with a load of boxes on the lawn and a sign that said "Free."

Naturally I stopped and browsed and a box of old 16 Mm film reels caught my eye. I took them home and discovered a Johnny Cash film.

It sold for $250! Not too shabby for something I got free. Wish I could get that lucky more often.

I also sold some old John Wayne VHS tapes from my mother that went for $170.

Mary

[drgnfly30]

Well the story goes that I was on an AOL budget board & someone asked if anyone lived in Delaware, they needed something only available at a mall that my DH happened to manage a restaurant at... I replied & she asked if he could pick up one Mickey Mouse beanie baby for her... sure I say... but thinking about it - I figured there must be something behind it...so DH buys 10 of them (the limit was 2 but the store mgrs at the mall always did favors for each other & he'd comp meals every now & then) I sent hers to her at cost & posted the rest on Ebay... for the 9 of them I made about $850!!! Apparently it was an exclusive Hometown Beanie that was the rage!!
Christine

[Lollipop Mom]

my best ebay sales were something I literally stumbled into. A bridal shop next to the Gymboree I used to take my son to every week was going out of business. I had spoken to the owner a couple of times. I saw her outside the day before her final day and asked if she still had a lot left. She said yes, quite a bit and she was anxious to unload it (it had been her mother's shop and her mother had passed away. She didn't want to keep it going). Her mother had tried to stock a lot of things other shops wouldn't and one of those was that she had plus size gowns available for immediate purchase, no ordering. I did a quick search on ebay and found that plus size gowns did quite well. I offered to help her out (for a commission) and she said that honestly, she needed to get back to her "real job" and just wanted everything gone. She told me she'd sell me as many as I wanted with informal gowns for $20 each and formal ones for $40 each. I bought probably 40 or so informal ones (appropriate for a small or a second wedding) and 50 or so formal ones in sizes from 18 to 28. DH flipped out briefly at the credit card bill and I had quite a time storing them and photographing them but the informal ones all sold for between $150 and $250 each and most of the formal ones sold for about $400 or so. I did have one formal one that ended up being the same gown that was featured on the cover of a bridal magazine the month before. I had one in a size 20 and one in a size 24. The 20 sold for $975 and the 24 for just under $1200. Not bad for dresses I paid $40 each for!

For things we had around here...satellite receivers, some old camera equipment, and "vintage" tupperware were surprisingly good sellers.

[sandalwood]

I found a 1st edition Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat book at a goodwill store for 49 cents and sold it for well over $1,500! That's been my biggest "high" ever.

[LovesDoomBuggies]

Not a high-ticket item, for sure... but I have had some decent success selling cookies! I have a tax number and insurance and everything for my local farmer's market, so I thought I would try it online, just for kicks. My cookies have sold better than my "real" items have!

I would never dream of buying cookies from a stranger on ebay... but... I'm glad people do!! :)

[EeyoreJMH]

Disco Mickey Mouse CD

I had an extra copy and decided to sell it on eBay (used) for $1. Somehow it ended up going for $25 and the buyer did indeed pay
:earsboy:

[pediatric-rnp]

Several years ago my son (then aged 11 or 12) was given a pack of Beanie Baby trading cards for Christmas - when he opened it there was a gold card (I forget which one it was) in it. Only a very limited number were made, and they were very rare. He asked me to put it on ebay, and it sold for $500.00 !! The auction had been won by someone who worked for Mary Beth's Beanie Baby magazine, and they were doing an article on the cards. He and his brother then started to buy their own packs of cards, and we sold several cards on ebay for between $60.00 - $120.00 each! Needless to say, their bank accounts looked great!

[Shelle&Dave]

During my high school years I bought hundreds of rock magazines. I had posters plastered everywhere. About a year ago my Mom started bugging me to get the rest of my stuff out of her shed. I found a whole box full of those magazines. I sorted out the posters and listed them in lots on ebay. I made probably $100 on them. I couldn't believe it. Of course, I spent much more than that when I bought them, but I was just happy to get some of that money back!

[vettechick99]

Just about everything Disney I have sold has made me 100%+ profit. Which for me is actually 200% profit b/c my ex was the one who paid for it in the first place. ;)

But recently I saw a Vera Wang Bridemaids dress on ebay - its still available in stores for about $250. A bidding war went out of control and the final amount was over $900! The seller really made a killing!

[disneymom3]

I think my best surprise has been some stamp sets I bought at a garage sale. Dh was unemployed at the time and we were hitting garage sales hoping for the big killing in resale. Well, I went into this one by myself and came out with 5 sets of stamps. The woman was selling them for $5 a set so I had spent $25. DH was not too impressed with the idea of spending that much. However, when I got home and did my research, I found that one of the sets had been selling for $50-$60 everytime it came up. Sure enough, it sold for $58! I sold all of the others too and the cheapest one went for over $20. You can bet I look for stamps at every sale I go to now!

The other really good one is at the beginning of the summer I went to a sale that a retiring teacher was doing. I homeschool and found lots of good stuff I could use. I also found 2 boxes of 500 unifix cubes (little math manipulative blocks) She was selling the boxes for $2 apiece. I had just bought a set of 100 the week before from a store for around $11. So, I bought all 1000 cubes for a total of $4. I sold one set last week for $10.50 (100 of them) this week I have a set of 500 up for auction and another set of 100. The last few sets of 500 on ebay have sold for around $60. Not bad for a $4 investment.

Don't you just love ebay? Great thread...this has been really fun to read!

[jennymouse]

If you ever run accross old rotary telephones, you know, the ones made of bakelite in black or other colors they usually go for $50 and up.

I've got some old Halloween decorations and noise makers up right now that are doing well.

[nuke]

I bought my son a Captain Hook costume on clearance at the Disney store for $2.99. He wore it for two Halloweens and then I ebayed it and it sold for $53.00.

My husband had a set of Karate instruction books. 5 of them sold for over $60. He also had old Dungeons and Dragons stuff from the 80's. I just sold them for over $100.

[debbiemomto4]

I love reading these boards! I had to share my biggest sale on ebay was my first . DD had tried to play the cello but instead of renting one - I bought one to keep at home so I didn't have to drive her back and forth to school. The cello was bigger than she was! But like kids are that lasted a year. Then we had a cello sitting in her bedroom for some time taking up a whole corner. I tried to resell it to the music store I bought it from but they offered half of what I originally paid . Bought for $350- they would give me $175(Yuck). Then someone mentioned ebay. we put it up on ebay and unbelievably it was a good cello and sold for $1200(YAY) . Famous violin maker had actually made it (who knew - we didn't and Sam Ash Music store didn't) I unfortunetly haven't ever come close to another sale like that. Maybe I should go back and buy more cellos! ;)

[mrskay9]

When my father, whom I love dearly, dies. the man can not throw ANYThING away. Rotary phones? Yeah, we've got 3 in storage. Commodore 64 computer--was still hooked up until a few years ago. These horrid 1960's green balloon lamps that are so ugly--i KNOW they'll sell well.

and I know he's got a Lone Ranger decoder ring hidden somewhere.

But even the thought of me selling some of his junk would kill him!

[Missamoncus]

This one is not mine but a dear friends. She bought a Madame Alexander doll at a garage sale for $2 and it sold on eBay for over $800.00. I couldn't believe it! It was the same Madame Alexander doll my grandmother bought for me at our Hardware / drygoods store in our very small town in Texas in the very early 70's. My Mom has the doll now. I told her the story and shew threatened me with bodily harm if I tried to sneak it out of the house and sell it!;)


Melissa

[Hawkeye314]

My wife listed already opened but barely used bottles of cologne. For some reason, people give me cologne for gifts. I never wear it but sometimes I open it, put it on once, and remember why I don't like it.

These open bottles were quite old, too, but someone bought them for about $5 each and was thrilled. I would have thrown them away but instead, I made a little $$ and got them off my dresser!

[mamalle]

Mine was my double jogging stroller- bought it for $159 brand new sold it used for $140 plus $35 to ship it.

[disneysteve]

I just remembered another one. My dad and I used to collect mini whiskey bottles. This was from about 1978 to 1985. About 2 years ago, mom and I decided it was time to get rid of them. I sold most of them (about 1300 bottles) to a guy in Chicago. But before that I picked out about a dozen that I thought were worth selling individually. Keep in mind that I don't think we ever paid more than $3 or $4 for any bottle in our collection. Well I listed those bottles on ebay and most of them sold for well over $100 each and the rest were close to $100. I got more for those 12 than I got for the rest of the collection combined.

[mikess]

I have got a few......

My first big ebay sale was an old rap CD I had from back in high school. It was in pretty bad shape but still played. I tryed to sell it in a couple of yard sales for 25 cents. I was raising money for WDW and put it up on ebay. I did say in the auction "lots of scratches". It sold for $40!

Another was a Classic Pooh hinged box I had bought for my wife at the Disney Store. I think I payed $20 for it. After a few years, my wife said I could sell it. It sold for $125!

At my work, they were throwing away a bunch of stuff, so I grabbed every thing I could. Some of those items went for $80-$100 each! Pretty good for some trash.

pirate: