Things You Never Thought You Could Sell

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Thrif-t

Why would someone want old koolaid packets????

The same reason anybody wants any old thing. Just about anything has people who collect it. Old food packages are collected by many.

The funny thing is some of the packs had Warner Bros. characters on them. Others were just plain packs. I thought the character packs would be the valuable ones, but lots of people collected those. The ones that were more sought after by collectors were the plain ones that nobody saved.

[tinapbeana]

hmmmmm... when cleaning out our new-to-us house i found a bottle of 40 year old sleeping pills in a nifty blue bottle... wonder if i'd get in trouble ebaying them?

[jodi]

I just came across a 1984 Olympic Women's Gymnastics souvenir edition when I cleaned out my closet today...we checked out E-Bay to see if there was anything similar listed, but nothing was, so I was going to throw it away. I wonder if I should try it?
We just sold a Simpson's Clue game for $10 (unopened). I don't have any other E-bay stories to tell though

[cheapdoggy]

All you need to do is post the weight of the package when you set up the auction on ebay it has a calculator built in for zip code and method of shipment that the buyer just inputs their zip and they get a shipping quote. You need to register a credit card on ebay so they can bill you if you are a seller. Very easy to register. As far as pictures you just upload pictures from a digital camera to their site.
I was helping my FIL remodel his kitchen and almost threw the glass cooktop in the dumpster (it was pretty new) but then tried ebay. I got $300 for it. The tricky part was packing it, it got there in one piece and thebuyer was extremely happy about that.

[MonkeyMama]

I just wanted to say I use the bathroom scale too. & then round up. (interestingly my scale does 1/2 pounds). The shipping made me nervous before we started but they have the tools to help you figure it out. Plus for smaller things I do have a postage scale at work I could use. I just have only sold big things so hadn't needed it yet. You can also charge handling fees - I usually throw in a couple of bucks for time and shipping materials.

Hmmmm, I will have to think hard about what is around the house. Interesting what people have sold... Interesting and gross - LOL.

[LuxLiving]

On shipping costs -

I sold alot of paperback books.

The U.S. Postal Service will give you FREE mailers, boxes, tape and labels. They have some standard size envelopes and boxes that cost a certain amount no matter how much you stuff into them. Or they did when I was selling on ebay, not sure if they still do. Anyway, if they still offer this feature, then if you've got a PB or item that you know will fit into one of their pre-determined shipping price mailers then you know how much to charge your buyers.

So, if I sold one of my collectible PB's for 7.00 I would charge the buyer a flat $3.85, as that is what it cost to mail that one item in that size of a box. Hope that's clearer than mud. BTW, the profit was good on those PB as I bought a huge box of these Sci-Fi books at a garage sale for .17 each.

If you have standard size things to sell, it's easy. Other times I just guesstimated. Sometimes I made money on shipping and other times I ate some. The deal if you begin selling is to remember to charge a handling fee as you are having to pack, drive and spend your gasoline and brakes, oil, wear and tear, etc. on your vehicle, your time and such to get things mailed out. Your time is valuable and it is costing you to run your car up and down the road, so include some of that small cost on each sale.

[rob62521]

As for wondering why anyone would want old Kool aid packets...There was a segment on Antiques Road Show where someone's mil had a basket of free samples all dating back from the 40s and they were worth a fortune because people collect the stuff for decorating and/oradvertising.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by rob62521

As for wondering why anyone would want old Kool aid packets...There was a segment on Antiques Road Show where someone's mil had a basket of free samples all dating back from the 40s and they were worth a fortune because people collect the stuff for decorating and/oradvertising.

Very often, the most valuable antiques are items that were not intended to be kept. Items that were meant to be used and disposed of are much harder to find, because most people used them and disposed of them. Finding them unused and in good condition is difficult.

[dmontngrey]

Oh my goodness! I actually own one of those Orbitz soda drinks! My brother bought it for me years ago and I never dared to drink it. Too funny, but I think I'll hang onto it for a while even though there's someone selling the same one right now for $9.99 + $6.50 shipping!

On the subject of Kool Aid: I was shocked about a year ago to find that a more current, yet discontinued, flavor of Kool Aid was a really hot item on Ebay. I had purchased two boxes of 72 packets each for $2.99 maybe 10 years ago in a closeout store. My brother did the same and for some reason, neither of us used many packets. I listed a couple of auctions and sold 10 packet groups for $5-$7 each. I had to stop listing them as the buyers were getting too demanding wanting to know how many more packets I would be selling. I didn't want to sell them in large batches if people would pay that much for just 10 packets!! I see that there aren't currently any listed on Ebay so maybe I should try my luck again?? I have over 150 packets left and I've already gotten back the price paid for them.

On another note, just yesterday I found that people actually buy those sample credit cards that come in credit card offers. I was going to throw a stack out while I was cleaning but for some reason I checked Ebay instead. Someone bought a magnetic American Express sample for $1.99 plus shipping. I have three of those on my filing cabinet! You never know I guess....

[rob62521]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Very often, the most valuable antiques are items that were not intended to be kept. Items that were meant to be used and disposed of are much harder to find, because most people used them and disposed of them. Finding them unused and in good condition is difficult.

You are exactly right!

[nanamom]

I read this thinking of some of the things we sole lately due to our move and laughed. It really is true, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."