The Best Week Ever!

A couple weeks ago I had my best week to date. I sold $619.00 worth of junk to net $509. In fact, I made exactly $509 for the entire month of February, while in that one week I made the same amount. Strange, but gratifying experience.

Have you ever heard of reel to reel sound recording tape? I haven't. But it was new, sealed and looked like the old VHS boxes so I knew it must be obsolete. A quick search on my iphone told me that my instincts were correct. I bought all seven of them for $14 and flipped them over the course of two days. Both lots sold to the same buyer.

I just purchased Quickbooks Pro 2012 to help me with accounting and tax season. I had a $75 off coupon for Costco and the software costs around $160.  Quickbooks Pro does not work on a Mac, unfortunately I was supposed to get the Mac supported version which is EXPENSIVE and not carried by Costco. It's not a problem though, because I can easily return the item.

BUT....

I bought this at the thrift shop for $2 and sold it for $169 overnight! So now I'm wondering if I should hold off on returning it and waiting a year. Maybe that $75 will make me a little extra cash? What would you do?

The last item below is a Snoopy plush doll that was sold by Macy's as a promotional item. This is the second time I've found these, but the first time with the FM Scanner Radio attached. They cost me $2 each. I listed them for $24.99 each and a buyer bought both of them. Fist pump for one shipment and prompt paying buyers!

That was a fun week. I look forward to getting to a point where those types of sales become my norm, instead of being exceptional.

Hope your week is going well. Happy Sales!

Clarification on Why Thrifting Has Changed My Life

I sometimes wonder if people who know me don't approve of what I do. I think they view this business as stealing from the poor and selling to the rich because I always buy the top brands at thrift shops or new with tag items. Some people might view it as they donate to these charities to help people in need, but then I buy it. 

I had a little bit of an "aha" moment last week when I walked into a booth at the monthly storage swap meet and saw a bag of curtain rods for $5. Those exact rods were at the salvation army not long ago for $2. I'm sure of it. I remember noticing them because Tina at My Secret Ebay Diary has talked about shower curtain rods before, but they weren't in great condition so I put them back. Now I know who bought them. And is reselling them. For a split second, I thought it was tacky. Buying and then reselling at a garage sale type swap meet. But I soon realized it's no different from the business model I've been using all along. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I started thinking more about what I do and I realized that thrifting for me is so much more than buying and selling. Its become a part of who I am as a person. I used to spend a lot of my lunch hours scouring the racks at Macys, spending a lot of money on clothing that I no longer wear. I used to shop a lot. I still do infact. Shopping has always been my vice...an outlet for stress release...a way to pass the time. I do some of my best thinking while shopping. Thrifting has given me the outlet to shop, without spending an exorbitant amount of money to do it, and in return I can pay for things for my family and treat myself once in a while.

And since none of you have ever been to my home, I can assure that most of our furnishings come from thrifting. The only furniture that's new in our home is our couch and beds. Most large items were hand me downs from my parents and others were found at moving sales, garage sales, thrift shops, etc. It really gives the house character knowing that most of my decor has been thrifted. My large Samsung LCD tv was...yup you guessed it...purchased at a moving sale. One of my favorite stories is about the time my mom and I spent two hours taking down curtain rods and fixtures ourselves at a moving sale. I think about it every time I look out the window into the beautiful valley across us and my curtains are pulled back.

Anyway, for those of you who know me personally and are starting to learn what I do, please don't think I'm trying to rip off people with my business. Not everything I buy is for resale. In fact, here's a few things I bought recently that I absolutely love and kept all for my greedy little self:

I see so many possibilities with these letters. Find a matching Mrs and mount these over our bed? We have his and hers closets, how cute would they be mounted over our closet space? Anyway, I love these little letters that cost me barely anything.

I'm going to be redecorating the guest bedroom, aka ebay room and I'm collecting frames to spray paint and create a gallery wall. This frame will look amazing sprayed lime green.

These owl salt and pepper shakers are just too cute to give up. 

I'm still not sure about keeping this one. It's sooooooo cool...but there are none on ebay or amazon and I think it could be worth ALOT of cash. But seriously, who wouldn't want a football crockpot all to themselves?

This teapot, cup and saucer is too cute for words. I'm bringing it to work tomorrow so I can have hot tea sitting at my desk all day long.