Storage Auctions
The Storage Locker => General Storage Auction Talk => Topic started by: MovieMan on December 06, 2011, 09:13:33 AM
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Took the plunge and bought an iPad !
I bought a refurb from apple with 32gb, wi-fi + 3G. My primary use will be for doing item lookups when I am at fleas and estate sales and yard sales.
Already seeing difference in typing...I am using hunt and peck here!
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Have downloaded Netflix and eBay apps. eBay app looks great...easy to use full version. Can watch my Netflix instant stuff anywhere.
So far using my home wi-fi net but will order $15 AT&T data plan today with 250mb a month--all I think I need and is month to month.
iPad users---let me know what works for you.
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I use my droid more then my ipad for research and stuff at auctions. Only drawback is the smaller screen vs the ipad.
Watch your network useage. Netflix can eat up some bandwidth quickly if you watch movies over the 3G instead of wi-fi.
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I've had mine for a year......same specs as the one you got. I love it. I always have it with me no matter where I go. Only exceeded the 250mb once.....that's usually not a problem. Along with the "square" that we've talked about before, it's an awesome combination, you can look up values for just about anything and take credit cards wherever you go!
I also have a smart phone, but the screen on the ipad is so much easier to see without having to scroll around and waste time. I skipped the two, didn't think it was worth the upgrade, but I'll probably step up when version three comes out....I'm a firm believer!
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Should be awesome for research.Could make a big difference.
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Should be awesome for research.Could make a big difference.
Here's the REST of the story.
I have been researching Ipads for about 6 weeks. About 10 days ago I had my hands on a piece of electronics that looked OK, but nothing special, no meters, etc. I put it down and didn't even ask how much it was. I thought I MIGHT be able to get $20 for it and if I got it for $5 or $10 didn't seem worth the trouble.
A few days later I look at one of the regular's "picker" type eBay listings and there is this item sitting with several bids at $100 !
A few days after that I couldn't resist and looked at it the completed item. It sold for just over $300 ! (kicking myself here).
This is when I made the decision to get the Ipad. If I had had it when I saw the item at the flea I probably would have bought it after doing a search right there in the field. That item alone would have paid 3/4 of the cost of the Ipad, OR 20 months of data service.
Now I am hoping to find one really good item like that a month...that would be enough to make me happy !
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I recently just got an Ipad 2 16GB + WiFi 4G. The cool thing is I did not pay for it. I won it from a sweepsstake. :) Anyway, I wont be using it to do research on, just to big for me to do that, rather use a smart phone. Besides I am not paying for a data plan for the Ipad :)
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Well, the Ipad has made its debut at a Thursday flea I go to for buying purposes only.
Saw a nice set of 6 Motorola walkies with charger. Guy was asking $500. I went around the corner and got out the Ipad and looked them up on eBay. One set was "asking" $1,000, two others asking $700 and $800. The only COMPLETED has sold for $500.
I offered the guy $250 but he would only come down to $450. Obviously not a deal. When he said "let me show you on my phone" (he had also done this earlier), I said "No, let me show you on my phone." When I pulled out the Ipad he said "That's a phone?" but he knew better. As we talked it turns out one of the eBay items WAS his. We ended on a good note, but this kind of buying only works when you have a seller who doesn't know what he's got. Moving us on to the next item.
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Found a little yellow box ... an industrial tester. Walked away, looked it up. Last eBay sale was $60. Bought the item for $5 and am hoping for $60 or so. If it does sell for that, that's 4 future months of data plan at $15 a month. ;D
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Have used the Ipad at 4 flea markets now and have bought two items based on that use. The 2nd item I paid $20 and think it will only sell for $40 to $50 because the ones on eBay ARE NOT selling at $80, but worth a shot and want to work the Ipad for its intended reason.
I also had a DUH ! moment when I realized that it also would help me RULE OUT items I might otherwise have taken a chance on. This seems like a NO-BRAINER now that I think about it, but it just hit me when I looked up a tool I thought would be worth $125 plus retail and found out that perfect specimens were going for $40 or so on eBay, and the one I was looking at was marginal at the flea. I also found a second intriguing item that wouldn't pay off....SO, not spending money foolishly is also of course a way of MAKING money. ;D
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You may make a convert out of me yet MovieMan. I've not really gotten into the buy/sale of many things outside of my specialties. But an Ipad for research at the flea may be something for me to look into also. About time for me to hit the estate auctions back up.
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I'm not sure it works on the ipad (as I don't have one) but I know on the iphone you can download Amazon's app that works as a barcode scanner.
This little sucker is invaluable. you simply point it at the barcode and amazon's site will pop up and tell you how much the item is going for. I use it regularly when going into goodwill. Shoot the books, find one for 15 bucks, pay a couple dollars for it and profit.
You HAVE to have a smart phone or mobile device now. I can't tell you how many times I have used mine as a navigational system (gps) to look up prices, or as a quick way to store data I want to save.
I better keep quiet or I'll give all my good tips away and no one will end up buying my book! :P
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Well I'm not going to the iPad yet but I suspect I'll be getting a Kindle Fire come Christmas. Will have to see how well it does. I've read mix reviews about it. However, even if it only searches the Amazon website I could use it for quick item ID and general new price. Then cut it to 1/4 of price to figure out if worth buying to try and resale or not.
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Just a word to all those that have a tablet, ipad or other..........Get some kind of cover! I've dropped my ipad out of the truck a couple of times, threw a box on it when I forgot I had it laying on the seat, and it's flown out of the seat once or twice during a panic stop. So far, no damage to my ipad at all, but I finally broke the hinge on my case during a panic stop the other day.
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Just a word to all those that have a tablet, ipad or other..........Get some kind of cover!
I ordered an Otterbox for my iPad 1 (from Amazon) the same day I ordered the iPad from Apple. They arrived one day apart. Since the iPad 1 is older the case was discounted to $14.95 and came in at about $24 with shipping and tax.
It's polycarbonate and silicon rubber and very heavy duty. I wouldn't drop it to test it, but seems like it would endure a 3 foot drop with no problem. It also included a skin for the screen, but I wasn't too happy with it and will get some other brand when I feel I need to.
The Otterbox case has a removeable cover that goes over the screen and doubles as a stand providing two different positions.
Check it out on Amazon or at the Otterbox website. It's $80 from them !
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Here's one of many videos about the Otterbox Defender for the Ipad 1. Not the best, but will give you some ideas.
There is also a model called Commuter for the Ipad 1 and of course similars for the Ipad 2.
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Why not just use a smartphone? An iPad is just a big iPhone anyway.
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Why not just use a smartphone? An iPad is just a big iPhone anyway.
I believe you assume the following:
1) that I have a smartphone (or could get one).
2) that I would be able to effectively use ebay and google on the smartphone.
3) that I would be willing to pay in the neighborhood of $50 a month or more for a smartphone (2 year contract).
The FACTS are:
1) I have a basic cellphone which costs me $10 a month and I hardly use it..
2) The screen and interface for eBay and Google on the small screens don't do it for me (maybe for you),
where the iPad screen is easy to read and the two interfaces are beautifully executed and intuitive.
3) I pay $15 a month for cellular data from AT&T and it's month by month (the wifi is free).
;D
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The big selling point for me was the screen size.....almost as big as a laptop but a lot easier to carry around, and way easier to see than a cell phone. I have a smart phone, but the ipad is just so much easier to work with than the small screen on my phone (which is a Droid X, so it's not super small). Also, the ipad battery lasts for a long time in sleep mode and it starts up right away, so it's always ready to use.
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It's official...the iPad as I am using it is a true money maker.
I have bought 5 items in the last 22 days based on researching them right at the site I am seeing them (fleas and a thrift store so far). I have also researched about 8 items which I did NOT buy based on the info I got.
So far 2 of the 5 items have sold and the money they have brought in has paid for the next 8 months of data (at $15 a month from AT&T) and have reduced (amortized) the cost of the iPad by $15.
So, well on the way to paying for itself in less than a full month of use. I'm convinced it was a good buy. ;D
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Well MovieMan you just about have me sold. Waiting to see how my wife jumps as far as her job goes before I get one. Have $300 in walmart gift cards saved from Xmas so that will put a dent in the price. Father just bought a 32 GB wi-fi one so will play with it some at the house.
If the dang thing would accept my CF cards instead of just SD cards I'd of bought one last night just for my photo shooting. Or if it would accept a card reader but alas no. So have not talked myself into it just yet.
Did get a Kindle Fire for xmas also so for those places that have wi-fi I'm going to toy around with it.
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I ordered an Otterbox for my iPad 1 (from Amazon) the same day I ordered the iPad from Apple. They arrived one day apart. Since the iPad 1 is older the case was discounted to $14.95 and came in at about $24 with shipping and tax.
It's polycarbonate and silicon rubber and very heavy duty. I wouldn't drop it to test it, but seems like it would endure a 3 foot drop with no problem. It also included a skin for the screen, but I wasn't too happy with it and will get some other brand when I feel I need to.
The Otterbox case has a removeable cover that goes over the screen and doubles as a stand providing two different positions.
Check it out on Amazon or at the Otterbox website. It's $80 from them !
thanks for the heads up on the otterbox i got one for my evo and love it, can toss the phone around and not worry about it, didnt realize they made them for ipads. i hate apple but may look into seeing if they have them for tablets as well.
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Might have me sold too.
time to upgrade my phone (it has been dropped several times and is missing parts still works though)
Not sure how fast I would adapt.. Love technology but slow in accepting it. Was forced to turn on voice mail (hate it). It is such a wast of time. I have caller ID if I miss your call I will call you back. With VM have to call a # listen to message erase message then call you anyway.
Sorry digress. I am going to look at the plans we have available. AT&T not good in our area. To many dead zones. We use verizon (bought out alltell) only service out here in the country.
If can pull it off as inexpensively as you Movieman will just have to jump in.
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Not sure how fast I would adapt.. Love technology but slow in accepting it.
Glad to see I am not the only person has the same paradox about technology. ;D
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21 hours left on my first month of cellular data....I have used 139 mb of the 250 monthly allotment...111mb left...guess I'd better "use it or lose it"...too bad it doesn't roll over, but then next month I would just have a bigger surplus.
Now I have a good idea of how much I can use the 3G aspect and not run out of "time". I have consistently used this at 3 or 4 flea markets a week for the last month and look forward to the "big score" one of these days. Best so far was a $30 purchase which sold for $150 and a $5 purchase that sold for $48 I think it was.
Looked up one item at a flea market today but decided against it. Went to a flea 50 miles away yesterday and bought 3 items for a total of $25 and hoping to sell them for about $75; not a lot, but would pay for the gas and then some.
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Nice MovieMan - you can make money with the baby steps many times until you can take a long step or jump. It's like the flea. I make 50%-70% of my money on $5 or less items, mostly .25 - $1. The other % comes from larger expensive items.
If money wasn't so tight now I'd try my hand at it. Will have to do well at the auctions and flea and save the dough.
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I just use my Smartphone for everything you are doing on the ipad. I pay $45 a month for my phone for unlimited everything and it fits in my pocket and has a decent size screen. I think what I like the best is the ebay app where I can scan ANYTHING with a barcode thats in a store and it will show me same items being sold on ebay.
The Ipad is a Great tool and if it works for you then Great but my phone works like a Champ.
Good info though for those that dont have a Smartphone though.
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Good info though for those that dont have a Smartphone though.
Or for someone who prefers a 10" screen to a couple of inch screen. ;)
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I have the small screen smartphone with me at auction time, but keep the iPad locked in the car to be used when digging into a unit that I purchase. The bigger screen is much easier to do research on, but I find it too large to be useful at auction time.
A word of caution, at least in the Boston area there are many storage sites in old buildings that have very poor, if any, 3G signal. Don't always assume that you will have Internet connectivity whenever you want it.
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A word of caution, at least in the Boston area there are many storage sites in old buildings that have very poor, if any, 3G signal. Don't always assume that you will have Internet connectivity whenever you want it.
1) I don't use the iPad at auctions. Really not enough time to look something up, so
2) No need to worry about 3G in multi-story buildings. All the ones I go to are out in the open, and...see
#1 above.
3) I use the iPad at flea markets, estate sales and yard sales...all of which have good 3G reception, and...
4) Your advice is good for folks who use the smartphones and iPads in more urban, inside settings. ;D
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wait, youre paying 15 bucks a month for 250 GIGS or 250 MEGS?
i ask because i have an ATT DSL line and i pay 20 a month for 150 gigs... and i am seriously doubting that youre getting 250 gigs for that price. but if you are... thats.. awesome...
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wait, youre paying 15 bucks a month for 250 GIGS or 250 MEGS?
i ask because i have an ATT DSL line and i pay 20 a month for 150 gigs... and i am seriously doubting that youre getting 250 gigs for that price. but if you are... thats.. awesome...
And you would be right !
It is 250 MEGS ! I'll go back and change it in the other posts above. So far in the 2nd month I've only used 13 MB so the 250 MB looks like a winning amount for me. If it HAD BEEN GB, then I could have watched whole movies out in the middle of the wilderness, but when I'm there I'm not in a movie mode anyway !
Thanks for catching that...and stay away from those CANS !
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Anyone have the samsung galaxy? I want a tab that I can use as a hotspot and have heard they can, though sounds like you have to pay for a higher data plan.
Have the iPod touch and luckily live in a techy area so wifi is not hard to find. I'd be lost without it in the research department!! Saved me and made me so much! Looking to upgrade but still haven't decided which tab will best suit me.
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It's official !
iPad is "paid off" completely thanks to researching items at fleas, etc.
I bought it in late Nov, 2011 and 2 months later it is completely "paid off".
Today I sold an item for $330 that I had paid $10 for. Also sold for $185 an item I had paid $5 for.
These were extreme cases of course, but they were part of the plan for this kind of picking and I got both
of them from same dealer at my flea about 3 weeks ago.
Of course it helped a lot that the dealer didn't know what he had and that I got there before the other pickers did.
When I arrive at 5:45 a.m. for my reserved spot I head right out with flashlight in hand and make the rounds. Several of the major pickers don't get there until first light .... 7 or so. Oh well, early bird gets the goods.
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That is great Movieman !!!!!!
Wow you get there early. Most of the vendors at ours are not there until later. And most I have seen know what they have. Not that I would know. Still working on the knowledge. ???
:D
Did miss one while setting up. Hand painted old window $5. Another vendor came up with it and asked what we would price it at I said at least $45. So he did. Husband said I saw that over there. ::) In booth across from us. Oh well.
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Wow you get there early. Most of the vendors at ours are not there until later. And most I have seen know what they have. Not that I would know. Still working on the knowledge. ???
At my flea if you have a reserved space you have to get there by 6 a.m. If you don't check in they sell your space to a "daily" vendor who is lined up ready to get it !
There are about 250 or so vendors at my flea. I haven't broken it down percentage wise by vendor type specifically, but there are what I would call "garage/yard sale" vendors (like us), "wholesalers" who sell "made in China" new goods and toilet paper, and food or produce vendors. Of the garage sale vendors, many are hispanic, some black, most caucasian....within those ethnic groups there are people who represent all orders of intelligence with the bulk being average or below...that's where the money is to be made for those who know what to buy...the rest is just luck in getting there first with that knowledge.
The chief "picker" has 15,000 plus feedback on eBay (not me...I'm at about 850). He never stops at my booth as he knows I am competition and won't sell him anything cheap. He does not sell at the fleas.
The next picker has 6,000 plus feedback on ebay. He sells at the same flea I do and they both shop the other 3 fleas in our immediate area.
One of the guys who has sold for 8 years at my flea has just quit the flea (at least for a while) to do nothing but picking and he drives up to 90 miles to go to other fleas for picking...that's too much for me.
Anyway, picking seems to be working right now.
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At my flea if you have a reserved space you have to get there by 6 a.m. If you don't check in they sell your space to a "daily" vendor who is lined up ready to get it !
Anyway, picking seems to be working right now.
Thought ours was big, not so much. If we pay in advance our space is our space. The Market opens at 8:00 AM. Have not seen it sold out.
We do have a Flea like that. Sell your space if you don't show and then charge you a fee for not being there. Is one of the busiest in the area. A Drive for us. 35 miles away. but would take a hour to get there. Drive through three towns.
Picking is working the best for us too. Our yard sale returns are better than the lockers, Think it is just faster return on investment. And the equipment auction once a month really paying off. Husband buys lots at $5.00 each the first one he got we are still selling out of it. LOL We say the gift that keeps on giving. ;D. Got it from a fellow locker buyer.
Going to hit an Antique action house box lot auction this coming weekend. May pay off. Right down the road so want hurt to go see. Antiques we know a little bit about.
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GameStop had 50% trade bonus on top of 10% membership bonus.
So went in and traded all the games and systems I've collected over the past year.
Was really surprised at how much it all added up to. Most of it I tried to eBay and not a bid to be had.
Only got $30 for the DS but some of the games were $20/ea.
They even took some items they normally don't buy since I had so much. Tho not the playstation's (first one) but play-n-trade will take those for $10/ea
Anyway...the point of this post in THIS thread.....
Was enough that instead of credit they gave me a used iPad 2!!
Had to get it from another store so won't get it till tue/wed.
Will give my review when I get it!!
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MovieMan
Thanks for the very informative post .
I have never given any of the " Newer Gadgets " a thought before last weekend .
We were at an auction in the back row , and the guy next to me made the remark that there is a chip on the item the auctioneer is holding up ??? He then passed me his iPad with the auction zip picture of the item .
He bought an older unit ( didn't like the newer ones ) and does what you do with it , also on at&t @ $ 15.99 a mo.
We are seriously thinking getting one . Plus a Square for the Brimfield Flea Market .
Bob
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I do the mobile hotspot. $100 device, $60/month unlimited data.
Device is about the size of iPhone.
Can use that instead of getting data plan 2yr commitment on phone.
But can also run my iPad. Home Internet. Laptop. Xbox. BlueRay player.
Five devices can be run at once. Friends love it cause they connect to ghost in the car instead of wasting data plan. And I have Internet in hotels without paying $20/night.
Down side is you have an extra little thing to carry around. Not bad if I have laptop bag or out and about. But day-to-day, carrying it just for phone/iPod data is a pain, leave it in the car most times. Or the girls purse. :)
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Come May I may get one of the surplus Ipad2s. I have 4 phones on my cell plan right now. In may I can cancel one of those lines (wife upgraded her phone by adding a new line - cheaper). So I can then add just the data for the ipad to my cell phone bill and still have it go down.
I have just about worn out my cell phone. I use it more and more for ebay sales, research, checking / sending email, etc. Figure will be easier and better to do it on a Ipad or tablet so can save my battery on phone.
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GameStop has iPad2 16GGB for $350. (No 3G, just WiFi)
If you have a membership they are offering 20% extra buy back bonus. So trade in some old consoles and games, iPhones, iPods.......
Think my iPad2 has been the best purchase I've ever made. Even the CL app is decent now. Still some dislikes but nothing major.
It has helped me make money, really has saved me money and saved me from making some bad purchases.
With the Bluetooth keyboard and SD card reader I rarely even use my laptop anymore.
The iPhone was handy, the ipad is useful.......
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I just bought a used iPad2 for my wife. She loves it. I learned a few things about used iPads while shopping for them. #1 These things hold their resale value like a Mercedes! #2 Condition is everything. Protect it with screen guards and rubber cases. The iPads that were listed in pristine condition (no scratches, dings or marks) sold for $50-100 more than others in average to good condition. #3 Save the box and keep it in good condition. iPads without the box sold for $20-30 less than ones with the box.
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I do 3M clear bra application on cars.
Have tons of scrape if you want some. Stuff takes a beating!!
Same stuff thy charge $50-$75 at the mall for.
Also, just got a new case from brookstone. When you close it auto turn off and tuns back on when you open it. Pretty cool. Best case I've had so far. Durable. Ipad just pop out if you need to. Camera hole actually line up and doesn't give a halo......