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The Treasure Chest / Old Marbles!!
« on: June 02, 2013, 11:15:17 AM »
Even though this isn't a storage locker find, it's still pretty cool.......
Bought an old large tin can full of (mostly) old marbles at a garage sale. The lady who sold them to me insisted they belonged to an old man she was the caretaker for, and wouldn't budge below $20. So I took a chance.
I painstakingly split up the marbles into 20 lots of 18 marbles each on ebay, with many pictures that would show every angle of every marble. Started all the lots at $9.99, and awaited the huge cash windfall.
Something happened on the way to the bank. There was no interest or bids (insert sound of crickets chirping here). I even re-listed them, and only sold one lot for $9.99. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME- the lots took the better part of one day to photograph and list, and I still hadn't even made my money back!
Then a light went off in my head. How about selling them in a local popular auction house??? So I got a large old mason jar (that I found in a locker, and was doing nothing with), and filled it. The jar certainly gave the illusion that the items were old, even though the better percentage of them weren't all that desirable.
Low and behold, there was a bidding frenzy, and they sold for $420!!!! Even after my 35% commission to the auction house, it was a decent profit. Off to find more marbles!!!!
Bought an old large tin can full of (mostly) old marbles at a garage sale. The lady who sold them to me insisted they belonged to an old man she was the caretaker for, and wouldn't budge below $20. So I took a chance.
I painstakingly split up the marbles into 20 lots of 18 marbles each on ebay, with many pictures that would show every angle of every marble. Started all the lots at $9.99, and awaited the huge cash windfall.
Something happened on the way to the bank. There was no interest or bids (insert sound of crickets chirping here). I even re-listed them, and only sold one lot for $9.99. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME- the lots took the better part of one day to photograph and list, and I still hadn't even made my money back!
Then a light went off in my head. How about selling them in a local popular auction house??? So I got a large old mason jar (that I found in a locker, and was doing nothing with), and filled it. The jar certainly gave the illusion that the items were old, even though the better percentage of them weren't all that desirable.
Low and behold, there was a bidding frenzy, and they sold for $420!!!! Even after my 35% commission to the auction house, it was a decent profit. Off to find more marbles!!!!