Last Weekend's incredible finds

So last Friday, my son Phillip and I decided to hit the garage sales early. We usually go on Saturdays but there were a whole lot of sales with potential so we set out. The very first sale we stopped at had opened about a half hour earlier and already the Zelda games that were pictured in the craigslist ad were gone. The second sale we stopped at had just opened. She had many gamecube games and I asked her how much they were. She said 2 dollars unless otherwise marked. So I grabbed this:

This game is extremely hard to find. I also picked up Wind Waker, all in the Zelda series, but that one has already been sold. Along with a few other gamecube games, my son Phil decided he wanted this:

This game is hard to find on the Nintendo 64 platform. It is even harder to find with the box and instructions included. He picked it up for 4 dollars but it is easily worth 30-50 dollars.

Finally, She had a Nintendo 64 still in the box with instructions and all the cords, etc. I asked her how much for it and she said 20 dollars. I scooped it up.

I had no idea the Nintendo 64 was worth over $100 and that the goldeneye car was worth 30-50 dollars. I never haggle with people, especially if I know the value of an item. If I feel it is too much for me to make a profit on, I just decline.

I was already to put the Zelda promotional disc up when Phil made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He traded me 2 Zelda Nintendo 64 games (Majora's mask and Ocarina of Time) and the goldeneye cartridge for the disc. I told him that his games were probably worth more and that he didn't have to give me so much but he insisted. The Zelda N64 cartridges went immediately.

I also picked up the Warriors PS2 game. It is relatively hard to find.

Last weekend's finds

Last weekend, Phil and I set out on our search for treasures. Craigslist only had a few garage sales of interest so I was going to concentrate on listing the stuff I got in previous weeks. This summer has just started and already I found 2 Playstation 2 game consoles and dozens of games. I was waiting for some of the games to come back from the resurfacer when I decided to go out and just hit a few sales.

I couldn't find any games when I decided to hit one more sale. The ad promised all kinds of retro game systems and games. Phil and I set out but when we arrived there it was apparent that this guy was a dealer and the prices were just too high. Phil found a Nintendo 64 game "Zelda: Ocarina of Time". I asked the guy how much and he said $40. We were about to walk away when he said he'd take $20. Phil has been saving his lawn cutting money and decided to buy the game.

I had been checking Craigslist all day when I saw an ad that said they had Nintendo 64 games. It was just down the road so me and Phil hopped in the car and headed there. A young woman was selling an NES system as well as a Nintendo 64 systems plus games. I couldn't believe what I saw:

The same game that Phil just bought! I asked the girl how much and she said $2.00. I gladly paid her and went home. I looked the game up when I got home and found out it's worth $50.00! I was so excited I looked up more sales but all I could find was one around the corner from me. The lady having the sale was raising money for the 3-day breast cancer walk.

I found some Nick Cave cds I had been looking for and asked her what she wanted for them. She told me a dollar a disc. I also found 2 box sets from obscure artists:

Both sets are fairly hard to find so I think I will be able to sell them for a tidy profit. The winter was long but this summer is already shaping up to be profitable. And to think I was about to give up!

Looking for treasure

My garage sale season is in full swing after a rather slow start. Phil and I hit the road in mid-April in search of garage sales after a very hectic tax season. It's been two months since we started and have really not gotten anything of note. A couple of weeks ago Phil found a metal detector at a garage sale and has been on a quest for buried treasure since.

A particularly challenging marketing class has also kept me quite busy so we haven't been going out as much. With the class behind me, it's full swing this weekend. Due to a hard drive crash at work, it looks like I am going to have the next few days off. I plan on getting out there Thursday through Saturday to look for anything of value.

It's not like there is nothing out there, it's just that the prices are kind of high. I did find a PS2 complete system and 51 games for $55.00. But other than that, it has been a slow season.

Melodies and Memories

This past weekend, Phil and I decided to venture to the east side where we used to live. We chose Melodies and Memories at 10 mile and Gratiot. The store has a pretty good selection of vinyl. I was looking through the new arrivals when I came across this little gem:

Laura Nyro is one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all time. She wrote "And when I die" which was a huge hit for Blood, sweat and tears when she was only 16 years old. The guy at Melodies and memories told me that she wrote "Wedding bell blues" when she was 12. She wrote so many hit songs made famous by other artists: "Wedding bell blues" and "Stoned soul picnic" by 5th dimension, "Eli's Comin" by Three Dog Night and "Stoney End" by Barbara Streisand. This album was later released as "The first songs" so this one was a real find.

Another thing I found was a record by an obscure 80's scottish band called Secession. Back in the late 80's I used to go to dance clubs, most notably Todd's at 7 mile and Van Dyke. They played a lot of goth/post punk/dance/alternative music. This brought back memories of dancing and having fun with friends.

Selling Vinyl Records (LPs) Online

Last week I received an early birthday present from my husband : Goldmine's Record Album Price Guide 7th edition on CD-ROM. Goldmine is the definitive guide to pricing vinyl records. I was very excited to receive this present because I had wanted to get into the vinyl record selling business. I have been collecting records on and off for a while now. The only problem I have with records as opposed to video games or books is that I usually don't want to part with them.

So I looked up an LP I picked up at the Royal Oak Flea Market a few weeks ago. It is Nunsexmonkrock by the post punk/goth artist Nina Hagen. I paid $5.00 for it. 

I looked it up by the serial number ARC38008. This is what Goldmine priced it:

So Goldmine says it is worth 12.00 because I have the original and not a reprint. This was good news because I am always worried that I will pay too much for vinyl albums. But they are definitely making a comeback. Artists such as Beck, Def Leppard, The Fray, Morrissey, Bad Religion and Suede are putting their new releases out on vinyl. UHF in Royal Oak and Found Sound in Ferndale have a great selection of new as well as used vinyl. 

So Goldmine prices Nunsexmonkrock at $12.00 so I decided what the album is listed for on Ebay. The album is listed from $3.99 + shipping to $19.99 + shipping. So I am thinking I can probably get at least $10-12 for it. 

The great thing about having Goldmine on CD ROM is that I downloaded it to my Android phone. Now I can shop and never wonder if I have a bargain or am getting ripped off. 

A Family Affair

This past Saturday I got the day off, a rarity in tax season. I had decided to spend the day record shopping. I decided to hit a couple of record stores with Phil, my son and adviser on video games. He has even gotten into selling stuff online. When he gets tired of a video game, he has me sell it with the money going towards a new hard drive for his computer (which he bought with money made from selling things online plus a summer job cutting lawns).

We hit Found Sound in Ferndale. The store is very clean and neat. They had quite a selection of new and used vinyl but the prices were quite high. They had some used video games too but nothing that Phil thought would sell. Next we hit Solo records in Royal Oak. I really like this place. I can always find records even a few in the dollar bin and was not disappointed. I picked up some 80's stuff as well as some Squeeze albums and some Al Stewart albums. Though I was looking in particular for some Gil Scott-Heron albums for my private collection, but to no avail.

Our next stop was to visit my Mom, Phil's grandma. She has just gotten out of the hospital and is having a tough time getting around. She has some health issues that are going to force her to move from her quad style house to a ranch. She cannot handle the stairs anymore. I mention this because when we stopped by she was going through her books and cds. She asked me if I would like them because she was donating them to the library. I was overjoyed. My mom has always been supportive of my online business. She was the one who taught me about garage sales and always said "One man's trash is another man's treasure". It sounds cliche but she really said that. Two of the cds she gave me "Rubber Soul" by the Beatles and "Wingspan" by the Wings sold within hours.

Finally, one of the things I picked up at Solo Records was a Mama Cass Elliot album. I grew up in a house where music was a diverse thing. I grew up with irish folk music, jazz,  Rock (the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas, the Fifth Dimension to name a few) as well as crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Nat King Cole.

I did not know "Mama" Cass Elliot had a solo career away from the Mamas and the Papas. I found this out a few weeks ago when I heard her song "Make your own kind of Music" on an episode of "Dexter". So I was going to order the cd. I never got around to it and happened to find the record at Solo. It's not worth much because it is a re-release of an earlier album. But I am going to keep it for my own collection. 

Finally, I grew up hearing the jokes about how Mama Cass died choking on a ham sandwich. She was ridiculed about her weight and the story was spread as truth. In doing a little research, I found out that she died of a heart attack due to extreme dieting. Because a ham sandwich was found in her room, with a bite out of it, the rumor spread that she died that way. It was later revealed that her heart had been weakened by only eating 3 days a week (she had recently lost 80 pounds in 8 months). She was 32 years old. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW1TZCcemek&feature=kp#aid=P7wKa4iRzVg

Selling Books Online

When I started selling on Ebay in 2001, it was mainly books. Back then you could get a decent price for hardcovers as well as paperbacks. As I mentioned earlier, when the Kindle and other e-readers came around, your average mass market hardcovers and paperbacks were not worth as much. What is still worth money is First Editions. First Editions, first printings are the best type book to find and often are worth the most.

Recently I had this particular first edition for sale:

First Editions go for more money if the dust jacket is intact. This one was with no tears or creases. To tell if a book is a first edition you go to the page with the publishing information:

 On this page it is stated as a first edition. Also note the number line at the bottom of the page. The first 5 numbers are the years it will be printed. 1978 was the first year of this book. the other numbers indicate the printing of the book. Since the number line is from 1-10 that means that this is the first printing of the book. If it was the second printing, the number 1 would be gone and all you would see was 2-10.

Paperbacks are another story. Older paperbacks from the 40's to the 60's are usually worth something to a collector, but for the most part mass market paperbacks are not worth that much. You can usually get more for them on Ebay than on Amazon. On Ebay you can get maybe 2.00 for one that is in really good condition while the same book on Amazon would only be worth a penny.

Also it's worth noting that some hardcovers may not be first editions but are still older (from the 30's or 40's). These books can sometimes go for a decent price. Always check Ebay and Amazon to see what other sellers are asking for it, and make your price adjustments from there.

Using Craigslist.org effectively

Last year, when I decided to start my business, I used craigslist.org to find garage sales. Each week, starting at around Wednesday, I would search for garage sales selling video games. I was mainly looking for games for the Nintendo Gamecube system, but I was also interested in Xbox 360 games and even PS2. My son Phil, has an Xbox 360, PS2, Nintendo Gamecube and Nintendo 64. He has collected these systems over the years. I will only purchase games that can be played on these systems so I can test them (having been the buyer of a broken game, on a few occasions). I would not buy any PS3 games or Nintendo Wii games because I do not have a way to test them.  But I digress.

When I first started using craigslist.org to find garage sales, I was mainly looking for video games. So I would click “garage sales” and when I got to the garage sale page. I would further filter the results by typing “video games” in the search box. Then I would read the ad, seeing what kind of video games were for sale, and if it was what I was looking for I would make my list of addresses and go looking for garage sales. Don’t get me wrong, I found some great deals: a gamecube system with all the wires, controllers and 11 games (good ones including Mario Sunshine) for $15.00.

Game testing central

But what I soon found out towards the end of summer, is that a lot of people will not call them “video games” but actually by their names like “gamecube” , “Nintendo” and “Xbox 360”. It turns out that my search was too broad and I did not take into consideration that these games could be called by something more specific. Shame on me! All of my years of buying and selling on Ebay should have taught me that when doing a search, I need to be specific. I would think of searching “video games” on Ebay or Amazon, I would get thousands of results!

Here are some tips for using craigslist:

• Craigslist.org is great if you are having a garage sale. It is free advertising and the times I used it, have been my most successful sales.
• Personally, I have never used craiglist to buy something off someone person to person. If you are planning on doing that, meet in a neutral location and bring someone with you if you can. My husband got a great deal on a Dell laptop that way.
• Also, there are a lot of scams on craigslist so be careful. If something sounds too good to be true, be wary. This is especially true in the employment section.
• Be specific in your search so you can find exactly what you are looking for.

Selling on Ebay or Amazon.com

So you have decided to clean out that attic or garage and start selling on Ebay.com or Amazon.com. Here are some tips to get more people to see your items for sale.

·        Always use the UPC code to list your item. This will insure that you have the right edition of the book, record, game, etc. If there is no UPC code be as descriptive as possible.

·         Take pictures. Ebay.com now allows you to take as many pictures for free. Take advantage of this. It will allow your buyers to fully see the condition of the item.

·         Research what your item is worth. What did recent items sell for? Guide are good, but always remember: an item is only worth what people are willing to pay.

·         Write a detailed description. I will be the first to admit that I often only use the item specifics that ebay has via the UPC code. Here is a recent item I sold:

What is wrong with this listing? Well for one, I don’t list the titles of Damon Runyon stories included. Adding a detailed description lets the person searching for a specific story search not only the titles but descriptions. I had three pictures which was good but I should have probably at the very least added a picture of the table of contents.

Also, please note that Ebay.com does not have as vast of a database of products that amazon.com has. I have noticed with the older books, ebay.com only will have the more recent editions, whereas amazon.com has most if not all the editions, which it makes a customer more likely to find the exact thing they are looking for. Also when searching on amazon.com for Damon Runyon and you find the book you are looking for, when you click on it, all the new and used books of just that book are shown. On ebay.com you may get other books mixed in.

As for fees: I pay 15% of the total on amazon.com plus .99 cents per item sold. I can list as many things as I want for free. If I think I am going to sell more than 35 items, I can pay a flat fee of $35 for unlimited items.  On ebay.com they charge me 10% of what I sell but I have to pay 6% to paypal.com who processes my payments. I get 50 free listings a month on ebay.com but they often have specials like 100,000 free listings for the next few days.I do get a better deal overall with amazon.com but I stick with ebay.com because all the more exposure. Plus on amazon.com paperbacks often are listed for a penny, whereas on ebay they are more fair market value.

This Weekend Treasure Hunting

This morning my son Phil and I braved slick, snowy streets to attend Royal Oak's weekly flea market located in the Farmer's market. The flea market is very neat and orderly with booths selling everything from vintage jewelry, vintage clothing, toys, books, records among other things. The problem with trying to find things at flea markets as opposed to garage sales is at flea markets the prices are retail and above. The profit margin is very low, if any. I did find 2 David Bowie albums and a Nina Hagen album that I could probably sell for double if not three times what I paid. I picked up this flyer while I was there:

I will definitely attend this sale! I will let you know if I find any cool things in my blog the following week.

The same held true for an estate sale that I attended on Saturday afternoon. They were asking $3.00 for DVDs, CDs and hardcover books. I would have probably bought a bunch at half that price, but I can't see being able to resell these items for $3.00 to $4.00 each. I was also interested in some Breyer horses, but at $22.00 each I once again had to pass.

This week I am going to comb all the record stores I can find. Record stores usually all have dollar bins. I have found quite a few treasures in those bins.

Winter Doldrums

So as we are headed into another polar vortex, it looks as though I am going to be spending a lot of time indoors. This could be the perfect opportunity for me to organize my book and get them into some sort of order so they can be found easily. But this is easier said than done. I have so many that need to be listed and researched. But instead I seem to get sucked into my Netflix account and watching old episodes of “Chuck”.

I find I get stuck in the Winter doldrums, dreaming of spring when I can throw myself into scouting out new sales instead of concentrating on what I have and getting it organized. I sometimes feel overwhelmed with my disorganization but I'm working on it.

My copy of "Warman’s Jewelry and Price Guide" came recently and am going to start studying that. I am really excited about getting into the costume jewelry business.  I  got the idea when I went to the Royal Oak flea market about a month ago. I was really impressed by what I saw: lots of vintage jewelry, toys, comic books, antiques, etc. The flea markets can sometimes be very disorganized but this one is really nice. If I get caught up on my organizing I think I’ll go up there Sunday.

Bio

Hello, my name is Colleen Hirsch and I am the creator of "Colleen the Treasure Hunter" blog. This blog is all about finding treasures at garage sales, estate sales, rummage sales and flea markets as well as tips on how to resell items online by using Ebay.com and Amazon.com.

I started reselling in 2001 on Ebay.com. Back then I specialized mainly in books: first editions, pulp fiction paperbacks, as well as newer books. Back then books sold like wildfire and I was constantly struggling to keep inventory. Then with the release of e-readers such as Kindle and Nook, people were no longer interested in buying books. I stopped selling on Ebay and focused on other things like going back to school and working full time. I lost my full time job due to cutbacks and struggled to find a new one.  I was getting depressed and frustrated at not being able to find a job.

So my husband, Ben, sat me down and asked what I really wanted to do. “What is your passion?” he asked me.

“I really like selling stuff online.” I answered.

“Then just throw yourself into it. It won’t seem like work if you love it.”

That was about 6 months ago. I spent every weekend of the summer going to garage sales. It was hit or miss but I am slowly building up my inventory. I take my son Phil with me. He is 13 years old and an expert on which video games are the hot ones.

I am also looking forward to getting into the costume jewelry business and am currently learning about that.

I am looking forward to the day when I can finally quit my day job and focus on my business full time.