Sales today were odd. There were relatively few sales but a high percentage of these sales were good. I only purchased items from two sales for a total of $6.25.
One of the first sales we went to had a GameCube and a stack of approximately ten GameCube games. The console was $10 and the games were priced at $5 each. Of the ten games, I chose four: Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest.
I ignored the marked prices and asked the seller how much the games were. She told me "$5 each, so $20 total" to which I responded "$5 each?" She then immediately offered $15 instead. That was still more than I was willing to spend so I made a show of checking the boxes for documentation and the disks for scratches. I then countered with $4 because the disks were scratched and some of the booklets were missing. She offered $8 to which I offered $6. She then I offered $7 but I said I could really only do $6. She commented on my bargaining skills and accepted.
I know that giving you a play-by-play of my bargaining is rather dry but I feel it's important because it gives you an idea of real bargaining situations. I've described many of the bargaining techniques that I know and I've given situations in which they're useful. However, very rarely do you use only one of these techniques; I usually end up using a combination of several techniques to get a deal. In my technique introductions I only give you idealized situations in which only one technique need be applied.
I'm quite happy spending $6 on these four titles. Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time Master Quest both start at $35 used on Amazon and they're both supposed to be excellent games. In fact, I have been looking for OOT from garage sales for years now; I've actually passed it up at swap meets just so I could have something to look for at garage sales. These two games alone make it worth it.
The other $0.25 was spent on two books: Frank Norris' The Octopus and William S. Burroughs' The Ticket that Exploded. I had never actually heard of the latter but I had bought books from that seller in the past so I assumed it would be good.
On Wednesday I sold the Kindle I bought on the twenty-fourth. I only got $40 (about half its Craigslist value) but I sold it to a friend who I know will put it to good use. And, to make it even better, I still made $20 out of the deal.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Uncommon or Unique Items, Part 3
Just what constitutes a fair price for unique items? It really boils down to gut instinct and willingness to pay.
If you've read this blog for a while, you've probably noticed that different people's idea of a good deal varies wildly. I'm notoriously cheap; I always laugh about the "great finds" that people post to Reddit, such as the recent $5 moon landing headline newspaper that was clearly a reproduction post. Perhaps that wasn't the best example; authentic moon landing papers, despite me never having seen them, are supposedly quite common (a quick eBay search confirms this). My point is that the buyer thought it was a unique item and that $5 was a great deal; he or she was willing to pay $5.
My willingness to pay is determined by a few factors, most importantly condition. If an item is heavily scratched or otherwise damaged I won't pay more than a few dollars. If it's simply dirty I may be willing to pay a little more (dirt can be cleaned, after all) but cleanliness is a good bargaining point. Mention the "bad condition" (the dirt) to try to knock the seller down by a few dollars. However, dirt that may harm the item's functionality (such as dirty electronics) will decrease my willingness to pay.
Another factor affecting my willingness to pay is whether I have a use for the item. I buy some items on a whim because I think they look good or may prove useful in the future. If I don't have a specific use in mind for an item I won't spend much on it because it will likely end up being sold at my own garage sale in a year anyway. On the other hand, if the item is something I've been looking to purchase because I actually need it I may spend a few dollars more than I normally would.
Finally, gut instinct takes an important part in all my garage sale purchasing decisions. Over my years of garage saling, I've obtained a pretty good sense of what is a good deal and what isn't, not to say I don't make mistakes. I can now judge fairly well whether an item is of any value or use to me, and, perhaps more importantly, if the item will continue to be of use to me in the future.
If you've read this blog for a while, you've probably noticed that different people's idea of a good deal varies wildly. I'm notoriously cheap; I always laugh about the "great finds" that people post to Reddit, such as the recent $5 moon landing headline newspaper that was clearly a reproduction post. Perhaps that wasn't the best example; authentic moon landing papers, despite me never having seen them, are supposedly quite common (a quick eBay search confirms this). My point is that the buyer thought it was a unique item and that $5 was a great deal; he or she was willing to pay $5.
My willingness to pay is determined by a few factors, most importantly condition. If an item is heavily scratched or otherwise damaged I won't pay more than a few dollars. If it's simply dirty I may be willing to pay a little more (dirt can be cleaned, after all) but cleanliness is a good bargaining point. Mention the "bad condition" (the dirt) to try to knock the seller down by a few dollars. However, dirt that may harm the item's functionality (such as dirty electronics) will decrease my willingness to pay.
Another factor affecting my willingness to pay is whether I have a use for the item. I buy some items on a whim because I think they look good or may prove useful in the future. If I don't have a specific use in mind for an item I won't spend much on it because it will likely end up being sold at my own garage sale in a year anyway. On the other hand, if the item is something I've been looking to purchase because I actually need it I may spend a few dollars more than I normally would.
Finally, gut instinct takes an important part in all my garage sale purchasing decisions. Over my years of garage saling, I've obtained a pretty good sense of what is a good deal and what isn't, not to say I don't make mistakes. I can now judge fairly well whether an item is of any value or use to me, and, perhaps more importantly, if the item will continue to be of use to me in the future.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Uncommon or Unique Items, Part 2
As I mentioned in my introduction on the 23rd, good bargaining skills are required for those rare garage sale items. It's a careful balancing act of ensuring you purchase an item you will probably never see at a sale again and still getting a good deal.
The most important factor in these situations is sizing up your seller. As I've mentioned before, profiling your seller and simply waiting to see how receptive the seller is to other buyers' bargaining attempts are both simple. However, note that some sellers aren't as receptive to some buyers' bargaining as they are to others'. I watched one seller go from $5 to $0.10 on a piece of jewelry for someone else and then refuse to go from $0.50 to $0.25 on a book for me.
Offending your seller is the worst thing you can do in this situation. If he or she doesn't want to sell it to you, you will possibly literally never get the item. Do everything you can to get and stay on the seller's good side. Bargain well but don't be rude. For whatever reason, people seem to take what I would consider offensively low offers much better if you smile when making the offer. If you desperately want the item, I suggest simply asking the seller for his or her starting price. I do occasionally insult sellers with lowball initial offers and, once or twice, I managed to get the seller to not sell me the item for any price. Even if he or she chooses to acknowledge you after being insulted, the seller may be unwilling to offer you as good a deal as you would have gotten otherwise.
Another way to profile a seller is to inquire about prices for items in which you have no interest. Say, for example, there's an LCD computer monitor (not especially uncommon but it's a good example for this technique) you're interested in but for which you're unwilling to spend more than $5. The seller, unfortunately, is of a demographic known to expect exorbitant prices for anything tech-related. (By this I mean old people; please don't be offended, readers. You have no idea how many older couples I've seen listing their late '80s or early '90s CRT monitors for $20 or even $40. Goodwill won't even take those now.) If you suspect a high price and a sensitive seller, inquire about other items you fear may be expensive and base your decision to make an offer based on the seller's response.
So ends Part 2, my discussion of various bargaining techniques for unique items. Part 3 will discuss deciding what's a fair price for these items.
The most important factor in these situations is sizing up your seller. As I've mentioned before, profiling your seller and simply waiting to see how receptive the seller is to other buyers' bargaining attempts are both simple. However, note that some sellers aren't as receptive to some buyers' bargaining as they are to others'. I watched one seller go from $5 to $0.10 on a piece of jewelry for someone else and then refuse to go from $0.50 to $0.25 on a book for me.
Offending your seller is the worst thing you can do in this situation. If he or she doesn't want to sell it to you, you will possibly literally never get the item. Do everything you can to get and stay on the seller's good side. Bargain well but don't be rude. For whatever reason, people seem to take what I would consider offensively low offers much better if you smile when making the offer. If you desperately want the item, I suggest simply asking the seller for his or her starting price. I do occasionally insult sellers with lowball initial offers and, once or twice, I managed to get the seller to not sell me the item for any price. Even if he or she chooses to acknowledge you after being insulted, the seller may be unwilling to offer you as good a deal as you would have gotten otherwise.
Another way to profile a seller is to inquire about prices for items in which you have no interest. Say, for example, there's an LCD computer monitor (not especially uncommon but it's a good example for this technique) you're interested in but for which you're unwilling to spend more than $5. The seller, unfortunately, is of a demographic known to expect exorbitant prices for anything tech-related. (By this I mean old people; please don't be offended, readers. You have no idea how many older couples I've seen listing their late '80s or early '90s CRT monitors for $20 or even $40. Goodwill won't even take those now.) If you suspect a high price and a sensitive seller, inquire about other items you fear may be expensive and base your decision to make an offer based on the seller's response.
So ends Part 2, my discussion of various bargaining techniques for unique items. Part 3 will discuss deciding what's a fair price for these items.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
3/24/12 Purchase Summary Addendum
When I was going to bed last night I realized I didn't discuss the circumstances of buying the Kindle. Yes, I mentioned that he immediately accepted my lowball (which means I payed too much), but I didn't discuss the conditions in which I found the item.
The Kindle was not somewhere that it could be easily found. It was sitting on a desk the seller was selling that was sitting away from and behind the bulk of his items. Obviously, if a small, high-value item is sitting away from the bulk of your items the chances of someone who is willing to pay a fair price for it seeing it are much smaller. Furthermore, the Kindle was in a generic, unmarked case that I initially assumed was a calendar.
The Kindle was not somewhere that it could be easily found. It was sitting on a desk the seller was selling that was sitting away from and behind the bulk of his items. Obviously, if a small, high-value item is sitting away from the bulk of your items the chances of someone who is willing to pay a fair price for it seeing it are much smaller. Furthermore, the Kindle was in a generic, unmarked case that I initially assumed was a calendar.
The case looks like this but it zips up fully
Whenever I see an unmarked protective case, I always check it. Usually it holds business cards, a calendar, CD's, or it's empty. Yesterday it paid off.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
3/24/12 Purchase Summary
Today I set to new (bad) personal records: the most I've spent on any individual garage sale item and the most I've spent in a day garage saling.
I spent $21.10 total: $1 on a book I have listed on Amazon, $0.10 for another book listed on Amazon, and $20 for a wifi-only Kindle 3 (also known as the Kindle Keyboard).
The Kindle was a little unfortunate. I found it and didn't intend to purchase it; I decided to ask the seller for the price just for my own curiosity. He told me $50 so I countered with $20 just to see his counter but he immediately accepted $20. Given how rapidly he accepted my offer; I'm sure he would have taken $10. I have it listed on Craigslist for $80 and I'll see how much I can get for it. I estimate someone actually paying me $50-$60 for it. If nothing else I can list it on Amazon; they start at $88 which means I'll get around $65 after fees and shipping.
I spent $21.10 total: $1 on a book I have listed on Amazon, $0.10 for another book listed on Amazon, and $20 for a wifi-only Kindle 3 (also known as the Kindle Keyboard).
The Kindle was a little unfortunate. I found it and didn't intend to purchase it; I decided to ask the seller for the price just for my own curiosity. He told me $50 so I countered with $20 just to see his counter but he immediately accepted $20. Given how rapidly he accepted my offer; I'm sure he would have taken $10. I have it listed on Craigslist for $80 and I'll see how much I can get for it. I estimate someone actually paying me $50-$60 for it. If nothing else I can list it on Amazon; they start at $88 which means I'll get around $65 after fees and shipping.
Friday, March 23, 2012
New Record!
Today I beat my return on investment record. My previous record was for a TI-83 Plus Silver Edition graphing calculator which I bought and sold before I had this blog. I paid $3 for it and sold it for $75.
Today I sold both Laser Tag sets I purchased relatively recently: the $3 set I purchased back in December and the $1.25 set I purchased back in January. The buyer paid $20 for the small set (this was agreed upon before he arrived) and $110 for the large set (this was not agreed upon before he arrived; I brought it in case he was interested). The small set isn't that impressive; I made an $18.75 profit on a $1.25 purchase. The profit from the large set is almost 150% my previous record of $72. With this sale, I also made December 10th, 2011 my most profitable garage saling day on record.
This sale adds $18.75 to my 2012 profit and $107 to my 2011 profit and completely shatters my previously estimated income for the large set.
Hopefully tomorrow's sales will provide me with some good purchases.
Today I sold both Laser Tag sets I purchased relatively recently: the $3 set I purchased back in December and the $1.25 set I purchased back in January. The buyer paid $20 for the small set (this was agreed upon before he arrived) and $110 for the large set (this was not agreed upon before he arrived; I brought it in case he was interested). The small set isn't that impressive; I made an $18.75 profit on a $1.25 purchase. The profit from the large set is almost 150% my previous record of $72. With this sale, I also made December 10th, 2011 my most profitable garage saling day on record.
This sale adds $18.75 to my 2012 profit and $107 to my 2011 profit and completely shatters my previously estimated income for the large set.
Hopefully tomorrow's sales will provide me with some good purchases.
Uncommon or Unique Items, Part 1
Sometimes you do come across items that are unique or rare to find at garage sales. Negotiating these items is more difficult because you may never see an identical -- or even similar -- item again.
Before I continue, I should clarify what I mean by "unique." In this context, I mean items that haven't been mass-produced in the last few decades and you can't easily find on eBay. If an item is uncommon enough to be considered unique, you will probably never see it at a garage sale again. This is a good example of a unique item:
Note that my idea of unique changes as I go to more sales. For example, last September I saw a second production run copy of Scrabble (the first run was done by hand under the name of Criss-Crosswords and was limited to a few hundred copies, I believe). Having never seen one before, I assumed it was rare but I knew there was no market so I didn't buy it. Since then, I've seen an identical copy every weekend I've gone saling.
I suggest you don't buy unique items with intent to resell them. For one thing, you have no idea if the items are sought by collectors. Even if collectors want them, you have no idea if the items are worth anything. Just because people on eBay collect them; it doesn't mean they are worth anything. Many collectible items on eBay sell for $10 or less. Even if the item is "worth" something, you have no idea how easy it is to find a buyer. If the market consists of all of twenty people in the United States, it's pretty hard to track down one of these twenty people and negotiate a deal. Remember, an item is worthless no matter its supposed value if you cannot find a buyer.
Well, I meant to start discussing bargaining for uncommon items in this post, but it's actually pretty long already. I guess I will start with that next week.
Before I continue, I should clarify what I mean by "unique." In this context, I mean items that haven't been mass-produced in the last few decades and you can't easily find on eBay. If an item is uncommon enough to be considered unique, you will probably never see it at a garage sale again. This is a good example of a unique item:
Yes, that is Gandhi. Yes, I did get him at a garage sale. I love the stripes.
Note that my idea of unique changes as I go to more sales. For example, last September I saw a second production run copy of Scrabble (the first run was done by hand under the name of Criss-Crosswords and was limited to a few hundred copies, I believe). Having never seen one before, I assumed it was rare but I knew there was no market so I didn't buy it. Since then, I've seen an identical copy every weekend I've gone saling.
I suggest you don't buy unique items with intent to resell them. For one thing, you have no idea if the items are sought by collectors. Even if collectors want them, you have no idea if the items are worth anything. Just because people on eBay collect them; it doesn't mean they are worth anything. Many collectible items on eBay sell for $10 or less. Even if the item is "worth" something, you have no idea how easy it is to find a buyer. If the market consists of all of twenty people in the United States, it's pretty hard to track down one of these twenty people and negotiate a deal. Remember, an item is worthless no matter its supposed value if you cannot find a buyer.
Well, I meant to start discussing bargaining for uncommon items in this post, but it's actually pretty long already. I guess I will start with that next week.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Amazon Marketplace Fee Structure
As I have mentioned in the past, I do most of my non-Craigslist reselling through Amazon Marketplace. I've recently become disenchanted with it due to some poor transactions: the returned graphing calculator and a more recent incident in which the buyer was apparently unable to properly insert the batteries leading to a return because the item "wasn't working." Despite its flaws, the Amazon Marketplace is a good place for reselling items because you can delist an item any time, you can change an item's price any time, and you generally get more money than eBay (but partly because the shipping credit is so low and fees are higher).
Fees are broken down into three parts:
I, of course, am just summarizing the various fee tables listed on an Amazon help page. For more information they can be found here.
Fees are broken down into three parts:
- A referral fee
- A variable closing fee
- A fixed closing fee
The referral fee is equal to six to twenty-five percent of the item's closing cost, less the shipping credit. For most items, including books, music, software, DVD's, and video games -- the items most relevant to this blog -- the referral fee is 15%.
The variable closing fee is flat for six categories: books, music, software, DVD's, video games, and video game consoles. The fee for music and DVD's is $0.80; the fee for the other four categories is $1.35. The fees for these six categories are the same for standard and expedited shipping. For everything else, the variable closing fee is $0.45 plus $0.05 per pound of item weight for standard shipping and $0.65 plus $0.10 per pound of item weight for expedited shipping.
The fixed closing fee -- also referred to as the per-item fee -- is $0.99. This is waived for Pro Merchant Subscribers but the fee for this service is $39.99 per month. To make waiving the fee worth it you have to be a volume seller.
I, of course, am just summarizing the various fee tables listed on an Amazon help page. For more information they can be found here.
Friday, March 16, 2012
My $2.65 Challenge
In the mail today I received a settlement check from a class action against a former employer. I wasn't expecting much -- maybe $5 -- but the number on the check surprised even me: $2.65.
I contemplated the purchases I could make: a cheeseburger from In-N-Out with nothing else, two items from the dollar store, or a bunch of things from garage sales.
My mom had a better suggestion: rather than just spending the money on any items that interest me, I should invest my $2.65 wisely to try to maximize my returns. This is what I'll be doing: when I go out saling, I will have a special $2.65 set aside. When I see an especially good investment, I will spend some or all of the money and resell the purchase for (hopefully) an absurd profit. I'll keep you updated, dear reader.
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