Hey all… I thought I’d drop in a just talk a little bit about summertime, eBay, and where I usually am this time of year.
Because I’m not yet a millionaire (notice I say “yet” – because I’m still shooting for it!), I need to work my carpentry business when the weather is good.
It really is necessary – because while eBay provides us with a good income, it’s never a “sure thing” as my working by the hour during the summer is. And, right now, due to our circumstances, I need to go where the sure money is for now.
But not to worry. Summer isn’t very long up here. Yard sale season lasts only from about Memorial Day through Columbus Day in October – so not a very long season at all.
Whereas down south, there are yard sales all winter long; hence, good buying all winter. Or at least good buying in theory.
One of the reasons we started heading down south for the winter was 3-fold: 1) my carpentry slows down to next to non-existent in the winter, 2) there is no yard-saleing in northern NH in the winter, and 3) my wife really benefits from more light in the winter than we get up here. Actually, I can’t say as I don’t mind that extra sunshine either. As an ice-climber, I’ve had many, many winters where my climbing partner and I would be gone long before sun-up, climb all day, and sometimes into the night – and then back long after dark.
But as much as I loved climbing – and actually still do – there is something to be said for longer, warmer, sunnier days in the winter.
Well, that has little or nothing to do with the topic here – but thought I’d throw it in.
Anyway, just because I’m busy doing carpentry during the summer does NOT mean I’m not out there actively buying.
In fact, I tend to do a LOT of buying in the summer, to more-or-less stockpile my inventory for the time when carpentry slows down and I can get back to buying and selling on eBay.
If you take a look at this photo, this is my front porch. Much to my wife’s dismay, it gets more and more cluttered every week. We’re getting ready – and I mean this very seriously – to rent a storage unit. The house has beome more of a storage unit than a residence, and I guess it’s time to take care of that.
Over in the lower left hand corner of the photo, you’ll see numerous boxes with some clothes piling out. We went to a yard sale in Maine and bought EVERYTHING they had – at least 1,000 pieces of BRAND NEW or NEARLY NEW baby girl’s clothes – not one single piece from a Wal-Mart. Every last bit of it was high-end. In that same lot, we got women’s maternity clothes – hardly used, a brand new crib bumper set from Pottery Barn (don’t know exactly what “Pottery Barn” is doing selling crib sets, but what the heck…), and also a bunch of Halloween costumes.
We’re constantly buying backpacks (although the one you see in the photo is one of our friend’s packs), camping gear, snowshoes, cleats, and just about anything useful that people would rather buy used than new.
So, even though I’m not listing right now, I’m buying!
I WILL actually be listing a few items in the next week or so, only because the items are more likely to be purchased during the summer than winter, and if I list them, it will clear at least a little bit of inventory out of the house!
Just wanted to pop in and give you the latest… stay tuned!
That porch looks way too familiar to me. I used to sell a lot on eBay and then I took a break from it for a while. Now I’m getting back into it, but I’m ONLY buying small items (think no bigger than a flat rate Priority box). I’m in PA so I have the same winter inventory issues you mentioned. Even though you are heading south, you might want to consider contacting a couple of estate sale organizers in your area. One local guy gave me access to a warehouse full of inventory he had backed up. He just wanted $5 per item because he wanted it gone. Not a bad deal for a ton of deadstock clothing from the 70s and 80s. The worst they can do is say no if you ask. Good luck selling.