In the video below, you’ll see one of the best garage sale and yard sale days we’d had in quite a while, and it’s a good way to introduce a few things that are great for selling on eBay, especially now – in 2021. No sense in lamenting about what “used to sell” back in 2010, right? Because today is what matters.
Contents at a Glance
Introduction
We bought so much in this particular day (we wound up spending $307) that it’s taken a while to actually lay it all out and film it.
Plus, we needed to wait until after Christmas, because Kath had picked up a little tchotchke for her sister as a fun addition to the Christmas package she was sending – and if we had shown it on the video, her sister would have seen it.
Anyway, this was a fun video to film, because over the last few weeks that we’ve worked on sorting and researching all of this, we’ve already actually sold a few of the pieces – you’ll see all that too.
What Really Sells Today?
In this particular video, we’ve begun to show you what the stuff we find REALLY sells on eBay today – in 2021. While a few things tend to take a little know-how in particular niches (e.g. books, sporting goods), our hope is that some of the other things will start to alert you to items that you can definitely sell on eBay, but that you might otherwise walk by.
Honestly, this happens more than you know: We’ll be at a garage sale later in the morning where close to 100 dealers have already visited and loaded up their own hauls. You might feel a little discouraged to see someone leaving with a truck-load of antiques and furniture. But please hang in there! Because I can tell you from first-hand experience that no one person knows everything about every single item. Also, no one person is interested in exactly the same stuff that someone else is interested in.
We Know GOLD Sells – But What About LEAD?
Certainly, would we all love to stumble upon the box of 14K gold jewelry that the seller is dumping for pennies on the dollar? Of course! But, of course nearly every yard-saler is looking for that stuff. That’s not to say you won’t find the occasional nugget of 14K or even 18K gold – you may have seen our post about Kath’s exciting morning almost 10 years ago where that pair of $5 cufflinks turned out to be pretty cool! Again, you can see a picture of the results of that eBay auction here (we just re-published the story since it had gotten lost). Now THAT was fun! (I always say that the Universe throws these nuggets to Kath to keep her in the game!)
So – we know most of us aren’t going to walk by gold. But how about lead? Again, we wandered into a yard sale pretty late in the day, and while other people were asking the seller if he had any jewelry, my eye rested upon some old lead dive weights. I asked how much, and bought them for less than .50 cents/pound. I probably paid about $7.00 for 27 pounds.
You can see the results of that here. I just accepted an offer of $50 for the lot:
Keep Your Eyes Open For New Old Stock
Having said all that, there are some things that seem to sell readily and steadily on eBay, and they aren’t just old things. “New Old Stock” is a category you might want to look for. If you see brand new, high end soaps and supplements for example, as long as they are sealed, it’s definitely worth a look.
For example, take a look at what we did recently with a lot of Beekman 1802 soaps:
In the video we just posted yesterday, which you’ll see in a moment, you’ll notice more of this “old stock” that we mention.
High End Clothing and Shoes
There are also some perennial favorites that seem to sell no matter what year it is. For example, high end clothing and shoes.
In this video, you can see some of the shoes we found. We happened to be at an estate sale where the kids were liquidating their parents’ home. Just the location told us we were in for a treat – and we were.
Spoiler Alert: If you see shoes by Edward Green, you probably want them. Same goes for Johnston & Murphy and Allen Edmonds if the price is right – or any custom type of shoes. Take a look…
Useful Stuff Sells
Because we are thrifty by nature, we tend to look for “useful” items that are in great condition and that we know we can use for ourselves. And if we would buy it for ourselves, chances are someone else would too!
Some examples of “useful stuff” include sealed gourmet foods (that are still fresh of course). For example, think coffees, specialty teas, sealed nutrition drinks – anything that would likely be pretty expensive in a store. At yard sales we often find things like this for a dollar – sometimes less! You’ll see examples in the video below.
Non-food household items that are new in the package can also be good. For example, how many “Pampered Chef” items have you seen at a yard sale that never got used? You know the stuff…the stuff that someone bought at some home-goods party because their friend invited them and they were going to feel bad if they didn’t buy something.
To prove my point, if you saw a brand new Pampered Chef Garlic Press at a yard sale for $1.00, would you buy it? Even if you don’t use it for yourself? Or would you pass it by thinking, “Who the heck buys this stuff??”
You should buy it.
Anyway, you get the idea!
So, as far as this latest video goes, we walk you through everything we bought and what it is REALLY likely to sell for once we’ve listed it on eBay.
You’ll also see where there’s additional value since there are items in this particular haul that we are keeping for our own use. That’s a bonus!
Here’s the haul:
As you can see, we spent $307, and our estimated sales potential is from about $1300 – $1500. By the time we got this video published we had already sold a couple of the items (and eaten some of the food).
Not a bad day! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you’ll subscribe to our YouTube channel. We’ve got some different topics coming up as well – for example, we find a bunch of old 8mm “home movies” and old 78 RPM records and vintage black & white photos that we’ll be filming and sharing with viewers. If nothing else, they may just take you for a nostalgic trip down Memory Lane.
Stay tuned…
Excellent tips! I haven’t ventured into the eBay market but I’m sure interested in those who do this. The gift to Kathy’s sister is very cool indeed.