Always Say "Yes" to Free Stuff Part 3

Hello! Just a short post today as I'm running behind and out of time! Still gotta couple of orders to get ready!

A couple of months ago one of my sisters gave me this beautiful afghan that she had made for her in-laws probably 20 or more years ago. They had used it a long time and are now downsizing so they had given back to my sister. She didn't want it either so she gave it to me to sell! It almost seems like a sin to sell something that someone spent so much time on! I thought about keeping it myself but decided to list it instead. I researched crocheted afghans and came up with the price of $49.95. It's not a huge blanket...more of a lap size. It sold within a week or so of listing.

Handmade Crocheted Afghan

Free - Sold for $49.95 - Profit $42.88

Another item the same sister gave me were these shoes. They were in okay shape, not like new but not real worn either. So for these two items that she gave me I made $55.59!

Nike Shoes

Free - Sold for $15.00 - Profit $12.71

I have another sister who I've mentioned on my blog before. Naomi Lynn.....she has given me lots to sell and I've featured those items before. I haven't sold anything lately that she's given me but I have finally been listing a box of jeans and shirts she gave me over a year ago! I'm sure some of that will be selling soon! Thank you Naomi! If you haven't checked out her stationery shop on Etsy you might want to do that....she's a wonderful designer! She actually has two shops with two different kinds of styles. Here's a link to her Frieda Katherine shop!

Well, that's about it for today! Thanks for stopping by! ~~Pam

Always Say "Yes" to Free Stuff Part 2!

Hello! So, I have a confession to make......sometimes I'm not crazy about the free stuff that others give me to sell! I think it is more fun to go out and find my own stuff that I think looks interesting or unique or whatever! Sometimes when I do get free stuff from people, I take way too long to get it listed! Anybody relate? Take for instance these vintage sewing machine attachments. Buttonholers to be exact. I actually thought they were neat and I have done my share of sewing in the past but I didn't know if there was a market for these old things! A friend had given them to me to sell if I wanted. They were her mothers and she didn't want them or have a use for them. They sat around my office area for a few months before I finally got around to researching them and listing them. I listed the pink set first and then after doing more research I realized that I could probably do better by just selling the rest in a lot. I made a nice little profit of $42.47 for both listings! It only took a little less than 2 months for them to sell and they both sold within an hour of each other to different people! I thought that was crazy! And now they're outta here! I should have got to it sooner!

 Sewing Machine Buttonholers and Instructions

Free - Sold for 35.95 - Profit $30.93

Singer Sewing Attachments

Free - Sold for $13.45 - Profit $11.54

This next item is a book about trains that my 3rd daughter Gabby gave me to sell. Her ex-boyfriend was really into trains and I don't know if he gave her this book or if she just bought it on her own but she didn't want it anymore....she says she hates trains! 😁😁 I also had this book sitting around for awhile waiting to list it and it actually sold the same day I listed it! I should learn to never let anything sit around for awhile.....but some things are just more fun to list than others! At least this was fairly easy to photograph and then to ship!

Train Book

Free - Sold for $12.00 - Profit $10.27

These 3 items sold on the same day and they were given to me free! I made a total of $52.74 that day on things people gave to me! If I could do that much in sales every day it sure would help!

How many of you are "gifted" things for re-sale?

Thanks for stopping by! I will be back tomorrow with part 3! ~~Pam

Always Say "Yes" to Free Stuff! Part 1

Hello Everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long (again) since I've written! So much going on all the time, as I'm sure all of you have lots going on too! I was just thinking of what I could write about and realized that I've actually made a nice little chunk of money over the past couple of years from things that people (mostly my family) have given me to sell. Ever since my husband lost his job over 3 years ago I've been trying to sell more. He is working 3 different jobs now but we still need some income from me to help make ends meet. Anyway, my mom and sisters and even my older daughters have given me things that they decided they didn't want or even things that they've found at yard sales and thrift stores that they thought I could sell for some money.....bless their hearts! :) I appreciate it so much! I thought I would write a few posts just showing the different things I have been given and what the profit is.....here goes!

My daughter Brittany went to a couple of auctions awhile back and ended up getting a tub of plush bears for a dollar! I think they were on a table of other things that she actually wanted. She gave me the bears to sell. I researched them and most weren't selling for a ton of money but every little bit helps! I still have several more in my shop waiting to sell. These have sold since December:

Boyd's Bear Eugenia

Free - Sold for $8.95 - Profit $ 6.60

Boyd's Bear "Peepers P. MacDonald"

Free - Sold for $8.95 - Profit $8.27

Lot of Bears

Free - Sold for $10.95 - Profit $8.57

Winnie the Pooh Classic Plush

Free - Sold for $21.95 - Profit $17.32

Pier One Imports Blue Plush Bear

Free - Sold for $13.45 - Profit $11.44

So I  made $52.20 clear profit on the bears so far after fees, supplies and postage!

Next up are a couple of Shark vacuum attachments that the same daughter let me sell. She cleans houses and businesses for a living and she loves the Shark vacuum. She has gotten at least 3 over the past couple of years and she doesn't need all the attachments so I made a little money on these:

Shark Vacuum Attachment Dusting Brush

Free - Sold for $8.00 - Profit $7.01

Shark Vacuum Attachment Rotator Brush

Free - Sold for $11.50 - Profit $9.67

So the total profit in December and January from just what my daughter gave me is $68.88! I know it's not a ton of money but every little bit helps! I think also that I probably priced things a little lower than I might have if I had to pay for them. Sometimes you just want to move stuff fast!

So always take what someone else wants to give you. Sometimes they're just going to give it to Goodwill or throw it away and you might as well take it and make a little money! I'll be back with more on Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by! ~~Pam

Crazy Things to Sell and Making Money on Cleaning Up!

A couple of months ago I decided to clean out a couple of spots in my den...aka eBay/Etsy office. In the bottom of one of our bookcases I had designated a spot for my little girls art supplies and general fun stuff. She always loved to get in there and color, draw, paint, play with stickers, etc....but now, she's not such a "little" girl anymore. She's almost 11. She likes to play on her tablet...and the computer.......ugh. 😩 Anyway, I cleaned out the cupboard. She had lots of crayons.....and more crayons....and on top of that I had crayons! Broken crayons! Crayons that I thought I would someday melt down and pour into some kind of cute molds and then sell them on Etsy! (thanks Pinterest!) Oh boy....so I looked up broken crayons on eBay...I figured if there was such a craft as melting down crayons and making new fun crayons, then somebody out there might want to buy mine! I was right! I had almost 8 pounds of crayons! Six little baggies of 90 each for a total of 540 whole crayons plus half of a gallon size freezer bag that had broken crayons and also some whole crayons. I listed them a few days ago for $34.95 with free shipping. They fit in a medium priority flat rate box. After fees and shipping I made $18.59 profit on them! Just on something that was sitting around gathering dust! That was my "crazy things to sell" item!

Then I had lots of markers, crayons, colored pencils, coloring books, beads, papers and other fun stuff. I decided to make a gift basket for a little girl with everything. I had the pink heart gift basket bag on hand forever, already had the basket that I used so everything came together nicely! I probably didn't make much per hour on this because I did spend a little bit of time on it but I sold it on Facebook for $15.00. That's money that I didn't have before and it was better than just throwing all the stuff away, which I was tempted to do!

After I was done cleaning out her space I decided to clean out a cupboard of mine! It's a double door cupboard/bookcase type of thing that I keep my shipping supplies in, plus some buttons, plus some scrapbooking stuff....plus other junk! It was a mess! I used to make handmade cards....in fact that was my first shop on Etsy! I haven't had any cards in it for a few years but you can see my sold listings here.....wow, I just looked and the last card I sold was 4 1/2 years ago! I didn't realize it had been that long! I just don't have time to do all the things I like to do! So yeah, I had collected lots of card-making supplies.....like stickers! I had a basket full of them. I sorted them all out and took pictures and sold them on Facebook for $20.00! The person that got them got a really good deal as there were lots there but I knew I just would never get around to doing anything with them.

Next I had 2 different kits that I had started years ago. I used to see these really neat scrapbook/photo books that people made with lots of different papers and stickers and embellishments. I wanted to do one for a baby boy and another for a school album. I had collected lots of different things for both but alas....I never got around to that either! (Can you tell that I love to start things but can never seem to finish them? 😳 !!) So I sold both kits for $10 each on Facebook too.

So, all in all, I ended up making $73.59 for that days work. Not tons of money but not too bad either! I could have just boxed it all up and sent it to Goodwill but I figured I might as well make the money instead of them! I still have a lot of cardmaking supplies that I need to sort through and sell. I still want to keep some of the stuff but I definitely don't need all that I have.

What crazy thing have you sold lately? Have you made money on "cleaning up" around the house?

Thanks for stopping by! ~~Pam

Quick Post - What Sold Today

Paid $5.00 - Sold for $37.50 - Profit $26.63

Just a quick "what sold" post....bought these 24 American Girl books a couple of weeks ago for $5.00. The lady originally had $1.00 each on them but just offered them all to me for five bucks! Why yes, I'll take those!

I also sold 3 pair of jeans today to 3 different people. I paid $1.00 each for them. Two of them were womens Lee jeans and after doing some research I realized they don't sell for a whole lot. Most were selling for around $8 when I looked. I priced mine at $9.95. The other pair were mens Levi's and I sold them for $14.95. I ended up making $30.11 profit after shipping and fees and cost of items.

Well, that's about it for now. Thanks for stopping by....gotta go! ~~Pam

Speaking of buttons....last night I sold 20 sets to the same person! Now that was a thrill! :) The order totaled $101.35! That was really nice! Most of the time I sell just one set, which I definitely don't get rich off of! Sometimes I sell a few sets and that's always a lot nicer. This order was great! Now I really need to get busy listing more buttons!

Tomorrow we are having a graduation party for our daughter, our 6th child. Actually, her and her sister are the ones having the party. They're doing most all the work! She figures there will be around 200 people...maybe more. They are fixing the food and having a dance. It should be fun! Today they made over 400 cupcakes and frosted them all.

All cupcakes are not shown in these pictures! They also made potato salad using 60 pounds of potatoes and 10 dozen eggs! They had a couple of friends to help but they spent several hours doing all the work and even cleaning up pretty good after themselves! I'm glad they can do it cuz I sure can't anymore! I used to be able to do that kind of stuff but I just don't have it in me anymore! Getting older and too many aches and pains!  Anyway, it ought to be fun! The menu is sloppy joes, potato salad, green bean casserole and cupcakes. They tried to keep it as simple and cost effective as possible. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks for stopping by! ~~Pam

A Little Experiment

These buttons are headed to Italy today! The lady paid $13.33 for shipping for a 4 ounce package! The buttons were $7.50. I have been trying to up my price on buttons a little bit here and there. I used to just charge $4.95 for a set like this but these were a little more unique so I charged accordingly. I see others on Etsy charging more than I do and then I see some charging less. It's a fine line to try to figure it all out!

35 Metal Buttons

Cost - probably a quarter - Sold for $7.50 plus shipping - Profit $6.12

I know a lot of people wouldn't want to mess with selling buttons but for some reason I really enjoy sorting them and making little packages for them. I think it's kind of a calming thing. Here's an example of how I package most of my buttons.

Anyway, I've been so busy trying to sell on eBay that the past few months I hadn't spent much time listing any new buttons. I have lots of buttons....so I wanted to try to list more and see if I could sell more. Of course we all know that the more we list, the more we sell, and it worked with my buttons too! In June and July I only had around 450 views in my button shop for each month. I only had 2 and 3 orders for each month too which totaled about $33 for both months. I started trying to add more listings and in August I had 811 views and 9 orders totaling $64.80. September was 856 views and 12 orders totaling $86.45. October has about doubled that. I had 1550 views for the month, 23 orders of 36 sets of buttons for a total of $186.75! My goal has been that I would like to sell at least $50/week of buttons. I know that's not a lot but every little bit helps! That would be $2600 a year! It doesn't take a lot of time to list them or pack them up either. I'm hoping to increase that number as time goes on. I wish I had some really, really neat buttons! I have some nice buttons but I've seen some sell on eBay for quite a bit of money. Makes me wonder where they get them and how much they might pay for them. Check out this sellers sold listings. They have beautiful, unique buttons and it looks like they do really well on them! I'd love to find some like theirs!

So, I need to up my eBay listings as I'm sure I would make way more on those things than on buttons! But, I do enjoy the buttons so I will most likely keep listing them too.

Here are my stats for October:

eBay - Sold 31 items for $630.21 - listed 33 items

Down Vintage Lane Etsy shop - 4 orders of jars (10 jars total) for $87.85 - listed 8 items

ButtonCrazy Etsy shop - 23 orders of 36 sets for $186.75 - listed 70 sets

Facebook - Sold 5 items for $65.00 - listed 5 things

Total gross income - $969.81 -    116 total new items listed

After fees, shipping, supplies, cost of new items to sell, storage unit and miscellaneous I figure I made approximately $519.84 profit. Definitely want to increase that number. I need to figure out some solution to managing my time better I guess. Although I think I probably just have way too many demands on my time and I can only do so much! I do have good intentions!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and listening to my ramblings! Have a great day! ~~Pam