Sunday, September 22, 2013

Hellooooo Fall!

Sweaters, beautiful leaves, boots, Seahawks Football, everything involving pumpkin... and SALES!

Man it was a slow summer but I'm on track to have one of my best months of the year! It is still going in weird spurts like 3 days of nothing but then bam 4-5 sales in a day. Nothing amazing but inventory moving out the door and money back in my pocket so I'm happy! I've been trying to get my fall items listed as well as some toys and plush I've had on hand. I'm still on the lookout for that fun mid century vintage but my bread and butter are what are making me money right now and the vintage items seem to sit around forever and they are harder to store as well so I think I may take a vintage break for the fall. Unless I find any holy grail items in which case all bets are off!

Here are some good flips from the last week or so...

Bought this Tommy Bahama Mounted bottle opener with cap catcher this summer for a buck at a garage sale. Sold within 2 days for $25 to someone in FL. Hubby wanted to keep this for a future man cave but I reminded him that money in our pockets is better than storing!

I bought a Spike the Dinosaur off my Facebook group for $15 but it didn't have the battery charger so instead of spending $30 on a charger to make him work I decided to strip it for parts. So far I've sold Spike himself for $5 at our garage sale, the battery pack for $30 and now the remote for $28. I still have the bone to sell as well. Sometimes replacement parts are better than the full package!

I found this Princess Aurora Dress the other day at a thrift for $3.50, it sold within a few days for $25, gotta love those Halloween costumes! ...that reminds me, I have 3 new ones to get listed! Better get to it!

This was one of my favorite outfits for Mason last year. It seemed to fit him for a long time too which was great. I bought it off Facebook group for $10, he wore it for over a year at least once a week and it sold overnight for $28! Great ROI on that North Face outfit!

I think this one was all in the photo. There were 3 others listed for 1/2 of what mine was listed at but mine sold within a day. I got him at a by donation sale a few weeks ago. I think I got 7 items for $7 - he sold for $29.99!

This lovey was my best sale so far this month! I went to one of our area's many consignment sale events on Friday while my daughter was at school. I had the boy with me and he can be a challenge to keep in a stroller for very long so I knew it would have to be a quick trip. I picked up this lovey and 2 others for a total of $7. I looked through the other toys and stuff but couldn't find anything else I couldn't live without so we grabbed a free chocolate milk sample from our favorite Milkman and headed home. I listed the loveys all on Friday afternoon and this one sold overnight for my full asking price of get ready.... $45!! WOW! I've sold lots of security blankets before but this one has by far been my best sale. Here's hoping it makes it to its new little girl safe and sound!

That's it for now, hoping everyone else's sales have began to pick up too! Bring on FALL!

Friday, September 6, 2013

Costumes!

Ok friends, I'm on a mission for Halloween costumes. Every year this is one of my most lucrative and solid sales and I under estimate it every time! I have been "collecting" all year when I find dress ups and costumes here and there but now that Halloween is rolling out I will be trolling my local thrifts and consignment stores for these awesome money makers! All of September and the 1st 2 weeks of October are the best time because they are in high demand.

My favorite brand? Any and everything from the Disney Store - even some that have issues will go for big bucks.

As I always say - be on the lookout for less popular characters from movies as well. Maybe your daughter LOVES Beauty and the Beast and wants the whole family to set out with her as Belle, Dad as the Beast, Mom as Mrs. Pots and baby brother as Lumiere or Cogsworth? Well to do this by shopping on eBay it will cost your family at least $300 if not more. Yep. Really.

So definitely pick up those popular characters but the real cash is in the adult costumes and the lesser known characters. For example - Emperor Zurg from Toy Story - they are going for $70-$90 right now and I'm kicking myself because I passed one up last fall!

I also re-sell my own kids costumes the year after they wear them. Remember my post from last Halloween with the adorable Nemo & Dorothy of Oz? Check it out HERE!


I bought Nemo off Craigslist for $10 last summer sometime, and my little cutie wore it 3 times over Halloween! Usually its just the once for Trick or Treating but we had a couple of different costume events and parties last year. I stored it for the next 11 months and then it sold within 1 day of listing for $49.99! Now another cutie will get to be super adorable this year and I'll use the profit toward more costumes! Now that is what I call getting your money's worth!


This Disney Store Lilo costume sold within 2 days for $39.99 + shipping to Isreal. It even had some of the tulle ripping off in a couple of places which was fully disclosed in the listing and off it went. Fingers crossed it makes it over seas safely! Oh did I mention I bought this on clearance at the consignment store last year after Halloween and my daughter used it for dress ups and play dates over and over as well?! Gotta love it!

I have a couple more costumes listed up currently and you better believe I'll be sourcing for them this weekend. I am not exclusive to the Disney Store either. Some other brands that do well are: Gap, Gymboree, Pottery Barn Kids, Babystyle and lots more! I recommend doing some research before you buy just to see what's going for the big bucks and what may be worth leaving behind. For example: I typed in Disney Store Costume into the search and sorted by highest price and completed listings. You can do the same for Pottery Barn Costume etc.

Happy Hunting!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Putting it out in the Universe!

Well I'm glad I complained in my last post because it seems to have worked a little. Since I last posted I've sold quite a few items, 3 of which were "big ticket" things that I was hoping would sell soon so I could make room for new inventory.

Plus all of a sudden I seem to be drowning in inventory! I am trying to prepare for my favorite fall consignment sale so all of that is sitting in my dining room and I'm also busy listing costumes and all things Halloween that I've been collecting all year. It looks like a tornado has come through my house and I'm furiously trying to list and tidy as I go I just need more time!! I have already sold one costume with about 7 or 8 more to list. I hope they sell quickly, because I usually buy 10 or more costumes from the thrifts and consignment stores to resell every year also. Fingers crossed that things are finally turning around and some of this stockpile can finally go to new homes and places that actually want to keep them!!

I have about 7 or 8 photo sessions I'm in the middle of editing as well. Busy Busy Busy!

OH and my baby girl started Kindergarten this morning, hugely proud mommy moment and I'm hoping I can make good use of the time we have just me and the boy each day now!


I was dreading fall and the end of summer but now I'm kind of welcoming it, cooler days, more sales, Halloween and SCHOOL! Still not looking forward to the cold/rainy days of winter though I have always thought that we should celebrate Christmas in February so that we have something to look forward to through all the dreary months.