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Tidbits on mistakes in buying: Lessons for the collector/seller. If we bought and sold only what we knew well, our mall booth and ebay site would be barren. Research helps, but knowing a good buy, especially on a quantity of items offered for sale is always a tough decision. Like gamblers, we rarely discuss our losses and relish in our successes. Let me site some “Good Buys” that went Good By. Lions Pins, pinned on us. We purchased a few Lions Pins over the years and many proved to be good investments. We were offered a lot of 300 pins, all older and in good condition and priced right at $0.75 each. Golf Balls are a long drive. At a yard sale we purchased 1000 advertising golf balls, plus 4 wooden racks to hold them. Our purchase price, $40.00 Sure swung a good deal there. Can I go on, yes, but these two will serve my point. While each of these has been a money maker, returning many times our investments already, they also are a burden in some ways. We gots' lots left. Selling these items on an Internet auction, we list in groups of 5 or so, hoping to attract multiple bidders, and starting the group at a price point for profit. But alas, the time it takes to enter and describe the individual items is not worth the effort since each ball advertises a different company and each Lions pin is from a different district, date and event.
When items languish for too long and never sell in our mall booth or on the Internet, they are moved to flea market sales. When it doesn't sell there, we “Sell” it at our “Curb Sale”. Items placed at our Curb Sale always go. We usually hold our “Curb Sale” on garbage pickup eve, the evening before collection day. Setting the item predominantly at our front curb, we sit back and watch them leave our lives forever. Being a sporting couple, we like to bet against each other, on the length of time our item sits at the curb before a car comes to a screeching halt and someone removes the items. Once, in a furry of cleaning the garage and basement, I set out a pile of goods at the curb, all manner of discards including lumber, yard equipment and household goods. I added a nicely painted "Free" sign so anyone could help themselves. Sure, you guessed it, only the Free sign was gone in the morning. Now, you may ask if we ever shop at curb sales. Yep! its happened and almost always a mistake. I'll discuss success when it happens. The Dean
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