Thursday, March 1, 2018

Did You Know You Can Shop at Antique Stores for Items to Sell on eBay

When most people think about shopping for items to sell on eBay, they think of going to thrift stores like Goodwill, Savers, the Salvation Army and various independent thrift stores. But did you know you can also take a look in antique stores to find items to sell on eBay?

Many antique stores have inflated prices, especially those that are in high traffic tourist areas, but there are often items that fall through the cracks and a profit can be made on them. Also, sometimes the sellers are just tired of things hanging around too long so they put certain items on sale. If you hit it right, you can find some really great bargains. In order to make a profit on these items, you have to know your antiques and collectibles or have your phone with you so you can look up the items on your phone, to see what they are selling for on eBay.

I love to peruse antique stores and when I do, I am always looking for that treasure that will bring me a profit on eBay. Of course, overall you will do better shopping at thrift stores for eBay items in terms of pricing, but antique stores have some unusual items of which you may not be aware.

Here are some examples:

This is a sculpture by Michael Garman. His sculptures are expensive and my husband has one that reminds him of the city he grew up in. One day we were browsing in an antique store and he found this sculpture. He immediately recognized it as Garman's work and checked the price. It was originally marked as $70.00 but it was on sale that day for $35.00. While it is not exactly the style of our home, he was thrilled and purchased it. It is currently on display in his office (as his the cityscape sculpture) and when we looked it up on eBay, this same sculpture that he paid $35.00 for is listed on eBay for $165.00 so he did well with that buy!

Now we are not going to sell it on eBay because my husband loves it and is proud of the deal he got, but we COULD list it on eBay someday and even if it doesn't sell for that much money, he would at least get three times the money he spent on it. My husband looks for Garman sculptures in every antique store we go to now!

Another example of items that one might find in an antique store to sell on eBay is this Disney Hallmark snow globe. I had read recently that snow globes and Disney sell well on eBay. So when I came across this snow globe at an antique store for $16.00 I checked the comps on eBay and they were selling for $30 to $45. I bought it and listed it on eBay and within one month, I sold it for $34.00. Once I took the percentage out for eBay and Paypal costs, I still made a profit of $14.00.

If I had found that snow globe at a Goodwill or thrift store, I probably wouldn't have had to pay as much for it, but to me, a profit is a profit and $14.00 is nothing to sneer at! So don't overlook antique stores when you are searching for items to sell on eBay.

Have you ever found anything at an antique store that you sold for a profit on eBay? Please leave a comment below and explain what it was and how much you paid and sold it for so others can learn what to look for.

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