One Man's Junk
By fishtiger58
@fishtiger58 (29819)
Momence, Illinois
May 19, 2016 7:35am CST
Today my husband and I are going to go to some yard sales in our area. Two in particular I am excited about. One is going to be a barn sale, and 4 families are involved. I love barn sales you can usually find some very cool stuff. I sell on ebay and most of the stuff I buy I resell on ebay.
The other sale is an annual sale that the local cat shelter puts on every spring. I have found some amazing things at this sale. A few years ago I found some gorgeous dishes that I got for 1 dollar. There were 4 plates all in mint condition. I take my treasures home and do research on them. I found these 4 plates were worth lots of money and ended selling them for 85 dollars.
At another sale that same year I found an old German Beer Stein. I had forgotten my glasses in the car but could see there was some etching on the metal lid. As it turns out there was a date and two mens names on the lid. I paid 1 dollar for it. The year was 1928. I couldn't believe it. I put it up on ebay that same day. In 20 minutes I sold that stein for 95 dollars. I was beside myself. That was my best profit ever on ebay.
So off I go on another treasure hunt to see what I can find.
14 people like this
16 responses
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
21 May 16
'round these parts one rarely finds such treasures. back'n the hills 'twas quite a diff'rent story. hope ya found ya some items that'll either give ya great pleasure'r line yer pockets :)
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
25 May 16
@fishtiger58 best'f luck to ya gettin' 't sold, hon. i fear i dislike dealin' with folks too much to do such, lol.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
@crazyhorseladycx I know what you mean but I at least don't have face to face contact. They buy I ship.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
25 May 16
I did find a nice thermal carafe. I posted a pic of it on Deborah's comments. It's worth a lot of money and I paid 3 bucks for it.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
19 May 16
Where we live unless you go to a 'real' estate sale you will only find junk. No great finds ever. Not a great area for yard sales. Good luck, hope you find/found some treasures.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
I found a fantastic Alfi thermal carafe, paid 3 bucks, new they are 295 to 325 bucks. Mine looks brand new so I put it on ebay for 100 bucks. Oh what fun. I have a pic of it on Deborah's comment.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
20 May 16
@fishtiger58 That's very nice, did it sell yet? I think I would have been tempted to keep it.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
25 May 16
@AbbyGreenhill It's really nice, but I have no use for it really. It hasn't sold yet but some folks are watching it. I hope it sells soon but then again anytime that it does is good with me, I'm not going anywhere.
1 person likes this
@mom210 (9170)
• United States
25 May 16
@fishtiger58 if you know what will sell, that is great. I am afraid of getting stuck with stuff.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
@mom210 If I ever stop selling on ebay then it's time for a yard sale, I probably have about 500 items I need to sell. I do enjoy the yard sales more than I enjoy selling on ebay, but I still get tickled when I sell something.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
25 May 16
Now that my husband and I are retired we go to yard sales more often, We don't buy much but you never know what you are going to run across. I do buy to resell on ebay more than I buy for myself.
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
20 May 16
@fishtiger58 Not going to happen. I don't have that time to waste. I need to get this house packed up and cleaned, sorted, thrown, and taken to the thrift stores what I'm not keeping.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
25 May 16
@just4him When are you moving.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
You know what they say Valerie what's one man's junk is another man's treasure. You might be surprised you should at least have a weekend yard sale, I know people who make tons of money selling their junk.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23193)
• Bangalore, India
19 May 16
I have never tried that but it sounds fun. And tempting!
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
It's way fun, I like the money but don't need it, I do it for fun mostly.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
@Daljinder Once you get the item. clean it if it needs that, photograph and list it on ebay, the rest is easy. You sit back and wait for someone to buy it.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23193)
• Bangalore, India
20 May 16
@fishtiger58 I think I might check it out!
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
25 May 16
I found one really good item, I posted a pic of it on Deborah's comment.
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
The most work is getting it cleaned photographed and listed. After that it's just a waiting game for it to sell. I'm retired so I have all the time in the world.
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
19 May 16
Wow that is awesome! My husband and I used to buy and sell-we had a blast with it. I miss it a lot but without a truck like we used to have it would be kind of difficult now.
1 person likes this
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
21 May 16
@fishtiger58 That is really a good idea. We did it with furniture mostly and baby items-since those things sell the best on local sites here.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
I only do small things to sell they are so easier to store, transport and ship. I do this for fun. Helps in the cold dark winter, gives me something to do.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
25 May 16
@LovingMyBabies I like ebay because they get so many people visiting the site every month. I hear they get well over 1 million visits a month. That's really good when you are trying to sell something.
1 person likes this
@cmoneyspinner (9218)
• Austin, Texas
19 Jul 16
One man's junk is another man's treasure and when it came to treasure hunting, my husband used to be really good at it! He doesn't shop any more because of bad health. But he was really good at finding bargains.
1 person likes this
@cmoneyspinner (9218)
• Austin, Texas
23 Jul 16
@fishtiger58 - I didn't start going to garage sales until I met my husband. In the hood where I grew up, your junk was your junk and when you were done with it, it was literally junk that was given to the junkyard! 
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
23 Jul 16
When I was younger never went to yard sales, I thought it was embarrassing. How wrong I was, it's such fun especially when you find something exciting. My fav buys are things I have no idea what they are.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
30 May 16
I got a really expensive as it turns out thermal carafe for 3 dollars, new they sell for between 290 and 325 dollars, mine looks almost brand new. I posted a pic of it on Deborah's comments if you care to see it. The other day I bought 3 sets of collectors plates, The Wizard of Oz, Walt Disney Fantasia, and Bambi plates, all for a dollar each, all together I got 23 plates and have them posted on ebay. I hope to make some good money on those.
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
20 May 16
@fishtiger58 Wow, I'll go and look at it now.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
I found a fantastic Alfi thermal carafe, looks new and worth between 295 and 325 dollars I got for 3 bucks. I currently have it for sale on ebay for 100 dollars. I have a pic of it on Deborah's comment.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (54730)
• United States
19 May 16
I love yard sales....have fun and I hope you find some treasures.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
I did thanks so much I do love a good yard sale.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
Thanks I only found a couple of things but am very happy.
@Marilynda1225 (91155)
• United States
19 May 16
Good luck with your treasure searching at the barn sales. Hope you can find some more things to sell on Ebay. Those profits are great
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29819)
• Momence, Illinois
20 May 16
I did, I found a almost new Alfi Thermal carafe. Worth new between 285 and 325 I got for 3 bucks. Put it on ebay for 100 bucks. If you want to see it I put a pic up of it on Deborah's comments.
