MoreWhen I told my mom that I was writing about boots, shoes and scarves, she told me about a great score she had had recently. She bought five pairs of used Dansko shoes at a yard sale for $3.00 each. It was in an area of Bellingham that’s not so great, and it was late in the day. The lady running the sale originally wanted $7 each and because it was time to close up shop, my mom was able to negotiate the price down to $3.00 each. That’s more like it!
She put them all up at auction for $19.99 to $24.99 and one sold for $24.99. That covered her initial investment of $15.00 and then some. The other four pairs sold in her eBay store within 3 months, each for between $19.99 and $24.99.
One really fun clothing category that often gets overlooked is scarves. They’re easy to store, easy to ship and can sell for big bucks. Check out this neat email I got from Mandy, a Queen’s Court member.
Hi Lynn,
This was a great score! A Hermes Paris 100% silk scarf I found at Value Village for 2.99 with its seam label and the copyright printed right on the scarf! It sold with a bidding war for way more than I could have ever imagined. Yippee! I’m going to check the scarves more often when out Thrifting!
Mandy
Mandicrafts
Mandy’s auction is here.
When I emailed Mandy to ask her if I could include her score my the newsletter, here is what she sent back:
Sure you can use the scarf in the ezine, but the follow up to it was that they complained that it had a worn spot and pin holes and a stain. I’d inspected it before it shipped and offered a full refund, confident I could resell or over it as a second chance offer, but they still wanted to give it as a gift and asked for compensation before leaving feedback.
I refunded $20 and that made them happy enough to leave good feedback and it was still a great score for me without all the return hassle!
Some of that extortion we are all experiencing with feedback held hostage, no kidding! But Mandy did the right thing by offering a parital refund. Good job, Mandy! And I just heard from her again, she made Silver Powerseller today! Congratulations–What an awesome accomplishment. What great lessons learned, just like with antiques and collectibles, anything made in Europe or by a famous designer in boots, shoes or scarves is usually going to be a score! Don’t pass these items up when out thrifting or garage saling.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Lynne,
I do agree that scarves are great items to sell. I purchased one at a garage sale (new in the box) for $3.00. When I researched the item, I realized that it was from an exclusive designer in Bermuda. New scarves sell for over $150.00 each. I sold mine for over $75.00! Yippee! Thanks for the help and guidance….you have helped streamline our business and can’t wait for a great new year! Thanks again!
Alex
Lynn
I looked at those shoes and WOW KACHING SCORE!
Haw are you dong today Lynn?