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The Thrift Store Thread - Sports Edition

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mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,187
4,099
I believe they were around $80 new when the first edition was sold. I got one as a Christmas present in 1985.

Nice stuff @MrMet! Any ideas on a value of the Topps book? I have the same one myself. My dust jacket isn't in too great of shape though
 

markotsay7

Member
Feb 18, 2011
365
0
Been doing pretty well lately. I've flipped some soccer-related jerseys and polos very quickly.

Big score yesterday. Paid 50 cents for this and sold for $40 plus shipping a few hours later:
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[MENTION=4248]rum151man[/MENTION], I know this was asked of you earlier by astroburn but would you mind checking me out and letting me know if there's anything I can do differently. I get a decent amount of likes, but no new followers. dpsportscards is the name.
 

djmilhaus

Member
Sep 8, 2014
142
0
Seattle
Stumbled on to this forum by accident researching something, found this thread, was amazed and inspired. Now I'm joining in the "treasure hunt" as well. Thanks all for sharing your secrets and successes! Will be posting some of my finds here when I'm home from work. Had a few successes already, mostly from Goodwill locally. Hard to find the proper amount of time to hit them all up, find yard sales or flea markets. Good thing, the wife enjoys this as well! Kids, not so much :D

Anyways, keep up the great work guys. Been a pleasure reading through this whole thing!
 

Will Style 13

New member
Feb 9, 2012
929
1
York, PA
Been doing pretty well lately. I've flipped some soccer-related jerseys and polos very quickly.

Big score yesterday. Paid 50 cents for this and sold for $40 plus shipping a few hours later:
View attachment 40634
@rum151man, I know this was asked of you earlier by astroburn but would you mind checking me out and letting me know if there's anything I can do differently. I get a decent amount of likes, but no new followers. dpsportscards is the name.

That is so freaking cool. 50 cents? Holy Crap.
 

rum151man

New member
Mar 9, 2010
4,524
0
Nor Cal
Been doing pretty well lately. I've flipped some soccer-related jerseys and polos very quickly.

Big score yesterday. Paid 50 cents for this and sold for $40 plus shipping a few hours later:
View attachment 40634
[MENTION=4248]rum151man[/MENTION], I know this was asked of you earlier by astroburn but would you mind checking me out and letting me know if there's anything I can do differently. I get a decent amount of likes, but no new followers. dpsportscards is the name.

Honestly you just have to keep posting tons of stuff & using the #'s as you are and the followers will build up.
 

djmilhaus

Member
Sep 8, 2014
142
0
Seattle
Wow you read all 117 pages? There is a wealth of knowledge in there that's for sure! Welcome.

I sure did and there sure is! My best finds so far:

Adidas LA Galaxy David Beckham track jacket - Paid $10, Sold $30
Charlestown Chiefs hockey jersey - Paid $8, Sold $60
Nike Oregon Ducks hoodie - Paid $9, Sold $25
Nike USC Trojans Matt Barkley jersey - Paid $8, bid @ $36
Nike retro LA Lakers Kobe jersey (some damage) - Paid $3, sold $30

Trying to post pics, still learning this forum.
 

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ASTROBURN

Active member
Jun 23, 2011
4,576
0
Santa Cruz, CA
Jen watched Avery this morning, whicj gave me the freedom to shop shop shop. 4 stores later, heres my haul.
 

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lambert58

New member
Sep 29, 2008
425
0
Melbourne, FL
Hey AstroBurn: You were kind enough to advise me before so wondering if you or anyone else who would like to add something...regarding t-shirts what is your decisioning requirements for picking them up? Some of the ones you showed looked a little color faded(but that could be the look of the shirt as I have seen items like that) but other than holes, rips or a lot of wear what do you look for? Example like if the tag is missing or the collar looks too sweat stained. I have finally purchased a few so hoping to learn how to post pictures on here. I have tried but not going so well. Thanks in advanced.
 

ASTROBURN

Active member
Jun 23, 2011
4,576
0
Santa Cruz, CA
Hey AstroBurn: You were kind enough to advise me before so wondering if you or anyone else who would like to add something...regarding t-shirts what is your decisioning requirements for picking them up? Some of the ones you showed looked a little color faded(but that could be the look of the shirt as I have seen items like that) but other than holes, rips or a lot of wear what do you look for? Example like if the tag is missing or the collar looks too sweat stained. I have finally purchased a few so hoping to learn how to post pictures on here. I have tried but not going so well. Thanks in advanced.

a lot has changed for me since i started this at the beginning of the year. Back then, i grabbed everything sports related. And i didnt check them out in the stores. Got stuck with a decent amount of junk, which i either sold really cheap to make money back, or donated it back. So, heres a few things i have learned.

The lighting inside thrift stores is horrible. I have bought shirts that look excellent in the store, only to find that they have spots or holes or other flaws when i am doing prepwork. I have slowed myself down a bit though, to really give things a good once over before i make my purchase. For instance, just today i left about 4 items per store that i initially pulled, but decided they were not worth picking up or trying to clean into sellable condition.

Pressure from other customers behind you catching up with you can cause you to make hastly decisions when going thru the racks. If you dont have time to look it over, just drop it in your cart/basket and check em out closer later. And, you may find a better spot of lighting by doing this. One store today had sunshine coming in thru the windows, so i brought my basket over to the light and could really see that the niners shirt i picked up had grease spots that could only be seen in decent light.

Not having a size tag doesnt bother me one bit. I have various charts that can give you what size a shirt is by its measurement. Usually its smaller since its been washed and dried, but it gives an idea of what to list the shirt as.

Condition... Well, this has its ups and downs. Just recently i picked up an assortment of Raider shirts. These were ten years old, and a few looked like they were well loved. But at fifty cents a piece, i got them, washed them, lint rolled them, and listed them at my normal starting price. Sold one so far. And after a bit, i will reduce the price and try to get them to move. Even if i sold them so low that i make just two bucks on them in profit, its still two bucks i didnt have, and its worth the shot that someone hits the BIN or meets the minimum bid.

Some stuff i just plain will not buy. For example, If the neck is stretched out. That cant be fixed. If there are stains that look like it wont come out, i will leave behind. There was a Bears shirt that i would have loved to add to my inventory, until i saw the stain on the lower front and i just put it back. Some stuff i just dont want to put the effort into anymore. Stains on a jersey is a different story. The return of profit you can make on a jersey makes it worth the effort. I have had pretty good luck getting stains out, but some just dont. Then i still list them, at a reduced price, and clearly state and picture the problems in the listing, saying that the flaws are the reason the price is lower. I have sold some pretty beat stuff, and i sleep fine at night knowing that i clearly showed the prospective buyer the things wrong ahead of time.

Pit stains. I dont bother trying anymore. There are tricks to do it, but when i come home with 44 items, i dont want to mess with trying to get pit stains out. Just not worth the effort.

Now, in case your question was also regarding what shirts to buy, i buy what i am comfortable with (what i know). Most of the guys on blowout concentrate on polo, ralph lauren, tommy bahama, etc etc... I started out with sports shirts. Everybody has a sports related shirt. I wear one every day. And rum151man's listings guided me to the sports side, since i could see that there was money to be made in that department.

after a while i realized that i was seeing other topics that i personally would buy for myself if they would fit me. I have a soft spot for hard rock cafe, so i started buying them. Then i was seeing Harley Davidson, and i started buying them too. Then they were selling. So clearly others wanted them too. Now, i have also added more, including video games, tv shows, band tees, automotive including monster trucks, nascar, motocross, monster energy, rockstar, fox racing, oneill surf, dc skate... Blah blah blah. So much stuff. I did recently try polo by ralph lauren, but didnt make any more than i would doing t shirts. And the only reason i grabbed em was cuz they were a buck.

watch out for bootleg stuff. Monster energy watches ebay closely, and i had a shirt listing deleted by ebay because a shirt i had appearantly was a fake. So there are things to look for, mainly on the collar tag. If its a harley shirt, hard rock cafe, or monster energy, its tag says so. For instance, you will not find anauthentic harley shirt with a gildan tag... So keep an eye out for them.

cost!!! I will not pay more than 2 bucks for a t shirt. I have fudged a few times into the 250 to 3 dollar mark before, just because i knew the topic well and had a good feeling it would sell. I did spend five bucks today on a ny giants 4xl tshirt, but only because it was new with tag, and i have a good feeling that i will make my money on it.

hmm... I guess thats it for now. Any other questions?
 
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lambert58

New member
Sep 29, 2008
425
0
Melbourne, FL
hmm... I guess thats it for now. Any other questions?
Dude you rock! Thanks for all the advice. This is by far the best thread on here along with JP's minor league daily report. This site really does have a lot of great people on it. Ok so I have purchased about 5 shirts so far sports related and 1 Daytona Bike week shirt oh, and a Tony Hawk shirt that I figured some kid would like. Paid $1.50 each. I was going to start prices @ $9.95 free shipping...good price point?
 

ASTROBURN

Active member
Jun 23, 2011
4,576
0
Santa Cruz, CA
Dude you rock! Thanks for all the advice. This is by far the best thread on here along with JP's minor league daily report. This site really does have a lot of great people on it. Ok so I have purchased about 5 shirts so far sports related and 1 Daytona Bike week shirt oh, and a Tony Hawk shirt that I figured some kid would like. Paid $1.50 each. I was going to start prices @ $9.95 free shipping...good price point?

I would start higher. you paid 1.50. if it sells for ten, ebay takes a dollar (ten percent). Paypal takes 30 cents per transaction plus 2.9%. so thats like another 50 cents. so your cost is at three thus far.

Now shipping... Average is between 8 to 10 ounces, and depending on your ebay shipping discount, 8 ounce costs me 2.59, and ten ounce is like 2.97. but if you dont have the discount, then its like 50 cents more or so.

So 3 bucks plus 3.50 (worst case) puts you at making just 3.50... Not a big enough payout to make this worth it.

I played with mine a bit, settling on 11 starting bid, 14.50 BIN plus 5 shipping (i was sending a priority flat rate envelope). This was good for a bit, then people were asking if I could do better on the shipping costs. So, I switched to shipping first class using poly mailing bags for free, but raised my prices to 15/20. Been working thus far. Some people hit the BIN, others let it ride at 15.

However, I did recently reduce the prices on stuff I have had since the first third of the year, to 13/17, with free shipping. Been doing ok with that as well.
 

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