I went to a yard sale event in my hometown and absolutely mopped up on future profit. I spent $157 cash and have at least $3,000 of stuff to sell, really. I'll post on this in a few days.
I also saw a Miele vacuum at a thrift store last night before they closed and texted the manager to ask him to not have it sent to the warehouse for me. I haven't texted him in many years, but needed to pull this card since he was working in the AM and could stop the item from being put on the box truck. Thankfully his number was the same and he agreed to help. I bought it for $11 today and it'll move quick. It's the same exact model and color I sold from the curbs down below for $175 cash, but this one is in far better condition.
After spending half an hour teaching a friend about a new ALGO DEFI app, 2.5 hours talking crypto with another friend, and then 20 minutes helping a third friend deal with their anxiety attack, I'm in for the night. To do something recycling-themed, I'll make a post as a consolation prize to myself.
5 Recent Curb-Salvaged Sales:
These two Lego minifigures sold online for $40 to Australia. They came from a small set, but are high in demand. I have one more Magneto figure, but I think he's missing the helmet. The Wolverine figure was the majority of the value though.
Sadly, after a few months of great business and partnering up, my steady Lego buyer that asked me to hold everything for him completely ghosted me. Either something happened to him or he was completely two-faced. I think it's the latter. It's frustrating because I held the items for him he said he'd buy for a month, gave up my floor space, and delayed a nice chunk of income. After several ignored messages after literally vanishing (yet his instagram account is still active), I'm starting to list some of the stuff. I'm not going to list the minifigures though and get back to them up again. I'm up to about 85-90 so far.
Weight with recycled packaging of 5 ounces.
I found this vintage Sega pinball machine board sticking out of an open black garbage bag and sold it online for parts/repair for $125. It sold within 2-3 days of listing it. It had a piece of tape on it when I found it that said that it had several shorted parts that needed repair, but was in nice physical condition after I gently bent some connection pins back in line. While most would see the broken warning and consider it trash, I saw a rare part that commanded a good return.
Weight with recycled packaging of 2 pounds 2 ounces.
I sold this sealed new toilet flush valve system online for $37. I found 3 of these a while back and tried selling them as a set. Finally, a buyer reached out needing only one, so I split it up for me and she paid instantly. This reminds me that I need to relist the other 2. While not major money, it's certainly important enough to prevent this from being wasted.
Weight with recycled packaging of 1 pound 6 ounces.
I sold this drone controller online for parts/repair for $60 because I couldn't test it. I found it with some loose drone parts, but missed out on finding the drone because I was too shy to go through the bags in the early evening during a time when a nearby synagogue was emptying out after a service. The drone was a valuable high end model, but I was still uncomfortable. I went back much later, but the recycling truck had come early and took the pile. Oh well, but I did find two sound amplifiers worth $750+ each on my walk back out to the spot that was picked up. Net win.
Weight with recycled packaging of 2 pounds 4 ounces.
Here's a quick story about the next item.
I had this recycled vacuum for a few weeks because I was holding it for my normal buyer who was having some issues with her chemotherapy. She eventually had to get admitted to a hospital where she hoped she'd be released from in short order (why she asked for me to hold it). It turned out that she had to stay for a while, so while checking in, I asked if she'd be ok with me selling it on my own. I felt bad since she uses these an investments for her cleaning business, but I explained that I would like to move it to make space in my apartment. I also told her that I'd most certainly find another soon.
With her blessing, I listed the vacuum and had a request to buy it within 2 hours. While receiving the request, I was outside starting my curb walk and had just found 3 Miele attachments with a vacuum (I left the vacuum since it was damaged), and I added them to the sale for extra cash. Perfect timing and the buyer was thrilled for them. I delivered it to her the next afternoon before a nearby appointment, and voila, $175 cash to easily cover the cost of the trip.
Recycled weight of 15 pounds 4 ounces.
Proof of the vacuum from the thrift store today... the same exact vacuum, but better!
I'm not sure if anything's changed with my normal buyer just yet, so I may flip this fast and simply find another. For some reason, I'm a Miele vacuum magnet and find a few a month, and parts for them all the time.
Summary:
- $437/5 = $87.40 revenue per sale.
- 40% received as cash.
- No costs outside of shipping labels built into the resale price.
- Weight of items plus recycled packaging of 21.5 pounds saved.
Lastly, as those who know me over the years can appreciate, the value in my post isn't in the entertainment from the handful of items I post about. It's about the passion and hustle I consistently exhibit off-chain to produce the posts, and goal of motivating others to address this problem. Hive is not the answer. Actions are the answer.
Thanks as always for your interest and support.
Liquid proceeds from this post will go towards my new passion for @splinterlands.
Please reuse, repurpose and recycle.