by Tristen OBrien on March 8, 2013
With shows like, “The Walking Dead” and “Doomsday Preppers” it’s no wonder why a lot of people think that it’s the end of the world. I know there are more reasons why someone may think this, but in reality, we have no idea. There are a lot of people who are building bunkers below their homes and stocking up on supplies for when this day comes. I don’t happen to believe that the world is ending any time soon, but that doesn’t mean that those who do, can’t be my customers.
We all should have some type of readiness for natural disasters. My wife’s grandma filled the tub with water every time there was a thunderstorm, and my sister has food and water stored just in case she is unable to drive out and get more. These can be considered normal when prepping for such an event, but how do you take it a step further and sell your ebay inventory to those who want to prepare for a”Doomsday” event?
Well, there are a many ways that you can make a profit selling preparedness kits on ebay. Below are my favorites:
- Costco has several Emergency Preparedness Survival Kits that range from $144 to $219. In these kits you get everything from food/water to crayons to help the time pass. These kits are designed for 4 people to survive 3 days. It actually isn’t a bad price for what you get, and really, any home could benefit from this (check it out HERE). This same $144 kit is selling on ebay for $249.99
- Another large niche right now, as you may already know, is the Zombie niche. I never can tell if someone really believes that zombies are real, or if they are just joking, nevertheless, you can sell Zombie survival kits on ebay and make some good money! You can make your own and sell it or there are several places to buy and resell. I found this website interesting HERE. This will give you the basics on what you’ll need in your zombie survival kit pack.
Emergency preparedness kits make a lot of sense, and with show like the one’s I mentioned above, they are becoming more and more popular. Make sure you understand why someone would buy a kit like you are offering, and make your listing stand out!
by Tristen OBrien on March 6, 2013
OOP, how can I explain it… Well, its quite simple. It stands for Out Of Print, and in this article, I’m referencing board games. It wasn’t too long ago, I was shopping at Goodwill, and I happened to run into a 1992 board game that was based off of the hit TV show, “Full House”. I almost passed it up but something told me to check the completed listings on ebay, and I’m glad I did! Of course, buying this from a thrift shop, I had no idea if all of the pieces were in there. Lucky for me, they were! I bought this game for only $2 and sold it for $50 to the right buyer. Fast forward six months, or so, I was again shopping at GW and I found a Batman Monopoly board game. This time I felt like I hit the jack pot!
Shopping for out of print board games can be fun, and the best part is, you really don’t need to know what you are looking for. For me, I just thought that the Batman Monopoly board game looked different enough for me to check it out. I had never seen this product before, but as it turns out, it’s worth almost $70. Even if I didn’t have all of the pieces, I could have sold the parts for almost $60.
I rely heavily on ebays completed listings, but I also take a look at a website that displays top OOP board games. I feel like this gives me an idea of what to look for when I’m shopping for ebay inventory. The website is called “Board Game Geek” and it can be found HERE.
Also, a board game doesn’t have to be OPP to be worth money. Like I mentioned before, you can resell game pieces to someone who may have lost theirs over the years. Lets take a look at some of my favorite games to buy and resell:
- Scrabble – You can sell the wood pieces to “crafters”.
- Themed Monopoly – Batman, Godfather, Beatles, etc.
- Any Star Wars game - The Queen’s Gambit would be a nice find.
- Any vintage game is worth taking a look at.
When it comes to board games, don’t be surprised if you research quite a few before you find a home run. There are many out there that are worthless on the ebay market, but it only takes that “one” to keep you searching for more. Have you ever sold an OPP board game? If so, comment below and let us know what it was!
by Tristen OBrien on March 4, 2013
Shopping at Big Lots for ebay inventory can be a bit challenging. They have a lot of “stuff”, but it can be hard to distinguish what the Hot Selling items may be. Usually, I look for discontinued items or items that are just hard to find, but I happened to find one little gem that was able to bring me in almost $2,500! Before I reveal the hot selling item, I want to share the items that I have had success with in the past. This will give you a good idea on what to look for while shopping at Big Lots.
- Red Bull Cola – I ended up selling thousands of these all over the world!
- Colgate Wisps – At one time BL had an eight pack for only $1. I bought as many as I could find, and sold them all on ebay.
- Red Bull Shot – This is a small energy drink that was a fast seller and easy to ship. You can read the article HERE.
- Several Brands of Mens Deodorant – For some reason, people get attached to their deodorant so when its hard to find, they are willing to pay the big bucks to get it.
- Oreo’s – Seasonal Oreo packaging seems to be a consistent seller!
Those were some of my top money makers that I have found at
Big Lots, but my latest find takes the cake. If you are a member and have access to the “Top find of the Day”, then I hope you have already taken advantage of this, since it was one of my top finds in December. Nevertheless, the item that made me $2,425
profit was the Emerson HD Action Cam.
I first found this camera on
Big Lots online ad for $39.99. It resembles the “Go Pro” camera and has a lot of the same features. I checked the completed listings and there was only one other seller at the time, but he/she was selling them every day for a decent profit! I went to my first
Big Lots and looked around for about 10 minutes but I couldn’t find the item. When I asked the
Big Lots employee about the item, she said that she has never seen it before. I was feeling defeated as I was walking out the door, but I happened to glance at the locked up cage and there it was. Matter of fact, there were seven at this location, so I bought them all.
I listed them as soon as I got to my car. It only took a day to sell through them, so I took the money I made and went to two more
Big Lots and bought all of their Emerson HD Action Cam’s. By utilizing Craigslist, ebay, and Amazon, this cycle went on for a month and a half, and I ended up selling 237 of these with an average profit of $10.22 per unit. Sales started to slow down towards the end and the inventory has been drying up, but this has been my most successful item I have bought and resold from
Big Lots.
My point of this story is to encourage you to take a look at all items from
Big Lots and consider it for ebay inventory. It’s best to start with their weekly ad, and visit the store to see if anythings stands out. You never know what Hot Seller you may find.
