In other words, what items can you consistently find at thrift stores or yard sales and flip for a profit? Not necessarily WHOO-HOO!!!!s...but solid, well performing items. You can find them readily, at a good price and they sell fairly quickly. It's all about Cash Flow baby.
I thought about it and I would have to say, for me, my bread and butter is...Coffee Mugs.
Of course, I love Starbucks mugs. They're a given. City or location mugs especially. I've gotten upwards of $100 for some City Mugs.
Here's a couple I recently found:
But looking back over last year, there were a few other categories of mugs that sold consistently and that I pick up whenever I find them.
Chaleur Mugs
I happened on a bunch of these at a thrift store back in the spring and I think I've sold them all. They all sold between $10-$30 apiece. They feature famous artists' paintings. The bottom looks like this:
I try to include the painting name in the title and/or listing as these appeal to art lovers. Chaleur has a website, with limited pieces for sale. So if you come across a painting that isn't being sold currently on their website, that's when you'll do your best.
I just found this one by Winslow Homer. Love it! I had the only one like it when I listed it and according to Terapeak there were only a few that had been listed in the last year. Popular artist + rare mug = great sale! I just have to wait.
And the best part...Chaleur has partnered with Starbucks in the past!! I found this one and it sold for the most. Look for Chaleur/Starbucks canisters as well.
The Far Side
Again, not new information..although it may be for some of you newer ones. I pick up any Far Side mug I see. In good condition of course. They may take awhile, but they will sell. The Far Side has a HUGE following.
Again, they usually sell for between $15-30 apiece. I did sell one for about $50 but it was oversized and I hadn't seen anything like it before or since. I'll try to track the photo down and add it in later.
So, there are other categories of mugs that will sell, we can explore those another day.
What's your Bread and Butter??
Hey thanks for the link! I loved the idea of selling mugs, and I guess I hadn't really realized it, but they do great on my Etsy and Ebay, too! I really should start searching through them more! I sold a Taylor & Ng mug on Etsy and also a Pyrex and Fire King recently. I think my biggest problem with selling mugs is finding the right size boxes to ship them in, all the boxes I find are always to large or too small!
ReplyDeleteThose are some beautiful mugs--I can see why people would pay top dollar for them. My bread and butter is Magic Tree House chapter books. I find them regularly at the local thrift for only a quarter.
ReplyDeleteI do well with mugs too. Dang I just passed on those StarB mugs over Xmas. Will keep an eye out. Thanks for the great info. Big Help.
ReplyDeleteI've recently found some Chaleur & Starbucks mugs. I haven't listed them yet because I'm worried about packing them correctly. Can you tell me how you wrap them to keep them in one piece when they arrive at their destinations?
ReplyDeleteHi I see you are a Terapeak user. We are currently looking for user success stories to use on our blog and main Terapeak website. If you are interested in sharing something please get in touch with me via e-mail. You can also check out the posts we have done so far on our blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Ryan @ Terapeak
rlaker@terapeak.com
http://blog.terapeak.com