written by Gordy, Berry Jr / Robinson Jr., William.

That is my theme song for selling on eBay especially when people don’t want to pay up in a timely manner. There are some great versions of the song but it first became a hit back in the late 50’s with a R & B singer Barrett Strong. The Beatles made it a hit in the 60’s but many other groups  have covered it including Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, and of course the Flying Lizards. A little music history for the day. I think I like Stevie Wonder‘s version of the song but decide for yourself by clicking on the links. I will start with Stevie since it is as soulful as you can get.

Towards the end of February, I had decided enough with the clutter, took the advice of my brother Thomas, and my financial guru Dave Ramsey and began selling stuff on eBay. So I went to town. Some of you will recall that I have blogged on this before but I think it is worthy of an update. I have now sold over 75 various objects from McDonalds and Burger King Kids Meal Toys to Stuffed Animals to various Bobbleheads, McFarlane Action figures, some Wrangler Jeans and have brought in some cash to the tune of about $900.

It began as a virtual yard sale and the very first item sold was a Sheriff Joe Arpaio bobblehead and I think I should have waited just a bit to see how his court case turns out. Who knows? It just might push the value. Very intriguing to say the least. By my estimation, I’m averaging something like $10 an item with a high of about $150 and multiple items at 99 cents. Sort of  a crap shoot trying to figure out what people might buy and you just never know. I’ve had items that start for 99 cents and couldn’t get a bite and then a week later it would sell for 9.99.

One of the more interesting items I have sold is a Bruce Jenner action figure. Bruce was lagging on eBay with sales around a 1.99 until his now famous interview with Diane Sawyer. Those who put him up for sale immediately got some real cash. I was in Phoenix and had no immediate access to find Bruce in my stash at home. Well I get home and bring Bruce out of his storage bin (a coming out story of another kind) and find that he is in great condition with running clothes on. I look up on eBay and I discovered that this thing was selling like a hotcake and some were getting 100+ for an item that you could barely give away. Monday morning I had Bruce up and running and anyhow he ended up selling for $43.00. That window closed rapidly as many people put Bruce up for sale and all of a sudden the supply surged past the demand and his price on eBay has dropped like a rock. Some are still asking prices of $2,500 but the sales just don’t add up to asking price. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1312.R1.TR11.TRC2.A0.H0.XBru.TRS1&_nkw=Bruce+Jenner+starting+lineup&_sacat=0

If I had a chance for a do over, I would have put it on for just 3 days while the market found itself but I let on for 7 days and did not have any bids after 3 days. So 43 bucks it was as the market became soft.

I have sold a Lamborghini and a Corvette on eBay, items I couldn’t sell at my last yard sale about 5 years ago. These actually brought in some cash but my advertising related soft bean bag items didn’t bring in much more then 99 cents. I have sold items to Russia, Canada, and Nicaragua. So it has all been fun and my stuff has been reduced. That makes it all worth while even though the time and effort seems futile at times. I even sent a Winnie the Pooh with a diploma overnight to New Jersey so they could have Winnie for a college graduation party. USPS got it there in one day on time and the lady was ecstatic and her shipping was only around 20 bucks for an item that she paid 7 bucks for. It is a beautiful thing to be able to meet those needs in a timely manner. It gets addictive. My soon to be son in law Bryan and I might have lunch or a drink but believe you me, we are checking our eBay apps on our phone. Bryan can tell you, there really is no rhyme or reason on why something sells. Over a bourbon, he decides to re-list things for a buy it now price and one after the other sell while we just sit back and laugh since he couldn’t get rid of some things at a 99 cent beginning price but by golly put a buy it now at 4.99 and bam sold!

Crazy but it is fun. For Carolyn, not so much. I have packing boxes (all from recycling areas) plastic air bubble protectors, tape, bubblewrap, and stuff sort of everywhere. I keep trying to convince her that this is good, you know a rainy day fund. So I’ve got to do my part and be a bit more organized but I’m working on it.

Now with my oldest daughter Caitlin getting married, I have been told that my selling efforts must be scaled back until after the June 6th wedding. At that time, I think I’m going to change my eBay focus to women’s designer clothing. With three females in the house who sometimes grow tired of their clothes, I just know that I can market those for at least a couple bucks each. I’m guessing that somebody out there wants some of that stuff.

The downside of eBay, are the fees. Close to 20% gets eaten up between eBay and PayPal. It can be frustrating but I will say my PayPal account has continued to grow. Dave Ramsey would be proud.

My brother Thomas reminds me that I might want to hang on to some of that stuff in case somebody else famous decides to be a woman. Just think what those bobbleheads would sell for then. I can only sit back and continue living the dream.

***Update: I have now added a buyer from Denmark who appears to be involved in working with dogs. She bought my Scooby Do bean bag of “I love NY”. Very cool.