$40 For a Vinatage Final Fantasy VII Game

So, a week ago I listed an old game we've been carrying around forever on Ebay. I did some research before I listed, checked what was currently available, and checked completed listings that had sold and for how much. Turns out these old vintage games are worth a little money. Especially if it's a big title, and for those of you who don't know about video games Final Fantasy VII is a huge classic. What did it sell for you ask, $40 on the Buy It Now option.

Now, this game was in great shape, all the booklets were in it, the discs had no visible scratches or wear, but the back of the case had a crack in it. I believe in being honest in my descriptions, and made sure to mention the scratch, and took a picture of it. I started the bidding out at $20, with the $40 Buy It Now price. My listing was simple "Final Fantasy VII, EUC" (EUC stands for Execellent Used Condition). On the last day bidding was open someone snatched it up at the Buy It Now price, and paid me. Here's the picture I took at the back.

Now, this is the only older game that we have laying around, but it does bring it to my attention that Vintage Gaming items, and really most Vintage items are big sellers right now! These are an emotional buy, the buyer sees these things, and thinks "Oh boy did I love insert item your selling when I was kid." Fond memories return, and they decide they just HAVE to have that certain item. Emotional buyers tend to spend more money on items, vs. everyday needed items. People buying those things they need just want a good deal, which isn't bad as long you got a better deal when you bought the item. So, while I am still going to focus on finding good, used, name brand clothing, I'm also going to be keeping my eye out for some other fun, vintage stuff.

Which brings me to the next part of my post :) I also scored 5 pairs of women's jeans for $25 at a garage sale yesterday! Two pairs of Silver jeans, and 3 BKE's, both are popular and expensive brands, and really one pair alone is $100 new! Each pair is in excellent condition, no tears, stains with a slight bit of wear at the bottom where jeans drag across the ground. Heck, one pair didn't even look like they were ever worn! Of course I don't know that for sure, so I still have to list them as used, EUC.

 I think I should be able to easily sell these for a nice profit on Ebay, in fact I'm hoping that one pair along will cover my cost for buying them, and the rest will be profit. Shipping is expensive on jeans, so I will also have to factor that into my price and listing. About $8 - $10, so make sure to watch that if you ever sell any yourself! I don't have any photo's yet, and I haven't got my listing together, but when I do I will share in another post. I also have some more Disney, and name brand kids clothes laying around that I'm going to put together some listings for and share with everyone.

The best part about selling that game is that I have sold $80 worth of stuff for January! Again, this was all stuff that was in my house collecting dust in a box somewhere. I have more stuff laying around, and I plan on getting more things on purpose with the intent to sell, so I'm very excited to see where Febuary takes me!! Happy money making everyone.

2nd Job & Ebay

So, it's been awhile since I've been on here. Mostly, I've been thinking, and re-collecting my thoughts. I also finished a semester in school (FINALS!), had a small break, and now I'm in FIVE classes. Since my last post, I've put more thought into what finding $20 a day means to me now, and what it could mean down the road.

First decision I made was to cut back on the DS business, and refocus my efforts on a steady paycheck instead. Yes, direct selling was fun, yes I loved and still love the product I sold, and yes the interest from people is still there. My problem was that my family needed at least $300 a month, for sure, to make the budget even. Unfortunately, selling is an iffy business, and I'm not the best at it. Combine that with 1 terrible party, 2 cancellations, and only 1 successful party (made $70) in a month......... and I had to come to a decision. I decided to apply for a part time job at a gas station that I go to pretty much every day. They have the best fountain drinks in town! I know all the girls that work there, some for about 5 years, I get along with them all, and I knew the job wouldn't demand as much from me physically. Long story short, I applied, got the job, and now work an extra 12+ hours a week, for about $170 every two weeks.

Alright, that's halfway to my $20 a day, or $600 a month. The problem is this a short term solution at best. I can not, and frankly will not, be able to maintain this for more than a year tops. The time I'm losing with my son breaks my heart. The fact that he is home with his father (our mutually agreed on decision) is the only thing that makes this tolerable. Well, that and the fact that it's actually a change for me. It's different than my other job, the hours aren't bad, and I like meeting people.

Next phase? Well, more thought, and experimenting has gone into this as well. Since I started this blog I have tried selling things around the house that we don't need/want/use. I've done this a few different ways, Facebook buy/sell/trade groups, garage sales, and Ebay. By far the easiest, and best selling venue has been Ebay. I read about selling on Ebay a few years ago, and actually got so intimated by what I read that I turned away from it before I even tried it. MISTAKE! Now, I'm not saying I'm going to get rich of this, at least not right away ;) but I have been able to sell around $150 worth of cr.... er stuff from around my home. It's a win win, I don't want or need this stuff anymore, someone else does, they buy it, and I get back some of the money I put into it. By far the hardest thing to "get right" when you start out selling Ebay is the shipping costs!

Okay, so this phase is done. Selling off stuff I already had. So now I will move on the next stage of this Ebay stuff. Purposefully buying and selling stuff. My decision has been to start with clothes, kids, womens, mens, I don't care. As long as it's:

1. Name brand
2. Popular style
3. Good shape
4. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP

So that's the main direction this blog will begin to take. I want to chronicle what I'm doing so that I can look back and see what I did right, and what I did wrong. Hopefully, eventually, others will find this blog, and it will help them (you!) as well. Now, this will not be the only thing I talk about in terms of making money on here. Maybe I'll talk about saving money, or other ways to make money, or hey! maybe I'll just vent on here some day ;)