eBay

5129frederick · ‎16-05-2014

It's that time of year again when we suppliment our meagre income by holding boot sales up and down the country, so let's hear your super buys/sells stories, or equally interesting/amusing pigs in a poke.

I'll start the ball rolling. A good few years back I bought a cheap "Reduced for quick sale" hardback book from a bookshop for just 10p.

It was by Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Really, really heavy - TOTALLY UNREADABLE! My wife thought me mad.

"Nobody's going to read that!"

Bless him, that particular week he chose to meet that great Chairman in the sky, so I took it along to a boot sale the next week.

Up walks a Commo, complete with bushy beard.

"Ah, Solzhenitsyn. Very great man."

"Great loss." I countered, humouring him.

"How much?"

"£4.00."

"Too much." he replied as he slowly turned to walk away.

"Hold on!" I replied, "To you, Comrade, because he was a great man, £3.00" He shook my hand and handed over the money. We then spent the next fifteen minutes discussing this great man and how he defied those who tried to suppress him.

That works out to somewhere in the region of 2,900% profit, on one item!!!!!

Another item was a wireless keyboard which I picked up for a couple of quid. Unfortunately the fool had scrawled £2.00 on the inside of the lid. No problem - I merely put a 1 infront of the 2 stuck a £6.00 label on it and got haggled down a fiver. He was happy and so was I

Arfur Daley old mate, you've got nuffink on me!

bitsnknots · ‎16-05-2014

A few years ago, I bought a Chance glass vase from a jumble sale for £3. My mum thought I was mad. She thought the lady that bought it from me for £16 was even more mad.

calibra101 · ‎16-05-2014

Around 20 yrs ago I went to a booty in Cardiff and after I had been all around I sat down to eat a chicken burger . I then saw a roll of money fall from the moneybag of the stallholder next to the burger van where I was sitting. I went over picked it up and gave it back to the elderly lady. She told me that there was over £250 there and it was her days takings and she was so thankful I could pick anything from her stall. I declined saying there was no need at all but she insisted that she wanted to give me something for my honesty She gave me a lovely lead crystal vase and I still have it to this day to display my flowers in.

5129frederick · ‎16-05-2014

Heart warming.

dark_castle1 · ‎16-05-2014

A few years back I bought a fountain pen for £10 and sold it on Ebay for £250.

chips-and-brown-gravy · ‎16-05-2014

Not boot sales (can't stand them) but auctions for me.

Once bought 3 mahogony chairs for £3 (£1 each), just because I couldn't bear to see them go for £2. I hadn't had a good look at them, but when I picked them up later I noticed the beautiful carved flowers and whiplash decoration, probably hadn't noticed at the initial glance because of the eyewatering orange boucle fabric someone had covered the seats with. Ended up selling them for £70 each still with the hideous orange boucle seats

Bought a National guitar for £5 in a junk shop.

Loads of jewellery bargains too.

5129frederick · ‎16-05-2014

WhAAATTTT! WOW! That's really something! Thus, £10.00 for a fountain pen sounds steep. You obviously knew what you were doing. I'd like you as a neighbour - you could show me the ropes.

5129frederick · ‎16-05-2014

Bought an electric guitar for £20.00 at the auction, was told it was worth £55.00 by a music shop, so advertised it on eBay for £40.00 and got nowhere. Running low on readies, sold it to Cash Converters for £35.00 - modest profit, assuming it would go up for £60.00 Greedy **Bleeps** have just put it up for £99.99. I hope they NEVER manage to sell it - at ANY price! OK, we all want to make money, but £35.00 to £100.00? Man, that's greedy! Bought two other guitars - acoustic, at £10.00 each both sold for £20.00. 100% mark-up fee in a shop is acceptable, but not 200% I love buying and selling guitars, and yet I can't play a note - the only thing I can play is the fool!