Garage Sale had Zippos

[insontis]

I've only hit a single garage sale last month, but did pretty good on a grab lot of jewelry. Yesterday I hit four and struck out on three - though they did produce some needed household items.

The only good one that I hit I did not have high hopes for as it was not in the wealthier part of town and the description of the sale was minimal. The only thing that drew me to it was the "knives/swords" that they had described - but I still wasn't too hopeful. I arrived and found a few standard misc item tables, nothing great. In the back I found tables that contained a bunch of knives (nothing extraordinary that I'm aware of) and a handful of Zippos. I'd like to mention at this point that I am still kicking myself in the ass for not grabbing all of them immediately and asking if they had more. So I started browsing over the items and examining them one by one as I was the only one present at this point. Most had their original box and appeared to be in excellent condition. I picked up a few and handed them to the lady to hold for me. I browsed a bit more as another customer came up and started looking over a few and grabbing some. At this point I shook the cloud of stupidity from my head and started to grab to rest. I paid & left to my next sale.

The guy who had bought up some of the Zippos arrived there a few minutes later and told me they put out some more lighters after I left that he had purchased. Ugh. So now I've learned a lesson: ALWAYS ask if they have any more of an item that I am purchasing and if I am unsure, DO NOT leave the the items unclaimed until I am certain I do not want them.




Total count is:
1 Feather/Turquoise
1 Set of 5 State Quarters (1999)
1 Howling Wolf
1 Troubles/Blessings/Happiness quote
2 Keeper of the Flame
2 Budweiser
3 Titanic
4 God grant me Serenity, Courage, Wisdom quote
1 Eagle Belt Buckle

19 Lighters and 1 belt buckle for $35. I expect to make over $300.

 

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[insontis]

Alright, pictures are up. I'm still kicking myself in the ass for not inquiring about more Zippos or even just grabbing all that was out in front of me while I could. There is some silver lining to the scenario, though. Because I had not bought them out yesterday and didn't see it all sell first hand, I ventured back over there today with a friend. They were sold out of knives and Zippos, but did have a ton of state quarter sets for sell. Too high for me to resell, but a good collecting price. I didn't grab any, but my friend grabbed a whole set (1999-2008) for $40. I struck up some conversation and asked if they had any older coins. They told me that they did have a box that contained at least some old silver dimes and some other stuff that aren't sure of. Apparently this "mystery box" was passed down and was/is in the process of being divided up amongst the family. I told them I could pay around 12x face on the dimes and they seemed interested enough to ask for my name and number. They said it may take up to a few months to get organized, but I hope that they do eventually call. Looking forward to seeing what else is in that "mystery box".

 

[Omega]

Not to be a downer, but I've had dozens of people from sales take my business card, name, number, etc, and say they have a bunch to sell, and yet, I haven't gotten 1 call (from them anyways). Best of luck! I used to sell zippos for a "living", they do well.

 

[GibH]

You did well. The State Quarters set will darn near triple your investment. The turquoise feather is another good one.

 

[tamrock]

How funny!.... Just this last week I came by a WWII era 3 barrel hinge Zippo for 5 bucks in Cortez Colorado. It's been pretty well used with much of the plating worn to the brass, but looking at comparable condition ones like it I'm thinking I may get 40-50 bucks back on it. It's the third 3 barrel hinge I've found so far. You did excellent on that little lot. There are some serious Zippo collectors combing the web for vintage and unique Zippos 24hr's a day.$37,000.00 Zippo.

 

[acevillav]

Thats a tough break but I wouldn't sweat it all of us have done that before. Look at it this way it's tuition paid in to the school of buying/selling loot. You still made an outstanding score and stand to make some serious dough when the day is done. HH Ace Villa-v

 

[randazzo1]

It drives me crazy for a few days too when something like that happens. Same thing with fishing. For some reason the loss of the "catch" has staying power. I agree with acevillah though on the "tuition" idea. Obviously you still found an enviable horde of items though - congrats.

 

[insontis]

Well I've had time to cool off since. I'm looking at the positives - made a great buy and am looking to profit quite a bit. I'm sure this won't be the last time I "leave money on the table". I do know that this will help prevent it from happening as often in the future.

I do have a potential buyer from my work lined up to get the Irish? poem one for $25. I didn't find it online just yet to find it's going price, but I feel that $25 shouldn't be too far off - especially not having to pay feebay.

I think I may end up keeping the turquoise/feather one for myself, though will probably part with it for a high enough price. They seem to have sold all over the place so I'm guessing a BIN at $120 would probably bring in the best price.

The quarter lighter set seems to be an easy sell. Really wish they had the whole set there. It's taking some will power to block out the idea that they perhaps did have the other books and put them out after I left. They charged me $7 for the book and if they had all 10... well I can dream!

 

[insontis]

Not to be a downer, but I've had dozens of people from sales take my business card, name, number, etc, and say they have a bunch to sell, and yet, I haven't gotten 1 call (from them anyways). Best of luck! I used to sell zippos for a "living", they do well.

Really? That's unfortunate. I kind of feel like I won't receive calls due to the circumstances of the two people I left my number with. The first was to a woman selling jewelry who said someone had been through it ALL, but she hadn't/wouldn't put the rest out to sell right then. I told her I'd pay well by the gram and she said if she had any gold left she'd let me know... IF she has any left. Or loses the paper she wrote my number on.

The second person I left my number with, these Zippo people with the "silver dimes mystery box" claimed that they had so much stuff to go through and that things "disappear and reappear later in that house". That combined with the fact that they said it may be months before they are ready to sell the items... well.. let's just say I hope their refrigerator has a strong magnet to hold my number.. otherwise I see it being lost.

 

[GibH]

If you put them up on Ebay, make sure you allow Japanese bidders.

 

[insontis]

If you put them up on Ebay, make sure you allow Japanese bidders.

Good tip. I probably will eBay them. So far I've only been allowing bidders from the US so I may have to research a bit about shipping costs etc. are there any issues with shipping lighters in the mail?

 

[Lafitte Deux]

There are no issues sending lighters in the mail; as long as they aren't full of fuel.
You might check into Ebay's global shipping program. I've heard pro's and con's, but it's been pretty painless for me.
Also, most of the Zippo's that I've sold on the bay have gone to Japan.

 

[GibH]

Other than a few here and there, I haven't actively bought and sold Zippos in a few years. The bottom kind of dropped out of them like everything else back in 2008. Some held their value, and while the market for them has improved, they still haven't gotten back to what they were selling for. Back then they didn't have the global shipping program, but the Japanese buyers did not mind the shipping costs. I've never had any kind of problem shipping to Japan either.

 

[insontis]

Great news about the shipping - not so much about their value being down. I may hold onto a few for future investment in hopes the market will go back up for them I suppose.

 

[GibH]

Great news about the shipping - not so much about their value being down. I may hold onto a few for future investment in hopes the market will go back up for them I suppose.

Hold them if you like collecting them, not for investment.

 

[insontis]

Hold them if you like collecting them, not for investment.

Well I like a few of them regardless, so I guess if the market goes back up and down the road I can part ways with them I probably will. I've only got like $2 a piece invested right now. Then again I suppose I could always sell them now and invest in something else....

Silver and gold.. silver and gold.. *whistles*

 

[Omega]

There are no issues sending lighters in the mail; as long as they aren't full of fuel.
You might check into Ebay's global shipping program. I've heard pro's and con's, but it's been pretty painless for me.
Also, most of the Zippo's that I've sold on the bay have gone to Japan.

Global shipping program sucks! Just do it yourself. Buyers are discouraged when the see the GSS option.

 

[Omega]

Well I like a few of them regardless, so I guess if the market goes back up and down the road I can part ways with them I probably will. I've only got like $2 a piece invested right now. Then again I suppose I could always sell them now and invest in something else....

Silver and gold.. silver and gold.. *whistles*

Silver not gold