After teaching [tag]eBay[/tag] classes for the past five years, I figure I should be practicing what I preach when it comes to finding things to sell on eBay. Last Saturday I went out to one [tag]garage sale[/tag] not too far from my house. I arrived at 8 AM. As I scanned the tables I gathered a few items I thought would do well on eBay. I forked over my $7.50 and hurried home to check out my new treasures on [tag]Terapeak[/tag]. I was quite happy with what I found. I'm going to write about most of the stuff in the next day or two, but I thought I'd share this one auction with you to show what can happen if you educate yourself a bit in a few areas of eBay.
I saw this book poking up from a box with an orange sticker on it. It is by a very famous [tag]fashion[/tag] editor named [tag]Diana Vreeland[/tag]. Evidently she pretty much invented the idea we have today of a "fashion editor." (Think "The Devil Wears Prada") This lady was pretty fascinating, she was friends with all the [tag]New York society[/tag] types from the 1930's till her death in 1989. People like [tag]Jackie Onasis[/tag], [tag]Andy Warhol[/tag], and oh so many others. The book has tons of photos, and her commentary on all of them. But that really isn't my point here...
I hadn't heard of Diana Vreeland...
The price was typical yard sale level and I stacked it up with my other things. I didn't know who Diana Vreeland was, or what the title "[tag]ALLURE[/tag]" related to, but I didn't have to. How did I decide to buy it? Here are the things that crossed my mind, while I pushed other books aside:
- it is a big [tag]book[/tag], dealing with a popular subject, in great condition
- it's from 1980, and a [tag]first edition[/tag]
- it's fashion-related, so its content is dated - likely [tag]out of print[/tag]
- the book has its original dust cover
- the cover under the dust jacket is extremely nice, sharp corners and no marks inside or out
When I got home, I looked it up on Amazon.com, Abebooks.com, and eBay using Terapeak to check the history over the past 90 days. I was pleasantly surprised. A couple of copies had sold on eBay for $100-$123. Nice! On Abebooks, sellers listed it for an average of about $130-$175 in this condition. On Amazon.com they are listed for $150. I figure eBay is the best place to judge the actual market, so I hope it runs over $100 on [tag]Cyber Monday[/tag].
Oh and how much did I pay for it? I'll let you know after the sale next Monday. You will be inspired I'm sure.
UPDATE: Ok, I paid a dollar for this book. It pays to keep your eyes open, and arrive early to the garage sales...
Popularity: 9% [?]
3 comments ↓
Steve: If you had an iPhone you could have checked out the Terapeak data right there on the spot :-)
When I sell all the stuff I bought that day, I may get an iPhone. :>)
Wow, that is awesome! I’ll wander through yard sales every now and then and am always tempted to pick a few things up, but never do. I’m sure I’ve missed out on some great deals.
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