E-bay selling challenge - Skylanders Giants

For a while I’ve been thinking about an e-bay challenge, where I buy something for a £1 and then sell it on ebay and use the profits to buy something else, recycle that by selling it on and seeing how much I can grow my investment.

Well I’ve finally got around to starting. The first step was to decide what to buy, in effect im looking for something that is either over valued on e-bay or something that is sold at a bargain. The key to this challenge is estimating the real value of a product. Well, being the father of a 6yr old, I hope I can be excused for starting with toys, More precisely skylanders. These toys are NFC models which let children have something tangible which then translates on to screen via a games console.  I’m sure they will eventually turn out to be this generations star wars toys or corgi cars. They will be eminent collectable but in about 30 yrs most will have found their way to the local scrap heap.

Though at present there is a thriving second hand market and toys a plenty. New these toys sold for about £15 a model, but now 2^nd hand they can sell for a whole range of prices.

My angle here was to use a the 2^nd hand store CEX via their online portal webuy.com -   you’ll see you can buy a Skylanders Giant’s booster pack for a mere £1 not only does this have a figure included but comes with a game as well.  If fits within my budget, though there is a postage fee of £2.25, which I’ll have to absorb, but in reality it worked as I ordered other stuff as well.   

Interestingly the same figure sells for £1.50 on its own without the game, on the same site. Which, is in itself an odd state of affairs.  

So with step 1 safely completed on to selling it via e-bay. After a week it sold for £4.90 (including £2.70 postage).  Again here I had to outlay on postal costs but hers the figures

• Ø  Product cost  £1
• Ø  Postage receipt £2.25
• Ø  Total cost £3.25
• 
  
• Ø  Money received £4.90
• Ø  Less postage £2.70
• Ø  Total income £2.20
• Ø  Profit\loss -£1.05

Not exactly the result I wanted to start with. Despite doubling the value of my goods, the profit was more than eaten up postage. I’ll try again, but its clear that whatever I buy must be bought locally and then sold on line, that way i have a chance of keeping some of my income.

Total outlay £5.95

Total Income £4.90

Profit Loss -£1.05

Idea 348 - sell suff on Ebay

I often have idea for opportunities or things to do, mostly I end up getting enthusiastic about them but don’t actually do them. Things like going up Ben Nevis on a Space hopper, or training for a marathon by walking 26 miles faster each day until I’m practically running it, and eventually im faster than Mo Farah, or maybe I’ll write a book of short stories all interlinked to cause some sort of global catastrophe, sort of an inspector calls meets 1984. 

Well my latest idea may not be original but I quite like it. The idea is that I find something as cheap as I can possibly find, Less than 50p, then I sell it on E-bay hopefully for a profit. So say I sell it for 60p after postage and E-bay fees, well now I have 60p to spend on something to sell.  This time I sell it for £1.24 and then £2.67, maybe then I have a setback and on sell it for £1.87 but I’m still up overall. And before you know it im buying a Fire Engine just think what I may end up with!

I probably won’t do it but the thought of it is quite appealing, Not sure where I’d buy the stuff from, probably not E-bay but charity shops and car boot sales to start with then maybe antique dealers then maybe the international boat show.