The s Scrounger's Guide

This guide is for the okay Seller that is without contacts or access to
wholesalers.


Introduction

Whatever it is, you can get it here.


At least I sincerely hoped so, back in 2002, when I searched the
Internet looking for any sites where I could buy old issues of the
magazine, Soap Opera Digest. Collecting them was a passion of mine, and
I already had 20 years worth. But at that time, I was seeking any issues
I could find, from the years 1980-1983.


Then something told me to search okay.


Actually, what made my whole foray into okay so odd, was that I had been
a registered user since 1999. I had just signed up, then never came
back, for whatever reason.


I found plenty of Soap Opera Digests. I was also blessed to deal with
sellers that were nothing less than professional. If my first okay
experience had been any less than that, I doubt I would have ever
ventured into selling.


The okay Scrounger's Guide

As I stated in the beginning, this is a guide for the okay seller, that
has no contacts or access to wholesalers. This guide does not go into
things that most sellers are already familiar with, like the rudimentaries
of selling on okay. Meaning, they already know about taking pictures,
listing, payment plans, shipping and feedback. The okay Scrounger, is
the seller that would like to make some extra money selling on okay, but
does not have a regular, dependable inventory. The scrounger goes to
garage sales, re-sale shops, second hand bookshops, libraries(some have
For Sale Carts), surfs okay itself and searhes for bargains at the Goodwill. And the
scrounger may gee away from those places, finding nothing of any worth,
on any given day or week.


I am one of those people. I sell maybe 4-5 items a week, and rarely, is
any of the merchandise even in the same category. I might sell a small
lot of books, one collectible, a sweater, a toy and a package of coffee.
And whatever all of that gees to in dollars and cents, is more than I
already had.


There are certain categories that will always net you some profit. How
much, depends on the quality, age, condition and demand for the product.


Books

Within this category, books themselves don't usually sell too well,
unless they are autographed by the author. Other than that, if you
happen to own, or run across, a first edition of a Hemingway book, it
might surprise you how much a book collector might be willing to pay for
such a treasure.


But most people probably do not have that rare, first printing of some
classic book. They may, however, have a small collection of Sweet Valley
High's, Terry Brooks books and Danielle Steel novels. A lot of 20 of any
of these examples, might get you at least $10.00. Not a large amount of money, mind you,
but it's $10.00 more than you had.


Another popular type of book, that I have done fairly well with, deal with
weight loss, or diet/cookbooks. Just one of those, depending upon the
year, and timeliness of the diet, could actually net you the same amount
of profit, that a small book lot of romance novels could.


Another type of book that does sell, is that rare geic that you might
find at a garage sale. The funny thing about geics is, that if you are
not a collector, you'll never know why ONE issue is so terribly more
popular than another. Someone that I know, that is indeed a collector of
geic books, told me once that it had to do with the storylines. I then
began to see a pattern in the geics, that did seem to sell for a good
amount of money, whether they were deemed Modern Age(1980-Now), Bronze Age(1970-79) or
Silver Age(1956-69). For example: if Spider-man first meets the X-Men, or it is
Spider-man's, or the X-Men's, first appearance with another character,
then that geic is probably a bit more valuable than most. Or a first
edition of The Silver Surfer or The Fantastic Four, is most likely to be
quite a find as well.


Magazines

In this section, which can be found as a tier of the Book category, I
have found several types of magazines to be good sellers, but only under
certain circumstances. For example, A National Geographic, or an
informational magazine, that might have forewarned about Hurricane
Katrina, could be worth money. Then there are those old magazines, with some
cherished celebrity, or public figure on the cover, that died before his
or her time. Those could be worth a good amount of money as well. Then
there are celebrity magazines. Interesting note about those: I have
found that magazines, specifically old ones, that highlight some
particularly humiliating time in a star's life, sell for quite a bit.
Case in point: a former member of a Motown girl group, was once on
welfare. The magazine that revealed this fact, sold on okay for a little
under $100.00.


Collectibles

In this category, I have been the most successful with old record
albums. Yes, they do have to be in somewhat fair shape, but then again,
you never know who might just be interested in the record album cover
alone. I have also found that it is the 'One Hit Wonders', that seem to
be the most sought after by collectors. And if you find a rare record
album, by a well known artist, that could turn out to be quite
profitable for you as well.


Clothing

This category remains a constant mystery to me. Because I am never sure
why a piece of clothing sells or does not sell. I have always chalked it
up to the fact that clothing, like many other things in life, is a
selective item. I have had used clothing not sell, while things that
were 'New With Tags' were snapped up. I have also had the very opposite
happen. Old clothing was purchased right away, while I was forced to
re-list a new item that did not sell. One Hint:if you are interested in
selling something that has been worn, and after repeated washings, the
item still smells of cologne or perfume, try including some ammonia.


Accessories

Another tier of Clothing is Accessories. Kenneth Cole jewelry never
fails to sell for me. I have a friend that works in the jewelry area of
a department store. She told me once, that Kenneth Cole is the one brand
that customers never question the price on. They just buy whether it's
on sale or not.


Purses

I have sold some Coach purses before, but have always been more
impressed with how quickly Franco Sarto handbags, fly off of the online
shelves.


Video Games

This is another area that I have always done well in, especially at
Christmas time. It is also the lone area, where I personally have had
trouble with Non-Paying Bidders. I always end up wondering, if I'm
actually dealing with the owner of okay account, or is this person a
child or what? I usually take a 'wait and see' approach when it gees to
getting paid in this category.


DVD's and VHS Tapes

As most people know, VHS tapes don't do that well on okay. Everyone
seems to want DVD's. But, there are certain type of VHS tapes that can
still make you some money. I never fail to sell exercise tapes, or
videos that have not been released onto DVD yet.


Entertainment Memorabilia

When I have been lucky enough to get my hands on anything that falls
under this category, I have sold the item for a nice price. These type
of items are more valuable, because they are not gemonplace, and can't
be purchased just anywhere. For example: I sold a Ray Charles Diet Pepsi
Ad/Picture. In order to get this photograph, I had to buy a twelve pack
of Diet Pepsi, and I don't even drink it! A second example is of a
cookbook I sold, that included the favorite recipes of some popular,
daytime TV stars. I only had this book, because I paid to be in the fan
club, of the show these actors played on. My point is: sell your
freebies on okay(if they are not beloved, of course). Because they are
not your everyday, typical wares, they will gee across as unique.


Home and Garden

I don't sell too much under this category. I have had some success with
wall mounted items, such as soap dispensers and Homedics items,
specifically photo, fountain frames. But the one thing that I have had
constant success with, surprisingly, is coffee. In particular, any
brand that is associated with a Tassimo Coffeemaker, or any other very
expensive coffee device.


In Conclusion

I don't know how many current video games, or packages of coffee, you
might find at the Goodwill, or at a garage sale. That's the beauty of
scrounging. You may find those items, or you may find that rare VHS tape
of a Chicago Bears Superbowl game, that someone out there is salivating
over and willing to buy. You may run across that designer dress, that
was given away by a woman of means, just so that you could turn around
and sell it to that buyer, that needs it for her upgeing cruise a/o
class reunion. It is these type of transactions that make okay's motto,
"Whatever it is, you can get it here', a tried and true reality.