Travel hackers share a certain mentality that can spread into other areas in our lives. For some it leads to extreme couponing, to others manufactured spending and to still others reselling. In some cases it can be all three or other methods to maximize time or money that others might find, well, creative. As I prepared another eBay shipment this morning it occurred to me that I might not be the only one wholesaling Christmas gifts this year.
It began with the Disney Pins
When the kids were 4 and 7 we surprised them with a trip to Disney World for Christmas. To amp up the fun factor the “elves” put Disney Pins in their daily advent calendars instead of the usual candy or quarter. If I had any idea then the pins would become a permanent addition to the Deal Family holiday I might have sent the elves away!
At five bucks or more a pin the elves would have quickly gone bankrupt. However, wholesale lots of trading pins go for under 40 cents a pin shipped when you buy 100 or more. The problem is that many of the pins are just plain ugly. Not a problem if your goal is to trade, but it gets hard to sell the 12th Figment pin in a row in Deal Girl’s advent calendar. Since I need 50 (25 days x2) to be presentable, I usually buy 200 to be safe which runs me about $80.
Which leaves me with 150 pins I don’t need. Those I turn around and resell in lots of 25 netting about $60 after fees. I spend the same $20, but get the opportunity to cherry pick the best 50 out of 200 instead of getting stuck with the first random 50 I get. The listing takes about 5 minutes using the iPad app and voice keyboard, shipping maybe 3 minutes a package, so figure 30 minutes total.
This year I’m taking the pins up a notch
While shopping for my surplus pins this year I came across a number of vendors who sell mystery sets of Disney pins as opposed to totally random pins. They cost more- around $1.50 a pin- but the fun factor goes way up for the kids when they get complete sets. I bought a mystery pack of 100 for $139. It arrived promptly containing sets ranging from 5-7 pins each. One set of 7 I tossed into the random pin bin as I didn’t like the way it looked- even for resale. The rest looked fresh from the Disney parks. I got two Marvel sets, three Star Wars sets, one Cars set, two Princess sets, one Villains and six with various “big five” characters.
Forty of the pins I know the kids will like. The sets of the other 53 I have listed as individual sets. If they net $2.62 a pin, which is likely, then the elves’ gifts will be free this year.
Stocking stuffers for fun and profit
So far I’ve bought lots of items to offset my cost but have yet to actually profit from wholesaling Christmas gifts. This year I may finally profit from a stocking stuffer: Iwako erasers. Deal Girl fell in love with these silly erasers in Japan last year. I found 200 of them for about 32 cents each and they sell on ebay for about 50 cents each net in random lots, $1 each or more if I split them up into sets. Even after taking out 20 for Deal Girl’s stocking I should be able to double my money on this box. I’ll keep you posted.
Now that I’ve shared my wholesaling Christmas gift stories I’m curious: what gifts are you wholesaling? And if any of you happen to be wholesaling an extra Nintendo NES, please let me know. Deal Kid asked for one after the release date so I’m getting desperate!
The Deal Mommy is a proud member of the Saverocity network.
The concept is awesome, and if I can ever find Classic NESs in stock I plan on doing the same. But, I have no idea what the items are that you’re talking about lol!
No kids here
Be glad you don’t. I’m just grateful to have missed the Hatchimals craze.
Not so much wholesaling as retail arbitrage. Because my kids are grown, I’m not too sure about what to sell…so I go for what I know. Disney Infinity Star Wars sets for five different game consoles? Yes please, at gross cost of about $11, and sale price of about $21. Too bad the numbers of each set are limited. But even at 5 @, it’s still a $250 profit.
Mostly what I’m selling is good brand cold weather clothes for very small kids and women. THAT I know.
I’ve definitely done my share of Gymboree. I agree, stick with what you know!