Cashing In on eBay

I've been a member of eBay for a little over 12 years now.  I've purchase many items from what I affectionately call, "The World's Garage Sale."  When students leave items behind in my classroom I've even joked around about selling the lost items on eBay if they aren't claimed.

My purchase count is up over 200 items.  Here's a short list of the types of items that I have won in the last year alone:

• Randy Johnson bobblehead
• a black vest and cowboy boots for Emily & Steven's western themed wedding
• 1,000 Chicago Cubs baseball cards to help create/finish my table project
• a 50' ethernet cable and coupler to hook up the Roku
• numerous baseball cards for others and my own personal collection

I usually "watch" items for a while to get a feel for their price and then I strike in the closing seconds of an auction that is undervalued. I even will search for items late at night as an attempt to "wind down" before going to bed.  Sometimes that backfires though as I can lose myself for more than hour at a time.


Anyway.  I sold my first item.  I redeemed a diamond embedded baseball card this year as part of one of  Topps 2011 promotions.  (Yes, I'm 34, and I still collect baseball cards. Get over it.)  All attempts to trade the card for a Cub were rebuffed and I decided it might fetch a fair price on eBay.  Here's my first listing: click here.

The card sold for $147.  Not a bad catch, but not near the haul that my sister claimed with a similar card.  Overall, it was a good experience and now I'm considering what other possibilities I might be able to sell on "The Bay."

Perhaps the extra unused SUP pump?  We don't really need two. 
We have 14 pairs of 3D glasses that came with our new television.  Um, yeah, that's ridiculous.
I could try selling more baseball cards.
Or perhaps I could make and sell coasters!

What? Coasters?  Yep.  I've made two sets of two so far.  The first set was a pair of the pictured Atlanta Braves as a thank you to a baseball card blogger who sent me some really cool Cubs cards for my table.  The second set was a pair of Cubs that I gave to a good friend as a Christmas present.  They are made out of the same epoxy resin that I used to make my table and are pretty nice.  The second set turned out much better as I tweaked my technique.

Who knows? Either way, I enjoy eBay and the possibilities it holds!