No Buy July

How do you like the tiger logo? Anybody know how I fade the tiger a little bit so you can see the letters better? 

I've heard July being called "No Buy July," because nobody is buying anything. Luckily, July went very well for me. I've sold 62 items and have one day left. Dog bills pushed me to my limit and I had to get off my butt; put some work in. I worked 90 hours with Daniella this month, wrote 4 papers for a Master's program, and sold 62 items on eBay. I'm a little tired but President Obama's speech at the DNC gave me life and hope 😃😃. Here are a few things I sold this week: 

           2Pac 90's Graphic T-Shirt 

          Cost: $0.00          Sold: $125.00 

I listed at least 4 of my own possessions per day this month. Last week I listed this shirt. I've owned it since high school. I was obsessed with 2pac! I have another one that recently sold for $200 but it's one of my favorites so I haven't listed it. If you find any 90's music shirts....buy them! Hip Hop shirts sell for the most amount but Rock isn't too bad either. 

       Mickey Mouse Men's Denim Jacket 

          Cost: $6.00          Sold: $39.99 

         Men's 10 Dress Shirt Lot: Large 

          Cost: $20.00          Sold: $49.99 

Not a great profit margin but these were my left over shirts. 

       Nike Air Max Women's Shoes 8.5

          Cost: $5.99          Sold: $29.99 

           Brioni Men's Pants Size 36 

          Cost: $4.00          Sold: $45.00 

For the record.....buy Brioni items. ANY Brioni items! 

      Marithe Francois Girbaud Jeans 36 

          Cost: $4.99          Sold: $24.99 

  Ralph Lauren RRL Men's Denim Jacket 

          Cost: $9.00          Sold: $70.00 

Like Brioni.....buy anything RRL! ANYTHING! 

       Hickey Freeman Men's Blazer 46

          Cost: $3.00          Sold: $24.99 

Seriously, if you follow my A-Z brands list, you'll make money. I'm pretty loyal to the list and it works for me! 

       Ralph Lauren Women's Blazer 14 

          Cost: $1.49          Sold: $14.99 

        Adriano Goldschmied Jeans 28

          Cost: $4.00          Sold: $16.99 

       Jamie Sadock Women's Pants 14 

          Cost: $1.99          Sold: $16.00

How has July been for you? Hope it wasn't No Buy July! 

Dog Days of Summer.....

Thrift stores NEVER fail to entertain me! I saw this man in Goodwill today. The front of his sign read: You aren't saved! I thought: No s**t! Even more interesting was the man being in the store with a Muslim woman in a burka. Not something you see everyday but definitely made me smile 😃. 

I will try to add an A-Z Brand post this weekend. I've been busy. Wednesday I got a cortisone shot in my hip. Not a fun experience; hopefully it helps. I can handle my knees hurting at this point but not my knees and hip. That's just too much. 

I've spent the last week digging for stuff around the house to sell. Grew tired of needing money and being stressed out about it. I've already sold a few items that I just had sitting around. So far in July I've sold 50 items, pretty good for the summer. How are you doing? 

Here are a few items I sold this week: 

       Christian Audigier Men's Jeans 32

          Cost: $5.99          Sold: $37.99

     Masters of the Universe 80's Figures

           Cost: $0.00          Sold: $31.99 

My mom still has all our He-Man figures at home. To say my brother and I were obsessed with He-Man would be an understatement! 

        Ralph Lauren Black Label Pants 

          Cost: $10.00          Sold: $24.99

I paid too much for these pants. Won't make that mistake again. 

  Banana Republic Men's Pre-1981 Shirt

          Cost: $3.99          Sold: $30.00

I found this shirt VERY interesting. For Banana Republic items, you should look for the clothing with the old logo that has a banana on it. Safari looking items with that tag are the best. This tag said: Made in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. I had never seen a tag that referenced the British Crown Colony. I looked it up and Hong Kong was a British Crown Colony until 1981, so I knew the shirt was pre-1981. Pretty sure knowing the date really helped with this sale. 

       Medical Alert Bracelet with USB 

          Cost: $0.00          Sold: $49.99 

       Sony 1980's Cassette Walkman 

          Cost: $0.00          Sold: $17.99 

I found both those items sitting around the house; along with a Grumpy hoodie from Disney World. 

       Brooks Bros. Men's Suede Jacket 

          Cost: $3.00          Sold: $29.99

       Roberto Cavalli Women's Jeans 

          Cost: $4.99          Sold: $54.99 

       Jamie Sadock Women's Shorts 12

          Cost: $2.00          Sold: $14.99 

Hopefully the rest of the month goes well. I'm trying to list a few things a day and it seems to be helping. 

Need Your Thoughts.......

I have an idea for a business. Last night I was feeling the urge to sell everything I own and just drive around the country thrift shopping and selling on eBay. I realized quickly that I was being dramatic. Yet; the feeling of wanting a change was still there. So, I thought how can I afford to travel the country? My answer: convince thrift stores to pay for me to travel and shop at their stores. In return I anonymously evaluate their store from the shopper's perspective. Let's just say the whole idea is a work in progress. I need help on a few things. If you could please answer these questions for me: 

1. If you were to evaluate a thrift store, what criteria would you use? Please be specific and think outside the box. I know the obvious criteria. 

2. If you were to start the business I proposed, what steps would you take? Advice you would give? 

3. Do you think it would work? Or am I just crazy? Anyone interested in helping? 

Thank you in advance! I've already sold as many items in July as all of June. Here are a few: 

     Double D Western Women's Jacket

          Cost: $6.00          Sold: $32.99 

       Nat Nast Men's Button Down Shirt

          Cost: $3.99          Sold: $23.77

     Levi's 80's Child Denim Jacket NWT 

          Cost: $0.00          Sold: $37.99

       Theory Women's Leather Pants 

          Cost: $4.49          Sold: $39.99

    Newport News Leather Pants Size 18

          Cost: $3.35          Sold: $21.99

I've started looking for leather pants. Turns out they sell really well and people do donate them. 

  Ralph Lauren Purple Label Men's Shirts

          Cost: $8.60          Sold: $46.00

I found these shirts together in Naples. Probably could've gotten more but accepted a better offer within hours of posting them. I'll take the easy money. 

       Axis & Allies Pacific Board Game 

          Cost: $3.99          Sold: $49.99

If you find any Axis & Allies game, buy it. They have an insane number of pieces and are difficult to ship but well worth it. I have NO clue if all these pieces were in this game and it still sold for $49.99. If the game is missing pieces, just separate out the pieces and sell them individually to someone who loses a piece to their game. 

        Brioni Men's Linen Jacket 40

          Cost: $4.00          Sold: $64.99

Brioni items are VERY hard to find. If you do find a Brioni item, like Ice Cube says: Today is a Good Day! 

       Silver Suki Bootcut Womens Jeans

          Cost: $4.99          Sold: $29.99

How is July going for you? 

A-Z Brands: L

A-Z Brands: Henri Lloyd 

    Henri Lloyd is a British clothing manufacturer that specializes in sailing, yachting and golfing apparel. The company was founded in Manchester by Angus Lloyd and Henri Strzelecki in 1963. 

   Henri Lloyd pioneered the use of many new technologies; such as the first non-corrosive zipper made of nylon, the introduction of Velcro closures in waterproof garments, the hand taping of seams as an alternative to varnishing and the incorporation of Gore-Tex waterproofing. The mid 90's saw the introduction of the Henri Lloyd Black Label: a combination of Italian fabric and Henri Lloyd innovation. The line won the 1997 Fashion Brand of the Year in the UK. 

Henri Lloyd is a rare brand on eBay. Only 193 pre-owned items are presently listed and 337 were sold recently. Here are a few items that we sold recently: 

Personally I've only found two Henri Lloyd items. They both sold quickly and made a decent profit. Here are the two items I sold: 

My advice: if you find a Henri Lloyd jacket or pants buy them with no question. Any clothing used for sailing will sell very quickly. Other Henri Lloyd items depend on the price and condition. 

Henri Lloyd Grades: 

Price: B+

Competition: A+

Availability: C 

Consistency: A

Overall: A-

Next A-Z Brand: L

Lacoste 

Summer Goals & Struggles

Happy Holidays everybody! Sorry better late than never!!! That 👆🏽 was the 4th of July scene in Naples, where I spent the weekend. 

I was happy for a new month as June was my worst month in 2 years. I only sold 30 items....it sucked! Thankfully, some of you gave me good advice and all my items have best offer attached and I listed some non-clothing items. I cleaned out my closets and listed a bunch of small stuff, just for some money. Then, I went shopping in thrifter's paradise aka Naples. I bought 28 items in Naples and have listed 24 of them in the last two days. I found some new brands to scratch off my list including; Avanti, Max Mara, DD Ranch, Club Monaco, Eton, Robert Graham and Grace in LA. Also, found great regular brands like Ralph Lauren purple label, Jamie Sadock, Jhane Barnes, RRL, Kahala, 7 For All Mankind, Rag Bone, Brioni, Hudson and Nat Nast. My favorite but was probably a 1988 Super Mario lunch box with the thermos. I love finding items from my childhood! 

So I normally hit the money saving goals I set for myself. That will NOT be the case this summer. My goal was to save in June and July for a new TV, a few dental procedures and to incorporate the non-profit organization I want to start. Total was about $1600. Then, I wanted to save in August and early September to take Courtney on a trip for her birthday. Well, the only attainable goal left is taking Courtney on a trip. $800 in vet bills killed my goals and now they say Buckeye is heart worm positive and that treatment is $1200. Ugh! It was a bad time to have my worst month in years. Luckily, I've already sold 21 items in July. Here are some of my recent sales: 

       Stone Cold Steve Austin T-Shirt 

          Cost: $0.00          Sold: $17.99 

I had this shirt sitting in my closet and decided I didn't need it anymore. Wrestling is my guilty pleasure! Vintage wrestling items can sell for good money. 

      Lane Bryant Women's Pants NWT 

          Cost: $2.50          Sold: $23.00

       Voltron Aladdin Lunch Box 1984 

          Cost: $1.99          Sold: $14.99 

          Nike Tennis Dress Size Small 

          Cost: $6.99          Sold: $24.99

       NYDJ Jeans Rhinestones Size 4 

          Cost: $3.50          Sold: $17.99

       Kahala Men's Hawaiian Shirt XXL 

          Cost: $2.15          Sold: $15.00 

If you aren't selling Marithe Francois Girbaud clothing, you need to start! Here are all MFG jeans I've sold in the last two weeks: 

          Cost: $4.99          Sold: $39.00

          Cost: $4.99          Sold: $25.00

          Cost: $3.99          Sold: $31.99

          Cost: $3.99          Sold: $25.99 

Using the best offer option has definitely brought me more sales. They might not be the big sales I would like, but at least it's money in my pocket. Every dollar counts in my journey to pay vet bills. 

Hope everyone is staying cool and hydrated. Here was our temperature yesterday: