BeU Thrifters: Reselling Thrifted Items to Support the Disabled Community

Monday, October 5, 2015

Loving October!

I love October! Maybe it's my obsession with Halloween candy? Football? Or the cool air? I don't know but October has started pretty well.

Other than a few small odds and ends, everything I have to sell online has been listed. I have a few things I'm saving to create lots and a few more vintage posters; otherwise I'm tapped out. Normally, this would be a good thing but not going into the busiest buying season of the year! Guess I will hit up the GW Outlet tomorrow. Pray for me! It's a jungle in there! I'm really considering a weekend trip to SW Florida just for thrift shopping. The area (where I grew up) is thrifting gold!!!

Anyway, here are a few of the items I sold in the last couple days:

Outlaw Josey Wales movie poster

Cost: Free

Sold: $14.99

Dr. Martens women's leather boots

Cost: $5.00

Sold: $23.00

MIH Women's Bootcut Jeans NWT

I had never heard of MIH before, but they were high quality and still had the tags on so I took a chance. I will definitely be looking out for more in the future.

Cost: $3.75

Sold: $49.99

Jag Women's Jeans size 14W

Cost: $2.49

Sold: $17.99

Tommy Hilfiger vintage men's shirt

I definitely messed up my pricing on this one as it sold QUICKLY. I couldn't find any other one like it, so it was difficult to set a price. Oh well, I'll take a quick sale.

Cost: $2.15

Sold: $14.99

Givenchy men's Tuxedo jacket

This jacket also sold in a day, but I feel good about the pricing on it.

Cost: $2.60

Sold: $29.99

MacKintosh vintage women's coat

Cost: $3.99

Sold: $18.00

Dries Van Noten silk cardigan/shawl

Another sold item from my amazing shopping day in May. I only have 3 items left from that day and have made HUNDREDS of dollars. Just goes to show: you never know when will be your lucky day.

Cost: $3.37

Sold: $49.00

Cabi Women's Jeans NWT

Cost: $4.99

Sold: $19.00

Hey, not everything sells for huge profit but I'm happy. I'll take $10-$15 profit on some items with $40-$50 sprinkled in with others. It all adds up!

Tomorrow will continue A-Z brands with D.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

A-Z Brands: C

Yesterday I talked about Chippewa Boots and today I'll highlight two other "C" brands. These aren't brands that everyone knows like Gucci and Tommy Hilfiger. We need to dig a little deeper.

Letter of the Day: C

Citizens of Humanity

Citizens of Humanity, an American company founded in 2003, produces luxury denim jeans that focus on fit, fabric and wash. COH was founded by famous denim designer Jerome Dahan and produces over 1 million pairs of jeans annually at its laundry facility in Los Angeles. Citizens of Humanity is sold in over 1300 retailers in more than 35 countries. Celebrities such as; Rihanna, Beyoncé, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Channing Tatum wear COH jeans.

There is an abundance of COH jeans for sale on eBay with 8,410 pairs of jeans currently listed and 5,260 pairs sold recently. The selling price of the jeans is all over the place. I'm working on a VERY detailed report of the various styles of COH; but for now keep in mind that trends sell. The trend right now is skinny jeans, boyfriend jeans or my personal favorite skinny boyfriend jeans (baggy hips and waist/skinny calf and ankles). If you find COH jeans in any of those styles: BUY THEM! Look for styles named: Rocket, Avedon, Racer, Dylan, Bandit and Emerson. If you find other styles of COH jeans I'd advise you to either look them up for buying or take into account the price/condition of the jeans. For instance:

I found 1,476 pairs of COH Kelly jeans currently listed on eBay and 721 recently sold pairs. The prices ranged from $55-$1 with little reasoning. Those with better pictures sold for more; otherwise I couldn't find much of a pattern in selling price. If you are a risk taker: GO FOR IT! I'd advise you to buy the less trendy styles if they are cheap and in great condition; otherwise let someone else buy them.

A few tips to selling COH jeans:

1. The bigger the size = more $.

2. Men's and maternity jeans sell very well....buy them!

3. COH jeans run small. I've almost stopped selling them because almost every pair I sold was returned due to sizing issues. Even though I listed all the measurements, people would still not fit in the jeans. I'd warn buyers in your listing that COH jeans run small.

Here are a few completed listings for pre-owned jeans:

I have sold 6 pairs of COH jeans for an average selling price of $24. Unless you find one of the recent lines of COH jeans, you can probably expect to sell the jeans in the $15-$30 price range. I don't have any pics of COH jeans I've sold, because I haven't sold any in 2015.

Champion

Champion, founded in 1919, is an American manufacturer of clothing; specializing in sportswear. Champion produced the uniforms for NBA and NFL teams during the 80's and early 90's. For many years, Champion provided the uniforms for the University of Notre Dame and many other universities. Today, Champion is owned by Hanes and produced general athletic apparel.

I LOVE selling Champion jersey and vintage apparel on eBay. Why?

1. I wore the jerseys as a kid so they are nostalgic for me (and a lot of ebay buyers!). A lot of 25-40 year olds grew up wearing their favorite player's Champion jersey. A lot of those same people have mothers, who donated those jerseys to Thrift stores and they want to own them again. Luckily, my Mom didn't donate mine and I still have most of them.

2. Thrift store employees seem to think they are cheap! I guess because they aren't Nike or Under Armour, they have no clue of their worth. I walked into a Goodwill in Tallahassee and bought 8 vintage Champion jerseys for $30. 6 of those jersey were new without the tags and were adult sizes. I sold those jerseys for nearly $300.

3. People will pay good money the jerseys! Check it out:

My advice is to buy any Champion jersey you find that's in great condition. They are not easy to find anymore, so get very excited when you do find one. Keep in mind the great players jerseys sell high but so do those players, whose jerseys are more rare. For instance; Horace Grant was a really good player, but Champion definitely sold less of his jersey than Michael Jordan. The rarity of Horace Grant's jersey makes it more valuable than you'd expect.

Tip: Buy Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson Champion jerseys regardless of the condition.

Personally, I've sold 14 Champion items including; a vintage Notre Dame shirt for $49, vintage Ohio State football jersey for $30 and 12 basketball jerseys. I've only sold one recently, as Champion jerseys are not easy to find.

Nick Anderson youth medium jersey

Cost: $2.99

Sold: $13.99

If you find a vintage Champion jersey: BUY IT! I've sold every Champion jersey I've ever listed for a nice profit. You can do the same!

Friday, October 2, 2015

A-Z Brands: C

In my quest to highlight lesser known brands, I'm onto the letter C. I'm going to break the letter C into two days, as I have three brands to share.

Letter of the Day: C

Chippewa

Chippewa is a footwear company that was founded in 1901 in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Chippewa manufactures work, snow and rain footwear; and is known for its boots. The company was purchased by Justin Brands in 2000.

When searching for Chippewa items think: Boots! Chippewa boots are very high quality and sell for large profits. Be on the lookout for Chippewa's Indian head logo. Here are some pre-owned Chippewa boots that have sold recently on eBay.

I'm not sure what the person who only sold Chippewa boots for $9.99 did wrong, but they usually sell for much more. They would've been perfect to buy on eBay and flip right back onto ebay.

Personally, I have only found one pair of Chippewa boots. The boots are distressed vintage boots (made to look vintage but aren't). Good thing they weren't in my size but I kind of liked them. I don't have any boots like them and they'd be perfect for the winter.

Cost: $9.99

Sold: $60.00

You might have to pay a little more than normal thrift store prices for Chippewa boots, but they are worth it.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

A-Z Brands: B

To continue my A-Z Brand list, today we are focusing on B. Like yesterday, I am highlighting a brand that isn't as commonly known. You can find information on Ralph Lauren and Nike anywhere; let's dig a little deeper.

Letter of the Day: B

Brioni

Brioni is a menswear couture house, found in 1945 in Rome, that is known for its suits and leather goods. The innovative company invented the men's runway show, trunk show and ready to wear Haute couture. In 1952, Brioni staged the first men's fashion show in Florence, Italy. Brioni is consistently voted one of the top men's luxury clothing brands in the world and has been worn by celebrities such as; Richard Burton, Clark Gable, John Wayne, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Morgan Freeman and others. Brioni has boutiques throughout the world including in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, and Palm Beach.

The value of Brioni items on eBay is along the levels of Gucci, Versace and the most valuable clothing companies in the world. If you find a suit or jacket: DO NOT HESITATE TO BUY IT. IN FACT....JUST CHECK OUT NOW AND GO PLAY THE LOTTERY. Ties at a reasonable price are also a great buy. Men's dress shirts are the worst selling Brioni item. If you can get one really cheap or one that isn't just a solid plain color, then go for it. I'd be more conservative about buying shirts, but honestly would buy anything from Brioni. Here are some completed listings for pre-owned Brioni items:

Yes, those prices are right! Even the cheapest jacket should make you a good profit.

Personally, I have found one Brioni item. I found a suit jacket and actually got it for free with a loyalty card. I have not listed it yet; I want to get it dry cleaned first, but it should sell very well. The picture is a little rough: just took it for this post.

You won't come across a jacket by Brioni very often. I grew up in an affluent area (wish I was rich too 😃) and I found the jacket at a Goodwill there. If you do find a jacket or item from Brioni, you know what to do: BUY IT!

Tomorrow's Letter: C

Chippewa

Citizens of Humanity

Champion

September 2015

September was a VERY odd month. I went through 3-4 days without selling anything, but sold 15 things in the 4 days I was in New Orleans. It always works that way! September is the first month where I did better in 2014 than 2015. I'm NOT happy about the lack of progress. Last September, I only sold 1 more item but made $200 more. My personal numbers are about equal; my consignment numbers are the major difference. Consignment sales are mostly out of my control, still wish I'd done better. NEVER SATISFIED!

On my challenge to saving $1000 for the holidays, I've got $300 saved so far. It's progress. Here are some of the items I've sold in the last week or so: