Grassroots Motorsports

Register Log in to GRM
- Community

Birthdays
Recently on the Classic Motorsports forums

Subscribe get a full year for only $23.95 Sample Free Test Drive—no strings attached

Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » Stupidest thing you sold on eBay

1 2

April 7, 2009 1:55 p.m. Kramer Reader

I was cleaning underneath the bathroom sink, and I dug out five old bottles of cologne. Some are over 10 years old (I hate throwing things away), and four are half-empty. So I described them honestly, and put them on eBay. From what I can tell, $11.00 is the most expensive basic USPS shipping (MI to CA), but I think I can even do it cheaper, so I put S/H at $11.00. Starting bid is $9.99.

I have 10 people watching, and the bid is at $10.50.

I'm not a big eBay-er, but I thought I'd try selling. If these suckers will buy my trash, I think I'll sell more crap.

What is the most-lame, crappy trash you've sold on eBay? Something you'd otherwise have thrown away.
April 7, 2009 2:01 p.m. WilD Reader

Well, I think the oddest thing I sold on ebay were some autoparts catalogs from the '69-'70 timeframe. A couple of them were racing/performance parts catalogs and had some cool now vintage black and white race car pics on the covers. My father found them somewhere in his basement and was going to give them away but I intercepted him and decided to see if they were worth something. I sold them as a lot and got $25 for them. I thought that was pretty good for something that would often be thrown out.
April 7, 2009 2:03 p.m. DirtyBird222 Dork

I sold a cracked, chipped, and pretty much useless 06 Accord tail-light for $30 once. Also sold a ls1 f-body bellhousing that had a huge hole in it for $50 as well.

I want to try and sell some old clothes and crap on there, see if that works, or a PB&J shaped like Jesus's beard, or a cheetoh shaped like Elvis, etc. A jar of air from Tahiti
April 7, 2009 2:08 p.m. moxnix New Reader

10 year old model rocketry (estes) catalogs. Was cleaning out my room and figured I would toss them up there just to see if anybody wanted them. To my surprise some people actually did.
April 7, 2009 2:42 p.m. Josh Reader

I sold a used USB wifi adapter for $10 more than it cost new on Amazon. The feedback left for the item was "I paid too much, but that's not your fault".
April 7, 2009 2:43 p.m. egnorant Dork

Sold 2 sets of Gayla kite decals. Had Skylab stickers, 2 sizes of eyeballs, american flags and such. $27.00 with the original 49 cent price tag still on them.

Bruce
April 7, 2009 2:44 p.m. Jensenman MegaDork

I sold some old Honda motorcycle trading cards from the 1970's which went for about $15 IIRC. It just goes to prove the old adage about trash and treasure.
April 7, 2009 2:53 p.m. VanillaSky New Reader

I wish I had luck like that. Usually, when I try to sell good stuff, I get NO bids. I've not tried the trash thing, though. Lots of crap I could list, so I should try!
April 7, 2009 4:29 p.m. pete240z Dork

I had some rubber ribbed floor mats that said Datsun that I threw in the garbage can. They were nasty, worn down, and the end was missing 3" the entire width.

Some guy had new ones for $149 and I put these up for $5. Some dude in Australia bid them up to $20 and it cost another $20+ to mail them to him. He was thrilled. I am glad I picked them out of the garbage can.

My best sale was the autobiography of Art Arfon's that I bought at a library clearance book sale for $0.50 and I sold it for $65 on ebay. That made me happy.
April 7, 2009 4:37 p.m. ManofFewWords Reader

My buddy sells used shoes and workboots.
April 7, 2009 4:40 p.m. curtis73 Reader

One year we got a truckload of Bath and Body Works lotions, soaps, massage oils, essential oils, etc as housewarming gifts. They sat around for years, some unopened, others half used, some almost gone. We put them all on Ebay and it turns out that many of them were discontinued scents. People paid up to $20 for a half-used bottle of lotion.

But I'm on the opposite side now. I really like the smell of Victoria perfume on my wife, but Vicky's Secret discontinued it almost a decade ago. So I'm going to go to Ebay to try and find a bottle of it :)
April 7, 2009 6:30 p.m. Woody Dork
I think that my three best sales, in no particular order, were:
- A homemade, welded tool for holding a Honda crankshaft pulley in place when you remove the bolt without an impact wrench.
- A 1989 vintage Passport radar detector, sold last summer to a guy who insisted that it would provide adequate protection in his home state (PA).
- And a box of used lug nuts that had been sitting on a shelf in my garage ever since I removed them from my 85 Cavalier in 1988.
These three sales convinced me that there's a buyer for everything. Before I throw out anything, I put it on e-Bay for a week.
April 7, 2009 7:02 p.m. Luke Dork

pete240z wrote:

I had some rubber ribbed floor mats that said Datsun that I threw in the garbage can. They were nasty, worn down, and the end was missing 3" the entire width.

Some guy had new ones for $149 and I put these up for $5. Some dude in Australia bid them up to $20 and it cost another $20+ to mail them to him. He was thrilled. I am glad I picked them out of the garbage can.

Never underestimate the enthusiasm of crazy Australian Datsun fanatics. Sticklers for originality.

This thread has inspired me. I'm going to go sift through my junk and get some crap up on ebay.
April 7, 2009 7:07 p.m. ddavidv UltraDork

I sold a broken, dirty, plastic Mustang from a Tonka car carrier with a description that was written to elicit laughs more than bids. I think the gist was "if you don't buy this I will get profound glee from smashing it to bits with a hammer". I think I got around $10 for it.

The oddest thing I ever sold was a plastic rigid laminated price tabulation sheet for orange juice from the days when my Dad was a milk deliveryman. Maybe using 'Divco' in the title did it, but that thing that I actually had in the trash can at one point brought $35. Like many here, I always give Ebay a shot before throwing anything away.
April 7, 2009 7:35 p.m. skruffy Dork

A broken cassette player from a mid 80's jeep Cherokee for $50 or so. The guy left me negative feedback because the FM reception in the broken radio he bought didn't work. I believe the add said something like "I doubt this works, but you're welcome to try at your own risk."
April 7, 2009 7:45 p.m. Kendall_Jones New Reader

Back when I was racing MG's, I used to part out cars on ebay. I once took all the bolts / fasteners leftover from the tear down & put them in a coffee can. Listed as "Kendalls Bucket o bolts", got about $40 IIRC. One guy wanted me to pull out the washers to save on shipping :)

Now, I'll put something on ebay before I throw it out.

KJ
April 7, 2009 8:25 p.m. Woody Dork

You realize, of course, that this whole thread is just begging for a followup, "Stupidest Thing You Bought on eBay".
April 7, 2009 8:43 p.m. Datsun1500 HalfDork

Woody wrote:

You realize, of course, that this whole thread is just begging for a followup, "Stupidest Thing You Bought on eBay".

Bucket of MG bolts and a broken radio for my Jeep come to mind...
April 8, 2009 12:38 a.m. curtis73 Reader

I bought a 73 Impala Station Wagon for $4100 on Ebay. Not a bargain, but it was a true barn find. 454, A/C, 12-bolt, and that was it. It had 59,000 original miles, and it hadn't been driven since nylon bias ply tires were all the rage because it had them on it.

The best part was that it was owned by one of those old guys that covers everything. The seats were covered with clear vinyl, the floors were covered with floor mats, and the rear cargo area was covered with a blanket. It was stored in a barn under an old army tarp, and it was just darn near flawless.

but I think it was worth it:
April 8, 2009 12:43 a.m. confuZion3 Dork

My dad had a 5-year-old sears compressor. It must have been on while were on vacation a couple years ago and it encountered a hiccup (well, the compressor pump exploded). I sold the motor (which worked) to a guy with the same model compressor whose motor burnt up. For another $20 I gave him the tank too. $70 I think I made there.

Also sold a fireplace insert to somebody for at least $100.

They both picked up the merch at my house and saved me a lot of trouble.
April 8, 2009 6:07 a.m. 914Driver Dork

Curtis that's a cool car!!

I sold a nut, found it at work. It was a big hex nut with about 3" internal threads. I sandblasted it, painted it steely silver-grey and put it up. Some girl from California bought it for $16. She needed a paper weight.

See a need, fill a need.

Dan
April 8, 2009 6:31 a.m. Ian F Reader

So far, my old, non-working Colecovision... sold for over $100 to some guy in Kazikastan or something... strange...
April 8, 2009 7:00 a.m. petegossett Dork

I've got a piece of roofing shingle shaped like the state of Illinois I keep meaning to list....
April 8, 2009 7:14 a.m. 4cylndrfury Reader

do 95 corolla stock intake bits count as vintage yet? I hear theres a good amount of interest in vintage stuff on ebay...I may have to see if a mostly intact airbox can fetch a reasonable amount
April 8, 2009 8:03 a.m. Will Reader

I bought a box of cookies on ebay once. They were shaped like Mustangs and Thunderbirds and I thought that was cool...of course, I bought them in about 2004-5 and the newest cookie design was a '98 or so Mustang, so I'm not sure they were fresh.

I would recommend not eating anything you buy on ebay.

1 2

You'll need to log in to post.