Thumper
05-29-2015, 12:53 PM
First off, I've gotten interested in old desk fans recently. I've only sold three this month (all I had), but they brought good money even though they were advertised as "for parts or repair" because I didn't even know if they worked ... one didn't even have a cord and the other, the plug had fallen apart with age. That sort of thing. Well, here are the three I just sold and the amount they brought: (1-$115.00 , 2-$90.00 , 3-$70.00)
4845 4846 4847
Ok, now last night, I'm mapping out my sales for today and I run across an ad that caught my eye. It was an old clock repair shop that had closed up and the sale was being managed by an individual. There were a bazillion pics of clocks ... clocks of all kinds ... EVERYWHERE .. clocks, clocks and more clocks. You get the idea. Along with the clocks was all the various tools needed for a business like that. Ok, it was a little out of my comfort zone, but I spotted some old desk fans in one of the pictures. Not even whole fans, just the bases as the rest of the pic was cut off. I dropped the lady an email and she called me last night. Seems the shop was her husband's and he passed away, so she's selling his stuff. I said I'd noticed some old fans in one of the pics and she informed me that restoring old fans was her husband's hobby and she'd just sold his collection of 1500 FANS!!!
Whoa! I asked about the one's in the pics and she said those were fans he'd planned to restore, but never got them done. Perfect! Since a fully restored fan goes for $400-$500, it ain't what I was looking for. I asked what she was asking and she said she had no clue, but if I wanted to meet her early, she'd open the shop and let me look around. Cool! The sale started at 9:00, but I met her there at 7:30. I walked in ... saw a bazillion fans and immediately started jonesing! I had $500 cash in my pocket and decided I'd pop the question ... "What would you take for ALL of them?"
She said, "How 'bout $15 each?" BOOM! I got excited! We counted, came up with 36 fans, for a total of $540.00. She then said to just make it an even $500! I couldn't shell it out fast enough!
Here's what the place looked like before I loaded 'em up (they're not all pictured).
4848 4849 4850
To top it all off. I hit another couple of sales on the way home. Picked up one of these old speakers for $40 ... they'll bring $200-$300.
http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/4164/5408393_2.jpg?v=8C7EB6FF886E010
THEN ... I hit a sale and found an old Griswold dutch oven with lid (botom and lid match) ... this model sells for $175 - $300 (paid $25)!
https://leisureguy.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/dcp_1274.jpg
I also loaded up a big ol' box of "smalls" ... but the above was the highlight of the day. I love my "job"! :D
4845 4846 4847
Ok, now last night, I'm mapping out my sales for today and I run across an ad that caught my eye. It was an old clock repair shop that had closed up and the sale was being managed by an individual. There were a bazillion pics of clocks ... clocks of all kinds ... EVERYWHERE .. clocks, clocks and more clocks. You get the idea. Along with the clocks was all the various tools needed for a business like that. Ok, it was a little out of my comfort zone, but I spotted some old desk fans in one of the pictures. Not even whole fans, just the bases as the rest of the pic was cut off. I dropped the lady an email and she called me last night. Seems the shop was her husband's and he passed away, so she's selling his stuff. I said I'd noticed some old fans in one of the pics and she informed me that restoring old fans was her husband's hobby and she'd just sold his collection of 1500 FANS!!!
Whoa! I asked about the one's in the pics and she said those were fans he'd planned to restore, but never got them done. Perfect! Since a fully restored fan goes for $400-$500, it ain't what I was looking for. I asked what she was asking and she said she had no clue, but if I wanted to meet her early, she'd open the shop and let me look around. Cool! The sale started at 9:00, but I met her there at 7:30. I walked in ... saw a bazillion fans and immediately started jonesing! I had $500 cash in my pocket and decided I'd pop the question ... "What would you take for ALL of them?"
She said, "How 'bout $15 each?" BOOM! I got excited! We counted, came up with 36 fans, for a total of $540.00. She then said to just make it an even $500! I couldn't shell it out fast enough!
Here's what the place looked like before I loaded 'em up (they're not all pictured).
4848 4849 4850
To top it all off. I hit another couple of sales on the way home. Picked up one of these old speakers for $40 ... they'll bring $200-$300.
http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/4164/5408393_2.jpg?v=8C7EB6FF886E010
THEN ... I hit a sale and found an old Griswold dutch oven with lid (botom and lid match) ... this model sells for $175 - $300 (paid $25)!
https://leisureguy.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/dcp_1274.jpg
I also loaded up a big ol' box of "smalls" ... but the above was the highlight of the day. I love my "job"! :D