First, glad so many of you love Stella & Dot! I’ve been eyeing the sale section (love this bracelet) and just realized they have bags, scarves, and iphone cases too. Oh boy.
Second, I loved hearing all your solo fitness class stories! It was really interesting to hear about it from the point of view of the teacher too. Check out the comments if you want to get the scoop.
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So those beanie babies that were shoved under my bed for ooooh…15 years.
I told you guys I was going to get rid of them, and lots of you recommended donating them to various hospitals and charities. I’m still doing that, but I made a last ditch effort to sell some of them too. It’s kind of like selling your clothes to Plato’s Closet before donating the rest. You feel like kind of selfish for not just donating them all right away, but you know that there is no way it will ALL get bought so you’ll have plenty to donate anyway.
I really wouldn’t have bothered trying to sell them except that my older brother talked about it so much. He was CERTAIN we could get some decent money on them on Ebay. Every time my parents brought them up (which was pretty much every family holiday when we were all in one place and they could remind us that we had a bunch of junk cluttering the house) John would say, “Ebay! I’m telling you! Ebay!”
Of course he never bothered to sell them himself. And somehow they ended up under my bed. So now that I’m back in St. Louis and trying to be a good daughter that is ever so grateful for being allowed to live at home, it fell into my lap to get rid of the beanie babies. I knew that putting them on Ebay would be a huge pain, but I just couldn’t resist giving it a shot after all the talk it got.
It was so obnoxious. I had to go through them all and figure out which had tags and which didn’t. I researched what beanie babies were even worth and which ones were special. I learned more about beanie babies than anyone needs to know. And what I basically learned was: they aren’t worth a thing.
But nonetheless, I divided them into coherent groups (16 dogs, 12 cats, 5 holiday themes etc), took their pictures, made up seemingly reasonable prices, and put them up for sale.
I got one bid the first day. 99 cents for a set of 7. This wasn’t going to go well.
I was checking every two hours the first few days, and then decided that it was going to drive me crazy and I was better off ignoring it until the week was up. Then, on the last day, I started getting emails. People were buying them! Sure it was only $5.00 for a set of 8, but with the $2.75 in shipping that was almost $10. I was getting rich.
HA. I ended up selling over half of them, some for as much as $15 but others for the minimum 99 cents. And yes I required the buyers to pay $2.75 for shipping, but by the time I bought boxes and paid for shipping I definitely lost money on the deal.
So today I shipped off 8 packages of beanie babies. I have a few that my mom is going to donate to an auction, and a few we are sending my little niece. Many, though, will be donated to a hospital and hopefully the sick kids will love having a new cuddly toy.
I’m happy I put them on Ebay. My family now has the satisfaction of giving it a try after all these years. But next time, it’s straight to the donation drop box.
- Have you ever sold something on Ebay?
Ebay can be soooo frustrating. However, I’ve done pretty well. I get much more money than I would trying to sell my clothing at a second hand store.
If I were you I probably would have charged at least $8 for shipping because you have to factor in the materials used to ship and depending where the package is going it can cost a lot.
Yeah…I just did what Ebay told me to do and they recommended that smaller amount! I’m such a newb:(
Oh my gosh, I have a huge stash of darn beanie babies too! I remember selling one right when eBay started and beanies were still popular and I got like $50 for one!! Talk about a dead fad. I have no clue where they are now but at this point I’ll just give them to my future offspring.
I feel like ebay is super saturated nowadays. So many items for sale… I think it’s a downside now.
Sorry your venture didn’t go so well!
OMG THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG COMMENT FROM ME, warning!! LOL!!
So I actually JUST SENT a pair of sneakers to a BUYER and while I charged $10 shipping, the actual shipping cost was $18.90 because you need to purchase shipping confirmation, etc. This was only my second time selling anything on eBay. My first sell was a pair of Yoga pants, and I only under-charged shipping by about $2. I have now become BFF with my USPS/FedEx/UPS man (aka, he asked me out, LOL)… So he was able to knock off a few bucks for the shipping cost – WOO WOO (well that is until I decline the dates, LOL!!) But yeah, I have no just learned that I need to increase shipping – I mean, hey, gas is expensive, right???
AND OMG BEANIE BABIES – You should see my closet at my parent’s house – I have 110 Beanie Babies STARING AT ME every time I come home! Why on earth did I get all of those… OH RIGHT because they were just OH SO CUTE and I mean the Princess Diana bear is supposed to be worth like $10,000 now, RIGHT?!?!?! Oh and I also have the Republican & Democrat Beanie Babies too! Perhaps I should send my Donkey to Obama??? LOL! THe saddest part? I have definitely considered selling my Babies on eBay but… When I start looking at them, I can’t get rid of them – They’re just too cute!! Hello, have you seen Lucky the Lady Bug… And GiGi the Poodle, well for OBVIOUS reasons I cannot get rid of that one either! LOL!!!!
hahahha you crack me up! My mom was getting all nostalgic when I was packing them all up. Some ARE pretty cute!
I have a TON of Furbys that my mom keeps telling me I should try to sell on Ebay because they are special edition and rare (original models, and all the ones I have are 1/10,000 or something)… but with you experience I am less apt to… unless I charge a ton for shipping… hmmmmm….
Oh and for clarification so I just don’t seem like I was a weird kid with an odd Furby obsession, my dad worked for Tiger, the company that created them.
Heyy if they are that rare I bet you could actually get a decent amount for them!!
Oh beanie babies! I was obsessed! PS: you have a niece?!?
I have sold a lot of things on ebay over the years… kinda like your beanies I had sweet valley twins books I had sitting in my mom’s basement for years and ended selling on there… but there is a media mail rate so shipping wasn’t a big deal. Some of the things I sold I just re-used boxes I had around the house already & estimated shipping on the usps website. Some of the items were virtual from when I played Sims Online and I just had to log into a game to deliver..
I have SO many beanie babies and I always wonder what to do with them!!! I am just like Gigi- thinking the Princess Di one must be worth a million dollars! My mom and I would get so excited to go out and get the new ones every weekend! LOL!!! There is a MASSIVE toy room at the children’s hospital here and they have tons of beanie babies. I think mine will probably all end up there… but I have to wonder how much the kids even want them! hahaha oh well. P.S. Just want to make sure you know that the girl named Andrea who occasionally makes mean comments is not me… I love you!
I’ve tried selling things on ebay before but it never really works out. Apparently the stuff I don’t want anymore is stuff other people don’t want either. Sometimes I like to look to buy cheap things on ebay though. Shopaholic?
I moved into a house with a guy who let his former roomates leave a humongous pile of stuff in the corner of the living room for well over six months after they’d left and it was getting ridiculous. Once I sifted through the pile it was all brand new, in box small appliances so one by one I sold those bitches on eBay and made enough to cover two months rent AND reclaimed space in the house. It was pretty much the shit.
When you donate the rest, donate to a 501(c)3 organization and you can get a tax credit for donating to charity next year, recouping a little of the cost!
The only time I’ve ever used ebay was to buy a used textbook in college. Turned out the seller live in my town so we just met to exchange it haha.
I’ve been sitting on a bunch of kids clothes that are way too nice to donate yet I haven’t yet listed them on eBay either for the reasons you describe: I am clueless on the whole shipping charges thing!
Wow, I can’t help but laugh at the experience! Good for you for following through to satisfy your family’s quest to exchange beanie babies for gold. I think I thought the same thing – we had a bunch and I don’t even know what I wanted to collect them in the first place. Probably because they were a hot commodity back in the day. I was gifted a few beanie babies that are near and dear to my heart. My boyfriend bought me a gator beanie baby because I am a Florida Gator and it won’t leave my side. I guess there is more significance to one over many.
I’ve had luck selling stuff on ebay – purses and clothes I don’t use or wear anymore. But it really is a whole process that takes time. I tried selling some Beanie Babies a few years ago and none of them sold. Big fail
Oh, my! I have a big basket of beanie babies in the corner of my bedroom. They are just too cute to part with — and now I know that they won’t be worth parting with!
Thank you so much for sharing the awesome idea of donating Beanie Babies to kids in need. My Mom is in the process of cleaning out a lot stuff from my childhood. I live near a children’s hospital and can’t wait to donate my collection of Beanie Babies!
I have so many beanie babies too!!! I always thought they would be worth a lot! Double check with the hospital about donating though. The hospital I work for doesn’t allow stuffed animals as donations since they can’t be completely wiped down/sanitized.
yes my mom mentioned that – she’s going to ask! I heard Shriners accepts them though.
Ebay is so hit or miss. I’ve had some really good experiences and some not so good ones. I think it all depends on the timing.
So this just reminded me of the time we threw multiple beanie babies up at the ceiling fan and watched them slingshot around the room. Those poor beanie babies have been through a lot!
hahhaah oh my gosh that was the best game.
Just so you know – Ebay takes a cut of whatever you sell something for. So, you’re going to get billed from them about a month from now ..