Copyright (C) John Lundgren 2002 Permission is granted
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Do You Pine For Your Own Tattoo Kit?

Story of an Ebay Winner

Recently I went hunting for odds and ends that I could re-
sell at a garage sale or on E-bay. Not being that
knowledgeable on collectibles, I go by intuition and luck
in making my choices. Most of the items I buy for re-sale
cost me less than $10.00. If you are familiar with the
term "economies of scale," you can see why I will never get
rich with this approach. Anyway, how does a tattoo kit
enter this scenario?

As I pawed through one antique shop, an attractive
wooden box with with a tiny brass latch caught my eye.
Maybe it was the words on the top of the box that caught
my attention. They stated, "Cow Tattoo Kit." It was
priced $25.00. Now I knew that cows kept up with the
latest trends and fashions, but a cow tattoo kit? I was
mesmerized. I opened the box and there was the neatest
ear tattoo kit a cow ever saw. No, I didn't know that
cows had their ears tattooed for identification purposes
but years ago it was the thing to do. The complete
contents of the box included a bottle of ink, two small
containers filled with letters and numbers, and a pliers-
like hand tool for tattooing the cows ear.

So here I was infatuated with a $25.00 dollar item
which was considerably over the budget of a junk buyer
like me. With trepidation, I made an offer of $20.00
for the kit which was promptly accepted, and I took
my trophy home. As I drove by the area dairy farms
on my way, I gazed at the barns and envisioned a cow
tattoo expert at work. Infinite designs danced
through my head: EAT MORE PORK was one I imagined a
a cow might request. My kit, however, was not to
be used in any tattoo parlor; it was destined for E-bay.

So many times you think you have a winner for Ebay,
but this time I was convinced that I had one with
this attractive box and unusual contents. I opened
the bidding at $20.00 but before long, bids from
around the country drove the price over the century
mark. The winning bidder paid $113.00 for the kit.
A few days after I mailed the kit to the winning
bidder, I received a beautiful letter praising me for
the fine item I had sold them. These people owned
a large farm and collected farm memorabilia. The
nice thing about selling items to collectors like
the farm family who bought the tattoo kit is that
they are usually thrilled to acquire your offering.
Everyone ends up a winner, and how can you beat that?

John Lundgren is a garage sale enthusiast and author
of, "How To Turn Your Garage Sale Into a Money
Machine." Visit www.garagesalebonanza.com for free
tips and the free ebook, The Garage Sale Addict's
Handbook.