$100 Goodwill Gift Card Challenge -- David Hockney!
There's a Goodwill right up the street from my favorite grocery store, (Hellooo, Winco Foods!) so I often pair my trips. Because, seriously . . . why not reward yourself for ticking a boring task from your to-do list?!
First step was to donate a grocery bag of books from our Little Free Library. There's someone in my neighborhood who must work/have worked at a certain niche publisher and stuffs all area libraries with her unsold books. No one ever takes them, so I pull them out every month or two to donate. This allows room for books that people actually want.
My goal with this trip was to source things for resale. A project whose goal is to amass as much money as possible for a Oregon Food Bank donation. Ideally spending as little as possible, to earn as much as possible. (Think $5 to $75, not $10 to $30.) I know this goal would be easier to achieve from the Goodwll pay-by-the-pound bins, but that store is not conveniently located next to my grocery store!
Where was I?
Let's get thrifting!
This midcentury desk caught my eye, but was priced at $60 and the top surface was a plastic laminate. Definitely groovy and I could likely sell it for more than sixty bucks, but too much of an initial investment.
I was also tempted by these vintage London-theme placemat boards, but they were priced at $1.99 apiece and I didn't want to spend $16 to make $45. I grabbed the oversize one for personal use, although I paid out of pocket to avoid mixing up the funds.
Here are recent "sold" eBay listings:
I left the smaller ones for someone else.
What did I buy? This David Hockney vintage reproduction lithograph for only $9.99.
You may know David Hockney from "A Bigger Splash," his most famous painting, which I've had the privilege to see in person at The Tate Museum in London. Although that was in 1988, so it's been a few years. It's bigger than you think.
I came home and immediately listed it on Facebook Marketplace for $200, which is just a stab in the dark. I figured I can later lower the price, but I might as well start with a higher number.
My only response so far is from my mother, who messaged me about the baby picture of my father from 1937. Such a cutie pie!
What didn't I buy?
A pair of hospital issued denture cases, priced at 99¢ apiece.
I also didn't buy this Starbucks-inspired bear bottle. Remember when those were the "it" craze back in November? Consumerism at its worst!
So far I've thrifted:
- The Love Sac cushion covers for $4.99. Currently on eBay for $45 apiece.
- The $9.99 David Hockney framed reproduction lithograph, currently listed on Facebook Marketplace for $200.
I've spent $14.98 and made $0.00. I'll keep this post updated with any price changes or sales.
The thing about reselling is that you rarely sell your finds immediately, and if you did it's because you priced them too low! So patience is key. Deep breath in, deep breath out . . . .
I love Japanese Irisis! Good call on the print.
Will you reinvest the funds throughout the year? For example, if you make $100 off the print, will you use your earnings to buy more things to resell?
All profits are going to the Oregon Food Bank, not reinvested into more things to sell. Othwerwise there's no spot point.
Ok. Well, then I’m happy you didn’t get the desk, because the challenge would have ended quickly!