Online Seller Success Story – Smith Corona Typewriter

I love getting success stories from other sellers. There are so many items out there that are thrown away or donated that others simply treasure. I recently got this email from Denise McNabb:

I just purchased a nice Skywriter typewriter at my local thrift store. I paid just $4.00 and sold it for $99.50. I did throw in free shipping but this ended up selling to a customer in Canada so that added $27 to my expenses. Love your site. I've been selling on eBay since 1997. I always look for new items to resell and recently retired from teaching, 31 years in the profession, now I'm ready to move on to selling full time on eBay and Amazon. Thanks for all you do for your readers.

Here is a screenshot of the closed listing for the 1957 Smith Corona Typewriter:

Even with the additional shipping costs, Denise profited nicely on this sale. Vintage items are great sellers on eBay. (This is a list of vintage items that usually go well on eBay.)

Thank you, Denise, for sharing this eBay Seller Success Story! Click here to visit Denise’s Good Bye Antiques Shop on eBay.

Do you have a great sale or an interesting eBay item to share? Send your find to eBaycoach@yahoo.com for consideration.

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Thrift Store Score - Smith Corona Typewriter

Talk about an obsolete item in today's society - a typewriter? It is nearly impossible to even find ribbons for them anymore. As my teenagers said, "What does it do?" Thanks for making me feel old, kids. But, they hold their value on eBay. Below is my listing for a vintage Smith Corona typewriter with case. This was marked $10 at a thrift store.

The typewriter sold for $129.97. This is a case of waiting for the right buyer. I had placed the item on auction for 7 days and did not receive any bids. Then I listed it on fixed price and it sold in 3 days. The listing only had 25 page views. Click here to see the completed listing.

Typewriters can bring really good money on eBay. Here are a few completed listings for typewriters that sold at astronomical prices:

Vintage Royal Typewriter - sold for $611

Vintage Underwood Typewriter - sold for $600

Vintage Olivetti Typewriter - sold for $455

So there you go. Old obsolete items can be a gold mine on eBay. For more ideas on vintage items to sell on eBay, check these two blog posts, which are updated regularly:

List of vintage items to sell on eBay

List of thrift store items to sell on eBay

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Smith Corona Typewriter Ribbons - 81% Sell Through Rate

Here is a cool item you may find a garage sales, thrift stores, or estate sales. Typewriter ribbons - specifically, Smith Corona typewriter ribbons. According to Terapeak, these have an 81% sell through rate when offered on a fixed price listing:



You will notice that the price of an individual ribbon isn't very high. Most sellers are offering these in lots of 2 or more, such as in this listing:



You will also see some listings where Smith Corona typewriter ribbons are being sold with the actual typewriter. Add this item to your BOLO list for when you are out scouting items to sell on eBay.

Happy Selling!

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