Whilst preparing a review of Dave Guindon’s Hot Item Finder software for our latest newsletter, we used it to carry out some research in the Collectibles > Paper category, and thought we would share some of the more interesting results with you. Many of them are items that could turn up at an estate sale or offline auction and some might even be found at flea markets or car boot sales.
We searched both the US and UK eBay sites for completed items that had attracted 20 or more bids. This brought up 33 items from eBay.com and 15 items from eBay.co.uk. Here is a screenshot of some of the results on the US site.
For some inexplicable reason, the selling prices haven’t shown up as they should have done in many of the listings so we had to click on the links to see how much they sold for. I have contacted creator Dave Guindon’s support desk on several occasions regarding this problem but unfortunately have so far had no response. Not good!
Diary of a Victorian Teenager
The item that we consider to be the most interesting was not the one with the most bids, nor did it sell for the highest price, fetching just $130.25. It was an 1869 diary written by a 17-year-old girl, along with an original family photograph. The insight into this young lady’s life and thoughts must have made incredibly fascinating reading.
The Hottest Hot Item
The item that sold for the highest price and attracted 78 bids (almost double the number of its nearest rival) was the original Lucasfilm “Cease and Desist” letter sent to Wicked Lasers in response to their 1W Arctic 445nm Laser. It sold for $3,850.00. Although this is a unique, one of a kind item, there is always a chance (albeit a slim chance) that something equally rare and sought after could be hiding in a box of assorted movie memorabilia in your local saleroom.
Victorian Scraps
A Victorian scrap album that was listed on both the US and UK eBay sites attracted 23 bids and sold for $1,412.39 (£908.00).
This type of item could quite possibly be found at an estate sale or offline auction and with the revived interest in scrapbooking, vintage scraps are always worth looking out for.
1950s Pin-Ups
There were several vintage pin-up calendars amongst the eBay hot items, two of which featured Marilyn Monroe. One was a 1955 calendar – with envelope – which got 34 bids and sold for $102.60, and the other, which pre-dated her first appearance in Playboy Magazine was a 1953 advertising calendar which attracted 21 bids and reached $204.16.
The other pin-up calendars were a 1954 Esquire Magazine calendar (25 bids, $288.00/£184.37), a 1952 calendar entitled “Bill Randall’s Date Book (22 bids, $152.00/£96.02) and a 1948 pin-up girl risque artist drawn colour printed advertising calendar (23 bids, $45.00).
Those results suggest that 1950s pin-up calendars are worth looking out for, and as they were a common feature in many male dominated workplaces back in those days when political correctness was unheard of, it’s likely that there are still a good many of them around.
Collectible Playing Cards
Playing cards were another product that was well represented in this hot items report with a combined total of nine auctions from the two eBay sites. The highest priced was a sealed, limited edition deck of Ellusionist Arcane Playing Cards which was listed on both sites and sold for $318.88/£205.00 with 29 bids. Next highest was 2 sets of c1930s Art Deco playing cards designed by artist Einar Nerman and listed on the eBay UK site, which attracted 25 bids and sold for £141.27 (approx $220.55).
A deck of USPCC Bicycle playing cards c1917 in a snap-sealed red box (plus an empty damaged blue box) sold for $200.00 with 26 bids and a Thomas de la Rue double pack of whist playing cards c1865 got 22 bids and sold for $162.36/£104.00.
In the lower price range were a mixed lot of over 120 partial decks of cards from 1930s to 1970s which sold for $96.00/£61.46 with 21 bids, a set of 6 new, sealed Red Dead Redemption playing cards (20 bids, $49.00), a sealed double deck of Giordano Cats cards (23 bids, $42.60), 2 Decks of brown Bee playing cards from WYNN casino (30 bids $41.00), and Lady Gaga Poker Face brand new promotional playing cards (21 bids $18.50).
Those results indicate that playing cards are a popular collectors’ item, and the Red Dead Redemption and Lady Gaga cards show that it is not just vintage packs that are in demand.
All the Proof You Need that One Man’s (or Kid’s) Junk is Another Man’s Treasure!
Although the Hot Item Finder search brought up many other interesting products, this post would drag on too long if we looked at them all so maybe we’ll come back to it at a later date. In the meantime, we’ll end with a question for any baby boomers who may be reading. What did you do with your old sweet/candy wrappers when you were a teenager?
Who knew?! But now that you do know, you can teach your grandchildren not to make the same mistakes that you made 
What an interesting post! I feel a need to tour some car boot sales this weekend!
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
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Hi Mandy
Thanks for dropping by, and I hope your car-booting turns up some treasure for you
Lynn
Hi Lynn,
I am regretting throwing away my sweet wrappers when I was a Kid.
It just goes to show, with the right research you can still find some gems to sell on Ebay.
Pete
Pete Carr recently posted..Your Blogging Toolbox Part 1
Hi Peter
Hey, just imagine if you’d stashed all your sweet wrappers away and told your mum that you were going to sell them for megabucks when you grow up, she’d have given you a patronizing pat on the head and laughed her socks off. But who’d be laughing now
Lynn
Hey Lynn
I didn’t realize this sort of stuff sold for that much and I bet a lot of people have got these still gathering dust in their attic.
Just out of curiosity was fag cards on that list too because I know a lot of people collected those.
I’m glad you decided to join the blog challenge after all – did all my pestering pay off (lol).
Good luck with your blog hopping
Take care
Dawn
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A very useful analysis Peter, almost makes me want to go to a car-boot sale.
As a child I had the experience Lynn mentioned. My mother kept complaining that I was wasting all my pocket-money on comics. I sold part of my collection in 1997 for £7,000 – who’s smiling now.
Good luck with the 100 comment challenge.
John
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Hi John
Wow, seven grand for your comics, no wonder you’re smiling! I started buying music papers back in 1964 – mainly NME (or New Musical Express as it was known then), Sounds and Disc and I kept them all until we moved house in 1974. We moved into a shop where the living accomodation was smaller than the house we were leaving so we decided we were taking no ‘junk’ with us and we binned them all. Have you seen the price some ’60s and ’70s music papers fetch on eBay these days
Good luck with The Challenge.
Lynn
Hi Dawn
Yes, I decided the only way I was going to get any peace from you was to join the challenge so your pestering did indeed pay off
Some cigarette cards can fetch high prices, others seem to be worth nothing. I actually have some myself that belonged to my gran but unfortunately they must have been glued into an album and removed because the backs of most of them are damaged. Postcards can also fetch high prices, particularly those that depict buildings or streets that have since been demolished. But that’s a post for another day.
Good luck with the Challenge and I’ll see you later in the Website Wealth Wizards forum.
Lynn
Hi Lynn,
Very Interesting Post You have here indeed. Never ever thought of Items like this to be sold on Ebay, and the bid price was pretty high for some indeed. I do have a hand reeled record player (You know, the type that you will have to reeled it up manually for it to play) my Dad gave me. The best part is that it is still working, though the exterior finishing really need a serious make over, or perhaps it will sell better without any make over. Wonder how must will this antique worth?
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Jason Ser
Hi Lynn,
Don’t even get me started on the amount of stuff I’ve ditched over the years that could have sold for big money!!
If only!!
But doesn’t it make interesting reading?
It’s fascinating what people will pay for these days…. especially old stuff we thought was just rubbish!
Randy
http://www.RandolfSmith.com
Randy Smith@Internet Marketing Rambles recently posted..A Negative Review- MobileMonopoly – Don’t Buy It! Plus other news
Hi Lynn, Good post got me thinking, I have old Atlantic City (New Jersey post cards. Before the casinos came in. I don’t know if I want to part with them but might cost a pretty penny. Terry Conti
Terry Conti recently posted..Sell your ebook on its own or put it on Clickbank What do you think
Hi Lynn, what a great post. I’m adding you my regular stop off’s.
I never realised just how much money could be earnt from such old papers. I’ll be keeping my eye open for such treasures now.
Never mind the kids keeping their sweet wrappers, they’re now getting sweets without them ha ha.
Best of luck for the challenge Lynn, if you use twitter could you let me have your twitter name and i’ll add you to my list of contributors.
R&R, Barry
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Hi Barry
I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I hope your kids’ teeth aren’t going to be dropping out with all the wrapperless sweets they’ll be getting from now on!
Good luck with the challenge
Lynn
Hi Terry
Thanks for dropping by. Do a search of completed items on eBay to see if there are any postcards similar to those you have, and how much they sold for. Then you can decide which would be worth the most to you – the money or the sentiment
Good luck with the Challenge
Lynn
Hi Jason
Thank you for taking the time to pay us a visit
Yes, it’s surprising what can sell for good money on eBay. Is it a wind-up gramophone that you have? I just had a quick look on eBay.com and the 7 results that came up all sold for prices between $342.89 down to $9.99. And someone from Australia seems to have a nice little business selling replica HMV wind-up gramophones with decorative brass horn for $224.15 each, what a great idea!
Good luck with the challenge.
Lynn
Hi Randy
Thanks for taking time off from your rambles to leave a comment
“If only” indeed! It’s best not to think how rich we’d be now if only we hadn’t thrown out all that ‘junk’ over the years. As you say, it’s fascinating what people will pay for – if only we’d known!
Good luck with the challenge and keep on rambling.
Lynn
Hi Lynn
What an interesting post I had no idea that simple stuff like you mentioned is worth so much. Like many people there is stuff over the years I wished that I had hung onto. I still have a lot of Antique things at home that I would like to sell, your post has prompted me to give it a go.
What is the best piece of advice you would give some one wanting to sell an Antique on Ebay?
Many Thanks Stan
Stan Young recently posted..Technology is changing our world-Entrepreneurs- Did you know-are you ready for the Challenge
Hi Lyn,
Good to meet you here on this 100 post challenge.
It is amazing what people buy …as the saying goes..
“one man’s rubbish is another’s treasure”
Cheers
Bryan
Fascinating post Lynn!
I love browsing through eBay to get a sense of what things are going for and also to look for deals. You have quite an interesting collection of items you found in your research. I particularly loved the diary of the 17 year old girl. Lucky one to find it for $130!
Thanks again for stopping by my blog during this challenge. I have posted/shared this on Facebook.
Best,
Eliz
ElizOF recently posted..A Photo Journal of NYC Part II- Four Places to Visit This Summer
Hi Stan
I’m glad to hear the post has inspired you to start selling
The best piece of advice I can give is to research your item thoroughly before you list it. Do a search of completed sales on eBay and see how much similar items have sold for. Study the listings that got the highest prices, see which category they were listed in and what keywords they used.
Give it a go, you’ll soon be hooked
Good luck!
Warm Regards
Lynn
Hi Bryan
Nice to meet you too
You are right, it is amazing what people buy. Mud from Glastonbury, bottles with ghosts in them, pieces of toast with weird images on them…. the list goes on and on!
Good luck with the Challenge.
Warm Regards
Lynn
Hi Eliz
Thanks for taking time out to comment.
I was quite envious of the person that won that Victorian girl’s diary, it must have made very fascinating reading.
Good luck with the Challenge.
Warm Regards
Lynn
Hi
Thanks for this interesting post. I often wonder what I should be selling on eBay. I live in Jerusalem and am sure there are things I could collect here and sell on eBay. I should probably do some market research – maybe I can make a fortune on eBay and am just missing the opportunity!
Deb
Deb@futures trade recently posted..I need a recovery-from-vacation period
Hi Lynn:
Very unique post, it is hard to imagine how things sell, what things sell, and at what price. All this is business beyond imagination. Good selection and good presentation. I want to read more blog posts from you.
Thank you.
Fran Aslam
Fran Aslam @kw LUV recently posted..How To Write An eBook That Is Included In The Best Seller List
All I can say is WOW. People will pay money for stuff they want. I’ve thought about selling
on ebay. I think it would be a lot of work. You spend time looking for stuff. taking pics and bids. Then mailing and postage, not too mention time spent in line at the post office with unfriendly could care less staff. That is why I have only thought of doing ebay.
Fran
Fran T recently posted..Betalains to the rescue!
Hi Lyn
Having sold items on ebay previously, I got tired of mail queues, I was always amazed by the sheer range of items that were being pursued by so many people.
Truly a place where you can be overwhelmed by the niche opportunities to be investigated.
igor Griffiths recently posted..Hitting My Marketing Objectives
Hi Lynn,
Fascinating post on hot eBay auctions.
I am always surprised at what fetches the most money and what doesn’t. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense…
I loved the Diary entry…and envy the person who won. They have gotten a hold of a real treasure…I am sure it will be very rewarding reading.
It seems like an interesting tool you have been playing with…wonder what else it can do
Kathy
Kathy Dobson@Outsourcing to the Philippines recently posted..HiveDesk…Track Your Outsourced Workers Time
Hey,
Very informative post. Thanks for sharing this with everybody. I don’t do e-bay but it interests me so this was a pretty interesting read.
Thanks.
Peace,
Darren L Carter
Darren L Carter recently posted..Free Atomic Bomb Survivor Inspiration Book – Finished!!
Hi Lynn
I find the whole process of listing collectables on eBay quite intrigueing.
I suppose with the proper research and techniques it is possible to make a good business
of it. You seem to know what to do and enjoy the process.
Good luck with the challenge.
Eamon
Hi Lynn
I must compliment you on your excellent blog; valuable content and very well written.
I too was hooked by eBay when clearing my old junk some years back!
I make amazing profits selling vintage prints on eBay, my best sale?
A Victorian print of a fish fetched £310.00!
I bought the print in a 100 year old book that cost me £75.00 and contained 22 other, similar prints!
Stuart Turnbull recently posted..We need your ‘make money online’ ideas!
Hi Deb
Thanks very much for visiting all the way from Jerusalem
I am sure there must be many things in your local area that you could sell to other parts of the world where they are otherwise unavailable. As you say, you should do some market research – you never know what opportunities you are missing until you look!
Lynn
Hi Fran
You have a fair point there. Selling one-of-a-kind products on eBay is more time consuming than selling repeat products and it isn’t for everyone. But I enjoy hunting around flea markets and car boot sales so I don’t see that as work. I can’t say I enjoy going to the post office but I think the people waiting in line behind me while I get a dozen or so parcels weighed are the ones who really suffer, lol.
Kind Regards
Lynn
Hey Lynn,
Thanks for sharing this useful tool. I have also used eBay’s recently ended auctions list to find some hot sellers.
J
The Cartoon Coach
Carstarphen recently posted..Which Online MLM System is really the best
Hi Igor
Thanks for dropping by. Yes you are right about the huge number of niche opportunities to be investigated on eBay, there are certainly enough to keep me busy for the some time to come
I’m not surprised you got tired by the mail queues though, if only there were an easier way!
Lynn
Hi Kathy
Nice to see you here
I agree that the person who won the Victorian Diary got themselves a real treasure. I think if I’d been the seller I would have been disappointed that it didn’t fetch a higher price.
Hot Item Finder is a great tool for finding niches not only for eBay but maybe also for affiliate marketing, niche websites and more. I’m have to confess that I’m disappointed with the lack of response from their support desk though.
Kind Regards
Lynn
Hi Darren
Thanks for taking the time to comment, and congratulations on finishing your book. I’m really looking forward to reading it.
Kind Regards
Lynn
Hi Eamon
Thanks for taking the time to visit. When doing research on eBay I never cease to be amazed at some of the things people buy and the high prices they are willing to pay for them.
Good luck with the challenge.
Kind Regards
Lynn
Hi Stuart,
Thanks for dropping by, it’s great to see you here
Wow, £310 for a picture of a fish! Your “Prints Make Profits” ebook is a fascinating read and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in selling unique products on eBay.
Warm Regards
Lynn
Hi J
Yes, eBay’s completed auctions search is a very useful resource; as well as finding hot sellers it is a useful indicator as to how much items are likely to sell for.
Good luck with the Challenge.
Lynn
Hi Fran
Thank you for your kind comments, and good luck with the Challenge.
Kind Regards
Lynn
Hi Lynn,
I am in the process of converting our attic into a livable room. So I will have to be very careful what I will be getting rid of.
There is so much stuff to go through. But if I find that one gem of an item then the conversion could pay for itself.
Cheers
Craig
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Hi, This is such an important post. You have done a great job by bringing this topic into light. I hope quality discussions follow this post. Good luck with the challenge and with your business.
Hi Lynn,
It’s been a long while since I stopped selling eBooks on eBay, but it still makes me smile when I read a post like this and see what guys are actually selling that is making good profit!
It is most certainly worth keeping an eye out when you are at a car boot sale or flee markets.
I recently took all of my daughter’s old baby cloths to a car boot sale and one lady bought them all in the first 10 minutes to sell on eBay.
Great post
Daniel Sumner recently posted..Box it up and Give it Some Value!
Hi Guys
Thanks for dropping by.
Daniel, if that lady bought all your daughter’s baby clothes she must have been pretty sure there was profit in it for her. As an old hand at eBay, maybe you should have listed them yourself
Craig, you are quite right, you could have a hidden gem up there in the attic – or maybe even several in which case, maybe you can have an extension built as well
Good luck with the Challenge.
Kind Regards
Lynn
Hi Lynn, i’m just going back over all of the blogs in the challenge to be sure i’ve commented and bookmarked them all.
Whilst doing so i noticed that only some of the Gravatars are showing up. I’ve just created a video showing how to install gravatars onto wordpress blogs.
If it’s any good to you follow the commentluv link.
R&R Barry
Barry@The Newbies Guide recently posted..How to add a Gravatar to your WordPress Blog
I have often thought about trying my hand at selling on eBay but have never really looked into it. Too busy at the moment on other projects but I may get there one day.
SandyHalliday@Making Money On The Internet recently posted..Failure Is Not An Option In Making Money Online
Hi Sandy
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to pay us a visit
It’s good to know that you’ve got lots of projects on the go to keep you busy but I hope you can find the time to give eBay a go one day. Be warned though, it can become addictive 
Best Wishes
Lynn
Hi Barry
Thanks for the heads up about your Gravatar video, I’ll check it out. Wow, you’re doing well visiting all the blogs for a second time! I’m only halfway there!
Best Wishes
Lynn
The things sold on ebay are truly interesting I love spending on hour once in a while just perusing the listings
Daniel M. Wood @ Sales Techniques, Motivation and Success recently posted..How to Use Motivation to Accomplish Your Goals and Start Living Your Dream Life
Hi Lynn
I wish I had more hours in the day, I find all this stuff really interesting!
The closest I’ve got to ebay is selling cd’s-maybe I need to do some more research.
Nice post and shame about DG’s product, he’s normally great.
Regards
Mike
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