Best eBay finds? Rescued treasures, amazing deals, favorite buys?

OP
OP
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insontis

Hero Member
Aug 27, 2013
816
462
Blue Springs, MO
Detector(s) used
Garret AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'll start with one best deals I've gotten..

Screenshot_20200622-111036_eBay.jpg
Screenshot_20200622-111114_eBay.jpg

Most was 14k, rest 10k. Paid just over $6 a gram .. still don't know how I got it. :icon_scratch:

Not likely to ever find a deal like that again on there, but I wouldn't mind if I did!
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,424
Massachusetts
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett: AT Pro, AT Gold & Infinium; Minelab: Explorer SE, II; Simplex; Tesoro: Tejon & Outlaw; White's: V3i
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Killer score, congrats! :icon_thumleft:
 

trdking

Gold Member
Feb 28, 2015
5,139
7,923
Fullerton CA
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030
AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
eBay is so commercialized now that good deals are few and far between. I fair much better at the good ol brick and mortar garage sales. Even Thrift stores are getting tough. The price you pay for having information at your finger tips
 

OP
OP
I

insontis

Hero Member
Aug 27, 2013
816
462
Blue Springs, MO
Detector(s) used
Garret AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
eBay is so commercialized now that good deals are few and far between. I fair much better at the good ol brick and mortar garage sales. Even Thrift stores are getting tough. The price you pay for having information at your finger tips

I absolutely agree. You wont find steals on ebay st the same rate you would anywhere else. And thrift stores are getting ticky about giving things away nowadays, lol. But like anywhere else deals are there its just a matter of putting in the time, a bit of research, and down right luck. Doesn't have to be a deal though to be posted here.. could be a cool find or just a favorite buy. For example I bought my AT pro used there for a decent price, never had a problem and still using few years later.
 

goldnsilver

Full Member
Jun 25, 2010
102
202
Maryland
Detector(s) used
Whites Beach Hunter ID
Vintage 1980's
Whites Goldmaster
Whites Coinmaster
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There are still plenty of great deals on eBay, but just like other treasure hunting you have to put in the time and do the work. I like all types historical photographs including daguerreotypes and tintypes. My favorite method is to search old tintypes and select "buy it now" and click "newly listed". Then I sit there for 2 or 3 hours and click refresh every 15 seconds to see the new items were just listed. My best find was an important outdoor quarter plate daguerreotype (listed under tintypes) that was quickly sold to a Historical Society. I paid the price of a common Morgan silver dollar and received a price equal to just less than 3 ounces of gold. You have to be very quick with your buy, because on this refresh three wonderful photographs popped up but by the time I completed my first purchase the other two had already been sold. All three photos had been bought within 1 minute of being listed. Another good buy was a studio tintype of a man sitting in a chair reading a paper. I checked the photo with a loop and the headline was "Abraham Lincoln Shot".
There are still good buys so put in the time and good luck!
 

CalReg

Hero Member
May 3, 2020
596
775
San Jose, CA
Detector(s) used
Tarsacci MDT 8000, Simplex, Equinox 600, Garrett Carrot
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
eBay isn't what it used to be. There are rarely any "finds" on the sight anymore. You can, however, try to negotiate a seller down in price (especially if they're motivated to sell), to where you end up with a pretty good deal.
 

GibH

Silver Member
May 17, 2009
2,932
1,948
Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Surf PI Pro/MXT/Quattro/Sovereign XS2 Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My best ebay buys were from years ago. We used to make some great scores by searching misspelled items and things listed in the wrong category.
 

HistoryTeacher

Sr. Member
Mar 9, 2017
288
599
North Georgia
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 400
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There are still plenty of great deals on eBay, but just like other treasure hunting you have to put in the time and do the work. I like all types historical photographs including daguerreotypes and tintypes. My favorite method is to search old tintypes and select "buy it now" and click "newly listed". Then I sit there for 2 or 3 hours and click refresh every 15 seconds to see the new items were just listed. My best find was an important outdoor quarter plate daguerreotype (listed under tintypes) that was quickly sold to a Historical Society. I paid the price of a common Morgan silver dollar and received a price equal to just less than 3 ounces of gold. You have to be very quick with your buy, because on this refresh three wonderful photographs popped up but by the time I completed my first purchase the other two had already been sold. All three photos had been bought within 1 minute of being listed. Another good buy was a studio tintype of a man sitting in a chair reading a paper. I checked the photo with a loop and the headline was "Abraham Lincoln Shot".
There are still good buys so put in the time and good luck!

I think this is a great strategy. Specialize in something and put in the time. I'm sure people have gotten more savvy about listing, but there are still a lot of people who list things without knowing how to describe them or photograph them. That's where I've found some things. I think I just got something good. I will post some pictures it when it arrives if it is what I hope.
 

HistoryTeacher

Sr. Member
Mar 9, 2017
288
599
North Georgia
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 400
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Found this Hercules Gun Club 2018 fob/medal out of a mixed lot that I got for $14.00. Last one sold for $210.00. I'll let you know if I do as well. Its about 1.5" tall and rolled gold.

IMG_0019_edited-1.JPG
 

RustyGold

Gold Member
Aug 16, 2013
9,372
10,901
Southern California
Detector(s) used
XP Deus I & II
Xterra Pro
Primary Interest:
Other
I got this very cool 1953 Supro Lap Steel Guitar with a 1948 Supro amp for a steal. The lap steel is in excellent condition and plays great. The amp I resold on eBay in under 10 minutes.

233BFD70-EE80-4B77-9549-18A9D50FE3C2.jpeg

BC42A37F-BEBE-4E9B-97D1-38DE92626358.jpeg
 

Molewacker

Bronze Member
Feb 9, 2015
1,537
2,552
Yacolt WA
Detector(s) used
EQ 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Before the total ban on ivory I would search pre ban Hawaiian jewelry. Don't have photos anymore, but for 180.00 I scored a Gump's Pikake necklace, and 3 pieces of John Roberts works. Sold for a total of 1400.00.
 

B0Town

Tenderfoot
Sep 12, 2019
7
44
California
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
IMG_1420.png
Paid $8.82 for this group of coins. Probably roughly melt for the silver content, but sold the key date 1884 Canadian dime for $150. Still working on selling the 1900 round 0 variety Canadian five cents. Should bring around $75.
 

cyberdan

Silver Member
Dec 12, 2006
4,596
2,220
Very Northern Left Coast
Detector(s) used
XLT & Bigfoot
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Someone got a great deal. High bid was $336 for a melt value over $380 - not counting the other coins included. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Estate-Sal...bers-Mercs-Bullion-and-lots-more/114394120732

If he relied on coin melt only he lost 6%. I wrote a spreadsheet to put in face vale of all coins. He paid $336 for the lot but also had to pay for shipping and most likely state sales tax. I would have had to pay $376.25 for $354.85 for the coins. But like you said that does not include all the other items. He did pretty good but now has all the other things to sell.
 

OP
OP
I

insontis

Hero Member
Aug 27, 2013
816
462
Blue Springs, MO
Detector(s) used
Garret AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
View attachment 1864854
Paid $8.82 for this group of coins. Probably roughly melt for the silver content, but sold the key date 1884 Canadian dime for $150. Still working on selling the 1900 round 0 variety Canadian five cents. Should bring around $75.

Those are some great finds! I've rarely had "great" coin finds, especially American as they basically have a set "common" knowledge value. Google x year x coin x mint mark and boom you've got an estimation - not to mention ebay's recommended starting prices help guide new sellers. I did find an 1895 o barber dime in a lot of foreign silver coins before. I've probably got at least a pound or two of foreign silver coins that I know little more about than melt. Probably all most are worth. Oh well, that'll be a problem for the guy who picks them up from an estate sale after I'm gone :laughing7:
 

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