A few posts ago I mentioned that I was going to start spending a bit more flamboyantly when it came to finding things for re-sale (as the old adage goes 'you've got to speculate to accumulate,) plus I wanted to keep a record this year of what I bought, how much it cost, and what it then sold for. I was jotting down my buys in an old notebook with the idea of transferring it all to a cheap 2011 diary, but had a comment from Angela that mentioned keeping a spreadsheet on the computer and thought that sounded a very good idea indeed.
Not having anything as fancy as Excel on this computer (not that I ever got on very well with Excel when I've used it in previous jobs,) I've just cobbled together a very basic table in Windows. Columns for a description of what I bought, where I bought it, how much I paid for it and how much it sold for (if, indeed it ends up for sale.) Of course, not being an Excel document means it doesn't automatically add up column totals or anything posh like that so I have to resort to the calculator to tot it all up. So far, in only two weeks, I've spent £19.76 on items in various charity shops - some specifically for re-sale, some for my own use, and some which have turned out to be totally useless all round and which have already been re-donated.
Now, I know it's very early days with keeping this tally, but I was surprised to find I've spent an average of £10 per week in charity shops so far - will that be the average figure over the year I wonder? If so, that's over £500 per year! Astonishing! Having said that, I've already sold the Laura Ashley curtains for a nice profit (although I'm not cashing in the Paypal money just yet as I've a feeling the person who bought them might be a bit of a difficult customer,) so I'm wondering how much profit I will make over the course of 12 months. Also, I decided to be totally honest with myself and also include the second-hand items I buy for me - only books, some wool, some embroidery thread, and a small pot of unused moisturiser so far.
I'm finding it an interesting experiment at the moment but am not too sure how well I'll manage to keep things up-to-date when the car boot sale season starts again and I end up with a bag full of unpriced items and only a vague recollection of what I've paid for each of them. Ah, thats when the fun'll begin.
Isn't it funny how you just KNOW when a buyer's going to be a problem?! I sold a mobile phone to somebody with zero feedback on Mon, and I just had a FEELING. Sure enough, no payment yet, no response to my friendly emails. Hope I'm wrong, but I think I'm not .....
Posted by: Caroline | 01/19/2011 at 04:42 PM
LOL, I totted up my boot sale expenditure one year and was shocked to see it came to over £300! And all for me :-0 .
Then when I totted up how much I'd saved (ie by not buying new books and furniture and getting secondhand instead)I felt very content. Also I did sell on unwanted bits and bobs so got my money back on them.
What I'm trying to say is don't stress too much over figures.
Posted by: sharie | 01/19/2011 at 09:13 PM
What a great idea! I might be tempted to do that myself. I've not been getting out to the local charity shops lately though since I've started working full-time (school hours). I'm looking forward to the school hols so I can get to the shops, lol. And since I don't shop on Sundays, I only get to a handful of car boot sales in a year. But I relish the ones I do get to!! You'll have to give us periodic updates on your spreadsheet!
Posted by: Joanne | 02/02/2011 at 07:51 PM