Can you grow your tangible assets via eBay flash sales? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” if you consider antiques, precious metals and other hard assets to be good investments.
Let me tell you a story I experienced a few months ago.
I was watching a silver stacking video from the YouTube channel Mr. Vegiita. In that video he pointed out that eBay was having a one day only flash sale where everything was 15% off.
I was intrigued.
I had an eBay account, but hadn’t been active on the platform for a while. However, I had recently adopted a new gold and silver-centric savings strategy. And eBay flash sales seemed like a great way to build tangible wealth at a discount.
But first I read the fine print on the promotion, which should always come first. It specifically excluded purchasing gift cards and anything in the Coins & Paper Money category. This was an unwelcome development, as the easiest way to use the discount would have been to purchase a gold or silver bullion coin. Alas, the margins are too low on these items and eBay understandably wasn’t willing to swallow the loss.
But I was undaunted. I quickly began browsing the Jewelry category for a deal. My approach was to buy something with a high intrinsic value relative to its asking price. This is not only low risk, but also comes quite naturally to me because I used to scrap gold and silver many years ago.
So I searched…and I searched…
Then I finally found it – a trio of solid 10 karat gold loyalty service tie-tacks issued by The Timken Company, a bearing manufacturer founded in Missouri in 1899. Large corporations would hand out these pins to their loyal employees once they had achieved significant anniversary milestones – 10 years, 25 years, etc. They were sort of a variation on the old concept of receiving a gold watch at retirement, although a person was still employed in this case.
These particular service pins were probably from the 1950s or 1960s and weighed in at close to 5 grams in aggregate. At the then spot rate of $1,212 an ounce, this translated into a bullion value of about $80. This was a happy coincidence, because the buy-it-now price for the pins was also $80 (plus $3.50 for shipping).
Now under normal circumstances I would not have been interested. Although solid karat gold corporate service pins are a great slice of Americana and well worth collecting, I was not in the market for them. And paying $83.50 for $80 worth of gold doesn’t make much sense if you don’t care about the item as a collectible.
But we can’t forget those eBay flash sales, which provided me with a compelling 15% discount. In the world of gold scrapping, a 15% margin is the difference between a discouraging loss and a healthy profit. In this case, the discount from the eBay flash sale reduced my total cost to just $71.50 ($80 original cost – $12 (15% eBay flash sale) + $3.50 shipping).
In addition, two out of the three Timken service pins held small diamonds. Although they had a very modest value by themselves, popping them out of their settings could potentially give me an extra couple of dollars of profit.
I also took advantage of the auction platform’s rewards program, eBay Bucks. This is effectively a 1% rebate on the purchase price of all items bought through the site. EBay Bucks are issued as a voucher to your account and can then be used to reduce the cost of other eBay purchases.
I didn’t stop stacking rewards there, either. Many banks issue credit cards that accrue reward points, typically between 1% and 2% of every dollar spent. I have one of these cards and while the individual amounts are fairly small, they do accumulate over time. Because of this, I would recommend that everybody interested in building their wealth via tangible assets consider using a rewards credit card.
So adding up all the Timken service pin bonuses, we get this:
| Asset | Value | Cost |
| Gold | $ 80.00 | |
| Diamonds | $ 2.00 | |
| eBay Bucks | $ 0.80 | |
| CC Rewards | $ 0.72 | |
| Total: | $ 83.52 | $71.50 |
Now this might not be an earth shattering return, but for anyone looking to save via precious metals or other hard assets it is quite solid, especially if repeated again and again.
The thing I really like about this eBay flash sale strategy is that I can simply sit on these pins as I accumulate more and more scrap gold over time. Waiting gives the price of gold time to rise, while simultaneously spreading out any refining costs over more pieces. Or, alternatively, because the pins are in good condition and quite collectible, I may eventually find a buyer for them above melt value.
In any case, when you stockpile vintage gold and silver jewelry, silverware, etc. you can’t really lose money, assuming you bought them right. Sure, it does lock up some of your capital, but it does so in the form of precious metals and gemstones. Therefore, this strategy is more or less immune to currency crises, inflation or other financial dislocations.
My eBay flash sale story doesn’t end there, though.
The day after I completed my purchase, eBay sent me a coupon for $5 off any purchase (once again excluding the Coins & Paper Money category and gift cards). So back I went to find another bargain, this time focusing on antique silver.
After quite a bit of searching, I had narrowed it down to a few different choices. One of them was a set of three different .830 fine antique Norwegian silver spoons. Now, I really love Continental European silver. It is immensely beautiful. But at the same time, it is also poorly understood.
Antique Continental European silver was made in a variety of finenesses, ranging from .750 to .950 fine (sterling is .925 fine). Furthermore, there was a jumble of different hallmarking systems in force across the Continent, causing widespread confusion among modern-day collectors. Both of these factors combine to suppress the price for this type of antique silver.
That was certainly the case for the three Norwegian spoons I was eying up. They weighed a grand total of nearly 3 troy ounces (93 grams), giving them a melt value of around $37. But they were only selling for a buy-it-now price of $32 (plus $3.75 shipping). The deal was further sweetened by the $5 off coupon I had.
But I still wasn’t certain. I typically like to shop around a bit first in order to make sure I have the best deal possible.
Then I noticed a countdown timer in the upper left-hand corner of my browser window. This particular seller was having one of those infamous eBay flash sales in her shop; everything was 10% off. But there were only 17 minutes left in the sale!
I was sold.
The new grand total was $27.55 ($32 original cost – $3.20 (10% eBay flash sale) – $5 coupon + $3.75 shipping).
Once again adding up the bonuses, this is what we see:
| Asset | Value | Cost |
| Silver | $ 37.00 | |
| eBay Bucks | $ 0.29 | |
| CC Rewards | $ 0.28 | |
| Total: | $ 37.57 | $27.55 |
These Norwegian silver spoons have many of the same positive attributes as the gold service pins above. They are made from a precious metal and I can sit on them for nearly forever without having to worry about depreciation or inflation. And when the time is right I can either ship them to a refiner or try to resell them.
All things considered, I absolutely love eBay flash sales. The discounts can allow you to purchase tangible assets at a discount to their intrinsic value. And stacking them with eBay Bucks and credit card rewards only adds to your margins.
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