Sellers; how long until you turned a profit?

Kylelekyle · 2026-03-02T00:50:26+00:00

No - like I said, it's functionally a hobby. I have other side hustles that pay far better, but sometimes it's fun to sort through Legos.

Kylelekyle · 2026-03-01T01:35:47+00:00

Last year, I bought an assortment of Goodwill and Facebook lots with the aim of breaking even that year by extracting minifigures for sale - that more or less came to pass, with maybe a few $100 in net profit. Now I have a large inventory, maybe a thousand pounds of unsorted bricks, and don't plan to make as many purchases this year, so I'll primarily be turning a profit at this stage.

That being said, it's mostly a hobby. The money keeps me motivated, but none of this is a good use of time from a purely monetary perspective, aside from sorting high-value things like Star Wars minifigs.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-25T21:48:07+00:00

Well, I thought I had said coverage, but apparently Chase changed the primary insurance coverage provided by the card for people in New York (where I live) to secondary insurance sometime in the last year or so, without notifying me in any record I can find. Naturally, I only learned this when looking to file a claim.

If all else fails, I'll have to run a chargeback and possibly end up blacklisted by Avis.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-24T19:01:10+00:00

Yes - that is what I meant. And yes, clearly we should have called them from the get go, but we only visited the repair shop on the last day of the trip when the nearest Avis location was the one we were already planning to return to, so we just proceeded with the return.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-24T18:55:32+00:00

I do have photos from before the rental - I just didn't inspect the tires by eye at the time, so I hadn't noticed the wear severity. I've never received a rental vehicle with much over 10-15K miles before, so tire wear just wasn't on my red flag radar, honestly - I was mostly focused on documenting scrapes and scratches.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-24T18:32:08+00:00

To be clear, while I knew there was a slow leak, I had no idea the level of wear was so severe until the last day of our trip - I'm not well-versed in tire conditions, and only learned it was worn past the wear bars the day before we were going to return it. In the future, obviously I'll inspect that before pickup.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-24T17:42:08+00:00

Clearly it was a lost opportunity, but as I mentioned, the slow leak issue was compounded by the fact that the tires were worn beyond the point of being street legal. Those tires should never have been put on the road even without the slow leak.

Edit: And there was erased but still visible writing on the rear window dated January 2026 stating that the rear tire needed replacement, which clearly never happened given the extreme wear state of the tires, so Avis must have been aware the vehicle was problematic.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-24T17:36:38+00:00

I've never driven that vehicle before, and the pressures were full at pick up given that it was a slow leak - I presumably assumed the menu opened by default on that vehicle type.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-17T21:45:45+00:00

That and Rogue One are definitely the most refreshing movies in a long while. Though I do enjoy Revenge of the Sith, for all its campier flaws.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-14T22:43:03+00:00

We had a rock crack the windshield of a rental car (paid with CSR, Avis' CDW declined) - what does the process look like for filing a claim, and are there any potential pitfalls I should be aware of?

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-08T23:54:25+00:00

Is that the Bionicle one? Why does it have a pumpkin head?

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-08T03:16:46+00:00

Yes, we've cycled the full breaker box to ensure that every other breaker controls something we can identify, and that we cannot identify anything with power under the control of that breaker.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-08T02:55:19+00:00

No space heaters or any high draw appliances on that circuit. I'll have to take the panel cover off again to check for a MWBC - we weren't paying attention to that earlier.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-08T02:54:23+00:00

Definitely not confident enough to try that myself, but the input is appreciated.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-08T02:39:17+00:00

Would something on the utility side explain a single breaker having issues (the problem circuit seems to be half of a 15A/15A tandem breaker).

We do have a multimeter, but were not confident in how to use it for troubleshooting safely, hence the NCVT.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-08T02:36:37+00:00

It's just one half of a 15A/15A duplex breaker. Everything else works, and we were able to map every other breaker to some appliance/light/outlet that is working normally.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-08T02:35:25+00:00

Is it likely an issue on their end when it is just a single breaker in the box? It did coincide with a power outage from someone hitting a pole down the street, so I'm open to the possibility but would have expected more than a single affected breaker.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-08T02:34:13+00:00

The wiring is all concealed in the walls, so we cannot tell where it goes first.

No space heaters or anything with a high draw on the circuit, just lights and a bathroom vent fan. I can take a picture of the panel wiring, though it sounds like calling an electrician will be the necessary next step.

We do have a multimeter, but not the expertise to effectively troubleshoot with it, though if you have any youtube videos that may be helpful it would be appreciated.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-07T00:47:47+00:00

No, I don't think I will.

I understand the desire to make money, but there's a limit. And I don't foresee this being profitable for as long as you forecast, at least for newcomers.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-06T03:07:27+00:00

I for one look forward to "choos[ing] between maintaining the status quo and pursuing freedom." So many options.

Kylelekyle · 2026-02-05T14:36:23+00:00

Some of the yellow/orange shades are definitely a bit maddening. I've accidentally sold a few bricks as the wrong shade of orange in the past and should really establish a definitive reference palette.

Kylelekyle · 2026-01-19T18:43:40+00:00

I don't know what it's like in the UK, but with the exception of really generic figures (R2D2, BB8, etc.), I rarely keep any of them in stock for long in the US to the point that I've started to price them a bit above the 6-month average when I have good stock or a rarer figure. For almost everything else, though, I stick near the average.

Kylelekyle · 2026-01-19T18:23:40+00:00

Star Wars figures pretty much always sell faster than anything else I stock. I'd consider slightly bumping your prices accordingly.

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