Treasure Hunt Liquidators | Fat Wallet Refugee

I don’t feel much older than last year, but there is a distinctive sense that comes with the big four-oh.

I awoke earlier than expected. After lazing in bed for a bit I decided that I would take advantage of the early start. I drove to the Treasure Hunt store, stopping by Starbucks for my free birthday treat along the way.

I ordered the Tomato Mozzarella Panini. I had gotten in the driveway and then realized I had mistakenly hit “in-store pickup,” so I had to maneuver out of the line and find a parking space.

Once I got inside, it was incredibly loud. The seats were packed with customers and the space behind the counter was abuzz with activity.

The pickup didn’t take long at all. I was soon back outside and walking to me waiting car. Upon my first bite of the sandwich, the spinach sort of flopped out. It was wet and soggy and sort of bland. The rest of the meal tasted good though. I paired the sandwich with a pear and that was my breakfast.

I stood in line at the Treasure for around 10 minutes before they opened the doors and everyone began filing in. I had brought my own bag, so I didn’t bother grabbing one of the big blue ones the store provides.

I went straight to the clothes bin and got some nice picks.

Amazon Basics Men’s Pajama Pants Size XL

Dickies Men’s Blue 4XLT Long Sleeve Shirt, sealed in bag.
6 Licensed NHL New Jersey Devils Tee Shirts, 5 Large and 1 XL.
9 Amazon Basics Men’s Pajama Pants Size XL, sealed in bag.
2 Amazon Basics Women’s Gingham Button Front Shirts.
2 Gradual White UV Block Tee Shirts, size L.
Soothefeel Women’s White One-Piece Tennis Outfit, size L.
Kanu Surf Women’s Purple Floral Rashguard, size small.
SENFURE Women’s Bodycon Dress Square Neck Pink Small.
Tru Luxe Blue Mixed Stripe Shirt XS Button Front Smocked.
Croft & Barrow Women’s Black Long Sleeve Top Snowflake Sequins Glitter Metallic S.
Fiori Green Long Kurta with Sequence Embroidery M-40.
NY Islanders Sports Cap by Zephyr ZHATS.
Bass Outdoor Men’s XL Fishing Button Front Shirt.
Sharp SWJF300 Water Filter.
Radwear High Visibility Work Wear Hot Pink Vest.
Exofficio Men’s Performance Travel Underwear Black.
Stance Men’s Casual Socks 3-Pack Combed Cotton Blend.
Naviskin XL Long Sleeve Tee Shirt, Teal.
Gradual Navy Blue UV Block Tee Shirts, size XL.

There were two items I picked out too hastily and didn’t notice large stains and other damage. Not a big loss, just 2 bucks.

I think maybe they were short staffed because the manager was running the register and he’s usually at the back counter on the PA system the other times I’ve gone inside.

Oh, and I picked up two sealed bags with Microfiber Golf Towels. Also a nice find.

My mother and I visited the local Treasure Hunt store in Raleigh to see what was available. We went on a Wednesday, the $1 day before they restocked the bins. We got some interesting items, mostly arts and crafts stuff.

I picked up a DeWalt Carbon Fiber Hammer Tacker-Stapler, it was in rough shape but I think it still works. I also got a MeshForce WiFi Extender. The little light comes on when you plug it in so I think it works.

Both items were scuffed up a bit, but I think I’ll be able to sell them.

We went back to the store on Friday to see the new items priced at $12 each.

The store was packed with people. We arrived around 11 AM and noticed a few electronic items I was interested in but decided not to take any chances.

All of these items are product returns and only some of the boxes say whether the contents were defective or broken.

I found a great deal though in the clothing bins. Apparel items were all $8 on Friday and I picked up 13 men’s Levi’s shirts for $104 total. The listed MSRP on the shirts was $68.50 and clearance stickers were marking most of them down up to 70%.

The tags all say 2024, so these shirts were all recently released. I checked Levi’s website and I can see that they are still listed at around $45 on a discount.

They came in good sizes ranging from 2XL all the way up to 4XLT. I’ve listed them on eBay at $34.95 each. I am hoping they will get picked up as we roll through Q4.

Unfortunately, one of the shirts was missing the tag and another one had an ink tag still attached to it. I need a strong magnet to remove it without setting off the ink bomb.

Other strategies included burning them off, but I think that risks damaging the fabric. I’ll set those two aside for later.

Queuing in the checkout line.

I’ve had 8 buyers this last week with gross sales of $145 and a net return of $47.03 after fees and cost of goods. My experiment with disabling promoted listings last month was a big failure.

So, I am now always enabling promotions on my listings. It’s not worth trying to go without to save some money. I’ll have to bring down my costs by either sticking to the $2 bins at the Goodwill or by focusing on only selling New With Tag items that I can charge higher prices for.

I am lucky in that the local Goodwill shops do not individually price items on the rack. All shirts and pants have a set price and everything in the bins is two bucks. Sweaters and coats get higher prices, but not a whole lot more unless it is a big heavy ski jacket or something similar.

I’ll see if I can get my spreadsheet uploaded in the coming weeks to give a bit more transparency on how much I am earning and spending with this venture.