I bought my leaf in 2024 used from Smart Cars Weiland in Pittsboro. It had 17k miles on the odometer and I paid 18k with some financing.
Highlights of the LEAF
The Nissan LEAF, launched in 2010, pioneered the mass-market electric vehicle (EV) segment, becoming one of the world’s best-selling EVs by offering affordable, zero-emission transport.
It evolved through two main generations, starting with modest range (around 100 miles) and basic tech, then adding larger batteries (up to 60 kWh), longer range (over 200 miles with LEAF PLUS), e-Pedal, and ProPilot Assist for improved driving and safety, solidifying its role in daily commuting worldwide.
I watched a video on YouTube the other day that I felt especially compelled by. It got me to stop and think a bit more about my previous YouTube channels and to reconsider posting videos.
When I decided to close GameGirlsGallery (GGG), I also deleted my ASMR and Thrifting channels as well. They other two had fewer than a hundred subscribers, so it wasn’t any real loss.
After 18 months, GGG had well over a thousand subscribers and I regularly got comments and engagement on the content I posted. The decision to close the channel was difficult, but necessary. It was the same with removing that type of content from this website (Hard Choices: Removing Site Content).
Well, yesterday, I decided to go ahead and try again with YouTube. I’m terrible with following through on plans, but I will try to do a live stream every Wednesday and a recorded video once a week.
Ideally, I would like to be able to livestream with my phone, but you need 50 subscribers to do livestreams using the YouTube app. I thought about doing it in the office, but its so messy here, I’d be quite embarrassed.
I ordered an action camera off of eBay for 20 bucks and that should arrive sometime next week if holiday traffic doesn’t slow the parcel down. Its magnetic and has a lanyard and metal pad that can fit under clothes. That will allow me to film while I am out sourcing, but still keep my hands free.
I really wanted an Insta360 Go 3S, but its way out of my price range. My wallet can’t handle anything that fancy. Hopefully, the generic I bought will be able to manage my needs.
Other than videos related to eBay, I will likely include some slideshow videos of my domestic travel blog series.
My Spidey-sense hasn’t been the best gage for decision making in the past. I’ve come to second guess my immediate feelings and mull things over before taking a plunge.
So, no, I’m not really that trusting of my instincts.
From bad timing in stock market to poor sourcing choices for products to sell, I’ve had my blunders. What instinctively felt to be a sure thing often turned out to be the height of the market right before a plunge.
I have bags on top of bags, filled with swimsuits filling my closet, apparel that will likely never sell.
I’ve also fallen for my share of crypto scams and ponzi schemes. Hard lessons that have shaped, in part, my present predicament.
My best advice, which I take myself, is to get a second opinion whenever and where ever possible.
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.
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.
It had been a decidedly slow year for me with my sales prior to the start of the fourth quarter. I also made a $280 blunder along the way, that didn’t help my bottom line by any measure.
I had given some though to looking for other employment after considering my auto insurance bills. I’m keeping that on the table for the time being.
I of course did try to get work after graduating, but found I couldn’t pass the background checks, which led me to self employment.
June and September were my worst months, bringing in under 100 dollars. March through May were excellent by comparison averaging 433 dollars per month.
Estate Sale
In January, I attended my first estate sale. I bought a biker jacket that turned out to be not what I was expecting, but it was actually worth quite a bit. I managed to sell all the items I got there and made a nice profit.
Resourcing
I continued to purchase new inventory at the Treasure Hunt store and Goodwill for a time, but eventually gave up on the Goodwill. Earlier in the year they had stopped accepting American Express at my local Goodwill store and so I stopped going.
I think I went back a couple of times and used my Altitude Go card, but for the most part I got hooked on dollar day at the bin store.
I lost my head at one point and ransacked the bins for all of these swimsuits.
In all I bought 67 swimsuits that I will likely never be able to sell.
Treasures Found
But I have picked up some good items.
I have a large collection of Target brands including Wild Fable, Shade & Shore, and Future Collective now listed on LaFemme1st. I have received deposits of $379 from sales on LaFemme1st so far this year.
The majority of items from the mentioned brands have been swim wear, so these sales are mostly seasonal. But I have had some holiday sales, so I remain hopeful. All of the items are new with tags attached.
I am keeping a list of my Target brand sales included in the eBay Style Code Catalog post. I hope this post will become a resource for other sellers.
Bin Purchases and Pricing Legend (Jan-Oct)
After the recent trip to Washington, I decided to halt purchasing new stock for my shops. I have been good so far and have not visited either the Goodwill or the Treasure Hunt bin store this month.
Wednesday makes up the vast majority of purchases for me at the bin store. I did decide to stop buying air and water filters. There is just too much competition for them on eBay.
Filters also take up a large amount of space and they are heavy. The bag I have them in is a real killer to move about the room.
I’ll see about returning to the store next year in January to see if all the swimwear is gone. I hope to find more dresses and tops. Maybe some jeans if I am lucky.
Personal Health
I’ve also made some changes in my life beyond reselling. I have removed milk, candy, and coffee, from my diet. I am making this change now rather than wait for further bad news from my doctor.
I remain on medication for cholesterol, but I expect my numbers will improve soon. Cutting out candy will reduce my chances of developing type 2 diabetes and eliminating coffee will improve my sleeping habits.
I’ll be turning 40 in nine days. I’m not where I had planned to be, but I am still alive, so I will count that as a boon.
My first week back home from the vacation to Washington is nearly over. I think I slipped right back into old habits for the most part. Other than the loss of my watch, much is the same.
On Monday, my eBay shop came off of Time Away, and traffic, organic and promotional, returned to my listings.
I have received 6 orders so far. 3 for FatWalletRefugee, 2 for LaFemme1st, and an AprilAire filter through KingsCastleHomeImprovement.
In the weeks before leaving on my trip, I was involved in getting funding through Liberis for my eBay store.
For several months now, I have seen a banner notice saying I qualified for funding.
I had done some due diligence over on Reddit to see what other sellers had to say about the funding offer. I encountered mixed feelings among the comments.
In the end I decided to go for it. But as the trip approached, I decided it wasn’t a good time to initiate the “loan,” so I declined to sign the contract and after some messages, I let Liberis know I would reapply when I got back.
So two days ago, when I logged into eBay, I saw two banners. One for $600 in funding and the other for a line of credit valued at $1,100. I must say, the line of credit was appealing, but I was wary of the pitfalls of debt and decided to stick with the $600.
It’s not actually a loan per se. What I signed is a revenue purchase agreement. I agreed that 30% of all of my sales would go to paying off the lump sum funding I received. There was also one-time fee of $79.
The estimate I was shown said it would take 4-6 months at my regular rate of sales to pay back the $600 funding.
I received the money in my bank account yesterday and used it to pay off the American Express card that I use for sourcing products.
I also switched to GEICO for my car insurance, so I had another $1,120 charged to it today. I’m saving around $640 annually with this switch in insurers.
Although, I had a heck of a time getting through the application process. Somewhere in this world there lives a web designer; an employee of GEICO, who really needs their head smashed in. I said as much in the exit survey.
Actually, I toned it down. But that web form made me violently, violently angry. I finally got it done after having to clear my cookies and resubmit the form 3 times. No back or undo function. Utter eejits, all of them.
Next goal for my business is to not spend a penny on any new goods. I have backlog of unlisted products, I should be able to finish the year in the black.
I had submitted lost item reports to Delta Air Lines, RDU Airport, and Uber, yesterday. I got a response from the lost and found at the airport saying they didn’t have my watch.
I am still waiting on Uber and Delta to get back to me. I am disappointed but I can feel myself starting to move on from the loss.
It’s odd, I still have the tan lines on my wrist in the shape of a watch. I don’t think I will buy a replacement any time soon.
I’m going to start applying to jobs again soon. I don’t think the eBay sales are going to be enough to handle the car insurance payments I have to make.
Direct Auto is charging me $2440 a year as a new driver and I can’t really afford it. They had the best rates when I first checked last year. Progressive and Allstate both wanted double that.
My father scheduled a pickup by the SeaTac Rocket Shuttle at around 10:30 this morning (PST). The drive was around 2 hours, no ferries, just bridges.
We stopped for a break at a McDonald’s restaurant and I went inside and ordered a McCrispy Sandwich. I haven’t eaten at McDonald’s for maybe 5 years. It tasted delicious.
The McCrispyI spent $6.11
At the airport, I printed my boarding pass. This time it didn’t ask me to volunteer my carry on, so that meant I couldn’t skip the line at the gate.
I did see some folks with roll-on luggage that had the volunteer tags. I don’t know how they got them. Lucky folks.
My flight being at 3:50pm, I wandered about the terminal and took photos of the planes arriving and departing.
Papa gave me his old Olympus camera. It’s the same one he had from my 2019 trip to NYC to see my uncle Rupert, come over from England.
This camera is around 7 years newer than the one I have at home. A true DSLR with 2 different lenses and a filter. It includes WiFi for wireless transfer of photos to a smartphone. Quite fancy. I am looking forward to how it performs photographing apparel for my eBay shop.
Around 2:30, I sat down and did some blogging. By chance I gave up my seat to a family of three. I made the excuse of being at the wrong gate, which was true, but after I got to the right gate, I noticed the sign was wrong.
It turned out my flight had not only changed gates but was boarding already. I had to rush a bit to get to the actual correct gate. Once there I was able to relax a bit. I was in Zone 8 at the back of the plane, so I had some time before my group got called.
The flight was okay. I listened to music and edited the blog posts to remove broken links and redundant files. I got some shots of the Rockies from the plane using the Olympus and also filmed the entire taxiing and take-off sequence on my phone.
It got dark fast since the sun was setting behind us. I played some games and kept editing until we landed. I ordered 2 coffees and got 2 Biscoff wagers. I didn’t spend any money on my return flight.
I got a bit lost after landing and mistakenly told the driver I was at terminal 1, which is what it said on the sign next to me. I was actually at terminal 2.
After some back and forth with the uber reserve driver, I got to the awaiting car. It was a quick ride home, (somebody was speeding in the rain). While I appreciated getting home fast, I think 40 in a 25 is probably not a great idea.
Mama was up late waiting for my return. It was about 1 am when I walked through the front door. Maybe 45 minutes later I realized I wasn’t wearing my watch. I’m not sure when it came off, but I’ve messaged Uber for assistance.
I had switched the shoulder I was carrying my pack over, it possible I dislodged it either in airport, when I entered the car, or while exiting the car. Although, the strap was new, so I think I would have noticed it getting tugged on.
So, one dark spot at the end of a wonderful trip to my hometown and a touching reunion with my father.
I may have some additional posts to make. I’ll have to check the photos to see what I may have missed.
As I mentioned in, Grilled Cheese and Pears, Tuesday’s at Rosewind are potluck dinner days. I didn’t join I the festivities being tired from the trip.
Dinner that evening was a two part repast of Potato leak soup followed with a cut of poached Black Cod with a side of fried potatoes. A garden salad rounded out the meal and added some needed fiber and vitamins.
The first coursePotato leak soupFresh garden saladPoached Black Cod with fried taters
To drink, my father provided a Guinness Extra Stout and a Lemon San Pellegrino. The Stout was nice and bitter and paired perfectly with the Black Cod.
Guinness Extra StoutLimonata San Pellegrino
The ingredients were all sourced, other than the fish, from the local community garden here at Rosewind.
During my walk on Thursday I came across and spoke with some community members. Cathy, Oma, and Dan.
Actually, when I was still a child, my mother rented a blue house from Oma on the corner of F & Fir. That was while I was still attending OPEPO at Mt View, before our brief relocation to Everett.
After reviewing my phone I see I took over 300 photos the other day. This included a nostalgic drive past old homes of mine, two beaches, and a walking tour of the housing community my father has retired to.
There is a large community garden with a green house and hefty compost piles. The trees are covered in apples and pears. Truly a vibrant garden with the markings of care and diligence readily apparent.
I start to realize now that my writings cannot keep up with the speed of my photo taking. Its also a bit rude to have my nose in my phone typing away in the presence of company.
What I mean to be saying is that future blog entries for this trip will have to be made after the days activity has ceased. So, if I perhaps begin to refer to actions and thoughts in the past tense, it is only because I am writing post-action.
So, starting the first post for today; I awoke at 2:30 AM. I got around five hours of sleep before I awoke. I think my body has not yet shook off the early hour rigors from the prior days flight.
I managed to fall back asleep after some time before reawakening at 5:40AM, at which time I driven to relieve myself. Afterwards, I layed about in bed till 7AM having heard some movement beyond my bedroom.
To start my day, I had a nice cup of mint tea to chase away the cobwebs and wet my appetite.
My father had also awoken around five and was preparing for breakfast.
In a cast iron pot he placed diced apples from the orchard, dried raisins, cashew nuts, and pumpkin seeds. Today’s morning meal is porridge.
CashewsPumpkin SeedsRolled Oats
With some rolled oats added to the pot and set to simmer. A hearty repast. Porridge sticks to the ribs and lends energy to muck through the day.
Fat Wallet Refugee 