Featured What's Been Your Worst Purchase Mistake?

Many years ago I found and bought a US Postal Chute and paid too much.
I had no idea of it's going price so I took a chance.
I sold it, but made no profit at all. It weighed a ton and took up too much space here so when someone made an offer close to the amount I paid, I took it.

I have all sorts of things that I never should have brought home but...live and learn.
Those are my worst purchases I suppose.

 

In the last 2 months, I have purchased THREE different bathroom wall sconce lighting fixtures from 3 different, reputable, online lighting retailers. ALL THREE have arrived with broken glass - ALL THREE! And, yes, all 3 arrived via UPS...

 

The only things I ship via UPS are clothing and shoes - merchandise returns. I've lost track of my overpriced mistakes. One "prize" is a Weller vase, worth about what I paid for it. It's attractive, but it's not going anywhere. Then there's all the stuff I bought to sell that didn't, and the jars of IllWill jewelry. Lots of those. They're basically bulky lottery tickets. Some pay out and some ... don't.

 

Thats because it didn't say FRA-GI-LE! its an italian thing....they weren't leg lamps were they? sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[QUOTE="...I've lost track of my overpriced mistakes...[/QUOTE]

You and me both

 

You and me both [/QUOTE]

Me three.

 

Innocent mistakes on my part are just a learning opportunity, as Debora mentioned. What bothers me and hurts all of us, is blatant deception by a seller - complete misrepresentation of an item, taking advantage of a novice. I do speak up while overhearing dishonest transactions at flea markets, etc. and it can make for an ugly moment, but honor and trust are so important. The good people in the business is where much of the joy of collecting comes from.

 

Hi,
I just learned that my in laws saw a advertisement for solar powered pair of owls whose eyes light up to scare away squirrels and birds from their front porch. The sent the 26 dollars for the 20" high owls. They were so disappointed. The owls were
4" high the stake was 16". Then put them in a planter on their front porch. Ten minutes later there was a squirrel digging at the base of the owls.
greg

 

Bought a lot that looked cool, not idea why I went for it £70 so $100 for a magic lantern surround with no glass or anything. It also had some pairs of binoculars in too and a ships compass. Overtime I’ll be able to make the money back. But the stuff isn’t even that interesting. Should’ve viewed the auction in person.

I have it all betting on a really cool small safe that I’m going to have opened eventually! Looks high quality so hopefully what’s in there will be high quality too xD

 

Since I've only started buying with an eye to resell in the past year, I haven't been hurt hard yet when it comes to vintage/antiques.
But, when it used to come to my closets, oy vey. As I'm only a little over 5' tall, it took numerous purchases of 3" heels before I accepted my lot in life, and nice women's shoes are pricey....

 

Nice 3" heels is an oxymoron! Kind of like affordable jeans that fit.

 

Me three.[/QUOTE]

Count me in on this crowd.

Since I got my tablet with a Verizon connection a few years back I don't make as many sinc!e I rarely buy anything unless it is super cheap or I have researched it first. I have a Samsung Note phone that I do like, but I detest usingbit for researching.

 

All I can say is buying stuff on late night TV is always a mistake.

 

Infomercials are generally an indication that buying the product is a Bad Idea.

 

I love this thread and don't have one worthy enough to post about, but I've had plenty of things I've bought that have turned out essentially worthless.

Maybe this deserves it's own thread but - what about the opposite, what's something you sold for cheap only to find out thereafter that it was worth much, much more than what you sold it for - ie: your worst selling mistake?

For a while I decided to start some ebay auctions at 99c and took a bath on a few items that no one bid on till the end and ended up going for 99c or 2 bucks or so and were each worth at least 40-50 bucks. Never again.

 

I may once have sold diamond earrings as CZs. It may also have just been white quartz. It was a long time ago, but I'm still kicking myself.

 

Oh, yes, Aaron - that's like following eBay's GREAT advice: Your item didn't sell? Reduce the price to 99¢!

Yeah, right...

Although I do have to admit to feeling guilty "taking advantage of" sellers who have done that. With free shipping, I've had purchases where the seller actually PAID for me to take something off his hands...

 

Maybe it was me...

 

I hope I live long enough to see antique sham wows, and flex seal cans in thrift shops.