2024 Ebay Sales Summary

 Although it is not quite the end of the year, I decided to post my Ebay sales summary for 2024. The good news is that total sales increased by 128.5% from the previous year. Net sales increased by 158.2% and the average sales price per item increased by 36% to $27.15. The number of items sold increased by 68%. This was mainly due to the 21 Xbox controllers that I sold in 2024. 

Now the bad news. The cost of selling (which includes Ebay fees and shipping) was 37.6% of total sales. And the cost of goods was 29.5% of total sales. Add sales tax to that and my profit was only 27% of total sales or about $305. That was still a 48.4% improvement over last year's profit. Total items sold was 42, so my goal for 2025 is to sell an average of one item per week. I should be able to achieve that if I can find reasonably priced controllers to refurbish. It feels like a few individuals have been trying to dominate the used game controller market. The average price of a used controller that needs repair on Ebay does not leave any room for profit for resellers. You can get a new Xbox One black model S wireless controller for $49.95. I usually charge $32 for a refurbished controller with free shipping. That means I can only pay $12 per controller.

The last item that sold was a Marine Corps military utility cap. I got it in a bulk package of 35 assorted hats and caps. This was only the third cap that sold so far but that was enough to pay for all 35. The buyer was located in California and is the production company for the NCIS television series which stars Mark Harmon. NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service, so they buy a lot of military uniforms and gear for the show, which has been in production since 2003. I thought it was interesting to know that an item I sold might end up in a TV series. I'll have to keep my eyes open for more military items to resell. All of the other hats I have are pro and college sports team related which may take longer to sell.

20 Xbox Controllers Sold on Ebay

 In the past eight months I have sold 20 refurbished Xbox One controllers on Ebay. Each controller was disassembled, cleaned, repaired, and sold at a fixed price. I typically buy controllers that are listed "For parts or not working" and try to restore them to 100% working condition. Most of the controllers are model 1708 (3rd generation), which I find are easier to repair. Model 1914 (Xbox Series X) controllers are a bit more difficult to fix. I have not tried to fix any Elite model controllers because even the broken ones are over $30 each.

The most common color I have sold is white (see image). While white and black are the most common colors, the more colorful special edition controllers sell faster and fetch a higher price. I have compiled the numbers to try and determine if fixing old controllers is a viable business model. If you exclude labor, you have the cost to acquire the controller, the parts to fix the controller, the cost to package/ship, and Ebay's transaction fees. Total gross sales (minus tax and Ebay fees) were, $565.88. That may look like a good number, but after subtracting initial cost and shipping, you end up with a $157.97. 

That money then goes into buying replacement parts and more broken controllers. My average cost for a non-working controller was $14.21. That includes tax and shipping. The most I have paid for a non-working controller is $16.44. It is getting more difficult to find controllers for less than $16 unless you buy 3 or more at a time or find someone who wants to get rid of a broken one quickly. On auction sites, I find the same people bidding against me on every controller listing. We are just making each other's resale business less profitable by buying untested controllers for more than they are worth. I suspect the other bidders are relisting controllers on Ebay for parts or not working at a slightly higher price. The proof is that the average price of a broken controller on Ebay has increased dramatically in the last six months.

So, despite the satisfaction of getting a controller to work again, the reward just isn't enough to justify the time it takes to find fixable controllers at a reasonable price. There are also issues with older controllers that make them impossible to recalibrate. Microsoft recently gave the ability to recalibrate Model 1914 controllers but have only released firmware updates for older controllers to make them more tolerant to stick drift. Eventually, thumb sticks are going to wear out. High quality analog sticks are more expensive and only have a life cycle of 2 million cycles at best. With a popular fps game like Call of Duty a thumb stick can wear out in 3 or 4 months. It would seem like the ideal scenario for a controller repair shop, but people are trying to sell their broken controllers at a high price and pay as little as possible for ones that have been refurbished. 

The other issue is that after a while you end up with a bunch of controllers that are unfixable because of circuit board issues. They either won't turn on or the buttons and triggers don't work. I currently have 5 controllers with various circuit board issues. Buying a used circuit board cost as much as buying an untested "for parts" controller. You need to have some spare parts, but over time you end up with a collection of controllers that have bad circuit boards. Every year more gamers upgrade to newer video game systems, which means that the market for older controllers will gradually diminish. Eventually the only people buying old controllers will be collectors who are trying to acquire every variation.

Purenat Water Filter System Review

When our new refrigerator arrived back in February 2024, it came with an ice maker. But I didn't have easy access to water or the money to buy a water filter. The water line would need to be routed through several kitchen cabinets and behind the oven to reach the back of the refrigerator. Six months later, I received a cash gift card for my birthday and decided to use it to finally hookup the ice maker. During the long wait, I had been researching water filters and had put the Purenat under sink system on my Amazon wishlist. It took a while to find one because there are so many to choose from. I picked the Purenat because it can handle both kitchen faucet and the icemaker (see image). It also comes with enough fittings to handle most installations, and the price was very reasonable. I mainly wanted a filter that would reduce rust, lead, heavy metals, chemical impurities, and Chlorine taste from the tap water.

Being able to have filtered water on the cold side of the faucet is a big plus. This will allow us to stop buying bottled water from the grocery store. Bottled water isn't expensive, but I figure we can save enough money to pay for the filter in a year or two. It didn't take long to install the filter. I first needed to fix the valve for the hot water under the sink. It would no longer turn and needed to be replaced. I bought a 1/2" Sharkbit Max 1/4 turn valve because they don't need solder. I bought a pipe cutter to remove the old valve. After deburring the end of the copper pipe, I pushed the new valve onto the end of the pipe and hooked up the line for the faucet. No leaks! Great, so I proceeded to install the filter and hooked it up to the cold-water supply and then to the cold faucet.

I waited until the next day to route the 1/4" OD tubing to the refrigerator. That part took the most time. The Purenat filter came with 15 feet of tubing. I thought that would be enough, but it didn't allow the refrigerator to be pulled out from the wall. Lowes only sells 1/4" OD tubing in a 25-foot length and I only needed an extra 5 feet. It's a good thing that they only charge $5.48 for a 25-foot roll. I put an extra shut-off valve behind the refrigerator and one at the filter which is mounted under the sink. I opened the valves and there were no leaks! I turned on the ice maker and it started working right away. I threw out the first bin of ice before using any, which is what they recommend. I was impressed with the quality of the water coming from the filter. The reviews said that there was no noticeable reduction in water pressure, and I can confirm that to be true. Many reviews for other filters had complained about lack of water pressure. I'm sure the filter isn't going to be as good as some of the more expensive models that can remove TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), but it is much better than not having a filter.

WEP 882D Soldering Station Review

 In July (2024) I purchased a new soldering station to use in repairing Xbox One controllers. I decided to go with the WEP 882D Soldering Station because it has a digital readout and a hot air attachment. I debated getting a hot air gun separately but thought that I would give this a try instead. Normally the WEP 882D sells for $56.99, but it was marked down to $43.99 for Prime Day. After using it for a few weeks, I especially like how quickly it heats up. The digital temp readout lets you know when it is ready to use. I would always have to wait for my old soldering iron to heat up and wasted a lot of time waiting for it to get hot. The soldering iron comes with 6 different tips and 3 nozzle sizes for the hot air gun.  

I probably won't be using the hot air feature very often, but it works well and it's good to have it there when you need it. I also like that it has numerous safety features built in, like sleep mode for the soldering iron, and standby mode for hot air gun. The temperature range goes from 392-896°F. By default, the soldering iron turns on first and recalls the last temperature setting. If you want to use the heat gun, you can turn the soldering iron off by pushing the two blue buttons, then push the two blue buttons above to turn on the hot air. Other accessories include two rolls of solder, tweezers, solder sucker, and soldering iron holder with tip cleaner. I have an electric solder removal tool so the one included isn't going to get used. Overall, the WEP 882D may not hold up to heavy use, but for the average do-it-yourself user, it has enough features to assist with the occasional solder repair.

The circuit boards in Xbox controllers have very small parts, so I use the two smallest soldering tips. Most of the parts are too small to replace without the help of a microscope. I use a large magnifying glass to see solder joints when replacing some of the larger components. I find that the control sticks on model 1708 controllers are easier to repair than the newer 1914 models. For some reason solder removal is more difficult on the newer controllers. I had thought that a used 1914 controller would sell for more than a 1708, but that isn't always the case. The 1708's are selling faster than the 1914 controllers which are priced at only a few dollars more. I have 5 controllers listed for sale and 3 of them and 1914's.

So far, I have sold 10 refurbished controllers and 6 of them were model 1708. I am very picky when it comes to buying broken controllers. I look for the ones that have good thumb-sticks and have photos of the battery compartment. If the thumb-sticks look good, it hasn't been abused and if the label in the battery compartment is intact, then it probably hasn't been opened. The other problem is price. I can't spend more than $12 for a broken controller and that includes shipping. Anything above that and it's not worth trying to repair and resell. But I will spend a little more on a special edition controller, because they have a higher resale value. I see a lot of broken controllers listed in the $18 to $24 range. That's fine if you are going to repair it and keep it for yourself, but there is no money to be made on resale.