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It Pays to Scroll

The other day I noticed a yarn lot on the online auction that no one had bid on. This surprise me, because the listing title was "Lot of 9.8lbs of Assorted Yarn." The opening bid was on the high side -- $25.00 -- but it offered one penny shipping. What I think happened was that people saw this opening pic and thought "Chenille, Red Heart, eh. Not worth it."

I scrolled through all the pics, counted the skeins (35) and noted their condition (good to like new.) There was some yarn I wanted for my stash, too. Because the auction was getting ready to end I didn't have time enough left to look up the retail, but the pics convinced me, and I placed a bid. I won the lot with no challengers. Why? Stay with me and I'll explain as I look up the retail.

Here we have two big skeins of chenille yarn like Big Twist Posh ($9.99 each retail) and two acrylic, both probably Red Heart ($6.00 each.) These four are worth $31.98, which is more than I paid for the lot.

Hometown Yarn sells for $5.99. Boutique Sashay is $6.69 when you can find it. Let's say $10.00 for the other two, so a total of $22.68 here.

I can't quite see the label name on this yarn, but jumbo bulky yarn like this retails for $14.00 a skein. That's $42.00 right here.

You're starting to see why I bid on this lot now, yes? Ha.

Paton's Beehive Baby Sport yarn has been discontinued, and currently retails for $9.00 per skein. Loops & Threads Creme Cotton has also been dropped, and that goes for $10.00 a skein. Total here is $55.00.

What I assume are two more Creme Cotton skeins ($10.00) and a skein of yellow acrylic with a slight halo that we'll price at $5.00. Total for these three is $25.00.

Finally, fifteen skeins of starter pack acrylic yarn, probably about .35 oz. per skein. Let's be generous and price these at .50 each retail, or $7.50 for the pile.

What's the total retail value of the lot? $184.16. I paid $25.00 for it with a penny shipping, or seventy-one cents a skein. I did the math by dividing the cost by the number of skeins, and came up with that seventy-one cents. For yarn in this condition, that's excellent. By doing the math of price divided by amount, I saw the value without having to first look up the retail, and that's why I bid.

Image credit: all the pics in this post came from the original auction listing on ShopGoodwill.com.

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