How Much?

Calculating the value of three lots of yarn I just won for less than $28.00 altogether before they arrive here is one of the games I play with things I thrift online.

The yarn I thrift is for my personal use, not for resale. I also set limits on my bidding, so it's not about what I think the yarn is worth, but rather what I'm willing to pay for that much yarn. I can estimate in advance the total number of skeins, and if they have labels I can usually track down the current price if I'm unsure of the value. If they are unlabeled, I generally assign a resale price of $3.00 to $5.00, depending on condition and size I see.

This 6.6 tub lot was a bit hard to estimate due to the fuzzy pictures on the original auction listing, and the way they partially unloaded the tub as they took the pics. I also thought the weight was wrong. I guessed about 35 skeins, worth at least $105.00.

This 3 lb. lot is easy to count: I saw nine skeins of white yarn. Just the Caron one pound skein alone is worth $14.00, and the others bring the total estimated value up to $38.00.

Piles of yarn like this 17 lb. lot don't always show all that you get; some of the skeins cover others. There are a lot of brand new skeins with labels in this lot, so I gave them a $5.00 per skein value. That's more than fair, as the Lion Brand Pound of Love skein in the plastic bag in the front retails for $14.00 a skein. I also thought the weight was wrong or they didn't photograph all that is included. I guessed about 30 skeins worth about $150.00.

When the three lots arrived, did I get 74 skeins of yarn worth $293.00? Stay tuned to the blog to find out.