GetItNext Bargain Hunter - Deals, Tips and Tricks

Olympic Pins - How to Find Sizzling Deals on Them

Olympic Pin collecting is always hot during the Olympic Games and the 2008 Beijing Olympics are no different.  If you haven't already purchased your 2008 Olympic pins now is a great time as there is a lot of inventory available but you have to be careful and not over pay.  Below I've listed a way to help save you money that will quickly jump start your Olympic Pin collection.

One of the best ways I save money shopping on eBay is looking for last minute deals.  Using GetItNext's Find A Deal search feature you can quickly find listings on eBay that return listings with 0 bids and less than 4 hours remaining (without having to know advanced features).  Here are a couple of searches to help you search for last minute Olympic Pin deals:

2008 Olympic Pin
Beijing Olympic Pin
Olympic Pin
Olympic Games Deals

Fishing Bargains Are Plentiful - How to Find Bulk Fishing Deals

I've been an avid fisherman my whole life since about age 5.  Saltwater fishing, freshwater trout fishing with a spinning rod and fly rod have been a staple of my life and represents much of the quality time I share with my kids. 

Recently I started getting into fishing Hybrid striped bass called wipers on one of the nearby reservoirs.  My buddy has a tandem kayak and we've been having a blast catching them.  In an effort to get my bass fishing tackle quickly up to speed I found an easy way to save money.  I've been using GetItNext's bulk deals search to find listings on eBay that return multiple products within a listing.  I've purchased 2 lots of bass lures and have saved about 40% off of retail by buying in bulk.   Here are a couple of searches you can use to search for fishing bulk deals:

Fishing Deals
Fishing Lures
Fishing Rods Deals (yes you can find some sweet deals on multiple rods)
Fishing Reels Deals
Fishing Tackle Deals
Fishing Hook Deals (I've had good success with this one)
Fishing Saltwater
Fishing Freshwater
Fly Fishing Deals

Joba Rules Baseball Time to Load up on Joba Chamberlain

MLB spring training camps are now in session and its an exciting time for baseball fans.  For baseball card collectors its time to start getting serious and loading up on your favorite player(s) or promising prospects.  One player that I have been loading up on is Joba Chamberlain. 

Joba's stats from last season are incredible: win/losses: 2-0, saves 1, ERA 0.38, 24 innings pitched and 34 strikeouts.  His fastball hits over 100 with movement.  I know its really early, but this guy appears to be the real deal and he's 22. Projected to be a starter this year he might end up staying in the pen and eventually becoming Mariano Rivera's replacement. 

I primarily focus on rookie cards and so I wouldn't advise people to load up on Joba Chamberlain autographs but thats a personal decision.  My advice is to load up on his rookie card before it rises too high.  Here are a couple of custom searches I've been using to find deals: Joba Chamberlain Rookie Card or to lower your per card price and get a bargain Joba Chamberlain Lot of rookie cards.

Nascar Memorabilia How to Find Bargains and Profit by Buying in Bulk

I recently received a really nice email from a GetItNext user named Warren.  Warren is a big eBay user who is also a big time Nascar collector.  About 2 months ago Warren came across GetItNext and has been using it ever since to help him search and buy Nascar memorabilia.  Tony Stewart is his driver and main focus of Warren's collecting. 

Warren has been utilizing GetItNext's bulk deals search in a way I had never thought of.  Warren performs Tony Stewart Bulk Deals searches and has been successfully buying bulk lots of Tony Stewart memorabilia in quantities.  Now here is the unique part.  Sometimes he buys products he doesn't even want or already has or sometimes even contains memorabilia for opposing drivers.  What Warren does is he purchases these lots, pulls out the Tony Stewart collectibles that he wants and then resells the Nascar collectibles that he doesn't want.  Warren said if he chooses wisely the items he resells individually often pay for the price of the entire bulk lot purchase, meaning his collecting is essentially free (he also states this keeps his ole' lady off his back).  Anyway, Warren thanks for the email and allowing me to share your story with everyone.  Below I listed some of the more popular searches being performed on GetItNext for Nascar products don't forget to click on the other search tabs to find the buy it now auctions, find a deal tab for last minute bargains and the Bulk Deals search for Bulk lots, enjoy:

Dale Earnhardt
Tony Stewart
Jeff Gordon
Michael Waltrip
Matt Kenseth
Kevin Harvick
Jimmie Johnson
Kyle Busch
Jeff Burton
Martin Truex Jr
Bobby Labonte
Ricky Rudd

How to Save Over 80% on Hockey Skates

I just wanted to follow-up on my blog titled Boys Hockey Skates How to Avoid Paying Retail that I wrote on Sunday.  After doing a scan for the best hockey skate deals on eBay via GetItNext I found and purchased a pair of Easton 500 Synergy Junior (Boys) Skates.  They've only been worn 3 times, and by the looks of the photos it's hard to believe they've ever been worn.  UPDATE, skates received and are in perfect condition, eBay seller mytool1 has been a joy to deal with.

Retail price for this pair of hockey skates is a whopping $175.00.  Total cost that I paid including shipping is $28.75.  I'm not a math major but thats a very significant savings, 83% off retail.  I didn't post this to toot my own horn (well maybe a little) rather to demonstrate how big the savings can be when you do your homework and resist paying retail.  Here are a couple of useful links that provide search terms to find hockey skate deals (click on them and insert the size you're looking for and click search):
Youth Hockey Skates
Junior Hockey Skates
Boys Hockey Skates
Girls Hockey Skates
Hockey Skates for this search make sure you use the add/remove keywords to quickly find the type of skate your looking for.

Need skates for the big game try these searches for Buy It Now Skate deals:
Youth Hockey Skates
Junior Hockey Skates
Boys Hockey Skates
Girls Hockey Skates
Hockey Skates for this search make sure you use the add/remove keywords to quickly find the type of skate your looking for.

Looking for complete hockey equipment deals, look around you might be able to find all the protective equipment you need for a fraction of the cost.

Mitchell Report and Its Affect on Baseball Cards

I think the Mitchell report could have a lasting affect on the value of certain baseball cards and could boost the value of hall of famers from earlier eras that are clean.  Collectors who own the following cards are going to take some lumps (I'm one of them):

Roger Clemens has gone from a 1st ballot hall of famer to a big question mark.  Might be time to hold on this one.
Barry Bonds cards will not have the same value they used to and his  baseball card value is very uncertain, getting into the Hall of Fame would help drive Barry Bonds cards up a bit but that probability seems doubtful.
Kevin Brown if you haven't dumped him years ago you better do so while you can still get something.
Jason Giambi see Kevin Brown.
Andy Pettitte, the shocker of the list, dump this card for whatever you can get.
Miguel Tejada still has some promise but is now tainted.

The one MLB player that has had big rumors and wasn't named in the report is Alex Rodriguez.  I've been buying Alex Rodriguez rookie cards all summer and think he has the biggest upside.  If he stays healthy and clean he will smash Bonds record and his card value could sky rocket.

I've also been buying up recent Hall of Famer rookie cards for players that were ahead of the steroid craze:
Ozzie Smith
Wade Boggs
Nolan Ryan
Gary Carter
Eddie Murray
George Brett
Dave Winfield
Robin Yount
Carlton Fisk
Tony Perez
Johhny Bench
Rod Carew
Reggie Jackson
Joe Morgan
Gaylord Perry
Cal Ripkin Jr
Mike Schmidt

Boys Hockey Skates How to Avoid Paying Retail Prices

I took my son ice skating yesterday for the first time since he was 3 or 4.  After a harrowing couple of laps he got the hang of it and we had a great time.  After the hour and half was up we headed over to the arcade and played a couple games of bubble hockey and air hockey and talked about skating.  He had such a blast that I'm considering putting him in skating lessons.  I immediately started thinking about the cost of renting skates each time he has a lesson and figured I would check out skate prices at the pro shop.  Now I know that hockey equipment is expensive but I was a bit shocked that the cheapest pair of boys hockey skates was priced at a whopping $108 bucks.  Now considering that he doesn't plan on playing hockey and will out grow the skates in 2-8 months there is no way I'm going to drop that kind of coin.

Of course I came home and checked to see what price I could find on eBay via GetItNext.  A couple seconds and the search revealed many options for youth hockey skates in the $20-30 range.  Granted they are not going to be as good as that pair of Mission Fuel Junior Skates the pro shop has for $108.  But I also won't have to get upset when he outgrows them in no time.  Additionally the rentals at the rink cost $3 per rental so if he skates 10 times the skates will pay for themselves and I can resell them on eBay when he out grows them.  Sounds like a win win if you ask me.

Joba Time - The Joba Chamberlain Revolution

Alright I've blogged a couple of times about Joba.  Not only does the kid have an amazing fastball (100 mph) and 3 other out pitches at age 21, he also has ice in his veins.  This kid is going to be something special.  I've been loading up on his rookie cards the last few weeks and I''m sure most savvy baseball card collectors are doing the same.  Check out Joba Chamberlain's ridiculous stats to date:

2007 Season Stats
SPLIT	G	IP	H	R	HR	BB	SO	W	L	Sv	P/GS	WHIP	BAA	ERA
Season	13	18.0	10	2	1	5	23	2	0	0	0.0	0.83	.159	0.50

Here's a video for those of you who haven't heard of him:

Check out my Joba blog from yesterday: Hottest Joba Chamberlain Rookie Card Can Be Yours.

Searching eBay made easier!  GetItNext

Hottest Joba Chamberlain Rookie Card Can Be Yours - Bowman Chrome Superfractor

Want the rarest and most sought after Joba Chamberlain rookie card?  Well I found it up for auction on eBay powered by GetItNext.  Check out this link to see the ultimate Joba Chamberlain rookie card.

From the seller's description: You may remember this card being offered last week at the price of $24,999. I received so many offers that I have decided this week to start the bidding at $1 with NO RESERVE and let this card go to the highest bidder. Just two weeks ago a Fernando Martinez 1/1 Superfractor was sold on ebay for over $7,000.

This card is surely to be worth more than that! You are bidding on a 2007 Bowman Chrome Joba Chamberlain Superfractor Autograph Rookie Card #BC236. This card is serially numbered 1/1 1 of 1 and has been graded PSA 9 Mint. This is the first time this incredibly rare card has been offered to the public and could be your only chance to own the premium rookie card of New York Yankees rookie phenom Joba Chamberlain.

Don't miss your opportunity to purchase the most sought-after card of the 2007 baseball season! An absolutely must have card for any serious Yankees collector. The odds of pulling this card are virtually impossible! Nearly the same chance of opposing teams scoring on Joba!

In case you missed my previous blog on the best baseball rookie cards, here is the link 2007 Baseball Rookie Cards Every Collector Should Own. For those of you with a more realistic budget check out these great deals on Joba Chamberlain rookie cards or if you're looking for an even better return check out a Joba Chamberlain Lot of rookie cards. 

Searching eBay Made Easer!  GetItNext

Golf Ball Bargains are Plentiful

When I was in my late teens and early twenties one of my hobbies was grabbing my fishing gear and wading through a couple of different sections of rivers that I knew wouldn't produce any trout.  Why would I do this you ask?  Even though I would never catch a fish, every time I left the stream my creel was overflowing with, GOLF BALLS.  You see my friends the fish were the secondary goal, golf balls were the catch of the day.

Back in those days I was in the golf league at work and used to show all the guys my perfect titleist balls and they couldn't believe it.   Word quickly spread and before you knew it I had quite a business going at work.  I would charge $5-$10 a dozen depending on brand and condition.  I even had a couple of local deli's put buckets of them in their stores and sold them while I slept.  Business was good and I had a process to scrub the balls so that most would be perfect unless there was a cut or scuff on the ball, in those cases those balls went into my shag bucket.

I actually still have 1000's of golf balls in the basement all sorted and cleaned, enough so I'll never need to buy another ball again, ever.  Now I know there are a lot of golfers that would never consider using a ball that has been on the bottom of the river, even though there have been studies proving there is nothing wrong with using them.  But for alot of golfing addicts and hacks, its a little known secret and helps us save a ton of dough.  Why spend $40-50 on a dozen brand new titleist or nike balls when you can pick up 50 ball for $10-20 bucks on eBay.  Heck is such a big seller that I've seen some high end country clubs selling used balls.  Know where they got em?  Yup bottom of the pond or the stream. 

Listed below are some of the best used golf ball deals on eBay (powered by getitnext):
Titleist Golf Ball
Nike Golf Ball
Callaway Golf Ball
Maxfli Golf Ball
Top Flite Golf Ball
Precept Golf Ball
Pinnacle Golf Ball
Dunlop Golf Ball
Slazenger Golf Ball
Logo Golf Ball

Searching eBay made easier!  getitnext