Reseller Pays $1 For A Church Sale Knife With A Wavy Handle That He Says Should Sell For $80 To $100 Online, Definitely Worth The Trip

The first thing Josh spotted at a Saturday morning church sale was a pile of knives with a distinctive wavy handle, and he knew right away what they were. He paid $1 for one, and he says it should bring $80 to $100 on eBay.

He and his wife Haley shared the whole trip on the @HairyTornado channel. The sale was in a questionable part of town, he says, but the sign out front said giants, and “they were not lying.”

Cutco Knives For $1 Each, And The Wavy Handle Gives Them Away

“Look at that. You know what that is? Cutco. $1 each,” Josh says. He explains that the company has been making knives in New York since 1949 and is known for high quality American-made cutlery.

The knives can be pretty expensive brand new, he says, and they hold their value really well on the second-hand market. His tip is to look for the wavy handles. “That’s one of their signature designs,” he says, and once you know the shape you can spot a Cutco knife without thinking twice.

He bought the one he found for $1, and based on the model and condition he expects around $80 to $100 for it on eBay. “That’s worth the trip,” he says. Later he adds that he cannot believe it was just sitting there, and that it was the first thing he saw.

Prices So Low That Even The Ladybug Cost 50 Cents

The whole sale was priced to move. A cat coaster was 50 cents, a Willow Tree figure was 25 cents, and a little ladybug suncatcher turned out to be 50 cents too, after he first thought it was $5.

A seashell dish made in Japan was $1, small jewelry dishes and tins were 10 cents each, and a geode slice was 50 cents. A basket was 75 cents, and he found a mud pie Christmas ornament as well.

The clothes were an even better deal. A volunteer told Josh that all linens and clothes could be stuffed into a trash bag for $5, and the bag was tiny. He folded four men’s 2XL pieces “like burritos” and squeezed them into one, working out to about $1.25 each.

An Old Handheld Game Habit Is Worth Money Again

Josh and Haley found handheld electronic games, including a Blackjack game, a seven-in-one poker game and a Mattel Electronics Basketball 2. Josh says the games were hugely popular in the 90s and early 2000s, and that companies like Radica made poker, Texas Hold’em, Tetris and more.

They were simple battery-powered games you could take anywhere, he says, and people still collect them today, partly out of nostalgia. Even used ones can sell surprisingly well, either single or in lots, and a few still sealed in their package can bring really serious money.

His advice is that if you see one at a yard sale or thrift store, take time to look it up.

A Phantom Of The Opera Shirt And Snow Globe Steal The Show

The couple found a Phantom of the Opera shirt, and Josh gave a quick history lesson. He says the story began in 1909 when French author Gaston Leroux wrote a novel about a masked man beneath the Paris Opera House, and it took off in 1986 when Andrew Lloyd Webber turned it into a musical.

The show went on to become the longest running in Broadway history, Josh says, with nearly 14,000 performances over 35 years before closing in 2023. He has high hopes the shirt will bring between $50 and $100.

A Phantom of the Opera snow globe was 75 cents. Josh says there was only one listed on eBay at $40, and six had sold for an average of about $55, which he describes as a 600% sell through rate. “That’s definitely a buy,” he says.

A Dragon Strike Board Game With A VHS Tape Inside

One box looked heavy, and it held a Dragon Strike board game with a VHS video inside. Josh looked it up on the spot and found several listed at $118, $99, $65 and $119, with 70 sold.

He also saw a complete copy listed for $100, plus $35 in shipping, while a copy missing the tape sold for $44. Even replacement figures sold for $40, and one scorpion sold for $9.

The Cat Sweater, The Mooing Outhouse And An Uncolored Snow White Book

Not everything was for profit. Josh says his favorite find of the day was a mooing cow in an outhouse for 50 cents, and he likes it more than the Cutco knives.

They also found a cat sweater with big buttons and cats all over it, one of them with an eyeball hanging out. “Someone will want that,” Josh says. He also found a giant Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs coloring book, uncolored, with an original price of 49 cents, plus a Magic Kingdom castle set with 860 pieces.

$40 At The Register And A Donation For The Church’s Missions

At checkout, the volunteers added things up. Josh was thinking about $32, and the seller said to just take $40. The money, the volunteers said, goes to their missions.

“I thought that last church that we went to a couple of videos ago was really good,” Josh says, “but this one just blew that one out of the water.” He figures that the Phantom of the Opera items, the board game and the Cutco knife alone are worth a couple hundred dollars.

How To Spot A Winner At Your Next Sale

Learn brand tells. A wavy handle points to Cutco, and a quick look at the stamp or model can confirm it.
Check sold listings on eBay before you buy. Josh compared listed and sold prices on the spot.
Check what you can fit in a bag. Fill-a-bag deals can be the cheapest way to buy clothes.
Bring cash, since some sales only take cash.
Be careful with fragile pieces, and put them at the bottom of the bag.

As Josh puts it, a dollar can go a long way when you know what the shape of the handle means.

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