What we lovingly refer to as our "Family Ebay Project"

So one day while not perusing down the toy isle at Costco I spotted the super cute Lego Friends Dolphin Cruiser.  Sure it was on the twin's list, but so were a lot of things.  However, I noticed the price.  ONLY $39.99.  Yes that is still a lot of $ for a million small plastic pieces, but not even close to what these normally outrageous Legos sell for.  I pulled up my RedLaser app and quickly realized these were a steal!!  Online retailers such as Walmart, Toys R Us, and Amazon all had them listed at $89.00.  I bought the only one my Costco had.  When I got home I was telling Tyler about it and we pulled it up online.  We found that not only were these retailers listing it for much more expensive, they were sold out!  AND as a bonus, they were selling like hotcakes on ebay!

We went into action!  

I hit every Costco in Sacramento and bought all the Lego Friends Dolphin Cruisers available. 

 It seemed like the perfect situation.  LOW risk because I could always return what I didn't sell at Costco.  HIGH return and HIGH demand because they are plenty of crazy Moms out there (especially at Christmas time) who may have waited until two weeks before Christmas to buy their darling girl a present that is now SOLD OUT, that will pay more than it is worth (in  my opinion).  However, I will say I would much rather my children build and play with Legos ANYDAY than some hand-held device or computer screen game.   

We told the kids, as it was quite obvious we were up to something with Dolphin Cruisers everywhere, about our plan and got them on board.  We promised that if they helped we would use the money for something really fun for our family.  They didn't yet know that part of their Christmas was a family vacation to Kauai and we were hoping to use this money for our catamaran, whale-watching tour!

They were on board and happy to help wrap, label, and ship!

 

 The best part of this project (besides the fact that we made several hundred dollars in 24 hours of work) was teaching the kids with such a REAL example.  Tyler went through all the costs with them (the Legos, the ebay fee, craft paper, packing tape, and shipping) and also the selling price ($109, with shipping included).  They helped to figure out the profit and then pay tithing on it.  

It was a great learning experience and FUN!