Scout Patch Collectors

Tuesday Scouting Hot Finds Newsletter March 29, 2022

What does the eBay calculator say? Is it worth it to list something like plastic back merit badges on eBay that might retail for $3.95-$4.95. Does anyone actually buy them and what is the competition? As I sat down yesterday to do some market research. These were the questions I was facing. I literally have a thousand+ available to list. But does the market show that there is any return on that investment of time and energy?

In other areas of insignia my trick has become to list a lot of 5 when selling patrol medallions or other items that are low dollar. I have tried to get the average list price up to at least $10 figuring that its easier to sell 5 for $10 than to sell 1 for $3 or $4. The problem with merit badges is that there really is no logical way to lot them up. Who needs 5 Type G Swimming merit badges? So it comes back to selling them one by one.

For now I’m going to list my Type A-D basically 1911 – 1946 merit badges individually as that’s a no brainer. I think I can list the next type in that $4-5 range with some of the better ones going higher. There is a lot of competition among the common issues but the hard to earn badges have some opportunity. What the eBay calculator says is that after applying s&h you can make $4 on a $5 patch (not counting the cost to acquire it and time to scan & list). So I think I’ve settled on the idea that it’s an irrational project from the business owners perspective but the collector in me wants to get these patches on the market.

On eBay I have 263 live auctions including a lot of jacket patches, jamboree issues and more. My daughter has been helping me get dad’s old trains listed on eBay and we have sold a handful of them so far. It’s funny how in that endeavor the tables are turned and it’s me hoping to get his treasured trains back into the hands of someone that would appreciate them.

Today I am building listings for the Type A square merit badges. As is my usual strategy I’ll probably auction all of these so that if I have some sleeper teens era issue people can fight over it rather than letting the early bird get a steal when I post it.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE MARCH 29, 2022 ISSUE OF THE SCOUTING HOT FINDS NEWSLETTER