Can you Make Money Repairing eBay items?? Part 1

I bought some eBay items to see if it is still possible to make money repairing stuff. Years ago I did an eBay Repair Challenge and the profit made on the series was very low. With a 'little' (lol) more knowledge is it possible now to make money. I've bought some items to find out. In this episode we have 2 items to start with. I have already bought some other eBay stuff that will be in future episodes.
I hope you enjoy.
If you would like to support these videos, please click here / mymatevince
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things. I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things, so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series. Many thanks, Vince.

[@DeadKoby]

It's channels like this that help keep products out of landfills, and teach people how to save money by fixing things. I support this.

[@tinman7551]

I’m not sure if you can make money fixing these items, but you can sure make a bunch of internet nerds extremely happy on a beautiful sunny San Francisco Sunday morning ❤. Love the channel Vince 🥰😊

[@markbrown8097]

Or a rainy Illinois morning 😂

[@Mymatevince]

Hahahaha, cheers Tin Man 😂😂👌😎

[@racing_mntage1584]

You didn't had to expose me like that.

[@jcon6734]

The trick with the bread maker is that it can also be used as a dough maker. When you want super-easy and convenient bread, you can just have the machine do everything. When you want bread that looks nice, you have the machine mix and knead the dough, then transfer it to another pan to rise and bake. If you want it somewhere in between, remove the kneading arm when it's done kneading to get a much smaller hole.

[@anthonydenn4345]

That's a good idea about removing the kneading arm after it's finished kneading. Might be a useful feature to add to the device. Like a beeper alarm when you can remove the arm for a tidy loaf.

[@ronsonwagner9401]

Using it to just make the dough is what my grandmother did. She even bought a brand new bread maker at one point and used it that way. She would make bread, rolls, even pizza dough in the bread maker and it really saved time and effort. I agree on removing the paddle though if you want to bake it in the machine.

[@Creptex]

@@anthonydenn4345 A lot of break machines have an alarm that goes off, so you can remove the kneading arm. My personal one is one by Cuisinart.

[@digihorse6730]

If you buy a Panasonic you just add raw ingredients, mine you add yeast in a top container that transfers mid process. Also has another container for adding automatically other ingredients, nuts, bacon, seeds etc. The kneader is in the bottom of the loaf but the loaf has always just tipped out leaving the kneader in the pan. Cannot recommend this enough.

[@BlondieSL]

We had a break maker long ago and that kneading arm was a pain, at first. What I ended up doing was at the point where kneading happens stops, was to open it up, take out the dough, remove the kneader, sometimes do a bit of manual kneading, replace the dough in the machine and let it continue. That worked, but honestly, I never liked the taste of the bread it made. I ended up just going old-school and making bread from scratch. We gifted the machine to a friend who actually liked the flavor of the bread.

[@HavingFunRepairs]

Agreed, sellers have gotten wise and started marking up broken items because they know there are people who will buy to fix. Reselling as repaired is the hard part. The cost to fix, the shipping, and not to mention the cost of your time alone often creates a net negative. Regardless, this was a great video Vince. Well done!

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Shawn, at least we get the satisfaction of fixing something or at the very least maybe understanding something, even if the profit isn't there👍

[@HavingFunRepairs]

@@Mymatevince also true

[@CLC-1000]

I remember this series when you did the UK vs US challenges. Lovely to see it back Vince.

[@andy70d35]

Henry's are the best, ours is over 12 years old and still works like it was new.

[@jessicav2031]

The deflated bread all comes down to the recipe. If it has too much rise for the gluten content, it will pop. Gluten content helps it stay intact (eg. higher proportion of bread flour to whole wheat flour, for example), increased yeast and sugar content gives more rise. Different cycles also do a different amount of kneading, more kneading means more gluten development, which can compensate for lower gluten content in the flour. When using a whole wheat mix the machine probably has a whole wheat setting for that purpose.

[@slypig24]

Also, don't use out of date yeast. Fresh yeast is always better.

[@Drew-Dastardly]

Vacuum cleaner - looking at the thickness of the cable and that these devices typically use 1.5 kW+ of power the 13A fuse is the correct rating. Remember the fuse in a British plug is to protect the cable, not the device. The device will have the appropriate rated fuse within.

[@Boogie_the_cat]

I'm a man, but I still feel comfortable telling y'all that this is the best mothers day present EVER!!!!

[@VinnytotheK]

😅

[@stevenchorlton6217]

I love how your response to something being knackered is "excellent! brilliant!" 😅

[@dadawoodslife]

That's the bottom of the load with the hole. The top is domed. If it is flat or dipped, your mix is either too wet or you opened the top before it finished cooking and it sank, like a cake when you open the oven door to have a look.

[@dodgydruid]

I bought about 12 years ago the 2000w Henry hoover which has done sterling service and still going as good as new, its power cord is long enough I can plug it in my hall socket and I can do every room in my flat, Asda's had it on sale for £99 back then and I was fed up with Dyson's dying on me and the continual merry go round of sending stuff back for warranty, the Henry is fully modular and parts readily available to repair every part of the machine quite cheaply. A builder friend has had his Henry since he bought his when they first came out, he calls it Trigger's Broom as he has replaced every part at some point hehe

[@RimeoftheAncientGamer]

Gotta love the easy fixes. Of course, it's only easy if you know what you are doing.

[@David_Austin]

12:10 I wouldn't wave it around like that Vince, Someone might get the wrong idea 🤣

[@omegamark4155]

Try adding some sunflower seeds or similar to the bread and/or sprinkle some on top to add some additional flavor:). You could soak raisins in hot water to make them soft and mix it with the dough. Yum!

[@DaMu24]

Wife: Vince, it sucks. 🙄 Vince: Yes, I know! It's great!! 😊

[@shevshep]

I want to buy a My Mate Vince breadmaker with no hole in the loaf! Good fun video

[@leebryant5443]

Hello from the US Vince. Loving the these eBay return repair videos. I’m always learning from watching you. Always enjoy your videos.

[@GarthBeagle]

"That's not going anywhere!" Dad jokes in a My Mate Vince video!? 😁 Nice job(s)👍

[@phreapersoonlijk]

LOL, that thing just EXPLODED by opening it up !

[@MI7DJT]

I recently scored big on ebay with an ipod classic sold as faulty for £10. A new battery, iflash and back cover and now its like new, huge battery and 256GB sdcard in place of the hard drive.

[@marcellipovsky8222]

Hi Vince, I agree that it's only worth if you want that item. The bread maker looks pretty bumped up though. The plastic bits are not aligning and the inside container does have a lot of dents. Both fixes were pretty easy so 👍👍👍 from me.

[@michaelmoore7975]

@20:40 Or a drop-down, hinged pivoting head, or lifting bowl with the kneading arm coming from above into a smooth bowl.That means the power unit must be on top as well. And they call it a Cuisinart or KitchenAid Stand Mixer....now if we could just heat it up and make it programmable.

[@elvsrbad2]

I loved the ebay repair challenge. Have always hoped you and tronics fix would start that up again

[@fosterb247]

Thanks Vince - 2 x 'things' that didn't end up in land fill for a little effort

[@supercheekykiwi]

Hi from new zealand. I wish we could get more faulty products here to fix. People are at either end of the market. They either expect almost new prices when selling faulty goods or they just throw it straight away.

[@leejwest]

As soon as I saw the finished loaf "American Pie" springed to mind 🤪

[@Mymatevince]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Corp0ralPunishment]

lol... the end with the hole IS the bottom!!! 🤣 If you don't want the hole you can get a machine that uses a kneading arm with a pivot and after the kneading cycles it reverses for a couple of turns and the kneading arm folds down and you then end up with an indent in the bottom instead of a hole. To avoid a saggy top (😄) follow a recipe using all the ingredients and not a bread mix... enjoy your bread maker 🍞

[@chrisa6120]

Great work Vince! Companies should just send you faulty products on purpose just to have to fix them and review said items.😂 Again great job Vince very honest work, keep it up.

[@GadgetUK164]

Lovely fixes Vince - nice honest faults too!

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Chris 👍👍

[@wisher21uk]

Loved the honesty of the eBay seller hats of to them, enjoyed this part one can’t wait for part 2, thanks Vince 😊

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Gary

[@wisher21uk]

@@Mymatevince you are very welcome Vince nice to see your finger is healing nicely 😊

[@Mymatevince]

@@wisher21uk Thanks, it's healing really good now 🙏🙏

[@wisher21uk]

@@Mymatevince that’s good to hear 😊

[@Drew-Dastardly]

Vince, I think a Rolls Royce Spirit of Ecstasy retraction mechanism modification could be employed to instantly remove the paddle from the dough in very short order when it comes to the baking cycle 😉

[@Mymatevince]

Hahahahaha, yes yes yes I wholehearedtly agree 😂😂😂 Great comment!

[@ellisgarbutt1925]

Nice fix on these 2 items I knew exactly what was up with that vacuum before you opened it

[@etuheu]

you're business explanation at the end put me in the mood for pie

[@j0hnf_uk]

To answer your question about how you're supposed to get to the clips at the front of the machine to get it open; the answer is simply that you're not. If you were, they wouldn't put such clips into the design, when the rest of the casing is fixed with screws. This relatively cheap vacuum cleaners are generally let down by the cheap heads, (particularly the elongated brush type ones), that they come with. They are flimsy and prone to break after only a short use. Compared to the ones you get on a Dyson, for example, which is robust and built to be used everyday. Those breadmakers do sound as though they're straining, but that's part of their normal operation. I've had one for years and it's still going strong. The only down-side of these things is the non-stick coating on the kneading blade tends to start breaking off, eventually, and is prone to scratches. Taking it out of the loaf, (once it's cooled), before slicing the bread is essential, as otherwise, you risk scratching the blade when cutting with a bread knife when you get close to the centre of it. It's weird that the kneading blade is in the top of that loaf. All the other ones I've seen are in the bottom. Ideally, it would beep to tell you it's finished the kneading part of the process, so you could remove the dough, then the blade, and place the dough back in, press a button and let it bake it. That way, you would only have a small hole where the spindle the blade fits on, sticking into the loaf and no unsightly kneading blade shaped hole to contend with.

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks John👍

[@mikecass8306]

Great video Vince, keep them coming 😃

[@GFY_FOAD]

Buying to fix works when you have a store to sell it in - I do repairs for some for the local second hand stores - I can usually make around 80$/Day for the fixes - not every day - keeps me busy as a second income - fix it yourself is the way to - if you have the skills

[@tomleech9753]

Not sure if it's been said yet, but higher end bread machines, RETRACT the paddle. Higher HIGHER end have long loaf pans, and *2* retracting paddles. :)

[@Mymatevince]

No, I think you are the first. I'll Google them, I'd like to see the mechanism. Maybe I could keep my eye out for a faulty one on eBay👍👍👍👍👍

[@JamesSmith-qs4hx]

Two nice presents for the missus 👍👍👍

[@Mymatevince]

😂

[@JamesSmith-qs4hx]

@@Mymatevince 👍lol

[@davidrmcmahon]

I had a laptop once with the SATA HDD not connected, worked fine after I plugged it back in.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Glad you only used your hand for the suction !! As for breadmakers, I have a new one, its 9 years old and been out the box maybe once in its life!

[@Mymatevince]

Hahaha, I think many breadmakers suffer the same fate!

[@darkknight8139]

Nice repairs! I used to have one of those Russell & Hobbs bread baking machines, although it was another brand but it looked exactly the same. The sound of a struggling kneading arm is normal for this machine. Mine broke because of the fluid seal in the bread basket. That fluid seal broke, so water and other fluids got in the machine. Guess where all the electronics are in this machine: in the bottom part. So all the water ruined the electronics and caused a short, so the power went out in the house. Glad that we did not have anything worse than that.

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

That was definitely the worst home made loaf I’ve seen!😂

[@scottfirman]

I work on many different items but never buy them. People know I work on things and many provide them from various places including trash dumpsters, yard sale freebies and items unwanted for various reasons. I frequent resale shops as well looking for items over looked as missing parts or something the employees have no idea what it really is and mark it dirt cheap. Not all those donations are repairable but many are simple repairs. I do enjoy your videos and admire your process of discovering the fault and attempt to repair even the worse of the worse.

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks RC👍👍👍

[@dorsetallsorts]

Another great video, Vince, thanks! One thing that surprised me is your wife's comments about Henry Hoover being a good quality product. I always thought they were a bargain bin, joke item. But reading reviews, they are very well regarded!! I'm very tempted by the Amazon one you had as they seem to do a great job.

[@Mymatevince]

Yeah I first out all came across Henry at Uni Halls of Residence in the 1990s. Since then I see them everywhere. They are very good and robust. I believe the older ones had more suction as some EU ruling came out to lower the power consumption of vacuums (I think). BTW I'm not into vacuums so there might be better ones that are cheaper than the Henry's, but he is a good all rounder and can take a bit of a beating 😂👍

[@vintagevantics]

It’s the filtration that’s sub standard with this type of Vac Vince.

[@hobbyistnotes]

I used to had 2 bread makers and they both sounder exactly like yours and it was never a problem, they both served ver very long time. The top of the loaf actually is the top, the big secret with those machines is to figure the recipe, my father in law used to make amazing bread with such makers very puffy and with amazing top so you have to just play with mixture. I used to make sour bread and huge role playing the quality of the flour. My problem with those machines is that your weight will grow so fast when you figure amazing bread recipe cus it's hard to stop eating such an amazing bread, that is why I gave away all my machines.

[@CannibalShadow]

160 quid for a Henry wtf lol, nice video as usual Vince 👍🏽

[@skullcompco]

we use one of those hoovers in our office and have done for about 8 months, it gets hammered...with screws and all sorts of things....been great and to be honest its better than any off the bigger brand names we have used and destroyed,,,inc a henry i have to say.

[@punkyskunk9317]

Love this video. Hopefully you make more of these in the future 👍 😊

[@gbmruk123]

thank you for the great video vince mate😁

[@ovalwingnut]

Words of wisdom and food for the sole. Thank you

[@neilfoster814]

In my opinion, it's better to try and repair " Brand new but not working" than something that is used and been flogged to death. I try and do the same kind of thing in my spare time, sometimes you win, sometimes you end up with a pile of scrap. Nice video.

[@brendanhull8858]

Great video and interesting as always. Thanks

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Brendan 👍👍👍

[@BuyitFixit]

Great Video Vince 👍 Two nice little simple fixes, just a wire off and a circlip. Agree no profit to be made, even if you bought it for yourself you take a chance on it being repairable and being able to get parts. Keep up the great work 👌👌

[@Mymatevince]

These were unbelievably easy Mick especially for eBay buys!!! I kind of needed these to be easy as I have had one of those weeks where everything you look at is a nightmare, well a nightmare for me anyway. Cheers for watching 👍👍

[@BuyitFixit]

@@Mymatevince I wouldn't miss a Vince video, a bit like how you watch all of mine too 😂😂😂👍👍 I eventually got the car all back together and it's not spewing oil all over the place now. Just need to give it a good road test 🤞

[@marcyd2007]

If you had a false floor in it to hide the kneading arm, you would have to deal with the issue of dough being pulled into the trap door with the kneading arm. I think personally it would have just been easier for them to have a pause in the process just before it starts cooking that allows you to quickly open the lid and remove the arm OR swap to a bowl that sits above the arm, close the lid and press go again.

[@khaz606]

Too much yeast in the bread causes the sag. I've been presenting it upside down for years. I thought it was the right way! :)

[@petermetro4686]

Generally you don't make a profit fixing and selling. If you do it often, you might get a few big profits. As a hobby, you do get an education if your one of the "whats inside" and are driven to troubleshoot a problem. IMO there is a following of some ppl that will buy repaired or used products because they they are aware of the unnecessary over abundance of new items totally not needed. After a fashion the shipping prices are expected. Be aware there are some people that may be dependent on delivered items versus brick and mortar access. If you have the space and time, list the separate parts of the item for spares and repair for other ppl looking for the parts no longer made or available. Items can range from clock parts, appliance, audio equipment and of course video game console parts. Trim ,covers ,cases, switches, knobs, and other parts have been steady sellers for me. Often you can recoup the cost of the broken item, the item you purchase to fix another, by selling it piecemeal, although not a quick turnaround. Even though you don't make a killing, you are helping someone else return a item back to service of that one piece they need.

[@Music_Light_Show]

Take the kneeding arm out when the kneeding cycle has finished, works for me.

[@6643bear]

Hi , great video, it’s very similar to a Tesco one I bought some time back

[@dazer123]

Wow a air fryer bread maker lol

[@mr.meseeks2037]

Nice to see you using your loaf 😂

[@KB1UIF]

Vince, of course there is no pie, its a bread machine !! lol Nice video, nice to get true simple fixes from eBay.

[@colinboneham7387]

Love the smell of fresh baked bread first thing on a Sunday, goes perfect with a Sunday fry up breakfast….

[@thatdellguy]

A better bread maker would have a heating element on the top to prevent the top of the load from caving in. I had similar results until I got one with a top heating element. Its just something you have to live with when buying a cheap bread maker. Don't forget to add in the money you will make selling bread!

[@gregbouchard414]

Well done u do a rally good job on here keep up there good work on here mate

[@e9460]

Another great video. Probably the only way to make a little money is to sell locally, where by they pick up the item, and you advertise it free....👍👍

[@TechNinja.1701]

22:32 Certainly it's not really about making money - more for a bit of fun like playing bingo, solving a jigsaw puzzle, or learning new skills. Maybe at best a way to save a few quid/dollars for buying an individual item to keep & use for oneself, or a gift for someone - but it's still a lucky dip gamble. eBay sellers tend to mark things up too high - and that's before accounting for eBay's fees, any dodgy tricks on the seller or maker's part, and the challenge of reselling the repaired items for a profit. Louis Rossmann and others have mentioned the folly of trying to make money repairing faulty stuff from eBay.

[@Tim_3100]

Ooh another unique video

[@skeelo69]

Vince....vac cleaner....extension lead...duh !! 😁😁😁

[@rhmlsiddle]

I used to take the kneading arm off before it raises

[@ray73864]

"Changed the fuse and it still doesn't work"... On a vacuum cleaner... Makes me appreciate how more forward thinking we are here in Australia where all consumer devices just run off the standard 240V 10A and fuses don't exist in the power cable itself.

[@AllanDeal]

Nothing beats a Henry hover

[@MathiasVen]

That Vacuum is also sold at LIDL. I got one of these. New they cost 60€

[@TheMaxg85]

Use a spudger or prying tool to make the 2 parts come apart. Its common to have clips to hold stuff together.

[@mrman17]

If you've ever tried kneading bread dough by hand, you'll understand more why it sounds like the machine is struggling... I've done my fair share of repairs to faulty goods in the past, including having a bulk lot of Dyson vacuums (vacuum, not Hoover - Hoover is a brand name) and cannibalising the worst ones for parts to make good machines. I think the oddest one was a tumble dryer that didn't work. When I opened it up, it had a wire chopped in half. I have no idea why - I even checked for recalls and dangerous faults and tested it for ages after I repaired it.

[@FasAntick]

I had that exact hoover and it had low suction from new, beginning to think it's broken.

[@AngelLaHash]

Once brought a faulty electric violin in eBay to see how it works inside, found loose power cable hooked it up and worked. So gave it to my locale school

[@eheimbauer65]

best thing is make the dough in the machine and then take it out put in your oven for 20 minutes and it comes out much better.

[@abdelkaderelbachir3817]

If you need a bread maker just to mix the dough will then you don't really need it isn't it the whole idea of a bread maker is to set it and forget it

[@philtowle4683]

I used to work in a long office and it was always dirty in the middle. I was in early one morning when the cleaner came in he vacced from one end, unplugged them vacced from the other. The vac never reached the middle, I asked him and he said the cable got damaged so he cut it down and put the plug back on.

[@PerFrost]

I used to have a problem with bread in my bread machine (lower price range Tefal) also being deflated after baking was done. I didn't understand why until I read that the reason was bread rising too quickly and then collapsing, and the reason for that is different for bread machines than when making bread by hand. Turned out that for bread machines it's usually because of too much water. So you should try same recipe but less water and see if it's less saggy. For bread without the hole, I've heard there are considerably more expensive bread machines with two kneading arms that separate arms from dough before baking. Though I don't have an example of a model that is like that

[@TheSkaldenmettrunk]

The Hoover, I keep saying hoover because of you british peoples.. it's shorter than vacum cleanrer😂, was very easy. Nice. And the bread maker needed some more attention. Also a good one. Thank you for the good entertainment.

[@philtowle4683]

Vac is even shorter.

[@marcyd2007]

I think the only way to make money by doing this stuff, is if you can find a faulty version of something you actually want or need for yourself or to give as a gift or whatever. If you can fix this stuff yourself you can save a few quid that way and practise your hobby at the same time. So I suppose you're 'saving' money rather than 'making' money

[@Mymatevince]

Agreed 👍 👍 👍 👍

[@tgheretford]

That Amazon Basics vacuum cleaner looks very similar to a Vax one I got as part of a competition prize years ago, except mine has the HEPA filter in the wheel as well. It sucks, but for a vacuum cleaner, that's a good thing.

[@Tiigsi_Retro]

Second this. I repaired a vax vacuum cleaner in 2019 and this Amazon basics in pretty much identical. Missing the HEPA filter as likely it’s not a ‘pet power’ model

[@adamdavies163]

Yes, it is very similar to a Vax.

[@Denise_in_progress]

Never ever buy a duyson, they all lose their strenght after a couple of times. The breadmaker is not really populair and the rubber belt that spin the rotor always melts so then there's only some rope left. I had so many of them for repair.

[@mrjsv4935]

My guess for the vacuum cleaner was failed thermal fuse, but of course I was wrong :D Shipping has become very expensive here too, probably because of expensive fuel, because of co2 emissions taxes and all that stuff.

[@leeverink32]

Keeping the wife happy haha.

[@algauthier]

Love your videos. This one is a rare miss for me. I watch to see you fix things, not hear your eat or comment on the quality of the bread.

[@UltimatelyEverything]

Vince 2023: "There's no animals living in the house apart from me"

[@kingkarljfs7965]

Is it a MMV video if you don't hear someone in the background moving cups, plates, and bowls from dishwasher to cupboard?

[@Mymatevince]

😂

[@chrismurphy8383]

Is it a Hoover? Or a vacuum cleaner ? Just mentioning as you were critical of this hoover's power cord length and they make a dim view of that

[@garyoliver7417]

The sage custom loaf has a drop down mixing arm so the hole is loads smaller

[@ImaginationToForm]

My parents had bought a treadmill that didn't work because it had a loose wire from the factory. Unfortunately we didn't notice there was more than one option to plug it into and we picked wrong one but we still ended up getting free service.

[@hugosimoes5119]

10:26 My Hoover 5yo+ vaccum also has that type of mechanism.

[@endisforever22]

Battery Hoovers are crap, i have one they cost a fortune and just dont that the suction of a mains one, plus there seems to be so many where the batteries fail and cost a fortune to replace, mains hoovers are the way to go

[@HA05GER]

Im pretty sure that is avax vacuum just no stickers. The problem with these they block super easy. Henrys are bulletproof in my old job as enigeer ive sucked up oil grease everything you can imagine in an environment with 30+ old leaky machines.

[@marcuspatzer2392]

Great Channel 👍 Greetings from Germany ❤

[@dianeruiz0721]

That was awesome! Too bad they’re not all easy fixes like that lol

[@onehappynegro]

i like to add that much off the stuff on ebay is resold broken devices that has at least one prior buyer before you.

[@roxieloot]

Was way to easy for you!