Guide to Profiting off of Retired Items

Basic Rules:

1. When searching for retired items via the shop wizard, refresh MANY times so you can see all the different prices. Once, I was searching for a Pickulsaur, and in the first series of shops, the lowest price was 90k. I kept refreshing, and eventually I found one for only 75k! Never buy anything until you've seen all available options- and don't worry about it selling out, because these types of items don't sell as instantly as codestones or faeries.

2. When buying items via the trading post, don't bid the exact price they're asking for- haggle with them. Depending on what type of item it is (easy to sell or hard to sell), you could end up saving anywhere from 10k-200k!

3. BE PATIENT! Once you buy your retired item, don't expect it to go up in value overnight. It could take months, even years! But with the big NP you make, it'll be worth it =) For example, let's say you bought a Book of Pain for 50k and it's been 2 months, and now it's only 60k. Don't sell it! Wait for it to go up even more because trust me, IT WILL! As a general rule, the longer you wait, the more NP you'll make! (heh, that sort of rhymed XD)

4. Need a list of every retired item in Neopia? Go to neoitems.net, go to the "Special Lists" menu, and select Retired.

Step One: Buying the Items

First of all, decide what exactly you want to buy. I've put them in order from those easiest to sell to those hardest to sell:

Paintbrushes

Nearly everyone dreams of painting their pet, making them high in demand. And since paintbrushes can only be used once, every retired paintbrush used means one less of those exists and can never be replaced! High demand + low supply= BIG PROFIT!

Current Retired Paintbrushes: Faerie paint brush, electric blue paint brush, speckled paint brush, invisible paint brush, scritchy sketchy paint brush, lost desert paint brush.

NOTE: Although stone and glass paintbrushes are retired, they are NOT in very high demand because you cannot paint your pet with them anymore.

PetPets

Expensive, unique petpets are a must for the typical Neopian's dream account, so these are in high demand as well. HOWEVER, a petpet does NOT disappear after use; they can be attached and reattached as desired. Of course, due to the Pant Devil, Dr. Sloth, and other evil random events, a few DO disappear each day, but not nearly as fast as the paintbrushes. You can still make a good profit off of these, but you just have to wait a little longer.

NOTE: For some odd reason, petpets that have already been painted are EXTREMELY hard to sell, so try to buy plain petpets if possible.

Some examples: Meowclops, Short Fuse, Eustabee, Bat Boy, Pickulsaur, Bubbles,

Books

Although most Neopians would love their pet to have the book award, most of them don't have the energy to buy the 900 or so books it requires to receive the award. But a good bonus is they ARE one-time use items, so the value increases faster.

Some examples: Bird Watching, Life Behind the Bow Tie, Book of Pain.

Miscellaneous

Garden stuff, Usuki accessories, foods, etc- These items tend to be VERY low demand. The only Neopians who buy these items are probably completing a gallery or collection of some sort. I don't recommend you use these as your main source of profit, because when the time does come to sell it, you probably won't get full price for it due to the fact that you'll be cutting the price practically in half just to get rid of these items! But hey, if you're really, really, really, really, really, really, really *takes a deep breath* really, really persuasive, why not give it a shot?

Some examples: Tactis, Noil Gem, I Love Sloth poster

Step Two: Storing the Items

This is a pretty easy step! Simply put the items in your safety deposit box and let them sit for a while (bear in mind this can be anywhere from a few months to a few years, depending on how much profit you want to make). Don't check up on them every day; you might be tempted to sell them!

Another option is to put your items on display in your shop- this way you can show off your lovely collection! No matter HOW cheap the item was when you bought it, remember to price it over 100,000 NP. You never know- the item could soar in popularity and become unbuyable overnight, and you would only make a fraction of the profit you could have made. But while it may be nice to keep your retired items in your shop, it's a bit more risky because there's always a slight chance you'll accidentally underprice your item while carelessly stocking your shop.

No matter how you choose to store it, just remember NEVER to leave your items out in the open- there's always a tiny chance that the Pant Devil, Dr. Sloth, or another monster to destroy your item!

Oh, and trades aren't a safe bet either- they are now automatically cancelled after exactly two weeks, and since you won't likely be keeping track of the exact day, hour, minute and second you purchased your item, your items will be left out in the open, vulnerable to monster attacks.

Step Three: Selling the Items

Try not to sell the items until it's gone up at least 50% in profit- for example, if you purchased something for 100k, don't sell it until it's worth at LEAST 150k. Put it up for trading or auction, and advertise on the trading/auction board. Typically a paintbrush will sell in a few days, an unpainted petpet or a book varies from a few days to a few weeks, but getting a fair price for a miscellaneous item could take weeks to months.

If you follow this guide, you should be able to get a few hundred thousand Neopoints, possibly even millions (depending on how much you spent)! Good luck, and I hope this guide has helped you :)