Scavenger Life Episode 346: Frank Discussions. Gewgaws. Storage.

This topic has 122 replies, 44 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 1 month ago by Jay.

Viewing 48 reply threads

Author

Posts
- 02/05/2018 at 8:55 am #32125
  Ryanne
  Keymaster
  Location: Virginia
  @ryanne
  So we decided to leave in one of our “frank discussions” aka “almost an argument” just so people can hear how we talk things out in a rare, non-heat
  [See the full post at: Scavenger Life Episode 346: Frank Discussions. Gewgaws. Storage.]
- 02/05/2018 at 10:22 am #32131
  Winchester38
  Participant
  Location:
  @winchester38
  Store #1
  Total Items in Store: 1175
  Items Sold: 15
  Cost of Items Sold: $50.75
  Total Sales: $433.46
  Highest Price Sold: $69.99 (vintage turntable parts)
  Average Price Sold: $28.90
  Returns: 0
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $120
  Number of items listed this week: 32
  ———-
  Store #2
  Total Items in Store: 243
  Items Sold: 3
  Cost of Items Sold: $1.00
  Total Sales: $34.38
  Highest Price Sold: $15.99 (vintage farming brochure)
  Average Price Sold: $11.46
  Returns: 0
  Number of items listed this week: 0
  
  Another decent week in my main store.
  
  Interesting sales were two pieces off of my old turntable. I recently upgraded, and bought a new one, and posted my old one for sale locally. One person came to see it (I had priced it at $80), and I had no other interest. I started pulling it apart to part out, and within a week of listing sold one piece for $19.99, and another for $69.99. Already made more than I had it listed locally for, have a TON of other good parts left to list/sell, and the kicker is I originally bought it for $40 about three years ago.
  
  Also, loved hearing your cat’s opinion near the end of the episode! Haha
  - This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Winchester38.
- 02/05/2018 at 11:21 am #32138
  simplicio
  Participant
  Location:
  @simplicio
  Glad to hear your inventory situation is improving! Mine is too – just yesterday I moved some shelving into my new rental storage at the local airport (about 300 sq ft for $100/mo). Over the next week, plan on moving my bigger, slow moving, and multiple items there. Priority is clearing out the guest bedroom, which became my lebensraum in the last couple months despite the protests of my beleaguered wife.
  
  I had a good week on eBay. Finally stopped spending like a drunken sailor and got some good sales.
  
  Sales: CAD$1280, 6 items, COGS $323 –> item profit $731
  Expenditures: $115 (mostly packing supplies)
  Cashflow after tax: $778
  Hours: 12, hourly rate $65/hr
  Notable sales: Optelec magnifying viewer $161 –> $750. I still need to pack this thing and I *really* hope it gets to where it’s going in one piece. Also tile laying laser level $7 –> $275.
  Scavenge of the week: 9 vintage fluorescent bulbs for $2. Each bulb is worth about $100.
  New listings: 11
  
  Back to work tomorrow. It’s been great being home with the kids. But I do like having more structure to my day. If I ever do this full time I will have to impose some structure on myself, e.g., waking up before the kids.
  - 02/05/2018 at 11:47 am #32145
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Being self-employed definitely means you have to be good at creating your own structure. The big danger is starting a million things and never finishing any of them.
    - 02/12/2018 at 4:55 pm #32833
      WendyRoyal5
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @wendyroyal5
      
      Amen to that! I got a little behind and just listened to last week’s podcast today, and wanted to give a little shout out to your cat. It was so cute to hear him/her adding her voice to the podcast. I have 3 home office “supervisors” & a sidekick, and 2 of them heard your cat and were paying extra attention to my speaker. I think one of the best under-the-radar benefits to being self-employed with a home-based office is the fact that all of my kids (4-legged and 2-legged) get all the attention they deserve.
  - 02/06/2018 at 10:26 am #32272
    Brian Treasures from Grandmas
    Participant
    
    Location: Hoboken, NJ
    @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
    “lebensraum” – hadn’t heard that word since high school AP International Relations. Good one, albeit one with pretty dark roots. 🙂
- 02/05/2018 at 11:46 am #32144
  Doublythumbs
  Participant
  Location: Hopedale, OH
  @doublythumbs
  Jan 28 – Feb 3
  Total Items in Store: 1297
  Items Sold: 17
  Total Sales : $464
  Highest Price: $50 (Antique Mortise Door Lock Set Door Knob Assembly w/ Metal Backplate and Eastlake Knobs)
  Average Price: $27
  Returns: 0
  Cost of Items Sold: $99
  Costs of Items Purchased this Week: $0
  
  Ugh, what a crappy week of sales. I have more items in my store than ever before but it was like the faucet was turned off for some reason. I’m grateful I made at least one sale every day, but my store was definitely in a slump.
  
  I’m super jealous of your storage capacity! I should do a quick video tour of my storage to show the crazy lengths I have to go through to keep anything. I told Steph that I think we’ve officially maxed out my our capacity. I’ve started storing stuff in our bedroom now… that’s not good! One day, we’ll have a bigger place with an outside shed or garage dedicated to eBay.
  
  I’ve got a question to ask that’s been bugging me every time I go to list a new item. It’s about eBay categories vs Store categories. Is it beneficial to assign items a Store category? Obviously, eBay makes you assign an eBay category when creating a listing. But there’s that dropdown menu for Store category that just has Other by default. I’ve only ever put Other in there. Should I be putting something other than Other in there?
  - 02/05/2018 at 12:00 pm #32147
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    I think store categories are only useful to help buyers surf your store. Just helps the buyer see what you have. If you sell a bunch of shoes, then they can easily see all the shoes you have for sale.
    
    It also helps us manage sales. We can just put certain categories on sale.
    - 02/05/2018 at 1:45 pm #32173
      T-Satt
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @t-satt
      
      100% Agree Jay. That is how we handle our Store Categories as well. We have a Clearance Store category as well. Sometimes we put items in that category and put it on 50% to 75% off for items we just want to blow out.
    - 02/06/2018 at 10:30 am #32273
      Brian Treasures from Grandmas
      Participant
      
      Location: Hoboken, NJ
      @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
      
      Ditto on this. Most of my sales are one offs. However, maybe once or twice a month, a buyer will buy a bunch of “like” items (records, toys, militaria) or ask the question “do you have more of x”. The store categories is just an easy way to point them in the right direction.
      
      Also, it helps if you’re having sales. Instead of putting my whole store on sale or selecting items individually, I can put a category on sale in seconds. Also makes it easy to have a “Clearance” category for those big, move them out, sales.
  - 02/06/2018 at 8:54 am #32257
    BethGreen
    Participant
    
    Location: Ohio
    @bethgreen
    I belive store Categories (other than eBay’s) are only useful if you specialize or have a niche kind of store…Like I’m going to a pet supply store and I want to see Categories broken down by animal type. For people who sell thrifted stuff, it tends to be across many different categories. I find it irritating to go to someone’s store and have a long sidebar of their own made up categories when eBay’s categories wound have been more intuitive.
    I do have a question though. I have never assigned Store Categories when I list, and my sidebar has all my items in the standard eBay Categories automatically. I have heard that some sellers see every one of their items lumped under “Other”. I would see that as an issue to customers navigating your store for sure. Anyone know why that happens? That the categories defualt over for some, but don’t for others?
  - 02/07/2018 at 9:41 am #32393
    almasty
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @alamasty
    I feel like store categories are only good if you have a niche store, or have a few major focuses in a general store and want to give your store an appearance of being an actual store. My niche store has categories, sub-categories, etc,. My “general” store just has everything in the “other” category. I still get sales on both stores.
    
    That being said, I have a few major focuses going on even in the “general” store, so I might eventually pop everything into somewhat broad categories in that store. There are less than 100 items currently in it, so it will be easy to do. If I had anymore listed than that, I probably wouldn’t bother.
    
    I wouldn’t worry too much about putting things into categories if it’s a mixture of everything and you already have over 1,000 items listed. It would be pretty time-consuming to get everything cleaned up, when you could just spend that time listing instead.
    - 02/07/2018 at 10:03 am #32402
      BethGreen
      Participant
      
      Location: Ohio
      @bethgreen
      
      I am so curious why your’s would dump into the “Other” Category while mine automatically filter into basic eBay Categories. I don’t select anything during listing. Glad it happens, though.
      - 02/07/2018 at 10:11 am #32406
        
        Sharyn
        Participant
        
        Location: Central NJ
        @sharyn
        
        Ebay categories are different from your own store categories. If you haven’t set up categories (or perhaps you don’t have a store where you could create them), then there isn’t any category to select.
        
        You can chose to set up categories when you buy into one of the Ebay stores, or you can just ignore it. If you ignore, it all goes into the default category “other”.
      - 02/07/2018 at 10:12 am #32407
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        There are two kinds of categories.
        –eBay categories
        –store categories
        
        Yes, eBay will automatically detect the eBay category your item should go in.
        But then you must manually choose if you want it to go into your own personal store category. If you dont specify, it just goes into “other”.
        
        02/07/2018 at 7:52 pm #32471
        
        BethGreen
        Participant
        
        Location: Ohio
        @bethgreen
        
        Sharyn & Jay. I hear what you are saying. But that is not what happens on my Basic Store Account. My side bar in my store mirrors the Categories of eBay. I didn’t do anything special to set this up. It happens automatically. There is no “Other”. It lists my items in standard eBay categories (ex: Collectibles, Toys & Hobbies, Home & Garder).
        
        02/07/2018 at 7:56 pm #32473
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        When I list, eBay choosing what it thinks is the right eBay category for my item, but the store category is always unfilled. So eBay makes up categories for you automatically on your store page? You’ve never had to make your own?
        
        This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Jay.
        
        02/07/2018 at 8:29 pm #32485
        
        BethGreen
        Participant
        
        Location: Ohio
        @bethgreen
        
        Correct, Jay.
        
        02/07/2018 at 8:32 pm #32488
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Would yu mind sharing your store? No problem if you want to stay anonymous. I’m just curious what that would look like to have eBay-generated store categories.
        
        02/07/2018 at 8:45 pm #32493
        
        AdventureE
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @adventuree
        
        The side listings of categories are part of the store front setup with ebay categories being the default.
        
        02/07/2018 at 9:24 pm #32495
        
        BethGreen
        Participant
        
        Location: Ohio
        @bethgreen
        
        That’s what I thought, too AdventureE. That’s how it is for me. But apparently for many it just dumps everything into an “Other” Category.
        
        02/07/2018 at 10:06 pm #32499
        
        AdventureE
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @adventuree
        
        There are two different category setups. The first setup includes the store front categories one chooses when setting up the store front. The two choices are store or ebay.
        
        The second are the categories chosen when doing a listing. The drop down default is other. To choose something else in a listing, one simply clicks on the drop down menu and then chooses the category name either based on the store categories they set up or the default ebay categories.
- 02/05/2018 at 12:03 pm #32149
  Retro Treasures WV
  Participant
  Location:
  @retro-treasures-wv
  Items in Store 966
  Items Sold 31
  Total Sales $751.00
  COGS $91.20
  Total Profit $659.80
  Average profit $21.28
  Average sales price $24.23
  Highest Price sold: $100 Banana Republic Womens trench coat
  
  Whoah, I sold 31 items and it still felt like a slow week. 31 items is the most items I have ever sold in a week – how could that feel slow?!?
  
  J&R often speak of “building pipelines” in their podcast. Here is some of my data this week to show how my pipelines are helping my numbers:
  
  I sold 11 men’s button down shirts for $225, so that pipeline is paying dividends. (most cost $1)
  5 pair of jeans for $96 – another solid pipeline (most shirts cost me $1 as well)
  10 pair of shoes for $267.
  
  So those bread ‘n butter $20-30 items generated almost $600 in sales this week. That’s the power of pipelines.
  
  Also of note is I’ve made two changes in the past month:
  1. I have promoted listings on
  2. I’m accepting lower offers on older items.
  
  Promoted listings has netted me almost $900 in sales since I enabled it on January 13th. So once all is said & done I should have $1k in promoted listings sales in the first 30 days. That is huge! Sometimes you have to look past the annoying fees and see the big net profit picture. Would you pay $80 to get $1k in sales? That’s effectively what I did.
  - 02/05/2018 at 1:47 pm #32174
    T-Satt
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @t-satt
    Agree Retro. We have sold 95 items ($2,703) for $135 in fees in the past 31 days.
- 02/05/2018 at 12:08 pm #32150
  Marjean28
  Participant
  Location: Minneapolis, MN
  @marjean28
  Jan 29 – Feb 4
  Total Items in Store: 480
  Items Sold: 7
  Total Sales: $195.96
  Highest Price: $61.49 (net 53.86 after COG 29 cents) Sylvania DVC840E DVD VHS VCR Player Recorder Combo
  Average Price: $32.57
  Returns: 0
  Cost of Items Sold: $5.29
  Costs of Items Purchased last Week: $72.32
  number of items listed this week: 34
  
  As for smells, I would try baking soda to absorb the odors. As for gee-gaws, I put that in the same category as do-dads. You know, gee-gaws, do-dads, knick-knacks, and what-not. 🙂
  
  I spent 29 cents on the DVD/VHS combo unit at the goodwill outlet (bins). Electronics of virtually any kind at that price seem to be a win. I haven’t been doing any listing since probably early December in my store. I was on a big rampage to get the house ready for the super bowl. There was all this media hype about millions of out of town people coming in for the super bowl, so I repainted every room in my house and cleaned like there was no tomorrow. Well, that didn’t pan out. There were a ton of us complaining on about the media hype about listing your house on Airbnb. I don’t know anyone who rented their house. The only people who commented on renting their house were folks who were already using Airbnb to rent their house and they essentially did little increase on their pricing. The rest of us thought were were going to get $5-10K/night. HA HA HA. Ya…no!!!!
  
  So, its back to the eBay listing for me 🙂 I bought a bunch of men’s suit coats, slacks and a couple of suits at the Goodwill this week to try a new niche. I did luck into finding a nice brooks brothers suit and paid up for it: $20.
  
  Tomorrow there is a 90% off sale at an antique store. I think I’ll see if a few of his high priced items are still around and go pick them up. I’m looking at some old candlestick style phones and a few items which appear to have been taken off a ship.
  
  Thanks for the great podcast again this week! It was super timely because I listened to it while I was negotiating my way out of a return with the buyer!
  
  Marjean
  - This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Marjean28. Reason: forgot to add my remarks to the gee-gaws commentary and my items listed
  - 02/05/2018 at 1:30 pm #32167
    Retro Treasures WV
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @retro-treasures-wv
    I’m also tinkering in suits. My #1 piece of advice – take the suits over to a window or very good lighting and inspect it 100% BEFORE you buy it. Several of the suits I bought have had moth hole damage. Now I inspect fully. Giving it the ol’ once over is definitely not good enough.
    - 02/05/2018 at 1:49 pm #32175
      T-Satt
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @t-satt
      
      Yep. Take a small flashlight if you have too. Suits have to be PERFECT to sell well…
  - 02/06/2018 at 10:40 am #32276
    Brian Treasures from Grandmas
    Participant
    
    Location: Hoboken, NJ
    @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
    re: Super Bowl AirBnB
    
    I would think the only people that could command that $5k+ price would be established folks that have ratings & feedback. New listings/no feedback folks probably would have to undercut those pros in order to get the bookings.
- 02/05/2018 at 12:19 pm #32153
  Amatino
  Participant
  Location: Texas
  @amatino
  In answer to the lady who called in about Best Offer; I have BO on pretty much all my listings. I use the auto decline feature, and think about what I think would grind my goat as a lowball. For some items, I really don’t care. If you offer me a quarter, I’ll take it. So I don’t use auto-decline for everything, but definitely for anything that I think has a value and would make me pissed if I got lowballed on. I seldom counter-offer as most of the time, my auto decline is my base price, so I’ll mostly accept any offers I receive. It hasn’t made a huge difference in my sales, but I’d say about a quarter of all my sales are BOs.
  
  Regarding shipping boxes, you can still get the eBay branded USPS boxes in sizes 12x12x8 and 7x7x6.
  - 02/05/2018 at 1:31 pm #32168
    Steven S
    Participant
    
    Location: South Dakota
    @steven-s
    Low ball offers don’t bother me, I just counter and see where it goes. Buyers sometimes low ball just to see where you’re at and to get the haggling going. I do it all the time at garage sales, sometimes I get it for that low ball offer.
    Generally buyers don’t know how long your item has been for sale, they’re just hoping your ready to unload it.
  - 02/05/2018 at 5:16 pm #32204
    Sigilini
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @sigal
    Thank you Jay and Ryan for answering my best offer question! And thank you Amatino for your input on that as well. Always helpful to see how others handle certain situations. Like Jay said in a podcast, they started this blog to not be alone in this Ebay world and it has definitely accomplished that for us.
- 02/05/2018 at 12:35 pm #32154
  Uncle Taco
  Participant
  Location:
  @uncle-taco
  Jay, Ryanne
  I asked this before but isn’t an Instapot just a “remarketing” of the good old fashioned pressure cooker???
  We’ve had a modern pressure cooker (w/ electronic controls) for some time now and we love it.
  
  Also, curious what you paid for the shelving in the new building. I’ve made my own out of 2 by 2’s, 1″ by 4″‘s and OSB sheets for around $80 each. they measure 9′ long by 2’ deep by 72″ Tall with 4 shelves.
  Pretty simple and cheap.
  
  Thanks
  - 02/05/2018 at 12:47 pm #32156
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Yep, an instant pot is an old fashioned pressure cooker BUT it now has an electronic system to easily set the temperature/time. So you can set it and forget it.
    
    We bought our shelves at Lowes:
    https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gladiator-72-in-H-x-77-in-W-x-24-in-D-Steel-Freestanding-Shelving-Unit/1000003004
    When we purchased, they were $169 (they often go on sale).
    
    Yep, building shelves is also a good idea. We wanted the ability to move these around as we re-configure over time. Plus, we could easily sell these metal shelves if we had to. (Plus we didnt have to spend all the time building wood shelves).
  - 02/05/2018 at 1:54 pm #32176
    T-Satt
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @t-satt
    Just to be clear, an Instapot and a Pressure Cooker are NOT the same.
    
    The Instapot is not designed to be used for Pressure Canning. Instapots are regulated by temperature, where pressure canners are regulated by pressure.
    
    If you are just cooking, they are the same. But if you want to do canning of vegetables, soups, stews, or meat, you have to have a Pressure Cooker.
- 02/05/2018 at 12:37 pm #32155
  Steven S
  Participant
  Location: South Dakota
  @steven-s
  Ozone generator is the term I believe you were looking for.
  and give that cat some attention, Midge got real curious upon hearing it.
  - 02/05/2018 at 12:49 pm #32157
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    That’s it. Ozone generator. I found this one on amazon for $70:
    
    Might do the trick for clothing.
    
    One of our cats is a talker. All she does is talk.
    - 02/05/2018 at 3:17 pm #32188
      Steven S
      Participant
      
      Location: South Dakota
      @steven-s
      
      I haven’t tried this but, auto detail shops use them for smoke infused interiors, maybe befriend one and ask if you can set your smelly item inside a car the next time they use it.
  - 02/05/2018 at 3:27 pm #32194
    Ryanne
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @ryanne
    trust me, she gets all our attention! she loves to talk.
- 02/05/2018 at 1:05 pm #32161
  Sharyn
  Participant
  Location: Central NJ
  @sharyn
  I’m behind today and not ready with my numbers, but I wanted to respond to a few things in the podcast before I forget about them.
  
  First, china. I do have a collection of china cups and saucers. My grandparents used to travel internationally when I was a child, and they would bring me a set from different countries that they visited. I also bought some for myself.
  
  My son became interested in using our china a year or two ago, so I’ve been taking it out when we invite family over for dinner. I rarely actually use the cups and saucers because, by the time dessert rolls around, I don’t feel like getting those out. I guess I should be putting them out ahead of time.
  
  Anyway, you were asking for someone who actually uses or collects the stuff. I guess that I am sort of both, but I wouldn’t be buying china on Ebay. My cup and saucer collection is a mish-mash of different brands and styles, so I don’t need to match anything up. Our dishes were handed down to me, and the set has enough extras where I don’t need to buy more.
  
  Lastly, about the Ebay tape. The new stuff comes in three different colors, blue, yellow, and purple. You can buy only one color, or you can buy a variety pack with all three colors. Finally, you can still buy the old design. I ordered the variety pack for this quarter.
  - This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Sharyn.
  - 02/06/2018 at 11:25 am #32281
    Brian Treasures from Grandmas
    Participant
    
    Location: Hoboken, NJ
    @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
    I really like the white/multicolored lettering tape because I think it stands out and its great for “branding” (much like Amazon’s taps/boxing). But, part of me likes that new purple tape because it would be good for “cover ups” – like if you’re using a liquor box to ship, or reusing an Amazon box, etc.
- 02/05/2018 at 1:26 pm #32166
  Marjean28
  Participant
  Location: Minneapolis, MN
  @marjean28
  oops. I forgot to mention about those tiny cups. They may very well be demitasse cups intended to serve espresso.
- 02/05/2018 at 1:36 pm #32170
  Steven S
  Participant
  Location: South Dakota
  @steven-s
  Jan 28 to Feb 3 2018
  
  • Total Items in Store: 820
  • Items Sold: 16 all ebay
  • International 0
  • Total Sales $2565
  • Highest Price $1250 amplifier
  • Average Price Sold: $160
  • Returns: 0
  • Cost of Items Sold: $110
  • Cost of items purchased this week $20
  
  The amp was the one that was returned last week, I refunded minus the 20% restocking fee of $240 with no objection or FB problems so at this point I’d already made over a hundred and it sold again rather quickly for fifty dollars more than the original buyer.
  - 02/05/2018 at 1:55 pm #32177
    T-Satt
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @t-satt
    You KILLED this week steven s! Well done!
- 02/05/2018 at 1:37 pm #32172
  Retro Treasures WV
  Participant
  Location:
  @retro-treasures-wv
  I’m one of those folks who are “obsessed” with you all getting a proper inventory system. Lol!
  
  It boggles my mind how you can just non-chalantly pile 6000 items into your new building without any system and still know where everything is! How quickly can you find each item? Do you have to search multiple bins on a regular basis?
  
  I go into my storage building with the full ebay page up in the browser on my phone. That gives me access to the Custom SKU in the orders page. Last night it took me less than 5 minutes to pull 18 items for shipment. My system has paid for itself in spades and it really wasn’t that hard to do. Just start with a single tub and go from there. It will have no effect on your current system. If it has an SKU, then it’s in new system – no SKU, then its in the old system. Simple!
  
  Get with the program you two! Have you no decency!! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!?!
  
  Just kidding. You do what you want. Hehehe.
  - 02/05/2018 at 2:03 pm #32178
    T-Satt
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @t-satt
    Week of 1/28-2/03
    Total Items in Store: 1,793 (Up 31% YOY)
    Number of Items Listed: 98
    Number of Items Sold: 56 (Up 17% YOY)
    (Includes 0 Etsy, 0 Bonanza, 0 TrueGether)
    Weekly STR: 13% (Down 2% YOY)
    
    Total Product Sales: $1,474 (Up 40% YOY)
    Cost of Items Sold: $286
    Highest Item Sold: $100 – Tuscan Fine English Bone China Teapot Set
    Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Veronica wins the week and Troy leads the year in the lead 3-2.
    
    eBay Clothing
    # Listed: 1,079
    # Sold: 37
    STR: 15%
    ASP: $25.09
    
    eBay Shoes
    # Listed: 105
    # Sold: 6
    STR: 24%
    ASP: $34.02
    
    eBay Hard Goods
    # Listed: 609
    # Sold: 13
    STR: 9%
    ASP: $26.27
    
    Etsy Hard Goods
    # Listed: 133
    # Sold: 0
    STR: 0%
    ASP: $0.0
    
    January 2018
    Number of Items Listed: 413 (Forecast: 600)
    Number of Items Sold: 281 (Forecast: 283)
    
    January Sales Breakdown:
    eBay – 273
    Etsy – 3
    Bonanza – 3
    TrueGether – 2
    
    Monthly STR: 16% (Forecast: 17%)
    Monthly ASP: $27.70 (Forecast: $23.28)
    Total Sales: $10,024 (Forecast: $8,571) – Increase of 86% YOY
    
    Sales still a little sluggish for a second week. Still better than last year when you look at the Year Over Year comparisons, but sluggish. Hard Goods STR is down for a second week, which I’m thinking has a lot to do with the error on FedEx SmartPost.
    
    On that note, eBay called me back (my rep is AWESOME) to let me know the status of the SP issue. Still not fixed, and she is pushing it with them, but no date yet from them as to when they will have it fixed. So she recommended to keep FedEx SmartPost OFF of our listings until further notice, which is where we are.
    
    GSP is up and running for us now, and we have had two sales this week through GSP, so that error is past us.
    
    We continue to work to get our listing numbers up. We have delayed our hiring of someone for a few months. We are enjoying the Empty Nester life, so right now we don’t want someone else here!
- 02/05/2018 at 2:41 pm #32184
  Punk
  Participant
  Location:
  @punk
  Love the Podcast! You all argue too nice.
  
  The other job’s been getting in my way over the past few weeks but here are the few sales I had.
  
  Ebay (no store yet) – Total Listings – 19
  # Sold – 1
  Sales – 49.95
  COGS – $0 a gift from my father-in-law
  New Listings – 0
  $ Spent on new inventory – $0 (I need to list before I buy anymore)
  
  Etsy – Total Listings – 19
  # Sold – 2
  Sales – $38.90
  COGS – .50 (I’m being generous here, this stuff came in a fill a bag for a $1 church sale)
  New Listings – 9
  
  Thanks for All the help and support around here! Didn’t have time to read the podcast comments, yet but wishing you all a great week of selling. Heading off to deal with the public face to face. :)(:
  - 02/05/2018 at 3:19 pm #32190
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    We only played this “argument” because it didnt end in one of us yelling and turning off the recorder.
    - 02/06/2018 at 9:01 am #32259
      Punk
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @punk
      
      Ok, good to know! 😉 I’ve been through a few renovations with my man and that was a little spat. I’m a “whatever” *hand in air* walk away kind of girl. Especially when I’m holding tools. Love to listen to you guys!
      - 02/06/2018 at 7:17 pm #32354
        
        Ryanne
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @ryanne
        
        yes, this was a very calm and collected conversation that could have turned into an argument, but didn’t.
- 02/05/2018 at 2:48 pm #32185
  FulltimeFlipper
  Participant
  Location:
  @fulltimeflipper
  New to the forums so I am not sure how to post a link or screenshot but for guarenteed 3 day delivery if you click the performance tab from the seller hub it will show a brief status and projected status (like top rated box) this is the first box on the top left of the performance tab for me.
- 02/05/2018 at 3:05 pm #32186
  Punk
  Participant
  Location:
  @punk
  Before I leave for work, I wanted to add, I had a sale today and noticed that tracking wasn’t automatically added into ebay as I thought it did with my past sales. Am I suppose to add this manually? I did but I thought it was automatic. Total newbie here.
  - 02/05/2018 at 3:26 pm #32192
    T-Satt
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @t-satt
    Your tracking should be automatically added after you purchase the label. I would add it manually for now but make sure it doesn’t continue.
    - 02/06/2018 at 8:52 am #32256
      Punk
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @punk
      
      Thanks, T-Satt! I thought I was losing it. I did enter it manually but I can’t imagine you big time sellers doing that.
      - 02/06/2018 at 9:20 am #32262
        
        T-Satt
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @t-satt
        
        Yeah, we only had to do it the one time. We noticed the glitch when items that we had already packed and shipped were suddenly showing on our eBay “Awaiting Shipment” and on “Orders” in Shippo. So if you see that, contact eBay and let them know that they lost your tracking number and then manually enter it.
- 02/05/2018 at 3:27 pm #32195
  CTLady
  Participant
  Location:
  @ctlady
  to address R’s question on the podcast about who buys antique teacups — well, for a while, my uncle did! He got really obsessed with antiques in general for several years and went on an antique buying spree. He was very into Victorian English teacups and bought most of them on ebay. I’ll ask him the next time I see him what specifically he was looking for. The teacups now occupy a China cabinet for display and are never used.
- 02/05/2018 at 4:34 pm #32197
  Winchester38
  Participant
  Location:
  @winchester38
  Regarding inventory systems, we’re only around 14xx items total, but with our limited space, our current system works for us.
  
  We’ve added shelving units in our storage space, and each shelf is numbered 1-##. When we list an item, it goes where ever there is room for it, and we add “S21”, “S8” etc to our listing so that when the item sells, we know where to look for it. Any given shelf will have a variety of items on it (mugs, car parts, books, lamps, GewGaws, etc).
  
  We do a similar thing with clothing items that are in closets (“C1”, “C2”, “C3″…etc). Since we set things up this way (around the 400 item mark), we have yet to lose anything, and don’t waste any time finding things that have sold. We’re to the point that we’re running out of closet space, but have rolling racks that we’ll use, continuing with the “C#” format for simplicity.
  - 02/05/2018 at 5:21 pm #32205
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Do you actually say GewGaws in real life?! Please call in and use it in a sentence. I have never heard that word in my entire life.
- 02/05/2018 at 4:35 pm #32198
  The Speckled Goat
  Participant
  Location: Kansas City, MO
  @the-speckled-goat
  Retro Treasures – have you described your inventory system in a previous forum post? Because I think I want your system. I sold 2 nightgowns on Bonanza yesterday to the tune of $135 and CANNOT FIND EITHER ONE. I’m just grateful it wasn’t on eBay because of the whole defect thing, which Bonanza may have also, but I don’t care so much there. I can’t tell you how painful it was to refund the buyer for items that have been for sale for almost 2 years.
  I especially love the “one box at a time” concept. Because I would be completely overwhelmed otherwise.
  Everything is in plastic bins on shelves – so usually I can find things. But lately there have been a few items that took me an hour to find (couldn’t remember which bin). I’m just so done with my non-system.
  TIA
  - 02/06/2018 at 7:40 am #32241
    Retro Treasures WV
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @retro-treasures-wv
    Before I organized, everything was grouped by list date. I use Good til Cancelled. Items are put in bins as I listed them. So when I sold something, I would look at my active items sorted by start date and then look for a bin that had items that were listed in that date range. So instead of looking for one item, I was looking for any 1 of multiple items to “zone in” on where the item was. If I had to relist an item due to a return I would lost the ability to locate it unless I put it with new listed items. It was a HORRIBLE system.
    
    Eventually I started buying these nice metal racks that will hold 20 bins each. I currently have 3 of these racks. Each rack is assigned a letter, each row a number. So I label bins as A11-14, A21-24, B31-34, etc. I put bulky items that don’t fit in bins on the top shelf, so for them I would assign a SKU of A5R, which means on the right side of the top shelf of rack A.
    
    Bins get labeled by printing the label in large print on a half sheet of paper and placing it inside a clear poly mailing label pouch. I can always just peel off the label and apply a new one if needed.
    
    Once a bin gets low, I will redistribute the few straggler items to other bins so that my bins always stay full.
    
    Shoes just get put in bins as good as they will fit. Clothes I fold and stack in a bin laying on its side. I fold so the label is pointing up. This way I can just thumb through the clothes to find the item I’m looking for. Typically I get 12-15 pair of shoes per bin and 20-25 clothing items per bin.
    
    I also have two wardrobes that I custome built into framing with a shelf above them. I hang coats and suits in the wardrobes. They are labeled W1 and W22. The shelf on top of each wardrobe is W11-W14 and W21-W24. I have more wooden shelves I’ve built but they currently have unlisted inventory on them. Eventually I’ll have shelving in my garage and a storage trailer I have.
    
    Now how did I get started? I started with a single rack and a single bin – A11 and just went from there until all of my inventory had a SKU.
    
    Hope this helps!
    - 02/06/2018 at 9:34 am #32268
      T-Satt
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @t-satt
      
      We are somewhat similar in our process. For clothing, all shirts and pants are folded and put into clear poly bags with the SKU number on it. I love using metal file drawers to store them. Legal width drawers and in a 9×12 poly, I can get two rows side by side. I do segregate by type (so that if something is mislabeled or put in the wrong drawer, I don’t have to search through ALL drawers, only drawers of the same type): Short Sleeve, Casual, Dress, Western, Outdoor, Sweater, Pants, Jeans, Cycling, T-Shirts, Fishing.
      
      Suits and Sport Coats are now being put into 14×16 Poly Bags, into a locking lid bin, and taken to our outside warehouse. Bins are labeled SUIT1, SUIT2, and when they are taken to the warehouse, I put -WH on the SKU.
      
      Veronica has her racks labeled, no bins, and when it is boxed and taken to the warehouse, we put WH1, WH2 to designate which rack it is on.
      
      We only label the rack, not the shelf, so that when we need to reorganize the rack, we don’t have to change the location in eBay. If I label down too narrow, I have to do too much changing when a rack gets reorganized.
      
      Any inventory system is only as good as accurate it is between system and floor. Find the system that fits your style, provides some flexibility, and you find items quickly.
- 02/05/2018 at 4:46 pm #32200
  Geoff
  Participant
  Location:
  @norfolkgoldandsilver
  Jay – I spoke with Ebay last week on the guaranteed delivery dashboard. There is no guaranteed dashboard at the moment. There was once available briefly, it is no longer visible, and according to Ebay – “at the moment you will only see anything on Guaranteed delivery if you miss one.” According to the rep, who asked the technical team, ‘the dashboard is in the works’ and will be visible to all in the future. At the moment you would see like a defect if you miss a guaranteed delivery (not clear where exactly). I also find that some of my listings do not qualify and i have no reason why, and some do. To me it sounds like Ebay is not giving up on it, just rolled it out prior to it being baked.
  
  From a sales perspective I had a great week for me last week as it seems that my growing inventory paid off last week anyway. Like the sentiment shared by others, however, it has felt like sales have fallen off however towards the end of the week volume wise and this weekend overall. Sunday and today have been dead.
  
  1/28/18-2/4/18
  
  Total Listing in store (beginning of week): 1034
  Total items (including multiple item listings): 1145
  Value of inventory listed beginning of week: $39,097.38
  Value if inventory listed end of week: $39,059.31
  Items sold: 28
  Weekly sell through (based on number of listings): 2.71%
  Total Sales: $1,731.87 (shipping backed out)
  Average price: $61.85
  Cost of items sold: $798.02
  average cost of item sold (pre fees): $28.50
  Gross profit: $933.85
  Highest item sold: Vintage Kitchen Table — sold: 580.17 cost (with free shipping approx 315)
  New items listed: 124
  Asking price of new items listed: $1,693.80
  - 02/05/2018 at 5:22 pm #32206
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Another listener actually told me where the dashboard is. It’s under Performance in the Seller dashboard. If you’re a part of the program, the stats show up here:
    https://www.ebay.com/sh/prf/egd-dashboard
    
    Tells us we’re all good. But doesnt say how to get items not in the program to be in it.
    - 02/05/2018 at 5:50 pm #32210
      T-Satt
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @t-satt
      
      Beware of the data there…it has issues.
      
      I called eBay on our dashboard last week, and it is still having issues. One of which that ticks me off is that it only considers shipments that “might” be eligible for EGD to be part of the metric.
      
      I will start a separate thread that has the messages back and forth on this issue…
    - 02/05/2018 at 5:55 pm #32212
      Geoff
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @norfolkgoldandsilver
      
      cool thanks, see mine too as well.
- 02/05/2018 at 4:46 pm #32201
  Idahoarder
  Participant
  Location:
  @idahoarder
  Store Week 1/28/18 – 2/3/18
  
  Total items in store: 1583
  Items sold: 17
  Cost of items sold: $55.68
  Total sales: $688.41
  Highest price sold: $100.00 (Vintage Kawasaki Mule Hat)
  Average price sold: $40.49
  Returns: 1
  Money spent on new inventory this week: $32.86
  
  This was the week of the hat in my store. 7 of my 17 sales were hats, and most were fairly high priced. I was stoked to sell one for $100, but also sold one for $49.99 and two to the same buyer for a total of $73.45.
  
  Last week I mentioned that I sold some napkins to a celeb, and thought that was pretty fun, but I definitely topped it this week. I sold an item (one of the weirdest in my store) to a major celebrity couple and shipped it right to their 12.75 million dollar home. I always have to brag about those ones!
  
  Thanks for another great podcast. I’m always sad when they end while I’m still working!
- 02/05/2018 at 5:44 pm #32207
  Always A Trade Off U.K.
  Participant
  Location: The U.K. the land of the car boot sale.
  @always-a-trade-off-u-k
  Gewgaws – Trivia fact (the word has been used in the past)
  
  In the Ealing comedy film of 1951 “The Lavender Hill Mob” Stanley Holloway runs a factory that makes “presents from” i.e. novelty gifts purchased at tourist destinations and its called Gewgaws Ltd.
  
  Its a great film about stolen bullion thats cast into model Eifell Towers to enable the “Lavendar Hill Mob” to smuggle them out of the country to France.
- 02/05/2018 at 5:44 pm #32208
  Nancy
  Participant
  Location:
  @nancy
  gee gaws is how we say it in wisconsin. it’s not a word i use often but i know what someone means if they use it 🙂
  - 02/06/2018 at 7:42 am #32242
    Retro Treasures WV
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @retro-treasures-wv
    Here in WV I’ve never heard any of the words you all are using! Trinkets and doo-dads are the sayings of choice here.
- 02/05/2018 at 5:46 pm #32209
  BrianB
  Participant
  Location:
  @brianb
  Hey all: How do you do combined shipping? I’ve done this before, but now can’t remember how it works! I am taking about a situation where a buyer messages me and says, “Hey, I like your items 123456789012 and 123456789013. Will you do combined shipping on these items?”. I could create a new listing, but I am pretty sure that I have completed this before without going to that extreme.
  
  Seems like the buyer commits to buying them and then I send an invoice, but I don’t recall ho to make that happen.
  - 02/05/2018 at 8:31 pm #32221
    Sharyn
    Participant
    
    Location: Central NJ
    @sharyn
    I think this is the way it is supposed to go (but, for me, it went this way maybe once or twice with a buyer who knew what they were doing):
    
    You can’t have immediate payment required, otherwise your listings won’t have an “Add to Cart” button
    Buyer uses the “Add to Cart” button rather than “Buy It Now”
    When they put the last item they want in their cart, they click on the link “Request total from seller”
    You would get a request for an invoice, and you can change the shipping to what it needs to be. Then you can send the invoice to the buyer for payment.
    
    Note: You cannot change the price of the items themselves, so you can’t give the buyer a discount for buying multiple items. I tried this, and it didn’t work.
    
    Hope this helps!
- 02/05/2018 at 5:52 pm #32211
  T-Satt
  Participant
  Location:
  @t-satt
  Brian B: Yes, you can tell the buyer to purchase (but not pay) for the items. Then you can send a combined invoice.
  - 02/05/2018 at 7:24 pm #32216
    sonia
    Participant
    
    Location: Northeast US
    @sonia
    T-Satt,
    re: combined shipping, how can the buyer purchase without paying? Most people have “require immediate payment” turned on.
    - 02/05/2018 at 7:45 pm #32218
      T-Satt
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @t-satt
      
      If the immediate payment is on, I believe the buyer can add the items to their cart and request an invoice.
      
      Other options are to have them pay in full and refund, or to make them an offer .01 less, then when they accept, send a combined invoice.
- 02/05/2018 at 7:19 pm #32215
  TreasureFinder
  Participant
  Location:
  @treasurefinder
  What do you think will happen to Paypal Working Capital when the switch happens? Not with a current loan, but do you think getting new loans will be over? I am thinking since they will not be able to get their 30% of ever sale, etc, that they will stop doing them. Just curious.
  - 02/06/2018 at 9:14 am #32260
    Julie B
    Participant
    
    Location: Georgia
    @julie-b
    If Paypal Working Capital Loans was a profitable venture for the company then rest assured Paypal, Ebay, Adyen or one their affiliate payment companies will find a way to continue to offer working capital loans. I don’t think it will be a difficult transition for it be set up and they have a few years to get it rolled out.
    
    This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Julie B.
- 02/05/2018 at 7:29 pm #32217
  MrsKensington
  Participant
  Location:
  @mrskensington
  What I have done in the combined shipping situation is to have them pay full price w/shipping for one, and then send them an offer on the second item, and the offer subtracts the price of the extra shipping.
  
  Example: Item 1 is $15 + $5 shipping.
  Item 2 is $22 + $5 shipping.
  Combined shipping will cost them $6.
  So that’s $4 off the total combined price. So I’d send them an offer of $18 +$5 shipping for item No. 2.
  
  Or: You can just do a partial refund via PayPal and communicate that in your eBay messages.
- 02/05/2018 at 8:03 pm #32219
  Mark S
  Participant
  Location:
  @mark-s
  01/28/18 – 02/03/18
  
  Total Items In Store: 2,216
  Items Sold: 25
  Cost of Items Sold: $75 (around)
  Total Sales: $891
  Highest Price Sold: $103.50 (Sony Boombox)
  Average Price Sold: $ 35.64
  Returns: 0
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $ 148
  Number of Items listed this week: 97
  
  Good week all around.
  
  I am on a listing spree to get to 3000 items by about June. This is very aggressive for me as a part timer, but I am sure going to try. I have looked at what my sales will be in 2019 via my forecast sheet and this is all the motivation I need. I do have a contractor doing most of the listing for me, but to hit over 300 listings a month is still very time consuming as a part timer. I have close to 900 items “ready to go” so that does help to get ahead of the curve. While the lister is lister those items, I am off buying and getting more items ready. I am going to try to keep this up the whole year if I can. Hoping to hit 4000 items by year end. Even if I can come close to 4000 items, sales will be awesome in 2019.
  
  One of my main obstacles is going to be space. I have a plan to clear some more space in the basement. So many things to do.
  
  Mark
- 02/05/2018 at 8:53 pm #32223
  Sharyn
  Participant
  Location: Central NJ
  @sharyn
  Week of Jan 28 – Feb 3
  * Total Items in Store: 1128
  * Items Sold: 19
  * Cost of Items Sold: $29.25 + $25.80 Commission
  * Total Sales: $448.95
  * Highest Price Sold: $95 Vintage Framed Joan of Arc Print
  * Average Price Sold: $23.63
  * Returns: 1
  * Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $12.10
  * Number of items listed this week: 32
  
  While I listed 32 items, I also removed close to 90 low priced books. In the Spring last year, I had bought 15 boxes of overstock books because one box had about 10 new Tarot card sets. It was a great purchase. The tarot sets sold very well. There were some notebooks and other books that sold well and at a reasonable price. Most were very easy to list because I used the stock photos.
  
  However, the rest of the books were pretty cheap, and I had to include shipping to be competitive. I would sell some books for $6-$8 and be left with a few bucks after shipping and fees. I tried selling some in lots of 12-15 books, and those had more profit (and shipping was extra).
  
  A friend of mine is collecting books to be donated to an inter-city book drive. This morning, I brought the remaining books up from the basement, ended their listings, and drove them over to her house. I am so glad they are gone. They were a waste of time to pack. I kept maybe five titles that are still worth selling.
  
  I would totally do this again if I found more tarot card sets and other good titles. I would list the good stuff separately, I would immediately donate books not worth the paper they were printed on, and I would sell the rest in lots of 10-15.
- 02/05/2018 at 9:37 pm #32230
  indomatt239
  Participant
  Location: Pittsburgh
  @indomatt239
  So, gewgaws. I actually have never heard anybody here in Pennsylvania use that in a sentence. I came across it for the second time when my then-3-year-old-or-so daughter asked me what a “thingamabob” was. It is mentioned in a Little Mermaid song that she was obsessed with. So I went into a thesaurus rabbit-hole and came up with some good ones for her, like gewgaw and gimcrack. This kid, if she doesn’t become a surgeon, is definitely inheriting my business.
  
  The first time I heard the word was a while back. My wife used to own an art gallery, and one of the featured artists (neat-o assemblage) at the time had a personal trunk sale of his unused pieces and parts in her gallery one weekend. He advertised the event using that word.
  - 02/05/2018 at 9:52 pm #32231
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Ryanne and I were trying to come up with all the weird words for the stuff we find: bric-a-brac, knick knacks, doo-dads. “thingamabob” is a good one.
    - 02/05/2018 at 10:08 pm #32234
      Rydell Relics
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @rydell-relics
      
      Jay, in Spanish slang they’re called chingaderas. But it is derivative of a swear word, so it isn’t used in polite company. Must be why it’s so much fun to say.
      
      Paul
      - 02/05/2018 at 10:11 pm #32235
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Or the Yiddish word: “tchotchke”
- 02/05/2018 at 10:21 pm #32236
  Geoff
  Participant
  Location:
  @norfolkgoldandsilver
  My wife is Latina. She taught me that when one woman thinks another is wearing kinda trashy clothes (or just otherwise low brow in charecter I guess) the term “rakataka” can be used to describe their general makeup.
  
  For whatever reason it caught on with me and is part of my regular lexicon now. When I bring something home and it is not the most classy item I tell her it’s a bit rakataka and it buys me a little good grace and a couple of weeks of garage space for the said item.
- 02/05/2018 at 10:30 pm #32237
  Rydell Relics
  Participant
  Location:
  @rydell-relics
  RR Store Week Jan 28-Feb 3, 2017
  
  Total Items in Store: 1457
  Items Sold: 27
  Cost of Items Sold: $22.24
  Total Sales: $731.48
  Highest Price Sold: $125.99 (1955 bible)
  Average Price Sold: $27.09
  Returns: 0
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $19.64
  Number of items listed this week: 32
  
  Much better this week, but still just shy of my goal. Life got in the way of my listing goal, but this week is wide open, so I should have no trouble hitting 75 new listings by Saturday night.
  
  Great week for records sales. 8 during the week, and 5 just yesterday and today. After being in music retail for so long, I had initially decided not to sell records on eBay. Boy am I glad I revisited that decision. And the highest priced one was a Connie Francis LP! Most thrift stores and record store dollar bins are crammed with her records, but apparently she has a very loyal fanbase who actively seek rarer pressings. I found a Chinese press of her Spanish language LP with alternate artwork. Listed it for $80 and took a Best Offer of $60. Paid less than a dollar.
  
  Alright, off to hit that goal. Have a great week, everyone!
  
  Paul
  - 02/06/2018 at 11:35 am #32282
    Brian Treasures from Grandmas
    Participant
    
    Location: Hoboken, NJ
    @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
    I remember about a year ago you saying you worked at a record store but would never sell on eBay – never understood it cause you probably have a wealth of knowledge that an amateur like me doesn’t… I just focus on what I know (Beatles, Zep, Floyd, Stones, Kiss, etc will always sell quickly). That, plus they’re generally quite cheap to acquire & store easily. I’m up to about 30% of my store being records.
    - 02/08/2018 at 3:11 am #32502
      Rydell Relics
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @rydell-relics
      
      Honestly, I was intimidated by the grading system. The first store I worked at only put out really clean records; the rest went in the dollar bin. For years I assumed any records with a bit of wear weren’t worth much at all. Then at Amoeba, I saw less than stellar pieces hit the floor and still sell for good money. Definitely got me thinking. But by the time I left after 9 1/2 years (16 total in the business), the last thing I wanted to do was mess with records.
      
      To help smooth the transition to full time ebay, I was listing for a local dealer 2 days a week. When he asked me to focus just on vinyl, I gave myself a crash course on grading. I learned a ton, and finally had the confidence to sell records myself. I already knew what titles sell well, and now I know how to grade and sell them properly. My inventory is now about 10% vinyl, and growing.
      
      Another thing that discouraged me are the record collectors themselves. We can be a persnickety bunch, and I was afraid I’d mess up the grading and get a bunch of returns. So far, not a one…knock on wood!
      
      Paul
- 02/06/2018 at 7:54 am #32243
  Tara Jacobsen
  Participant
  Location: Tampa, FL
  @paperlypeople
  I am from a little town north of Pittsburgh and totally know gee-gaws! I also red up the house (clean it) and have boughten lots of things for my store (made up past tense!)
  
  It is really cool to read about why there are such different language patterns in Pennsylvania (Germans, Amish, isolation).
  
  Here is a pretty comprehensive list of weird words from PA!
  
  My kids HATE that I say “seen” instead of “saw” as a past tense for see. I seen that he did that…:)
  - 02/06/2018 at 8:11 am #32245
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    I always have to link to this when talking about dialects in PA (specifically Pittsburgh vs Philly): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qeY0mIn1K0
    - 02/06/2018 at 8:27 am #32247
      Sharyn
      Participant
      
      Location: Central NJ
      @sharyn
      
      Jay – that video is hilarious!
      
      As I mentioned earlier in this post, I grew up a suburb south of Pittsburgh. We certainly called thinly sliced meat “chip-chopped”, went “duntown”, and the town Washington south of us was pronounced “Warshington”.
      
      Several years ago, when I still worked a regular job, I was sent to a class on writing proposals. The teacher was trying to make a point about vernacular language particular to local areas. He asked us to raise our hands if the word “gum band” made complete sense. Myself as well as a few other Pittsburgh natives in the room raised our hands. I had no idea that this synonym for the word rubber band was not used elsewhere!
      - 02/06/2018 at 8:29 am #32248
        
        Sharyn
        Participant
        
        Location: Central NJ
        @sharyn
        
        However, I never used the word Gewgaws. Could be I just don’t remember, or maybe it’s something very local.
      - 02/06/2018 at 8:33 am #32249
        
        T-Satt
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @t-satt
        
        Dialect is such an interesting rabbit hole. For me, any brown, sugar, carbonated drink was a coke, but for my wife (and our boys), it is a Pop.
        
        Kitty-corner or Katty-corner?
        
        Tea… there is no sweet tea in the South…that is just Tea.
        
        02/06/2018 at 11:36 am #32283
        
        Retro Treasures WV
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @retro-treasures-wv
        
        I gave up sugary drinks over a year ago. When I get tea it is unsweetened. Have you ever tried ordering unsweetened tea in a drive-thru in the south? It is an exercise in futility sometimes. Lol!
        
        I have to say “UNNNN sweetened, plain tea. No sugar. Just regular plain tea”. Even then I’ll still have to test the tea and 50% of the time it is sweet tea. It’s like they heard you, buuuutttt they are assuming you really wanted the sweet tea because no self respecting person would order that “dirty water” in the unsweet tea container.
        
        02/06/2018 at 11:54 am #32285
        
        T-Satt
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @t-satt
        
        Retro: I am laughing at the visual of ordering UNsweetened tea in the south…That is classic!
        
        I can imagine the awkward pause and stares if you do that in a restaurant… It would be like dogs hearing an unusual sound…they hear you…they just don’t understand…
      - 02/06/2018 at 8:41 am #32253
        
        T-Satt
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @t-satt
        
        I have only been to Pittsburgh once…sounded like this…
    - 02/06/2018 at 8:40 am #32252
      Tara Jacobsen
      Participant
      
      Location: Tampa, FL
      @paperlypeople
      
      Ohhhh that is the perfect venn diagram of Pennsylvania slang nerdiness and scavenging!!
- 02/06/2018 at 8:17 am #32246
  BrianB
  Participant
  Location:
  @brianb
  Hello all: I noticed today that Pay Pal provides a service called, “Return Shipping on Us”. I am not sure whether this is a new service or something that has been around for a while and I am just now finding out about it. Regardless, this is a service FOR BUYERS, NOT SELLERS. In the spirit of scavenging I assumed the readers of this blog might find this useful as most of us probably buy stuff using Pay Pal in addition to selling stuff.
  
  There are some restrictions, but they appear to be reasonable exceptions to me. The highlights are you can ask Pay Pal to reimburse you 12 times a year for return shipping up to $30/return. You can return an item as normal (if you paid for the item using Pay Pal) and then ask Pay Pal to refund your return shipping fee up to $30 within 30 days.
  
  You have to active the service using the links provided below:
  
  https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/returns
  https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/returns/terms
  - 02/06/2018 at 11:01 am #32277
    Idahoarder
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @idahoarder
    That’s awesome! Might have to try it out.
- 02/06/2018 at 9:21 am #32263
  BethGreen
  Participant
  Location: Ohio
  @bethgreen
  My numbers for the week of 1/28/18:
  Total Items in Store: 132
  Items Sold: 11
  Cost of Items Sold: $24
  Total Sales: $295 + shipping
  Highest Price Sold: $44.99 (Pretty Princess Game)
  Average Price Sold: $26.82
  Returns: 0
  
  This weeks sales were discouraging. I guess there’s nothing else to say on that.
  
  Regarding the caller talking about the eBay colors on the supplies, I am surprised I haven’t heard a big discussion about this back when they started making the changes. They went from what I consider a very recognizable logo with primary colors and a “Fill your cart with color” campaign (Like it!) to a mismash of purple, red, baby blue and yellow (Hate it)??? It just seems like a bad marketing move to have “branded supplies” that don’t match the brand logo. I don’t get it.
- 02/06/2018 at 10:04 am #32270
  Brian Treasures from Grandmas
  Participant
  Location: Hoboken, NJ
  @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
  That storage picture looks awesome! So organized & clean!
  
  Week January 28 – February 3, 2018
  
  Total Items in Store: 857
  Items Sold: 15
  Cost of Items Sold: $140 (18.2% of sales)
  Total Sales: $769.94
  Highest Price Sold: $210 (Victorian photo album with 35 photos)
  Average Price Sold: $51.33
  Returns: 0 (1 may be coming though)
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $122
  Number of items listed this week: 20
  Promoted listings test: 11 sales, $523.96 (61.8% of total sales), $25.64 fees (4.9% of sales)
  
  Low volume, but high quality sales this week (which is totally fine by me). Highest avg price sold in a long time, with 3 items over $100 (the photo album, a 1960s Barbie, and a limited edition Zippo) selling and only 6 items less selling for less than $30. With those high dollar sales, my COGS were teetering on the edge of being over my 20% goal/threshold – but I snuck in slightly under that line.
  
  I didn’t go out and do any picking, but recently have been active in a FB buying/selling group and on a couple of online auctions. Testing the waters to see if there’s still enough room for profit, expanding what & where I can source things.
- 02/06/2018 at 10:39 am #32275
  CTVintage
  Participant
  Location:
  @premiumtransitions
  Hi — Great podcast this week! A few random comments on some of the things you talked about:
  – Loved learning the new (to me) word, Geegaws. I will add this to my vocab. Where I grew up, we also used “thingamajig”
  – Fine china. I am starting to hate it too after buying some big lots and it’s often hard to ship. However, some things sell well so I’ll probably still buy but be more choosy. For eg., bought a set of CornishWare (blue stripes) and everything sold over a few months. Also regularly sell teacups and teapots but have learned to be very selective about the maker, color, etc. We go to a lot of estate sales so I know what people do with them — they all have display shelves or curio cabinets with their collections and are looking to fill in the gaps.
  – Returns. I also accept returns automatically if buyers just don’t like something. However, the “item not as described” reason (which requires me to pay return shipping) can be very murky. Example: ‘this necklace does not lie flat on my neck’ — is the problem my description or her neck? Usually not worth arguing however and I just pay.
  – Ebay’s new payment platform: My hope is that it leads to immediate payment as a regular thing (like almost everywhere else), and we no longer have to deal with unpaid item cases.
- 02/06/2018 at 12:26 pm #32293
  LiveLikeNoOneElse
  Participant
  Location: Chicago Suburbs
  @livelikenooneelse
  Ryanne, regarding the little tea cups. My brother now lives in Europe and my parents went to visit him for 2 months in the fall and my Mom mentioned to me that now that drink coffee out of this tiny tea cups and basically drink coffee all day long, but very little at a time. It’s not espresso, just regular coffee but non-stop fresh coffee all day long. She said it’s a new European trend. FYI.
  
  Also, regarding the vintage shearling coat, If it’s really aweful and isn’t going away, I would just throw it in the washing machine on gentle cycle with cold water. I have washed plenty of leather jackets and coats and nothing’s ever happened to them. Might just give it a try…(at your own risk..LOL)
- 02/06/2018 at 2:04 pm #32309
  The Speckled Goat
  Participant
  Location: Kansas City, MO
  @the-speckled-goat
  Yes that helps a bunch. Started going through my first bin – found stuff I had forgotten I even had. Burberry & Versace neckties from the Goodwill Outlet blue bins. Felt like I struck gold! Unlisted of course, bc I buy way more often than I list. Buying = fun. Listing = work.
  But it was the universe telling me to GET ORGANIZED. Pretty sure.
  Thanks again.
- 02/06/2018 at 2:16 pm #32313
  BrianB
  Participant
  Location:
  @brianb
  Jay and Ryanne are always saying to, “Do your numbers”. It got me to thinking. I recently sold a pair of boots for $35. I mistakenly listed them as a size 8 US, when in fact they were a size 9 US. The buyer returned them, I paid the return shipping and I sold them a second time for the same price.
  
  I wondered what the final profit or loss was on these boots so I did a spreadsheet on all of the data points. I have the spreadsheet available on the URL shown below. If you don’t have Excel you can see the same data at the second URL as an image file. If you don’t care to view the details the short story is I ended up making a profit of $1.31 on these 2 transactions. It is definitely worth selling them the 2nd time, otherwise it would have been a ($27.50) loss.
  
  http://www.brianboberg.com/VariousTransactionExamples.xlsx
  http://www.brianboberg.com/ebayfeeanalysis/DOcMartenBootReturnAnalysis.jpg
- 02/06/2018 at 4:11 pm #32332
  ChristineR
  Participant
  Location: Southern California
  @christiner
  Total Items in Store: 409
  Items Sold: 8
  Cost of Items Sold: $74 + 15 free shipping
  Total Sales: $317
  Highest Price Sold: $76 Dansk Arabesque Butter Dish (death pile thrifted find – paid $3)
  Average Price Sold: $40
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $106 (mostly a cache of high end stitchery kits from estate sale)
  Number of items listed this week: 0
  
  Glad I ran the numbers because it felt very slow. Hectic week outside of ebay with hosting a big superbowl party, a number of medical maintenance appointments for the fam, and family visting. No progress on the death piles and I hit one of our big three annual rummage sales. On the way home, I found an estate sale. I’m kind of looking forward to allowing myself to shop those after I’m through the piles. However, I felt like a total schmuck when I lied to the late homeowners’ daughter after she asked me if I needlepoint. I’m a bit sketchy about digging through someone’s house and life. I suppose I’ll feel better after I start selling these off, here’s a bolo for you: Ehrman brand kits. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=tapestry+kit+needlepoint+ehrman&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=tapestry+kit+needlepoint+ehrman&_sacat=0
  
  Have a great week.
  - 02/06/2018 at 4:29 pm #32334
    Brian Treasures from Grandmas
    Participant
    
    Location: Hoboken, NJ
    @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
    The way I look at it (estate sales are my preferred way of shopping vs. thrifts), if they didn’t want you to looks through & buy their stuff, they wouldn’t have an estate sale. They want everything out of the house so they can sell it and you’re there to help them in that.
    - 02/07/2018 at 10:03 am #32401
      ChristineR
      Participant
      
      Location: Southern California
      @christiner
      
      Yeah, I know Brian and I know you are SO smart to go right to the source. Many times I picking the leavings at GW Monday mornings, plus we have estate sales year round here. I will get these items to people who will use and appreciate them again, which makes me feel good. It’s just that I have a little sensitive side thinking about respect for the humans who lived their lives there and traveled places, didn’t finish projects, etc. Silly I guess. I once wrote into someone’s trust that under no circumstances would a bunch of scavengers go through his house like that! Funny.
      
      I’m waiting on estate sales too because even though they are well attended I think I would have trouble processing as much as I could easily pick up. Since thrifts are thinner pickings, it keeps me in line a bit. I hope by the time I allow myself to attend them that I will be able to identify items people are missing – like these craft kits. Keep the what sold posts coming! I also always look in garden, under tables, up high, on the walls…
      - 02/07/2018 at 10:10 am #32405
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Scavengers are like crabs in the ocean. We provide a valuable service in the ecology of commerce.
        
        02/07/2018 at 10:50 am #32413
        
        MDC Galleries & Fine Art
        Participant
        
        Location: Atlanta
        @huncrelan
        
        Jay… that is now going to become a mantra.. “We are just Crabs in the Ecology of Commerce”. GREAT LINE! LOL
        
        mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
      - 02/07/2018 at 1:04 pm #32428
        
        BrianB
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @brianb
        
        It’s not necessarily a bad thing to pick through people’s stuff. A couple years ago a guy I knew died. He wasn’t a close friend, but I knew him. He wasn’t married, but his girlfriend had died a year or so earlier. Anyway, I later learned that his relatives cleaned out his house and hauled everything to the dump. I have to believe this guy had some stuff worthy of being resold on eBay. I wish I would have known that they were going to do that because I could have taken some stuff and if nothing else (from their perspective) I could have lightened their load. There was probably metal that could have been recycled too. Oh well.
- 02/06/2018 at 4:51 pm #32335
  CarrieinCanada
  Participant
  Location:
  @carrieincanada
  Gee (Long E sound ) Gaw in Canada
  
  oldfashioned term
  Lets clean up Grandma’s house. I’ll vacuum the carpet you dust the gee-gaws on mantal piece.
  
  and just
  because this one drives me crazy
  
  niche
  
  is a french word pronounced with i like long e and e at the end is silent. The ch sounds like a sh.
  
  As such: His niche was ugly gee-gaws.
  
  rgds
  
  Carrie
- 02/06/2018 at 5:24 pm #32338
  Always A Trade Off U.K.
  Participant
  Location: The U.K. the land of the car boot sale.
  @always-a-trade-off-u-k
  Accents weve got you beat !! On this side of the pond we have some fantastic accents, take a look at this its some Irish sheep farmers talking about sheep stealing. I can just about understand what they are saying.
  
  https://youtu.be/jsUvcjk8J5c
  - 02/06/2018 at 5:36 pm #32339
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    You speak the truth. England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland have a huge mix of regional accents. Amazing people can keep them with everyone now watching TV.
- 02/07/2018 at 10:38 am #32410
  Utahbill
  Participant
  Location:
  @utahbill
  Getting them in late but, here are my numbers for last week.
  
  Week of January 28- February 3
  Total items in store start of week: 260
  Total items in store end of week: 262
  Total sales: $245.94 (does not include shipping)
  # items sold: 10
  Weekly Sell Through Rate: 3.8%
  Average Sales Price: $24.59
  Returns: 0
  # items listed: 12
  
  I did a decent job listing, but increasing sales kept my number of listings down and I failed to meet my goal for the week of 270 listings. So, the goal for this week remains the same.
  
  Next weeks total items in store goal: 270
- 02/07/2018 at 12:12 pm #32421
  almasty
  Participant
  Location:
  @alamasty
  Just listened to the podcast. Faygo is so gross. Ugh.
  
  I can’t believe they have a twitter, and this is their blurb:
  
  Faygo BeveragesVerified account
  @Faygo
  With over 50 flavors to choose from, Faygo has something for the whole family!
  
  50 flavors now? Whaaat? Drinking it makes you feel as if the enamel is going to come off your teeth.
  - 02/08/2018 at 9:27 am #32518
    Retro Treasures WV
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @retro-treasures-wv
    Faygo was the pop (soda, coke, tonic, or whatever your word of choise) of choice for poor kids whose parents didn’t buy name brand pop in the 80’s. ICP’s fan base was based on the poor kids who were teens/early adults in the 90’s when they came out.
    
    IE, they all shared the bond of drinking crappy Faygo.
    
    Not a Juggalo but my best friend was and he made me listen to their first album constantly.
    
    I drank faygo as a kid…until the fateful day I tried the new “Chocolate” Faygo. Oh my gosh that was the most awful crap I’ve ever tried to drink. I spit it out and never drank Faygo of any kind again.
    - 02/08/2018 at 9:31 am #32519
      Jay
      Keymaster
      
      Location: Virginia
      @jay
      
      Yeah. I actually know more about ICP than I let on on the podcast. A band that all the misfit kids love. A big community where they love each other. Still looks weird and crazy from the outside…just like most music sub-cultures.
      
      I just know I would not want to be sprayed with sugary soda at an outdoor concert in the middle of summer. Gross.
- 02/07/2018 at 4:36 pm #32458
  Mark S
  Participant
  Location:
  @mark-s
  This is an unusual request.
  
  I had a buyer who wanted to buy this “WWII US Navy Uniform, 2 Pieces (jumper & pants) Dress Blue Service Uniform” (https://www.ebay.com/itm/331943670680) from me, but then realized it wouldn’t fit. I ended up selling him a Cracker Jack Hat.
  
  I told him I would let a group of sellers know what he is looking for. You are that group.
  
  He is looking for a WW II Navy enlisted uniform to wear at a couple of functions. His chest size is 42″ and a 34″ waist.
  
  Let me know if you have anything that might fit this description.
  
  Mark
  - 02/07/2018 at 7:41 pm #32468
    Ryanne
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @ryanne
    i have a vtg cracker jack jumper shirt that is a 44″ chest that might work. will you email me off list and i’ll send you a link? thescavengerlife@gmail.com
    - 02/08/2018 at 8:58 am #32510
      Mark S
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @mark-s
      
      Ryanne,
      
      I sent an email to you.
      
      Mark
- 02/07/2018 at 9:27 pm #32496
  JasonK
  Participant
  Location: Florida
  @jasonk
  GewGaws, tchotchkes, thingamabobs, knick knacks, doohickeys. I have used all those words on occasion. Mostly when going to garage sales in a 55+ community to describe about 50% of the items the old ladies are selling there 🙂
- 02/09/2018 at 4:04 pm #32610
  mickdog
  Participant
  Location: Portland, OR
  @mickdog
  I’m late to the thread this week, but I promised myself I’d start posting monthly numbers on my part-time store.
  
  January:
  43 sales (plus one cancelled sale)
  $ sold (minus shipping): $964.47
  Per sale average: $22.43
  cost per item average: $4.49
  
  Items in store peak for month: ~370
  
  Returns: 0 (Two people inquired about, but did not return items based on color)
  
  Biggest sale: 747 Airplane model that I took a best offer of $80.00 (paid $19)
  
  Just an okay month. My per sale average was way down as most items were small things under $20. Very consistent sales all month, 1-2 items almost every day. Had a few big sales like the airplane model above and a super heavy drop receiver that sold and shipped only 70 miles away. Price per item was high as I sold a few items that I bought for more than $10. Sourced some inventory at an auction and thrifts (and even bought a few lots on eBay as an experiment!), but I’ve not listed as much as I should.
  
  But… to remedy that I took the plunge and upgraded my store to the mid-level, eBay was offering a first month discount so I figured if I can get the inventory up to 450 by the end of February (my break even point on store cost) I will be happy. So there will be much listing for the next few weekends in my free time!
- 02/19/2018 at 1:36 am #33318
  KatieScott
  Participant
  Location:
  @katiescott
  1. Returns on Higher Dollar Items: I keep a small amount of money in my pay pal account because it once got hacked and the scammer took $2,000 in 15 minutes by hacking into my ebay account and then purchasing things and sending them to that Markley Street address in New Jersey. Pay Pal refunded me and the whole thing was resolved. But. Since then, I’ve kept a very small amount of money in my Pay Pal account. Most of the things I sell are lower dollar items at this time, so I keep enough to cover any possible returns. But, I am hoping to get into higher dollar items. I’m wondering what your philosophy is on how much money you keep in Pay Pal, especially when higher dollar items could be returns. What do you do?
  
  2. Arguing on Podcasts: I listened to a podcast by Dax Shepard recently where he interviewed his wife, Kristen Bell, and they started the podcast with an argument about going to the craft store. Later, they said they left the argument in the podcast / didn’t edit it out so that people could see that they weren’t as happy and perky and agreeable as they appear to be in their Samsung ads. I have worked with my husband for 20 years and when our kids were little and heard us talking about work they would always say “stop arguing” – and we’d be surprised that they thought we were arguing, because we were just talking and maybe had different opinions about something. I think having a partner is great, especially when they have different strengths and weaknesses than you do. I think it is also very normal and healthy to argue / have differing opinions from your partner, this is how issues get explored and how good decisions get made as a team.
  
  3. Storage Building: I can’t wait to see more photos / a video.
  
  4. Inventory System: I have my items stored by type of item and then alphabetically in the case of clothes. My husband always wants me to do the spreadsheet / numbering system and I just don’t want to do it that way. I think just keeping like items together is enough, even with a large inventory. The numbering system actually scares me a bit because if you can’t find something, then where are you going to look next? With keeping like items together, you can always think, ok, it’s not in pants, maybe it accidentally got put in with the shorts, or something like that, so you can actually find things.
  
  5. Vintage Henckles Knife with Horn Handle: I found one! I was so excited. I found it at the Goodwill Outlet and when I went to check out they said they couldn’t sell it because they don’t sell knives because once a cashier got cut. So, ok, that was disappointing, but I understand the policy is for safety, that makes sense. So, I said to the cashier, you should put that back into the regular store so someone can buy it because it is a really nice knife. She said that they have to just throw it in the garbage. This made me sad. I hope she just took it home with her or some scenario where that knife didn’t end up in the actual garbage.
  
  6. Meow. Kitty!
  - 02/19/2018 at 8:23 am #33324
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    I know people get freaked out by scammers, but as you show in your case, Paypal made you whole. The whole point of using a “middle man” for financial transactions is that they guarantee your money.
    
    We use our Paypal account like a bank account (and have the cool debit card). No problem.
Author

Posts