The Numbers: Week March 10-16, 2024

This topic has 17 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 1 year ago by ChristineR.

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- 03/19/2024 at 11:20 am #102647
  Jay
  Keymaster
  Location: Virginia
  @jay
  eBay sales have been coming in weird spurts of sales. Slow/dead on one day. Then lots of sales the next. We’d drive ourselves crazy trying to figure o
  [See the full post at: The Numbers: Week March 10-16, 2024]
- 03/19/2024 at 12:42 pm #102649
  ChristineR
  Participant
  Location: Southern California
  @christiner
  Sales were really poor for me last week. I haven’t been listing but I also got hit with a “ghost listing” resale of a single quantity item I just sold. I contacted Ebay for Business with the order numbers and the help was super poor. I can’t find the request a call page on the website but will need to call today. I sold the same item three times in December (that one was multi-quantity) and didn’t complain about that because I was super busy. Two legitimate issues and now my rating is way down, which probably has something to do with the poor sales. I’ve heard some tech issues people have been having so I guess they must be doing some work.
  
  Working on my taxes and we will visit Seattle where my daughter will perform at their Symphony Hall. Then I really need to get back to listing and calm down with the sourcing. All of our annual rummage sales came all at once this year it seems.
  - 03/21/2024 at 10:50 am #102660
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Its weird that eBay hasn’t fixed that bug on multi-items. Why do you think it happens?
    
    Congrats on your daughter playing in a symphony. exciting!
    - 03/21/2024 at 1:20 pm #102663
      ChristineR
      Participant
      
      Location: Southern California
      @christiner
      
      @Thanks Jay. Their choir is amazing, as is the director.
      
      I don’t think it was my mistake, especially the last one I just sold that wasn’t multi-quantity. No idea.
      
      I found a place on the website to ask for dings to get taken off. I had yet another ding for something I shipped and got scanned same day but arrived late.
      
      I broke one sold item while cleaning and didn’t have a box in time for a big long one. So all of this added up and is making my sales poor. I hope they fix all of the ones I requested.
      - 03/22/2024 at 10:30 am #102670
        
        ChristineR
        Participant
        
        Location: Southern California
        @christiner
        
        eBay told me to pound sand on all of it. Supposedly I put quantity 2 on the last one I thought was a ghost listing. The late delivery one was for no scan 4 days. I put it in the mailbox at Xmastime so even though I shipped the same day it arrived late and they wouldn’t remove that one. Oof. Unless I find the plates later that sold multiple times, I’m very confident that was not my mistake because I remember updating that variation listing when I only had 3 left, but oh well. 😩😣
        
        apparently they are telling a lot of sellers to pound sand lately.
        
        03/22/2024 at 2:42 pm #102672
        
        Sharyn
        Participant
        
        Location: Central NJ
        @sharyn
        
        @ChristineR – Hang in there. Things will right themselves.
        
        For shipping, I make sure that the post office scans in each item. I use a scan sheet when I have more than two items, and I’ll use the automated machine in the post office lobby if I show up after hours. I use the UPS store or the Walgreens for FedEx. Whatever way, I make sure to get that scan.
        
        03/25/2024 at 2:21 pm #102677
        
        ChristineR
        Participant
        
        Location: Southern California
        @christiner
        
        Thanks Sharon! Yeah, I have a friendly mailman at the moment but I have noticed no scans since. I ship the next morning mostly so I think it usually arrives on time anyway. But 98% of the time I drop it at the post office in the bin. Ours have very long lines usually so I don’t wait for a worker to scan.
- 03/19/2024 at 1:39 pm #102650
  Retro Treasures WV
  Participant
  Location:
  @retro-treasures-wv
  3/4-3/10
  Items in Store: 3022
  Items Sold: 24
  Total Sales: $944.00
  COGS: $138.00
  Total Profit: $806.00
  Average profit: $33.58
  Average sales price: $39.33
  New Listings: 23
  Items scavenged: 4
  2024 weekly new listings Avg: 41
  2024 avg gross weekly sales $1,586.80
  2024 Avg weekly Items Sold 37
  2024 ASP $43.36
  2024 projected total sales $82,513.60
  
  We left to go on a beach trip on Thursday of this week. As soon as I turned on Time away (until the 18th) my store straight up died. Still not a bad week for having a fairly long time away turned on for half the week. I’ll take it! I travel scavenger style as well. I booked an oceanfront 3-bedroom condo for 7 nights at Wyndham Ocean Boulevard Resort for $875 total on eBay. You can’t beat that! I’ve been booking timeshare condos on eBay since 2008. The deals aren’t as plentiful as they used to be, but they are still there. We always travel off-season typically last minute which helps too.
  
  Premium Hoarder update:
  Sold 4 items for $432. One of the items is a big test – a pair of Gucci Soccer cleats that are going through the authenticity program. I was leery of them when I listed them, but now that I’ve processed most of the shoes I’m confident they are authentic. We’ll see what the authenticator thinks. This is the only pair I’ve sold through the authenticity program so far.
- 03/19/2024 at 1:44 pm #102651
  Retro Treasures WV
  Participant
  Location:
  @retro-treasures-wv
  3/11-3/17
  Items in Store: 2991
  Items Sold: 31
  Total Sales: $1,372.00
  COGS: $160.00
  Total Profit: $1,212.00
  Average profit: $39.10
  Average sales price: $44.26
  New Listings: 0
  Items scavenged: 14
  2024 weekly new listings Avg: 38
  2024 avg gross weekly sales $1,567.27
  2024 Avg weekly Items Sold 36
  2024 ASP $43.43
  2024 projected total sales $81,498.18
  
  Ah well an amazing beach trip is in the books and it is time to get back to work. It always sucks to come home after a trip like that. The ocean water was a “soothing” 58 degrees F and yes, I got all the way in and swam around every day. Ain’t nothing quite like being in water so cold that you can’t tell if you are cold or on fire. We even got to see some dolphins swimming along the coast one morning.
  
  I do have a toy recommendation if you have small children: https://surferdudes.com/
  
  I have 3 of these and they are freaking awesome. I won’t lie, I totally go play with one of these even when my kids aren’t. They are that much fun. Hands down the BEST beach toy you will ever own.
  
  A trip like that is why I do this ebay thing. I don’t have to budget – we just go. I made enough on ebay while I was there to pay for the whole trip.
  
  Sadly, my portable hot tub I keep set up in my ebay garage sprung an air leak right before I left. I had to drain it and then when I returned I took it out. I did the responsible thing and placed the elliptical machine in its place so my wife and I can get more exercise. So instead of a lazy 30 minute soak in the morning I can do a 30 minute exercise. Boooooo!!! I also now had room to set up another table to stage ebay work. In the next week or two I’ll have my weight platform cleaned off and I’ll be able to throw myself full tilt into getting physically fit again like I was before Covid wiped me out.
  
  I had over 40 items to ship yesterday. The downside of returning from an extended trip.
  
  Premium Hoarder update:
  
  Sold 7 items for $691. The big item was an amazing 100% Linen Denim style Ralph Lauren chore jacket. I didn’t really have comps, so I shot for the moon at $700. Ended up taking an offer of $400 and the buyer since it sold has bought 2 more shirts from the hoarder collection.
  - 03/21/2024 at 10:54 am #102661
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    It’s so smart to buy people’s timeshares. It’s such a scam for the people that own and pay for it yearly. I knew a guy who was a salesman at a local timeshare company who explained how the economics of it are so bad for the buyer….but so lucrative for the building owner.
    
    A weeklong vacation for a family of 8 for under $1000 is incredible.
    - 03/21/2024 at 2:24 pm #102665
      Retro Treasures WV
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @retro-treasures-wv
      
      Every time I do one of these guest pass rentals, the timeshare offers to do a “90 minute” presentation as the “guest of a VIP”. I used to do them every trip for the free rewards but quit a few years ago as the rewards just weren’t worth the wasted time. They claim 90 minutes but it always ends up 120-160. I’m not doing that for a $100-200 gift card.
      
      I’ve made 2 exceptions in the last 2 years. Last August we were at this same resort. I told my wife I wouldn’t do it for anything less than a 100% free trip to Medieval Times for my ENTIRE family (the equivalent of 4 adults and 4 kids due to ages). I told them that’s what I wanted and the guy said “ok I can do that”. That trip would have cost me over $500. So yeah, I sat through that irritating 2 hours. The math they present is absolutely hilarious to me, but I could see how it could confuse folks who don’t have my background.
      
      This trip they offered me a $100 gift card. HARD PASS!!
      
      The other exception was a presentation while staying at a Hilton resort (for free with my business credit card points and free nights from ebay business). Hilton is getting into the timeshare game. They offered me 100k hilton honors points for a quick presentation down at their new timeshare style resort. 100k points is worth well over $600 if you use them right. The funny thing is that the normal hilton property I was actually staying at was better. It was boring and dumb but I had those 100k points in my account before I got back to my hotel. Score!
      
      So fellow scavengers, don’t do a time share tour unless you are getting at least $500. They CAN and will do that much.
      
      The only timeshare tour I would recommend that has very little rewards is a Disney Vacation Club tour. Why? Because it’s actually a pretty cool experience! They have a special building at disney world that houses a demo condo unit for EVERY DVC property. You get to tour every unit (even the luxury ones). Some of these places are really amazing.
      
      At the end there is no sales pitch. They hand you a price list and basically say you can buy now or you can take the guide home and buy later if you want to think about it more. There is no negotiations, no hidden gotchas. Then they give you ice cream, a few fast passes, and transport you to wherever you want to go on property.
      
      Would I ever buy it? NOPE! I stay here for less than $1000 for a 2 bedroom:
      
      https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/wyndham-grand/orlando-florida/wyndham-grand-orlando-resort-bonnet-creek/overview?iata=00093763&cid=PS:wked1os23smk2cw&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwte-vBhBFEiwAQSv_xYgYhEEEvtD01xG_2m1VsWNkRCRkCxXLDIqAxzXBCyOiAdiClR0FMBoCuUQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
      
      In the off season I’ve stayed here for as low as $500 for a week.
      - 03/21/2024 at 6:08 pm #102666
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        HA. Yeah, he told me about the tours people have to take for gift cards. $500 seems worth it!
- 03/19/2024 at 9:44 pm #102655
  Sharyn
  Participant
  Location: Central NJ
  @sharyn
  I have noticed changes here and there on eBay; mostly on the app. I found it particularly humorous that they lifted my selling limit. I can now list billions of dollars on eBay! I’ll be right on it …
  
  Another humorous thing that happened; several weeks ago I was doing my weekly shopping at Trader Joe’s and saw a new canvas bag for $2.99 that was maybe half the size of their regular ones. I thought it was cute. I hesitated; thought about it; but I couldn’t justify a purchase. I really couldn’t see a use for it. Ends up it went viral or whatever and people were lining up to buy them. I could have resold it for $20 or more! Not a big deal really, but I was that close.
  
  I’m still super busy at work due to our new contract, so I’m not listing much, and it shows. It is also a slow time of year for eBay, so the combination resulted in two weeks of low numbers.
  
  Week of Mar 3 – 9
  Total Items in Store: 1654 eBay, 29 Etsy, 34 Ruby Lane
  Items Sold: 8 eBay, 1 Etsy, 0 Ruby Lane
  Cost of Items Sold: $22.43 + $15.73 Commission
  Total Sales: $277.66 eBay; $17.79 Etsy; includes fees but no shipping
  Highest Price Sold: eBay $169 for 14k Yellow Gold Bracelet Herringbone Flat Chain
  Average price: $32.83
  Returns: 0
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
  Number of items listed this week: 6
  
  ——————————————————
  
  Week of Mar 10 – 16
  Total Items in Store: 1651 eBay, 28 Etsy, 37 Ruby Lane
  Items Sold: 6 eBay, 1 Etsy, 0 Ruby Lane
  Cost of Items Sold: $0 + $13 Commission
  Total Sales: $77.40 eBay; $74.73 Etsy; includes fees but no shipping
  Highest Price Sold: Etsy $74.73 for Set 5 Blue Ridge Southern Potteries Luncheon Plates
  Average price: $21.73
  Returns: 0
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
  Number of items listed this week: 6
- 03/20/2024 at 8:35 pm #102658
  Sharyn
  Participant
  Location: Central NJ
  @sharyn
  I thought I’d mention something I heard about on Facebook. A local historian and his brother have a restoration company of vintage media. I believe it was his brother who purchased a video tape from 1969 on eBay that had a recording of the moon landing. It was one of the first home TV video recorders. He was successful in recovering the video off the tape.
  
  Below is the link to the eBay listing and a link to the article. In the article, you can find a link to his video. It shows how he cleaned up the tape and then he shows the full video of the moon landing.
  
  https://www.ebay.com/itm/296231008457
  
  https://www.extremetech.com/science/apollo-11-moon-landing-broadcast-rediscovered-after-55-years
  - 03/21/2024 at 10:55 am #102662
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    What a find. Not sure if it has any specific monetary value? but a really fun find.
    - 03/21/2024 at 9:33 pm #102668
      Sharyn
      Participant
      
      Location: Central NJ
      @sharyn
      
      He’s basically giving the full broadcast away in the video, but I think it is great advertisement for his business.
- 03/22/2024 at 2:11 am #102669
  Antique Frog
  Participant
  Location: Leicester
  @antique-frog
  Now, you can experience that moment just like people did in 1969.
  
  4 o’clock in the morning, after being woken up by your parents.
- 03/24/2024 at 9:37 am #102673
  ThriftShift
  Participant
  Location: Charleston, SC
  @thriftshift
  3/10-3/16
  
  Ebay items in store: 312
  
  ebay sold: 6 for $238.42
  
  ebay COGs: $6
  
  ebay profit after fees/ship: $159.37
  
  FBM items in store: 62
  
  FBM sold: 12 for $405
  
  FBM COGs: $17
  
  FBM profit: $388
  
  I was in South Africa for four weeks in February and had set my shipping time to 15 business days. It should have worked out fine. However, my sister in Belgium threw her back out around Feb 24 so my daughter and I flew there from Capetown. We spent two weeks, so I had to rely on my husband to ship the items that were due. I have bins of stuff, not organized. He found the items and shipped them. However when I got back, I had to cancel three sales that I just couldn’t find the items. That dropped my rating down. I put my items on 50% off this week in hopes to make sales and raised the promoted standard to 8-10%.
  
  For FBM, I sold a vintage bamboo chair for $130, had cost me $17 at a Salvation Army. The rest of these items were found items by me: a pair of black saddle stools, large cheese tray, Intex air mattress, a REI daypack, a stroller-tricycle, set of black pillows large, 7 book set vintage, a USC graduation gown, two sets of patio cushions, and a unicorn needlepoint.
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