The Numbers: Week May 26-June 1, 2024

This topic has 18 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 3 months ago by ChristineR.

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- 06/05/2024 at 9:21 am #103288
  Jay
  Keymaster
  Location: Virginia
  @jay
  Better week for our sales. Lots of random sales. Highest sale was a vintage denim jacket to someone in Japan. Another was an amateur carved wooden hea
  [See the full post at: The Numbers: Week May 26-June 1, 2024]
- 06/05/2024 at 10:54 am #103291
  ChristineR
  Participant
  Location: Southern California
  @christiner
  Total Listings in Store: 891
  Items Sold: 12
  Gross Sales: $402 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
  Net Sales: $224 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
  Cost of Items Sold: $80
  Highest Price Sold: $58 New RA pajama pants
  Average Price Sold: $33
  Returns: 1 cancellation – couldn’t locate – ugh
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $160 (travel thrifting vintage linens + in SF forgot to put on last week I think.)
  Number of items listed this week: 0
  
  Glad you had a better sales week R&J.
  
  I don’t know what it is about this year, but time is flying by it seems. I can’t believe it’s June. As far as my Ebay business goes, I have been shopping too much again in 2024 and need to right that ship. Part of that was weather related, part of that is just lack of listing discipline, and part is because I was preparing to launch the live summer selling season. One of my kids is also struggling again and the other is having a hard time getting his first internship. I’m forever distracted by kids’ struggles and try to help them out in various ways.
  
  The live selling was really fun but a bit disappointing. I reported elsewhere that I have some adjusting to do and due to the booth location and glut of sellers it was not super profitable. My rental fee was waived though as this was the first night market experiment.
  
  It was interesting though to see Ebay browsers come alive in a sense. Young people discovering vintage objects they hadn’t seen before and being drawn in by the clothing rack, men flipping the art racks, drunk people buying animal art reminding them of dead pets, people considering prices. I got a ton of compliments and invitations to start an inside booth and pop up elsewhere. https://www.instagram.com/p/C7ptgZJvTOj/ I brought too much and will scale back a bit when I do the daytime market this weekend. Hopefully the tourists are out already. Pricing is a bit tricky to figure out. Definitely prices are better online but then you often need to wait to get those.
  
  For the live sale I pulled some items from the death piles where I have multiples (playing cards, mini ceramics, glass trinket dishes) and also large items I don’t want to ship. I bought a lot of the supplies secondhand, but had to pay up for a few things so I’m not in the black yet most likely. I started ramping up Ebay listing again yesterday. There is a ton of recent purchase backlog and good stuff. We have a lot of extra expenses lately and need the money. A lot of the work into the market is now done but I have price tags to do at set up this Saturday.
  
  Hope it’s a good week on Ebay for everyone!
  - 06/05/2024 at 12:35 pm #103294
    ChristineR
    Participant
    
    Location: Southern California
    @christiner
    https://www.instagram.com/p/C70l9b1xb4K/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
    
    This is the competition – a lot of sellers, not enough shoppers.
    - 06/06/2024 at 10:56 am #103310
      Jay
      Keymaster
      
      Location: Virginia
      @jay
      
      That looks like a serious bunch of sellers. Your booth looked really good.
      - 06/06/2024 at 11:35 am #103313
        
        ChristineR
        Participant
        
        Location: Southern California
        @christiner
        
        Thanks Jay!
        
        They built it…now will they come? Some regulars came up from LA for this show. I don’t have the vehicle to do it but the LA monthly markets are a big deal and would be more profitable. Santa Barbara is a strange place in that there is major wealth here but most people are more tightfisted than LA. I don’t think they did a good job advertising this to locals but it was just the first one. Also the organizer shared that he thought he might have had a little too much going on with all of the adjoining spaces full. Hopefully in July I will get accepted to sell on one that is more of an artisan thing and on the main street.
        
        It’s a labor of love but I hope to shed some inventory this summer as well. Fun to meet people for sure.
        
        06/07/2024 at 3:02 am #103326
        
        craig rex
        Participant
        
        Location: south jersey
        @craig-rex
        
        You’re a good Mom Christine. Your kids are lucky to have you in their corner.
        
        I took a trip to Lancaster PA last year and there was a funky shopping complex called Building Character which had similar vibes to your market. Sometimes I think that I would love to end up in a touristy town like that. But you really need a lot of foot traffic to make the numbers work.
        
        There is a teeny tiny similar type of market in my little New Jersey town and sometimes I walk there and check out the vendors. It’s fun to browse, even if there’s nothing I would buy. The booth/table fees are very cheap and everyone is nice. But the place is always dead. I just can’t see how anyone is ever making more than about $50 profit on any given weekend…let alone on weekdays.
        
        Since moving to this small town, I’ve noticed that a lot of brick and mortar stores come and go in a year or less, and a lot of others exist in this weird way where the business isn’t open often enough where they could possibly make a profit. I would like to think this will get better over the next 5-10 years. It seems like an inefficient use of space. But considering how wealth is concentrated in the US, it’s probably going to get worse, not better. Am I too cynical?
        
        06/07/2024 at 7:14 am #103329
        
        Retro Treasures WV
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @retro-treasures-wv
        
        I’ve had this thought sooo many times in small businesses. I always compare it to my eBay business. I make $100 a day and have next to zero overhead costs.
        
        I go into or pass small business that have employees, rent, bills,etc and think “there’s no way they are doing more than $200 in business a day!” They might even barely do $100 in business on some days. How is this even feasible!
        
        06/09/2024 at 6:03 pm #103334
        
        ChristineR
        Participant
        
        Location: Southern California
        @christiner
        
        https://www.instagram.com/p/C796kvsSGCL/ Here is yesterday’s daytime market booth. Sold about $600 gross, so pretty happy with that. There was a steady stream of people and a better age range of shoppers. Bring on the summer. Still obviously Ebay is more profitable with no overhead but there are a lot of non-financial pay offs for doing live sales. It’s great to be outside connecting with buyers and vendors. Mainly, I sat at a desk for my regular job and it’s hard to just sit and list sometimes. I’m also trying to shed some things I would possibly never get around to listing. At the end of the summer I might do a flea market or yard sale to clear out more stuff I don’t feel like selling on Ebay. Then, I’d be able to go to estate and yard sales without guilt perhaps.
        
        06/09/2024 at 6:05 pm #103335
        
        ChristineR
        Participant
        
        Location: Southern California
        @christiner
        
        @Craig Rex you are so sweet thanks. It’s hard watching your kids struggle even though sometimes it’s good for them in the end.
- 06/05/2024 at 1:33 pm #103296
  Retro Treasures WV
  Participant
  Location:
  @retro-treasures-wv
  Items in Store: 2859
  Items Sold: 29
  Total Sales: $981.00
  COGS: $115.00
  Total Profit: $866.00
  Average profit: $29.86
  Average sales price: $33.83
  New Listings: 0
  Items scavenged: 560
  2024 weekly new listings Avg: 27
  2024 avg gross weekly sales $1,429.05
  2024 Avg weekly Items Sold 33
  2024 ASP $43.42
  2024 projected total sales $74,310.36
  
  Well I bought a BUNCH this week. I got the call to come back to check out the final load from the premium hoarder haul. I had to do a lot of reorganizing to get my van emptied out. The first day I completely filled my van. Then the next day I filled my wife’s van! I can leave mine full since I just drive to/from my day job, but my wife’s had to be emptied pronto. So, turns out my van wasn’t completely full. I managed to fit most of the rest in there and moved the rest into the garage. So YAY I managed to get everything a place. My work space is a disaster though. I have paths to all my stations in the garage but that’s about it. Due to all this work (plus some honeydo’s) I didn’t have time to get listings done. I have over 160 drafts awaiting photos! It’s a good problem to have but at some point I have to get those photos done. I’ll probably hit 200+ this week. I have some drafts that will expire in about 2 weeks.
  
  In other sourcing news, yard sales were plentiful on a beautiful 1<sup>st</sup> weekend of June. I picked up 2 junior sets of golf clubs that I will sell on FBMP. The highlight of the day was some SCUBA Gear for $10 and a pair of vintage made in USA converse sneakers. Then an unexpected find once I started creating listings. I picked up some vintage hats at a sale for 50 cents each. Good sellers, and some possibly $40-50 hats. One of them was a Seinfeld hat. I thought at the time it would be a $20 or so hat. Well… here is the same hat: https://www.ebay.com/itm/135084748910
  
  A long tail item for sure, but there have been solds in terapeak at that price. I’ll probably list for $100 and take offers.
  
  Premium Hoarder update:
  
  Sold 2 items for $250.
  
  Welp, I bought a bunch more. I did not make an offer on the entire garage. I cherry picked everything with higher profit margins and left a bunch of stuff that either was too low of sales price, had a longer STR, or just didn’t “tickle my fancy”. I skipped on a lot of bread n butter used Ralph Lauren stuff.
  
  In total I bought 408 clothing/misc pieces and 113 pair of shoes. There were 9 pair of new in box shoes left I paid $25 each for. For the non-boxed shoes I paid $20 a pair. I went through every pair and left the common low value shoes which was a giant tub full – probably 60-80 pair – I left behind.
  
  In the end I paid $12 average per item this haul- $6320 total. The lady was definitely not charging me tag price on a lot of things as it should have been closer to 17-18 average, especially with the shoes. She threw in a few nice items for free as well. My total cost for everything I have bought from this estate is $18761. I am quite happy with what I have. They will do a few more yard sales this summer as there is still a ton of stuff left. I will swing by and maybe change my mind on a few items.
  
  In the meantime, I am at MAX capacity and need to start selling this stuff ASAP! I would like to start listing the higher dollar stuff and get my summer average weekly sales back up over
  - 06/06/2024 at 10:58 am #103311
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    I know it was a big outlay of cash, but I’m glad to see you got as much as you could from the premium hoard. Might have been a once n a lifetime.
    
    Now its just getting down to business. You eat an elephant one bite at a time 🙂
    - 06/06/2024 at 11:45 am #103315
      Retro Treasures WV
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @retro-treasures-wv
      
      I’m focusing on the shoes right now as they have highest ASP. I want to get that investment back as fast as I can.
      
      Here’s two good examples from this latest haul I got listed this morning.
      
      https://www.ebay.com/itm/266847189794
      
      Louis Vuitton Brown Damier Hair Square Toe Slide Loafers Size 9.5 UK
      
      https://www.ebay.com/itm/266847191546
      
      Allen Edmonds Sea Island Slip-on Loafer Navy Size 11 D USA Made New In Box 69133
      
      I want to do 5 a day until I get about half of the new shoe haul listed. That will put around $10k of value into my store in just 50 listings.
      
      I did some organizing this morning so I could get back to photography sooner. Then next week my kids will be freed up to get the 180+ drafts photographed for me.
  - 06/07/2024 at 2:35 am #103325
    craig rex
    Participant
    
    Location: south jersey
    @craig-rex
    I’m glad the premium hoarder seller took good care of you as far as throwing in a few freebies. I get the VIP treatment from a few of the regular eBay consignment card sellers I buy from. Usually it’s a big break on combined shipping but every so often it’s a cool freebie. A few weeks ago, one seller who lives in Hawaii sent me a message that they couldn’t find one of the cards in my 30+ card order (just a cheap card, $1 or $2 winning bid) and they promised a replacement I would like. I opened the box and they sent me a small box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts!! Best freebie I’ve ever gotten! I ate those one bite at a time over the next few days.
- 06/05/2024 at 2:19 pm #103299
  craig rex
  Participant
  Location: south jersey
  @craig-rex
  5/26/2024 to 6/1/2024
  
  Items in store: 232 (up from 156 a few weeks ago)
  
  Items sold: 21 — 6 via best offer, 10 via seller initiated offer, 17 via promoted listings
  
  This might be my largest number of sales via seller initiated offer since that feature’s been introduced. I generally send 20% offers and sometimes 25%. I don’t go that high on higher priced items or items which I think will sell for full price, but anything else is fair game. If you believe in the predictive power of numbers, give some 20% offers a try!
  
  Gross sales: $831.63 (down 44% from one year ago)
  
  Net sales: $491.96 (down 40% from one year ago)
  
  Sometimes these sales numbers are a reflection of me relying less on eBay and more on my consignment trading cards port to sell my inventory, but my consignment sales for the month of May 2024 were essentially the exact same as May 2023. But those consignment numbers come with a catch: I ran weeklong sales of 20%, 25% and 30% last May. In fact, I ran 28 (!!!) sales on my full consignment inventory last year, ranging from 4 days long to 11. I’ve run just two sales this year, both in March. I will definitely run a few later in the year during the site’s extensive Black Friday promotions, but mostly I have been letting things sell at full price and taking offers.
  
  Your numbers tell a good story, but sometimes you really need to analyze them to appreciate the full story. And remember that doom and gloom is often wasted energy.
  
  Average sales price: $39.60 (down 25% from one year ago)
  
  Highest price sold (net): $55.24— Naz Reid 2019 Panini Contenders draft playoff ticket auto /18
  
  Naz Reid, one of the top backups on the Minnesota Timberwolves, was a key player as his team made a surprising run to the Western Conference finals. I had a nice stack of Naz autographs from my time spent scavenging the Panini Rewards site, where they release cards every week usually on Fridays. The expensive cards ($100 and up) sell in seconds, but I can often pick up multiple copies of cards of players like Naz. It’s a matter of doing the research to find out whose cards are priced too high or too low. I am down to 1 or 2 copies of most of my Naz autographs after selling 29 (!!!) Naz cards since March. I’d love to add some more this offseason, but athletic peaks are often very short (same goes for team success) and it’s likely this last month was the height of Naz-mania.
  
  If I buy too many of his cards, and they don’t sell, does that mean he’ll be my Nazmanian devil?
  
  Lowest price sold (net): $11.03 — Ed Howard signed full sized bat
  
  Made a whopping $1 profit on this one. Full saga in sale of the week thread. Hey, they’re not all gonna be winners. Lesson learned and I’m sure what I learned here will pay off with real, actual profit sometime in the future.
  - 06/05/2024 at 7:31 pm #103301
    Retro Treasures WV
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @retro-treasures-wv
    Wow, a near 10% weekly STR is amazing!
    you really have your finger on the pulse of what people want in cards and memorabilia.
  - 06/06/2024 at 11:07 am #103312
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    It’s great that consignment selling has become the big bulk of your income. Though your eBay sales are still incredible considering you have a very small eBay inventory.
    
    It also sounds like you’re having a lot of fun doing something you love.
    - 06/06/2024 at 11:42 am #103314
      ChristineR
      Participant
      
      Location: Southern California
      @christiner
      
      Agree. Great job Craig Rex! I would kill for that sell through rate.
      - 06/07/2024 at 2:19 am #103324
        
        craig rex
        Participant
        
        Location: south jersey
        @craig-rex
        
        Thanks all. I like tracking my numbers, but a lot of card sellers get soooo granular with the numbers to a point it’s like paralysis by analysis. Sometimes a week or month is up or down from last year, and it’s just random. But it’s good to take a moment and recognize patterns and when things are going well. My sell-through rate is higher than it’s ever been because I’ve educated myself more about why things sell. My knowledge of cards and memorabilia is much wider and deeper than it was a year ago. I know a lot more about vintage cards, non-sports cards and certified autographs valuable. This has helped me do well with individual cards as well as small curated lots and bulk lots. I’m starting to feel more comfortable and confident each time I branch out to related but still somewhat new-to-me areas like old photographs or signed memorabilia.
        
        My goal over the next few months is to try and maintain this STR as I work through some bins with longtail/oddball/other niche items. As long as I continue to be selective about what I list, and price things well, I think this will go smoothly. If this means I donate a few boxes of stuff which don’t make the cut, or sell them for in a bulk lot for a quick offer, well that’s all part of a day’s work!
        
        Ideally I would like to hit 300 listings in my eBay store by the end of the month, and then assess my goals from there. In the very short term, I have a nice pile of 75 individual cards on the desk to get scanned and listed. About half of them were carefully selected consignment purchases where buying the card with consignment credit was more profitable than paying the 10% cash-out fee. The rest are “best of the best” from my weekly eBay buys or pickups from the Panini Rewards site where I buy multiple copies of the same card.
        
        I’ve found that I really enjoy selling autographs of obscure players who have cards in just a few sets. My purchases are often more based in my gut, my knowledge of the player and type of card, since there is little to no Terapeak history for that player’s autographs. A lot of times the buyers are true player or team collectors, often located in the same state as their home team and their fandom is a big part of who they are. They are the type to leave feedback that says Go (favorite team) or they get really happy when I send them a few bonus cards of that player or team and send me a nice message or leave a long feedback. It reminds me of what eBay used to be like before drop shipping and pre orders and people with handheld scanners and apps at every thrift store, estate sale and flea market. I’m not entirely nostalgic for that era. I think it’s easier to make a buck reselling now. But it’s nice to deal regularly with both collectors and flippers. Makes it harder to get cynical and easier to remind myself how much I enjoy my day to day routine. A lot of people have a very different, much more negative relationship with work.
- 06/05/2024 at 9:26 pm #103303
  Sharyn
  Participant
  Location: Central NJ
  @sharyn
  I was on vacation last week, so my numbers are ~~pathetic~~ very low. The one dress I sold was previously returned for size, and I will not bother relisting it if it gets returned again. The waist is too small for the size, and I hope the buyer read the listing carefully.
  
  Week of May 26 – Jun 1
  Total Items in Store: 1615 eBay, 29 Etsy
  Items Sold: 2 eBay, 0 Etsy
  Cost of Items Sold: $2 + $0 Commission
  Total Sales: $81.95 eBay
  Highest Price Sold: eBay $75 Donna Ricco Dress Full Length
  Average price: $41
  Returns: 0 (1 item cancelled)
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
  Number of items listed this week: 0
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