Scavenger Life Episode 420: Sell Trash, Be Free

Tagged: media mail

This topic has 50 replies, 21 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 8 months ago by Steve List.

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- 07/22/2019 at 2:36 pm #65252
  Ryanne
  Keymaster
  Location: Virginia
  @ryanne
  Join the conversation in the forum>> Our Store Week July 7-13, 2019 Total Items in Store: 8433 Items Sold: 35 Gross Sales: $1,063.60 Cost of I
  [See the full post at: Scavenger Life Episode 420: Sell Trash, Be Free]
- 07/22/2019 at 3:54 pm #65258
  simplicio
  Participant
  Location:
  @simplicio
  So are you guys feeling pumped about scavenging more once the rentals are more squared away, or are you looking for your next real estate baron fix?
  
  Good week on ebay.
  
  Sales: CAD$1473, 13 items, COGS: $336 –> Item profit: $870
  Expenditures (incl returns): $1031 –> Cashflow: $175
  Mostly these costs are inventory, and a big return on a faulty PDU.
  Listed: $863, 18 items
  Notable sales: fume hood $325 (paid $10), various other odds & ends.
  Scavenged: a bunch of fiber optic stuff, haven’t gone through it yet. $300 or so.
- 07/22/2019 at 4:02 pm #65259
  Retro Treasures WV
  Participant
  Location:
  @retro-treasures-wv
  Items in Store 1185
  Items Sold 19
  Total Sales $738.00
  COGS $38.00
  Total Profit $700.00
  Average profit $36.84
  Average sales price $38.84
  New Listings 0
  
  SUMMER GOAL: Running total is under pace by $786. Not too bad all things considering. I can still recover.
  Needed running total: $6125.00
  Actual running total: $5339.00
  
  My week was saved by two big sales this weekend. I sold a sweet Ralph Lauren denim & supply cardigan for $140 and a vintage Cleveland Indians Jersey for $200.
  
  Not much scavenging this week. I did pick up a new in box industrial hot dog cooker yesterday that is pretty cool. Paid $9 and they go for $120.
  
  Still no listing going on. I’ve made significant progress reorganizing my garage ebay space and yesterday I repaired the garage door opener that has been broken for several years. I’ve opened the door by hand all this time.
  
  The repair was done in true scavenger fashion. A year or two ago I bought a garage door opener at a yard sale for $10. I was going to just swap them, but I realized my installed opener was belt drive and the replacement was chain drive. I decided to try and repair the existing one. After doing some troubleshooting and opening both up, I realized that ALL of the electronics were swappable. The issue ended up being the starter capacitor. After learning how to reset the limit switch assembly (the manuals and most online help don’t explain this) I was back in business!
  The replacement unit was now disassembled and without a good capacitor so I am doing what any good scavenger would do. I swapped/tested the rest of the major electrical components and will be parting out the other unit. I’ll make well over $100 parting out the 2nd garage door opener.
- 07/22/2019 at 4:15 pm #65260
  Sharyn
  Participant
  Location: Central NJ
  @sharyn
  For the guy looking to ship many volumes of a book set, I need to add to what Ryanne said. I’ve done this before, and there is an issue with pricing out multiple boxes.
  
  Media mail has a maximum weight. I forget what it is, but it is something like 25 pounds. So, if you have 50 pounds of books (been there), you can’t put that in. The good thing about media mail is that the price for shipping to any place in the US is the same. So, I have done it two ways:
  
  Method #1: Calculate the cost to ship the two boxes, add that to the price, and mark it as free shipping. You have to remember and take that into account if someone makes an offer.
  
  Method #2: Put in the maximum weight you can for media mail (you’ll have to play around to see if it is 25 pounds or not). Figure out what the other box(es) cost, and put that as a handling fee.
  
  I think that the last time I did it, I used method #2. The one thing I was worried about is for an international sale. If it sold through GSP, then how does eBay properly determine the cost since I can’t put in the total weight? So, I took out the option for an international sale. I could have just let eBay figure it out, but I didn’t want to take any chances.
  
  Either way, you have to adjust the shipping if USPS has a price increase while the listing is still up.
  
  Good luck! I’ve done well selling sets of 100-year old encyclopedias (one was labeled a dictionary, and the other called itself a cyclopedia). Both were in somewhat distressed condition; at least on the outside.
  
  Week of July 14-20
  * Total Items in Store: 1337 eBay, 3 Etsy
  * Items Sold: 10
  * Cost of Items Sold: $5.25 + $0 Commission
  * Total Sales: $189.47
  * Highest Price Sold: $37.36 Framed Matisse Print
  * Average Price Sold: $18.95
  * Returns: 0
  * Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
  * Number of items listed this week: 2
  
  Another slow week on eBay after coming back from vacation, but I am starting to list again. That will help.
  - 07/26/2019 at 5:35 am #65444
    Steve List
    Participant
    
    Location: Richmond, Calif.
    @steve-list
    Quick note on Media Mail:
    From: https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-Media-Mail-Book-Rate
    “Packages can weigh up to 70 lbs. and measure up to 108 inches in combined length and distance around the thickest part. A surcharge may be applied to certain items; including printed matter over 25 pounds.”
    Retail cost are listed at this link, although I haven’t found anything on the surcharged mentioned above: https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm#_c059
- 07/22/2019 at 5:36 pm #65261
  T-Satt
  Participant
  Location:
  @t-satt
  Week of 07/08-07/20
  Total Items in Store: 3,278 (Up 32% YOY)
  Number of Items Listed: 137
  Number of Items Sold: 99 (Up 43% YOY)
  (Includes 3 Etsy, 5 Poshmark, 0 Bonanza, 0 TrueGether)
  Weekly STR: 13% (Up 1% YOY)
  
  Total Product Sales: $2,867 (Up 57% YOY)
  Sales Volume Variance to Prior Year: Up $794
  Sales Price Variance to Prior Year: Up $247
  Cost of Items Sold: $512
  Cost of Labor: $234
  Highest Item Sold: $249 – Tecovas Boots
  Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Veronica wins the week and Veronica leads for the year 17-13.
  
  Clothing
  # Listed: 1,894
  # Sold: 65
  STR: 15%
  ASP: $24.39
  
  Shoes
  # Listed: 787
  # Sold: 23
  STR: 13%
  ASP: $48.59
  
  Hard Goods
  # Listed: 597
  # Sold: 11
  STR: 8%
  ASP: $14.93
  
  EBay
  # Listed: 3,278
  # Sold: 91
  STR: 12%
  ASP: $28.90
  
  Etsy
  # Listed: 222
  # Sold: 3
  STR: 6%
  ASP: $16.22
  
  Poshmark
  # Listed: 814
  # Sold: 5
  STR: 3%
  ASP: $37.60
  
  Getting back to normal. Very solid week, and glad to get it, as we have a lot of bills coming due for travel to NM for my father’s memorial service, and both boys getting their wisdom teeth pulled.
  
  Been doing some road warrior stuff. Drove almost from Canada to Mexico a week ago…
  
  Had 2 offers on TrueGether, accepted both, no payment. Bonanza is non-existent at this point…
  - 07/22/2019 at 7:17 pm #65270
    Mr. Vintage
    Participant
    
    Location: Cleveland
    @mr-vintage
    “Bad buy”.
    
    Kuddos to you for acknowledging it.
    
    I just had one I decided to retail instead of dumping and it’s coming back to bite me in the rear.
    - 07/23/2019 at 12:20 pm #65296
      Jay
      Keymaster
      
      Location: Virginia
      @jay
      
      Get rid of them losers!
  - 07/22/2019 at 7:19 pm #65272
    Mr. Vintage
    Participant
    
    Location: Cleveland
    @mr-vintage
    Sorry T, that last reply was to Mark
  - 07/22/2019 at 8:11 pm #65280
    Sharyn
    Participant
    
    Location: Central NJ
    @sharyn
    Oh, yeh, my daughter has to get her wisdom teeth pulled in a few weeks. Fun times …
  - 07/23/2019 at 12:20 pm #65295
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    You certainly are not having a summer slump!
    - 07/23/2019 at 2:46 pm #65301
      T-Satt
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @t-satt
      
      Yeah, but one week back to normal isn’t a trend yet either. Last year, our activity keep our Summer the same as our spring. We were doing fine until June, when our sales dropped by about 30%. July is looking to get back there, but still slower than I would like…
- 07/22/2019 at 6:15 pm #65262
  Mark S
  Participant
  Location:
  @mark-s
  2019-07-14 – 2019-07-20
  
  Total Items In Store: 3068
  Items Sold: 20 (19 Ebay, 1 Bonanza)
  Cost of Items Sold: $65
  Total Sales: $670.00
  Highest Price Sold: $60 (Golf Club)
  Average Price Sold: $37.58
  # Items Listed: 57
  Money Spent on New Inventory: $160
  
  Gut Sales Report for the week: Another good week of sales for my store for this time of year. This time I earned it by listing much more than I usually do.
  
  Challenge of the week: Well, I took the plunge this past week and upgraded to an anchor store! I didn’t wait till the end of August. Why? Ebay sent me an offer to upgrade for 2 months for free (Anchor for the price of Premium) from Premium to Anchor. By the time two months is up, I should have the 3400 listings and just stay on anchor. I have already reaped the rewards of getting $150 of shipping supplies instead of $50 for the premium. I am not sure how that worked retroactively, because I just accepted the offer on 7/19/19.
  
  Scavenge of the week: Got a really nice Vintage Sony Wood Case Stereo Receiver for $27 at the thrift store. I think I can get close to $300 for it. Also, after church on Sunday I saw a sub sale and went for it. One house was just trying to get rid of a bunch of clothes and shoes. They said $1 each. I took 8 great pairs of shoes – one of them was worth nearly $60.
  
  Other News: I am trying to clean up my ebay “shipping” room. It has also turned into a place to store bad buys. So, I donated a ton of bad buy clothes to the thrift store. Some of them could have worked, but they were very low dollar. Also, I am trying to get out of clothes right now. Jay was right by telling me in April that my store was into clothes too much. Clothes really haven’t been doing all that well for me this year. I will still buy some very select quality clothes, but I am very picky about them and don’t buy much anymore.
  
  Mark S
  - 07/22/2019 at 7:18 pm #65271
    Mr. Vintage
    Participant
    
    Location: Cleveland
    @mr-vintage
    “Bad buy”.
    
    Kuddos to you for acknowledging it.
    
    I just had one I decided to retail instead of dumping and it’s coming back to bite me in the rear.
    - 07/22/2019 at 10:48 pm #65285
      Mark S
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @mark-s
      
      Mr. Vintage,
      
      Yes, instead of doubling down on “bad”, I made the best decision to move forward. That was to just get rid of it. That is clearing space and getting rid of bad inventory. Most of it was from several years ago. Some was some really cheap deals I recently got that I thought I could get to work, but have now decided not to.
      
      As a wise man once said, “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em. Know when to walk away, And know when to run”. In this case, hold ’em was not in the cards, lol!
      
      Mark
  - 07/24/2019 at 12:58 pm #65330
    Simon
    Participant
    
    Location: San Francisco Bay Area
    @simon
    @Mark S : Do you have a link that you can share to the anchor store offer? I’m at 3,176 listings now so I’m also on the verge of needing to upgrade to an anchor store also.
    - 07/24/2019 at 2:53 pm #65336
      Mark S
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @mark-s
      
      Simon,
      
      This offer was sent via a message from ebay directly to me.
      
      So, I would think this is a special offer to certain stores only, but I don’t know for sure.
      
      I would say to call ebay and see if you can get the same offer.
      
      Mark
      - 07/24/2019 at 3:33 pm #65345
        
        T-Satt
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @t-satt
        
        @MarkS: Damn, wish we had that last month! We moved last month to Anchor…
      - 07/24/2019 at 9:05 pm #65368
        
        Sharyn
        Participant
        
        Location: Central NJ
        @sharyn
        
        I received the offer as well, but, at less than 1400 listings, it doesn’t make sense for me.
- 07/22/2019 at 8:07 pm #65279
  almasty
  Participant
  Location:
  @alamasty
  I listed 150 items out of my backlog last week! Yeah!
  
  I’ve been trying to get 10-30 items listed a day, depending on what projects I have lined up for the day. Very pleased I was able to average out to 25 a day. I also skipped an estate sale on Saturday due to the heat and just rearranged my office and listed a ton of stuff. Nearly 50 new items were listed that day. It was nice to not source at all last week and just work on what I already have. I’ll try to do the same again this week, because it’s nice listing through a pile of items you remember acquiring years ago.
  
  I also had my first book published last week, so it’s nice to finally get that out of the way. I’m embarrassed to say the number of times I refreshed Amazon to watch the sales rank on the first couple of days! Launch went better than expected, so I’m pleased overall.
  
  This week, I plan to work on 3 or 4 different listing projects. One of them is the upcoming Holiday Season – I’ve got to start listing more Halloween and Christmas items now, since I’ve been starting to sell a bit of both over the past few weeks. I guess a combination of the heat & back-to-school spam is getting people to think of the cooler months ahead.
  - 07/22/2019 at 8:12 pm #65281
    Sharyn
    Participant
    
    Location: Central NJ
    @sharyn
    So, what’s the book? Care to post a link?
  - 07/23/2019 at 12:11 pm #65294
    Brian Treasures from Grandmas
    Participant
    
    Location: Hoboken, NJ
    @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
    Whoa, 150 new listings?!?!? Incredible accomplishment!
    
    And yes, ditto on wanting to see your book 🙂
    - 07/23/2019 at 7:14 pm #65312
      almasty
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @alamasty
      
      it’s a book on reselling! “almasty profits: the collected notes and recollections on the hustle from the inside of my car.”
      
      just kidding! i can’t imagine anything more depressing to do.
      
      it’s actually just a fiction book conjoined with phenomenology. if you guys are for some reason still interested, i’ll figure out some way to post the info here without doxxing myself too badly.
      - 07/24/2019 at 1:49 pm #65333
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        There’s a big market for antique books on phenomenology, magic, palm reading, tarot, etc.
- 07/22/2019 at 11:31 pm #65286
  totommyto
  Participant
  Location: Naples, Fl
  @totommyto
  Good Evening all, spent the latter part of the week in Miami, family business. Have not listened to podcast yet.
  
  Posting the Etsy Store first since it outperformed eBay all around. Every now and then, the red headed step child pulls out in front and saves a week from being really bad.
  
  7/14– 7/20/19 (no cross listing is done between platforms)
  
  Etsy store: oldfleatoymarket
  
  Total store items: 663
  Number of items sold: 10
  Total Etsy sales (not counting s/h): $230.00
  Cost of items sold: $13
  Highest price sold: $40 – paid nothing, pair of vintage Swank initial ‘K’ cuff links.
  Average price sold: $23
  Returns: 0
  Money spent on new inventory: $5
  Number of new items listed this week: 4
  Sell through rate for the week: 1.5
  Number International sales: 3
  
  eBay store totommyto
  
  Total store items: 718
  Number of items sold: 7
  Total eBay sales (not counting s/h): $133
  Cost of items sold: $10
  Highest price sold: $25 – big lot of old switch plates, paid nothing.
  Average price sold: $19
  Returns: 0
  Money spent on new inventory: $52
  Number of new items listed this week: 15
  Sell through rate for the week: 1.0
  Number International sales: 0
- 07/23/2019 at 10:59 am #65290
  Brian Treasures from Grandmas
  Participant
  Location: Hoboken, NJ
  @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
  Week July 14-20, 2019
  
  Total Items in Store: 998
  Items Sold: 24
  Cost of Items Sold: $215 (23.9% of sales)
  Total Sales: $900.95
  Highest Price Sold: $85 (Highly Suspect – The Boy Who Died Wolf sealed limited edition)
  Average Price Sold: $37.54
  Returns: 0 (1 NPB though)
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $204
  Number of items listed this week: 14
  Promoted listings test: 7 sales, $344.99 (38.3% of total sales), $16.97 fees (4.9% of sales)
  
  Another pretty good week, although it was really only 4 days worth of sales – no sales on the 3 other days (and no sales yet this week). Nothing super high dollar/over $100, but also nothing really low dollar. For anyone into rock music and looking for a good modern band, check out the band that was my high dollar sale, Highly Suspect out of Cape Cod. I believe they have 2 albums out + a handful of EPs and have been nominated for numerous awards including back to back Grammy nods.
  
  Other good sales included the second of two Sterling Silver Torah Pens I picked up at a high end estate sales about a month ago – paid $20 for the two, sold the first for $100 and this one for $75. Also sold this lot of skeleton keys, took a best offer of $75.
  
  Since I haven’t had any sale syet this week (none since last Friday), I’m going to run a few sales and take today to send out as many offers as I can to try to spark something.
- 07/23/2019 at 11:35 am #65291
  ChristineR
  Participant
  Location: Southern California
  @christiner
  Hanging in on the summer of reno and getting reno fatigue. I’ll be very, very happy to be free of this project and have my dad moved. Kudos to you R & J for dealing with all of the coordinating and endless costs that come along with renovating your places, while still working Ebay, tech, and your rentals. Day job is busy but I’m sitting down to list for the first time in a while. Still selling 1-2 items a week with my 200+ item inventory. Did do some fast listings of my daughter’s clothing on Mercari. Old stuff on there still sells now and then. Thanks for the podcast!
  - 07/23/2019 at 12:23 pm #65297
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Yeah, unless you’re in the middle of it, people dont realize how much time it takes to renovate a place to completion. We have lots of friends who’s houses have been half-renovated for years 🙂
    
    Push through and get your father’s place rented!
    - 07/23/2019 at 3:08 pm #65304
      ChristineR
      Participant
      
      Location: Southern California
      @christiner
      
      Thanks Jay. It’s a labor of love because I’m renovating it for him to downsize into, though someday it will be a rental when he can’t use it any longer. However, he is the one who taught me to be cheap some I’m not sure he’ll appreciate the value added. 🙂 Trying to do it all on a budget with multiple bids, etc., going out of town and scouring the internet for deals, etc. It’s been interesting. Listed a couple of items on the way to work and stopped at a thrift. That was a treat. It’s been months!
      
      BTW, I started one listing on my phone and it allowed me to block lowball offers (I could pick the minimum). Pretty cool new feature. Listed a duvet set. Lots and lots of item specifics on the desktop for that category. Sheesh.
  - 07/23/2019 at 2:50 pm #65302
    So Cal Joe
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @so-cal-joe
    Reno is sure a cool place to live, but Oh Boy! with Tesla moving in the real estate has really gone up, as well as the traffic.
    
    People that bought 5 years ago are really sitting pretty.
- 07/23/2019 at 1:14 pm #65298
  Winchester38
  Participant
  Location:
  @winchester38
  Been away for a few days. Listening now!
  
  July 14-20, 2019
  
  Store 1
  Total Items in Store: 1,604
  Items Sold: 21
  Gross Sales: $465.14
  Cost of Items Sold: $46.40
  Highest Price Sold: $56.99 (camera)
  Average Price Sold: $21.59
  Returns: 1
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $21.59
  Number of items listed this week: 19
  
  Store 2 (CAD)
  Total Items in Store: 940
  Items Sold: 12
  Gross Sales: $163.37
  Cost of Items Sold: $12.50
  Highest Price Sold: $22.99 (vintage patch)
  Average Price Sold: $13.61
  Returns: 0
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $50.80
  Number of items listed this week: 21
  
  Amazon.ca sales: $801.00 (Approx $240.30 net profit)
  Amazon.com sales (USD): $1,578.10 (Approx $631.24 net profit)
  
  All-around a slightly below average week. Ebay felt busy, but it was a lot of $15 dollar type items. Amazon staying steady, with Canada up a bit over the average week (thanks, prime day).
  
  This eek will be relatively light on listing. Got home this morning, and leaving town for a few days again on Thursday morning. Thankfully, a medium sized long-tail store will help keep the money coming in while I’m away.
- 07/23/2019 at 1:16 pm #65299
  buytikiselltiki
  Participant
  Location:
  @buytikiselltiki
  So, last week for the first time in memory sold NOTHING on eBay. No offers, no inquiries, no sales.
  
  Bought something, listed a few items, but the market doesn’t want anything so have this week.
  
  BUT –
  
  In the “are other platforms working?” Category, absolutely Kicked Butt on Reverb.com! Sold and shipped 9 guitars from an estate. In a week.
  
  The difference seems to be a more engaged marketplace. eBay used to be the go to, stay on site and shop place for collectible things, and it seems as if they are just another result in google search results.
  
  For what it’s worth, the reverb fee structure is s little more expensive than implied, because they have the same add on payment fee, but I would pay MORE for the results and focused reach.
  
  Still love eBay, certain it will pick up soon from the summer doldrums, but after being loyal to them for a score of years, will move the musical instrument category away now.
  
  And by the way, I have listened to you guys for a couple of years now and Jay’s voice is perfect. Stand up!
  - 07/23/2019 at 2:54 pm #65303
    T-Satt
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @t-satt
    At buytikiselltiki: I agree. I think eBay has an identity crisis. They started out as the weird, eclectic, place to buy used stuff, but have moved to more new items (80% of sales are new). So they want to take on Amazon (new), but still have the branding of used. I think they will continue to lose marketshare if they do this. They need to pick the street that got them there, and work a way on the corporate side to sell the new stuff somehow. Maybe they split off the brand for the new stuff.
    
    As the ease of getting businesses into the ecommerce space continues, they will have to do something to keep up. Posh, Etsy, and all the smaller ones are going to keep at their heels. And Amazon doesn’t care about those places.
    
    Hard to fight on both fronts…
- 07/24/2019 at 9:41 am #65321
  The_SEAM_Store
  Participant
  Location: PA
  @the_seam_store
  Week July 14 – July 20, 2019
  
  Items in store: 4179 Listings for 6185 Items
  Items Sold: 68 transactions for 85 Items
  Gross Sales: $4417.48
  Highest Price Sold: $248.85 …. Vintage Leather Fringe Jacket
  Lowest Price Sold: $11.99… Alligator skin scraps for crafting
  Average Price Sold: $51.97
  Cost of Goods Sold $272, Plus consignment
  Number of new items listed this week: 111 items
  $$ spent on new inventory this week $6
  Repeat Customers: 10
  
  Spent 4 days switching to the ebay “Business Policies”….OMG what a mess that was. I can’t even begin to imagine how much worse it would have been if I sold the variety of things some of you do.
  - This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by The_SEAM_Store.
  - 07/24/2019 at 1:38 pm #65332
    Simon
    Participant
    
    Location: San Francisco Bay Area
    @simon
    I’ve tried to switch on business policies a couple of times over the last year or so. I get an error and the set up never completes. I’ve called eBay and they haven’t been able to help.
    - 07/24/2019 at 2:59 pm #65339
      Mark S
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @mark-s
      
      Simon,
      
      I have run across this error also – assuming you are talking about changing a shipping business policy.
      
      I think it is an ebay bug, they just tell me I have to make the changes correctly. The issue seems to be that ebay creates copies (Like “… copy 1” of your shipping business policies on its own (maybe I am causing this, but what I am doing is not clear). Then, I try to change the shipping business policy and I get an error.
      
      The solution? You have to move all of the items from the shipping business policy copy back to the original shipping business policy. Then delete the shipping business policy copy.
      
      To complicate the matter, ebay’s bulk editor to change the shipping business policy is not working for me. So, then I had to change each listing one by one to the original shipping business policy.
      
      I hope that helps.
      
      Mark
      - 07/24/2019 at 3:31 pm #65344
        
        T-Satt
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @t-satt
        
        I remember seeing these Business Policies issues with eBay before. We had moved to SixBit before eBay did this, and this was one of the features we liked that SixBit offered: An easy way to manage shipping and payment options.
        
        Now, a year or so later, I’m still glad that we have SixBit managing these items. They seem much better at it than eBay… 🙂
      - 07/24/2019 at 9:21 pm #65371
        
        Sharyn
        Participant
        
        Location: Central NJ
        @sharyn
        
        When I change my handling time on a shipping policy, it won’t change the listings that have an active offer, either an offer through a message or a make offer to watchers. It will put all those with an active offer in a copy. Once an offer becomes inactive, I can move that listing back to the original policy. The copy can be deleted once it has zero listings.
        
        For my most recent vacation, I stopped making offers a few days before I wanted to change policies. However, when I was getting close to coming back home, I was getting some errors where a few listings weren’t getting changed and a copy was made, even though there were no offers out. I figured that it was a timing thing – the business policy function thought that edits should be completed in a certain time frame, but it took longer than expected. Just my guess, but it was definitely a glitch.
        
        Anyway, once you move over to business policies you cannot use the bulk editor to make any changes. If you want to switch a policy on a certain group of listings, you have to make the change on individual basis.
      - 07/25/2019 at 11:55 am #65417
        
        Simon
        Participant
        
        Location: San Francisco Bay Area
        @simon
        
        @Mark S – Thanks for the info but that hasn’t been my problem. Up to this point I haven’t been able to actually switch business policies on. I click the button to opt in and it just gives me an error and I never see any business policies. It’s been a while since I tried. I’ll give it another shot.
- 07/24/2019 at 1:36 pm #65331
  Simon
  Participant
  Location: San Francisco Bay Area
  @simon
  Here are my numbers for the week:
  
  Total Items in Store: 3192
  Items Sold: 39
  Total Sales: $784.86
  Cost of Items Sold: $92
  Average Price Sold: $20.12
  Average Cost of Item: $2.37
  Highest Price Item Sold: $59.95 Salvatore Ferragamo Black Patent Leather Shoes
  Number of items listed this week: 70
  YTD Sales: $27993
  YTD sales compared to this time last year: +12%
  Average age of items in store (in days since listing): 392
  Average number of days between listing and selling this week: 290
  Median age of sales (in days, between listing and selling): 130
  Sell-through rate (for the week): 1.22%
  Hats sold this week: 27 (69% of sales) worth $460.41 (58% of sales $)
  
  I didn’t sell any high-value things this week which had a big impact on my numbers. Otherwise, things have been pretty good and I’m still running ahead of YTD sales numbers.
  
  Hope everyone sells lots of junk this week 🙂
  - 07/24/2019 at 3:05 pm #65341
    Mark S
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @mark-s
    Simon,
    
    Looking at your numbers, you are averaging nearly 4K gross per month this year. That is really good. I am trying to get to 4K gross per month, but I have not been listing\selling as many items as you.
    
    I am just now ramping up my listing and it is starting to work. In general, I sell less quantity of items than you, but my average selling price is much higher. I like this strategy because I can grow my store without getting overwhelmed with all the shipping that must be done. The flip side of this is that I have to keep listing to generate the volume with the higher price. Just a different strategy.
    
    Mark
    - 07/25/2019 at 12:02 pm #65419
      Simon
      Participant
      
      Location: San Francisco Bay Area
      @simon
      
      Hi @Mark S –
      Yes, I have a higher-quanity, lower-value model for my business at present. I sell a lot of hats which are low value. The upside is that they are very easy to pack and ship. They are also easier to list than most clothes since measurements aren’t generally required. I’d like to sell higher value items but with a full-time job, my sourcing hours are generally limited to the weekends (and whatever I can find online). My wife helps with creating listings and taking photos which enables me to list a fairly high number of new items every week. If I wasn’t working full-time I’d be able to list a lot more. (I’m ow 11 months away from retiring from my full time job.)
      
      – Simon
  - 07/25/2019 at 9:46 am #65386
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    We’re down 30% from same time last year. Its interesting how eBay sales can be different for each seller depending on what they sell and probably a number of other factors.
    - 07/25/2019 at 9:54 am #65389
      The_SEAM_Store
      Participant
      
      Location: PA
      @the_seam_store
      
      @Jay, is this based on your own records, or the %% change ebay provides on the Seller Hub? One thing to remember on the Seller Hub is that eBay only gives a comparison for your current top two listed categories. For me right now it’s ties and suits/suit separates. However, a year ago, I hadn’t yet purchased the 3000 tie lot, and suits and sport coats were still separate categories, so of course it shows an increase.
      
      One way to get a more accurate comparison is to check in paypal, under the reports tool.
      
      This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by The_SEAM_Store.
      
      This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by The_SEAM_Store.
      - 07/25/2019 at 9:56 am #65391
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        You’re right. It is weird that eBay shows only the change in sales based on the two categories you have the most items in. Not sure why they dont just show overall change in sales.
        
        07/25/2019 at 10:45 am #65407
        
        Inglewood
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @inglewood
        
        I think there are dozens of ways to measure sales increases/decreases. I take a look at three numbers – sales percentages (listed vs. sold), profit per item, and total profit. I’m sure there is also a dozen ways to slice/spin those numbers also…
        
        I also am running at a higher inventory this year, eliminated some categories I was buying, and added new categories of items that are doing very well…so I’m not sure if my numbers mean anything in the wider scope of eBay, or just how I’m doing as a seller.
        
        My sales percentages (listed vs. sold, measured on the 1st of each month) are down. My profit per item is way up, and my total profit is way up (just based on volume – about 4-5x my inventory last year) – so, I’m doing better as a seller/scavenger, working harder, but things may be slow, or I have a lot of items not too popular. Not sure – but still making good money for the time/effort it takes.
        
        Selling one off items is something I think we can never measure…just as long as the profit is good at the end of the day for the effort, keep on chugging…
        
        07/25/2019 at 2:22 pm #65429
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Very true. Our cashflow is still good and paying the bills 🙂
        
        07/25/2019 at 3:35 pm #65432
        
        simplicio
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @simplicio
        
        I track my sales carefully in my spreadsheet and have many times compared them to the numbers ebay shows in various places (60 day, lifetime sales, etc…). Ebay’s numbers are always laughably wrong, sometimes by a factor of 2x or more.
        
        You really have to either live without these numbers or track them yourself, because ebay just gives you garbage.
        
        07/25/2019 at 5:31 pm #65434
        
        The_SEAM_Store
        Participant
        
        Location: PA
        @the_seam_store
        
        Ebay reporting….100% Half-Ass
- 07/25/2019 at 10:01 am #65397
  Anonymous
  Location:
  items sold: 35
  sales: $904.65 (i don’t include shipping revenue)
  average selling price: $25.84
  cost of goods: $131.25
  returns: 1
  purchases: $176.25
  store listings: 1,025
  inventory $ risk: $3,915(what i paid for all existing inventory)
  listed this week: 37
  ebay hours: 14
- 07/25/2019 at 12:49 pm #65421
  Amatino
  Participant
  Location: Texas
  @amatino
  @Sharyn and Mark S – thank you for clearing up a head scratcher for me. I couldn’t figure out why my shipping policy showed copies and why things kept changing up. Now I know and will add it as another housekeeping task, to check on my policies and clean them up on occasion.
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