Scavenger Life Episode 421: Don't Worry, Sell Trash

This topic has 57 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 8 months ago by ThriftShift.

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- 07/30/2019 at 12:53 pm #65583
  Ryanne
  Keymaster
  Location: Virginia
  @ryanne
  Join the conversation in the forum>> Our Store Week July 21-27, 2019 Total Items in Store: 8433 Items Sold: 36 Gross Sales: $1847.95 (unpaid $
  [See the full post at: Scavenger Life Episode 421: Don’t Worry, Sell Trash]
- 07/30/2019 at 1:29 pm #65585
  Retro Treasures WV
  Participant
  Location:
  @retro-treasures-wv
  Items in Store 1165
  Items Sold 21
  Total Sales $692.00
  COGS $77.00
  Total Profit $615.00
  Average profit $29.29
  Average sales price $32.95
  New Listings 0
  
  Summer Goal: Under weekly goal by $183.00. Off cumulative pace by $969.00
  
  Where did the week go? My oldest son turned 9 on Friday, so a lot of time this week was spent on preparations for his birthday. Another week of no listing due to still working on a massive overhaul of my ebay space. The good news is that I am 80% finished with my overhaul and am back to listing/photographing as of last night. It is so nice to have so much free space out there now!
  
  No major scavenging this week. Yard sales were kind of disappointing Saturday.
  
  In other news I’m down 50 lbs. Yay me! I am committed to a plan that by this time next year I will no longer be an obese person. I am super excited! I’ve spent alot of time that I would be doing ebay instead doing research on health and fitness. I’m also cooking almost all our meals from scratch each day. Not a diet, but a cumulation of several years of lessons learned and knowledge gathering that has resulted in a clear plan of action and a permanent lifestyle change.
  - 07/30/2019 at 1:38 pm #65587
    T-Satt
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @t-satt
    Congrats Retro!
  - 07/30/2019 at 3:37 pm #65592
    MDC Galleries & Fine Art
    Participant
    
    Location: Atlanta
    @huncrelan
    Way to go Retro. Susan says good for you.
    
    mike at MDCGFA
  - 07/30/2019 at 9:24 pm #65608
    Brian Treasures from Grandmas
    Participant
    
    Location: Hoboken, NJ
    @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
    Congrats on the new healthy lifestyle!
  - 07/31/2019 at 9:37 am #65626
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    This is awesome. The best (and cheapest) healthcare is taking care of yourself.
  - 07/31/2019 at 10:41 am #65637
    ChristineR
    Participant
    
    Location: Southern California
    @christiner
    @Retro Congrats! That takes a lot of self discipline and is such a great thing to do for yourself and your family.
  - 07/31/2019 at 10:51 am #65641
    Ryanne
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @ryanne
    wow 50lbs is a lot. that’s amazing progress!
  - 07/31/2019 at 4:23 pm #65663
    The_SEAM_Store
    Participant
    
    Location: PA
    @the_seam_store
    Congrats @Retro Treasures, I dropped from a XXL to a M a few years ago. I still remember how exciting it was to lose the first 50! the increase of energy. Use that momentum to your advantage. Happy for you!
    - 08/02/2019 at 9:42 am #65786
      Retro Treasures WV
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @retro-treasures-wv
      
      Wow that’s an awesome change! Has it been easy to maintain?
      
      For success, some people are moderators and some are abstainers. I know I am an abstainer. There are just so many things I simply won’t ever partake in again. I gave up sweetened drinks 2.5 years ago and never went back even after gaining back a bunch of weight. I’ve added a bunch more things to that list now, and because I never caved on those sweetened drinks I know I can do it permanently.
      
      Moderation simply doesn’t work for me.
      - 08/02/2019 at 10:12 am #65793
        
        The_SEAM_Store
        Participant
        
        Location: PA
        @the_seam_store
        
        It’s a little easier, but still requires some discipline. I did put on a few pounds (read: 20…yikes!) when I had my surgery this spring and am still struggling to get that back off.
        
        Abstain Agreed…if it’s in the house, I’m gonna eat it.
        
        This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by The_SEAM_Store.
- 07/30/2019 at 1:37 pm #65586
  T-Satt
  Participant
  Location:
  @t-satt
  Week of 07/21-07/27
  Total Items in Store: 3,338 (Up 34% YOY)
  Number of Items Listed: 139
  Number of Items Sold: 89 (Up 29% YOY)
  (Includes 2 Etsy, 10 Poshmark, 1 Bonanza (WOW!!!), 0 TrueGether)
  Weekly STR: 12% (Even YOY)
  
  Total Product Sales: $2,312 (Up 19% YOY)
  Sales Volume Variance to Prior Year: Up $564
  Sales Price Variance to Prior Year: Down $198
  Cost of Items Sold: $536
  Cost of Labor: $372
  Highest Item Sold: $100 – Bohemian Glass Pitcher and Glasses
  Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Veronica wins the week and Veronica leads for the year 18-13.
  
  Clothing
  # Listed: 1,934
  # Sold: 551
  STR: 12%
  ASP: $22.16
  
  Shoes
  # Listed: 803
  # Sold: 22
  STR: 12%
  ASP: $30.78
  
  Hard Goods
  # Listed: 601
  # Sold: 16
  STR: 11%
  ASP: $31.56
  
  EBay
  # Listed: 3,338
  # Sold: 77
  STR: 10%
  ASP: $24.75
  
  Etsy
  # Listed: 222
  # Sold: 2
  STR: 4%
  ASP: $23.87
  
  Poshmark
  # Listed: 800
  # Sold: 10
  STR: 5%
  ASP: $35.90
  
  Gonna listen here soon while listing…
  
  Another decent week of sales. Hoping we have bounced from the summer bottom at this point and will continue the rise into the peak of November. Bonanza woke up, and Poshmark coming back to normal. Even Etsy is kicking in again…
  
  Frantic week this week. Our son and his girlfriend did a surprise visit on Sunday night (had to get emissions and registration on his Jeep here in Colorado), and they just left this morning, so behind in listing this week. Then I have the contract accounting job all day Thursday and Friday, shop Saturday morning, drive to Albuquerque Saturday night, memorial for my father on Sunday, spread his ashes at his favorite hunting spot Sunday, drive back to Denver on Monday morning.
  
  Lots going on!
  - 07/31/2019 at 9:53 am #65634
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Sounds like a really busy time for you, but sales keep cranking. Hope it all slows back down and things get back to normal.
- 07/30/2019 at 3:34 pm #65591
  Mark S
  Participant
  Location:
  @mark-s
  2019-07-21 – 2019-07-27
  
  Total Items In Store: 3124
  Items Sold: 17
  Cost of Items Sold: $60
  Total Sales: $614.00
  Highest Price Sold: $90 (Wrestling Singlet)
  Average Price Sold: $36.12
  Money Spent on New Inventory: $184
  Number of items listed: 73
  
  Gut Sales Report for the week: Another good week of sales for my store for this time of year. I think I set a record for the number of items I listed in one week.
  I think processing items for ebay is like exercising a muscle to get it in shape. It takes a while to get the muscles in shape. But once that muscle is in shape, you can really process a lot.
  
  Challenge of the week: Still trying to get my shipping room in order. I cleared out a lot of stuff. It is a trade off – do I want to spend my time listing a ton of items or get the room fixed up? Well, listing won this week. I am right behind Retro Treasures in my “Clean Up” of my ebay space.
  
  Scavenge of the week: Got a couple of nice baseball gloves for about $3 each and will sell for about $100 each. One was a Wilson A2000 that I got for $3 at a garage sale. The other was a nice Wilson Catcher’s glove that I picked up at the thrift store – they literally laid it down right next to me and I picked it right up. Now that is being in the right place at the right time.
  
  Mark S
- 07/30/2019 at 3:47 pm #65593
  almasty
  Participant
  Location:
  @alamasty
  180 items listed on Ebay this week! Making very good progress with the backlog now. I’ve realized that 2 shelving units I have with unlisted stock contain the equivalent of 15 bankers boxes of items in them. So, I’ve been correcting the problem and making them the focus of my listing for the past few days. I’ve already listed 3 equivalent boxes of stock from them, all acquired from 2014-last month. There was 1 item mixed in I think I purchased from 2012. Oh, well. It’s listed now.
  
  Listening to the podcast now. I don’t understand getting rid of items after 60 days? What? I sold an item last week that was listed in 2005 (not on Ebay). Stock will sell when it sells, unless it is legit junk that just needs to be culled.
  
  I’ve been working really hard listing on Ebay to help offset the costs of other projects. That being said, my goal for the next several weeks is to get 50-100 items listed per week. This July has actually been pretty good for Ebay sales – 30-35% up from last year, even though inventory levels are up. It could’ve been worse – more inventory, while sales remain the same year over year. I pretty much took most of July off from sourcing, but I’ve started again in the past week to have good stock in for the upcoming holiday season.
  - 07/30/2019 at 4:48 pm #65597
    simplicio
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @simplicio
    almasty, I 100% agree that dropping “losers” after 60 days is crazy.
    
    That being said, I can see a trend in my business and it is that my storage costs are rising faster than my profits are. (At some point the curves will cross!)
    
    Also, I track where this year’s income comes from and only 6% of this year’s sales came from inventory listed in 2017 (my first full year on ebay). But unsold 2017 inventory is 12% of listed items, and presumably ~12% of storage space.
    
    Two choices are somewhere ahead: (1) make a process for culling inventory, (2) make a capital investment in storage space (J&R’s choice).
    - 07/31/2019 at 9:42 am #65627
      Jay
      Keymaster
      
      Location: Virginia
      @jay
      
      Agreed. If there’s a physical limitation to storage, then culling is necessary. But we’d of course do the numbers first to see the if expanding storage makes sense. Dont know the real estate in your area, but it may get to the point that renting a small warehouse or house would make sense. Many variables.
      - 07/31/2019 at 10:14 am #65635
        
        simplicio
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @simplicio
        
        Yep, I am definitely seeing this on the horizon. I am actually kind of pleased because it may afford me an “excuse” to buy some cheap land, if it has a great big garage on it.
        
        07/31/2019 at 10:38 am #65636
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Or buy a cheap piece of land and build your own storage. We ordered from here: https://www.carolinacarportsinc.com/certified-standards/boxed-eave-roof-style/fully-enclosed
        
        Its definitely a long term strategy with upfront costs, but then you’re buying the ability to really expand without monthly storage costs. Plus you now own a property with re-sale value.
    - 07/31/2019 at 4:14 pm #65662
      almasty
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @alamasty
      
      12% of unlisted items. So you’ve sold the majority of items that you purchased in 2017 already? Having only 12% remaining in stock sounds really good!
      
      I guess you could check prices on the stock that remains and see if they’re worth keeping in stock, maybe adjust prices if that would help at all (sometimes changing the price does nothing to help). Check to see if any of the items have sold recently? If they’re undesirable and sell for a low price, get rid of them because you have made your money back. If they’re desirable and just take longer to sell, it’s worth holding onto them. If they’re desirable but are not worth as much as you have them listed for and are not worth the cost of keeping them, either sell them to break even or just donate them.
      
      I sold an item today for $20 that I’ve had listed on Ebay since 2011 and takes up very little space. For me, it was worth hanging onto that long. For others? I don’t know.
      - 07/31/2019 at 9:47 pm #65690
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Yeah, selling 88% of your 2017 inventory is great compared to our inventory!
- 07/30/2019 at 4:25 pm #65596
  simplicio
  Participant
  Location:
  @simplicio
  I don’t really see the percentage in blocking buyers for unpaid items. OK, they prevented anyone else from buying that item for a week. Is that a big deal? Maybe for a really hot item, but usually, not much of an impact at all. They might buy the item again & actually pay. I think for items with 3 people on earth who might be interested, you’re better off keeping the pool of possible buyers large, even if some are flaky.
  
  I guess weird questions could be red flags, but nonpayment probably just means they’re disorganized. Let them buy it when they get their life back together.
  
  Solid week.
  
  Sales: CAD$1477, 12 items. COGS: $327 –> Item profit: $874
  Expenditures: $436 –> Cashflow: $765
  Listed: $565, 11 items
  Hours: 10, $77/hr
  Notable sales: broken gas analyzer $350 (risked $200 on this a long time ago thinking it worked), medical film $210 (lot paid off, lots more to sell).
  - 07/31/2019 at 10:51 am #65642
    totommyto
    Participant
    
    Location: Naples, Fl
    @totommyto
    Simplicio,
    Interesting theory on a particular breed of NPB. I may just try that some day when one of my big ugly rusty things gets the crickets chirping instead of dollars after an offer is accepted. There is not a long list of NPB for that kind of stuff for me. Bound to happen the future eventually, it has happened before, and then I will remember your comment. It’s in me brain now!
- 07/30/2019 at 6:06 pm #65598
  MrsAmyLynn
  Participant
  Location:
  @mrsamylynn
  A comment about today’s podcast when you talked about Managed Payments in the call in section.
  
  Before you opt into the program it’s very clearly shown that GSP is not available with managed payments at this time. It’s impor to read the terms prior to signing up.
  
  And yes, PayPal is now a payment option for all of us in Managed Payments.
  - 07/31/2019 at 9:44 am #65628
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Good to know. Appreciate the info.
    –Have you heard if eBay will eventually connect Managed Payments with Global Shipping?
    –If you’re in Managed Payments, are people still using Paypal when they buy?
    - 07/31/2019 at 11:52 am #65647
      MrsAmyLynn
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @mrsamylynn
      
      Yes, they are working on adding GSP into Managed Payments.
      
      We aren’t shown which method a buyer uses to pay. I’m sure many still use PayPal just because they’re used to it on eBay.
- 07/30/2019 at 6:14 pm #65599
  The_SEAM_Store
  Participant
  Location: PA
  @the_seam_store
  Week July 21 – July 27, 2019
  
  Items in store: 4184 Listings for 6162 Items
  Items Sold: 82 transactions for 101 Items
  Gross Sales: $4634.91
  Highest Price Sold: $300 …. LVC Sheepskin Jacket
  Lowest Price Sold: $3.74… Shoe Laces
  Average Sale Price: $45.88
  Cost of Goods Sold $348, Plus consignment.
  Number of new items listed this week: 83 items…oops.
  $$ spent on new inventory this week $110
  Repeat Customers: 13
  
  Thank goodness July is almost over. It wasn’t horrible, but I’m still hoping things pick up a little soon. Historically, August is usually one of my strongest months (except last year it was one of the slowest of the year)….we’ll see how it goes.
  
  Going on a short vacation next week, so I need to get a lot done this week…..I got a little lazy this past week with the cooler weather. I’m excited that changing my handling time for vacation will now be a breeze with the business policies tool, compared to the lengthy process it was with the bulk editor.
  
  Noticed our Goodwill put out the Halloween stuff already, geez. I love shopping the halloween section, it’s a great place to rescue vintage clothing from being destroyed by unknowing costume hunters.
- 07/30/2019 at 8:54 pm #65605
  Sharyn
  Participant
  Location: Central NJ
  @sharyn
  Week of July 21 – 27
  * Total Items in Store: 1374 eBay, 3 Etsy
  * Items Sold: 11
  * Cost of Items Sold: $2.50 + $0 Commission
  * Total Sales: $269.03
  * Highest Price Sold: $80 Vintage Bausch & Lomb Binoculars
  * Average Price Sold: $24.46
  * Returns: 0
  * Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $260
  * Number of items listed this week: 50
  
  I am back from all the vacationing and was able to list quite a bit this week. My son is helping me out a bit with photography, so that helped with my productivity.
  
  I listed a vintage Pyrex coffee percolator that was pulled down by eBay due to a recall. After I received that email, I remembered that subject coming up on the forum before. I’m not sure what to do with it now. Maybe I’ll just sell it as a coffee carafe without the percolator stuff inside, but I’ll list it on Etsy instead.
  - 07/31/2019 at 9:46 am #65629
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Those recalled percolators never sold for much. We just redonated.
- 07/30/2019 at 9:19 pm #65606
  Simon
  Participant
  Location: San Francisco Bay Area
  @simon
  I haven’t listened to the show yet. I’ll do that on the way to my full time grind/job.
  
  Here are my numbers for the week. Pretty typical week. I ran a hat sale which generated a few extra sales I think.
  Total Items in Store: 3224
  Items Sold: 40
  Total Sales: $964.20
  Cost of Items Sold: $89
  Average Price Sold: $24.11
  Average Cost of Item: $2.23
  Highest Price Item Sold: $89.95 Extended Memory Module for an Hewlett Packard HP 41C
  Number of items listed this week: 74
  YTD Sales: $28957
  YTD sales compared to this time last year: +12%
  Average age of items in store (in days since listing): 384
  Average number of days between listing and selling this week: 152
  Median age of sales (in days, between listing and selling): 80
  Sell-through rate (for the week): 1.24%
  
  I’ve got a decent pile of unlisted stuff accumulating now but it’s also prime garage sale sourcing time so I’m torn between buying and listing. A common problem around here I suppose.
  
  Hope everyone has a fun and profitable week.
  - 07/31/2019 at 9:47 am #65630
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Being in CA, I assume its yard sale season all year round 🙂
    - 08/02/2019 at 4:21 pm #65807
      Simon
      Participant
      
      Location: San Francisco Bay Area
      @simon
      
      Being in CA, I assume its yard sale season all year round
      
      Yep. There is at least a trickle all year round. During the warmer months the volume definitely increases and the amount of driving required is reduced.
- 07/30/2019 at 9:34 pm #65609
  Brian Treasures from Grandmas
  Participant
  Location: Hoboken, NJ
  @brian-treasures-from-grandmas
  Good luck on the big contracting gig!
  
  Week July 21-27, 2019
  
  Total Items in Store: 994
  Items Sold: 6
  Cost of Items Sold: $73.99 (22.9% of sales)
  Total Sales: $322.99
  Highest Price Sold: $88 (Beastie Boys License to Ill)
  Average Price Sold: $53.83
  Returns: 0 (1 NPB though)
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $149
  Number of items listed this week: 10
  Promoted listings test: 1 sales, $78.99 (24.5% of total sales), $3.48 fees (4.4% of sales)
  
  Not a great week… it’s been probably a year since I had less than 10 sales in a week. Fortunately, 4 of my 6 sales were over $60, so looking at the bright side.
- 07/30/2019 at 9:37 pm #65610
  ironman
  Participant
  Location: Toronto
  @ironman
  Congrats on the 6-month contract!
  - 07/31/2019 at 9:48 am #65631
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    It sounds good when you sign, but then the work begins. Its for good people, so we’re optimistic it’ll work out.
    - 07/31/2019 at 10:48 am #65639
      Retro Treasures WV
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @retro-treasures-wv
      
      I was pretty shocked to hear you all signed a 6 month contract.
      Is this a travelling gig or work from home?
      - 07/31/2019 at 10:53 am #65643
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        80 hours a month. Work from home.
        A short trip every couple months.
        
        Yeah, it’s a big decision. We love owning our time, but good money that we’ll use well. We have bigger plans than we have cash to make them happen. Working at home is the big plus.
        
        And, the most relevant for this group, we’ll really get to test our model of long-tail store to see if we can keep making steady income without a lot of new input.
        
        This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by Jay.
- 07/31/2019 at 3:44 am #65613
  The Thrift Raider
  Participant
  Location:
  @thethriftraider
  Today I told Ebay that I’d be interested in Managed Payments if they were to offer it to me (there’s a form you can fill out.) I started doing direct international last year and haven’t looked back. I’ve only encountered one person in Brazil that asked about their package but it eventually got there. I’ve even shipped to Italy once with no issues (Italy is often a country people won’t sell to because of a long list of prohibited items.)
  
  Now I will admit, I don’t do tons of volume and operate a store with less than 200 items, so ymmv. But one of the reasons I started doing direct is because I wasn’t getting many international sales through GSP. I figured I’d try shipping direct to try and get more sales, and I can say it’s definitely worked. I love shipping to Canada especially, Canada seems pretty low risk in my experience. Pirate Ship has been especially helpful in selling intl because of their simple export rate, which is much cheaper than Ebay’s rates. Simple Export Rate also includes door to door tracking to 45 countries per their site.
  
  Anyway, I know that Ryanne and Jay love the GSP program, and of course nothing wrong with that, but I’d encourage any sellers on the fence about direct shipping to give it a shot.
  - This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by The Thrift Raider.
  - 07/31/2019 at 8:39 am #65617
    simplicio
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @simplicio
    It sounds like GSP is a great program overall. However, as a buyer in Canada, it often prevents me purchasing things from the states that I’d otherwise like to, because it is quite pricey.
  - 07/31/2019 at 8:41 am #65618
    The_SEAM_Store
    Participant
    
    Location: PA
    @the_seam_store
    @The Thrift Raider
    
    Be careful shipping to Brazil. While it’s ok for New items, unfortunately, it is against postal regulations to ship Used Consumer Goods into the country. We also block Italy across the board, since 99% of our inventory is prohibited there. The sales are not really worth the risk of the heavy fines to us.
    
    This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by The_SEAM_Store.
  - 07/31/2019 at 9:50 am #65632
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    This is good info. Seems some sellers have great experience shipping directly overseas.
    
    Our personal experience has too many aggravating experiences where buyers dont understand that we cant control slow customs, or get surprised when they have to pay their country’s import taxes on arrival. Bottom line: it makes us feel helpless. GSP solves that for us.
    
    Do you have any numbers on how many items each month you sell direct vs when you used GSP.
    - 07/31/2019 at 3:12 pm #65652
      The_SEAM_Store
      Participant
      
      Location: PA
      @the_seam_store
      
      I wasn’t sure to whom this question was directed, so I’ll answer just in case.
      
      I have never used the Global Shipping Program after hearing complaints of overcharged shipping/customs, and have been shipping worldwide directly (with a few exclusions) for about 10 years now.
      
      -We shipped 51 items internationally in July.
      -International buyers account for 26% of our 2019 Total Sales
      
      This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by The_SEAM_Store.
      - 07/31/2019 at 3:40 pm #65655
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        International sales of 26% is impressive. Is that listed somewhere on the Seller Hub or just your own records?
        
        Do you ship First Class International? Any issues with customs or buyers complaining about being hit with extra duties on pickup?
        
        This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by Jay.
        
        07/31/2019 at 4:13 pm #65661
        
        The_SEAM_Store
        Participant
        
        Location: PA
        @the_seam_store
        
        @Jay
        
        This info for me is on the Paypal “Reports” page, I have to assume they are including shipping as well, but I am not entirely sure.
        
        Yes, I provide first class options to many countries on the USPS DELCON list. If the item is consigned or the value of the item warrants insurance, first class international is insurable through fitshipper.
        
        Yes, I get somewhat frequent customs complaints, primarilly from UK buyers, even though their current VAT rate (20%) has been in effect since 2011. FYI: The UK VAT is 20% on merchandise over £15, plus an additional £8 processing fee tacked on by Parcel Force/Royal Mail.
        
        Ebay has an international customs statement on each listing right below the shipping price. Yet, they always say they didn’t know. Rather, didn’t read. I have a pile of polite professional canned responses just for these folks, which direct them to the websites where they can find more info on their local VAT rate pay their bill for delivery. Most people pay it, some stuff bounces back. Typically unclaimed items are returned from the UK after 21 days and 3 delivery attempts. Unclaimed international returns classify as refused mail and are not covered by Buyer protection. If the item never returns I’m not on the hook for it. If it does show up eventually I just refund and relist, minus the shipping. Techically you are not required to refund at all, but this is fair.
        
        Feedback is easily removed if the buyer has raised stink about the customs charges, and INR/INAD cases are easily closed if the buyer has not paid the customs.
        
        It’s all part of the business. I just add the steps to handle it into my process, and don’t let it get to me.
        
        07/31/2019 at 9:46 pm #65689
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Yep, that’s been our experience shipping overseas directly. Sounds like you are more tolerant of the issues 🙂
        
        Im not sure if GSP is really that much more exensive in all cases. The buyer just pays the true cost up front, instead of waiting to get hit with VAT taxes etc on delivery.
- 07/31/2019 at 7:31 am #65615
  Winchester38
  Participant
  Location:
  @winchester38
  Will listen in the truck this afternoon while doing some running around!
  
  July 14-20, 2019
  
  Store 1
  Total Items in Store: 1,617
  Items Sold: 11
  Gross Sales: $267.94
  Cost of Items Sold: $19.20
  Highest Price Sold: $49.99
  Average Price Sold: $24.36
  Returns: 1
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
  Number of items listed this week: 23
  
  Store 2 (CAD)
  Total Items in Store: 949
  Items Sold: 5
  Gross Sales: $60.95
  Cost of Items Sold: $5.00
  Highest Price Sold: $16.99 (vintage patch)
  Average Price Sold: $12.19
  Returns: 0
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $31.51
  Number of items listed this week: 14
  
  Amazon.ca sales: $534.19 (Approx $160.26 net profit)
  Amazon.com sales (USD): $1,711.05 (Approx $684.42 net profit)
  
  Really, REALLY dismal week on ebay. Few sales, and the ones that did come were lower dollar. Add on a return, and I was happy to see the week end.
  
  Amazon stayed steady, so my total income stream was at least sufficient enough to carry the week.
  
  Pushing to get more listings up, and have set some semi-lofty goals for the month of August to pull my numbers up, and start ramping up for Q4.
  - 07/31/2019 at 9:51 am #65633
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Looks like Amazon is good for you. Is your plan to really ramp up Amazon?
    - 07/31/2019 at 10:16 pm #65694
      Winchester38
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @winchester38
      
      Mostly aiming to ramp up on eBay. Amazon is more just a restocking game at this point.
      
      Re: Amazon
      
      It’s working, so I’m not complaining. I’m slowly adding a few more skus every month. I keep looking for easily replenishable items with decent roi, even if they’re slow sellers. Even if I only sell one unit of each a month, but double my money on it, multiply that by 80-90 skus, and it ends up building a relatively consistent income stream.
      
      I’m to the point now where I’m sending in 30-50 units, twice a week (just checked, sold 356 units in the US and 116 in Canada in July). In total, it probably take me 4-5hrs each time to to source it all, prep and pack it. Takes away from eBay time, but it’s such a consistent stream, I can’t ignore it.
      
      This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by Winchester38.
      - 07/31/2019 at 11:06 pm #65697
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        So if they are slow sellers, do you pay in cash for the inventory and then just wait on the return?
        
        Its one thing paying under $5 on items that may sell for $30 in a year. Its another thing paying $5 that will sell for $10 in a year. Whats the math?
        
        08/01/2019 at 5:59 am #65704
        
        Winchester38
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @winchester38
        
        Most of the items that I sell move at least one or two units per month (some I sell 15-20 per month). To make sure I avoid LTSF, I don’t sell anything that takes more than three months on average to sell a unit. I just stop buying/sending those items.
        
        I don’t go very deep on new items, and usually only send one or two units in until I see how they’ll sell. That way, if an items is a dud, I don’t have much cash tied up in a “loser”. If I send in two units, and they sell in a month, I’ll send five next time, etc.
        
        My average buy cost is currently at $10.47/unit (Cdn) across all skus (that’s landed cost, including COGS, prep, and shipping), my average selling price is $23.46/unit (Usd).
        
        $10.47 CDN ~ $7.98 USD
        
        My average amazon fees are hovering around 34% on average, all in.
        
        23.46 (avg sell price) – 34% (amazon fees) = 15.48 (net payout)
        15.48 (net payout) – 7.98 (avg COGS) = 7.50 (avg net profit per unit)
        
        Net profit on average, across all skus is currently averaging $7.50/unit Based on these numbers, plus my July sales of 356 units, the net profit for the month was $2,670.00 USD (roughly $3400+ CDN).
        
        These numbers don’t factor in overhead, mileage, income taxes, etc, but I’m definitely profiting enough to make it worth doing at this point.
        
        08/01/2019 at 7:02 am #65707
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        I admire that kind of business. It’s almost a much more traditional retail scenario that takes much more discipline since failure would mean being caught with too much inventory that wont sell. I imagine it’d be easy to get on over your head with unsold inventory that’s a real drain.
        
        But it sounds like you’re pulling all the right levers. Your Amazon profit each week is good.
- 07/31/2019 at 8:59 am #65623
  Antique Frog
  Participant
  Location: Leicester
  @antique-frog
  My (pretty limited) understanding of GSP is that it’s based on a package weight of up to 15 kilos (~35 pounds), also customs charges seem to be imposed on stuff that shouldn’t be charged. A customer in Canada complained that he was going to be charged 20 GBP by GSP for a pamphlet, whereas a customer in Spain was charged 15 GBP (no customs duty) for a heavy lump of electronic equipment, by airmail.
  
  Seems to me that if the above is true, exporting cheap heavy stuff is the way to go. Maybe lumps of Washita stone to Russians (seems to be a demand for woodworking gear there).
- 07/31/2019 at 10:49 am #65640
  ChristineR
  Participant
  Location: Southern California
  @christiner
  A lot of progress on the reno project and should almost be complete by next week before we go on vacation. What a relief. Going to Boulder and then Chicago so hoping for good weather and not too much humidity in Chicago.
  
  My dad’s house is listed for sale and we will finish emptying it in August. Thankfully he had purged a lot of stuff over the last year. The break from listing and dealing with marketing my dad’s custom, dated house has me thinking a lot about the art of pricing lately. It’s a challenge work the balance between waiting time and maximizing profit. Because I have a big backlog and sourcing used is so plentiful here, I think I will be pricing more to move things faster on Ebay when I begin listing for Fall. Mercari kind of make me realize that I’m ok with taking lower prices at this point.
  
  Have a great week!
- 07/31/2019 at 2:56 pm #65649
  totommyto
  Participant
  Location: Naples, Fl
  @totommyto
  Great Podcast.
  
  7/21– 7/27/19 (no cross listing is done between platforms)
  
  eBay store: totommyto
  
  Total store items: 725
  Number of items sold: 9
  Total eBay sales (not counting s/h): $246
  Cost of items sold: $19
  Highest price sold: $40 – Diecast Nascar semi truck – zero cost, part of a huge lot already accounted for.
  Average price sold: $27
  Returns: 0
  Money spent on new inventory: 0
  Number of new items listed this week: 12
  Sell through rate for the week: 1.6
  Number International sales: 0
  
  Etsy store oldfleatoymarket
  
  Total store items: 666
  Number of items sold: 3
  Total Etsy sales (not counting s/h): $79
  Cost of items sold: $3
  Highest price sold: $49 – small old 8 drawer parts cabinet
  Average price sold: $26
  Returns: 0
  Money spent on new inventory: 0
  Number of new items listed this week: 5
  Sell through rate for the week: 0.5
  Number International sales: 0
- 07/31/2019 at 8:04 pm #65673
  scott2
  Participant
  Location: Merida, Mexico
  @scott2
  Just listening to the latest podcast now, another great show. It really sounds like the ebay changes they are trying/want to put in will make it VERY similar to mercadolibre. The payment system is mainly through mercadopago “marketpay” in english which mercadlibre owns. People can either pay through their credit card or at any large number of convenience stores in to their acct or for purchases.
  The other change you mentioned with managed shipments is exactly the same as mercadolibre as well. The partnered with a few different companies, fedex and dhl mainly here, and offer extremely cheap shipping. For example I might pay say $3 US to ship something the size of a shoebox weighing 4 pounds to the other side of the country and it is usually next day delivery with DHL…
  The whole system works very well, when someone buys the pay with their mercadopago and the seller gets the order confirmed email and the prepaid shipping in a pdf format in their acct, print it out and tape it to the box and drop off asap. The buyer gets the tracking info as soon as they pay so there is no need to go back in to your acct and add that after shipping like on ebay.
  It really sounds like ebay is heading this way…
  Just hope they don’t bring in the other little details like a very important part of your reputation is how quickly you respond to questions. I get questions at 3 in the morning about availability and try to answer as quickly as possible. You actually get your reputation dinged if your response time is slow…
  - This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by scott2.
- 08/01/2019 at 6:19 pm #65760
  Doublythumbs
  Participant
  Location: Hopedale, OH
  @doublythumbs
  July 21 – 27
  Total Items in Store: 2421
  Items Sold: 16
  Total Sales : $671
  * Below yearly average of $955
  Highest Price: $130 (Even more Keystone Stereograph cards)
  Average Price: $42
  Returns: 0
  Cost of Goods Sold: $31
  Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $0
  Number of New Items Listed this Week: 0
  
  Greetings! Steph and I just got back from our big vacation to Seattle. We had a blast! It was a long plane ride back home so we’re both running on fumes at the moment. I’ll talk about our trip next week. But sales had been somewhat steady while we were gone. I only had one buyer complain about the handling time, but because I set my HT to 10 days and put my store on vacation mode, she doesn’t have any leg to stand on if she give me negative feedback.
  
  Well, time to get packing. Our mail lady is going to really hate us tomorrow.
  - 08/02/2019 at 8:26 am #65784
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Congrats on the trip. we were just in Seattle this spring. Would love to hear how you liked it.
- 08/03/2019 at 1:46 pm #65821
  ThriftShift
  Participant
  Location: Charleston, SC
  @thriftshift
  7/21-7/27
  
  Total Sales: $2130.97
  Items sold: 15
  4 items were consignments of which I get 50%: $1575.88
  My items + consignment payout= $1330.97 to me but I reduced by $200 in exchange for two Eames chairs of Frank the consignor.
  
  We moved from SC to NC in early July. We bought a hurricane-damaged house which is uninhabitable; the previous owner “Frank” was a collector who is 89 and left everything in the house. I have hundreds of items to list, mostly odd weird vintage stuff and old pottery. Most of it was upstairs so it was not flooded. He did have four special items that he had in an local junk shop for consignment, that he asked me to sell on ebay: 2 antique cameras, an antique Russian/Georgian sword, and he had vintage Cuisinart pieces in their boxes.
  
  The short sword sold on auction for $1113.88. I had it listed for $750 BIN initially and had two offers of $350 within an hour (from same town, different user IDs). One messaged me saying “it’s torn up, it’s crap, I might as well sell to him…” I had done my research (I thought), but I decided that was a hint to put on auction. He shouldn’t have insulted my item!
  
  Goal is to fix the house up by Nov 1, live on our sailboat and rent out home as Airbnb while we explore the oceans and come back to nest every six months or so. I keep my inventory in an old mechanic shop down the road from the new house, so it’s a good place to come back during renovations and eat, take showers, and list in the A/C at night before going back to our sailboat to sleep.
  
  Highest priced items this week sold:
  1) Sword at $1113.18 (consignment 50%)
  2) 2 Hubbardton Forge former church iron sconces at $170 total. I had bought 5 at church yard sale for $25 total.
  3) Two tablecloths and curtains of vintage Waverly pink bow fabric (80s looking) at $137. I had bought an entire homemade bedroom suite for $30 and still have 7 pieces left.
  4) 7 Mikasa teacups for $108 total (were free)
  
  Frank has ANOTHER storage unit where I found these Eames chairs (he told me he bought them in NYC in the 60s). He asked me to sell the contents of that unit too and take 50%. It has a 27′ sailboat, 16′ skiff, and about 100 other marine-related items. So I am also advertising to local sailors and dealing in cash. A lot going on!
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