Scavenger Life Episode 449: 25 Years of eBay

This topic has 66 replies, 21 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 2 months ago by MDC Galleries & Fine Art.

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- 02/09/2020 at 7:21 pm #73797
  Ryanne
  Keymaster
  Location: Virginia
  @ryanne
  Join the conversation in the forum>> Our Store Week Feb 2-8, 2019 Total Items in Store: 8469 Items Sold: 26 Gross Sales: $1124.40 Cost of Items
  [See the full post at: Scavenger Life Episode 449: 25 Years of eBay]
- 02/09/2020 at 9:44 pm #73803
  WabashValleyRelics
  Participant
  Location: Indiana
  @wabashvalleyrelics
  Feb 2 – 8
  
  Total Items in Store – 14,245
  # of new listings ~342
  Total # of orders – 131
  Total # of items sold – 185
  Gross Sales – $3,131.06
  COG Sold ~$26
  Inventory Bought – $0
  
  Busy week, no big sales, just a bunch of them and a bunch of combined orders. Another week of mostly magazines sales out of the big magazine haul I got over the summer. Most of the items that I had to pay for are ones that I paid less than a dollar for. Records, pins, comics, hub cap, etc. A type writer, action figure, and old bench motor sold this week as well, which were the highest COG items, I paid $5 for the typewriter and motor and they’ve been up for years so I was glad to get them out the door. The action figure I paid $8 for over the summer.
  
  Ebays addition of the standard international shipping option has been great so far. I added that as an additional shipping option to my first class business policy. When I added the option, it stated it would be used if GSP wasn’t available, but it seems that buyers have a choice between GSP and standard international, because every international order I’ve had since adding it has chosen the standard option. Which is freaking great because I can finally send combined invoice for all my international orders.
  
  Good podcast as always, hope everyone had a great week.
  - This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by WabashValleyRelics.
  - 02/10/2020 at 10:04 am #73818
    Lukastreasure
    Participant
    
    Location: Chevy Chase, MD
    @lukastreasuretrove
    @WAbashValleyRelics – Curious about the international shipping option. I don’t see it as an option in business policies. Where did you add this in? Wonder if it is another of those things that they are rolling out to the community slowly.
    - 02/10/2020 at 12:01 pm #73830
      MDC Galleries & Fine Art
      Participant
      
      Location: Atlanta
      @huncrelan
      
      I was listening yesterday to a YouTube poster who was reading through the whole International agreement document and when she got to the fine print areas toward the bottom, Ebay states this program can average about 6 to 8 weeks or longer to deliver to the buyer.
      
      Follow up questions revolved around was Pitney Bowes being involved in some way, was there some sort of secondary process or inspections taking place, but nobody had any real answers. But right there in the Ebay document was the statement about a long time frame for delivery and it may lead to buyer questions or premature “Item Not Received” complaints.
      
      Not much else about it except, it will be less costly in some cases.
      - 02/10/2020 at 5:05 pm #73846
        
        WabashValleyRelics
        Participant
        
        Location: Indiana
        @wabashvalleyrelics
        
        Do you have a link to the video? With every update Ebay does, the response is usually almost always negative with the youtube Ebay community. I don’t get that mindset at all. Here is a link to the terms and conditions, Ebay guarantees delivery dates and protects sellers from late deliveries. I don’t see anything about 6-8 week delivery time.
        
        https://pages.ebay.com/sell/send/termsofservice.html
        
        I will say that even if it did state that delivery times can take up to 6-8 weeks, I would assume that language would be in there to cover worse case scenarios. That’s no different from US USPS shipping policy. Twice in the last 2 months, a package has stalled or been lost during transit. One packaged was returned to me a little over a month after it was scheduled to be delivered, and the other is still unknown, with package being stuck “in transit” for several weeks now.
        
        At the end of the day, it’s a cheaper option for the buyer, allows me to edit/combine invoices, and gives me the same seller protections I would expect from GSP. I’m happy with the service so far.
        
        02/10/2020 at 5:08 pm #73848
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        This sounds like a great program as long as it has tracking and offers all the same protection. Do you have a sense this is a replacement for GSP?
        
        02/10/2020 at 6:11 pm #73862
        
        WabashValleyRelics
        Participant
        
        Location: Indiana
        @wabashvalleyrelics
        
        I would figure it would be a replacement to get ready for a mass movement to the managed payments system, but there’s nothing official from Ebay yet.
        
        02/10/2020 at 6:52 pm #73865
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Are you in Managed Payments now?
        
        02/10/2020 at 6:59 pm #73868
        
        WabashValleyRelics
        Participant
        
        Location: Indiana
        @wabashvalleyrelics
        
        No, I haven’t received the invite to the program yet.
        
        02/10/2020 at 5:17 pm #73849
        
        MDC Galleries & Fine Art
        Participant
        
        Location: Atlanta
        @huncrelan
        
        Sure thing:
        
        It was Kathy Terrill a YouTuber but she has a good Ebay background, she speaks at some Ebay groups, a former QVC presenter and also knows seemingly many insiders at Ebay. But besides that she covers many good technical and topical thngs with what I feel is good information.
        
        The only BUT is her introduction drives me crazy… “Hello Everybody”, Hi, Hi, Hi, Helloe, Good to see you”, UUgghh. but she has a lot of videos with info. I have used a lot.
        
        Here at about time 8:00 minute mark, digging into the details that is posted online by Ebay and you may be able to get the Ebay URL by zooming in on it in the image she is showing on the screen.
        
        Then at about the 11:00 minute mark she falls upon the Guaranteed delivery part and timing.
        
        Hope this is of some interest and helps us all discover a little more about this program.
        
        Mike at MDC Concepts, Inc.
        MDC Galleries and Fine Art
        SmartParts Small Equipment
        
        02/10/2020 at 5:59 pm #73855
        
        WabashValleyRelics
        Participant
        
        Location: Indiana
        @wabashvalleyrelics
        
        So I didn’t watch the whole thing due to length, but I did skip around and saw a good portion of what’s she’s saying. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like she’s talking about a personal experience, rather than a policy. She doesn’t show anything in the fine print about a 6-8 week delivery time, but is talking about one specific package that took a while to get delivered.
        
        Just as a counter anecdotal experience, I checked a magazine I shipped out Jan 31st using standard international delivery and it arrived to the customer in the UK today. Like I said, maybe I missed it, but I would like to see an actual statement on the fine print/policy about it, not a personal complaint over a single item.
        
        This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by WabashValleyRelics.
        
        This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by WabashValleyRelics.
        
        02/11/2020 at 9:47 am #73884
        
        MDC Galleries & Fine Art
        Participant
        
        Location: Atlanta
        @huncrelan
        
        She went on to say that after she read that info. in what she was mulling over online, it was an Ebay, purple header document from some Ebay area, that she then called her Ebay concierge service and talked with them and they confirmed that deliveries could take 6 to 8 weeks.
        
        Then she gave just one example of her own, but the main focus was not on her having one complaint about one package taking a longer time. The package she sent was an experiment she did on her own after talking directly to Ebay. She was to try it herself for a comparison.
        
        But rather than conjecture about it further any of us, if we have the time, could call Ebay and ask them the same question. Are you expecting your new service to run on a 6 to 8 week delivery schedule and the answer should put it all to rest. Personally I am in the GSP but only sell maybe half a dozen orders out of the US per year. Not enough for me to worry about. Will just sit and take the wait and see approach until we all have to deal with the managed payment switch over and then will also probably adjust out the shipping policies some.
        
        But not trying to downplay or degrade the service, just thought I would what that one lady was reading about from the Ebay posting about the service.
        
        Take Care…
        Ta Ta for Now … mike at MDCGFA in ATL
        
        02/10/2020 at 6:55 pm #73867
        
        Temudgin
        Participant
        
        Location: Jacksonville FL
        @temudgin
        
        I recognize that page – last year they were calling the new service “eBay Send International Standard”.
        
        So is it like GSP that you’re relying on a third party to prepare the customs forms – your shipment goes to a US hub?
        
        I notice that there is a $100 cap on the insurance coverage.
  - 02/10/2020 at 1:22 pm #73836
    Ryanne
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @ryanne
    MDC Galleries wrote:
    
    Hello Wabash Valley Relics:
    I see you joined the group here about 6 weeks ago and congratulations on posting some great numbers.
    It always catching eyes when members come on board with inventories larger than Jay and Ryanne’s. You have a large store at 14,256 listed items and 1,521 sales in the past 90 days. You surely have very good numbers.
    Now don’t think you are going to come away without some of us having some questions for you and your successful store. So welcome to the club and hope you don’t mind me asking a few questions of which your answers may help those of us that are still trying figure a few things out going forward into the Ebay year of 2020. So, no disrespect intended, just curiosity as to what some of your thinking and strategy is with regards to a few things.
    Taking a quick overview of your store at 1,521 sales in the past 3 months you show
    $1-$5 = 49 $5.01-$10=290=19% $10.01-$20=837=55% $20.01-$30=224=15%
    $30.01-$40=57 $40.01-$50=26 $50.01 & up=39
    So about 90% of the last 3 months sales fall about where Jay calls the bread and butter ranges $10 to $30 +/- or at times $20 to $40.
    So, with that being said, you seem to be very successful in those ranges and at a very good volume. Now not taking a T-Satt aka Troy] approach at the numbers [i.e. sell through rates, volume velocity, predictive analysis, etc., etc.] I would like to explore a more soft sided probe of your mindset of driving your business on Ebay with the following in mind, if I may.
    • I notice many of your listings have few or even no item specifics. What is your opinion on not using many “Item specifics” or any custom item specifics?
    • Your opinion on using a description of just a few words and not listing dimensions, materials, and such in the description if you are not putting in many item specifics?
    • Is it mostly for the speed of listing so many items per week and you rely mostly on the title and photos to do the selling for you?
    • Not filling in any of what Ebay calls their “Required” Item Specifics?
    • Your thoughts on Items as low as a one dollar in your store and allowing offers on everything?
    • How many offers do you really get on items in the $1 to $5 range?
    • For Offers….What is your lowest threshold in percentage do you accept on $1 to $5 items [a 50% offer on an item listed at $1.25 is $.63 ] do you really take many offers on low range items?
    • What is your opinion on Calculated Shipping vs. Free Shipping by building the shipping costs into an item for say Zone 5 or 6 and offering free shipping on it vs. having a $3.25 shipping costs on a $1 to $2 dollar item?
    • This week’s numbers show an Inventory costs as low as $.14 each on your posted sales of last week, so what is your main source for so many items that are that low for inventory costs?
    • In your calculations, assuming you have an Anchor Store, do you figure in the extra 4,000 listings x $.05=$200 per month x 12=$2,400 per year for extra inventory COGS? So, an item that you have for sale at $1.28 less it’s $.14 original COGS and a $.52 charge for let’s say a year outside the 10,000 free listing runs the COG up to approx. $.64. [now knowing some items sell quick and others I can see by some of your item revisions you have had for 4 and 5 years like the rest of us]
    • What is the thinking of having 49 items listed at under a couple of bucks and taking offers on them?
    Ok, ok, I will leave you alone now, but posting such great Sales numbers was sure to catch some of our attention, you can’t blame me. So, welcome to your baptizing on SL. LOL … 
    
    Respectfully Submitted and Kindest Regards,
    Mike at MDC Concepts, Inc.
    MDC Galleries and Fine Art
    SmartParts Small Equipment parts divs.
  - 02/11/2020 at 9:06 am #73878
    Ryanne
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @ryanne
    i have added ebay intl standard to some of my listings, but i don’t see it as a choice. it’s GSP or Standard depending on the country. thinking of turning GSP off totally if Standard is cheaper for buyers and basically the same “send it to the Kentucky warehouse” program.
    
    had the choice to use the new service yesterday and i chose it, sends to a warehouse in the same town as GSP near the Cincinnati Airport.
    - 02/11/2020 at 9:58 am #73887
      MDC Galleries & Fine Art
      Participant
      
      Location: Atlanta
      @huncrelan
      
      Ryanne: So you turned off the GSP for your whole store, if I am reading correctly? Then made the change over to the new International Shipping?
      
      It does seem to work about the same as the GSP program. Wonder if all of the same type of restrictions apply and if they also screen out the “do not ship to” countries like the GSP program does. Our “excluded” list of countries in the GSP prgram is twice as long as the countries our items will ship to. And some items won’t ship to some countries because of the nature of the item.
      
      Our kitchen steak knives are one example. Some countries allow a wood blocket of kitchen knives some don’t. We even tried changing titles to Kitchen Cutlery, still some countries won’t take them but some will with the title changed. Strange.
      
      We all laughed about calling them meat dividers, surgical steak manipulators, precision meat slicers, and on and on. We all had a good laugh! LOL 🙂
      
      So we will explore this further at this weeks Friday Production meeting before we all start to work.
      
      mc MDCGFA
    - 02/11/2020 at 6:06 pm #73911
      WabashValleyRelics
      Participant
      
      Location: Indiana
      @wabashvalleyrelics
      
      Do you have business shipping policies set up? I was just able to add Ebay Standard International as an additional option in those policies and it applied to all items with that particular policy.
      
      https://imgur.com/a/CJ1CIY2
      
      This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by WabashValleyRelics.
- 02/09/2020 at 11:11 pm #73805
  Mark S
  Participant
  Location:
  @mark-s
  2/2/20 – 2/8/20
  
  Total Items In Store: 3324
  Items Sold: 11
  Cost of Items Sold: $ 30
  Total Sales: $ 316.13
  Highest Price Sold: $ 50 (Bowling Shoes)
  Average Price Sold: $ 28.74
  Money Spent on New Inventory: $ 42.40
  Number of items listed: 22
  
  Gut Sales Report for the week: Very Weak sales.
  
  Challenge of the week: List more.
  
  Scavenge of the week: Picked up a nice vintage LL Bean Jacket on the cheap that will sell for good money.
  
  Personal News: My mom passed away this past week. The funeral is tomorrow. She has been battling with dementia. It has been difficult, but it has been good catching up with old friends I haven’t seen in awhile.
  
  Mark S
  - 02/10/2020 at 10:57 am #73822
    Doublythumbs
    Participant
    
    Location: Hopedale, OH
    @doublythumbs
    Hey Mark. I’m sorry to hear about your mother passing. That can’t be easy. Dementia is one of the worst diseases. Hopefully it may put your mind somewhat at ease to know she’s at peace now. Our thoughts are with you.
  - 02/10/2020 at 10:59 am #73823
    totommyto
    Participant
    
    Location: Naples, Fl
    @totommyto
    My heart goes out to you Mark.
  - 02/10/2020 at 12:05 pm #73832
    MDC Galleries & Fine Art
    Participant
    
    Location: Atlanta
    @huncrelan
    Hey Mark:
    So sorry to hear about your mother. Our thoughts and prayers go out for you and your family.
    
    Susan and Mike Collins
    MDC Galleries and Fine Art
  - 02/10/2020 at 4:59 pm #73845
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Mark, glad you had friends around.
  - 02/10/2020 at 8:54 pm #73870
    Mark S
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @mark-s
    Doublythumbs, Totommyto, Mike, and Jay,
    
    Thank you for your kind words.
    
    It was a rough week, but we know for certain that she is resting in the hands of God.
    
    Mark
  - 02/10/2020 at 10:42 pm #73874
    T-Satt
    Participant
    
    Location:
    @t-satt
    Mark: So sorry for your loss. Veronica and I will keep you in our prayers.
    - 02/11/2020 at 12:52 pm #73895
      Mark S
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @mark-s
      
      Thanks Troy
      
      Mark
- 02/10/2020 at 7:32 am #73809
  NC
  Participant
  Location: Georgia
  @millionairedojo
  My January numbers:
  
  Items sold: 49
  Gross sales: $1,938.45
  Shipping charged to customer: $548.30
  My shipping cost: $450.11
  COGS: $178.04
  Ebay fees: $262.53
  PayPal fees: $96.80
  Additional expenses: $68.98
  Net profit: $1,430.29
  Average price sold: $31.09
  Active listings: 547
  New items listed: 60
  
  If you’d like to see what I sold, you can check out this blog post:
  
  https://millionairedojo.com/what-sells-on-ebay-january-2020/
- 02/10/2020 at 7:56 am #73810
  Retro Treasures WV
  Participant
  Location:
  @retro-treasures-wv
  Items in Store 1521
  Items Sold 35
  Total Sales $1,197.00
  COGS $132.00
  Total Profit $1,065.00
  Average profit $30.43
  Average sales price $34.20
  New Listings 0
  
  10 weeks in a row with sales over $1K! I KNEW my store was capable of this, and it still pisses me off that ebay had their big 4Q glitches last year that killed my store.
  
  I’ve been covering ALL of my monthly expenses with ebay profits during this 10 week stretch, which is a BIG freaking deal.
  This week I did get a bunch of listings created but haven’t done the pictures yet so no new listings. Busy week prepping for our daughters birthday party.
  This week I have some household tasks to do. I’ve also told my wife that since my ebay store has done so well lately that we will start making plans to redo our kitchen and paint the house.
  
  Have a great week everyone!
- 02/10/2020 at 8:41 am #73812
  simplicio
  Participant
  Location:
  @simplicio
  Fair to middling week on eBay.
  
  Gross sales c/w shipping: CAD$1,291, 8 sales, COGS: $354, Fees: $173, Postage: $138 –> Gross profit: $626
  Expenditures: $1,273 –> Cashflow: -$156
  Hours: 8
  Listed: $1,940, 15 listings
  Sold some more door strikes, $380.
- 02/10/2020 at 8:46 am #73813
  T-Satt
  Participant
  Location:
  @t-satt
  Week of 2/2-2/8
  Total Items in Store: 3,295 (Up 40% YOY)
  Number of Items Listed: 75
  Number of Items Sold: 56 (Down 24% YOY)
  Weekly STR: 7% (Down 50% YOY – PY STR 15%)
  
  Total Product Sales: $1,685 (Down 19% YOY)
  Sales Volume Variance to Prior Year: Down $509
  Sales Price Variance to Prior Year: Up $103
  Cost of Items Sold: $310
  
  Great podcast, and I had a great time talking with you Jay yesterday. It was better than our sales last week…
  
  Quick note on the CSV download from PayPal topic from the caller. I use this each week to input our numbers. I download the data into Excel, and then I have another sheet that pulls in the data and keeps the information by type, so that I input into Quicken the Net Sales, Shipping Revenue (what the buyer pays for shipping), the PayPal Fee, and a separate column for the Sales Tax Collected. Then PayPal has the next row that will have the negative amount in the Sales Tax Collected column that zeros this out.
  
  When I run the P&L for our business for the year for Taxes, the Sales amount is just the Sales and Shipping we received from the buyer. The PayPal goes as expenses, and the Sales Tax should be zero (they should net out). I use a download converter that helps me with that, but I still have to do a little manipulation to get it right.
- 02/10/2020 at 8:56 am #73815
  chaoticgood
  Participant
  Location: Kansas City, MO
  @chaoticgood
  Feb 3 – 9
  
  A good week of sales for me, but weak for listing.
  
  Items in Store: 188
  Items Sold: 9 (3 Poshmark, 3 Mercari, 3 Ebay)
  Items Listed: 10
  Total Sales: $225
  COGS: $10
  
  A couple of these sales were thanks to crossposting to Mercari. My “big” sales were a 1950s Girl Scout Uniform in fair condition, $44; a vintage New Era Chiefs cap, $40, and an old Air Forces flight manual $40.
  
  Also had an annoying return on Poshmark, but it was one of my daughter’s out grown items, so I’m just going to let it be and let it go. The buyer was over the top with her feedback, but I’m trying to leave emotion out of it.
  
  Have great sales this week, everyone!
- 02/10/2020 at 10:22 am #73819
  Lukastreasure
  Participant
  Location: Chevy Chase, MD
  @lukastreasuretrove
  ANother good show. Hard to imagine what eBay was like 25 years ago. I agree that it would be great for eBay to refocus on second hand and vintage and get away from trying to compete with Amazon and other retail sellers.
  
  Week Ending 02/08/2020
  Total Items in Store: 1163
  Items Sold: 14
  Gross Sales: $684.12
  Gross wo Shipping $495.12
  Cost of Items Sold: $21.53
  Highest Price Sold: $60.00 (CHandelier parts)
  Average Price Sold: $35.37
  Returns: 1
  Money Spent on New Inventory: $960.00
  Sold via promoted listings: 9
  Promoted Percentage: 64.29%
  Average Days Listed: 179.57
  Longest Listed: 662
  New items listed: 24
  
  Continuing slow sales, but bright side is that we’re selling a lot of items in which we have little to no cash investment. My two biggest sales for the week were free. First was parts from a old porcelain capodimonte chandelier that was in my house when a moved in. Felt bad about parting it out but it had a lot of damage and would have been a problem to ship whole. Sold 6 flowers from it for $60. Second was a pair of African wood bookends that were given to me when I picked up some auction winnings. He gave me three sets of bookends and this was the last of the 3 to sell. Also for $60.
  
  Scavenge of the week: Set of 6 vintage 1968 Ansel Adams National Parks posters from an estate sale. Pretty excited about them as they seem to be extremely rare. Paid $125 for the lot.
  
  Spent a lot on new inventory at two estate sales this week. Hoping some of these new items will energize sales.
  
  Had a breakage on one of the items I shipped out. Only the 4th time I’ve had breakage in over 2000 shipments, but this one hurt as it was a high dollar sale, $160, and I ended up refunding half due to the breakage. Worse, I forgot to insure the item and I always ensure when items are over $100. 🙁
  
  Happy sales!
- 02/10/2020 at 10:46 am #73820
  Doublythumbs
  Participant
  Location: Hopedale, OH
  @doublythumbs
  Feb 2 – 8
  Total Items in Store: 3159
  Items Sold: 30
  Total Sales : $732
  * Below yearly average of $875
  Highest Price: $80 (Framed Audubon Birds of America Print)
  Average Price: $24
  Returns: 2
  Cost of Goods Sold: $27
  Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $0
  Number of New Items Listed this Week: 108
  
  I had a pretty good week of sales. Didn’t hit the $1K mark but that’s okay; I’m still well above my comfort range. I’ll be sure to hit it this week. I sold over $500 in items yesterday alone.
  
  Not much interesting happening my way really. Just keeping my head down and listing like crazy. I’m glad that I have all this time to do it now when it’s cold out. I’d like to spend more time outside this summer.
- 02/10/2020 at 10:55 am #73821
  totommyto
  Participant
  Location: Naples, Fl
  @totommyto
  Hello all! Jay and Ryanne, thank you for the fresh company this Monday morning on my way into the job.
  Numbers lowest in around three months. It looks like I have to get to work!
  
  1/26 – 02/01/20 (no cross listing is done between platforms)
  
  eBay store: totommyto
  
  Total store items: 826
  Number of items sold: 8
  Total eBay sales (not counting s/h): $201.50
  Cost of items sold: $18.50
  Highest price sold: $50 – lot 7 vintage 8mm tape reels w/ mystery 60’s subject matter, paid $5.
  Average price sold: $25.20
  Returns: 0
  Money spent on new inventory: $55
  Number of new items listed this week: 3
  Sell through rate for the week: 1.0
  Number International sales: 1
  
  Etsy store oldfleatoymarket
  
  Total store items: 624
  Number of items sold: 6
  Total Etsy sales (not counting s/h): $136
  Cost of items sold: $11
  Highest price sold: $28.50 lot of vintage plastic toy soldiers, paid $5
  Average price sold: $22.70
  Returns: 0
  Money spent on new inventory: $29
  Number of new items listed this week: 1
  Sell through rate for the week: 1.0
  Number International sales: 1
- 02/10/2020 at 11:08 am #73824
  jadowa
  Participant
  Location: Franklin, IN
  @jadowa
  Week of February 1 to February 7
  
  Total Items In Store: 5429 (-25)
  Items Sold: 163
  Total Sales (w/o Shipping): $2115.15
  Cost of Items Sold: $561.06
  Total Gross Profit: $1554.09
  Highest Price Sold: $108.06 (Unused Postage Stamps FV $200)
  Average Price Sold: $12.98
  Money Spent on New Inventory: $190.88
  Number of items listed: 290
  
  I miss the glory days of eBay… I remember back in 1998-1999 you could basically put anything up for auction and you would get the fair market value or more. I’ll never forget the last second pop in price on auctions…
  
  Have a great week!!
- 02/10/2020 at 11:17 am #73825
  Old Dad
  Participant
  Location: Missouri
  @old-dad
  There was a caller on the podcast today asking about buying shipping from UPS. Years ago I set up a UPS account, with a discount for being an eBay seller. They have a webpage where you can set having all your eBay orders imported, then just pick and choose the ones you need to ship UPS, then print the label, the tracking number is automatically uploaded to eBay. Your shipping cost is going to be better than going to the UPS store, for sure. The web interface isn’t all that pretty, but then again that’s not UPS’s target market for shipping customers. You may have to search for information on the eBay discount or contact UPS help.
  
  It’s called UPS Marketplace shipping, I can’t recall enough details to guide somebody through the process, it’s just been too long, but anybody smart enough to run an eBay store should be able to figure it out. I don’t use this anymore because I can print labels on ShippingEasy with USPS, UPS, FedEx and other providers, but I just took a look and my account is still active. My Amazon orders are there from the weekend but I need to renew my eBay tokens for 2 accounts.
  
  So, there it is, you can ship eBay orders using UPS easily with a little time spent setting it up.
- 02/10/2020 at 12:05 pm #73831
  Simon
  Participant
  Location: San Francisco Bay Area
  @simon
  Thanks for the podcast. Here are my numbers for the week:
  
  Total Items in Store: 3541
  Items Sold: 49
  Total Sales: $854.84
  Cost of Items Sold: $108
  Average Price Sold: $17.45
  Average Cost of Item: $2.21
  Highest Price Item Sold: $30.99 Harley-Davidson vintage USA-made leather hat
  Number of items listed this week: 67 worth approx. $1189
  YTD Sales: $5796
  YTD sales compared to this time last year: +27%
  Average age of items in store (in days since listing): 447
  Average number of days between listing and selling this week: 303
  Median age of sales (in days, between listing and selling): 238
  Sell-through rate (for the week): 1.38%
  
  Nothing very special happened on my ebay account this week. Lots of sales but nothing of high value.
  
  I got the message about the new international shipping program but haven’t switched it on yet. I’ll be interested to hear more experiences on that. My international sales have really slowed down recently. (Conspiracy theory : Did eBay raise regular international shipping prices so that they could make their new program more attractive?) : https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/shipping/ebay-international-standard-delivery.html
  
  For money that you’ve forgotten about that ended up at the states, the two big sites to check are missingmoney.com and unclaimed.org. I don’t recall the difference but I know I’ve checked both in the past.
  
  My scavenge of the week were 3 boxes full of books/advertising/documents from tech companies from the 1970s. I got them from the estate of a couple of “calculator engineers” for a grand total of $20. I also grabbed documents related to patents for calculators. I don’t imagine those have any value since patents are publicly available but I thought it might be interesting to flip through them.
  
  Hope everyone has a great week!
- 02/10/2020 at 12:26 pm #73833
  almasty
  Participant
  Location:
  @alamasty
  Listening to the podcast now. I’ve been using the same Zebra Thermal Printer for the past 13 or 14 years, mainly on Windows computers. When I transitioned from Windows 7 to Mac over the summer, I thought that I too would have to buy a Rollo printer. However, all I had to do was buy a new USB to IEEE1284 CN36 Parallel cable that was specifically made for Macs and figured out how to find the drivers for Mac by doing a little work under the hood using CUPS that led to a universal driver available that was compatible with my Mac. It worked! I guess that’s a long-winded way to say that I’m really cheap, didn’t want to buy a Rollo and enjoy tinkering under the hood when given the opportunity.
  
  My main issue with Rollo printers is how you have to have a little tray behind the printer to hold the paper. I like how the Zebra printer is just self-contained. My problem with the Dymo printers is the labels become expensive if you have a lot of packages to ship each day. I really dislike proprietary labels. I like being able to buy a large amount of cheap labels off Ebay once or twice a year. So, I did what I had to in order to continue using the Zebra printer.
  
  Okay, back to work. This is day 3 of my listathon.
  - 02/10/2020 at 1:19 pm #73835
    Simon
    Participant
    
    Location: San Francisco Bay Area
    @simon
    Regarding Dymo labels, I just buy generic ones from Amazon. They have been fine. Dymo tells you to use their labels but you don’t have to.
    - 02/10/2020 at 1:55 pm #73838
      T-Satt
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @t-satt
      
      We went with the Zebra, using Fanfold labels. Buy them in cases of 4000 labels each from Royal Mailers with a commercial discount (they reached out direct after they saw that we were buying bags from them, then they gave us a discount on the labels).
      
      Only have to change the labels once every 2000 labels, and they are always flat (the second thing I love about fanfold)
      - 02/10/2020 at 2:17 pm #73839
        
        Old Dad
        Participant
        
        Location: Missouri
        @old-dad
        
        I like the fanfold labels too, also a Zebra printer. I have them under the table the printer is on, feeding up between the wall and table. In addition to the convenience and lower cost, I don’t get that annoying label curl near the end of the roll. I also get the free UPS fanfold labels. I don’t switch them back and forth during each day’s shipping but one them one week out of 4 or more depending based on the current UPS usage.
    - 02/11/2020 at 12:24 pm #73893
      almasty
      Participant
      
      Location:
      @alamasty
      
      Oh, that’s good to know. That could be a good back-up if anything happened to the Zebra and I didn’t feel like fixing it at that point.
  - 02/11/2020 at 9:00 am #73877
    Ryanne
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @ryanne
    yeah i got the fanfold ones too. love it.
- 02/10/2020 at 4:02 pm #73843
  Kentucky Picker
  Participant
  Location: Newport, Kentucky
  @kentucky-picker
  Enjoyed the podcast, Jay and Ryanne. I hope eBay has some years left in it.
  
  Week of Feb 2 – 8
  
  Total Items In Store: 420
  Items Sold: 5 (4 eBay, 1 FB)
  Total Gross Sales (includes S/H): $283 ($83 eBay, $200 FB)
  COGS: $20
  Highest Price Sold: $200 Herman Miller Mirra office chair
  Average Price Sold: $57
  Returns: 0
  Customer Issues: Closed an INAD case in my favor. Yay. It was a vacuum cleaner wand. Customer didn’t ship by deadline.
  Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $325
  Number of new listings: 56
  
  Gut Sales Report for the week: January went out with a bang but February has started with a whimper. I had a solid December and a fantastic January, so no complaints. With the small store I have there’s going to be wide variation from week-to-week. I salvaged the week with a Facebook Marketplace sale on Saturday of a Herman Miller Mirra chair ($200) that I got on Wednesday for $15 at an auction. It was in with a bunch of junky office chairs. I was lucky no one else recognized it.
  
  Scavenge of the week: Picked up a carload of items (truck parts, door knobs, action figures, ceramics) at an auction this past week. Still processing, but it appears I got about $2,000 worth of items for $325. Have to factor in hotel expense ($100).
- 02/10/2020 at 5:28 pm #73850
  Sharyn
  Participant
  Location: Central NJ
  @sharyn
  Thanks for the podcast. I also have a Brother laser printer for the new year. It cost $99, but I asked for it as a gift so I didn’t actually pay for it. Love it! It’s almost like a thermal printer where the ink doesn’t need replacing often and it always prints without streaks. My color inkjet needs printer head cleaning way too often.
  
  Week of Feb 2 – 8
  * Total Items in Store: 1454 eBay, 34 Etsy
  * Items Sold: 24 eBay
  * Cost of Items Sold: $32.39 + $22.70 Commission
  * Total Sales: $384.61 eBay
  * Highest Price Sold: $55 lot of 9 vintage airline playing cards new & sealed
  * Average Price Sold: $16
  * Returns: 0
  * Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $23
  * Number of items listed this week: 2
  
  I sold quite a few items (for me), but the average price sold is pretty low. So far this week (Sunday and today), I’m selling much higher value items. We’ll see how it goes.
  
  I went to an auction for the first time in months. I hate going to auctions around the holidays, so I just skip. I didn’t spend much, but I have seven more vintage radios to clean and test! These sell so nicely, even nonworking, and some of them for decent prices. I’m also working on some deathpile items, which I’m really happy about. Hopefully, I will list much more this week.
- 02/10/2020 at 5:33 pm #73851
  MDC Galleries & Fine Art
  Participant
  Location: Atlanta
  @huncrelan
  Hey Guys: Question to all of the themal printer guys, Zebra, Dynamo, Rollo.. are these all wired printers or Wireless. The Brother Laser printer I use is 22 feet away from the main keyboard we use to send labels and it is wireless, two up on a sheet adhesive backed, kiss-cut on a sheet with 1/4″ rounded corners.
  
  The price ranges I see for wireless units are running from several hundred dollars up to the 800 and 900 range. Must be heavy duty. But the one everybody has mentioned here are they hard wired-cable or wireless.
  
  mike – mdcgfa
  - 02/10/2020 at 9:34 pm #73872
    Sharyn
    Participant
    
    Location: Central NJ
    @sharyn
    I bought a used Dymo 4XL on eBay maybe two years ago. It is wired and plugs into my Mac. I have a small shelf on my desk that holds both my new Brother printer and the Dymo.
    
    Perhaps the newer ones come wireless, but they don’t take up much desk space if you have to plug it in.
    - 02/11/2020 at 9:30 am #73881
      MDC Galleries & Fine Art
      Participant
      
      Location: Atlanta
      @huncrelan
      
      Thanks Sharyn: I suppose I could do a little rearranging and get a board across my main desk area and place it up on top of it above my monitors.
      
      Currently my ink jet printer is by my desk and that’s where the packing lists and or the SixBit Pick List print out. Then the label is already waiting in the Laser printer over in the packing area as I walk over there. Guess I could have both the PL and Label print out here at my desk and walk both over to the shipping area.
      
      Wonder if any one has tried printing out a Packing List onto a thermal label. Format the PL to a size that would fit the 4×6 label. Have the PL print first then the label be right after it. Guess that would be too small and hard to read, if it could even be formatted that size in the first place. Oh well, just thinking out loud.
      
      I probably will wait until my laser printer drum-cartridge gets depleted or the next time I run out of toner will be the time to make the switch. Unsure how much toner is left but usually lasts about a year or so.
      - 02/11/2020 at 9:57 am #73886
        
        Sharyn
        Participant
        
        Location: Central NJ
        @sharyn
        
        Did you check if label printers are wireless these days? Perhaps that will work better for you.
        
        I use my laser printer for the pick list and scan form. They come out too small on the label (in my opinion) plus a plain white sheet of paper is much cheaper. I use the label printer only for the label.
        
        Why decommission a laser printer over an inkjet? I received a laser printer as a gift during the holidays and have been using it for about a month now, and I will never buy another inkjet. I have the old inkjet just in case I need to print something in color.
        
        02/11/2020 at 10:13 am #73889
        
        MDC Galleries & Fine Art
        Participant
        
        Location: Atlanta
        @huncrelan
        
        Think you got what I was saying incorrect probably because of the way I was saying it. I meant to say, that I will wait until the laser printer “drum” goes out and needs a new drum which the last drum cost about a hundred dollars, I would use that as the opportunity to buy a thermal printer instead of repairing it.
        
        I replaced the drum head a year or so ago and they usually last about 10,000 copies or so. The replacement drums in some models go for more than a new printer, which is par for the course.
        
        But I certainly prefer a laser to an ink jet any day. For Years I used a four color laser printer because I print brochures and sales materials for my other businesses at that time. It costs almost $400 for toner on it back in those days. About $65 to $90 per color and I printed several hundred, 2 sided, tri-fold brochures on them that we gave to customers. It was like a mini printing press. But it finally gave out and I also no longer needed that service any longer.
        
        As for the current ink jet. I too will just use it until the heads get screwed up then dump it. But may do it sooner rather than later. The person who took over my spray foam insulation business when I retired has asked my to come out of retirement and start doing his advertising and marketing both online and off for him to build up a new residential division. I may get another 4 color laser printer and print the brochures I design for him again on a color laser. At that point the ink jet will be history.
        
        So the thought of decommissioning the laser for the ink jet wasn’t what I meant, it would be to dump the laser for the Thermal printer.
        
        mc mdcgfa atl
        
        02/11/2020 at 10:33 am #73890
        
        Sharyn
        Participant
        
        Location: Central NJ
        @sharyn
        
        Ah, my confusion. I just looked up refills for my printer, and a toner cartridge costs about $77 and a new printer is about $100 on sale. So, I see what you mean especially if you are about to need a new color printer.
  - 02/11/2020 at 5:05 pm #73903
    Old Dad
    Participant
    
    Location: Missouri
    @old-dad
    MDC, I wonder how many here beside you and I know what kiss-cut means, takes me back.
    
    Here’s a Rollo wireless thermal label printer from Amazon for $170. I don’t know anything about it other than a brief scan of the listing.
    - 02/11/2020 at 5:14 pm #73905
      MDC Galleries & Fine Art
      Participant
      
      Location: Atlanta
      @huncrelan
      
      I remember us talking about the old Thompson’s and Kluge presses.
      
      My old partner died last year and I saw where his widow sold off the business in CT. and auctioned off all the machines.
      
      He and i built that business up from doing hand printing work in a single garage to that new building we eventually built.
      
      It was sad looking at all the auction photos of the inside. All the shelving I made, all the die cutters, silk screen presses and guillotines, laminating machine, ink room, everything I laid out and we installed over 22 years together. All hauled off by younger and newer competitors. Those were the prime years of my life all auctioned off in a day or two. 🙁 🙁
      
      Now here selling used candle holders, dishes, vases urns, ceramics and what nots.
      
      Not even fun doing this with Susan as sick as she is with her cancer treatments and me by myself everyday except for a few hours on friday and sat. with our helper. Only one helper now also.
      
      Oh well onward and upwards.
    - 02/11/2020 at 5:19 pm #73907
      MDC Galleries & Fine Art
      Participant
      
      Location: Atlanta
      @huncrelan
      
      Oh and Thank you for the link. $170 is not bad. That maybe the answer. Just go ahead and bit the bullitt and pick one up. Have to read up on that model a little more and see what all it does and is compatible with.
      
      P.S. Not only kiss cut, but perf, score, side guide, bi-fold, tri-fold, foil emboss, rad. rnd. corners, tympan sheet, build up, powder machine, burn a plate or screen, take off, pile wedges [to level], and a ton more if I had time to think about it.
      
      thanks mike
      - 02/11/2020 at 5:21 pm #73908
        
        Jay
        Keymaster
        
        Location: Virginia
        @jay
        
        Our Rollo printer isnt wireless. It sits right by our shipping computer. Not a big deal.
        
        02/16/2020 at 1:15 pm #74016
        
        T-Satt
        Participant
        
        Location:
        @t-satt
        
        Mike: We went with the Zebra 450, it is wired. We have a laptop that is 10+ years old that only does duty in the shipping area, so we have it wired. Very nice to have the setup there, using the fanfold 4×6 labels. No more ink issues.
        
        I bought it used on ebay. Took me a while to reset the settings (but it came with the drivers and instructions), and has worked like a charm ever since. Paid $100.
        
        02/16/2020 at 2:55 pm #74019
        
        MDC Galleries & Fine Art
        Participant
        
        Location: Atlanta
        @huncrelan
        
        Cool. Thanks for the info Troy. I will be doing some comparison research tomorrow and see what I can decide on.
        
        mike
- 02/11/2020 at 8:36 am #73875
  MDC Galleries & Fine Art
  Participant
  Location: Atlanta
  @huncrelan
  Hey Jay:
  How about some new photos of you and Ryanne’s new storage building inside now that you have all of your stuff moved over into it? Would like to see how it all worked out with your shelving, how you arranged the rows, new bin system you are going to. Just curious.
  
  How does 8k to 10k items stack up inside, how did you finally light it, and / or heat it, how do you off load from your truck in there and so forth?
  
  Do you do any packing and shipping inside the warehouse building or do you pull everything as it is sold and carry it up to the office, up the stairs to pack and ship?
  
  How does the space and distance work out as far as time utilization go and how has the buidling helped in speeding up your overall process besides centralizing everything into one spot instead of all over the local farm?
  
  mike at MDCGFA in Atl
  - 02/11/2020 at 4:36 pm #73902
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    How about some new photos of you and Ryanne’s new storage building inside now that you have all of your stuff moved over into it? Would like to see how it all worked out with your shelving, how you arranged the rows, new bin system you are going to. Just curious.
    
    I could see about adding some photos. Its just plastic bins on metal shelves. Each bin has a number that we understand.
    
    How does 8k to 10k items stack up inside, how did you finally light it, and / or heat it, how do you off load from your truck in there and so forth?
    
    Just a big metal building with LED overhead lights. No heat and AC. It is insulated to kep it from sweating. We only store our hard goods (and all my lumber) in here.
    
    Do you do any packing and shipping inside the warehouse building or do you pull everything as it is sold and carry it up to the office, up the stairs to pack and ship?
    
    We pull everything and then ship from our office.
    
    How does the space and distance work out as far as time utilization go and how has the building helped in speeding up your overall process besides centralizing everything into one spot instead of all over the local farm?
    
    It’s like night and day. We used to store out items in three different places in a ten mile radius. Just what we had to do since we were using properties we already owned and it was free. But having all our items in one place is a huge luxury.
- 02/11/2020 at 11:04 am #73892
  littleBlueHouse
  Participant
  Location: North Chesterfield, VA
  @littlebluehouse
  On your podcast you mentioned that you found a really neat thrift store, would you mind telling me where you went? I’m coming back to Staunton in a few weeks and would love to check out the spot. I also understand a lot of people don’t like revealing their sourcing locations.
  - 02/11/2020 at 4:32 pm #73901
    Jay
    Keymaster
    
    Location: Virginia
    @jay
    Sorry. Good thrifts stores are a secret 🙂
    - 02/12/2020 at 3:15 am #73919
      littleBlueHouse
      Participant
      
      Location: North Chesterfield, VA
      @littlebluehouse
      
      Totally get that! Right now all of my sources aren’t secret (Goodwills/yard sales) but I am trying to find some others in the area. It is surprising how much the valley has to offer vs Chesterfield. RVA is good as long as you stay in the downtown area.
- 02/11/2020 at 12:55 pm #73896
  Mark S
  Participant
  Location:
  @mark-s
  Ryanne,
  
  Thanks for the heads up on unclaimed.org
  
  I searched for myself, but there was nothing for me. However, it showed that my brother is owed between $100-$250. I let him know and he was surprised because it was his employer from about 28 years ago. He is going to claim it.
  
  Mark
- 02/10/2020 at 6:09 pm #73861
  MDC Galleries & Fine Art
  Participant
  Location: Atlanta
  @huncrelan
  Thank you so much for the detailed feedback. You are now baptized into the group.
  
  Very interesting on the volume of items you still have to list on top of what you have already. If everything was listed over night you would have, what maybe 25,000 ++ items. Just unimaginable from our perspective.
  
  But it is now clearer to how to can post those kinds of numbers. I am surprised Jay didn’t get to you first on those numbers, unless he already did and i missed it.
  
  I also know that SL is wonderful, but if you are very active, then SL can be a time drain if one posts many new topics and reply to lots of other posts. Just think of all the months and months worth of time J and R have put into posting and answering since way back to the Mike and Wendy days.
  
  So thank you again for the insightful details about your business model and how you and your wife run your business. Good job.
  
  mike @ MDCGFA
  - This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by MDC Galleries & Fine Art.
- 02/10/2020 at 6:54 pm #73866
  Jay
  Keymaster
  Location: Virginia
  @jay
  Yeah, I asked him about these same issues several months ago. The story is he bought a hoarder house full of pristine magazines that seem valuable. I’d also love to know how he stores all the magazines, LP’s and other bulk items.
- 02/10/2020 at 7:04 pm #73869
  WabashValleyRelics
  Participant
  Location: Indiana
  @wabashvalleyrelics
  We bag/board the magazines, with a magazine on each side. Then we have these large banker boxes we put them in, each box has a sku #. Records are all stored sitting up in crates, expect for the 78s we still need to process, those are still in tubs. We expect some broken ones in there, since they’re shellacs. Postcards and small paper ephemera are in sleeves and standing up in clear bins. Pins are stored in small bins. The big stuff is just on shelves, taking up way too much room. We have a 2 car garage and a small garage that is full of inventory and we had to get a 10×30 unit to hold the magazines.
- 02/11/2020 at 9:34 am #73882
  MDC Galleries & Fine Art
  Participant
  Location: Atlanta
  @huncrelan
  Now that you mention the phrase “hoarder house”, I do recall some dialogue along those lines and the huge volume you were asking about. Well at least we got some more details about how it all is being handled and stored.
  
  mike mdcgfa
- 02/11/2020 at 5:22 pm #73909
  Jay
  Keymaster
  Location: Virginia
  @jay
  You guys are so smart. Great to see everything you’re selling out of those huge lots. Are you using the money for anything specific? Or just daily expenses?
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