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I just saw another re-seller’s post on Instagram about a few bread and butter type items that they sold, and came to a revelation:
Bread & butter items are like the bonds of the re-selling world.
Much like holding bonds in an investment portfolio, slow moving, (sometimes) lower dollar, (sometimes) low risk items establish a steady base of income, and help to level out the fluctuations between times of boom and bust.
Also like bonds/etc, they’re often not exciting. There’s usually something more fun that you’d like to put your time/money/energy into, but convincing yourself that these items are an important part of your “portfolio” can really help stabilize things long term.
Just a trash elf thought that I wanted to share…
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I love the things I sell for $10-20. They add up. Every year I’d estimate I sell 100-150 of these low dollar items. That’s anywhere from $1000-$3000 in my pocket every year that wouldn’t have been if I didn’t list these items. Definitely not chump change if you keep it in the proper perspective.
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Just on lunch I went to a Value Village and found 4 of my favorite bread and butter items for $1 a piece on the same peg hook. It will be an easy 4x$20 = $80 in sales and will sell in a few weeks. Just need to add them to a current listing, or relist something that sold.
They only take a few seconds to find (I know it when I see it), add or recycle an old listing (maybe a minute), print a label and pack to ship (a couple minutes). I’ll make at least $15 for a few minutes work after fees.
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For me, some of my main B&B items are hats, t shirts, coffee mugs, patches, pennants, playing cards, etc. Generally I buy all of them at a very minimal cost, they’re quick and easy to list/pack/ship, and usually sell for less than $25. Sell through rate is usually pretty low, but I sell a few of each every week.
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Just the motto I needed to get my new crop of ‘girly’ lapel pins up on etsy. The last cache of old pins I listed sold consistently, still selling. Another cache is on on eBay, only motorcycle racing stickers. Pins averaging around $15 e. stickers set at $10 e. the new batch of pins I’ve been listing at $20 e. Slow & True & sometimes perfectly timely pipelines. Now to start listing them there lovely little darling lapel pins! Motto!
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totommyto,
Pennants are SUPER slow to sell for me, but are also SUPER high ROI, easy to store, and easy to ship, so I watch for them. Mostly just the old felt souvenir ones from the 60s/70s. I seem to be able to find them for a dollar or two at flea markets and yard sales, then I list them for around $25-30 each, and wait. I probably sell one to three of them most months on average.
They’d likely sell faster if I dropped my prices a bit, but with such a small investment, and taking up so much room, I don’t mind waiting for a few extra dollars.
Get those pins listed!
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Love the analogy…
Plus, Bread and Butter items are a MUST. They are your regenerating Cash Cow that you build on, with the occasional high end to help pop the profit.
I’m a baseball guy, so I look at it this way. The $15-$20 items (that you are looking for at least a 4x-8x ROI) are your singles. You get 4 singles, you score a run.
Now, I LOVE the Home Runs…but they are harder to find and more finicky to sell. So get enough singles and doubles, and you have a viable business.
Funny thing is, the best sourcing strategy is the reverse. Look for the Home Runs first. BUT, and VERY IMPORTANT…pick up the singles while you are there…
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