Happy Summer

[ChristineR]

Hello All,

Hope everyone is having a very good summer.  I’m settling in after taking a big break.  My inventory is down to low 700s listing from a high of 1200.

I wanted to share that I am getting more Ebay sales after changing my software to refresh listings every 30 days instead of 90 or more days.  This is while not really listing many new listings at all.

Poshmark is now 1/3 of my sales dollarwise, with Ebay 2/3.  Mercari is pretty dead but I get a sale now and again.  I have some low dollar stuff going on over there.  They do run special deals from time to time so I’m hoping to sell off old things.   My 2025 profit was the same as the year prior, though I thought I worked more.  A bit disappointing but I am having to discount and take lower offers to make sales plus I am paying for software.  One more bit about Poshmark – fees are higher but I’ve had two packages not track at USPS (I’m going to the counter daily now) and Posh stepped up for refunding both myself and the buyer.  I’d rather Ebay charge a little more and do this.

I’ve had to update shipping on some lower dollar larger items in Ebay due to the USPS dim weight divisor change.  You are still ok 12 x 12 x 12 but I do have some larger platters and bowls that could get me in trouble.  So far I have changed them to Fed Ex or Fed Ex Economy.  I heard on a podcast that Fed Ex had matched the old USPS DIM weight divisor but I don’t know if they will continue to do so in the future.   Shipping costs are such a big factor these days.

The thrift stores lately are just poor selection, which is ok since I have lots of death piles still.  I am letting myself go to the small local weekly flea market.  For the second half of 2026 I will be working to get the piles down.  Had a big yard sale and cleared a bunch of stuff out.  After that I really haven’t done anything but ship for a month or so.

For the rest of the year I have a ton of used linens, good profit china, and decor items to sell.  At our citywide yard sale I didn’t buy much but bought a bunch of Johnny Was tops from a lady who lost weight on GLP1.  They were too big for me but they sold really well and I got to thinking maybe a few high dollar clothing items wouldn’t be so bad to add to the mix.  So easy to ship.

I’m on a calorie deficit (no drug) weight loss journey after neglecting things for a while.  I’m about 15% to my goal weight.  At my age it’s easier to change what I am eating and not eating but also trying to get more exercise as well.

[MyCottage]

I’ve been spending the last few weeks organizing listed inventory….I realized I was WAY behind in doing that, and we were getting sales that resulted in me spending far too much time trying to find something in this mess. Progress has been slow, but I’m getting there. Q4 is speeding my way, and I want to be much better organized before that arrives. Better Half has been listing , but I haven’t been, because of the organizing, but I need to get some new listings up as well. And maybe work through older listings that could be updated.

Since ebay’s purchase of depop has gone through, I’m thinking about trying to list some stuff there….while it is geared towards clothing, they do allow other stuff as well, and I’m going to see if I have some stuff that might fit the depop vibe. I’m hoping ebay itself might make it easy to cross list but even if they do, I suspect it will not be till next year at the earliest.

Multiple platforms and social media are goals for Q4, but I’m not pushing any of that really until I get the place reorganized. That isn’t just the inventory, it’s also improving the shipping station and photo station. I figure that will take up most of August. (I’ve cut back on sourcing, which is hard to do at the height of yard sale season, but I’ve still managed to pick up a few decent things. Also, just did a little sourcing on WhatNot…I’ve never been big on online sourcing, but between time constraints, the cost of gas, and not getting any younger, it is making more sense.

I too an trying to lose weight. No drugs. I seem to have hit a plateau right now, but I think if I can add in more exercise it might move the needle again.

Here’s to better sales soon!

[ChristineR]

Good luck @Mycottage.  I’m stuck at 5-10 down. There’s no getting around joining a gym and burning it off unfortunately.  It has been stubbornly hot here and we don’t have central AC so not super motivating but we are taking walks here and there.

Crosslisting was awesome for me.  I’m not sure about Depop.  I’ve heard that people are pretty frugal and service is not good.  However, I had two sales on Ebay I’ve had to cancel very recently after the software has been super reliable.  I think it might have been me doing something wrong.

I used to not watch much tv for many years but I watched Making a Murderer and it made me think of the old podcast discussion.

 

[MyCottage]

@ChristineR I think you mentioned it before, but which cross listing tool are you using?

ebay apparently had a strong Q2, but you wouldn’t know it from my sales. ebay is definitely putting its emphasis on Livestreaming and its focus categories, especially the higher end stuff like designer handbags, watches etc. But for a lot of what I sell, I’m not sure ebay is top of the buyer’s lists anymore….and ebay is doing too little to change that. So as much as I kind of hate to complicate things by going multichannel, I think I probably have little choice. How do you handle taxes for multichannel?  Do you combine all your revenue and expenses as one business?

One thing about multi channel and using social media….while it will be extra work (especially due to the learning curve)…it might revive my reselling enthusiasm, which has been on life support with ebay. I still see so much potential at ebay, but it’s been ages since they’ve really done anything that made me say : “Now, this might be a real game changer!” So, maybe trying new stuff will revitalize things?

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