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Hey guys. I currently use the numbered bins on shelves with everything mixed together to store inventory. I sell a huge variety of items and would really like something quicker. So I’m curious what others who sell “stuff” do.
How do you store items?
How are they organized? By category? By use? Why did you choose that way? I sell in most categories on eBay and the amount I currently have in each category varies so I’m struggling to figure out how to sort items.Thanks for the input.
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Hope this helps.
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Sounds like you are using a similar system as I am – I use mixed bins. I also use the custom label (SKU) field filled in with the bin letter, and an excel spreadsheet to track my inventory. I used to sort everything by like kind (ie: hat bin) but then I was digging through piles of hats to find the right logo… I found that switching to mixed bins (with only a few hats in each bin, for instance is much easier for me to find.) When something sells the bin number shows up in the custom label field on my laptop under “Orders” – I know exactly where to go to pull it. If I don’t have my laptop on, and only my ebay mobile ap, I can open my Excel spreadsheet (stored on my onedrive) via mobile and I can instantly see where the item is. I have found this saves a few minutes in searching for my items. It also forces me to keep good records of my inventory and COGS – Maybe not the most sophisticated system out there- but it is working well for me.
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Go to ebay.com in your mobile browser. Scroll to the bottom and click “classic site”. Now navigate to the orders tab to see your items that need shipped – the custom SKU shows up in bold right below the title. You may have to scroll back down and click classic site again if it bumps you back to the mobile site.
Now once you are there on that screen you can create a bookmark. Boom! Instant up to date pick list right on your phone.
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To add some flavor to the conversation on storage, I will ask the following questions:
1) Have you ever had something that was supposed to be in a location, but it wasn’t there?
2) How long did it take to find the item that was in the wrong location?
3) How did you improve to make that situation easier to resolve (or not happen again)?
As an example, when I started on clothes, I didn’t have a tracking method, just clothes in boxes by type (casual, dress, short sleeve, western, etc).
When I had too many boxes of each type (taking too long to find each item), I started numbering the boxes (C1, C2, D1, D2, SS1, SS2, etc).
To avoid shipping the wrong shirt (happened twice with shirts that were similar and in the same box), I have evolved to adding a tag with the SKU on the clear poly bag that it is stored in. This also has the storage location on the tag.
I don’t mix types of shirts in the same box (so western shirts and casual shirts are not in the same box) so that if a shirt somehow ends up missing, I only have to search boxes of the same type to find it, not search all boxes. At 50+ drawers/boxes, that would be painful…
While I love the “Happy Path” discussion on systems (i.e., when things work well), I also like discussion on how issues are resolved when things go wrong.
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To add to your comments @T-Satt, it’s not only items you have for sale how they are stored, but also your workstation, mailing supplies and other tools.
I’m curious how others store their packaging materials, scissors, labels, tape, etc. and keep it organized and how they replenish inventory when they get low.
For myself, I have lots of systems for inventory – incoming items, items that have been “processed” or listed, items that need to ship, and items that are ready to ship all have a place, and each step has a process to maintain order.
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For us:
My workstation is just my office desk, which has a large enough side area that I can measure clothing. All listing is done there, then handed off to the photographer.
Veronica has a desk in her office, with the photo box behind her for items she will photograph herself.
Shipping is in the basement, with each of us with our own shipping table. Mine has two rows of shelves to store all Priority boxes, with the 100ct Padded Flat rate boxes at the end (when we get down to 100 PFRs, we order more). We can eyeball the other Priority items from the shelves, and we start stocking up for Q4 in August (order Priority items early!).
Poly bags for mailing are stored in a cabinet next to my shipping station. Clear polybags are in a drawer. When we get down to 100 9×12, we reorder 500, when we are at 25 14×16 we order 100.
Tape we order in a case of 36 rolls when we get down to 10.
Boxes are purchased by Veronica using the eBay quarterly coupon based on the sizes she needs. Bubble wrap when she gets down to the last roll, ordering at least 2 rolls at a time. Air bags we get for free on a consistent basis (thanks to another reseller and CraigsList). Packing paper we have a load of (literally a full truckload right now) thanks to CraigsList. Boxes I scavenge and we have neighbors that drop them by. Veronica breaks them down and stores them by size so she knows were to look.
Our shipping area is the size of a bedroom in the basement.
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I do not have a problem with the speed at shipping. I started the bins method for a lot of the reasons mentioned.I am trying to save time on the front end. The main problem for me is the half empty bins, I never seem to sell everything in one bin and find the process of condensing to be a repeat step for me. I try to touch everything as least amount of times as possible.
I usually take all photos at once, then list in bulk. So just finding space in a bin for each time as I go would take entirely to much time considering the size in items I sell vary so much. -
1) Have you ever had something that was supposed to be in a location, but it wasn’t there?
Yes, that is another thing I’m thinking if items are stored with like items, it will be easier to find a misplaced item. With my current system if it is not in correct bin it could be anywhere.2) How long did it take to find the item that was in the wrong location?
One item I still havnt found, the second I found after working backwards with other listings made the same day.
3) How did you improve to make that situation easier to resolve (or not happen again)?
I currently write down every item with bin number and measurments if needed as I am taking photos.
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