Listing Challenge 2023 Thread #2

[Amatino]

This is the 2nd thread for 2023. Post your Challenge numbers here each week on Monday. You do not need permission to join, just post your numbers and I’ll add you in.

For information and rules on the Challenge, go here.

First week of the quarter begins on Monday April 03, numbers must be posted on Monday 10.

[Amatino]

Please let me know if you want me to amend your goals for Q2.

Sharyn, yours has been changed as requested.

[VintageTreasures]

A big fat zero for me last week. I was on vacation in Santa Barbara, CA.  It was a wonderful trip and well worth it!

I was pleasantly surprised that even with my store on time away I sold something every day. Not bad for sales being so slow recently anyway.

I’ll be out of town again this week so I’m not optimistic about getting any listings up. Hopefully the second half of April will be more productive for me as far as eBay listings.

Wishing everyone a great week ahead!

[Vintage Lacy]

5 listings and 3 skittles. Busy busy week ahead, so if I get any listings up it’ll be a win.

[Julie B]

12 listings, 3 skittles.  One thing I’m proud of is taking two items from my deathpile to a seamstress. I got both items back and they are now listed.  I’ve listed one for $195 and am hopeful i’ll get close to that.  I definitely won’t hesitate to use a seamstress again if it keeps things out of my deathpile.

My eBay room has gotten a bit out of hand. I think the mess is mostly unlisted clothing. I’m tired of listing clothes but unfortunately that is usually the best, and oftentimes the only stuff I can find around here to flip.

[ChristineR]

Just 8 listings.  Oof.  @VT that’s our hometown.  The weather was good and I hope you enjoyed it. 🙂

[Sharyn]

Finally on the board with 13 listings this week.

My daughter wanted to buy something, so she asked to help with photography (to make some  money). She is doing very nicely with photos now. I haven’t listed everything yet, so I should have some for next week as well.

For the March Madness / Crazy April whateveryoucalledit challenge, I brought some electronics to the recycling center today. They weren’t worth it!

[Amatino]

10 f0r me again. I had hoped to have higher numbers, but as my goal was 10, I’m happy to have made it. My new goal for this week is 15.

Hope everyone had a very happy Easter! I found a sleepshirt at the thrift store that said it all:
“Every time there is a mention of exercise I go wash my mouth out with chocolate!” 😀

[Amatino]

Sharyn got the highest number of listings, but as she won last year, she receives only an Honorable Mention. Julie took the win again. Congratulations!

Wishing you all a great week!

[Amatino]

I did it! I did it! I did it!

It took me all the way until today, but I achieved my goal of 15 listings this week! Happy Snoopy dance!

I’ve had a devil of a time with photographs and finally switched to a cheap-ass phone that has NO auto-correction technology. It worked! Fingers crossed it wasn’t a glitch and that it will work on all the remaining clothes that I have got ready. I worked out that if I do 3 items per day, it will take me about 101 days to get them all up! You will probably feel the earth rocking from the dance I do on the last day! LOL. This is the continuation of my MMC that has turned into my April Adherence Challenge (AAC.)

Gonna stick to 15 for my goal this week while I continue to work on getting the photo/color/light issues resolved. But oh, it would be fantastic if I could surpass that!

On Tuesday I had the joy of buying my birthday present. All of my birthday money combined came to just enough to cover the cost of my new serger! I’ve only just unpacked it today – my reward for achieving my target. I’ve not yet sewn on it though. I didn’t manage to get through my work until now (nearly 5PM) so it might only get its first go tomorrow. I’m going to see if I can test the furbles patience and delay dinner so that I can actually at least get it set up and do a test seam. Probably not – the menagerie “ibs starbing and hasn’t eaten for elebenty hours!” 😀

Wishing you all a great week!

[Sharyn]

Hey Amatino – where is everyone? I thought I’d be late to the game since I kinda did my numbers a bit late.

Glad to hear you met your goal!!

I listed seven.

I had two things that diverted my attention. The first was to organize my neighbor’s clothing that I am now going to sell at an online auction. The other was buying a new (used) car. It has been 15 years since I bought my Sienna, and it now has over 272k miles. So, it was about time. We’re not getting rid of the Sienna, but it will now be our extra car when one is in the shop (ie up on jacks in the garage).

[ChristineR]

Congrats Amatino on making your goal.  I listed 25 on eBay plus about 10 on Mercari.  I have a few tubs of our clothing in our bedroom and pick away at that on Mercari little by little.  I finally got into listing my March madness death pile fabric on EBay.  Not really enjoying listing that.  I just need to take the photos on 10 more fabric listings. Happily all my recent purchases are listed.

[VintageTreasures]

Hi All, I’m late to the party. I didn’t bother posting yesterday because I had nothing to report: zero listings for me last week. Our out of town trip last week was wonderful and worth it though. We got to see a lot of old friends we haven’t seen in years.

ChristineR: Santa Barbara! What a beautiful place to live, expensive but so wonderful!

Congrats Amatino on making your listing goal, that’s great! Happily I’m back on track myself and I already have more new listings up this week than I’ve had in the last few weeks combined.

Wishing everyone a fun but productive week!

[Sharyn]

@Amatino: From the rules you yourself set up, you are the listing winner this week!!! Congratulations 🤩✨✨✨

[Amatino]

@Sharyn LOL. I just love your enthusiasm! However, Christine absolutely trounced me, listing over double my number! I’m guessing that Lacy is busy with her show at the moment, she said it was starting around now, and it seems JR has abandoned us, so it’s only Julie who is missing.

Congrats, Christine, on some seriously impressive numbers! Very well done! That earned you your first win for the year. Here’s to more!

I kicked off the week with 2 listings on FB, but I still plan to get 15 up on eBay, so I should beat my listing target. It is seriously hard work, putting in long hours. My photos are definitely the reason I’m slow. If I can figure out how to get them decent enough to snap and share without editing, I’ll knock hours off my day! Sharyn posted months ago about buying gray for her background and that she thought her photos looked better, so today I stopped at Hobby Lobby and picked up some gray felt. I’m very curious to see how much difference it makes in my photos, because the last two days were frustrating!

[Sharyn]

Amatino, I think Christine posted this morning. However, it is Tuesday. Only you and I posted on Monday, and your rule is to post by the end of Monday. You beat me, so I think you win for the week. Am I wrong? I don’t want to remove Christine, but I’d like to see you win for once!

[Amatino]

Oh, goodness! I didn’t even notice the dates! You are correct, Sharyn! Sorry, Christine, you would have won if you posted on Monday.

I won! I won! After all the work I did, that’s quite a boost!

Lacy is running her Show, as I thought. Check it out here. So many treasures! I love that piece at 2:22 – if I were close enough I’d snap that up! And those rose cushions your Mom made, Lacy. Just wow!

[ChristineR]

Congrats Amatino!

[Amatino]

Bah humbug. NOT a good week after all! Total of 5 items listed. I really hoped I would do better than that. However, it was a full week of errands and running around, not much time at home to do mundane tasks like listings.

[VintageTreasures]

I didn’t make my weekly listings goal, but I did manage 21 new listings, which is a lot better than I’ve done lately. 5 of those 21 listings were items from my death piles, so I’m feeling great about that!

I forgot to log my skittles again but I know I completed some tasks I’ve procrastinated on for quite awhile. So it’s all good.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

[Sharyn]

I listed there. I actually thought that I hadn’t listed anything, so I’m doing better than what I thought???

Just busy with life, the part time job, and plans for the summer…

[ChristineR]

I’m happy I listed 25 items, including some more March Madness annoying fabric.  Also got into some other death pile hard goods stuff today.

 

[Vintage Lacy]

Zero listings for the past couple of weeks because I was busy with my show.  The good news is that set up and tear down went fantastic and the show itself was lovely and we received lots of raves.  The bad news is that there was torrential rain and 35-40 degree weather for most of the show, so our customer count was WAY down. It didn’t feel like spring!  UGH.

Onward and Upward. I’m already planning the fall show, because of course I am.

I need to start listing again.

Hope everyone has a good week ahead.

 

[Amatino]

Gaaaaah! For some reason my post didn’t post, so there’s no reply here!

Good job I checked to see if Julie had popped up.

Congrats, Christine, you got the highest number again this week, and you posted in time to win the week! I felt so bad for you last week.

Lacy, sorry that your weather bombed your show. It has been very odd weather this year, but I’m not going to complain. We’re getting sorely needed rain here!

Does anyone know what has happened to Julie? I’ll have to check in on her if we don’t hear soon. You guys are all like my little chicks – I worry about you! 😀

[Julie B]

Sorry everyone!  I meant to post before leaving on a trip to see my mom.  A few days ago while sitting around her house I thought, “did I forget to post my numbers & mention I would be away a week or two before I left?”  And, it appears I did forget.  She doesn’t have internet so I waited until I got back home.  Sorry, I forget but it’s nice knowing that my absence was missed.   I’d been meaning to get to my mom’s since Thanksgiving but things kept happening!  Finally when the trip was approaching, my mom had a pet related tragedy so I left for her house a day early which is probably why I forgot to post.

Before I left I had listed 14 items (for week 14, I believe?) Zero listings since then.

Mom and I did a ton of thrifting in Iowa.  So much so that I actually got tired of it by the last store! Didn’t think that was possible.  Found some great stuff and hope to get a lot of it photographed today.

 

[Amatino]

Those of you who are struggling with all of the eBay glitches, it’s not just you! There are a lot of them. So many, in fact, that eBay has made a list of them!

Take heart, tax day has passed and soon folks will be getting their refunds and looking to spend, spend, spend. If the search function comes back with the item they’re looking for! LOL

[Amatino]

Hey Julie! Welcome back! No worries, Sharyn doesn’t tell us when she’s going to be away for security reasons – a great point! However, we do miss you if you’re not here.

Sounds like you had a great time though. I’ll update the spreadsheet for you and all is good.

[ChristineR]

Thanks for that list.  I see my drafts problem in there. Hard enough to get to a solid listing time and then to lose draft work is really frustrating. It’s been better lately thank goodness.

[VintageTreasures]

Yes, thank you for that list Amatino! I see my problem of sold items I’ve already shipped still showing as needing to be shipped.

[Julie B]

42 listings.  Sales really picked up this weekend.  I also had some solid scores at estate sales the past two days that have me all excited for the garage sale/estate sale season.

Have a great week, everyone!

[Sharyn]

3 listings. It could have been a few more, but I found that the photos my daughter took need some additional views. I spent some of my time organizing my neighbors stuff for an online auction. I need to get stuff out of my house before my parents visit later this month.

[ChristineR]

20 items.  This week could go either way listing-wise as I am still organizing and getting ready for the garage sale.  I’m going to get rid of some old purchases I don’t want to ship – vintage light fixtures and glass ceiling covers, a few large pieces of art work, and some low dollar stuff.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me so I met my weekly goal. I’m hoping to keep that up during the month of May.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

[Vintage Lacy]

17 listings for me, which is pretty good considering the huge amount of errands I had to run after the show.

Julie, I am also looking forward to the garage sale season!  We went out Saturday and found some great things.

We’re moving into our “permanent” larger antique mall space today and I am pretty excited about having my own little booth vignettes there. It’s going to be so much fun. First two vignettes: Bee Spring, and Mermaid Beach.

[Amatino]

Congrats on a great week, everyone! Apologies for not posting yesterday, things are in a bit of an upheaval here. Dearly Beloved went to town on Saturday to buy car parts. He phoned to say he was on his way home with paint, as “we” are going to paint the living room, and will I please clear it out in the 40 minutes it will take him to get home. Wait… what?

Before: dark, depressing, ugly https://imgur.com/8CJGsai

After! https://imgur.com/1Rz9tRk

It’s like we moved into a new house! Even with the lights off, it’s brighter than the old room with the lights on. I’m thrilled! I’ll post better photos when the furniture is back in place. We’re waiting until the weekend to return items to the room just in case that dreadful red bleeds through. TWO coats of shellac primer to cover it up, but on the back wall, there was gold spray paint too. In the interim, I managed to get my PC and printer set up on the dining room table last night, but was just too tired to do anything with it. LOL

Julie wins the week! Congrats, Jules! Spreadsheet updated. I haven’t added a link in ages, so here it is for you.

[ChristineR]

You guys are getting me excited for garage sales but I need to stay clear and continue to work the piles I think mostly.  There is a small school rummage sale next weekend and the big college recycling event coming in June.  I plan to let myself go to those.

Amatino – looks great.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me.

Last week I had a routine medical procedure that left me out of commission for a day – and then later in the week I got my first shingles vaccine, which is pretty fatiguing as well. So I feel really good about making my listing goal last week. 9 of those 25 listings were deep death pile items so my plan for reducing my DPs by half is working out.

Wishing all kid and pet Moms a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday!

[ChristineR]

Only 6 listings for me this week unfortunately.  Helping out at a school fundraiser, had the garage sale, and my kiddo is struggling.  But, I think this week will be better.  I have to reorganize a little bit after having the garage sale but already sent the leftovers to the thrift store.

[Sharyn]

7 new listings for me, which was pretty good considering I had a very busy week at my day job.

@Amatino – What a difference some paint can make!

@VintageTreasures – I had the shingles vaccine last year and had a similar reaction. I had shingles in college, and I never want to have it again, so I think the vaccine is well worth it.

@ChristineR – Seems that many high school / college age kids are struggling including one of my own. I hear it from my friends, read it in the news, notice the increase in mental health, and so forth. I’m sure the pandemic had much to do with it, but I believe there are other reasons as well. Hang in there.

[Julie B]

I had a really good listing week, 60 listings!  20 of those were all done yesterday. I’ve been concentrating on taking as many photographs as possible early in the day and then listing in the afternoon or evening when I’m in front of the t.v.   I usually have more items photographed than I can list in a day.  Before, I would often take photos of one or two things and then list and go back and forth.  The problem with that method is it gave me a lot of natural stopping points and I’d find myself wandering off to do something else or I’d start searching the internet, etc.  Now, I’m not stopping between photographing items so I don’t really have what feels like a natural stopping point.  I just photograph until I’m tired of it.

 

 

[Vintage Lacy]

6 listings for me last week, but I was slammed most of the week getting my  booth set up. It was a unique challenge because this particular antique mall requires your tag to have a vendor word on it, instead of a vendor number. I use numbers everywhere else, so each item had to have the vendor word put on it…at least 200 items. But we finished the booth yesterday, finally and it looks good, so bring on the sales!

I did have a unique opportunity for picking….my 90-year-old dad has a friend at his assisted living and after she moved into assisted living a year ago she left behind a house full of things she didn’t have room to take, and both her daughters aren’t interested. She offered for Charlie and I to go to her house and pick out whatever we wanted and her daughter would negotiate a good deal with us. It was basically like getting to shop an estate sale, with no other pesky dealers around!  The house was a mess, but we found some great things and it was a lot of fun.

Congrats Julie on such a good listing week! Sounds like you found a method that works great for you!

Christine, I agree with Sharyn. There are so many kids and young adults struggling these days. My niece who teaches middle school Spanish and my brother who teaches high school Math, see it every day. As teachers they struggle too. Hang in there, one day at a time.

VT…I got the shingles vaccine (second dose) a week ago and it certainly made me exhausted for a couple of days. But I am sure glad I got it!

Hope everyone has a great week ahead….we are expecting our first heat wave coming through!

[ChristineR]

Thanks ladies.  I don’t mention it here much but it has been a hell of a year.  Reselling helps keep me sane in a way.  I like a little corner of the world where things can be kept under control I guess and it’s productive.

[Vintage Lacy]

Amatino, everything okay?  We missed your cheerful voice this week!

[Sharyn]

I managed to list 10 items this week.

I also managed to clean up some items including a few lamps that need rewiring. I’ve mentioned them before and had them on my TDL for a few years. I don’t think I will get to the rewiring part until mid-June.

Yeh, Amatino, you OK?

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me, I met my weekly listing goal. Of those 25 16 were from the DPs so I’m happy about that. Following my scheme of earning a new purchase for every two DP listings/donations I do I now have enough new purchase credits to go thrift shopping. I’m thrilled about that – that DP stuff got dumped there for good reasons! This week should be mostly faster/easier listings consisting of new purchases, at least I hope so!

Sharyn: I also had shingles in my early 20s. I was questioning whether I would be likely to get shingles twice in my life, but it is possible. Having come close to losing the sight in one eye, plus the incredible pain I experienced when I had it I’d never chance that again.

Christine: I’m sorry to hear about the family challenges you’re dealing with. I hope it eases with time. I also think kids/young adults have it much harder these days. When I was young I didn’t know nearly as much as kids these days. And in some ways ignorance was bliss.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and productive week ahead!

[Sharyn]

@vintagetreasures – I understand that you can get shingles more than once because the virus stays in your system. Thankfully, I just got in on my stomach. What you got sounds horrible.

[ChristineR]

Thank you all. I fell down with just 2 listings this week and sales were bad.  Hoping for a better week.

[Julie B]

Hoping Amatino is okay!

46 listings.  I realized this week that I let me skittles go by the wayside so I’ve made a new list of skittles to work on.

Win of the day: I FINALLY cleaned off my shipping station that hasn’t actually functioned as a shipping station for years because its been covered in so much junk for so long.

[Amatino]

Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! I am so sorry ladies!

We moved business premises and I have been working my little hairy ass to death! I completely forgot to post last week (and worse, would have protested vehemently that I didn’t!)

I will double post this week! Sincere apologies!

As I’m on a deadline, I haven’t had time to read all the posts, but will do so this afternoon/evening and then get myself up to date and your spreadsheet updated.

[Amatino]

Update: I was typing so fast I didn’t think about what I was writing. I have a favorite saying “you can kiss my furry little ass!” and it referred to a toy donkey I had for years. I no longer have the donkey but I retained the saying. Now it’s become a family joke about my “furry little ass” and I was in such a rush I said “hairy” in the post.

Joke’s on me!

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated. What a couple weeks, Julie! Congratulations on absolutely trouncing the rest of us! What great numbers!

I can’t remember if I mentioned that Himself and I decided to switch business premises. His business has absolutely taken over the house and mine has been shrinking as I’ve gotten rid of all my big stuff and have begun to work towards getting a niche developed. So we decided he would do well in the cabin. So the first weekend of the month was spent painting the living room, as I mentioned when I last checked in. All the contents of the LR were piled in the spare room and the sunroom. We had to wait a week to see if that awful color bled through (it didn’t) and I tried to work around everything piled everywhere, with my computer precariously perched on the table so that I could do the invoices for Himself’s business. In the interim, I packed up my cabin stuff and the 2nd weekend of May, the Big Move began.

It’s a bit like trying to move house when the previous tenant of your new home is still living there! We ping-ponged from one building to the next. He cleared a bit, I cleared a bit and moved into the bit he cleared. Back and forth, back and forth. It took us about 5 days of backbreaking work to get the bulk of it done. I still have one filing cabinet of stuff, plus one high-up shelf, and most of my shipping supplies. However, they’re out of the way and Himself said I can leave them until I’ve gotten the rest of the space organized.

Finally we were (mostly) “moved” and then began the organization. I spent a lot of time holding something in one hand while I scratched my head with the other. Where does this go?While I have reduced my stuff, I hadn’t reduced enough. I downsized from a 600 square foot cabin, where I had allllll the space, to the two side walls of a 20 foot long garage. Call me Mary Poppins! Himself is absolutely loving inheriting the one wall of filing cabinets (I knew he would!) and has commented a couple times about how convenient they are. For years (years I tell you!) he has argued with me about wanting “so many filing cabinets!” Now he’s having his EUREKA! moment. LOL

As of 9PM last night, I was still frantically working long hours. Toda I finished at 7PM and have to admit that I’m seriously pooped! On top of all this moving, we’re still running all three businesses and taking care of the ranch and the home. I’m done in. However, while Simon can just close his door, most of my areas are in the public view. I guess I can close the garage down, but the sunroom has glass French doors and the guest room is right next to the guest restroom. So I’ll be running on fumes for another week or two. Ce la vie, I guess!

Again, sorry for leaving you all hanging! This year has been a humdinger, hasn’t it?

[Vintage Lacy]

Geesh Amatino, that’s quite a challenge…glad it’s almost done and you can enjoy the results! We missed our Amatino-boo.  Can you tell?  (grin)

Julie…that’s quite a win and I get how big that is….my shipping station is about half way covered with things that don’t belong there and I long for it to be completely clear.  It’s high on my skittles list, so hopefully I get to it soon.

Ten listings for me last week.  I spent a great deal of time helping my dad navigate his divorce, which, thankfully should be drawing to a close in the next month. Fingers crossed.

 

[Sharyn]

@Amatino – Why am I upset that you are losing your cabin to your husband? I mean, it’s for all the right reasons and all, but, still, to me, it’s a she shed not a man cave. 🤣

[VintageTreasures]

Sharyn: My understanding is that once you’ve had chicken pox that virus retreats to your spinal area and lives there. If your immune system is compromised enough it can then resurface as shingles. While it’s less likely to get shingles twice in one lifetime, it is possible.

I think because shingles lives near the spine that’s why it’s most common to have shingles near the waistline. But it can also resurface over one eye and I now know two people who have permanant vision impairment from having shingles. It can scar your cornea if it breaks out near an eye.

[Amatino]

Awwww… thanks, Lacy! Glad your dad’s divorce is finally getting there. You have had the worst time with this! May he live the rest of his days happy!

LOL. That’s so sweet, Sharyn, thank you! Actually, it was my idea. I like being in my home and now, with all my “work” areas in the same place, I think I will be more productive. Not only that, The Naggerator is now nearly 600 yards away. Peace and quiet is worth giving up a cabin for! I got the garage for eBay, the sunroom for my sewing area, and the run of the house. I can do some housework, go work eBay, do some more housework, dance a little, do more eBay, go work on some sewing projects. It’s fabulous. I’m loving it! Plus, if I wake at 3AM, I don’t have to lie there counting the times the fan blades swing by. I can get up and go do listings! 😀

Re Shingles, I had chicken pox twice as a child and have developed Shingles as an adult. I’ve had multiple bouts of it, 5 attacks in the last two years alone. They gave me the Shingles vax part 1 and I threw such a terrible reaction to it that they refuse to give me part 2 or the other vax brand. Doc says reduced immune system, high stress, lack of sleep, can all contribute to a Shingles outbreak.

[Julie B]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Posting early because I’ll be out of pocket for a little bit.  48 listings.
I’m way ahead on taking photos, which is really helping me churn out the listings.  Two days this week I took photos as long as I could possibly stand it.</p>

[Vintage Lacy]

15 listings for me…I finally made my goal…which is especially good since I spent several days at the family beach house.  I’ll be focusing on finishing emptying out our most expensive storage unit this week, so not sure how much I will get done otherwise, but it will be great once it’s gone.

[ChristineR]

Just 6 for me. A log going on.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me. I met my weekly listing goal and 5 of those listed were DP items, so I’m pleased all around.

I just got back from the grand reopening of my favorite thrift store. Ouch. I’m way over my purchase allotment. So I’ll have to work on donating and/or listing DP items to make up for that spree. Oops.

Wishing everyone a great week!

[Sharyn]

Nothin’. My parents were visiting + other stuff.

[Amatino]

Wow, Jules, you’re just killin’ it this year! Congrats! Spreadsheet updated with your win.

Lacy and VT, you did great making your goals. It must be great to empty out an expensive storage unit, Lacy!

On my part, still busy with The Big Move! Almost done, thank goodness, but it has been horrendous. As part of the cabin was my sewing stuff (which was one of those things that I had to get around to and never found the time) and as the new area is open to public viewing, I had to make the time to organize all my fabrics and sewing items. On the one hand – woot! On the other – holey toledo! One of the downsides to lack of organization is being unable to find or get to your stash… so you buy more. Hubby and I are both spending time getting ourselves organized into our respective spaces and we are both thrilled at being so ordered. We’re also both feeling the same “sheesh, if I’d known I had this, I wouldn’t have bought…” 😀

This week will probably be the final winding down of organizing so I’m hoping that I can fit in some listings too. Hopefully I’ll get back on the board again.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

[Sharyn]

I listed three items. Life is just busy now, and I might not be able to list much in the next week or two.

[Vintage Lacy]

25 listings for me last week.  Amatino, can you please record 10 listings for week #19?  thanks in advance.

And…… a 10 ft by 30 ft storage unit EMPTY. Woohoo!  $540 a month GONE.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

[ChristineR]

2 items.  Some life chaos and helped with an event.

[VintageTreasures]

16 for me, I didn’t meet my weekly listing goal last week 🙁

However, I’m happy that once I got back on the listing train I managed 15 items in two days. Two items were from my DP. And a couple of those new listings have already sold.

Happy Memorial Day to all!

 

[Julie B]

25 for me.

[Amatino]

Our first tie for the year! Well done to Julie and Lacy for great numbers!

Lacy, done and CONGRATULATIONS! That’s just marvelous and exciting and … frugal! Very pleased for you!

Good for you for listing DP items, VT!

We’re now heading into the last month of the first half of the year. Kinda scary, ain’t it? LOL. Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead and good beginnings for June.

Oh – and use your shipping coupon! Having reminded you all last time, I completely forgot!

[Amatino]

Correction: Julie, you only posted today. Lacy wins as she posted yesterday, per the rules. Spreadsheet will be amended accordingly when I get back to my PC

[Julie B]

23 this week.

Anyone else completely stunned that’s already June?

[Sharyn]

Zero for me.

I’m still stunned it’s 2023. Every time I see an event or activity for kids, I have to remind myself that mine are young adults.

[ChristineR]

Back to it last week with 47.  Unfortunately it did not result in sales, but I did get further into the piles.  No shopping.  Worked on a lot of very random stuff last week and a few things I had multiples of.

[Amatino]

LOL. Sharyn, you’re so funny! Yep, I also looked at the calendar with something approaching horror!

Well done Christine! Back with a vengeance! That’s some great listings number there.

Me, still a big fat goose egg. Moving is a huge job and when you move AND do stupid things like painting and furniture switch-outs and stuff, it turns into a marathon! Fortunately I am getting near the end of the stuff in the garage, so I plan to get back to listing this week. I still have a ton of stuff to do in the sunroom and guest room, but I’ve got my grandson coming to visit over the summer, so I need to get as much listing as I can clear before he arrives, so as to free up some fun time.

[Vintage Lacy]

Congrats on high listing numbers Christine!

20 listings for me, and a fantastic road trip to the Farm Chick show in Spokane. 6 hours of driving each direction, but man it was fun. So much vintage inspiration! And I only brought back 2 little things, that I want to recreate to sell, so they were business purchases in my mind. There were many tempting things so I really behaved.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead.

[VintageTreasures]

Congrats Christine on the great listing number!

Only 16 new listings again for me last week. It seems I’m having a summer listing slow down.

I also fell off the wagon with my new purchases earned for every two DP listings (or donations) plan, so I’ve got some DP listing ahead of me to even up the score. However, I have a lot going on this week and I may end up with zero listings to post next Monday. Lots of summer fun though!

Wishing everyone a happy week!

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated. Clear win for Christine this week, well done!

It has been a while since we had a pop up challenge. I think it’s time!

This month is The Armpit Challenge!

You know how nobody ever looks under your armpit? Some days it’s clean and pretty, some days it’s gross and smelly, some days YOU don’t want to look under it! Well, you have a listing (or 2 or 3) that fits the same description. You know the one, that listing that you’ve been wanting to get up and sold but you just never quite get there. It’s too big, or needs too much work, or requires a ton of research, or has to be cleaned, or….

Whatever your reason or aversion, it’s time to man up (woman up?) and get it done!

I’m going to give you one point for each item you LIST in this category (must be an Armpit item!) up to a maximum of 4 points – one for each week of the month. If you do more, give yourself a pat on the back. These points will count towards the end of year champion.

For funsies, share your armpit listing and tell us why it’s taken you so long.

[Amatino]

Posting early in excitement. No, unfortunately, not excited at my listing numbers (zero) but at finishing my “new” set up!

This is almost all my inventory, both listed and Death Piles:

https://imgur.com/RNCY23V

I have clothes and shoes separately, hence the ‘almost’ all.

And my work area is on the opposite wall:

https://imgur.com/1oXeFMt

A few small items still to put away and find homes for but, for the most part, I’m ready to get back to work. Utterly thrilled, y’all! Himself is “it’s nice, dear” but I knew you guys would get it! LOL.

Watch out for me hitting the big time next week!

[ChristineR]

I listed 38 items and have more that just need pictures.  Yeah!

Good for you Amatino!  I hope you enjoy working in your newly organized space.

As I get into listing the piles I am able to consolidate a bit and soon everything will be off the floor of the garage and fitting onto the shelves.  I’m excited about reaching that goal.

[Julie B]

Amatino, thanks for posting pics.  I love seeing people’s reselling spaces.

61 listings for me! That’s my 2nd highest for the year.  Had I known I was only 5 away from my yearly high I would have listed some yesterday.  It did not feel like I listed that much.  I went back and counted again today because it didn’t seem possible.  I’ve been taking photos as much as possible over a few days and then in the afternoons/early evenings I list while watching tv.  I spend less time in my eBay room this way and I think that’s why it doesn’t feel like I’m listing as much, maybe.

[Sharyn]

I listed zero again, but I’ve been on vacation for two weeks. As usual, I don’t mention it online. We spent five nights in Boston and then a week in Cape Cod, both in AirBnBs. Because we were in New England, we missed the really bad air quality in the NJ/NY area coming down from the wildfires in Canada.

I should at least be on the board next week.

[Vintage Lacy]

8 listings for me this week, less than I anticipated but y’all, we hit the most amazing hoarder sale on Saturday.  They were selling BINS of stuff for $5-10 each, no cherry picking allowed, plus all kinds of extra stuff. We literally filled the minivan up and spent the rest of the weekend going through everything and separating treasures from donations.  It was about 30% great stuff and 70% junk, but oh the good stuff was very very good!  We got two typewriters…a cool Royal we’ll sell for $85 and a really rare one we’ll sell for $195, easily. That’s just TWO of the items.  A lot of work, but SO much fun. I live for these kind of hauls.

It was a very productive week, but just not in a listing way. This week might be the same, but next week looks more promising, listing-wise.

Julie and Christine….you guys are rocking it!  Great job!  Amatino, what a great organizer you are….I should fly you up here to help me get on top of my carport once and for all. (grin) Sharyn, your vacation sounds awesome!

Hope everyone has a great week ahead.

[Amatino]

Did you all miss my Popup Challenge?

[Julie B]

For the armpit challenge – I have a vintage Lilly Pulitzer maxi dress with stains that i’ve had for years because everytime I think I’m going to try to clean it, I get frustrated before I even start. So I’m going to list it as is.  I also have a cool dress from the show Making the Cut that sells on Amazon for $199.99.  I bought it at a bins store for $4 and while I’m excited to flip it, it’s super heavy and has that kind of fabric that takes forever to steam.  And lastly, I have a vintage St John santana knit dress with some holes that I think a seamstress could easily fix.  I’ll take that to the seamstress today.

[Sharyn]

@amatino – I have several listings that I’ve wanted to update, and I’ll see if I can work on them this week. For one, I want to combine several listings into two, and the other I want to break out one listing into three. I’ve wanted to do update these for a year or more, so I think each will qualify as an armpit item as they aren’t selling as-is.

[Vintage Lacy]

Okay…I’m in.  For the pop-up challenge I am going to list items in my highly neglected vintage items Etsy shop. I will aim for 15 new listings this month.  That particular shop always goes on the back burner and is never a priority, so it’s a good thing to finally push past my neglectful ways.

[ChristineR]

I missed the armpit challenge.  I had a curb pick up that is two large midcentury art panels with fragile pieces.  I’ll work on that one this week.

[VintageTreasures]

Hello Fellow Scavengers!

I’m posting late because we just got back from a quick vacation in Arizona. It was a wonderful trip, we flew JSX (only 30 passengers per jet) out of Rocky Mountain Airport (15 minutes from our house) and bypassed the craziness at DIA.

Due to not being home and the work involved in getting ready to leave I only managed 7 listings last week, but 5 were DP items so that was good.

I haven’t had time to figure out what to list for the armpit challenge yet but I know for sure I have DP items that fit the criteria.

Wishing everyone a great week!

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated, terrific win there, Julie! How is all this listing working out for you? Are you getting good sales in return? Obviously you’ve found your listing system that works for you.

Good luck with clearing the floor, Christine! That sounds like a great holiday, Sharyn. What a haul, Lacy! That is my kind of shopping, I love doing that! Unfortunately, no shopping for me until I have cleared some space either by donating or selling. I’m maxed out! So jealous of your JSX flight, VT, I’ve been wanting to try them for years. I’m just waiting for them to pick up a route that goes where I want to be.

Love that everyone is checking their armpits! Hehehehe. Julie, have you tried Folex on that dress? I was given an expensive beaded coat/jacket with old, old stains on it and the Folex lifted them right out with no marks or damage.

I have a printer that I started parting out and listing and the items were selling… but I lost momentum and now I have half a printer sitting in a crate taking up space on the floor. I’ve got the big glass platten and it’s not particularly heavy, but the idea of actually shipping it and not having it break is daunting! I’ve also got two lampshades that are huge and ostentatious and I’m not sure if I even want to try. If I can clear them this month, it will be one more of those “I just don’t wanna!” issues resolved. By “clear” I mean list the printer parts and decide whether to list or donate the shades.

[Julie B]

29 listings.  I also completed 2 of the 3 armpit challenge items by taking one item to the tailor and throwing away the 2nd item.

The last several days have felt like I have a newborn at home.  But it’s a post-op cat.  Went in to have a small cyst on his neck removed and a teeth cleaning but they ended up finding he had a broken fang with exposed root and bone loss.  Poor kitty, ouch!  He’s been pretty high all weekend and wearing a cone has made things much harder.  Cat cones are so small compared to dog cones & he hasn’t been able to eat or drink on his own so we’re doing it by hand! And to make it worse, he was acting like he had a urinary blockage so we had to closely monitor that as that can quickly become an emergency. We almost went to the Vet ER twice over that. We’ve been taking turns watching him.  I’ve been doing the 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. shift.  I’m dead tired.  I think we may have turned a corner today.  He also got a different kind of cone in the mail today so hopefully he’ll be more comfortable and can eat/drink on his own.

[Vintage Lacy]

So sorry to hear about your kitty woes Julie. Hopefully he’ll get well very soon.

Zero listings for me.  Had a lot going on and also spent a long weekend taking my dad to our family beach house for Father’s Day weekend.  He loves to go to garage sales so we went out Saturday and had a grand time.  One little coastal town was having a city wide garage sale and that was a lot of fun.

This is a much quieter week ahead (fingers crossed so I don’t jinx it!) so the plan is to get a LOT of listings accomplished, plus the pop up challenge.

[ChristineR]

I listed 36 items, all from my piles. I worked on full box of M A Hadley dishes, a box of meh coffee mugs that just needed photos, and some Pyrex.   I find that I enjoy listing the art, now that I give myself permission to give up after 10 minutes on finding out if the artist is famous or not.  Still avoiding the fabric and I didn’t list the armpit item.  I’m not so great with the mini challenges.

There are still boxes on the floor to list from at this point so I hope to reach that goal in a week or two. Happily though the right side is starting to be replaced by listed instead of unlisted inventory. The left side is all listed so I’m physically seeing progress now on the piles.

I also went to a few garage sales, an ending estate sale, and a really disappointing church sale.  Nice to go out but hardly bought anything.  Ended up getting some storage bins for free or cheap that will fit on top of the bankers boxes on my built in garage shelves.  Later on I will do some reorganizing of the unlisted stuff.

Good luck with kitty Julie.

[VintageTreasures]

Julie I hope your kitty cat improves ASAP. It sounds like you’re doing everything possible and you are a fantastic pet parent!

15 listings for me last week. 7 were DP items. I did start delving into things that would qualify for the armpit challenge, but like Christine I’m not great at pop-up challenges. I worked on some of the items but so far all the work is half completed and none of the items are actually listed.

Wishing everyone a happy week!

 

[Amatino]

After writing a whole long post, I hit Submit and got taken to the You Must Log IN page – losing everything! I closed down the window in disgust.

We try again! If at first you don’t succeed…

Skydiving is not for you!

LOL. Seriously, Jules, so sorry to hear about your furble. Sending best wishes for fast healing and a happy kitty.

Listed five. Not brilliant, but I’ll take it! It’s 100% better than the previous five weeks, right? Yay! The temps here are in the triple digits already (it was 105’F when I went to bed at 10PM last night) so I’m having to schedule work time around which room is the coolest. Start first thing in the sunroom. When it feels like a pizza oven, move on – and repeat. LOL.

No armpit work for me either. Hope to get to it in the next few days.

Wishing you all a great week.

[Sharyn]

I listed 9 items.

Two of those were part of an armpit challenge. I had bought two partial flatware sets several years ago that weren’t manufactured in high quantities, so listing them as separate listings for forks, spoons, etc. wasn’t working. I combined 12 listings down to the two patterns. Hopefully, someone likes the style to add to their mismatched set, and these don’t sit again for years.

Poor kitty cat. Hopefully, he gets well fast enough. Doesn’t sound like fun for him or his parents. Not sure that I could have done a morning shift like that.

Amatino – When that happens to me, I press the back button right away, and the writeup is still there. That sucks if it doesn’t work that way for you 🙁

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated. Congratulations on your win, Christine, and Julie and Sharyn got their armpit points. Well done!

Lacy, what a wonderful weekend to have with your Dad! Especially after all the elder abuse issues you were dealing with. I’m thrilled you get to have this precious time with him.

Sharyn, perhaps I’m not pressing the back button fast enough? Or I’m on the wrong browser or something, because no, it’s usually gone. Glad it works for you, though. I think the SL software just doesn’t like me, if often calls me a spammer because of my anti-virus.

Wishing you all a terrific week!

[Amatino]

Good morning, all. An unfortunate low of 4 listings for me this week. And nada for the Armpit Challenge as well. Too much else going on, but I’ve already started working on my listings today, so hopefully I’ll have a better report next week.

eBay has both picked up and tanked. In the past, if I listed, I got sales the next day. Now I list and crickets. However, this weekend I got 5 orders – but not a single view on any of my newly listed items. These are all old (some 3+ years old) that are selling. I’ll take the sales and ignore the rest. If I try to figure out how eBay (doesn’t) work, I’ll go a little loco.

Wishing you all a great week!

[Sharyn]

Hey Amatino – I hear that Texas is experiencing a heat wave right now. I hope you are comfortable enough. We’re having bouts of rain every day for about two weeks. I’m hearing thunderstorms right now. Kind of a crazy start to summer.

I listed five items this week. One was a clarinet that I had started, then the listing fell off my drafts, and I started again, but I think I was close to losing it again. So, I’m purty happy about gettin’ that one done.

I’ve started cataloging a MaxSold auction for my neighbor that will happen sometime later July/early August. So, I’ll be doing all this work, but I can’t claim them until they go live. So, it will be 0 to maybe 5 items a week until the auction, and then, BAM … over 100!

[Julie B]

11 listings and I completed the last of the 3 armpit items I had started the week prior.

My laptop has been overheating a lot, especially when I try to cross list so I’m biting the bullet and buying a new one tomorrow.  I hate spending the money but it’s time.

[ChristineR]

I listed 41 items and most of them were random from the piles.  I’m really into Ebay lately.

Sharon some of the things you post about dealing with simply amazes me.  I’m not really down anymore to do anything but cleaning items and I’d be too chicken to attack electronics, instruments, etc.  Great work!

Amatino, I agree. I used to just have to get back into listing and a day or two later the sales were really good.  I feel like the bar is higher now, even though we have better pricing info through Terapeak and flexibility through make offer.  Plus, I am promoting at 4%.  It’s puzzling.

[Sharyn]

Well, thanks, ChristineR. Really, though, I did nothing for the clarinet. In fact, my description starts with “I do not know much about clarinets, so this is sold as-is. I cannot test it, and I do not know if any parts are missing.”. 🙂

[Vintage Lacy]

47 listings for me last week….the most I have been able to accomplish this year so far.  I really made it a focus and tried to get some done every day before I started other things.

I haven’t done anything with the pop-up challenge, but I did get five large boxes of books processed from my death pile that have been in it for YEARS, longer than I would like to admit. So there’s that.

Hope everyone has a good week ahead. I can’t believe Saturday is July 1st! Ack!

[VintageTreasures]

5 new listings for me last week. We had a house guest for five days and I wasn’t able to work on eBay at all during that time. This week will be worse though as we’re about to go on vacation for more than a week.

None of the five items I managed to list (once our guest left) were from my DPs. But one multiple quantity listing that I got up on Saturday just sold out – so I’m pleased with that sale. Otherwise eBay has been a rollercoaster for me with a lot more downswings than I remember from previous years.

I was doing well with my plan to reduce my DPs through forcing myself to list (or donate) DP items in order to earn new purchases. But my favorite craft resale store had a sale – five sewing patterns for $1 – and I just bought 87 patterns. Oops! I believe in taking opportunities when they present themselves and I’ll make a lot of $ on what I purchased. But it’s not helping my DP reduction plan at all!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

 

[Amatino]

Wow, Christine, you were beat by a nose right at the finish line! Congrats to Lacy for a great win!

Spreadsheet updated and Julie and Lacy got the point for the armpit challenge. We have one more week for the Challenge, folks. Next Monday will be your last chance to grab a point. Yes, Monday is July, but most of this week (all of the weekdays) are in June, so it counts in my book.

Sharyn – and how! We get a Severe Heat Advisory every day and are in triple digits by lunch time. It’s killer hot. I was working in the sunroom for just an hour or two before retreating to the garage, but we recently found some roller shades that are installed on the outside of the windows. They’re cheap, easy to install and holey smokes effective! I am astounded at the difference they have made. If you struggle with a “hot side” on your house, I can wholeheartedly recommend these. We also ordered solar film to put on the windows, so it will double down on the effect and hopefully make the room workable. I have my photobooth set up there as well as it supposed to be my sewing room. Being able to spend several hours taking photos without melting into a sticky puddle will be fabulous.

Well, you have a few days. Go dig out that one armpit item. Go on. It will take you a few minutes to find it and you can let it glare at you for the whole week and then finally list it on Sunday and it will still count!

[Julie B]

2 listings.

Had to migrate over to a new laptop this week which slowed things down quite a bit for me.  I’m also dealing with a large-ish fibroid that has been causing me more bad days than good lately.  I talk to a surgeon in two weeks about that, finally!

Tonight I’m going to sit in front of the t.v., eat candy and crosspost.  It should be a lot faster with my new macbook.

Have a good holiday and week, everyone!

 

 

[Amatino]

Ha! Hard to figure out how I could go in reverse… but I did! Only 2 listings this week.

I’ve spent the week in Manual Labor. For those of you claiming photos or it didn’t happen

https://imgur.com/faWsxMV

Plastic curtains in front of my inventory, mesh curtains on the garage, solar rollers on the east-facing sunroom windows, followed by solar film and, finally, sanding down the table and chairs (pictured.) (You can kinda see the treated windows in the background.) Plus a whole lotta organizing, sorting, clutter identification and removal, and general dehoardifying. Our grandson arrives for a solo summer holiday with us in the first week of August and we hope to have the house done before he gets here. It’s just over 4 weeks until he arrives. Considering what still has to be done, I think “yikes” is about right! 😀

[ChristineR]

43 for me.  I have more in the queue but my daughter has taken an interest in taking pictures for me again.  She did a few today, but I the others had to wait until she had fun with her friends over the weekend.  Should be a good week for me this week, knock wood.

[Sharyn]

I listed 10 items this week.

@Amatino – That room looks amazing!! Love the exposed wood.

[Vintage Lacy]

15 listings for me this week. Lots of other summer projects going on.

[Amatino]

Happy 4th, everyone! Or as my daughter put it – Happy American Brexit! 😀

Wow, Christine, what great listing numbers! You win the week, hands down!

Julie, we must have been posting at similar times (and we have the same number! LOL) I’m really sorry to hear about your fibroid and I hope that your surgeon can get you well again very quickly.

Thanks Sharyn. It’s a beautiful room but it has given us so much trouble. For anyone considering major construction, trust me when I tell you that the contractor you use can break you! We’d have been better off using a more expensive contractor, it would have cost us less in the long run. I am SO tired of unpacking areas that I have already packed so that we can fix/change/update something.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

[VintageTreasures]

No listings for me, but I wanted to check in anyway. I was on the annual vacation we take with three other couples near the Grand Tetons last week. It was awesome!

Julie: I hope you feel better ASAP.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

[VintageTreasures]

Grrr, I just lost my post so I’ll be more concise this time. I listed 25 items last week.

Wishing everyone a great week!

[Vintage Lacy]

25 listings for me too. Jinx VT!

I accomplished a skittle last week that was long overdue….cleaning up part of my shipping station that has been messy since last Christmas.  It feels great!

My best find last weekend was a vintage formica kitchen table for 20 bucks…..very exciting.

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

[Sharyn]

I don’t mean to one up, but I listed 26 items last week. I had very few sales, so I guess that gave me time to list.

[Amatino]

Ha! I left you all in the dust with a whopping zero! 😀

Love the duplicates that keep popping up! Great find there, Lacy! And yay for Skittles! I thought about them this week, wondering how many folks are still working on their skittles and/or using Google Keep.

Last week I got the “it’s not you, it’s us!” (INYIU) message from eBay that the servers are down. I tried refreshing, a hard refresh, clearing my cache, clearing my entire history, switching computers, switching browsers. I could browse, even open listings, but if I tried to go to Drafts or Create Listing in my Seller hub, or even Sell Similar on an existing listing, it went back to the INYIU message. It was SO frustrating! Eventually I checked with the FB group I’m in and I was not alone. Others were experiencing the same thing. So it was not (just) me!

Then I got really busy with other work and ended up not listing anything at all for the week! *crying*

I’ve got a busy week ahead. Tomorrow I’m going to an all-day Barn Block Painting Class. We’re meeting at 6:45AM, I need to leave at 6:30AM!!! Friday morning our Pyrenees is getting her first salon grooming and I will be going to a quilt meeting, so my entire morning will be gone, and I’m very busy with the dance class. We’ve been invited back, by unanimous vote for the 3rd year in a row, to perform at a charity function. I’m working on a new choreo that we’ll be performing there, plus three new costume sets for our ladies. However, I am also working on a new system of Mini Routines and am trying to squeeze in 2 hours of eBay each day. Servers willing, I’ll have listings to show this week.

[Vintage Lacy]

It’ll be really funny if Amatino, Christine or Julie posts 27 listings.

[ChristineR]

I listed 42 items last week.  Julie hope you are feeling better!

[Julie B]

Thanks for well wishes everyone.  Some days I feel perfectly fine and other days I feel like complete garbage.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it.

I forgot to post yesterday.  I had 16.

[Amatino]

Apologies for not updating yesterday, ladies. I was in a Workshop and left at 6:30AM and didn’t get home until late.

What a fun run on listings this week. Congrats to Christine for winning the week.

It feels really strange to already be in the second half of the year. Anyone else with me? I can’t believe we’ve gone through six months already, although if I look back at how much I’ve done (not on eBay!) I can see huge strides. Have you ever noticed that life is somewhat like climbing a mountain? It seems a never ending upward battle, until you stop to rest and look back at how far you’ve come.

Wishing you all a fantastic week.

[Julie B]

Only 3 listings this week.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me. I met my goal and I’ve already got a good headstart on this week. It’s all good!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

[ChristineR]

43 for me this week.

[Sharyn]

I listed six items.

I had jury duty last week, which required me to be in front of a computer most of Monday and Tuesday. In the end, I was not selected for a trial. I had to be in the office Wed and Thurs, so I just didn’t have much time for listing.

[Vintage Lacy]

15 listings last week.  It was a very busy picking week, with a lucrative trip to the bins and lots of yard and estate sales.  We went to one Saturday morning and scored a 1930s cash register for $30 that will easily sell for $295.  That very same sale had a free day yesterday and we went back and filled the whole back of the van up with vintage patterns and vintage lace.

I’m not sure how much listing I will get done this week. We’re doing a vintage show this weekend, with set up on Friday and sales Saturday and Sunday. Fingers crossed it’s a good one for us.

[Amatino]

Julie, hope you feel better soon!

I bet you’re thrilled not to lose time in a trial, Sharyn!

Lacy, you get the best stuff! Sending best wishes for a successful show.

Spreadsheet updated. Congrats on a great win, Christine!

[VintageTreasures]

40 new listings for me. I listed more than my weekly goal to make up for the low listing number I’ll have this week, my husband and I are heading out on another short vacation trip.

Christine: I think you’re heading out for a far away vacation? Have a wonderful time!

Vintage Lacy: I’m so envious of your vintage pattern and lace haul. I’ve been getting vintage patterns on sale for five for a dollar, but free is so much better!

Julie: I hope your medical appointment is coming up soon now?

Amatino: Amazing progress on your house, congrats on getting so much accomplished!

Wishing everyone a lovely week!

 

 

[Vintage Lacy]

19 listings for the week.  Not bad, considering everything else going on. My nephew from Colorado is coming to stay with us this week so there will be lots of family stuff happening. And I am still working on the dang carport!

VT…. 5 vintage patterns for a dollar is still pretty great!

For those vacationing this week…have a great time! And Julie I hope you are on the mend.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead.

[ChristineR]

38 for me.  We are counting down to our big trip.  I hope to crank out some listings before we leave on Saturday.  Have quite a few waiting for pictures.  Going Down Under to Australia.  My daughter is singing with a chior at the Opera House in Sydney.

[Sharyn]

I listed 15 this week.

All of these vacations! Everyone, have a great time! We had our vacation early this year, so I will live vicariously through you. We are planning a long weekend trip, so I’ll have to settle for that.

[Amatino]

Julie, no numbers this week? I hope you’re not worse! Sending hugs that you feel better soon!

VT, may you enjoy your mini-vacay knowing that you won the week! Congrats! Narrowly beat Christine to take the crown.

Sharyn, no travel for me at all this year so far. I hope you all have a great time away plus a little extra for me! LOL.

Wishing you all a great week, traveling or staying home, visiting or having visitors!

[Julie B]

Thank you everyone for well wishes and for your concern.  For awhile there I was having more bad days than good but I seem to have turned the corner for now.  All in all, I have it so much better than a lot of other women who deal with fibroids.  I had an MRI last week which didn’t show anything new other than it continues to grow.  It’s the size of a grapefruit.  My mom had a friend who once had one the size of a basketball and it weighed 50 lbs! I can’t even imagine. I meet with the surgeon Aug 10th to discuss and schedule surgery.

I did manage to list 18 items, which may have triggered the deluge of sales I’ve had over the last few days.  I have 13 items to ship this morning! That’s pretty amazing for a Wednesday.

[ChristineR]

Ugh Julie sorry for that bad luck.

I’ll have 28 for this current week.  Off we go tomorrow on vaca.

[Julie B]

8 listings this week.

I hit an epic estate sale this weekend.  Closets and closets and closets full of NWT clothes from Talbots.  I wouldn’t normally buy Talbots in smaller sizes but everything I bought was brand new and everything was priced between $2 and $5!  A few weeks prior, I was at an estate sale of another clothing hoarder who had tons of NWT Chico’s clothing and who collected Berek sweaters.  I’m buried in mountains of clothing to list.  Not my most favorite thing to list but when the deals are this good, I couldn’t pass it up.

I hope everyone has a profitable week!

[VintageTreasures]

10 for me last week. We left for the Oregon coast on Wednesday morning and returned last night. It was lovely and cool there, we had a great time! Now back to business.

Wishing everyone a great week!

[Sharyn]

I listed 13 items this week.

Julie – I hope you can get the surgery scheduled and everything taken care of quickly. Recently, I’ve had some health issues as well as some family members. I’m reminded of when I was a kid and never wanted to be someone who is so concerned about health, but here we are.

[Vintage Lacy]

24 listings for last week.  Not bad considering I had a 20-yr-old kid to entertain.  Congrats on the epic picking Julie!  It’s a huge amount of fun to find such great things.  I had some fun picking last weekend, but nothing like your haul.  However, I did find something I am keeping….a vintage teal green kid cash register, in the original box, no less.  I was pretty excited about it.  It was at the bins so I was really lucky to be able to grab it. Somebody must have been getting rid of their collection because there were three kid cash registers, but that was the cool one. I have a collection of them.

Julie I sure hope you get some resolution for your health issue.  It doesn’t sound like fun at all!  Sending you healing vibes.

VT, where did you go on the Oregon coast?  I am glad you had such a great time!

Hope everyone has a great week ahead.

[Amatino]

Sheesh, I’m really bad at updates at the moment! Apologies everyone! Final countdown until the grandson arrives and I’m going crazy with house organizing and stuff.

Julie, that is awful! Sending hugs to make you feel better, and best wishes for a speedy and safe surgery with a quick recovery and no repeats! And what a great haul! I’m not a fan of clothes either, but sales are sales, yeah?

Have a great vacay, Christine. Especially as you won the week! 😀

Nice find, Lacy. Post a photo of your collection?

I was going to say I listed zero, but then I realized that I actually listed 3 on FB and Craigslist. A listing is a listing, right? Not sure that I’ll get anything listed this week, as I have some final items to sort out before the Grand Arrival of the Grandson, but I’m hoping to dive in. One unintended but very happy consequence of the Great Move and subsequent Grand Arrival has been a major organization and declutter exercise. Instead of packing boxes and stuffing them in the attic, I’ve actually been sorting things out, dehoardifying, and finding places for things so that they can be put away. This means that it’s done – permanently! I don’t have to fetch down a box to organize and sort through. And… dun dun dunnnnn… I can find everything! That’s such a huge change! LOL. Also somewhat sobering. I have a lot! I’ll be sorting through my fabrics and probably selling some. It’s good fabric, but I bought it when I was brand new to sewing and didn’t know better. Now I’m a bit of a fabric snob and wouldn’t dream of using some of the polyester options for example, or I know that I can’t wear it because it doesn’t breathe and I’d suffocate in our triple digit weather. I’m super excited to have my home this sorted and sincerely pray that I can hang up my firefighter hat and start working at a more normal pace.

Wishing you all a great week and a happy holiday, Christine!

[Sharyn]

I listed 14 items this week.

Five of them were to Etsy because my inventory was starting to get a bit low there.

I’m still working on my neighbor’s online auction. The sale of  his home keeps getting pushed out, so he isn’t working that fast on going through all his stuff. I do get more time to catalog. One day in the next month or so, I will post huge number here. I’m up to 81 listings already, and I’m sure it’ll be over 100 in the end!!

[Julie B]

59 – a great listing week for me!

[Vintage Lacy]

Zero listings going on for me…..lots of last minute stuff with my dad’s divorce, plus I had minor foot surgery. This week will be equally busy, plus a short road trip so don’t think I’ll get many done.

Good luck with the grandson visit Amatino…that’s exciting. It’s sure to be fun for you.

Congrats Julie…that’s a HUGE number!

[VintageTreasures]

25 for me despite having a house guest. Unfortunately I used up most of my draft bank to accomplish that number and now I’m scrambling this week. However our guest left today so fingers crossed…

VL: We were on the Oregon coast between Yachatz and Florence, it was pretty much the same vacation we took two years ago. The Oregon coast is wonderful!

Julie: Way to go with the estate sale finds and the listings – you’re on fire!

Amatino: Have a wonderful time with your grandson!

Wishing everyone a great week!

[Amatino]

Great numbers there Julie and looking forward to yours in the future, Sharyn.Sending healing thoughts your way, Lacy! Thanks, VT.

Zip, zilch and zero for me. BUT I have a grandson present and accounted for. The flight was “boring” according to the teen, and he nearly missed his connecting flight due to another accompanied minor not having her luggage. Excitement! He is having a wonderful time and his mother is feeling just a little abandoned. I now have TWO boys in the house and the younger is the least hassle. LOL.

Yesterday was spent entirely taking care of introducing the kid to the house and the environment, but today I got stuck into listing again. Hoping to post some decent numbers in the weeks to come.

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated. As we all figured, Julie wiped the floor with us all! LOL

Have a great week, y’all!

[Sharyn]

I’m posting early because I will be busy tomorrow. I listed five items.

[VintageTreasures]

25 for me.

Wishing everyone a productive week!

[Julie B]

49.  Have a great week, y’all.

[Amatino]

Yay! I’m back on the board! I posted 11 listings, even with having Da Grandson here!

I hoped for more but a teenage boy is quite a lot of work! It has been great fun though. Yesterday we took him to iFly for an indoor skydiving experience and he had a total blast! On Friday he went to a Native American presentation and was dressed up in full Chieftain regalia. (He said it was way too hot to wear an entire buffalo skin! LOL) He is having a grand time. This week he’s off with the Old Man to go fishing down at the coast. I get a couple days free, but I won’t be able to sock it to listings, unfortunately. I had the rather unpleasant wake up call to the fact that I have less than six weeks until both my Charity Dance Show and our quilt group’s annual Quilt Fest! I’ve got to make costumes AND quilts for the same time frame! Plus I need to finish the sewing for the kids, both for the boy to wear here and for him and his mom to take home. Yikes!:D

[ChristineR]

I’ll be zero until next week when I get back.

[Vintage Lacy]

Zero for me again, but for the best possible reason….a road trip down to Sacramento to visit my bestie and her husband, plus a grand shopping trip to the Sacramento Antique Faire.  Over 300 booths to peruse and boy did we have fun. We brought a large wagon to pull with us as we shopped and we filled it full three times! We called it quits after 5 and a half hours…there was still one more row to go, but it was really hot and we were tired.

We also went to the Sacramento bins and they were meh. We did find a few cool things and I dig books for fifteen cents,  but nothing spectacular and they are FILTHY and disorganized. We’re really spoiled by the bins in the Portland area.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead!

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated. Another impressive win for Julie B.

Wow, Lacy, that sounds like a magic trip!

Wishing everyone a great week!

[Vintage Lacy]

44 listings for the week. Not sure about this coming week since I have my biggest show of the summer on Sunday and I have a lot of prepping to do.

 

[Amatino]

Another goose egg for me. I really thought I’d manage to get some listings done at the beginning of the week, but it turned into a major bust.

On the positive side, my grandson is having a blast and I’m getting clothes made and dance costumes done. I’m just going to have to work like a slave for the rest of the year!

[Sharyn]

I listed two items.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me.

We’ll be having house guests again this week but I’m counting on my draft bank to carry me through, fingers crossed!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

[Julie B]

Whoops, I forgot to post yesterday.  32 listings.

I’ll be visiting my mom for a few weeks so I might not remember to post for a few weeks.

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated and Lacy takes the win!

Good luck on your show, Lacy!

Have fun with your visits, VT and Julie.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me. Despite being super busy with guests I’ve managed to continue to build up my listings draft bank. I’m grateful to have a quick way to list on days when I end up with zero time to list from scratch.

ChristineR: Congratulations on the fantastic needlework haul! I love that niche.

Wishing everyone a great week!

[ChristineR]

@VT thanks!

just 2 listings for me.  I need to kick into gear today.

[Sharyn]

I listed four items this week.

Still working the auction for my neighbor, which is now set for about 9/12 – 20 with the pickup on 9/24.

[Vintage Lacy]

2 listings for me last week.

It was a great show and sold some higher ticket items, including a vintage brass ship’s clock for a sweet $495.  Packing up in 90 degree heat was no fun though. Thankfully much less to take home!

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated and VT takes the win! Congrats VT!

Looking forward to your huge listing number, Sharyn!

That sounds like a fantastic sale, Lacy! How wonderful.

Zero for me last week, final week of the visiting Junior. However, some major issues at home have kept me from my computer for the last 3 days. Sigh… I’ve decided to write off the balance of August and hope that I can turn things around in September. It’s the beginning of a new year for so many places: schools, government, etc. I’m going to pretend it’s a brand new year for me too! LOL

[ChristineR]

30 for me this week.  I’m away for the weekend and I hope everyone has a nice Labor Day weekend.

[Sharyn]

I listed 18 this week. Finally got a better number, but sales were terrible.

@Amatino – I don’t like the sound of “some major issues at home”. I hope everything is OK.

Happy Labor Day!

[VintageTreasures]

I listed 37 last week. I got a bee in my bonnet to make it to 900 active listings so I listed more than my weekly goal.

I didn’t make it to 900 but I did make progress towards that goal. Hopefully I’ll get there in a couple of weeks. I thought I might make it to 900 this week but now we have house guests arriving again tomorrow. Our other visitors just left this morning. Entertaining guests doesn’t leave much free time to tend to eBay.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Labor Day!

[Vintage Lacy]

2 listings for me last week.  Listings have been on a very low flame while I spend time on other projects that will be fabulous to be done before the 4th quarter. The biggest has been organizing the inventory storage room.  We brought in 5 large shelves which should really help. It’s a round tuit project long overdue and I’m glad to finally be getting it done.

Hope everyone had a good Labor Day….happy September !

 

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated and VT has a great win for the week. Apologies for being late.

Hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend.

@Sharyn, thanks for your concern. Yes, it’s all good. We have 4 businesses to take care of and sometimes they clash, and sometimes things at the ranch take over as well. Those days are great fun! *rolls eyes* It’s like the saying “I try to take one day at a time, but lately several days have hit me at once!”

Congrats on getting your tuits in order, Lacy. It’s such an incredible feeling to have it all organized, isn’t it?

Wishing you all a great week and may sales be forthcoming in a fantastic Q4 flood!

 

[Amatino]

Good morning, y’all.

Another goose egg for me. Bah humbug! I’m feeling rather overwhelmed with everything I have to get through at the moment. This year has been The Year of Getting Stuff Done – which mostly has entailed crossing off items on my TDL and clearing stuff up on the home front. Perhaps next year will be The Year of Getting Stuff Sold? One can hope!

Wishing you all a great week!

[ChristineR]

I have 25 for last week.  We have a ton of extra expenses so I need to crank

[Vintage Lacy]

15 listings for me last week and I am glad to have hit my goal for once. The street fair was a meh, too many lookie lou’s, and not enough vintage buyers.  Lesson learned…..only do shows that are focused on vintage. It’s too much dang work to have just mediocre sales. Onward!

[Sharyn]

I listed four items.

Still working the last few lots for the auction. My neighbor decided to push it back a week.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me. I met my goal so I’m happy with that, but I haven’t made it to 900 active.

We have more visitors arriving this week, so I probably won’t make it to 900 active this week either.

Wishing everyone a great week!

 

[Amatino]

FIRST TIME THIS YEAR! We have a tie! Congratulations to VT and Christine for winning the week in tandem.

And look at me, actually updating the spreadsheet first thing in the morning on the correct day! LOL

Sorry your street fair was a bust, Lacy. We have an annual street sale in our local town every May and October. It’s great fun and I’ve picked up some fantastic bargains. This year our sale is being pushed back a week due to the Eclipse.

Happy Tuesday, y’all!

[ChristineR]

Yea! I made it to 900 listings for the first time yesterday!  My goal is to reach 1000 in a month.  Come meet me there VT.

[VintageTreasures]

Congratulations Christine, job well done!

Challenge accepted on reaching 900 active. It won’t be this week because my sister is visiting but I’m going to go for it next week. See you there!

[Amatino]

Wow, Christine! Remember how we started the TELC by having the same number of listings at around 230? You’ve done a fantastic job building your store!

Go, Kitty, go! Love it!

Anyone else want to challenge themselves to a goal number?

[Julie B]

Hello everyone.  I’m back from a 3 week trip visiting my mom in Iowa.  We did a lot of thrifting and I found some okay stuff but no home runs.

7 listings this week.

Have a good week!

[VintageTreasures]

Welcome home Julie!

25 new listings for me last week.

My last summer visitor is leaving today so I’m ready to hit my 900 active listings goal as soon as I’ve had more coffee – lol.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and productive week!

[ChristineR]

33 listings for me.  I plan to hit it hard this week.

[Sharyn]

I listed 16 items.

The auction will go live this week. Watch out for my numbers next week!

[Vintage Lacy]

15 listings for me, but I am also planning to hit it hard this week. It’s only 3 weeks until Brookhaven and the busy 4th quarter so I want to have a couple of really good listing weeks before then.

Congrats Christine! I’m only 41 away from 900 myself…maybe that should be a goal for me too.

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated. Congratulations on your win this week, Christine.

This weekend I have two events, a dance show and a quilt show. Thursday night is the Full Dress Rehearsal for the dance show. Friday day is the quilt show set up. Saturday I’m working Docent at the quilt show and Sunday evening is the dance show. Monday I have free and Tuesday I’m working Docent again. After that, I have the whole week free until the Saturday when we take down all the quilts. I think that I’m going to write September off and start my big push in October!

Looking forward to all the numbers next week. Hope you have a great time!

[VintageTreasures]

43 listings for me.

I made it to 900 active early last week – then I listed as many as I needed to each day to make it back up to 900 active. Today I’ll make it past 900, but I’m going away for a long weekend this week. So I’ll be working towards not ending up below 900 after four days away this week.

Wishing everyone a productive week!

[Julie B]

40 listings.  I was surprised at that number because it certainly didn’t feel like I listed that many. That’s probably because it wasn’t all clothes.  Books and other hard goods are so much easier and faster to list.

 

 

[Sharyn]

I listed 173 items.

23 on eBay

7 on Etsy

143 on MaxSold

https://maxsold.maxsold.com/auction/east-brunswick-new-jersey-usa-seller-managed-moving-online-auction-buffalo-run-84317/bidgallery/

Told ya it was coming!!

[ChristineR]

Whoa Sharyn!  Congrats.

I listed 43 items this week.  Hoping to hit it hard this week.  I’m at 944 and would be great to get to 1000 by Sunday.

[Vintage Lacy]

You are a rock star Sharyn!  I think that’s the biggest number ever posted in all these years! Congrats! If I lived closer I’d be bidding on your auction…looks great.

10 listings for me.  Just WAY too much else going on. Nothing bad, just busy busy busy.

[Sharyn]

You know, to be fair, I worked on that auction all summer. Just that it is all listed at once. If it was distributed as I took photos & wrote up the descriptions, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But, since those are the rules …

It was a record breaking week!!!

[Amatino]

Good morning, everyone. Happy Monday, and happy 4th Quarter!

Last week I was off sick. From the Friday 09/23 until yesterday. I started with sinusitis, which developed into bronchitis. I was prescribed antibiotics, but got worse. After the weekend, I realized something was wrong and went into urgent care where they told me I had had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. I was put onto an IV to try to flush the drug from my system, then sent home with some more drugs to counteract the drugs. It knocked me out for days! The hubs went down sick on Wednesday and the two of us lay in bed together feeling awful. Then, on Friday, we tested positive for COVID. Isn’t that just great?

Today is the 2nd day I’m up in over a week, yesterday being a very gentle easing into the world. I suspect that this week is going to be slow. So much for my grand plans for this past week and the beginning of the new quarter. :'(

Congrats on your great numbers, Sharyn. I’d be shopping if I were closer!

I’ll update the spreadsheet tomorrow with both weeks.

[Sharyn]

@Amatino – Sounds terrible, and what awful timing. And, I know you are allergic to just about everything. If I recall correctly, you did not get the COVID vaccine due to all your allergies, so maybe this illness will now provide you with a bit of natural protection? Just trying to look for that silver lining …

I listed 19 items this week. Yesterday was the auction pickup, and now I’m getting back into the groove.

[Julie B]

Oh no Amatino!  As if you weren’t feeling bad enough, may as well thru an allergic reaction on top of it.  Scary!

19 listings for me.  I have doc appts two days this week and my fibroid surgery is next week so I think I’ll try to take tons of photos so I can work on listings if/when I feel like it when recovering next week.

[ChristineR]

Covid is totally going around here.  Feel better soon Amatino and Julie I hope you heal quickly from the surgery.

I listed 46 items last week. The number EBay shows as listed seems to jump around a but in a way that doesn’t seem right so I did not hit 1000 but should this week.  Today I need to examine and photograph fabric items.  I don’t know why I dislike doing that so much.  The big duvets are a pita.  But I sold one last month for a great price and that helps.

[VintageTreasures]

25 for me last week. We just returned from our out of town trip, it was lovely!

I’m so sorry to hear you got Covid Amatino – what an ordeal, I hope you feel better ASAP. And best wishes Julie on your upcoming procedure.

[Vintage Lacy]

Sorry Amatino that Covid caught up to you….hopefully you get better fast. Good luck Julie on your upcoming procedure….sending good wishes for quick recovery.

6 listings for me last week. Sales have taken off for me so shipping is taking more of my time. It’s a good problem to have! We start set up of Brookhaven early next week so the next 3 weeks I won’t do much if any listing.

Happy October everyone!

[Sharyn]

Julie – I just googled “fibroid surgery” and sounds like you will need to take it easy for several weeks. Good luck on your recovery; I hope it is fast. Maybe you should consider putting your store on pause for a few weeks, but setting things up for listing sounds like a great idea!

[Amatino]

Well, no surprise that Sharyn totally wiped the board for the year last week! Congrats on a record-breaker, Sharyn. LOL.

Thanks for all the well wishes, folks. And very best to you, Julie, for your surgery. I’m with Sharyn on her advice to put your store on time away. Surgery takes it out of you far more than you realize.

Spreadsheet updated for both weeks. Christine takes the win for this week.

Wishing you all a great week ahead.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me last week. I was able to keep my store at over 900 active listings so it’s all good.

I’m also working on a self-imposed challenge for October which is to list (or donate or throw out) the entire contents of two of my unlisted inventory bankers boxes. I may or may not actually complete that goal but in the meantime I’m selling stuff I’ve had sitting there unlisted for years.

Wishing everyone luck with listing and sales this week!

[ChristineR]

42 items listed for me.

Good luck VT and congrats on 900.  Today Ebay says I’m at 979.  Maybe I’ll make it to over 1000 in the next couple of days. We will be away this weekend and I hope to reach that.  I got some of the fabric done but have more big duvets and coverlets to photograph.  Sigh.

[Sharyn]

I listed 27 items.

I just got back from a long weekend visit, but I did take some photos and start some listings before I left.

[Amatino]

Congrats to Christine and VT for staying over 900! That’s terrific.

Glad you have a new challenge to work on, VT. I think this last quarter is going to be too busy for most folks for me to enter any new challenges. If anyone wants to self-challenge themselves, post it here like VT did and we’ll all cheer you on!

Christine did a great job this week and took a well deserved win. Spreadsheet updated!

Want a scare? Only 12 weeks left in the year!

[Julie B]

Good afternoon, Everyone.

This week I had 0 but the week before I had 13.

I’m 7 days post op from my surgery and finally starting to feel like I can sit and list pain free.  My surgery was easier than most fibroid surgeries due to the type of fibroid and placement.  But I’m still tender and taking it easy.  I’m definitely letting my husband do ALL the chores. 🙂 I’m going to milk that for awhile. Although he did buy groceries by himself a few days ago and I don’t know if we’ll ever financially recover from that one grocery trip, hehe.  He vastly overestimated how much food two people can possibly eat.

Saturday night I turned my Poshmark and Mercari stores back on but I have left my ebay store off for now.  The reason being the items I have listed on Posh and Mercari tend to be small, lightweight items that I’ll have no trouble shipping. Plus, sales on those platforms are rare. I have had two total sales since turning them on.  On ebay I have all kinds of stuff listed including heavier items that I definitely don’t want to deal with shipping this week.

Thank you everyone for your well wishes the past few weeks.

[Sharyn]

I listed 14.

@julie-b – So glad that the surgery was successful and you are feeling better!

[VintageTreasures]

25 for me last week.

Julie: I’m so glad your surgery went well and you’re recovering now.

Wishing everyone a great week!

[Amatino]

Wonderful news, Julie! I hope that you heal fast and are pain free very soon. And absolutely let the hubby pick up the chores for as long as possible. Not to be mean to the hubby, but because we women tend to kick in faster than we should. In almost every major surgery I’ve had, I’ve gotten back to work and home chores faster than I should have. Try to make yourself sit back for a couple days longer than you think you should, just to give yourself some time to heal completely!

I got back on the board with 5 listings this past week. However, this week I have a very short week as we’re going away for a long weekend starting Thursday. I am prepping drafts, so I will hit the ground running next week, but I’ve got a lot to squeeze into a couple days.

Congrats to VT for taking the win this week!

Have a great week, everyone!

[ChristineR]

Late to post. I listed 56 last week.  Was out of town this weekend.

Julie I’m glad you are on the other side of that surgery and the anticipation is out of the way. Hope your healing continues to go well.

[Julie B]

Good morning, Everyone.

25 listings for me.

For anyone who sells on Mercari: They have a promotion right now. If you list 30 items by Oct 29th, they’ll send you a $20 Mercari gift card.  It was easy for me because I have ten times as much stuff on eBay than Mercari so it was as simple as crossposting.  If you can’t get 30 items, they also have $5 gift card and $10 gift card levels.  I don’t love Mercari but toys, books & figurines tend to do okay for me over there.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me.

Congrats Christine on being the real winner last week! 56 listings is amazing, are you over 1,000 active now?

Julie, thanks for the Mercari promotion info. I’ve purchased on Mercari but never listed there, maybe the promotion will motivate me to try listing there.

Wishing everyone a great week!

[Sharyn]

I listed 8 this week.

I doubt I’d have time to list on Mercari, even if just cross-posting. I did list there a few years ago just to try it out.

I hope everyone has a great week! Sales for me have been just OK.

[ChristineR]

Late posting again.  I listed 44 I think.  Sadly sales were very disappointing but I did get a bunch of Christmas stuff posted that I hope with pay off later.

Thanks for the Mercari tip. I have a few bins of our clothes sitting in my room to list, but I’ve been trying to get sales going on Ebay and I have some other stuff going on so I probably won’t get to Mercari this week.

[Amatino]

Thanks for the notice, Julie.

Christine, I’ve updated your numbers for last week as well as this week. You would have won both weeks had you posted on time. However, this week it’s a tie win for Julie and VT. Congrats on keeping up with your listings, ladies!

Lacy, hope that Brookhaven is going well for you!

Wishing you all a great week!

[Julie B]

36 listings.

I guess the one positive to having a dismal sales week is there’s less shipping so more time for listing.  Historically low level of sales on Ebay for me lately.   Bah humbug!

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me.

Julie misery loves company so I’ll let you know you’re not alone regarding poor sales on eBay. I had two days last week with zero sales and I sold exactly one item over the weekend. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced eBay being quite this slow. Fingers crossed that we see an improvement this week.

Good luck to everyone!

[Sharyn]

16 new listings

Well, ladies, we got a company. I sold all of two (1…2…) items this past week out of an over 1700 item store. I did sell a third item, but the buyer asked to cancel. If that ain’t misery, I don’t know what is. Coming here and commiserating with other sellers is all I got.

[ChristineR]

19 items listed last week.

It felt completely dead until weekend, which saved my bacon a bit.  Just looked and small sales were a little better than I thought but it sure seemed quiet during the week.

I noticed Ebay had some glitches last week so I’m hoping the quiet had something to do with that.

I made it over 1100 listings this morning. Yea!

[Amatino]

17 listings for me.

I’m with y’all at zero sales on eBay. I did get one sale on Bonanza – yay! – but despite hunting all over I can’t find the item so I have to cancel it. Talk about a bummer! Boooooo! A cash sale on FBMP for a large piece of furniture saved my bacon, but I remember the days when you would list items and have an order to pack every single day of the week. It’s very depressing. I think eBay dropped the ball when it decided it wanted to be “another Amazon” and it opened the door to a slew of other platforms like Mercari and others. Now people just have too much to choose from and they’re not choosing eBay so much any more. IMHO, of course. What do I know? LOL

[Sharyn]

eBay sales had been somewhat low but normal up to several weeks ago. I have to think that the current state of the world has something to do with it. It’s scary out there.

[Vintage Lacy]

I’m finally back!  Amatino please put me down for zeroes for all the weeks I didn’t check in. And please put me down for 22 listings for last week.

I’ve been super busy….with my Brookhaven show and a fundraiser show for the Grange this coming weekend…I’m running the dang thing so I have been wearing many hats lately. Brookhaven was a really great show from start to end…even having a crucial register die 12 hours before the show opened wasn’t enough to daunt us. It was an incredible amount of work, but really REALLY fun.  Now I am winding down things by doing the bookkeeping part.

Ebay has been slower for me as well, not dead but certainly slow, but Amazon keeps humming along nicely and Etsy isn’t too shabby, so who knows?

Happy Halloween!

[ChristineR]

I noticed Etsy is running a smart unique gifts campaign.  I’m grateful for EBay but I wish they would embrace their identity as a unique item seller with an army of talented people ready to ship unique gifts.

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated, congrats on your win, Julie. Hope that is a little comfort for low sales.

Congrats on your 1,100 number Christine! Remember how we were both at around 200 when I first starting this Listing challenge? 😉

Lacy, updated as requested. I’m glad Brookhaven went well for you. Good luck with the Grange.

Christine – that should be eBay’s tag line! Beautifully put! I wish they would read this page and see that!

[Amatino]

Good morning, all, and Happy Monday!

6 more weeks until Christmas! Get all those gift items up and sold! I read an interesting article today about the fact that most people are their own Santa, all year long. “What to give to the person who has everything?” is no longer just about rich Uncle Jack, but pretty much everyone. If they see something they want, or need something, they just buy it. The article said something about Amazon being the sleigh, with one day delivery. So it’s hard to find gifts for people. Use this info to find items that would make unusual gifts.

Listed 15 items this week. I’m working on creating a new listing routine in the hopes of making it a listing habit, and I’m starting with 3 items per day. I had planned to start this at the beginning of October, but was sick for almost the whole month. Now that I’m back on my feet, I have gotten myself organized and am looking forward to logging a steady weekly report.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!

[Julie B]

16 listings.  I also ended a bunch of stale listings, fixed the titles and item specifics & sold similar.

I wasted a lot of time going to two thrift stores in town this week.  I don’t know why I even hit them up anymore, there is rarely anything good at them these days. Both of them have started listing the good stuff online and charging crazy high prices on what they keep in store.  I know this will sound like a broken record but Goodwill has gone crazy with their prices! Stuff is spilling off the shelves onto the floor because none of it is moving. If they’d put a reasonable price of the stuff, they could get it out of there but even on half price day it’s too expensive.  Thank goodness for estate sales.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me. I’m happy to report that I cleared my two October self-challenge DP boxes. Unfortunately those two boxes were immediately refilled with other DP items that weren’t boxed. But it’s still progress!

I’ve started on my two November DP challenge boxes and now that I have some better processes learned from my October experience I’m hoping to process three DP boxes in November. Fingers crossed!

Wishing everyone a productive week!

[Julie B]

Great job Vintage Treasures!

[Amatino]

IKR? I’ve been astounded at the price of GW stuff lately! I went looking for evening gowns as I needed to whip up a dance item and I used to pick them up for anywhere from a few dollars to $14. This trip – $36! For a mini-dress! Woah!

Even our little local thrift has gone up from $1 for a blouse to $3. Not a giant jump, but prices everywhere seem to be just rocketing.

[ChristineR]

I listed 46 items this week.  @Amatino way to go with the regular listings.  I don’t have my day job anymore, so my numbers are not like my old part-time numbers.

@Julie one of our local thrift chains went bananas a while back.  They hire college kids who research everything online.  They do markdowns but it’s annoying to shop there.  No fun when there aren’t treasures lurking that nobody knows about.  We only have one Goodwill and it’s heavy volume, with certain categories just removed and sent to the online center.  The manager changes quite frequently but I like the current one and the hard goods vintage prices are actually ok there.  I believe most clothes are fairly high for resale, but that’s true around town on clothes.

@VT Congrats. Two boxes is great progress!

 

 

 

[Sharyn]

I listed 18 items last week.

I hear you on the Goodwill and thrift stores. However, I’m finding some decent prices on MaxSold online auctions. I picked up from an auction this weekend, and I got some very nice deals. Usually, auctions are way high this time of the year leading up to the holidays. I’m thinking that the low sales and low auction prices are related. If  you are willing to spend when you aren’t making many sales, you can really make out.

[Vintage Lacy]

Man, everyone is doing well with listing except me! Gah!  Zero for me again, but I am determined that it will be my last zero week for this year.

The Holiday Faire fundraiser was really fun and went very well.  Now it’s back to concentrating on my online sales, which have picked up briskly. I had 89 orders to ship out this morning. 3 Etsy, 14 Ebay, and 72 Amazon. I hope everyone is seeing better sales too.

I have friends who do very well picking at Goodwill and find really cute stuff and a fair amount of it too, but I think they go several times a week. If I have any time for picking, I generally stick to the bins this time of year and am generally happy with my haul most times.  They did raise the prices at the bins recently, especially the books, so we are now a bit pickier about what we buy. Still love our bins, and have been jonesing about them.  I need my fix!

[Amatino]

Congrats on another win, Christine. You’re doing great this year! Going full time works for you.

Spreadsheet updated.

Wow, VT, your challenge is really zipping along! How wonderful for you!

Unfortunately auctions aren’t an option for me. The nearest auction house is 80 miles away and in a big city. I’m not willing to deal with city traffic in the hope that I might score at an auction. You’re lucky to be so central, Sharyn!

Aw, Lacy, we all cheer you on! Your listings generally slow down towards the end of the year and pick up in the beginning of the next year. Overall, you’re doing great! Glad your Faire went well and you’re doing fantastic numbers with your sales! That’s marvelous. Sending you best wishes that you get to the bins soon!

[Vintage Lacy]

I’m posting early because I’m through with listing for the week…. I managed to sneak 6 in today, so that’s my number for the week.

Disaster struck on Tuesday.  We discovered that our large storage unit had flooded at some point in the very recent past.  We discovered this when we pulled a few boxes out to work on and one of them was soaked on the bottom.  Upon further examination EVERY SINGLE CARDBOARD BOX on the bottom layer of stacks had water damage, some worse than others.  Thankfully, some items were stored in plastic bins, and while those had standing water under them, the contents weren’t damaged. While we do have insurance, the sheer task of sorting damaged from undamaged was daunting, to say the least.

We did luck out and were able to move undamaged items to a storage unit just three doors down from the original unit, sorting and organizing as we went.  This was the true silver lining to the whole thing, as everything in the new unit is accessible and sorted by category. However, we aren’t finished, as we set aside every box that had been soaked on the bottom, and Tuesday we will be renting a uhaul truck so that we can take all watersoaked/mildewed items to the dump.  Hopefully there will be salvageable items in most of the boxes at the top of them, but we have already discovered several vintage book boxes with mold and mildew so the entire boxes are destroyed and will need to be dumped.

We’ve already worked over 40 hours on the mess, and still have Tuesday to go before it’s done.

I’m really trying to find the bright side.  It does mean that my profit pile has gone down dramatically. That’s good, right?

[Julie B]

27 listings.  I had my biggest sale ever this week although I’m not keeping any of the money. I sold my aunt’s vintage Reed & Barton sterling silver flatware set.  I probably could have made more piecing it out but I was hoping for a quick sale as she’s recently widowed and could use the money.  Unfortunately it took over a year to sale for $1,049 for 30 pieces.  I started it at $1,999.99 but the market dropped so I kept lowering the price.  Someone got a great deal.  Now fingers crossed they leave positive feedback soon and don’t end up returning it or claiming they were the victim of some kind unauthorized ebay hack and pursue a chargeback down the road.

@VintageLacy – What a nightmare!  Having to rent a uhaul just to dump the damaged items sounds painful.  Thankfully it sounds like it was all unlisted inventory and not listed.

 

[Sharyn]

I listed 7 items this past week.

@VintageLacy – This happened to another scavenger several years ago, but it was his home basement. At least you don’t have that to deal with, but what a pain. From your videos, I know you got lots of good stuff. What a bummer.

@JulieB – I sold a 40 piece set of sterling during the MaxSold auction that I set up for my neighbor. It sold for $767, which came to $905 with the premium. So, you didn’t do too badly, although auction prices tend to be lower. I have another set of sterling we found in my neighbor’s garage. This one is more complete, and I will probably hold onto it until I get a decent price.

[VintageTreasures]

Vintage Lacy – how awful! I’m so sorry to hear about your water disaster – what a heart sinking discovery that must have been. Will you be shifting to all plastic tubs as a safeguard?

25 new listings for me and another week that included two days with no sales at all as well as days with just one sale. It was actually a good thing though since I came down with Norovirus/Food Poisoning/Stomach Flu and I wasn’t able to leave the bathroom to ship orders. I only ended up with one late shipment even though I was ill for 4 days. Like Vintage Lacy, my silver lining doesn’t feel very shiny – lol.

Thanks for the encouragement on my DP box challenge! My illness put a halt to my progress (I ended up listing from my draft bank) but I hope to get back to it this week. Or ASAP, this week we’re having a house guest. Sigh.

Wishing everyone a better week this week!

[Amatino]

Lacy, that’s awful! You were lucky that there was another storage unit available and they weren’t sold out. At least you got some organizing done in the move, and you’ve reduced your backlog. You had items stored in plastic bins and some of the top items are salvageable. And you had insurance! There are a few good points in your story. Trying to be positive here! Big hugs!

And I matched Lacy with 6 this week.

Congrats on your big sale, Julie. I’m glad you were able to help out your aunt.

VT, that sounds dreadful. Sending best wishes that you get well soon.

My big story for the week is that Himself and I witnessed a dog abandonment. We were driving into town on Saturday and saw a car, with a dog happily wagging its tail and sniffing all around. But the driver was sitting alone in the car, with all the doors closed. I told Himself “I hope that guy isn’t dumping that dog!” Sure enough, when we drove back half an hour later, the car was gone and the dog was frantically running up and down the road. We stopped for her, but she was terrified and ran away. Both of our vehicles have dash cams, so when we got home, we called the Sheriff’s office to report it and sent them recordings. Then I posted on FB so that folks would know about the dog and hoping that the owners of the properties in the area would watch out for her. The Sheriff’s office said they would send out a patrol car. Several people posted that they went out but they were unable to catch the dog.

The next day, we drove through to Bandera and the dog was still there, where she was dumped.

We stopped, but she ran away again. We drove into Bandera and came back with dog food. I managed to get close enough to touch her, but she ran away when I stood up and tried to get her into the truck. We went home, got more dog food and came back. She ran away again and this time we couldn’t find her.

Third trip out in the late afternoon. More dog food, and some hot, smelly, delicious sausages. I secreted a collar into my pocket. It’s an unusual design, made of webbing like a collar, but it’s on a sliding frame so that it works like a choke chain. Once it’s on, as long as you have a grip on it, it won’t come off, no matter how much the dog fights. Smelly sausage is very effective and I was able to slip the collar over her head and load her up in the truck. Thank goodness she was a small dog, I’d reckon about 50lbs, because she sure did put up a fuss and I’m not as strong as I used to be. I can lift a 100lb dog, but not when it’s going nutzo! However, this frightened little girl was just within my huffing-and-puffing range, so I got her into the truck.

Once she was inside, she calmed down. We got her home, locked our dogs in the house, and then closed her in the garage. I cleaned her up (28 hours in the cold, wet outdoors) and gave her food and water. Then I gave her lots and lots and lots of cuddles. She was incredibly affectionate. I rescued her – I reckon she would have defended me with her life at this point. The sheriff’s office arrived to collect her and she was taken into custody. They now have the dog and the videos, but from the commentary on FB, I’m not expecting much. Fortunately we have a group here called Saving Shelter Strays and they are incredible at rehoming these dogs. If I didn’t already have 3 dogs, 8 cats, and a dozen chickens, I would totally have kept her…..

[Julie B]

Wow Amatino! Thank you for your persistence in rescuing the dog.  Unfortunately, I think this might be becoming more commonplace as the price of pet food and especially vet bills have skyrocketed, along with everything else.  A local man was recently arrested because he surrendered his dog to the pound with a broken leg. He couldn’t afford to get it vet care due to a serious illness in his family and he thought he was doing the right thing.  I’m worried that since it made the news, people in similar situations will simply abandon their injured pets. I sure hope not.

I was just telling my mom and husband awhile ago that pet ownership has become a luxury that many families can no longer afford.  It seems like we drop at least $400 every time we have to take one of our pets to the vet.  We’d like to eventually get a dog again after ours died last February but I keep thinking of the price for vet bills, pet medication and dog boarding so I don’t think I’ll be getting a dog anytime soon.

[ChristineR]

Highs and lows on the posts today. Hope it’s a good week for everyone.

I listed 21 items and got sick and was in bed most of the weekend unfortuately.

[Amatino]

Spreadsheet updated. Congrats on your win, Julie.

You are right, pet ownership costs have skyrocketed, and a lot of places are no longer taking pet surrenders. That has definitely increased pet abandonment.

[Julie B]

Posting a tad early since I’m with relatives all this week.

13 listings.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me. At this rate I’m going to hit 1,000 active listings before the end of November.

I never used to worry about reaching my store free listings limit – I was selling nearly as many items as I listed on most weeks. But a change in eBay’s search results has decimated my sewing pattern sales, which is the majority of my eBay store.

Previously when searching for a specific pattern number eBay would show only patterns that included that number. Now eBay shows buyers thousands of listings.

Needless to say it’s impossible for buyers to find my items. In order to find a certain pattern number now the pattern brand and pattern number have to be in quotes in the search bar. Judging by my huge drop in pattern sales it’s obvious to me that shoppers don’t know they need to search that way.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

[Julie B]

VT – I have had a terrible time with eBay search while I’m out sourcing.  The results of the searches have been largely irrelevant to the item I searched.  I’ve resorted to using google to search for the item and clicking on the Ebay listings from there. I’ve heard other resellers say the same. No wonder sales have been crappy this year.

[Vintage Lacy]

Zero listings yet again. Sigh.  Took a 15 ft uhaul truck filled floor to ceiling to the dump with all the destroyed things from the flood.  Spent the rest of the week getting my antique booths switched over to Christmas. There are times when you fall behind and it’s impossible to get caught up.

[ChristineR]

@VL so sorry about that loss of things and time.

@VT I kind of forgot about approaching 1000 listings on my store.  I have multiple quantity so I’m still under 900 but thinking of this kind of adds a bit of emphasis on my present thoughts about shifting away from the slow dime approach a bit.

I only listed 21 items.  I wasn’t really feeling Ebay mojo this week for some reason.  I am backed up with a bunch of stuff in my office and want to try to clear that by Wednesday.  The office is attached to the dining room and we are hosting a bit of family…  I hope when I put it away it’s all listed.

[Sharyn]

I listed nine items.

@VL – I was hoping that the loss was minimal, but a UHaul truck’s worth doesn’t sound good.

I hope everyone has a great turkey day!! Both family & sales!!

[Amatino]

Wow, what a week.

Julie, have fun with your relatives.

VT, sorry to hear about the eBay glitches. Perhaps they’re pushing for the use of the I.S. bar? It seems really odd that they’re returning weird results, but I’ve heard of other folks reporting they have searched for something and received results that don’t even contain the keywords of their search. I do wish eBay would stop tweaking!

Ah, Lacy, an entire U-Haul dumped  is going to be awful. So sorry my friend!

My listings this week were all on FBMP and Craigslist, none on eBay. I’ve moved across to local sales for items that I truly don’t want to fuss with eBay fees and shipping. I also took two large boxes of stuff to Goodwill. Getting rid of clutter and getting myself organized is definitely reflecting much higher on my priority list than eBay. Like Christine, I’ve misplaced my eBay mojo for the moment.

Spreadsheet updated and congrats to VT for a great win.

Wishing you all a fun week with friends and family.

[Amatino]

Wishing all the Trash Elves a happy, blessed, warm, and well-fed Thanksgiving.

[Julie B]

15 items for me – all photographed and listed in one day.  It’s amazing how quickly it is to list socks.

[ChristineR]

Only 6 for me.  Hoping for a good week this week.

[Amatino]

Only one for me this week, but at least I got one! And it wasn’t even on eBay, it was on FB. LOL.

[Sharyn]

I listed 13 items this week.

Malicious code was installed on my computer. My guard was down, but I got it to the Geek Squad right away. I’m in process of changing all my passwords using my laptop. Not sure how much listing I will do this week. Ugh.

[VintageTreasures]

25 new listings for me. I wasn’t sure I’d make my weekly listing goal, it really felt like work last week.

I’m still working on the two DP boxes I designated to clear in November, but I hope to make that goal before Friday Dec. 1st.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

[Vintage Lacy]

Zero listings again, but for good reasons this week….family was visiting and a great time was had by all.

[Amatino]

Sorry, ladies! I’m so easily distracted this days, it seems.

Sharyn, that sucks! I’m so sorry that you are experiencing that. I hope that it gets cleared up quickly and that you managed to get rid of everything bad.

We all seem to have had a fairly pleasant week, if not a busy one on eBay, (except for Sharyn!) I wish you all a great Holiday Season as we head into the final phase.

Spreadsheet updated. VT snagged the win.

Only 5 weeks left in this year’s listing challenge!

[Amatino]

🎶 On the first day of December, my true love gave to me… one giant goose egg! 🎵 😂

Yep, no listings for me this first Monday of the last month of the year!

And I had to cancel an order because I couldn’t find the item anywhere! Broke my heart. Especially because I noticed an issue a couple days before and started doing an inventory check of my entire Hard Goods category, one box at a time. I found multiple listings on eBay for stock I didn’t have. Some I’m sure I ended but one I know I sold a few weeks ago. I was one box short of the order that I had to cancel. If I’d had one more day, I would have already discovered it missing and ended the listing! *crying*

Anyway, on the positive side, I’ve been able to do a price reset for all my items to make them more in line with current selling trends and I’ll have a very organized shelf by the time I’m done. So… yay?

Wishing you all a great week!

[Sharyn]

I’m here with you, Amatino. I did not list anything last week.

I recovered quickly from my computer issue; however, I did not have much inventory that was ready to be photo’d and listed. I’m in the middle of washing some vintage clothing. I have a few items that just require a cleanup or quick work for photos and listing. I’ll have something for next week.

[ChristineR]

I only listed 12.  Have a bunch of photos to take this morning after shipping.

[VintageTreasures]

Only 16 items for me. I decided to take it easy in December and I’m not doing my DP box challenge this month or keeping up with my 25 listings per week quota either. Sales have finally picked up so it’s a bad time for me to decide not to list as much, but that’s what I’m doing regardless.

I am trying to list some DP Christmas items this month. I also went to the recently opened Goodwill Outlet bins located less than 20 minutes from my house. Big mistake! It was awesome. I got an entire IKEA bag of items for $16.33 including a bunch of vintage Christmas linens from Denmark. This is NOT going to help me reduce my DPs. Sigh.

Wishing everyone a great week!

 

[Julie B]

39 listings.

Future productivity may take a dive. A few days ago my cat Cookie started batting at my computer monitor so I put on a bird video for her to watch.  Now she’s obsessed and is constantly standing in front of the monitor.  She loves it.  I may need to get her, her own computer monitor.

[Vintage Lacy]

3 listings for me.

Julie that’s so cute about your cat!  Our cat loves the bird videos too, so we put a YouTube bird video on on of our TVs occasionally for him to watch.

Great haul VT!  We hadn’t been to our bins to get our fix since early October and we finally went last week…found some great vintage Christmas ornaments and a white cabinet that will be perfect for display.  The bins never disappoint!

Amatino, I hate when that happens!  I also have had to cancel an order recently to a “relisted by ebay” issue.  I wish there weren’t so many glitches in the ebay system…certainly makes it more challenging.  After the holidays we really need to go through and check our listings for these kind of errors.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead!

[Amatino]

Congrats to Julie for a well-deserved win! Spreadsheet updated.

Julie, my cat used to watch my monitor too. Then my hubby bought me a touch screen AIO Dell and every time the cat batted at the screen, it changed. I gave her a tablet with a program that is designed for cats instead. Each time she hit the fish, it swam away. Unfortunately I lost that cat, so I can’t remember the app I used, but I’m sure they have more of them.

Way to go on your Christmas items, ladies. I wish you all a wonderful week.

[ChristineR]

@Julie congrats!  I think you are one of the few on Mercari.  They just got 12 oz $5.99 shipping.  I went through all my listings and found some crazy shipping prices.  Some didn’t have weights. It was pretty easy to update but you need to go to the select carrier stage.  UPS smart post is an extra stop for me $7.99 over a pound but I went ahead and put it on.  I’ll probably clean out some of that stuff pretty soon

[Julie B]

ChristineR – thanks! I need to go thru my Mercari listings.  I’m sure I have several which will need the shipping changed.

[Julie B]

18 listings this week.

 

[Sharyn]

Zero again this week. I did some photographs, but none listed. Lots of other things going on. Year end is never a good time for focusing on eBay!

[ChristineR]

I got back on the horse and listed 57 items. Hoping for a good week this week as well.  I thought I got through every last little Christmas item, and then looked over and saw a few tablecloths left.  Feeling unmotivated to list those, but maybe I’ll grin and bear it today.

I have a lot of vintage fabric I’d like to get listed in January when people might be crafting more.  Also have a lot of contemporary linens to list.  Like 3 or 4 boxes waiting.

[VintageTreasures]

Zero listings for me. I just got back from a vacation in Arizona with my sister, we had a blast!

I’m not sure if I’ll continue to take December off from eBay or get back on the horse and list. Time will tell.

Wishing everyone a great week!

 

[Amatino]

Somebody left the barn door open and my horse ran away!

Zero for me, but go you, Christine! What a win for the week! I’m guessing Lacy is busy with year end stuff. She gets super slammed with orders this time of year.

Spreadsheet updated. Wishing you all a wonderful week. Nearly done for this year!

 

[Vintage Lacy]

Sorry for posting so late but it’s been quite a week so far. You are so right Amatino, slammed is an understatement.  40-60 orders a day, every day. It’s a wild ride.

Woooweee Christine, that’s quite the number!  Especially this time of year….congrats!

6 for me last week.

[ChristineR]

34 for me.  I’m trying to squeeze in some sales before the dead zone happens this week after shipping cutoff.  I keep finding more Christmas here and there that I forgot about.  I *think* I’m on my last bit today.   A big bag of vintage ornaments.

[Julie B]

39 listings.

Later today I’ll be shutting my store down for the holiday.  I’m a bit of an anxious person and I hate the frantic messages I start receiving from buyers as Christmas approaches.  All the last minute shoppers who pick the cheapest shipping option and are then irate when their item didn’t arrive at their doorstep across country within two days.  Or they want me to ship it express or next day air until they find out how much that costs.  So, for the last few years I just shut my store off a little early and enjoy the week.

 

[VintageTreasures]

19 for me, at least that’s what I kept track of, it may have been more.

I went for the easy listings and didn’t get my Christmas stuff listed. But as Julie mentions above I wouldn’t want people to purchase Christmas items and think their purchases would make it to them by Christmas anyway.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

[ChristineR]

@Julie I have usually shut my store down the few days before xmas as well but I decided to leave it open this time and deal with it.  A few years ago a buyer was able to purchase things and pick Fed Ex Ebay shipping.  Then I couldn’t buy and print the label.  I ended up honoring the sale and buying a very expensive label at the counter since it was some poor guy buying his wife a present.  I hope I never have that glitch again.

[ChristineR]

Of course half of my orders today were ground across country.  If it’s close to what they paid, I’m upgrading to priority, but some are $20 for two pound small packages it looks like…

[Sharyn]

I’m at 0 again.

Busy with life and part time job, but also had to help out my son this week. He hates writing, and he’s had to do several essays for his history class. I ended up spending most of Sunday helping him fix the one last essay he had to do. This is after I had him take two days off of work to get it done on his own. I hope that his college essay career is over now. 😂

[Amatino]

Good morning, all! I posted, but my post has done another disappearing act. Not sure what the glitch was this time. I think I forgot to use Firefox and my anti-tracking system glitches something fierce on Chrome.

Congrats to Julie on a great win. You really have done well this year.

I also usually close my store for the Christmas break. This year I decided not to, as my sales are so low anyway. However, I blew my car engine and now we only have one vehicle between the two of us, so I might close my store just so that I don’t have orders while Himself is out with the truck. Living rural is fantastic … most of the time! LOL

Wishing you all a great week.

[VintageTreasures]

Merry Christmas everyone!

Only 5 listings for me last week. It was my birthday last week so I mostly took the week off. I’m thinking about getting some listings up this week but so far I’m just thinking about it rather than doing it – LOL.

Wishing everyone a great holiday week!

[Sharyn]

I’m back on the board with 8 this week.

Not sure how the last week of the year is going to pan out, but we shall see.

[Vintage Lacy]

Sorry for not being around much the past couple of weeks.  It was a fun Christmas season but extra challenges this year made it even more crazy.

Please put me down for zero on the last two weeks, but I already have a few done for this week so I know I will at least have a number to post.  I have been thinking a lot about next year and I am going to approach listing a bit differently in 2024.  I tend to get caught up in little details and can be too OCD with the process, which slows me down and makes me not list the more challenging items.  I am going to list box by box in 2024.  Easy stuff, hard stuff, it ALL gets listed before I move on to the next box.

I’m inspired by y’all!

Here’s wishing for a happy, healthy and productive 2024 for everyone.

[VintageTreasures]

Oooh, VL that’s just what I needed to hear. I’d decided when I abandoned the two boxes I randomly picked to list in December that I’d take a break in December and list those two boxes during January 2024 instead. But as it’s gotten closer to January my resolve has faltered. But you’ve reinspired me to do it.

Fingers crossed we both do great on our self imposed challenges. I’ll be looking forward to hearing reports on your progress!

[Amatino]

Hello folks! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas day.

Sharyn would have won the week, but as she was last year’s winner, she gets an Honorable Mention. Instead the win goes to VT. Well done!

That sounds like a great plan, Lacy. Perhaps we should put it into the challenge for next year. One “mystery” box per month. Report back on fun stuff you found an listed, what-was-I-thinking stuff you donated, and great sales you made out of that box!

[ChristineR]

I listed 51 items.  I was thinking I was really progressing on my death piles by summer, then did too much shopping in the Fall.  In the new year I need to fix that.  On the upside I did finally list my parents’ china set before Thanksgiving in lots and have sold almost all of it.  There is more family stuff in the death piles to go.

[VintageTreasures]

Wow, winning the week with 5 items listed feels like I stole it, but I’ll take it.

Amatino: what a great idea! I’m hoping to list two DP boxes per month, but reporting back on the “mystery” box(es), what was in there, what got listed or donated, and what sold sounds like it would make the dreaded DP box listing a lot more fun (or at least more tolerable).

[ChristineR]

I should join you guys.  Most of my pikes are sorted by category but I have two boxes of random smalls – those are really deathly because they have a lot of small ransoms and would take a while to list unless lots make sense.  I also have probably 8 large bins of random family ceramics, metal items and I forgot what else on my gorilla rack unlisted. I’d be a little torn vs getting my linens up in January for nesting / white sale season though.  Since I tire easily of linens, perhaps I’ll go back and forth.  It would be awesome to finish the gorilla rack by mid-year.

[VintageTreasures]

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<div dir=”ltr”>Amatino wrote:</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>Christine, if you’d posted on Monday you would definitely have won.</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>Okay, all, gimme a little feedback here.</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>#1. Should I change the Post by Monday rule? Lord knows this year I’ve struggled to post on a Monday OR on a Tuesday. Some days sh*t just hits the fan. And Monday is a humdinger day to have to remember to log in and post numbers. I’m happy to change it. We can make it a rule that I post the numbers for the previous week on a Monday, and then you guys just post when you can during the week. So, for example, this Monday is January 1st, which is the last day of 2023. You post your numbers during the week and on Monday January 8th I will do the spreadsheet update for Monday January 1st. In other words, my update will be a week behind. It gives us all a little more flexibility, I think.</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>#2. The Mystery Box idea. I really, really like this idea and would like to add it to our challenge. I think it will also open up a little fun and interest. What items did you find in your box this week? What sold? What got tossed, or should it get tossed? The hive mind can weigh in with opinions on whether or not your vintage widget is a waste of time or you should try an auction.</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>Please let me know what you think of these things, so that I can plan accordingly.</div>

[VintageTreasures]

Oops, sorry it’s kind of a mess above. I did my best.

[Amatino]

Thanks VT! I really appreciate it. I’m not sure why SL is swallowing my posts.

To recap – please give me a Yes or No vote on each point.

#1. Change the Post by Monday rule? yes if you agree, no if you want to stay on Monday.

#2. Introduce a monthly Mystery Box? Yes if you like it, no if you just want to list stuff randomly.

It’s possible to make the Mystery Box an optional extra. So if enough folks like the idea for me to introduce it, but one month doesn’t work for you and you don’t participate, there’s no penalties or anything. It’s just an extra incentive to get through those Death Piles. And nobody’s going to police how big that box is either.

[ChristineR]

Yes yes

[Sharyn]

I’m fine with the proposed schedule.

I can see a mystery box challenge when I have one. You know I always try the challenges when I can 😊

So, yes on both, but I’m flexible.

[Vintage Lacy]

The proposed schedule sounds great to me. Takes a lot of the pressure off.

I just pulled 6 (!!!) death pile boxes from storage this afternoon.  I am ready and eager to start on them….although one is a humdinger. Stacks and stacks of vintage ephemera. Three or four are books.  I will start on those first.

Bring on 2024!

[ChristineR]

Ugh I have one box of ephemera and two boxes of flatware.  I find ephemera interesting but so many individual listings required.  Might be the last boxes I attack along with the random smalls boxes.  Ack!

I’m plotting for next year and still working out a strategy.  It makes sense to put up fabric and yarn soon plus the linens.  I’ll probably take breaks with some hard goods as I don’t like listing the linens.

[VintageTreasures]

The day to post our listings isn’t a problem for me, but I’m okay with changing it, so yes to #1.

I’ve done the mystery box challenge myself twice now and it was an excellent way to get myself to list items I’d have never listed otherwise so it’s a huge yes from me to #2.

Here are some suggestions on the mystery box challenge that might be helpful:

1. Before the challenge starts make an inventory list (mine is on Google Keep at Amatino’s suggestion) of the box contents. That way you’ll know how many items per day you’ll need to list from the box in order to finish the box in a month.

2. While writing the inventory list pull out items that need prep like cleaning or repair and start that task early on so you don’t end up with multiple items that need work at the end of the month. Store prep work items in a separate marked box so they don’t end up misplaced.

3. Comp the items before moving on to photographing them. Some may have been worth listing when you bought them but sometimes the comps have fallen since then. Put items not worth your time and effort into a bag marked donations.

4. As you list them cross the items off your list so you can gauge your progress. And add SOLD to the crossed off items that sell. I found this was motivating to keep going on the challenge.

[VintageTreasures]

It’s so great to hear listing ideas for 2024! It’s motivating me to get back to listing, thank goodness. I had zero listings as of Wednesday, and only managed one yesterday. I’m hoping for a good listing day today.

What I did previously on my personal mystery box challenge was number all my DP boxes, wrote all the numbers on pieces of paper and blindly pulled a box number to work on.

On my first box challenge a few years ago I was looking in all the boxes first and then choosing a box based on the contents. It took forever (I have a lot of DP boxes) and I ended up picking boxes based on how easy the contents were to list. So I didn’t end up listing anything I wouldn’t have listed eventually otherwise. Now I just force myself to list whatever is in the randomly chosen box. I’m not willing to list an item at all I donate it. It’s a great way to really clear a tough to list DP box.

[VintageTreasures]

This post disappeared due to the dreaded attempted edit – which deletes your entire post…

Vintage Lacy wrote:

My box of ephemera comes from a hoarder house years ago and has really interesting things in it, like 1940s calendars and very old catalogs, but it is challenging to list so I have put it off for a long time.

I have encountered many hoarder houses over the years, but this one was one for the records. The hoarder’s niece inherited the house and contents. It was a true two-story house, with boxes piled to the ceiling throughout and narrow pathways to the kitchen table, bathroom and bedroom bed. The niece hired an estate sale company who was so overwhelmed, they brought in a massive dumpster and started throwing in anything they didn’t think had high value. The niece stopped by to see the progress and discovered many items of value in the dumpster and immediately fired the estate sale company. Sadly, two dumpster loads had already been hauled off!

She hired another estate sale company who did a much better job. They held two different sales at the house, but there was still quite a bit left after both sales. I was offered the opportunity to buy the remaining contents of the house for ten cents on the dollar, for anything I wanted. The deal also included the job of packing up whatever I didn’t want into boxes for Salvation Army and providing a rough inventory of the donations.

Fortunately the hoarding didn’t include garbage and there was a wealth of interesting things. The woman had kept so many different things, like stacks of telephone books dating back the 1930 in the basement, and over 200 old tobacco tins. The garage had over a thousand books in it, but some were just old Reader’s Digest and the like. It was a massive job and I hired a friend to help me. She was a real trooper, although the mice in the basement freaked her out.

In the end, I took 3 and a half van loads, which I paid $200 for. We boxed up 242 donation boxes for Salvation Army. Almost all of it has been sold over the years, with a few remaining challenging boxes… and about a dozen of those tobacco tins!

[Vintage Lacy]

Thanks VT!  I really didn’t want to have to write the whole thing again!

Lesson learned. I only wanted to change a 0 to a o. Ugh.

[VintageTreasures]

No problem VL. I saw the change you wanted to make.

I left out a word in one of my last posts but I knew from past experience that editing disappears your post so I just left the mistake in.

[Amatino]

Wow, VT, those suggestions are Da Bomb! Love them! Thank you for sharing your progress. That’s probably the best SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) that anyone could put together for a Mystery Box. I’m definitely going to do that for mine.

Love your thrifting stories, Lacy. You have such fun with your sourcing.

Okay, then, I’m going to introduce the new Week Behind schedule going forward. So, you can post your listings for the week ending December 31 any day from Monday Jan 01 to Sunday Jan 07. At midnight on Sunday, it closes and on Monday Jan 08, I will post the numbers for the week ending Dec 31. For this reason, the new 2024 thread will only start on Monday Jan 08, so please wait for me to post the numbers and put up the new thread before posting numbers sold in 2024. It might take a couple weeks for us to get used to it, but we will.

The Mystery Box challenge will start in 2024 and will be optional. Also, please note that “box” is a synonym for “basket/hanging rail/bin/tote/that-pile-in-the-corner” as pleases you. For example, I have a pile of clothes that have been washed, ironed, photographed, and folded under my packing station. I’m could call that pile a “box” as they’re all together in one group. On the other side of the same space I have an untidy, haphazard collection of goods piled in a collection of boxes, baskets, and bowls, with some items just balanced semi-precariously on top. I could call that entire collection a “box” or split it up into each box/basket/bowl/cairn. You’re all adults. You decide what works for you as a “box” classification.

Man… I can’t believe I have to wait until next year to start! 😀

[VintageTreasures]

Creature of habit here, I’m posting my listing number for last week on the usual day. 22 for me.

After doing an inventory count of the items in the two mystery DP boxes I picked in November to work on this month I’ve decided to only work on one box in January. I would have had to list nearly three items per day five days a week to clear both boxes. From past experience I know that’s too much to expect from myself. These are items that didn’t get listed previously because they are complicated to list. So I’ll throw those two box numbers in a hat and pick one for this month.

Good luck to everyone participating in our new challenge and Happy New Year!!!

[Julie B]

Happy New Year!  I finished the year with 1 entire listing. 🙂

Death piles definitely weigh me down and I know I’m much less productive because of them.  I like the idea of listing out all of the contents of each box and working thru the list.  Maybe by seeing the items in a list form, it will help me work thru the box contents since I will have a visible list from which to mark off items.

I need to make some changes in 2024 because I’m not making enough money.  I’m not sure what I can do at this point, I’m my own worst enemy.  It’s all mental at this point.

[Vintage Lacy]

Happy New Year!  Ten listings for me.  I also worked through 3 DP boxes of books.  Donated around 6 that were too beat up to sell, researched the rest.  About 8-9 were list-worthy and will get done this week.  The rest of them were priced to go into my booths or to a show I am doing next month. The most interesting one was an 1869 Welsh book. Couldn’t even find comps on it, but will be taking to the show priced at $95. It would probably have more value if it wasn’t written in Welsh, but that’s a limited market.

I also started processing a DP box of craft supplies and bagged up a bunch of vintage millinery flowers to go into my booth and to Brookhaven. Will finish processing the rest of the box this week…it’s all sorted on my kitchen table and needs to be dealt with promptly.

[VintageTreasures]

Wow VL, good work on the DP boxes!!!

[VintageTreasures]

Julie: I think you should give the mystery box challenge a try! It was a huge help to me in getting DP unlisted items listed.

Seeing items from the DP box that I hadn’t yet listed (on my Google Keep DP box inventory list) made a big difference for me in pushing myself to list (or donate) items at the end of each month. I’d slack on listing those items during the month but then really push to clear each box when the month was nearly over.

It’s motivating to look back and see what I’ve sold from those boxes (that I never would have listed) as well.

[ChristineR]

I listed 70 items but to be fair this week that included many multiples and items where  I used stock photos.  So, I’ll remove myself from the running this week.

Good luck to everyone with the DP challenge and Happy New Year.  My whole family is sick so I’ve been waiting on people mostly.

@Julie I also have to make more money this year.  I hope to be more consistently listing so sales are not so boom and bust.

[Sharyn]

I listed two items by Christmas, and then I went to visit family for the rest of the year.

I like the DP box challenge, and I’m sure I can find one a month to list.

It is getting harder to make money on eBay which works against you if you are trying to make more. I am thankful for my part time job which is much more lucrative. I may get more hours this year. I’ll just pare back the reselling if I need more time.

I do have some plans for reselling that I will share once I get it all setup.

I hope to keep the job for several years, at least until my husband and I downsize our house.

Happy New Years, and good luck for a successful 2024!

[Amatino]

Happy New Year to everyone! May this year be a total turnaround on the past few, with an increase in sales, lots of great items to find with rave-worthy ROIs, and fun sourcing trips!

Nope, you listed ’em, you get to keep ’em! Well done on a great listing total, Christine! You won the last week of the year!

With a total of 22-1/2 wins in listing, plus 4 bonus points in the pop up challenge, Julie is the undisputed winner for 2023! Congratulations, Julie! Is your address still the same? Your prize is ready to be popped in the mail for you. If it has changed, would you email me the new one?

Seeing as everyone has posted already, I will go ahead and close this thread after Julie confirms her address.

Happy New Year everyone. Go out and conquer!

 

[Amatino]

For your goal setting information this year, here are your previous numbers. Where there’s a “-” it means you didn’t participate that year.

[VintageTreasures]

Congratulations Julie on a well deserved win!

I also wanted to ask about reporting our listing numbers. Back in the day I remember Amatino asking if we should all be posting the number of items listed or the number of new listings we did each week.

The consensus was that we would report the number of new listings we did each week. The reasoning was that if a listing was for identical items in multiple quantities (an example would be when I listed a box of identical vintage greeting cards to be sold individually) that was still just one listing. So that would count as one new listing, not 24 items listed. IMHO this is a more fair way to report as it levels the playing field for everyone.

I just wanted to make sure this is the way we’re still reporting?

[Amatino]

Yep, that’s still the rule.

My mistake if I read Christine’s post incorrectly. I went back and saw that she posted “items” not listings. I don’t mind if you use Sell Similar or stock photos, the idea is how many listings you create. So if you have less than 22 listings, Christine, then VT won the last week of the year. And VT wasn’t posting because she wanted the win. (I don’t think she realized she would have won.) She’s been with us for long enough that I can tell you she posted because she was letting me know I might have made a mistake. My butterfly brain does skim over stuff sometimes. I think Sharyn pointed out one of my mistakes this year too. Or two of them? Sharyn is usually the first to pick up on them, sharp as a whip! LOL. Anyway, I do sometimes read too fast or get distracted, so I gratefully receive any corrections when I make mistakes.

[ChristineR]

Sorry I’ve been posting items and I was MIA on Ebay and this thread for a while.  Anyway, I will make it listings going forward.  I do list variations as well but not often.  I do RA this time of year and in the late summer usually.  Most of the time it’s one offs.  I’m not really competitive at all but I like having to report in weekly.  Also I have more time since I joined the group because I retired. So feel free to just track my numbers for the records and leave me out of the competitions.  🙂  I’d be thrilled with that.

[Sharyn]

Why, thanks, Amatino! I try to be helpful.

I do have a follow on question. This might not be as applicable as it was a few years ago.

We all understand that multiple quantities on one listing only counts as one. So, when ChristineR goes a RA’ing and buys three of the same sheet or whatever, it counts as one listing. However, if she should use “variations”, she still has to take photos of each type of sheet and put that in the description. Within the listing, she can have a pull down menu where the buyer can chose a pillow case, flat sheet, fitted sheet, and maybe different sizes of each. Not saying that she uses variations, but I’m using this as an example.

Examples of where I’ve used this is for my neighbor whose wife would buy the same shirt but in different sizes or colors with plans to ship back whatever she didn’t want. Those plans never materialized, so I made a variations listing where the buyer could pick the size and color they wanted.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186164936651

I’m choosing not to use this type of listing as much for a few reasons; first because all the quantities get reset with sell similar and second because I’m not worried about hitting my upper level of included listings any more. Since eBay changed the quantity of listings that come with my basic subscription and I have that part time job, I don’t have a great need to use variations.

In the above listing, a buyer returned the camel jacket for fit. It is still NWT, but it has been removed from its plastic. I need to retake photos. I’ll probably relist that jacket as a separate item.

I think that variations are a pain to create, and we should count each variation as a listing. So, in my example I came up with, Christine could list three pillow cases, two flat sheets, and four fitted, but that would count as three.

Now that I’ve spent upmteen paragraphs trying to explain myself, maybe this is too complicated and you should just ignore this whole post. The only way I think I might use this in the future is if I get a group of flatware (spoons, for example), and I want to sell them in sets of three or four. I do have to take a photo of three and then four spoons, but I’m OK saying that is one listing.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186193562128

[Julie B]

Thank you everyone for all of the motivation over 2023. It really does help me some weeks to know that I’ll be posting my numbers.

My address is the same but Amatino you really don’t need to send me anything! You are too kind.

Here’s to a productive, healthy, profitable, fun, happy 2024 for us all!

 

[Sharyn]

And, congratulations Julie! So focused on getting my point out that I did not say anything about your win. Definitely a success on your way to bigger and better; getting to where you want to be!!

[VintageTreasures]

Sharyn: I totally agree with you on variations. They are a pain to create and each variation should count as a listing since photographs have to be taken of each different item. I was only questioning identical items in one non-variation listing with multiple quantities.

Who’s in for the January mystery box challenge? I’ve not listed anything from my box (box #6) yet but I did comp a few items and already put 4 items in my donations bag.

It’s kind of shocking to see what I thought would be worth putting the effort in to sell years ago. I think I used to take anything that was offered super cheap and then when it wasn’t worth selling I chucked it into a DP box. This challenge is a great way to reduce my DPs even if it just causes me to finally donate all my worthless items. Good luck to everyone who’s in!

[Amatino]

@Julie. Wins deserve to be celebrated. It’s not a big prize, and it’s all made up ready for you. I’ll get it out with my orders today.

@Sharyn. You have a very valid point and, as I have wrestled with variations exactly as you describe and hate them with a passion because they’re so much work, I agree with you. This is where self-policing comes into play. If you work like a dog to create one listing with 3 variations and in your mind, that’s 3 listings, I’ll take it. If, using your example above, it’s exactly the same shirt, just with a different size and you had one little button to press for the variation and you feel that you can’t in good faith claim more than one listing, I’ll take it. If you create 7 of these easy variations, decide that it’s more work than would warrant one listing, but not enough to warrant 7, and you give me 4, I’ll take it. Thing is, we all work on trust. I don’t go to your store every week and count up your listings to ensure  you’re actually posting what you say you are. And it would utterly ruin our little group if someone joined and did that just to win. But variations are their own particular little animal and I’m 100% behind anyone who wants to claim that as more than one listing!

[Amatino]

Changes to the rules, as discussed, are now updated in the rules page. A link to the page is at the top of the new thread.

THIS THREAD IS CLOSED. NO FURTHER POSTS ON THIS THREAD.

Please go to the new thread for 2024.

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