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After a slow start to February, my eBay sales got back into a nice groove last week, with 24 items sold for about $950 gross and $650 net.
Probably the most promising sales overall were a handful of my card lots organized by team where it was a repeat buyer back for their third or fourth purchase, a few of them buying multiple teams in one order. I received some really nice feedback on these lots over the last week or two.
<span data-testid=”fdbk-comment-18″ aria-label=”Love the lots this seller puts together. Repeat customer and will for sure be back. Great value for eclectic and unique cards. Cards arrived quickly, as described, and very well packed. Can’t recommend this seller enough. “>Love the lots this seller puts together. Repeat customer and will for sure be back. Great value for eclectic and unique cards. Cards arrived quickly, as described, and very well packed. Can’t recommend this seller enough. </span>
<span data-testid=”fdbk-comment-11” aria-label=”2nd time buying and both times been amazing. Will definitely continue to buy from here. Too notch for sure. “>2nd time buying and both times been amazing. Will definitely continue to buy from here. Too notch for sure. </span>
<span data-testid=”fdbk-comment-7″ aria-label=”These cards are AMAZING! Listen, everyone, this seller is a badass! The attention to detail to add past and present players to each team set is awesome. Most cards are numbered and in perfect condition along with an auto in most sets. Can’t wait to buy from you again!”>These cards are AMAZING! Listen, everyone, this seller is a badass! The attention to detail to add past and present players to each team set is awesome. Most cards are numbered and in perfect condition along with an auto in most sets. Can’t wait to buy from you again!</span>
The little dopamine hit from the long feedback comments is nice, but the repeat purchases are even better. Not just for my bank account but my confidence. I I am shifting towards a model of selling trading card singles through my consignment port and focusing my eBay store much more on these curated modern card lots. I love making them, it scratches a creative muscle for me as well as a business one, and I’ve pretty much figured out the right balance of cards where the lots are both profitable and attractive to my ideal buyer. I’m starting to structure my scavenging time, energy, inventory, you name it a little bit differently, and I love working through these process changes and seeing what sticks.
I did sell a couple items outside of card lots and card singles this week, both in the sports memorabilia world which is different from cards in many ways and similar in others. The fun sale was this game-used warm-up puck from a 2019 game between the Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators. This actually sold to a former NHL player. Well, I don’t know that it was this player for sure, but they have a very unique name which is the same as a former player. Surprisingly, the puck was not from a game that this player played in or even a team they played for. It must be for a fellow player who’s a friend or their coach, or who knows maybe it’s just a game they went to with their kid like a regular fan. Also surprising? My former player buyer didn’t purchase the item until I sent them a 20% off offer. Kind of funny they’d wait for a discount on a $30 item with their net worth estimated at a few million!
This signed 16×20 photo of former Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters doesn’t come with a fun story, but it did net me almost twice the profit of the puck. I bought a bundle of 17×21 envelopes a few weeks ago specifically to ship photos this size, and now I need to buy some toploaders (hard cases) since I have a few photos in my death piles which need a hard sleeve. But, scavenger at heart, I am going to wait until Ultra Pro (one of the big topload manufacturers) runs a decent sale before I stock up.
What did you sell this week?
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@craig-rex – Customer feedback definitely keeps me going as well!! I’ve had a few recently on my packing of breakable items which is something I definitely focus on.
I paid $6 for two paintings this past summer. They both were basement kept and in dirty condition. They cleaned up nicely, although I still have to repair one. This other one ended up being a painter known for horse racing paintings. The buyer was a bit of a negotiator, but I was willing to bring the price down to $125.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18670516843
Last year, I bought a set of Rorstrand cups and saucers. I found that the yellow ones were priced much higher than the rest. I sold one yellow cup and saucer for $140, and I have two more still listed. I also sold a set of two blue cups and saucers for $80.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186557566215
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186777378388
At some point in the late 1980s/early 90s, I decided to buy my own ski equipment. It was quite an expense at the time, but it saved me in the long run compared to renting. However, it has been about a decade since I’ve skied, and I’m not sure I’d be excited with downhill now that I’m getting up there in age. In any case, the equipment these days is quite different, and I think I rented the last time I went. I’m pretty thrilled that I’ve cleared out this set of boots for $35. The rest of the skis are going into the auction – I just want them out of the house.
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Sharyn, I do think going the extra mile for buyers pays off, whether that’s ridiculously good packaging, little freebies, quality description, whatever your little extra is. Don’t expect it will get us a repeat customer for life or even get a feedback comment from most buyers. But I think a small subset of eBay users are like us and intentionally seek out sellers who provide good customer service. That’s become rare now that so much digital interaction is automated or scripted, and especially now that reselling has become more ubiquitous and some flippers are cynical about buyers or downright hostile. And that’s why I still hang out here and not somewhere like the flipping subreddit!
I’m not a huge horse racing person because I’m an animal lover, but I can appreciate that oil painting. The artist’s style of brushstroke really works for translating horse race scenes to the canvas. Did you know the artist at all before you bought this painting? Or was it a gut feeling, or you just did your research? And how much elbow grease did you have to put into cleaning? Even if that took some time, $6 for two paintings is really a steal!
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a pretty decent week for me with 6 sales.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/197011794579
this is a Radio Controlled Transmitter. I got this in a good sized lot of r/c aircraft parts and manuals from an estate sale. Sold this one for $12.25https://www.ebay.com/itm/196999044562
these are some new in the package r/c aircraft wheels and tires. Sold for $18.50. I paid $50 for the entire lot of manuals and parts and at this point I believe I’m almost at the break even.https://www.ebay.com/itm/196762056708
this is another desk top model airplane from the big FB Marketplace purchase from a few months back. Sold this one for $45.00. Believe my average cost per plane at this point is around $5.https://www.ebay.com/itm/196900738165
sold yet another 1960’s college class schedule booklet from North Texas State University which is now the University of North Texas. Sold for $9.65. I’ve done quite well with these. This came from an online estate sale auction where I bought the entire contents of a large closet full of books. Believe I paid about three dollars for everything. Filled up the back of my Suburban, ended up throwing aaway about a third of it. I’ve probably made a few hundred over the past few years and still have more up for sale. -
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335658544439 Fisherman style is in for spring. I’m happy to see this sell, as it has been up for probably a year +. Good design. Paid $25 RA on clearance.
This was also up a long time and finally sold. Not my usual item. https://www.ebay.com/itm/235819197821 (Paid 3.99 at GW)
A few items I got an an estate sale sold super quickly, which is good because I paid more than I usually do. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335814426561 (paid $8) https://www.ebay.com/itm/335814420521 (paid $30)
So things are either selling super fast or have been listed a looong time. I guess maybe my recent sell similar did pay off a little more than I thought even though I didn’t get to make a lot of offers.
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