Home › Forums › Podcast Comments › Scavenger Life Episode 328: Chaos vs Stress, There is a difference in life and business
Tagged: best offers, watchers
- This topic has 95 replies, 29 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 10 months ago by
Jay.
-
AuthorPosts
-
-
09/24/2017 at 9:04 am #23163
This week we talk about the difference between dealing with stress and living a chaotic life. If you run your own business, stress happens. Good news
[See the full post at: Scavenger Life Episode 328: Chaos vs Stress, There is a difference in life and business] -
09/24/2017 at 3:45 pm #23167
Wow, this seems early! 🙂 Looking forward to listening to the podcast soon. Thanks!
September 17th (store opened from vacation on the 18th) – Sep 23rd 2017
Total items in store: Etsy 461 // Ebay 432 (Items not crossposted I list different types of things on Etsy and Ebay)
Items Sold: Etsy 10 // Ebay 16
Cost of items Sold: Etsy $21.38 // Ebay $44.36
Total Sales: Etsy $175.35 // Ebay $376.84
Highest Price Sold: Unopened Dimensions Christmas Stocking Kit $100
Average Price Sold: $21.24
Returns: 0
Number of items listed this week: 49 (listed at $883)Glad to be back from vacation. Excited to get things listed and selling again! My stock items have dropped off – need to go back in and renew / relist some things.
Also, I bought 11 unopened / unused Christmas cross stitch kits at a garage sale a few weeks ago for a dollar apiece and just got them listed. So far 3 have sold for $35, $60 and $100! So excited!!
-
09/24/2017 at 6:20 pm #23170
Did you say that all watermarks have to be removed by November??? I think I have a watermark on every photo in my store. Ebay decided some time ago to allow watermarks if the met a certain criteria, which they do. Now they changed their mind again? How the heck am I supposed to remove the watermarks without replacing every photo? This may be too much for me to even consider.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
Linda Shields.
-
09/24/2017 at 8:39 pm #23174
Linda, From the Update:
Sellers who continue to include watermarks in images will have their listings removed from search if not corrected by March 1, 2018.
-
09/25/2017 at 1:09 am #23186
Here’s the direct info: http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2017-fall/policy-updates.html
-
09/25/2017 at 1:18 am #23187
ok this is the language in the seller update that Jay linked to:
“Watermarks are no longer permitted on images uploaded with eBay listings. We will monitor images for watermarks and notify you when we identify images that do not comply with our updated image policy.
Sellers who continue to include watermarks in images will have their listings removed from search if not corrected by March 1, 2018.”
so it sounds to me like they’ll notify you of images they see with a Watermark. so you might not get any notification at all, but you should start to have clean images now, so your new listings don’t have them. there is a strong argument for a seller like Linda who says ‘ok none of my new listings since the fall have watermarks’. i think by them saying they’ll block images from search is just a way to strongly enforce the new rule, hopefully they won’t totally block stuff, just use it as a threat for future watermarkers?
-
09/25/2017 at 9:02 am #23198
Ryanne, Linda
ebay had a webcast on the New Updates on their ebay for business Facebook page. I asked whether they would consider extending the time period for compliance for sellers with thousands of watermarked photos.I did not get a yes or no answer, but was told to contact the ebay for business Facebook team directly through PM on Facebook. Now, the thing is, I was asking for other sellers….me? I’ve got a handful of very old photos with watermarks that will need to be changed, but I dropped watermarks years ago, figuring sooner or later eBay would prohibit them. So I have not contacted the ebay Facebook team. But for anyone with thousands of watermarked photos, I’d suggest contacting them. It couldn’t burt, it might help. -
09/25/2017 at 11:08 am #23204
Here is an interesting twist. Being an artist and also knowing of others, I would prefer to have a watermark somewhere on my own work. With today’s digital technology anybody can copy an image then have a Giclee’ printed out of the same image. People are also known to copy images, enlarge them way up, then crop out a center section and then reproduce that as an original print and sell that Giclee [digital print] as their own “abstract art” print.
The watermark doesn’t stop this of course because with photoshop almost any good artist can obliterate pixel by pixel and embedded image but it certainly creates somewhat of a barrier of protection. Original artwork is copyrighted as soon as the original artist creates it and when sold does not give the new owner any right to reproduce that image in any way at all, even in a catalog.
There is so little protection in the way of copyright infringement for artists and especially on Ebay. There are tons of violations all over Ebay and it has been written about tons of times. Ebay does nothing to prevent this type of infringement and copyright violation and this is just another step in stripping away that right of artists to protect their work.
Here is something to think about, has anyone here on SL ever written to an artist or their estate and asked for permission to photograph their art work because you want to resell it. Of course not, and most artist can’t even be found or reached even if you did want to contact them, but according to copyright law, you have no legal right to make or hold that digital image.
Thought I would just share maybe another side of the coin that some don’t think about.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
MDC Galleries & Fine Art.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
09/25/2017 at 12:03 pm #23210
Just heard some more info on this on the eBay Radio podcast from last Thursday. Apparently, one of the major reasons for removing watermarks is that watermarked photos will not show in Google Shopping. So your images with watermarks will not be shown in the largest non-marketplace search engine. By making these watermarks be removed, it expands exposure for sellers.
-
09/26/2017 at 5:38 am #23259
JAy and Ryanne, I just typed a long post, then corrected a typo and it disappeared. Can you fish it out of the trash bin? 😊
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
Linda Shields.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
09/26/2017 at 7:13 am #23263
Here it is: (Congrats on finding a helper)
Linda Shields wrote:
Thanks to all of you for your help. I will contact ebay and see what they say, but I don’t expect them to do kuch to help me out. For some reason some of my pics don’t have watermarks, but the majority do. After some thought I discovered that I can revise my listings and crop out the marks on many of them, however time consuming. The remaining ones I will recategorize in my store as “Clearance” and start discounting the prices. What a huge pain, but that’s about all I can think of. It will at least force me to check over all 1000K+ listings. However the time I spend doing that will hurt my listing time.
Here’s the good news: I found an employee! A friend told me that her part time caretaking job had ended and she was hoping to find something else to do. When I asked if she would like to try being my assistant she agreed to give it a try. She came and took photos for a few hours last week and did a great job. She isn’t able to work a lot yet, as she is moving and is also babysitting grandchildren part time, but I know she will work out perfectly. She is mature, smart, dependable, responsible, and very pleasant to work with. 😊 Hopefully she will eventually become as helpful as Jay and Ryanne’s helper. I would love for her to be able to just take things home with her and list at her convenience. My husband is going to fix her up with her own laptop to work on (an old one of his.)
-
-
-
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
09/24/2017 at 8:15 pm #23172
Can’t wait to listen to the show in the morning. I thought last week’s convo (on the show & on the boards) was super interesting how challenges, changes, problems, stress affect people differently.
Week September 17-23, 2017
Total Items in Store: 94715
Items Sold: 20 (7 Amazon)
Cost of Items Sold: $88 (13.8% of sales)
Total Sales: $639.87 (not included items on consignment)
Highest Price Sold: $99.99 (1977 Star Wars John Williams Record with posters)
Average Price Sold: $31.99
Returns: 1 (started, but hasn’t been shipped yet)
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $316
Number of items listed this week: 57
Promoted listings test: 6 sales, $108.99 (17% of total sales), $4.78 fees (4.4% of sales)Steady week for me, good pace, pleased overall. Total above don’t include a few consignment items I sold for family/friends. I mentioned the pieces from my aunt that were art pieces from my uncle. Almost immediately I got several watchers and some offers, ended up selling the pairs of cufflinks for $100 each to a professor at the University of Kansas. He asked if I had more than what was listed of my great uncle’s work – I don’t, but have reached out to some family members that do. Including my mom’s brother who has to large wall hangings that could fetch $5-$10k each. He was already thinking of downsizing last time I saw him in the summer, so he’s deciding if he’ll let them go.
Picked up a huge lot of records this weekend. I got the whole lot (~200) for $250. About 60 were worth listing separately, which I did and then listed the rest on CL as a lot for $100. Sold almost immediately, plus the guy asked if I had more (which obviously I have a good 350 records in my store). He’s going to get back to me, but he said he wanted a good 45 out of my store too totaling a combined $1800… we’re working on price right now, but could be a big story for me in next week’s post.
-
09/24/2017 at 9:14 pm #23175
Brian –
I think that there might be an extra number in your “total items in store”.
BTW, I owned that Star Wars double album once upon a time, but I don’t think mine had those posters.
-
09/24/2017 at 9:17 pm #23176
Ha, good catch… actually 2 extra numbers. Should be “947”.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
Brian Treasures from Grandmas.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
-
-
09/24/2017 at 10:31 pm #23182
Week of Sept 17 – 23
* Total Items in Store: 1069
* Items Sold: 17
* Cost of Items Sold: $15.83 + $12.30 Commission
* Total Sales: $332.66
* Highest Price Sold: $27 lot of 11 Christmas Salt & Pepper sets
* Average Price Sold: $19.57
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $32.50
* Number of items listed this week: 48I made a stupid mistake this week. I was running late to meet a friend for lunch on Wed, so I decided to go to the post office afterwards. I spaced out and forgot. It wouldn’t have been a big deal except that Thurs was the Jewish New Year, and I didn’t ship anything. Friday was also part of the holiday, but I decided to ship that day. I brought my new packages to the car and found the old ones still sitting there in the trunk. I had been wondering why I wasn’t seeing updated tracking; I should have realized. I had 5 packages shipped late, but at least one will still be within the shipping window. One got to its destination very quickly, so maybe it is still within the window for receiving the package. The rest might be late and may ding my rating. I won’t lose my TRS over this, but I’m just pissed off at myself. I’m one of those people who will walk into another room to get something, but forget what it was once I get there. I write lists or notes to myself and set alarms on my cell phone to remind me of appointments. Unfortunately, I didn’t do any of those things on Wed.
Anyway, the week was decent, but sales dried up on the weekend for whatever reason.
-
09/25/2017 at 1:58 am #23188
Thank you for the podcast Jay & Ryanne. Happy travels. It made me so happy to see that the podcast was already up today and so early. I think I know what you mean about chaotic lives. I don’t think I’ve been a person that has had a necessarily chaotic life, but I’ve had to step away from some relationships with people that seem to be in that state. At a certain point, you see that it’s probably not going to change (unless like you mentioned, the person is self-motivated, and goes to therapy or something), and there’s nothing an outside person can really do about it. And it is what Ryanne said, at some point, it is about deciding how you’re going to be an adult.
On a lesser scale, I sometimes find myself defaulting in some negative patterns or stressing out in this current life, but then really have to catch myself and remember how I would have killed for this life about a year ago, when I was so unhappy at my last job. Regular reflection is key.
Sept 17 – Sept 23, 2017
Total Items in Store: 338
Items Sold: 15
Cost of Items Sold: approx. $15
Total Sales: $366.93 (excluding shipping costs)
Highest Price Sold: $80 (Dale of Norway Cardigan)
Average Price Sold: $24.46
Returns: 0
International Sales: 1 (Elie Tahari Cardigan)
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $45.33
Number of items listed this week: 5 (yikes!)Not bad for a week of barely listing. I think home and homeschooling schedule felt wonky this week, trying to figure out a consistent schedule for us, and what we’re doing when. I can work better when home isn’t chaotic and messy, so needed to take care of that. Getting more confident about pricing. Because of this, getting more decent offers, can run sales without the price dipping lower than I’m comfortable with and average sale price is getting better. I’m trying a new approach with listing. I’m scheduling out listings ahead of time & keeping track on a calendar, so everyday at least some new listings are going up. It’s a more positive frame of mind for me to work ahead and nice to cover a day or weekend that I want to free up. I’m scheduling it, but manually making it go live to avoid the scheduling fees. This shift feels better, working and looking ahead rather than constantly feeling behind.
It was a good day at the bins on Friday, was able to find more than I have been, about 45 vs. the 25 average lately of strong items. A good friend wanted to come along, so it was fun to have her there and show her that world. Great personal finds from the bins was a near perfect condition unicorn book for my daughter w/ the gift receipt still inside and cute wedges for one of my stepdaughters.
Other non eBay related week high points included helping at an urban garden w/ my daughter (this has been a good regular thing in our schedule) & my daughter starting jiu jitsu at a great dojo that emphasizes self-confidence and anti-bullying. The kids verbally and physically stand up to the instructors. The instructors pretend to bully them by calling them things like “watermelon face”, “banana head”, etc. The kids look at them seriously and say things like “Never call me that again”. Hilarious, and I’m glad she’s getting this practice.
-
09/25/2017 at 8:22 am #23193
(I think your post might have been deleted? if so, here it is)
T-Satt wrote:
Week of 9/10-9/16
Total Items in Store: 1,768
Number of Items Listed: 86
Number of Items Sold: 66
Weekly STR: 16%
Total Product Sales: $1,712.14
Cost of Items Sold: $324.29
Gross Profit for Week: $1,227.55
Highest Item Sold: $75 – Vintage Footjoy Black & White Golf Shoes
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Veronica wins the week and Veronica leads for the year 22-15.We had a great time at the Junk Jaunt in Nebraska, but came away with a bit less than usual. We ran into too many places that were either asking way too much for their items, or items that were just not resellable. Still works out to have a business trip where we get to visit our son as well, so a definite plus on the taxes.
I haven’t seen anything else on the eBay site regarding the Concierge Service, just what we heard at eBay Open, and what they have been discussing on eBay Radio. We received a message that we were enrolled, and it has been smooth since then. Below is what is in the message we received:
Learn more about eBay Concierge
What is eBay Concierge?
eBay Concierge offers an enhanced level of service to selected customers, and looks to remove friction and barriers for high value and high frequency customers.What are the key benefits?
We review the services on a regular basis but the areas that we focus on are:
–Direct access to a dedicated team of experts with minimal wait times and a choice of contact options
–Support from top team members empowered to take responsibility for issues and concerns
–Tailored support on buying or selling issuesWho is the program open to?
The program is currently open to selected customers only. Criteria for selection include the value and volume of business with eBay. Membership of the program is optional. Customers who choose to opt out will continue to be supported by our standard customer service team.Membership of the program may also be reviewed by the business from time to time to ensure we continue to offer the service to customers who can benefit the most.
Once a member, always a member?
The program aims to support high value customers, so it’s possible we’ll review membership of the program in the future. This ensures we can focus the services of our expert teams to those who’ll benefit most. Everyone currently in the program will have access to the Concierge team at least until the end of 2017.How do free returns for buyers work?
Concierge members who use the eBay returns process will have shipping costs refunded back to their account. This applies to the first five returns per quarter. Buyers will need to print the return label through My eBay and we’ll automatically credit the shipping cost.How is eBay Concierge different from eBay Valet?
The eBay Valet service is available to all US sellers to help them price, list, and sell items. eBay Concierge is a program that’s initially available only to select sellers and buyers.What’s the difference between Concierge and an Anchor Store subscription or Managed Account service?
The eBay Concierge program gives us an opportunity to evaluate a variety of enhanced services with select sellers and buyers. Anchor Store subscribers, Managed Account sellers, or other seller programs will have services specifically designed to support their business requirements on eBay.-
09/25/2017 at 8:27 am #23195
Thanks Jay! I saw that, so I just reposted….
-
09/25/2017 at 8:27 am #23196
This is great info on the Concierge Service. But the wording isn’t very clear as to the difference between Concierge, Anchor, etc. And how do you get into it? I guess its just good their trying new things.
-
09/25/2017 at 8:59 am #23197
We only were enrolled because we went to eBay Open. The plan is that eventually the Concierge Service will replace the current Customer Service reps. Basically, they are just rolling out an upgrade to Customer Service.
-
09/25/2017 at 9:03 am #23199
Ah, now that’s a big statement that Concierge Service will replace all Customer Service. The eBay announcement you posted didn’t take that leap, but I hope you’re right! Just make on Customer Service be fast, effective, and empowered.
-
09/25/2017 at 11:50 am #23207
Amen. That is the overall plan, to up their game on the Customer Service front.
-
-
-
-
-
09/25/2017 at 8:25 am #23194
Week of 9/17-9/23
Total Items in Store: 1,768
Number of Items Listed: 86
Number of Items Sold: 66
Weekly STR: 16%
Total Product Sales: $1,712.14
Cost of Items Sold: $324.29
Gross Profit for Week: $1,227.55
Highest Item Sold: $75 – Vintage Footjoy Black & White Golf Shoes
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Veronica wins the week and Veronica leads for the year 22-15.We had a great time at the Junk Jaunt in Nebraska, but came away with a bit less than usual. We ran into too many places that were either asking way too much for their items, or items that were just not resellable. Still works out to have a business trip where we get to visit our son as well, so a definite plus on the taxes.
I couldn’t find a link on eBay about the Concierge Service, just what we heard at eBay Open and what they have discussed on eBay Radio. Below is the information that we received in our message from eBay when they told us we were enrolled.
What is eBay Concierge?
eBay Concierge offers an enhanced level of service to selected customers, and looks to remove friction and barriers for high value and high frequency customers.What are the key benefits?
We review the services on a regular basis but the areas that we focus on are:
–Direct access to a dedicated team of experts with minimal wait times and a choice of contact options
–Support from top team members empowered to take responsibility for issues and concerns
–Tailored support on buying or selling issuesWho is the program open to?
The program is currently open to selected customers only. Criteria for selection include the value and volume of business with eBay. Membership of the program is optional. Customers who choose to opt out will continue to be supported by our standard customer service team.
Membership of the program may also be reviewed by the business from time to time to ensure we continue to offer the service to customers who can benefit the most.Once a member, always a member?
The program aims to support high value customers, so it’s possible we’ll review membership of the program in the future. This ensures we can focus the services of our expert teams to those who’ll benefit most. Everyone currently in the program will have access to the Concierge team at least until the end of 2017.How do free returns for buyers work?
Concierge members who use the eBay returns process will have shipping costs refunded back to their account. This applies to the first five returns per quarter. Buyers will need to print the return label through My eBay and we’ll automatically credit the shipping cost.How is eBay Concierge different from eBay Valet?
The eBay Valet service is available to all US sellers to help them price, list, and sell items. eBay Concierge is a program that’s initially available only to select sellers and buyers.What’s the difference between Concierge and an Anchor Store subscription or Managed Account service?
The eBay Concierge program gives us an opportunity to evaluate a variety of enhanced services with select sellers and buyers. Anchor Store subscribers, Managed Account sellers, or other seller programs will have services specifically designed to support their business requirements on eBay. -
09/25/2017 at 9:07 am #23200
Good sales this week! I love it when I have quantity that I’m expecting to gradually sell, and one buyer just buys it all.
Sales: CAD$1160, 6 items
COGS: $124
Gross profit: $863
Expenditures (incl. new inventory): $31
Net profit: $832, 7 hrs, $119/hr
Listed: 9 items, at least $240
Notable sales: a few weeks ago I bought a bunch of low pressure sodium lightbulbs for about $2 each – total of maybe 30 bulbs. This week I sold 22 of them at $40 each, for a total of $880 (free shipping, so my profit will be about $650). I am happy because I had second thoughts at dropping $60 on those things, but I’m glad I did and I still have 10 more to sell!Most of my other sales were clearing out old junk for more or less breakeven. But I did also flip a toner cartridge for $5–>$166.
Not much scavenging this week. The 9-to-5 has been crazy lately.
-
09/25/2017 at 9:27 am #23201
A little followup on the lightbulbs: similar such buys in the past have not turned out well for me. I think the key difference is, for a bulk buy, it EITHER has to be a high-demand, fast-moving thing OR your profit margin has to be fantastic. (Ideally both of course, but that rarely happens.) In this case the profit margin was great (I just got lucky that it sold so fast, IMO).
If you’re only doubling up AND the item is slow, it sucks, because eventually you get desperate to move the item, and there’s time for other sellers to come and undercut your price (and not so much room to move before you lose profitability).
So for the future, my test will be that if I *think* I can bulk sell for say $50/item, $20 or even $10/item should still be acceptable.
-
09/25/2017 at 12:03 pm #23209
Regarding the bookseller who requested a “tip” — I’ve got one. “Don’t run auctions without a reserve!” What chutzpah. But I’ve had a few bad book buying experiences recently:
A few months back, I tried to purchase a book from an Amazon seller; he canceled the order because he said his pricing software had inadvertently set the price too low. When I expressed disappointment (in simple, inoffensive terms) he became agitated and accused me of trying to profit from his “honest mistake.” He said I “should have known” that because his item was $30 less than the next highest priced similar item that there must have been an error, and I was trying to exploit it. (As if we’re not living in a world of 1-cent books.) Cancelling sales and accusing your buyers of dishonesty: really bad seller behavior. Ironically, I eventually found the book as a free PDF download and nobody made any money from it.
At a bricks-and-mortar used bookstore we visited over the weekend, the owner refused to honor the $2 price written inside the front cover of a book my daughter wanted to buy and instead took the book away, engaged in some sort of calculation in a back room for literally 10 minutes while we stood there, and eventually came back out and told her the price was $7.50. We paid it, but that $5.50 extra might have cost her all of our future business. The whole thing was so weird; in my opinion she should have lumped it and just accepted the $2 marked price as the cost of doing business and having “improperly priced” books out on the floor. When we were leaving, she said that when we were done with the book she would happily buy it back for $1.
This past week went fine, with about $640 in sales on about $25 in items. I sold a fancy set of fireplace tools, some paper lanterns, and a sculpture. My goal of selling fewer things at higher price points while I work at my 30-hour-a-week job looks good on paper this week. I have about 40 minutes between getting out of work and my kids’ dismissal from school, and I’m using that time to hit my favorite local thrift (only about 6 minutes from home.) So far these tiny surgical strikes at the end of each day are working out pretty well and I’ve found some great pieces.
I live in ADHD-style chaos, but not (for the most part) emotional chaos. And listening to Scavenger Life has definitely increased my serenity around dealing with the travails of online selling. I used to get sucked into drama and get upset about various things out of my control. Now, it’s much easier to be detached and just consider certain losses the cost of doing business.
Kate/Habnab
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
Habnab.
-
09/25/2017 at 12:10 pm #23213
Congrats on the new job going well. Sounds like it’s helping you focus. Change is good.
I’ve had guys on Craigslist try to renegotiate the price of an item when I come to pick it up. This is why I always put cash in the hand as soon as I meet them and immediately start loading up.
I bought a truckload of heartwood pine flooring from a guy who didnt realize how much he had until I overloaded my truck with it. He was just cleaning out his backyard of junk. When he asked me for more money, I just shook his hand and said thanks.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
09/25/2017 at 1:36 pm #23226
Sept 16-22 2017
• Total Items in Store: 852
• Items Sold: 18 Total (16 eBay / 1 Truegether / 1 FB Marketplace)
• International 2 via GSP
• Total Sales $895 ($808 eBay / $57 Truegether / $30 FB Marketplace)
• Highest Price $130 tie between Z-Coil boots, Coleman lantern
• Average Price Sold: $50
• Returns: 1 GE record player, damaged.
• Cost of Items Sold: $60
• Cost of items purchased this week $80The GE Wildcat record player was returned for not functioning properly.
When I received it I took it apart and found the motor was loose. Apparently the rubber motor mounts had deteriorated and fell apart during shipping.
A quick trip to Ace hardware for some rubber grommets and it’s fixed, I’ll still come out ahead but not quite the margin I had originally hoped for.Is it chaos if, like a messy desk you know where everything is but to an outsider it’s a world turned upside down?
-
09/25/2017 at 2:08 pm #23230
Steven, I feel like in some way chaos is an internal state; internal chaos *can* result in a physical mess, but not all apparent messes mean you’re in a chaotic state. If you’ve really got a handle on something, it might look messy to someone else without being true chaos.
… Or doth I protest too much? 🙂
-
09/25/2017 at 2:42 pm #23235
Yeah, chaos isn’t a messy desk.
Chaos in your life is letting every little thing bother you and then making everyone’s life around you hell. It’s a problem with no solution because they’ll always find another problem.
-
09/26/2017 at 5:47 am #23260
Oh, Jay, that’s so funny but true. I find that if I have a problem it’s better to just stay calm and give it a day’s reflection. The solution comes to you if you don’t panic. It usually works out.
-
-
-
-
09/25/2017 at 3:51 pm #23236
Store Week 9/17/17 – 9/23/17
Total items in store: 1549
Items sold: 30
Cost of items sold: $41.94
Total sales: $918.80
Highest price sold: $75.00 (Forest Service hat)
Average price sold: $30.63
International Sales: 1
Returns: 1
Money spent on new inventory this week: $35.75My favorite sale for the week was a Halloween costume I made for my daughter when she was a baby. It was by no mean professional (lots of glue gun going on), but very cute and special to me, so I’m happy that it’s getting reused! I’ve had some offers on my son’s cutest homemade costume too, but I keep countering. I guess I’m not ready to be rid of that one yet! Another cool sale was some vintage Christmas tinsel icicles (the lead ones) for $19.99. Trash into treasure for sure!
-
09/25/2017 at 4:45 pm #23239
Sept. 17-23
Total Items in Store: 657
Items Sold: 10
Total Sales (Gross Profit): $222
Highest Price: $40 (Vintage Hand Blown Green Glass Fishing Buoy Float)
Average Price: $22
Returns: 0
Cost of Items Sold: $24
Costs of Items Purchased this Week: $77ANOTHER bummer of a week! I thought it was going to be better with some quick sales on Sunday and Monday, but they rapidly died off after that. I don’t know what’s going on. But all I can do is keep listing. And boy did I! I listed close to a 100 items last week. Mostly small things like hardware and photo slides. I just can’t wait to get my numbers up to what they were before.
I went to an estate sale on Saturday. We don’t really have those a lot in my area, so it was sort of a special treat. Too bad they wanted top dollar for everything. But I managed to get a few items, including one of my holy grails of a portable CD player, the Sony Discman D-88! It was in a blank box and wasn’t priced, so I suggested $4 and she shrugged and said sure! I was ecstatic! I went back on Sunday and got a few other little things for the half-off sale, but afterwards I got to thinking about what they were going to do with everything that didn’t sell (and believe me, there was a lot still there)? That’s when I thought it would be cool to have a simple business card that I could give out in certain circumstances such as these where I would offer to buy the leftovers for a cheap price. Has anyone ever done anything like that?
Keep enjoying your trip, Jay and Ryanne!
-
09/25/2017 at 5:35 pm #23244
I agree that dealing properly with chaos involves maturity. Chaos is inevitable in one’s life, especially if you’re a reseller or an artist. It’s how you deal with that chaos that is the key.
You can sit around and blame others for problems, or you can realize that problems will happen regardless of what you do. Sometimes, people just need to lay off being attached to the emotions that result from their problems. Especially if they’re small problems. Not everything is so bad.
For example, the link problem of this past week. I had 5,000 listings with links in them that needed to be removed. Instead of yelling and crying at my screen upon hearing the news, I thought rationally about what I could do. I had someone help me remove those links, and together we got it done in less than a week.
If I don’t sell enough items to my liking, I run a sale. I list more. I go out and buy more stock. I don’t blame anyone else for my lack of sales.
If a customer has a problem, I think of how I can help them in the least stressful way possible in order to resolve their problem. I try to make them feel as if they have had an overall positive experience, even if something went wrong.
There are a lot of people that are not cut out for reselling. They are the ones that find every step of the process to be an extremely trying orderal. It’s not. It’s fun.
-
09/25/2017 at 7:29 pm #23245
RR Store Week Sept 17-23, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1347
Items Sold: 27
Cost of Items Sold: $29.17
Total Sales: $658.04
Highest Price Sold: $80.99 Vintage B-52’s t-shirt)
Average Price Sold: $24.37
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $33.99
Number of items listed this week: 7Weird week. Had one return for size, no big deal. Then a late night order and immediate cancellation; I think the guy was drunk. Then I sold an item on Friday that I’m positive I sold months ago. No clue how it popped back up in my listings. I’ve heard this discussed on the podcast before, so I know it isn’t an isolated incident. I called eBay, and they told me to cancel the sale and give a refund, and to call them back when the defect pops up to discuss its removal.
Jay, sometimes your topics are so parallel with my life. Tuesday, I finally got the diagnosis I’ve been waiting for for a year and a half. My ear, neck, and general head problems are caused by a disorder in my temporomandibular joint, or TMJ. By process of elimination, we figured out that the cause of the problem is indeed stress. The last year and a half has been my most challenging ever, and I know I haven’t been reducing my stress levels properly. So this week, I took some time to relax and think about my process. Went to the L.A. County Fair with friends. Filed a bunch of records (very relaxing for me). Took some walks. I know I’ve been out of balance for a while, but now my body is pleading for mercy. Time to heed the call.
*Paul*
-
09/26/2017 at 6:06 am #23262
Wow, good news Paul that you got a diagnosis. Now to follow through with getting well. Always listen to your body–it’s talking to you all the time. A few years ago I became a Sabbatarian. That’s one reason why I like having a home-based business. Resting one day a week is one good prescription for health. I’m convinced we all need to schedule more time to rest and relax, whenever that is. (Americans are such workaholics.) I’m also a big believer in getting enough sleep. I know–that can be a tall order for busy lives! But being healthy and energetic is worth trying. And, as Jay points out, don’t sweat the small stuff. 😊
-
09/28/2017 at 8:07 pm #23401
Thank you, Linda! Yep, my body has been screaming at me for well over a year, and I’m just now hearing it. Better late than never. Time management has always been a struggle for me, so I’m trying to stick to a schedule, and yes, that schedule includes some time off. It can be hard, since eBay is a pretty much a 24/7 endeavor. But I have to remember that I’m not going to have much success if I’m walking around feeling like my head is in a vice. Downtime is almost as important as listing time.
*Paul*
-
-
-
09/25/2017 at 10:35 pm #23248
I LOVE that desk you sold, well worth the $1800+ paid for it. My week was pretty good, sales have picked up, so while I am sad that summer is ending (said while munching on a sweet home grown cucumber) I am ready for the seasonal sales.
-
09/26/2017 at 1:41 am #23253
Omfug! glad to see you again. Yes, we were psyched by that desk sale. Summer is over…and holiday season is coming.
-
09/26/2017 at 8:45 am #23268
That desk is so ridiculously awesome! It takes a special buyer to have the room/aesthetic as well as the money/willingness to buy online sight unseen – glad you found the perfect combo of both to get that price for it!
-
-
-
09/26/2017 at 7:26 am #23264
Total Items in Store: 950
Items Sold: 11
Cost of Items Sold: $42
Total Sales: $306
Profit: $264
Highest Price Sold: $50 Birkenstock shoes
Average Price Sold: $27.82
Average Profit: $23.99Pretty slow week compared to the last few weeks. I only listed a handful of items – all our time is being taken up by baseball and softball right now, which is AWESOME!
My new sourcing “interest of the moment” is men’s button down shirts. It started this summer when I came across several yard sales where I bought large lots of high end plaid button down shirts for $1 each. I got all of them listed and they are selling, so I’ve started spending more time in the shirts section of thrift stores. I want to become proficient in finding the valuable shirts quickly and efficiently. It was during one of these education sessions this weekend that I came across a scavenger grail – a COOGI Sweater!!! I know there are a couple folks on here who are knowledgeable on these so I’ll post some pictures on here soon to get a better grasp on its value.
I also made a change this weekend to my shipping process. I’m always looking to tweak things, and last week I was thinking about the DYMO 450 printer I bought for amazon FBA that has just been sitting collecting dust. I decided to order a roll of the long skinny labels that work for ebay USPS postage. Well I’m a fan now that I’ve tried it. So much quicker and easier. $7 for 150 labels is great.
-
09/26/2017 at 10:21 am #23284
Jay and Ryanne great podcast.
I believe free returns also means the seller pays return shipping not just no re-stocking fee
-
09/26/2017 at 10:27 am #23285
Here’s what eBay says in their FAQ:
http://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2017-fall/returns.html#m22_tb_a1__17Who pays for the return shipping label cost?
The party responsible for the return shipping label cost depends on your returns policy. For example, if you indicate that “buyer pays” for return shipping, the buyer will need to pay for the label used to ship the item back to you if the buyer doesn’t want the item anymore. Alternatively, if you offer free return shipping (“seller pays”), you will be charged for the return shipping label used by the buyer.So Im confused, does that mean that “Free returns” means that a buyer can get free shipping if they just change their mind? That’s pretty crazy.
-
09/26/2017 at 12:46 pm #23291
Jay, what you are reading in the above link is on the page for “Returns”, which includes information on ALL returns, not just free. If you are offering “Free Returns”, it has to mean just that…free to the buyer, regardless of why they want to return.
I’m going to keep an eye on this one for now, and not making any changes. From what I understand, Cyndi at AmazingTaste is not going to offer Free Returns either. I need to see how the market moves with this change. The downside, whether I like it or not, is that many other marketplaces online, mostly Amazon, offer free returns to buyers. If their influence continues to shape buyer behavior and buyer expectation of free returns, we will have to probably move in that direction. For now, I’m still charging shipping and charging for returns on clothing (mostly because buyers are not measuring clothing and they buy items that won’t fit them), but if I see a noticeable change in my STR downward, I may have to consider making that change. If the market changes, I can’t get mad and wish that it didn’t, I have to change with it.
The fact that buyer behavior has changed towards more online purchases has helped us, and we may have to pay that back by absorbing more shipping costs. This is part of the reason why I am OCD about seeing where my shipping revenue vs. shipping cost is every month, so I can see what the impact is to my bottom line is. This is only on a small percentage of my overall sales anyway, so I would just have to run the numbers to see what the average cost of paying for returns would be each month, and how much of an increase in STR I would have to gain to cover that increased cost.
So I’m sitting this out, but watching buyer behavior and my sales numbers to see what happens…
-
09/26/2017 at 12:58 pm #23295
Understood. We’ll definitely sit out “free returns” as well if it means the buyer gets free shipping for any reason. Maybe it might be feasible if you just sell clothes, but much of what we sell are bulky, heavy items. It could mean eating $20+ of shipping just because someone changed their mind.
I dont know what sellers will jump on this. Sounds like the whole push eBay did on “free shipping” three years ago. That trend certainly didnt push us all to offer free shipping because the numbers just dont make sense. (Note: sellers who just raise their prices to offer free shipping arent actually offering free shipping)
-
09/26/2017 at 1:14 pm #23298
Agree. It is something I have to watch on my side of the business (clothing), as it is much more competitive, and has a higher return rate. I can understand it though, as usually you don’t know if something is going to fit right until you try it on. Just part of the business. For now, I’m letting the market decide. If buyers move the market to free shipping and free returns, I have to move there as well, and buy and price accordingly.
And you are right…ain’t nuthin’ free…buyers just like to think so…
-
09/26/2017 at 1:30 pm #23303
Yep.. with you. And Free Shipping and Free Return Shipping we see as two separarte things. I could see us going to maybe Free Shipping because we weigh and measure everything when we enter into WonderLister and I assume maybe you do to for SixBit. I know there are fileds to enter that data in SB. So I can use the online calculator or Flipper Tools Fit Shipper and see what my cost would be to ship. Then I would just double that and mark that total up another 40% and build that cost into the cost of my item. Then if I have a 20% off sale and take an offer of 15% less than that I still cover the costs of shipping and even at that will also more likely than not still make a good profit on my shipping activities. I actually like this and may do it come first of next year.
People hate to do the math, cost of item plus add in their heads the cost of shipping. Also most buyers have no idea what shipping costs anyway so if they see an antiue ceramic Fenton, hobnail dish that is hard to find and it is $175 Total delivered, they have no idea if that price includes $17.50 in shipping, $32.50 in shipping or $50 in shipping charges built in. It is rare, they don’t have one, they want it and bingo they bought it.
We sold a hard to find Rose Sharon Depression glass Butter Dish this weekend for $200. We had it listed for $325 but on Sale at 15% off for $276.25 we took an offer of $200. We bought it for $12.50 but when researched we discovered what we had. It only took about $15 to ship it. If I had built $40 dollars into the listed price of $325 it would not have mattered one way of the other to us, but it may for a buyer to see “Free Shipping”.
This is entirely different than Free Return shipping in case they don’t like it for some reason. Again we will just wait and see how this all shakes out.
One side bar: We do a 7 layer “cocoon” process when we ship. Our feedback is full of kudos and comments on our shipping and packing. When it comes to returning these high priced, delicate glass items that we take extreme care packing with our specially designed packing process, we just don’t trust the buyer to be able to take the time or use the same technique to return the item back to us. Then we have paid for the shipping to return to us and we get it back damaged.
But just me thinking out loud.
Mike in Atlanta
-
09/28/2017 at 11:34 pm #23403
Jay, As i said, I’ve been offering free return shipping for a few years, with no problems. Keep in mind that you don’t have to offer it on everything you sell. You could experiment with it by trying it on selected items.
I cannot say whether it has or hasn’t helped my sales. It certainly hasn’t hurt me. I offer it partly I figure buyers feel more confidence in a seller who offers it. But whether that is really very important for my type of stuff, I don’t know for sure. But I suspect some buyers who might otherwise be on the fence, go ahead and buy because they see it as risk free.
I’m not trying to push it on anyone. Like a lot of what ebay is doing these days, it is probably more useful for commodity sellers than for scavengers. But what I can say is in my experience it simply has not been a problem. I plan on ramping up my listings for Q4 and will continue to offer it. If it becomes a problem, I’ll let you guys know.
-
-
09/26/2017 at 1:13 pm #23297
T-Satt and Jay:
I am with both of you. Even though T-Satt and I have the tools to make wide sweeping changes very easily, we are going to sit this out also. With many of the unique, one of a kind, eclectic items we offer, a return would have to have a solid reason for a return. On more competitive, higher volume or consumed items I maybe could see the case. But a well written description on a Tinker Toy set from 1955 that states the piece count, describes any broken or missing pieces, condition of the container and lid, etc., etc. Then what would a reason that an end buyer would tell me that would want me to eat the shipping costs to return it to me.
So, we’ll just wait and see.
mike in Atlanta
-
-
-
-
09/26/2017 at 5:50 pm #23323
Kicker is that for my oldest listings, eBay watermarked my image automatically with my username because I had activated that option when it existed. I was on eBay Radio a long before eBay got serious about the no watermarks rule and, at that time, Grif mentioned that my inclusion of my store name and logo on a printed piece of paper in my listing photos was not a violation of the watermark rule because it is not a watermark.
-
09/28/2017 at 11:38 pm #23404
Paul, I think that Griff’s advice is out of date. It’s true, something like a business card in a photo is not a watermark, and so it doesn’t violate the watermark rule. However, these is another rule in the Photo Policy section that it does violate. LIke many things on eBay, I don’t know how actively ebay enforces the rule, but personally, I would not want to find myself changing a lot of photos because I put a card in them, anymore than I’d want to do it for a watermark.
-
-
09/26/2017 at 9:51 pm #23329
* Total Items in Store: 420
* Items Sold: 10
* Cost of Items Sold: $25 used + $42 new RA + 24.24 free shipping offered
* Total Sales: $262
* Highest Price Sold: $46 1950s Waverly kitchen fabric
* Average Price Sold: $26
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
* Number of items listed this week: 22Felt like a slow week but just low dollar items going out. I might try free returns at some point on smaller items only because I don’t sell clothing and have only ever had two returns. I will probably see how prominently the filter is presented first. My instinct is that free shipping might have helped my sales a bit, even though they are not stellar. I’m hoping for algorithm favoritism rather than buyer behavior. I had a couple of old items sell after making the switch, but really it’s just a hunch. So far promotions I think helped less for me personally.
I need to read the forum thread re the 10konthebay video. He seems to think you have to pay now to run sales and that sales items are not presented well with the buyer only seeing a discounted price in the cart stage with a generalized sale banner in the corner. I have my weekly 15% sale priced into everything so it matters to me.
When I was young and crying about something apparently not significant. My dad (who is actually really awesome) used to say “stop crying or I will give you something to cry about”. I feel like the last few years life has been throwing up curveballs worth crying about at times. I’m a worrier by nature, but now I find it hard now to sweat the smaller stuff. I want to do a good job on Ebay, but be practical, efficient and certainly not get worked up about hiccups. I’ve eaten a couple of broken claims, provided a partial refund once. Well worth keeping the good feedback score and the peace of mind. That being said, I do get a bit frustrated that things don’t seem to be well thought out or operational before they are launched. I expect that occasionally customers will be unreasonable but I don’t expect that from a giant high tech company.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
ChristineR.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
09/27/2017 at 8:39 am #23336
ChristineR, PLEASE read my posts on our Promoted Listing thread, I eventually watched the video. It is filled with misinformation. In my opinion, you would be better off not watching it at all. I DO think there may be some glitches with the rollout of the new merged tool. I’m still waiting for ebay to give it to me. But his biggest error is about the fee. There is NO fee to use it. He is confusing it with Promoted Listings.
I’ve actually been begging ebay to give me the new tool, in part because there’s so much misinformation about just what they are doing. But eBay is eBay, and I’ll get it when they damn well feel like giving it to me, and not a moment sooner LOL
-
09/27/2017 at 1:04 pm #23348
Thanks! Good to know. I don’t have guaranteed delivery yet either. Too much of a small fry. I just got dinged on a package Ebay says never got a scan but the tracking shows it did. Need to call.
-
-
09/27/2017 at 9:03 am #23338
Maybe this is why Some packages are late, and why Amazon uses UPS:
-
09/27/2017 at 10:58 am #23340
My numbers for the week of 9/17/17:
Total Items in Store: 77
Items Sold: 12
Cost of Items Sold: $35
Total Sales: $391 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $75 (Carhartt Aztec Jacket)
Average Price Sold: $32.58
Returns: 0 (one $53 sale included in the numbers had to be cancelled because of invalid address…didn’t even have a street name or state in the address field when I went to ship)I have a couple of opinions to share:
ChristineR…for the love of God don’t listen to anything that 10Konthebay says. They seriously have no idea what they are doing. I sometimes read stuff over there when I need a laugh.Watermarks…Linda I feel so bad for your situation. I know there are plenty of sellers with 1000+ items all with watermarked photos. It’s my opinion that changes like this should be Granfathered in rather than a straight out change in policy. I hope you get a resolution.
Free Returns…I truly believe the psychology/behavior of shoppers can change when “free returns” is offered. This could work as a positive for a big company, but it’s not going to work for me as a tiny seller and I won’t opt in. Example: Zappos offers free returns. It is actually quite customary for buyers to order multiple styles or sizes, see which they prefer in person, and return the rest. When I wanted to purchase a pair of Birkenstocks, I ordered from Zappos BECAUSE of their free returns policy. I don’t usually order shoes online because of fit, and would have preferred to buy in person but couldn’t find the combination (color/style/size) I wanted locally. I wouldn’t have considered somewhere else for this purchase, even if it was cheaper. That’s the positive (for Zappos). The negative…the first pair didn’t fit quite right and I promptly “free returned” ’em for a different size width.
The above brings me to another thought I have about the cost of postage. Why hasn’t eBay negotiated a better discount for us? They are big enough to, other companies have it. They are making lots of changes to appeal to customers with the push for free shipping and returns. I feel that they should be doing everything they can to make it affordable for us sellers to opt in.
-
09/27/2017 at 11:39 am #23343
In general I think the shipping discounts are pretty good. The two exceptions may be FEDEX Smartpost and USPS Media mail, but the rates for these, are so cheap that I can’t complain.
What size of a discount do you think is reasonable?
-
09/27/2017 at 12:45 pm #23345
Just for an example (I don’t sell on the platform) Mercari offers a shipping rate to it’s sellers of a flat $3 for up to .5 lbs and a flat $7 for up to 5 lbs, claiming on their website that they have negotiated special rates with USPS to offer their sellers the best pricing. A 5 lb package (lets just assume 12x12x9 dimensions) would generally cost me $8-9 with eBay’s discount, and over $20 to ship to the west coast! I do not believe that eBay can’t negotiate better for us.
-
-
09/27/2017 at 9:17 pm #23372
Beth Green,
Thanks for the sympathy. But my husband says I should just wait and see how many listings are actually “removed” because many of them will sell in the next six months. Of the ones that get removed I can evaluate which ones are worth fixing and relisting vs donating for a tax deduction. Plus at that time I can talk to ebay about it if I want to. I am no longer eager to dwell on it. I’m already moving on.
My new employee came today for four hours and photo’d, measured, took notes on Post-Its and attached them to each item after packaging it in a clear plastic bag. I’m fixed up for the rest of the week. (Tablecloths mostly.) She averaged about ten per hour. Not bad for her second time on the job. And I love her dearly–such a delightful person. 😊
Regarding “free returns”, I only do those on some of my first class postage items, when it looks like that’s a “thing” for similar listings. Not much to lose on those. I am not one to jump on the bandwagon every time ebay comes out with yet another erratic idea. I just watch and wait to see if it works or flops. I’m from Missouri.
-
-
09/27/2017 at 11:09 am #23341
BethGreen, Just a couple quick comments. I haven’t watched any of his other videos, but this one is definitely filled with misinformation.
Postage Cost, I suspect ebay has tried to get a better deal. With all the pressure on USPS, I’m not sure it’s an easy task.
Free Return Shipping. I’m a small seller of used stuff. I’ve been offering free return shipping for several years. It has worked out fine, and I don’t have to deal with the remorse buyers who file INAD claims just to get the free return shipping. That alone has been worth it LOL I think fear of what might happen is what actually prevents most small sellers from using it.
-
09/27/2017 at 11:20 am #23342
Fear, but more just numbers.
–How many items do you ell each month?
–What kind of items do you mainly sell?
–How many average returns do you get a month?
-
-
09/27/2017 at 12:45 pm #23344
Jay, I’m just a very small seller (planning to ramp up in Q4 if non-ebay circumstances don’t intervene.) I often go months between returns. My return rate is very low. My items are generally one-offs, antique, collectible type stuff, used clothing, pretty much typical scavenger inventory. As a scavenger, my mark up is usually pretty high, which means I can cover the cost of the occasional return without any real trouble.
I have high blood pressure controlled by meds and am improving my lifestyle, losing weight etc. I mention this because I like to reduce my stress. When I see the seemingly endless threads on the ebay boards (and even here) about buyers claiming INAD to get the free return shipping, and sellers fighting the INAD claim, etc. , well, for me, it’s worth it just to avoid those situations…saves me time and stress. If I ramp up and find returns becoming a problem, I would absolutely re-evaluate, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
-
09/27/2017 at 12:48 pm #23346
BethGreen, I don’t know anything about that website, so I won’t comment on that for now. I’ll just say that its in ebay’s financial interest to get us the best deal they can, because it would increase sales and thus increase ebay’s FVF revenue (even if it would take a small bite out of their FVF on shipping). So I’m not convinced that they haven’t tried.
-
09/27/2017 at 1:08 pm #23349
I still don’t know much about Mercari, but here’s another take on their shipping options:
How I Save $2 on Almost Every Mercari Sale (And It Only Takes 60 Seconds)
-
09/27/2017 at 3:18 pm #23358
I found my info directly on the Mercari site here: https://guide.mercariapp.com/us/shipping/type.html
Maybe that post you pasted is out of date?
So how does a company like Mercari (so much smaller than eBay) offer better shipping rates to their sellers?
It is possible that eBay HAS negotiated better rates, and just doesn’t pass the savings on to us. It’s possible they don’t have a very skilled negotiator as their person in charge of it. I don’t know. Lots of possibilities.
-
-
09/27/2017 at 1:38 pm #23351
Topic from a few episodes ago: eBay sending out emails to watchers/recent viewers
I was skeptical when this topic was brought up, but I’m a believer now. I had an item for nearly 4 years now with little to no interest. Last night I got my first ever offer on it, but it was low so I countered. This morning I woke up to a sale – at full price (more than 2x the offer) from another buyer! 🙂
-
09/27/2017 at 1:44 pm #23352
Brian, Had you changed the price before the purchase?
-
09/27/2017 at 3:16 pm #23357
Nope, $49.99 was the price for like 4 years (had put it on sale every so often). Got an offer last night for $20, countered at $30, woke up to a $49.99 sale to a different buyer. It was great!
-
-
09/27/2017 at 3:21 pm #23359
Yes, that’s great—definitely satisfying to sell at full price after a low ball offer!
I’m not sure what you meant about ebay sending out notices? I know they send to watchers if you lower the price, but you did nothing? Or do they send a notice when an item gets an offer?
-
09/27/2017 at 3:35 pm #23360
One or two podcasts ago, someone noted that they got an email on an item they were watching saying “another eBayer is making an offer on this item – don’t lose out” (or something to that effect). Most of us thought it was hooey – but now I’m a believer.
-
10/13/2017 at 7:06 pm #23881
Adding to this thread because wanted to reply to Brian’s Treasures from Grandma’s comment that he got an offer and then got a full price offer from someone else within 24 hours. Same happened to me today. Woke up to a “full price but make it free shipping please” offer from across the country. Had a busy day at work and was going to counter with a “$5 off but regular shipping” offer, and I just came into my office with a full price regular shipping purchase! It had a few watchers and been up a few months with no action, so I’m assuming that the email everyone is talking about went out to all my watchers.
Makes me wonder how long I should wait before countering then? I don’t want to be a jerk and wait until the last minute. Is 8 hours okay, 12 hours, a full day? Not sure…. thoughts?
-
-
-
09/27/2017 at 3:40 pm #23361
Ah, OK! I hope that’s true…wonder if its new, or just a test?
-
09/27/2017 at 4:38 pm #23363
Must be new – haven’t seen it before in 20 years on eBay!
-
09/27/2017 at 5:16 pm #23364
I just asked about this on ebay’s “Weekly CHat” discussion board. Here’s the answer from ebay rep Heidi:
I haven’t heard of this happening and I don’t believe it should be working that way. If you receive or see a report of this, would you mind @mentioning one of us on the thread? We’d be happy to look into it and investigate what’s happening. Thanks! -
09/27/2017 at 11:06 pm #23374
I have been listening every week, but have not commented in a while. Ryanne made a comment about flipping houses, so I thought I would share a little. In the past couple of months I have sold 2 flip houses, and this week I purchased another project. The first flip house was a very small house that a friend owned and just wanted to get rid of. I paid $18k and sold for $36k. after all the paperwork and monthly bills we ended netting around $13k. I did nothing to this house but clean it up. It needed a LOT of cleaning up. It needed too much work to rehab.
Second house I purchased with a partner (my current boss at my day job). The deal was, I would purchase the house and he would pay for and manage the remodel. I also picked out all of the cabinets, fixtures, paint colors, etc. This house needed more structural work than we bargained for. We ended up replacing 25% of the floor joists. When we purchased the house, we assumed we would sell it for around $175k. Here are the numbers: Purchase $87k, remodel costs $61k, sales price $194. We listed it for $190 and got an offer of $194 the next day. We took almost 4 months to do the work, and spent too much in my opinion on the work. But we ended up splitting $36k after realtors fees. We hired out 100% of the work.
Monday of this week I purchased a home almost identical to the last one we sold for $194k. I paid $104k for this one, it needs no structural and a lot less overall work. I am tackling this project by myself while my boss and I look for another project. I am planing on doing 75% of the work myself and hiring out a few trades to keep things moving along. If anyone is looking for me over the next few months, that is where I will be.
Just for fun, amazon sales are picking back up, Last 7 days – $1,750 in sales on items I purchased on ebay. Just a reminder, I am still running %40% to 50% profit on those items. Hopefully I can keep everyone better updated on my adventures.
I think a realistic model for me when I quit my job is to flip one house at a time and do ebay/amazon in between and nights.
-
09/28/2017 at 12:17 am #23377
Sounds like you guys have found a fun project that’s making you good money. I’m always amazed that there are still plenty of houses with meat on the bones to make that kind of profit. Just curious: you guys have no desire to buy and hold? Building up rental stock could be much more profitable in the long run…and you’d still have the asset.
Here’s a site where a guy documents 50 houses he flipped in a similar way: http://www.123flip.com/house-pics/
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
Jay.
-
09/28/2017 at 11:27 am #23387
123flip looks like a very interesting site, I will bookmark it for later.
Here is how I have it in my mind. There is short term capital investing (flipping houses) and long term capital investing (unknown). Right now we are building up some capital to have enough to function in the flipping world. I would like to have enough to buy and renovate 1 home with enough in the bank to purchase a second home. That way if I am working one house and I come across another at a great deal I can purchase it, even if it means sitting on it for a month or two. Once the house flipping business is sufficiently funded, we can start pulling the profit off of those jobs to invest in long term capital investing. Hopefully this will produce income that we can use today as well as growth for the future. I do not know what this long term investing will be. Possibly residential rental income as you suggested, an Air-BnB in the area, storage units or commercial rental property. I have interest in all of these, and we will decide at some point in time. But I want to go into those ventures from a strong cash position, with the intention of continuing the flipping business and pouring profits into the long term investing business, whatever that looks like.
Right now around Nashville the real estate business is absolutely on fire. I am not predicting a downturn anytime soon, but I am sure one is coming. At least it must slow down a little. My real estate agent said there are 750 agents in the county and 600 available properties. Any home that is livable in any way is selling immediately. IF I can find houses that are prime for flipping I will, but I can’t put all my eggs in that basket.
-
09/28/2017 at 2:19 pm #23388
I would love to be able to build up enough capital to do this. This is where I consider gutting my 401K and flip a house or two. I KNOW I could double my investment in short order and in the long run have even more money and just snowball it – it is what I do in every venture I partake in but on a smaller scale.
Conventional “wisdom” (don’t touch 401K) that has been beat into my head keeps me from making that dive.
-
09/28/2017 at 2:38 pm #23390
AND Retro WV depending on how your’re 401K is set up and type, there is usually a 10% early withdrawal penalty, then the lost percentage on that amount if remained in the fund.
Think OPM = Other People’s Money on large projects. When I owned the remodeling Comapny many years back, I had a $150,000 line of credit and several cards with $10,000 each on them. Those provided me with plenty of working capital to do most of the projects we were involved with. Not saying you have that available but a HELOC, or second mortg. or something other than tapping 401k. But others here are more financial savy than I. You could even form a small Private Investor Group, LLC and get 5 or 6 guys to invest and see if you could find a lawyer or financial guy that is interested in investing in the project. You provide the ground work sweat equity, they provide the backing and admin. work sweat equity.
But just talking out loud. Sounds interesting what all you guys are planning for the future.
mike at MDC Galleries in Atlanta
-
09/28/2017 at 3:01 pm #23391
Retro, we funded our first with a heloc. We bought our house in 2011 while the market was still recovering, it was a foreclosure and we got a great deal to boot. Fast forward to today and it is worth somewhere around double what we paid for it. We are able to use that money as a starter fund.
My opinion. Whatever I can actively manage, I can outperform the market most of the time. With ebay, I can buy and sell for 3x or 5x my money, there is no where you can do that in the market. Same goes with real estate, if I can actively manage my capital I feel like I can move quickly and make a good return. That is the biggest reason I have not invested in rental property right now, I know I can make a better return if I can manage it. Once we get to the point where I cannot actively manage it, I want to start investing for the long term.
-
09/28/2017 at 3:13 pm #23392
Retro, if you are serious investigate in your area to see if there is a real estate investing group. Also search out someone called a “private money lender” or “hard money lender” . These guys are usually real estate investors themselves. A lot of times they will loan the initial cost of the home, but not the remodel cost. The cost is a little more than a bank loan, but banks won’t touch remodel projects for the most part. The biggest advantage is speed. These guys can close in a few days, and when a great property is available, time is the most critical element. I have never used one, but I know they are out there. You don’t want to use them forever, but they can get the ball rolling, and might even help in the evaluation process.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
LeeinTN.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
09/29/2017 at 9:51 am #23416
Obviously if you gut or empty your 401K, you need to pay taxes and penalties depending on your age.
You may be able to take a loan against your 401K. The interest you pay back, goes directly into your account. The loan is for anything you want. I have a friend who has taken out 401K loans to invest in properties. You are generally limited to 50% of the value of your 401K account. You can make a call to your Human Resources department for details, but 401K loans are fairly common.
There are also ways to use an IRA to invest in real estate. I don’t know that flipping houses, would qualify, but it is a possibility.
I won’t go into the obvious risks of leveraging your retirement accounts for these types of ventures. I think we are all adults and understand them.
Good Luck.
-
-
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by
-
-
09/29/2017 at 7:33 am #23411
Jay,
I heard you two talking about selling a Polaroid, so went to your sold listings and saw the one you guys sold last week. I noticed you listed it as “tested”. Do you mind letting us know how you do that? Do you have an empty cartridge?
Thanks-
09/29/2017 at 7:46 am #23413
Yep, we have a whole bag of test cartridges for different polaroids that we keep with us when we scavenge.
We find these cartridges in used cameras. They dont have film, but the charge will last for multiple photos. If the flash works and the motor sounds like it’s pushing out a photo, then we are reasonably certain it’ll work.
-
-
10/07/2017 at 10:21 pm #23684
I wanted to chime in on what Brian and MyCottage were discussing about whether buyers who are watching an item get a message from eBay when the item receives a best offer. I decided to do a test, although I would need an additional person to do a full test to see if a message was sent by eBay.
My wife and I both have eBay accounts and we both sell. I have a basic store and she has about 50 items listed. I made some test best offers on some of her listings that had several watchers and she did the same to several of my listings with watchers. About 3 hrs later one of the items she made an offer on was purchased by someone else for full price. This item is not a commodity item and is more a one of a kind type and had been listed quite awhile.
Based on this sale I think there may be some validity to the claim that eBay sends messages to watchers when an item receives a best offer. To further test this claim I would need an outside party to make an offer on one of my wife’s listings I am watching. That way I could see if eBay sends me a message.
If someone would like to help with the experiment, let me know and I can provide a link to a couple of her listings that I am watching.
-
10/08/2017 at 6:57 am #23686
very interesting experiment. also just noticed that the new active listings format, you can sort by number of watchers, which you could never do before, which was very annoying!
-
-
10/07/2017 at 11:56 pm #23685
sure, be happy to help out. (Your wife will decline my offer, right? LOL)
-
10/08/2017 at 11:48 am #23687
Ryanne,
I have always been able to sort by watchers, both on my laptop or the iPhone app, even before I had a store.
MyCottage, of course it would not be accepted. We are leaving mine up for the 48 hrs and letting it expire. I put in obviously low offers and I am doing the experiment for her. Here are a couple of listings:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321797155659
http://www.ebay.com/itm/322565215062Thanks for helping with the test. It will be interesting to see if I do get a message from eBay or not. If I do I will post it in the forum.
-
10/09/2017 at 8:33 am #23705
Thanks
-
10/16/2017 at 5:01 pm #23983
It has been a week and I never got a message from eBay alerting me that an item I was watching had an active offer on it. I guess it was just a weird coincidence that something with a few watchers sold soon after I had my wife make a test offer to see if this urban myth is reality.
Thank you to My Cottage for helping me test this out.
-
10/16/2017 at 9:16 pm #23995
I’ve heard these urban myths as well, but I’m really glad you did a scientific test to show how it really does or doesn’t work.
I do believe that questions, offers, etc could push you up in search. But again, my hypothesis is that sometimes an item just get “juice” in the rankings or is posted to a forum of collectors. No way to test this theory though.
-
-
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.