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I mentioned our big sale last Sunday. Turned out to be $675 for a set of Tiffany dishes. One of those finds on a big table lot at an auction that we h
[See the full post at: The Numbers: Week March 24-30, 2024] -
Last Friday I was randomly leaving my dad’s house at 8 am and my steering wheel turned to an estate sale. Then I found a moving sale three blocks from my house. The people offered me a gorgeous high end blonde leather couch for free. Sadly I don’t have my minivan anymore and no place to put that large piece. They also had an amazing cane softback table. It was going to rain and they weren’t prepared. I wished I could teleport them to you guys. They just wanted to get rid of stuff before the house sold and the dealers came and took all their smalls right before I arrived.
Someone is giving me a handmade wooden cabinet tomorrow from Nextdoor. Possibilities…
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I’ll never part with my minivan as an ebay seller. It is the best! Better than having a truck.
My minivan is my defacto transitionary storage space. I keep it full. I haven’t been listing much from work lately so I’m not getting alot of turnover in my van storage, but I will get back on it this month.
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Items in Store: 2969
Items Sold: 40
Total Sales: $1,932.00
COGS: $214.00
Total Profit: $1,718.00
Average profit: $42.95
Average sales price: $48.30
New Listings: 33
Items scavenged: 16
2024 weekly new listings Avg: 36
2024 avg gross weekly sales $1,625.69
2024 Avg weekly Items Sold 36
2024 ASP $44.97
2024 projected total sales $84,536.00Shockingly busy week! I haven’t been listing as much since I got back from vacation so I was blown away when I saw I sold 40 items. I’m on pace to average 36 sales a week this year, which is better than last year and 2020. I compared the last 5 weeks to the same period every year since 2019 and this March period is a great snapshot of my growth.
2019: 86 sales for $2266
2020: 112 sales for $3053
2021: 119 sales for $4536
2022: 148 for $5214
2023: 96 sales for $3035 (I didn’t list for like 3 months and it reflected in sales.)
2024: 176 sales for $8345
The 2024 numbers are extra awesome because I was on time away for a week and a half and I haven’t been listing much. It COULD have been alot higher if I was firing on all cylinders. It seems like a 3000k item store is one of those inflection points that takes things to the next level sales wise. I’m hoping somewhere in the 3k-4k store size range is the magic 40/40/40 store I envision – list 40, sell 40, with a $40 ASP. Right now I’m selling more than I’m listing and I am quite happy with that. I’ll get a good bump in inventory storage open space selling more than listing.
Speaking of storage space, spring weather is here and I am due some organizing. I wanted to be in a much better place death pile wise….but I’m not. Oh well. We do what we must! I’m not worse per-se, just not bettter. I’ve still never delved much into the trailer storage death pile. Now I have a death pile in my non-ebay shed (neatly boxed and on shelves at least). I have things moving in the right direction. Once I spend some time in my inventory shed reorganizing and then reorganize my garage office…oh why am I bothering with a plan. Once yard sales start this month it’s all gonna go out the window and I’ll be back to treading water! I still have the rest of the hoarder stuff that is going to be heading my way sooner than later and I am NOT ready for it. I’ll figure it out. I always do!
I’ll keep ending/sell similar and sending bottom dollar offers on the stale items to keep clearing out the junk. The new stuff I’m sourcing is higher dollar so my ASP should keep creeping up as the old stuff clears out. This week 13 of my 40 sales were $15 or less items that I was just trying to make something on and get rid of.
Mouse wars update: I took a few weeks off without having the traps out since I went on vacation. I put them back out this Saturday and already caught 3 of the buggers. I didn’t check today before work so hopeully I have 1-2 more when I get home. DIE MICKEY! DIE!!!
Premium Hoarder update:
Sold 11 items for $1315.
One buyer bought 4 clothing items from this collection. I love selling multiple items to a single buyer! I sold a pair of shoes last night for $475 to really cap off a great week. I had one sale of a $400 pair that fell through. Buyer misunderstood the sizing so I cancelled for them. Bummer!
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That hoarder pile you have keeps paying off. So $1315 of $1,718 was just from those fancy items?
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Yep. I average $115 an item gross sales on the hoarder stuff thanks to the big dollar shoe sales.
I still have more shoes to list – I try to list 5-10 new pair a month. Give a bit of time to sell some to make room in inventory storage.
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And I think you said his family still had a houseful of the same stuff? Is lack of storage the only thing keeping you from buying more?
From your numbers, that hoarder score is the rocket fuel that’s driving your store.
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3/24-3/30
Ebay items in store: 333
Ebay items sold: 5
Ebay gross sales: $176.98
Ebay Net Sales: $106.96 / with COGs of $5
FBM items in store: 79
FBM items sold: 7
FBM Gross and Net Sales: $350 / with COGs of $2
On ebay my “free to me” items I sold were a lion-shaped liquor bottle, a fake scrimshaw horn, and three pairs of “Hey Dude shoes. On FBM my “free to me” items I sold were an antique cast-iron planter for $100, patio cushions, two patio stools, a camo kids hanging pod, two vintage wooden side tables. I also sold a Masters Golf chair for $45 that I bought for $5.
I just read Martin’s latest adventure. It is amazing what is out there. I don’t get to dumpster dive, just look to see what is around the dumpsters. I always have a kid with me, so usually it’s as we drive by my usual apartment complexes. I do type in “free” on FBM to search and had some good results lately. Two weeks ago I must have lucked out and been the first to respond to a woman in historic Charleston giving away original art and furniture. She let my daughter and I take two tables, a chair, and the art – I did my research and listed three original pieces by Andrea Hazel (local artist) on ebay at $990 each. I took another three to a fancy-schmancy consignment shop where I’ve been told the rich people around here buy art secondhand. The shop owner priced my pieces at $1290 and then $498 for two smaller pieces. I only get 55%, but it’s an experiment as I am out of storage space and don’t want to take it with me when I leave SC in August.
My other awesome scavenging story was going to a house on Easter Sunday. The man is moving his mother to a home (in 80s). I had typed in “Free” on FBM. Her mother had lived in this house, and then she did too. I filled up my truck for $100 – not really free but they were patient with me, I was the only one who came on Easter. Items I found so far were the 70s Sears Roebuck mushroom letter holder (valued $75 minimum); two chenille blankets, multiple vintage linens, 70s lamps, two Xmas candle blow-molds, about 40 vintage perfume bottles, bags of vintage stuffies (she collected beanies and care bears), about 6 vintage 80s patchwork purses, vintage NIB lingerie from 60s, Stetson hat…and boxes I haven’t looked through. I’m going back tomorrow on Tuesday (he said the garage was full still) and just taking more boxes from the garage that relate to holidays, will fill up the truck again. I am also taking hundreds of NIB adult diapers – to donate! His mom was happy with that. Happy hunting!! I am keeping the stuff in my truck and may need another storage unit, which I don’t want. Maybe just for one month to sort through it.
I love my covered truck. I feel like having a truck brings you karma. Help somebody move something…and karma comes your way. I would have loved that sofa and table!
cluding Sears ROebuck mushroom
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We are moving onto a sailboat that is in Guatemala, and then plan to sail for a few months and work our way north, live on land for a few months a year, sail a few months, travel some months…take engineering jobs and just kind of soak in the world and country. We are 48 and 50 with a 9 yo and want to get out and about.
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A little late on my numbers this week, but maybe posting now will get some of you slacking lurkers to remain accountable. Hope everyone is enjoying spring weather.
I had what I assume is my best week of all-time in terms of average sale price. It was mostly the product of my spring cleaning, which is a hell of a motivator. So when I haven’t been enjoying the sunshine (or, um, a New Jersey earthquake), I’ve been grinding away.
Sort out a few new curated team lots, get them listed. As long as the quality of cards is there, these lots will sell. I can’t keep some teams like the Boston Bruins and Cincinnati Reds in stock because they sell so fast. Some fandoms are intense. I don’t feel that strongly about anything except the process of reselling. I feel bad for people who sell things online and they hate it. I wish they could feel the joy I feel every step of the way from original purchase to taking a bin full of packages to my local post office.
Tear and cut and slice my way through a postal bin of mail addressed to me, last week’s purchases. It can be a trip seeing the weird ways people protect cards from getting damaged in the mail. The big consignment sellers have everything down to a science. I suppose I do, too, in my own way.
There will be a few bins of weird items to photograph this week. I have two in particular in mind, one full of autographed sports memorabilia (balls and pucks and clothing) and one full of action figures which will be a learning experience if nothing else. I want to organize them better before I pull out the phone camera and take pictures through a cracked screen. But I have to remember I can start with just one or two items and get those photographed and listed. Then do a few more tomorrow. I can get set in my ways, but I will learn to like any process that actually works. I’m not sure I’ve ever stuck with any sort of reselling routine for very long. I don’t recommend this. I’ve always wanted to do better. But change is hard. And have you tried living? It can be awful!
On that note, I feel great about my progress this week. I sold a couple bulky items which required me to become a box engineer, which I recommend. I had a couple other big sales which shipped in flat rate boxes. I have 142 7-day auctions ending tomorrow night and I would like to get $1000 in gross sales/$500 net from them. I think it can happen. I’ve been listing consistently all week. I have a plan for spring cleaning over the next few weeks that I think I can put into action without feeling overwhelmed.
3/24/2024 to 3/30/2024
Items in store: 205
Items sold: 18 — 9 via best offer, 4 via seller initiated offer, 9 via promoted listings
Gross sales: $1892.85 (up 26% from one year ago)
Net sales: $1311.26 (up 41% from one year ago)
Average sales price: $105.16 (up 124% from one year ago)
Highest price sold (net): $340.57— Charles Conlon signed authenticated photograph of New York Giants outfielder George Burns
I had five $100+ sales this week, full details in sale of the week thread but what I realized writing this post was that none of them were from my original niche of individual sports cards. When I started full-time a few years ago, I had a 3000 item store and it was almost all individual cards and books/media purchased from library sales. Now I have a 200 item store, still with individual cards as a part of the mix, but individual cards accounted for just 20% of my overall sales this week.
All five big sales were a result of my spring cleaning. One flat rate box of graded cards which might be equally (or more?) profitable if I just sent them to consignment but lugging a large flat rate box to the post office is one of life’s best feelings. Two signed Charles Conlon photographs to the same collector. 13 pound signed baseball photography book. One enormous autographed gold shimmer photo of MMA fighter Bo Nickal. These are the items which led to an all-time great week.
Lowest price sold (net): $7.84 — Deommo Lenoir Panini Contenders autographed rookie 49ers
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I’m really digging your current sales strategy. Work smarter – not harder! Increase ASP, lot up low dollar items. Improve str. Don’t run a 3000 item store if you don’t have to.
you can “hustle” yourself into worse profits. I listened to a technsports interview with a shoe seller a couple weeks ago. The shoe seller increased his items sold 30% year over year…and made LESS money! That’s a terrible strategy and a good reason why you have to track the metrics that make sense – not just churn out total sales and gross sales numbers at the cost profit per item.
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Oh, my. I had put together my numbers and just had to calculate COGS, and I totally forgot about it. I’ve been listing lots of jewelry lately, so my average is up for this week.
One of the items was a sterling necklace I had bought as a young adult but no longer wanted. I recalled what I paid for it, so that increased my COGS higher than normal.
Week of Mar 24 – 30
Total Items in Store: 1643 eBay, 28 Etsy, 45 Ruby Lane
Items Sold: 10 eBay, 0 Etsy, 1 Ruby Lane
Cost of Items Sold: $103 + $65 Commission
Total Sales: $413.25 eBay; $125 Ruby Lane
Highest Price Sold: Tie-ish eBay $130 for 14K Yellow Gold Serpentine Chain Clear Gems Built-in Pendant; $125 Ruby Lane for 14k Yellow Gold Snake Chain Necklace 20″
Average price: $48.93
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 13
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