Home › Forums › Buying and Selling › Selling on eBay › When You Think You're An "Expert"
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bcfol440.
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11/07/2018 at 7:51 am #51328
Amusing story…
I was the high bidder of several closet lots on an online auction. The listing mentioned brands like Orvis, Soft Surroundings and other good brands that have sold well for me. I was the high bidder on all the lots of clothing (there was a ton) and when I got there I found that there was mostly Drapers & Damons. Like this woman was a HUGE fan of Drapers and Damons. Yes, there were a few pieces of Orvis and Soft Surroundings, but mostly Drapers & Damons. I was not happy. Who buys D&D? (and not the cool D&D, I wouldn’t mind a closet of Dungeons & Dragons)
As I was clearing the closets, I did come across a box of vintage perfumes that have netted me $400 in sales so far. So there’s that.
But that Drapers & Damons that I turned my nose up on? Yeah, it’s selling. I’m up to $600ish in profit so far just from that brand. In total I spent $153 that day and I’m up to over 1k in profit. I guess I need to rethink the brands I ignore. Just when you think you know your niche.
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11/07/2018 at 8:12 am #51329
I usually have things I am excited to list, and then I pile up things I am less excited to list. I have learned that I need to just turn on the listing “robot” in my head and list it all because I really do not know what someone else will be excited about – and that is what really matters at the end of the day. As J&R say – I am not my target audience.
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11/07/2018 at 8:14 am #51330
Yes, I need to get that into my own head. I’m not my target audience. Must make that my new mantra.
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11/07/2018 at 8:36 am #51334
AtmoicStar – I see it all the time and pass on it. The reality is if she bought it, someone else will too! Glad it can have a second life and you are making money. I just went to their website and they do have some cute items! Ha!
I would love to win an online clothing lot auction. The ones I have seen are a giant gaylord of blurry clothing with no brand names.I think when we remember some of this job is simply data entry it takes the “I don’t want to…” out of the mix.
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11/07/2018 at 9:56 am #51342
Yes, just like data entry. Whenever I sell one of these D&D pieces I’m like really? Why do you want this, lol. While I have St John collecting dust, I’m selling this stuff? Craziness.
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11/07/2018 at 10:05 pm #51392
D&D.. Drapers and Damons – I had to go look that up just to figure out what you were talking about – oh my gosh I was laughing and groaning at the thought of listing a death pile of those things… that would be my worst nightmare. I am glad they are selling well for you and may you get no returns!
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11/08/2018 at 7:16 am #51397
Wow, that clothing is hideous! :O
Could it be selling well because other clothing resellers think there’s no demand for it? I see there are only 360 listings when you search “Drapers and Damons.” If someone’s a fan of that clothing line, there really isn’t that much to choose from. At that point, a “cheap, avoidable” piece of clothing goes up in value for the handful of people that might be fighting for the few pieces of it that a few, kind clothing sellers bother to list online.
I know the “bolo” clothing people are devaluing their items listed by constantly boasting about what’s “popular” like it’s their job. They’ve created their own competition with thousands of pieces of similar clothing items being introduced to the marketplace to compete with them. It is smart to take up an opposing strategy, by listing the items that look like junk but appear to oddly be good bread & butter.
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11/08/2018 at 7:54 am #51403
I know nothing about the brand, but suspect Almasty is right: Supply and demand—looks like right now demand might be outpacing supply. Of course, that could change if one of the YouTube clothing sellers declares the brand a BOLO…..so sell it fast LOL
And yes, J&R’s words to shop by: “I am not my target audience”….I remind myself of that pretty much every time I’m out sourcing. It really does pay off.
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11/08/2018 at 8:32 am #51404
We love to find items that “no one wants”. All this means is that the item not popular to a wider audience so has very little competition. But the people who do want the item, REALLY want the item.
Let the Amazon sellers oull their hair out chasing after selling the hottest thing this Xmas.
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11/08/2018 at 9:38 am #51405
Check out the number of listings for Drapers Damons, without “and” or “&”. There are thousands for sale and only a few hundred sold.
If I was presented with a huge pile of it for next to nothing, you bet I would try to sell it – probably in lots of the same size. If I was picking it out, I would only get the ornate “hideously wonderful” pieces and leave all the basics for someone else. “Hideously wonderful” stuff sells really well for me. It’s like art, you’ll know it when you see it.-
11/08/2018 at 11:29 am #51420
2,800 currently listed, 524 sold. Still seems like a good sell-through rate, and not *too* badly over saturated. I guess if you’re a seller typing “drapers and damons” instead of “drapers & damons,” AND you have a buyer that is searching using “and” instead of “&,” you have a good chance of selling your item with little competition.
If anything, that says a lot about the ebay search algorithm if it cannot combine all results for “and” and “&.” Bad AI!
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11/08/2018 at 4:25 pm #51439
Never heard of D&D so of course I had to google it. Apparently “Draper’s and Damon’s, an 85-year-old women’s clothing chain, is closing all its stores.” Yeah, we’ve got one like that, a clothing store for 85-year-old women, it’s called Marks and Spencers.
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11/08/2018 at 4:42 pm #51440
Aren’t all M&S customers dead? I remember my UK born grandparents dragging me to M&S in Canada. I like the Wikipedia entry on the M&S Canadian stores (RIP):
The company expanded into Canada in 1973, and at one point had forty-seven stores across Canada. Despite various efforts to improve its image, the chain was never able to move beyond its reputation there as a stodgy retailer, one that catered primarily to senior citizens and expatriate Britons. The shops in Canada were smaller than British outlets, and did not carry the same selection. In the late 1990s, further efforts were made to modernise them and also expand the customer base. Unprofitable locations were closed. Nonetheless, the Canadian operations continued to lose money, and the last 38 shops in Canada were closed in 1999.
I find it strange when I watch various British TV “programmes” that have M&S, Boots, and other stores that failed in North America a long time ago in the background on the high street. Ocada is next in line – they are coming to Canada in a big way now – I think they will be challenged as well.
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11/08/2018 at 5:14 pm #51442
Had to check the Wikipedia article on Ocado- I’ve seen the vans but as it’s an online shop I’ve got no experience of it. Especially as it was partnered with Waitrose, which is expensive. I once saw a jar of green garden twine retailing at 5 GBP there! That’s a few cents worth of string in a jam jar.
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11/08/2018 at 5:15 pm #51443
I had never heard of Drapers & Damons or seen their clothing while scavenging, must only be in certain parts of the country. But I have done well with clothing items that definitely appeal to the mature set on eBay. I’m guessing that older people are more likely to use eBay to shop for used clothes, while younger people probably go to Poshmark first.
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11/08/2018 at 9:01 pm #51446
Personally D&D isn’t my style NOR would I have ever picked it up by choice, but I’m sure happy it’s selling. The youtube “gurus” give all kinds of crap advice. Don’t pick up Chico’s, LL Bean, Lands’ End, blah blah blah and I sell that stuff every day. Whatever. More for me to sell!
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11/08/2018 at 11:06 pm #51447
The gurus tend to swing toward “fashion” IMO. I am happy to pick up catalog brands (or mature brands) if the entry price is low. Would I spend $8 on an Alfred Dunner top? No. But $2 or the bins? Sure.
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