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Yes, we live on a small ranch (32 acres) and we fall under the rural rules.
No, it’s actually a built wooden cabin. Rather unusual, but functional. One day, when I’m a big eBay seller like you, I will build a nice big storage unit and then this will be kitted out as my office. For now it’s just spillover storage for the stuff that doesn’t fit in my garage. Truthfully, it’s holding all my death piles! LOL
“This package would have survived being thrown off a tall building.” about a glass item that I was terrified wouldn’t survive the mail carrier.
I bought a hunting cabin! It’s small, only 8′ x 16′, wooden and on skids, but it’s fully insulated and has a little window a/c unit, two windows, and is fully wired. It cost me $2,000 delivered, and another $550 to get it wired up. The interior is not finished, the walls are just covered with silver insulation, and the floors are plain plywood.
My husband built a set of hanging rails on one of the small ends for my clothes that I hang rather than fold (jackets, coats, etc.) and I’ve bought a shelving unit off Craigslist to start filling it with inventory.
Thanks for your responses, everyone. Sorry about my slow response, I had knee surgery and it has taken me a couple days to get back online.
Jay – I thought I had bookmarked where I read that 12 photos are preferred. I can’t find that particular article, but I did find these two:
I’m new to selling, only just over 100 items in my store, so perhaps the suggestion to “use all 12” was what stuck in my mind? I’ve been working on filling all 12 slots, and it’s easy when there are flaws, damage, or lots of really interesting details, but it’s a time sink when the item is simple and 2-4 photos will do. I did note the 2nd link suggests 8-12. Perhaps that’s what I should shoot for.
I use plastic tote bins on industrial shelving. Each shelf has a rack number, starting from the bottom (R1) and each shelf holds 3 bins. The bins are labelled left to right, B1, B2, B3. This rack-and-bin code is written onto packaging tape stuck on the front of the bins. So the bottom shelf holds R1B1, R1B2, R1B3. Beneath the code is written the designation for each bin. R1B1 is clothes, R1B2 is shoes, R1B3 is books, for example.
I never put two bins with the same designation together. E.g. R1B1 will never be shoes with R1B2 as shoes too. The reason for this is that I can accidentally put shoes into the “shoes” bin, without thinking about the RB number. By having a different rack and bin number for a designation, it ensures I put my items into the correct bin. For the same reason, a rack will not have a bin with the same designation as the bin on the rack above it. So R1B1 will not have shoes with R2B1 holding shoes too.
Once an item is listed, it is packed into a plastic bag and tied closed. Then it goes into the bin and that code is entered into my listing. Where I have more than one item that is similar (jeans is a big one for this) I add a colored sticker onto the front of the bag. These are just colored dots with codes written onto them; A1, A2, A3. I grab the next sticker from the page, put it on the bag, then add the color and code to the listing. So, a location code for a listing might look like this: R1B1RA99 = Rack 1 Bin 1 Red sticker A99. Sticker numbers go to 99 then change to the next letter of the alphabet (B1).
So far, finding anything in my inventory has been easy. The location code is included in my listing and so I have no duplicate listing information to complete. I have ADHD and if I had multiple spreadsheets to update, I’d never get it done. I am forced to keep my listing system as simple as possible to ensure I maintain it. I am also forced to keep my stuff extremely organized, or I’d never find it. The bin system has worked well for me so far.
Clothes that cannot be stored in bins, however, are stored on hanging rails. My husband build the rails for me with separating brackets. This turned out brilliantly. Now I have numbered the rails in the same way I numbered the racks, so the lower rails are HR1 (hanging rail 1) and the brackets are numbered as the bins. A blouse is listed, and hung on HR1B1 (hanging rail 1, bracket 1) and that code is included in my listing.
I sell mostly second hand, so have not had a problem with duplicates yet, apart from the jeans, where I can have multiples of one particular brand. They are usually different sizes though, so I check my photos in my listings to ensure I have the correct pair.
Shoes are either in bins, each pair tied into one plastic bag to ensure I send the correct left and right shoe in the pair (I read how somebody on SL sent the left shoe of one pair and the right of another) or in their original boxes, when I’m lucky enough to find them thus. These are labeled by rack and box, so R1Bx12.
