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Jay, thanks for sharing your strategy. I am flying Norwegian low fare which limits carry on to 10Kg plus a personal item (5Kg max I think). I am going to walk on with a backpack and a man-purse. Like you, I plan to purchase any necessarys on the road. The charge for a 20 Kg checked bag on return is $45. While traveling, I aim to source light weight ephemera, or find flips that are less then 20 Kg and cover the $45 fee.
Antique Frog – thanks for the laugh to start my day. If you were looking in London for a lot of reduced price but high-end sunscreen, where would you look? Thanks, Daniel.
Thanks for the tips on finding luggage and navigating the charity shops. I like the idea of buying a piece of luggage early in my journey and filling it while travelling. I am doing trains and buses to Paris, Zurich, Munich and Berlin, so no added fees for the extra bag with those passages, but Berlin to London and London to US are cheap carriers that will charge $45 each –> only makes sense to carry an extra bag if I can make enough money to cover those transport fees. I still may use the carry an extra bag strategy and then make a determination in Berlin about whether to ship items home vs. carrying in luggage vs. donating.
01/01/2019 at 11:19 am in reply to: How do you spend your quarterly eBay Subscription Coupon for Shipping Supplies? #54301Thanks for feedback. I will give the polymailers a try.
Oh, I really want to hear your experience. I purchased ~65 pairs of designer underwear and listed them near the top of the market with promotion, but so far, no nibbles. I look forward to hearing an update on your experience. thanks.
12/31/2018 at 11:02 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 392: No Alarm Clocks – We chat with Troy aka T-Satt about the eBay Lifestyle #54218Troy and Jay, thanks for the great episode. I really appreciate the emphasis on “knowing your numbers” for folks that are considering becoming full time sellers. I think you guys also make the case for knowing your personal expenses for people in all walks of life and I think that is really important too.
I am not a numbers guy. (In my 20s I got a studio art degree and spent a few years in my own personal Boheme before going back to school to pursue a practical career.) Conversations about numbers always are going to rub up against my personal weakness. So as not a numbers person, here is what I do to stay on top of our numbers:
(1) We make more money than we spend and we put the difference in savings.
(2) We pay off credit cards every month.
(3) When we buy something big (vacation, car) it is planned, and we pay cash. (It helps that I really think of big expenses as being anything more then about $5 and Jen is similar but sets her threshold at about $30).
(4) I stay on top of the savings at least quarterly and we set savings goals annually.
(5) We invest savings in index funds with Vanguard and do not worry about markets.I am not a full time eBay seller and my eBay business is a new challenge for me. I make money, but I have not drilled down to determine exactly how much money I have made. I have kept records and will be tallying up the total expenses for 2018 in preparation for doing my taxes.
Bottom line: if you do not make more money then you spend, you have to really pay close attention to the numbers. I have not had to do that until this eBay business took off. Now I have to pay closer attention to my eBay numbers in order to be able to optimize my taxes.
I have been chilling for most of December – not sourcing nor listing much. I still did OK last week.
Here are some of the more interesting sales:I picked up this Nintendo World Mug for $0.50 at a thrift store only because it was Nintendo (I know nothing about Nintendo, but figured someone collects it). I do not recall why I concluded that it was a rare mug, but that led me to price it high, and last week I took a best offer of $20 plus shipping.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/192552018782For a while J&R were mentioning that copper is popular. This is one of several copper pieces I picked up pretty cheap and have moved in the last year: https://www.ebay.com/itm/192667008121 Sold for best offer of $35
I know nothing of binoculars, but am learning to do my research because it is a market with huge variations over what appear to me to be small differences. This is one of two sales I have made from a lot 4 binoculars that I picked up for $50. (The first set went for around $100). These sold for my asking price of $45: https://www.ebay.com/itm/192679586788
I took a best offer of $25 on this vintage Khandahar sweater https://www.ebay.com/itm/192559601690 It went to a business in Italy – not sure what they will be doing with it. The sweater was tiny – either it shrank or American humans have grown enormous since 1955.
12/24/2018 at 11:04 am in reply to: Sad story I heard this week. Makes me thankful to sell online! #53949I love these guys https://www.popupbusinessschool.co.uk I think their number one guiding principle is to start business with low to no overhead.
In my youth, I waited tables and saw so many restaurants flop. A start up restaurant has to be one of the most risky businesses to undertake.
Merry Christmas to all. I am so grateful to Jay and Ryanne and this community.
Since retiring at the start of July, my sales on eBay have exceeded expectations. I am comfortable now that I can earn enough to supplement my income/savings enough to afford to help my kids with college and to do some international travel.
In 2019, I hope to tighten up my real-time record keeping so that I will be able to easily report my numbers in this forum. Best wishes to all in the new year, Daniel.
I recently upgraded my subscription to premium. I have been bouncing around 400 listings for a few months and finally was forced to examine the math when I realized I was hesitating to list items that may not have a ready buyer because they were going to cost me $0.25 per month. Of course, the math showed that I should have converted as soon as I got to 400 listings and now I am kicking myself for not switching sooner.
I have been wrestling for a while with the $0.25/month listing fee. Like Elaine on Seinfeld, I have been wondering which of my listings is “sponge-worthy” when I should have made the switch to premium and gone on to log 500+ listings. Anyway, my $0.02.
Cool graphic Simplicio – thanks for sharing. I wonder if you overlayed year of sale if you would see a pattern? It would need some smoothing, but I would guess you would find more recent years distributed more heavily on the 12 to 3 to 6 side vs. the 6 to 9 to 12 side.
Welcome Mitch. Hope you keep finding lots of valuable info here. Best, Daniel.
This was a very fine Made in USA Chinese Checkers game that was nearly mint in the original box. When I listed it, someone else had a very amateur listing with the same item up for a low price. Initially, I was going to go a few dollars more just for the condition of mine, but I decided to go with a high price instead figuring mine would be the last one standing and someone would want it as a Christmas gift. I took a best offer of 51.10 plus shipping: https://www.ebay.com/itm/192666984379
Pair of Pearl Izumi running shoes in good condition https://www.ebay.com/itm/192671198920 I took a best offer of $20
Another vintage 1968 gay-themed paperback sold for 68.50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/192721662594
I am always tempted by exquisite little finds like these snack sets from yesteryear. I seldom buy them, but took a chance on these. I bought these for $7 (paid less for other items as a result of overpaying for these) and listed them same day and they sold overnight for $38.50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/192754359297 I am not sure if I should have asked more for these?
I have had this Key to the City of Atlantic City for years. It was a Christmas miracle that it sold for full asking price of $63 https://www.ebay.com/itm/192547604551
At an estate sale in the early fall I picked up a dozen various flags that were vintage new in the box. This one sold for full asking price of $38. https://www.ebay.com/itm/192666804252
This old distressed belt and buckle were a yard sale find for $1. I was hesitant to list since they were in pretty terrible condition, but I decided that someone would want an authentic cowboy-looking artifact so I went ahead and listed and described all the wear. Sold in 1 – 2 months for my asking price of $28.50 https://www.ebay.com/itm/192713644233
This Disney Hat featured an image of Mickey from PLANE CRAZY. The hat was last produced in the mid 1990’s so it is pretty rare. Initially I put a really high price on it (north of $50) and had watchers. Finally before Christmas, I lowered the price to $35 and it sold last week.https://www.ebay.com/itm/192628112412
I found a series of Tolkein calendars from 1973 to ~1979 and picked them all up for a couple bucks. I knew they would be valued by collectors and I have been selling them one by one for $18.50 each. https://www.ebay.com/itm/192680347140
If you ever come across anything like this – BUY IT. I have a box full of photographic negatives that are physique shots taken in the late 1940s to early 1950s. I listed a new series and sold 10 negatives for over $800 (mix of full price and best offers). https://www.ebay.com/itm/192737637059 I put up a new series every few weeks to make sure I do not flood the market (small number of buyers are looking for these).
So sorry that I googled “nadgers” to better understand the conversation above.
Can confirm that there is not a good solution for paperbacks of the 1950s to 1970s. I now just describe and photograph and list. I am often surprised to find that people are willing to pay high prices for books whose covers are flawed.
12/19/2018 at 10:30 am in reply to: Has anyone found shelving units that will fit 3, 30 Gallon containers/shelf? #53690This past summer, I went to Costco and was able to test the bins and shelving unit in the store to make sure they would work together before I purchased. I really wanted to have shelves that held thre bins per shelf x 4 shelves and not end up with wasted space either because the bins were too wide (e.g. 2.5 bins per shelf) or the shelves would not stack four bins. I think the big box stores have shelves and bins similarly displayed so you can check sizes with the actual bins on the actual shelves.
If you have a low ceiling, consider measuring the height and determine the clearance for a bin pulled from the top shelf. Also, leave enough clearance between shelves to easily pull bins out.
When you do re-organize, be smart and put all the heaviest stuff in the bottom bins. Best wishes, Daniel.
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