Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Have I really just come across another person as analytical about their eBay business as me? Yes, I’m sure we’d get along great! We are in the minority. I have noticed that many eBay sellers equate large inventory with success. Meanwhile I much prefer my emptying shelves and get a little anxious feeling when my inventory level creeps up instead of down.
PS – Nice storage system. I will look into Easy Auction Tracker if I outgrow my current numbering system in the future.My numbers for the week of 4/23/17:
Total Items in Store: 105
Items Sold: 18
Cost of Items Sold: $513
Total Sales: $28.50 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $165 (Collectible Disney Snowglobe)
Average Price Sold: $28.50
Returns: 0When I started having babies, I left my job as a Purchasing Agent to stay home with the kids, a decision I will never regret even though I liked my work. We have 3 kids and learned how to live on one income by being frugal…it’s my nature anyways, I find being thrifty to be pretty fun and rewarding.
When my youngest went to Preschool, I filled in my 2.5 hours three times a week with eBay. I would source with my son in a stroller (he still hates garage sales to this day!) and as soon as I dropped him off on school days, it would be back to the house to list. Back then I remember thinking if I could just make an extra $100 a week, that would be such a help to our family finances! It went better than expected. Once he went to first grade, I actually had some real time to make eBay a successful part time thing. Now my kids are 4th-10th graders and what makes eBay such a great fit with a family is the flexibility. What makes it hard is the older they get, the more expensive they get. So there is always that question in the back of my mind. That pull in two different directions. If I go back to work full time, we will be able to set aside alot more for College and Retirement. If I go bigger with eBay it’s kind of a question mark how much more I could actually do with limited space and interrupted time. I really enjoyed reading the comments above by T-Satt. Sell through rates have always been a focus for me. I measure my success by a high sell through and not a high number of items in inventory. I think it comes from my Purchasing background to see high inventory as a negative. Basically as tied up money. But wondering if 100 items brings 2K in sales, then would that really translate to 200 bringing in 4K. I know I could source the product, I’m just wondering if the sales would really follow the equation.
Oh, one other thing. I found my best eBay find to date. A vintage Herman Miller fiberglass shell chair! Found it on a local Facebook group for $20. Hoping to get $650 for it. Rayanne can you suggest the best way to ship something like this? The legs are epoxy’d on and I would not want to remove them. Any advise would be appreciated.My numbers for the week of 4/8/17:
Total Items in Store: 108
Items Sold: 10
Cost of Items Sold: $18
Total Sales: $200 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $35 (Ortholite Sandals)
Average Price Sold: $20
Returns: 0I missed a couple of weeks of checking in and reporting my numbers. Busy with family stuff and I can’t believe how fast the weeks are going. My kids only have 4 weeks of school left! Yay but yikes! Average selling price was lower than usual as I wade through the bottom of my death pile. I have just a few boxes left of stuff I purchased more than a year ago. Almost done and then I will be listing all the fresh new stuff sourced in the current year at least! Gearing up for warmer weather, and the garage sales have already started. I like to look at my eBay business in terms of Seasons. Buying season is just beginning and I stock up like a squirrel storing nuts for winter. I list as much as I can but no way to keep up with the new inventory. Then come September, when the kids go back to school and the sourcing winds down, it’s listing season. I hunker down for the winter with plenty to list and no real reason to leave the house. It works out well to think of it in cycles like this, seems like a natural flow. And I find myself looking forward to each “season”, the new focus helps me not get bored.
I have to share about an awesome find I had yesterday! Picked up a Herman Miller fiberglass shell chair for $20 off of a local facebook group. Hoping to get $650 for it. My best find so far…ever!
Have a great trip Jay and Ryanne!I know I am over-meticulous when it comes to cleaning. I don’t do alot of clothing/textiles but I usually wash or at least steam them when I do. Scrubbing down dirty bottoms of boots. I sell alot of toys and sometimes use wipes for quick cleaning but often really wash them with lysol and water in the sink…using a magic eraser on scuffs to get them looking practically new. I know this is a big time suck for me. I can’t seem to stop myself. On the flip side, my customers are very happy with item condition and often leave glowing feedback. I have 100% ratings and can count on 1 hand the number of returns I have had (going on 7 yrs part time). But honestly, I want to speed up my processing efficiency and I know this is where I spend way too much time. Maybe it’s because I know alot of my items are going into the hands of children, and within that category there is a higher level of expectation on “clean” than on antiques or other product categories.
My numbers for the week of 3/26/17:
Total Items in Store: 100
Items Sold: 24
Cost of Items Sold: $62
Total Sales: $455 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $55 – NIB Nintendo Controller
Average Price Sold: $18.95
Returns: 0Another really good week of sales. My average price was lower than I like but that is partly due to my experiment with selling multiples. I sold out of one item I bought in a few weeks, another in 1 week. I have never bought more than a dozen of one thing yet…still very new to it and I don’t want to go too deep on any one item. I did by some fleece kids bathrobes and have not sold any yet. Mostly I hope because it is not in season, but some DO sell at this time of year. I am the only seller with this particular character robe, but the market in general is flooded. So I thought this would be a great item to try out Promoted Listings. Well…I am a week into the “Promotion”. I chose a 10 day time frame and a 10% fee level. I have 3 page views (I am pretty sure these were all me) and 0 watchers. I’m not clear on exactly how items are promoted in this program. Just higher up on the search ranking? I should go back and read what eBay says about it to see if I missed something but I remember thinking what they actually do for you seems vague.
I would like to continue sprinkling multiples in with the thrifted stuff. I love doing one listing and having it pay out over and over.
Totally agree with the consistency is key lesson. My new years goal of 20 new listings a week is really producing in increase in sales. I don’t know how you do 20 a day. I think I spend way too much time cleaning/preping my items for photos. Anybody just list in the condition found without cleaning? I just can’t do it, even though it appeals to me to skip the step.T-Satt, Did you get this info of them using Zip Codes from eBay Radio? If not, where is your source of info?
Assuming that is correct, wouldn’t this new program potentially be a big boost for sellers within a close range of more densely populated areas/more buyers where the closer sellers (like closer Amazon warehouses) are or in a central location? While at the same time being bad for sellers in more remote areas who’s shipping will more often take a day or two more? I wouldn’t like it if I was a seller living in Alaska if this is the case.But 3 days isn’t 2 days and 4 days isn’t 3.
My reaction when I order something promised in 4 days, received in 4 days: Cool
My reaction when promised in 4 days, received in 3: Awesome
My reaction when promised in 3 days but received in 4: This was late.Unless eBay will be filtering results by zip code (thus only items shown within the 2 day delivery radius + 1 day handling), I don’t know how they are going to promise 3 day delivery when we don’t use carriers that will support that time frame. I am not as worried about this as it may appear. I know things work out and adjustments will happen. Still, seems like 4 day delivery is the only thing that can be consistently guaranteed unless your handling is same day.
I guess I have always been of the mindset that is better to under-promise and exceed expectations that to over-promise and under deliver. (I often do ship same day if possible, and often upgrade shipping from Parcel Select to Priority, which is cheaper anyways with the eBay discount, and my feedback shows customers are thrilled with the speedy delivery…they got it quicker than they thought they would).
Looking at this from a customer view, does “3 days or less” ever equate to 4 days in your mind? It does not to me. And so far all info we have received on this Guaranteed Delivery program says 3 days or less. As a platform, I think it is a mistake to over promise on delivery – the reputation of the platform as a whole affects us all to a certain extent. A customer that isn’t really in a rush, but is being directly marketed to as being offered 3 day or less shipping, will suddenly be disappointed when he receives his item on day 4. And so the eBay platform as a whole (not one individual seller) gets a reputation of not making good on delivery promises. So this customer who got their item “a day later than promised” but would have been happy with 4 day delivery in the first place has had a somewhat negative experience on the platform.My numbers for the week of 3/19/17:
Total Items in Store: 110
Items Sold: 18
Cost of Items Sold: $42
Total Sales: $551 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $60 (I had several items sell at this price. The most interesting was a vintage modern industrial desk lamp. Also sold a huge Gemmy Easter Yard Inflatable)
Average Price Sold: $30.61
Returns: 0We went to a NHL game in our area. It was “free bobblehead” night. They passed out tens of thousands of identical bobbleheads, one to each person. Listed them for $19.99 with free shipping and sold all 3 within a week! Paid for our beer and nachos at least!
Correct me where I am wrong in my thinking. Here’s what I don’t understand about the Guaranteed Delivery Program: USPS estimates (not guarantees) a 1 to 3 day delivery on both First Class and Priority Mail. I offer 1 day handling on all my items. 1 day handling + up to 3 days delivery = 4 DAYS. Four days, not “under 3”. The only ways to have packages consistently reach my customers in 3 days or less are: 1.Ship Express 2.Ship same day via 1st Class or Priority and cross fingers that USPS estimate is met (I know it usually is, but not always especially around the holidays). 3.Have 1 day handling and hope my customers are within the 2 day delivery range on the map.
I haven’t heard others express the same concern about this. Am I misunderstanding something? I know it is an opt in kind of thing. But I also know every opt in you reject puts the people who DO opt in at an advantage over you.My numbers for the week of 3/12/17:
Total Items in Store: 100
Items Sold: 20
Cost of Items Sold: $61
Total Sales: $452 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $65 – Nerf Vulcan (was an UPI last week)
Average Price Sold: $22.60
Returns: 0We are going to get spoiled in 2017! Sales have been very good so far this year. Historically Jan/Feb are good months for me and then it starts to slow down. But so far, March has been another good month!
My average selling price is lower because I am dabbling into some “multiples”…new items that I have 10-12 qty of but with a lower profit margin. I figured this was a good way to increase my sales without technically doing much more work. So far so good.
I am going on year 7 selling on eBay and I have only run into a “scammer” on 2 occasions….well, one for sure and one I just heavily suspect. I had a hard to find Barbie Happy Family Smart House with a family of 4 dolls. Bought for my daughters for Christmas when they were little, we were the original owners. For some reason the Kelly doll that came with it is considered the “holy grail” of Kelly Dolls…hahaha. They sell for a high price. Anyways, I listed the 4 dolls in a lot, separate from the house. There was only one other listing up at the same time as mine. Guess who bought my dolls? The seller with the other listing. I am sure she bought mine to get them off the market. When she received them she promptly opened a return, claiming the Kelly doll’s hair had been cut. It had absolutely not been cut and my pictures showed front & back of each doll. So she paid shipping and I got the dolls back. While all of this was going on, she sold her lot. I was happy to get the dolls in the same condition as I sent them. I was worried about that but they were fine. And mine got relisted and quickly sold to someone else. It was just a waste of time though.
Second scam was just this past Christmas. I sold a vintage color wheel to a buyer who’s user name had ChristmasColorWheels in it. He claimed damage and sent un unclear photo of a broken socket. I refunded without return because it “could have” gotten damaged in shipping (it was uninsured) although apparently the external shipping box had no damage. And he was from CA so the shipping back and forth would have been very high to get a broken item back. I decided to just eat it. But I was suspicious because of his user name. I did a search for the item and there was a new listing for a color wheel that looked an awful lot like mine…It was a very specific/rare brand and style color wheel and the only one on eBay at the time. The seller had the same City/State as my newly refunded customer. A bit too coincidental in my mind. I think it was the same guy with 2 separate accounts. No proving it though. And for my own mental health you just have to let these things go. They really do happen so very rarely. Twice in 2 years isn’t bad. And I was really only out any $ on that second one.My numbers for the week of 3/5/17:
Total Items in Store: 101
Items Sold: 11
Cost of Items Sold: $46
Total Sales: $261 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $65 (another nerf gun…but they have not paid yet and I had to open a case)
Average Price Sold: $23.72
Returns: 0First week since the new year that I did not reach my weekly listing goal. I’m pretty bummed about that but it couldn’t be helped. I have been making great progress on my unlisted stash and really want to get all the older purchases up before the buying season begins in another month or so.
My numbers for the week of 2/26/17:
Total Items in Store: 102
Items Sold: 16
Cost of Items Sold: $52
Total Sales: $415 + shipping
Highest Price Sold: $65 Nerf Vulcan
Average Price Sold: $25.93
Returns: 1Really far behind this week. I have not been able to listen to the podcast yet but Congratulations on episode 300!
I have been dealing with some personal tragedies so haven’t listed this week.
Top it off with more customer issues in 1 week than I have had in the past few years combined! Included in my numbers was a second $65 sale that ended up as an unpaid item (second time this particular item has sold and not been paid for). Had a return request but the customer was on the west coast so shipping back and forth was worse than offering her a partial refund (which she accepted, and resulted in me just barely breaking even, actually loosing a couple bucks after fees but I guess you just have to swallow it sometimes). AND I had a GSP customer contact me that they were being asked to pay extra customs for delivery of their item. They sent me a photo of the document from Royal Mail citing customs charge due. I went through HOURS on the phone with eBay. There is no direct contact to GSP “Specialists”, eBay is the middleman. I was told I would have an answer within 72 hours, nothing. Called and talked to an eBay supervisor who promised me I would have an answer by the end of the day, nothing. While requesting help from a good FB group I am in, asking if anyone had a direct contact to anyone at GSP, one guy said “GSP doesn’t use Royal Mail, they have direct carriers. I bet that isn’t your package.” He was right! I couldn’t read it on my laptop but when I super-zoomed in on my phone, the photo of the notice the customer sent me was dated 20 days before my item even sold! MY package was still in transit, actually delivered today. Also today, I finally received a response from the GSP dept…thanks for nothing. I already figured it out.
I probably sound negative but this has honestly been a hellacious week. I feel like just jumping right to next Monday and starting fresh.The way I found out about them was by giving my monsterous lot (100s of them) to my 11 year old daughter over summer break one year. Taught her how to search ebay to find the pet # for each (may need to enter some or all to find the correct #: animal type/breed/color/eye color/and shape in the pupil of the eye). I had her asterik any pet worth $10 or more by itself. Took her a few days and she got $ for the job + a bonus when the 1st high priced pet ($35-40) sold. This was a few years back. The market is very saturated now. But I still buy them and can now easily see if there’s $$ pets in the lot. Basically look for Great Danes, Cocker Spaniels, check individual short hair cats or lot them, keep your eyes open for a super hero cat. I take all the common ones and always do $.99 auctions with them. Easily get bid up past $70 with a lot of 50 common pets that aren’t worth my time to list individually (though some people do). It’s good to keep in mind that although there is a big time commitment in researching, once you do, you are basically an expert and will have that knowledge that others don’t. I’ve probably sold about $1K in these silly little pets over the last few years.
PS – Most playsets aren’t really worth it but some are (Rescue Tails Center). If I have junk ones, I put 1 with a few common pets on a local facebook group and people line up to pay $20 for it.
AmazingTaste…I am amazed! Do you have multiple employees? How many people does it take to run a business with such big volume? Thanks.
One of the best categories for sure things for me is Toys. Examples: Lots, Bulk lots of Legos (incl. some non-rare minifigs, not sorted by color or anything, include weight and actual photos of the lot), lot of Littlest Pet Shops (again, not including any rares). They will get bid up every time. And they work well because they are not identical to anyone else’s item…so they have good potential to go higher than the going rate because someone has locked in on mine as the one they want. In other categories, old tech like ipods work well. I did it with a broken/for parts Roomba this month. My advice for these type of items is to start at a $.99 auction and I always include this final sentance in my listing “Let’s start the bidding at $.99 and see where it goes!” Kind of gets some excitement going and lets buyers know it’s not just a piece of junk that’s priced low.
Actions are not dead if you know how to use them.
