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Would this really be a scam if you’re getting the money & shipping to a verified address? Essentially it’s the same thing we’re all doing – buying something for $x price, then [hopefully] selling elsewhere for more.
“Drop shipping” is legit. Just means that someone is using you as their sourcer/producer/shipper. I do some hobby photography on the side and sell prints on Etsy. I’m just the photographer, don’t have the equipment to print professional quality prints, so I use a high quality online printer and ship “white label” from them directly to the customer – they don’t put their company, cost of printing, etc on the invoice so the customer thinks they’re getting the print directly from me. No harm, no foul.
08/16/2018 at 1:59 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 373: Should Running A Business Be Complicated? #47585Echoing RR’s notes about vinyl sales. Discogs is an amazing resource. Matrix numbers in the deadwax are the best way to check which pressing/variation you have. Also know that UPCs were not manditory on all retail products until 1983 – so if you have a Led Zeppelin IV (released in 1971) with a UPC on the back cover, it’s a 1980s repressing.
All variables taken into account: Condition, Pressing Rarity, Band/Title, and so on. For example, I currently have 4x copies of The Rolling Stones Through the Past Darkly. https://ebay.to/2P8UOZz They range in price from $19.99 to $39.99 based on 1) original pressing or not, 2) condition of vinyl, 3) condition of sleeve, 4) era produced, 5) how many were originally produced, etc.
What I would suggest is that to start while you’re learning is stick to the basics and with the types of bands you know. Beatles, Stones, Floyd, Zep, etc will always be a good seller simply on name recognition. Beatles original presses command a premium because 1) they are still incredibly popular, 2) they are 50+ years old, 3) there were so many variations and label changes (Parlophone, Apple, Capitol, etc), 4) many were destroyed in the late 60s/early 70s when there was back lash against some of the things they were saying about race, religion, government, etc.
Original pressings are generally preferred over repressing (although PLENTY of exceptions exist to this rule). The lower the run, the better, like 90s as an example – by then it was all cassettes & cds so very few records were produced. Original 90s pressings of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, REM, U2, etc are highly saught after just because very few were ever made.
Get to know what record label logos looked like over the years – Columbia records has been around forever, and their logo and labels on the vinyl have changed; based on what the logo looks like also helps determine age & thus value (http://www.cvinyl.com/labelguides/columbia.php) – my Miles Davis Milestones on a “six eye” Columbia label is likely worth nearly $200, but the same LP on a “one eye” Columbia label is likely only worth a couple bucks.
I could go on for days on the info that I’ve learned by simply being in the game for the past 3 years, but hopefully this gives you a good start.
Most importantly, ENJOY THE MUSIC!
08/13/2018 at 1:22 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 373: Should Running A Business Be Complicated? #47383Yeah, ideally we wanted to visit Scandinvaia, but my wife could only get a week off and we felt like we needed at least 10 days. PacNW was an easy trip – flew to Seattle and stayed for 3 days, got a rental Mustang Convertible (was actually the cheapest option at only $25/day), drove through the Mt Rainier park, past Mt St Helens, then along the Columbia River to Portland. Stayed in Portland for 3 days, took a day trip to the Willamette Valley (Oregon’s wine country). Very cool, very relaxing trip. I found that Seattle was more interesting, more things to do, but Portland seemed very livable – very similar in my mind to Pittsburgh with the rivers, mountains, and old industrial buildings turned chic. We had AirBnbs in both places and Portland’s was far nicer.
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This reply was modified 3 years ago by
Brian Treasures from Grandmas.
08/13/2018 at 11:38 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 373: Should Running A Business Be Complicated? #47355Been away off and on for the past few weeks – birthday trip to Seattle & Portland, travelling for work, and visiting family. Haven’t posted fora while (although I have been listening to the show on planes & in hotels π ), so here are my numbers for the past 4 weeks.
Weeks July 15-Aug 11, 2018
Total Items in Store: 954
Items Sold: 49 (1 Amazon)
Cost of Items Sold: $473 (26.3% of sales)
Total Sales: $1,801.40
Highest Price Sold: $175 (Valentino shoes https://www.ebay.com/itm/202206053669)
Average Price Sold: $36.76
Returns: 0 (1 case opened, although no return yet)
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $385
Number of items listed this week: 70
Promoted listings test: 15 sales, $474.75 (26.4% of total sales), $38.38 fees (8.1% of sales)Decent, although not great for 4 weeks. Had some extended handling time, although never more than +5 days because in my travels I did come home for a few days at a time and got shipping done while home. Ran some sales and actually sold some “mistakes” – didn’t lose any money on them, but they were less profitable than I like (percentage-wise) because I got caught up and paid too much. Don’t really like calling them mistakes, but learnings.
– the Valentino shoes above – paid $125 for them thinking I could get over $300 but only got $175
– United Airlines silverware – paid $45 and sold for $125 https://www.ebay.com/itm/192599345886
– Pink Floyd Division Bell LP – paid $50 and sold for $140 https://www.ebay.com/itm/202356753613
– Tom Petty Full Moon Rising LP – paid $20 and sold for $80 https://www.ebay.com/itm/202370719261In my days home, I got a good bit of listing done including backlogs of records, baskets of smalls, death piles. Chugging forward to Q4 which is less than 6 weeks away now! π
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This reply was modified 3 years ago by
Brian Treasures from Grandmas.
Anyone else just get this note from eBay?
“We made a technical error during a recent update that caused many sellers to lose images associated with their Good Til Cancelled listings. We cannot, unfortunately, retrieve many of the lost images. If re-uploading images is feasible for you, we encourage you to do so.
We know this has been extremely frustrating.
Sellers make up the backbone of eBay, and weβre committed to helping your business grow. To set you up for future success, weβre crediting you back for insertion fees on the impacted listings and providing you with 200 zero insertion fees to use until July 28, 2018.”
Seems like a bit too little and such a tight time frame – 4 days? And what about those with stores that already get those listings for free anyway?
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This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by
Brian Treasures from Grandmas.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by
Brian Treasures from Grandmas.
I have the new version, but have the option to switch to the old version (link in the top right corner). Only thing that I’ve noticed to be a problem is that the only insurance option on the new page is ShipCover, no USPS insurance. If I need USPS insurance, I just flip over to the old page. No harm.
Echoing some of the discussion about estate sales – they’re my personal preference over thrift stores, auctions, yard sales, flea markets, etc. I’ll still go to other sources, but estate sales are my first choice/go to. Perhaps that’s because they’re so plentiful in the NYC area – no less than 20 within a 30 mile radius of me at any given time? But also I really like seeing things “in-situ”. Grandma loved cats and there are hairballs over everything; Grandpa was in the Army division that invaded Normandy and he took this souvenir; Uncle Harry really loved trains and kept them in perfect condition; Mom was in the Beatles fan club and has a huge box full of original memorabilia. Certainly you can find these things elsewhere, but I’ve found that estate sales are the perfect place to find collections, to understand the person that owned them, and sometimes get a really personal story.
Week July 15-21, 2018
Total Items in Store: 939
Items Sold: 13
Cost of Items Sold: $71 (16.3% of sales)
Total Sales: $436.89
Highest Price Sold: $99.99 (1/4oz Vintage Tiffany Perfume https://www.ebay.com/itm/192578385718)
Average Price Sold: $33.61
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $250
Number of items listed this week: 44
Promoted listings test: 2 sales, $29.98 (6.9% of total sales), $1.98 fees (6.6% of sales)Standard week. Had 2 sales for $180 total that really saved the week. The Tiffany perfume was a nice score, paid $10. The other larger sale was a Foo Fighters t-shirt from the show last week in NYC – paid $25 for it at the show, sold it for $75, profit paid for my ticket π #scavengerlife
I focused on listing this weekend and it paid off. Emptied my death box that was about to over flow. Got 44 listings up, well above my normal week.
Birthday trip is ending up being in Seattle & Portland this coming Thurs-next Weds. Wanted to do Scandinavia, but probably need 10+ days and my wife couldn’t get that many days off from work. Flying to Seattle, AirBnb, rented a car and then driving down to Portland to another AirBnb. I’ve never been to the PacNW, so looking forward to experiencing that.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by
Brian Treasures from Grandmas.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by
Brian Treasures from Grandmas.
I think I mentioned a while ago that my parents & grandparents are from just up the road from you in Weirton. Your story about everything being abandoned and run down is the same story there…
Not sure if you remember the Steven Spielberg/JJ Abrams movie Super 8 (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650062) from a few years ago… the movie was set in 1970s Ohio, but they filmed a lot in Weirton because it still looked like the 1970s. Outside of that, for the scenes where they were blowing up houses & buildings, it was actually cheaper to blow up real ones rather than build sets!
Put the quote on a t-shirt or coffee mug!
Amazing sale on that print! There’s another one currently listed that looks the same (albeit a different frame) for $175: https://www.ebay.com/itm/332691728472
Always amazing to see why someone buys something for more…perhaps you were the only one offering international shipping?
Congrats on the new digs! Can’t wait to follow this project! Do you plan on using the apartment above as an AirBnb or a more long term rental? (I didn’t catch that on the show if you mentioned it)
Week July 9-15, 2018
Total Items in Store: 918
Items Sold: 12
Cost of Items Sold: $104 (17.7% of sales)
Total Sales: $587.45
Highest Price Sold: $239.99 (lot of 8 vintage 1970s slot cars)
Average Price Sold: $48.95
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $146
Number of items listed this week: 32
Promoted listings test: 7 sales, $387.48 (66% of total sales), $22.68 fees (5.9% of sales)Ho-hum week really saved by that big sale. Was super excited to see that come in overnight on Thursday. Another notable sale, although not super high dollar, was this Walkman (https://www.ebay.com/itm/192599319534) that sold within hours of listing. I always pick up old Walkmans & Discmans because there’s such a rabid collector market out there (although some are not worth anything). Even not functioning still has some value for parts – this particular one probably only needs a new belt and some expertise to bring back to life. I love my position in the food chain – I bought for $1, sold as is for $35, the next guy will put a $5 part and an hour into it and it will be worth $100. π
Only went to one sale this weekend, and it produced a big bag full of stuff – mostly bread & butter. c1950s/60s Stardust Las Vegas Do Not Disturb sign (https://www.ebay.com/itm/202370357119), c1970s/80s Plaza NYC Do Not Disturb (https://www.ebay.com/itm/192599326620), 1950s United Airlines silverware (https://www.ebay.com/itm/192599345886), and a whole boatload of quality LPs.
07/09/2018 at 12:47 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 368: Is Our Business an eBay Hack? #44885Week July 1-7, 2018
Total Items in Store: 897
Items Sold: 24
Cost of Items Sold: $130 (13.9% of sales)
Total Sales: $935.18
Highest Price Sold: $105 (Lot of 102 Corbin cabinet keys https://www.ebay.com/itm/201723527694)
Average Price Sold: $38.97
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 0
Promoted listings test: 15 sales, $585.94 (62.7% of total sales), $31.38 fees (5.4% of sales)eBay must have heard us an turned the spigot back on!!! π Kidding of course, but this week was better than the past month or so. Of course we always try to figure out the why or how to prepare to for these types of weeks… anyone have thoughts? I thought it might have to do with eBay Bucks coming out at the beginning of a quarter, so I looked back at my first month of each quarter for the past year and there’s actually no correlation (in my sales).
Outside of the lot of cabinet keys above, other good sales included Transformers lot (paid $5 https://www.ebay.com/itm/201981136963), locksmith pin kit (paid $5 https://www.ebay.com/itm/192518640501), Fox Business hoodie (free from work https://www.ebay.com/itm/192557281383).
You can study it for your whole life and never master it. Big businesses (re: Amazon, Target, Wal Mart) try to cheat it with sales and promos, to get that extra 0.01% above and beyond projections.
This tool is fantastic! Thanks for sharing! I found a handful on my own, but I also missed several.
Also have to consider that linear growth is almost impossible to achieve. If you list 10 items and sell 5, you can’t expect to sell 10 if you list 20 – you’ll prob sell 9 if you list 20; you’re still selling “more” but not 100% more. As investment increases, the returns curve gets less steep, but continues to increase.
It’s a diminishing/marginal returns curve, and as long as you prepare for that, you can achieve success. You’re setting yourself up for failure if you’re expecting that straight, linear return.
This applies to retail, investments, and more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminishing_returns
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4168757-investment-returns-linear -
This reply was modified 3 years ago by
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