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Botanical? Dried flowers?
Vintage Botanical Painting Earth Tone Dried Flowers Acrylic on Board Blond Speckled Fruitwood Frame
Oops, I meant to say that I’m pretty sure that it’s pressed glass, not cut glass.
I believe it’s Imperial Glass Belaire pattern, with unusual cranberry highlights, like this:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/958354804/imperial-glass-company-bellaire-pattern
Here’s one (Nucut #212, Star & Fan Design, Clear) listed as an open jelly, but if someone had eight of them, they either ran a café or perhaps were using them as sherbets. I would use both keywords.
Made in Ohio, USA. I’m pretty sure it’s cut class, early to mid 20th century.
Late to the party, and originally posted on wrong thread:
1/10/21-1/16/21
Total Items in Store: 1682 (all Etsy)
Items Sold: 21
Gross Sales: $6,393.48
Cost of Goods Sold: $2,219.84Gross Profit (before income taxes, office supplies, etc.): $4173.64
Highest Price Sold: $4,135.57 (14K Antique Pocket Watch)
Average Price Sold: $304.45
Returns: 1 (opal earrings, which I relisted at a higher price due to the increase in the price of gold since it was listed)
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0
Number of new items listed: 12
Clearly, one high-dollar sale can make for a very good week for me.1/3/21-1/9/21
Total Items in Store: 1685 (all Etsy)
Items Sold: 23
Gross Sales: $3,713.68
Cost of Goods Sold: $1,139.94
Highest Price Sold: $543.13 (14K Amethyst Bracelet)
Average Price Sold: $161.46
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0
Number of new items listed: 13I said that last week was a good week. But I’ll take this.
I have a few death piles I need to get busy on. They are all non-jewelry items…usually large lots that I get for so low a price that I can’t resist, but I have to do more research to figure out how to price them, and how to price the shipping. I offer free shipping on anything over $35, so the shipping can kill me if I don’t get it right.
@Jay, Oh, yes, sometimes an eBay-trained buyer will try to say that I misrepresented the item, and I just say, send it back. If they try to ask me to pay the shipping, I just show them in the listing where it stated that there was a flaw, or whatever, and that they pay to send it back, or keep it, their choice. Many of them give up when they find out that they’re not going to get a refund and get to keep the item. Etsy has always backed me up on the few buyers who have opened a case. I do have the option to send a return label if I truly made a mistake in the listing, but so far, I haven’t had to do that. I couldn’t risk selling expensive items on eBay, except the aforementioned vehicles (and possibly furniture) for local pick-up.
@Jay, yes, scammers and returns are a problem on eBay. Not on Etsy. I take returns on anything, and the buyer pays the return shipping. Etsy never forces me to take the return, or pay the return shipping. That’s the only way it works for me. I could never make it work on eBay. And, as I mentioned, I almost always re-list the returned item at a higher price, and it almost always re-sells very quickly.
I have done well with several auction houses, some high-end, and some low-end. I bid on a lot of items that I don’t win. Since March, nearly all of my auction houses have gone online or gone out of business. So most of my purchases are online with local pickup. Some online with shipping.
I definitely have competition from other dealers, and also people who are buying for themselves, but I know how to figure out how much I will pay, and if the item goes over that price, it’s okay.
Yes, it takes a while for many things to sell, especially the more expensive items. Your podcast has actually gotten my husband more comfortable with the idea of “long-tail” items. He has always encouraged me to put my “stale” inventory on sale. I tell him that with vintage, there’s no such thing as stale. It just gets more vintage! With the precious metals especially, the price almost always goes up over the long run, so my older items sell themselves. Bonus: when a piece of jewelry gets returned, I recalculate the price based on current market value, and almost always re-list it at a higher price. The way Etsy’s algorithm works, re-listed items get a little boost in the search results, and generally re-sell pretty quickly.
My husband is going to retire in a few months one way or the other. We have no debt. He is just used to his income, and will have to adjust to “just” working at the business. 🙂
@Jay Long-time listener, first-time poster. Yes, jewelry is about 80% of my inventory, which all fits into a carry-on size suitcase, which allows us to travel in our motorhome whenever we want to. My other categories include sterling silver tableware, collectibles, art, décor, sewing and crafts, toys, and fashion. Those items get put on extended handling when we travel. We may go back on eBay for some larger pieces like furniture (Etsy does not have a local pick-up option, and Facebook and Craigslist have been hit-or-miss), and also items that are not yet vintage (20 years), but I will need to wait for my husband to retire for that. I have sold a few vehicles on eBay (a Cadillac and a Prius), and that has worked out just fine. Last week was a good week, but the pressure is on for our business to help replace my husband’s income and employer-provided health care (yikes!!!).
P.S. I vote for as many vegan options as possible for the coffee shop. It’s the future. Especially check out Chao, Violife, or Miyoko’s cheese, Just Egg, and Beyond Sausage. I believe all come in food service sizes. Best of luck!
12/27/20-1/2/21
Total Items in Store: 1689 (all Etsy)
Items Sold: 30
Gross Sales: $8,171.42Cost of Goods Sold: $2,985.88
Selling Costs, including “free” shipping: $803.56
Gross Profit (before income taxes, office supplies, etc.): $4,381.98
Highest Price Sold: $1,662.90 (14K Necklace)
Average Price Sold: $272.38Returns: 1 $282.55 (relisted and already resold!)
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0
Number of new items listed: 17Not bad for post-Christmas sales.
I’ve been full-time on Etsy for almost 6 years. Before that, I was on-and-off part-time on eBay. I tried going full-time on eBay in 2014, but the restrictions on how much I could have listed at any one time were stifling to my growth. Etsy also has been better at allowing me to set my own customer service policies.
Our goal is for my husband to retire and work with me. We bought a motor home a couple of years ago after we became grandparents, and it makes for wonderful socially-distant travel adventures.
Thank you for the podcast and the blog, and happy new year to all.
