Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Thanks all – you are awesome!
I think I will try to call and have the INAD defect removed first – I don’t want to have problems with my selling account and don’t sell enough to make each issue a tiny percentage of my overall numbers. If the full refund removes the negative that is my next step. Life is too short to worry about the small stuff!
Thanks craig-rex for the tip on shipping media. I agree with the sentiments, and since eBay doesn’t give a seller discount on media mail, but does with first class, it is the logical thing to do to switch my listings over. I am helping a friend disperse a large DVD and Blu-ray collection, so there are boxes of listings to go and this will help me keep it simple.
As a silly aside my inner self wanted to give a snarky reply to the negative – it said they were unhappy I implied they weren’t satisfied. Since about half their feedbacks to sellers were similar paragraphs of negatives I soooo wanted to say I am actually fine with their being dissatisfied since it is obviously their usual state of being – but instead I just grabbed a cup of tea and came here!
Thanks again, and happy scavenging!
Total Items in Store: 155
Items Listed: 3
Items Sold: 4
Total Sales: $62.50
Highest Price Sold: $25 Kitchen Craft 11.5″ electric skillet
I echo the deader than a doornail sentiments last week. No sales all week, finally got a few offers accepted over the weekend or it would have been my first week with no sales in the two years I have been doing this regularly. I am a bit surprised the flow of activity ended so early, I’d have expected it to slow this week instead of last.
Life has changed for me, I picked up a short term work contract starting next week. I just couldn’t let my licensing and certifications expire for my ‘real job’ and they require work hours to renew. Since the worksite is a few hours away, I will be staying out there during the work week and wont be able to ship in a timely manner. I am looking into how to change my shipping preference to 5 days if possible, then I could at least continue selling, even if my listing numbers would go down. Timeframe for the work is 2-6 months, depending on their needs. Hopeful I can find some good stuff to resell in my free time, it is always fun to hunt through a new territory!
Total Items in Store: 170
Items Listed: 10
Items Sold: 7
Total Sales: $114.00
Highest Price Sold: $30 Vintage Ceramic Snoopy Football Christmas Ornament
Quieter week than I was hoping for, but worked out fine as I am busy with other obligations. No estate sales to speak of last week and I figure it will be quiet for the rest of the year. I will spend the time organizing and preparing to up my game next year. I need to move more stuff out of the storeroom and it is easier to list and ship when I can get to stuff.
Went to a hobby show over the weekend and saw some interesting things going on. High end stuff seemed to move well, and middle of the road items also were selling decently. Cheap and free items however sat until the end of the show. Rather odd when collectors walk past free stuff. It was a smaller event, mostly friends, but still got serious collectors to travel a distance for the show. It was also 2 days and I only went on Saturday so there might have been more action on Sunday. Not sure if it was just the holidays that dazed us, but I did take away that there is good money being spent on pricey stuff to the right people!
For a gut feeling guess I am thinking they had a shelf on them when new. I see similar ones with a mesh shelf that just sits on the outstretched part when I am out antiquing. They just look incomplete somehow.
Total Items in Store: 165
Items Listed: 15
Items Sold: 13
Total Sales: $254.25
Highest Price Sold: $65 Peggy Karr glass Gingerbread House serving tray
Slow start to the week, but went bonkers over the weekend! Mostly stuff that sold were new listings, but a few older items as well. Clarification from last week – I wont pull down what Christmas I already have listed, but I wont list new items for a while. I know seasonal stuff sells all year, but best prices are in the months leading up to the holiday so that is when I put in the effort to take pictures, research and list.
For sourcing I prefer nice estate sales, but find good stuff everywhere so I try not to avoid any sales but the ones that last week after week (you know the ones, the sellers usually have spaces at flea markets as well and it seems nothing ever actually sells). I did quite well at one sale that did not advertise like they should have, no pictures and no item descriptions – looked like a dud, but turned out very well. I only hit sales first hour/first day if I see something amazing listed. I just don’t have the patience to throw elbows anymore unless I am really motivated. There is great stuff still there on day 2-3, and prices go way down.
I did decide to take a contract job for a few months starting in January. I don’t want to let my licenses and certifications go just yet from my old career and need work hours to keep them. It is out of area so I will have to pare down eBay selling for a bit, but I think I can still do a bit to keep my listings up in the searches. This is addictive, and I still have lots in the storeroom to go and the antique booth is only so big. I have 3 day handling already, so I will just end a bunch of the larger more fragile listings and try to pre-box new stuff I list.
Total Items in Store: 165
Items Listed: 10
Items Sold: 11
Total Sales: $155.25
Highest Price Sold: $29.75 Breyer 2020 Breyerfest Celebration Horse
A bit late to post, but as others have said this helps keep me accountable and on track. Christmas keeps selling which is nice, as I have more to list, but I think I will wind that down this week and just pack away the rest to next year. I managed to get my stash down to 1 box from 3 so that is a win for me. Went to another great estate sale over the weekend. A bit odd, the seller didn’t stage much so we were digging through closets and drawers. I found neat things and already listed a few. My tables in the family room are still covered with stuff from the huge sale a few weeks ago, Monday was free day so I got a car full on top of what I bought over the weekend. Lots of work to do here!
My favorite word in our world is tchotchke. I do Burma-Shave style signs for my garage sale in the front yard: Drive around, Fill your trunk, With stuff and tchotchkies, Treasures and junk! Then a Yard Sale sign with an arrow around the corner to the driveway. Also, if you like scavenger word play have a listen to Wierd Al’s ‘I bought it on eBay’, he is so talented!
I have an interest in stereo view stuff, so this request sent me down a rabbit hole of old hobby internet pages. Found the one with your item (as well as a ton of others, I had no idea there were so many!) – https://www.viewmaster.co.uk/htm/radex.asp – if the link doesn’t work, there is a web page called 20th century stereo viewers (so much great info, so poorly arranged), this one was under the Radex viewer page.
Total Items in Store: 158
Items Listed: 15
Items Sold: 12
Total Sales: $156.00
Highest Price Sold: $24.50 11 Gurley figural Christmas candles
A more normal sales week for me. Lots of Christmas selling, and I am getting in the routine of wrapping those darn antique glass ornaments so it isn’t totally annoying now. I have one more box of ornaments and miscellaneous Christmas to sell, not sure if I will get them all listed this year.
I went to a crazy fun estate sale this weekend – a hoarder with money! The house was crammed with stuff – every closet, every drawer, every inch of space was packed – and the house was huge! I got bags of stuff, choosing mostly smalls that are easier to ship. Vintage Garfield and Peanuts collectibles, high-end porcelain pieces, lots of vintage Halloween and Christmas. My best pick from there were 3 Charles Harper framed, signed, numbered prints. I love his work and recognized it instantly (which was good since I couldn’t decipher his signature), so now I get to learn how to box and ship large pieces of art.
Total Items in Store: 157
Items Listed: 15
Items Sold: 17
Total Sales: $335.10
Highest Price Sold: $50 (each) Radko Hawaiian shirt ornament and polar bear ornament
Wow, that was a banner week for me! I felt like I was buried in boxes there for a while. Packing the glass Christmas ornaments is coming easier, but I feel I should check the destination addresses before packing. I had 2 lots of antique ornaments headed overseas through the GSP this week, and I might have double boxed or packed better knowing they had such a trip ahead of them. I paid attention last week and sure enough of the 18 sold 2 went overseas, 2 to CA and all the rest went east of the Mississippi. For once I was lucky and the only free shipping item went to CA but I had LOTS of buyers paying $10+ shipping – for first class packages containing in some cases one glass ornament!
I am a rule-follower, since USPS says no tape over the barcode I spend the time to tape those labels in a picture frame and make sure the printing is clear, my giggle for the week was a package I received from a hasty shipper who had streaked the label when printing then just put jagged, wrinkled strips of tape – over the barcode. USPS does a good job getting stuff to it’s intended destinations!
This week I plan to list lots more Christmas decorations and ornaments, perhaps finishing up the box so I can start listing stuff that might make good presents next week. I have some neat stuff I am itching to list, but want to get time-sensitive stuff listed first. Congrats julesbijouxvintage on the feedback – every time my feedback hits a round number I cheer inside. Funny how I was so frustrated at how slow I wad getting feedback through 1499, then loved hitting the 1500 mark!
Total Items in Store: 162
Items Listed: 16
Items Sold: 15
Total Sales: $287.50
Highest Price Sold: $50 Breyer pewter rearing Spirit horse Dreamworks
First, thanks to RetroTreasures and Lukastreasuretrove – your words inspired me and I got off my duff and right to listing. Managed 16 listings last week, all Christmas ornaments. I have plenty of shipping supplies (I have a huge supply of reuseable boxes, and hate to break down boxes only to have to tape them back together, so my guest master bathroom is literally full of boxes), I just plain don’t like the work, especially on fragile stuff. It is so fiddly to get it settled nicely in the box, and then the worry until after delivery. If it was easy, though, everyone would do it and then where would we be?
I have tons more Christmas to get listed, and I just generally need to get listing more anyway to make a dent in the storeroom. Hopefully the combination of the holidays coming and listing more will yield even more sales! Still having many older items sell after the end and relist thing, that is very helpful. I did have to dig around and find some long, flat storage totes for the glass Christmas ornaments. I had them in those cardboard file boxes, but they are too deep, resulting in too many layers to dig through when items sell. I get 2 layers in the flat totes, with large bubble wrap between layers so it is easier to find everything, the size and shape are just throwing a wrench in my organization system.
Oh, and ChristineR – I read a fascinating article on the shipping/unloading conundrum recently. There are, of course, a multitude of factors. Easy ones are fewer workers and more regulations around trucking the containers out of port, but another big driver is just that demand for stuff is through the roof. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but if pre-2020 about 1o ships came in per week (or whatever time period), now there are 20 ships coming in. The port is unloading as fast as possible, but more and more container ships keep coming. They can’t divert to SF (no supply chain to unload and distribute), east coast (have to go through a canal). So they are over-loading the containers and removing pallets from the goods to cram more stuff in when loading, but that makes the containers harder to unload and takes longer (and must be done before trucking). Anyway, it was a great read, and since it looks like it wont be solved anytime soon it hopefully will mean more sales for us!
Total Items in Store: 168
Items Listed: 3
Items Sold: 7
Total Sales: $134.50
Highest Price Sold: $50 Mid Century desk cone lamp
Wow, it is amazing what an effect choosing items to list that I really don’t want to has on my listing numbers! I pulled out my Christmas stuff to list; got some items up (mainly the smaller, non breakable items), photographed a few nice glass Radko ornaments, and got the antique glass ornaments laid out to organize – then came to a screeching halt! I really don’t want to ship all these antique glass ornaments, and that caused me to dither about how to list them (bulk lots, individually), which caused them to sit out on the dining room table for a week and taunt me. Some are really nice, some are just average, all need to go if I can give myself a kick in the duff and do it…
I did get the antique booth switched over from Halloween to Christmas (sorry Thanksgiving), so hope some shoppers there go crazy buying. Attended one estate sale with prices way too high. Had an interesting chat with a friend who likes to shop at garage sales. Has REALLY nice stuff, goes to the same sales I do much of the time. His secret is talking to the sellers. Most of his best purchases were not out for sale, they came up in conversations. I say I am allergic to talking to people, but I might have to take some medicine and just try it. Onward and upward…
Thanks for the input and help! Very interesting spread of prices, I feel sorry for the low seller in that group. I know I do need to get sharper in my searches, and my listing titles. That is why I love Scavenger Life – it is inspiring and helpful!
I am a much smaller seller than most here, but I do list regularly so I think I have some data to contribute.
I have been doing the end/relist (not sell similar) for a few weeks since I read about it here. I do 4-5 items a day when I am not actively listing under the theory eBay will think I am active daily. I pick items that have been listed the longest (1-2 years in my case). I don’t have a large enough data set to see if it really helps me sell more in total, but I can say for sure it gets those old items sold! Looking at my spreadsheet for the last month I sold 36 items, 11 of them had been relisted recently, the rest were new-ish listings. I do try to change the listings up a bit when I relist, reorder the photos, change the title or price a bit, but nothing substantial.
I hadn’t thought about being more targeted (ending items with no watchers or doing it during eBay bucks promos), but I do it regularly now. The only downside for me is the change in listing date now makes it harder for me to track my inventory (I used to sort by date listed to find the old stuff to pull and put in yard sale or the antique booth), but since stuff is selling hopefully that wont be as much of an issue!
Total Items in Store: 175
Items Listed: 10
Items Sold: 14
Total Sales: $231.78
Highest Price Sold: $49.00 Littlest Pet Shop Zoo
Lots of sales for me this week, but it also brought lots of issues. Sold several things with media mail shipping, but since I put it in the collectible category eBay wouldn’t let me ship that way, so I had to go through my PayPal (what a pain). WHY does eBay let us choose an option, then not allow it to be used? Then I sold 2 books of stamps (collector books) to similar user names on the same day. User A had emailed me about book A, bought, but not paid. So I saw the sold book B, assumed it was user A and freaked out he bought the wrong book. I sent a long email to clarify, re-read everything, realized user B had bought book B, had to send a spate of emails apologizing, then spend the evening worried I put the wrong labels on the wrong boxes. I don’t know how you guys with big stores keep everything straight! Finally I had 3 items break in shipping! All shipped the same day, all were well packed (two double boxed, one in original packaging, one was made of foam (how do you even break that?)). Two buyers were fine, I refunded, they sent pictures of packaging, now I have to figure out how to file a claim (first breakage for me as shipper). Final buyer was HIGHLY unpleasant to deal with, VERY unhappy (let me know multiple times). I just refunded in full, haven’t responded to the rest of the messages, hoping not to get a negative.
On the positive side I went to two great estate sales and found some awesome things to list, so I will get on that this week to allay my grumpyness. Started listing Christmas and already selling some, will likely take down Halloween listings this week. Read a Halloween collector blogger that said most collectors spend their budget March-June, not sure if that is true but I will list earlier next year. Onward and upward!
Total Items in Store: 187
Items Listed: 11
Items Sold: 6
Total Sales: $234.50
Highest Price Sold: $112.50 Breyer Collector Club Lafayette
Kinda slow week, but since I have so few items listed I do get erratic results from week to week. I have been getting lots of emails and interest in stuff from buyers asking detailed questions, but then they disappear and haven’t followed through with a purchase. Bit of a drag to spend the time researching and responding but it has helped me organize the shelves a bit. I am still getting stuff sold with the end and relist process, I had 3 sales last week after being relisted. This week I need to get out the Christmas stuff and get busy listing!
I went to the Goodwill Outlet near me for the first time in a while – that place can be addictive! I started out with like one little thing in my hand, and stumbled out hours later with an over-full shopping cart. It didn’t seem there were many other vintage buyers there that day, and luckily everyone is really chill as I am sure I made a few faux-pas. Trolleys of new stuff were rolled out often keeping me on my toes. I think everything is either listed or priced and in the antique booth already, so I don’t feel too bad. Prices are so crazy cheap I will make money even if everything had to go to a yard sale. Can’t go back too often though unless I get an eBay store and expand the booth.
