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Bad buy of the piles (pre-2018 probably), is vintage baby quilts, afghans and blankets. I should know new moms are fussy, want new, and get plenty of this as gifts. I couldn’t help but want to save the handmade ones but no more.
Thanks Steve, and again congrats on your strong holiday sales.
So, I’ve been very good at avoiding shopping but one day I just had a sh*t morning and then got off early from work. I bought this Patagonia Vest for $15 at my favorite indy thrift and it sold the same afternoon for $45. Too big for me to wear. Love the quick flip on Mercari.
That same day I stopped by the GW on the way to work and looked up these Christmas ornaments. Someone’s whole late 80s early 90s collection had been donated. Sold this one the next day and another one today for $12. I like the way the photos turned out. I just grabbed one of our Christmas stockings. Not my cup of tea, but just goes to show it’s worth going through the Christmas throw up.
Donated some of my kids art stuff to fire victims this week. I also was able to list a few unopened kits they received as gifts like this art kit.
I sold this Desimone Italian Vase. Something I haven’t reported about before. Paid $2.99 at GW.
Finally, I had to save this because my kids and I loved Richard Scarry books from the 1970s. Found at an estate sale for $4. Cleaned it up as much as I could. toy playset. A labor of love.
LOL. There’s a lid for every pot. Maybe someone will buy it as a white elephant gift.
12/03/2018 at 11:27 am in reply to: Trash Elf Twins Challenge 2018 Thread #3 From Week 31 August #52583It was an ok week for me. I have noticed some nice sales in the first two weeks of January, but I had more new items available in the past. Then it gets very quiet after that. I was messed over two years in the past by having Fed Ex on my items, only to have someone order at the last minute. Ebay lets the buyer pick Fed Ex but then won’t let the seller print a label. Then you have to either cancel or go to the store and pay outrageous fees and I sucked it up and paid the retail rate. So, I’m thinking of turning my store off during the few days before Christmas once the cutoffs happen.
I listed 19 including a high dollar group of items I’d love to move out of my garage. Pain to pack. I have two more boxes of Christmas stuff and puppets to list. Really hoping to get to that this week! Pricing to move the xmas and will try some on Mercari. Some of it is pretty low dollar unfortunately.
12/03/2018 at 11:20 am in reply to: Promoted listings experiment RESULTS: Reducing all promoted listings to 1% rate #52582Thanks for the update. I’m focused right now on other offerings that are slimming my margins but I’m grateful for the information.
Congrats! You are an amazing trash elf and I love that you are rescuing and repairing cool midcentury stuff.
Total store items: 327 Ebay, 40 Mercari
Number of items sold: 10 Ebay, 0 Mercari, 2 Facebook
Total eBay sales: $291 + $35 Facebook
Cost of items sold: $53 + $7 shipping included + FB items ours
Highest price sold: $62 (set of 3 new nut bowls, steady seller, paid $18 clearance)
Average price sold: $29
Returns: 0
Money spent on new inventory: $0
Number of items listed this week: 17 Ebay, 2 MercariNothing exciting but I did sell a few Christmas items immediately after listing them. Especially with seasonal, I’m pricing to move – slightly below competition instead of above like I used to. Also getting and accepting decent offers. I believe this helps with the regularity of sales in a small store, especially if you can’t get to listing. Was happy to get a couple of listing sessions this week. I have two bins of xmas and a few puppets left though that I hope to get to asap.
I’ve been very good about not shopping and focused on organizing inventory and listing. Feels right for me right now. Last week I did go through what I call the “Christmas throw up” and found a few craft kits. I love to do it when they first pull it out, but only made it to one store.
Hope you all have a great week on Ebay this week.
The artwork is tempting, but my personal favorite is the seashell people playing poker. That bowling ball is totally amazing!
TGIF.
I really like this topic.
Sourcing – this is the fun part for me. I see the old timer hard goods guys go in at opening for about 5 minutes, mainly empty handed. I aspire to this and I’m getting much better about it. Scoring multiples of an item or having a variation listing is great.
Listing / Photography – I do desktop keyboard, then add pictures in the app. Uber brief descriptions or sell similar to active. I think I’ve got it down to about what I can do in Ebay. Research – I get bogged down on art. I’ve really let go of having great photos. I focus more on great items and prices. When I shop, it’s all about brand and price. My lighting sucks but I have ok instincts and get close up. #1 time savings: listing like items in a sitting. #2 list some items on Mercari, which is 5x faster than Ebay for me personally.
Shipping – saving frustration more than time, but I bought a few items like the above-mentioned one handed tape dispenser. I have purchased a few boxes in sizes Ebay doesn’t offer. Searching for the right recycled box can be a time suck. I got free foam packing sheets for in between plates or breakables, then I use packaging stretch wrap to bind them in a stack. I’m totally hooked on the foam sheets now. I sometimes purchase rolls of large bubble if I can’t get any for free. I don’t include a packing slip and use pre-printed thank you stickers I get in rolls, with an extra strip of tape across the buyer’s address but not the bar codes.
For listed inventory and boxes, I sort large and small in two different areas. Large boxes are sorted by shape – tall vs. flat.
11/26/2018 at 7:01 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 387: Do Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday Matter? #52311Yes, it does wear on you a bit to be spread a little too thin or make goals for yourself and then watch them get washed out. I got boxes of free bubble wrap from the work move and we have kitchen remodel stuff in the garage. It was just getting way out of hand. I also have way too many boxes I’ve saved. So, it was just time for me. Feels therapeutic. I still love selling online and one of these days I’ll sit down with my scented candle and do some nice power listing…
11/26/2018 at 1:50 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 387: Do Black Friday, Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday Matter? #52295Total Items in Store: 361, 40 Mercari
Items Sold: 7 Ebay, 2 Mercari, 1 Facebook
Gross Sales: $166 Ebay, $108 Mercari, $15 Facebook
Cost of Items Sold: $22 + $18 shipping included + some items ours
Highest Price Sold: $100 (my son’s outgrown North Face coat on Mercari)
Average Price Sold: $23 Ebay, $54 Mercari
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $8 one thrift stop, 4 items
Number of items listed this week: 18 Ebay, 6 MercariStill need to listen but caught the beginning. R & J Good luck with your business plans. I have a guess what it might be and maybe you can figure out if it makes sense (both financially and for your lifestyle) being open limited hours or even days. I hope you continue to enjoy selling on Ebay and podcasting. It’s been fun to listen to your journey and I wish you all the best.
Terrible time of year but I’ve been taking time to consolidate all of my inventory in half full boxes. I just emotionally need to do some physical work and create order in my environment at this time in my life. Patchy work schedule and I hope to list as well this week. I have a bit of Christmas stuff I really want to move out.
11/26/2018 at 1:12 pm in reply to: Trash Elf Twins Challenge 2018 Thread #3 From Week 31 August #52289Hi I listed 24 items this week. I might catch a break from work this week and was surprised that I have a couple of bins of puppets and Christmas so want to get on that asap.
I spent about half a day consolidating my inventory and boxing up some loose items in my garage. Still plenty of piles, but I did clear some space. Our guest room closet is half cleared out and half with listed inventory. The dwindling new inventory area in the garage takes a lot less space and I can move listed items onto some of those shelves. A pretty good dent all in all. My store is down by about 50 items since I haven’t had a good listing Fall due to outside issues and busyness. Also organized my boxes and need to break some down and move out. Not really the right time to be doing this vs. listing but it feels good to me right now. I hate clutter.
Have a great week!
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This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by
ChristineR.
Under $30 – 59%
$30-50 – 28%
$50-$100 – 9%
$100 + – 4%
Interesting that many of our percentages are ballpark close. Ugh I have lots of death pile items under $30. Otherwise, I’d be interested in a challenge.11/24/2018 at 11:51 am in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Doc Martens, Gun case, Vintage bike radio, Speaker stands, Electric stapler, Panasonic TV #52213@silverfoxfinds Thanks for continuing to share your sales. I finally checked out your store and I like to sell the same kinds of items but have fewer higher dollar ones. I can’t tell you how many wooden salt and pepper shakers I’ve turned over looking and have never found any Dansk. Where do you source mostly again? Thanks.
Thankful for the ideas and answers in the podcast and forum. Happy Thanksgiving trash elves!
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