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Thanks ladies. I don’t mention it here much but it has been a hell of a year. Reselling helps keep me sane in a way. I like a little corner of the world where things can be kept under control I guess and it’s productive.
Thanks Retro. I don’t really see myself taking this up and down regularly – lazy I know! My college kid will be living at home this summer but after he goes back I’m thinking of putting one on the desk in his room. We have a lot of sunny days here but the mornings can be foggy and the chandelier in my dining room is totally inadequate. I think my photos are pretty good except for the lighting but I have been rushing it a bit lately when I am listing.
Good luck with the Florida job app!
Total Items in Store: 608
Items Sold: 11
Gross Sales: $865.77 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $524.48 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $100
Highest Price Sold: $250 (Set of 6 new dinner plates)
Average Price Sold: $78.71
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $85
Number of items listed this week: 6I forgot it was a good week because all of these sales were from last Sunday and Monday. The boom and bust continues.
Had the garage sale and made about $250. Got my money back on some items I didn’t really want to keep and list, others were donated, a few put back into the piles. The clothing was remarkably hot – there seem to be a lot of clothing sellers doing garage sales. Many items still left in the piles, but I continue to slim down the backlog. I find that I don’t really like listing fabric items and prefer hard goods. However, it’s hard to pass up good textiles so I will take turns listing both types of items. Shipping is obviously easier with the textiles as well.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334859806893 I bought this on Facebook Marketplace for $75. I never usually source there but was looking for something else for our house. Perhaps I should keep an eye out now and then. A steep buy in but I think I can double my money perhaps and it’s a strong brand name. Retailers are getting stiffer with returns and especially free returns so it might create an opportunity.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/234933135489 This recent scavenge of the week sold full price.
It’s interesting to hear about everyone’s take and changes. I join a common thread as a caregiver of someone who is really struggling. My day job called wanting me back but it’s not tempting, though Ebay sales have been slow and we have a lot of kid travel expenses this year.
My business was different last year in the sense that I am selling far fewer new goods RA. This is because I have less capital after leaving my day job and I am struggling to find prices good enough to go in at the retailers I like. The COGS then is way down as I average about $4 for used items. I do believe the new goods helped keep my store more active, though I think I listed more and my profit was a little bit more last year. My store has gone from about 300 items to steadily around 600 items.
Along with selling more used items comes a relaxation of my standards on what I think is worth sourcing. It’s hard to pass up new items with a bar code but then I get away from a more curated store full of what I really like myself. https://www.etsy.com/shop/MidModMomStore?listing_id=1001081479 This is a seller I really admire. In my mind I’d love for my store to look this way, but reality is I don’t want a light box in my living space so my photos will not look this good – ever. Also, I am selling somewhat what I can get my hands on instead a fabulous curated selection like hers. In my favor, I think overall I do find good items and it makes up a bit for my photos. I am getting better on evaluating items in terms of value, time, storage space, etc.
Finally, I’m gradually getting rid of my piles. I just sliced off another layer with the yard sale and got my money back on some mistakes. There is still so much stuff though! The sourcing is fun and it gets me out of the house but I’m definitely buying way less than I am listing (except when a rummage sale happens). I’ve caught up on the spring rummage sales and now I’m back to the piles again. I have corrected the balance but it will take a while to clear the piles for sure.
I still love love selling on Ebay. The potential profit on things people overlook is just amazing. Also over the last five years of selling, Ebay has made some big improvements like adding Terapeak and make offer. Listing is still not fast enough, but much faster than it used to be.
Only 6 listings for me this week unfortunately. Helping out at a school fundraiser, had the garage sale, and my kiddo is struggling. But, I think this week will be better. I have to reorganize a little bit after having the garage sale but already sent the leftovers to the thrift store.
@Amatino thanks!
You guys are getting me excited for garage sales but I need to stay clear and continue to work the piles I think mostly. There is a small school rummage sale next weekend and the big college recycling event coming in June. I plan to let myself go to those.
Amatino – looks great.
Steve have you ever found any Witco art or furniture? I’m guessing one day you will score it and the person won’t realize what they have. Thanks for continuing to post tye whet sold videos. I try to watch on YouTube and like.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/234990994447?ViewItem=&item=234990994447 Not the most exciting item but it sold immediately so that makes me excited. Also I thought it was wood and when I went to list discovered it was plastic but someone still got excited about it.
Total Items in Store: 608
Items Sold: 4
Gross Sales: $150.69 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $84.79 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $8
Highest Price Sold: $45 (New Slip sleep mask)
Average Price Sold: $37.67
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $15
Number of items listed this week: 20Well not a great week. I did have a good day yesterday, thankfully. I’m noticing that some things that used to sell regularly for me are very slow – like craft kits.
Went to Bed Bath and Beyond this week to check out the clearance and it was as I expected very disappointing on the discounts. I heard they were going to liquidate quickly but Christmas was only 20% off and most things 10%. Surprisingly a lot of the shelves were already clearing. Not a good source for me.
I’m a bit frustrated as a couple of the thrifts have adopted new labels that are super tough to get off most surfaces. Apparently people were trying to switch tags. No thanks to them for this nuisance. The thrifting has not been great lately to say the least, and I’m almost to the point of being glad for the piles but still have too much backlog. However, things are looking better and better around here. I debated and then decided to go in to the neighborhood garage sale. I am going to sell some stuff I don’t want to store anymore or ship (vintage light fixtures, big pillows, some large art) and some $10-15 items. We also have some cat damaged Crate and Barrel leather furniture and a rug that I’d like to update and hope to find quality replacements for on Facebook Marketplace. I know we won’t get much at the yard sale but it forces us to make a change. My husband must be coming around because he suggested I get all new bins and he got rid of his giant boxing bag in the garage. Yippee!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334854372850 This was fun to research and I finally found one of the same shape with a totally different paint job. Very unfortunately it has a repaired chip but easy to miss it as I did originally. This is exactly the kind of item I would love to be finding and listing on the regular, but instead I am adding some mundane stuff to my store as well.
20 items. This week could go either way listing-wise as I am still organizing and getting ready for the garage sale. I’m going to get rid of some old purchases I don’t want to ship – vintage light fixtures and glass ceiling covers, a few large pieces of art work, and some low dollar stuff.
