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05/23/2019 at 10:44 pm in reply to: Don't you love when thrift shops tell you what you can do with your own items? #62388
Interesting thread! I can’t say that I have ever seen a “no dealers” sign at any thrift store I have ever been to. I will be on the lookout next time. To be sure.
Ryanne,
I am at the epicenter of Bucktown, Logan Square, Wicker Park, with Westown to the south of me, Lincoln Park/River North to the east of me. It’s very trendy over here and aside from the Mexican restaurants, there are many other walking distance restaurants-vegan and meat eating. There are other amenities like a laundromat 1 1/2 block, a library 2 blocks, a 24 hour Walgreens (spit and hit the Walgreens) π atm, train station 1 block, (downtown is like 5 stops) and goes directly to O’Hare airport. You can get to a Chicago White Sox game, OR the Chicago Cubs from me or enjoy the lakefront by taking 1 bus only steps away! The list goes on, but there you go!
ThanksThanks for the tips, BigSally! Duly noted. I love having options to whatever I do. This is something to consider and look into. Much appreciated!
Sonia,
On the issue of “tricky” colors, yes they are a challenge. I have never yet figured out how to photograph magenta and chartreuse. For those, I have found it a losing battle. Do the best you can to get what you feel is the best rendition of that color. And remember, everybody’s screen will probably translate that color differently. If anyone knows the answer the getting these colors spot on, please share.Retro Treasures,
You are correct. Lighting IS important. Yes, the link you posted is blurry. My argument is not that lighting does not matter, my point being that when you start out on ebay, there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars to get good pics. It CAN be done using only a cell phone. Also, my feeling is yes, quality photos ARE important…but you also do not need to post award winning photos to sell a pair of Chucks or that lemon meringue pie plate. My feeling is, with the “instant gratification” generation, they are already trained to sift quickly through photos (think Instagram) to see if that is the hat they want to wear for that fishing trip, or surf practice. And as soon as I get a chance, I’ll update that hat pic for ya. Using my smartphone. It IS blurry!Sonia,
When I have black/dark items, I photograph them as usual using a white background. Take as many as you need. Then I use Photoshop or the ebay tools to lighten some of the photos and in my listing I notate that I purposely lightened photos (lets say 5 & 6) “to show detail”. Then I would let them know that I would be happy to send them more photos if they were interested. But make sure you have the photos for said item on hand, so that you do not have to dig the item out and re-shoot it.
Also, in the event of say a rug or sofa, and you know it is from say, Ikea or West Elm, look for those stock photos and post them, but let your buyers know that they are stock, and tell them which photos are yours (some people may not know).
Hope this helps.Hi Jay,
So my parents sold their property about 25 years ago. Yes, it was a junk shop. They just sold things to keep busy and make a little extra cash, but they truly enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. My parents were good salespeople and knew how to wheel and deal. I, on the other hand, am not so good at it, which is why I love ebay. I don’t have to “wheel and deal” and I have time to think about offers on ebay.
Back in the day during the summer months my parents did “garage sales” out of the garage behind the storefront everyday! I’m pretty sure they could not do that today with the changes in the neighborhood. They would make so much money that dreaded the winter because sales would be limited to the storefront-still good money-but better during these garage sales. They had no idea what they were doing in the beginning and were practically giving things away, but they quickly picked up the pace and had a steady clientele before they knew it. I enjoyed hearing what they sold and how much they sold it for. I was amazed at the stuff people bought and what they were willing to pay for it. Thanks to them, I too became interested and learned some things from them..Thanks Sonia,
I just added a pie plate to my ebay listings. Check out my photos in the meantime, if you like. My ebay id is that_art_girl. All the photos in my listings are taken with my smartphone and only in a few , have I used the flash. Even the Fenton I took with my smartphone. But I’ll work on the video. Again, thanks.Thanks ironman for your input!
Yes, the petition is a great idea, but I think Jay and Ryanne would disagree. π They are very busy and believe me, I know what that is like! I’m sure otherwise, they would pick the podcast back up. I’ve been wanting to podcast (about ebay, art photograpy, life!) for the longest, but again-the “busy” thing. Ugh! Adulting! πI’m starting an air bnb also, and miss the podcast. I will, however, go back and re-listen to all of the podcasts again (shampoo and booze) to get a refresher. I enjoyed listening to the podcast even before I had the idea, but now that I think of it, Shampoo and Booze was the impetus for my rental! I only wish I had found the podcast earlier!
I plan to rent minimum 3 nights, but not sure that the 3 night minimum is a good “start” when I don’t have any rentals under my belt, or reviews for that matter. Thoughts?
I’m in a very busy, gentrified neighborhood, with 9 Mexican restaurants walking distance, plenty of musical venues, walking distance, and public transportation only steps from me, so I’m crossing my fingers that it goes well.Amatino,
Your daughter has the right idea! I like that idea. I won’t use it-but only because I’m lazy! I have a mannequin, but I don’t use it. I just do the flat fold and call it a day! I mean, think about it, when you are at the store not “all” jeans/pants are on the mannequin. That being said, I think people get the idea without having to see them on the mannequin. Tops/dresses to me, are different. Hats too. I like using a hat head for photographing hats, or a mannequin head. Thanks for sharing your daughters great idea though. I do like it!Full disclosure: I used to shoot weddings for 11 years, so I have a little experience with photography. However, I truly believe some people over think photography. I have an elaborate photo set up complete with pro lighting, diffusers, slaves, backgrounds and reflectors. Guess what? I NEVER use that stuff for photographing my ebay items. Never. I use my smartphone-and seldom use the flash on my phone.
I believe the angles are really what matter. Again, yes I do have a little experience, however, I truly think angles are more important that all the fancy lightboxes, lighting set ups, and gear. I am thinking of making a YouTube video to explain how I do it, but it may be a few weeks. If anyone is interested, please let me know, if there is enough interest, I will gladly make it.
Oh. and I once bought a ceramic Halloween punch bowl set with ladle for $12.50 at the Goodwill and flipped it for $99. within a few days even though someone else had theirs up for a few weeks for $100. Why mine? Because I took the time to take each piece out, photographed each piece to show front, back, inside and bottoms. No cracks, breaks and NIB. It makes a difference when you show the potential buyers what they will get-especially since the buyer purchased through the Global Shipping Program. The other bowl just showed the box and they listed the items, but did not take anything out of the box.
Thanks and good luck all!Have you tried using your phones flash while photographing using the lightbox? Sounds redundant, but sometimes it actually works out great. Good luck!
For me, storage was kind of a conundrum at first. Then I came up with this system and I must say, it works great for me.
first tote: clear with a gray lid. I mark CG (for obvious reasons). Then I add the number 1. So the first tote is “CG1”, next one, “CG2” and down the line. In the tote, I will put lets say a puzzle, a pair of shoes, a couple of ceramic bowls/cups, a toy, a book, fabric, maybe a radio. In the fabric items, I wrap the ceramic or glass items, this way, they don’t touch each other and less chance of breakage. When the tote is full, I move on to the next one. For me this works great because in the past, I have shipped the wrong item because it looked like another item with small variances-so I switched to this system and it has not failed me yet!
I don’t like to keep say, all books together, all clothes together, etc. The exception to that is when I sell swimsuits. I do try to keep those all in the same tote, only because it seems that when 1 sells, they seem to sell in waves of 3 or 4. So, I will keep that tote closer to reach so that I don’t have to keep digging for it.
Hope this helps someone!They were ladies Lanvin shoes, so kinda expensive.
When I contacted ebay, I asked them if I should contact them should this happen again, they said (I’m sure you already know this) that I don’t need to because when someone sends a member a phone number or email address, they get flagged and blocked. And at least in my case, they told me that ebay closed their account.
What I don’t get, is what the scam is they “would” pull if someone actually did call them. Eh, water under the bridge-onward and upward I guess. -
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