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omg! the freight forwarder is in new jersey? Was it possibly at 600 markley street?
If so…there’s an entire episode about this freight forwarder in new jersey on the reply all podcast. Episode #99! Sketchy stuff happening there.
Oh man, what a great thread!! It’s so funny that everybody has fallen into similar embarrassing traps when they first started out.
I, too, must confess that I can’t resist adorable salt and pepper shakers. But I buy them for 10 cents to a dollar..so even if I only sell them for 12 bucks…I just enjoy them enough to keep doing it. Idk why they are so addicting but it’s true.
I can see what people mean about ceramics..but I think like with anything you just have to learn what people give a crap about and what people don’t. The majority of my shop is made up of vintage ceramics. I’ve made plenty of mistakes though!! And honestly I still do. I actually started my shop by cleaning out my grandparents’ cottage with my dad. My grandma packed everything away really perfectly and neatly so it was just an automatic store waiting to happen. But it was a nice way to learn about what no one cares about anymore because I had hundreds of items and didn’t pay for any of it. I do feel bad though that some of the stuff my grandma took so much care in packing away because back then it was so valuable to her….nobody wants. lol. But some of the stuff nobody will pay for is also stuff I like to keep because it was important to her. Gah, what can I say I am a pack rat!!!!! haha.
PDX_Cyndy:
Thanks for the reply! Yes, I wondered these same things. They are a really neat pair! They’re on my dresser currently because I really do love them.
Here’s a link to something similar on etsy:
This example definitely reads very 70s to me…whereas mine I feel look more 50s-60s. They are very similar in design though and if you look into korean kokeshi they all look like this! The ones in the example are only 30 bucks but they are also newer and 6 inches tall. Mine are like 14″ tall and seem to be older. I still haven’t found an exact pair like mine.
re: my last post about etsy packaging vs ebay packaging:
To clarify…I don’t think etsy has any type of “rules” about packaging fancy…but it is STRONGLY encouraged/pushed through all their media (emails, youtube, their podcast…and like Jay is saying every photo on the website shows insanely beautiful packaging..they’re like… hint hint!!). I feel like it’s a ‘which came first- the etsy fancy packaging culture or etsy the company encouraging that kind of packaging?’ situation. It’s like 50/50. There’s an etsy podcast from the actual company that I used to listen to and they would talk about building your brand with packaging and stickers and all this crap all the time. I mean it’s pretty and great but it’s just too much of an expense for me. Etsy also puts out youtube videos that push the fancy packaging and how curating your photos with little scenes and stuff helps to grow your business. At first I thought that was only for the handmade sellers…which made more sense..but then they had vintage sellers on as guests that talked about their photos and their packaging and how important it is for them to be fancy and whatever. I checked out their shops and it wasn’t like their average item was selling for $400. They had like $40 items….I just don’t understand how the time invested makes sense for things that really aren’t that expensive. I even started out using the cheapest tissue paper ever and simple ribbon that was one dollar and I quickly was just like….this is not necessary. Also! the thing that irks me is that Etsy definitely wants you to up your game in the packaging area…but they don’t send us etsy tissue paper or stickers or tape like I’ve seen ebay people have!! I actually really like that ebay sends you stuff like that. I would use it if etsy sent me etsy branded tissue paper and colorful tape!! haha.
Also, you can charge a fee for gift wrapping and that’s definitely popular during the holidays…but I just feel like the expectation from the customer AND the company is to always have things wrapped in a special way anyway. I’m like idk….it seems way more important that your item is double bubble wrapped so it gets to you safely….whatevs.
Anyway, hope that clarifies my previous post!!
PS I immediately texted my husband and was like omg honey! the ebay podcast that I listen to that you think is weird talked about my forum post on their episode!!! I was all excited and he actually thought it was pretty cool too. I’m slowly convincing him that selling old stuff is the life to live. He’s a “I don’t like clutter” person. Welp! Too late you already married me!!! hahaha.
Thanks for another great episode guys!
Emma
@ Antique frog- yeah I couldn’t tell if they were korean or japanese but after looking at a million photos I was kinda leaning toward korean! Yeah- I don’t think these are the super special ones done by artists-but I’m thinking they’re cool enough (mostly bc of their size) to get a couple hundred bucks out of them. We shall see!
Oh, good to have info from worthpoint, thank you!!
Somehow I’ve fallen into the category of Japanese made vintage items…specifically made for the American market in the 1950s and 1960s. Which I love- but sometimes it gets confusing because they tried to “Americanize” things BECAUSE they were selling to the american market…so sometimes that makes it more valuable which is kinda weird? But then in situations like these I almost feel awkward like…it’s not authentically japanese..
Thank you for your input!! I appreciate it..I think I’m gonna price high and see what happens…I’m overthinking it haha.
So I can’t remember which episode it was but I know it was a recent one-a guy called in and was basically explaining how he does “make an offer” but manually through messaging. I decided to try this method out, because if you lower the price on the item, it definitely motivates the person to buy it sooner because another person could take advantage of the deal before them.
Backing up a little….I’m actually a seller on etsy. I do it part time when our son is at preschool or after I get home from work. I’m a waitress at an overpriced place downtown haha. (And Jay you’ll be happy to hear my husband and I have a dream of owning a hot dog cart!!! He has a corporate supervisory job and one day we’re just gonna be slingin’ dogs and chillin!!)
Well anyway, after listening to you guys for a while I decided-the heck with all the etsy crap they tell you you “HAVE” to do. When I first started, I watched a ton of videos about etsy and studied SEO and learned about how your packaging has to support your brand message and whatever. Well, I calculated the cost of frilly packaging and it was INSANE. So I decided….I’m gonna try to run my etsy like ebay. I take pretty good photos, but I don’t spend 2 hours curating a frickin scene in my house, you want the item, you buy it, I cover it in bubble wrap and boom. Tada! No frills! I’ve gotten a couple complaints because people expect a baby bird to come flying out at you when you open an etsy package. One woman actually messaged me and said “there was nothing special about your packaging AT ALL, but the items did arrive in perfect shape…” as if she was disappointed….weird. haha. Annnnyway, I’ve had lots of success running my etsy like an ebay instead of like an etsy. Just thought I’d throw that out there since I know Jay is always like….I don’t get etsy there are so many ribbons and dumb extras!! lol.Well so the other day I decided to try this manual make an offer thing. I changed the shop announcement on my page and said anyone could make an offer and if it was reasonable and fair I’d be happy to negotiate! Well within just a couple of hours I made three sales from people who made offers! Just thought it was neat because those are probably all sales I would not have made unless my announcement told people they could make an offer.
Yay for ebaying even when you’re not on ebay! haha
That’s what I’m thinking. Most of the $20 ones are like 2-5 inches tall. Also…I’m a seller on etsy and I think these are traditional wedding dolls…you can overcharge a ton for wedding stuff on etsy for whatever reason haha.
Just came here to say that I giggle every time you guys call yourselves “trash elves”. My husband and I adopt way too many cats and we adopted our 4th cat literally out of the garbage…so we call her trash cat. She has weird breathing problems and lots of boogers and snores louder than our french bulldog but she’s perfectly nice and we love her! My favorite scavenge lol. Trash elf finds trash cat. hehe
