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Oh yeah, totally! Now if I can just scale that up a bit, I’d be doing just fine!
Sep 16 – 22
Total Items in Store: 1769
Items Sold: 18
Total Sales : $605
* below yearly average of $807
* above 2017 total week sales of $298
Highest Price: $110 (Set of 5 KOH-I-NOOR Rapidograph Technical Drafting Drawing Pens)
Average Price: $34
Returns: 0
Cost of Goods Sold: $26
Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $286
Number of New Items Listed this Week: 0Another week of slow sales. It’s kinda a bummer. When it’s slow like this, I can’t help but get that dread feeling that something is wrong and that I can’t rely on eBay to pay my bills anymore. But it’s just irrational fear. When I finally do my numbers on the Monday after, I can see that things aren’t so bleak after all. $600 in sales isn’t that bad really. When you compare that with my day job paycheck, that’s still on par with my take-home weekly pay.
We went to an auction on Thursday that was a complete bust, which wouldn’t have been a totally big deal except it was almost 2 hours away! Nothing was going for less than $100. We stayed for an hour and left. Stopped by a few thrift shops on the way home, so at least it wasn’t a complete waste of time. Now in contrast, we went to another auction on Saturday and were able to completely fill our car up with stuff for around the same cost as a single item at the first auction!
I didn’t list at all last week. Instead, I organized all of my 35mm slides. I think I have over 10 thousand of them. There’s lots of good stuff including Reno, NV pictures from the 70s that might sell for great money. I think I’m just going to do a small set at a time and see how well they do.
09/21/2018 at 2:13 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Spacemaker coffee, Settlers of Catan, Military jump boots, Sony 8mm Handycam, Yankee spiral screwdriver #48998My week felt slow, but I ended up with several higher than average sales to pump up my weekly numbers. Here are some of the highlights…
This little metal mesh pill purse came from a box lot of little trinkets. I paid $33 for the whole box (each sellable piece came to 8.25) but I already made my money back 4x over. This thing has some damage and major oxidation, but a soak in a vinegar solution fixed a lot of that up. I even had some spare rhinestones from past broken costume jewelry that I glued in place (there’s a little tip, pry out the rhinestones of junk jewelry and keep them in a little tin for little repair jobs like this). I listed it higher than I would have only because it was unique. Took a while but it sold for full price of $30.
Metal Mesh Pill PurseI got this Parker fountain pen and a few other fountain pens from the bottom of a box lot for $5. I’ve noticed people tend to pass over pens in box lots without much thought, but there can often be 10 or 12K gold nibs inside. This pen just had a gold filled cap, but apparently it was highly collectable. It didn’t take long before I got a good best offer of $105 for it.
Parker 51 Fountain PenHere’s my big sale of the week, and the most surprising. I acquired this Leschen & Sons brass paperweight from a box lot that I paid $15 for (each sellable piece came to $2.50). I didn’t think it would be worth so much, but I place a really high price tag on it just because there were no others like it (neither sold nor listed). Listed it for $120 and was willing to take a best offer, but it sold for full price just hours later. Hmm. Well I was happy for the sale anyways, just hope I didn’t leave money on the table.
Leschen Brass PaperweightI’m always on the lookout for old band merchandise, though I rarely come by any. So when I found this Beach Boys hat from 1985, I knew I could get some good money for it. I paid .75 cents for it at a yard sale. It took a long time, but it finally sold for $50. Nice easy sale!
Beach Boys Trucker Hat09/17/2018 at 1:45 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 377: Talking Numbers with TSatt (Troy) #48819Sep 9 – 15
Total Items in Store: 1785
Items Sold: 22
Total Sales : $920
* above yearly average of $801
* above 2017 total week sales of $252
Highest Price: $120 (Antique Leschen & Sons Rope Co Brass Advertising Paperweight)
Average Price: $42
Returns: 0
Cost of Goods Sold: $41
Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $7
Number of New Items Listed this Week: 59Sales really seemed slow last week, so I was really surprised at my totals! And I powered through almost 60 new listings too which isn’t bad. My highest priced sale sold within a few hours of listing so I’m wondering if I may have priced it too low. But I’m still happy with the $120 for a simple advertising piece. That on top of a $105 pen and a $50 Beach Boys hat. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised at my numbers.
I’ve decided to take some time off from listing this week. I’ve been neglecting things around the house too much. Plus, I’ve started diving into the huge pile of 35mm slides that’s been accumulating in the corner. So far it’s been mostly junk that I’m throwing in a box to sell as a big lot. But I’ve found some gold in dem hills. Walt Disney World. Ringling Brothers Circus. Military ships and airplanes and trains. I have a good feeling that some of these will do well.
Thanks for taking the time to do another interview, Troy! I always enjoy hearing your perspective on how to run a business, even though most of it goes over my head. LOL!
09/13/2018 at 10:47 am in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Projection screen, Models, Penguin hot/cold server, Desk lamp, Mailbox #48700I had a great week of sales last week. Here are some of the more notable ones…
I bought a great box lot of nice gold filled pens at an auction. Included in the box were a large assortment of Avon brand men’s jewelry. I always stay away from Avon anything, but since they came with it all, I thought I might as well list them. Individually, they weren’t worth my time to list, so I lotted them all up and sold them together. Got $30 for them all. Cost me $1.82.
Avon Men’s JewelryPottery can be a hit or miss for me. I bought a box lot of really cool looking pottery pieces for $27.50 (each sellable piece came to $5.50). I thought it was a bad buy when my listings sat for months on end with hardly any views. Well finally, this turquoise painted vase sold for full price of $70.
Mid Century Modern Pottery VaseHere’s one of those sales that really had to wait for the right buyer. It’s a box full of vintage floral arrangement cards. They came from a box lot of some of the most random odds and ends that I paid $13 for ($1 for each sellable item). I knew somebody would eventually want these, but I didn’t know how to price them. So I thought $25 would be sufficient, and after several months someone else thought so too.
Vintage Flower Arrangement CardsHere’s my big sale of the week. I’ve learned to never pass up on a good knee brace. This one I acquired at a thrift store for $10. That was kind of more than I wanted to pay, but a quick lookup of the brand showed me that I could make a lot back. Well it took awhile, but I finally took a best offer of $125 for it. The guy was really happy when he received it a day before his knee surgery too.
VertaLoc Knee BraceSure, Simon! Flatware can be intimidating with all the thousands of different patterns and designs and whatnot. The first thing I look for when deciding whether to buy it is brand and weight. Weight is a pretty good indicator whether a piece is well made or not. Does it bend easily with little force? Then it’s junk metal – toss it. Brand names are just something that takes some time to learn. About 80% of what I see is some variation of Rogers or International Silver. They’re super common. That doesn’t make them completely worthless, just much harder to find a pattern name. Now German, Danish or Japanese sounding names are more of the money makers and easier to research… Mikasa, Cromargan, Towle, Hepp, Yamazaki, etc.
The best way I found to research patterns is by using the website replacements.com. In the search bar, start out by typing in exactly what is written on the back of the piece. If you’re lucky, it won’t return 100+ pages of patterns (if that happens, ask yourself how bad you really want to sell that fork). You can even narrow it down a little by using the options on the left. The last option (modify results) can help a lot. For example, if the pattern is floral in nature, I’ll type in there Flower or Rose.
It’s hard at first to scroll through the pictures looking for the exact pattern. I found that it’s easier to first look for the general shape of the handle. Is the head pointy or flat top? Is the neck narrow or wide? Once you spot one that has the general shape of the utensil you’re holding, then you can focus in on the pattern. It can be a long process – it’s taken me 10 or 20 minutes sometimes. If I can’t get my search results to bring back less than 50 pages, then my last resort is typing the name exactly as it is on the back on eBay. Often enough I’ll get clues as to what the pattern is call from sold listings which I can use back on Replacements.com to get more info.
One thing I’ve learned, too, is that the ornate fancy classic styles aren’t really that popular anymore. The more plain looking modern styles are in. I hope that helps. It’s a field I’m still learning about so if anyone has anything to add or correct, I’m all ears.
Sep 2 – 8
Total Items in Store: 1743
Items Sold: 32
Total Sales : $1095
* above yearly average of $798
* above 2017 total week sales of $455
Highest Price: $125 (VertaLoc Max OA Knee Brace)
Average Price: $34
Returns: 0
Cost of Goods Sold: $69
Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $223
Number of New Items Listed this Week: 66Great week of sales! Hopefully this means 4th quarter is kicking off early this year. It sure kept me busy though! Some nights after work, all I did was pack! And like you two, it was just a mishmosh of random items, older and newly listed.
I went to two auctions on Saturday. It was cold and rainy, but I think that made the crowd sparse which was great! I got a car load of stuff for around $200. Lately, I’ve been buying box lots of misc flatware. It takes time to look up patterns and list them, but it pays off once you get good at it and learn what to look for and stay away from. And every once in a while like this time, you find some sterling silver. I found 5 sterling soup spoons that I’m hoping will net me over $100.
09/06/2018 at 10:10 am in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Wall sconces, Car parts, Oster egg cooker, models, Percolator, Freezer defroster #48438I had a fairly nice week of sales last week. Things are starting to pick up again for me. Here are some highlights…
I’ve learned to never pass up old things that are still new in box, no matter how mundane they may seem. So when I acquired this brand new set of four plastic Thermo-Serv coffee mugs in a box lot, I knew I had a winner. Unfortunately, I paid quite a lot for them (box lot was $27.50 / 2 sellable items at $13.75 each). But I listed them for somewhat high and they sold for full price of $45.
Thermo-Serv Plastic Nautical MugsI’ve learned that completed cross stitches can be gold if you get them for cheap enough. Luckily, I bought a whole box of them for $3 at an estate sale. The lady would complete them and then just put them back away in the bag along with the pattern sheet and all the other original extras. So it was really easy to give details such as design number and brand. This Halloween themed black cat cross stitch sold for $25. I have others listed for more, but this one was a very simple design that didn’t have a lot of time put into it. More elaborate ones can go for double or triple that.
Completed Cross StitchHere’s my big sale of the week. I bought this speaker mounting kit at a thrift shop for $3. Still sealed in the box, I had no idea what it looked like. But I did the research and found that it was made for an expensive brand (Electro-Voice) of discontinued speakers. They took a while to sell as expected, but I got full price for it – $160.
Speaker Mounting HardwareHere’s a good example showing that you never know what might sell. There’s always a buyer for everything. This vintage Autocar VIN plate must have come from a winch truck. I got it out of a box lot of old garage tins and cans that I paid $17.50 for (each sellable item came to $1.03). Admittedly, it took longer than I thought to sell, but I finally got full price of $25 for it.
Autocar VIN PlateHere’s a fun little sale. I got this book from the Goodwill bins, so it couldn’t have been more than a dollar. It’s a VERY dated book about the dangers of Marijuana. It was an entertaining read for sure, but I decided to pass it on for $15. Hopefully the buyer will get a kick out of it.
1970s Dangers of Marijuana BookYeah, that’s what I was reading with COBRA. It might make a good temporary solution, but I just got some plan rates back and it might not be the best option after all.
Maybe hold onto it in the hopes that fur will make a comeback? You never know, stuff goes in and out of style all the time.
Thanks, Jay! I appreciate the encouragement! I just submitted an application on that site. We’ll see what kind of costs they’ll throw at me. Though it might be skewed because it asked what my current income is and I’m still working full time. I’ll look into COBRA as well until open enrollment starts I think at the end of December.
Aug 26 – Sep 1
Total Items in Store: 1707
Items Sold: 26
Total Sales : $788
* (nearly) equal yearly average of $787
* above 2017 total week sales of $425
Highest Price: $160 (Electro-Voice Mounting Bracket Kit for Sx500 Speakers)
Average Price: $30
Returns: 0
Cost of Goods Sold: $31
Costs of Goods Purchased this Week: $76
Number of New Items Listed this Week: 23I have good numbers to report this week. My total sales is almost exactly my yearly average, which tells me that even during the slowest month all year I am doing just fine. I ran some dirty numbers over the weekend and came to the conclusion that if I continued at this rate, I could live okay with just the amount I’m currently pulling in through eBay. But also to consider… if I didn’t have to work a full time job and strictly worked on eBay instead, my store would grow tremendously and profits would increase as well, theoretically of course.
I’m one of those people you mentioned in the podcast that comes home every night, cooks dinner and does whatever choir is needed done, and then works on eBay for a couple hours before bed. It’s been okay for the last couple of years, but now it’s getting old. I don’t know what free time is anymore or what to do with myself when I happen to have it. So I decided to give myself an end date with my job. I’m putting my two-week notice in on October 12th. It’s a dead-end job anyways with no chance for any pay increases or advancement opportunities. The nearly hour long commute is expensive. And most importantly, I’m burnt out on the whole tech support thing. I need a career change, so I’m going for it. But I wanted to be smart and safe about it. I built up almost a year’s worth up income in my savings account, made sure I have enough inventory to keep me going, and made sure my income on my eBay side reflect my day job income. The only thing I’m really worried about is how much health insurance will run me, but I’ll find out soon when I meet with our local insurance agent sometime this month.
To the caller asking about an app that would make sourcing more efficient, I have one on my Android phone called Voyager. I don’t know if this would be something you’re looking for, but it basically allows you to input a bunch of addresses and it gives you the most efficient route to take to visit them all. How I utilize it, I take a city (Pittsburgh in my case) and Google all of the thrift stores in and around the city. I input all of the addresses in this app and it creates what I like to call my thrift store circuit. So let’s say there are ~15 stores that I’d like to visit in a day, you just set a start location (normally the first store you plan on visiting) and an end location (usually my house) and it calculates the best route to take to hit all 15 locations. It’s not useful if you’ve only got a few places you’d like to visit, but for 10 or more it’s great.
08/30/2018 at 2:48 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Sun Tachometer, Deneuve perfume, Eveready flashlight, Leather duffle, Polar Care, Lone Scout books #48194Thanks for letting me know about the pencil sharpeners. You’re right, when I first started selling, electric pencil sharpeners were a sure bet. I haven’t run across any for a little while so I was unaware of what the market was like now. Good to know!
08/30/2018 at 2:44 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Sun Tachometer, Deneuve perfume, Eveready flashlight, Leather duffle, Polar Care, Lone Scout books #48193Thank you! We’re in love with our new place! So much room for activities. I’ll never run out of storage space again.
08/30/2018 at 10:16 am in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Sun Tachometer, Deneuve perfume, Eveready flashlight, Leather duffle, Polar Care, Lone Scout books #48178I use GoDaddy Bookkeeping and COGS are just one of those things that you have to enter in yourself. I make it part of my weekly tasks. I keep an inventory spreadsheet of everything I’ve bought and for what price I got it for. So I just find what sold in my sheet and record the COGS in GoDaddy at the end of the week that it sells. Anything under .50 cents I just ignore.
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