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01/23/2019 at 9:40 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 395: What Lifestyle Is eBay Supporting For You? #55669
I’ll be giving monthly updates in the journal I started…I’m curious to see where I end up at the end of the month. It’s been very busy and I’ve scaled like crazy. I think we’ve scavenged and listed 350 items so far this month (and we both are still working full time)…busy busy busy…going to push all weekend long again and give a monthly update in a couple weeks. No football this weekend to distract me either…
I think my overall January numbers will be interesting to anyone who wants to scale quickly. Stay tuned!
01/22/2019 at 12:16 pm in reply to: Raychem 250 ft. Self Regulating Heating Cable, 240V, H622250 #55588Lesson is that anytime you sell anything, don’t include a measurement that isn’t what is in the product. For something like this, I would have left out the 250ft in the title, made note in the condition that it isn’t 250ft, and estimated how much was left (something like 150+ feet left).
I learned the hard way as well in the past (I sold a used bottle of high-end perfume with the original volume in the title and said “50%+ full”). If something is partially used, never use the original amount in the title. It sucks, but you’ll never make the mistake again. $500 is a very hard hit though. I feel for you!
01/22/2019 at 12:08 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 395: What Lifestyle Is eBay Supporting For You? #55586It’s just a fad – if you do any research on her, she started her methods in Japan, where it was a fad in the mid 2000’s. Then her book was published in various languages in Europe in the early 10’s and was a fad. Her book was published in North America in 2014 and was a fad (I remember her on a few talk shows, and shows like CBS Sunday Morning), and I assume it will be a fad again.
Netflix somehow has very good PR for their shows. I assume something else will be coming up in a few weeks. Before Kondo was Bird Box, and I already can’t stop hearing about some show called “Roma” on Netflix this week. Just was Netflix’s bi-weekly PR cycle for a show that someone gets everyone talking.
Netflix amazes me as a company…awesome PR, lousy accounting. I think they have reached their zenith and will interesting to see how they start to pay all the money they owe when all the new competition gears up in the next few months/years.
01/22/2019 at 10:32 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 395: What Lifestyle Is eBay Supporting For You? #55573eBay has been very key in supporting me in many chapters of my life:
-in the late 90’s, I sold enough sports memorabilia to put a down payment on a house when I was 20.
-our engagement ring and wedding rings were bought by selling items on eBay – our whole wedding was paid for by eBay profits. Our rings were bought on eBay even…
-any time over the years we needed a large purchase (appliance, furnace, roof, etc) we would get into “eBay mode” to pay for it.
-when I’ve been unemployed (a few times in the 2000’s) it got me through the months I didn’t have a job.
-now I’m going to be unemployed in the near future – it will be my job moving forward until retirement benefits kick in. Until then, it’s purely retirement savings for the future.I also enjoy it. It’s kind of a hobby that pays instead of costing money. All my friends and family are into golf and spend a lot of money on it – I hate it! But put me into a situation where I can buy stuff and flip it for a profit, it gets my heart racing when I find an amazing find, and every sale gives me a “high”. Just hearing the “cha-ching” sound can lift my spirits when I’m feeling down!
01/22/2019 at 10:18 am in reply to: Starting back full time, and working towards hubby quitting his job #55572My wife would love one as well – I just tell her I’ll get her a 2019 one…in 2034!!!
01/21/2019 at 2:43 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 395: What Lifestyle Is eBay Supporting For You? #55524Just listening and thought I would chime in on remote controls. I would love to find a bin of remotes…they are my #1 bread and butter item. There is a hierarchy though to remotes:
Top Tier is any remote from cable or satellite companies. People rent the boxes, and they are unusable without a remote. I’ve had stories where if your remote is broken (or missing when you cancel your account and have to return the equipment) they charge up to $150 to replace it. Your local cable company will also have replacement remotes on their website – they are usually over $50 – just price yours below their price, and you have a winner. I usually get mine for $1 or $2 – and they sell quick. People buy universal remotes to get by, but when they need to return equipment they get desperate…
High-End universal remotes (like Harmony remotes) are also in this category. They are harder to find, but even older models sell for top dollar.
Second Tier is TV remotes for modern TVs. Again, they are useless without remotes and lose functionality. If you find a remote that someone needs, they will pay top dollar for it. A tip I have is to buy as many remotes you can for your TVs when you find them in the wild – I have 5 back-ups for my TV if anything breaks (I need my TV to work) – and if I change my TV, I’ll just sell them to pay for the new one.
Third Tier is audio equipment – usually mid-tier or higher tier brands. Even average brands like Sony, Kenwood, Panasonic, etc. sell well…these are longer tail, but will sell if priced competitively.
The last area I buy is specialty remotes for high-end items – like fireplace remotes, remote window coverings, and A/C units. These vary wildly. Check it out online in store before you buy…
Everything else I avoid – VHS, old TV, DVD, camcorder, cheap stereo brands, etc. are absolutely worthless.
I should also add that there is a strategy at play at the moment – I do not want to make “money” yet…while I’m employed.
The less “profit” I make lowers my income tax now. I’m taking on this strategy for 2019 until I lose my job. Therefore, I’m taking my “profits”, rolling them back into the business in inventory, but not making taxable income.
It’s sort of an investment – it won’t pay as much now, but in the future I can reap larger rewards when I need to (and at a lower tax rate – almost 25% savings).
If I break down my average sales over 2018, it’s 23.25 items per week. However, I’ve fluctuated from around 108 to 272 items for sale in the last year at any given time (therefore, data is inconsistent).
My average item profit in 2018 was $16.57 (that is with all expenses/costs removed including fees, shipping supplies, gas, storage bins/shelves, and anything else put into the business).
So that gives me $385.25 in profit per week for 2018 – the only thing taken off of that is Income Tax (which at the moment is almost 50% while I’m still employed).
You don’t want to see my 2019 numbers…they are bad so far while I’m growing at a fast pace…I’m in the hole $26.19 as of this morning. I’m curious to see how they average out when I’m not pushing for growth and just replace what I’ve sold on a weekly basis. For this year, I pull money out every Wednesday each week out to buy new inventory and it’s been over $400 each time and should be $500 this week – so I’m seeing growth over my 2018 numbers and climbing each week.
I still need to figure out what is sustainable and what needs to change. For example, this weekend one of my Bread ‘n Butter items that I usually sell for $18.99 upped to $22.99 (still the lowest price including shipping on eBay). See if the sales still fly in on it.
Trying to find the balance will be interesting as I expand.
Note – all my numbers are in Canadian Dollars – so $1 is about $0.76 US
My strategy is a little different, but I’ll explain my process as best I can…and what happens…
-I tend to buy items that I make 5x profit or more (there is always exceptions on higher value items). I have lots of items for sale around $20-$25 that I pay $5 or less (most around $1 or $2) that other sellers would sell for $30ish or more. I would estimate 50% of my items fall in this category, and they are quick sales (less than a month). The rest of my items are split in higher value turn ‘n burn, or unique items that I will hold onto until I get a high price (usually $100+ items, I’m the only seller).
-My inventory is always in flow, but with my plans to move to full time, it has been increasing. Historically, 150-200 items is my spot. I’m well over that now just with more focus this year.
-I scavenge weekly about 1 hour or 2. Historically I go bi-weekly for a full Saturday. I list soon as I buy items (usually that evening or the next day). As I am scaling, I am spending a full day a week scavenging, and about 4-5 hours listing (approximately 50 items a week). Most are repeats, so easy to list.
-Space has been a current issue – historically I could store about 200 items with items all over the place, now I can probably push 500. Once I move, I’m sure I can store 3000 items easily.
-My sales will go down if I don’t continue to feed new items. If I take 3-4 weeks off, it starts to slow up. After 6-8 weeks, the sales trickle in compared to when I’m focused on listing.
For me, this year is focused on expansion – and the challenge has been capital. The quicker I sell, the quicker I can buy new items for inventory, sell those items, spend that money, and repeat.
Maybe once I hit inventory goals, sales goals, etc. I’ll have to re-evaluate, but for quick expansion, the sell it quick, get the cash, spend the cash, list, sell, etc. cycle is working.
Just playing with the chart, my fees are 17.1% before getting a subscription, and 14.9% since.
I pay for shipping through PayPal, so my numbers above do not include those numbers.
I feel this is lower then I thought – for some reason I felt it was 20-25% based on how bad it use to be in the 90’s.
Also, remove PayPal (which is a payment processing service – you would pay for this anyways unless you accept cash/checks), then it is closer to 10-11%.
Not bad at all for everything you get.
@Winchester38 – just an FYI for you. About a month ago I was debating subscribing to a U.S. (.com) or Canadian (.ca) store on eBay. I have found out that if you subscribe to a Canadian Store, you also get a U.S. Store included.
For example, I have a basic .ca store, and I not only get 250 Canadian listings, I get 250 U.S. listings for $20 a month (with annual subscription).
I believe you mentioned you had a U.S. store – if so this may save you some extra $ every month.
01/17/2019 at 9:49 am in reply to: Post a photo of something that was awkward or embarrasing to buy! #55320The craziest stuff I’ve bought (and sold on eBay – still have a few items that I hope go by Valentine’s Day) is a bunch of wild lingerie and shoes.
I work in Niagara Falls, and since the town likes to still think it is the “Honeymoon Capital of the World”, there are a lot of adult themed stores. One of them was closing, and on the final day everything was 90% off. I thought I would go in and buy some stuff if it was cheap. I don’t usually do retail arbitrage, but this time I did. Bought a bunch of lingerie, skimpy/tight dresses, and clear heeled shoes – all were new with tags or boxes.
Did great sales, but when my parents or other family members looked at my eBay account, some of the photos were pretty racy that were on the packaging. I even had to censor a few before posting.
01/17/2019 at 9:43 am in reply to: Bought some Vintage 80's Disney World Family Photos-does anyone have experience? #55318Does anyone know what would sell better, Disney (or a popular theme park) or photos from defunct local theme parks? I’m just wondering as I’m sure everyone who every went to Disney took lots of photos (therefore, lots are out there) where an oddball place would have less photos, and may be more valuable?
On a side note, as someone who lives outside Niagara Falls, it always is strange that any serial killer, murder victim, missing couple, missing child, etc. always has a photo in front of Niagara Falls on the news or shows like Dateline/48 Hours/etc. I feel like I must pass by a future murderer or victim everyday in Niagara Falls…
I go to a Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Value Village every week.
All 3 are lower in inventory. The Salvation Army was bare a few weeks ago (completely empty shelves) and I asked why – I guess they purge everything at the beginning of January and July, and start fresh.
The Goodwill seems average, but the parking lot is emptier then usual and less shoppers in store. The Value Village is right in a major tourist area, and seems to have a lot of drop-in shoppers from out of town, but the parking lot has been noticeably quieter the last few weeks.
As for finding items, it seems average to me the last few weeks. Not finding a tons of amazing items, but still leave each store with a bag of good items.
I keep hearing people talk about it – in person, on the radio, on TV….
But, anyone I ask who is talking about it has never seen the show (even the local radio guy who talks about it every hour who I emailed)….is this just a big Netflix marketing stunt? Has anyone seen the show at all?
Lots of articles in papers saying that thrift stores are overwhelmed with items now because of this show – but the ones I went to today were quiet and the staff hasn’t noticed any change.
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