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I am so glad I clicked on this thread. I’ve done a lot of retail arbitrage over the last week (online retailers are offering great discounts that apply even to their clearance items. It’s been my own personal Christmas. All I really want for Christmas is stuff to resell). Anyway, all of the incoming stuff is going to need to be stored. A portion of my basement is an area of just dirt flooring. Nothing is level. I store a lot of totes in there but will be needing to store more and stacking totes is becoming precarious. I’ve been eyeballing storage shelves at Home Depot and Lowes but they are expensive and I’m not sure how they’d do on uneven floors. Plus they are too heavy for me to load and unload and put together. I think cinder block shelves may be my answer! Thanks for sharing your photos!
I see nothing wrong about canceling the sale. You made an error in the listing, it happens. Ebay has a system in place to weed out the sellers that abuse the cancellation system (i.e. canceling sales every time an auctioned item didn’t sell high enough). These sellers eventually rack up enough defects to be suspended. A one time cancellation shouldn’t rise to the level of an international incident. I haven’t read the string of comments above but this is the internet and commenters love to be sanctimonious on the internet.
Wow! Everyone in this thread has had some great sales this week! Quite inspiring.
My best sale of the week was a Ted Baker dress purchased for $6.99, sold for $125. I sold it before and it was returned due to fit. Sold it again to someone in London who kept haggling and wore me down from $155 to $80 on a day that I must have been desperate for a cha-ching. Once she realized global shipping fees were $40, she asked me to reduce the price even further. Nope. Relisted and sold within a day for $125. I love when that happens. https://www.ebay.com/itm/253257000976
Through retail arbitrage I purchased a toddler sized Ralph Lauren blazer that had original retail price of $375! I repeat, that’s for a TODDLER’S garment! I purchased it for $39 and after having it listed for quite awhile I finally took a best offer of $85. Not a great return but an interesting sale. I wouldn’t spend $85 on clothes for myself, can’t imagine spending that much for a messy tot who will likely wear it once. I’m guessing it’ll be worn for a family Christmas photo. https://www.ebay.com/itm/252720301757
Most unusual item sold this week was a Vtg Dr. Pepper Southwestern-themed leather drink coaster set. Coasters featured a covered wagon, an oil drilling rig, a cowboy hat- all things that everyone associates with Dr. Pepper, right? 🙂 I bought it for 50 cents at an Estate Sale where it was the only item worth buying. Sold it during a 30% off sale for $41.99. https://www.ebay.com/itm/252695339814
Only 19 sales this week but not bad considering I’m only listing a few items a week due to temporary outside work that fell into my lap back in February.
Finally, yesterday I saw a classified ad in the local paper. Someone is looking for an ebay seller to teach them how to sell on ebay. I’m gonna pass – it’s not a great sign when the person is posting the ad to a newspaper versus a local online classified forum. To me that shows they are already behind the 8-ball technology-wise and that’s more teaching than I’m interested in providing.
Hope everyone has a profitable week!
https://imgur.com/gallery/l5Bud
Hope the link works – its screenshot of the clock I sold that appeared on The Deuce
I find money on the ground ALL THE TIME! I guess while everyone else walks around looking up, I tend to look down. I found $200 on the ground at the Mirage in Las Vegas a few years back. It was two $100 bills crumpled up outside of the bathroom. There was no one in the immediate vicinity. Turning it into the casino for its rightful owner to come forward would have been pointless, that place is too huge for the money to ever have gotten back to the right person. Since I didn’t see anyone looking around for it, I pocketed it and got out of there.
More recently I found about $220 in a bank envelope at Ollies Discount store. It looked like someone had just cashed their paycheck. The envelope had an Ollie’s receipt in it which had the person’s Ollie’s Customer Rewards card number printed on it so the store was able to ID the person from that and called them to let them know. Was glad to find the owner because it was in the working class side of town and that was probably the person’s weekly pay.
Last summer I found a $20 bill in a purse for sale at Salvation Army. I find money so often that I’ve made myself a rule that if I find anyone who needs the money more than I do, before I get home, I’ll give the money to them. Well my local Salvation Army could definitely use it so I put the $20 in their donation kettle. And guess what – the VERY next day I found a $20 bill on the ground at the lake! Who finds $20 at a lake? I think it was karma, I was just meant to have $20.
I’ve found $20 on the ground at Publix, $5 in the parking lot at Sams, $20 when I was a kid in a Walmart parking lot, $11 on the ground blowing around in DC, $5 in loose quarters at the beach….. 🙂
Speaking of movie props, a starburst clock I sold on eBay just appeared in a scene on the HBO series The Deuce, set in 1970s NYC. It was prominently displayed right between the actors. I had previously sold it to someone who returned it because the clock motor didn’t have enough power once the clock hands had to go upwards from the “6” position. I couldn’t find a motor for it that would work with the stylized clock hands so I relisted it as broken and it sold for full price to a prop company who didn’t need it to work. My husband who does not sell on ebay but is very supportive about it, got so excited that he paused the show and took a picture of it.
I’ve not personally had an extreme scavenger event, but I do vividly recall from childhood, my best friend picking up used chewed up gum from off the sidewalk and putting it in her mouth! I remember her exact words, “Oh! Gum!”
I follow a dumpster diving group on Facebook although I’ve never dumpster dived (dove?). It’s amazing what dumpsters divers find just tossed away everyday by stores.My ebay store is mostly on autopilot at this point since I’m working for an outside company on other things. I do try to list at least a few items a week.
Total Items in Store: 962
Items Sold: 19
Cost of Items Sold: $276 (I had some high dollar items I flipped so not a great ROI)
Total Sales: $931
Highest Price Sold: $180 (lot of 8 MetalGear action figures sold to buyer in Italy)
Average Price Sold: $49
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week:0
Number of items listed this week: 511 of the 19 items I sold this week I had purchased through retail and online arbitrage.
The ROI for such items isn’t always as great as finding used items at thrift stores to flip but it’s usually much quicker to list the items since I purchase in multiples and I’m able to find details about the items online that I can copy from (like measurements, fabric content, etc). And since I’m pressed for time these days due to other work commitments, it’s quicker for me to find the items online versus hunting through various stores and estate sales.Total Items in Store: 967
Items Sold: 20My ebay store continues to be semi-neglected due to outside consulting work snowballing into a full time job. While the steady paycheck is great, I can’t wait to get back to ebay full time. At least my store’s inventory is large enough that I’m still getting consistent sales.
This week I sold a number of Marvel and other types of action figures for one of my husband’s friends. The entire time I’m listing them I can’t wrap my head around why anyone would want them. But they’re selling and almost exclusively to people in CA and WA.
The surprising sale of the week was a swimsuit to someone in Houston!
BOLO of the week: Hard hats / helmets, like the type worn by construction workers. Evidently some are collectible. I sold a Timberjack helmet within an hour of listing it for $39.99. I bought it for $4.50. http://www.ebay.com/itm/253144300503
My ebay sales finally slowed down this week. I haven’t been listing much so I’m running a 40% off sale on items I’m sick of seeing in my inventory.
My highest sale of the week was a Norma Kamali swimsuit I sold for $125, which I bought with original tags for $5! Another good sale was a Rockmount Ranch Wear shiny red shirt with pearl snap buttons on sale for $35.99. It’s the perfect rockabilly shirt.
For sourcing – the last few weeks have been great for retail arbitrage as stores & websites try to clear out their summer merchandise. I’m getting items brand new with tags for less than what I could buy used at Goodwill. I have lots of listing to get to!
I too occasionally take on a short term job in my former field (anti-money laundering consultant). Ideally I work on such a job 1 week a month or less. At the beginning of 2017 I had just started ramping up my ebay store to take it to the next level when….. in late February one short term project snowballed due to gross incompetence of other parties. Fast forward to July 30th, and I’m working full time on this side job, 6 to 7 days a week and have been for months. In addition to the long hours I’m being micro-managed by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing and is only involving himself in order to have plenty of hours to bill the client. I think most of us self-employed ebay sellers can agree that we don’t like being managed by other people, so the micro-managing is killing me. I didn’t want this! While the paycheck is nice, I’d rather have my time, my freedom to do what I want, when I want, where I want. I think I have about a month or 2 to go before someone is brought in as a permanent replacement. I cannot wait!!
As far as ebay during this time, I had a lot of inventory in my store, over 1,000 items so sales were pretty consistent for me for a while but have since slowed as I ignore my store more and more. I have done some online retail arbitrage in my hotel room late at night so I’ve had a little bit of inventory coming in. But I so miss the daily grind of listing and shipping!The months of April and May were my most profitable months in over 3 years selling on eBay (profit $1,799 and $1909, respectively). Considering my store has been largely on autopilot during those 2 months due to outside work with lots of overtime, I’m pretty thrilled. My sales can be attributed to a cache of brand new with tag mid-range to high price swimsuits I found a few months back for $5 a piece. I probably bought around 200 and am kicking myself that I didn’t buy more at the time. They have been selling for me really well (i’m down to just 47 left) and they have helped stave off the summer sales slump. I got tons of women’s Speedo brand, Kenneth Cole, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Maaji, La Blanca, Seafolly, Trina Turk, Gottex Profile, Norma Kamali (which retails for $350 & I have listed for $149!), etc. My highest priced suit to sell so far was a teeny tiny panther bikini for $99.99.
I’ve definitely learned a lot about swimsuits. The great thing about selling them is they are super easy to store, pack and ship. The bad thing is LOTS of returns! As I quickly learned, most high end swimsuits are sized one size smaller than regular women’s apparel. So if you wear a Kenneth Cole size 8 dress, you’d have to buy a size 10 Kenneth Cole swimsuit. No one knows that and no one reads descriptions so I’ve gotten lots of returns. But I just relist. Fingers crossed that I run across a cache like that again, but it might be a once in a lifetime score.
Some of my recent interesting sales:
This is a large bowl mid century Iroquois Carrara. I bought a huge set of these dishes over a year ago for $25 and slowly they’ve been selling. My profit so far on the pieces I’ve sold is $225. Been selling much slower than anticipated. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-Mid-Century-Iroquois-Carrara-Modern-Large-Center-Piece-Bowl-w-Squiggly-Lines-/252324357372?rd=1
I don’t usually shop the men’s blazers because I don’t like measuring and listing them but I stumbled upon a Ted Baker blazer. It stuck out from the crowd due to its unusual lining. Paid $6.96, listed at $175, took best offer of $91.50 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Men-039-s-Ted-Baker-Bandman-Blazer-Dark-Blue-Two-Button-Size-42-Ted-Baker-6-/252778507355?rd=1
Came across a lot of vintage Mrs. Grossman stickers for $25. I kept hesitating about paying that much but glad I did as I’ve been breaking it into lots and they’ve been selling quickly. Plus its been fun looking at them and sorting them. Here is one lot that sold for $29.99 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-Lot-Mrs-Grossman-Scrapbook-Crafting-Stickers-1980s-90s-99-Strips-item-007-/252842008506?rd=1
Frederick Cooper whimsical rooster lamp with shade. Purchased at an estate for $35, listed for $249, took best offer of $175. Shipped it in two different boxes to keep lamp from crushing the shade. Fortunately it only had to make it one state away and everything arrived at the buyer safe and sound. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Frederick-Cooper-Chicago-Rooster-with-Original-Shade-Table-Lamp-21-034-/252508057160?rd=1
Finally, found NOS classic jazzercise leotard popular from the 80s. Paid around $3, with original tag, sold for $24.95 to someone in Ca. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NWT-Vtg-80s-90s-LA-Workout-Leotard-Exercise-Wear-Size-Medium-NOS-/262871970230?rd=1
I’m not sure how best to phrase the question but I’d like to know how some very large sellers with high negative feedback are still able to sell on the site. These are typically sellers in China who sell horrific knock-offs from what is shown in the photo. They tarnish eBay’s reputation with buyers and yet they are still allowed to sell on the site when any smaller seller would have been kicked off by now. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I guess the question is: are the largest sellers held to a different standard than smaller stores?
For examples do an ebay search on “Fashion Dress”. Almost any of the sellers in the lower price point end of that category could be used as an example (seller: wrb333666 has 300 negatives this month and 95% rating).
Thanks.
I had some good sales this week. Here are a few of the better ones:
The Lilly, vintage Lilly Pulitzer dress from the 1960s, purchased during the final hour of an estate sale for $1. Had a ton of discoloration on it due to age. I soaked it in the washing maching using Biz (much better than Oxyclean!) and then dried it in the sun, lying it across the grapevines (hooray for photosynthesis – nature’s bleach!) It removed almost all of the yellowing. Listed for quite awhile at $199, took best offer of $150.
Vintage Boy Scouts neckerchief with rare patch from a local troop, dated circa 1950s-60s. Purchased the entire uniform for $1 at estate sale and listed into 2 lots. Sold this piece within hours of listing for $199.99.
Child’s bedding set purchased from a discount store for $39.99 and sold for $119.99.
Ralph Lauren Duck Pheasant Shirt, purchased for $3.99 and had it listed for $89.99 for quite some time. Finally took a best offer of $45.
Ted Baker Sheath dress, purchased for $6.36 and sold within a few days for $70.
I had a very good sale today that I need to brag about. Several months ago I purchased a vintage Boy Scout uniform circa mid-century from an estate sale. I believe I paid either $1 or $4 for it. It hung in my eBay room for awhile and tired of looking at it, I finally listed it today in two lots: the shirt, pants and order of the arrow sash listed in one lot and the neckerchief with patch in a 2nd lot. The neckerchief with patch sold within a few hours for $199.99! When researching I found a similar patch listed for $380 but it wasn’t sold and I thought that was a pipe dream. I considered listing as an auction but I’m too impatient for those to end so I listed for what I thought was kind of a ridiculous amount and it sold. The buyer has paid and messenged asking if I have any other items from that troop. Hopefully, I’ll find some more at future local estate sales!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-Mid-Century-Boy-Scouts-of-America-BSA-Neckerchief-with-Waguli-318-Patch-/262862420641?rd=1
