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@Mark-S – I wonder about Facebook Marketplace. They have the largest potential customer base, but their interface is horrible for comparison shopping and it is feature poor. And the worst thing is the scammers. It almost never fails that I get at least two inquiries from scammers for each listing I post. I can’t imagine having to weed through the scammers on all of my listings. Not to mention the “Is this still available?” queries and percentage of low-ball offers. Considering the cash that FB has, you’d think they would take some lessons from their main competitors and refine their system.
I’ll be watching your journey closely. I hope it works out as well as your Etsy experiment.
It didn’t feel like it, but I guess it wasn’t a bad week of sales. Above this years average and just about equal to this week last year. But then I look at two years ago where did $2100 and I get a bit deflated. (Reminds himself to ignore pandemic numbers again
My favorite sale of the week was my largest, a vintage Swatch watch that sold for $124.95. I bought a lot of watches from an auction that included an original 1984 Swatch. The band was deteriorating but I popped in a new battery and it worked fine, so I purchased a replacement band and listed it. It came with its original package which allowed me to ask more. Took a few weeks to sell. With the new band I had about $20 in it.
Two other cool sales were a vintage Blenko water pitcher that sold for $90 about an hour after I listed it. Even better that there was an almost exact match listed for $20 less. Always wonder what factors lead to mine selling first when I ask more. And then I sold a Tiki mug for $49.95 that I had paid $3.49 at the local thrift store. Ugliest mug ever:
Vintage Trader Vic’s Waikiki Hawaii Ugly Tiki Mug Polynesian Pottery | eBay
Week Ending 12/10/22
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $677.35
Net Sales: $548.96
Total Items Sold 16
Total Items in eBay Store: 1094 Items Sold: 14
Total Items in Etsy Store: 345 Items Sold: 2
Cost of Items Sold: $70.96
COGS Percent 12.93%
Highest Price Sold: $124.95
Average Price Sold: $42.33
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00
Average Days Listed: 410
Longest Listed: 1752
New items listed: 6If you are shipping that quantity of packages, I’d start scheduling at least one pickup Sunday night for Monday so that you can hand the packages to the carrier when they arrive. Of course, that only works if you can have all your packages ready by the time they arrive. You’ve probably thought of this already.
One other idea, I have 3 post offices in about a 15-minute radius of my house. I have found them to each be different with how they handle large numbers of packages. One of them treats me like a pariah when I walk in while another is pleasant and helpful. You might shop around if it isn’t too much of a drive. Sounds like you’re doing a lot of waiting in line. Perhaps a longer drive will find a more accommodating branch.
You can pay a fee to UPS to have them make a daily stop. Their rates have come down quite a bit and I see them competitive much more often. Of course, their prices still can’t beat USPS on first class packages.
Great week for you guys. I’m sure we all miss you. It was great to start the week with your insights and a little extra motivation. Nothing like the feeling of community that you built.
Had a pretty good week. It started out really strong on Sunday, but then trickled down from there. Had a great sale of a Star Trek Enterprise desk model for $275. I paid $24 at an auction a few weeks ago and only had it up 20 days. I couldn’t believe I won it for so cheap. I was asking $400 but took an offer. Had another great sale for a paperweight from Lyndon Johnson’s presidency that sold for $175. Apparently, they were given out to political supporters and allies. I was surprised to sell it for full asking price because it hasn’t gotten much attention since I posted it. Sent it priority mail international to France.
Had a rare for me return request for a Coleman lantern. Buyer claimed it wasn’t working properly. I didn’t test it extensively, so I negotiated a half price refund. It was a pain to pack so didn’t want to go through that again. Only my 7th return request of the year.
Etsy once again pulling its weight. Accounted for 25% of sales this week.
Week Ending 12/10/22
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $1,155.05
Net Sales: $905.29
Total Items Sold 26
Total Items in eBay Store: 1103
Items Sold eBay: 17
Total Items in Etsy Store: 347
Items Sold Etsy: 9
Cost of Items Sold: $95.38
COGS Percent 10.54%
Highest Price Sold: $275.00 Star Trek Enterprise Model
Average Price Sold: $44.43
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00
Average Days Listed: 180
Longest Listed: 1393
New items listed: 22you sold a Forbidden Zone soundtrack? I might have had to keep that one. I started listening to Oingo Boingo when their first album came out in 1980 when I was in the Army.
@temudgin – I have to admit that I did consider it. I was a OB fan as well. Saw them in concert at University of Florida in the early 80’s. Great show.Week Ending 12/3/22
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $715.65
Net Sales: $579.87
Total Items Sold 21
Total Items in eBay Store: 1091
Items Sold eBay: 17
Total Items in Etsy Store: 337
Items Sold Etsy: 4
Cost of Items Sold: $60.00
COGS Percent 10.35%
Highest Price Sold: $100.00
Average Price Sold: $34.08
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00
Average Days Listed: 185
Longest Listed: 1645
New items listed: 12I thought I had posted these numbers earlier this week, but I guess there was a glitch in the matrix. Had an above average week for the year, but way below previous years at this time. Part of that is due to lower than normal sales average of $34.
Best sale of the week was a vintage Leica lens case for $100. I had paid $15 for it at an estate sale. A few other cool sales for the week were a Qatar Airways amenity kit that was branded for the World Cup for $30, and a CD for Forbidden Zone, an obscure movie that had one of the first soundtracks written by Danny Elfman, for $29.95.
I had an interesting case where a buyer sent me a note because his CD arrived damaged. The plastic part of the case was crushed in transit. It was a digipak case which has the plastic integrated into a cardboard case, so couldn’t just replace the jewel case. I offered to just refund his purchase so he could purchase another one. I even told him he could find it cheaper than he purchased it from me on Discogs. He refused the refund saying it wasn’t my fault and thanked me for being willing to work with him.
Week Ending 12/3/22
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $715.65
Net Sales: $579.87
Total Items Sold 21
Total Items in eBay Store: 1091 / Total Items in Etsy Store: 337
Items Sold eBay: 17 / Items Sold Etsy: 4
Cost of Items Sold: $60.00
COGS Percent 10.35%
Highest Price Sold: $100.00 (Vintage Leica Camera Case)
Average Price Sold: $34.08
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00
Average Days Listed: 185
Longest Listed: 1645
New items listed: 12Sold well above my average number of items last week, but my average sale price was well below usual, so ended up with a good but not impressive showing. Taking a lot of offers and getting a lot of low ball offers that don’t go anywhere. Had a painful sale cancellation on Etsy for a $350 pair of antique handcuffs. According to Etsy it was some type of scam account and they stepped in to cancel it.
This was my best week of the year last year, so a bit disappointing to see only about a 3rd the dollar amount this year. This week has started out strong though, and it looks clear for getting a decent amount listed this week.
@Clarity – I’m interested in your use of Stamps.com. I sell on eBay and Etsy and use PirateShip for my international packages. I could use PirateShip for everything, but their interface isn’t designed well for processing multiple packages at once, so I end up shipping through eBay, Etsy and often PirateShip all in the same day. Does Stamps.com have a decent interface for shipping multiple packages at once? How do their prices compare? Thanks
@Retro – Considering what you and your family have been through I think you should be patting yourself on the back. And doing this while still holding down a day job is pretty amazing. It’ll all pay off in the long run.
This last person didn’t even bother to research long enough to get the design name. Terapeak has over 7000 sales of this pattern, “Spice of Life” in the last year with an average sale price of $35. Surprisingly though 50 sales greater than $500. Money laundering was always the theory on the old Disney tapes, perhaps that is what is going on here. I looked at one of the big sales for $8155 and it’s a seller with no feedback and no other listings and seems to have sold the same dish twice at auction within a few weeks with only one bidder each time, second time the bid was for $6400. Smells fishy.
@Mark-s – Etsy accounts for about 15% of my sales since January, but I only have about 25% of my inventory on Etsy. I started with my high $ listings and worked my way down, stopping at around $50 with some exceptions, and any item made after 2003 can’t be listed on Etsy since it isn’t considered vintage. I do list items worth less than $50 now, but didn’t initially.
@Mark S – It is a bit of a slog to get things cross listed initially, but once it is part of your routine, cross-listing new items is not too bad, though I am using Sixbit so a different workflow. I’m sure you’ll benefit from your efforts.
Week Ending 11/26/22
Gross Sales (w/o shipping $ tax): $666.63 (60/40 eBay/Etsy)
Net Sales: $559.91
Total Items Sold 19
Total Items in eBay Store: 1095
Items Sold eBay: 12
Total Items in Etsy Store: 303
Items Sold Etsy: 7
Cost of Items Sold: $71.26
COGS Percent 12.73%
Highest Price Sold: $125.00 Vintage Santa Figure
Average Price Sold: $35.09
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00
Average Days Listed: 248
Longest Listed: 846
New items listed: 17Above average sales for the year, but not good for the holiday season. Really feeling like the effort cross listing to Etsy is paying off somewhat as Etsy accounted for 40% of my sales, which would have been way below average without it.
I am running a 20% off sale on my inventory over 2 years old and seeing very little activity on it. Just under half my store inventory is over two years old.
Holiday week kept me from listing as much as I’d hoped and was compounded by Cecile coming back from her trip to Thailand with COVID. She fortunately had a mild case and miraculously no one else in the family caught it. It did cause us to cancel all holiday plans and we ate Thanksgiving dinner spread across the house to try and limit transmission.
Hoping things pick up.
Cecile had to go to Thailand past week on a business trip which took her through Qatar. She came back with 4 Qatar Airways business class amenity kits and one set of pajamas all branded with the Qatar World Cup logo. She came back Sunday and I quickly posted them. The pajamas are bringing $30-$50 currently so hoping for a quick turnaround while the tournament is still going. We’ve scavenged and sold amenity kits in the past, but this is the first time getting them straight from the source.
@Jay – you never know what you’ll end up with in those lots. I’m like you that I won’t actively purchase lower dollar items anymore, but I can’t resist listing something that was essentially free in a lot I bought for something else. Several of my sales over the past few weeks have been from sub-$20 items that just happened to be at the bottom of a lot. Free money is hard to turn down even if the $/hour to list might not be the best.
