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I have seen this on two listing I looked at recently, but not all listings. I had written it off as user error. Guess it is bigger than that
It sounds like you’ve put a lot of effort into it. Glad that it is paying off for you. Gives me some food for thought. Thanks
@Retro – I had a similar feeling with doing my taxes. Losing GoDaddy actually made it easier. I never felt like I could completely trust GoDaddy’s numbers so I always compared with eBay downloads and reports from my credit card and back accounts. Without GoDaddy, I just had original sources to use. No comparision time. One set of numbers to use.
Good to see you’re doing well. There is a lot to be said for becoming an expert in a niche and focussing in that area. I feel like I’ve become an expert in several niches over the years, only to rarely come across the item again and lose the knowledge and repeat again. I’m amazed that you can source the inventory consistently.
Week Ending 4/8/23
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $832.49
Net Sales: $669.96
Total Items Sold 14
Total Items in eBay Store: 1178
Items Sold eBay: 14
Total Items in Etsy Store: 518
Items Sold Etsy: 0
Cost of Items Sold: $99.66Highest Price Sold: $274.95 (Vintage Wooden Tackle Box)
Average Price Sold: $59.46
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00Average Days Listed: 240
Longest Listed: 1140
New items listed: 0
New Listings Value $0.00After a few weeks of poor sales, I feel like I can release my breath this week. A nice week of decent sales. My big sale was a vintage wooden tackle box ($275) made in Florida back in the 40’s or 50’s. I thought it was a toolbox when I purchased it at auction. I’ve done well with wooden toolboxes so I had high hopes and paid $55 for it. It only took 1 1/2 months to sell and I asked above the highest price I could find for previous sales.
My second highest sale, $150, was for a cast iron reproduction of a 1930’s race car toy. I thought it might be an original when I bid on it, which would have been worth a few thousand, but it is just a really good reproduction. Can’t complain too much since I only paid about $19 for it.
Etsy sales have fallen off a cliff since late March. On top of the slow sales I’ve been dealing with the aggravation of a glitch with Sixbit caused by an API upgrade by Etsy. None of my sales on eBay were automatically ending on Etsy. I posted more detail in a separate post if interested.
Haven’t been listing for the last two weeks due to family obligations. Trying to get my head back in it this week.
I’ve been using both the google and bing image searches extensively on everything from Christmas ornaments to toy cars and vintage glass. They have been extremely helpful. I am often amazed at what they can find. I use both because they often find different sources for the same item.
I totally agree about FBMP. It appears to only be a good place to sell stuff you are giving away cheap, it is rare that I don’t get multiple scam messages for each new listing.
On the other hand, Facebook selling groups may be something to investigate. Some are better than others, but for instance, the Cast Iron Toys group seems to have an active community and at least as long as prices are reasonable, items posted seem to sell quickly. Only problem is determining reasonable prices. I usually only go to a group when I can’t find an item for comparison, so going to one of the groups doesn’t necessarily get you the best price.
Week Ending 4/8/23
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $1,128.90
Net Sales: $1,079.79
Total Items Sold: 7 (1 via Facebook Group)
Total Items in eBay Store: 1191
Items Sold eBay: 7
Total Items in Etsy Store: 517
Items Sold Etsy: 0Cost of Items Sold: $105.05
Highest Price Sold: $900.00 c. 1920 Cast Iron Car
Average Price Sold: $161.27
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00Average Days Listed: 594
Longest Listed: 1590
New items listed: 0
New Listings Value $0.00I was traveling this week taking my daughter on college tours up in Massachusetts and Connecticut so had my store on vacation mode most of the week. Still, better sales than last week. Sales would have been much worse except I pulled one out in the end selling a cast iron car via a Facebook collector’s group.
I acquired the car in a lot of old toys from an auction last month. Funny thing is that I bought the lot for another item, this car being hidden in the back of the pictures and undistinquishable. Turned out to be an extremely rare toy, c. 1920 Hubley Packard Straight-8 Sedan, unfortunately also in extremely poor condition with damage, rust and poor repaint. Even in that condition I managed to get $900 for it from a guy who restores them. When he’s finished it will be worth several thousand. One in good original condition just sold at a toy auction two weeks ago for $9000.
I’m becoming concerned that the tide has turned, at least temporarily, on online sales. As I saw my sales slowing down earlier this year I got busy listing trying to get new and better inventory. That’s always been the solution to slow sales, but after several months of buying and listing, things are still not selling well. I’ve listed more in the first three months of the year that I ever have.
Late getting these up as I was traveling last week. One of my worst weeks ever. I’m beginning to worry…
Week Ending 4/1/23
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $71.90
Net Sales: $57.48
Total Items Sold 4
Total Items in eBay Store: 1195
Items Sold eBay: 4
Total Items in Etsy Store: 523
Items Sold Etsy: 0Cost of Items Sold: $5.30
COGS Percent 9.22%
Highest Price Sold: $25.00
Average Price Sold: $17.98
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00Average Days Listed: 640
Longest Listed: 1398
New items listed: 13
New Listings Value $1,930.00@Sharyn – Yes! I’ve sold a few of the brutalist menorahs and done well. DC is a good location for Judaica.
Week Ending 3/25/23
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $267.46 (eBay 237.47 / Etsy 29.99)
Net Sales: $216.40 (eBay 190.00 / Etsy 26.40)
Total Items Sold 10 (eBay 9 / Etsy 1)
Total Items in eBay Store: 1185
Total Items in Etsy Store: 513Cost of Items Sold: $21.00
Highest Price Sold: $74.95 (Vintage Stanley Plane)
Average Price Sold: $26.75
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory: $0.00Average Days Listed: 532
Longest Listed: 2185
New items listed: 28
New Listings Value $4,475.00Glad you guys are doing so well. Your cafe really stands apart in Luray, so I’m not surprised that people love it. Must feel a bit like an oasis.
Another slow week of sales, but I just kept listing. The last two auction lots I purchased are keeping me very busy with research and listing. Got some great stuff. About half of this weeks sales were items I just posted and the other half was looong tail.
I posted a rare for me consignment piece. A co-worker of Cecile’s has a rare Steiff mounted lion’s head that we listed. From what I found on the web, these were only produced for the American market and only in 1958. They made them in 4 different animal heads. I’m shooting high since there are none currently listed and from Worthpoint they seem to only show up every few years. Figure I can always lower the price. Here is the listing if you are curious: Vintage 1958 Steiff Lion’s Head Trophy Mount Plaque Mohair | eBay
Even with the slow sales, I’ve been enjoying listing. Some of my recent purchases were cast iron and pressed steel toys from the 1930s and 40s. They can send me down a rabbit hole. Never realized how common reproductions are. At least two of the ones I purchased weren’t original, but the majority seem to be. I’ve found a great Facebook group for them and they’ve been helpful.
I’m revising my scavenge of the week. I’ve spent this week going through a box of books I got at the same auction where I won the cast iron toys. I got 5 boxes of books for $2. The previous owner was an avid collector of all sorts of things and had a library full of reference books for his collectibles. Most of the lots were books on firearms and I got beat out on those, but this lot was full of all types of other collectible books from bottles to toys, leather goods, civil war relics, currency, knives, bridles, fishing gear and even more firearms books. I did a first pass and culled 2 boxes of books worth under $15. The remaining 3 boxes are gold with many going for $100 plus. Highest price I’ve listed so far is for $349 for a 1920’s catalog. Most books are in excellent, near mint condition. I’m giddy over my luck.
Funny thing, I bought the lot for a few of the collectible books I wanted to add to my research library. I really didn’t pay much attention to the others which turned out to be the really valuable books.
@Jay – definitely a team effort needed. Since you get your stuff as soon as it ends, I wouldn’t have been able to keep bidding unless Cecile was there to assist.
The craziest bidding was for a bunch of Halloween items. Many were vintage, which I know can sell for high prices, but they also bid up the cheap plastic junk that looked like you could get it at Target. Lots of plastic pumpkins went for $150. Maybe there was something in the bottom of the box that was hidden that I didn’t see.
Some things that I had priced ahead of time went for 3 times what I knew I could sell it for, or buy on eBay. I guess some people really get caught up in the fever of the auction.
I purchased at two auctions this week and got a lot of great stuff. Best item I ended up with was a 1930’s cast iron “Speed Racer” motorcycle.
I got it in a large lot of vintage cars for $70 and I hope to sell for $500+. I’ve cleaned it up since this picture was taken. My eyes are getting old and I didn’t see how bad it was until I reviewed the pictures. Amazing what a bright flash shows up.
Week Ending 3/11/23
Gross Sales(w/o shipping $ tax): $1,561.42 (100% eBay)
Net Sales: $1,255.97
Total Items Sold: 17
Total Items in eBay Store: 1167
Total Items in Etsy Store: 495
Cost of Items Sold: $271.52
COGS Percent 21.62%Highest Price Sold: $1,000.00 (Art sculpture)
Average Price Sold: $91.85
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory: $724.65
Sold via promoted listings: 9Average Days Listed: 135
Longest Listed: 1041
New items listed: 9
New Listings Value $402.50A single sale accounted for 2/3’s of my sales this week. Always thankful when one of the higher dollar items sells. This was the strange sculptural brooch that I posted about a few weeks ago. I had hoped for much more, but with things being so slow I opted for the bird in hand and accepted a 50% offer. I paid up for it, $228, because I knew it was valuable, but still happy with the short turnaround profit.
Acquired a lot of new inventory last week via auctions, one online and one in-person. This was my first in-person auction and it was quite and experience. I spent a good portion of my week researching pricing for the items I hoped to bid on, which is why my listing numbers are so low. Fortunately, they posted pictures of a lot of the items online ahead of time so I could estimate pricing.
Having never been to an in-person I really didn’t know what to expect. I imagined sitting back in a chair with my sign to wave, but instead it was room full of tables crammed to overflowing with items. The auctioneer moved through the room one table at a time and the buyers would crowd around the table and hold up what they wanted and the bidding would begin. Once the table was picked over, they auction the leftovers as a lot. Very fast paced and confusing at first, but I got the hang of it. I missed a few items I wanted because the bidding would end before I even realised it had started. Most amazing sale of the night for me was a first edition Gone with the Wind that ended up going for $5. They announced it as “an old book” and no one bid on but the person who held it up. Other items that were seeminly worthless sold for hundreds.
Between the two auctions I ended up with a lot of great stuff. Now for the less exciting part.
