1

[Mark S]

My sales were non-existent after Wednesday.

Mark

[Mark S]

Seems about normal to me.

Maybe because of Mother’s Day on Sunday people were laying low from buying from you.

Mark

[Mark S]

Yea, the deal is awesome. It is like going to Walmart for scavenging.

I didn’t plan it. I just kept going in every time they were open. The manager saw me and got to know me and what I was looking for. He just started doing it for me.

I think it is also good for the shop because they get a quick turn around for sales on those items.

Mark

[Mark S]

Jay,

My deal with the Thrift shop is that I get first dibs on some of the items coming in. I go there twice a week and pick what I want. This basically takes care of most of my scavenging for the week. I get great items at a great price. So, my scavenging is pretty much on “auto mode”.

I lost my photographer. So, if I can get a photographer and my daughter to list, (or if she can do both when she is done with school for the year) that will pretty much put my store in auto mode so that everything is on a set schedule and I don’t have to do much work to get the job done. That is what I mean by auto mode.

Mark

[Mark S]

05/02/22 – 05/08/22

Total Items In Store: 4338
Items Sold: 17
Total Sales: $ 685.64 (no shipping or included)
Highest Price Sold: $ 100 (New Shoes)
Average Price Sold: $ 40.33
Money Spent on New Inventory: $ 41.48
Number of items listed: Not sure

Gut Sales Report for the week: Sales are decent for this time of year.

Focus for the week : Just keep listing consistently.

Scavenge of the week: I picked up a pair of Nike’s for $1 at a garage sale yesterday. I had seen these Kobe Bryant shoes before and knew they would sell high. I will list for about $150.

Thoughts for the week: I am trying to think of ways to get my store my into auto mode. I already have a deal with a thrift shop, so I am halfway there.

Mark S

[Mark S]

I found this article from Forbes which seems to support what Jay is saying. Key part is: “Why the Housing Market Will Likely Stay Hot. If you were hoping for a major downturn to snag a cheaper home, think again. Most housing experts are predicting the market to remain strong for a while for several reasons.”

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/will-housing-market-crash/

 

Mark

[Mark S]

Dylan,

Recession or not, housing prices cannot keep going up like they are. At some point they are going to hit the ceiling and then a correction will come. I think we are getting close to that. The problem is that we don’t know when that correction will come and you can never time these things perfectly.

My idea is that if you sell before the end of the year or so and travel for a year or two, you are bound to find a good deal during a correction. Sell high this year, then scoop up and buy low when there is a correction.

Mark

[Mark S]

Dylan,

Bank of America  says that a recession is coming:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/global-markets-flows-urgent-2022-04-08/

Things will shake up during a recession. If you sell before the recession and travel. Then during the recession you should be able to snatch up a great deal where ever you choose.

Mark

[Mark S]

03/20/22 – 03/26/22

Total Items In Store: 4299 (was 4313 previously listed)
Items Sold: 19
Total Sales: $ 809.03 (no shipping or included)
Highest Price Sold: $ 150 (Motorcycle Accesory)
Average Price Sold: $ 42.58
Money Spent on New Inventory: $ 116.73
Number of items listed: 5

Gut Sales Report for the week: Sales are much better this week. Decent STR and ASP.

Focus for the week : I finished my taxes, so not much listing going on.

Scavenge of the week: Got a really nice pair of Sorel boots. They fit my daughter and she loved them, so now they are hers.

Thoughts for the week: Go University of Michigan Hockey! They just made it to the Frozen Four!

Mark S

[Mark S]

Lukastreasure,

Yes, I am contacting local places to see if they will test them.

Mark

[Mark S]

03/13/22 – 03/19/22

Total Items In Store: 4313 (was 4292 previously listed)
Items Sold: 19
Total Sales: $ 560.05 (no shipping or included)
Highest Price Sold: $ 50 (VCR)
Average Price Sold: $ 29.48
Money Spent on New Inventory: $ 175 ish
Number of items listed: 40

Gut Sales Report for the week: Not a great week, but it was ok.

Focus for the week : Get items listed. Finish up on taxes.

Scavenge of the week: I went to a very old barn sale of an Antique dealer. Looked like they opened an Antique store in the 1970’s and closed the store in the mid 1990’s and all thier stuff has been sitting in the barn since. Most was the left over junk that they didn’t sell. But, I found a box of mostly old RCA Radiotron tubes. My electronics background interest was engaged, and on a hunch, I bought the box for about $1. Well, little did I know that these tubes were from the 1920’s. The lot is worth in the $500 range. One of them alone if worth about $160 if it works. And that is the rub, I have to get them tested. Not sure how much they are worth, if anything, if they don’t work.

I bought 8 of one type of tube. Here is a link to a descritpion of that tube: http://vinylsavor.blogspot.com/2013/10/tube-of-month-ux201a.html

Thoughts for the week: Sales are not great, but ok. I am trying to list more to give the sales a kick start. That is working ok, but not as good as I would expect. I am still trying to get 10,000 items in my store. In the best case scenario, it will take me at least 3.5 years to get to 10,000 items. 10,000 items for me should generate about $100,000 in annual sales and about $6,000\month before taxes at my current rate.

Mark S

[Mark S]

Forgot to include the link to the shelving unit:

https://www.samsclub.com/p/5-shelf-storage-rack-boltless/prod19280016

[Mark S]

I had two observations about his storage.

1. Not sure why he is buying shelving that costs about $500 a unit. This one at Sams Club costs about $70 and is very sturdy – each shelf holds 800 lbs. for a 4,000-lb. total capacity. I have some and they are not hard to set up. They are not as big as his, but just buy more.  The size is 24″ x 48″ x 72″.

2. What about mice? If he ever got a mouse in his storage unit, they would easily tear through the plastic and destroy a lot of items. That is one reason I like snap tight storage bins. I don’t think I have ever had one get into my storage unit, but it is possible.

Mark

[Mark S]

03/06/22 – 03/12/22

Total Items In Store: 4292 (was 4272 previously listed)
Items Sold: 19
Total Sales: $ 806.75 (no shipping or included)
Highest Price Sold: $200 (Briefcase)
Average Price Sold: $ 42.46
Money Spent on New Inventory: $ 93.99
Number of items listed: 40

Gut Sales Report for the week: Ok Sales this week.

Focus for the week : Get items listed. Considering some of the things discussed on dailyrefinement.com. I have been more consistent in listing and sales have gone up.

Scavenge of the week: Picked up 2 DVD\VCR Combos. I like these because they always seem to sell for good money.

Thoughts for the week: Someone posted a link to dailyrefinement.com. He has some good things to say. However, it appears to rigid to me. I don’t think his characterization of someone who sells everything was completely accurate – in some cases yes, but not all cases. I liked his storage method for clothes and shoes because it uses space in the most effective way and makes consolidation much easier. However, if I do try this, I would
limit the items to probably clothes and shoes as he mostly does. It appears that he ships the items in with the clear plastic bag he stores them in. This is quicker than wrapping in tissue, but not as good of a presentation. So, I have been pondering the trade offs between presentation and speed of shipping – do any have any thoughts on this?

Mark S

[Mark S]

02/27/22 – 03/05/22

Total Items In Store: 4273 (was 4272 previously listed)
Items Sold: 11
Total Sales: $392.92 (no shipping or included)
Highest Price Sold: $60 (Handmade item)
Average Price Sold: $ 35.72
Money Spent on New Inventory: $194.41
Number of items listed: 12

Gut Sales Report for the week: Worst week for sales in recent memory. My STR is way down since January.

Focus for the week : Getting things organized. Wasn’t able to work on things in the past week or so.

Scavenge of the week: Picked up a nice Carhartt Blanket Lined Jacket for $10. Also picked up a pair of Cabelas 800 Gram boots.

Thoughts for the week: Going to try and get some listing done to bring up my STR.

Mark S

[Author]

Posts