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Mike,
Thanks for the response Mike. So they are targeting September for Etsy, that is good. In the mean time, I could use the export .csv file (I don’t have WL yet, but based on what you have said about it, I would think the $10\month would be worth it for me). I think you said you used that and you just had to exclude the fields that caused issues. Other than that, did the export from ebay and import to Etsy go ok for you? Just have to go back and add the Etsy tags?
About other ebay sites, I just called ebay and they said that you can’t list items on a couuntry’s site in which you don’t live. So, since I have an address in the US, I can’t list on the UK site for example. But of course I can use GSP from the US site to ship to people in the UK. I guess that feature in WL would only be of value if you are moving to a different country and wanted to move your listings to the new ebay site in that country.
Do you see value in the WL Shopify rollout? Can you export\import into Shopify now via .csv file? If so, how do you use Shopify? The way I understand it is that you create your own online store with Shopify. Does that make sense as an ebay seller? How much does it cost? How do you market your site? Would like to hear thoughts on this.
Mark
I have a question about listing on other ebay sites. Maybe Mike in Atlanta or someone else has experience with this.
Wonderlister has as a feature: ‘List on all eBay sites (total 22) including eBay US, UK, CA, Australia, Germany, Hongkong, Singapore, India and others”
Does anyone have experience listing on other ebay sites? How did it work for you?
Mike: Do you know when Wonderlister is going to have the feature to directly import into Etsy?
Mark S
T-Satt – How are you getting a Sell Thru Rate of 20%? Did you say that it is mostly Retail Arbitrige?
What type of items are you selling?Mark
I have been thinking about this a lot lately – a backup plan to ebay. Let’s face it, we are only several vero’s away from getting kicked off or what if ebay starts doing “dumb” things we can’t live with? I don’t want to be an alarmist, but ebay doesn’t feel fully stable to me. I feel like all my “eggs” are in one basket with ebay. Logic would say that I need to deversify some.
So far, I have my items listed on Bonanaza and TrueGether. I have been on Bonanaza about 1 year and my sales there are about 2% of what they are on ebay. I have been on TrueGether about 3 months and no sales there yet. Amazon is not appealing to me right now. My plan is to get on esty because I have about 600 vintage items I could sell there. Also, in the future, I would like to look into setting up my own web site for my store.
Does anyone else have ideas about how to venture out and not be so dependent on ebay?
Mark
I picked up my 8 types of new boxes (most 25 each) today at the “local” wholesale box store. I used 3 of them today! I’m really loving the 24 X 12 X 4 box, it is a perfect size for those long items and it was only $.92 each.
These new boxes accomplish 4 things for me:
1) I now have the small boxes I need to ship hats, etc. first class in the right box. I can now
make more money (as much as $10 more) by having that right box so that it can go first class.2) No longer do I have to forego using Fedex Smartpost or home just because I don’t have the
right box (I used to be able to find a box, but usually way too big so the extra size and
weight nullified the point of using it). Again, more money.3) I’m no longer feel that stress when it is time to pack and ship. I have all the right boxes
and shipping is now pleasant and fun again! What a concept, having fun shipping again!4) I save so much time. No longer do I have to search over the house, garage, and basement to
find that perfect\close box. For me, $.92 spent for a box that saves me 10-30 min finding and
modifying a box is well worth it.Mark
Vania,
Can you give tell me what I need to do to have you cross list on etsy for me? Can you give me an idea of how much you charge per listing?
Mark
Steve – I am in the Detroit Area in Michigan. They are two basic seasons for Rummage Sales here: April – Mid May and Mid September – October. Yes, there are Rummage Sales outside these time frames, but these two time frames have the majority of the Rummage sales. I’m near the end of the April – Mid May season which is what I was referring to.
My buying spree continues. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better. I just went to a church rummage sale in an “old wealth” neighborhood that was mega sized. Even I was over welled. They had a room for every category: Mens clothing, Womens clothing, jewelry, toys, linens, Holiday, Sports, electronics, books, etc. Never seen anything like this. But here was the catch: 30% mark up tonight, regular price tomorrow, and 1/2 off tomorrow night and a bag sale. I found two, 1960’s Harris Tweed jackets, 4 pair of Womens Ferragamo’s just sitting on a table, ecco shoes, Merrell shoes, etc. In sporting goods, I found O’Neil wet suits and vintage wool ski pants (I love those) and many other items. The rummage sale season is almost at the end, but I am loving it while it lasts.
Brian – What you are doing is working well because you find some pretty amazing items. My items tend to be more quality bread & butter items with a sprinkling of amazing items. Like you say, it is also great to go on the last day, last hour of an estate sale and clean them out for next to nothing. I really like the rummage sale because I find a lot of “old” items people are too afraid to put in a garage sale cause they look so junky, but in fact they are usually the item that is really amazing.
Brian – Yes, I think it is due to my new strategy that I explain below to Manateejaq about getting the “jump” on the sales. I would have to say the quality and quantity of my items has dramatically improved by doing this. You may see different results, depending on what you are looking for and where you live, how much you are willing to pay, etc. But for me, this is a big difference.
Manateejaq – I have found similar results when I started going to sales on the weekend, all the “best” items were gone. Could I still find items? Yes, but not as good of quality. That was my tale last year. This year, I am getting the “jump” on the sales. I’m starting on Monday- Thursday. I don’t have to be the first one there, just show up the first day by noon. This has only been possible this year because I work from home Wed- Fri for my full time job and I go out at lunch time and after work. I start work at home at 7AM, so I get done early. You can see the results from my post above – since April 1st I have spent around $1200 for $21,000 worth of merchandise. And awesome finds for nearly all of them. For example, there was this rummage sale that went 9AM – 6pm on the “wealthy” side of town (actually I did a study from data I found and this was in (or very near) the highest household income zip code for the state – yes, that data is out there on the internet). Even at this late hour, I found the following shoes laying on a table: 5 pairs of Asics running shoes, 2 pairs of Born shoes, 3 pair of Dansko shoes, and a pair of Ecco – all for $1 each! My selling price will be $37 on average for these shoes.
So, what I’m trying to say is, try to get the “jump” on the sales if you can. Check out the sales for Monday – Thursday by where you work. Go early and go often. You can still find items no matter when you go, I’m just saying that if you want the best items quickly, get the “jump” on them!
Made a decision this week to invest in more boxes. I am finding that I can make more money if I have the right box for first class and FedEx post. I find that if I don’t have the right box hand, I am Leaving money on the table. Also, I have a lot of stress finding a good box for larger and longer items. I know I Won’t want to make a custom box for so many items. So,I found a local company that sells boxes at good rates. That was important because they have free local delivery or you can pick it up at the warehouse. Similar prices to Uline, but after you pay for the postage, you are usually paying 1.75 times the price of the box.
Sales this week about $550-600, but I have been focusing on buying.
I have really been in picking heaven lately. Since April 1st I have spent around $1200 for $21,000 worth of merchandise. The rummage sales this time of year have really fueled this. And of course the $8500+ of make up that I bought helped out.
