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Jay, Yeah, it really brings home the impact of shipping costs on this stuff. I see a lot of stuff that is underpriced, but when you factor in the shipping, it may still be a good deal for a collector, but its too salty for a reseller. I do think shipping costs are one reason more shoppers are going to antique malls, flea markets and so forth for older stuff.
I’ve done it, not often. Would do it more often if we didn’t already have so much unlisted stuff. There’s a LOT of underpriced stuff on ebay.
Welcome! Whereabouts in Mississippi? The better half hails from there, although we’re in PA now.
And what type of books are you hoping to sell. “Crapload” is a pretty broad term LOLUpdate: PO called me back. The Regional Supervisor managed to contact the guy who was actually out delivering the mail, that guy found the package (as yet thankfully undelivered) and he changed the address to the correct address, so my buyer should be getting his package this afternoon sometime. Huge kudos to the PO guy who spent a good 20 minutes or more tracking down the delivery guy and resolving this.
I sure hope the buyer is happy with the item! LOL
Winchester, I can relate! I’m not sure which is the bigger thrill, finding that really valuable item cheap, or finding a decent item that I know the guy ahead of me just passed over LOL I stay humble by reminding myself that the odds are very good that just yesterday, the same guy was standing behind me picking up an item I had ignored and thinking “I can’t believe that fool passed on this! 25 cents, and I’ll get $100 for it!”
So much of what I know about stuff is, as you say, “useless knowledge”….scavenging is often like playing a Real World version of Trivial Pursuit….the person with the most useless knowledge wins! LOL
I sometimes wish that I was a niche seller, but that’s not how I source. I see myself as an opportunistic sourcer…what I buy is dictated less by what I hunt for and more by what I find. (Hope that makes sense). The upshot is, I’m constantly learning new stuff to look for, and constantly doing exactly what you describe: I’ll buy something and take a chance. (If the price is low enough). I do use a smart phone to research while sourcing, but mostly I go with my gut.
You are right, this country is awash in the flotsam and jetsam of American life. I rarely depart any decent size thrift or antique mall empty handed. I’ve been doing this for years, flea marketing before there was an ebay. Have some things become much harder to find? Yes, absolutely. And some things once in demand are no longer in demand, so even if I find them, I might not buy them. But many things I would have ignored years ago, because I knew nothing about them or because there was simply no demand back then for them…..are now high on my “buy it whenever you see it” list.
For me, as a non-niche scavenger seller, the key is , to paraphrase Alex Baldwin , ABL.
A-Always
B-Be
L-Learning.
Always Be Learning.Fortunately for me, the learning part is fun for me—I love learning about new stuff to sell. It keeps the business interesting.
I figured the Intercept was too pricey. I’m going to try calling his PO one more time this morning, and after that, he’s pretty much on his own.
Well, wanted to update. So far, no luck, but I did learn something…..apparently for SOME packages you can change the delivery instructions by going to the USPS Tracking Number page. If a package is eligible, it will have a “Change Delivery Instructions” option at the top right, under In Transit. As far as I can see, there is NO charge for this. As it says: “Want to authorize your USPS® carrier to drop off your package when no one’s home for delivery? It’s easy. And you can even have your package left in a specific area of your home or business, with a neighbor, or have it delivered to another address.”
Unfortunately, when I tried to do this—repeatedly, with three different browsers, two different computers….I kept getting a “system is having technical difficulties” message. So, I got no where with that. But worth remembering that the option is there should this happen to you in the future.
I have since called the buyer’s local PO and left a message on their machine. Hoping they’ll call back, but who knows?
I have a feeling English is not my buyer’s native language (although his messages have been OK) and for some reason he apparently hasn’t contacted his local PO himself, despite my efforts to get him to do so.
So, still waiting to see what will happen, but wanted to pass along the info about the ability to alter delivery instructions on the USPS site.
I had PMed him this AM, told him to check with his local PO, see if they could do anything for him, but haven’t heard back. It’s not an expensive item, so I agree with Ryanne’s point….just let it play out. The USPS Intercept fee is a bit pricey for this. Hopefully, his local PO can work it out without the iem getting sent back to me, but if it does get sent back, I’ll resend if he is willing to pay shipping.
Thanks everyone!
So, USPS charges $14.10 to intercept. Hmmm…..
Sharyn, Yeah, I’ve no idea about the buyer. I’ll look into a package intercept idea.
Winchester, Yeah, it’s not a guaranteed sale system that’s for sure. But I approach it with very low expectations. As I’ve been saying, to me fast and free is the selling point: If I don’t make any sales, I’m only out a little time and no money. So I’ll continue to use it, but with a clear sense that it isn’t likely to move the needle very much.
I do wonder if multi quantity sellers are having more success with it, simply because I expect more of their watchers actually have the intent to purchase, whereas many of my watchers are researchers….
Jay, Depends on the item. My range is from 5% to 20%, sometimes more if I really want to move it. I do run occasional markdown sales, and most of my stuff has Make Offer on it, and my prices are set accordingly—-ie, I have wiggle room on most stuff.
I don’t expect great sales from this, because I’m pretty sure many of my watchers have no intention of buying regardless of price. If there was a fee for doing this, or if it was time consuming, I’d probably ignore it. But fast and free? Count me in.
Made five offers last night, sold one within a couple hours. I’m still pretty firmly in the “it’s easy to do, costs nothing, so go ahead and do it now and then” camp. I’m just happy to have levers we can use to at least try to get more sales, especially when things are slow.
almasty, others
The ability to send offers when asked a question has been around a while, I think everyone has it. It’s not the same thing, this new change allows you to send to (undisclosed) watchers.
As I understand it, the send offers to watchers is still being rolled out, but I would think we should all have it pretty soon. I have it on my PC, not on the app, but maybe I need to update my app.
Since I got it, I sent out 31 offers. One sale so far. (The last five or ten are still waiting for responses, but I doubt they’ll sell at this point).
Like Jay, I was skeptical. I suspect this is more effective for sellers of new items, those watchers are more likely actually interested in buying. My kind of long tail stuff—-I suspect many, many watchers are other sellers researching to ID or price their own items. However, I’ll keep doing it because 1. The effort is minimal, and there’s no fee. 2. My margins on most things are high enough that I can absorb any discount I offer, it’s not like I’m cutting into my profits very deeply if I make a sale.
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