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Vintage lacy, Right there with you. A couple months ago I finally cleared 700, but I can’t seem to get much above 720-725 or so….I’m thinking of organizing two “piles”…..easy to photo and list stuff, and the harder stuff….do the harder stuff when I’m feeling more energetic, and keep the easy pile handy for when I’m tired but still want to keep listing.
We’ll see if it works…..
ChristineR,
A lot of the jobs that are going unfilled have a pretty low entry bar (like hotel housekeeping and restaurant work) , and that is true of reselling online as well. A difference is, not only are you your own boss with online reselling, you can build up a good business over time, rather than just hoping for a small raise once in a blue moon….Still, it’s not for everyone, and I agree with you, some will drop out, for various reasons….
I doubt there are any reliable statistics on this sort of thing, but I suspect you are right…at least one reason employers are having a hard time filling positions is that people have found they can make money selling online (and/or at vendor markets, flea markets etc) We seem to have quite a few crafters around here as well, and many of them buy used furniture, repainting it or even repurposing it, and then selling it….so while they see themselves primarily as “crafters” they are competing with me for stuff like old furniture and other items…
Add to this, the number of people, especially young people from fairly affluent families, who are making money investing in stocks, bitcoin, and so forth, or becoming “influencers”…or even professional computer game players….well, that’s a lot of people who aren’t looking to wait tables or stick shelves….
“We are in a college and tourist city that is super short on hotel and food service staff. One wonders if some of those prospective employees have figured out selling online is better.”
ChristineR, I’ve been wondering the same thing. I live in a rural/small town area, and I definitely see more people buying at the thrifts, etc. And they clearly aren’t just buying stuff for themselves, as an experienced scavenger, it’s not too hard to tell when someone is buying for resale. Many of them are younger, 20s, 30s maybe….they may be supplementing their regular job income, but I think some are definitely using this as a substitute for a regular job.
craig rex, Thanks for the info! I will be giving this a try at some point….I like the idea of focusing on stuff without watchers….
Yep, that’s news to me. I can live with it, but I’m not thrilled with it….thanks for giving us the heads up on this!
For those sending offers, you might want to look at this 50% off FVF fees promo from ebay (good through Oct 11th):
Just a heads up: ebay is running a promo …get 50% off your FVFs when making sales through Seller Initiated Offers…limited time only, some exceptions apply, etc…..details here (read the terms and Conditions):
https://pages.ebay.com/promo/2021/0819/sio.html/
Doublythumbs,
At an individual seller level, I’m sure there are a lot of factors in decreased sales: listing numbers, nature of inventory, etc, but on a macro level, I think (or I keep telling myself) that it’s simply the pendulum swinging….during lockdown, it swung hard in our favor, and now, as people get out and about, it has swung hard in the other direction. I could be wrong, of course, but, barring some major economic disaster, I think we’re going to see a really good Q4….and I think many shoppers will start buying early because they remember last year’s shipping delays and so forth. Also, much will depend on Covid….if we don’t get it under control, more people will be back buying online.
So, for now, I’m focusing on prepping for a blow out Q4.
And hoping. Doing a lot of that, too LOL
NC, Yes, and I think that’s why he focuses more on bread and butter clothing….a lot easier to find a consistent supply than focusing on rare concert T shirts for example. And he probably gets buyers buying more than one at a time, and also probably gets repeat buyers.
Just within the last few months I’ve noticed in our free Classifieds/Ad weekly, someone seeking to buy “hat collections”….years ago, that might have been for antique ladies hats, but this is someone looking to score snapbacks etc. That is probably another good niche.
If we were more focused on flea markets rather than yard sales, I’d definitely consider paper stuff…..I have some knowledge in that area, and many times it can be sourced pretty reasonably. But better half isn’t big on fleas and so forth, and our local yard sales and thrifts don’t usually have a lot of good paper stuff….(although I recently paid a few bucks for a deed from the 1770s at a local thrift, so, once in a while…but couldn’t do paper consistently with those sources)
