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I sell NOS auto parts, they don’t have to be as nice as photos of other products but I do want the main photo to “pop”, and also hopefully the buyer will compare to the existing part. It takes me about 5 minutes to shoot, crop, and upload.
Personal story. Roughly 30 years ago I got in deep trouble with the IRS, probably worse than you are, and it took 5 years of living very frugally to dig out of that hole. We were forced to start living on an extremely strict no-frills, no credit, budget during that time. When I say strict, for example ordering a Friday night pizza was a big splurge which we couldn’t do very often. It did make my marriage stronger and we definitely redefined the line between need and want.
It’s good that you are acting now instead of digging a bigger hole, but you still might be in danger from the IRS unless you have made a repayment plan with them and stick to it. The more expenses you can cut and the faster you can pay off both the IRS (and other debt), the better off and less stressed you will be.
As far as eBay vs. Etsy, I think you should consider starting small on eBay while still selling on Etsy. Fear is generally based on not knowing enough about a situation, learning the ropes will dispell fear and reinforce faith in your abilities. Sometimes you just have to “do it”.
I use an inventory service to track my inventory and sync between several selling venues. I don’t like the extra expense, but since starting that I have very few oversells and less time wasted with out-of-stock order issues.
John Deere “Barnyard For Men” aftershave
That’s funny, almost spewed my sip of morning coffee.
You can check some sample rates here: https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm#_c094 15x8x5 would be the .40 row, $7.95 to $20.09 depending on zone. Sometimes it pays to cut down a box if it will get you to a lower rate tier.
The cubic rate won’t always be cheapest compared to other rates. Note the additional retail fee.
The building I rent is less expensive than some in town, it’s owned by an in-law who mostly wants to cover taxes, it was sitting empty for several years or more before I started using it.
Most of my items are long tail, you know all about that. I’m not making a fortune but getting by comfortably with a simple lifestyle.
I have seen a few of my orders waiting to ship with longer handling times that the 1 day I have set. I haven’t taken time to dig into the issue other than to verify that my business policies are set to 1 day for domestic.
The Feds regulate selling some types of used cosmetics, I think maybe eBay is going beyond those regs for CYA or lack of interest in creating the algorithms to filter those allowed.
Many of the old cars which had an exposed radiator cap incorporated a hood ornaments with the cap, either from the factory or as a way to customized the car. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hood_ornament
Right now eBay shows 2,986 listings with 30,653 total quantity in my primary store. I don’t have a source to replenish items but occasionally come across more later and add them or relist.
As you know, there are empty buildings available in many small towns (at least until you get around to renovating them, lol). The building I rent is 3000 square feet on 1 level, originally a gas station 50 years ago or so, added onto multiple times, last use was a pizza restaurant/video store. I pay $250 per month.
The grandkids photo was taken this morning, first day of the new school year. I have an older granddaughter also. I’m proud of all of them, of course.
Hey, chaoticgood, I see you are from Kansas City. I grew up in the KC area and now live in a small town about 70 miles SSE.
I sell many of my items on Amazon as well as eBay and web store, Amazon requires a plain white background on the main photo so that is what I also use on eBay. It only takes me a few minutes to strip out the plain neutral background I use, and they do look better for most of my items, but I’m not selling soft goods like clothes which might take more work.
I have several carefully filtered searches on eBay and get daily results by email. I rarely look at more than the few items featured in the email. I buy a few items that way, but only after looking at seller feedback and current selling prices. In my case, I am generally looking at lot purchases, not individual items, and I need to be able to resell for 5-10 times my cost. I sometimes set up a snip on an auction but prefer a buy-it-now, Make Offer is best.
It’s something to do while I sip my first coffee in the morning, it isn’t a major part of my product sourcing.
