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Interesting; so does this mean that eBay is trying to focus on becoming a high values collectible site and the rest of us scavengers may be left in the dust since future policies will be aimed at focusing on enhancing the HVC categories?
I’m sorry, that is so infuriating. As someone who is sometimes on the other side of that APO/FPO address, it’s crazy how much misinformation there is surrounding shipping to those addresses and how many sellers and even larger companies refuse to ship there even though it really isn’t and shouldn’t be complicated (ship by USPS and include customs form). That is upsetting that even eBay is getting it wrong! I appreciate that you are willing to sell to those addresses!
I think you’re on the right track. I wouldn’t wholly discount plain vintage if the fabric quality or cut is good. What is the decade? Vintage dresses tend to be one of the higher selling categories. 90s denim jumpers are back in style as are those “Mom goes to church in the late 80s” dresses, so don’t discount those because they may look plain. If you hit upon Laura Ashley, that’s a goldmine but generally brand is not as important as the overall look.
Other than dresses I would prioritize sweaters and interesting tops. I would steer clear of pants and skirts unless the skirts were a blanket-wrap style or otherwise had some exceptional quality. Those items tend to have slower sell through and higher fit issues.
Another one is ugly 80s/90s grandma windbreaker jackets. They’re having a bit of a moment so depending on the size and pattern, can be sellers.
Interesting, thanks for the insight! I see what you both are saying about it likely not making sense unless you are some collector-type shop. I sell a lot of one-offs, many of them vintage, or few of them on eBay. I wonder then why eBay seems to be pushing somewhat this metric of repeat customers if many stores are like mine?
My favorite sale of the week was this vintage golden retriever hunting sweater I snagged for about $6. It sold for $29.99 despite having flaws, and had quite a few watchers on it.
I always skip condition description because I feel like no one actually reads that and skips straight to the general description box (where I do include it).
I am pretty detailed in my descriptions, which consist of 4-8 bullet points, and an additional section detailing fabric content and country of origin.
I also quit listing measurements in the description, instead instructing the buyer to “see photos for measurements” which has saved me some time and typos.
@ctebay What a sweet story!! I love that.
I didn’t sell many items last week and none of them were particularly cool, but I’ll play. My favorite was a J.Crew cardigan I had sitting around for over a year because it’s old inventory and I’m slowly ridding my store of the overly professional stock looking photos I had taken when I first started. I’ve since found the photos were actually detracting sales!
Destination unknown! Fingers crossed for Hawaii, but you never know in this life (military). We could find out where anytime between next month and December.
I love reading everyone’s updates!
Summer was typically slow for me. I panicked and made some mediocre inventory purchases hoping to appeal to what little summer-buying audience there is. I think lesson learned for me is I just need to learn to survive off the fat of winter and accept that June/July are going to be less than stellar, instead of tying up money in low-margin items. Also, I think June should become my month where I do inventory counting and culling.
I’m in a downsizing phase as we prepare to move about 10 months from now, so I have started to get rid of items that have been sitting longer than a year. Part of me wants to hang onto them through Q4 “just in case” but the other part of me knows I just need to start getting ruthless. Ebay will have to significantly wind down for me by March. Hopefully once we are moved and settled (this time next year at the latest) I can put the store back up again.
My goal for the rest of this month is to list as much as possible, and make 10k gross by the end of the year (that would be a record for me). I’m actually currently on track to do that and more but don’t want to jinx myself, lol.
@debitendcreits Yes it’s crazy to me how much data ebay collects and how messy it is, or not tracking metrics that seem important! Haha
@Zach Thank you, that formula sounds like a helpful place to start!I’m not able to read the article (paywall) but I do clothing exclusively and have found a way to also source exclusively online. I agree about not being able to physically walk in and come away with great stuff, which is just one reason I have moved to an online model. But for now, it’s still working for me.
Thank you very much for the insight! I really appreciate reading about your expertise even though it’s different than mine and following your selling model which is similar to mine–cherry picking from mega sellers and shuttling certain items off to consignments.
To me it has an experimental art nouveau vibe, particularly if you imagine the bare bulb replaced by a special floral shaped glass shade. I might add “art nouveau” in the title and then specify in the description as to if it is actually an antique from that era or just inspired by it. I also agree with including “table lamp”, the name of the metal, and the type of bulb it takes.
