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Ahhhh retirement. I have been retired for 4 years now. I was 53 when I retired. I had not planned to retire so early, but it was a perfect storm of getting myself grandfathered in to some serious changes in the health care plan of the state retirement system and trying to take care of the two old men while working full time. I hadn’t given much thought to when I would retire, so I wasn’t very prepared for being retired. After 6 months I tried to go back and work part time at the same place, but working part time and being a caregiver is actually harder than trying to do it full time. They aren’t nearly as forgiving of time off or schedule changes for part timers. It lasted 6 months. Being retired with no job was a major adjustment! I knew I needed to find something to do or I would go crazy. I had been selling on eBay off and on for years. I was trying to figure out how to make it work when I stumbled upon Scavenger Life. Thank you Jay and Ryanne, I truly think you saved my sanity. I can’t emphasize it enough-being retired is an ADJUSTMENT!
My eBay store isn’t as big or productive as many of yours, but I can devote hours if I have it or take the time off to take someone to the doctor. I make sure I get at least one all day sourcing trip every month and tell the guys they have to fend for themselves. I source other times, but usually just between trips hither and yon. I have been tweaking my listing for the last few weeks. Deleting lower priced items (especially long term ones) and replacing them with higher priced listings. I have been experimenting with auctions too. Some of the items have sold for higher than I would have thought they would. Quite a few have sold at the lower prices I start the auction, but I’m getting a couple of bucks and saving myself a trip to Goodwill. I also have multiple boxes of stuff going to a friends garage sale this weekend. Once it leaves the house, it ain’t coming back!
Ebay Sept 2-8
Total Sales $143.94
#sold 14
Avg. sale $10.28
Items in store 1077
Returns 0
COGS $13.64
# listed 26
Highest Sale $37.39 Hazel Atlas Wedgewood Egypt Glasses set of 8 (sold on Bonanza)Okay you two, I swear by good old fashioned chicken soup! Hope you are feeling better. eBay is taking a bit of a back seat for me this week also. My dad had two dr appointments already this week and fried his hearing aids by putting them in a glass with water instead of his hearing aid cup (he is legally blind so things like this happen). My husband has a blockage in his right leg, so Thursday we go to the hospital for an arterial roto-rooter treatment.
On the EBay front, last week was pretty good. This week has been a bit slow, but considering the above, that’s probably a good thing. My highest sale last week was 3 IKEA Henriksdal chairs for $100. I know I could have held out for more, but I only paid $1 for all three. I bought them to use, but my husband disliked them so much I was highly motivated to sell them. I had to store them in a friends garage so he didn’t put them out on the curb!
eBay August 19-25
Total sales. $264.93
# sold. 19
Avg. sale. $13.94
Returns. 0
COGS. $14
$ spent on new. $18.50
# listed. 21
Highest sale. $100 3 IKEA Henriksdal chairsAfter all the advice from all of you last week, I spent a lot of time ending low priced listings. Then I made a determination whether to get rid of it or bundle it together with like items. I have a large chunk of listings for vintage linens. They sell pretty well, but it’s hard to get more than $7-8 for an average doily. Lots of those getting bundled together. Still thinking about using those 500 free auction listings, I listed a few things at .99 cents or $1.99. If they sell great, if not off they go to the garage sale pile. Lucky I have a friend who does multiple garage sales throughout the summer. I did have a pair of plastic cookie cutters I started at 99 cents that ended up selling for $8.50. The buyer also ended up buying some others I had listed so a decent sale. More tweaking planned this week. So far this week I have had as many sales as of this posting as I had all last week. Hoping the momentum keeps up, but things seem to dwindle down towards the end of the week.
August 12-18
Total sales. $149.09
# sold. 12
Avg. sale. $12.42
Returns. 0
COGS. $6.13
$ spent on new. $11
# listed. 33
Highest sales: $35 on vtg Japanese figures (still selling my parents stuff) and $29.99 Oral B Sonic Toothbrush ($1 at a garage sale!)T-Satt it was getting over the mental hurdle of going over 1,000 listings. I basically had only been listing enough to replace sold items. Since I made the decision to go over and pay the per listing fee, I have been listing at least 2x as much as I was. If I can hammer out an agreement with the local shop owner on booth space, that will free up even more space. Space is a big issue, trying very hard to keep my eBay stuff in my office. I have started storing some stuff in my garage, but I still have boxes of my dad’s stuff from when I moved him into assisted living out there. Maybe this will motivate me to start going through them!
Okay Jay, here it is, sorry if I ramble a bit but lots of thoughts all trying to get out at the same time! I spent a large chunk of the last year growing my store. I have maxed out my 1,000 free buy it now listings. I am utilizing more of the auction listings as a way to list more items without a fee. I am at the point where I need to up my store to anchor level or be content where I am now. As long as my dad is alive and my husband has health issues, I don’t think going to the next level is an option right now. I’m not sure I could list enough to justify the extra cost. Since it’s summer and garage sale season, I’m having some death pile issues. I think reading the forum posts are incredibly helpful, but can also lead to ‘trying to keep up with the Jones’. I really wish eBay would make a store level between where I am and anchor level. Last week I finally decided to list more items taking me over the 1,000 free items. I am taking out older items that are under $10 as eBay gives me the 16 month warning message, especially books. I am also looking into booth space at a store in town. Bottom line, I need to mold this into something that is profitable but works for me, not me working for it. Finding items to sell is my favorite part, so I need to keep doing that without becoming a hoarder. I like my little part time business, so I just need to keep tweaking it until it becomes a lean mean money making machine.
Sorry Retro, Heinz is fixed. Which makes me a little sad, because I think he would make beautiful babies!
The last two podcasts have really made me think about my eBay store and where I am currently and where I’m going with the whole shebang. My focus is different than many of you. Since I am retired and have a steady income, my eBay store serves as my version of a part time job. It’s extremely flexible, which is important when you are a caregiver. It also supplements my income and allows me little luxuries I had to give up financially when I retired. (I really love good wine and manicures) Don’t get me wrong, I am always looking for ways to save money, but some days I would rather eat out than cook. My favorite part is the sourcing-I love a good treasure hunt. I also like the research part-Old reference librarians never stop looking for answers. If it wasn’t for my husband the retired accountant and listening to your podcasts, I probably wouldn’t do my numbers regularly or pay attention to taxes. Even though I am under the threshold, I pay quarterly taxes. I keep everything as simple as possible. My goal is not to create more work for myself, I am retired after all.
Here’s an example of my splurging on myself. I would never have found this if I hadn’t been scavenging for inventory. I spent $28 dollars and it makes me smile every time I see it.
https://imgur.com/gallery/ir1EMkmDitto on the mail carrier making the difference. We got a new carrier about 2 months ago and all those problems I used to have simply disappeared. I did have a customer email this week and ask about whether an item had been delivered. It was one of those rare things I used postage stamps on, so I didn’t have a way to track it. She went on to tell me about the terrible mail service in her town. I’m probably going to have to do a refund, but I haven’t heard back from her yet. Slower week this week. Lots of low dollar items, but I look at it as good riddance because it makes room for higher priced items.
eBay August 5-11
Total sales. $114.22
# sold. 14
Avg sale. $8.15
Returns. 0
COGS. $8.81
$ spent on new. $27.60
# new listed. 22
Highest sale. $20 girls coral Levi’s jean jacketJust got the EBay Fall Seller update email. Less than thrilled with some of the stuff it laid out. However I will soldier on and adapt as needed. I purged a few more long term low price items and will continue to do so as they pop up with the ‘This item has been listed longer than 16 months’ message. I figure that’s as good a time as any to re-evaluate an item. Most of them I relist, a few I even raised the price. I also decided to bite the bullet and go above my 1,000 listing limit, even if I have to pay a bit more each month. My death piles will never go away if I don’t and hopefully revenues will increase to offset any extra fees. Sourcing is still the best part for me and if I want to keep sourcing, I need to get listing!
Pretty good week for me considering the summer slump. I just want to go on record here and say that I hate it when someone pays with an e-check on PayPal. I have never had one that didn’t have a problem going through. Just had one go through today that took over 3 weeks. I wish buyers understood better the delay they are creating when they select that option. Rant done. Scavenge of the week-Old Spice shaving mug filled with 3 vtg razors (1930-1940) and 2 vtg shaving brushes (one with Bakelite handle) for $5. Here’s my numbers:
eBay week of July 29-August 4
Total sales. $191.94
# sold. 17
Avg. sale. $11.29
Returns. 0
COGS. $20.02
$ spent on new $31.70
# listed. 22
Highest sale. $35 pair of Framed Dragonfly Cross Stitch Set and $25 vtg Radio Shack Peace Sign radio 1976.If you ever find the Gunslinger books in hardback, snatch ‘em up-they go for hundreds of dollars. Also Sue Grafton A is for Alibi and B is for Burglar first editions are on my look out list!
Such good info in the podcast! My head is reeling a bit. May have to revisit to absorb more! Not sure what’s in the air today, but I woke up to 3 overnight sales and 3 offers! As of now (9:30 pm eastern) I have sold 8 items for more than I made in the entire last week! I ‘m hoping this is setting the tone for the week and not just a flash in the pan. It’d be nice to have a mini Christmas at the end of July! Scavenge of the week-3 vtg Stephen King Gunslinger Series books for $1 each and 2 early Michael Crichton first editions for $1. One of the first editions was from that awesome estate sale I mentioned. Didn’t buy a lot there, but I had such a great time exploring it made my week. Ebaymom, did you make it there?
Numbers for July 22-28
Total sales. $116.92
Items in store. 1,064
# sold. 14
Avg. sale. $8.35
Returns. 0
COGS. $5.83
$ spent on new. $41.81
# listed. 36
Highest sale: $28 pair of Longaberger basket stampsSold some of my older inventory on best offer. Probably took too many low offers, but it was nice to get some old stuff out the door. A friend is having a garage sale this weekend and i’m probably going to delist some older stuff under $10 and put it in her sale. Free up some space and replace those items with higher price items.
I posted in last weeks forum about a fantastic estate sale in the Dayton, Ohio area. It’s been extended through tomorrow, 1-6 pm. See last week’s topic for my description and the link to the website and directions.
Just had to share with you about the estate sale I went to yesterday. I went there last because I didn’t think it was in the best location-boy was I wrong! This house was 5 levels of stuff! It looked like the family had just walked out the door and said get rid of it all. The main level was the kitchen and living area. Downstairs was a rec room that was as big as my house, which led to a one car garage. Down a couple more stairs and I was in a two car garage which had a loft room on the right side for tools. Up one level from the living area we’re adjoining bedrooms with a shared bath. Down the hall and around the corner was the master bedroom with his and her bathrooms, an entire wall of closets all overlooked by a balcony of more closets. When I found the stairs to get up to the balcony closets, it took me to a storage room with enough holiday decorations to start a store. In the other direction from the balcony closets was a stairway to a study (again almost as big as my living room and kitchen combined. Full wall of books, multiple computers and tons more stuff. Every room was stuffed. I spent 2 hours there and could have stayed longer! Of course I had been to 6-7 sales and was low on cash. The art on the walls could have filled my car. Tomorrow is the last day and if any of you are close enough to drive to the Dayton area, I highly recommend the trip, even if it’s just to see the house.
I have the mid level store and I am maxed out on my listings, so 200 listings is a big deal for me. Part of the reason I have death piles is because I’m trying not to grow too much bigger than my thousand listings. When things pick up in the fall, I might change my mind about that, but things are too slow right now. I wish eBay had a level in between 1000 listings and the anchor store. That’s a huge leap and I don’t have time or space to get that big.
Slow week, but that’s okay because I had other stuff pop up. The new shipping page popped up for me last week. So far it’s been okay. I’m still getting the option to go back to the old page. As long as it works okay, I will try and stick with the new version. Got the offer today for 200 free listings because of the picture glitch. I plan to list like crazy and take advantage of those and diminish the death piles!
eBay July 14-21
Total sales. $106.69
Items in store. 1,043
# sold. 12
Avg. sale. $8.89
Returns. 0 (finally!)
COGS. $6.08
$ spent on new. $19.38
# listed. 19
Highest sale. $30 wooden art reproduction jigsaw puzzleCongrats on the new building! It’s heartening when local people are willing to invest in downtown buildings. Out of town investors in real estate are like vampires. They are merely there to siphon money out of the town into their pockets. We have one shopping center owned by a big investment company in NYC. It’s cheaper for them to use it as a tax write off and let it sit empty than invest $$ into fixing it up and renting it out.
Jay, I am the total opposite of you-I Love estate sales! My problem is that I can rarely spare an entire day for an auction. I can line up 2-4 estate sales and get a pretty good haul in an afternoon. Some companies run them better than others and I have learned which ones to avoid. I actually prefer family run sales because I stand a better chance of finding bargains. I never go first thing when they open-that way lies madness (and quite possibly bruised ribs!). I’m really good at finding unmarked items and usually I tell them what i’m Willing to pay. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
Anyway, good week for me considering it’s slow season….
eBay July 8-13
Total sales. $146.73
Items in store. 1,038
# sold. 13
Avg. sale. $11.29
Returns. 1
COGS. $16.60
$ spent on new. $36.60
# listed. 20
Highest sale. $30 yarn from an unfinished project that my mom started, but didn’t leave a pattern. It was expensive yarn so I deconstructed what she started and listed it with the unused yarn.
