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Week of 3/12-18
Total items in store 755
Items sold. 22 (21 ebay, 1 Bonanza)
Total sales. $299.62
Average sale. $ 13.61
COGS. $ 31.44
Returns-0 unpaid-1
$ spent on new inventory $ 33.33
# of new items listed. 35
Highest sale- $53 Toshikane chrysanthemum earrings from my mom’s stash so cost $0Much better week for me! I had almost forgotten about Bonanza until I had a great sale (Ralph Lauren perfume) on there. I actually sold the Toshikane earrings from my mom on an auction. When I researched them, the prices were all over the map. I didn’t see any other earrings like them, so I priced them at $30 and decided to let the market set the price. By the time the auction ended it had 9 watchers, which is a new high for me. I also sold a pair of Napier earrings in under 5 minutes, so of course I was kicking myself for not pricing them higher.
Scavenge of the week-I went to pick up some items I had bought at an online auction. One box cost me 34 cents and I bid on it because it had several framed cross stitch pieces. When I got the box home it was packed! If I don’t make over $150 on the contents then shame on me!
Week of March 5-11
Total items in store 741
Items sold. 6
Total sales. $59.99
Avg price. $ 9.99
COGS $5.25
Returns-0 Cancelled-1
# of items listed. 41
$ spent on new inventory. $31.64
Highest sale- $11.99 vintage Snow White Tin (cost $2)Slowest week EV-AH! I was listing like crazy compared to sales. I was getting really discouraged when I sold 3 decent priced items in a couple of hours. Next week’s stats should look a whole lot better. My scavenge of the week actually happened at my dad’s house. I was doing something in his bedroom when I found an old Lane chest model box filled with vintage ladies hankies in excellent condition. I also found a small 3-drawer lacquer box filled with vintage clip earrings. Mom passed away 3 years ago and we are still finding stashes! I cannot believe how many pairs of earrings that woman owned! I’m keeping a few pieces I’m sentimental about, but the rest will keep me busy for weeks.
Congrats on hitting your 300th podcast R&J! I discovered you about a year ago and Ryanne was super helpful in responding to an email asking for advice about my store. In that time I’ve gone from just over 100 listings to over 700! I learn something new every week from the podcast you have inspired me more than once when I was feeling discouraged about doing this work. Thanks for the inspiration and I look forward to hearing the next 300!
Bit of a slow week, but I’d had some great sales the previous two weeks, so I sort of expected it. There was a fabulous estate sale this weekend and I treated myself to a day of thrifting on Friday.
My store week of 2/26-3-4
Total items in store. 712
Items sold. 13
Total sales. $115.40
Average price. $8.87
COGS. $9.64
Returns. 0
Money spent on new inv. $54.93
# of items listed. 31
Highest sale-Crate & Barrel I don’t carrot all plate. Cost me 89 cents, sold for $14.99Did have one weird thing happen last week. Had a package returned with the message that the person was no longer at the address. I sent them an email, but haven’t heard back. How long should I give it before I relist the item?
My husband just gave me a heads up on what we owe on our taxes. I think I’m going to be doing a lot of listing! Also, some of crappy buy it now offers are going to become much more attractive the closer we get to April 15!
I thought I listed this but I was in a hurry and maybe deleted instead. That’s what happens when I try to multi-task more than two things!
Numbers for the week of 2/19-2/25
Total items in store: 691
Items sold: 15
Total sales: $165.17
Avg. price: $11.01
COGS: $32.95
Returns: 0
Money spent on new inv.: $27.65
# of items listed: 14
Highest sale: $29.99 x2 1948 car model kitsIt’s been a pretty average week for me. I didn’t get as much listed as I would have liked, but a couple of the things I listed sold right away. The more I listen to the podcast and read the comments, I think control equals our awareness of the market as sellers. I’ve owned a brick & mortar store and it’s much harder to be quickly responsive to trends in that setting. Fixed costs are so high, it’s hard to put $$ into trends which may or may not be profitable. Selling online offers much more flexibility and to me more control.
I have to post that my best item so far this week was a Steve inspired item! I got a Memorex tabletop stereo a couple of years ago for $3-4 at a yard sale and we’d originally been using it to listen to books on cd. We weren’t using it anymore because I have an iPad and my husband has a kindle. I decided to give it a try and it sold today for $30. Thank you Steve!
I didn’t know about Valley Thrift! That makes it a more worthwhile trip. I will check it out! Thanks for the info!
I went once Sharon-I have to admit I was of two minds about the experience. I kind of felt like I needed a shower after I left there, lol! However, I spent $16 and almost immediately sold two of the items for over $50. Not sure I’ll drive down there just to go there, but it’s certainly somewhere I will visit if I’m in the area. Watching people attack the bins when they were brought out was quite the experience.
Wally you sound like a med student. My future son-in-law is in his 1st year of residency. I’m in south western Ohio, about 3 hours from where you grew up. I did love Cedar Point when I was younger!
Week of Feb 13-19
Total items in store 694
Items sold 18
Total sales $310.50
Avg. price $17.25
COGS $21.43
Returns 0
Money Spent on new inv. $35.22
# of items listed 35
Highest price items men’s vintage 10K gold ring $145
Zen Scherzer vintage luncheon set $41.99I like the idea of collecting, but since we downsized to a small ranch house I really don’t have room to be very serious about any particular collection. Probably the only thing I buy and keep for myself are cordial glasses (because they are small) and dachshund and cairn terrier dog items (because that’s what we have). I do put some of the nicer items I have listed around our living room just so they don’t get chipped or broken with the main inventory stash. That way we get to enjoy them until they sell and I get to change out the pieces in my decor regularly!
This week was better than last week, but I also ran a sale most of the week trying to get things moving. I did sell several things I’ve had for a long time. The vintage ring I sold was my grandfather’s so it didn’t cost me a thing. The luncheon set cost was $7. I have quite a few things listed that belonged to my parents and grandparents. My dad is 93 and he keeps sending things home with me to list on eBay! I keep the pieces I’m really sentimental about and the things that would end up in a drawer or closet get listed. As I get older, my philosophy is more about using things and less about having things for things sake. Like Ryanne, I’ve been accepting most reasonable offers not only to generate cash but trying to get things moving to make space for the upcoming garage/rummage sale season.
Slow week for me. I actually had two days with nothing to ship.
My numbers for Feb. 5-11
Total items in store- 685
Items sold- 9
Total sales- $93.71
COGS- $4.84
Highest price item- Bombay Company Cribbage Board $36
No returns
Money spent on new inventory- $21.38
Number of items listed this week- 15I didn’t get nearly as much listed this week as usual. My 93 year old dad was keeping me occupied, but that’s what’s great about EBay. If life gets busy, you can ignore it for a bit. I did try the Goodwill outlet for the first time. I still haven’t decided if it’s worth the drive to get there vs. prices. That being said, two of the things I found sold right away and more than paid for the trip.
My thoughts on frugality for what they are worth. I am a conundrum in that I like to spend money, but since I retired I don’t have much to spend. EBay allows me to feed my inner shopper and supplement my income. I also have found since I started this in earnest I won’t spend full price on most things, knowing that if I’m patient and look around I can find it at a better price. Early retirement (in my case anyway) forces frugality upon you. I knew things would be tight, but I needed the time to take care of my dad and husband. It also gets to be my ‘thing’ which anyone in a caregiving role will tell you is really important. I can honestly say we have nicer stuff around the house now than we did when I was working and for a fraction of the cost.I don’t normally mess with food items, but my local grocery store put some Cincinnati Bengals M&Ms on clearance for 80 cents a bag. I bought four bags on a whim and figured if they didn’t sell, I would have M&Ms to eat! So far I’ve sold 3 bags, 2 for $20 and one for a best offer of $15. Yeehaw!
I am also trying to upgrade the items I list, but I agree it can be a bit of a risk. I get really nervous spending more than a few bucks on items that are outside my comfort zone (which are books, sewing & crafting items and vintage linens). If I can, I try and search for an item on my smartphone, but it’s not always easy to really drill down on the value of quickly. Of course, I think we all have a bit of gambler in us or we wouldn’t be doing this EBay thing, lol!
My goal for 2017 is to be pickier about what I scavenge, look for quality sales and be open to paying higher prices, but always being on the lookout for the plastic camel bank for $1 that ends up selling for $50!
Why are the little piddily sales the ones that cause the most problems? To preface, I have been working for almost a year on upgrading my listings and doing away with the small stuff. That being said, I still have small things I’m trying to get rid of-might as well make a buck or two. This woman made an offer on some corsage pins which was ridiculously low. Turned her down, but she kept making offers. Finally accepted one just to clean out some junk and shut her up. Now she is unhappy-says the box is ripped and it’s missing pins. Offered to refund her if she sends them back. If she gives negative feedback I might drive to her state and choke her. All this over some stickin’ corsage pins. Reinforces my decision to upgrade my sales items.
My most recent cache was two 5-shelve bookcases and all the books on them for $31. I had one bookcase sold before I ever picked them up. The books were mostly cookbooks and Knitting books. A few were specialty items that will go for good money, but most are pretty common and I’m listing them for $5-9 each. I’ve already made my purchase price back plus some. Books are so easy to list if the ISBN matches!
I feel like my entire EBay experience has been one big experiment to see what works and what doesn’t! The sale that amazed me the most last week were some NFL m&ms I had bought on clearance at the grocery. Under $1 each bag. I listed them for $20 each and sold two bags! I love listening to the podcast and the ‘What Sells’ segment because it inspires me to broaden my scavenging! Thanks!
