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I’ve thought of this enough over the last two years to feel comfortable pencil whipping my own calculation.
$30 average sale price
$5 average COGS.
14% ebay/paypal fees.
Shipping is never included. Shipping discount offsets a portion of fees. No deduction here.
Supplies are free. USPS boxes, Ebay coupon for other supplies. Free used boxes. At most I spend $100 a year on supplies.
Don’t include the car – you don’t include the car for a 9-5 job. It’s a household expense that you actually get to deduct on your taxes because it is used for work.So to even further pencil whip, I’ll round down to $20 profit per item. So 50 sales a week to equal $1000 in profit income.
So yes the key is to build up your average sale price so that you work less for more money.
My feedback is automatic. I used to monitor and only give feedback when the buyer gave me feedback first. Eventually I realized I was stressing over something I had no control over. If they pay, they get positive feedback.
The only thing I actively do regarding feedback is look at any feedback I get. I like to make sure I react quickly if I get a negative. I also love reading positive feedbacks – it reinforces why I do this.
I take it as a personal challenge to find a diamond in the rough in the higher priced stores sometimes. It always makes me feel like I “stuck it to the man” when I pass on the shoes they have priced at $25 and are worth $25 and get the $3 pair next to them that are worth $75. Hehe. Things like that are what make this business fun!
Technically you are not allowed to leave negative comments in a positive feedback. The buyer can have that removed.
You’d be amazed at the level many chain thrift shops go to, such as Goodwill. Many of them use a UPC barcode system and every single item (yes, every single one) is individually researched, priced, and accounted for. They have entire teams of people whose sole job is to categorize and research prices. There is a member of this site that actually works for Goodwill at one of their online auction warehouses. I am not sure if that person is still active though.
Thrift chains have gotten very high tech in the states. It is somewhat worrisome, but I think eventually they’ll tick off their donating base to the point they don’t get as much stuff.
04/19/2017 at 1:02 pm in reply to: New buyer opens an account the day of purchase, shipping address is a mall… #16793Also, there is a post office in my local mall with PO boxes.
I’ve also had purchased items sent to where I work.
04/19/2017 at 1:01 pm in reply to: New buyer opens an account the day of purchase, shipping address is a mall… #16792My recommendation:
Take all this time you are spending micromanaging your sales and spend that time listing.
The issues really are few and far between. Turn on auto feedback after payment and ship paid items. Move on to the next task.We’ve all been where you are. Once you let go of the micromanaging you can truly start growing your business.
While I am not having your issue, I am getting very annoyed with false sales of another kind. My mother-in-law is VERY. VERY obsessed with that dumb pregnant giraffe. She sneaks onto our facebook at our house and subscribes to various news outlets that carry the feed to get the new feed notifications (I hope none of you know the intricacies of giraffe watching like I unfortunately do).
Anyways, my phone is always on vibrate. Typically a BIN sale is two long pulses – the sale and then the payment. For the past few weeks I’ve been getting the two pulses every 4 hours. I pull out my phone to see the sale and all I see is two duplicate facebook notifications from a news place starting their 4 hour giraffe feed. It makes my anger sharks boil out of the tank!
I unsubscribe and she just resubscribes next time she is at our house. I wish that thing would pop that baby out already!!!
04/13/2017 at 11:12 am in reply to: Global Shipping, what do they use to calculate for the buyer? #16561When listing on the PC you have to put in shipping details. When listing mobile you do not have to put in weight and dimensions. I have sold items GSP with no weight or dimensions on them. I suppose ebay just assumes the max 4 lb priority weight limit.
Best tip: Don’t take photos of it while naked. Lol!
I have a portable light box in which I can poke my camera through a hole in the front. It works well.
04/10/2017 at 4:07 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 305: The Biggest Transfer of Wealth in Human History #16376Nah, you definitely can’t just leave it at that. What exactly is there to be careful with at an auction?
We make our own cleaners as well. Vinegar and lemon juice go a long way.
I make homemade lotions that will blow away anything you could buy. Homemade lotion with real cocoa butter as the base is da bomb. It literally smells like the greatest chocolate you’ve ever smelled.04/10/2017 at 10:19 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 305: The Biggest Transfer of Wealth in Human History #16353Total Items in Store: 608
Items Sold: 9
Cost of Items Sold: $31
Total Sales: $239
Profit: $208
Highest Price Sold: $50 90’s reversible UNC Tarheels Jacket
Average Price Sold: $26.56
Average Profit: $23.10The funnies of ebay selling – I knew who won the NCAA basketball championship Tuesday morning without seeing it on facebook or the news. I sold a UNC jacket for full price shortly after the game would have been over. Lol.
I was able to get about 25 items listed this week. Some of them I already had draft listings on. It’s not much but it is a start in the right direction.
As for auctions, I’ve tried a few over the years but in this area they are pretty crappy. I haven’t really seen box lots -Maybe I have just gone to the wrong ones? I don’t know…it just seems like a waste of time to spend half a day at an auction in the hopes of finding something good. Even then, you may not even win the bid on what you find!
I would not meet the local pickup person. Tell her to open the case and then just wait it out for 5 days before closing. Getting it back to you is on her – not your problem. If she mails it back or makes other arrangements that doesn’t inconvenience you then that would be fine too. Odds are good that if you make her work for the return she’ll let the 5 days pass.
Lol, my boss actually brought me 4 bags of his wife and daughters clothes when she asked him to take it to Goodwill.
A lot of it was mall brand stuff and I’m not really interested in the nickel/dime clothing market so I took most of it on to goodwill. I only kept like 4-5 pieces out of those 4 big bags.I do love clothes, but only unique and vintage stuff. It’s gotta grab me as being totally awesome.
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