Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Yard sales were lacking again due to a cold snap. Nobody wants to run a yard sale when it’s 40 degrees in April!
I do my route anyways, and at the very end of the route I came across a pretty big sale. Most of the stuff wasn’t extremely interesting, but they had several tables and large racks of shoes. They were mostly tagged and this clearly was some form or reseller. There were some nice shoes there. There was a sign that said “make offer” on shoes and the lady said ” the tag prices are not the real prices”. So I went through everything and pondered how I would tackle it. I knew at a minimum I wanted the in-box shoes on one table that were definite $50+ shoes and the lady said $10 for the boxed shoes. Finally I just went up to the lady and said “what kind of deal can you give me if I buy a bunch of shoes.?”. Her young son came up and said “$5 a pair for all of them”. The mom politely tried to tell him no, then a brief…conversation…was held in which the kid did not realize his life was in danger. LOL! I interjected and offered $5 for anything tagged $20 and under, and $10 for anything over $25 and she agreed. I started pulling and boxing as I had already assessed everything I wanted. I ended up getting 54 pair and paid an average of $6.30 a pair. I took between 30-50% of what was available. What was left either wasn’t good enough or had too much wear.
As we were working up the cost the lady struck up a conversation about reselling with me. Turns out she realized all she wants to sell is jewelry as she doesn’t like selling anything else. I said “what a coincidence – I like selling everything BUY jewelry!”. Her husband is an auctioneer and they get access to a bunch of stuff regularly. I shared my contact info and the main things I like to source. I suspect I’ll hear back from this new sourcing contact. Hopefully it works out well.
I’ll make my money back with the 5 best pair of shoes and the ASP will be over $50.
Here’s the first two pair of boxed shoes I listed from that haul.
Lucchese Charlie 1 Horse Boots
The worst example of worthless PL impressions is when I have to change from mobile to classic view in safari on my phone. It takes me FOREVER to get to the bottom of the page as more and more keep loading. I have to keep swiping down like 10 times before it stops loading more random items.
Well they aren’t actually ballet shoes – it’s just shoes that look like that are called ballet flats.
The most expensive ballet flats are a brand called Tieks. I’ve still never found a pair of them in the wild.The location of this pawn shop is in a high foot traffic location near some unpleasant parts of town. If they didn’t keep them in cars or behind the counter they’d be stolen like crazy.
With the addition of AI, I would REALLY hope eBay would come up with a method to encourage multiple sales to buyers.
for instance, a person buys a pair of women’s size 8.5 athletic shoes from me. A screen pops up saying “this seller has these other size 8.5 women’s athletic shoes as well. Why not buy another pair and get 10% off and combined shipping?That would be FAR more targeted and likely to get another sale than the ridiculous spray and pray approach to promoted listings that appear at the bottom of every screen.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/267200406641
Dragon Age Origins Ultimate Edition (Sony PlayStation 3, 2010) PS3 Complete
I picked this up a couple weeks ago at a pawn shop I rarely can get to a town over from where I work for $4. They have alot of video game stuff and I can find some cheap gems there. It’s kind of a pain because everything is in glass cases or in bins behind the counter so I can’t just go through everything hands on. I scanned the case edges and picked out the items that looked unique or sounded like RPG’s. This was one of them and it turned out to be a homerun. I’d LOVE to be able to go though everything and do some barcode scanning. I bet there were more goodies in there other than what I got that day.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/267200409202
Vortex Mark McGwire Air Pressure Power Baseball Bat Red MLB Plastic 1998 Vintage
Cool vintage bat sold for $40 on offer. I paid $1 for it I believe.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266433830815
Rock Band Wii Harmonix Guitar Controller Fender Stratocaster 19091 – NO DONGLE
sold for full price and I was NOT in the mood to ship this thing last Friday night. But…it sold. I have a large death pile of guitar hero/Rock Band gear I really, really need to get listed. It’s in my way. I hope to get to this death pile after I take care of the Nerf death pile.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/267007334745
Marvin Richards Vintage Suede Coat Size M Animal Print Lining Women’s
Sold on offer for $50. It’s that time of year where I sell 50% off offers on coats. I was incredibly happy to get the sale.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/267206386012
Canon SELPHY CP1500 Compact Photo Printer Black Color Ink Paper Bundle
Picked this up at Goodwill a couple weeks ago for $9. Sold within a few days on offer for $130. I had two competing offers and sent a counter of $130 to both people saying “I had multiple competing offers and this was my best price. First to accept gets it”. One was quicker on the draw than the other!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266899341425
Fitflop Varya Pink Glitter ballerina slip on wedge flats Women’s Size 11
Paid $6 at Goodwill. It took about 8 months to sell but sold for full price. Sometimes the best shoes are unassuming at first glance like these. I pick up every pair of Fitflop I see, but these are at the top range price wise. Fitflop is a great BOLO shoe brand.
Every year I say I’m gonna get all my tax paperwork done early and then I don’t. Then I keep putting off and putting off.
I still need to do mine. It’s not hard – just takes some time. I have it down pat at this point.
Absolutely true! I hadn’t been listing for multiple weeks and the piper came to be paid with slow sales. I started doing end/sell similar and I started listing again to get things moving again.
Items I list that have high STR still sell quickly, so selling in-demand items is the key to immediate success. I know when I list shoes that the sale could happen quickly, but most often will take months or YEARS for the right buyer at the right size/color to come along. Those items are a pure numbers game which is why I have around 1000 active shoe listings.
It’s alot of work and alot of inventory space, but last year I sold:
467 pair of shoes for $36904.
Now granted that dollar number is skewed up from the premium hoarder shoes. The total number on those was:
117 pair for $16306 – $140 a pair.
So non-hoarder shoes I sold 350 pair of shoes for $20598. $59 a pair.
That is why I do shoes. Sheer volume of listings (and focusing on higher ASP) leads to significant and high ASP sales, even in slow months. Everybody needs shoes year round!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/267200389592
Cell2jack Cellphone to Home Phone Adapter Make and Receive Cell Phone Calls
I picked up a home cordless phone set at Goodwill for $7 a couple weeks ago. While I’m pretty sure this is a desirable phone set, I haven’t actually even researched the phone yet. The reason I bought it was because this little dongle was in there, and it sells for $30 pretty much instantly. I listed it, and instant sale as expected.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266966604290
Corduroy 3pc Vintage Mens Suit Set Beige 42″ Chest
Sold on offer for $100. Paid $7 at Goodwill a long time ago. This was one of the “death wardrobe” items my kids listed for me last year. This is not the first time I’ve sold a beige 3 piece corduroy suit for $100+. I hope I find another one! This one fit my son and I tried to convince him to wear it to Homecoming but he wouldn’t commit. Too bad – he would have been the coolest dude there!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266860042294
Crayola 1903 Stock Box with Original Wooden Stock Box + Bonus Sealed
Sold on offer for $45. I paid around $4 for this at a “name your price” “charity” yard sale. Those ‘nice’ old ladies turned rabid when I offered them $10 for a few items, which was more than I would have typically paid at a yard sale for what I had. I did really want the items so I offered $20 after their harassment. They were running a pretty good racket.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/267145327321
G-Star Raw GS01 ARC 3D Slim fit Men’s Size 40 x 34 Twisted Denim Jeans NWT
I sold 3 pair of hoarder collection pants for $100+ each this week. Made my week! This pair was the most interesting. Even if you don’t know men’s clothing, just casually browsing the men’s section is MUCH easier to pick out unique/valuable items than a women’s section. These pants would have caught my eye in a thrift store for sure so keep an eye out for unique men’s pants or jeans.
Historically still good since my ASP is higher, but based on previous 18 months March has been really rough!
Sometimes investing in the proper tool or shipping box type can really level up your business. I remember hemming and hawing over buying dedicated record mailers or dedicated vcr/dvd player sized boxes. Both times I Finally bit the bullet and got them I almost immediately thought “I should have done this AGES ago!”
Having the right things on hand not only lets you deal with death pile items you are dreading, but saves you tons of time being already prepared in case a special haul comes your way. Then you don’t have to “dread” handling it – you look forward to it!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/267194876019
Misfits Fishnet Long sleeve Dog Pile Tag Goth Vintage Size
This was from a hoarder collection. It sold within an hour of listing for full price.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266693686783
Disney’s My Very First Winnie the Pooh Lot of 26 Books Hardcover Series Stories
We picked these up years ago at a yard sale for next to nothing. They were in our book collection for a long time, but they got the boot in the last cleanout.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266548142304
Polo Ralph Lauren Linen Blazer Sport Coat Men’s Size XXL 3 Button Black
Hoarder item. Sold on offer for $180. COGs would be around $10.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266985517604
Patagonia Women S Stellar Blue Turtle Shorts Little Flippers Baggies Drawstring
I bought a bunch of these 0on clearance at Dick’s a couple years ago for $4 each. I think this is the last pair.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266932886968
Marching Mickey Mouse Disney Hasbro Romper Room Club Vintage
Neat item. Sold for full price. I think I paid $1 at a yard sale.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266416052086
Fantastic Four Movie Trailer 35mm Film 2005 FLAT Version 1
Sold on offer for $35. I bought a bunch of these film trailers a few years ago at a yard sale – $10 for the lot. I’ve Sold about half of them at this point. Truly rare items you can’t find in the wild. They were “supposed” to be returned to the studios, but all of these were from the very end of film before theaters switched to digital. I guess they didn’t want them back at that point!
Items in Store: 2935
Items Sold: 17
Total Sales: $745.00
COGS: $87.00
Total Profit: $658.00
Average profit: $38.71
Average sales price: $43.82
New Listings: 47
Items scavenged: 16
2025 weekly new listings Avg: 19
2025 avg gross weekly sales $1,287.17
2025 Avg weekly Items Sold 25
2025 ASP $52.01
2025 projected total sales $66,932.67Well that’s a little better this week. Most of the new listing was done at the very end of the week so hopefully this week picks up based on my renewed efforts. This week I’ve been hit hard with the reality of our housing situation. We REALLY need more space and bedrooms and the only way it can happen in this absurdly unhinged real estate market is if I make more money. I’ve gotta drive the ebay business to the moon and list as much as possible and hope that results in extra sales. I also did some end/sell similar of old listings throughout the week to try and get my store more active.
I still have a lingering cough but I’m feeling better every day. I so hope we’re done with sickness and can role into spring healthy.
This weekend we went to Columbus to get away. I always scavenge on these weekend trips in order to deduct travel expenses on taxes. I also use the Hhonors points I accumulate on my business credit card to get free hotel stays. In this case it was two free nights at an Embassy Suites. These little weekend getaways are great to reconnect with our children. At home my wife and I are always under pressure to get stuff done, and combined with kid’s natural utter lack of pressure to get things done, chaos typically reigns supreme. LOL! A couple days somewhere else where we don’t have to cook, can spend hours in the pool playing, and just hang out without (most) of the pressures of a daily grind is wonderful.
Ebay is the main reason we can do this. Traveling with 7 kids is an expensive undertaking!
I actually wanted to try the bins in Columbus this weekend but they must have closed their bins location. I didn’t see it anymore in google maps.
It is obvious which Goodwills in bigger cities have a better ecommerce program as those goodwills will consistently have next to nothing in their stores worth sourcing. Fortunately, not all Goodwills are the same! One of the Goodwills I tried this time I’ve checked my last 3 trips and I bought nothing all three times. It is “off the list” now.
There’s a couple Goodwills I like hitting every time I’m there. I avoid al the other chains as they are way too high priced. Goodwill is CHEAP compared to the other two big local chains – Ohio Thrift Store & Volunteers of America.
Anyways, I didn’t get to go to the one I refer to as the “ghetto goodwill” this time. It’s not really in the ghetto but inside the workers are rude, it is messy, cluttered, and AMAZING. They put everything out at low prices. Definitely no ecommerce presence there. It’s a great place to scavenge ( My wife HATES this Goodwill though, so it is difficult to make time to go to it). When I went to get directions to this Goodwill I noticed that the reviews over the last 6 months kept mentioning that there was a short pudgy dude who stays there all day every day and treats each new cart like the “bins” and grabs all the good stuff. I sooo wanted to go and meet this guy.
The “good” goodwill I did get go to go to this time is also my wife’s favorite. Not quite as ghetto, but close. I even found a Nintendo DS on one of their new inventory carts once for $5 – that’s UNHEARD of for a thrift store anymore. This Goodwill gets alot of immigrants shopping there that don’t speak much English. This time it was much more of an issue. I couldn’t even find a cart initially as there were close to 10 of these folks who had 1-2 carts each sitting over by where they bring out new carts of stuff. Every time a new cart comes out they would swarm it then go back to their spots with their carts. They stay there all day long just hanging out.
Now do I care that they are doing this? Nope. I was just annoyed that I had to shop without a cart for a while. Why doesn’t it bother me?
- There’s soooo much stuff they can’t get it all.
- They are mainly looking for stuff to take to swap meets.
- I’m confident that my general sourcing knowledge is higher than theirs.
For instance, one of them put back a pair of boots. They were Danner womens casual booties in like new condition that will sell for $100 on ebay. For a swap meet those will never do well. But for my legitimate, tax paying ebay business they are great!
The Danner boots were the scavenge of the week. I was hoping the scavenge of the week was the Oxygen concentrator I picked up for $6 there, but it has a “needs service” error once I tested it at home. I lived with one of these concentrators for 6+ months when I got really sick in 2021, so I knew what it was as soon as I saw it. I can’t really sell it, but I’ve been wanting to have one “just in case” ever since I turned mine back in to the rental company. If I could figure out a way to sell it, it is worth several thousand dollars. I’ll check with a local rental company to see if this one can be serviced since it only has 4500 hours, but I’m not holding out much hope.
I haven’t been scavenging for the last few weeks. I did pull 4 OLD bins of shoes out of my death pile so I can start listing them. There were some great shoes in there! Shame on me for letting them sit for so long.
It’s about time for yard sale season to start up, so scavenging will pick up soon. I need to get my space cleaned up a bit more to prepare.
Oof, twas a rough week. This week is even worse so far with only a single sale!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266321247432
Nike Flex Runner 2 Barely Green DX6068-301 PS Size 13.5C Kids Slip On Shoes
The power of shoes. I picked these up for $1 at a yard sale. Sold on offer for $25. They’ve been listed since July 2023. That’s just the way the ball bounces with used shoes – you have to have alot of listings and just wait for the right buyer in order to generate regular sales. I have close to 1000 pair of shoes listed. That takes up roughly 60 bins of storage.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266589028834
Rip It Original Defense Softball Fielder’s Mask Youth Black
I picked up a couple of these masks at Walmart last summer on clearance for $15 each. They’re now all sold. I went ahead and listed them immediately but I knew I would have to wait until this spring to sell them out.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/266471186182
Tang Soo Do ITF Track Suit Size Small Navy Blue Lined Warm Up Windbreaker
One of the oldest items left in my store – probably listed in 2018-19. I’m so happy it FINALLY moved on to it’s new owner. Sold for full price.
