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RR Store Week Dec 11-17, 2016
Total Items in Store: 1092
Items Sold: 14
Cost of Items Sold: $17.74
Total Sales: $449.88
Highest Price Sold: $119.99 (1926 Vogue Magazine)
Average Price Sold: $32.13
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $7
Number of items listed this week: 100Before finding the podcast, I did free shipping on my clothing items.On J&R’s advice, I started charging and I’ve never looked back. I’m very interested in the results of the experiment, but unless the results are really convincing, I’m going to continue charging for it.
I have an interesting picking story. My former landlady, and a childhood friend’s mom, passed away a few weeks ago. She was a super cool lady with wild, eclectic taste, which is part of why we bonded. She was one of the first adults I met who appreciated weird, vintage items like I did. In accordance with her wishes, my friend had a party at her house instead of a funeral. She wanted people to take something from the house they loved as a memento; I got this awesome vintage GROCERY sign I was always fond of. But after the party, there was still a ton of cool stuff left over. Although I initially said no, my friend convinced me to go to the house and take whatever I think I can sell. I told him I felt like a vulture, but he insisted that it would help him out. So my girlfriend and I spent a few hours there on last Friday night picking. We filled up her back seat and trunk with amazing stuff. Vintage t-shirts, records, vintage nik naks, plus shields and spears from the African Masai tribe, and Navajo blankets straight from the reservation. I cleaned up, and all for free. I do plan to give him a cut, even though he says he doesn’t care about the money. And perfect timing, as my death pile is shrinking and I was running out of things to list.
OK, back to work!
*Paul*
Same here. If I need something, but can wait a few days, I go right to eBay. It helps other sellers, plus it bumps up your feedback, which is always nice. Gotta support what supports you.
*Paul*
RR Store Week Dec 4-10, 2016
Total Items in Store: 1047
Items Sold: 16
Cost of Items Sold: $23.99
Total Sales: $358.85
Highest Price Sold: $59.99 (60s art frame lamp)
Average Price Sold: $22.43
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $14
Number of items listed this week: 46My week started off strong, and I thought it was the holiday rush finally kicking in. But by the end of the week, sales really fizzled out. That, plus some personal drama, made for a lousy week. But yesterday a new week began, and as I’m typing this, I just sold a Vogue magazine for $120. Very motivating! Peaks and valleys, peaks and valleys.
My girlfriend and I hit four estate sales this weekend, but didn’t really find much, which is rare for me. My record collection got a nice little bump, but not my eBay inventory. The last house we went in was an old, run down Victorian. The deceased was an antique dealer, so the place was packed. But it was mostly high dollar stuff from the 1800s; I don’t know enough about that period to justify the expense, so we left empty handed. And we couldn’t get out of their fast enough. We got the creepiest vibe in that house. I though it was just me, but my girl had the creeps as well. Ah, the perils of this scavenger life.
*Paul*
Same here. I rarely spot tiki stuff outside of antique malls. And if I see one more monkeypod bowl…! Once in a while I’ll find a small Coco Joe piece; nothing to write home about. My best tiki score was a giant 5 foot tall blue fiberglass tiki from the 60s. It’s hollow inside, and came with a light socket and switch. It lit up at one point! It all needs to be replaced, but in the mean time, he stands guard on the patio. And yes, Tiki Magazine is super cool.
*Paul*
Hey Paolo!
Not sure exactly why they sell when the download is available, but they do. Maybe people don’t have a printer and want a physical copy. Or maybe there is no download and the only way to get it is to give me $10 bucks. And it doesn’t take a trained eye to find them. I usually find them in the home office and/or the garage at estate sales; sometimes the kitchen will have appliance manuals. You just gotta dig! But you’ve gotta get out and get to the estate and yard sales. And since you’re a computer geek, keep your eyes open for vintage computer manuals. As Jay and Ryanne have mentioned, they definitely sell.
*Paul*
RR Store Week Nov 27-Dec 3, 2016
Total Items in Store: 1047
Items Sold: 17
Cost of Items Sold: $19.29
Total Sales: $481.86
Highest Price Sold: $59.99 (60s bowling trophy)
Average Price Sold: $28.34
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $43
Number of items listed this week: 20I totally identify with that dude in Phoenix (and Steven S, apparently!). My house is furnished and decorated with mostly vintage items, all from the 50’s and 60’s. I’ve been collecting things from that era since I was a kid. I’ve always loved the mid century look, and that love is now making me money. Another niche I collect is tiki; eBay is dangerous for Tiki nerds on a budget. But it’s one of the few places where one can find super specific items, like a mug or menu from a certain tiki bar or restaurant. I have a whole room just for my tiki junk!
Same week for me; lots of low dollar items sold, a result of listing death pile pieces. But I’ve definitely seen an uptick in my sales. I doubt it’s because of the holidays; I think it’s because of my return to consistent listing. And I sold a bunch of mugs too! A 60s drug mug, a Walt Disney World plastic mug, a handmade signed cat mug…what a strange coincidence.
Yesterday I had my first Facebook sale. It was a program from a tiki convention called Exoticon, held in 1995. When I was moving, I found an extra copy in my archives, so I put it up on a tiki collector page. Had a buyer within a few hours. I did have to remind him to pay after a few days, but he quickly apologized and immediately sent me the money, $24 including shipping. Not bad for some old paper.
*Paul*
I snap up owner’s manuals whenever I see them, vintage or not. Power tool manuals sell well, but I’ve sold manuals for treadmills, TVs, stereos…all kinds of stuff. When I get them at estate sales, they almost never charge me for them. I usually list the regular manuals at $9.99, and more on vintage ones. May not seem like a lot, but those ten dollar bills add up. Plus, they’re super easy to list and store. I’ve also sold high end audio manuals for around $40.
*Paul*
I appreciate it, Jay! It feels so good to get back in the swing of things. Monday I hit the thrift store, and yesterday and today I checked out a few estate sales. Not much of a haul, but man did it feel great!
Thanks Ryanne! I did have to buy the desk lamps new (I hate buying new stuff), but everything else was here in my office.
Let’s see if this works:
http://i.imgur.com/HGpgLzo.jpg
In addition to the two desk lamps, I have an overhead lamp as well. Pretty rudimentary, but for now it’ll do. Eventually I’d like to get something a bit more sophisticated, like those soft box lights; something I can just turn on and start snapping shots.
*Paul*
Groovy, thanks. Those LP mailers use a bunch of tape, and I have a ton of the eBay stuff.
RR Store Week Nov 20-26, 2016
Total Items in Store: 1043
Items Sold: 15
Cost of Items Sold: $30.48
Total Sales: $453.46
Highest Price Sold: $119.99 (50’s men’s coat)
Average Price Sold: $30.23
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 32Sales are slowly getting back to where they used to be, and my death piles are slowly dwindling. Looking at the items in the piles, it’s no wonder I dragged my feet on listing them. It’s a lot of stuff that is tedious to list, and doesn’t sell for much. Like pants. I hate dealing with pants. But I told myself that I would clear out this particular death pile before going to my storage unit and getting more.
Black Friday was quiet, but Thanksgiving was jumping! I had one guy messaging me about a WWII Army yearbook, trying to negotiate a price. After a while, I had to ignore his messages in favor of the holiday. But I resumed the conversation the next day, and we had a pleasant transaction.
*Paul*
My new house has weird lighting. Clothing is ok, but smaller things are especially hard to shoot. The shadows are all screwy. So last week I made my own light box. It was a very simple project. All I needed was a square cardboard box, tissue paper, white posterboard, a ruler, and a box cutter.
This is what I referenced. I just bought a couple of desk lamps, so tomorrow I’m going to officially fire it up. But my initial test shots were good enough to use in a few listings. And it was super easy to make, even for an unhandy man like myself. If I can do it, anyone can.
*Paul*
I recently shipped a 1950’s Army field jacket in a PFRE. That thing was huge! I still don’t know how I bent the laws of physics to make that happen. I usually add a little tape around the opening, just to make sure it doesn’t pop open during the shipping process. Never had one complaint about an overstuffed PFRE!
omfug, that’s ridiculous. Nothing is less Punk than bigotry, racism, misogyny, and homophobia. This person you were arguing with clearly has no clue about L.A. Punk history, and to argue with someone who was actually there is just stupid. I was just a pup in 1977, but I’ve read enough to know just how diverse it was (and still is). And I remember 80’s L.A. being extremely diverse both in our music scenes and in normal society (again, still is).
And I didn’t know Billy Zoom was a right winger. That’s crazy. Between that and Exene’s awful conspiracy theories, it’s a wonder poor John Doe can be in the same room with them, let alone the same stage night after night.
