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T-Satt – Last year around this time, I was still dealing with a life changing move to a new house and a host of other issues. eBay had taken a back seat, and I was mostly living off savings while I dealt with said issues. So I’m actually up 12.5% from last year. But honestly, I’m more like Jay & Ryanne when it comes to numbers. I look way more at what I’m selling vs. when I’m selling. Because my inventory is so eclectic, it’s harder for me to codify the process, if you get my meaning. That said, I’d like to be a bit more analytical when it comes to my numbers. Thank you for your suggestions!
Retro Treasures – I swear, I’m diversified! Years ago, I was strictly vintage clothing, but soon learned (with the help of this podcast) that I needed to sell anything and everything in order to make it work. I find the weird vintage stuff because not many others are looking for it. But I’ll gladly sell newer items…anything I can make money from. No ego involved. And I love the Al Bundy reference…I just sold modern women’s shoes last week!
ChristineR – Thanks, I do as well. I will look into Pinterest; it just seems very daunting. I know literally nothing about how it works. And I’m in The Thrifting Board too! But I’ve never participated in those sharing posts. I’ll peep those out as well. Thank you!
omfug – I did so lousy on Etsy, but that was a few years ago now. Maybe it’s time to revisit the site. You’re such an Etsy cheerleader! Thank you!
Paul
RR Store Week Feb 4-10, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1509
Items Sold: 24
Cost of Items Sold: $16.49
Total Sales: $421.36
Highest Price Sold: $53.99 (Latin music CD)
Average Price Sold: $17.56
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $80.36
Number of items listed this week: 75Well crap. It appears my sales have fallen off a cliff. I know that, for the most part, I have a very eclectic inventory, but I’ve made a conscious effort to source more mainstream items. I hit my listing goal, I ship on time, I have Top Rated Seller status, but things have still slowed to a crawl. And I know people are seeing my listings, as I have many views and watchers…just very few buyers. Remember last week when Jay said he had that slow sale dread that always turns out to be an overreaction? I have that same dread, but I’m afraid it may be justified. If the last few weeks are any indication, this isn’t sustainable for me. I’d hate to get a part time job or drive for a food delivery service or something, but it might come to that unless sales rally. Luckily I have a weekly DJ gig that gives me the cash I use at estate sales. I hate to sound so negative, but I’m sure not what else to do except keep listing.
Paul
Honestly, I was intimidated by the grading system. The first store I worked at only put out really clean records; the rest went in the dollar bin. For years I assumed any records with a bit of wear weren’t worth much at all. Then at Amoeba, I saw less than stellar pieces hit the floor and still sell for good money. Definitely got me thinking. But by the time I left after 9 1/2 years (16 total in the business), the last thing I wanted to do was mess with records.
To help smooth the transition to full time ebay, I was listing for a local dealer 2 days a week. When he asked me to focus just on vinyl, I gave myself a crash course on grading. I learned a ton, and finally had the confidence to sell records myself. I already knew what titles sell well, and now I know how to grade and sell them properly. My inventory is now about 10% vinyl, and growing.
Another thing that discouraged me are the record collectors themselves. We can be a persnickety bunch, and I was afraid I’d mess up the grading and get a bunch of returns. So far, not a one…knock on wood!
Paul
RR Store Week Jan 28-Feb 3, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1457
Items Sold: 27
Cost of Items Sold: $22.24
Total Sales: $731.48
Highest Price Sold: $125.99 (1955 bible)
Average Price Sold: $27.09
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $19.64
Number of items listed this week: 32Much better this week, but still just shy of my goal. Life got in the way of my listing goal, but this week is wide open, so I should have no trouble hitting 75 new listings by Saturday night.
Great week for records sales. 8 during the week, and 5 just yesterday and today. After being in music retail for so long, I had initially decided not to sell records on eBay. Boy am I glad I revisited that decision. And the highest priced one was a Connie Francis LP! Most thrift stores and record store dollar bins are crammed with her records, but apparently she has a very loyal fanbase who actively seek rarer pressings. I found a Chinese press of her Spanish language LP with alternate artwork. Listed it for $80 and took a Best Offer of $60. Paid less than a dollar.
Alright, off to hit that goal. Have a great week, everyone!
Paul
Jay, in Spanish slang they’re called chingaderas. But it is derivative of a swear word, so it isn’t used in polite company. Must be why it’s so much fun to say.
Paul
RR Store Week Jan 21-27, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1440
Items Sold: 23
Cost of Items Sold: $37.42
Total Sales: $367.38
Highest Price Sold: $54.99 (NWT Band Of Outsiders polo shirt)
Average Price Sold: $15.97
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $93.49
Number of items listed this week: 54Wow. And not just wow because this was my worst week since last summer. But also wow because yesterday (Sunday), I made just over $300. With shipping fees, it was almost as much as I made all last week. Crazy. Listing was inconsistent, and I did fall short of my goal. But days like yesterday tell me that I’m on the right track. Now that I’m mobile again, I’m trying to find the right balance between sourcing and listing.
One of the thrift stores near my pad got in a huge load of clothing from the brand Band Of Outsiders. I don’t know much about current fashion, as vintage is more my specialty. But a quick scan of Completed Listings show it’s a high end brand. The store had dozens of pieces; looks like they came from a sample sale…maybe the leftovers after the sale was over. I found plenty of cheap stuff, but then the prices spiked. I guess the pricer figured out they were an expensive brand and bumped up the prices. But I still got a bunch of great stuff on the cheap and it’s already starting to sell. Here’s to a much better week.
Paul
Oh cool! So glad you made it to OA. The place is incredible, with history to match.
Paul
Can’t find the edit button! Money spent on new inventory should be $59. I’m not on Jay & Ryanne’s level just yet.
Paul
RR Store Week Jan 14-20, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1431
Items Sold: 34
Cost of Items Sold: $41.92
Total Sales: $721.49
Highest Price Sold: $80.99 (Orvis women’s coat)
Average Price Sold: $21.22
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $700
Number of items listed this week: 52I love to declutter. You wouldn’t know it by looking at my place, but I do. In fact, today I took a bunch of donations to the thrift store, then hit my storage unit to drop off some Christmas stuff. I have no garage, so unfortunately I need the unit for what would normally go into a garage. But now that I’m mobile again, I’m going to make the unit work for me; I can use it to store large, bulky items that I have been passing on.
Craigslist Hunter did a whole video about the company Orvis, extolling the virtues of the brand. Now that I have that info in my head, I’m starting to see it all over. In the last month I’ve sold Orvis jeans, a button down shirt, and now this coat for $80.99. Paid a buck.
Other gems I was hipped to this week are a mid century modern line of wooden toys called Zoo Line. They’re basically a knock off of animal toys designed by Kay Bojensen, but are still highly collectible. They are usually articulated teak wood, the most famous being the monkeys. I found a cache of them at the thrift store last week, 8 in total. Cost me about $12 for all of them. Sold one on Thursday for $72, and another yesterday for $45. Lots of views and watchers.
Back to work!
Paul
If you see some clear frosted cat eye glasses on one of the ladies, now you know where they came from!
Paul
How fun! I also love selling to prop departments. Last year, I sold a pair of 50’s cat eye sunglasses to the wardrobe department for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. Sure wish I had Amazon so I could look for them on the show.
The dream would be to have a few art directors that called on me to find them specific pieces on a regular basis. That would be so cool.
Paul
Jay: Thanks a lot. And no kidding, right?! It was awful. Thankfully there’s a Trader Joe’s within walking distance. But my girlfriend Jessica is the real MVP. Taking me to estate sales and thrift stores, picking me up for grocery shopping, and never giving me a hard time about it. She’s a keeper.
ritabrad: Thank you as well! And as for sharing, well, this scavenger life we’ve chosen definitely has its ups and downs. This is a very honest space, and not driving was a very real part of my life for a long time. It was difficult, but somehow I made it work, usually by the skin of my teeth. If others see that it can be done, in spite of such a situation, hopefully it will be encouraging.
As for your analysis paralysis, it’s a common problem, especially for new sellers. Remember, not everything has to be an exact match. If you have a purple shirt by Brand X but there aren’t any other purple ones, see what other colors sold for. Sometimes getting a sense of the market is enough; you don’t have to be perfectly spot on. And if you have something really unique and cool, do as Ryanne suggested: price it super high and see what happens. I do that often, and am sometimes surprised by how much I get. You have the right attitude…just keep it going. Looking forward to seeing your numbers!
Paul
Another note about production and props/wardrobe: if the show is high profile enough, the studio will hire a third party to auction off the items to the public. I worked at the “Battlestar Galactica” auction held over two weekends in 2009. They auctioned off anything that wasn’t nailed down, from full size ships all the way down to writing pens. Even back up props and wardrobe that weren’t screen used were sold. “Star Trek”, LOST”, and “Mad Men” have had similar auctions. I own a couple of “Star Trek” costumes; they were the villain-of-the-week costumes used on “Deep Space 9” and “Voyager”. I also got some unused fabric from “Battlestar Galactica”, the blue suiting material used to make some of the uniforms.
The wrap party for “That 70’s Show” was crazy. It partly took place on the sets, so we are all hanging out drinking in the living room, kitchen, basement, etc. As the night went on, we noticed people taking souvenirs from the set. So my friend and I did the same. Once the treasures were safely in the car, we went back and partied with the cast and crew into the night.
Paul
RR Store Week Jan 7-13, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1420
Items Sold: 34
Cost of Items Sold: $27.09
Total Sales: $549.68
Highest Price Sold: $62.99 (70’s ruffled tuxedo shirt)
Average Price Sold: $16.17
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $79
Number of items listed this week: 24So it’s embarrassing to admit, but I’ve been without a car since Fall of 2016. Since then, I’ve been relying on my girlfriend, Lyft, the bus, and friends to help me with sourcing inventory. It has completely sucked. I could only source once or twice a week, and even then usually just for a few hours. I was always hoping that the one estate sale I could attend was a good one, as that was likely the most buying I would be doing for the week. But, all this has finally changed; I got a new (to me) car last Thursday. Nothing fancy: a 2002 Honda CR-V. Over the weekend, I hit five estate sales and half a dozen thrift stores. At long last, I can source the way I should have been this whole time. Now that I’m mobile again, I’m going to try my best to make awful weeks like this a thing of the past.
Funny that props were mentioned. I sold three items to prop houses/art departments last week and another item today. One was a 50’s calendar for “Mr. Robot”, but that’s the only one that named the show. Back in the late 90’s, I went to a wardrobe sale for “Prefontaine” and gobbled up at least 20 pairs of vintage and contemporary Adidas, plus wardrobe; just sold the last of them in December. Back in 2006, I went to the taping of the last episode of “That 70’s Show” and the subsequent wrap party. I found out that we missed the wardrobe sale, which was almost all vintage. But I did get some props and set decor, so that was cool.
*Paul*
RR Store Week Dec 31-Jan 6, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1424
Items Sold: 33
Cost of Items Sold: $35.40
Total Sales: $665.58
Highest Price Sold: $89.09 (vintage army jump boots)
Average Price Sold: $20.17
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $31
Number of items listed this week: 41Slipped a bit last week, but so did my listing. My gal is out of town all week, so I’m using this solo time to list like crazy. My albums are really starting to move. It’s so rewarding to see them sell for a decent price, not the 25 cents I’d probably get at the used record store, if anything. Plus, now I have room to actually flip through the crates; I’m used to them being completely stuffed. And I still have about half of my collection to go through. And it’s not just the doubles; I’m also getting rid of records I know I’ll never listen to again, especially if they’re worth good money.
I love the idea of the recipe thread! I’m awful at meal prep, but I do love cooking at home. I’ve been doing more and more of it lately, and it is so rewarding. I dig branching out into other cuisines; I’ve tried my hand at Thai, Indian, Chinese, and Mexican (just like Grandma used to make). So thankful for YouTube. Whenever I need help, usually with knife skills, I turn to the Tube. But, truth be told, I like mixing cocktails more than cooking.
Back to work!
Paul
