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Thanks Brian, and thanks for sharing your story. Very encouraging.
I thought that heading into 4th quarter would be the best time to borrow; kinda hedging my bet, as I always do better during this time. Taking 10% off the top during any other quarter would makes things very tight. Here’s to more weeks like last week.
*Paul*
RR Store Week Oct 15-21, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1,427
Items Sold: 33
Cost of Items Sold: $48.04
Total Sales: $1,147.95
Highest Price Sold: $322.99 (1960’s video camera)
Average Price Sold: $34.79
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $38.50
Number of items listed this week: 52This is the craziest business. Two weeks ago was my worst week of the year. I was literally reaching out to local friends about getting a job. But instead, I hunkered down, did some aggressive sourcing and listing, and had one of my best weeks.
That camera was a surprise sale; I’ve had it for years, and I sometimes forgot about it until I would see it on the shelf. When it sold, I realized that it was the most expensive thing in my store. That really got me thinking. It’s great to find a shirt for a buck and sell it for $30 bucks, but I need some higher end stuff in my inventory. But my available cash is thin as a result of some very slow weeks. So after some careful research and number crunching, I decided to get a Working Capitol loan from PayPal. I borrowed the minimum amount, $1000, repaid at 10%. The fee is only $40 bucks. The estate sale people in my area know their stuff, so they sometimes price high, but still leave some meat on the bone. With this cash infusion, I can buy a few higher end items along with the usual purchases. And I love seeing the loan get paid back in real time, dollar by dollar. I don’t like borrowing money or buying on credit, so this was a big step for me. I think I made a good choice.
*Paul*
RR Store Week Oct 8-14, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1406
Items Sold: 28
Cost of Items Sold: $50.39
Total Sales: $734.10
Highest Price Sold: $110 (1940’s deadstock silk shirt )
Average Price Sold: $26.22
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $20
Number of items listed this week: 66Finally starting to pick up for me. I stepped up the sourcing and listing this past week, and it’s beginning to pay off. Last week I picked up a huge lot of reel to reel tapes; about 180 for $20 bucks. Already sold a few prerecorded ones for almost $100 bucks. I also took Best Offers on three vintage items that had been in my store for a while. The first was the silk shirt, then one buyer bought two vintage 60’s girdles for $65 each. All three items were Promoted Listings.
Jay & Ryanne, welcome back, and thank you for the extra long podcast!
*Paul*
RR Store Week October 1-7, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1370
Items Sold: 19
Cost of Items Sold: $29.17
Total Sales: $377.83 ($367.83 eBay, $10 outside sale)
Highest Price Sold: $64.99 (Lot of vintage radio charts)
Average Price Sold: $19.88
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $33.99
Number of items listed this week: 7And I though last week was bad. Ouch. Please tell eBay to turn my store back on! But seriously, this ain’t good, and I know why. The past few weeks were terrible for estate sales, and the thrift stores were pretty bare. So my listings were mostly bottom-of-the-barrel death pile items that take forever to list and don’t sell for much; these numbers clearly reflect that. Thankfully, I hit several estate sales this weekend and ended up with a literal carload of goodies. Lately, I’ve been channeling my inner Steve Schultz and picked up a few boxes of reel to reel tapes. I even picked up an actual player, and now I know that if it doesn’t work, I can part it out.
I’ve got a very busy week ahead of me, and I’ve already hit the ground running. Here’s to a much better week.
*Paul*
RR Store Week Sept 24-30, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1348
Items Sold: 23
Cost of Items Sold: $35.54
Total Sales: $496.22
Highest Price Sold: $68 (vintage 70s Playboy disco shirt)
Average Price Sold: $21.57
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 29Well that week pretty much sucked. I know I didn’t list much the week before, but damn…that was a rough one. I heard chatter about the glitch in Promoted Listings, and that they might be negatively affecting sales. But I don’t listen to rumors, only facts. And the facts are that I need to list more stuff, period. But sourcing has been tough lately.
The past two weeks, there were no estate sales in my area. Weird, because there’s always at least one. But not lately. Because of the dearth of sales, I decided to hit the thrifts. In one part of town, there’s three all on the same street. The first two were awful; the pricers knew their stuff and priced accordingly. I was hoping something would slip through the cracks, but they were on it. Ah well, on to the third. I was almost ready to give up after coming up empty handed, but then I found an incredible vintage bowling shirt. Then a second. Then a couple more vintage shirts. And all priced at $2 bucks or less! I just hope they sell soon. Clearly I can use the sales.
*Paul*
Thank you, Linda! Yep, my body has been screaming at me for well over a year, and I’m just now hearing it. Better late than never. Time management has always been a struggle for me, so I’m trying to stick to a schedule, and yes, that schedule includes some time off. It can be hard, since eBay is a pretty much a 24/7 endeavor. But I have to remember that I’m not going to have much success if I’m walking around feeling like my head is in a vice. Downtime is almost as important as listing time.
*Paul*
RR Store Week Sept 17-23, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1347
Items Sold: 27
Cost of Items Sold: $29.17
Total Sales: $658.04
Highest Price Sold: $80.99 Vintage B-52’s t-shirt)
Average Price Sold: $24.37
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $33.99
Number of items listed this week: 7Weird week. Had one return for size, no big deal. Then a late night order and immediate cancellation; I think the guy was drunk. Then I sold an item on Friday that I’m positive I sold months ago. No clue how it popped back up in my listings. I’ve heard this discussed on the podcast before, so I know it isn’t an isolated incident. I called eBay, and they told me to cancel the sale and give a refund, and to call them back when the defect pops up to discuss its removal.
Jay, sometimes your topics are so parallel with my life. Tuesday, I finally got the diagnosis I’ve been waiting for for a year and a half. My ear, neck, and general head problems are caused by a disorder in my temporomandibular joint, or TMJ. By process of elimination, we figured out that the cause of the problem is indeed stress. The last year and a half has been my most challenging ever, and I know I haven’t been reducing my stress levels properly. So this week, I took some time to relax and think about my process. Went to the L.A. County Fair with friends. Filed a bunch of records (very relaxing for me). Took some walks. I know I’ve been out of balance for a while, but now my body is pleading for mercy. Time to heed the call.
*Paul*
RR Store Week Sept 10-16, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1368
Items Sold: 28
Cost of Items Sold: $32.58
Total Sales: $642.27
Highest Price Sold: $99.99 (African Masai warrior shield)
Average Price Sold: $22.94
Returns: 1 (partial refund)
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 39J&R, thank you so much for openly talking about anxiety issues. I too deal with them. Years ago, I was a mess. But after lots of reading and self-therapy, I’m SO much better. Not 100%, but definitely a huge improvement. My goal is to fly again; I too have claustrophobia. But I’m taking steps towards that, so I know it’ll happen one day.
So, I’m officially on the new Seller Hub, and while I dig most of it, there are a few features I’m not into. Mainly, the Selling Total in the center. Why would it include the shipping fees? I know they’re considered revenue by eBay, but not by me. I was stoked to have hit my goal this week, only to find I actually missed it by over $150 bucks. Wacky, but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it.
Weird story: I took a Best Offer of $80 bucks for one of two African Masai warrior shields I had. An hour later, I hear the cha-ching and see African Sheild on my phone a few feet away. I figured the buyer paid for his Best Offer. Nope, it was the OTHER shield that sold for full price of $99.99. Both sold within two hours of each other to two different buyers. Crazy! And I had the perfect box to ship each one of them. But the best part? I got them both for free.
Have a great week, everyone!
*Paul*
RR Store Week Sept 3-9, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1,351
Items Sold: 28
Cost of Items Sold: $44.60
Total Sales: $790.40
Highest Price Sold: $99 (1940’s high heels)
Average Price Sold: $28.23
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 41Just missed my weekly goal by less than $10 bucks, but I’ll take it! I haven’t been able to source much the last two weeks while I recover from a minor health issue, so today’s trip to Goodwill felt great. Found a few nice things. And it helped with the cabin fever that had set in.
For the last year or so, traveling has been the furthest thing from my mind as I build my business back up to the level I need it to be. But as I slowly achieve that, the thought of taking a mini vacation is very tempting. But what I really want to take is a buying trip. I love the idea of coming home with a carload of goodies just waiting to be listed. But first I have to knock this rent out. Soon!
*Paul*
So I tried that website, and it said that the records were delivered in Japan! So crazy! Maybe they arrived damaged? Oh well, as long as I got paid and eBay made the buyer whole.
Thanks for mentioning the website again here in the comments. I heard you and Jay mention it on the podcast, but I missed the actual website name. Great resource.
*Paul*
RR Store Week August 27-Sept 2, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1,342
Items Sold: 26
Cost of Items Sold: $30.75
Total Sales: $499.29
Highest Price Sold: $95 (lot of 9 reel to reel tapes)
Average Price Sold: $19.20
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 15How exciting for you two! And you’re like the third couple I know that is visiting Iceland this summer. Who knew it was such a hot spot? (bad pun intended) Safe travels, and please take photos so we can live vicariously!
A minor medical condition had me at Urgent Care for a couple of days, plus some recovery time; that definitely cut into my listing. Thankfully, I’m just fine now, so back to the grindstone it is. No DJing tonight because of the holiday, no scheduled events, and my girlfriend is out of town until Sunday. Plenty of time to LIST. No distractions, no excuses.
*Paul*
Same thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Two records on their way to Japan never made it. I’ve sent records to Japan before, so I’m not sure why they couldn’t go now. I think perhaps they got damaged at the distribution center in Kentucky. I really want to know what happened to those records. One was a fairly rare sealed Salsa LP!
*Paul*
RR Store Week August 20-26, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1,347
Items Sold: 27
Cost of Items Sold: $32.56
Total Sales: $573.87
Highest Price Sold: $102.97 (3 lots of deodorant to the same customer)
Average Price Sold: $21.25
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 53Missed my goal, but things are finally starting to pick up. Lots of low dollar items went. I’ll take any sale, but wow…nothing over $40 bucks. I counted the three lots of discontinued Teen Spirit deodorant as one sale, as they were all bought at once by the same buyer. Officially in the black after spending $150 at an estate sale last week. That’s really high for me; I’ve been spoiled by the nice estate sale ladies giving me huge discounts. I gulped when the guy hit me with $150, but I knew it was good stuff.
Off to DJ, then watch the video. Have a great week, everyone!
*Paul*
T-Satt, I’ve been to Albuquerque twice over the years, and the food was FANTASTIC. I had to learn the “red or green” conundrum first hand, but once I got the hang of it, it was all so delicious! I’d never made enchilada sauce with green chiles, so I didn’t know what to expect. They were insanely good, if I do say so myself! And very easy to make. Nothing beats the smell of roasting Hatch chiles. My girlfriend was beyond impressed. Now I need to learn how to make sopapillas.
omfug, that’s one of the many reasons I could never move away from Southern California. With all its faults, I still love it, and the food is top notch. Only one Mexican joint in your area?! I’d make friends with them quick, fast, and in a hurry!
*Paul*
RR Store Week August 13-19, 2017
Total Items in Store: 1,322
Items Sold: 29
Cost of Items Sold: $32.56
Total Sales: $938.24
Highest Price Sold: $250 (junked Mercedes Benz [not on eBay])
Average Price Sold: $32.35
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $160
Number of items listed this week: 20Now we’re talking! Finally hit my short term weekly goal this week. I’ve been dying to get rid of that Mercedes Benz; it had a blown head gasket, so it was a two ton paperweight. After a return visit to the DMV to fix an error on their part, I got a junkyard to haul it away and got $250 bucks. RIP Benzo. I also took a Best Offer of $200 bucks for a vintage Bionic Woman raincoat on Saturday, but I’m still waiting for payment. I have my bionic fingers crossed. Even without that sale, it was a MUCH better week than the last few.
I caught a quick glimpse of the eclipse this morning in the backyard. We only had a 62% coverage here in SoCal, so I wasn’t quite as excited. My favorite part was the strange silvery light it gave. Very dreamy.
I had to give up a few days of listing this week, but one in particular was well worth it. I made a special dinner for my girlfriend and I to celebrate our fourth anniversary. Cocktails, then Hatch green chile enchiladas, made from scratch. I hope everyone has access to those wonderful chiles. They are a treasure.
OK, back to listing! Enjoy your days off, Jay & Ryanne!
*Paul*
