[Sharyn]

From past podcasts, Jay and Ryanne do not put their store on vacation mode because it prevents sales during that time and the visibility of listings is slow to come back.

lbt606 is saying that that doesn’t happen. He/she is able to continue selling while in vacation mode.

I’m confused now. Is there a better way?

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Sharyn.

[Sharyn]

I confirmed with eBay, and Letter does not include tracking.

[Sharyn]

Wow, that was fast! Thanks! I did see this one, but, for some reason, thought it wasn’t right. I’ll take a closer look.

[Sharyn]

Also – Jay mentioned in a previous podcast about an “if-then” website, or something like that. It is a site where you can say IF x is listed on Craigslist and is within y miles of my home, THEN notify me via email.

What was that site? I tried to google it, but I didn’t see anything that looked right.

[Sharyn]

Week of Apr 23 – 30
* Total Items in Store: 753
* Items Sold: 13
* Cost of Items Sold: $41.04 + $0 Commission
* Total Sales: $270
* Highest Price Sold: $42 Brass Barometer
* Average Price Sold: $20.77
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $20
* Number of items listed this week: about 35

It was an average week for me, but very inconsistent. Sunday and Tuesday I had no sales, but Wednesday I had four. Weird.

COGS is a little high because $25 were two items we owned.

I went to an auction of mostly new items on Tuesday. They sell overstocks, refused shipments, returns, etc. I keep going, but never buying anything. They sell stuff by the piece, so if there is 100 items in a lot and the bid is $2 each, then the total is $200 plus buyer’s premium. So, I have to decide whether it is something I can sell and make good money on, then I have decide the max price I’m willing to bid and make sure that I can obtain the correct amount of cash to pay, and, lastly, I have to determine if I have enough room to store the items. So, I hesitate at bidding. I’m planning on selling low cost/low interest items at a flea market next weekend, so I’ll have more room. My goal is to make room so that I can actually buy something at the next one. These auctions happen every one to two months.

I did buy a 10 volume set at my local library’s book sale called The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia published in 1899 & 1900. Two of the books have issues and, in general, there is wear, but the pages are still in good condition. I’m working on listing them now.

[Sharyn]

What a disaster! Thank god for small miracles that her kids were not with her. She certainly has my prayers. Keep us informed on her progress.

Were the people in the other car were hurt as well?

[Sharyn]

As far as being worth it, it depends on the value / price for the item. If you list something for $10, how much would you get after it sells? Probably not worth it even if your commission was 50%. Were you to sell the Mercedes (and I’ve never sold a car on eBay), yes, that would be worth the commission. (I don’t know if eBay is the best place to sell a car or not.)

You would need to decide the minimum value you would want to sell (maybe $30?), and either refuse less expensive items or group them up in lots that at least meet your minimum.

Then you need to decide your commission rate. I do consignment for a family friend. I will do less expensive items because I am doing it partially as a favor. I decided on a commission fee of 50% up to $100 and 35% above that. For something higher than a few hundred, like a car, probably the commission should be lower. I originally set the 35% at a value less than $100, but decided that it wasn’t worth it.

I do not take the eBay & PayPal fees out prior to determining my cut, so I am really taking less than 50%. I do this mostly out of laziness. You should decide whether to take out the fees (about 13%) and/or cost of shipping supplies prior to determining your commission.

After that, as mentioned above, you would need a written agreement (to include all your decisions above). I do not have one, just agreements in emails back and forth. Another friend asked me about consignment for her, and, if I do it, I will make sure to get something written.

[Sharyn]

OK, thanks for the quick reply. Looking through eBay “help” information (notice the quotes around help), it says to print out a label directly to get tracking. It doesn’t list an exception for first class letter. Of course, their “help” information is pretty sub-par as far as websites go, so I’m not surprised.

[Sharyn]

Steve – I love that one of your dogs is named Norman, also my dad’s name!

This back massager is made by a company called Nikken. It has magnets that are supposed to help with pain. I don’t know that it works, but products from this company sell well. This was sold on commission at $40 for a family friend:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182495539810

My week was certainly boosted by a lady who purchased four items from me on the 18th. She said that she was buying for her niece who likes the color purple. This large purple purse with coordinating wallet was the most expensive item she bought at $34. My sister gave me the wallet and that family friend I keep mentioning gave me the purse, completely randomly, and I decided to sell them together.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182411648185

Here is another item on commission from that same family friend. It sold for $37 including shipping (about $4). I’m pretty sure it was purchased by one of those forwarding companies. I’ve sold to just a few, but their MO is very similar:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182428716656

On the commission items, I pay her 50% after shipping but with the eBay & PayPal fees. For the purse, I will take out some money for the wallet. It is a coincidence that this week my higher priced / more interesting items were mostly hers.

[Sharyn]

I thought that prescription medicines weren’t allowed for sale on eBay, or is this an over-the-counter med?

[Sharyn]

Seems like I was affected by the PayPal bug mentioned in the podcast. I just opened my Discover Card bill, and PayPal charged shipping to the card from April 4 – 18. I had plenty of money in my PayPal funds during that time. For some reason, it switched back to PayPal funds after April 18. What a pain.

Jay and Ryanne: Totally different subject – During last week’s podcast, you guys were talking about driving several hours to pick up some hardwood flooring found through Craigslist. I was just wondering how that went. Was it good? Did you end up buying it?

[Sharyn]

Week of Apr 16 – 22
* Total Items in Store: 753
* Items Sold: 13
* Cost of Items Sold: $7.95 + $33.95 Commission
* Total Sales: $225 ish
* Highest Price Sold: $40 Nikken Magnetic Massager
* Average Price Sold: $17.30
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: about $20
* Number of items listed this week: 4

I had a pretty decent week of sales, but this weekend really slowed down. I had no sales Friday or Sunday. I also had a $100 offer on a leather bag Thursday, and the buyer did not pay. When I contacted him yesterday, he replied that he made a mistake, so I cancelled the sale.

I have not been listing much because of my vacation two weeks ago, and I was playing catch up this past week. I’m now ready to get back to listing, listing, listing!!

[Sharyn]

I was away for last week, but I did well despite the extended shipping. Since I came back with 21 items to ship, I decided to do a video, which covers more than just the past week.

Here is a bit more on some of the more interesting items:

This is a Harmony Kingdom collectable box, artist made in the UK with crushed marble. My brother-in-law gave me his whole collection, so I paid nothing (although I owe him and my sister a meal) and sold for $87.80 (came to $95 with shipping). It was worth more than the others he gave me because it was signed by the artist at the 1998 International Collectible Exposition in Rosemont, IL and had a limited edition.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harmony-Kingdom-1998-Tin-Cat-Cruise-Special-Edition-Signed-IL-ICE-Event-TJROSE98-/182381403532?rd=1

I have showed up to an overstocks and unclaimed merchandise auction a few times, but I’ve been hesitant to buy anything. Last Fall, I ended up buying 25 bags & purses for $2 each from a guy who won the lot. Up to this week, I had only sold one of them. A few weeks ago, I changed them all to Best Offer and removed free shipping, and they’ve started to sell close to my original asking prices. I’ve been selling more purses and wallets in general right now, so the Spring season must also be helping sales. This one is called a flight bag:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182342788078

This massager with magnets from a brand called Nikken was sold on commission for a family friend. All the items she gave me from Nikken have sold very quickly. I had it up for $89, but took the offer of $40 when I found that most of the used ones went for around that price. The ones that were higher in price were new in the box.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182495539810

[Sharyn]

How do you set it up / select it on eBay?

[Sharyn]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a PayPal micro payment account?

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