[Sharyn]

Steve – I can’t imagine walking four large dogs at once! I used to have a doberman/German shepherd mix, and he would just pull me all over the place. I think your dogs are much better behaved.

This was listed as a dream catcher at auction, but I found it was a three-tier mobile. I had it up for $119 for over 6 months with no movement and few views, so I decided to take the $59 offer when it came in. I bought it for about $2. Funny thing, the lady mistakenly gave me the feedback “This night cream is awesome! I would recommend it for everyone !!!!”.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182326531741

I bought the contents of a linen closet in an online auction for the minimum bid of $1. Many of the items were tablecloths in very good condition. Tablecloths don’t sell quickly, so I list them competitively. However, I could tell that this one was special. I did list it higher, but I think not high enough. Bought for pennies, sold for $16.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182507972342

I bought this pretty chalk message board also for the minimum bid of $1 at an online auction. The seller called it wall art, so I think that he wasn’t aware that it was a message board. It sold for best offer of $35. Unfortunately, I under-estimated the dimensions & weight and had to pay ~$5 addition shipping.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182470576043

[Sharyn]

I notice that parcel and priority are out of whack ONLY when the item is particularly long or heavy. I think that your package might come in the long category. Just my guess.

[Sharyn]

Most websites have links to their investor and press pages at the bottom of the home page. eBay, for the same reason one can’t find many of their user guides and policies under “Help & Contact”, has those links hidden several clicks down.

Anyway, here is the link to their press information site, and an email address can be found under Media Contacts on the right. Who knows, if you email them and give a short summary of what you are looking for, perhaps they will arrange for an eBay employee to be interviewed. Make sure to send in a link to ScavengerLife.com so they can see that your business is serious.

https://www.ebayinc.com/stories/press-room/

[Sharyn]

Steve – I had a GSP sale recently where the issue was my fault. I called ebay, and they said that they would not get involved. I decided to just refund the buyer because I did not want to pay for the low cost item to be shipped back.

Don’t you think that the buyer would expect that temples would have been replaced on vintage glasses? Did you describe them as original? Perhaps your buyer would be willing to keep them if you gave him a partial refund; otherwise, you would have to pay for international shipping.

I assume that you wouldn’t have him send it to Kentucky first.

[Sharyn]

Thanks for your advice Linda! I listed all the fabrics this weekend, and I used your suggested words. We’ll see how things go. The kitchen craft fabric (with the apron, oven mitts, etc.) has 5 views and 2 of those put it on their watchlist. I know that it doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but I bet that one sells quickly.

[Sharyn]

Week of Mar 25 – Apr 1
* Total Items in Store: 760
* Items Sold: 6
* Cost of Items Sold: $3.75 + $4.50 Commission
* Total Sales: $151.45
* Highest Price Sold: $59 Native (American?) Made Hanging Mobile
* Average Price Sold: $25.24
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
* Number of items listed this week: 20

This was a crappy, slow week for me, but I had two decent price sales that made my average price sold look pretty decent (for my typical week, at least). Yesterday (Sunday) I had four sales, so I’m hoping things are back to normal.

I did not buy any inventory, and I don’t think I will for a few weeks. I’ll be seeing my parents next week, and they have a couple of boxes of stuff and two NWT travel golf bags, so I don’t really need to buy anything. HOWEVER, I’m seeing a number of upcoming online auctions in my area, and I’m sure I’ll break down at some point.

In the meantime, I’m catching up on my backlog and then to the death piles (there is a difference!).

[Sharyn]

Steve – Last week, folks on the forum asked for more dog video, so this week you gave them extra time. That is so awesome!

A few of my sales from last week:

My mother was cleaning up her jewelry box a few years ago, and I grabbed this Nintendo watch. My mom enters sweepstakes as a hobby, and I think this was one of her winnings. It certainly isn’t something she would buy for herself! It sold for $55:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Nintendo-64-Mario-Watch-Transforming-Image-Leather-Band-Lenticular-Sasco-/182435441175?rd=1

I had sold this game globe right before Christmas. I ended up taking it with me on my year end trip to visit my sister so that I wouldn’t get dinged for a late shipment, but the buyer never paid. This time it is going to Canada, and I just received the email that it just left the global shipping center. I bought it for $5 at a moving sale, sold for $40.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Space-Saver-Game-Globe-Poker-Dice-Chips-Made-in-Italy-Classic-/182404703508?rd=1

I thought that this vintage dart board plus darts wasn’t all that exciting, plus shipping was high because it is heavy and big. In fact, I didn’t think it would sell, and I had been planning to sell it at a flea market in May. I bought it in an online auction for a dollar or two, and it sold for $21. Shipping was also $21.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Target-Board-w-9-Darts-Man-Cave-Decor-18-034-Diameter-/182326320059?rd=1

[Sharyn]

When I first started selling on eBay, I watched a video where some guy explained that the largest box that would fit into a flat rate padded envelope was 8″x5″x4″. I was not able to find that particular size, so I bought 7″x5″x4″. These are also great for first class items that I don’t want to put into a poly mailer.

A box in the range of 12x10x8 or 10x10x10 is a good size to have. Of course, you should order the smallest quantity of each Priority mail free shipping box to have on hand.

I have issues when I have something with a long width and/or length, but not particularly high. I don’t seem to find good boxes for those. I always have large boxes on hand that I size down to fit something or that I can take apart and wrap something in.

[Sharyn]

Week of Mar 19 – 25
* Total Items in Store: 744
* Items Sold: 11
* Cost of Items Sold: $12.75 + $18 Commission
* Total Sales: $243.00
* Highest Price Sold: $55 Nintendo 64 Mario Watch
* Average Price Sold: $22.10
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $30
* Number of items listed this week: 40

I had a slow week. I sold only 11 items this week, but I sold 16 items per week for the last two weeks. I did have a couple higher priced sales, so my average price sold wasn’t too bad (for me, at least).

I had taken tons of photos the previous week, so I listed all of that inventory on Monday and Tuesday. The rest of the week was spent doing some work on the house with my husband, who took Wed-Fri off. He is also off today, but I will start photos and listing tomorrow.

I did do one online auction this week, but that is it. I need to pay off all the auctions I did in February, and I have a bit of a backlog, so I’m keeping my purchases down for now.

Great podcast – I think I’ve improved my “imagination” since starting on this eBay voyage about a year ago. I will be taking some of my slower, lower cost, learning-as-I-go-along purchases to a flea market at the beginning of May. This will make room for new inventory, which I am buying as a smarter and more imaginative (I hope) eBay seller.

[Sharyn]

I can see that being a good plan especially if the hotel doesn’t refuse it like they are supposed to.

In addition, if you have him saying that he purchased this item while staying a limited time in a hotel, I think that you would have a very good case to remove any negative feedback should that happen.

[Sharyn]

To me, the time from 3/21 to 3/25 seems quick for first class mail from CA to FL. The buyer should have seen a window of dates that the item should arrive within, not a specific date. I think that there is a way to look up that window, but I’m not sure how to do it. Either way, you are not responsible for how long it takes the post office to deliver something.

However, to deal with this buyer, first class shipping can be refused and it will not cost anything to get it back to you. Someone did this to me once, and the package had tracking getting back to me the same way it had getting there. So, tell him to go ahead and refuse the package as planned.

You can refund him the payment when the package is back in your hands. You shouldn’t have to refund the shipping.

[Sharyn]

Nice that Steve was able to sell a winter hat. I bought a few hats recently from an online auction. I expect not to sell them until the fall, but you never know. I have some fur ones that I haven’t listed yet. I think I’m going to take them to a fur store to determine exactly what they are made of – I think maybe mink.

Here’s a few of my interesting sales from the week:

I bought a book lot from an online auction that included a number of Freemason books. A few were old code books specifically for NJ. It all looked like gibberish to me, but someone in Texas bought two of them. Here is one from 1947 that sold for $18 – I paid $1 each:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182484332211

Here is an embarrassing mistake for me. Just some nice espresso cups, not very valuable, but I forgot to add shipping. I must have started with a listing that had free shipping, and did a sell similar. Now that my store is more established, I’ve decided I can stop with the free ship, but I’m not going to change what I have already listed. Anyway, I ended up a dollar or so in the hole, but I did get the feedback “best deal ever!”. yup.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182484811868

From a box lot of brass and metal stuff at an online auction, I paid $1 for this brass pedestal, sold for $29:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182372298648

A potential buyer sent me a longish note saying that she had a bad experience with an experienced seller who didn’t pack a platter very well and mis-measured it as well. She wanted me to ensure her that it wouldn’t happen again, but she did want to buy mine, a 14″ Stangl platter. I sent her a note (of similar length) explaining how I double-box and so on. She did buy it, it somehow got to her house from NJ to GA in two days, and she sent another message about how great it was and how well I packed it (whew!). The point is that some sellers are a bit crazy and some are very reasonable, and you just have to use your common sense as to whether to interact with them or not.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182444399260

[Sharyn]

Link did not work for me. Could you repost? Thanks!

[Sharyn]

Week of Mar 12 – 18
* Total Items in Store: 715
* Items Sold: 16
* Cost of Items Sold: $13.45 + $0 Commission
* Total Sales: $256.01
* Highest Price Sold: $29 Brass pedestal
* Average Price Sold: $16
* Returns: 1 (chipped candlesticks)
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $30
* Number of items listed this week: 3

This was a normal week of sales for me. I did get an unusual number of sales Monday & Tuesday, which I assume was due to the snow storm. However, this past weekend was slower than normal. My kids had snow days Tuesday & Wednesday, and then a delayed opening on Thursday. I was still able to take lots of photos, but I didn’t get much listing done.

The chipped candlesticks were my fault. Thankfully, it was a small sale and I didn’t lose much. I did have more questions, concerns, and general contact with customers this week. One guy got freaked out when his package didn’t show up in his mailbox with his other mail, but tracking showed delivered. I submitted the issue through the USPS website, he talked to his apartment management, and then the package showed up. Not sure what happened, but he had expected me to refund him if the package didn’t show. I’m glad it showed because I didn’t want to have to explain that I wasn’t responsible for USPS mistakes.

I went to a live auction on Thursday. Because of my recent spending on inventory, I was very careful with what I bid on. I felt that the good stuff was bidding up higher than normal. I was happy with only spending $23 there. I also bid on a few lots on an online auction, but I only ended up with one lot. I couldn’t believe some of the prices. Sometimes people really get caught up in the bidding. Maybe bidding will level off when garage sale season is in full swing.

I did get that message from eBay regarding my two listings that have videos. I figured that I would hear about it in the podcast! Love the “trademark” on eBay Scammers and Grumpy Buyers in the writeup!

[Sharyn]

My biggest sale yet was $179 for a Clair Murray hand hooked rug. I paid about $40 for it in an online auction.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182470003696

A few years ago, my aunt and uncle decided that they had been paying to store the belongings of a few deceased relatives for way too long, and they invited my sister and I to take what we wanted. There were a few items I took that I decided I really didn’t like, such as this Royal Copenhagen vase. A transfer shipping company bought it for someone in Japan at $95.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182126116785

I bought this vintage lighted beer sign in an online auction lot. It has a tube in the beer mug with liquid that bubbles, which still works. I paid about $13 and sold for $65.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182481904806

This Michelob tray came from the same lot. Bought for $2, sold for $20:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182483090791

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