[Sharyn]

I assume your post title is referring to “garbage man” and “janitor”?

My first thought was reseller, but I decided to check if this topic was covered online. Here are some of the better titles I found:

vendor, merchandizer, merchant, broker, representative, envoy, distributor, purveyor, supplier, retailer, Value Added Reseller, Hosting Partner, sales specialist, Customer Service Specialist, Sales Manager

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reseller

[Sharyn]

So true! I don’t use sugar or milk in my coffee or tea, so I forget that many people do!

[Sharyn]

I was thinking salt cellar at first as well, but I thought that then the spoon would be smaller.

The thing about a tea bag holder is that you usually don’t need a spoon for tea.

[Sharyn]

I was thinking that it was a server for a sauce, like cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving – or maybe a spice like red peppers for pizza. How wide is it?

[Sharyn]

You can do a refund directly through Paypal. Log into Paypal, click on the line item from the original purchase, and then click “Issue a Refund”. You can give a partial refund by typing in the amount you want to give back. There is a place to add a message to explain the amount “I am refunding your purchase minus shipping …”. If there is any question in the future, eBay will be able to see the refund because it is associated with the original purchase.

I’ve done this before when someone did not open a return (although, the buyer has always contacted me before). Seems like you’ve already gone down the path of having them open a return, but you can possibly keep this in mind for the future.

[Sharyn]

I think that the glass face is contemporary. The auction lot of stuff I bought it with was contemporary, so I’m pretty sure it is as well. It was one of those things I would have liked for myself, but I had kept some other items from that auction, so I didn’t allow myself to keep anything else! Similar sold items were in the $20 to $40 range, so I think that I got a decent price. The few that sold for more than $40 had an artist signature, which mine did not.

[Sharyn]

Here are a few of my decent sales the past week:

This is one of my commission items – designer sterling silver pendant. I accepted her best offer of $65. The buyer is absolutely over the moon about it! Nice when that happens.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182422666657

I had a few offers of $20 for this glass face with stand, but I held out for a $35 sale. I paid about $1 for it in an online auction.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182322576052

This sugar and creamer was from a live auction last spring. Paid about $1.50, sold for $28. The buyer was looking for other items in this pattern, but this was all I had.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182219435341

[Sharyn]

Week of Jan 29 – Feb 4
* Total Items in Store: 632
* Items Sold: 13
* Cost of Items Sold: $30.14 + $51.70 Commission
* Total Sales: $367.37
* Highest Price Sold: $80 Vintage hand carved wooden chess set
* Average Price Sold: $28.20
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
* Number of items listed this week: 30

Very happy with my average price sold this week – for me, this is quite high. I noticed that three items that sold this week were from an online auction in September. That auction had great, quality stuff, which is definitely a “pipeline” for me.

I ended up not buying anything this week, which is good because I have much to list from a live auction purchase from last week. I was going to bid on an online auction, but there was some exceptional stuff there which drove up prices on the just good stuff. I passed, but some other good auctions are ending this week.

The wood chess set was something I bought at an estate sale for $20 and it sold for $80 a day after I listed it. Very happy with the profit and quick turn around.

[Sharyn]

I grew up in the South Hills – Upper St. Clair. My parents sold the house I grew up in, but my sister and her family now live in that town. I moved to New Jersey, but I drive out there once or twice a year. My parents grew up in Squirrel Hill.

[Sharyn]

I like that pantry box. I remember the video where Sheldon showed a firkin box (love the name), which he sold for hundreds of dollars. By the way, I don’t think that Sheldon has created a video or posted on this forum for a month or two. I miss his videos. I hope he is doing well.

Here are a few interesting sales of mine from the past week:

Jackie B Kennedy necklace that I sold on consignment for $89. My friend bought a lot of stuff from QVC, and this is one of them. These are based on jewelry Jackie owned:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182416362390

A buyer asked me to sell her these hand-painted candles for $30 including shipping. Once the sale went through, I found I could send them in a Regional A flat rate box, and I was able to get back close to my original asking price:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182322332890

This is a very low priced sale of $10 including shipping for four vintage pins. The more interesting pin is a hula girl with a foot missing next to a palm tree. I found the feedback from the buyer to be really cute: “The amputee hula girl is a charmer.”
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182435346292

[Sharyn]

As far as postage stamps go, Costco also sells them at a discount. They must buy them “in bulk” from the post office and then resell them. Perhaps that is the same thing that the eBay seller is doing. By the way, the forever stamp actually went back up to 49 cents about a week or two ago.

I am also trying to increase my average sale price. On Sunday, I sold a vintage wood carved chess set for $80 that I listed on the Friday before. I paid $20 for it. It isn’t reflected in my numbers shown below because the date range stops on Saturday. The buyer sells chess sets on eBay. I think that he is going to repair some of the issues with the board, and then resell it for a lot more. More power to him! I’m going to follow him and see whether it shows up and for how much.

Week of Jan 22 – 28
* Total Items in Store: 615
* Items Sold: 19
* Cost of Items Sold: $9.30 + $48.70 Commission
* Total Sales: $406.60
* Highest Price Sold: $89 JBK Necklace; honorable mention: $95 total for two sets of vintage software manuals to the same person via GSP
* Average Price Sold: $21.40
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $37ish
* Number of items listed this week: 30

The $89 necklace is a consignment, so my COGS will be higher for that item. The two sets of software manuals were for Autocad from the late 80’s. I got those for free at a free-cycle event in town. The guy gave me a best offer for both that were only $4-5 less that what I was asking. I couldn’t accept fast enough! The manuals have made it past our Kentucky buddies and are on their way to Canada.

Overall, I had a very good week.

[Sharyn]

oops, I meant to reply to your comment with my message below.

[Sharyn]

I have not had a hacker buy something, at least, not that I’m aware of. The only issue I had was from a hacked account telling me that someone was plagiarizing my listings. It looked suspicious to me, so I didn’t do anything. Later, I received a standard email from eBay saying that the message was from a hacked account.

How did you know that the first sale was a hacker, did the real person from that account contact you? Other than the fact that you were suspicious of the second sale because of the first one, how do you know whether a sale is from a hacked user?

I’m not sure why you have to change your password if the buyers are the ones being hacked, but, of course, it is a good idea.

[Sharyn]

Great new digs, Steve! I hope the new space helps your business run smoother.

A few of my interesting sales:

I am selling some items for a family friend on consignment. She has a number of magnetic necklaces that are supposed to help with well-being. I have no idea how effective it is, but this one sold for $45 including shipping:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182418562542

I bought a ton (a cache!) of placemats in September, and many of them were beaded. I noticed that some were damaged or had the backs coming off. I decided to lot those together for art projects or repair, put them in a large flat rate box (23 pounds!), and price with shipping included:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182369961279

Here is an oil painting that I bought in May for $2, sold for best offer of $50:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=182172345296

[Sharyn]

Since I buy much of my stuff at online & live auctions, I tend to get many caches of the same type of item. This can be a good thing and a huge time saver. Often, research can be shortened because what you learned about the first item you pull out applies to many other items in the same box. The first time you photograph something, you figure out what how to best to show the item, which speeds up the process on subsequent items. Then, using “sell similar” really speeds up the process of listing.

Right now, I’m looking at an online auction where several of the auction lots consist of many similar items. The previous owner obviously collected these over many years. If I end up winning any of these lots, listing will be a breeze after the first one.

[Author]

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