Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I listed 19 items last week.
I am currently visiting family so I will have to post my challenges on the weekend. I forgot to bring that with me.
I don’t have much interesting from last week to show.
I did have someone send me pretty low offers (about half price) on several costume jewelry pieces I had listed, but then purchased (but didn’t pay) for one sterling chain/necklace at full price. I assume that was a strategy because I fell for it and decided to accept the offers based on the one full price item.
The other thing was that several months ago, there was a challenge (over in Amatino’s posts) to list your own items. I sold two items that I’ve had for decades, but really don’t need, a rain stick and two matching Asian style pillow covers. Both sold with some profit over what I originally paid, but not huge money makers. I really should clear out some closets that way, but it is too much fun to buy inventory.
Anyway, happy holidays everyone! Ditto what @antique-frog said. We may celebrate different holidays, but we all have much in common.
@Amatino – Are these challenges supposed to be specific to a month? I originally thought that they were non-specific, and you picked one at the beginning of the month. On the other hand, the few that I’ve put down so far are for specific months. Just want to clarify. I probably read your explanation too fast.
@Vintage-Lacy – My death piles are only getting low because I haven’t been buying. Because prices are higher this time of the year, I usually do back off, and this year more than others. Part of it also is because my part time job is busier than before. This will all blow up in the early spring when prices get better unless I can really tackle those death piles at the beginning of the year (actually, I’ll make that part of my January challenge).@Amatino -I’ve told you this before, but you appear to be falling apart. One body part at a time :). Good luck to you, and I hope you recover soon.
I listed seven items this week. I’m getting down to the bottom of my death piles, but what is mostly left is electronics. Stuff that has to be tested or trashed. It seems to multiply and never go away.
Week of Dec 12 – 18
Total Items in Store: 1387 eBay, 31 Etsy
Items Sold: 17 eBay, 2 Etsy
Cost of Items Sold: $19.25 + $49 Commission
Total Sales: $250.63 eBay, $40 Etsy; Includes fees but no shipping
Highest Price Sold: $29 for Vtg Glenfiddich Whiskey Pitcher
Average price: $15.30
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 7Just selling small value items, but higher quantity. Still getting more Etsy sales than any of the past years. Maybe because I now have more feedback, but most likely because of their off-site advertising.
I’m going crazy at the moment because I cannot find an item that sold over the weekend. I’m going to have to notify the buyer, but I’m pretty bummed about it. Been looking over an hour now; got to just let it go.
Go to your account settings, shipping
Under “Offer carrier-specific discounts for buyers” see if you are offering the eBay discounted rate to buyers or the normal rate. I offer the discounted rate to be competitive. If you use the regular rate, you will buy the label at the discounted rate and make some money off of it.
So, then you actually made money on the shipping because, in your original post, you said he paid $27? Perfect.
I also noticed a mistake I typed; I meant to say shipping calculator, but I said shipping calendar 😳
I didn’t sell anything terribly exciting last week, but I can talk to a few. In my first or second year of eBay selling, I bought a box of ceramics at an auction, I think for $5. Several pieces were handmade stoneware signed by the artist, still new/unused. I listed them separately, but was getting very little interest. I finally grouped them up into two listings and let them sit for years. Both listings finally sold to a buyer who happens to have the same last name as the artist. Are they so ugly or uninteresting that I had to wait for someone to buy their family’s art? Maybe they are things people don’t use much (covered bowls, single candlesticks, etc)? Maybe I priced them too high? I don’t know, you tell me. The total came to $45.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184688335279
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184688335348
This is a collection of slipper socks from various airlines and one from a ship. Sold for $20. Something I received for free.
This is a long standing issue with the way eBay does multiple purchases. I have not heard of a good solution other than using UPS or FedEx to lower the cost, but you already thought of that.
One thing that comes to mind is that I notice bigger increases in cost when one measurement is very long, and 29″ seems like it might be increasing the cost more than it has to be. I wonder if you play around with the shipping calendar and try different sizes keeping the longest length to 24″ or 18″ or whatever, does it help?
The other thing to think about is, if a buyer asks you for a discount when buying more than one item, would $13 have been reasonable (the increase in shipping)?
Week of Dec 5 – 11
Total Items in Store: 1398 eBay, 32 Etsy
Items Sold: 13 eBay, 1 Etsy
Cost of Items Sold: $11.75 + $9.50 Commission
Total Sales: $204.75 eBay, $25 Etsy; Includes fees but no shipping
Highest Price Sold: $47 for lot handmade stoneware bowls & candleholders
Average price: $16.41
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 6For a number of years now, I stopped bothering with auctions in mid-fall, sometime in October/November, knowing that the prices were going to be too high. Prices usually don’t normalize for a month or two into the new year as well.
Every once in a while, I will follow an online auction, mark the things I’m interested in, and wait to see how it ends. However, I’ve not bid on anything for quite some time, and I’m sort of glad because I’m making progress on my death pile area.
If, for some crazy reason, I don’t get to bidding on anything before I run out of stuff to list, I have plenty of my own things to sell. For instance, my childhood stamp collection is sitting tight waiting for me at any time.
I listed six items. They were all the wood frames I’ve mentioned in the past. Four of those listings are for groups of frames. A big plus is that these greatly help clean up the area where I have all my unlisted stuff.
For anyone thinking about listing a group of frames rather than one at a time, the key word is “gallery wall”.
We are very much enjoying the Matching Pajamas. It is a darker of a medium roast, and it is smooth. I think one of the best I’ve tried of the Broad Porch coffees.
Steve – Someone created a post asking about selling a MAC1500 for parts/repair. You should weigh in.
@Anyone – I’m the only one posting on Steve’s videos. Come on!! You all can’t be that busy!!!
Ends up I posted my interesting sales from last week on Steve’s previous video. Apparently, though, I skipped some interesting sales from a few weeks ago. I’ll list them now.
I bought this old portrait photo during the beginning of my eBay journey, so 2016 or 2017. I was able to research the photographer and date it to around the 1940s, and I thought it would go for good money. I’ve lowered the price a few times over the years, but it finally sold for best offer of $16. I paid less than $1, but I didn’t make the profit I thought that I would.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184813928704
Someone gave me this gift of an awesome frame when I graduated college. After some time, I decided not to display the photo any more (you know, when the kids arrived). It sat in a box for years, and I decided to check on its value. I was surprised at the value, so I decided to sell it for the right price. That price was $180 on best offer.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184813928687
