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Yes, you can add local pickup to a business policy with shipping. I’ve done it a few times!
I did not know this particular artist; it was a gut feeling. I’ve dealt with horse racing paintings before. Several years ago, I bought one with a tear in it, and it sold pretty quickly. I think I just took a damp rag and wiped it down. Probably took me 10 – 15 min.
@craig-rex – Customer feedback definitely keeps me going as well!! I’ve had a few recently on my packing of breakable items which is something I definitely focus on.
I paid $6 for two paintings this past summer. They both were basement kept and in dirty condition. They cleaned up nicely, although I still have to repair one. This other one ended up being a painter known for horse racing paintings. The buyer was a bit of a negotiator, but I was willing to bring the price down to $125.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18670516843
Last year, I bought a set of Rorstrand cups and saucers. I found that the yellow ones were priced much higher than the rest. I sold one yellow cup and saucer for $140, and I have two more still listed. I also sold a set of two blue cups and saucers for $80.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186557566215
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186777378388
At some point in the late 1980s/early 90s, I decided to buy my own ski equipment. It was quite an expense at the time, but it saved me in the long run compared to renting. However, it has been about a decade since I’ve skied, and I’m not sure I’d be excited with downhill now that I’m getting up there in age. In any case, the equipment these days is quite different, and I think I rented the last time I went. I’m pretty thrilled that I’ve cleared out this set of boots for $35. The rest of the skis are going into the auction – I just want them out of the house.
Zero on eBay, but I’m up to 82 on my MaxSold auction. That’s 19 since last week. Not bad!
I haven’t done much on the taxes front, and I need to start!
Yes, the shipping is daunting, but I’ve got lots of experience on it now.
I pack up plates or bowls with bubblewrap between each item and pack them in a box or wrap with cardboard with little room for anything to move around. For mugs or things that don’t stack well, I put cardboard between each piece and again make sure that they aren’t going to move around and hit each other in the box. Then I collect all the smaller boxes and fit them together with bubblewrap between and put them in the bigger shipping box. I fill any holes in the box with packing materials. I want to make sure the individual boxes don’t bump against each other.
For that sale, I shipped in two boxes. Not that I couldn’t fit them in one box, but this was heavy, thick ceramic, and I didn’t want each box to be very heavy.
The feedback from the buyer: The items I bought were packed really well. The items looked brand new and arrived without any breakage. They were shipped and arrived on time. I appreciated the quick response I got from the seller and she gave me combined shipping and discounts on the order.
I assume you’ve gone to Account settings – Return address? I thought that would be all you had to do.
I looked in my business policies, but the return policy does not have an address. However, if one would make a change, I think that the business policy is supposed to do it to all your listings. Do you have those set up?
Last week, someone asked me to combine salad plates, bowls, and mugs from the same pattern into one listing for her. I gave her the multiple item discount I had set up in those listings plus an additional 25% for a total of $120 plus shipping. Pretty good for a set that I bought in an auction for $5 or so.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186953783416
For $51, I sold this Williams Sonoma set of tea cups and dessert plates. I had already accounted for the full COGS on that auction pickup, but I paid just a few dollars for it. I have a hard time saying whether a tea cup is valuable without looking it up.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186171459547
I had priced this very old telephone quite high for two reasons. One is that it has two buttons on the bottom that appears to be for two lines, and none of the other ones I found online had that. In addition, I was able to determine that one of the lines did work. I would have had to rewire the output in order to test the other line, and I did not want to do that. Thing is, the name on the sale was for a Broadway play opening mid-March, and this is definitely a period piece! I paid about $6 (although all the COGS for that auction has been used up), and I sold it for $89.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186647723082
Nice thing about prop companies is that they don’t haggle! I’ve sold for others before, but they don’t always use the show/play in the “deliver to” name. About a year or two ago, I sold something to “For All Mankind”, which is an Apple TV program. I only know that because I asked the buyer. And I’ve sold for the Roswell cable (I think) TV show to someone who posted on this forum several years ago. I’ve also sold a very old sleeping bag and a set of Tarot cards to prop companies, but I do not know where they were used.
My daughter pointed out that For All Mankind has won an Emmy, and she interviewed some local screen writers who won an Oscar for their movie. If this play wins a Tony, then we will only need a link to a Grammy for an EGOT! Well, it’s a tenuous link at best, but fun to think about 🙂
Nothing on eBay, but I’m up to 63 on my auction lots, so about 15 from last week.
If you were curious what happens when a seller focuses on an outside auction and ignores their eBay store, you have come to the right place. Note: I have been doing a end/sell similar to about 100 listings almost every week. My store is shrinking due to me removing listings for the auction.
Week of Feb 2 – 8
Total Items in Store: 1622 eBay, 43 Etsy
Items Sold: 4 eBay
Cost of Items Sold: $0 + $8 Commission
Total Sales: $63.85 eBay
Highest Price Sold: eBay $19 for Set 4 Corelle Winter White Dessert Bowls, (tie) Pendant Gold over Sterling Silver Cluster Pink Gemstones (on commission)
Average price: $15.96
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 0I listed zero again, but it is as expected due to my work on setting up the auction. However, I was kept very busy with my career job and getting ready for a Super Bowl get together at my house. I am up to 48 lots, so only six created in the past week.
VT – Stay strong, and I hope everything works out.
Amatino – Sending healing thoughts your way! Thank-you for keeping this thread going. I appreciate being able to talk about progress even when the progress is nothing to talk about!
Another thing I forgot to mention, we bought a new dishwasher recently. The old one has been carted away, but not before my husband removed all the insides for me. I will get at least $70 for each rack. I haven’t priced out the rest yet, but I’m sure I’ll get a few hundred dollars in total. Right now, I just need to clean them up, and then I’ll list them with the others when I’m done with the auction.
Last summer, I bought this antler handle carving set with similar items in a MaxSold auction. I listed it at $40 which was a bit high. Someone offered $25, and I countered at $30. When he counted again at $25, I declined. I’m accepting low offers on items I’ve had for along time, but this one is not that old. Later, he contacted me and said that he would accept the $30. In cases like this, I reprice the listing and tell them to purchase within 48 hours.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186549366853
When I first bought this Oriental style lamp, I listed it over $100 based on similar looking lamps. I don’t recall my research at that time, but this one didn’t have what it took for that price. After a few price reductions over the years, I took an offer of $40. This was just me trying for the sky, but still got a good value for my dollar or so investment. It was a pain to pack.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/186836474350
These mailbox covers were listed at the beginning of the year. One of the last things I listed before focusing on reducing my inventory. Sold for $20. I bought it in an auction lot with other items, but I don’t think these were the main pull, so paid a dollar or two.
I haven’t been scavenging since the fall since my goal is to reduce my inventory and hold an online auction. However, while going through my bins, I’m pulling out items that are not listed in my store. Most I’m just throwing in the auction anyway, but there are a few that I’ve decided to put aside and list after the auction.
I have two candle holders that hold three thin candles each. I think that I put off listing them because I wanted to find candles that fit, but I think forgot and threw them in a bin. I did not use Google lens when I first researched them, but now I see that they are Blenko ice candle holders. I should get about $40 or so. They are similar to this one (which was $20, but I have two and the one I have uses thinner candles):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/156107203271
I also found a Starbucks Washington DC mug that will sell for about $20. I think I bought it last summer, so maybe I just forgot to list it.
I found a lamp that I grabbed years ago from in front of someone’s home. The lamp didn’t work, so I took it apart to list just the base. I might have had concerns about listing it because it shows a topless woman. It is art, nothing raunchy, so I think it will be fine for eBay. I can also rewire it now because I have the parts.
@Retro-Treasures-WV – If you clean the disk, do you have to test it as well? Especially if these were scratched disks, you would need to make sure that they are now readable. If you have to take the time to do both, then is it worth it? On the other hand, this is coming from someone who is trying to reduce inventory. I like selling electronics, but I don’t like testing. I also don’t know how much you think you can get for each disk. If the money is there, then I think it is up to whether you enjoy the process. I know that these will sell better than the vintage stuff that I have in my store.
Anyway, I’ve pulled about 80 items from inventory compared to last week. I have about 42 lots created for my auction, and I want to have about 100. I’ve got lots to do still, but I am on my way. In the end, I would like to have about 800-1000 items in my store, but I will then start listing again.
Sale were fine considering that I’m pulling stuff rather than listing.
Week of Jan 26 – Feb 1
Total Items in Store: 1641 eBay, 43 Etsy
Items Sold: 13 eBay
Cost of Items Sold: $26.08 + $30 Commission
Total Sales: $290.24 eBay
Highest Price Sold: eBay $40 for Asian Style Porcelain Table Lamp
Average price: $22.33
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 0
