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Yep, I have people who know I will take shipping supplies so they save them for me. I only buy a bag of air pillows to cover when I don’t get supplies in. I also hunt for packing peanuts and the heavy duty bubble wrap sheets. Just started seeing those more often in packages, but they are great for thinner packages.
I use the “bread bags” from the grocery store. I found the gallon size is great for t-shirts or smaller sweaters. I can get a box of 75 for $1.70. Just look for the store brand twist tie bags, not the ones with the zipper. The ones I have are marked with the warning labels as well. I found them on Amazon and eBay, but they aren’t as low cost as what I get at the store. Maybe it is a resale opportunity!
I do buy the air pillows as I use them often. I order on Amazon, but these are the ones I get found on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Uline-Pre-filled-by-Ippie-LLC-8-x-4-Air-Packing-Pillows-300-Count-14-Gallons-/122228992205?hash=item1c756a68cd:g:1pYAAOSwux5YLRNw
Are you still Active duty? If so, the college GI Bill money probably isn’t what you expect. The tuition portion is paid directly to the school so you never see it (at least mine was). The BAH is only for those who have separated from AD and who are taking 7 credits or more a semester. So you need to poor a good chunk of time into 3 or so classes even if they are just fluff classes. Besides BAH the only other check is the book stipend which is $1000 per year and a chunk of that will be gone if you end up having to buy books. I’m not trying to talk you out of getting some college under your belt, but if you are ONLY doing it for money, your time may be more profitable working on the online sales. Seems like it is doing well for you. The BAH check is nice, but again, you still have to do some work for it. Some of my most time intensive classes ended up being my “fluff” classes!
01/04/2017 at 6:47 am in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Souvenir photo, Easy Bake Oven, Civil War Reenactment boots, Under dash 8 Track Deck, Coffee pots #9529Love the sale of the Brogans! My husband does civil war reenactments so I am familiar with the cost of the clothing and shoes. It was a good sale and about what the sellers at an event get for a new pair. The big heavy wool frock coats are also quite expensive to buy new so if you ever run across one of those for a few bucks, pick it up! One thing to remember about reenactment gear is that most of these items are still made in small shops since the overall demand isn’t high.
Yes, the pressure difference if the liquid wasn’t in a pressurized hold would cause the container to explode. I think most planes are fully pressurized or people wouldn’t be able to fly on a commercial flight with any liquids in their suitcase and you sure wouldn’t want to put any live animals in the cargo hold either. Since most cargo planes are the same models as passenger planes, I’m guessing that they are pressurized the same. I know for C-130’s (military cargo/transport plane) it is fully pressurized as you will see soldiers flying in the cargo hold with equipment. And if you think back to the movie “Cast Away” Tom Hanks’ character was also flying with the cargo which would have needed to be pressurized for him to do that.
And who knows, maybe they will send it on a cargo ship!
I may be mistaken, but I think non-flammable liquids can go via air. I know perfumes need to go ground if they have alcohol in them, but not if they are alcohol free. Saline is rather harmless as it is just salt water.
I’ve noticed the price difference on the Staples website vs store also. I think most places will match if you ask.
I have shipped hats in the USPS Priority 7x6x6 boxes so the 8x8x8 should be more than enough room and keep it under a pound. I think the boxes are 3-4 ounces.
Yes, glad to hear that you are starting to recover from the accident. Hopefully you will get some great rest and great time with the Grandkids then be able to get back to your store! Love the huge sale on fabric!
I like it when Jay says it is all about owning your own time. I still work full time and have financial obligations that I need to clear up before I get to set sail on my own ship 🙂 Every time I buy an item it is like I’m picking up a brick that will get put into a path, when I sell that item, I get to put the brick down on the path that will lead me to my goal.
Store Info:
(Main/T-Shirt/Postcard)
Items in store: 169/82/11
Items sold: 2/1/1
COGS: $0/$1.99/$0.05
Total Sales (less shipping): $43.98/$19.99/$4.99
Highest price: $34.99 Plush moose rug/$19.99 NWT Knicks Shirt/$4.99 Large Letter Gulf Coast Postcard
Avg Sales Price: $21.99/$19.99/$4.99
Net Profit: $35.21/$12.72/$4.43 – $52.36
International sales: 0
Returns: 0
Customer Issues: NY Knicks shirt customer messaged and said shirt shows delivered, but not there, asked for replacement. I messaged back that I don’t have any more and directed them to call the post office to find out if it is just at the wrong address. We will see where this goes.
New listings: 0/0/2
Money Spent on new inventory: $4.71 (went thrifting with my mom)Last week I had off from the day job so my time has been sucked up by doing projects on the house. Managed to get the tile work done for the fireplace hearth, tile in a half bath laid, all painting done, second floor floors sanded and ready for polyurethane (today’s project), and started to put down the underlayment for the tile in the master bath. By the time I quit for the day I am so tired I haven’t wanted to do much listing, but I need to get a few things up this week on each account to help keep things active.
I have a spouse who isn’t my eBay partner and he does have his frustrations with the whole clutter and exploding inventory parts of this, but other than that he has been supportive because it is something that I enjoy doing and there is a little bit of added cash flow into the household. He has his hobbies that I am not active in, but neither of us put these things before family needs. I feel for anyone who does this as a hobby and has a partner who just doesn’t want them to do it. My son is actually the one who comments about me spending too much time on eBay so I try my best to get him involved in the process and scavenging, but it can be difficult to keep him engaged in the process when it is just working on the computer.
T-shirts can be great for quick listing. I started a second store for just t-shirts and I just get a “stack” of about 10-20 ready when I have an hour or two for taking pictures. My process is to get them washed and recorded in my inventory spreadsheet (comes in handy if you have over 20 t-shirts) and then I take photos of a batch of shirts all at once. Right now I just put them flat on the floor with some daylight bulbs in my lights. Once those photos are done, I fold and stack the shirts next to my computer. It is easy to take a shirt off the top of the stack and get it listed in about 5 minutes or less. My listing is quick when I take the time to get all the other stuff completed before hand.
I picked up an Underwood typewriter on FB once for $20 and finally sold it for $50 on eBay, but I think it ended up being closer to a wash on cost since packing took a good amount of time. I have an ad out on the everything free page to get rid of some kids toys (yes, I know they could go on eBay, but I don’t have the time or interest in listing them over my other death piles) and I’m not sure it was the right decision over just donating the box to the thrift store. I know they don’t do toys often so I didn’t want to give them something they wouldn’t sell.
I keep an eye out on the buy/sell/trade groups, but I haven’t seen anything where the asking price makes sense for flipping on eBay.
I think I would have questioned the switch as well. Every once in a while I have a buyer message me and I have to wonder just how bad of an experience they have had with sellers in the past because they seem almost shocked when I do what is right in the interest of my buyer with no hassle. She probably didn’t expect to be called out by someone so quickly.
My Goals for 2017
1. Catch up on death piles.
2. Get Store #2 (t-shirts) up to 1000+ items.
3. Get Store #1 up to 500+ items.
4. Bring monthly sales up to a $4000 average.
5. Get my son more involved in the scavenging side and maybe have him do a few listings for himself. He is 8 right now.
6. Organize my eBay areas. Set up new home office with photography area and build out my storage and shipping areas.
7. Get better at tracking my expenses so tax time is easier. -
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