Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi Ryanne,
Loved to browse the insta account. Some great properties at really affordable prices. I was stunned! I started following the account, just because it’s something I started to like doing recently – looking at real estate oportunities and pondering the possibilities. Not ready to act on it yet or maybe ever – and certainly not planning to move to the US :).
Regarding my sales, following a few months – since march – of a steady flow of well distributed over time sales, the last 3 weeks the pace seems erratic. It’s either crickets for days or some serious flurry of sales.
(Context: I am mainly a Etsy seller and only have ~200 items listed with limited multiples so the “flurry” must be put in perspective – 37 orders in total the last 30 days. Some orders comprise several items.)
Perhaps it’s a vintage Mario Valentino logo?
Could be a hit with the Japanese market.
Hi, just listened now – so funny that you mentioned me.
There is definitely a lot of scavenging to be done in all of Scandinavia. Awesome Mid-Century Modern stuff there and a culture of no waste so things aren’t discarded to landfills – people tend to buy and sell second hand a lot, I feel. Lots of charity shops, online auction platforms that work really well, flea markets, etc etc
That being said, you have to be willing to spend money to make money though. Most people won’t give away their goodies for a dime… unless it’s really for charities to make money out of it.
It is definitely possible to sell on ebay.com while based in Europe. I do, but I prefer ETSY (buyers pay a premium and fees are lower).
I think there is scavenging to be done anywhere on Earth especially if you have access to a global market. It all boils down to knowledge and information – being smart enough to know where there are arbitrage margins – whether big or small – to be made.
Here are some tips that I find work well for me:
Take good photos and use up all the 10 that you are allowed to upload.
Don’t bother staging photos if that’s not your thing. A clean white background is fine.
I put in a detailed description of the item (measurements, colours, weight, looks and style, designer, age, years in production, etc) and its condition. I disclose any flaws if there are any.
I always send a message when I receive an order and tell customers what to expect – when I’ll be shipping, how long it should take in transit, making people comfortable with how well I’ll pack, etc
In the beginning, set lower prices than the competitors, to make sure you get some sales and feed back.
Put in the work, be patient, and results will start to appear.Hi,
I sell mostly on Etsy but also dabble on Ebay.
Fees are lower on Etsy than Ebay.
Buyers at Etsy are more willing to pay a premium for items that at Ebay.
Etsy is going pretty well for me as I don’t mind waiting a bit longer for buyers that are willing to pay more for my vintage designer items.
Even though Ebay generates a lot more traffic than Etsy, Etsy’s traffic has been growing significantly (e.g. Asia has become a big market for me there).
Even though the handmade side of business is more well known, people do searches on Google that lead to Etsy items and I guess that drives a lot of sales. You can even buy as a guest.
So, as a seller that prefers Etsy, I say… go for it.
Good luckHi!
I am Portuguese and I live in Lisbon so maybe I can help telling you about my experience as a customer buying stuff that gets stuck in customs. I had that only happen with packages that arrive via postal services (not with DHL or such).
There is a letter that is sent to the buyer with all the information regarding the package that is being held at customs and what to do to release it. I then log in the postal services website and fill in a form and upload the receipt from the online purchase. Then, you get information on how much it will cost you to release the item from customs. Customs process your request and inform you via the online platform that the item is being released. When the item is delivered, you have to pay customs cost to the person who makes the delivery and that’s it.
It is a bit annoying but that’s life. 🙂
I guess people that aren’t familiar with buying online or bureaucracy could find the process a bit overwhelming, but that’s on them 😀 I guess it should be possible to go to customs in person, but I’ve never even thought of that.
I hope this helps.This is totally anedoctal, but I know a Belgian guy in his late 50’s that has recently moved to Portugal that throughout his life in Belgium sold but mostly amassed a great collection of stuff (mostly from antique dealers, local markets and estate sales – that’s what he told me). His plan is to spend the next years living off of this cache of things by selling them in a brick and mortar store in Lisbon.
He also told me that Belgium is a wonderful place for sourcing vintage and antique stuff.
I guess that goes to show that there’s stuff to make a profit from wherever you are.
Regarding sourcing, that’s my main challenge. I’ve made a collection of what I’ve shared here in the forum before – please find it below.
I am absolutely convinced that anyone with the adequate mindset can make a living reselling anywhere in this world. It’s all about access to stuff, some money to start with, a good eye and information assymmetry.
– I hardly have any free time to scavenge in the wild (there are some street markets with interesting stuff but a bit outside my preferred niche) and there aren’t that many opportunities here (no good thrift or charity shops). I know there are people/ businesses that buy whole estates, but I’ve never looked into that – that’s way out of my league for now – time, investment, work and space wise
– Portuguese goods that are really well made and worth selling aren’t known/ have no branding to it, but they do sell (just take longer than the ones that are easily searchable online)
– Items that people value anywhere in the planet are high priced here – people just don’t give that stuff away in massive quantities for sure!
– I live in an apartment and don’t have much free space to store or time to pack big and clunky stuff.
– So, in my case it all boils down to somewhat high value items, with an average profit margin of 50% to date. I focus mostly on mid century designer glass/ ceramic that are somewhat collectible but not really unique or high end and I source 90% online, taking advantage of ebay auctions from sellers in Germany, UK, etc that are fast movers, Scandinavian countries local online platforms where my international customer base doesn’t tread (haha), etcI use mostly Tradera (Sweden), DBA (Denmark), Huuto (Finland), ebay.de (Germany).
You do have to be very thorough and skim through a lot of listings on your searches, as most people do know the value of things and they have already bothered to write listings, take photos, etcShipping from these countries is very expensive, but it costs almost the same to ship one or several items, so I usually bundle several items from the same seller to dilute shipping costs. Most people don’t accept Paypal and you have to trust that you’ll make a hefty bank transfer and you’ll get your stuff afterwards. Should you be scammed, all you would be able to do would be to leave negative feed back on the selling platform. That being said, I do trust people and the bad experiences I’ve have no real impact on the grand scheme of things.
Regarding Etsy as a platform and comparing it to Ebay, I initially loved their quite low fees and buyer’s politeness and willingness to pay a premium for things.
However, Etsy’s fees have been steadily going up ever since the company went public. But I find there’s also more investment that translates into traffic being generated by Etsy, so that’s kind of fair. All in (listing fees, advertising and fees over gross sales+shipping) Etsy’s fees are around 10% of my gross sales. Still significantly better than Ebay.
I totally agree that I’m not into reselling just for the money – hence my post today on all different kinds of rewards I reap from this experience 🙂 – but I wouldn’t do it if it didn’t make any money. It’s all part of the equation. And making money is hard work in my country. Average pay per month (gross) is 1300 USD and taxes are quite steep. I’m paid way above average but still… I can certainly use the money
Regarding the expression “side hustle”…
I find it really interesting the way some words and expressions become so loaded with nuances in understanding and morally/ lifestyle/ even ideologically charged.
I can totally see Jay’s point in disliking it as “work” and “putting in the effort” is what he values the most. No shortcuts. It is sort of a life’s ethic mantra. An expression such as “side hustle” seems to stray, in his view, from this ethic and devalues one’s efforts. I had never thought of that in that way.
I have/had an understanding of “side hustle” perhaps in the light of my own experience – having a full time corporate job, I still do work hard “on the side” on reselling. “On the side” because that’s on top of my job that provides the income for everything I need and that is my first priority.
Childishly, I feel kind of badass for doing something that is unusual on the side (at least in my circle of mostly high paid or at least white collar corporate jobs) and that is all my own. And the expression “side hustle” kind of has that flavour of something that is a bit off the beaten track.Thanks for these conversations that shine a light on what’s in everyone’s minds.
Also thanks Jay and Ryanne for making this such a great and healthy space for everyone.
Exactly. People in Scandinavian countries pay high taxes, agreed. But what they get in return provides so much value – safety and happiness even (these countries consistently rate the highest scores in people’s satisfaction with their lives) that the overwhelming majority of people agree that’s the way to go.
If a country is rich enough to ensure that everyone’s basic needs (health, education, safety from full blown poverty…) and more can be met, it would seem crazy to me not to do it.
I had no idea Carhartt had such a different brand positioning in the US. Here in Europe Carhartt is quite expensive and worn by kids that want to look the cool streetstyle/ surfer/ skater part. Of course that’s just a look – these kids may have never used a skate or surf board 😂
I use mostly tradera (sweden), dba (denmark), huuto (finland), ebay.de (germany).
You do have to be very thorough and skim through a lot of listings on your searches, as most people do know the value of things and they bothered to write listings, take photos, etcShipping from these countries is very expensive, but it costs almost the same to ship one or several items, so I usualy buy several items from the same seller to dilute shipping costs. Most people don’t accept paypal and you have to trust that you’ll make a hefty bank transfer and you’ll get your stuff afterwards. Should you be scammed, all you would be able to do would be to leave negative feed back on the selling platform. That being said, I do trust people and I haven’t had any bad experience yet
Yes, I do buy used Scandinavian items from other European countries to sell. Although items are vintage, I focus on items in perfect condition. If I find an item isn’t in perfect condition upon arrival (I buy online, so surprises do happen), I’ll sell it quickly by setting a price that just about covers my costs.
I don’t buy in bulk, but I do buy new old stock in original boxes whenever I find it (multiples available in bulk are unicorns in my niche).
I am always on the look out for items I’ve sold before and that done well – it helps to have very similar listings already written. However, I always photograph all the items even if they are similar to ones I sold before, so that I can say that photos depict the actual item being sold. I also measure, weight, include many photographs and describe thoroughly the items.
