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Still faithfully listening, but haven’t participated in awhile.
Week ending 5/20
Ebay:
Total Items in Store: 14,400ish
# of Items sold: 118
Total sold: $898.90
COGS: $33.00
Sold a few $25+ postcardsI started selling on Hippostcards.com It’s the old Bidstart site rebranded. It automatically syncs with my ebay listings. It’s $15 month to list and they take about 10% of the selling price when something sells.
Hippostcard.com:
Sold 20 postcards on that site for $110.40.
So I’m over $1,000 for the week.Bought approximately 2,500 postcards from my postcard source for about $.06 each.
Thank you again. I did this in 2016, so it did show up in the month breakdown on the 1099. I’m sure paypal would think i’m skirting fees or something, and they got their fees anyway. But I’m more concerned with the IRS thinking I’m under reporting my sales/revenue. If needed my paypal report showing the transaction from ME to popeye’s postcards and my credit card statement showing a “purchase” by me from popeye’s postcards would hopefully make it clear that I gave the money to me, myself and I.
Thank you for the quick reply T-Satt. A follow-up question if I may. I understand that you are not a tax expert and I obviously don’t hold you to anything.
Let’s say my paypal 1099 reports $21,000, but I know that $1000 of that is my “loan.” I’m using Turbotax Home&Business and under Business Income where it asks for 1099K income, would I put in $21000 which is on my 1099 and then deduct that $1000 out under expenses or would I report only $20,000 on the line for Business Income. You mentioned to NOT report it as revenue. I’m not sure how to go about not reporting it as such. Either put in the amount lower than what is on the 1099 or take it out elsewhere. Thank you again for your advice.
You can usually do much better on the stamp price on ebay, just gotta keep an eye out. Right around $.40 each is common. I just bought some for $.34 each. Of course I’m buying them by the thousands. I saved almost $150 per 1000, and they’ll last me just under 2 months.
I can list about 40-50 postcards in an hour. 300 a day is very doable for me, if I’m home alone with no other distractions.
Many years ago I had someone use photos from a website I ran on a WW2 submarine. They were selling something related to the sub and they actually used my picture url to link my pictures directly into their listing. Right or wrong, I changed the pictures they used on my website to…well…very graphic pornography and those pictures showed up in their listing. I then reported them to ebay.
Jan 1-7, 2017
Store #1
Total Items in Store: 13,448
Items Sold: 140
Cost of Items Sold: $26.07
Total Sales: $1,104.74
Highest Price Sold: $79.99 petrified wood bookends ($8 at GW), highest postcard $77.00 Beach Haven NJ Sand Dunes Pre 1920’s
Average Price Sold: $7.89
Returns/lost in the mail: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 75
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Store #2
Total Items in Store: 51
Items Sold: 9
Cost of Items Sold: $18.64
Total Sales: $306.33
Highest Price Sold: $125 Antique Servants Shop Spring Bell (paid $1.49 at GW)
Average Price Sold: $34.03
Returns: 1 Sold a plastic model kit that was missing parts, gave complete refund.
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $49 at Goodwill
Number of items listed this week: 15Good postcard week with 270 auctions that ended on Saturday. Still finding good things at Goodwill. The Petrified wood bookends and the antique bell were great finds.
My Q4 return rate was .06% (1 out of 1663). If there is a problem I just refund their money and tell them to not bother returning the card that only cost me $.13. In this case I sent the wrong card. I told the buyer to keep the mis-sent card and I shipped him the correct one. So not really a return since they ended up keeping the wrong item and did receive the correct one.
Dec 25-31, 2016
Store #1
Total Items in Store: 13,428
Items Sold: 96
Cost of Items Sold: $12.48
Total Sales: $586.57
Highest Price Sold: $24.99 (artist signed Archie Gunn Canada Hockey Woman)
Average Price Sold: $6.11
Returns/lost in the mail: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $75 (box of 800 NJ postcards)
Number of items listed this week: 390
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Store #2
Total Items in Store: 44
Items Sold: 3
Cost of Items Sold: $8
Total Sales: $120.85
Highest Price Sold: $59 (crossbows/Catapults game pieces)
Average Price Sold: $40.28
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $112ish
Number of items listed this week: 45Slowest postcard week I’ve had in months, which happens when I don’t have auctions going. Next week should be better since I got almost 400 auctions up this week.
I’ve been buying inventory at Goodwill for the 2nd store. I just happened to be in the store at the right time and checked the neckties which I never did before and came away with more than a dozen high end ties. I only recognized the Ferragamo name because of your podcast. Quickly sold the Ferragamo tie for $40 (probably could have held out for more). I had actually left some ties on the rack and came back the next day to look through them again. I had dismissed a Hermes one the day before because the name wasn’t on the label (just their logo) and then I saw the name on the small end. It needs to be cleaned, but it’s a $100 tie.
I’m not sure how long I’ll experiment with this 2nd store because I am already hating how much storage space this stuff takes up.
Hi, if by penalize you, you mean will it affect your Top Rated Seller status, then yes it would since you are not uploading tracking for that postcard. Postcards are my main seller, I sell about 500-600 a month and I use cardboard mailers for all postcards that sell under $25. Cards that sell for over $25 I’ll ship in bubble mailers with a plastic postcard holder.
But ebay will not penalize you. Shipped is shipped. The problem with shipping with no tracking is you will have no leg to stand on when the buyer says they never received it. That happens to me about 1 in 1000 times. The USPS either lost it or it’s a dishonest buyer. It’s the cost of doing business.
and just a quit tip on stamps, buy them on ebay. I routinely pay about $.35 each instead of the $.47 at the PO.
Hope that helps
Week Dec 18-25, 2015
Total Items in Store: 13,234
Items Sold: 122
Cost of Items Sold: $42.65
Total Sales: $1,235.34
Highest Price Sold: $175 signed concert poster Sabrina Carpenter (Disney star)
Average Price Sold: $10.13
Returns/Lost in the mail cards: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $165 box of 1000+ postcards
Number of items listed this week: 0New experimental store (an old ID I’ve resurrected)
Total Items in Store: 5
Items Sold: 1
Cost of Items Sold: $1.49
Total Sales: $30
Highest Price Sold: $30 (1969 Pride Creations Sailor Bank)
Average Price Sold: $30
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $62
New Items Listed: 5For the week in my postcard store my top 3 money earners were all non-postcard items. The Sabrina Carpenter poster was part of a meet and greet package for a concert I took my daughter to. I sold a lot of My Little Ponies for $75 and a Pampered Chef loaf pan for $75 both picked at Goodwill for a few bucks. Top postcard was a view of the “new” Traffic Control Tower at Newark Airport from the 1950’s which sold for $41.
Talking about experiments: I resurrected an old user ID and will be listing my non-postcard items under it. I’ll also relist the non-postcard items (except books) from my main store to the new one after they end.
I’ll have 50 listings a month to play with and I’ll see how that goes, and how badly time spent in that store cuts into my postcard store. But at this point I can let my postcard store ride for a few
months and still bring in $2-$3,000 a month. I hate the thought of taking 12 pics of an item, storing bigger items and spending time packing, but I hate the thought of leaving $50 bills sitting
on a shelf for someone else to find even more.Week Dec 11-17, 2016
Total Items in Store: 13.319
Items Sold: 124
Cost of Items Sold: $17.36
Total Sales: $866.63
Highest Price Sold: $56 1940’s Shelton CT Commodore Hull Bridge
Average Price Sold: $6.99
Returns/Lost Cards: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $62 (continuing with Goodwill flipping experiment)
Number of items listed this week: 10I talked about it in my interview, but I ship 99% of my items for free and build the shipping costs into the selling price. For the most part my shipping costs for a normal postcard is about $.45. To be competitive it makes sense for me to offer free shipping…….until you consider that I’ve sold over 5,000 items so far this year at $.45 a pop ($2,250 in free shipping). I would have to sell over 320 cards to make up that amount of free shipping. Might have to try an experiment and charge $.50 for shipping.
Hi, sorry if you posted this awhile ago, I am just now seeing it.
As far as postcard books, I’d recommend any of the price guids by JL Mashburn, you can usually get used ones for pretty cheap on amazon. They would help with identification, but ebay would give your the best going price.
I would date the Russian cards from pre 1920 (most likely 1909-1912). If you have an iphone (not sure if android has the same app) download google translate. One of the neat functions on the app is that you can pick a language to translate into English just by using the camera on the phone. It’s like magic. I’ve used Russian to English for cards I’ve sold before. It’s also a great help with cards in Chinese or Japanese. If you haven’t seen/used it before here’s a video You Tube Google Translate
Pre WWI Germany was THE place for people to have their postcards printed because their printing skills were much more advanced than any other country. I’ve seen dual language cards sold in the US before, but not for a particular store like the ones you have. Looking at them again and I think they were sold overseas because most cards sold in the US would have a stamp box area printed on the back.
Truthfully, the ones from France are pretty common. What I look for would be ones that were actually postmarked from France from that time (or during the war) that had an interesting message from a soldier or had “passed by censor” rubber stamped on the back. The numbering on the cards lead me to believe they came from a set. If you see postcards that have perforations down one side, they had been removed from a larger booklet of postcards, and I don’t believe they have much value at all. Sometimes postcard sellers will trim off the perforated side if they did it with scissors you can tell and the card is pretty much worthless.
Not sure if I answered your questions.
After I explained what I thought happened she wrote back, thanked me for the explanation and hopefully that is that.
@ Jay I use Sixbit to list. I only have to change the title and the 2 pictures in their offline listing template…click save…click duplicate…repeat. I can get a new listing completed in less than a minute. When I have all the listing done for the week (usually 200-300) I’ll schedule them to upload to ebay using the Sixbit program (free using sixbit, $.10 if you use ebay to schedule). I’ll submit them to start around 8pm on a Sunday and space them out at 1 minute intervals.
I’m also using sixbit to print my mailing labels and send shipping notification emails. I still use ebay for relisting ended items. Sixbit will do that for me, but when I look at the number of “unsold/not relisted” items in the Sixbit program they don’t jive with the number of “unsold/not relisted” items showing in Selling Manager Pro and I’m afraid of listing thousands of duplicate items. I just haven’t taken the time to completely figure it out, but I need to because relisting 13,000 postcards, 200 at a time, takes too long. And, no, I don’t like “good until cancelled” because I feel that your item gets lost in the search program.
12/4-12/10
Total Items in Store: 13,142
Items Sold: 156
Cost of Items Sold: $23.40
Total Sales: $1,103.58
Highest Price Sold: $75 1940’s 1 Gallon Stoneware Whisky Jug ($2.49 @GW)
Average Price Sold: $7.07
Returns/Lost in the mail cards: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $50 box of postcards/pictures kind of a bust
Number of items listed this week: 350ishSold a stoneware whisky jug for $75 that I bought at Goodwill for $2.49. Great profit but my god I hate packing. The time it took to find the right sized boxes, wrap, double box, etc I would have been able to pull & pack 30 postcards.
Also had some nice artist signed postcards by an artist named Beatrice Mallet (French I believe since all 3 cards went to France), that I bought for $.25 each and sold for $16, $18 & $33. nice profit on $.75.
