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Because our days are different, no, we don’t have a listing goal per day (for example, these past two days I’ve been at my contract accounting gig).
But we have a goal of 125 listings per week. Once we get our photographer dialed in, we are wanting 160-200 per week.
Edward: I agree with that part (that the buyers don’t mind). And since we are GSP now, our shipping cost is still only to get the item to Kentucky.
We just consider that if the shipping cost is too much of a percentage of the overall price, and it is something that has a chance of being returned (some flaws, clothing, shoes, etc.), then we risk having low margins if we have to pay for a return. It is not a game changer, but we do think it through.
So if it is a $50 item, and the cost to ship is $20, we know that we are taking a risk of losing money if we have to pay for return shipping. If it is new, or in excellent condition, and not a high return risk, then no issue. But if it has some flaws, not in great condition, and we have to deal with a potential INAD case (or we go to free return shipping, something we are implementing now on clothing), then we consider the risk.
So, not an avoidance of risk. But we manage that risk.
Ingle, love your rules. We go heavier than 2lbs, but we do consider the shipping cost in our thoughts. I don’t like the Shipping Cost to be too much compared to the sale price in case of returns.
So $4 shipping on a $20 item, no problem. $4 shipping on a $10 item, problem.
My biggest rules are 4x Sales Price to Purchase Price, and at the WORST, $10 profit (and even then, only if I get desperate for inventory). These are on items that are quick to list (clothes). Veronica has raised her game on this since her items are longer to list, so her line is higher than $10 these days.
STR is Sell Thru Rate, which is a measure of how fast your inventory is selling. You calculate this for the week by dividing your number of units sold by your number of listings to get the percentage. This will give you the weekly rate. I like to do things in a monthly fashion, so I use a monthly rate (# of sales for the week / 7 * 30) / # of listings.
ASP is Average Selling Price. Just that, the average selling price of our items (not including shipping).
The two combined provide visibility into how fast items in your store are selling, and at what average price. The two also help me to understand the difference in Sales to past periods. It is the typical Price vs Volume Variance that I have done for years. If sales are up, are they up because we are selling more, or selling at a higher price? Right now, our sales are up Year over Year, but we are down on volume but up on price. So we are selling slower, but for a higher price.
Week of 3/25-3/31
Total Items in Store: 1,878 (Up 27% YOY)
Number of Items Listed: 127
Number of Items Sold: 69 (Down 7% YOY)
(Includes 0 Etsy, 0 Bonanza, 0 TrueGether)
Weekly STR: 16% (Down 6% YOY)Total Product Sales: $1,778 (Up 17% YOY)
Cost of Items Sold: $474
Highest Item Sold: $160 – Brooks Brothers 1818 Madison Saxxon Suit
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Troy wins the week and Troy leads the year at 8-5.eBay Clothing
# Listed: 1,105
# Sold: 39
STR: 15%
ASP: $24.22eBay Shoes
# Listed: 117
# Sold: 7
STR: 26%
ASP: $30.19eBay Hard Goods
# Listed: 656
# Sold: 23
STR: 15%
ASP: $27.06Etsy Hard Goods
# Listed: 148
# Sold: 0
STR: 0%
ASP: $0March 2018
Number of Items Listed: 366 (Forecast: 400)
Number of Items Sold: 321 (Forecast: 436)Monthly STR: 17% (Forecast: 23%)
Monthly ASP: $25.30 (Forecast: $21.10)
Total Sales: $9,161 (Forecast: $9,204) – Increase of 11% YOYContinuing to see an erosion on our STR, but we are seeing stronger ASP as an offset.
Photographer is working out well, and we will keep working with him to help improve our weekly listing quantity. This upcoming week will be light, as I’m working my accounting gig and then driving to visit my oldest son in college.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Amen. I do the same. I like it most like you do, to run What-If scenarios and what I can expect the changes to make in our financials.
Yeah, I loved that when I first saw your User Name…
I’m on the other side (Star Wars), so I guess I could go with Jawa…or Neimoidian… 🙂
I’ll go you one better… when you get tempted to make offers on what people are CURRENTLY WEARING…
The thought HAS crossed my mind…never acted…but I have had those thoughts… 🙂
Anytime Doubly. You have been through a lot, and you are an inspiration on what it takes to succeed.
Grit, Determination, Perseverance.
JKL baby…
(Just Keep Listing)
Jay & Doubly: Agree with you both.
Tim Chapman (Mr Customer Service on eBay) used to be 100% auction. He is now about 50-50. Even he knows sometimes the BIN is better.
Doubly, you are correct with what you need to have the auction work best.
We are in the Denver area and would be interested in hiring a lister/shipper very soon. Let me know directly if you are interested at tsatterf@yahoo.com
Found out that my dog-eat-dog is low. A guy in the suits sections asked my opinion on a sport coat. I told him the truth and looked for a better one for him, showing him details that you should look for. I looked to see the size and cringed when I saw the label…I would have loved to sell it.
But it fit perfect and he thanked me and left happy.
I smiled and kept picking…
Doing items in batches so that each day is different. Monday is Admin and prep day, getting items ready for photos and listing. Tuesday-Thursday is listing and photography (now, that is just the ones that I am doing rather than our photographer). Friday and Saturday are for shopping.
How not to burn out? Outsource what you hate. Our new photographer is doing well, and we are excited about what that will mean for the business. Then it has me explore how to hire the lister/shipper, so that we get out of some of the grind and focus on the buying and QA of the listing.
