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Winchester: I’ll ditto Jay’s questions…
7 Hours???? wow…no…
Yeah, our thought is just to have some social time, having a drink and discussing a topic. We don’t have water coolers in this business, unless it is online, so we were thinking we could create something there.
Maybe we pick one big theme or question each time, and let the discussion go where it goes. Like Thrift vs Auction vs Estate Sale vs Garage Sale. Or long tail vs churn and burn.
ebaymom and Jay: Yeah, I’m seeing that too. Harder to find good items at a good price, and I won’t go the binning route. So while the process stays the same this year, we are looking for new sourcing spots, hoping to transition out of just where we are.
When everyone on YouTube is saying “shop the thrifts and make easy money”, that is where a lot of folks are going. And with some shops pulling the high end items looking for the bigger money, that is harder too.
Sourcing is always the biggest weakness.
I’ll second what Jay says. There is no one path. If you like your day job, even if not perfect, it is a good place to stay. Likewise in running your own ship.
If you can keep the day job and build up the side gig and that makes a happy life, so be it.
Making the life that you want is the ultimate goal. And everyone has different wants…
Totally agree on that point. My thought would be 30-45 minutes max, and only a couple of topics to discuss.
Let me do some thinking and research, and I will hit you up later to see if you are interested…
100% agree.
And our Goodwill’s are going up this year. I have seen prices rising to the point that some of the top end items that I could get at full price (during the week) I wouldn’t get now. Part of why I am looking for new sourcing opportunities. And why we are married to shopping long days on Saturday’s when it is 50% off.
Sourcing is always the biggest weakness….
PS – We had a good time with Jason T Smith last Thursday on the Google hangout. Would you and Ryanne want to do a Google hangout sometime? Reseller Happy Hour? This is a good excuse for me to learn how to do the Google Hangout software, process, etc… 🙂
Winchester: That is how LIFE SHOULD BE!!! 🙂
So, Veronica and I reread the Scavenger Manifesto, and had our own conversation about it.
Here are the items we 1000% Agree, We Second That, and We Double Down On It:
“This is not passive income. It takes hard work, which many people don’t want to hear.”
This is work. Everything you get paid for requires work. You can also look at this as investing, as you are investing your time and money to reap more money down the road (good way to think when you are sourcing). But you don’t get paid for doing nothing. Aesop had it right with the Ant and the Grasshopper…
“Open a Store on eBay / List 500 items”
If you want consistent returns, get to 500 items. Now, that is also 500 GOOD ITEMS, but get some bulk first. We see this now when we are starting our Poshmark and Etsy stores. Once Poshmark got to 500, it started to be more consistent. I’m sure Etsy will be the same.
“The key to success is bulk listing, maintaining a large <RIGHT> inventory and the ability to store all your items in an organized way.”
Agree 99%. Get efficient at listing, put your items away where you can quickly find them, and make sure you don’g lose items. Process, process, process…
Now, here is where we diverge:
“Large inventory”
For us, we don’t necessarily want a large inventory, we want the RIGHT size of inventory. What is right? Different for everyone. We want inventory that sells, not just large. Jay and Ryanne, I know what you mean on this topic, but I think it has to be clear that since you have unique items with a (generally) smaller audience that you are selling at a higher price, consistent sales can only come with a large inventory. For others, they may want or need cash to flow faster, which will keep the inventory low. And based on changing tastes, styles, and technology, this might be a requirement!
“It’s about getting outside of the Goodwill and Salvation Army shopping.”
We totally get where you are coming from here. And we see the value here as well, looking for what others can’t see. This is why Veronica is still keeping this side up (and where Troy wants to get this side bigger too…he sees the value!). But for anyone just starting out, it isn’t a bad place to start. And there is a lot of value in having items you buy for $3 and sell for $20 on a consistent basis, especially if they sell quickly, you get more money to put back in the business. So while I agree that since you guys are on the Advanced side of this, for any Beginners (or those that like consistent cash), there is value in hitting the Thrift Store and looking for quick flips. It ultimately isn’t where you want to stay forever (we are moving out of this model eventually), it is a good place to start.
“List it and forget it”
Yeah, you know I still disagree. Mostly because eBay can mess with things and your listings stop being seen. Like I say, “If your listing isn’t being seen…is it really listed?” We have just wrapped up another review session on our listings (about 3 times per year, but we had let it slide for a while), and we found a TON of places where eBay changed the categories, changed the item specifics, etc. Once we updated the listings to fit the Item Specifics again, and looked at prices again, we are seeing old stuff move again.
I’m not saying that Good Till Cancelled doesn’t work (though I think 30 Day is better), our main directive is that you should periodically review your listings to make sure they still look good, have the right Item Specifics, keywords, pricing, etc. Mostly, don’t “Forget It”, cause if you do, eBay may Forget It too…
The one area that I would add…
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!!!
Congrats on going full time! We are all behind you!
Week of 02/10-02/16
Total Items in Store: 2,675 (Up 45% YOY)
Number of Items Listed: 138
Number of Items Sold: 80 (Up 21% YOY)
(Includes 1 Etsy, 0 Bonanza, 0 TrueGether, 8 Poshmark)
Weekly STR: 15% (Even YOY)Total Product Sales: $2,595 (Up 68%)
Sales Volume Variance to Prior Year: $327
Sales Price Variance to Prior Year: $726
Cost of Items Sold: $490
Cost of Labor: $221
Highest Item Sold: $125 – Giorgio Armani Three Button Italian Wool Suit
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Troy wins the week and Veronica leads for the year 5-2.Clothing
# Listed: 1,676
# Sold: 58
STR: 17%
ASP: $31.89Shoes
# Listed: 541
# Sold: 12
STR: 10%
ASP: $33.58Hard Goods
# Listed: 458
# Sold: 9
STR: 10%
ASP: $34.25EBay
# Listed: 2,675
# Sold: 71
STR: 13%
ASP: $32Etsy
# Listed: 209
# Sold: 1
STR: 2%
ASP: $40Poshmark
# Listed: 554
# Sold: 8
STR: 7%
ASP: $36I love the Manifesto Breakdown. I’ll have to think about what ours would be…
02/17/2019 at 4:00 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 398: How To Buy or Not To Buy on eBay #57133I have used Easy Auction Tracker in the past. Used it for three years before we moved to SixBit.
I recommend it. Low cost, and keeps things in line. It links up with your store so that when items sell, it uses the SKU link between your Inventory tab of the spreadsheet and a sale, so that it reduces your inventory when you run it.
I’m a spreadsheet geek, so I loved it.
Never did Mycostpro.
Congrats Winchester! Now to to blaze your own trail!
Looking forward to following your progress!
02/17/2019 at 3:54 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 398: How To Buy or Not To Buy on eBay #57131OUCH! That was major.
02/15/2019 at 1:54 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 398: How To Buy or Not To Buy on eBay #57041Having a backlog can sometimes be a blessing!
Good luck!
02/15/2019 at 1:42 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 398: How To Buy or Not To Buy on eBay #57039SEAM: Ick.
One of my funds I put money into each month…Auto repair. I don’t have car payments (all owned outright, and tell my boys that if they ever finance a car I will scold them repeatedly), but I put money away for car repairs every month. Don’t know when, but they will happen.
Same for home repairs, medical payments, and Christmas. All things that I will need to spend on, all buckets I fill each month. Then when needed, I am ahead of it.
Then there is the self-escrow accounts: Property Tax, Home Owners Insurance, Car Insurance, and Vehicle Registration.
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