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Yep, most likely. I could definitely see us at some point being at $5k per month in Inventory Purchases. At a 4X, that would be $20k in revenue.
That is the goal…
Inglewood: Excellent example.
for me…I do them both. Yeah, you may have to sit for a low profit, but it is only 50 cents (almost free) and the listing takes no time at all.
And a 3X on the jersey? At that profit $40+, all day. Less return and more capital needed, hence what started this conversation), but the profit per time spent is what you are looking for.
PS – on the inventory question…yeah, we definitely crack $1000 per month…
Like averaging over $2500 per month for inventory…
Jay: Amen on the choices. Hike Your Own Hike. But also look at others, see what works, and add to your process. Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.
I wish shirts still went for $25. Those were the days. Now, other things are getting the love while shirts just provide the capital to fund more purchases.
I would love to hear from others as well. If we could get a third party, it would be great to do an Online Happy Hour with you and Ryanne on one screen, Veronica and I on another, and a third party to provide even more flavor. Pour your favorite cocktail and talk shop for an hour!
It would be like going to a reseller bar on Friday nights…only like true scavengers…we don’t pay bar prices for our drinks!
tpk86: “So I would say the only safe way to do a local pickup is to have them pay with cash.”
100% agree. That is our business practice. Purchase on the site (so fees are properly paid), but pay cash on pickup.
Jay: I have seen some Google Hangouts where muliple people get on at once. Maybe that would work. I haven’t done it, but I will on Thursday (Veronica and I will be on with Jason T Smith on Thursday).
I think that is really part of it. You guys figured out how to grow your inventory but still be able to have money from the business to pay for your personal lives. You had some advantages (warehouse was essentially free), and you went after the low dollar high return items, but those items are generally long tail, so when you first started, how did you get enough cash every month to pay your bills? I know you have mentioned you did auctions that were low dollar, but maybe they were a high turn rate so that helped you build cash quicker.
While we are on the higher rate but lower margin side, this is something we are just now really getting out of, but we still have to pay attention to, since we have to pay for outside warehouse, our COGS are more expensive, and our personal cash needs are higher (kids and a mortgage).
I think this is where folks like Inglewood and Winchester are at this point. Needing to spend for more inventory, more space, yet still pay for the personal stuff.
Inglewood: Amen brother. How to manage growth is the key. Many successful businesses can’t handle how to grow.
This topic can be talked about at long length. I would love to hear Jay, Almasty, and others discuss on how they managed the cash during the growing times.
Jay: Maybe we need a Reseller Happy Hour sometime. We do a group discussion on how we all did that. That could be fun!
ebaymom: I had the same trouble when I first started with lighting. I could only do it during the day, and the only place that worked would have a shine I had to deal with off of the wood floors. So being able to photo at any time of day is critical.
Two options I would recommend. Look on Amazon and eBay for Cowboy Studio lights. They are a good place to start for lighting. From there you can look to move up, or move up now, depending on your budget.
Option B: Hire a photographer that has their own studio. This has done wonders for us. May be a bit of a search, but if you can find it, it is huge.
ebaymom: I’m sure that Veronica especially can relate!
A lot of great ideas already sent, and I’ll second the “chunking” piece. Doing things in batches is way more efficient of you set it up right. Do a batch of just photos, then a batch of just listings, etc.
My question would be what are your free times to work? With that many kids and that range, you would have to schedule your time out very well. Maybe getting up before the kids, or staying late after they went to bed would be good to carve out some blocks of time to crank out the work, then you can focus on family time the other times of the day. Just depends on your schedule.
Keep it up!
Jay: Yep, starting to hum. About $300 per week the last couple of weeks. Been on a string of selling at least one item per day on PM right now, about 10 days in a row.
I have been seeing how it proves the numbers true. If you want to sell something every day…have a 500 item store. Once I crossed about 375 on PM, the string started…
Having an eye on your capital needs for sourcing is important. It is an investment for sure, but you have to know how much it will cost you and how long it will take to recoup the cost and cash in the profit.
If everything is cheap (like J&R get), then it is less of an issue up front, but if it is also long tail (like J&R), it takes longer to turn that cash back into more cash, and you have to store the items, and maybe invest as much money (2000 $1 items vs 500 $4 items).
All in how your business is run…
Winchester: I have definitely been there. When Veronica and I have looked at different areas to move to, one of the things we do is plan a couple of shopping days to get a sense of what the prices are and what we will find.
If I can’t find inventory there…no deal…
Kelly: You are 100% accurate on that. ASP is up 23% YOY.
That is what the Price Variance of $488 represents.
Current Year ASP: $32.50
Prior Year ASP: $26.32
Current Year Sales Units: 79($32.50 – $26.32) x 79 = $488
The Volume Variance is the increase in sales units YOY:
Current Year Sales Units: 79
Prior Year Sales Units: 56
Prior Year ASP: $26.32(79 – 56) x $26.32 = $605
Current Year Sales: $2,568
Prior Year Sales: $1,474$2,568 – $1,474 = $1,094
$488 + $605 = $1,094So, our week had $1,094 more sales revenue than last year, $488 was due to higher prices and $605 was due to more sale volume.
Week of 1/27-02/02
Total Items in Store: 2,120 (Up 18% YOY)
Number of Items Listed: 124
Number of Items Sold: 78 (Up 41% YOY)
(Includes 4 Etsy, 8 Poshmark, 0 Bonanza, 0 TrueGether)
Weekly STR: 13% (Even YOY)Total Product Sales: $2,568 (Up 74%)
Sales Volume Variance to Prior Year: $526
Sales Price Variance to Prior Year: Up 488
Cost of Items Sold: $605
Cost of Labor: $238
Highest Item Sold: $250 – New HUGO BOSS Aamon/Hago Suit
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Troy wins the week (FINALLY!!!) and Veronica leads for the year 4-1.Clothing
# Listed: 1,332
# Sold: 59
STR: 17%
ASP: $30.61Shoes
# Listed: 428
# Sold: 12
STR: 12%
ASP: $42.72Hard Goods
# Listed: 360
# Sold: 4
STR: 4%
ASP: $31.11Etsy
# Listed: 179
# Sold: 4
STR: 10%
ASP: $53.64Poshmark
# Listed: 400
# Sold: 8
STR: 10%
ASP: $34.2402/04/2019 at 1:31 pm in reply to: Regional Rate A is now more expensive to ship than a 2lb priority package???!?? #56388For us, if it is over 2lbs, it is cheaper to use Regional A, and that has still held true this year (though I will do some more double checking).
The main issue is the distance. Regional A and B cost more if going a long way than if close. So for us in Colorado, we do well on Regional A since we are centrally located and not going coast to coast.
Check the distance next time and that may be the deciding factor.
PS – We use ShipRush to ship, which SHOULD be the same as eBay’s rates, but we know that eBay has had issues here before…
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