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IndySales: That is a great way to do things. Monthly numbers are definitely one of the best time frames to use, as things smooth out a bit over the days and weeks and it is better for getting solid averages. I use the monthly numbers myself for forecasting for that reason.
I like to see the weekly numbers as it lets me know how the month is shaping up, and I like to see how each week compares to that same week in past years. Plus I can see the cashflow for the week, since we basically run our business on a weekly basis (when are we sourcing and listing for the upcoming week).
Mike: Showing net profit…the secret sauce…
Nope. No one will do that. If it was anonymous, maybe it would happen. Plus, that net number isn’t as glamorous…
Revenue is Vanity, but Profit gives Sanity.
And…the internet lives in Crazy Vanity…
Mike: “If you are OCD and want to see that Net profit per week”
Soooo….what are you calling me Mike? 🙂
PS – 100% agree with you and with Tony 2Times
This is my point on making sure that you forecast your business. First, gather your numbers (STR, ASP, Average COGS, and Net Profit). From there, you can do reasonable forecasting, which I do monthly. One big key is understanding that while you are growing, your CASH is lagging your PROFIT. Meaning that if you are listing 100 items per week, and selling 70, you are behind on cash flow for the 30 items per week of growth times the average COGS of those items. This is a number you MUST know when you start to go big, or you go from part-time to full-time. You need to know how much you will be investing in inventory each week, and how long it will take for that inventory to sell (your STR will tell you that).
And to Mike’s point, we should ALL be in the 30%+ net profit range in this business. We dropped below that this summer since we started ramping up our inventory buying and paying for a photographer, but only hit a 20% net profit low. Now that sales are picking back up with Q4 starting, we are back closer to where we want to be.
And to Tony 2Times point…we will be where I want at about 3,500-4,000 items. That is the goal…
Great to know Mike. Keep us informed on your Shopify side. This is an area I would like to get into in about 18 months. I want to get the front end (sourcing) settled first before I try to get more backend (Shopify, Mercari, Poshmark) outlets hooked in. Our short term (12 month) goals are hugely invested in getting better on the front end, and our long term goals as well….
Haven’t listened to the PodCast yet, but wanted to get our numbers in while I have them (since I was late for the last 2 weeks!)
Week of 9/1-9/8
Total Items in Store: 2,720 (Up 60% YOY)
Number of Items Listed: 65
Number of Items Sold: 82 (Up 30% YOY)
(Includes 0 Etsy, 0 Bonanza, 0 TrueGether)
Weekly STR: 13% (Down 3% YOY)Total Product Sales: $2,161 (Up 27% YOY)
Cost of Items Sold: $474
Highest Item Sold: $125 – Under Armour Brow Tine Hiking Hunting Boots
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Veronica wins the week and Veronica leads for the year 21-15eBay Clothing
# Listed: 1,731
# Sold: 55
STR: 14%
ASP: $22.63eBay Shoes
# Listed: 406
# Sold: 17
STR: 18%
ASP: $36.16eBay Hard Goods
# Listed: 583
# Sold: 10
STR: 7%
ASP: $30.16Etsy Hard Goods
# Listed: 164
# Sold: 0
STR: 0%
ASP: $0Business Improvement for the Week – Start new purchasing streams. With a lot of time to think on the hike, and the changes we could see needed for me to do a 4 week hike next year, we decided that rather than expanding to PoshMark, our time and work is better served looking to expand our sourcing options beyond the requirement to yard sale/thrift store every week. We won’t stop those streams, but we don’t like being reliant on that stream for items to buy. We also want to have purchasing options that are less location dependent (so, looking for options that can be purchased and shipped in or picked up later) as well as options that have higher ASP and can be purchased in higher quantity. Still in early stages on this, and some great people we met at eBay Open have given us some avenues to explore. Stay tuned…
Week of 8/26-9/1
Total Items in Store: 2,675 (Up 56% YOY)
Number of Items Listed: 101
Number of Items Sold: 57 (Down 33% YOY)
(Includes 2 Etsy, 0 Bonanza, 0 TrueGether)
Weekly STR: 9% (Down 12% YOY)Total Product Sales: $1,593 (Down 27% YOY)
Cost of Items Sold: $319
Highest Item Sold: $90 – Hart Schaffner Marx 2 Button Suit
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Troy wins the week (on a roll!) and Veronica leads for the year 20-15eBay Clothing
# Listed: 1,701
# Sold: 46
STR: 12%
ASP: $26.16eBay Shoes
# Listed: 395
# Sold: 4
STR: 4%
ASP: $36.25eBay Hard Goods
# Listed: 579
# Sold: 5
STR: 4%
ASP: $34.87Etsy Hard Goods
# Listed: 160
# Sold: 2
STR: 6%
ASP: $27.96Ok, back from my hike and catching up on our numbers. I like this forum as an accountability driver…
Week of 8/19-8/25
Total Items in Store: 2,600 (Up 55% YOY)
Number of Items Listed: 82
Number of Items Sold: 66 (Even YOY)
(Includes 1 Etsy, 1 Bonanza, 1 TrueGether)
Weekly STR: 11% (Down 6% YOY)Total Product Sales: $1,956 (Up 20% YOY)
Cost of Items Sold: $287
Highest Item Sold: $155 – (Tie) Ermenegildo Zegna Casmere Linen Silk Blend Sport Coat & Burberry London Two Button Brown Herringbone Pinstripe Suit
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Troy wins the week (and I wish it counted twice since I had both) and Veronica leads for the year 20-14eBay Clothing
# Listed: 1,681
# Sold: 47
STR: 12%
ASP: $28.09eBay Shoes
# Listed: 371
# Sold: 6
STR: 7%
ASP: $38.06eBay Hard Goods
# Listed: 548
# Sold: 12
STR: 10%
ASP: $30.64Etsy Hard Goods
# Listed: 155
# Sold: 1
STR: 3%
ASP: $39.85Try getting there 15 minutes before it opens, so you can get pushed around when the door opens…good times… 😂
aperature: I’ll bet it was a zoo! I haven’t been to either location in over a year. Crazy on Wednesdays and their prices were high. Plus they STAPLE the tags to clothing. Drives me nuts…
Jay: That is such a big piece of the puzzle for you guys, having no mortgage payment. Removing that 15%-25% monthly cash expenditure is HUGE. This lowers the cash requirement bar as well as provides cash for inventory or new ventures….
EBay said last year that eventually everyone was going to be at Concierge level.
Same number to call…
We don’t either. We get a random sale here or there, but nothing worth paying for a subscription…
OUTSTANDING ARTICLE!
It really does hit the biggest issue we (as retailers) face: Inventory Management. Too many fast sellers, and you are a Churn and Burn model, which can run you into the ground. Too many Long Tail, and you can get into a cash crunch since the payoff is so far down the line. Then, how do you cull out your dead stock items so that you aren’t just sitting on stuff that won’t sell.
We just did a culling of about 50 items from our inventory. We hate not being able to sell it, but when you make a bad buy, you deal with it and move on…
MMVI: Glad you are on the “Own Your Life” train!
Just be careful how much you can really control, and when those fruits will appear. I will always hammer to know your numbers and know how to forecast what it takes to go full time, especially the capital requirements (both personal and business).
When you now have a full week to list, you now need to PURCHASE that inventory. So, how much will you be buying each week? Will it all get listed that week (PS – the answer better be yes)? What is your average purchase price per item? So how much money will you spend each week to purchase and list new inventory? And what is your Sell Thru Rate, so you know how long it will take for you to get a return on your time and money in Sales?
Forecasting your numbers is where it is at…
Mike, you bring in a good argument, but to make the analogy better…
I asked a customer to buy a shirt that he has never touched, nor had the ability to try on. He is also allowing me to not need a commercial storefront, with all the LOH (Labor and Overhead) associated with that business model.
Did I lose on that transaction? Probably. But do I gain as a business by having customers trust me to purchase a product they can’t touch or try on, AND have a lower operating cost as well? Yep.
Small price to pay…
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