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Week June 16 – 22, 2019
Items in store: 4044 Listings for 6070 Items
Items Sold: 70 Transactions for 82 Items
Gross Sales: $4176.69
Highest Price Sold: $397.55… Two sport coats to the same buyer.
Lowest Price Sold: $10.99… 1920s photograph.
Average Price Sold: $50.94
Cost of Goods Sold $312, Plus consignment
Number of new items listed this week: 91 items
$$ spent on new inventory this week $80
Repeat Customers: 6Incredibly non-productive week due to a few technical issues. When I used my iPhone to open a numbers file this week, I unknowingly saved a few of my consignors sales records to a newer version. Of course, the new version of numbers wouldn’t work with my preferred older OS. So I had accidentally forced myself into updating to Mojave, which had some negative effects on my main MacBook, the worse….causing me not to be able to use it to shoot photos from my usual tethered setup. I think I can do a memory stick upgrade on this one still and make it work better, but that’s a project for another week.
After a day fooling with the update, and getting my backup MacBook up to speed with the photo hookup….my camera lens began to malfunction and needed servicing. I was able to do it myself, but it was more time spent than I like.
After I finally got moving with photos, I found that the Mojave upgrade also played havoc with GarageSale compatibility, so it’s been slow going as I find work-arounds for simple tasks that are currently glitching. Good news: The next GS version is in beta right now, so the fix will be around the corner soon. Bad News: It comes with a hefty price increase. What was $69 one time license, with $20 occasional upgrade fees (only 1 or 2 in the last 5 or 6 years) will now become $15/month, every month. Sigh….Everyone wants a piece.
Meanwhile back at the ranch. My wife discovered a yellow jacket nest in one of our large patio planters, where we eat all our meals. She is allergic, so I was automatically selected to battle the swarm. That battle still goes on. I’ve been shopvac-ing them up in sessions. I plan to excavate tonight after dark. Wish me luck!
Needless to say, I didn’t get much accomplished this week. Didn’t get any listings up until Friday/Saturday….but we did get out on the lake for a few hours of kayaking.
Yay, good thing I copy/pasted that long one…it got eaten by the thread again.
@Jay, it’s actually $49/mo if you scroll down to the bottom section.
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The Dirt:
I used Webinterpret several years ago when it first came out as a 3rd party application, but it did not work with auction format, which was my primary format at the time. So, I was eager to try it again when the promotion came out.
I believe I opted in to the promo in October 2018, cross listing to every site except Italy, due to customs regulations that prohibit the import of Leather goods, Shoes and haberdashery….which is literally my entire store except a dozen items.
After satisfactory results, I opted in to the Pro version some time in November, so I could get my entire store translated.
My account was suspended for 3 days because web-interpret crossposted an item that was illegal to sell in France. so if you use this service be very careful the items you list, and be aware that ebay holds you responsible for mistakes made by this third party.
I’m fairly happy with the service, though they claim with the Pro version that you can list on about 12 sites, but to actually list on the additional sites cost very high insertion fees, some times up to 50 cents a listing. I’m sure these items would have sold anyway either domestically or internationally, so it’s hard to say how much of an increase there has really been in overall sales, but there has definitely been larger percentage of international sales.
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The Cleanup:
Total international sales through Webinterpret since Oct 2018 in USD : $27,561
Total subscription and selling fees paid to Webinterpret (in addition to normal ebay fees) since Oct 2018 in USD : $1255, with another invoice coming up in a few days.
Brian. I’m not too sure about that civil war story. I think that might be a local rural legend. Hanover shoes and the farms weren’t established until about 35 years after the civil war ended.
I ran a test on this about a year or two ago for 4 or 5 months. I stopped using GTC, ended and relisted a different small section of my store every day 10 days and then relisted them in 10 days when they ended, to utilize all 10000 of my “free listings” Honestly, in my case, the small increase in return was not worth the extra daily task. If I had a smaller inventory, or fewer items with multiple quantities, I would have been more likely to keep doing it.
Granted: this was also tested long before the GTC requirement was ever mentioned, so it’s not really an equal experiment. I believe it makes a difference, and gives a boost just the same as any listing change, sale or promotion.
Hah, you graduated with my wife, Holly. That’s so funny.
She said she already thinks she knows who you are, and that you are already friends on facebook….the one with the house keys. lol
We are in New Oxford.
Hanover Shoes has been out of business all together since the early 80s when they were absorbed by Clarks. There is a Clarks/Bostonian outlet at their old store on the square. Hanover Shoe once manufactured for Bostonian, but that is no longer the case, obviously. Bostonian is now a Clarks brand as well, Clarks is headquartered here now, just on the edge of McSherrystown.
Happy Birthday @Ryanne, I’m rounding the turn in a few months as well.
Week June 9 – 15, 2019
Items in store: 4010 Listings for 6043 Items
Items Sold: 97 Transactions for 110 Items
Gross Sales: $5058.11
Highest Price Sold: $175, Hugo Boss Suit
Lowest Price Sold: $3.24(shoe laces)
Average Price Sold: $45.98
Cost of Goods Sold $397, Plus consignment
Number of new items listed this week: 142 items
$$ spent on new inventory this week $130
Repeat Customers: 7Haven’t really been out sourcing in several weeks. The main focus in the summer when the weather gets nice and thrifting gets slow is the life-pile. I typically grow it in the winter to about a 10-15 week supply, to get me through the slowest months. I also still have about 1/3 of a 300 lb consignment shipment to work on and more on the way.
This week on Wednesday, I was putting the packages out on the porch for pickup and noticed the neighbours were having a yard sale. Picked up 17 Nintendo DS games with original cases, booklets and advertisements for $10. A few of them should bring in $50 each, while the others made nice small lots. I expect to sell them for in the $350 ballpark when it’s all said and done. Also picked up a Troy-Bilt Tiller to add to my fleet for $60. It was only used for one season and still retails at Lowes for $419.
3rd Saturday in June every year we have an antique festival in town where they shut the street down and there are vendors everywhere. Most stuff is usually a little too pricey for flipping, but I always walk home with a little something, typically in the leather category. This year was no exception. I grabbed a nice vintage leather camera bag large enough for 2 full kits. It needs a little repair, so I will see if I can do it myself quickly, if not, it sells as is. I also got a cloth lined brown leather bag. It was locked and I couldn’t get a look at the inside, so I talked them into knocking $20 off it. You just don’t see many in brown. Took me about 2 minuted to pick the lock when I got home. It’s not perfect, but still sturdy and suitable for carry or display.
Finally the scavenge of the week was from the same dealer as the doctors bag. Very early Hanover shoes, definitely the oldest I have seen….and I’ve seen a ton. We live a few miles from Hanover and the old shoes pop up quite often. My mother in law and her sister both worked there in the 70s sewing shoes. Anyway….these are mens button boots, likely the first decade of the 1900s. The label had the price stitched in $3.50. Hanover Shoe strategy was quality shoes, factory direct, for a more affordable price. In 1900, their prices started at $2.50. So cool, I’m a sucker for antique and vintage clothing, especially for local stuff….and it’s so rare to find mens shoes that old.
Here are the shoes. https://www.ebay.com/itm/303189789297
While I was at the festival, I popped into the chamber of commerce and got info on setting up a booth next year. Every year the festival gets smaller and smaller as antique dealers and interest sputter out. I could easily truck over a load or two of vintage clothing and antiques, and it would only take a few sales to cover the cost. Can’t wait!
Thanks. I think I’m averaging about $5 cost/item right now….it was a little lower, until I bought 2800 NWT ties in November which brought the cost up a bit.
Don’t forget I pay out between $2500-$3000 a month to consignors lately as well, but I usually don’t look at it that way. I set up my consignment operation so that I take my % off the top, the client pays the fees out of their portion and of course the buyer pays the shipping. This way I can look at it as profit per consigned item. Some consignors send better stuff, so their ASP is a little better. My profit/item for my worst consignor is about $18, while it is about $26 for my best. I typically average about $22 profit per consigned item across all 7 consignors.
Example: I received 298 lbs of consignment from my top consignor last week, roughly 220 pieces, I can easily estimate that the lot should net me in the ballpark of $5700 profit when it’s all said and done…not counting tax of course.According to Outright/Godaddy, I have had 30 sales between $500-$945 (only one was sent to me on consignment) since 2011 when I started using the bookkeeping service…I’m sure I had none before that. So far, I’ve never had a single item sale over $1000 on ebay….I did sell all those ties for $1569 in one transaction if that counts.
I did however once find a blazer with solid 14K gold buttons for $6, I sold the buttons to the local jeweler for about $1100, replaced the buttons and flipped the jacket for $200.
Week June 2 – 8, 2019
Items in store: 4059 Listings for 6099 Items
Items Sold: 95 Transactions for 102 Items
Gross Sales: $4813
Highest Price Sold: $180, MIU MIU Coat
Lowest Price Sold: $2.74(shoe laces)
Average Price Sold: $47.19
Cost of Goods Sold $345, Plus consignment
Number of new items listed this week: 204 items
$$ spent on new inventory this week $0
Repeat Customers: 13Amazon
Items Sold 0
Gross Sales $0
Cost of Good Sold $0
