Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Even though we don’t have the knowledge and experience of MDDC. There are several things we can look for. How does the frame etc. look and feel? Does it seem to be right for the era of the painting? Is the painting surrounded by other objects that “fit” with it. Ask about it from the current owner? Where did it come from how long have they had it etc.? What can they tell you about it?
Obviously, this would work best at an estate sale and would be ineffective at a thrift store.
No black Friday shopping for me. I went hunting rocks in the desert with my daughter. 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement. I like to travel and go on vacations. So, the fact that I can turn eBay on and off whenever I like is key. Like Jay and Ryanne, I am a fan of extended handling time. Making money while on vacation is great.
Good sales and good hunting to you.
Here’s an example of a somewhat typical margin, but of course it varies from item to item.
NFL Banner sells for $22.98
Cost including freight $15.74
eBay and Paypal fees $2.60
Packaging $0.11
Postage $2.60 (free shipping)Leaves a profit of $1.93, but if you sell a thousand of them it adds up.
Check out Endless Entrepreneur on youtube for lots of information on selling suits, jackets and blazers.
Wholesale items can certainly be profitable, and lots of people make a good living with that business model. However, it didn’t work for me. I had no problem sourcing items and picking items that sold well. I was selling almost $10,000 a month, but I was going deeper into credit card debt each month. Not good! I didn’t really get a handle on this until I implemented Outright bookkeeping software in a serious way. It gave me a clear picture of what was happening.
Here’s why it didn’t work for me:
High cost of inventory to keep the shelves stocked. If you want, to sell a lot you need a lot of sku’s and quantities of them in stock. This keeps a lot of cash tied up.
I’m a one man show with a full time job and didn’t have the time to handle all that’s required. Buying stock, counting and shelving it when delivered, working with companies on missing, damaged, or incorrect orders, listing it all on eBay, shipping sold items each day, dealing with customer services problems and returns, adapting to eBay changes and requirements etc. etc., and CONTINUALLY monitoring the competition was more than I could, or maybe was willing to do.
Competition on eBay is fierce and the margins are razor thin; you have to do volume to make money. To compete, you have to be at or very near the lowest price. Remember if you can get the inventory so can others and they will. As volume increases all the issues I have mentioned become even more challenging.
I burnt out. It wasn’t fun anymore.
Having said all that, it’s by no means impossible to solve these issues and be successful at this business model.
However, the end game is being “king” of a warehouse and having a bunch of employees. In my mind, this is building your own prison. I evaluated where I wanted to be in the next four or five years and being King isn’t it. Empire building is not for me.
So, now I am getting back to my roots and doing what I love, treasure hunting. There’s nothing like scoring at yard sales, thrift stores, and estate sales etc. It’s all about the hunt right? I have made a profit each month since I stopped buying wholesale inventory. Now, I just need to get my inventory up so that it will provide the extra income I need to supplement my pension. This will allow me to retire in two years and truly be free.
the blind leading the blind down a dark alley on a moonless night. How true.
What alternative sources of pricing history do you recommend? I use Terapeak and I am considering Worthpoint.
When there is a postal rate increase there is no need to adjust shipping with calculated postage.
In my mind that is a huge advantage.I agree that the padded flat rate envelopes are great, but some times you need just a little more room. I recommend stocking both. There’s no reason no to since they are free.
I feel your pain on sourcing. What about yard sales in select areas? You would be intercepting the goods upstream of the thrift stores. Just a suggestion, I know yard sales are bust in some areas of the country.
