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Julie: I think you should give the mystery box challenge a try! It was a huge help to me in getting DP unlisted items listed.
Seeing items from the DP box that I hadn’t yet listed (on my Google Keep DP box inventory list) made a big difference for me in pushing myself to list (or donate) items at the end of each month. I’d slack on listing those items during the month but then really push to clear each box when the month was nearly over.
It’s motivating to look back and see what I’ve sold from those boxes (that I never would have listed) as well.
Creature of habit here, I’m posting my listing number for last week on the usual day. 22 for me.
After doing an inventory count of the items in the two mystery DP boxes I picked in November to work on this month I’ve decided to only work on one box in January. I would have had to list nearly three items per day five days a week to clear both boxes. From past experience I know that’s too much to expect from myself. These are items that didn’t get listed previously because they are complicated to list. So I’ll throw those two box numbers in a hat and pick one for this month.
Good luck to everyone participating in our new challenge and Happy New Year!!!
No problem VL. I saw the change you wanted to make.
I left out a word in one of my last posts but I knew from past experience that editing disappears your post so I just left the mistake in.
This post disappeared due to the dreaded attempted edit – which deletes your entire post…
Vintage Lacy wrote:
My box of ephemera comes from a hoarder house years ago and has really interesting things in it, like 1940s calendars and very old catalogs, but it is challenging to list so I have put it off for a long time.
I have encountered many hoarder houses over the years, but this one was one for the records. The hoarder’s niece inherited the house and contents. It was a true two-story house, with boxes piled to the ceiling throughout and narrow pathways to the kitchen table, bathroom and bedroom bed. The niece hired an estate sale company who was so overwhelmed, they brought in a massive dumpster and started throwing in anything they didn’t think had high value. The niece stopped by to see the progress and discovered many items of value in the dumpster and immediately fired the estate sale company. Sadly, two dumpster loads had already been hauled off!
She hired another estate sale company who did a much better job. They held two different sales at the house, but there was still quite a bit left after both sales. I was offered the opportunity to buy the remaining contents of the house for ten cents on the dollar, for anything I wanted. The deal also included the job of packing up whatever I didn’t want into boxes for Salvation Army and providing a rough inventory of the donations.
Fortunately the hoarding didn’t include garbage and there was a wealth of interesting things. The woman had kept so many different things, like stacks of telephone books dating back the 1930 in the basement, and over 200 old tobacco tins. The garage had over a thousand books in it, but some were just old Reader’s Digest and the like. It was a massive job and I hired a friend to help me. She was a real trooper, although the mice in the basement freaked her out.
In the end, I took 3 and a half van loads, which I paid $200 for. We boxed up 242 donation boxes for Salvation Army. Almost all of it has been sold over the years, with a few remaining challenging boxes… and about a dozen of those tobacco tins!
It’s so great to hear listing ideas for 2024! It’s motivating me to get back to listing, thank goodness. I had zero listings as of Wednesday, and only managed one yesterday. I’m hoping for a good listing day today.
What I did previously on my personal mystery box challenge was number all my DP boxes, wrote all the numbers on pieces of paper and blindly pulled a box number to work on.
On my first box challenge a few years ago I was looking in all the boxes first and then choosing a box based on the contents. It took forever (I have a lot of DP boxes) and I ended up picking boxes based on how easy the contents were to list. So I didn’t end up listing anything I wouldn’t have listed eventually otherwise. Now I just force myself to list whatever is in the randomly chosen box. I’m not willing to list an item at all I donate it. It’s a great way to really clear a tough to list DP box.
The day to post our listings isn’t a problem for me, but I’m okay with changing it, so yes to #1.
I’ve done the mystery box challenge myself twice now and it was an excellent way to get myself to list items I’d have never listed otherwise so it’s a huge yes from me to #2.
Here are some suggestions on the mystery box challenge that might be helpful:
1. Before the challenge starts make an inventory list (mine is on Google Keep at Amatino’s suggestion) of the box contents. That way you’ll know how many items per day you’ll need to list from the box in order to finish the box in a month.
2. While writing the inventory list pull out items that need prep like cleaning or repair and start that task early on so you don’t end up with multiple items that need work at the end of the month. Store prep work items in a separate marked box so they don’t end up misplaced.
3. Comp the items before moving on to photographing them. Some may have been worth listing when you bought them but sometimes the comps have fallen since then. Put items not worth your time and effort into a bag marked donations.
4. As you list them cross the items off your list so you can gauge your progress. And add SOLD to the crossed off items that sell. I found this was motivating to keep going on the challenge.
<div dir=”ltr”>Reposted for Amatino because the post didn’t appear:</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>Amatino wrote:</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>Christine, if you’d posted on Monday you would definitely have won.</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>Okay, all, gimme a little feedback here.</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>#1. Should I change the Post by Monday rule? Lord knows this year I’ve struggled to post on a Monday OR on a Tuesday. Some days sh*t just hits the fan. And Monday is a humdinger day to have to remember to log in and post numbers. I’m happy to change it. We can make it a rule that I post the numbers for the previous week on a Monday, and then you guys just post when you can during the week. So, for example, this Monday is January 1st, which is the last day of 2023. You post your numbers during the week and on Monday January 8th I will do the spreadsheet update for Monday January 1st. In other words, my update will be a week behind. It gives us all a little more flexibility, I think.</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>#2. The Mystery Box idea. I really, really like this idea and would like to add it to our challenge. I think it will also open up a little fun and interest. What items did you find in your box this week? What sold? What got tossed, or should it get tossed? The hive mind can weigh in with opinions on whether or not your vintage widget is a waste of time or you should try an auction.</div>
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<div dir=”ltr”>Please let me know what you think of these things, so that I can plan accordingly.</div>Wow, winning the week with 5 items listed feels like I stole it, but I’ll take it.
Amatino: what a great idea! I’m hoping to list two DP boxes per month, but reporting back on the “mystery” box(es), what was in there, what got listed or donated, and what sold sounds like it would make the dreaded DP box listing a lot more fun (or at least more tolerable).
Oooh, VL that’s just what I needed to hear. I’d decided when I abandoned the two boxes I randomly picked to list in December that I’d take a break in December and list those two boxes during January 2024 instead. But as it’s gotten closer to January my resolve has faltered. But you’ve reinspired me to do it.
Fingers crossed we both do great on our self imposed challenges. I’ll be looking forward to hearing reports on your progress!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Only 5 listings for me last week. It was my birthday last week so I mostly took the week off. I’m thinking about getting some listings up this week but so far I’m just thinking about it rather than doing it – LOL.
Wishing everyone a great holiday week!
19 for me, at least that’s what I kept track of, it may have been more.
I went for the easy listings and didn’t get my Christmas stuff listed. But as Julie mentions above I wouldn’t want people to purchase Christmas items and think their purchases would make it to them by Christmas anyway.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week!
Zero listings for me. I just got back from a vacation in Arizona with my sister, we had a blast!
I’m not sure if I’ll continue to take December off from eBay or get back on the horse and list. Time will tell.
Wishing everyone a great week!
Only 16 items for me. I decided to take it easy in December and I’m not doing my DP box challenge this month or keeping up with my 25 listings per week quota either. Sales have finally picked up so it’s a bad time for me to decide not to list as much, but that’s what I’m doing regardless.
I am trying to list some DP Christmas items this month. I also went to the recently opened Goodwill Outlet bins located less than 20 minutes from my house. Big mistake! It was awesome. I got an entire IKEA bag of items for $16.33 including a bunch of vintage Christmas linens from Denmark. This is NOT going to help me reduce my DPs. Sigh.
Wishing everyone a great week!
