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Thanks guys.
Inglewood, I’ve recently started clearing out some of our larger antique items via Kijiji and FB Marketplace. EVERYTHING that sold was sold via FB. Not one sale through Kijiji. That’s over about 15 items and the course of a week or so.
With that said, once we’re back, I’ll start putting everything up on both FB and Kijiji. As our move nears closer, we’ll likely take some of the smaller gewgahs to the local flea market before donating the leftovers.
As for customs, I’m sure it’ll be an adventure going forward…haha
03/01/2019 at 12:24 am in reply to: Winchester38's Journal – A Journey To Full-time Reselling #57894I barely hit my listing goal for the month. Target was 2,550 listings (between both of my stores). Hit 2,550 today for about 15 minutes, then something sold.
Listed a total of 431 items in February.
March is going to be a bit less hectic. Tomorrow is my last official day of employment. Signed all of the resignation papers/etc with HR this afternoon. Spending the weekend with friends, then leave on Wednesday for two weeks in El Salvador. Looking forward to spending my 38th birthday as an unemployed guy on a beach in the middle of nowhere.
Targeting 2,600 listings by the end of March. Dialing it back as a result of our trip, and then I’m going to start focusing more on selling some larger personal stuff locally in preparation for our move a few months out!
02/24/2019 at 11:25 am in reply to: Winchester38's Journal – A Journey To Full-time Reselling #57545Nothing momentous, but as some of you may know, my wife and I have been selling antiques part-time over the last few years.
Yesterday was our last antique sale in our current location. We set up Friday evening, and sold all day yesterday at a local community center. We made about $450 for the day. Now begins the liquidation of our remaining inventory through facebook marketplace, kijiji, etc.
In related news, we own a 6×12 enclosed trailer that we’ve been using to haul/store our antiques. I didn’t think we’d be able to keep it when we move across the country as we’re planning to rent a moving truck and tow our pickup on a flat deck behind it. A close friend is also moving east (he leaves in early March), and asked if he could use/borrow it for his move. He’ll use/tow it free of charge, and we won’t be forced to sell it. Win-win.
In a similar vein, ive recently been watching The Office for the first time through. Perfect timing as I transition out of corporate life.
Way too many scenarios in it and Office Space are completely relatable.
Also, how is Office Space 20? Am I getting old!?
We’ve been using Zoom to host the meetings. Works great. You can see all of the other people on one screen. Sound and video quality is surprisingly good.
Our group is private. The founder set up a Facebook page where we can suggest topics, bounce things off of one another/etc during the week. The invite/link to the meetings is on our fb page, but it could just as easily be emailed out etc.
Some weeks we’ll have a loose outline (prepping for q4, dealing with returns, process improvement, etc), others will just open the floor and discuss whatever comes up.
Re scavenger hangout:
I’ve been in an Amazon sellers “mastermind” group of nine members for the last year or so. We meet online one evening a week for an hour and discuss/work through whatever issues are coming up, suggest things to one another, and to learn from the experiences of others. It’s been super helpful to me. The best part is that I’ve made connections with other people, from all walks of life, all over the country. I’ve recently met one or two from the group in person, and it’s just like seeing an old friend. Kind of a neat experience.
Thanks Troy! It’s daunting, and slightly terrifying, but incredibly exciting at the same time!
February 10-16, 2019
Store 1
Total Items in Store: 1,633
Items Sold: 22
Gross Sales: $698.60
Cost of Items Sold: $36.20
Highest Price Sold: $49.99
Average Price Sold: $31.75
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $62.51
Number of items listed this week: 54Store 2 (CAD)
Total Items in Store: 768
Items Sold: 16
Gross Sales: $272.83
Cost of Items Sold: $26.75
Highest Price Sold: $24.99 (vintage patch)
Average Price Sold: $17.05
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 45Amazon.ca sales: $622.00 (CAD) (Approx $155.50 net profit)
Amazon.com sales: $1,339.00 (Approx $334.75 net profit)Gut sales report: Slower than I’d like. Seems my STR dropped from 1.75-2.00% down to 1.35% on the main store. Between that, and the fact that my highest sale was $49.99, my numbers for the week were lower than ideal.
Scavenge of the week: I didn’t do much sourcing this week, but found a pair of jeans for $5 that I ended up listing for $99. Made by the Jean Shop. Selvedge denim made in USA.
Challenge of the week: Giving my notice at work. On Friday, I gave my two week notice at my full time job. As of end of day March 1st, my 8 1/2 year career with this employer will end, and I’ll be 100% full-time online selling. WHAT!? Guess it’s go time! Freedom 38!
Have some loose ends to wrap up with my employer this week, then need to really push to list more. Two weeks until we head out on vacation so I’ve got to get the numbers up!
02/16/2019 at 12:14 pm in reply to: Winchester38's Journal – A Journey To Full-time Reselling #57072Pretty anticlimactic really. Very “wish you well in your future endeavours” like. At the end of the day, I was just a cog in the machine, and will be replaced.
I’d been with the company for eight plus years.
02/15/2019 at 10:55 pm in reply to: Winchester38's Journal – A Journey To Full-time Reselling #57051Today was the day. After 8 1/2 years with my employer, I gave my two weeks notice.
As of end of day March 1st, I will be 100% self employed.
Incredibly surreal. Still have some paperwork to do, and some of my health benefits to finish spending, but the hard part is done.
Special thanks are due to Jay, Ryanne, and the rest of the SL crew. You’ve kept me company through long shitty days in the office, and tons of evenings/weekends listing. Without the influence of your positive outlook, your countless examples of what works for you (and what doesn’t), and the sharing of your numbers to give me the inspiration to know what’s possible, I would probably never have started on eBay, let alone have gotten to the point where it can sustain my lifestyle.
Thanks all! Stay tuned for more listing, a move across the country, and a future of us owning our own time!
Wow. I really do learn something new every day…haha
The vast majority of my inventory sells before LTSF kick in. It’s been pretty insignificant to this point. Talking <$20/6 mo.
There are still some brands/categories that I’m not ungated in, but it seems like I get auto ungated in most of the ones I request. If I’m in a store and scan something that I’m gated in, I request approval right then on my phone (even if it’s not a profitable item). That way if I ever scan a comparable item that’s profitable, there’s a good chance I’ve previously gotten ungated. I’m still blocked from lots of the BIG names (apple, Nike, etc) but there’s rarely anything that I would buy by them anyway since competition is so fierce.
Something I had never considered until recently is the prospect of selling my amazon business in the future. I recently came across someone looking to purchase an existing business, and it got my brain thinking. Doing some searching, it looks like sometimes small companies, or new sellers will buy an existing account. I’m guessing part of it is to be able to hit the ground already being ungated for certain categories/brands, and to have an established revenue history.
It’s not something I’m actively looking into, but with a seller’s account that is over two years old, and ungated for a LOT of difficult products, it’s something I’ll keep in the back of my mind should I ever tire of it.
Jay asked:
-What do you think of your Amazon experiment?– It has added another income stream to our income. I have approached it VERY cautiously/slowly. I’ve slowly found a few niches that are regular sellers (a few units per month), good profit (in some cases, 70-80% returns), but are ranked low enough, or are difficult enough to find that they don’t attract many other FBA sellers. Probably 80% of my items are replenishable. I just go out and pick up another month’s worth of inventory when I run low, and send it in.
–Does it make sense to spend $900 to make $300? (that $ nothing to sneeze at, but that’s a lot of money to have tied up)
– Compared to the return on investment that eBay gives me, no, but for the minimal amount of time/work it takes me each week, an extra $400-1,000/wk of income is pretty incredible. We have no consumer debt (just a mortgage and vehicle payment), so cashflow/debt isn’t a huge concern at the levels I’m at. If I was able to find any other investment that offered a 30% + return with relative consistency/predictability, I’d throw far more money at it than I’ve been investing into Amazon…
–Do items sell fast??
– Honestly, I try and steer clear of things that sell too quickly, as they draw other sellers out of the woodwork, and the prices end up tanking. I’ve had items sell within two hours of hitting the warehouse, and I’ve had items sit for a year (rarely, thankfully). Most sell a few units a month, and I try to keep about a month’s worth of inventory in the warehouses.
–Have you had any issues with buying in bulk and then the items not sell the way you expected?
-Very few times, but yes. I don’t often jump onto anything “hot” but if/when I do, I sometimes get stung. An example is a board game that got discontinued some time ago a while back (it wasn’t very PC, and was targeted towards kids). Stores were starting to pull them from shelves, and I managed to pick up 12 units on clearance at $14/ea. I sent six into the warehouses right away. Two sold instantly for $59.99. One sold a while later for $54.99. One again for $45.99. Currently have two in the warehouse, and six more in storage. Current selling price is hovering around $34ish. I’m still above break even after fees, but probably shouldn’t have gone as deep as I did.
All in all, for me, Amazon is by no means as enjoyable as ebay selling, but I’ve found some consistent income without much extra work, and it helps to supplement my income as I try to break out to full-time reselling. I’ll keep doing it as long as it doesn’t make me unhappy, and as long as it provides another income stream.
02/11/2019 at 9:43 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 398: How To Buy or Not To Buy on eBay #56719Haven’t listened yet, but will latter this morning!
February 2-9, 2019
Store 1
Total Items in Store: 1,601
Items Sold: 28
Gross Sales: $1,075.41
Cost of Items Sold: $139.60
Highest Price Sold: $75.00 (headphones)
Average Price Sold: $38.41
Returns: 2
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $95.15
Number of items listed this week: 57Store 2 (CAD)
Total Items in Store: 739
Items Sold: 20
Gross Sales: $354.81
Cost of Items Sold: $17.00
Highest Price Sold: $29.99 (vintage patch)
Average Price Sold: $17.74
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 56Amazon.ca sales: $954.00 (CAD) (Approx $238.50 net profit)
Amazon.com sales: $1,269.00 (Approx $317.25 net profit)Gut sales check: The week felt slow-ish to me, but I was pleasantly surprised when I ran the numbers. Managed to crack $1,000 on the main store which is great. The second store was selling really well, and amazon pulled its weight.
I set a lofty listing goal for the month, and have been aiming for 20+ new listings per weekday, with a few extras on the weekends. I managed 113 for the week (I didn’t list at all on Sunday or Monday; travelling) so I’m content with that. It’s been frigid here (as low as -38c last week) so staying inside and listing has been welcome most days. Pushing hard to get more items up as we’ll be travelling to El Salvador for two weeks starting in early March.
Hope everyone else had a decent week!
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