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Great episode, as per usual. Thanks for the shout out! My wife was pretty excited to be famous for fifteen seconds! Haha
We too, are about 99% caught up on our listing piles, and for the time being, are listing everything as it comes in. We can always find more to list (personal stuff, or items from our antique inventory), but everything we’ve bought expressly for eBay is listed at this point.
This week was semi-slow for us:
October 7-13, 2018
Store 1:
Items in store: 1,358
Items sold: 10
Gross sales: $542.92
Highest sale: $300 (vintage Bakelite piece)
Average: $54.29
Returns: 0
Spent on inventory: $77.25
Items listed: 42Store 2:
Items in store: 511
Items sold: 7
Gross sales: $61.54
Highest sale: $22.39
Average: $8.79
Returns: 0
Spent on inventory: $0
Items listed: 18The numbers for our second store are generally pretty low, but are very high profit, very low risk items (embroidered patches, ephemera, etc). Stuff we can pick up for $0.25, sell for $10, and throw in a envelope with a stamp. Initially we set it up as a back-up account, should something go wrong with the main account, but it’s grown legs and spits out a few hundred dollars a month with very little effort/risk.
Thanks all. I’ll start a fresh thread in the coming days to document what I/we are doing as we work towards quitting/moving/etc. It’ll be a nice way to keep my feet to the proverbial fire too!
These are great lists. We sell at antique shows (had one this past Saturday), and I see so many older people with tables covered in undesirable China, Hummels, S&P shakers, silverware, etc. I don’t know how they manage to make it worth their time/effort since 99% of buyer just pass them by, and any that stop beat then up so badly on pricing.
Ours has gradually evolved, but works well for us.
We have three rolling racks for clothes (will add more as needed), a number of shelves in various sizes, some boxes, and a closet.
Sounds haphazard, but here’s the system:
A clothing item gets listed and in the item description, we’ll add “C1” “C2” or “C3” (originally closets 1-3 in our last home) to denote which rack the item is hung on.
Most items end up being shelved. These are noted as “S1” through “S30” (again with room to grow). Any given shelf could have a variety of items on it. Coffee mugs, hub caps, toner cartridges, collectibles, etc.
We’ve got boxes that are numbered 1-16 that hold hats.
The closet is noted as DC1-DC4 (downstairs closet shelves 1-4).
We add the appropriate letter/number combination the the item description, and when an item sells, the description tells us where to find it.
We should probably be using the custom sku field instead, but so far, this is working. Not one lost item in three years, and only an extra five seconds or so to look up a location.
Thanks for the comments all.
We’re a bit disenchanted with things currently. It’s just the two of us, no kids, and a few cats. We’re living a significant distance from our families, and are working jobs that have worn thin. The thought of spending another 20+ years grinding away is too daunting. We had originally planned/hoped to make this move in a few years, but we’re accelerating and hoping for the best.
We’ve got the income from eBay, a small amount of income from Amazon, and a small amount of income from buying/selling antiques. If need be, I’m not against picking up odd jobs here and there, but the ultimate goal is for us to not HAVE to stay at any job that makes us unhappy. F You money, without really having true F You money. I have no problem working for the rest of my life, so long as it’s on my terms.
I have no problems with keeping a log/diary of sorts as the move approaches and happens, if people would find it valuable. Just not sure of the best way to go about it… open to suggestions though.
Thanks for the support!
It does. We’ll be moving to another part of the country entirely (the area my wife is from). Leaving a big city, and moving to an area where housing/etc is cheaper.
Ugh. 78 listings affected. All show the gallery photo, but nothing at all once you actually open the listing.
I didn’t even realize this was an issue until I listened to this week’s podcast. Thanks for the heads up!
Fingers crossed they’re able to recover the photos, because I don’t save mine anywhere.
Feb 25 – March 3, 2018
Store #1
Total Items in Store: 1226
Items Sold: 15
Cost of Items Sold: $22.20
Total Sales: $411.88
Highest Price Sold: $60.00 (women’s sweater)
Average Price Sold: $27.49
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $13.00
Number of items listed this week: 21
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Store #2
Total Items in Store: 281
Items Sold: 3
Cost of Items Sold: $0.75
Total Sales: $24.78
Highest Price Sold: $11.19 (vintage embroidered patch)
Average Price Sold: $8.25
Returns: 0
Number of items listed this week: 16Pretty average week sales-wise for us. I was pretty busy personally, so listing took a back seat to life unfortunately. We managed to hit our goal of 1500 items listed (both stores combined) by March 1st though, so I’m not complaining.
02/26/2018 at 9:27 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 349: Having A Huge Inventory Is Not The Goal, It’s The Strategy #33857Feb 18-24, 2018
Store #1
Total Items in Store: 1217
Items Sold: 20
Cost of Items Sold: $115.19
Total Sales: $665.73
Highest Price Sold: $250.00 (carved wooden figurine)
Average Price Sold: $33.29
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $61.72
Number of items listed this week: 17
———-
Store #2
Total Items in Store: 268
Items Sold: 3
Cost of Items Sold: $0.75
Total Sales: $35.98
Highest Price Sold: $14.39 (vintage embroidered patch)
Average Price Sold: $11.99
Returns: 0
Number of items listed this week: 3Pretty slack on the listing this week as we had a bunch of stuff going on personally, and were focused on preparing for an antique show/sale that we were part of this past weekend.
Had a decent sale of a $250 hand carved wooden figure that really brought our numbers up for the week. We almost threw it out, but thankfully, I took the time to research it before hand and found that the carver has a small cult following. It’s been listed for a few months, and when the offer came through we took it almost immediately. We got it as part of an estate lot that we purchased back in November, and probably paid roughly $1.00 for it.
02/20/2018 at 4:28 pm in reply to: My scavenger corruption of my family is nearing completion…MuwaHAHAHAHA! #33464Nicely done!
In my day-job office, most of us participate in “tie Tuesday”. I’ve never worn the same tie twice, and have a constantly rotating stock to choose from.
Last summer, going to a country concert, I grabbed a pair of vintage, snakeskin cowboy boots to wear for the evening.
Camping last spring, grabbed a nice flannel shirt, wore it for a day or two, and hung it back up.
The options are ENDLESS!
02/20/2018 at 9:39 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 348: Acknowledge When Hard Work Pays Off #33438Feb 11-17, 2018
Store #1
Total Items in Store: 1230
Items Sold: 6
Cost of Items Sold: $17.20
Total Sales: $345.95
Highest Price Sold: $119.99 (men’s merino sweater)
Average Price Sold: $57.65
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $19.15
Number of items listed this week: 11
———-
Store #2
Total Items in Store: 271
Items Sold: 5
Cost of Items Sold: $1.00
Total Sales: $35.98
Highest Price Sold: $9.51 (vintage embroidered patch)
Average Price Sold: $7.19
Returns: 0
Number of items listed this week: 17Sales wise, it was a pretty slow week. Fortunately, the items that did sell were higher dollar, so my average came up to compensate for lack of sales. Was a pretty busy week, so didn’t get much listed. Going to have to put a drive on in the next week or two to hit my listing goals before month end.
Interestingly enough, once the calendar rolled over into Sunday, things started selling like mad. 12 Sales just over Sunday and Monday.
We went to an auction on Saturday, and came away pretty content. We ended up spending about $500, but the majority of the items will end up in our antique mall booth. I did spend $150 on two items, that I immediately listed Sunday morning for $349.99 and $1,999.99. Turned down an offer of $435 on the higher priced one within two hours of listing. Crossing fingers for a better offer in the near future. If the buyer would’ve come up to $600-700, I probably would have sold it in the interest of a quick turn around.
Un-related to ebay, the sales in our antique booth have been slow for January/February. I suspect it’s mostly due to holiday bills coming due, and the cold weather. Also un-related, I continue to slowly ramp up my Amazon FBA inventory. It’s not exciting, and I don’t see it ever becoming a cornerstone of my income, but it’s currently pushing out about $200/mo and rising, based only on RA items I grab on the rare occasion I venture into Walmart/etc and the odd books/games/etc I grab at thrift stores to send in. It’s not something I’m willing/wanting to devote much time to, but if I can spend 2-3hrs a month on it, and have it flow $2-300/mo, I’ll keep doing it. That’s a car payment.
I too use a Smart Weigh ACE110. It’s accurate down to 0.1oz. The only complaint I could have about it is that the platform is a bit small for large, irregular shaped packages (wool blankets/rugs, etc). For boxes of just about any size, I’ve had no issues.
It does turn off eventually, but it’s at least five minutes, possibly even ten before it does.
Nicely done! Happy to hear you’re seeing some positive results already. Go get it!
Awesome! Seriously, you’ve finished the hardest part. Taking the first step is the toughest. Keep listing (if/when eBay allows it), and don’t be discouraged if your items sit and don’t sell quickly. Keep listing, and things will sell eventually. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Without seeing your store, and based solely on my own experience:
I’d suggest listing more, and really honing in on bread & butter items that sell semi-consistently. Once you’ve got a good base of bread and butter, all of the one-offs really fill in the holes and push your numbers up.
Also, go get it! It’s really just a game of numbers. Put the work in, and the numbers will come. There’s a good chance that I’ll be in a very similar situation in the coming months, but I know if I put in the time and effort to ramp up, the money will follow. The more you list the more you sell. The more you sell, the more you learn, and the better you get.
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