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I don’t sell many clothes, so forgive me, but what brand is the item you pictured and why is it worth so much?
Thanks.
The number of returns on Amazon is crazy and as a seller, there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. I just count on probably 20% of everything I send in (other than books) to be returned.
Since I started selling on Amazon, I’ve grown to appreciate eBay more and more. Amazon is not a friendly place for sellers. I read so many horror stories of accounts being suspended for no reason and with little recourse. Since eBay totally revamped the defect policy, I think they have struck a good balance of fairness between the customer and the seller.
It’s not a podcast, but I really enjoy watching videos from Craigslist Hunter on Youtube. This guy runs a pawn shop in the Chicago area, but makes a lot of his money on eBay. He does videos of his pawn shop, him dumpster diving, going to garage sales or thrift stores, or just discussing eBay.
Thanks for the encouragement, Jay! If I hadn’t stumbled onto your podcast, I doubt I would have ever seen eBay as more than a hobby. I appreciate all the work you and Ryanne have put into this community.
Nov 27-Dec 3, 2016
Total Items in Ebay Store: 1050
Total Items in Amazon Store: 535Items Sold Ebay: 44
Items Sold Amazon FBA: 20Ebay COGS: $178.85
Amazon COGS: $106.50Total Amazon Fees: $211.58
Total Ebay/Paypal Fees: $321.02Total Sales Ebay: $2,207.65
Ebay Excess Shipping Income: $ 56.71
Total Sales Amazon: $1,061.26
Total Income: $3,325.62Net Ebay: $1,764.89
Net Amazon: $ 849.68
Total Weekly Net Profit: $2,614.57Highest Price Sold AMZ: $ 249.99 (New Sony Boombox – sold 3 at $250 each)
Highest Price Sold Ebay: $ 149.99 (2.5 oz discontinued lotion)Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $60
This is my first time posting my weekly numbers. I do ebay/amazon in addition to a part-time 23 hour a week job. I do this on my own and been building this up as a serious business since around April of last year. I sell a little bit of everything. I have a lot of hats, eyeglasses/sunglasses, shoes, socks, and electronics in my store. I’m probably spending close to full time hours on online selling, between sourcing, listing, and shipping.
Christmas season is definitely in full swing with my store. Sales have been crazy. Big stuff. Little stuff. Everything is selling right now. It’s hard to keep up and get it all out. Had a nice week with Amazon as well. I purchased some brand new Sony boomboxes from a person who buys liquidation items. Sent those into Amazon and they have brought a tidy profit thus far.
Can you add a “Follow” button to a discussion thread? We have the option to be alerted to follow up replies if you posted a comment to a thread, but it would be nice to have a follow button to be alerted about new posts in any thread you are interested in, without having to comment.
Time for another round of weird stuff.
http://i.imgur.com/R4dg3SF.jpg
I’m not sure what weirdo a)makes this and b)puts it in his home. I passed on buying the alligator man, as I was just grossed out in general.http://i.imgur.com/IS1VUii.jpg
In the days before Photoshop, this image was probably fairly difficult to create. I passed on this item. I don’t know if there is a market for 80s political joke posters.http://i.imgur.com/XITjrK4.jpg
I thought this was pretty cool. Picked it up for a couple bucks at a garage sale. Sold it locally for about $20. The lady put it in her garden as a decoration.http://i.imgur.com/gIcPU0Y.jpg
This is a hand-carved cane from overseas. I bought it for $50 at a higher-end estate sale and sold it for about $250 on ebay, although I had to hold onto it for close to a year.http://i.imgur.com/9VuvjOS.jpg
This Comp ass logo for a piece of luggage illustrates the importance of proper kerning.http://i.imgur.com/6QOwLE1.jpg
I picked this up for a dollar at a garage sale. It’s a round, fairly large 80s antenna that you didn’t actually have to connect to the device. You just sat it near the device to improve reception. Sold it for $25 on ebay, if I remember correctly.I would line them up in rows on a piece of cardboard with a small space between each one. Then I’d tightly wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap to lock them in place. Then I would wrap all of it in bubble wrap.
I’ve started an experiment where I buy bigger items than I normally would, and then take them to a Fed Ex to have them professionally packed.
I took a vintage G4 Mac desktop computer last week to them and the packing job was only $20 for something that was huge both in dimensions and weight (50 lbs). Sure, I made less profit then if I packed it myself, but I think the time and hassle (and box and packing supplies) I saved was worth the $20.
The trick will be finding big items profitable enough to be worth professional packing.
It will fit a VCR or an old stereo receiver, or even a tall pair of boots. It’s pretty big, but any bigger and I would need to find more powerful lighting. I know some light boxes are fully enclosed, but mine has an open front and top.
I have a large light box I purchased on Amazon and I use it for any item that will fit in it. I have a standing desk/platform that I work on and I just leave the light box in place at all times. I have a couple of clamp lights with 100 watt equivalent LED daylight bulbs, one on each side. I also invested in a Canon 70D DSLR camera and pay $10/month for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to quickly process and improve my photos. I’m not a photography expert and just use the auto settings, but my photos generally turn out pretty good. Certain items are more difficult to photograph than others, but I think the light box always helps. Occasionally, if I have a really expensive item, I will import the main photo into Photoshop and remove the background completely so it looks really professional.
I feel that good photos can really drive sales and differentiate you from the competition. I think people will also pay more if the item is presented professionally. You have to catch a person’s eye as they are scrolling through hundreds of items on their mobile device. On vintage/unique items, people want to see every angle clearly. If I’m looking at two similar items and one has really good photos on a clean white or black background and the other item is just sitting on a table, I’m probably more likely to pick the item that was on a clean background, all other things equal.
Frankly, I usually only write one or two words for my description. For my condition description, unless my item has some important flaws worth noting, I usually just say “Some wear. See photos.” I rarely have returns, and I attribute most of that to the thoroughness and clarity of my photos (and the fact I don’t sell a lot of clothing).
http://i.imgur.com/DNAaAES.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UBs8h5n.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ry3BsYp.jpg
I’ve heard good things about the Epson Ecotank inkjet printers. Instead of cartridges, it is designed so you buy refill ink, which they sell very affordably. The machine itself is fairly expensive, though. If you print a lot of color photos or documents in addition to your eBay needs, the cost per print is probably comparable to a laser.
I use a wireless color laser printer by Brother. Found it at a church sale a few years ago for $15. Don’t really use it much anymore, though, because I switched to a Zebra thermal printer for labels and I don’t include invoices in my shipments unless the customer requests it.
I didn’t actually buy this, but when I was at an estate sale the other day, I saw a pair of old Nike golf shoes. A dead mouse was nestled and half-mummified inside the shoe towards the heel portion and in plain sight. Still, the estate sale company had the gall to leave the dead mouse in the shoe and mark the item $3.00. Disgusting.
Yesterday I had a customer purchase an educational book from me. He then sent a message telling me he will give me positive feedback when the item arrives, but he does NOT want me to give him any feedback whatsoever. That is a first for me. Of course, it was too late, as I have autofeedback turned on.
After I checked his user name, I realized he’s a reseller of books. I assume he’s going to try to resell the book, but still not sure why he’s afraid of feedback.
