Scavenger Life

Winter is mostly slow for us. Fewer people traveling to our rentals. Fewer people in our cafes. Fewer yard sales and flea markets to scavenge. But we’re still plenty busy getting ready for the Spring.

Ryanne sold her car on eBay to a guy who drove from 12 hours away to pick it up. The agreement from “cash on pick up”. He tried to offer her less than what he purchased it for on eBay. Ryanne said pay up or hit the road. He didn’t know who he was dealing with 🙂 It would have been a long drive back without our car.

Otherwise, things are good. We’re rolling.

Check out our coffee! ► broadporch.coffee
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Our Store Week January 29 – February 4, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9303
Items Sold: 29
Gross Sales: $1,416.03 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,104.27 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $87
Cost of helpers: $80
Highest Price Sold: $120 (vintage clock)
Average Price Sold: $38.07
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 30
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

Good week of sales for us. With all the talk of a looming recession, we’ll take it. We’re currently trying to prepare for any downturn by being as frugal as comfortable and working smart. Always nerve racking running businesses when you don’t know what the future will bring!

We did sell our beloved 1996 Acura Integra. We purchased it used in 2006, drove it for 17 years, put almost 200,000 miles on it, and sold it for $1725. Still runs well and happens to be a car people like to mod out. We got lucky it’s a sought after model.

In nerdy coffee news, Ryanne competed in the US Cup Taster’s Coffee Championship (National Qualifiers) and came in sixth place. She was one of the handful of competitors that got a perfect score and will move onto Nationals in April. For those not familiar with specialty coffee, there are an insane number of ways good coffee can be roasted and taste. It’s a true skill to be able to differentiate different kinds of coffee. Check out our coffee that Ryanne helps roast! ► broadporch.coffee

Join the conversation in the forum>> HERE

Our Store Week January 22-28, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9305
Items Sold: 34
Gross Sales: $2,095.90 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,643.16 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $116
Cost of helpers: $80
Highest Price Sold: $300 (vintage bird cage
Average Price Sold: $48.32
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 0
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

Our best sale this week was a lot of antique cotton flour sacks for $170. We went to a big yard sale that was closing. The flour sacks were in a garbage bag about to be thrown away. Each had printing on them of a local company. We bought the bag for $1, Nice 🙂

Things have been going well for us on eBay. In the past several months we realized we needed to source more inventory. So we did. Now we have 25 bins of items we need to photographed and listed. Back in the summer, we realized we needed to list more. So we have been listing more and more things are selling.

We’re lucky because we’ve built an online store where we can be patient. When we list an item, as long as it sells within 10 years, we’re happy 🙂 We have a large enough inventory that something is always selling. And since we source items that cost us almost nothing, our investment is low and profit high. Our goal is to make enough to pay our monthly expenses. Achievement unlocked.

Other sellers have different ways of selling. They have different needs. They have different resources. All good.

The danger is when someone wants to be an “entrepreneur”, buys all the things, looks the part, talks the talk, and then doesn’t do the work. No amount of coaching or online courses can make a business successful.

This is really the simple secret: make a plan and then do it. There are no short cuts.

Check out our coffee! ► broadporch.coffee
Join the conversation in the forum>> HERE

Our Store Week January 15-21, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9333
Items Sold: 34
Gross Sales: $1,422.76 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,167.88 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $62
Cost of helpers: $0
Highest Price Sold: $170 (antique flour sacks)
Average Price Sold: $34.34
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 20
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

A little quieter week for us but still plenty of sales. Our helper is graduating this Spring so we’re determining if she wants to continue or we find a new person to help take photos. It’s difficult finding the right person who’s self-motivated and interested in photographing old, weird items. But if you find the right person, we think it’s a chill job where you can listen to music/podcasts and work at your own pace.

We’ve been enjoying all the conversations about everyone’s plans for 2023. It’s good to see how selling online can open up opportunities.

Check out our coffee! ► broadporch.coffee
Join the conversation in the forum>> HERE

Our Store Week January 8-14, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9351
Items Sold: 21
Gross Sales: $1,028.55 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $835.88 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $97
Cost of helpers: $0
Highest Price Sold: $250 (mid century curtains)
Average Price Sold: $48.97
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 50
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

We spent the week in NYC and are heading home soon. Been a great time to relax and scavenge.

Even though our store was on Time Away, we had great sales. Several high dollar sales of $600 (mid century wooden horse), $175 (leather jacket), $225 (vintage glass ornament), $105 (antique calling card). These are all items that have taken time to sell, but we probably paid $10 total for these items. Patience is a virtue.

We have a list of mile long of things we want/need to do in 2023. Let’s go…..

Check out our coffee! ► broadporch.coffee
Join the conversation in the forum>> HERE

Our Store Week January 1-7, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9335
Items Sold: 17
Gross Sales: $1,894.07 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,530.33 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $38
Cost of helpers: $80
Highest Price Sold: $600 (mid century wooden horse)
Average Price Sold: $90.02
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $32
Number of items listed this week: 50
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

Happy New Year! As we wander the streets of NYC, enjoying the rhythm of city life, I realize how scavenging has become deeply habit for us. No matter where we go, we’re always looking at what’s being left out or thrown away. We have no shame, embarrassment, or hesitation when digging into a pile of trash if we think there’s something valuable there. We skip over new stores and seek out all the stores that are selling used goods. The excitement of the hunt is constant. And since we have a process to list and sell anything we find, our scavenging habit is a virtuous circle where once one good thing starts happening, other good things happen, which cause the first thing to continue happening.

This is why we think the “habit of scavenging” is really the key to success. Forget all the get-rich-quick guides. Our success has just been an accumulation of scavenging that happens every time we walk outside.

We don’t have any New Years resolutions. Just keep doing what we’re doing.

Check out our coffee! ► broadporch.coffee
Join the conversation in the forum>> HERE

Our Store Week December 25-31, 2022

Total Items in Store: 9277
Items Sold: 18
Gross Sales: $1,681.55 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,354 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $122
Cost of helpers: $77
Highest Price Sold: $725 (antique vase)
Average Price Sold: $75.22
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 30
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)