Scavenger Life

Quieter week on eBay but sales continue. That’s all we ask for! Steady sales. Haven’t had time to list recently so our large inventory will likely carry us for the next month.

Here’s a sneak peak at our new cafe. Renovation is done and now we’re raining a new staff. We’re excited about how it’s turning out.

Check out our coffee! ► broadporch.coffee
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Our Store Week January 21-27, 2024

Total Items in Store: 9450
Items Sold: 21
Gross Sales: $888.61 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $600.17 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $68
Cost of helpers: $0
Highest Price Sold: $75 (vintage door knocker)
Average Price Sold: $28.57
Returns: 0
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)

For the next several weeks it’s still all-hands-on-deck trying to get our new cafe open. All the details feel endless. In smaller towns/cities, it feels like all eyes are on us. Each day we’re waking up and getting more details done, pushing as hard as we can to open. Until we open, it’s costing us money. When we open, we’re making money! Business is simple!

eBay is doing well for us. Lots of random stuff selling. Having this pipeline allows us to do other things.

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

Our Store Week January 14-20, 2024

Total Items in Store: 9483
Items Sold: 41
Gross Sales: $1,820.70 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,250.48 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $133
Cost of helpers: $0
Highest Price Sold: $100 (vintage combat boots)
Average Price Sold: $30.49
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 new cafe opens in the next two weeks so we are completely slammed. Renovations are being finished, inspections being scheduled, supplies being ordered, staff being hired and trained, nuts. It’s like big production being put on! Its very stressful but we hope/know its a great emotional/financial pay off 🙂

eBay sales are going well. Steady sales are always a great feeling. Hope you guys are selling.

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

Our Store Week January 7-13, 2024

Total Items in Store: 9535
Items Sold: 40
Gross Sales: $2,609.96 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,874.29 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $89
Cost of helpers: $40
Highest Price Sold: $1000 (Vintage appliance)
Average Price Sold: $46.85
Returns: 2
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 10
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

We ended the year with strong sales and are happy with how are store is working. When you sell stuff you scavenge randomly, you just never know how it’ll do. It’s a much different business model from a store that does market research and stocks items that are popular for resell. As scavengers, we’re always hoping there are other people that see the value in the stuff we find.

Our most fun sale was a vintage hanging lamp that we sold for about $150. Several months ago we went to a house that was being renovated. The woman sold us a set of 1970s appliances for $300 (that Ryanne quickly sold for $2000). While at the house, Ryanne saw some lamps in the dumpster out front. Lady said we could have them free. Ryanne jumped in and got them. I love her.

We’re about a month away from opening our new cafe in Harrisonburg, VA. Last minute renovations are taking longer than we want. Lots of moving pieces. Hiring a full staff. Need to train. Set up equipment. Style the inside. Oh boy. Its a bigger city but has a small enough downtown that we have a lot of buzz and anticipation. Let’s go.

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

Our Store Week December 31-January 6, 2023/24

Total Items in Store: 9580
Items Sold: 27
Gross Sales: $1,528.72 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $947.37 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $89
Cost of helpers: $0
Highest Price Sold: $175 (studio vase)
Average Price Sold: $35.08
Returns: 0
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $100
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 🙂 The last week of 2023 was pretty solid for our eBay store. We sold a number of items that we got for free from a clean-out we did of someone’s garage. We love free. The woman was happy to load up our truck with stuff that was cluttering her place, but she did think we were weird we wanted it all. I kept thinking, “Lady, you are making our week.”

We honestly don’t have any big plans/changes for our eBay store. For many of us, consistency is really the key to success rather than ever increasing big changes. Keep burnout at bay is probably the biggest “all the time” goal. After 15 years of selling online, we avoid burnout by just doing a little bit all the time + selling things we think are fun to find.

One goal is to photograph and list on Facebook Marketplace a bunch of big items we’ve collected this past year. There’s furniture we replaced at our rentals. Left over construction material from our last renovation. Kitchen equipment we’ve updated from our cafe. It all has value but takes work to process.

See you in 2024.

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

Our Store Week December 24-30, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9580
Items Sold: 27
Gross Sales: $1,244.06 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $932.37 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $59
Cost of helpers: $80
Highest Price Sold: $87 (vintage roller skates)
Average Price Sold: $34.53
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $60
Number of items listed this week: 20
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

We noticed that eBay seems to be trying to solve the issue of unpaid items on offers. The issue is when a buyer makes an offer, doesn’t pay, and keeps an item tied up in limbo. After a week or so, seller has to relist. A big waste of time and lost income.

Over the past year, eBay sometimes requires a payment option when a buyer makes an offer. If the offer is accepted, the buyer is immediately charged. We like this. Commitment to purchase when offer is made.

This past week, we noticed eBay is testing a different system. We would get offers, accept, but not see the items in our solds. I guess eBay is allowing multiple buyers to make offers on the same item. Sellers accept any good offers. Whichever buyer pays first, gets the item.

I guess this system creates FOMO among buyers to encourage them to pay quickly…while also keeping an item listed till it’s paid for. I guess this also gives the buyer power because they can put offers on multiple items, choosing the best one. This forces sellers to consider all offers and imagine they’re competing with other sellers to win the buy.

Not sure which system eBay will ultimately choose. Likely whichever one buyers prefer and use more since the whole goal is to sell as many items as possible. We’re just glad to see eBay evolving.

We had another good week of sales. We’re actually running low on unlisted inventory, so we’re on the hunt for more. Treasure hunting is my wheelhouse.

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

Our Store Week December 17-23, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9585
Items Sold: 35
Gross Sales: $2,343.95 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,719.82 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $157
Cost of helpers: $80
Highest Price Sold: $325 (antique bowl)
Average Price Sold: $49.13
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
Number of items listed this week: 10
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

It feels like holiday season in our store. We sold almost six items a day this week, which is a lot for us. People wanted all our weird stuff. Old toy cars. Old pottery. Several pieces of artwork. Lamps. Drawer pulls. Sold a pair of sweat pants for $85. What? Good feeling of accomplishment.

We’ve always taken returns. If someone is unhappy, we always say “send back for a full refund”. Recently we’ve started letting people keep items instead of sending them back IF we don’t think we can resell the item. Returns have always been a touchy subject for us because we don’t like when people complain about petty things or fishing for refunds. We’ve always thought it’s important to make people send things back. But as many of you have said, sometimes it’s just easier to just say “Keep it. We’re done”.

If you’re looking for a cool holiday gift, consider sending them coffee that we roast! http://broadporchcoffee.com We roast fresh each week.

Join the conversation in the forum>> HERE

Our Store Week December 10-16, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9612
Items Sold: 40
Gross Sales: $2,262.73 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,675.26 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $88
Cost of helpers: $80
Highest Price Sold: $250 (vintage toy car)
Average Price Sold: $41.88
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $200
Number of items listed this week: 30
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

We’re very happy about life in general, including our eBay business. Important to recognize when it feels like things are clicking and all our work is paying off. This isn’t always true 🙂

Our best sale of the week was a vintage doorknob from the NY public schools for $150. If you google it, the door knob has a very distinct cool style. I bought the doorknob for $40 at a thrift store which is a rare strategy for us. We like to buy cheeeaaaaaap. It was one of the “glass case” items. I took a chance on the purchase because I saw that the knobs sell for over $100. Knob sold the same day we listed it.

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

Our Store Week December 3-9, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9611
Items Sold: 35
Gross Sales: $1,765.03 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,306.58 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $112
Cost of helpers: $80
Highest Price Sold: $150 (vintage doorknob)
Average Price Sold: $37.33
Returns: 1
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $20
Number of items listed this week: 20
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

Feels like people are buying which is good because we have a lot to sell! We’ve found a consistent source of inventory that’s been keeping our store full of cool items. Because competition is so fierce, we’re keeping it a secret. Good honey holes don’t seem to last long these days.

When we renovate properties, we usually start buying items to decorate the place. Home goods, furniture artwork. It’s fun to shop with a purpose. Because we can shop for a good six months, our rentals always have a good collection of eclectic, high quality items that we purchased for little money.

Then anything we don’t use, we sell. This week we sold a set of small nesting tables for $600. They look cool but are not functional for a rental. Put it back into the stream and make some money off them. This is the scavenger way.

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

Our Store Week November 26 – December 2, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9645
Items Sold: 35
Gross Sales: $2,777.56 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $2,029.58 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $154
Cost of helpers: $40
Highest Price Sold: $600 (vintage nesting tables)
Average Price Sold: $57.98
Returns: 2
Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $30
Number of items listed this week: 40
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(Your numbers can be found here: https://www.ebay.com/sh/performance/sales)

When things consistently sell in our eBay store, I have a noticeable spring in my step. Such a great feeling to be living our life doing fun projects and money is being made. It’s all the same stuff we’ve always been selling but this week people are buying.

Our best sale this week was a part from an old clothes washer we purchased off Craigslist for $200. The people told us it worked, but when we plugged it in…it didn’t work. Craigslist is a “caveat emptor” avenue. We’ve had hundreds of successful deals on Craiglist so live and learn. Ryanne took the washer apart and now we’re selling it in pieces. I bet we’ll make money!

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

Our Store Week November 19-25, 2023

Total Items in Store: 9605
Items Sold: 33
Gross Sales: $1,479.21 (including eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Net Sales: $1,068.04 (minus eBay fees, shipping, and taxes)
Cost of Items Sold: $128
Cost of helpers: $40
Highest Price Sold: $135 (dishwasher control panel)
Average Price Sold: $32.26
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)