Sure I'll Take That Back ... But It's Gonna Cost You ...

A couple months ago, I implemented a 20% restocking fee on returns. I had several reasons for doing this:

• Now that we are being charged Final Value Fees on our shipping, eBay wasn't going to refund that if we ended up refunding our buyer.
• Returns cost me time. I have to go through the motions of refunding the buyer, requesting a transaction cancellation, relisting the item, and putting it back into storage. Hopefully I won't have to re-polish shoes, or re-wash clothes, or anything else like that.
• Returns cost me money. As I just mentioned, I'm losing the Final Value Fee on the shipping. I also have to pay to relist the item. Yes, only a nickel, but nickels add up very quickly.
• My hope was that the restocking fee would discourage buyer's remorse returns.

I've had to enforce it a few times, with mixed results. I had a buyer who admitted that she didn't read the listing, and wanted to know if I would charge the restocking fee if she returned the Care Bear. Of course I will. YOU didn't read the listing. Why would I not charge that fee? Of course that's not how I worded it. But it still ruffled her feathers. She was annoyed with me right from the start. I stood my ground though. I also blocked her. Not for returning the item, but for giving me a hard time about my return policy. She found out I blocked her, and she gave me a negative. So ... not a real good outcome.

I had another buyer who insisted the size tag was wrong on a shirt I sold her. It was new with tags. The card tag and the silk tag both said the same thing. She wasn't too thrilled and felt that it was "unfair to charge a restocking fee when the shirt obviously isn't a size 7." But again, I stood my ground. She returned it, I promptly refunded, she agreed to cancel the transaction, and never left me feedback.

I had a third buyer who wrote me to let me know that the shoes were great and that my description was accurate, but that the heels are too high for her comfort. I reminded her of the restocking fee. She apparently changed her mind, because I never got the shoes back and she left me positive feedback. That is exactly what I was hoping for when I implemented the restocking fee. I hoped that it would make people think twice about returning for silly reasons.

This week, Cheryl on eBay Underground discovered that eBay is in fact refunding our FVFs on shipping. I double-checked my invoice and sure enough - they are! So now I'm rethinking my restocking fee. Here's what I've decided to do:

I'm going to leave the restocking fee wording in my listings. This will hopefully continue to deter the silly returns. I will waive the restocking fee on most of my returns. If the buyer comes right out of the gate being nasty (hello Care Bear lady), then I'll charge it (as long as it wasn't my mistake, of course). On the other hand, manners go a long way in my book. For example, I sold a pair of pants this week that didn't fit the buyer. Yes, I included measurements in the listing, so I could certainly charge the restocking fee since it wasn't my fault. But she was very nice and apologetic when she contacted me, so I don't mind waiving that fee at all.

I'll just have to decide on a case-by-case basis. I'll leave the wording, so I'll always have the option of charging it if I'm grumpy :)  But more often than not, I suspect I won't be charging it. That will make the buyers feel special!

What do you think? As a buyer, would you buy from a seller with a restocking fee? As a seller, would you charge a restocking fee?

This Week on eBay Underground

The boards have been HOPPING this week! We've got more than 600 members now, so there are new topics being started all the time! If you don't have time to keep up with them all, here are some highlights from this past week:

• We've started to compile a list of our quickest sellers. This is a great quick start guide for our new sellers. What have you sold that is a consistently FAST seller?
• We've been discussing some tips for running a successful sale in our eBay stores.
• More lamentations from the Black Hole and what to do about it once you've fallen in.
• Our October listing contest is wrapping up. How many items have you gotten listed this month??
• It's Pyrex Week! Tina wrote a great Pyrex article here on We Sell on eBay, and we're discussing it even more on the boards.
• Tanya found a crazy item this week, which has sparked some pretty amusing conversation.
• What to look for in woven trivets - what do you think, are they ugly or not?
• We've also had quite a few conversations about what to do when things don't go exactly as planned: delayed shipping at the buyer's request, item was refused and sent back - who pays shipping?, buyers who don't understand supply & demand when it comes to pricing, where is my item?, and so much more!

Stop by the boards and say hello! As always, if none of the current (zillions and zillions of) topics interest you, start a new one about something you'd love to talk about!

We Love Pyrex!

The topic this week on Ebay Underground  is all about Pyrex.  Now that is a big subject!  We all agree that we love PYREX!  We love the colors, we love the patterns and most of all we love to sell Pyrex.  It is estimated that over 80% of all homes own Pyrex and who knows how many of those home collect the beautiful colors that Pyrex has to offer.

One of our favorite places to ID our Pyrex pattern name is "Pyrex Love"  This place is jammed with information!  I hope you visit that site and bookmark it. You will be glad that you did!
Another great place to visit is Corelle Corner.  This has a wealth of information!  Love, love, love it!

So here is a good representation on how Pyrex junkies can get carried away.  This Gold Electroplate Pie Pan holder (with clear straight sided pie pan) went for over $400!   Sadly the person didn't pay, for it looks like the next week this buyer sold it at a little over $100.  Still that is a sweet price, don't you agree?

You can not go wrong selling a set of Pyrex Primary Colors stacking bowl set!  That is if you can bear to part with it.  This set went for $100.00 Prices can vary depending on how many are at auction or available at that time.  I like to keep track of auctions only to be able to price my item high in the store.  For instance, if I had a set in my store at $99, the other bidders might mosey over to my store after the auction is over since they are hot after these babies.

The Gooseberry pattern is hot right now!  Did you notice the shape of these bowl, one side being a spout?  This is known as a Cinderella bowl.  Now don't be fooled, Cinderella is NOT a pattern name.  I've seen the term Cinderella coined as a pattern on some other blogs, but I can tell you in certainty that Cinderella means that the bowl has a handle on one side and a spout on the other.  This was a very popular design with the housewives, you know, back when women baked from scratch. Cinderella bowl is essentially a mixing bowl! (with spout)  There were Cinderella sets in the late 1950's, which were 3 piece casserole sets.

Check this covered casserole!  This seller sold for over $80!  The color Turquoise is HOT right now, the design has clean lines and the clear glass cover is the icing on the cake.  Right now with all the bad press being given to plastic containers and the toxins that leach out during microwaving you will notice the surge in buying glass.

Is it Pyrex?

You will notice that some buyers put Pyrex in their titles when the item is Fire King, Hazel Atlas, and Federal.  This is NOT correct.  However there are some companies that did contract with Corning for their items.  

• GEMCO
• Hamilton Beach
• Salton
• Melitta
• Silex
• GE
• Universal
• Cafex
• Chemex
• Fry Ovenware

Dating Clear Pyrex

Did you know that you can tell the date of your clear Pyrex by the shape of the handles?  It is true!  Pyrex has changed over the years in a very clear way.

Clear casseroles with no handles date from 1915 to 1926.  You will also notice that there is a knob on the top of the casserole covers.  Spot a casserole with that knob, you know you have an old one!

This is a scalloped handle.  This pan would be dated between 1926 to 1939.  If you find a pie pan with this handle, you could easily price it around $30 at this time. 

Between the years 1939 and 1947 the handles were plain and boring.  This add gives you a good idea however of what those handles looked like and what was being offered. The handles were level with the pan, not upturned.  This particular ad was 1939.  Take a look at the Flameware on the bottom of this ad!  You can find these at thrift stores, estate sales, indoor fleamarkets and vendor malls.

1947 - 1950 was the sculptured handled era. It didn't last long.  Generally the lid's handles fit right down over the container lid.


The handles became full width from 1950 into the 1980's




When you are listing your piece, you will want to include the model numbers. For lids, look on the rims or handles, for other items look on the bottom or under the handle.  These numbers actually are the item description. 

Item Numbers

• 72  Butter Dish
• 75  Margarine Dish
• 77 Gravy Server
• 022 Round Bottom Casserole 1 qt (lid 622, 682)
• 023 Round Bottom Casserole 1 1/2 qt (lid 623, 683)
• 024 Round Bottom Casserole 2 qt (lid 624, 684)
• 026 Round Bottom Casserole 3 qt (lid 626, 687)
• 043 Oval Casserole 1 1/2 qt (lid 943)
• 045 Oval Casserole 2 1/2 qt (lid 945)
• 063 Oval Casserole 1 qt (lid 945)
• 322 Rimmed Nesting Bowl 1 qt
• 323 Rimmed Nesting Bowl 1 1/2 qt
• 325 Rimmed Nesting Bowl 2 1/2 qt
• 326 Rimmed Nesting Bowl 4 qt
• 401 Nesting bowl 1 1/2pt
• 402 Nesting bowl 1 1/2 qt
• 403 Nesting bowl 2 1/2 qt
• 404 Nesting bowl 4 qt
• 441 Cinderella bowl 1 1/2 pt
• 442 Cinderella bowl 1 1/2 qt
• 443 Cinderella bowl 2 1/2 qt
• 444 Cinderella bowl 4 qt
• 471 Cinderella Casserole 1 pt
• 472 Cinderella Casserole 1 1/2 pt
• 473 Cinderella Casserole 1 qt
• 474 Cinderella Casserole 1 1/2 qt
• 475 Cinderella Casserole 2 1/2 qt
• 501 Refrigerator Dish 1 1/2 cup
• 502 Refrigerator Dish 1 1/2 pt
• 503 Refrigerator Dish 1 1/2 qt
• 664 Round Casserole 4 qt (no handle, wide rim)
• 722 Creamer
• 770 Small Bowl (footed 1 cup)
• 1410  Pyrex mug (8-9 oz)  1970's on marked 300ml
• 7401 Clear Round Bowl 1 1/2 pt
• 7402 Clear Round Bowl 1 1/2 qt
• 7403 Clear Round Bowl 2 1/2 qt
• 7404 Clear Round Bowl 4 qt

There you go! Now you know why we love Pyrex!


Join us on Ebay Underground!  We would love to meet you.  This group is dedicated to helping others unselfishly be successful at online sales.

Fantastic Finds Friday

We want to hear all about your Fantastic Finds! This features isn't about your exciting sales. It's about your exciting finds! There are so many places to find inventory: your closet, your garage, a yard sale, thrift stores, a consignment item you're selling for someone else. What did you find this week that you are excited about? It can be something you're excited to get listed OR something you're excited to keep! You can even post to your listing, if you'd like. Free advertising!

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I'm in Virginia right now visiting with my family.  I'm here for personal reasons but hope to squeeze out a little shopping for inventory.  As I was driving down on Wednesday I took a little detour to the Goodwill in Dover....what a beautiful area.  I quickly scanned the shoes and found 4 for resale at $4 a piece.  Next I did a quick scan of the toys and found a vintage Fisher Price phonograph circa 1978. Terapeak is showing an average price of $24.18 with a 50% sell through rate.  Six recently sold in the last few months at $50 or more....that's my number!  I paid $5 for it and it's clean.  Total spent $21 with $175 in projected sales.

Happy eBaying!!   
~~Lesley
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As I mentioned briefly last week, I had a road trip this past weekend. I have to admit I was a little disappointed. We always hope to find some fantastic treasures on these trips. Besides shoes, literally all I got were some kids' books, a Vision Ware pan, 2 Revere Ware pans, a Baby Gap outfit, and 2 turntables. It was quite a letdown. But. My whole purpose for the road trip was to increase my shoe inventory. I didn't find as many as I usually do. I was a little picky this time. Some of the Harrisburg stores have such high prices. I refuse to pay $8-12 for a pair of Clarks. So I did have to leave behind quite a few pairs, but I still came home with 40 pairs. Of course they're all still in a pile, but I hope to get to them this week. Or at least some of them.
~~Jessica
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What about you?  If you found something this week that you are excited about please share your enthusiasm here!!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

Alright, kids. I'm back! I'm still just as busy as I was last week, and I haven't come anywhere close to getting caught up on anything, but I happen to love my Top eBay Moments post, so here I am :)

I had a great eBay week this week! I'm out of my most recent black hole, and my sales have taken off again. I had 89 sales!! Only 10 of those were shoes. I sold a LOT of shoe care products (small dollar amounts). I have one Unpaid Item case open currently. I'm not holding out much hope, and I'm really disgusted, because it was a big sale, and it wasn't mine. (More on that in a bit...) I sold an item this week that I didn't have. I originally had 2 of them and had previously sold both of them, but eBay didn't update the quantity on my listing and my listing showed that I still had one available. Grr. I quickly refunded with a message, and the buyer immediately agreed to cancel the transaction. I also had a few returns this week, which is always frustrating. But, I accept returns. I charge a restocking fee (more on that in another post...), and I don't refund shipping (unless it was my fault, obviously). I got back 2 things that didn't fit and one thing that I listed as a dress but was actually a shirt. Oops. Everyone was nice this week, which was so refreshing.

International sales have really picked up too. Are you shipping internationally?? I sold an item this week for $39.99. I just checked completeds and mine was the highest priced one that sold. There were lots of others listed for less than mine, so why did mine sell and theirs didn't? I'm pretty sure it was because I offered international shipping and the others didn't. If you aren't shipping internationally, you need to seriously reconsider that decision. eBay is truly a worldwide marketplace.

Ok, enough of my side rant .... On to my favorite sales:

The only reason I'm mentioning this sale this week is because I had to sell it twice before it stuck. The first buyer didn't read the description and thought it was full sized. She gave me a really hard time right from the start, and I got fed up with her, so I blocked her. She found out I blocked her and gave me a negative. Ugh. She also returned the bear, which I refunded, immediately relisted, and sold a few days later. So yes, the first buyer is still a poo-head (so mature, right?), but at least the bear is gone.  Paid $0, Sold for $10.

The only reason I'm featuring these is because I bought them on 10/27/2010 and I sold them on 10/27/2011. That greatly amused me. Paid $3.90, Sold for $20.00.

These Columbia shorts came from this yard sale. I put off listing them because they were shorts, and who's gonna buy shorts at the end of October? Well, someone from Florida, that's who. They sold the morning after I listed them. Paid $6, Sold for $24.99.  I bought 120 items at that yard sale, and I spent $717.75. So far, I have sold 28 items for a total of $739.27. I've made back my investment in one month, and I still have 92 items left to sell!

Remember this yard sale? I sold the last piece of Revere Ware that I bought at that sale (for $25). I bought 6 pans (plus 4 lids) for $40. I sold all of it for a total of $141.99, and in less than 2 months. Another win!

I had just sworn off Polaroids when the ones I already had started selling! I bought this one for $1.99 back in June. It sat around for months before I finally got around to listing it. I listed it two weeks ago and it quickly sold to an Australian buyer for my full asking price of $39.99! I guess I'm back to buying Polaroids again...

This was the international sale I mentioned earlier. I bought this car on a shopping trip with Lesley in June. I paid 97 cents for it. I listed it for $39.99 or best offer. I got an offer for something like $10, with an accompanying note letting me know that $39.99 is entirely too much for a used toy. Yeah well. Decline. I sent it to auction twice, starting at $26.99, but got no bids. I stuck it back in my store this week for my original $39.99 or best offer and sold it full price to another Australian buyer! You'll definitely want to add this one to your BOLO list.

No fancy story behind these. I paid $2.99 for these in June. I had zero watchers, zero offers, zero interest whatsoever in these boots. Over the weekend, an eBay member messaged me asking if they were waterproof. (They aren't.) The next day, a different member bought them for $40 (free shipping, which was only $4.90).

These were another quick sell. Always buy Keens. I knew these would sell quickly, because they are a little cuter than the usual style. I paid $2.99 for these on October 11. I listed them quickly, and they sold a few days later on the 21st for $45!

And another quick one! I paid $4.99 for this bear on October 18 and listed him the same day at auction. It only got one bid, but it was a good one - $49.99! I was bummed that it didn't go this high, but that seller is obviously off his rocker, since the highest this bear has sold in the past year was about $60. I'm happy with my x10 profit.

My two highest sales this week weren't even my own items. Bummer. This Merrell jacket was from my sister-in-law. In fact, I don't think it was even hers. I think a friend of hers gave it to her and she didn't want it. Lucky her - she paid nothing for it and sold it for $59.99!

And this one - the last time I visited my sister-in-law, I eyed my nephew's Lego closet with envy. He's got so much great, resellable stuff in there! I told him how much he could get for his Batmobile if he decided to sell it. Not surprisingly, he said no. Also not surprisingly, after he had a couple months to sleep on it, he changed his mind. He brought it to me, fully assembled, wrapped in a blanket and tucked safely into a huge Rubbermaid. It was dusty, didn't have a box, didn't have instructions, but he assured me it was complete. It sat around for awhile, because I wasn't sure how to clean it. I finally decided to brush it off the best I could with an old toothbrush and listed it as needing some cleaning. I listed it for $149.99obo, hoping for at least $100, but because it had no instructions, I wasn't sure I'd get that much. I got a $100 offer over the weekend. I checked with my sister-in-law and she said to accept it. So I did, but naturally ... it hasn't been paid for yet. There is currently an Unpaid Item case open for it, and I'm really annoyed, because now I have to tell my nephew that he's not getting his $100 after all. :(

So there you have it - some good, some bad. How'd you do?

------------------
**UPDATE, several hours later:  WOOT! The Batmobile is paid for. I don't have to make my nephew cry after all :)

Taking a Forced Break...

Just a quickie post today. It has been a weird couple of weeks here. I'm not sure where my time has been going, but I've been really hard pressed to get any posts up at all. I was out of town all day yesterday on a buying trip, and I'm headed out of town this afternoon for the weekend. When I get back on Monday, my first order of business is going to be getting the house recovered and getting some of my new goodies listed. I'll try to squeeze some blogging in somewhere in there, but I make no promises. Hope to be back at it by next weekend. Please don't leave!

Make It Happen Monday

Wow. I had The. Worst. Sales. Week. last week. It was horrid. I just barely reached HALF of my goal for the week. And I wasn't alone. So many of our members on eBay Underground said they were also having their worst week this week. Can't really figure it out, but it stinks.

I spent MUCH of last week feeling really nasty and bitter toward eBay. It's extremely irritating to me that I am PAYING for a month of listing, I am PAYING for a month of store fees. And yet, all signs point to the fact that my listings are NOT showing up for that entire month. I was grumpy and moody most of the week. But you know what? I may not have reached the thousand that I was hoping for, but I do have $500 more than what I had a week ago. So why am I complaining?

We are very fortunate in that my eBay income isn't a requirement. Yes, since I've started selling, our quality of living has increased. I've gotten lazy with my coupon shopping (higher grocery bills). I've gotten lazy with cooking (higher restaurant spending). But we've also gotten to do some stuff we hadn't been able to before (taking the kids out for one-on-one evenings, redecorating bedrooms, etc). None of those things are necessities. I don't HAVE to make $1000 a week selling on eBay. I seriously need to keep things in perspective. We have a comfortable life. I need to learn to be grateful for the sales that I do have, and not be so grumpy when I don't reach my high, self-imposed goals.

Don't get me wrong - I'll still set high goals for myself, and I'll still strive to reach them. But I'm no longer going to let it get me down and make me snap at my family when I don't have a good sales day.

Someone hold me to that?

Fantastic Finds Friday

We want to hear all about your Fantastic Finds! This features isn't about your exciting sales. It's about your exciting finds! There are so many places to find inventory: your closet, your garage, a yard sale, thrift stores, a consignment item you're selling for someone else. What did you find this week that you are excited about? It can be something you're excited to get listed OR something you're excited to keep! You can even post to your listing, if you'd like. Free advertising!

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Well I must say that I'm pretty proud of myself right now. Not because I found anything great to share with you, but because I'm updating this blog from my iPhone. If you know me than this is a big deal! :)

I have a big shopping trip planned in 1 weeks. I will be heading down to VA and am already mapping out some hot spots. I hope to find lots of great things to share here with you!

In the mean time...happy eBaying!

Lesley
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Yay for road trips, Lesley! I've got one planned for next week too. I'm almost caught up on all my unlisted items. Surely I'll get them done in the next week before leaving.

I just found a bunch of my regular run-of-the-mill stuff this week. A few turntables, several pairs of shoes, another Alf.  I guess I'm most excited about the Alf, because he's always good for a quick 30 bucks or so. But I'm also pretty excited about my suede mary jane Keens. I don't know that I have ever found any Keens myself. All the ones I've sold have been ones my sister-in-law found for me. And these are cute!

Jessica
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What about you?  If you found something this week that you are excited about please share your enthusiasm here!!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

Last week, I mentioned that I didn't have any deadbeat buyers, and it was so refreshing. I wish I had savored that at the time... I also mentioned last week that I had 3 pending returns. Only 1 actually returned the item! Yay! Apparently the other two were put off by my restocking fee and decided to keep the items. One left me positive feedback, and I would prefer if the other just kept quiet. She's trouble waiting to happen, so I'll not be contacting her for feedback or to find out what happened with the return.

I did have 2 problem buyers this week. One says that his/her ivory shoe cream is "too thin and doesn't cover the scuffs on my ivory leather shoes. Please send me a thicker product."  uhh... The product is what it is. I don't have thick and thin versions. I explained that and offered to accept a return, but he/she decided it wasn't worth the trouble and expense of returning. Also said that they would be leaving me a neutral "for the product," but I never got any feedback from them at all. Phew.

The other buyer lives less than an hour from me. She offered me $10 + $2.50 shipping for a Care Bear. I accepted and shipped it out. She write me and said, "I just got the bear. I don't think it cost you $2.50 to ship it from so nearby. If I return it, will you be keeping a $2 restocking fee?" (I do have a 20% restocking fee on returns that aren't my fault.) I replied that it actually cost me $2.09 plus the cost of my packing materials and labels, and yes I charge a 20% restocking fee. Is there something wrong with the bear that you wish to return it? She said, "I guess it's my fault. I didn't read the description. I just saw the bear and bought it. I was expecting full size." (It was 10")  I replied that the measurements are in the title and description, but she could return it if she wanted, and her refund would be $8. She replied that after she paid to ship it back, she'd be down to $6, which is half of what she paid. Um, yep. Read the description next time, lady. So she asked me yesterday to just give her a $5 refund. haha. No. So we'll see where this goes...

Anyway... I had 54 sales this week, only 7 of which were shoes. I have a road trip planned for next Thursday, so hopefully I can get my shoe inventory back up a bit. The highlights:

I sold this for my mom. She had it in our yard sale this summer for $5. No one bought it, so I offered to try to sell it on eBay for a few bucks. I was pretty surprised to see that they were listed for a high price, so I priced this at $21.99 with free shipping. It sold! And I was able to fit it into a box in a flat rate priority envelope, so shipping was only $4.90!

I'm having a grand time with the things I bought at this yard sale! These Pittsburgh Steelers medical scrubs pants (new with tags) were from there. I bought 4 pairs for $3 each and already sold one pair for $21.99.

I bought this about a year ago, because I remembered my brother having one when we were little. Turns out his was the red LED display, not the grey and black display that this one has. I decided to keep it and let the kids use it for math review. Well, with most new things like this, they were excited about it for about a month. I just found it in the back of our math manipulatives drawer and decided to list it. It sold the next day for my full asking price of $24.99! I had listed it with free US shipping, but it sold internationally, so I didn't even have to pay the shipping :)

Remember when I bought 6 pieces of Revere Ware at this yard sale? I paid $40 for all of it and immediately sold the large skillet for $40, so the rest is straight up profit. I sold this 2 quart saucepan and lid for $29.99 with free shipping. I lucked out, because the buyer was in my shipping zone, so it only cost me $5 to ship.

I love selling Clairol Kindness Deluxe 3-Way Hairsetters. This is the 3rd or 4th one I sold, and it was no exception. This was the very first hot roller set I sold. It was back before I knew that BIN listings were the way to go. I auctioned it and it went for $51! I haven't sold any that high since. They usually go for $30-35. I paid $6.25 for this one and sold it for $30.

This Columbia fleece pullover was from the same yard sale where I got the Steelers scrubs pants. I had 2 of the exact same pullover, both new with tags. I paid $5.50 each. I listed them for $30.99, free shipping. I sold them both to the same buyer! And that buyer was international, so yet again - I didn't have to pay shipping :)

I bought these without looking them up. I had no idea, but they were pretty, so I thought surely I'd do ok with them. I paid $5 for them, and as soon as my sister-in-law saw them, she wanted them. Her husband seemed to feel that she already had enough stuff laying around their house :) so I told her that if I still had them at Christmastime, they were all hers. Well ... it was looking good for her until this week. They sold for $45 (sorry, Paula!)

One last sale from the scrubs and Columbia yard sale. I paid $9 for this new with tags men's Timberland coat. I accepted an offer of $62.99 + shipping to Canada. Yay!

I bought 120 items at that yard sale, all new with tags. I paid a total of $717.75 for it all (I know - it stung at the time...). So far, in 13 days, I have sold 21 of the items for a whopping $532.61!! So I have 99 items left to sell, and I'm only $180 away from fully recovering my investment!

The lesson? Yes, $700+ was a huge, scary investment for me. That was a big fat check, and I was literally sick to my stomach about it. What if I had made a huge mistake? And where on earth am I going to store all this stuff? And how am I going to get it all listed?? Panic, panic, panic. But ... I don't even have it all listed yet and I'm doing quite well with it. Sometimes you just have to jump. You'll land on both feet ... eventually :)

This Week's Shopping Trip

My friends! I am so sorry to have neglected you so long. This has been a strange week, and blogging has taken a back burner. But I am back! I managed to get to Goodwill THREE times this week! And I found lots of goodies each time.

My top priority over the next couple weeks is to restock my shoes. I don't usually find more than a pair or two at a time at my Goodwill, so I was pleased to find FOUR pairs of Clarks there, and some Capezio tap shoes. Also found a turntable (half off color of the week) and yet another Alf! This is my 4th Alf, and he was the cheapest one yet at 50 cents! Total paid: $16.01

The mission on this trip was to find church shoes for my 4 year old and a plaid shirt for my 11 year old daughter's school picture. Mission accomplished, but not with the blue shirt. She already took off in the one she liked better. The shoes were too big. For eBay purposes, I found a NIP Spiderman costume, a Butterfly Gold Pyrex casserole, a beautiful (!) wool blend Rothschild coat, and the Prep School Gymboree dress and sweater. Retail for that outfit is $65! I'll never understand Gymbo moms... Total Paid for resale: $10.02

Having been there twice already this week, I needed something new to look at, so I've decided to start collecting kids' books for in lots. I'll only buy the half off color of the week, so that pile was 25 cents each. Found some goodies: Indian in the Cupboard, Magic Tree House, Last of the Mohicans ... Also some Bloch tap shoes, some I-swear-they've-never-been-worn Birkenstocks, a pair of black suede Mary Jane Keens, and the brown Softspots. These are NOT on my BOLO list, but I was drawn to them last week for some reason. Not drawn enough to pay full price though, but they were this week's half off color, so I went ahead and got them. Decided to risk $1.49. I see this brand all the time, so if they do well, it will be nice to have a new name to add to my BOLO list. Total Paid: $14.71

I really hope to get some time today to get these shoes cleaned up so I can list them. I've gotten a bit of a stash, but they won't sell sitting in my to-be-listed pile!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

I had 46 sales this week. Only 10 of those were shoes. I'm starting to feel a little bit panicky about the level of my shoe inventory. I am currently at about half of the most shoes I've ever had. I seriously need to get out for a road trip. One good road trip can get me anywhere from 30-70 pairs of shoes, depending on where I go. I didn't have ANY deadbeat buyers this week! I didn't have to open ANY unpaid item cases. What a breath of fresh air! I did have a woman buy a puzzle and pay for it, and then she immediately wrote me and said never mind, her son already has that one, so she needs to cancel. I also got notified of 3 pending returns. One was absolutely my fault. Turns out the "S" in a shoe size means "Slim" and isn't just part of the style number. Oops.

My favorite sales this week weren't necessarily high dollar amounts, but I'm happy about them for one reason or another:

This vest was my daughter's. She hardly ever wore it. It's really cute, so I'm not sure why we never put it on her. I would have stuck it in the yard sale for 50 cents or a dollar, but I thought I'd give it a shot on eBay. I wasn't sure how it would do, since it's not a brand name (I think it's Walmart, in fact). It sold for $8.99 with free shipping. Shipping was only $1.92, so I came out pretty far ahead of where I'd been by putting it in the yard sale.

Honestly, I couldn't care less about the sale of this game, but I wanted to share the backstory. This was part of a big lot of board games I bought at an auction for $3. There was absolutely nothing exciting in the box. Pictionary, Scrabble, HuskerDu, Yahtzee, blah blah blah. Run of the mill games, but for $3, I bought them. I have sold 6 of them for $54.96. That's why I wanted to write about this game. If you can get a box full of games for cheap, even if they are super-ordinary games, go for it. People will still buy them. I listed these low ($7.99 - $12.99) so that they would sell quickly. Because my investment was so ridiculously low, selling these games at rock bottom prices has still netted me a very nice profit. Oh, and the auction was in August, so they've almost all sold in a month and a half.

I'm sharing this sale as an idea of what NOT to buy. I paid a dollar for him. He's a Mt. Vernon George Washington bear. I thought for sure he would be a good seller, but no - not at all. I listed him for $9.99 + shipping and got VERY few hits. After the first couple months, I changed it to $12.99 f/s and he sold immediately. So I guess that's not terrible, but hardly worth the storage space.

Remember this yard sale? I paid $6 for this one and sold it for $26. Not quite as high as I wanted, but with all the stuff I bought at that sale, I'm going for a quick turnover, so I took the offer. I bought 6 NWT Jansport backpacks for a total of $31.75. I have sold 3 of them so far for a total of $90.99. So I've tripled my Jansport investment and still have half of them to sell!

Here's one of the other ones. Paid $7.50, sold for $30. Again, not fabulous, but good enough for me. The retail value on this one was $65, so I'm sure I could have held out for more, but they are bulky, and I quadrupled my money. Sometimes you just have to take the quick nickel instead of waiting for the slow dime.

The broken NES system that I mentioned here ended up being an unpaid item. I relisted it (accidentally at auction again) and had no bids. Then I remembered I could do a second chance offer since there was more than one buyer the first time it sold. I contacted that buyer and he said yes, he definitely still wants it, but he's out of the country right now and could he buy it on October 2nd? I told him yes, I will relist it on the 1st. He also told me he would pay $30 for it (the original winning bid was only $27, so naturally I was fine with $30). On October 1st, as promised, I relisted it, but I was skeptical, because it had been about 2 weeks since our conversation. But on October 2nd, also as promised, he bought and paid for it immediately! So I paid $15 for the whole Nintendo lot. I sold 3 Mario games for $23, the other 22 games for $51, and the broken console & accessories for $30. I got a total of $104 out of that $15 investment. Not bad :)

I was literally just wondering why these hadn't sold yet. Clairol Kindness is always a good seller. The Clairol Kindness Deluxe usually does better, but this one still should have sold. But I hadn't even gotten any offers on it. The day after I wondered why it hadn't sold, it sold. I paid $1.95 in May and they sold this week for my full asking price of $39.99!

I was very excited about this sale! This is a set of 22 Help Me Be Good books by Joy Berry. It's not a complete set. The complete set has 29 books, so I wasn't able to get top dollar for them. I bought 21 of them for $5.99 and then found another one a couple weeks later for 50 cents. So altogether I paid $6.88 (tax) for them in June and sold them this week for $45. I had free shipping on them, but media mail shipping was only $5.06, so I still did well!

And this!! I didn't even look this up on my phone before I bought it. It was only $2.99, so I figured I could make at least some sort of profit. Imagine my excitement when I saw the current listings! When I just got that link, I see that there are some listed for higher than mine that weren't there when I listed mine. No matter! I listed mine for $69.99 or best offer. I took an offer this week for $59.99 plus shipping. It's going to New Zealand, to a mother who is "desperate to find this" for her daughter's first birthday. Oh, and it was listed for 3 days!

How'd you do this week?

Have you visited eBay Underground this week?
And have you heard all about our new EBUG Classifieds? It's pretty bare-looking now. Come and post a few things for sale so we can get that filled up and exciting-looking.

This Week's Shopping Trip

I only had one shopping trip this week. I have GOT to get a road trip planned. My shoe inventory is getting desperately low. So I stopped into Goodwill in the hopes of finding at least a couple pairs. Well, wouldn't you know, I found zero. But I found some other goodies, so all was not lost!

I found a soft bonnet hair dryer (back left). I have another one of these listed, but no bites yet. I'm hoping a production company will buy it. I haven't tested this one yet, but it was only $1.99. And on the very next shelf, I found a hard bonnet hair dryer (back right). It was also $1.99. I have another one of these be get listed (paid $1 for it), but it needs some repair. It runs, but it doesn't blow any air out. I'll have to have my HVAC brother look at it.

I also found 3 more microwave turntables. I told my husband I wasn't going to buy anymore of these unless they were in perfect condition and didn't need cleaned. At the time, my stack of turntables was all the way up to the shelf above it, so I had no more room for any, and I refused to start a second stack. (Seriously, isn't 30 enough?)  However, I have sold quite a few of these over the last couple weeks, so I have room on my pile again. These were $1.99 each.

I was so excited to see the green box full of Alpha Omega Lifepac social studies homeschool workbooks ($4.99)! When I picked it up to look at it, I realized that the box that it was sitting on top of was full of 90+ more Lifepac workbooks!! I've sold these before with good success. These sets aren't complete (neither were my others ones), and the tests are missing, but I think for an investment of $9.99, I'll still do well!

Of course none of this stuff is listed yet, because I've been focused on getting my NWT yard sale finds listed. I'm a little over halfway done with that stuff. I hope to get it done by the weekend. Then I'll focus on this stuff and some other odds and ends. Hoping for a road trip on October 13 or 14, if everything falls into place.

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Speaking of listing, have you joined our October listing contest yet? The contest started on Monday, but you can join up til the 10th.

Listing Contest on eBay Underground!

Who needs a kick in the pants?! I DO! I DO!

eBay Underground is having a month-long listing contest, starting this Monday, October 3rd! To keep the playing field level, the contestants will be split into two categories: part-timers and full-timers. The goal is simple - be the contestant in your category who lists the highest number of new listings during the month of October.

The prizes haven't been decided yet. We are taking donations (see our fanpage for information on how to donate to our group Paypal account) and hope to build up a huge kitty for an awesome prize or two! There is no fee to enter, and a donation is not required to enter. But the more donations we get, the cooler the prizes.

So come on over - sign up - get your rear in gear and let's bombard eBay with a zillion new listings during October!

Oh - and thank Adrienne for running the contest!