My Top eBay Moments This Week

I'm writing this post a day early, so my numbers are gonna be off a bit.

I sold 64 items this week (some of which overlapped with last week, because I'm using 7 day data but it's only been 6 days since my last Top Moments post). I sold a TON of shoe creams this week. I'm pretty sure they made up at least half of my sales, quantity-wise. 

Good news! Last week, I had a negative feedback switch from the 1 month column to the 6 month column. This week, I had a neutral make the same switch. So now instead of an ugly-looking "1 neutral, 3 negatives" in that "1 month" column, I just have "2 negatives," which looks so much better.

My favorite sales from the week:

I have had 2 of these Vision Ware 2.5 quart casseroles for what feels like forever. I've had them listed for $24.99 each. I got an offer the other day for $12 each (she wanted both). Normally, I would have declined that offer, but for some reason, I decided to counter offer. I think I just wanted them gone. I counter-offered for $18 each and she accepted! I paid $6.25 for one of them in May and $5.29 for the other in June. So I turned $11.50 into $36 plus shipping. Not awful. I'm just glad they're sold. I'll have to ship them out Friday morning. I'm really looking forward to THAT packaging project. /sarcasm

Another new with tags Columbia sale. This was a neat pale green blouse with pale yellow tropical fish on it. Retail price $40. I paid $4.50 for it in September and sold it this week for $24.99 with free shipping ($2.43).

If you aren't convinced yet that microwave turntables are a good seller, I don't know what more to say or do. For awhile I quit buying them, because I already had a tall stack and didn't want to have to start a second stack. But then I sold several in one week and came to my senses. I've bought 10 or 15 in the past couple weeks that I need to get cleaned up and list. They list quickly, so I don't know what the hold up is. I paid $1.13 for this one in July and sold it this week for my full asking price of $24.99. When someone buys a turntable for my full asking price, I generally upgrade the shipping from parcel to priority, even if it costs me a few bucks. I figure it's the least I can do for them being respectful of my asking price. I get SO many lowball offers on turntables, it's disgusting. So this buyer will be pleasantly surprised to get their turntable much sooner than they expected!

Another new with tags item from the infamous yard sale. I wish I had gone for a higher price on this coat. Retail price is $60. I paid $7.25 for it in September. With all of this new with tags stuff, I have been aiming for a selling price of at least half of retail. I must have been having a slow sales day, because I accepted an offer of $27.50 plus shipping on this.

These shoes are neat looking. They sat in my store with no interest whatsoever. Two days ago, I ended the listing and relisted using the "Sell Similar" link instead of the "Relist" link. They sold the next day! I'm convinced that's a magic solution to selling old stock. I paid $3.97 for these in February. Yes, February! I was so glad to see them go this week for $30 and free shipping ($6.65).

I took this picture in the bed of our pickup truck while I was waiting for my daughter during her horseback riding lesson a few weeks ago. I usually wait about an hour and I have no cell service there (gasp!), so this particular week, I took a basket of already cleaned but not polished shoes, my travel case of shoe polish supplies, my backdrop, and my camera. During that hour, I got 12 pairs polished, buffed, and photographed. I paid $6.97 for these SAS shoes in October and sold them this week for $45 and free shipping ($8.20).

Did you sell anything this week that has a fun story behind it?

This Week's Thrift Finds

I went to Goodwill twice this week. Both trips treated me well! On Tuesday, I decided to branch out into toys a little more. Despite having 4 kids, I know nothing about what toys sell well, so I took a risk on these. I suspect I paid too much for them, but I'm hoping for the best.

• V-Tech Big Top Laptop: Paid $2.17. Completeds aren't too terribly exciting, but I should be able to get at least 5-6 times my investment.
• Mattel See 'n' Say Says Whooo: Paid $4.23. Before I bought this, I did a quick search on my phone and there was only one listed (for $49.99 auction, $59.99 BIN). I snatched it up quickly. Once I got it home, a more careful search showed me that most people listed it with the wrong number of O's in "Whooo," and that the $49.99/$59.99 listing is definitely an outlier. Hopefully I can sell it for $20 or so, but I'm not holding my breath.
• Blues Clues Tickety Clock: Paid $2.11. I'm thinking about putting together a Blues Clues toy lot.
• Vision Ware 1 L spouted saucepan with lid: Paid $3.17. Definitely paid too much for such a small pot, and I knew better. I must have been distracted when I bought that.
• Cheer Bear with Microphone: Paid 53c. Doesn't look good. Will probably list for $20 for awhile and see what happens.
• Born Mary janes: Paid $2.99. Will list for $30 and free shipping.

I stopped in again today and again, I wasn't disappointed.

• 3 snow-brick makers: Paid 99c each. These are for my kids. They get brittle and break, so it's nice to have extras.
• 6 Ugly Christmas Sweaters: Paid $3.99 per sweater, $2.99 per vest. I'm hoping these will do well in our EBUG Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest.
• SAS oxfords: Paid $2.99. I always do well with this brand. This pair is a size 9 WW. I'll probably list them for $45 with free shipping.
• Columbia IUP fleece vest: Paid $2.99. This is a local college. I probably should have passed on it but will give it a shot at $20 with free shipping.
• Horse & Sleigh sweater: Paid $3.99. This is for my horse-obsessed daughter.
• New in package mushroom latch hook: Paid $4.17. I was just thinking the other day that I'm running very lot on latch hook kits. I was down to one. A dumb one that will never sell, I'm sure. I'm hoping for $30 on the mushroom one.

Keeping Track of Expenses

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am have a life-long sordid love affair with my spreadsheets. I have a spreadsheet for everything! It's about the only way I can stay sane. I had a couple people ask me how I keep track of what I spend on my inventory. The answer is easy - I have a spreadsheet! :)

My eBay spreadsheet has 13 worksheets on it. Here's a shot of my inventory one. It's pretty self-explanatory.

I have a column for the date, where I got it, what it was, how much I paid for it, the date it sold, and how much it sold for. I actually use this for several things, not just for knowing how much I paid for something.

• Mileage: When I need to add up my mileage for the month, I can tell at a glance what days I went where. I know Goodwill is an 18 mile round trip for me, so every time I bought something at Goodwill, I know I can count 18 miles. 
• Clearance: When I'm running a steep clearance sale, I can easily see how long I've had an item. I can scroll to the top of my spreadsheet and see what I've had around forever and clearance those items (or even pull them to donate or put in a yard sale).
• Future Listings: I find the same inventory repeatedly. I have bought 3 Namco handheld Pacman video games, for example. When I'm listing something that I previously sold, I can look at my spreadsheet and see how much it sold for and price the new one accordingly.
• Making Best Offer Decisions: When I get an offer for something, I can easily use my spreadsheet to see how much I spent for the item. That helps me to make a quick decision about whether I want to accept the offer or not.
• Commissions: My sister-in-law shops for me. She has my BOLO (Be On the LookOut) list and shops in between her visits back home. She presents me with goods and receipts. I pay her for the purchases. Then I also give her 20% of the profit on anything she brought me. I need to know what I spent in order to properly figure out how much I owe her for the sale.

People make fun of me for my spreadsheets (you know who you are!), but you see... it's not just about my obsessive spreadsheet habit. This one's actually USEFUL. :)

My Top eBay Moments This Week

This week made me happier than last week. My sales slowed a bit at the beginning of the week, but I didn't have nearly as many bumps in the road as I did last week. I do have two unpaid item cases open at the moment, and I'm not optimistic about either of them paying. But great news! One of my 3 negatives in the past 1 month just got moved to the "6 months" column! Yay!

I had 56 sales this week, only 9 of which were shoes. I'm really clearing out a lot of my odds and ends. I'm seeing some freed up shelf space and hanging space. I have mixed feelings about that - it's great that stuff is selling, but seeing empty shelf space means I don't have as much inventory as I probably should. Time for a road trip??

I didn't have a lot of high-dollar sales this week, but I have a few good stories.

I bought 14 pieces of brand-name maternity career wear at a yard sale this summer. The wife was in the house and the husband was desperate to get rid of it, so he sold it to me for $1 a piece. I'm sure she'd have thrown a fit if she knew, because this stuff was seriously in like new condition. But maybe she should have been supervising :)   I only sold this shirt for $7.49 + shipping, which on the surface doesn't seem like a great sale. But I looked over what I had already sold from that sale. Remember, I bought 14 pieces for $14. So far, I have sold 7 of them for a total of $79.44. Sometimes it's not the profit margin on one single piece that I'm after. Sometimes it's okay to buy a bundle of things and look at the overall profit. If I sell the rest of the pieces for that same profit margin, I'll end up with almost $160 out of that initial $14 investment.

My sister's boyfriend's mother died recently. She had an appallingly huge wardrobe. The vast majority of it got thrown away (stained or holes) or sent to Goodwill (missing size tags, faded, but otherwise perfectly wearable). I was left with 76 items that I offered to sell on eBay for them. I looked at this sweater the other day and almost didn't bother listing it. It's just a plain, boring black sweater vest cardigan (wow - just that phrase makes it sound so unappealing). On top of that, it's probably from the late 80's, a no-name brand, 100% acryllic. But for some reason, I decided to list it anyway. It actually sold 2 days later! Not for much, but for more than they'd have gotten by selling it at a yard sale or a local consignment store. It sold for $12.99 free shipping ($3.28).

Is this not the ugliest, most dated latch hook design you've ever seen? Who, when thinking about their Christmas decor, decides that they want to latch hook a duck with a wreath around its neck? Really now. But it was new in the package, so I bought it. I paid 50 cents for it at a yard sale this summer. It sold for $14.99 to the UK during my 25% off sale this week.

On the other side of the coin, this is quite possibly the most adorable little girl's outfit I've ever sold on eBay. I paid $1.99 for it at Goodwill in October. The retail value is over $60, so I listed it for $29.99 or best offer, with free shipping. I got an offer for $15, and I countered with $25, explaining that it's in excellent condition and a very expensive outfit new. She countered with $19, telling me that the exact same outfit sold for $11 the day before. I countered with $25 again, pointing out that mine is the only one currently listed that includes the sweater, and that just the dress (used) is listed for $25+. Then the next day, it ended up being a part of my 25% off sale, so she bought it for $22.49 free shipping ($3.11). So I guess we ended up with a decent compromise. I'm certainly happy with $20 for an outfit I paid $2 for.

I found 4 of these NWT woodland camo BDU jackets at Goodwill in September. I paid $3.99 each for them and was able to list them in a multi-variation listing (they were all different sizes). I sold my first one this week for $27.99 plus shipping.

This fleece vest was from the big yard sale I've mentioned several times now. I paid $6 for it and accepted an offer for $28 (free shipping) this morning. Shipping will cost me $3.09.

I was so excited to find this unopened plastic canvas kit at a yard sale this summer for only $1! I listed it immediately and have tried several different price points. I had several watchers, but never any offers. I had a UK buyer contact me to see if I would ship to the UK and to confirm that it was truly unopened. I told her yes I would and yes it is truly unopened. She bought it full price the next day for $39.99. I had free shipping on it, but because it was an international sale, she paid the shipping. And because I offered free shipping, I don't have to pay any final value fees on the shipping!

Last but not least, my mother-in-law had a set of 3 of these. They are furniture throw covers. She paid a LOT of money for them and quickly discovered that they are annoying. She was constantly having to rearrange them and redrape them and she got tired of it. She asked me to see if I could sell them as a full set. I didn't know anything about them, but I told her sure. And there they sat. I'm pretty sure they sat for at least 3 months before I got around to listing them. I enlisted the help of our eBay Underground members. I listed the full set on October 11 for $149.99 or best offer (plus shipping). I got an offer yesterday for the $100 that we were hoping for! She hasn't paid yet, though, so we'll see....

That's it. Just a short list today. What did you sell?

What I Read With My Morning Coffee

Ok, so I don't drink coffee, but you get the point.

Anonymous said: I would love to hear if you have any favorite blogs you follow.

Yep, I sure do! Not only do I spend entirely too much time on ProBoards, but I also spend entirely too much time reading blogs. Here are all the eBay/thrifting blogs that I read, in no particular order (well maybe alphabetical order, since that's just how I am ...):

• Big Thrifty Deal - Ginger doesn't post often, but when she does, it's usually about a specific niche.
• Coupon Tipster - Amy writes blogs about a wide variety of topics, not just eBay. She yard sales, she coupon shops, she sells, she thrift shops, a little bit of everything. 
• Do Not Count Your Chickens - Tina's a little quirky, but we love her anyway :)  She posts excellent tutorials and topics on everything from how to create promotion boxes to what eBay is really thinking when they offer us special promotions. (Tina now blogs at My Secret eBay Diary.)
• Goodwill Haunting - How is it possible that I don't know her name? I love her posts about what she sold each week!
• Money in the Garage - Dude writes about thrifting, yard saling, and selling on eBay from a male perspective. He tells some fun stories.
• My Dear Trash - Kelly and Laura share their adventures in not only selling on eBay, but also on refinishing estate finds and selling them on Craigslits.
• Precipice of Disaster - Adrienne has really been struggling. She wants to sell on eBay, but she's not had much luck. She does really well on Etsy though!
• Savvy Saver Secrets - I don't know much about Janessa yet, because I'm a fairly new reader to her blog. She seems very enthusiastic about all things resale and eBay.
• The Savvy Shopperette - Yvette doesn't post too often, but it's interesting reading about thrifting and eBaying from a Hawaiian perspective.
• The Recycle-ista - Shannon's been distracted by Early Pregnancy Syndrome lately (Congrats!) but her energy level has picked back up and she's rolling again!
• The Selling Sisters - Rachel and Lizzie sell on eBay and Etsy and post about their finds, their woo-hoos, and some really awesome selling tips.
• Treasures in Thrifting Land - Becky loves to share all the cool and wacky things she finds when she's out thrifting.
• Yard Sale Mommy - Again - how can I not know her name? She posts about ... you guessed it, yard sales! She also sells at kids' consignment sales and on eBay.

That's quite a list, and it would take me TWO cups of coffee to get through them all each morning (if I drank coffee, of course...), but I'm always looking for more.

So now it's your turn - who did I miss?? I'm sure a lot of YOU write blogs that I haven't checked out yet. Link up!

All About Road Tripping

Anonymous wrote: I would love to here more about where you shop on your planned trips. (We only have Goodwill where I live.) 

I only have one Goodwill too. I've mentioned several times before that I periodically take buying trips. These trips really are one of the highlights of my business. I love them! I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of 4. I don't get a lot of All By Myself time. I love my family madly, but sometimes a girl just needs to get out and do her own thing for a day.

I am very lucky in that I have willing babysitters near where I do my road trips. The kids and I pile in the van early in the morning, run through the McDonald's drive through for a bagel and orange juice, and head off. I drop the kids off as soon as we get there, and then I head out the rest of the day, not coming back until the stores have all closed.

I have 2 routes that I do regularly: one in Harrisburg (day trip) and one near Philadelphia (weekend trip). I go to Philly twice a year and Harrisburg as often as I can fit it in the rest of the year (usually every 2 or 3 months). When I originally planned my routes, I enlisted the help of family and friends that live in those areas. They helped me make a list of all the resale shops they knew of. I printed out the addresses, grabbed my GPS, and off I went. I have tweaked my list over the months, because there were some that were no longer in business and others that I stumbled on that weren't on my list.

I hit Goodwills, Salvation Armies, Community Aids ... I generally stay away from the hole-in-the-wall local consignment stores, because their prices are higher than thrift stores, simply due to the nature of their business. I don't hold that against them - consignment stores are an entirely different business model.

Before my trip, I save up as much money as I possibly can (leaving it in my Paypal account - gotta get that 1% cash back!). When I'm road tripping, I don't want to have to leave any great finds behind just because I ran out of money. I usually head out with at least $300 for the day trips and $500 for the weekend trips. I know more or less what I'm willing to spend on any given item, so it's really nice to have the ability to just toss items into my cart as I go, without having to stop and think and research to see if the price is right. I know I've got the money, I know it's within the price range I'm comfortable with, so I just toss stuff in my cart and keep on rolling.

I've done both routes often enough that I know basically what to expect in each store when I get there. I have figured out which stores overprice (so I know to only watch for the half-off color in that store). I have figured out which stores have better inventory (based on the neighborhood). I have figured out the best routes to get where I want to go. I have figured out at what point I need to stop to eat because I know the next several stores aren't anywhere near a restaurant.

The one thing I haven't figured out is how to get all my inventory AND all my kids to fit in the van to come home. I usually pack the van full of inventory while I'm shopping, and then I remember I have to put the kids in there somewhere. It takes some creative rearranging, but I haven't had to leave one behind yet ;-)

It really is a dream day! I shop where I want to. I go to the bathroom when I want to, and I don't have to make sure the kids go at every bathroom we find so there are no accidents. But you know the best part?? I get to EAT wherever I want to! No McDonalds! And when I get my food, I get to eat my food. I don't have to cut up other people's food, clean up other people's spills. It's an entire day all about me!  Yes, I know that sounds terribly selfish, but it doesn't happen all that often, so I soak it up when I can :)

Just a few quick tips before I wrap this up:

• Save your receipts. Obviously you want to save your shopping receipts, but also save your meal and snack receipts.
• Track your mileage. This is an easy one. Just reset your trip odometer to zero before you leave your house, and write down the total when you get home. We get to deduct somewhere around 50 cents per mile on our taxes. This can add up very quickly. My Harrisburg road trips are around 250 miles round trip. That's $125 I get to deduct for each trip!
• Keep track of your purchases. This is the hardest part of the trip for me. When I get home, it's really hard to match up which receipt went with which bag(s) of stuff. I keep track of how much I spend per item so I know what offers I'm willing to accept. You'll also need to remember to cross any personal purchases off your receipts. I take a tablet and pen with me and, after each store, I sit in the car for a minute and jot down everything I bought there. You should be able to just write on the back of the receipt too.
• Take lots of water/caffeine. I have a small cooler I take with me. I put 3 or 4 bottles of water, 3 or 4 cans of Diet Pepsi, and some ice packs in there. The caffeine is especially helpful on the long drive home after an exhausting day.
• Have fun! This is your excuse to go shopping ... guilt-free! Enjoy it! It's your JOB!

You Can Search Now!

Hey - lookie there! We have a search bar now! How embarrassingly easy was that?? I didn't realize there was a blogger gadget for adding a search bar. It took me about 2 seconds. Enjoy!