An Open Letter to Our Readers

A recent guest post on this blog has received a lot of criticism lately. I didn't write the post, but I wanted to address the comments that have come up. This is a blog that is dedicated to teaching people to buy items at a low price and resell them on eBay for a profit. It is a blog that is dedicated to helping eBay sellers build up a successful work-at-home business. It is not a blog that targets anyone, or that is out there looking for an easy mark.

Collector blogs and online-selling blogs are clearly two different worlds. As online sellers, we price our items at a price point that the market supports. Collectibles are a high-demand item. High-demand items generally come with a higher price. As sellers, we are not taking advantage of our buyers. We are simply analyzing the market and pricing our items accordingly, to do what is best for our business. We do not set out to harm collectors. We set out to run successful businesses to help support our families.

If any of our new readers are offended by our Buy Low, Sell High strategies, then perhaps this blog is not one that you should be reading. We won't be offended if you move along to blogs that don't offend you. The internet is a very large place. There are blogs out there for everyone. No need to continue reading a blog that offends you.

Thanks for stopping by.

And to those of you who are NOT offended by our blog, we thank you for sticking around. As you know, we try to make it a point to stay positive and upbeat around here. We apologize to our regular readers for this interruption...

eBay Stores vs. eBay Auctions

Is it just me, or is that a freakishly long thumb?

Anonymous said: "I would also love to hear your thoughts on when it is good to have an ebay store rather than just listing auction items."

I'll give you the short answer, and then I'll give you the long answer.

The short answer: Don't do auctions.

The long answer: In general, I am very anti-auction. I started out selling on eBay with auctions only. I suspect that's how most people start out. I didn't even know there was such a thing as eBay stores back then. That was during the day that store listings were separated out from auction listings in search results, so I wouldn't have wanted to do that anyway. Once I started to sell more, and once eBay integrated store listings back into search results, I decided to make the leap. I was half-sick about that $15 a month (or whatever the basic store level is), because how would I afford that??

It became obvious in a very short period of time that I made the right decision, and I've never looked back. My store fees were only 5 cents per month (back then - they have since changed it to 20 cents per month for basic stores). That $15 paid for itself very quickly. I was able to list my items higher and get what I wanted for them, rather than listing them at auction and hoping for the best.

Several months later, I did the math and realized that I would save even MORE money by upgrading to the mid-level Premium store. If I thought I was sick about paying $15 a month, imagine how I felt at the thought of paying $50 a month! But again, what I was saving on listing fees quickly added up to pay for the store subscription. I don't think there's a boost in search results by having a premium store, so I don't think making that upgrade really increases your sales, but there is a point where mathematically, it makes sense to upgrade. Let's take a look at that before I talk about why else I don't do auctions.

Basic Store: $15.95/month; listings 20 cents each

Premium Store: $49.95/month; listings 5 cents each

If you have a basic store, and you list 230 items per month, you are paying $15.95 for the store subscription, and you are paying 20 cents per listing, which is $46.00. Your total monthly fees (excluding final value fees) are $61.95.

If you have a premium store with the same 230 items per month, you are paying $49.95 for the store subscription, and you are paying 5 cents per listing, which is $11.50. Your total monthly fees (excluding final value fees) are $61.40.

So yes, your premium store subscription looks like a lot of money, but you are actually SAVING money by upgrading. You pay more up front, but your listing fees are lower.

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Ok, so now that I've gotten that off my chest (something that had nothing to do with the original question) ... let's go back to the original question.  When is it better to run auctions? And I think I said something like, "Never."  Let me explain my reasons for saying that:

Instant Gratification. We live in a Gimme-It-Now society. Auctions are a thing of the past. More often than not, people don't want to bother waiting for an auction to end. They want their item, and they want it now. I speak from experience here. I just bought something the other day that was an auction listing with a BIN option. I didn't want to wait until the end of the week. I wanted it sooner. The difference was just a few dollars, so I just bought it now. I was not the least bit interested in waiting until the auction ended. People don't like to wait.

Over-saturation. eBay has been running all these ridiculous 1,000 free listings promotions. Everybody and their mother is listing their stuff at auction right now. If you search for something like "Clarks Black Shoes Size 8," you will probably be overwhelmed by all the search results. Because everyone is listing, there are way too many listings to choose from. A bargain buyer will sort those gazillion search results by lowest price. You have 2 options: underprice and be the lowest price so yours sells, or price fairly and let the lower-priced auction get the sale. Neither of those is appealing, so you need to price your item where you want it and wait for a Gimme-It-Now buyer.

Ordinary inventory. I sell shoes. They aren't exactly collectible. There are a lot of shoes out there in the world. Let's say a buyer searches for "Clarks Black Shoes Size 8" and finds a pair that she likes at auction. She bids, but is outbid. She has a gazillion other Clarks Black Shoes Size 8 listings to choose from, so she'll just move on to the next one. On the other hand, let's say a buyer searches for "Curse You Red Baron Fire King mug." There is currently ONE of those listed at auction. This is a rare item (one that I actually managed to find and sell last summer!) If there are 8 people looking for this mug, those 8 people are going to get into a bidding war over that ONE mug that is listed. They HAVE to win it. There is no other option. They can't just move on to the next mug listing. That is an auction item for sure. You need to know what's ordinary, and what's extraordinary. Put the ordinary stuff in your store. Auction the extraordinary stuff. And it needs to be truly extraordinary. I have had great success (meaning $100+) with only 3 auction items in my history of selling on eBay. All three of those items were hard to find and were one of very very few that were listed at the time.

Time investment. I'm busy. I'm pretty sure most of you are busy too. During several of eBay's recent free auction listing promotions, I decided to go ahead and move some of my older inventory to auction, as a form of clearance. I spent over an hour switching those listings over to auctions, only to have just 3 or 4 of them sell. I then had to spend over an hour a week later switching those listings back to store inventory. Maybe it didn't cost me money to switch them to auction, but it did cost me money to switch them back to store inventory. It also cost me a great deal of time, time that I could have spent listing NEW items.

So to summarize:  only use auctions if you have a super-special, extraordinary item that is rare, with only 1 or 2 other active listings (or better yet - zero!). Price your auction wisely. Start your item at a price that you would be content with. But generally speaking, if you are planning on sticking with eBay for awhile, you NEED to open a store. I guarantee you your sales will increase. Not necessarily in units, but definitely in dollar amounts. You can price your items how you want them, and you can relax, knowing that that price is the price you will get. Eventually.  Store listings are less exciting than auction listings, but they are definitely more reliable.

Let's hear some opinions in the comments. Who has a store? Who just does auctions? Why? If you have a store, have you ever looked back? If you only do auctions, are you considering opening a store?

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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Because of my shopping fast, this will be my last FFF post for the year. And it's not even a very exciting one. :)   I shopped a couple times and didn't find anything super-exciting, but I finally found my first Reyn Spooner shirt. I've heard a lot about them, and that they are good sellers, but I've never really ventured into men's clothing before, so I've never actively looked for them. I actually had time to kill one afternoon this week, so I plunked the toddlers into the cart with a toy and browsed the entire men's shirt rack. I found a couple cool Authentic Western cowboy shirts, a men's 2XL Charlie Brown Christmas shirt (which already sold), and this Reyn Spooner shirt. It looks like it was sewn with the fabric wrong side out, but all the seams are on the inside like they're supposed to be, so I guess it was on purpose. Kind of different-looking anyway. I'm anxious to see how this does for me.

~~Jessica
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Hi all you fellow eBayers, remember me?...Lesley?  I've been busy in the retail world working my day job...tis' the season you know, but I managed to go shopping yesterday and I'm so glad I did.  Christmas was in full gear at my favorite Goodwill.  In fact they had just remodeled it, dividing it into 2 stores side by side (one for clothing/shoes and the other for housewares).  I had the most fun in housewares.  It's was literally Christmas heaven! 

Here are some of my highlights:

Santa Claus was everywhere and here is what hubby and I walked away with.  There's a vintage salt and pepper set (actually 2 sets), a paper mache Santa from Japan, a Royal Daulton mug, and a vintage ceramic Santa ornament.  These I will use throughout the house as decor all the while they are listed for resale.

I was also in need of garland for an area of my home and found some brand new pre-lit garland for $3.99.  I also picked up wrapping supplies and bows (all new) and some unique ornaments like a Jim Shore new in box set of 2 carolers!

This adorable little Santa Claus night light house is now taking up space in my bathroom.  I won't list it because I decided it was an early gift for myself! 

Okay, but what will we make money on.....??

This wooden Santa stands about 4 feet tall.  Hubby actually found this tucked away in a corner. Okay, I admit I don't really want to sell this either because as you can see it looks so cute tucked in at the stairs.  But, hubby and I agreed to put a huge price tag on it and see what happens.  After less than 24 hours there is currently an offer of $150!  Sorry, but I can't part with him for that price! ;)

And no, I'm am NOT a hoarder!

Merry Christmas and Happy eBaying!

~~Lesley
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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

It was a pretty good week. I didn't have any problems, any complaints, any irritating buyers. One more negative fell off my "1 Month" column into the "6 Month" column, so that's another weight off my shoulders. I'm just not getting the pre-Christmas sales that I was hoping to see, but apparently no one is, so I guess I can't complain.

I sold 65 items this week, 11 of which were shoes. I ran a 25% off sale from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. That helped me clear out some really old inventory. I am selling more NWT items, which are probably Christmas shoppers.

My favorites (I have a lot this week!):

I picked this up the other day and then immediately regretted it, because IUP isn't exactly a huge, well-known school. Imagine my surprise when it sold less than a week after I listed it! Paid $2.99, sold for $14.99 (-$2.94 shipping).

I bought this t-shirt on November 26th. It was a 2XL, so I was hoping that would work in my favor. I was disappointed when I researched it and saw the same shirt (different sizes) listed for $8.99 new with tags. I priced it above that and hoped for the best. It sold the next day! I assume it was because of the size, in which case I could probably have gotten more for it. Bummer. I paid $3.99 and sold it for $14.99. I had free shipping on it, but the buyer paid to upgrade to priority mail.

This was another super-fast sale. My sister-in-law picked it up for me. I paid $2.01 for it.  I brought it home last Saturday and listed it the next day. It is a Build a Bear, and I was excited because it wasn't a bear. Non-bear BABWs sell better than bear ones. But again ... current and completed listings were less than exciting. I listed him for $15.99 (-$5.24 shipping) and he sold the next day.

Ugh. This isn't a favorite sale. I'm telling you about this one as a lesson to you and as a reminder to myself. I have had this stupid thing listed since last January. There is nothing wrong with it. It gets hot. Cosmetically, it's great. But there it sat. Clearly it is not a desireable brand. I have auctioned it, put it on sale, added best offer, added free shipping. Everything I could think of, and nothing was working. It was a part of my 25% off sale this weekend, so it was marked down to $16.49 or best offer, with free shipping. Someone offered me $12. To that zip code, shipping would have been over $12. I declined the offer and explained that, so they offered me $14. I declined that as well and removed the best offer option. He ended up buying it for that price. So the lesson is to not leave the best offer option and free shipping on a sale item. It's a pain in the butt to go through and remove all my best offer options for a sale, but it was worth it. So I paid $3.15 for it, sold it for $16.49, and paid $8.03 for shipping. Wow. That was worth hanging on to this thing for almost a year, wouldn't you say??

I've had these listed since LAST October! I have them in brown and black. I thought for sure they would sell quickly, but clearly I was mistaken. I paid $5.90 for them and finally sold them this week for $18.75 (-$4.90 shipping).

This girls' Columbia windbreaker was from the huge yard sale I went to in September. I paid $5 for it and sold it for $22.99 (-$2.26 shipping).

Back in my early eBay days, when I was still doing auctions, I had a Moods board game that was from my own closet. I had tried to sell it in our yard sale for several years for a whopping $2. For some reason, I decided to try to auction it. I started it at 99 cents and ended up selling it for $25! It has been on my BOLO list ever since, but I had never found one until this August. I bought this at a yard sale for $2. It was missing one of the stones, and the box was slightly damaged, but I figured $2 was a good investment. It sat for 2 1/2 months and sold this week during my 25% off sale for $24.74 (-$8.36 shipping). I guess they don't sell quite as well as they used to, but if I can find it for $2 or $3, I would buy it again.

This was in the same delivery from my sister-in-law that the BABW horse was in. I paid $3.07 for it, listed it on Sunday and sold him the next day for my full asking price of $24.99 (free shipping). The same buyer also bought a joke telling Cheer Bear from me, so I was able to combine shipping on them. I paid $7.09 to ship them both. I have sold 3 of the glow-in-the-dark Bedtime Bears, so keep an eye out for that one.

I bought these in October on a road trip. They are earth (lower case e) brand tennis shoes. I always buy lower-case-e earth shoes. The capital E Earth Shoes are Walmart, but lower case is very good! I only had these listed for 3 1/2 weeks. They sold during my 25% off sale for $26.25 (-$5.45 shipping). I probably could have gotten more if I had waited, but that's ok. Sometimes a quick nickel is better than a slow dime :)

This is a new with tags Izod shirt from the big September yard sale. I paid $5.50 for it and sold it during my 25% off sale for $29.99 (-$4.70 shipping).

Cole Haan shoes in general just aren't all that attractive. I paid $2.99 for these in October and sold them for $30 + shipping this week.

I bought quite a few of these at the September yard sale, different teams, different sizes. I thought for sure they would sell like hotcakes once football season started. But this is the first one I've sold. I paid $5.50 for it and sold it during my sale for $32.24 + shipping. If I can sell them all at that profit margin, I will be one happy girl!

And finally ... this was an exciting sale to wake up to! I paid $9.99 for these Salvatore Ferragamos back in February. I sold them during my sale for $112.50 + shipping! Yippee!! Always buy nice men's Ferragamos. I haven't had any luck with women's, but men's will sell well eventually.

What did you sell this week?

It's Time to Stop!

I have an embarrassingly huge amount of inventory that needs listed, and I'm in the process of planning a December road trip!! What on earth am I thinking? I have bins (!) of great stuff to list. And when that's done, I have 3 bins (!) full of great fabrics that I've given up on ever using. I need to sort through them and get them listed. And when that's done, I have a HUGE (!) bag full of patterns (many unopened and uncut) that I need to list. And when THAT's done, I have an entire closet full of other sewing supplies (vintage threads and trims, pattern magazines, reference books out the wazoo...) that I need to go through and list.
So ... it is with a heavy heart that I am making public my new personal challenge:

That's right, ladies and gents. I have officially put myself on a shopping fast. Not a diet. A fast. I can't do anything in moderation, so diets don't work. It's all or nothing. Between now and the end of the year, I will NOT set foot in a thrift store. I have too much money tied up in unlisted inventory. This fast will be great for my bottom line, because I'll have hardly any money going out the rest of the year!

So there you have it. I've made it public. So now I HAVE to stick to it. No matter what. Heaven help me. And the people who have to live with me during my withdrawal period....

My Listing Process

Amy said: I'd love to know about your listing process. There are so many steps - cleaning, photographing, researching, listing, etc. Do you do it in batches or one at a time. What do you find works best for you?

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Yes, there is a lot involved in listing items on eBay. I have several different systems that I use, depending on my mood and what I'm listing. Sometimes I use the assembly line method, other times I use the divide and conquer method, other times I'm totally random.

#1 - Assembly Line: This is my preferred method, because I can get a TON of items listed in one sitting when I use the assembly line method. I mostly use this for shoes, but it works well on clothing too. With this method, I will spend an entire afternoon washing 20 or 30 pairs of shoes. Then I will spend that entire evening polishing them. Depending on what I have going on that day, I'll either spend the late evening taking pictures, or I'll wait and do that the next morning. And then of course I either edit the pictures or pay my daughter to do that. Then I'm ready to just sit down and crank out the listings.

If you're using the assembly line method for clothes, it would look a little different (unless you polish your clothes!). After I've washed and dried a lot of clothing to list, I'll take 10-15 items into my eBay room and take the pics (on my mannequin). Then I grab another pile and another. I try to do at least 30 in one session to make it worth the effort. Then I spend awhile editing the pics. Here, there are 2 different ways you could continue. You could do all your measuring/weighing at once by jotting all the details down on a piece of paper. Then take that information to the computer and do you listing from your paper. I prefer to measure and weigh as I go, so I take my pile of clothes to my table and get cracking.

#2 - Divide and conquer: This is the method I use on items that don't really need any prep work. Grab all the turntables, or all the board games, or all the stuffed animals, or all the .... you get the idea. Snap photos quickly, edit them, and get to work. It's pretty similar to the assembly line method, but there aren't as many steps. I just pull out all the like items and get them done in one afternoon or evening.

#3 - Random: AKA panic mode. This is the mode I resort to when I just can't stand the piles any longer! I grab a bin and get it all done. No matter what it is. No matter what cleaning it needs. No matter if it's efficient or not. Just get that bin done and put away. I'm sick of looking at it. This method is especially effective on those bins of items that aren't home runs. They're just so-so items, so you keep putting them back in the bin while you list the more interesting items. Or they're the items you don't want to deal with - the puzzles that you don't want to count the pieces of, or the coat that you don't want to sew the button back on. This is my least favorite method, because it usually involves all the unpleasant tasks that I've been putting off. But sometimes the piles are just so overwhelming, and the mess is so out-of-hand, that I've just got to get it done.

The main idea with any of my methods is once you start, don't stop. Don't move on to anything else until you are done. Here's an example: I took pictures of 50 tops one afternoon. I edited all of them the next day. I started listing them the next day. No, I didn't list all 50 tops in one day. It took me longer than a week, as a matter of fact. But I didn't get distracted by taking pictures of other things or listing more interesting things. When I had a few minutes, I listed one or two. Little by little, I chipped away at them. Because I had done a huge chunk of prepwork ahead of time, it was no big deal for me to just sit down and quickly write up a listing when I had a second.

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What's YOUR listing method?

Here a Box, There a Box, Everywhere a Box Box!

I showed you a picture of my box closet the other day (bless you for still reading after THAT), and I thought I'd share a bit about my favorite free USPS priority boxes and what I use them for.

Did you know that USPS will deliver boxes to your door for free? You don't pay for the boxes, you don't pay for the delivery. The only catch is that you have to use them for priority shipping only. But more often than not, priority shipping is just a little cheaper than parcel post when paid online, so we're probably shipping priority anyway.

Let's start with the flat rate stuff first:

The regular Priority Flat Rate Envelope - I use this as often as possible. It's just thin cardboard, but you can shove a lot of stuff in there. I have shipped jeans, heavy sweaters, books, even breakables! If you've got small breakables, put them in a small flat rate box and slip it into this envelope. It will save you a few cents over the small flat rate box, but it will have the extra protection that a box affords. This envelope costs me $4.70 to ship ($4.95 at the post office and $4.90 without the USPS savings program).



The padded Flat Rate Priority Envelope - I use these even more often than I use the regular ones. These are good for everything that the regular envelope is good for, but what I use them the most for is sandals. As long as the shoe doesn't have a heel or a back on it, I just slip it in here and ship it for $4.90 ($4.95 without the USPS savings program). I'm not sure you can even ship these from the post office.

The legal size Flat Rate Priority Envelope - Pretty much all I use these for is larger shoe cream orders. I put the creams into a box and slip them in here. It costs 20 cents more to ship these than the regular ones, so I use the regular ones as often as I can. ($4.90 with the USPS savings discount, $4.95 without).

The Small Flat Rate Box - I almost never use these. Why? Because they cost $5.00 to ship. The regular flat rate priority envelope costs $4.70 to ship. This box slips perfectly into the envelope. So why would I ever pay $5 to ship it when I can slip it into the envelope for 30 cents less? Good for smaller breakables or smaller items that you don't want flopping around loose in an envelope.

 The Medium Flat Rate Box. This comes in two shapes: side-loading and top-loading. I almost never use these. Most of my inventory is 2 pounds or less, which means that even shipping clear across the country is only $8.20 for me. These boxes are $10.20 ($10.50 without the USPS savings program, $10.95 at the post office). So unless I'm shipping something heavier than 2 pounds that just happens to fit in these boxes, I don't use them.

The Large Flat Rate Box also comes in two shapes: top-loading and, more recently, board game shape. I have never used either of these. I got all excited about the board game box until I realized it was a large flat rate box. These boxes cost $13.67 with the USPS savings program, $14.20 without it, and $14.95 at the post office. You'd have to have some large heavy stuff to make these boxes worth it.


Now, on to the ever-confusing Regional Priority Boxes.

The regional A boxes come in two shapes: side-loading and top-loading. These boxes both ship for the same price as a regular 2 pound priority package. I was using the top-loading box ALL.THE.TIME for shipping shoes. These are the absolute perfect size and shape for most pairs of shoes. But once I signed up for the USPS savings program (this is starting to sound like a sponsored blog post....), the regional box A was actually a few cents more than a regular 2 pound priority package. "A few cents more" sounds petty, but when you ship 200 packages per month, that can add up quickly over a year. So the only time I use these boxes now is for items that are MORE than 2 pounds. The occasional hot rollers fit in here, or a heavy stack of books...  

The side-loading one I didn't use too often. I still use it for my Meltonian orders. I can fit a starter kit in here nicely, or 10-12 creams. Then I cut the box down and it slides right into a legal flat rate envelope. Other than that, I have a stack of them assembled and holding my poly mailers.

The Regional B boxes also come in side-loading and top-loading. I rarely use these, because they ship for the same as a 4 pound package. I rarely ship things that are heavier than 4 pounds, so I wouldn't see any cost savings.


The rest of the boxes I'm going to talk about are just regular priority boxes. They ship at regular priority shipping rates. But some of the box sizes are really convenient for specific things, and like I said - they are free.

These are boxes 1092, 1095, and 1097. They look the same. For all intents and purposes, they ARE the same. There are very subtle differences, 1/2" here, 1/4" there... I don't use them often. They also work well assembled and stacked to make storage shelves for poly mailers. They work well for Wilton cake pans, but I've started wrapping them in bubble wrap and shipping them first class. They also work well for latch hook kits, but if it's more than 2 pounds, you'd be better off using the Regional A side-loading box.

This is the box I use most, which stands to reason, since shoes are my niche. It's 15x8x5. It's just a little too big for most of the shoes I ship, but overall, it works well. It also works well for most hot roller sets, Care Bears with voice boxes (that shouldn't be sent in poly mailers), or tall mugs or glasses.

The priority video box is just a little bit bigger than a small flat rate box. I don't use it much, but I use it to ship up to 6 shoe creams. This box slides nicely into a regular-sized flat rate envelope. This would be a good box to use for small items that you don't want sliding around in an envelope.

The 12x12x8 is a good one to have on hand. It's good for plates, smaller square board games (like Memory or Yahtzee - just cut the box down shorter), boots, bowls, casseroles, etc....

Last but not least, the 7x7x6 is another handy one. It's perfect for mugs, but it would also be great for cup/saucers, Christmas ornaments, smaller bowls, knick knacks, or any other smaller item.


So there you go - that should be enough to get you started. Hopefully I've given you a few ideas to think outside the box (so to speak...). Go to the usps website and browse their free shipping supplies. Order a bunch. Get to know the different sizes. You can't beat free shipping boxes!