I played it safe for my first week of Ebay sales, and listed some stuff I had around the house that was very likely to sell. I did pretty well. I even managed to convince all of my auction winners to pay (by nicely threatening to report them). YAY! This week, I got a little braver and listed some of the things I bought from garage sales. I was pretty nervous to see if my items would even sell. Here are the results:
I listed a total of 10 items this week. 8 sold, and 2 did not.
The highs:
Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Expansion pack of letters. Sold in less than 24 hours for my buy it now price of 10.99. Perhaps I should have priced it a little higher, but I got it for free with a bunch of other Fridge Phonics stuff, so I'm happy!
Sweet Secrets Lot. I listed two separate lots of these this week. These toys were mixed in the huge set of Polly Pockets I bought at a garage sale a while back. I've been sweatin' that Polly Pocket purchase, but I thought these Sweet Secrets might save me, and they did. I sold one set at my buy it now price of $14.99, and the other set for $8.99.
Polly Pockets Pet Lot. Sold at auction for just over $10. I made 4 lots of Polly Pockets with the huge supply I have. This is the only one I listed last week. The others are listed right now. With the Sweet Secrets and this lot, I have officially made a (small) profit on my Polly's. I still have 3 lots to sell, so I'm happy!
Maternity Jeans Lot. Paid $4 for 4 pairs of maternity jeans, sold for $44! This is the sale I'm most excited about. I found the jeans at a garage sale. All of the maternity clothes were priced at $1 each, and these jeans were in very good shape. They weren't anything special as far as brands go (Old Navy, Oh Baby by Motherhood, etc.). $44 was my buy it now price. It was a price I knew I would be happy with, and still a good deal for the buyer at $11 per pair. They sold after being listed for 2 days.
Tickle Me Elmo and Cookie Monster. Paid 55 cents for both, sold for $5.34. I know this isn't a huge profit, but I'm surprised these sold at all. Don't get me wrong, they are in great shape. I bought them because they were so cheap, but instantly regretted my purchase even though I didn't spend much. Then to top it all off, I goofed on my shipping price. I estimated it too high, which no doubt effected the amount of bids I might have had. Luckily, I listed it as economy shipping so I'll still be able to ship it as inexpensively as possible, and make a few more dollars. Not the way I like to do business (it feels dishonest), but I'm still learning.
The Lows:
Vintage Fisher Price Puzzle. Paid $1, sold for $5.99. I'm bummed about this one. I was hoping to get about $10.
Vintage Game of Cootie. Paid $2, sold for $10.50. Bummed about this too. It was a complete set. A few of the pieces were chipped, but it was in good shape overall. I've seen some of these sell for $20-$25.
Chicken Dance Elmo - Didn't sell. Had some watchers though, so I'll try again soon.
Fridge Phonics Word Whammer with extra letters - Didn't sell. I still have some hope for this one. I goofed on shipping with this one too. Estimated it way too high. I had 5 watchers, so I think it might have sold if the shipping was more reasonable. I'll do a better job of listing this one next time.
Selling total for this week: $111.04
I'm pretty happy with my first week of selling my garage sale finds! I have 14 items listed this week, and already have some bids. I'm really having a lot of fun selling on Ebay, and can't wait to see what treasures I find in the upcoming weeks!
I listed a total of 10 items this week. 8 sold, and 2 did not.
The highs:
Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Expansion pack of letters. Sold in less than 24 hours for my buy it now price of 10.99. Perhaps I should have priced it a little higher, but I got it for free with a bunch of other Fridge Phonics stuff, so I'm happy!
Sweet Secrets Lot. I listed two separate lots of these this week. These toys were mixed in the huge set of Polly Pockets I bought at a garage sale a while back. I've been sweatin' that Polly Pocket purchase, but I thought these Sweet Secrets might save me, and they did. I sold one set at my buy it now price of $14.99, and the other set for $8.99.
Polly Pockets Pet Lot. Sold at auction for just over $10. I made 4 lots of Polly Pockets with the huge supply I have. This is the only one I listed last week. The others are listed right now. With the Sweet Secrets and this lot, I have officially made a (small) profit on my Polly's. I still have 3 lots to sell, so I'm happy!
Maternity Jeans Lot. Paid $4 for 4 pairs of maternity jeans, sold for $44! This is the sale I'm most excited about. I found the jeans at a garage sale. All of the maternity clothes were priced at $1 each, and these jeans were in very good shape. They weren't anything special as far as brands go (Old Navy, Oh Baby by Motherhood, etc.). $44 was my buy it now price. It was a price I knew I would be happy with, and still a good deal for the buyer at $11 per pair. They sold after being listed for 2 days.
Tickle Me Elmo and Cookie Monster. Paid 55 cents for both, sold for $5.34. I know this isn't a huge profit, but I'm surprised these sold at all. Don't get me wrong, they are in great shape. I bought them because they were so cheap, but instantly regretted my purchase even though I didn't spend much. Then to top it all off, I goofed on my shipping price. I estimated it too high, which no doubt effected the amount of bids I might have had. Luckily, I listed it as economy shipping so I'll still be able to ship it as inexpensively as possible, and make a few more dollars. Not the way I like to do business (it feels dishonest), but I'm still learning.
The Lows:
Vintage Fisher Price Puzzle. Paid $1, sold for $5.99. I'm bummed about this one. I was hoping to get about $10.
Vintage Game of Cootie. Paid $2, sold for $10.50. Bummed about this too. It was a complete set. A few of the pieces were chipped, but it was in good shape overall. I've seen some of these sell for $20-$25.
Chicken Dance Elmo - Didn't sell. Had some watchers though, so I'll try again soon.
Fridge Phonics Word Whammer with extra letters - Didn't sell. I still have some hope for this one. I goofed on shipping with this one too. Estimated it way too high. I had 5 watchers, so I think it might have sold if the shipping was more reasonable. I'll do a better job of listing this one next time.
Selling total for this week: $111.04
I'm pretty happy with my first week of selling my garage sale finds! I have 14 items listed this week, and already have some bids. I'm really having a lot of fun selling on Ebay, and can't wait to see what treasures I find in the upcoming weeks!
Jen Have you tried using the calculated shipping? if you have a postal scale, weigh your items in the shipping box and add the weight to the listing. It automatically calculates it for you. That way you don't have to guess. If you don't have a scale you can find your item on amazon and in their description it gives a shipping weight. If you charge too much a buyer can ding your stars. Too many low dings and you can drop below the minimum standards and ebay can restrict how much you can sell each month. Good luck
ReplyDeleteThanks Becky. I do have a postal scale...that wasn't the problem. I planned to sell a couple of the items using medium or large flat rate boxes, not realizing how much cheaper it would be to just put them in a regular box and ship priority mail. The items were very light, and I could have cut my shipping cost by $3-$4. I meant to fix it before someone bid on the items, but never got around to it. I learned my lesson, and hopefully won't make the same mistake again. I really appreciate your advice!
ReplyDeleteOh, and calculated shipping is another thing I plan to try. I package and weigh my items before listing them anyway, so it makes a lot more sense to use calculated. I'm still trying to figure this all out. :)
ReplyDeleteIt seems you are off to a good start. I have a thrifting blog if you are interested and on Fridays I usually post what I sold and for how much
ReplyDelete