Ebay sellers thread (other platforms too)

[SGP20162016]

I love to visit estate sale and thrift shops. I have accumulated a collection of Geobel and Wedgewood figures and other small knick-knack type items. For what I can see, I get them for a few dollars but they do regularly sell for much more on Ebay.

I'd like to start selling online. Do you think it would be best to use Ebay or Etsy? Do people even buy things from sellers that are brand new and have no reviews? Is the market way too satuated?

[disneysteve]

I love to visit estate sale and thrift shops. I have accumulated a collection of Geobel and Wedgewood figures and other small knick-knack type items. For what I can see, I get them for a few dollars but they do regularly sell for much more on Ebay.

I'd like to start selling online. Do you think it would be best to use Ebay or Etsy? Do people even buy things from sellers that are brand new and have no reviews? Is the market way too satuated?

I think ebay remains the best site with the largest most active audience. I know Etsy is no longer just for crafts but I think it still has that reputation in people's minds.

New sellers get targeted by scammers a lot so you need to be careful of that. But everyone was new at some time. One tip before you start selling is to use your ebay account to buy a few small items to get some feedback that way. Once your score gets to about 10, the scammers tend to leave you alone. If you're going to sell fragile items like Goebel and Wedgwood, make sure you pack them well (and spell them properly). Take bright clear close up photos against a clean white background. Describe them well, especially any flaws. Give measurements and show the items with a tape measure in the photos. Search similar sold items and learn how people title and list them and copy the successful listings.

[SGP20162016]

This is such fantastic advice...thank you!

[disneysteve]

I heard on a podcast today that there are over 50,000 self-storage facilities in the US. Not individual units but over 50,000 locations. Each location has dozens or hundreds of units so well into 8 figures of actual storage units - 2018 data says over 23 million units - and I'm sure it's even higher today. They said that 1 in 10 Americans rents a storage unit which is mind-boggling. People have TOO MUCH STUFF.

It's so bad, of course, that liquidating the contents of abandoned storage units is a business in itself. If you've ever watched Storage Wars you know how that goes. When we watch that show, two things always stand out to me. The first is that a lot of the lockers are essentially filled with trash and I wonder why anyone was ever paying to store that stuff. They were clearly spending more for rent than the items were worth which makes no sense. The second is that some of the lockers are filled with truly valuable stuff sometimes worth thousands of dollars and the fact that they just abandoned it all makes no sense. One famous story from the show was the locker the one guy bought that was filled with artwork that ended up being worth $300,000. Who forgets they've got a small fortune in artwork in storage? Even if the owner died, why did nobody else know it was there? I wonder how many storage units get abandoned after a death because the heirs have no clue it exists.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I bet a lot have no idea about the storage for someone who died. DH's uncle died the hoarder and if he had a storage locker we would have no idea. It would have been deemed abandoned

[disneysteve]

I bet a lot have no idea about the storage for someone who died. DH's uncle died the hoarder and if he had a storage locker we would have no idea. It would have been deemed abandoned

So much good stuff and real valuables get lost that way. It's a shame. If you have a storage unit, make sure to tell your loved ones about it in case anything happens to you. On the show, they've found artwork, coin collections, high end electronics, antiques, pretty much anything you can think of, some of it worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It ends up getting sold off for pennies on the dollar.

I've looked at the local storage unit auctions but I'm not in a position to dive into that as a source of merchandise. I don't have the space to store the stuff and honestly probably don't have the energy or desire to clean them out and haul everything away. And if I have to start renting a unit to keep the stuff, that's kind of defeating the purpose. If I sold on ebay as my full time job, I would definitely consider it, though.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

That's a brillant way to make money is going through storage units. Probably if Ebay selling is your job it's a good way to get merchandis
e

[QuarterMillionMan]

In the city of Gardena a few years ago at a stop light I gave a "shaka" to Dan (driving) and Laura in a shiny new black Escalade, the auctioneers ("pay the lady").

[disneysteve]

That's a brillant way to make money is going through storage units. Probably if Ebay selling is your job it's a good way to get merchandis
e

Definitely. There are a number of people in my reselling groups who buy storage units. It’s a lot of work and you need to have the space to store things as well as a means of disposing of lots of trash since you’ll get plenty of it.

If I ever do try it, I’d only do the smallest units like 5x5 or maybe 5x10. No way I’d even think about it unless I get our garage cleaned out first.

[disneysteve]

Shipping is one of the biggest topics in the reselling groups. Should I ship through ebay or PirateShip? Should I use the new Ground Advantage or Priority Mail? Does it really matter?

I just prepared an item for shipping and it is a great illustration of why you should always check your options.

Weight 3lb 8oz. Size 12x8x6. Going from NJ to OH.

ebay: Ground Advantage $8.56; Priority $7.25
PirateShip: Ground Advantage Cubic $7.09; Priority Cubic $7.15

By switching from ebay to PirateShip to buy the label, I could save as much as $1.47. That's pretty significant and can really add up over time if you're selling regularly. Sure it takes a couple of minutes extra to check the rates but it's not hard to see how it can pay off.

[disneysteve]

Today's estate sale haul: 18 items for $15 total.

Two of the items will definitely sell for $45-50 each. I sold one of these items less than a month ago for $45 and they sell well. I was excited to find 2 more at the same time.

So $90-$100 from those 2 items and then whatever I get for the other 16 items. Not a bad return on my $15 investment.

[disneysteve]

I had 3 good estate sale days in a row. I got the $15 haul on Thursday. On Friday I spent $20 at a sale for several items including two bottles of perfume that sell for $125+ each. Yesterday I spent a whopping $5 for 12 items and already sold one of them today for $22.95.

Now to work on getting everything listed. I’ve done some but still have plenty more. But that’s my usual routine. Shop from Wednesday to Saturday and list the other days. And I did list several items already.

[disneysteve]

July 2023 wrap up

Ebay:
$903.30 gross
$663.39 net

Marketplace:
$45.00 gross
$35.47 net

Totals:
$948.30 gross
$698.86 net

38 ebay sales; 2 Marketplace sales

It was a strange month. Very slow at the start, which isn't abnormal for July. As of 7/25, I had not yet hit my $500 profit goal and wasn't sure if I would. Then the last 6 days there was a big surge in sales. I grossed $287.84 in the final 6 days of the month.

This makes July the second worst gross of the year (after doing $915 in April). However, it's only the fourth worst for profit because my margin on items was much better. I had items sell for as much as 70 times what I paid for them.

We're only on August 1 but I've already made 2 sales today so hopefully that's an omen for a good month. Last year August and especially September were the two worst months. September was the only time I didn't hit the $500 profit goal. I am running a much bigger operation now than I was then so that should help. I've currently got 341 items listed which is way more than last year at this time.

[disneysteve]

Today's ebay story. I was on my way to the gym this morning and saw a yard sale sign in my development so I turned and stopped to check it out. I bought a piece of Fenton glass which I later learned was an epergne which used to be used as a centerpiece on the dining table and held fruit or flowers. Anyway, I had no idea what it was but it was really pretty and I know Fenton is a good brand. They wanted $10 and I figured I couldn't lose at that price. Got home later and researched it and saw that they sell for as much as $150-160 (some rare ones even higher but mine was more common). I took a shot and listed mine for $159. Barely 15 minutes later I got an offer for $125 and decided to accept it. Maybe I could have gotten more but I'm very happy with that. I turned $10 into $125 in just a few hours from a yard sale I wasn't even planning to go to.

[QuarterMillionMan]

No sales yet for me on eBay. These 2 items I listed about 1 month ago. The bench has 4 watchers which I thought would sell 2 weeks ago but no takers. The Turkish lira hasn't gotten any views in over 1 month. The bench I listed on Offer Up as well and one person asked if it's still available but must not be interested. I might just throw it away in the dumpster for I want to use the space which it is taking up to install a shelf in my small apartment.