Ebay sellers thread (other platforms too)

[disneysteve]

June 2024 wrap up

Ebay:
$830.19 gross
$535.82 net (see below)

Marketplace:
$35 gross
$35 net

Total:
$865.19 gross
$570.82 net

The ebay net is no longer really an accurate measure because I've changed how I account for cost of goods. I now front load the cost onto the first couple of items to sell from a lot leaving the other items in the lot with a $0 cost. What was happening when I was evenly distributing the cost was that if one or two items never sold, or something accidentally got broken, I was losing that cost for tax purposes. This way will be much more accurate in the long term but screws up the short term numbers. So it looks like I was below my $600 profit goal but I know that I actually wasn't. It will all wash out in annual numbers but not so much in the monthly figures.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Did you do a YTD on resales? that might help see where you are on the $600 monthly goal?

[disneysteve]

Did you do a YTD on resales? that might help see where you are on the $600 monthly goal?

I do, but again because I've recently shifted how I track cost of goods, it's a wonky number. Just for discussion purposes here, my YTD net is $3,377.06. That puts me at $562.84/mo but that's skewed downward by the June numbers due to the accounting change. The longer I use the new method, the more accurate the numbers will become.

[disneysteve]

Since making that sale to Replacements, I've been actively seeking more opportunities to resell china to them. Thursday night, I won an online estate sale auction for a set of china for $73. I picked it up yesterday morning, cleaned it up, and separated out the items they aren't buying and a couple of items that were damaged.

The stuff Replacements will buy from that pattern comes to $742.

To update this, I sent off the set. The total actually came to $717 because I had 2 of one item that they only wanted 1 of. I got the purchase receipt a couple of days ago. There was one item that they felt had some minor wear so they reduced the purchase price by 25% and there was one bowl that they said had "excessive" scratches that they aren't buying.

Final payment came to $682.50. That now stands as my largest reselling sale ever, topping the rare bottle cap in 2022 which was $610.

I paid $73 for the set at auction.
Shipping came to $83.53.

Profit $525.97.

I shipped them 3 other sets and I'm waiting for all of that to be processed. One should be even bigger. Total if everything is accepted is $948 but it may get knocked down a bit after inspection.

[disneysteve]

I'm in one of those periodic slumps where I just can't get myself motivated to work on ebay. It happens now and then so I'm not concerned and I know it'll pass. I have listed a couple of things in the past few days and just photographed a few more, but it's an effort.

I think part of it is that having sold all of the china, I know I made all of that money so I'm just not as motivated to grind away. I've already grossed over $1,300 this month and today is only the 14th, plus the payments for the other china are still to come.

Oh well, it is supposed to be a side gig that I do for fun. We don't need it to keep the lights on or put food on the table. It's okay to back off when I'm just not feeling it.

[crazyliblady]

Since making that sale to Replacements, I've been actively seeking more opportunities to resell china to them. Thursday night, I won an online estate sale auction for a set of china for $73. I picked it up yesterday morning, cleaned it up, and separated out the items they aren't buying and a couple of items that were damaged.

The stuff Replacements will buy from that pattern comes to $742.

I spent last night and tonight getting it all packed up. I have a couple of questions before I ship it off so I will call them tomorrow to clarify a couple of things. As long as everything is in order, I'll get them labeled and shipped out either tomorrow or Tuesday. Once they receive everything, they inspect it and if all's well, they deposit the payment into my PayPal account within a week or so.

So hopefully, my $73 will turn into $742 minus what I spend on postage leaving me around $600 profit.

On Friday, I bought 3 other sets of china at an estate sale. I have to get those sorted and organized, then pack and ship them out too. I don't have a final tally on what I'll get for them but it should be around $1,800. I spent $225 for everything.

Packing all of the china is rather tedious but the return on investment is great.

I am also interested in selling to Replacements, but I am curious about a few things. Is there a way they indicate their desire for certain patterns, etc. ahead of time? The reason I ask is that it is my understanding that you have to pay to ship to them and then they inspect the items. How do they issue payment? Do they send unwanted items back to you?

[disneysteve]

I am also interested in selling to Replacements, but I am curious about a few things. Is there a way they indicate their desire for certain patterns, etc. ahead of time? The reason I ask is that it is my understanding that you have to pay to ship to them and then they inspect the items. How do they issue payment? Do they send unwanted items back to you?

You can go to their website and fill out the Sell To Us form (https://www.replacements.com/sell). You enter the pattern name and they will email you back with a purchase offer listing what pieces from that pattern they are buying and for how much. That way you know what your stuff is worth upfront. If you want to sell, you have 30 days from the offer date to ship them the items. You are responsible for the shipping cost so keep that in mind. Once they receive it, they inspect it and send you a receipt confirming what they will pay. There is a place on the form to indicate if you want damaged items discarded or returned, and also if you're open to taking less for an item they deem imperfect. It's a very well-oiled machine that operates quite efficiently.

They pay through either PayPal or Venmo. They can also mail you a check but that does take a little longer obviously.

I just came back from buying some china on Marketplace. I paid $225 and Replacements is going to pay me $534. After shipping, my profit will be about $260 so not a bad flip at all especially considering that it was all but guaranteed before I spent a penny.

[disneysteve]

I just came back from buying some china on Marketplace. I paid $225 and Replacements is going to pay me $534. After shipping, my profit will be about $260 so not a bad flip at all especially considering that it was all but guaranteed before I spent a penny.

When I bought this china, I realized that the bowls weren't the fruit bowls that I assumed going in (because those were the least valuable - I like to be conservative). They were actually the cereal bowls. I confirmed that once I was home and unpacked them. Instead of being worth $15 each, they are worth $66 each. Replacements will be paying me $738, not $534, so my profit will be more like $450. That was a pleasant surprise.

[disneysteve]

When I bought this china, I realized that the bowls weren't the fruit bowls that I assumed going in (because those were the least valuable - I like to be conservative). They were actually the cereal bowls. I confirmed that once I was home and unpacked them. Instead of being worth $15 each, they are worth $66 each. Replacements will be paying me $738, not $534, so my profit will be more like $450. That was a pleasant surprise.

Final numbers on this flip:

Paid $225
Sold all but one piece to Replacements for $738
Remaining piece already sold on ebay minutes after listing it for $20
Postage $27.68


Profit: $505.32 in just over 24 hours.

What I did here is something anybody with internet access can do. No special knowledge is required. All I did was troll Facebook Marketplace every day, find people selling china, get a price quote from Replacements for each set, and then buy the set that I found had a really good resale value. You need not know anything about china. I had never heard of this company before. It doesn't matter. The only thing you do need to be able to do competently is pack and ship the pieces so that they arrive safely. Even if you needed to go out and buy all of the packing materials, that wouldn't run you more than maybe $10-15 so the profit would still be substantial.

I say it all the time but anybody who is struggling, living paycheck to paycheck, buried in debt, or just looking for some extra spending money, reselling is a great option. Obviously in this case, I made a substantial upfront investment of $225 but you can absolutely start doing this for a lot less and build up to opportunities like this.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I ordered Epson 202, seller sent me Epson 212 which doesn't work. Seller refunded but inconvenience since waiting on another order from a different seller to be delivered when I was hoping to have my printer working by this weekend.

[disneysteve]

I ordered Epson 202, seller sent me Epson 212 which doesn't work. Seller refunded but inconvenience since waiting on another order from a different seller to be delivered when I was hoping to have my printer working by this weekend.

Sometimes mistakes just happen but there are also a lot of bad sellers out there. I encountered one myself this month. I’ve been making a concerted effort to shop more on eBay. I figure I sell on the platform; I should support the platform. Anyway I ordered an item that I usually buy at Target (where it’s actually cheaper). Item never shipped or arrived. I had to open a claim and get a refund. And still ended up ordering one from Target.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Originally, I was going to order from Staples where the total with tax would be $30 (free shipping over $25, I think), which probably Staples would have gotten it correct, but to save $6 I figured to buy from eBay. Oh well, mistakes happen.

[disneysteve]

July 2024 wrap up

Ebay:
$1,117.32 gross
$737.86 net

Marketplace:
$140.00 gross
$140.00 net

Replacements.com:
$3,399.50 gross
$2,594.60 net

Total:
$4,656.82 gross
$3,472.46 net

I've been a reseller since 1986. This is the best month I've ever had by far. I had a solid month on ebay and a nice sale on Marketplace (also china-related) but the Replacements sales blew it all away.

I don't know that I can hit those numbers every month. I got really lucky and found 4 sets of china within 2 days and then 1 more good one that I bought on Marketplace. But I've already shipped in $384 worth that isn't processed yet so that will go toward my August tally and bought a little more yesterday. I can easily see myself doing $1,000/month in china alone and more if I can find it. It just depends on what turns up at the estate sales and how much time I want to spend at the thrift shops.

[disneysteve]

I bought a book at an estate sale on June 27. It sold on ebay today.

I paid $2.00.
I sold it for $115.00.

My profit after fees $91.07, on a $2.00 investment, in 6 weeks. I'll take it.

Rinse and repeat.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Pro-tip when buying items from eBay, before buying the item add it to your watchlist for a day or 2 before buying the item and the seller might send you a discounted offer, then buy the item at the discounted price. As a seller, I never used to send the buyers offers when they added it to their watchlist but now I will send offers as well.