What Have You Been Up To?

Please allow me to explain my absence ....

#1) My sales have been pathetic, so I haven't had any exciting sales to blog about.

#2) I have been feverishly getting caught up on my unlisted inventory. My store inventory had dropped from about 900 a year ago to around 450 a month ago. I am just above 500 right now. I wish I could find the time to list more regularly, but our homeschool is back in full swing, and we are trying to enjoy these last few days of nice weather before the winter arrives. I also have gotten back into running, and my husband has a lot of schoolwork that has to be done on the computer, so I have had to share :( 

#3) In addition to getting as many new listings up as possible, I have been editing current listings to take out all of my SSB templates. At eBay on Location, we learned that listings with 3rd party templates, photos, and HTML in the body of the listings really deter mobile buyers. I had heard this before, but listings look perfect on my phone, so I thought it was just another conspiracy theory. But then I saw a listing on Tina's Android (I have an iPhone), and it was an absolute mess on her phone. If I had that phone and I had opened that listing, I would immediately have backed out to find one that was easier to read. With mobile commerce on the rise, I am aiming to target those buyers more, so I need to get all of that coding out of my listings.

Each morning, I take a look at the listings that are due to end that day. If I recently listed it, I just revise it to take that coding out and make it text-only. If it's an older listing, I end it and relist it using Sell Similar, and take all the coding out that way. I'm also tweaking my pricing and keywords, and adding free shipping to all my first class items. My Shipping DSR has been steadily slipping, so I'm trying to bump it back up before it becomes a problem.

I am now officially moved into my building. I am set up to take pictures out there now. I absolutely love it. That's my peaceful time at the end of the day. I slip out there in the dark, lock the door, and blast my iTunes while I work. Sometimes I do packaging, sometimes I rearrange, sometimes I just look and smile :)  That has been the best move for my business. I really enjoy working out there.

I can't end the post without just one or two sales from the last couple weeks. Let's see which ones were my favorites...

This is a Faded Glory (Walmart) skirt. It always makes me laugh when I sell a FG skirt for good money, but it has happened enough now that I won't hesitate to pick them up in the future, *IF* it's a cute one. I think all the FG denim skirts that I have sold have been seamed like this AND have been plus-sized.

• Acquired On: 8/30/12 (Goodwill)
• Listed On:  9/17/12
• Sold On: 10/15/12
• Paid: $2.99
• Sold For: $24.99 - $4.99 shipping

My Miche items are still selling well. This purse sold VERY quickly, with free first class shipping, on a Monday. My buyer immediately messaged me offering to pay extra if I would ship it express mail because she needed it by Saturday for a wedding. I messaged her with a shipping quote for Priority and Express, with instructions to send whichever total she chose to my Paypal account. A few minutes later, I received a payment for Express mail. Now, I live in Pennsylvania. She lives in Ohio, right next door. The purse would easily have made it in time with just the free first class shipping option, but I wasn't about to take the chance that some freak occurrence would make it late, so I got it packaged and made the special trip to the post office to ensure that it would get there the next day.

• Acquired On: 9/19/12 (Facebook Yard Sale)
• Listed On: 9/27/12
• Sold On: 10/15/12
• Paid: $6
• Sold For: $26.99 + $21.95 express shipping