Revisiting the 90's

Look what I found in my Goodwill the other day:

When I was in about 6th through 9th grade, these were very popular. When I saw this one on the Goodwill rack, I don't even know what made me stop and look it up on my phone, but I did. Surprisingly, there still seems to be a market for these baja jackets. Check out the completeds. They aren't a hugely high-dollar item, but the sell-through rate is pretty decent, and I can expect to get $25-30 for it, I think. Obviously, it's going to depend on the color, but this one is in excellent condition, so I'm optimistic. I'll be sure to report back when it sells.

Catch Up Sales (A Dump and Run Post)

Well! I'm not too sure what happened, but something on eBay is working right for me again! My sales have really picked up! I have been running 50% off clothing sales, and my clothing has been flying out the door! No, the prices haven't been what I was hoping for, but I buy my clothing at low enough prices that I am still at least doubling my investment on them. I'm glad to see a smaller clothing stack to transfer to my building and put on hangers :)

Here are a few highlights of the last 2 weeks:

I've sold a good bit of Miche over the last 2 weeks. I sold 2 bags and 4 shells. That lot has more than paid for itself, and I have a lot more of it to sell!

$29.99 + shipping
The same buyer bought the coral colored shell below.

$34.99 + shipping

$25.00 + shipping
The same buyer bought the black shell below

$25.00 + shipping

$29.99 + shipping

$29.99 + shipping

Some more denim skirts:

$29.99 + shipping

$29.99 + shipping

Some clothing:

Christian Dior blouse
$24.99 + shipping

NWT Talbots dress
$49.99 + shipping

I had someone make me a ridiculously low offer on the Christian Dior blouse not long before it actually sold for a good price. And the Talbots dress had a $120 price tag. I have had it since February with no interest. Last week I got a low offer on it, and then a few days later it sold during my 50% off sale.

Some shoes:

Converse - $25 + shipping

I have had these Converse listed for quite awhile. I had 13 watchers on them at one point. I don't know why they took so long to sell!

SAS - $35 + shipping

SAS are good, reliable sellers!

Wile E. Coyote Keds
$36.66 + shipping

I sold a pair of red Looney Tunes Keds high-tops before, but for only about $15. These were just too cool to pass up though. I only paid $3 for them, and they sold pretty quickly!

Dansko Mary Janes
$65.00 + shipping

These Danskos sold the morning after I listed them!

Salvatore Ferragamos
$65.00 + shipping

I'm so glad these finally sold! I have had them since last August. I sold them in March for $45, but they were returned for fit. I was pretty thrilled to sell them for $20 more the second time around!

And lastly, 2 odds 'n' ends:

2 qt. Revere Ware saucepan
$20.00 + shipping

 My Revere Ware always sells pretty quickly. This one has sat for a VERY long time, and I could never figure out why. I finally realized it's because I called it a 2 qt. in the title, but a 1 1/2 qt. in the description. I changed that and it sold within 2 days.

NEW The Clapper
$29.99 + shipping

 This one made me laugh. I bought it during one of Tina's and my shopping trips. Paid $5 for it. It immediately got watchers. I got an inquiry from Australia, but it turns out it's the wrong voltage or plug or something. Sold it to Canada about a week after listing it.

Now that THAT song is stuck in your head ..... I apologize for the quick dump post. I'm spread too thin! Can't keep up with blogging!

Have a great selling week!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

I had some fun sales this week! I sold 49 items. My shoe cream inventory is really low right now, so most of those sales were actually "real" items.

These vintage single-serving gelatin molds were given to me. I wasn't expecting much out of them, because less than half of them were brand name, so I listed them for $9.99 + shipping. I got two watchers almost immediately, so I raised the price to $11.99 and they sold overnight. I guess that was still too low. I am quite confident in my shoe and clothing prices, but these odds and ends stump me more often than not.

• Acquired On: 3/22/12 (from a friend)
• Listed On: 4/12/12
• Sold On: 4/13/12
• Paid: -0-
• Sold For: $11.99 + shipping

These Lite Brite pegs were from the same friend. I figured if they were being given to me, it was worth a shot to maybe make a few bucks on them. I decided to list them for 30 days, instead of my usual Good Til Cancelled, and if they hadn't sold by the time we have our yard sale, I'd stick them in the yard sale for a buck or two. They also sold very quickly.

• Acquired On: 3/22/12 (from a friend)
• Listed On: 4/11/12
• Sold On: 4/15/12
• Paid: -0-
• Sold For: $11.99 + shipping

Had some great American Girl sales this week. These are Kaya's winter accessories. They are still available on the American Girl website for $22. But for some reason, someone wanted to buy my pre-owned set (which was missing the feather from the hat). Go figure.

• Acquired On: 4/6/12 (yard sale)
• Listed On: 4/9/12
• Sold On: 4/10/12
• Paid: $1 for 18 outfits
• Sold For: $19.99 + shipping

From the same friend. They were hers when she was little. I sold them too low too, but once the buyer told me why she wanted them, I was perfectly fine with the price. She had this set for her daughter 30 years ago. Her daughter passed away, and about a month ago her nephew broke the cup. She's been looking for a replacement ever since. Sad story, but I'm so glad I was able to make her set complete again.

• Acquired On: 3/22/12 (from a friend)
• Listed On: 4/10/12
• Sold On: 4/12/12
• Paid: -0-
• Sold For: $19.99 + shipping

Circo cowgirl boots = good sellers. This is the fourth pair I've sold. I bought these from a girl on my local Facebook selling group. They sold quickly too. This was a week of quick flips! These sold on a Thursday night. The buyer messaged me that she hoped to have them by Sunday (she lives in my state), and she would pay extra for faster shipping. So she sent me extra money for Express mail. I packaged them up and made a special trip to the post office. They didn't make it in time, but she was very very nice about it. She knew it was a long shot right from the beginning. I'm sure her granddaughter will still love them, even if they ARE a day late.

• Acquired On: 3/29/12 (Facebook group)
• Listed On: 4/5/12
• Sold on: 4/12/12
• Paid: $6.00
• Sold For: $24.99 + shipping

I love SAS shoes. These were in fantastic condition, but they were a kind of odd size (10 narrow), so they took awhile to sell. I had gotten a couple offers on them. I finally let them go this week for a little less than I'd have liked, but they clearly weren't going to get me top dollar anytime soon, so I accepted the offer.

• Acquired On: 10/19/11 (Goodwill)
• Listed On: 12/11/11
• Sold On: 4/12/12
• Paid: $2.99
• Sold For: $29.00 + shipping (I had free shipping on the listing, but they went to Canada, so the buyer paid the shipping)

I have good luck with men's Ralph Lauren shirts. This is the 4th or 5th one I've sold since I started selling clothing in January. I had it priced at $39.99 or best offer, and I was glad to accept an offer for $35.

• Acquired On: 1/31/12 (Goodwill)
• Listed On: 2/6/12
• Sold On: 4/11/12
• Paid: $3.99
• Sold For: $35.00 + shipping

I'm kicking myself about these. These are earth brand (with a lower-case 'e'). I've had them for awhile, but I just got around to listing them last night. I researched and found the same pair (smaller size) that recently sold for $32, so I priced mine at $35 + shipping. I almost priced them for $40 or $45, but for some reason, I stuck with the $35. They sold within 3 hours. That's possibly one of my fastest shoe sales.  Always, always, always pick up earth brand shoes, as long as they have the lower-case 'e'. If they say "earth shoes" or have a capital "E" they are Walmart brand, and you should skip them.

• Acquired On: 2/21/12 (Goodwill)
• Listed On: 4/15/12
• Sold On: 4/16/12
• Paid: $2.99
• Sold For: $35.00 + shipping

I can't remember if I mentioned this pan earlier this week or not. I've had it for a really long time. I sold it probably 9 months ago, but it ended up being a UPI. Apparently I forgot to relist it. I saw it on my stack of listed pans a couple weeks ago and was surprised that it hadn't sold yet. I went to check the listing and see if I should make changes, and I realized it wasn't even listed. I listed it and it sold quickly.

I'm going to give you a very important tip about Wilton pans. They can ship in a poly mailer. Don't be afraid. Wrap them 3 or 4 times in bubble wrap, and they'll be just fine. I've shipped quite a few of them like that, and I've never had any problems.

That's a big part of why this pan sold so quickly. All the others ones listed were charging $7-10 for priority shipping. I knew I could ship mine for around $3. So I priced mine so that my price was just under the others, but offered free shipping. Because it only cost me $3 to ship, I still ended up making more than the other, higher-priced ones. For example, there was one listed for $37 + $10 shipping. I priced mine for $44.99 with free shipping. My total price was $2 less than that other seller, but that other seller is only getting $37 for theirs, whereas I still got $41 for mine after I substracted my shipping cost. Does that make sense? First class shipping on Wilton pans can really give you a leg up on the competition.

• Acquired On: ??
• Listed On: 4/5/12
• Sold On: 4/15/12
• Paid: ? probably less than $3
• Sold For: $44.99 - $2.99 shipping

Another Kaya outfit.

• Acquired On: 4/6/12 (yard sale)
• Listed On: 4/9/12
• Sold On: 4/10/12
• Paid: $1 for 18 outfits
• Sold For: $49.99 + shipping

I sold this for my hairdresser. I'm sure she paid more for it than what I sold it for, but she handed me 2 of these, 2 wigs, and a bag full of wig ponytails and said she wanted to get $100 out of it. I'm keeping one of the wig heads as payment, and I've sold the other head, both wigs, and 7 of the 18 ponytails for a total of $149.48, so I'm not too worried about the individual sale prices anymore. She's gotten her $100, so the rest is just bonus money to her.

• Acquired On: ? December maybe?
• Listed On: 3/18/12
• Sold On: 4/15/12
• Paid: -0-
• Sold For: $50.00 + $51.90 priority shipping to Norway!

Another American Girl outfit. This one belongs to Marisol. Marisol clothing seems to be in pretty high demand. I've sold 2 of her outfits for top dollar.

• Acquired On: 4/6/12 (yard sale)
• Listed On: 4/9/12
• Sold On: 4/15/12
• Paid: $1 for 18 outfits
• Sold For: $54.99 + shipping

And my favorite sale of the week:

Isn't she gorgeous? If I was a doll person, I'd have kept her. She's just beautiful. I love her face. Sigh. But I'm not. And if I kept her, she'd have gotten destroyed by my crazy kids. I hope she's happy in her new home.

• Acquired On: 4/6/12 (yard sale)
• Listed On: 4/10/12
• Sold on: 4/14/12
• Paid: $10.00
• Sold For: $139.99 + shipping

That was really a lot of highlights. I'll try really hard to post more regularly this week.

What did you sell last week?

My Top eBay Moments This Week

I had a mixed week this week. No problem buyers, but I did have another pair of Clarks break. That is a brand that is officially OFF my BOLO list. I will keep the ones I already have listed, and I went ahead and listed the last few pairs I had lying around, but I won't buy anymore for resale. They just aren't well-made anymore, and the old pairs that were well-made are old enough that they keep dry rotting.

I also have a pair of Ferragamos coming back (whimper). Fortunately, they were my one pair of women's ones that I finally sold for $45 + shipping. I won't bother picking up women's Ferragamos in the future either. I've got my fingers crossed that this buyer isn't going to be a problem. She wants me to refund her original shipping. I pointed out my return policy, which states that I don't refund original shipping. I also pointed out that I include measurements in my listings in order to cut down on returns for fit. She wrote back, "But I am paying to ship them back to you. Please refund my original shipping." Sigh. I'm not going to. Hopefully it doesn't earn me a negative.

And I have a pair of jeans coming back, also for fit. I was thrilled that they sold, because they were a brand I had never heard of. Hopefully I can resell them quickly.

I sold 72 items this week. My shoe sales have picked back up some, so that's good. But I am loving selling clothing more and more. They're super easy to find, photograph, measure, list, ship. Everything about them is great. And my profit margin is better on clothing too.

My favorites:

After the consignment sale I participated in last weekend, anything that didn't get picked up was a part of the Dollar Dash. Everything that was $1-$19.99 was $1. $20.00-$29.99 was $2. $30.00-$39.99 was $3. And so on. I got this youth Under Armour shirt there. Once I got it home, I realized it had a pretty noticeable snag on the front. I disclosed that in the listing and priced it on the low side. It sold overnight.

• Acquired: 3/25/12 (consignment sale)
• Listed On: 3/26/12
• Sold On: 3/27/12
• Paid: $1.00
• Sold For: $12.99 + shipping

This is one of the last pairs of Clarks I had lying around. I scrubbed and scrubbed them, but there was still some sort of residue on the insole. I asked my husband, "What's a less-disgusting word for 'residue'?" We tried really hard but couldn't come up with anything. I went with: "There is something on the insole." I priced these on the low side too, and they sold later the same night. I was double surprised by that quick sale, because these are a size 6.5. Size 6's and 6.5's just do NOT sell for me.

• Acquired: 2/17/12 (Harrisburg road trip)
• Listed On: 3/31/12
• Sold On: 3/31/12
• Paid: $3.99
• Sold For: $20.00 + shipping

These Columbia shorts came from the yard sale I have mentioned several times. To date, I have sold just about 3/4 of the items I bought there, and I have more than tripled my investment. Yay!

• Acquired: 9/?/11 (yard sale)
• Listed On: 10/26/11
• Sold On: 3/31/12
• Paid: $6.25
• Sold For: $21.24 + shipping

I've never had any luck with Izod, but this shirt was new with tags, cute, and perfect for spring, so I took a chance on it. It sold fairly quickly, and for my full asking price.

• Acquired: 2/29/12 (Goodwill)
• Listed On: 3/8/12
• Sold On: 3/27/12
• Paid: $3.19
• Sold For: $24.99 + shipping

I love this skirt, but it wasn't my size, so I listed it. I thought for sure it would sell quickly, but it took a little longer. It sold for my full asking price, so it was worth the wait.

• Acquired: 2/17/12 (Harrisburg road trip)
• Listed On: 2/19/12
• Sold On: 3/29/12
• Paid: $1.00
• Sold For: $29.99 + shipping

This Wrangler shirt didn't last long either. I wonder if it's because it's short-sleeved? I haven't sold a whole ton of western shirts, but this is the first short-sleeved one I've ever had. I had someone offer me something like $12 for it. I counter-offered, but in the meantime, someone else bought it for my full asking price.

• Acquired On: 2/21/12 (Goodwill)
• Listed On: 3/22/12
• Sold On: 3/27/12
• Paid: $3.99
• Sold For: $29.99 + shipping

I was very excited to find this shirt for 3 reasons. #1) It's Quacker Factory. #2) It's a 1X. #3) Wild cats! I listed it pretty high with best offer, figuring I could decide as offers came in if they were prices I was happy with, rather than just setting a price. I got a lowish offer pretty quickly. I counter-offered and didn't hear back from her until a week later. I accepted her second offer.

• Acquired On: 2/29/12 (Goodwill)
• Listed On: 3/8/12
• Sold On: 3/27/12
• Paid: $3.19
• Sold For: $30.00 + shipping

I LOVE these Banana Republic boots. If they were my size, and if I ever had any reason at all to ever need rain boots, I'd have kept them. They were like new. The paper price tag was still on the sole of the boot, and didn't look as if it had every gotten wet. There was a little bit of dirt in the tread though, so I know they were worn at least once. They sold pretty quickly.

• Acquired On: 2/17/12 (Harrisburg road trip)
• Listed On: 3/3/12
• Sold On: 3/30/12
• Paid: $6.97
• Sold For: $35.00 + shipping

I listed this for my mother-in-law. The grandkids pretty much quit playing with it, so she asked me to try to sell it. I told her it would probably take awhile, and that she could probably expect about $60 for it. I listed it high - $99.99 or best offer. Imagine my surprise when it sold the other day for my full asking price!!

• Acquired: ?
• Listed On: 12/31/11
• Sold On: 3/30/12
• Paid: -0-
• Sold For: $99.99 + shipping

What were your favorite sales this week?

Paperwork

I am so far behind in my Dome book, it's not even funny. I bought the weekly version of the book this year, thinking I would be able to stay caught up a little better. How wrong, how wrong, how wrong. The last date that I have any records is February 18th. Yes, a month and 11 days ago. Let me tell you ... it is SO much easier to spend 5 minutes a day on recordkeeping than it is to spend 3 hours trying to get it caught up. Ugh.

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Hey guess what I sold today? I bet you'll never guess .... Actually, you probably will.

I have sold 16 denim skirts since the beginning of this year! THAT is a consistent BOLO item.  I really liked this one, but it wasn't quite the right size. Close, but not quite. I'm still on the lookout for the perfect denim skirt for ME for this summer. I have one that I really like, but it's got a shockingly high slit in the front that makes me uncomfortable if I wear it out of the house. Especially on a windy day.

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I get SO SICK of picking up the gazillion videos we have in this house. I reached a boiling point 2 weeks ago. I went through them and put the vast majority of them in my eBay pile. I got all of our Veggie Tale videos listed. I wasn't expecting to get much for them. I just wanted them gone. They were in pretty bad shape. Well, not the videos. They all work perfectly. But many of these videos were from my husband's first marriage and kids. They've been around for over 10 years, handled by 5 kids. They weren't pretty. But they sold anyway! I got $19.99 + shipping for 13 of them, which is more than I'd have been able to get at a yard sale, so I'm happy.

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Remember when I mentioned the other day that I keep buying Sag Harbor, even though it never sells? This was one of the earlier SH pieces I bought. It's a size 14 (pretty common size), new with tags, nice wardrobe staple. My problem is that black garments are SO hard to photograph. This jacket is truly gorgeous. But can you tell that from this photo? No, of course not. I priced it for $39.99 or best offer, and I sold it today for my full asking price!

**********

Thanks to Becky, I picked up these cute little owl chalkware bookends a month or so ago. I didn't really look over them closely at the store. I got them home and discovered a couple chips in them. I also discovered that they had scratched into the back of them: "Merry Christmas! Love, Mom"  You gotta wonder what made the kid donate these... Anyway, they were listed less than a month. I accepted a $20 offer on them today. They are going to Australia, so the buyer paid an additional $24 for first class international shipping. Yikes! I sure hope she loves them. That's a LOT of money to pay for some bookends...

**********

I got a request for a return today. I sold a pair of shoes a couple weeks ago that ended up not fitting right. The buyer requested a full refund. I wrote her back and gave her my address. I told her that once I received them back, I would refund her original purchase price, but not her original shipping. She wrote back that she was paying for the return shipping, so I should refund her original shipping. I was able to quote her my refund policy, which is clearly stated in all of my listings. I haven't heard back from her. I'm a little nervous. I was hoping she would threaten my feedback, so I would for sure be able to get it removed if she left me a negative. It always amazes me that buyers seem to feel that WE should pay for THEIR mistakes. I include several measurements in all of my shoe listings, for exactly this reason. She knew the measurements. If they didn't fit her, that's not my fault. Why should I be out any money at all?

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Ryan at Terapeak is still looking for user success stories to post on the Terapeak Blog. There have been a lot of great stories posted already. Do you have a success story that you'd like to share and have posted on the TP blog? If so, tell your story in the comments and I'll forward it to Ryan.

Ketchup

I know, I know. I've gone from faithful daily blogger to ... this patheticness. I've been spending most of my evenings listing, listing, listing. And the evenings that I'm not listing, it's usually because I'm doing something else. So either way - no time to blog.

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I dropped off all my stuff at the kids' consignment sale this morning. I had originally signed up for a 3-hour volunteer shift, but then she dangled the "70% of your sales" carrot in front of my nose and I bit. I left there having signed up for a 9-hour shift on Sunday. Eek.

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I just finished filing our taxes. Phew. I don't know why I put it off as long as I did. I was expecting to really owe a lot of money, but we actually ended up getting a pretty decent refund. SUCH a load off my shoulders to have that done.

**********

I've set an official financial goal for myself, in order to have my storage shed by the end of the summer. I'll need to transfer an average of $500 per week out of my Paypal account into my checking account, while leaving as much in my checking account as possible in the meantime - which is always hard with the kids' extra-curricular activites, etc, but I'll do my best. I will try harder to curb the spending that I CAN control: restaurants, shopping, etc... I seriously need to get my thrift shopping under control. I have enough inventory here to last me a couple more weeks, a month or so if I dig hard enough.

Hopefully, by having a firm weekly goal, I will be better able to keep focused on cutting my spending. It's pretty sickening to look at my sales and see how much I've made, and then look at my scrawny little checkbook balance and realize that it all went to pizza and inconsequential nothings...

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Just a quick sales highlight from the last couple days, because I need to hit the hay:

As usual, I've been selling a lot of homeschool books and denim skirts. I sold 2 denim skirts just yesterday, in fact. I have discovered that my Goodwill seems to accidentally hang their denim skirts in with the jeans. (But that's my secret... don't tell anyone!)  Yesterday, I found the exact same skirt that I was wearing. That was kind of cool. I bought it, because mine has a hole in it and the new one didn't. :-P

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Don't be afraid to list Christmas items year-round. I sold this set to an Australian buyer this evening:

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I bought this vintage Sears buttonholer at Goodwill one day without being able to look it up on my phone. It sold for my full asking price. I seem to be getting a little better at following my instinct when I can't research (well, except that Kodak instant camera I bought yesterday, but we're not going to talk about that...)

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These both sold to the same buyer the other day. That was pretty cool. I never get repeat buyers except for shoe cream. They're both headed to Canada, and for nice prices too! The buyer did kind of push her luck on a third item, offering me $5.99 for something I have listed for $23.99. I was perfectly willing to give her a decent deal, since she was buying multiple items, but that was a little much...

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I also sold another set of books super-fast, which tells me I again underpriced them. I've not got the hang of pricing books yet. This particular set hadn't sold for over $14 recently, so I priced mine at $16.99 and they sold the next morning. That tells me I could have sold them for more, so I'll definitely pick them up when I find them for a quarter or so. Goodness knows they're easy enough to find - I see them everywhere!

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I haven't forgotten about the blog topics that I promised last week. I just haven't had a minute to write them yet. But I will - I promise!