I've posted other articles concerning my past and how it shaped my life. But I wanted to go a step further and talk about how I got to where I am. Nothing I have achieved has been handed to me. Hopefully this will inspire someone else to go for what they want.
As I moved from teenager into adulthood, I knew I wanted to own my own business. I tried a few things but never really hit on anything that worked. I also held a number of jobs during that time. I delivered pizza, worked for a carnival, sold vacuum cleaners, serviced porta potties, did construction labor just to name a few, At one point I worked part time for a grocery store and full time doing construction. By focus always remained on owning a business.
I bounced around the country for a few years doing primarily cable TV installations. It was towards the end of this time that I was hired by a small HVAC business owner. It was a family business, and very small. The owner mentored me and taught me the business. Fast forward a couple of years and I was ready to start my own HVAC company. I had worked for many other companies, but even with my experience I could not get a decent wage. I decided it was time to try it on my own.
I started my business with a $400 van and some hand tools. I took out an ad in the local paper and the rest is history. I priced myself just slightly lower than the top dog in my market. But the one thing I did different was I provided excellent customer service. I also took a leap of faith in my manufacturer of the equipment I sold. They offered a 5 year parts warranty. I added 5 years labor warranty to it and was the first to offer a 5 year parts and labor warranty in my market.
That was the catalyst that launched my business to the next level. In 3 years I went from a start up to the second largest HVAC company in the area. I was grossing $500k per year. But I knew I did not want to be moving furnaces when I got to be 50. So I sold the business and moved into the computer field. I taught myself most of what I now know. If someone wouldn't hire me to do a job I wanted to do, I just started a business and did it myself.
The point of all of this is to show that being confident and putting in the hard work does have it's rewards. During my computer career I have held positions from basic support guy to a Director's level position. I have been a CEO, President and owner. I have managed fortune 500 enterprise systems and developed military technology. And all of this was with no formal education. This was all self taught. I knew what I wanted to do and I figured out ways to make it happen.
All too often I see people wanting to reach their goal, but they go about it the wrong way. They rely on others to provide the knowledge. I don't discourage anyone from asking questions. I still do it myself. However, there is a fine line between asking for the keys to the kingdom and asking for assistance in figuring something out. If I had not taught myself to do the things I did, I would have never found some of the things I enjoyed doing. I would have never learned the things I learned which has helped me in my career path.
Never let anyone tell you that you cannot do something. And on the same token, never ask anyone to do the work for you. Learn. Be a sponge. use trial and error. It's the only way you will ever figure things out. Nothing, and I seriously do mean nothing, can take the place of hard earned experiences in failure. The more you fail, the more you will succeed. Each success after a failure is better because you built it up based on the knowledge of what you learned not to do.
Don't let the thought of failure keep you from realizing your dream. Dare to fail. Get up and try again. It is usually during those moments at the bottom of a failure that your greatest triumphs will arise.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Success is earned.
As I was listening to my morning radio program, I had a thought concerning how people become successful. We've all heard the stories of how someone went from the depths of despair to being wealthy in a short period of time. We envy these people. We wonder why we can't do it. But the truth is, we can all do it. We just sabotage our own endeavors.
Speaking directly about an ebay business, I realize that most people who try to do an ebay business really have no clue of the potential they have sitting in their lap. Never before has there been a way for someone to start and own a business for little or no cash investment. There are virtually no barriers for people to create an income and take it as far as they want to. The problem is, everyone wants it now. We are impatient and have a short attention span. We have been conditioned to expect instant gratification.
The evidence for this is the amount of credit card debt US consumers have racked up over the last couple of decades. We can't wait to save the cash for something, we have to have it now. This carries over into just about every aspect of our lives. Just look at the car insurance commercials. It started with 15 minutes or less, and is now at 7.5 minutes. How long will it be before it is 30 seconds or less? If you are going to succeed and be able to grow your business to the level you want, then you need to learn how to have patience and to wait for the rewards.
We as a society could take lessons from immigrants who come to our country with not much more than the clothes on their backs. They live simply and save their money so they can achieve the success they came to this country to attain. They work long, hard hours and do what they have to do in order to succeed. We have been conditioned to expect quick results, and to also live beyond our means. I have been guilty of this as much as anyone. If you want to have an independent life and to also control your income, then you need to get back to basics and live simply. You need to buckle down and not just work hard, but you also have to do the research required.
I see people constantly asking facebook groups how to run their business. They refuse to do the homework. They refuse to do the research, and then wonder why they are not getting the sales others are. Knowledge that is not earned is worth nothing. Trial and error are the true methods of learning how ebay works. It varies from seller to seller and category to category. There are a ton of research tools available not just from ebay but also from third party vendors. But don't get caught up in the research so much that you are spending your profits just to pay for those tools. Be smart about it. Use the tools that make you a more profitable seller.
Constantly asking others what price you should charge does nothing to educate yourself on a products value. You will never learn value that way. I have spent years researching profitable brands. Why on earth would I want to give away that information? I earned that knowledge. It cost me time and money to have that knowledge. Asking me for that information is an insult to my hard work. It's time people started taking ownership of their business. If you are too lazy to look up a product to know it's value, then you have no business trying to sell on ebay. I'm sorry, but that is the truth.
This post isn't intended to degrade anyone, but rather to give you the honest truth and to hopefully motivate you to do what you need to do in order to be successful. Take a few moments and do an honest assessment of your situation. If you can't pick up an item and know it's value, or how to find it's value without asking an online group, then maybe you need to go back to square one. Learn research first, then move forward. You'll have a much greater success rate than relying on others.
Speaking directly about an ebay business, I realize that most people who try to do an ebay business really have no clue of the potential they have sitting in their lap. Never before has there been a way for someone to start and own a business for little or no cash investment. There are virtually no barriers for people to create an income and take it as far as they want to. The problem is, everyone wants it now. We are impatient and have a short attention span. We have been conditioned to expect instant gratification.
The evidence for this is the amount of credit card debt US consumers have racked up over the last couple of decades. We can't wait to save the cash for something, we have to have it now. This carries over into just about every aspect of our lives. Just look at the car insurance commercials. It started with 15 minutes or less, and is now at 7.5 minutes. How long will it be before it is 30 seconds or less? If you are going to succeed and be able to grow your business to the level you want, then you need to learn how to have patience and to wait for the rewards.
We as a society could take lessons from immigrants who come to our country with not much more than the clothes on their backs. They live simply and save their money so they can achieve the success they came to this country to attain. They work long, hard hours and do what they have to do in order to succeed. We have been conditioned to expect quick results, and to also live beyond our means. I have been guilty of this as much as anyone. If you want to have an independent life and to also control your income, then you need to get back to basics and live simply. You need to buckle down and not just work hard, but you also have to do the research required.
I see people constantly asking facebook groups how to run their business. They refuse to do the homework. They refuse to do the research, and then wonder why they are not getting the sales others are. Knowledge that is not earned is worth nothing. Trial and error are the true methods of learning how ebay works. It varies from seller to seller and category to category. There are a ton of research tools available not just from ebay but also from third party vendors. But don't get caught up in the research so much that you are spending your profits just to pay for those tools. Be smart about it. Use the tools that make you a more profitable seller.
Constantly asking others what price you should charge does nothing to educate yourself on a products value. You will never learn value that way. I have spent years researching profitable brands. Why on earth would I want to give away that information? I earned that knowledge. It cost me time and money to have that knowledge. Asking me for that information is an insult to my hard work. It's time people started taking ownership of their business. If you are too lazy to look up a product to know it's value, then you have no business trying to sell on ebay. I'm sorry, but that is the truth.
This post isn't intended to degrade anyone, but rather to give you the honest truth and to hopefully motivate you to do what you need to do in order to be successful. Take a few moments and do an honest assessment of your situation. If you can't pick up an item and know it's value, or how to find it's value without asking an online group, then maybe you need to go back to square one. Learn research first, then move forward. You'll have a much greater success rate than relying on others.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
It's your fault!
You read that right, it's your fault. I see a flurry of posts, comments and articles about how Cassini and ebay are killing everyone's sales. While there is a smidgen of truth to that, most of it falls back on us the seller to adapt. We can complain all we want, but the bottom line is that ebay is a business, and they will do what they feel is in their best interest, not ours.
I see a lot of new sellers, and some veteran sellers, complaining about the lack of sales. If you are not getting sales, then you have not adapted. The goal of Cassini is to match as close as possible a good seller with the right buyer. So how can you get to the point where you are matched more often? Well, that seems to be the secret sauce that no one really knows the recipe for. But there are some things you can do to try and figure it out.
One thing I have learned over the years is to experiment. Because the one thing that runs true with ebay, is that what works for me may not work for you. You can't keep doing the same things and expect things to change. If you keep doing the same things you will continue to get the same results. So if you are not changing things, then you are at fault, not Cassini or ebay.
The first thing you should try is auctions. There is a reason why ebay keeps offering free listings for auctions. They want auctions. It is what they are known for. Adding auctions to the mix will increase views almost immediately. Now that's not to say it will increase sales. That part falls on you to have not just the right items, but to have them priced accordingly. With auctions, don't just run them at 9pm at night. Try different times of the day and days of the week. You may just find that the people looking for your item are not on at night. They may be on first thing in the morning, or during lunch. It's up to you to figure it out.
Another thing I constantly preach is to list, list and list! You can't expect to make $2,000 a month if you only have 100 listings. While it can be done, it is a long shot at best. You should have at least 20 items newly listed and ending each and every day. You want to show up in newly listed and ending soonest searches. The goal is to get as many listings in as many search slots as you can. Missing some of them can mean you don't get the sales.
When you do experiment, make sure you do it for a month at a time. You can't expect instant results. It takes time to get things lined up in the search results. Ebay is not a get rich quick scheme. It takes work, sometimes hard work to get the results. Those of us who make good money at it have done it for a long time and have learned to adapt. We also recognize it is work. Most full time sellers treat it like a job. They are disciplined enough to do what it takes to succeed. If you are lazy or are looking for the quick, easy buck then you are going to fail.
The bottom line is to find what works for you. Once you do, don't rest easy, because as soon as you do ebay will change things and you'll be behind the eight ball trying to catch up. It's just like a good relationship. Keep things fresh and interesting and it will last.
I see a lot of new sellers, and some veteran sellers, complaining about the lack of sales. If you are not getting sales, then you have not adapted. The goal of Cassini is to match as close as possible a good seller with the right buyer. So how can you get to the point where you are matched more often? Well, that seems to be the secret sauce that no one really knows the recipe for. But there are some things you can do to try and figure it out.
One thing I have learned over the years is to experiment. Because the one thing that runs true with ebay, is that what works for me may not work for you. You can't keep doing the same things and expect things to change. If you keep doing the same things you will continue to get the same results. So if you are not changing things, then you are at fault, not Cassini or ebay.
The first thing you should try is auctions. There is a reason why ebay keeps offering free listings for auctions. They want auctions. It is what they are known for. Adding auctions to the mix will increase views almost immediately. Now that's not to say it will increase sales. That part falls on you to have not just the right items, but to have them priced accordingly. With auctions, don't just run them at 9pm at night. Try different times of the day and days of the week. You may just find that the people looking for your item are not on at night. They may be on first thing in the morning, or during lunch. It's up to you to figure it out.
Another thing I constantly preach is to list, list and list! You can't expect to make $2,000 a month if you only have 100 listings. While it can be done, it is a long shot at best. You should have at least 20 items newly listed and ending each and every day. You want to show up in newly listed and ending soonest searches. The goal is to get as many listings in as many search slots as you can. Missing some of them can mean you don't get the sales.
When you do experiment, make sure you do it for a month at a time. You can't expect instant results. It takes time to get things lined up in the search results. Ebay is not a get rich quick scheme. It takes work, sometimes hard work to get the results. Those of us who make good money at it have done it for a long time and have learned to adapt. We also recognize it is work. Most full time sellers treat it like a job. They are disciplined enough to do what it takes to succeed. If you are lazy or are looking for the quick, easy buck then you are going to fail.
The bottom line is to find what works for you. Once you do, don't rest easy, because as soon as you do ebay will change things and you'll be behind the eight ball trying to catch up. It's just like a good relationship. Keep things fresh and interesting and it will last.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Can I make a full time income?
This post is coming from a simple discussion on one of my facebook groups. A lot of people want to sell full time, but don't seem to know how. It really is an easy concept, but it is one of those things that just buzzes over peoples heads because they over think it. Once you break it down into manageable data, it really is simple to figure out.
Everyone's situation is different as are their sales models. For the purposes of this post, I am going to generalize and keep things fairly simple. Once you understand the concept, it's real easy to port the information over to your situation. My example will be making a few assumptions based on average sellers and sales numbers. While there are a lot of us who are above these numbers, it does reflect what the averages are. So, here we go.
To put yourself into a position to sell full time, you need to make sure you understand your profit margin. The average runs about 60%. So out of each sales, you get to keep 60 cents per dollar. So if your item sells for $20, then on average you will profit about $12. Our analysis will be based on that sales number just to keep things simple. I would venture to say that the average seller would need to sell about $4,000 per month in order to sell full time on ebay. So, based on the 60 cents per dollar profit number, you would expect to see $2,400 as money in your pocket.
So, how do you get to that amount? Well, it's purely a numbers game. If we are selling our product for $20 and we want to reach $4,000 in sales, then we need to sell 200 items per month. In ebay terms, you generally will sell about 10% of what you have listed per month. So to sell 200 items, you need to list 2,000 items. Now you can see why the name of the game is not just listing quantity, it's listing quality. Take the same $4,000 and an average sales price of $40 and you only need to sell 100 items and list 1,000 and so on. You get the idea.
For me, I average about $39 per sale, and have around 1,200 listings active. I average around 153 sales per month. As you can see, my numbers are pretty close in line with my example. If you want to sell full time, then do the math and figure out where you need to be. Don't be throwing darts in the dark. Set your goals and work towards them. It's ok to start small until you figure things out. Gradually raise your prices by buying more desirable products. You'll find things a little less intimidating once you understand how things work.
It's not rocket science. There is no secret. Hard work and knowing your numbers is all it takes. So go out there and make your own way!
Everyone's situation is different as are their sales models. For the purposes of this post, I am going to generalize and keep things fairly simple. Once you understand the concept, it's real easy to port the information over to your situation. My example will be making a few assumptions based on average sellers and sales numbers. While there are a lot of us who are above these numbers, it does reflect what the averages are. So, here we go.
To put yourself into a position to sell full time, you need to make sure you understand your profit margin. The average runs about 60%. So out of each sales, you get to keep 60 cents per dollar. So if your item sells for $20, then on average you will profit about $12. Our analysis will be based on that sales number just to keep things simple. I would venture to say that the average seller would need to sell about $4,000 per month in order to sell full time on ebay. So, based on the 60 cents per dollar profit number, you would expect to see $2,400 as money in your pocket.
So, how do you get to that amount? Well, it's purely a numbers game. If we are selling our product for $20 and we want to reach $4,000 in sales, then we need to sell 200 items per month. In ebay terms, you generally will sell about 10% of what you have listed per month. So to sell 200 items, you need to list 2,000 items. Now you can see why the name of the game is not just listing quantity, it's listing quality. Take the same $4,000 and an average sales price of $40 and you only need to sell 100 items and list 1,000 and so on. You get the idea.
For me, I average about $39 per sale, and have around 1,200 listings active. I average around 153 sales per month. As you can see, my numbers are pretty close in line with my example. If you want to sell full time, then do the math and figure out where you need to be. Don't be throwing darts in the dark. Set your goals and work towards them. It's ok to start small until you figure things out. Gradually raise your prices by buying more desirable products. You'll find things a little less intimidating once you understand how things work.
It's not rocket science. There is no secret. Hard work and knowing your numbers is all it takes. So go out there and make your own way!
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Being organized
Here is a video I did showing my setup and how I do things.
How do you do your business?
How do you do your business?
Monday, June 16, 2014
Friday, June 13, 2014
Friday Q & A and Sale of the week
Ask away on any topics you wish.
The sale this week was a Gleason Bros. vintage cowboy hat with the original box. Picked it up at a local thrift store for $10. Sold in less than two hours for $109.99. Gotta love sales like that!
So what was your sale of the week?
The sale this week was a Gleason Bros. vintage cowboy hat with the original box. Picked it up at a local thrift store for $10. Sold in less than two hours for $109.99. Gotta love sales like that!
So what was your sale of the week?
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Maximize your profits
I frequently look at other sellers and what they have sold. Of particular interest is how much they sell their items for. In this business there is a saying, fast nickle or slow dime. Fast nickle means you price to move where slow dime means you are willing to wait for the higher margin even if it takes some time. So which one are you, and are you doing the right thing?
A post by another member in one of my groups is what got me on this track. When I first started ebay, I was fast nickle guy. Get it, sell it. Make what I could and move on. What I soon figured out was that it took just as much time to list the fast money, low profit items as it did the slow moving, high profit items. So my logic kicked in and I figured out that it was better to list the slow dimes and make as much profit as I could. Now I do still sell some fast nickles, but by and large mine are mostly slow dimes. Of course following this model does have drawbacks.
In order to make a decent business with the slow dime method requires storage space. You are going to accumulate a lot of items and they are going to sit waiting for the right buyer. The more you have, the more frequent your sales are gonna be. This is one of the considerations you have to take into account when deciding how you are going to run your business. Are you a Walmart seller, or are you a Nordstrom seller?
The down side to the fast nickle is that once you gain a following, it will be hard to make the transition to a slow dime seller. You will slowly lose your following and have to build new followers. This can take a toll on sales as you make the transition. For me, the slow dime approach is the best fit. I want high profit margins. I want to be able to enjoy life and not have to work constantly to feed the fast nickle inventory system.
The other down side to fast nickle is you wind up devaluing brands. Each time something sells under market value, the next one will have to come down in order to compete. People see something valued at $50 selling for $19.99 and they start seeking out other $19.99 ones. The closest one they can get to that price is the one they are going to buy. Sellers panic and start lowering prices to get sales. Next thing you know, no one is making a decent margin. Think I'm making this up? One perfect example is Polo Ralph Lauren shirts. They used to be a decent margin shirt. Now you are lucky to get $19.99 for one. They have to be special labels to get anything above that.
Don't make the mistake of working yourself out of business. Fast nickle on ebay will only work for so long. Sooner or later those fast nickel items we be devalued so much that you can't make enough to justify selling them. Be smart and make sure you are getting the margins you should. Don't leave money on the table.
A post by another member in one of my groups is what got me on this track. When I first started ebay, I was fast nickle guy. Get it, sell it. Make what I could and move on. What I soon figured out was that it took just as much time to list the fast money, low profit items as it did the slow moving, high profit items. So my logic kicked in and I figured out that it was better to list the slow dimes and make as much profit as I could. Now I do still sell some fast nickles, but by and large mine are mostly slow dimes. Of course following this model does have drawbacks.
In order to make a decent business with the slow dime method requires storage space. You are going to accumulate a lot of items and they are going to sit waiting for the right buyer. The more you have, the more frequent your sales are gonna be. This is one of the considerations you have to take into account when deciding how you are going to run your business. Are you a Walmart seller, or are you a Nordstrom seller?
The down side to the fast nickle is that once you gain a following, it will be hard to make the transition to a slow dime seller. You will slowly lose your following and have to build new followers. This can take a toll on sales as you make the transition. For me, the slow dime approach is the best fit. I want high profit margins. I want to be able to enjoy life and not have to work constantly to feed the fast nickle inventory system.
The other down side to fast nickle is you wind up devaluing brands. Each time something sells under market value, the next one will have to come down in order to compete. People see something valued at $50 selling for $19.99 and they start seeking out other $19.99 ones. The closest one they can get to that price is the one they are going to buy. Sellers panic and start lowering prices to get sales. Next thing you know, no one is making a decent margin. Think I'm making this up? One perfect example is Polo Ralph Lauren shirts. They used to be a decent margin shirt. Now you are lucky to get $19.99 for one. They have to be special labels to get anything above that.
Don't make the mistake of working yourself out of business. Fast nickle on ebay will only work for so long. Sooner or later those fast nickel items we be devalued so much that you can't make enough to justify selling them. Be smart and make sure you are getting the margins you should. Don't leave money on the table.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Youtube bound!
I finally decided to start making youtube videos. I figure it will give readers a glimpse into my thrifting life and see what I buy. Still trying to decide on topics, if any to include in the series. But, for now here is the first one:
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Slow and steady...
After reading a post in one of my groups, it sparked a topic I felt I should blog about. It concerns new sellers and their quest for knowledge in finding what to sell. Everyone wants to have that ultimate source for the killer stuff that sells almost as fast as you list it. I mean after all, the web is filled with these sorts of people. You see their success stories all the time. Or do you?
While there may be a few like that, they are the exception rather than the rule. What usually happens when someone discovers a product that sells well is this. Word spreads and soon hundreds if not thousands of sellers are looking for the same item. As they find and list them, each seller drops their price just a bit to compete with the next guy. This continues until the product is virtually worthless because the price has been driven into the ground. This is know as a race to the bottom.
The real success and sustainability with ebay is what we call bread and butter items. These are the items that are priced anywhere from $25 - $45. This is the sweet spot for decent items to sell at. If you are sourcing correctly, these items will net you anywhere from $15 to $35 profits per item. This is what you want the majority of your ebay business to contain. They sell frequently and create a steady income stream, provided you have a decent amount of inventory listed. That's not to say that you don't want to carry the higher end stuff, but you want stuff that has a constant influx of revenue.
The higher end stuff doesn't sell every day. It normally requires the right person to see it. That can take a few days or a few months. These are what we call long tail sales. They take a while to sell, but the profits are usually worth the wait. Focus your energy on the bread and butter items. Don't stress about finding the high end items. You'll find them when you least expect to.
New sellers normally drop the "what sells best on ebay?" question. My answer is almost always the same. Sell what you know first, then expand. As most seasoned sellers know, not everything will sell well for everyone. It's an odd quirk with ebay. One person can sell the heck out of coffee mugs while the next guy can't give them away. Find your own way. Find what works for you and quit obsessing over what other people sell.
New sellers almost always fall into the same trap. It's called shiny object syndrome. They either read about something or see a youtube video about something someone is selling, and immediately go out and start buying it. They have not learned the basics of sticking to what you know and expanding slowly. They wind up either giving up because they can't seem to sell stuff, or they wind up with a bunch of stuff being re-donated. Don't be that guy! Do your homework. Research these items and be sure you can sell them at the profit margins you need.
Slow and steady. Be methodical in your approach. Expand your inventory into other products slowly. Just because you listed an item and it sold in a couple days does not mean it is a hot seller. Take your time and see how these new items perform over time. Nothing sucks more than buying a butt load of product only to find out it will take 2 years to clear them out.
While there may be a few like that, they are the exception rather than the rule. What usually happens when someone discovers a product that sells well is this. Word spreads and soon hundreds if not thousands of sellers are looking for the same item. As they find and list them, each seller drops their price just a bit to compete with the next guy. This continues until the product is virtually worthless because the price has been driven into the ground. This is know as a race to the bottom.
The real success and sustainability with ebay is what we call bread and butter items. These are the items that are priced anywhere from $25 - $45. This is the sweet spot for decent items to sell at. If you are sourcing correctly, these items will net you anywhere from $15 to $35 profits per item. This is what you want the majority of your ebay business to contain. They sell frequently and create a steady income stream, provided you have a decent amount of inventory listed. That's not to say that you don't want to carry the higher end stuff, but you want stuff that has a constant influx of revenue.
The higher end stuff doesn't sell every day. It normally requires the right person to see it. That can take a few days or a few months. These are what we call long tail sales. They take a while to sell, but the profits are usually worth the wait. Focus your energy on the bread and butter items. Don't stress about finding the high end items. You'll find them when you least expect to.
New sellers normally drop the "what sells best on ebay?" question. My answer is almost always the same. Sell what you know first, then expand. As most seasoned sellers know, not everything will sell well for everyone. It's an odd quirk with ebay. One person can sell the heck out of coffee mugs while the next guy can't give them away. Find your own way. Find what works for you and quit obsessing over what other people sell.
New sellers almost always fall into the same trap. It's called shiny object syndrome. They either read about something or see a youtube video about something someone is selling, and immediately go out and start buying it. They have not learned the basics of sticking to what you know and expanding slowly. They wind up either giving up because they can't seem to sell stuff, or they wind up with a bunch of stuff being re-donated. Don't be that guy! Do your homework. Research these items and be sure you can sell them at the profit margins you need.
Slow and steady. Be methodical in your approach. Expand your inventory into other products slowly. Just because you listed an item and it sold in a couple days does not mean it is a hot seller. Take your time and see how these new items perform over time. Nothing sucks more than buying a butt load of product only to find out it will take 2 years to clear them out.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
My back story...
I don't normally talk about my past or growing up. However, I see too many people using their past as an excuse to not be successful. Maybe my story will give some motivation or inspiration to others out there to take life by the reigns and make your own way. So, here we go...
I grew up in a family of 5 kids. My parents divorced when I was about 4 years old. I don't have many young memories of my dad. I was probably 7 or 8 when I really remember him. The relationship between him and my mom were strained at best. I was lucky if I got to see him an hour a week. There were times I would go a month or more without seeing him. When I was 8, my mom remarried. At first we thought this was great. We would have a dad around. But that was short lived. He ended up being a little abusive.
Moving forward, we were not well off my any means. In fact, we were fairly poor. Most of my youth I got new clothes once a year, and that was a couple pairs of pants and a few shirts. Most everything else was given to us by members of the church. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I was finally able to buy new clothes. We knew we were poor, but we made the best of it. I remember one winter when we got a blizzard. We were stuck in the house and all we had to eat was tea and crackers. That is about the only time I really remember being hungry.
I also grew up with a mother who was raised in a very religious home. As a consequence, we were in a very strict environment. Rock music was the devil's music, as was dancing. I remember not being allowed to attend an assembly at school because it was a magician, and that was evil. Being raised in that environment but also being a part of normal public interactions, it created the perfect rebellious environment for me. I longed to be a normal kid and be able to do the things other kids got to do. Of course this brought down the wrath of my step-father. By the time I was 17 I had had enough.
In January of 1981, I dropped out of school and enlisted in the US Navy. I spent 3 years on a destroyer. It was ok, but being newly released from my religious prison, I pretty much indulged in everything that was available to me. How I stayed out of trouble is beyond me. But I finished my enlistment and was honorably discharged in 1984. What a time that was to be without a job! There was no work, and because of what I had worked with in the Navy, I could not find a job. I was overqualified for most anything out there, including McDonald's!
I spent the next 7 years floating from one job to the next. But sprinkled in there were spurts of businesses I tried to start. I tried silk screening t-shirts. I tried flea market selling. I even tried selling vacuum cleaners door to door. I found myself homeless on more than one occasion. But I always knew that I was going to find my way. I knew there had to be more to life than this. I settled on doing HVAC work. It was something that came naturally to me and I could see the possibilities of business ownership in this field.
By the time I was 28, I was ready to settle down. I met my wife and 7 months later we were married. We moved back to her hometown where I started my HVAC business. 3 years later we were the second largest HVAC contractor in the area. I was grossing $500k a year. Life was good. My wife convinced me to get my GED, which I did. I was a respected business leader in the community, even getting elected as the president of our downtown business association. But in the back of my mind I knew that I did not want to be installing HVAC equipment when I was 50.
Things changed in 1995. I saw my first PC. I was fascinated with it. Then one day my business manager brought his computer from home in and was getting online. I had no idea what that meant, and he showed me the future. The Internet! I was hooked! I set out to start my own internet company. In late 1995 I started setting up a dialup ISP. By Early 1997 I was grossing $16k a month. It was going well.
But, the area where my business was located was 50 miles form home. Normally not a big deal. However, it was also located in the snow belt of the northeast. In the winter of 1996, we had a snow storm where we got 4 feet of snow in one day. My son was 18 months old and I remember driving home in bumper deep snow for 50 miles and thinking this was crazy. My wife and I had a long discussion about the business, and we decided to sell it and move south to north Carolina.
By February, 1997 we were in north Carolina. We had sold the ISP and were looking to start a fresh new life. Over the next 14 years, I worked many tech jobs, got my degree and also owned several businesses. Three were tech businesses and one restaurant. I had also been selling on ebay part time. I sold anything that I thought would make money. From industrial equipment to dollhouse miniatures and lingerie, I sold it all. I now had two sons, and the oldest was a couple years from graduating. He hated the heat (so did we) and we knew that after he graduated he would be heading north. We decided to move north, back to PA.
Shortly after we moved, my son began dating a girl whose parents sold full time on ebay. I had never met anyone who sold full time, so I was quite intrigued. We finally met the parents, and we hit it off pretty good. We used to go on thrifting trips together on the weekends. This was the point that I realized the trick to ebay was volume. You had to list a lot to get a lot of sales. I spent the next year really honing my ebay skills. I studied successful sellers, and took bits and pieces of information from each of them to develop my strategy.
I still work a full time job, but ebay has given me the ability to not be dependent on my job. Last September my company was bought out. I learned that I would be losing my job at some point in the future. I ramped up my inventory so I could get as much cash banked as I could prior to losing my job. This will be my operating capital. I will transition into a full time seller once my pink slip is delivered.
So don't feel sorry for my life growing up. It has helped mold me into the person I am today. There were so many times I should have either died or been in prison. I guess I just got lucky, or I just figured things out in time to correct the path I was on. Either way I was able to pull myself up and move on. People now days want to fall back on some past injustice to justify not being successful. I'm here as proof that you can rise above everything and achieve success. You just have to want it bad enough.
So, what's holding you back from being successful? Is it fear you will fail? I have failed more than I have succeeded. But I never let failure stop me. I am in control of my destiny. I will succeed, and each success is always better than the last. I do not fear the unknown. I dive in and go for it. I came into this world with nothing, and I lived most of my life with nothing. To go out with nothing would be to leave as I entered.
Life is not about who has the most toys. Life is about fulfillment. Life is about experiences. Life is about making the most of every day and celebrating everything we have, no matter how small we may think it is. Enjoy life and celebrate. You only get one, so make sure it is a good one!
I grew up in a family of 5 kids. My parents divorced when I was about 4 years old. I don't have many young memories of my dad. I was probably 7 or 8 when I really remember him. The relationship between him and my mom were strained at best. I was lucky if I got to see him an hour a week. There were times I would go a month or more without seeing him. When I was 8, my mom remarried. At first we thought this was great. We would have a dad around. But that was short lived. He ended up being a little abusive.
Moving forward, we were not well off my any means. In fact, we were fairly poor. Most of my youth I got new clothes once a year, and that was a couple pairs of pants and a few shirts. Most everything else was given to us by members of the church. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I was finally able to buy new clothes. We knew we were poor, but we made the best of it. I remember one winter when we got a blizzard. We were stuck in the house and all we had to eat was tea and crackers. That is about the only time I really remember being hungry.
I also grew up with a mother who was raised in a very religious home. As a consequence, we were in a very strict environment. Rock music was the devil's music, as was dancing. I remember not being allowed to attend an assembly at school because it was a magician, and that was evil. Being raised in that environment but also being a part of normal public interactions, it created the perfect rebellious environment for me. I longed to be a normal kid and be able to do the things other kids got to do. Of course this brought down the wrath of my step-father. By the time I was 17 I had had enough.
In January of 1981, I dropped out of school and enlisted in the US Navy. I spent 3 years on a destroyer. It was ok, but being newly released from my religious prison, I pretty much indulged in everything that was available to me. How I stayed out of trouble is beyond me. But I finished my enlistment and was honorably discharged in 1984. What a time that was to be without a job! There was no work, and because of what I had worked with in the Navy, I could not find a job. I was overqualified for most anything out there, including McDonald's!
I spent the next 7 years floating from one job to the next. But sprinkled in there were spurts of businesses I tried to start. I tried silk screening t-shirts. I tried flea market selling. I even tried selling vacuum cleaners door to door. I found myself homeless on more than one occasion. But I always knew that I was going to find my way. I knew there had to be more to life than this. I settled on doing HVAC work. It was something that came naturally to me and I could see the possibilities of business ownership in this field.
By the time I was 28, I was ready to settle down. I met my wife and 7 months later we were married. We moved back to her hometown where I started my HVAC business. 3 years later we were the second largest HVAC contractor in the area. I was grossing $500k a year. Life was good. My wife convinced me to get my GED, which I did. I was a respected business leader in the community, even getting elected as the president of our downtown business association. But in the back of my mind I knew that I did not want to be installing HVAC equipment when I was 50.
Things changed in 1995. I saw my first PC. I was fascinated with it. Then one day my business manager brought his computer from home in and was getting online. I had no idea what that meant, and he showed me the future. The Internet! I was hooked! I set out to start my own internet company. In late 1995 I started setting up a dialup ISP. By Early 1997 I was grossing $16k a month. It was going well.
But, the area where my business was located was 50 miles form home. Normally not a big deal. However, it was also located in the snow belt of the northeast. In the winter of 1996, we had a snow storm where we got 4 feet of snow in one day. My son was 18 months old and I remember driving home in bumper deep snow for 50 miles and thinking this was crazy. My wife and I had a long discussion about the business, and we decided to sell it and move south to north Carolina.
By February, 1997 we were in north Carolina. We had sold the ISP and were looking to start a fresh new life. Over the next 14 years, I worked many tech jobs, got my degree and also owned several businesses. Three were tech businesses and one restaurant. I had also been selling on ebay part time. I sold anything that I thought would make money. From industrial equipment to dollhouse miniatures and lingerie, I sold it all. I now had two sons, and the oldest was a couple years from graduating. He hated the heat (so did we) and we knew that after he graduated he would be heading north. We decided to move north, back to PA.
Shortly after we moved, my son began dating a girl whose parents sold full time on ebay. I had never met anyone who sold full time, so I was quite intrigued. We finally met the parents, and we hit it off pretty good. We used to go on thrifting trips together on the weekends. This was the point that I realized the trick to ebay was volume. You had to list a lot to get a lot of sales. I spent the next year really honing my ebay skills. I studied successful sellers, and took bits and pieces of information from each of them to develop my strategy.
I still work a full time job, but ebay has given me the ability to not be dependent on my job. Last September my company was bought out. I learned that I would be losing my job at some point in the future. I ramped up my inventory so I could get as much cash banked as I could prior to losing my job. This will be my operating capital. I will transition into a full time seller once my pink slip is delivered.
So don't feel sorry for my life growing up. It has helped mold me into the person I am today. There were so many times I should have either died or been in prison. I guess I just got lucky, or I just figured things out in time to correct the path I was on. Either way I was able to pull myself up and move on. People now days want to fall back on some past injustice to justify not being successful. I'm here as proof that you can rise above everything and achieve success. You just have to want it bad enough.
So, what's holding you back from being successful? Is it fear you will fail? I have failed more than I have succeeded. But I never let failure stop me. I am in control of my destiny. I will succeed, and each success is always better than the last. I do not fear the unknown. I dive in and go for it. I came into this world with nothing, and I lived most of my life with nothing. To go out with nothing would be to leave as I entered.
Life is not about who has the most toys. Life is about fulfillment. Life is about experiences. Life is about making the most of every day and celebrating everything we have, no matter how small we may think it is. Enjoy life and celebrate. You only get one, so make sure it is a good one!
Growing up!
When I decided to start my blog, I did it with the intention of helping people learn the ropes of selling on ebay without all the hype and fluff that is normally associated with this type of thing. So far it has been what I envisioned it to be. But as with anything worth doing, the time has come to grow this into other venues. Social media pretty much dictates that I do this.
So, as a result I have started a companion Facebook group. Here is the link to it:
Ebay Unleashed
I decided to do this because I have had quite a few people ask me if I had a group or not so they could follow me. I have a personal facebook page, but I rarely post anything ebay related on it. My hope is to have readers join the group so they can not only ask me questions, but to also share information and help one another. I want to control the growth. I do not want to be spending all of my time supporting this, but at the same time I feel I need to give back to the community that helped me when I was starting out.
Who knows what will be next. Maybe a podcast, maybe youtube videos. I'm not committing to anything, but I am also not ruling anything out. A lot depends on time constraints and whether it would interfere with my selling. The good thing about starting the group is I can make announcements about anything new and be able to reach everyone in one place.
I hope you join and enjoy the group.
So, as a result I have started a companion Facebook group. Here is the link to it:
Ebay Unleashed
I decided to do this because I have had quite a few people ask me if I had a group or not so they could follow me. I have a personal facebook page, but I rarely post anything ebay related on it. My hope is to have readers join the group so they can not only ask me questions, but to also share information and help one another. I want to control the growth. I do not want to be spending all of my time supporting this, but at the same time I feel I need to give back to the community that helped me when I was starting out.
Who knows what will be next. Maybe a podcast, maybe youtube videos. I'm not committing to anything, but I am also not ruling anything out. A lot depends on time constraints and whether it would interfere with my selling. The good thing about starting the group is I can make announcements about anything new and be able to reach everyone in one place.
I hope you join and enjoy the group.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Bells, whistles, shiny and new!
If you have been on ebay as long as I have, then you have seen just about every type of listing known to man. You probably also remember using Auctiva or any number of template hosting sites during that time. Colored text in the description area, all sorts of disclaimers and pretty much anything else you can think of. I still see people using templates and decided to try an experiment back in January.
I created a sweet template. I designed it based on a huge seller to try and replicate as close as I could what they were doing without copying exactly. I figured the shiny, colorful and professional template they used had to be a factor in their large amount of sales. I was determined to get that polished, professional look for my store. I launched my new template on January 1, 2014. I was so jazzed about getting that polished look I had spent 2 weeks developing. I felt like a proud poppa watching his child take their first steps.
I sat back and waited for the inevitable sales increase to happen. After all, my store was slick, pretty and very professional looking. Who wouldn't feel confident buying form someone who projected that kind of image? Well, apparently not many. My sales did not increase. I gave it two months just to be sure. Finally I gave up and beginning in March, I started listing with just a basic listing. I did my normal pictures and titles. However, my description went to as basic as I could get it. Title and measurements. That's it. No colors, standard font, no fancy formatting, no description, just the facts. Wow! What a difference!
March ended up being a record month for me. Since then I have steadily been editing my listings and removing the fancy template, converting them all to the plain one. My sales have come down, but are still higher than they were when I started the experiment. My decision to go plain was based on some articles I had read about Cassini. Cassini doesn't like a lot of HTML code in listings. Simple, left justified text. I think the reason for this was they were trying to target more mobile users, and this is the best way to show the items to those users.
I don't know if it was a fluke or what, but the results don't lie. Prior to this change, I averaged about $4,000 per month in sales. Since making the switch, I average $6,000 a month in sales. Other than steadily adding inventory (which I have always done), this has been the only change I have made to how I do business. Will it work for you? I don't know. If there is one thing I do know about ebay, it's that nothing seems to be a standard.
As I've said before, trial and error. Don't be afraid to try something new. You never know which change you make will be the one that triggers your flurry of sales.
I created a sweet template. I designed it based on a huge seller to try and replicate as close as I could what they were doing without copying exactly. I figured the shiny, colorful and professional template they used had to be a factor in their large amount of sales. I was determined to get that polished, professional look for my store. I launched my new template on January 1, 2014. I was so jazzed about getting that polished look I had spent 2 weeks developing. I felt like a proud poppa watching his child take their first steps.
I sat back and waited for the inevitable sales increase to happen. After all, my store was slick, pretty and very professional looking. Who wouldn't feel confident buying form someone who projected that kind of image? Well, apparently not many. My sales did not increase. I gave it two months just to be sure. Finally I gave up and beginning in March, I started listing with just a basic listing. I did my normal pictures and titles. However, my description went to as basic as I could get it. Title and measurements. That's it. No colors, standard font, no fancy formatting, no description, just the facts. Wow! What a difference!
March ended up being a record month for me. Since then I have steadily been editing my listings and removing the fancy template, converting them all to the plain one. My sales have come down, but are still higher than they were when I started the experiment. My decision to go plain was based on some articles I had read about Cassini. Cassini doesn't like a lot of HTML code in listings. Simple, left justified text. I think the reason for this was they were trying to target more mobile users, and this is the best way to show the items to those users.
I don't know if it was a fluke or what, but the results don't lie. Prior to this change, I averaged about $4,000 per month in sales. Since making the switch, I average $6,000 a month in sales. Other than steadily adding inventory (which I have always done), this has been the only change I have made to how I do business. Will it work for you? I don't know. If there is one thing I do know about ebay, it's that nothing seems to be a standard.
As I've said before, trial and error. Don't be afraid to try something new. You never know which change you make will be the one that triggers your flurry of sales.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Friday Q&A and find of the week
It's here once again! FRIDAY! Got a question? Ask here and I'll try my best to answer it.
My find of the week wasn't so much something I found this week, but rather something I listed this week. I've had it for a couple of weeks and finally got around to listing it. It sold in a matter of hours. It was an RIAA Gold Record for the song Cisco Kid by War, written by Morris "BB" Dickerson. Paid $20 sold for $249. Not a bad haul at all!
My find of the week wasn't so much something I found this week, but rather something I listed this week. I've had it for a couple of weeks and finally got around to listing it. It sold in a matter of hours. It was an RIAA Gold Record for the song Cisco Kid by War, written by Morris "BB" Dickerson. Paid $20 sold for $249. Not a bad haul at all!
What was your find of the week?
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
One size fits all?
In my time selling I have tried many different methods to try and increase my sales. I have done cheap .99 cent auctions, I have done sales and I have tried all of the different combinations of return time frames, free shipping, Global Shipping Program and automated returns. I have also spent a lot of time studying other sellers to see what they are doing. I felt there had to be a system that would get you the highest percentage of sales. What I found did sort of confuse me. Let me explain.
One would think that if you had a hot selling item, priced it in the middle of the pack based on sold prices and had 100% feedback and everything else with your account in pristine shape, you would sell that item rather quickly. This is not always the case. One has to wonder what causes one seller to get great sales while another with like items does not. I have yet to find the reason for this. Let me give you an example.
One seller I know of sells men's shirts. Some are high end, some are mall brands. Most are middle of the road brands. He takes one picture of each shirt. His description has no measurements and no description. According to best practices, he should not have a lot of sales. Yet he not only consistently sells shirts every day, he gets top dollar for them. I have studied his listing habits and tried for one month to recreate it. Yet my sales never even got close to his. Not in price and not in volume. So one has to wonder how he can sell like he does?
I cannot explain this phenomenon, and I know of other sellers who are very similar to him. I do know that volume is a key in getting more sales. I do know that free shipping and 30 day returns also get more sales. But the notion that you need 12 pictures and a detailed description appears to be complete bunk. If those were key factors in determining sales, then this seller and others like him would not have the volume and prices that they currently enjoy.
My point in all of this is to find what works for you. Experiment and come up with a system that maximizes your sales. Don't rely on what others claim works. Use what works for you. Find your system and stick to it. I would still recommend using ebay's best practices, but try bending them a bit and see if you can find a system that will work for your particular situation and product.
When testing, only make one change per month. You want to quantify your results, and making too many changes at once will give you some false data and you will not know the trigger that got the increase in sales. Write down results and compare month to month so you can see trends. It's these trends that can swing your sales into a much better position if you can recognize them.
One would think that if you had a hot selling item, priced it in the middle of the pack based on sold prices and had 100% feedback and everything else with your account in pristine shape, you would sell that item rather quickly. This is not always the case. One has to wonder what causes one seller to get great sales while another with like items does not. I have yet to find the reason for this. Let me give you an example.
One seller I know of sells men's shirts. Some are high end, some are mall brands. Most are middle of the road brands. He takes one picture of each shirt. His description has no measurements and no description. According to best practices, he should not have a lot of sales. Yet he not only consistently sells shirts every day, he gets top dollar for them. I have studied his listing habits and tried for one month to recreate it. Yet my sales never even got close to his. Not in price and not in volume. So one has to wonder how he can sell like he does?
I cannot explain this phenomenon, and I know of other sellers who are very similar to him. I do know that volume is a key in getting more sales. I do know that free shipping and 30 day returns also get more sales. But the notion that you need 12 pictures and a detailed description appears to be complete bunk. If those were key factors in determining sales, then this seller and others like him would not have the volume and prices that they currently enjoy.
My point in all of this is to find what works for you. Experiment and come up with a system that maximizes your sales. Don't rely on what others claim works. Use what works for you. Find your system and stick to it. I would still recommend using ebay's best practices, but try bending them a bit and see if you can find a system that will work for your particular situation and product.
When testing, only make one change per month. You want to quantify your results, and making too many changes at once will give you some false data and you will not know the trigger that got the increase in sales. Write down results and compare month to month so you can see trends. It's these trends that can swing your sales into a much better position if you can recognize them.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Friday Q & A Find of the week
It's time for the Friday Q & A! Got something you want to ask? Post and I'll try to answer it.
I didn't do shopping this week, so my find was actually from a couple weeks ago. I bought a vintage Sony Dream Machine alarm clock at a flea market. Paid $5 for it, and just sold it for $59.99 + shipping. Not a bad return. Keep your eyes open for anything vintage Sony. They do quite well!
Thursday, May 22, 2014
What is success?
I am as guilty as the next person in throwing around the term successful. Often people use that term without even realizing what it means. Webster's defines success as:
the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.
But there are also other meanings for success:
the correct or desired result of an attempt.
What I perceive as a successful person, may not be what someone else perceives. I have my goals that I want to achieve, and I will not consider myself a success until I have reached them. But to someone else, they may view me as being successful. The gauge each person uses for defining success can be very different.
For some people, just the act of selling something for a profit is success to them. Others may see themselves as being a successful seller if they can pay off bills with the extra money they make from selling on ebay. And still others may see success as making $10,000 a month on ebay. It's all in the perspective of each person. We as a society have bastardized the term into being something that it should not be. I think people view themselves as a failure if they are not measuring up to someone else's standard.
Over the course of my life I have seen people who, from all outward appearances, are highly successful people. But if one were to look under the hood so to speak, they would find a person so deep in debt they would have to be dead and buried to be relieved of it. I have also seen others who look like they are almost destitute, yet have millions in the bank. We get caught up in the material, flashy object syndrome and never really take a self assessment.
When it comes to selling on ebay I see people who put themselves out there as being successful, yet sell 1/4 of what I do. That does not mean they are unsuccessful. To them, being able to sell the items they have for a profit is enough for them. It may not be enough for me personally, but that does not mean I am any more successful than they are. It just means we have differing values we have assigned to success. I think a lot of us tend to aspire to reach the level of other sellers we see who have high sales records. But not everyone is in this game for that purpose.
The bottom line is to not get caught up in the whole semantics of success, but to have our own goals and definitions for success that we strive for. Reach your own goals. For me, being successful means providing for my family, and not having to rely on debt to survive. Your mileage may vary.
the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame.
But there are also other meanings for success:
the correct or desired result of an attempt.
What I perceive as a successful person, may not be what someone else perceives. I have my goals that I want to achieve, and I will not consider myself a success until I have reached them. But to someone else, they may view me as being successful. The gauge each person uses for defining success can be very different.
For some people, just the act of selling something for a profit is success to them. Others may see themselves as being a successful seller if they can pay off bills with the extra money they make from selling on ebay. And still others may see success as making $10,000 a month on ebay. It's all in the perspective of each person. We as a society have bastardized the term into being something that it should not be. I think people view themselves as a failure if they are not measuring up to someone else's standard.
Over the course of my life I have seen people who, from all outward appearances, are highly successful people. But if one were to look under the hood so to speak, they would find a person so deep in debt they would have to be dead and buried to be relieved of it. I have also seen others who look like they are almost destitute, yet have millions in the bank. We get caught up in the material, flashy object syndrome and never really take a self assessment.
When it comes to selling on ebay I see people who put themselves out there as being successful, yet sell 1/4 of what I do. That does not mean they are unsuccessful. To them, being able to sell the items they have for a profit is enough for them. It may not be enough for me personally, but that does not mean I am any more successful than they are. It just means we have differing values we have assigned to success. I think a lot of us tend to aspire to reach the level of other sellers we see who have high sales records. But not everyone is in this game for that purpose.
The bottom line is to not get caught up in the whole semantics of success, but to have our own goals and definitions for success that we strive for. Reach your own goals. For me, being successful means providing for my family, and not having to rely on debt to survive. Your mileage may vary.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Are you in control?
Over the past 12 years, I have sold all kinds of items. I have sold all kinds of conditions as well. New, Used, Refurbished etc. But there are some I had never tried. Not because I wasn't curious, but because I really didn't feel comfortable giving up control of my business. That's a good way to ruin a good thing!
Unfortunately, new sellers will often fall into some of the traps. They hear stories of other sellers, or see the hype form websites and think they have hit pay dirt. In one sense, they have, only it's not their dirt! I have talked about margins in some of my other posts, but some people really do not understand what that means. Margins also play a factor in this little joy ride we call reselling.
The first trap a lot of new sellers fall into is the drop shipping one. There are a ton of sites out there who claim they can get you set up to drop ship on ebay. Usually they charge a fee, and then the information is generally available with a little searching on google. Then there are others who are an outright scam, or hook you up with less than reputable companies. The problem is you have no control over any aspect of your business with the exception of your pricing. They control when/if the item ships which can affect your status on ebay. They can change their prices at any time, and you may or may not be notified of the change which can cause you to owe money on an item you sell.
The second trap is a fairly new one. People will find items in the store or online and list them for sale on ebay. When the item sells, they go buy it and ship it. They only have to spend cash when an item sells and do not have to store inventory. The problem there is you are not guaranteed the item will be there when it sells. I have seen people find items on Amazon, list it on ebay, and when it sells they have Amazon ship the item to the buyer. Again, you have no control over that inventory or the price changes. It's a quick way of killing your ebay business before you really get started.
Margins are the next problem. I know there are deals out there buying new, clearanced items for cheap. However, it usually requires a lot of cash to be able to purchase the quantity needed to make a decent profit. This is referred to as retail arbitrage. While it is easier to sell new items, you don't make as much per item. Let's say you buy a widget for $10 on clearance, and it sells for $25 new. You also find the same widget at a yard sale for .50 cents, and used it sells for $18. Now which was the better deal? Of course the used one. You are getting a much better margin on the used one than the new one. Sure, $25 looks better than $18, but you are not making as much profit.
I'll keep this simple using round numbers. Widget sold has a 10% fee from ebay, plus 2.75% + 30 cents paypal and the original cost. So the math looks like this:
NEW WIDGET
$25 x 10% = $2.50
$25 x 2.75% = $.69 + $.30 = $.99
$2.50 + $.99 = $3.49
$25.00 - $3.49 = $21.51
$21.51 - $10 = $11.51 profit
USED WIDGET
$18 x 10% = $1.80
$18 x 2.75% = $.50 + $.30 = $.80
$1.80 + $.80 = $2.60
$18 - $2.60 = $15.40
$15.40 - $.50 = $14.90 profit
Clearly the used was the better deal. The profit was nearly 50% more than the new one. Knowing your margins is imperative is you want to be successful selling on ebay. Knowing you have the inventory on hand that you are selling is also imperative. You need to be able to ship as soon as the item sells. I have ordered from sellers before who drop ship and it has taken several weeks to get my item. Needless to say they no longer get my business. Control your inventory and prices and you control your destiny. Failing with either one of these can be disastrous.
Remember, you want to be in control of every aspect of your business. Don't get sucked in to these great sounding plans without knowing up front what the pitfalls and potential problem areas are. And certainly don't let yourself get caught in a situation where prices have changed and you are paying out more than what an item sold for. That's a good way to cut your reselling career short.
Unfortunately, new sellers will often fall into some of the traps. They hear stories of other sellers, or see the hype form websites and think they have hit pay dirt. In one sense, they have, only it's not their dirt! I have talked about margins in some of my other posts, but some people really do not understand what that means. Margins also play a factor in this little joy ride we call reselling.
The first trap a lot of new sellers fall into is the drop shipping one. There are a ton of sites out there who claim they can get you set up to drop ship on ebay. Usually they charge a fee, and then the information is generally available with a little searching on google. Then there are others who are an outright scam, or hook you up with less than reputable companies. The problem is you have no control over any aspect of your business with the exception of your pricing. They control when/if the item ships which can affect your status on ebay. They can change their prices at any time, and you may or may not be notified of the change which can cause you to owe money on an item you sell.
The second trap is a fairly new one. People will find items in the store or online and list them for sale on ebay. When the item sells, they go buy it and ship it. They only have to spend cash when an item sells and do not have to store inventory. The problem there is you are not guaranteed the item will be there when it sells. I have seen people find items on Amazon, list it on ebay, and when it sells they have Amazon ship the item to the buyer. Again, you have no control over that inventory or the price changes. It's a quick way of killing your ebay business before you really get started.
Margins are the next problem. I know there are deals out there buying new, clearanced items for cheap. However, it usually requires a lot of cash to be able to purchase the quantity needed to make a decent profit. This is referred to as retail arbitrage. While it is easier to sell new items, you don't make as much per item. Let's say you buy a widget for $10 on clearance, and it sells for $25 new. You also find the same widget at a yard sale for .50 cents, and used it sells for $18. Now which was the better deal? Of course the used one. You are getting a much better margin on the used one than the new one. Sure, $25 looks better than $18, but you are not making as much profit.
I'll keep this simple using round numbers. Widget sold has a 10% fee from ebay, plus 2.75% + 30 cents paypal and the original cost. So the math looks like this:
NEW WIDGET
$25 x 10% = $2.50
$25 x 2.75% = $.69 + $.30 = $.99
$2.50 + $.99 = $3.49
$25.00 - $3.49 = $21.51
$21.51 - $10 = $11.51 profit
USED WIDGET
$18 x 10% = $1.80
$18 x 2.75% = $.50 + $.30 = $.80
$1.80 + $.80 = $2.60
$18 - $2.60 = $15.40
$15.40 - $.50 = $14.90 profit
Clearly the used was the better deal. The profit was nearly 50% more than the new one. Knowing your margins is imperative is you want to be successful selling on ebay. Knowing you have the inventory on hand that you are selling is also imperative. You need to be able to ship as soon as the item sells. I have ordered from sellers before who drop ship and it has taken several weeks to get my item. Needless to say they no longer get my business. Control your inventory and prices and you control your destiny. Failing with either one of these can be disastrous.
Remember, you want to be in control of every aspect of your business. Don't get sucked in to these great sounding plans without knowing up front what the pitfalls and potential problem areas are. And certainly don't let yourself get caught in a situation where prices have changed and you are paying out more than what an item sold for. That's a good way to cut your reselling career short.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Be Methodical
As I look back over the last 12 years, I can recall certain memories of selling and learning. I remember trying to figure out what niche to sell in, and wondering how people found their inventory. Most of that time I sold computer parts, with some occasional vintage toys. The problem was I couldn't find reliable sources that were cheap enough to make consistent sales. I never really thought about huge numbers of inventory. I was focused on trying to find items that would sell, and sell quickly.
Now that I have a large store (over 1,000 items), I can see where my thought process was flawed. I was approaching the business completely wrong. I was so intent on finding home runs that I completely passed over bread and butter items. It was something I had not thought of, and back then there was no facebook or youtube to do research with. You bought something and hoped it sold.
Now that social media is dominating the landscape, people have an enormous set of resources to do the research. If you watch enough videos and participate in facebook groups, eventually you will weed out the chaff and find those gems worth looking for. Unfortunately, this has also bred a new form of seller. These sellers no longer do the research required to be a successful, long term seller. They rely on others to do the work for them. The problem with this is they never earn the knowledge and therefore don't grasp the longevity concept.
I belong to a lot of facebook groups. I try to be helpful with new sellers, but too often I see people asking simple questions that a quick google search would provide the answers. I also see new sellers chomping at the bit to list a ton of items as quickly as they can without doing the homework. This is what causes the prices of great items to bottom out. They invest a lot of money, and don't understand the sales cycle. When sales slow down, the first thing they do is drop prices or run sales thinking their pricing is the issue. It's not, it's just how ebay works or any other retail business for that matter.
The key to being consistent on ebay is to not give in when things slow down. Instead of worrying about sales, take the slow time to list even more. That way when sales pick up again you will have an even bigger increase due to the large amount of inventory. Try and have items ending every single day, even if it is one item. This more than anything will help you get those consistent sales. The last thing you want to do is panic. When you do you leave money on the table, and in some cases may lose money.
Be methodical in your listing. Do research and don't rely on others to do it for you. Knowledge that ins't earned will eventually lead to failure. Too often I see people post in facebook groups things like "should I buy this"? Or "what price should I ask for this"? Why take someone else's word for it? Why list something for $20 because someone told you to when a little research may show your particular item would sell for double that? Set your price that YOU want to get for your item. Some items take longer to sell than others, so don't panic because it's been 20 days and it hasn't sold. I have had items take over a year to sell, but I did get the price I wanted.
Facebook groups are a great resource for networking with other sellers. It gives you a chance to talk to other people who understand what you are doing. It can be a great support system. But it can also get you into trouble if you rely on them for your research. Sooner or later someone is going to give you bad advice. Unless you have done the research, you won't know until it is too late. Additionally, if you are a new seller and are constantly asking simple questions you will alienate the experienced sellers and they will stop helping you. Most experienced sellers want newbies to show they are willing to put in the effort. Nobody likes a leech, and acting like one will not earn you any friends or respect in these groups.
Be smart, be methodical and earn the knowledge. Some day you will have the opportunity to share your knowledge. When that day arrives, you will inevitably run into the hand holding seller and will understand what I am saying.
Now that I have a large store (over 1,000 items), I can see where my thought process was flawed. I was approaching the business completely wrong. I was so intent on finding home runs that I completely passed over bread and butter items. It was something I had not thought of, and back then there was no facebook or youtube to do research with. You bought something and hoped it sold.
Now that social media is dominating the landscape, people have an enormous set of resources to do the research. If you watch enough videos and participate in facebook groups, eventually you will weed out the chaff and find those gems worth looking for. Unfortunately, this has also bred a new form of seller. These sellers no longer do the research required to be a successful, long term seller. They rely on others to do the work for them. The problem with this is they never earn the knowledge and therefore don't grasp the longevity concept.
I belong to a lot of facebook groups. I try to be helpful with new sellers, but too often I see people asking simple questions that a quick google search would provide the answers. I also see new sellers chomping at the bit to list a ton of items as quickly as they can without doing the homework. This is what causes the prices of great items to bottom out. They invest a lot of money, and don't understand the sales cycle. When sales slow down, the first thing they do is drop prices or run sales thinking their pricing is the issue. It's not, it's just how ebay works or any other retail business for that matter.
The key to being consistent on ebay is to not give in when things slow down. Instead of worrying about sales, take the slow time to list even more. That way when sales pick up again you will have an even bigger increase due to the large amount of inventory. Try and have items ending every single day, even if it is one item. This more than anything will help you get those consistent sales. The last thing you want to do is panic. When you do you leave money on the table, and in some cases may lose money.
Be methodical in your listing. Do research and don't rely on others to do it for you. Knowledge that ins't earned will eventually lead to failure. Too often I see people post in facebook groups things like "should I buy this"? Or "what price should I ask for this"? Why take someone else's word for it? Why list something for $20 because someone told you to when a little research may show your particular item would sell for double that? Set your price that YOU want to get for your item. Some items take longer to sell than others, so don't panic because it's been 20 days and it hasn't sold. I have had items take over a year to sell, but I did get the price I wanted.
Facebook groups are a great resource for networking with other sellers. It gives you a chance to talk to other people who understand what you are doing. It can be a great support system. But it can also get you into trouble if you rely on them for your research. Sooner or later someone is going to give you bad advice. Unless you have done the research, you won't know until it is too late. Additionally, if you are a new seller and are constantly asking simple questions you will alienate the experienced sellers and they will stop helping you. Most experienced sellers want newbies to show they are willing to put in the effort. Nobody likes a leech, and acting like one will not earn you any friends or respect in these groups.
Be smart, be methodical and earn the knowledge. Some day you will have the opportunity to share your knowledge. When that day arrives, you will inevitably run into the hand holding seller and will understand what I am saying.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Are you getting cash back?
In this day and age, ever dime you can get is important. There are ways to earn cash even while you make purchases. Knowing how to do this is key. A small cash back reward can give you some free inventory if you use it right. So how do you get this cash back? Sit back and enjoy! I'll tell you how!
When you sell on ebay, 99% of the people use paypal as their payment processing system. But what most people don't realize is that you can actually get a paypal debit card. Yes, that's correct. You can get a debit card from paypal that let's you access your funds just like your bank check card. Now the added bonus to this is that if you use this card as a credit card, you will earn 1% cash back on all of your purchases.
I use my debit card for all business related purchases. I keep my sales cash in there for one week at a time, and always keep a $500 reserve just in case I run into a great deal, or have returns. I have earned over $50 in a single month by using my card! That's a good day of yard sale finds that is basically free. Who doesn't like free? But there is more to this than just purchases.
How many of you pay your ebay fees on a monthly basis? STOP! Don't do that. Make payments weekly so the end of the month isn't a cash shocker. The added benefit is that if you have a store, your discounts aren't applied until the end of the billing cycle. So that means you will more than likely start the new month with a negative balance. This means your first week of fees will be low. But what about making payments via paypal?
If you have the paypal debit card, make sure you follow the link under your seller account to make a one time payment. When you get to the next screen, select use a credit card. Use your paypal debit card to pay those fees. The cash still comes form your paypal account, but you get the added benefit of earning 1% cash back on those fees!
So if you are out to make money, then make all you can. Use your card to your advantage and earn that cash back. It's one way of getting back some of the fees you are paying them!
When you sell on ebay, 99% of the people use paypal as their payment processing system. But what most people don't realize is that you can actually get a paypal debit card. Yes, that's correct. You can get a debit card from paypal that let's you access your funds just like your bank check card. Now the added bonus to this is that if you use this card as a credit card, you will earn 1% cash back on all of your purchases.
I use my debit card for all business related purchases. I keep my sales cash in there for one week at a time, and always keep a $500 reserve just in case I run into a great deal, or have returns. I have earned over $50 in a single month by using my card! That's a good day of yard sale finds that is basically free. Who doesn't like free? But there is more to this than just purchases.
How many of you pay your ebay fees on a monthly basis? STOP! Don't do that. Make payments weekly so the end of the month isn't a cash shocker. The added benefit is that if you have a store, your discounts aren't applied until the end of the billing cycle. So that means you will more than likely start the new month with a negative balance. This means your first week of fees will be low. But what about making payments via paypal?
If you have the paypal debit card, make sure you follow the link under your seller account to make a one time payment. When you get to the next screen, select use a credit card. Use your paypal debit card to pay those fees. The cash still comes form your paypal account, but you get the added benefit of earning 1% cash back on those fees!
So if you are out to make money, then make all you can. Use your card to your advantage and earn that cash back. It's one way of getting back some of the fees you are paying them!
Friday, May 16, 2014
Friday Q & A and find of the week.
Post your questions about anything ebay related.
Find of the week was a Davis Mark 15 and Davis Mark 25 Sextant. Paid $10 each and expect to get about $300 for the pair. Already sold the Mark 15 for $149.99.
What's your find of the week?
Find of the week was a Davis Mark 15 and Davis Mark 25 Sextant. Paid $10 each and expect to get about $300 for the pair. Already sold the Mark 15 for $149.99.
What's your find of the week?
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Pay yourself first!
Our country is sitting on a fiscal cliff that can be devastating if you happen to be one of the people that get pushed over the edge. We as an American society have gone from a cash based purchasing system to a credit based system in just over 40 years. The amount of debt the average American has hanging over their head is astronomical. A report issued just today shows the average family has $0 in savings. So how can we change that? Well, for starters you can begin to pay yourself first.
One thing we American's are good at is living up to our income. By that I mean that no matter what our income is, we always manage to make ends meet. Most people have no clue where they spend their money each payday. They wonder why they are broke and in debt. One reason is we have shifted into a instant gratification society thanks in large part to credit cards. It's easy to charge it and fool ourselves into thinking we will pay it off when the bill comes, which of course generally never happens. So what do we do about this?
The first step is knowing what you spend. Make a log and write down every single penny you spend for an entire week. Even if you drop a quarter into a gumball machine, write it down. At the end of the week, look at what was spent and what was it spent on. Chances are there will be several things on that list that you really didn't need to purchase. You justified it, just like the morning cup of Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee. But you really didn't NEED it. So take those type of purchases and add them up. That is the amount of money you just blew for that week.
Now suppose you cut those things from your weekly routine. Let's just say one cup of coffee per day. Instead of buying the coffee you make it at home. The cost is pennies per cup. An average cup of coffee coffee from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts will cost you about $5. For a 5 day work week you would save $25. Doesn't sound like much does it? But in 4 weeks that $100. In one year that is $1,200! If you put that money into a money market at, let's say .85%, at the end of the year you would have $1.205.54. In 5 years you would have $6,131.45. And that is just from cutting out the $5 cup of coffee. Imagine if you could do $50 per week in savings. In one year you would have $2,411.08 and in 5 years $12,262.90. Now I don't know about you, but $12,262.90 is just about enough cash to buy a brand new car!
So, once you find areas to cut back spending, you can begin to pay yourself first. And what do I mean by that? Well, remember what I said earlier about living up to our income? If we can automatically move $50 a week into a money market account, we will never see that money. We will adjust our spending habits to cover the loss of that money. What you want to do is to be able to put at least 10% of your paycheck into one of these accounts before anything else is paid. If you want to achieve financial freedom, then you MUST do this. If there is one thing self made millionaires have in common, this would be it.
Really be honest with yourself and do a complete budget for your home. Write down what is a necessity (mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, car payment, etc.). Then add about 10% to that number to account for swings in purchases such as groceries. now subtract that from your monthly take home pay. Divide the remaining number in half, and direct one half to an interest bearing account or money market. The other half is for discretionary spending. If you have bills that fluctuate (i.e. utilities) or that come in quarterly payments (i.e. insurance), do the math and figure out what it would be if broken down to a monthly payment/average. Work to be able to set up another account where you can transfer that amount to this account. now when those quarterly bills come due, or the high winter gas bill you have the cash to pay it and it won't break the bank.
There are other ways to do this, but this is the method I use. I have been able to live comfortably and at the same time save about 6 months worth of salary. Everyone has something they can cut back on. Make the choice to change your habits. Don't let the banks own you. The less debt you have, the more power you have!
One thing we American's are good at is living up to our income. By that I mean that no matter what our income is, we always manage to make ends meet. Most people have no clue where they spend their money each payday. They wonder why they are broke and in debt. One reason is we have shifted into a instant gratification society thanks in large part to credit cards. It's easy to charge it and fool ourselves into thinking we will pay it off when the bill comes, which of course generally never happens. So what do we do about this?
The first step is knowing what you spend. Make a log and write down every single penny you spend for an entire week. Even if you drop a quarter into a gumball machine, write it down. At the end of the week, look at what was spent and what was it spent on. Chances are there will be several things on that list that you really didn't need to purchase. You justified it, just like the morning cup of Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee. But you really didn't NEED it. So take those type of purchases and add them up. That is the amount of money you just blew for that week.
Now suppose you cut those things from your weekly routine. Let's just say one cup of coffee per day. Instead of buying the coffee you make it at home. The cost is pennies per cup. An average cup of coffee coffee from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts will cost you about $5. For a 5 day work week you would save $25. Doesn't sound like much does it? But in 4 weeks that $100. In one year that is $1,200! If you put that money into a money market at, let's say .85%, at the end of the year you would have $1.205.54. In 5 years you would have $6,131.45. And that is just from cutting out the $5 cup of coffee. Imagine if you could do $50 per week in savings. In one year you would have $2,411.08 and in 5 years $12,262.90. Now I don't know about you, but $12,262.90 is just about enough cash to buy a brand new car!
So, once you find areas to cut back spending, you can begin to pay yourself first. And what do I mean by that? Well, remember what I said earlier about living up to our income? If we can automatically move $50 a week into a money market account, we will never see that money. We will adjust our spending habits to cover the loss of that money. What you want to do is to be able to put at least 10% of your paycheck into one of these accounts before anything else is paid. If you want to achieve financial freedom, then you MUST do this. If there is one thing self made millionaires have in common, this would be it.
Really be honest with yourself and do a complete budget for your home. Write down what is a necessity (mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, car payment, etc.). Then add about 10% to that number to account for swings in purchases such as groceries. now subtract that from your monthly take home pay. Divide the remaining number in half, and direct one half to an interest bearing account or money market. The other half is for discretionary spending. If you have bills that fluctuate (i.e. utilities) or that come in quarterly payments (i.e. insurance), do the math and figure out what it would be if broken down to a monthly payment/average. Work to be able to set up another account where you can transfer that amount to this account. now when those quarterly bills come due, or the high winter gas bill you have the cash to pay it and it won't break the bank.
There are other ways to do this, but this is the method I use. I have been able to live comfortably and at the same time save about 6 months worth of salary. Everyone has something they can cut back on. Make the choice to change your habits. Don't let the banks own you. The less debt you have, the more power you have!
How long to list for?
There is a lot of debate on how long you should have your listings set for. A lot depends on what type of listings you are doing. Auctions are different than buy it now, and you can't list for more than 10 days on auction. So does it really matter what time frame you select? That really is something only you can answer. However, I can share my experiences and what I have tried. I know what works for me, and maybe it will work for you as well.
When I did auctions (I still do on occasion) I always did 7 day auctions. I used to run one every single night. I did ok, but it was while I was learning how to sell consistently so I wasn't listing high end items. Auctions allowed me to make some cash on the lower end stuff while learning. What I did find out was that Saturday night was the best night for ending auctions for what I was selling. That was followed by Tuesday and Thursday. I had sales the other nights, but not with any volume. Now if I run auctions, I have them for 7 days, ending on Saturday night around 9pm EST.
As I migrated to a store, I initially set my listings for good 'til cancelled. I got sales most days, but I still had dead days. I ran like this for about 9 months. Then I read that you should do 30 day listings. Using good 'til cancelled just relisted the item and you fell further down the search results withe very relist. Doing 30 day listings renewed those listings every 30 days. The benefit of that is it appears as a new listing every 30 days. The down side is if you had any watchers, they were no longer notified that you had relisted the item. I found that by doing the 30 day listings, I was reviewing my listings every 30 days. I could adjust them, or redo them. I was constantly reminded to look at them. I found my sales were more consistent and stuff that had been sitting for 9 months started to move.
If you use 30 day listings, don't use relist when the item ends. Use sell similar. Ebay will assign the item a new item ID and treat it as a new listing. This ensures you always have a new listing instead of a relist. The goal is to have something ending and being relisted every single day. Now with Cassini, the rumor is that it knows when an item is the same item even if you use sell similar. What I do is massage the title in an attempt to trick Cassini into thinking it is a new item since it no longer has the same title. You can do the same thing with your photos. Just click the add/edit button and change the contrast/brightness by 1. Save, and now Cassini thinks they are new images so it must be a new listing.
As I said in the beginning of my post, this is what has worked for me. I have spent 3 years playing with different ways of listing and so far this is the method that gets me my consistent sales. I can't tell you this is the end all be all for listings as I don't sell in a ton of categories. Other categories may have different results from different methods. But as far as I can tell with the categories I do sell in, this works.
Don't be afraid to try different methods. Experiment and find what works best for you. And don't take what others say as gospel for listing either. They may not be selling what you are selling. As the saying goes, if you keep doing what you have been doing you will continue to get the results you have been getting.
When I did auctions (I still do on occasion) I always did 7 day auctions. I used to run one every single night. I did ok, but it was while I was learning how to sell consistently so I wasn't listing high end items. Auctions allowed me to make some cash on the lower end stuff while learning. What I did find out was that Saturday night was the best night for ending auctions for what I was selling. That was followed by Tuesday and Thursday. I had sales the other nights, but not with any volume. Now if I run auctions, I have them for 7 days, ending on Saturday night around 9pm EST.
As I migrated to a store, I initially set my listings for good 'til cancelled. I got sales most days, but I still had dead days. I ran like this for about 9 months. Then I read that you should do 30 day listings. Using good 'til cancelled just relisted the item and you fell further down the search results withe very relist. Doing 30 day listings renewed those listings every 30 days. The benefit of that is it appears as a new listing every 30 days. The down side is if you had any watchers, they were no longer notified that you had relisted the item. I found that by doing the 30 day listings, I was reviewing my listings every 30 days. I could adjust them, or redo them. I was constantly reminded to look at them. I found my sales were more consistent and stuff that had been sitting for 9 months started to move.
If you use 30 day listings, don't use relist when the item ends. Use sell similar. Ebay will assign the item a new item ID and treat it as a new listing. This ensures you always have a new listing instead of a relist. The goal is to have something ending and being relisted every single day. Now with Cassini, the rumor is that it knows when an item is the same item even if you use sell similar. What I do is massage the title in an attempt to trick Cassini into thinking it is a new item since it no longer has the same title. You can do the same thing with your photos. Just click the add/edit button and change the contrast/brightness by 1. Save, and now Cassini thinks they are new images so it must be a new listing.
As I said in the beginning of my post, this is what has worked for me. I have spent 3 years playing with different ways of listing and so far this is the method that gets me my consistent sales. I can't tell you this is the end all be all for listings as I don't sell in a ton of categories. Other categories may have different results from different methods. But as far as I can tell with the categories I do sell in, this works.
Don't be afraid to try different methods. Experiment and find what works best for you. And don't take what others say as gospel for listing either. They may not be selling what you are selling. As the saying goes, if you keep doing what you have been doing you will continue to get the results you have been getting.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
When do I open a store?
I see this question being asked a lot in online groups and forums. There is an easy answer, but with ebay changing how the pricing works it may be confusing for some. How many items should I list before it becomes advantageous to have a store? What level of store should I have? Should I commit to a long term agreement? What is the upside to having a store?
I approached my store a little differently than most. I didn't base it on how many listings I had. I looked at my sales, which at the time were around $100 a week. So after fees I was getting about $80 a week in my pocket. Not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but I knew where I wanted to go with my business. I decided to bite the bullet and go for the Premiere store right off the bat. The reason I did so was because I knew that in one week I could make enough profit to pay for the store. I also knew that if I were paying that much I would be motivated to list more to make up for that hit to my revenue.
With the latest announcement, ebay is trying to boost their auction listings. The free ride for buy it now listings for non store owners is all but gone. So if you are trying to build a business with steady income, you now need to evaluate a store even more than ever. So what are the advantages of having a store? I'm glad you asked, especially if you are a new seller. When you first start selling on ebay, they are going to impose limits on how many items you can sell per month. This is going to fluctuate depending on what category you are selling in. You will be restricted for 90 days. So is there any way to speed up that process? Possibly.
When I decided to sell in a niche category, I also decided to create a new account to do so. I had limits placed on me even though I had been selling for years. I set out to try and get those limits raised as quickly as I could. The one thing that helped me convince the CSR to raise my limits was by opening a store. Ebay wants to see that you are a good seller, and that you are serious about selling. By opening a store they saw that I was committed to selling on ebay. Now my limits didn't go up a whole lot, but they did go up. I called them once a month for three months, and each time they raised my limits. I'm not saying that this will work for you, but it did work for me. Your mileage may vary.
There are also advantages in opening a store. For one, you now qualify for top rated status. Getting that status is a bonus because with it you get a 20% discount on shipping fees. You also get a bump in search results. Additionally, you get offers for free listings that a non store owner doesn't get. As your level of TRS goes up, you also get things like priority phone support. When I call in now, I get right to a CSR with no waiting. You also qualify for a monthly mentor call. Ebay has seasoned sellers who will have a 15 minute call with you, one on one, to go over your store and listings and provide advice on improving your business. It will take time to get to a TRS status, but it is so worth it!
Don't look at the monthly fee for a store as a negative thing. Look at it from the positive side. Don't worry about the monthly fee. I'm sure you can sell one or two items a month to cover that fee. Look at the benefits you will gain, which are far more valuable than the cost. So do yourself a favor if you are serious about selling. Get your store and start getting the benefits associated with it!
I approached my store a little differently than most. I didn't base it on how many listings I had. I looked at my sales, which at the time were around $100 a week. So after fees I was getting about $80 a week in my pocket. Not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but I knew where I wanted to go with my business. I decided to bite the bullet and go for the Premiere store right off the bat. The reason I did so was because I knew that in one week I could make enough profit to pay for the store. I also knew that if I were paying that much I would be motivated to list more to make up for that hit to my revenue.
With the latest announcement, ebay is trying to boost their auction listings. The free ride for buy it now listings for non store owners is all but gone. So if you are trying to build a business with steady income, you now need to evaluate a store even more than ever. So what are the advantages of having a store? I'm glad you asked, especially if you are a new seller. When you first start selling on ebay, they are going to impose limits on how many items you can sell per month. This is going to fluctuate depending on what category you are selling in. You will be restricted for 90 days. So is there any way to speed up that process? Possibly.
When I decided to sell in a niche category, I also decided to create a new account to do so. I had limits placed on me even though I had been selling for years. I set out to try and get those limits raised as quickly as I could. The one thing that helped me convince the CSR to raise my limits was by opening a store. Ebay wants to see that you are a good seller, and that you are serious about selling. By opening a store they saw that I was committed to selling on ebay. Now my limits didn't go up a whole lot, but they did go up. I called them once a month for three months, and each time they raised my limits. I'm not saying that this will work for you, but it did work for me. Your mileage may vary.
There are also advantages in opening a store. For one, you now qualify for top rated status. Getting that status is a bonus because with it you get a 20% discount on shipping fees. You also get a bump in search results. Additionally, you get offers for free listings that a non store owner doesn't get. As your level of TRS goes up, you also get things like priority phone support. When I call in now, I get right to a CSR with no waiting. You also qualify for a monthly mentor call. Ebay has seasoned sellers who will have a 15 minute call with you, one on one, to go over your store and listings and provide advice on improving your business. It will take time to get to a TRS status, but it is so worth it!
Don't look at the monthly fee for a store as a negative thing. Look at it from the positive side. Don't worry about the monthly fee. I'm sure you can sell one or two items a month to cover that fee. Look at the benefits you will gain, which are far more valuable than the cost. So do yourself a favor if you are serious about selling. Get your store and start getting the benefits associated with it!
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Anyone can do this!
It's a popular misconception that the people who are successful at selling on ebay were raised to know how to spot valuable items. While it does happen, it is not always the case. Most sellers learn by trial and error. Others start with something they know and expand from there. I am a part of the latter group.
I wasn't raised by parents who went to yard sales or scavenged antiques. I was raised in a lower middle class family that really didn't have much. We were just this side of poor so expendable income really didn't exist. Up until I was a teenager most of our clothes were given to us by other families in church. So how did I manage to figure out what to sell on ebay?
By trade, I am a computer guy. When I started selling on ebay I sold what I knew, computer stuff. I expanded to electronics from there as a natural progression since the two are somewhat related. I dabbled in other areas just from selling what I had around the house. I sold off and on for about 8 years. About 4 years ago I decided to really put an effort into selling on ebay, and for the first time really started learning what sells.
I started by being mentored by a friend that sold shoes full time. I was reluctant at first as I did not want to intrude into his territory. But after some coaxing, I finally jumped in and started selling. I spent my spare time learning the brands that sold for a higher dollar amount. After about a year, I was finally comfortable in knowing what brands to look for. Not every one will take this long, but in addition to learning brands, I also wanted to learn ebay inside and out.
As a natural progression, I added in clothing. I did the same thing with clothing as I had done with shoes. I researched brands and I talked to other clothing sellers. I applied what I had learned about shoes to the clothing and sure enough, I got the same results. Now I am expanding into vintage and collectibles. I am applying the same selling principles to this as I did clothing and shoes.
The point here is if you are willing to do the work, you can be successful with ebay. It is not an easy, get rich quick venue. Anyone can make a few bucks with ease on ebay, but to have consistent and sustainable income requires work. Nothing worth having comes easy. If your goal is to make a substantial income on ebay, then do the work and learn what you need to know. Don't take the easy road and rely on what others tell you. Sooner or later you will get burned. Deal with facts and do the research yourself. It will be worth it in the long run.
One of the best ways to learn about products that sell is to look at what others are selling. Look at sold listings. You'll see items that do well and something will get your attention. Follow sellers you feel are doing well and track what they sell. All the information that you need is right there on ebay. There is no secret sauce when it comes to identifying items that sell and sell well. If you do the homework and keep building your knowledge base of sell-able items, you will start to recognize them when you are out sourcing.
I have taught several people how to sell by using these methods. It does work, but you have to do the homework. It's not going to jump into your lap.
I wasn't raised by parents who went to yard sales or scavenged antiques. I was raised in a lower middle class family that really didn't have much. We were just this side of poor so expendable income really didn't exist. Up until I was a teenager most of our clothes were given to us by other families in church. So how did I manage to figure out what to sell on ebay?
By trade, I am a computer guy. When I started selling on ebay I sold what I knew, computer stuff. I expanded to electronics from there as a natural progression since the two are somewhat related. I dabbled in other areas just from selling what I had around the house. I sold off and on for about 8 years. About 4 years ago I decided to really put an effort into selling on ebay, and for the first time really started learning what sells.
I started by being mentored by a friend that sold shoes full time. I was reluctant at first as I did not want to intrude into his territory. But after some coaxing, I finally jumped in and started selling. I spent my spare time learning the brands that sold for a higher dollar amount. After about a year, I was finally comfortable in knowing what brands to look for. Not every one will take this long, but in addition to learning brands, I also wanted to learn ebay inside and out.
As a natural progression, I added in clothing. I did the same thing with clothing as I had done with shoes. I researched brands and I talked to other clothing sellers. I applied what I had learned about shoes to the clothing and sure enough, I got the same results. Now I am expanding into vintage and collectibles. I am applying the same selling principles to this as I did clothing and shoes.
The point here is if you are willing to do the work, you can be successful with ebay. It is not an easy, get rich quick venue. Anyone can make a few bucks with ease on ebay, but to have consistent and sustainable income requires work. Nothing worth having comes easy. If your goal is to make a substantial income on ebay, then do the work and learn what you need to know. Don't take the easy road and rely on what others tell you. Sooner or later you will get burned. Deal with facts and do the research yourself. It will be worth it in the long run.
One of the best ways to learn about products that sell is to look at what others are selling. Look at sold listings. You'll see items that do well and something will get your attention. Follow sellers you feel are doing well and track what they sell. All the information that you need is right there on ebay. There is no secret sauce when it comes to identifying items that sell and sell well. If you do the homework and keep building your knowledge base of sell-able items, you will start to recognize them when you are out sourcing.
I have taught several people how to sell by using these methods. It does work, but you have to do the homework. It's not going to jump into your lap.
Monday, May 12, 2014
The sky is falling!
For the last 12 years I have watched as ebay has released new seller updates. And for the last 12 years I have heard sellers complain about how bad this update is and how it is going to kill their sales. Yet here I am 12 years later, still selling and making more than ever. So how can all of the doom and gloom projections be so wrong? I think there is more to this than most people will admit.
We are creatures of habit. We detest change. It is in our nature to not like change. We like familiar, we like things to be simple and methodical. So when something new comes along, like ebay seller updates, we immediately sound the alarm. Everything we are comfortable with is now being switched up and it scares us. It's the unknown and we are afraid of the unknown.
Rest assured ebay is not going to implement something that is going to cause them to lose revenue without having done a lot of studying on the effects of such moves. Yet I have consistently watched as normal, sensible adults turn into foaming at the mouth, scared rabbits darting to a fro trying to convince everyone else that the end of their selling career is just around the corner!
The best thing you can do is to take things in stride. Is it going to be different? Probably, but if you wish to continue to be a part of the ebay selling world then you need to adapt and roll with the changes. If you are already doing what you should be doing, then there should be nothing to worry about. make sure your listings are accurate, make sure you take plenty of pictures, provide excellent customer service. Doing these things are what ebay is pushing all sellers to do, so if you are already doing them the updates should be no big deal.
Don't get sucked into the feeding frenzy that inevitably ensues after ebay releases these notifications. It will do nothing more than get you stressed out for no reason. Do the right things and treat your customers the way you want to be treated. After all, it's not personal it's just business.
We are creatures of habit. We detest change. It is in our nature to not like change. We like familiar, we like things to be simple and methodical. So when something new comes along, like ebay seller updates, we immediately sound the alarm. Everything we are comfortable with is now being switched up and it scares us. It's the unknown and we are afraid of the unknown.
Rest assured ebay is not going to implement something that is going to cause them to lose revenue without having done a lot of studying on the effects of such moves. Yet I have consistently watched as normal, sensible adults turn into foaming at the mouth, scared rabbits darting to a fro trying to convince everyone else that the end of their selling career is just around the corner!
The best thing you can do is to take things in stride. Is it going to be different? Probably, but if you wish to continue to be a part of the ebay selling world then you need to adapt and roll with the changes. If you are already doing what you should be doing, then there should be nothing to worry about. make sure your listings are accurate, make sure you take plenty of pictures, provide excellent customer service. Doing these things are what ebay is pushing all sellers to do, so if you are already doing them the updates should be no big deal.
Don't get sucked into the feeding frenzy that inevitably ensues after ebay releases these notifications. It will do nothing more than get you stressed out for no reason. Do the right things and treat your customers the way you want to be treated. After all, it's not personal it's just business.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Friday Q & A and find of the week
So continuing on with the Friday Q & A, ask away. I also thought I would add in the find of the week. One item I picked up that had a great return. Feel free to share yours!
My find was a Panasonic flip clock radio. It's the same model that was used in the Back To The Future movie. Bought it for $1. These are highly desirable clocks. I searched completed listings, and 100% of them sold! I expect to sell it for around $200. Not a bad return!
What was your find?
My find was a Panasonic flip clock radio. It's the same model that was used in the Back To The Future movie. Bought it for $1. These are highly desirable clocks. I searched completed listings, and 100% of them sold! I expect to sell it for around $200. Not a bad return!
What was your find?
International Sales
A lot of people are afraid of international sales. But is this worry warranted? Is it better to use ebay's global shipping program? Is it better to go it on your own? Who pays import taxes? I think there is a lot of confusion and people either won't sell international, or use GSP because of that fear. So is all of this worry warranted? Read on and make an educated decision for yourself.
When I started I did not sell international. After a few months, I decided to try it. Back then it was cumbersome and not very user friendly. But I did get sales, especially on old technology items. I pretty much stayed in the realm of priority international because I was too afraid of first class international since there was no tracking information for it. But, as I found out later, I was leaving a lot of sales on the table because of this fear.
It took me a long time to really figure out the whole international shipping thing. When GSP showed up, I was an early adopter. However, I started getting messages from international buyers that GSP was tacking on $20 fees to the shipping charges. It was having an affect on my sales. It was at that point that I really dove into understanding FCI, and dumped GSP. It really wasn't the scary unknown I had thought it was. It was actually a good thing and has allowed me to increase my international sales exponentially. So what is the best way to do it?
To start with you are going to want to use a 3rd party to insure your packages. I've found that shipsaver is an integrated app available on ebay that will allow you to ship FCI and insure your packages. Most of what I ship I can insure for $1 or less. There is a list of countries that you are going to want to exclude as there is no insurance coverage for shipping to them. Just set up your exclusions under the international shipping section and you are good to go. Search google for shipsaver country exclusions to find their list.
For FCI shipping, you are going to print out a full page shipping label. Half of it is for your records. So cut the page where indicated, sign and date at the bottom and affix to your package. You are good to go. If you are sending via priority international, you will be printing out two pages with a total of 4 labels. One of these is for your records, and will be noted as such at the bottom of the label. The other three are to be signed and dated, then put into a USPS customs form envelope and attached to the package. That's pretty much it.
I have my shipsaver profile set to automatically insure any international package. I don't have to think about going in and manually insuring the package. one less thing to worry about. As long as your package is under 4 pounds, you can ship via FCI. Note that you cannot use priority packaging to ship via FCI. I normally set two options for international, both FCI and priority if the item is under 4 pounds. If it is over, then I only offer priority.
Don't let international shipping intimidate you and cause you to lose out on potential sales. You'll find that the majority of international buyers are far better than domestic buyers. You will have very few issues with them. If a package is lost, your insurance will pay you for that lost revenue. Since I have been shipping FCI and using shipsaver, I have not had one package come up missing. I have shipped all over the world and have had no issues.
Don;t leave money on the table, and don't lose sales over the GSP program. Trust me, you'll be glad you opted out of it when you start seeing those sales rolling in!
When I started I did not sell international. After a few months, I decided to try it. Back then it was cumbersome and not very user friendly. But I did get sales, especially on old technology items. I pretty much stayed in the realm of priority international because I was too afraid of first class international since there was no tracking information for it. But, as I found out later, I was leaving a lot of sales on the table because of this fear.
It took me a long time to really figure out the whole international shipping thing. When GSP showed up, I was an early adopter. However, I started getting messages from international buyers that GSP was tacking on $20 fees to the shipping charges. It was having an affect on my sales. It was at that point that I really dove into understanding FCI, and dumped GSP. It really wasn't the scary unknown I had thought it was. It was actually a good thing and has allowed me to increase my international sales exponentially. So what is the best way to do it?
To start with you are going to want to use a 3rd party to insure your packages. I've found that shipsaver is an integrated app available on ebay that will allow you to ship FCI and insure your packages. Most of what I ship I can insure for $1 or less. There is a list of countries that you are going to want to exclude as there is no insurance coverage for shipping to them. Just set up your exclusions under the international shipping section and you are good to go. Search google for shipsaver country exclusions to find their list.
For FCI shipping, you are going to print out a full page shipping label. Half of it is for your records. So cut the page where indicated, sign and date at the bottom and affix to your package. You are good to go. If you are sending via priority international, you will be printing out two pages with a total of 4 labels. One of these is for your records, and will be noted as such at the bottom of the label. The other three are to be signed and dated, then put into a USPS customs form envelope and attached to the package. That's pretty much it.
I have my shipsaver profile set to automatically insure any international package. I don't have to think about going in and manually insuring the package. one less thing to worry about. As long as your package is under 4 pounds, you can ship via FCI. Note that you cannot use priority packaging to ship via FCI. I normally set two options for international, both FCI and priority if the item is under 4 pounds. If it is over, then I only offer priority.
Don't let international shipping intimidate you and cause you to lose out on potential sales. You'll find that the majority of international buyers are far better than domestic buyers. You will have very few issues with them. If a package is lost, your insurance will pay you for that lost revenue. Since I have been shipping FCI and using shipsaver, I have not had one package come up missing. I have shipped all over the world and have had no issues.
Don;t leave money on the table, and don't lose sales over the GSP program. Trust me, you'll be glad you opted out of it when you start seeing those sales rolling in!
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Never Stop Learning
If you're like me, you weren't raised in an environment where you were exposed to antiques and reselling growing up. I never really saw value in anything unless it was something I needed. So how did I manage to get where I am reselling on ebay? how do I figure out what sells or doesn't sell without having that type of background? Hopefully this post will give you a guide to grow and expand your knowledge.
The old saying that knowledge is power is never more true that when you are a reseller. Knowing the value in something used or old can allow you to make some serious cash. But what if you have no clue what items to buy? What if you simply don't know where to start? Does scouring yard sales and thrift stores leave you overwhelmed? Don't feel alone in this. many of us successful sellers started out just like you. But over time, we gained knowledge by doing our homework.
One of the reasons I tell new sellers to sell things from their homes first, is it gives them exposure to several different categories. The best thing to do is to gather together items you would normally put into your own yard sale, and start researching how much it would sell for on ebay. As crazy as it may seem, some of the oddest items sell really well. A lot of people really do not know what they have. You may find you have an item you know a lot about and it actually resells for a decent margin. Don't pass an item up simply because you don't think it is worth anything. As the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
So once you have depleted the items in your home and you are ready to venture into reselling, where do you start? By now you should have at least a few items that you now know sell well. These will be the items you will naturally seek out. But don't stop with just those items. Use your time wisely and start researching what has sold on ebay. One way of doing that is to simply browse the sold listings. If you see something that peaks your interest, then start narrowing the sold items down and see how well it actually sells. Seeing an item selling for $100 is way different than seeing 100 of them sell for $100. There are times that the right item showed up at the right time for the right buyer and the item sold for good money. It may never sell at that price again. You have to make sure there is a track record of consistent sales before taking off and investing in the item.
Even after selling for over 12 years, I still find items I didn't realize sold for good money. There is so much out there to pick from that it would be impossible to know every single item that sells well. I constantly research other sellers as well. I will seek out sellers who are doing better than I am with sales and see what they are selling. I also look at their listings to see how they list. What kind of photos are they taking? What kind of descriptions do they write? These all help me decide not only what to sell, but how to sell it. I am constantly revising my listings and shooting to get everything to peak performance.
Don't find a few things and think that you are set for selling. Ebay trends have wild swings. You will go from making $500 in one day to selling nothing the next. One month you will be on top of the world, and the next you will be trying to figure out who turned off your store. It's just ebay and has always been like that. If you can diversify then you run a greater chance of not having as great an impact on those swings as a niche seller might. now that's not to say that all niche sellers go through this as some do not. It just depends on a lot of factors as to whether you will be a part of that group or not.
The bottom line is never get comfortable selling the same things. Sooner or later you will have that sharp decline and that is when most people panic and start trying things like having sales, dropping prices, etc. If you diversify you stand a better chance of not having to go through that.
The old saying that knowledge is power is never more true that when you are a reseller. Knowing the value in something used or old can allow you to make some serious cash. But what if you have no clue what items to buy? What if you simply don't know where to start? Does scouring yard sales and thrift stores leave you overwhelmed? Don't feel alone in this. many of us successful sellers started out just like you. But over time, we gained knowledge by doing our homework.
One of the reasons I tell new sellers to sell things from their homes first, is it gives them exposure to several different categories. The best thing to do is to gather together items you would normally put into your own yard sale, and start researching how much it would sell for on ebay. As crazy as it may seem, some of the oddest items sell really well. A lot of people really do not know what they have. You may find you have an item you know a lot about and it actually resells for a decent margin. Don't pass an item up simply because you don't think it is worth anything. As the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
So once you have depleted the items in your home and you are ready to venture into reselling, where do you start? By now you should have at least a few items that you now know sell well. These will be the items you will naturally seek out. But don't stop with just those items. Use your time wisely and start researching what has sold on ebay. One way of doing that is to simply browse the sold listings. If you see something that peaks your interest, then start narrowing the sold items down and see how well it actually sells. Seeing an item selling for $100 is way different than seeing 100 of them sell for $100. There are times that the right item showed up at the right time for the right buyer and the item sold for good money. It may never sell at that price again. You have to make sure there is a track record of consistent sales before taking off and investing in the item.
Even after selling for over 12 years, I still find items I didn't realize sold for good money. There is so much out there to pick from that it would be impossible to know every single item that sells well. I constantly research other sellers as well. I will seek out sellers who are doing better than I am with sales and see what they are selling. I also look at their listings to see how they list. What kind of photos are they taking? What kind of descriptions do they write? These all help me decide not only what to sell, but how to sell it. I am constantly revising my listings and shooting to get everything to peak performance.
Don't find a few things and think that you are set for selling. Ebay trends have wild swings. You will go from making $500 in one day to selling nothing the next. One month you will be on top of the world, and the next you will be trying to figure out who turned off your store. It's just ebay and has always been like that. If you can diversify then you run a greater chance of not having as great an impact on those swings as a niche seller might. now that's not to say that all niche sellers go through this as some do not. It just depends on a lot of factors as to whether you will be a part of that group or not.
The bottom line is never get comfortable selling the same things. Sooner or later you will have that sharp decline and that is when most people panic and start trying things like having sales, dropping prices, etc. If you diversify you stand a better chance of not having to go through that.
Monday, May 5, 2014
What's your wage?
Many people start selling and see some quick money and start dreaming about how much they can make. They go from selling items around their house to buying and selling items. They see where they made maybe a couple hundred dollars and try to equate that to their real job income. But many do not realize they may be working for less than minimum wage. So, how can you tell?
To really understand what kind of income you are making, you really have to track your time. How much time did you spend sourcing? Did you have to clean anything? How much time taking pictures, writing the description and doing research? These are all factors that need to be considered in addition to all of the fees you are being charged. So, let's do an example.
Let's say you are spending your Saturday going to yard sales. You spend 4 hours going around buying items. You buy 12 items. Now, let's say one item you bought for $1.00. You clean it by simply wiping it down. Maybe a minute there. You find the time it takes to take and edit pictures, create the listing, put in the description and research pricing takes 1/2 hour. The item sells for $20.00. So let's break down everything from a time and cost perspective.
You bought 12 items in 4 hours, so your time spent per item is 20 minutes. You spent 30 minutes getting the item listed, so that's a total of 50 minutes. You bought the item for $1.00 so your gross profit was $19.00. Now you have ebay fees (vary depending on category). We'll use the high end since a lot of people sell in the clothing category. Your fee is 10%, so deduct another $2.00. Now your gross profit is $17.00. Your paypal fees will be 2.75% plus 30 cents. So that equates to 85 cents. So now your net profit would be $16.15. So now we would divide $16.15 by the 50 minutes, which gives you 32 cents per minute, or $19.38 per hour. Not a bad hourly wage.
Now if you offered free shipping, your hourly rate is going to go substantially. Too many times I see people sell something for $9.99 and think they did well. Even if that item was something they already owned, and did not purchase, they would be making about $8 or $9 an hour. Again not bad but very close to minimum wage. So they key here is to minimize the time spent per item and to sell for a higher price. The higher the price, the higher the hourly wage. You should account for any time spent on ebay, whether it was spent listing, shipping or doing research. These are all labor areas and should be accounted for. You should also account for any shipping materials purchased. You need to factor in as much as you can so you know for certain you are making a profit that is a sustainable one.
Knowing your numbers allows you to see areas where you may need improvement. The longer you sell, the more efficient you will become, and thus the better hourly wage you will make.
To really understand what kind of income you are making, you really have to track your time. How much time did you spend sourcing? Did you have to clean anything? How much time taking pictures, writing the description and doing research? These are all factors that need to be considered in addition to all of the fees you are being charged. So, let's do an example.
Let's say you are spending your Saturday going to yard sales. You spend 4 hours going around buying items. You buy 12 items. Now, let's say one item you bought for $1.00. You clean it by simply wiping it down. Maybe a minute there. You find the time it takes to take and edit pictures, create the listing, put in the description and research pricing takes 1/2 hour. The item sells for $20.00. So let's break down everything from a time and cost perspective.
You bought 12 items in 4 hours, so your time spent per item is 20 minutes. You spent 30 minutes getting the item listed, so that's a total of 50 minutes. You bought the item for $1.00 so your gross profit was $19.00. Now you have ebay fees (vary depending on category). We'll use the high end since a lot of people sell in the clothing category. Your fee is 10%, so deduct another $2.00. Now your gross profit is $17.00. Your paypal fees will be 2.75% plus 30 cents. So that equates to 85 cents. So now your net profit would be $16.15. So now we would divide $16.15 by the 50 minutes, which gives you 32 cents per minute, or $19.38 per hour. Not a bad hourly wage.
Now if you offered free shipping, your hourly rate is going to go substantially. Too many times I see people sell something for $9.99 and think they did well. Even if that item was something they already owned, and did not purchase, they would be making about $8 or $9 an hour. Again not bad but very close to minimum wage. So they key here is to minimize the time spent per item and to sell for a higher price. The higher the price, the higher the hourly wage. You should account for any time spent on ebay, whether it was spent listing, shipping or doing research. These are all labor areas and should be accounted for. You should also account for any shipping materials purchased. You need to factor in as much as you can so you know for certain you are making a profit that is a sustainable one.
Knowing your numbers allows you to see areas where you may need improvement. The longer you sell, the more efficient you will become, and thus the better hourly wage you will make.
Clarification
After having some discussions with people on this blog, and in some of my groups, I thought I should expand on a particular issue as it pertains to selling. What I advocate in my blog is what has worked for me and others I have taught to sell. It does not mean this is the only way to sell.
Having been a seller since 2002, these are the methods I have found that work for me. I cannot guarantee they will work for you, but I can tell you that you will stand a better chance of succeeding if you use my methods as a guide. How you sell, and what you do is largely determined by what you sell, and your margins. It also depends on what your goals are. Some people want to replace their full time income while others just want some extra cash. You have to determine what your goals are and what makes sense for you to sell.
Obviously if you have access to inventory that is in high demand you will not need to carry a large inventory. If you do not, then a large inventory can help keep your sales consistent. By the same token, if you are looking to make a substantial income, you are probably going to want a larger inventory. Everyone's goals are different, and I cannot speak to each and every type. I can speak to what has worked for me.
What I set out to accomplish with my blog was to put out real, relevant information so people could see the reality of selling on ebay. Not a bunch of hype and spin to get you to buy something. This does not mean that I will never offer anything, it just means that I am not going to put out teasers for "secret" information to entice you into spending money on something that there is no secret for.
I have people who have asked me to be a consultant for them, and I have not yet decided if that is a route I wish to pursue. That decision will be based on not only demand, but also if I have the time to accommodate. My primary goal is to sell on ebay for as long as I can, and hopefully continue to provide insight into how I do things and provide guidance as best I can.
I am still on the road, but felt I needed to put this out there so people don't think I am preaching that this is the only way to sell on ebay. Have a great week, and list away!
Having been a seller since 2002, these are the methods I have found that work for me. I cannot guarantee they will work for you, but I can tell you that you will stand a better chance of succeeding if you use my methods as a guide. How you sell, and what you do is largely determined by what you sell, and your margins. It also depends on what your goals are. Some people want to replace their full time income while others just want some extra cash. You have to determine what your goals are and what makes sense for you to sell.
Obviously if you have access to inventory that is in high demand you will not need to carry a large inventory. If you do not, then a large inventory can help keep your sales consistent. By the same token, if you are looking to make a substantial income, you are probably going to want a larger inventory. Everyone's goals are different, and I cannot speak to each and every type. I can speak to what has worked for me.
What I set out to accomplish with my blog was to put out real, relevant information so people could see the reality of selling on ebay. Not a bunch of hype and spin to get you to buy something. This does not mean that I will never offer anything, it just means that I am not going to put out teasers for "secret" information to entice you into spending money on something that there is no secret for.
I have people who have asked me to be a consultant for them, and I have not yet decided if that is a route I wish to pursue. That decision will be based on not only demand, but also if I have the time to accommodate. My primary goal is to sell on ebay for as long as I can, and hopefully continue to provide insight into how I do things and provide guidance as best I can.
I am still on the road, but felt I needed to put this out there so people don't think I am preaching that this is the only way to sell on ebay. Have a great week, and list away!
Friday, May 2, 2014
Friday Q & A
Even though I am traveling over the weekend, I will have access to the internet so I can still answer questions. Post away, and have some great thrifting trips this weekend!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Traveling...
I will be traveling to Boise, ID from April 2 through April 5. If you are in the area and wish to get together and talk shop or thrift, just leave a comment and I will get back to you. I will be busy Friday, but should have time Saturday and Sunday to hang out. I will still be posting as I travel, but it will be sporadic as to what time I can post. It will depend on Internet access.
Strategies
I had someone contact me from a Facebook group, and their question got me to thinking about selling strategies, specifically whether to sell new or used items. I decided to expand on what I told them and share that information here. Hopefully it will help you in making a decision on how you want to approach your ebay business.
There are several different approaches to selling on ebay. The first is often a huge subject of debate, with both camps firmly entrenched in their selling philosophy. First there is the volume seller. These sellers make a small amount on each sale, but list a large volume of items. I call this the McDonald's approach. McDonald's doesn't make a large amount of profit from each food item. Actually it's only a few cents. However, because they sell millions of items per day the volume carries them to some nice profits. Now this only works because of the volume. Unless you have access to a huge amount of product, and can list that product quickly, then you are not going to make much. This normally works only for the new item seller, but I have seen some used sellers accomplish this, but not many.
Next you have the high margin seller. These sellers are making upwards of $20 profit per item they sell. They have a fixed range of items they carry, and only back-fill listings when something sells. Most ebay sellers fall into this category. Of course there are some who haven't grasped this concept yet and are still making small margins. Once they figure out that it takes the same amount of work to make a $5 profit as it does to make a $50 profit, they begin to grow their business and get some serious sales.
Next is the new item seller. They find items they can purchase cheaply and resell on ebay. They may be sale items from a store or overstocks and liquidations from wholesalers. Typically, the margins are not as good on these items due to the cost, but there are deals to be had if you are diligent enough. It takes a lot of time and work to find these deals, and it is not something most new sellers are willing to try because of that. The up side is that you will normally get several items of the same type/style so listing is much quicker.
Finally, we have the used seller. These sellers will generally get their inventory from thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales or auctions. Over time they learn what items are valuable and give them nice margins. This also usually has the largest group of "variety" stores on ebay. Most will sell anything and everything that will get them a nice margin. Most of the items they buy are purchased very cheaply, so the monetary investment is minimal.
Now that I have laid out the different types, let's look at which one best fits your selling model. The used items can be done with a minimal amount of money invested. There are several supply chains available to obtain inventory. The margins are good, and there is demand for a lot of these unique items. The down side is the time spent visiting the outlets to source the inventory. Additionally, since everything is a one off, you have to spend time on each and every item to get it ready to list. You also have to list each one individually.
The new items will cost more to acquire, and the supply chain for them is very narrow. You will have to invest a substantial amount of money to get the deals. Your cost per item can be as much as double or triple the cost of a used item. Typically, you are going to be buying in bulk. The plus side is new sells better on ebay, if it is in the right category. You will also typically get several like items so listing them is much quicker. You also don't have to clean them so your time spent prepping is less.
If you choose to go with new items, make sure you have the cash reserves to do this. If things don't sell like you expect them to, you could wind up losing money. If you used credit or the last of your cash reserves to purchase them, you may find yourself in deep water. This is something I only recommend for people who have the disposable cash to make this gamble. I typically tell people to start with used items. Learn ebay, learn what sells. Don't jump into new until you fully understand how everything works. You don't want to end your ebay career before you really get started.
No matter which route you take, do your homework. Make sure you know your numbers and don't get caught not knowing if you are making a profit or not. What looks like a good sale could wind up having you working for less than minimum wage!
There are several different approaches to selling on ebay. The first is often a huge subject of debate, with both camps firmly entrenched in their selling philosophy. First there is the volume seller. These sellers make a small amount on each sale, but list a large volume of items. I call this the McDonald's approach. McDonald's doesn't make a large amount of profit from each food item. Actually it's only a few cents. However, because they sell millions of items per day the volume carries them to some nice profits. Now this only works because of the volume. Unless you have access to a huge amount of product, and can list that product quickly, then you are not going to make much. This normally works only for the new item seller, but I have seen some used sellers accomplish this, but not many.
Next you have the high margin seller. These sellers are making upwards of $20 profit per item they sell. They have a fixed range of items they carry, and only back-fill listings when something sells. Most ebay sellers fall into this category. Of course there are some who haven't grasped this concept yet and are still making small margins. Once they figure out that it takes the same amount of work to make a $5 profit as it does to make a $50 profit, they begin to grow their business and get some serious sales.
Next is the new item seller. They find items they can purchase cheaply and resell on ebay. They may be sale items from a store or overstocks and liquidations from wholesalers. Typically, the margins are not as good on these items due to the cost, but there are deals to be had if you are diligent enough. It takes a lot of time and work to find these deals, and it is not something most new sellers are willing to try because of that. The up side is that you will normally get several items of the same type/style so listing is much quicker.
Finally, we have the used seller. These sellers will generally get their inventory from thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales or auctions. Over time they learn what items are valuable and give them nice margins. This also usually has the largest group of "variety" stores on ebay. Most will sell anything and everything that will get them a nice margin. Most of the items they buy are purchased very cheaply, so the monetary investment is minimal.
Now that I have laid out the different types, let's look at which one best fits your selling model. The used items can be done with a minimal amount of money invested. There are several supply chains available to obtain inventory. The margins are good, and there is demand for a lot of these unique items. The down side is the time spent visiting the outlets to source the inventory. Additionally, since everything is a one off, you have to spend time on each and every item to get it ready to list. You also have to list each one individually.
The new items will cost more to acquire, and the supply chain for them is very narrow. You will have to invest a substantial amount of money to get the deals. Your cost per item can be as much as double or triple the cost of a used item. Typically, you are going to be buying in bulk. The plus side is new sells better on ebay, if it is in the right category. You will also typically get several like items so listing them is much quicker. You also don't have to clean them so your time spent prepping is less.
If you choose to go with new items, make sure you have the cash reserves to do this. If things don't sell like you expect them to, you could wind up losing money. If you used credit or the last of your cash reserves to purchase them, you may find yourself in deep water. This is something I only recommend for people who have the disposable cash to make this gamble. I typically tell people to start with used items. Learn ebay, learn what sells. Don't jump into new until you fully understand how everything works. You don't want to end your ebay career before you really get started.
No matter which route you take, do your homework. Make sure you know your numbers and don't get caught not knowing if you are making a profit or not. What looks like a good sale could wind up having you working for less than minimum wage!
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
The fast track...
It seems that everyone is after the holy grail of only working a few hours a week, and expecting to make a ton of cash. Well, unless you are independently wealthy this is not going to happen. Not with ebay, and not with Amazon. When you are a reseller, or hustler as some call it, you will have to work. Now that's not to say you will work as hard as a 9 - 5 job, there are benefits to working as a reseller full time. That being said, there are ways to work less.
First and foremost, ebay is a game of numbers. If there is one secret that any power seller can tell you it is that fact. The more listings you have active, the more you are going to sell. The greater your inventory the better chance you have of attracting a potential buyer. Think of it this way. If you put a bag of M&M's into a bowl, chances are good that if you reach into the bowl you will get a brown one. That's because there are more brown than any other color. Now if you wanted to increase your chances of getting a green one, you would have to add more green ones to the bowl. Ebay is no different.
So how do you get your "green" M&M's into the bowl? You have to list, list list! And when you are sick of listing, list some more! The trick to really getting sales moving is to list a lot every day. The key is to have newly listed items and ending soonest items on rotation every single day. Your goal should be to start with listing 10 items a day. As you get comfortable with listing, and your listing time improves increase that to 20 a day. In 5 days you will list 100 items. In a month you will have 400 new items listed. You'll find that as your inventory grows, so will your sales. Adding that much inventory will get you to a consistent set of daily sales.
Now you will still have to deal with the ebay "roller coaster" ride, but you will fare better than someone who only has a couple hundred listings. To realistically have a shot at selling full time on ebay, and making a comfortable living, you should aim for 2,000 listings. This should get you an average of $2,000 per week in sales. Of course that is dependent on what you are selling. If you are selling something no one wants then you are just taking up space. But if you do your homework and sell the items that are in demand then you should have every expectation of making $2,000 in sales for your weekly average.
Now that does not mean you WILL make $2,000 every week. It means that will be your average. You may do $1,500 one week and $2,500 the next. So the average between those two is $2,000. If you keep that in mind and not let slow downs bother you, you will have a much easier time handling the ride. You want to stay focused on the end goal and not get caught up in the small things you cannot control.
The goal here is to get to 2,000 listings as fast as you can. The quicker you get there the quicker you will have your freedom! There is no other secret to ebay than this.
First and foremost, ebay is a game of numbers. If there is one secret that any power seller can tell you it is that fact. The more listings you have active, the more you are going to sell. The greater your inventory the better chance you have of attracting a potential buyer. Think of it this way. If you put a bag of M&M's into a bowl, chances are good that if you reach into the bowl you will get a brown one. That's because there are more brown than any other color. Now if you wanted to increase your chances of getting a green one, you would have to add more green ones to the bowl. Ebay is no different.
So how do you get your "green" M&M's into the bowl? You have to list, list list! And when you are sick of listing, list some more! The trick to really getting sales moving is to list a lot every day. The key is to have newly listed items and ending soonest items on rotation every single day. Your goal should be to start with listing 10 items a day. As you get comfortable with listing, and your listing time improves increase that to 20 a day. In 5 days you will list 100 items. In a month you will have 400 new items listed. You'll find that as your inventory grows, so will your sales. Adding that much inventory will get you to a consistent set of daily sales.
Now you will still have to deal with the ebay "roller coaster" ride, but you will fare better than someone who only has a couple hundred listings. To realistically have a shot at selling full time on ebay, and making a comfortable living, you should aim for 2,000 listings. This should get you an average of $2,000 per week in sales. Of course that is dependent on what you are selling. If you are selling something no one wants then you are just taking up space. But if you do your homework and sell the items that are in demand then you should have every expectation of making $2,000 in sales for your weekly average.
Now that does not mean you WILL make $2,000 every week. It means that will be your average. You may do $1,500 one week and $2,500 the next. So the average between those two is $2,000. If you keep that in mind and not let slow downs bother you, you will have a much easier time handling the ride. You want to stay focused on the end goal and not get caught up in the small things you cannot control.
The goal here is to get to 2,000 listings as fast as you can. The quicker you get there the quicker you will have your freedom! There is no other secret to ebay than this.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Resources
I decided to put links to the equipment and supplies I use. If you are wanting to get to the next level, these are some of the items you should look at obtaining. They will make your life easier, and are fairly inexpensive.
Dymo Label Writer 400
This little printer will save you a ton of time! It prints shipping labels quickly and will make you wonder why you waited so long to get one!
Dymo Shipping Labels
These are the labels that fit the Dymo Labelwriter 400.
Shipping scale
This will hold up to 25 pounds. You can get them in higher weights, but I don't generally ship anything over 25 pounds.
HP Laserjet Printer
I love my LaserJet! Quick printing and the ability to connect via wireless!
Garment Bags
If you are hanging clothes like I do, you'll want to cover them with these garment bags. Keeps dirt and dust form getting on the clothing items.
Poly Mailers
I use these to ship lighter weight clothing in. Any clothing item shipping first class should fit in one of these.
Tissue Paper
I like to wrap my clothing items in tissue paper prior to shipping. I think it just adds a bit of a professional touch to it.
Lighting Kit
This is the lighting I use for my pictures. It's cheap but works great!
Terapeak
If you are new and need a research tool, this is the standard and best there is, hands down!
Dymo Label Writer 400
This little printer will save you a ton of time! It prints shipping labels quickly and will make you wonder why you waited so long to get one!
Dymo Shipping Labels
These are the labels that fit the Dymo Labelwriter 400.
Shipping scale
This will hold up to 25 pounds. You can get them in higher weights, but I don't generally ship anything over 25 pounds.
HP Laserjet Printer
I love my LaserJet! Quick printing and the ability to connect via wireless!
Garment Bags
If you are hanging clothes like I do, you'll want to cover them with these garment bags. Keeps dirt and dust form getting on the clothing items.
Poly Mailers
I use these to ship lighter weight clothing in. Any clothing item shipping first class should fit in one of these.
Tissue Paper
I like to wrap my clothing items in tissue paper prior to shipping. I think it just adds a bit of a professional touch to it.
Lighting Kit
This is the lighting I use for my pictures. It's cheap but works great!
Terapeak
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