Round 12 of Reselling - REOPEN *screams the word*

Culling through my home sourced and offsite storage items, some things just don't make the cut to be listed for sale. Camo Build a Bear was pulled to list but given a reprieve because he is just so cuddly! Yes, I have a soft spot for plush. 

Sometimes I have seller's regret, not because of pricing but because of sentimental value. This Goorin hat is one of those items, sold months ago.

Hoping I will find another vintage men's hat just as fun. 

This 1991 cookbook also escaped my sweeping cleanout. I had the images ready, it also earned a reprieve from being listed. The book was given to me by a friend who has since passed on. 

Evidently I have given up on my dream of wire sculpting. Bought this bag of wonderfulness for $3, listed for $45. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184297363907

What else have I been hoarding hiding? Vintage Girl Scout and 4H items. I bought them in lots previously just for the pins I festooned on a mini quilt. Those clothing bits have been listed.

A change I made to my eBay templates was to change my handling time to 1 Business Day rather than 3 Business Days. If I offered free shipping, that too would bump me into Top Rated Seller status.

It is less exhausting if I list 5 or 10 items at a time. Each listing has to be closely reviewed. I am not sure but I think if you revise them, there is a fee charged. 

Our Northern California county is moving closer to re-opening. The Mr. and I had a sit-down dinner at a local Chinese food restaurant last weekend. 

I wasn't too far off when I told my hairdresser that I would "see her in June" after my March appointment was canceled. There are noises from our handsome governor that hair salons will reopen in a couple of weeks. 

Having thrift shops closed makes no sense to me. Their existing "product" has now sat idle for this lockdown time. I think the bugs are dead. Any new donations they could wipe down and hit with a UV light. Fumigate the place, IDK, just reopen. 

Rat-a-tat-tat Round 10 of Reselling

Time to put up some plush. I especially love this oversized princess My Little Pony, purchased for $1, she would be high profit margin. Will I list her? We will see. I have turned a critical eye toward all of my collectibles. This round of home sourcing include ceramic smalls and men's ties. 

I have been a reseller on eBay for many years but have most recently ramped it up with a basic store. My timing was good on that because of the 50k free fixed listings through the end of July. 

Another feature of eBay I have grown to love is the Send Offer. If a buyer watches your item or adds it to their cart, you can send offer to seal the deal under the fixed price listing. 

I try not to despair that thrifting, my most favorite activity, has been taken from me. I know there are those in worse condition with destroyed livelihoods, dashed athletic ambitions, or canceled once-in-a-lifetime celebrations. 

I pray that this is my last "home sourcing" posts. My county has reopened but the thrift shops are still closed. My county never really did "close" except for dining-in restaurants. 

Amazon has been the recipient of my retail therapy. To begin my atomic starburst piecing project I ordered an Addaquarter ruler. I threw in the mix a Grand Canyon preprinted panel for my travel quilt that I am gathering fabric for now. My last purchase was a jelly roll of Kona solids. I love the look of the solid scrappy border. I really haven't done a lot with solids but have begun purchasing more and more.

News has come down that state workers in California will receive a 10% pay cut and perhaps even furloughed to 1-2 days a month. It is a blessing that I am not carrying large debt like a mortgage or car payment. 

I suspect I will be working remotely through the year's end and maybe into 2021. If that is the case, I would look closely to retiring as soon as possible. Part of my commuting into Sacramento is to be in the city and to be around lots of people. If that aspect is removed, I will retire and ramp up my reselling business and seek out estate sales, in addition to thrifting, for product.  

KaPow! Round 9 - Selling Your Own Product

The Mr. and I came up with a goofy product to sell online. Our first batch went up on eBay, sort of a Mother's Day gift to me. I love business and I love selling. I present the Hard Times 2020 Solid Oak Commemorative Lid Knocker. We use one to loosen the metal lids on glass jars, or plastic drinks with plastic screw top lids. 

Hard-Times-2020-Commemorative-Lid-Knocker/184287486357

On my recent freebie clothes find I ended up keeping half of the clothing for myself. I know, not much of a way to make money, but I am a clothes horse after all. 

I think my technique of photographing clothing once outside on a dress form and then inside under florescent light gives a buyer a better sense of the garment. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184288396585

Digging deeper into my patterns, I decide which ones to group together and which ones I will part with. These are the last of the items I can possibly home source. I need to take a trip to my off site storage. 

Gardening update: I continue to revise my greenhouse gardening methods. The sun screens were added to see if it would bring down the temperature. 

Quilting update: Retro quilt is being sent to the longarmer. I went easy on the backing, combining two wide back panels. 

I, among many others, am weary of this pandemic. I am sure there will be lots of finger pointing when we have moved beyond the worldwide social experiment of 2020. 

Round 8, these rounds will continue until my thrift shops re-open

As mentioned in Round 7, I listed my backlog of specialty clothing. This number sold within hours of listing and another blouse the same day. Clothing is selling! 

I also learned how to issue a refund after a buyer pays. I discovered a stain on the jacket and disclosed to buyer after she paid. You do the transaction through PayPay. You choose refund full amount but then on the next screen you can revise it to the refund amount.

CDs and cassettes are selling. If you aren't listing these "mini" items, you are missing out. I bought cassettes for 25 cents each from a thrift shop that closed last year. I picked the "best of" and artists I thought would sell and they are. 

Ah, another thing. I accept every offer. Well, I should say nearly every offer. I did counter one by $5 and the buyer declined! Then I raised the price on the item by $10, the next buyer countered by $10 and I sold it for the $50 price I wanted. So there. *grins*

One reseller advises to allow for "wiggle room." Don't price your product so low that you can't counter an offer if you want to. When I am listing a unique item, I remind myself "wiggle room" when I price it. 

Local neighbors came through again with a Free sign. I chose 12 articles of clothing and gave a silent "thank you." For a clothing reseller, it is like laying money on the ground. I am there to pick it up. Kinda nice to be bypassing the second hand stores like this. I have become the middle man. 

There is always someone who makes money in times of crisis. The key is to be that person. 

If you are a thrifter and you are not reselling, time to jump in the game! There is an amazing online audience looking for that widget, or gadget, or something new to wear for next-to-nothing. 

Sharing my ultimate dream with the profits from this business, I want to buy a piece of property in Mendocino County, close enough to feel the ocean breezes. It could happen ...

Ba-Da-Bing Round 7 of Reselling

I really had to turn my attention to clothing I wanted to list on EBay. Still quarantined, still home sourcing (has to be done). 

Even listed on round-6 the bucket 'o Barbie clothes to avoid the hooman ones. I listed clothing on Etsy a few years ago. I think I priced everything too high and sold only one Christmas sweater. Round 7 are specialty pieces worth a test on the Ebay platform. 

I use Sally Stand-In as my model, a vintage dress form that is my size. Modern dress forms are bigger. I add this additional image for buyers so they can get a sense of how the garment fits on a small frame. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184283079516

Big change in gloves in my images, from loose cotton to fitted opera length. Well, aren't we moving up into the big time? *grins*

What has sold recently? A 1989 Better Homes & Garden plaid cover cookbook. Bought for $3, sold for $15. Seven yards of batik material, can't remember when I bought it, most likely in thrifted bag of material or online lot, sold for $16. 

CDs and cassettes are selling. I never would have imagined there was a market for cassettes. I look for the "Best of" and current ones that have the most allure. 

I am more than ever determined to pay off my debt. Had some expensive dental work a couple of years ago and I really need a new laptop. My current 15" Dell laptop is 5 years old. A great size for traveling, bad size for working remotely. 

In the works there is an upcoming Instagram event with a group I met virtually through the travelling-yellow-skirt-freak-show. I was No. 4 participant in the group. Link to my post celebrating that event the-traveling-yellow-skirt-has-arrived. This new challenge by mizbagg is VOGOFF, the Lockdown Edition with a focus on satire. Stay tuned!

Ka-Ching! Round 6 of Reselling

Beware Barbie clothes listers, there's a new girl in town! In second hand shopping, you never know what will appear and when. So true of the Barbie clothes scored over the years for just a few dollars. Here is the container full starting me on my Barbie clothes selling journey. 

I like to list in lots when I can. I have 9 lots grouped mainly by color. Sure, I could list items individually but that is a lot of extra work, grouped as a lot they might grab more attention. 

Barbie may or may not have changed outfits a couple of times during this sorting session. I kept duplicates of outfits and really cute stuff like the outfit she is wearing (something I would wear).

Did I also mention I have an off site storage that I haven't even added to my home sourcing mix? I used to be embarrassed by my buying and storing hoarding. Not anymore! Now I can just call it foresight and reap my $$$$ blessings. 

I began letting loose of my "product" stash last July. There is so much more that I want to do. No reason to be encumbered by things, especially things that I could sell and put money in my pocket. It really is freeing. Of course, there is the work involved in getting listings prepared. Once they are active, there is no sweeter sound than hearing "Ka-Ching."

Ringy Ding Ding Round 5 of Reselling and the Retro Quilt

Round 5 of reselling continues with home sourcing. I did buy one lot of how-to books from an online auction site. The profit margin is smaller but that is my style, many small items. I like posting these in rounds averaging 25 newly-listed items with 200 active listings. More listings = more sales. Sooner or later, you will have something listed that someone will want. As an example, I nearly thrifted back a vintage 1983 Warping all by Yourself, a cleaning-out-the-bookshelf item, sold for $25 + shipping. 

I learned another trick to EBay selling. I had a few auction-style posts that I converted to fixed price listings. It really is the same thing, it is bought at the listed price or by an offer. The best part is the listing is good until cancelled, you don't have to keep renewing the listing (or you can put it on auto-renew also). 

Digging deeper in the house going through long-forgotten cupboards, found this beauty of a bottle. Listing this empty Saint Grigor in perfect condition (sans liquor). I saw on one of the reseller's video that empty fancy liquor bottles will sell. The skeptic that I am I can only think of 2 reasons why someone would want this bottle, (1) decoration, or (2) refill it with an inferior liquor and sell shots.

I had sewing patterns for baby doll clothes. When am I ever going to make doll clothes? The twelfth of never. I listed all of those. I don't have grandchildren and there are none on the horizon. 

I've listed all of the CDs and cassettes. I have a few vinyl records that I double bought or that I just don't enjoy listening to (a Prince album comes to mind) going up for sale. 

Looking for a nine-patch project of mine that keeps disappearing, I discovered two more batches of quilt blocks I also listed. 

What will I do differently when my beloved thrift shops open back up? I am going to purchase more aggressively. I won't second guess my purchase items, I will buy them all! For the longest time I only bought in my size for me or my family. Now if it is quality clothing on trend, it doesn't matter what size it is, I am going to buy it! Should I buy that pair of ceramic Hawaiian girls? you betcha. One of the numerous items I have put back on the shelf after reviewing my purchases in line. 

Quilting update: Retro quilt flimsy is done! It was a quick put together. The odd thing was I was sure I squared up each block to 15" but when I combined the blocks, some didn't meet up. Now I have enough skill to add pieces as I go if one block comes up short. This Retro quilt I also think of as the "biker" quilt because of that tattoo border. This quilt has loads of personality! Off to the longarmer, I can't bear the thought of quilting another large one right now. 

There is also another change in my attitude. Life is short. Look how we have all taken for granted the simple pleasures. I am going to try out for the talent competition at work. I am going to save for that longed-for trip. I am going to laser focus on the things that make me happy.