Monday Mumbling

Is anyone else having trouble getting on ebay today? I've tried on both of my computers and what comes up is all jumbled and unusable. I'm not having any trouble getting on other sites. I was all psyched to list today too after buying some cool stuff at an estate sale yesterday.

Here is a screen shot of what I get

In Other News

Yesterday I saw that I had received another defect. I got a 3 star in the item described category. I ran the report so I could see who left it for me and was surprised. The person who left it left positive feedback which said "Perfect description". Um, hunh?? I'm not sure if I'm going to call customer service or not. I've never had to call CS and hear mostly negative stories when I read other people's experiences with CS. Any advice for me? I'm at a 1.22% defect rate right now out of a possible 2%. That doesn't leave me much room for error. Two of my defects should fall off in August and September as it will be a year.


I've noticed lately that a lot of the re-sellers that I pay half attention to are coming out with ebooks, videos and such selling their knowledge. There's nothing wrong with that but it really annoys me that the pictures that they use to advertise their product show binders, cd discs, spiral books etc when all you are getting is a file download. Is it just me? Isn't this misrepresentation? Has anyone else noticed this? Am I overreacting? One in particular who I was starting to listen to regularly on youtube I quit listening to because it seemed like the content of his youtube videos was becoming more and more promotion for his product. Seems like a growing trend. I'm glad that the seller blogs that are my favorites and that I visit the most aren't like this. :)

Well off to see if I can get on ebay yet and get some work done.

List 'Em If You've Got 'Em

Now's the time to list those 4th of July items. I just listed this sweatshirt today. Almost forgot about it. Well I did forget I had it but remembered in time. I should have had it listed sooner though.

I also changed the featured items in my storefront to feature 'patriotic fare'. I have to dig through my stuff and see if I have anything else. Have you listed anything special for the fourth?

Don't Fear the Flaw

Instagram and Ebay

I just read two interesting articles about using Instagram to grow your small business. One article was specifically geared toward ebay sellers. I found the concept intriguing. I'm not into social media. I have a Facebook account but rarely use it and don't have a Twitter account so for me I don't know if trying something like Instagram would be worth it. I don't have a following...Plus it seems like it takes some dedication and work that I should put into listing. But still I thought the concept of posting photos with hashtags was interesting. I thought hashtags were just used in Twitter but recently have noticed them popping up on Pinterest when I pin some of my ebay items. Now after reading these articles about Instagram I'm even more curious. It seems like hashtags may be a big thing (I know I'm so behind the times). Has anyone tried this? Do you use Instagram? Do you post your ebay items there? Is it just a iPhone thing?

Here are the two articles that I'm referring to. 

The first.

and The Second.

Don't Fear the Flaw

A while back I was reading a blogpost by Melissa Rose an ebay seller and blogger. She was talking about a sale she made of a damaged item and she made the comment "don't Fear the Flaw". I don't remember what her sale was but it was a good sale. Today I want to talk a little bit about that concept. Too many times I get home from the thrift store and realize something I bought has a flaw I didn't see. In the excitement of finding something cool or the bad lighting in the thrift store I just don't always examine things closely enough. When I read the comment of Melissa's Don't Fear the Flaw, and thought about it it made a lot of sense to me. It can't hurt to list the item anyway, disclose the flaw and see what happens. Since then I've practiced the concept and been surprised by what has sold. Below I've posted some items and their flaws. Often I thought twice about actually listing the item. It's surprised me what has sold.

Vintage American Standard Catalog…had a very strong odor. I tried to get the smell out with baking soda and airing out but it didn't work. Listed it anyway and sold it for 9.99.

Copal Flip Clock. Missing one of it's numbers. Sold for 39.99.

Vintage children's book. This book had a lot of damage especially to the cover but wonderful illustrations. Sold 9.99.

VTech computer. Lots of cosmetic damage scratches and such and didn't work properly. Some discs worked while others didn't. Sold for 9.99. 

So although some of the sales weren't for very much I moved the item out of my house and made a few bucks. In each case I described the flaws as accurately as possible and so far have had no complaints. So today's lesson. DON'T FEAR THE FLAW. Don't be too quick to give up on an item because it doesn't work or isn't cosmetically perfect. Do some research, price accordingly, describe accurately and you can sell those 'mistakes' that we all buy once in a while. 

Bits and Pieces

The New Listing Tool

I noticed yesterday that a new listing tool appeared in my Selling Manager. I didn't have time to really check it out. I'm currently getting my house ready for an appraisal. I'm sure most ebay sellers can empathize with me. A week long task it's been. So anyway I'm wondering if anyone has tried out this new tool or is it just another button for the same process as before?

Some Recent Sales

I haven't done a post in a couple of weeks of My Best Sales. I was out of town for a few days visiting family and thrifting and now am cleaning house for the appraisal. I thought I'd just post a couple of nice sales I've had in the last couple of weeks. 

I blogged about these vintage flip clocks a while back. One of mine sold. Copal Brand. Paid $1.50 and sold for $39.99 plus shipping. This clock is missing one flip piece which I stated in the listing. It still works fine but sold for a good price with its flaw. I almost redonated it when I realized it had a flaw. Am so glad I didn't. 

Pokemon

I recently blogged about a Pokemon backpack I sold. This week I sold both a Pokemon beach towel and a set of Pokemon sheets.

Beach Towel. Paid $1. Sold for $23.74 Free Shipping.

And the Sheet Set. I'm not sure how much I paid. Probably around $5. Sold for $39.99 with Free Shipping. 

So keep your eyes out for Vintage Pokemon. The sheets are also purchased by Crafters who use them to make clothing and other items. Take a peek at this cute dress. That's it for now. Back to prepping the house. 

The Weirdest Sale I've EVER Had on Ebay

I just returned home yesterday from a few days visiting family to find a large box delivered by Fed Ex from a company called Liquid Gold. I figured it had to be something I ordered since I recently ordered packing supplies. This morning I went to open the box and started realizing I'd already received all of the packing supplies I ordered…so what could this be? The box contained two gift wrapped packages..someone sent me a gift? I could find no card. The mystery grew deeper. The first package I opened contained a box of mac and cheese, then there was an apron and one more package. I opened the last package and was totally thrown to see it was an ebay package that I had sent out and was now receiving back? Hunh? At this point I was totally confused. I opened the package up to discover the Revere Ware pan I had sold a few months back with a note attached. Still confused (I'm slow to catch on and it's still technically morning so)…I tried to look at who I'd sold it to thinking it never arrived but the sale was too old and I couldn't look it up. Then I started googling. Pretty quickly I found these very funny commercials (and this one) and a Facebook page (see the comments on the top right) . Apparently it's a very clever (I think) promotion by Kraft. Read the note which explains it all. I didn't read the note until I'd actually googled and found out what was going on. Yes, I'm one of those people who doesn't read instructions when putting something together...

 
Cool! So in essence I sold the pan and get to sell it again and got a free box of dinner and an apron and a topic for a blog post! Sure did put my brain to work this morning. Heh. This is hands down the weirdest sale I have EVER had on ebay. EVER. Can anyone top it? What is the weirdest sale you have ever had? Had you heard of this promotion?

My Best Sales This Week

Pokemon Backpack. Paid $1. Sold for $29.99 plus shipping. 

Lot of children's books. Sold these before but the sale fell through. Paid ?. Sold for $55.99 plus shipping. The picture below does not show all the books. This was a lot of 74 books. 

Wood Pelican Statue. Paid $3. Sold for $29.99 plus shipping.

Leather vest. Paid $3. Sold for $24.99 plus shipping. 

I was particularly happy about the wood pelican sale. Here is why. As I've said before I'm trying to learn to buy higher value items. I realize that that means maybe spending more per item as well. I purchased this pelican this week. He was marked $3. Now $3 for one item to me is a little high. I like to spend less than $2. So I waffled a little. Even though I could tell it was well made and the sticker on the bottom indicated it was vintage. I still waffled. It's not something I've sold before so that comfort level wasn't there. Finally I had a little talk with myself. Self, you can definitely sell this item for at least $3 and make your money back so buy it! So I did :) It sold within a few days. Now I just have to do that every time. 

This week I'm going to be traveling to visit family and have a chance to visit some thrift stores that I haven't been to for about a year. I can't wait. The prices are much better and I'm pretty sure there aren't as many pickers around.

How were your sales this week? Did you hit some good garage or estate sales this weekend?