We Sell on eBay!

Links to My Tax Series

2012-02-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

Links to all the posts from my tax series, in one handy-dandy location!

Getting Ready for Tax Time, Part 1

A Sample Dome Day

Printing Reports from PayPal

Reconciling Our Monthly Paperwork

Putting It All Together on Schedule C

Movin' Right Along on the Schedule C

Home Office Expense

Depreciation of Your Home

Schedule SE (Self-Employment)

Schedule C, Page 2 - Cost of Goods Sold

Schedule C, Page 2 - Information on Your Vehicle

Correction Regarding eBay & Paypal Fees (this is important - I gave incorrect information in a previous post as far as where to put these fees)

Featured EBUG Member - DJ of Keen Eye Finds

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

This week, we're getting to know DJ a little better! DJ sells on both eBay and Bonanza. He posts on eBay Underground as = Dj PHX = (or some form of that, depending on the day - lol)

I was born in Los Angeles, California in the early sixties. My parents were hip and eccentric in the way they were ambitious, Navy, rockin the 50’s SoCal innovative mayhem. They threw big parties, enjoyed the cocktail era, loved all types of music and foreign foods, embraced Hawaiiana and Mexicana and incorporated it into their lives, influencing their kids along the way. My mother sewed her own clothes (and many of her 4 kids) while my dad was a officer in the Navy and worked for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) in North Hollywood.

By the time I was 6, we moved to the most beautiful place a kid could be, Lake Tahoe, Nevada. My father was the general manager and vice president of the Ponderosa Ranch Home of Bonanza tourist attraction and amusement park over looking Crystal Bay.

From there, we moved to Tucson and I’ve lived in every major city in Arizona since 1974. Since 1994, I’ve been living in Scottsdale and Phoenix, land of sun and citrus. In 2000, I met Avril, the woman of my dreams, who was from Dublin, Ireland.

I’m tour director by trade and take groups or private parties on excursions all over the US and countries worldwide. No place too far! Oh, the stories I could tell.

Recently I’ve begun to practice writing, building a style. Hopefully my two main experiences will come together in a blog near you. One will be based on Dewey Tours and the other will rally around Keen Eye Finds.

How long have you been selling on eBay?

I’ll soon be celebrating my tenth year on eBay with more than 2000 transactions. I began selling auctions on eBay since 2002. From 2008-10, sales were so slow, I had to retreat waiting for the market to turn. Sadly in my case, it never did. In July of last year, I began to retool and change my thinking. Particularly after joining eBay Underground in the summer of 2011.

Why did you start?

I love to sell creatively. I took to selling on eBay like a duck to water. It felt natural to research, describe items, take photos and build creative listings.

We have always had ‘stuff’ and things lying around “because someday it’s going to be worth a fortune!” mentality. My uncle was a born opportunist. In the early 60’s, he took over a surfboard shop and learned the fast growing industry and was already part of the culture. When the shop folded, the popular items of the day were decals and magazines. One day, a box of mint condition surfing magazines that sat in my grandmother’s garage for 20+ years was handed to me, which in turn, sat in my garage for another 15 years. Late to the eBay phenomenon party, I finally dove in 2002. Much to my surprise, I hit the market with perfect timing and sold most of those magazines and decals for more than $4000. I went on to sell vintage Playboy Magazines (complete sets, 1954-59) and many, many other items.

Do you remember the first item you sold?

A pristine 1960’s Southern California Surfing Magazine. The biggest sale ever made was three very rare surfer magazines for more than $1100 (that market is nothing like that now!).

What keeps you going during slow sale periods?

Until recently, I could duck out during the slow times, but now that I’m selling full time, it gives me great frustration when there are down times. But slow times allow for creativity and ingenuity.
One thing to do is look at items that have been sitting around and try to refresh its image and get them listed.

Sometimes, I’ll go back through all the nice comments in my feedback. A pat on the back goes a long way.

Tell us about your favorite buyer.

A surfboard shop owner was the winner of 20-30 auctions of much of my unusual collection of pristine surfing memorabilia. I never knew how he had so much money. Out of all those checks he sent, not one ever bounced.

I’ve had so many grateful buyers. But one other stands out who also purchased a surfing magazine. When it arrived, his kid’s friend grabbed it in awe, and tore the cover clean off! Mortified, he was so disappointed it happened. I heard wind of what happened and shipped out another copy (it was one I had 6 copies of) no charge and then he was REALLY flummoxed. Happy, but flummoxed. It was his heartfelt thanks that made my day. That magazine is still untouched, protected in Mylar, with an acid free sleeve backing it up, proudly displayed to this day, way out of reach of…

Tell us about your worst nightmare buyer & how you handled it.

Every problem I’ve had with a buyer was created one way or another by me. Only two negatives in 1000 trades and (I think it’s the way I package things). I think the key to great customer service is anticipating their needs, long before they need it.

The worst thing that happened was when I shipped two packages to the wrong buyers. It all worked out, but I paid for that experience in the end.

What was your best sale?

Recently, I bought a box on a fancy thrift store table for a dollar. As a former user of such an item, I didn’t think anything of it. The box sat on the shelf in the garage for a good 4 months. After awhile, I researched what I had and couldn’t believe my eyes. The numbers were astounding. I looked through the box and saw there were two items instead of one. I cleaned everything up and put the two on separate auctions. The first item, a tiny SVEA backpack stove soared to $148 and the separate pump sold for $129. I was SO excited. That my friends, was a homerun, woohoo or whatever you want to call it!

A few years ago, my wife’s business associate took us out to dinner. They talked shop (real estate), and after a while, the guy told us he was an Elton John fan since 14 years old and was a collector. He had been collecting fan items for more than 35 years. His goal was to collect ‘one of each’. Fascinated, asking just how much was he talking about, he said, two storage lockers full, 10x10 ft times two. As we parted ways that night, I let him know if he was ever in the need to part with the stuff, I was the guy.
A year later, he decided to let go of everything. Short story long, I sold off the inventory for more than $11,000. It was hard work; items were shipped all over the world. You can’t imagine how much memorabilia there was. I know a lot, maybe too much about Elton John now. The experience was like working in Rock n Roll. Elton has a lot of fans, particularly overseas.

What purchase for resale did you buy that turned out to be a big mistake?

Toys at 75% off. But what I found out, they get popular again about two years later, after the hype is long gone.

Do you have a niche? What is it and why?

I’m always on the lookout for new and exciting items that sell. Often times I buy on instinct or use my smart phone to work a hunch.

I have done well with massive private collections and advertise on outlets such as ebay trading assistant.

I may not know much about the items in the beginning, but love learning all the nuances, facets and quirks about new things.

As for a single niche, it still eludes me, but I have ramped up men’s & women’s shoes, collectibles

What is your favorite thing to watch for when you’re out thrifting?

I just have a keen eye. I feel like the owl or the eagle after prey. So many things jump out at me. On the other hand, what about all those things I PASSED BY that I wasn’t aware of? ACK!

Tell us one thing you have learned on eBay Underground.

Selling shoes. Selling, yes, but finding, identifying, cleaning, refurbishing, polishing, and then marketing the shoes. It’s a whole new skill set. And, all the effort really does pay off (I have Jessica to thank for that!).

Anything else you’d like to comment on?

Ebug, as we affectionately call our forum, is not for everyone. Its hardcore truth about a full time job selling on the internet.

I am grateful for being a student and commentator on eBay Underground. It's easy to admit, for the past three years, I was in denial about static ‘Buy It Now’s selling over auction format. Once I joined eBug in July, 2011, it took a little prodding, research and REALIZATION that my path on internet commerce needed a makeover … and fast! Through nurturing and being a nurturer, a balance starts to take place. The buzz on the forum is infectious.

Some people realize its harder work than they thought. Others find excitement in learning or sharing and teaching. It’s a remarkable place in time to be a part of it all.

Buying low and selling high is just a small part of selling on the internet. There’s marketing, advertising, style, photography, procurement, master shopping, product enhancement, pricing, copywriting, customer service, learning, accuracy, clarity, research, antiquing, public relations, teaching, education, new skills, reviving old skills, reading, shipping & handling, selling, effort, SEO, sacrifice, markdowns, clearance, internet commerce savvy, communication skills and … a keen eye for detail just to name a few. Some might compare it to running a ROSS store, but I think of it more like a unique a store as Neiman’s Mark-ups!

I love it!

What are you working on now?

I’m excited about listing some of my items I’ve held away from the public eye for awhile. Hopefully I’ll hit the market just right. So, now I’m off to list, List, LIST! as we say on ebay Underground.

Thank you for having me Jessica, you ROCK!

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Thanks for giving us a glimpse into your life, DJ!

Please be sure to stop by DJ's eBay and Bonanza stores and check out his Keen Eye Finds!

And check here for Tour Director Inquiries!

Using Terapeak for eBay Research

2012-01-31T16:38:00.000-08:00

On eBay Underground this week, we've been talking about Terapeak. Terapeak is an awesome website that helps you research how to price your items for selling on eBay. But that's not all! It helps you build great titles. It helps you decide which categories to list your items in for maximum results. It lets you search by seller to see their sell-through rates and what items they sell. It lets you search hot sellers, to see what's selling well right now. It is truly an invaluable research tool.

A year or so ago, they had a free version. It gave you results going back 14 days. That version wasn't extremely helpful, because eBay gives you search results going back 14 days too. The difference is that Terapeak showed sell through rates, so you could tell at a glance whether you had a dud or whether you had a sure bet. Apparently they no longer offer the free version, because I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

They offer a paid version that goes back a full year! When you do a search for an item, you can search 1 day, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, or 90 days. You can also set a custom date range. So you do your search for 90 days. If no results come up, or if you want to look back further (back to November/December for Christmas items, for example), then you can choose to go back to the previous 90. You can do that 4 times until you've gone back a full year. This comes in very handy if it's October and you're listing a Christmas item. Going back just 90 days to July or August isn't going to give you an accurate picture of how well a Christmas item will sell in November, so you'll want to go back that full year and look at last November's sales.

Honestly, I haven't really explored all the other features that Terapeak offers. I occasionally use the seller search and the title builder, but I have a feeling Terapeak is an untapped resource that I need to play around with.

**********

Do you use Terapeak? What are your favorite features? How should I be using it other than just doing pricing research?

Are you Pinning?

2012-01-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, I’m talking about Pinterest the online Pinboard that for some has become the addictive social sharing site. Pinterest is described as an online Pinboard where you can organize and share the things you love. That includes your eBay wares!

Imagine posting or pinning your eBay listing on your pinboard, then another member pins, and so on. Last week I pinned a J. Crew jacket on my pinboard and immediately it was repinned twice. Now I’ve just expanded my audience for this one item I am marketing. Who knows where that will lead or how viral it will become.

Here is my Pinterest site and I have a dedicated eBay category. It's not full yet, but I plan on using this to market some of my eBay listings as well as others.

Pinboards are divided into 3 categories - Pins, Boards and People. Doing a quick search of the word "eBay" under boards (dedicated boards that people have) produced a large list of results. Some of these boards include eBay items users are promoting, or items they are looking to purchase. Your customers may be promoting your items on their pinboards!

Here are some great links mentioned on our eBay Underground group last week including, a tutorial event on Facebook and a great article “10 Tips to get the most out Pinterest for your business”. Check them out and happy eBaying and Pinning!

Highlights From This Week's eBay Underground Discussions

2012-01-28T20:19:00.000-08:00

Lots of good conversation going on again this week on eBay Underground! We are up to 848 members and growing daily!! Please keep spreading the word. Let's see if we can't hit a thousand pretty soon here!

Read all about some members' concerns and fears about making the leap to opening up an eBay store. (*Picture is not intended to poke fun - there are very valid concerns and fears involved with making that decision!)

They may not be the most attractive shoes in the world, but they sell well! Come join our discussion about selling SAS shoes.

I know nothing at all about selling silver, but there's some great conversation and tips on the board this week!

One member learned the importance of specifying the method of shipping when accepting a return for refund. She told her buyer she would reiumburse him for return shipping, and he shipped the item back via FedEx ... for $15! It's so important to be specific in our return policies!

Have you got your bookkeeping all caught up for tax time? Here is where you'll learn where to find your tax forms from Paypal.

And finally ... who knew there was such good money to be made from these ugly little things?? My 3-year-old has a whole bag full of them. I'm gradually trying to sneak them away from him one at a time. Shh! Don't tell him!

**********

As always, if none of these topics interest you, feel free to stop by the boards and start up a topic that you'd love to learn about or that you'd love to share your knowledge about!

Featured EBUG Member - Rachael, The Thrifty Picker

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

Our group is growing by leaps and bounds! We have many, many new members. Some post often, some just read without posting much. I'd like to start learning more about our members, so I'm resurrecting an old blog feature. I re-present to you, our featured EBUG member feature!

This week, I've gotten to know a little more about Rachael.

Rachael sells on both eBay and Etsy (Vintage Dreams NE), and she blogs at The Thrifty Picker. Let's take a peek into her life:

My name is Rachael, I am 33-years-old and live in Omaha, Nebraska with my husband and Doberman dog. I graduated with a business degree from the local University and have earned an additional certification in the medical field. I work part time in a doctors office and the rest of the time I thrift, blog, resell, and take care of my hubby, home, and dog.

How long have you been selling on eBay?

Since June, 2011.

Why did you start?

My mother cleaned out her attic and gave me all of my childhood items. Some I kept for my future children and some I decided to sell on ebay because they were considered vintage and/or collectible. I listed things like Barbie, My Little Pony, and vintage baby dishes. They all sold, and quickly too! About this same time I started to decorate our new home on a shoe string budget and came to love Goodwill, estate, and yard sales. While searching out décor, I would find tag-on or barely used clothing, and unique vintage items that I knew I could flip for a profit. That is when I really decided to give the reselling business a go.

I had a computer, internet connection, and a junky digital camera. I added a scale and some packing tape into the mix and I was ready to roll. The risk and overhead were low. I gave it six months and it paid off! I ended up well into the ‘green’ at the end of the year and that was even with buying my first DSLR camera and a bust form mannequin to better photograph my wares.

In the first 6 months of reselling, I opened an ebay and etsy store, and started a blog about thrifting. I have over 100 ebay and etsy transactions combined. I am just shy of power seller status on ebay. My blog began in September and I just reached my 60^th follower.

Do you remember the first item you sold?

On ebay it was a set of vintage Rainbow Brite lacing cards and on etsy it was a vintage Lucite necklace.

What keeps you going during slow sale periods?

Marketing my store and encouragement from other resellers.

When it is slow, I use that opportunity to create treasuries, tweet about items that have been in stock for awhile, and post on etsy team pages.

When I first started my ebay and etsy stores, I met a few other resellers via the blogosphere. If I ever feel I am in a slump and want to hear some reassurance from others in the business, I send them a quick email or facebook message asking them to take a peek at my store for a quick critique or just ask them for encouragement. I recently joined the Ebay Underground forum and find this helpful for tips and encouragement too.

Tell us about your favorite buyer.

I had an ebay customer who bought a vintage Precious Moments ornament that said “our first Christmas” right before the Holiday. She emailed me and told me she had received this ornament 30-some years ago when her and her hubby had just married. She was putting it on the Christmas tree and accidentally broke the keepsake ornament. She thanked me for having the item in my store and available to her as a replacement to the original.

Another favorite is an etsy customer from Australia (my first international order) who bought a vintage tag-on Mad Men style dress from my shop and then wore it in a vintage ‘look’ contest. She was so happy with the dress and she sent me a photo of her wearing the garment while on stage at the contest.

Tell us about your worst nightmare buyer & how you handled it.

Gosh, I haven’t had any terrible scenarios to date, a couple of annoying buyers/bidders though…

Back in August, I had a lady tell me a shoe was not as described. She said I listed it as a 6.5 but that she always wears 6.5 and this shoe was definitely not a 6.5, even though it was printed right on the shoe! It was a size 6.5 and I stated this in the description and they were new shoes so they weren’t stretched out. I assured her that I did not misrepresent the item and told her to send them back for a refund. She never sent them back and I haven’t heard from her since.

Another annoying one was a non-paying bidder who claimed he never bid on the item even though he outbid a few others for the item. He claimed someone hacked his account. The transaction was cancelled, and I relisted and sold it for more than I would have originally.

What was your best sale?

I found a pair of never worn, current style, Salvatore Ferragamo loafers at a yard sale for $6 (yes you read that right!) and sold them for $99 plus shipping. Woot!

What purchase for resale did you buy that turned out to be a big mistake?

I try to find my items for dirt cheap, so I haven’t lost big on any items. But, I have vowed to be more picky going forward and to turn away chipped items or clothing with any sort of wear. I know now that pristine items can be found so there is no reason to settle.

Do you have a niche? What is it and why?

Ebay: Tag on or barely worn designer clothing. I myself am not a label whore, I wear what fits and what looks good. But if I can find thrifted designer pieces, I am all over that, for myself and the shop!

Etsy: Functional vintage pieces. It has to look good and serve a purpose. Kitchen items and clothing in good vintage condition make up the majority of my shop.

What is your favorite thing to watch for when you’re out thrifting?

For me personally and for the shop, vintage Pyrex.

Tell us one thing you have learned on eBay Underground.

The post on ebay store vs no ebay store gave me the knowledge and courage I needed to open my own.

Anything else you’d like to comment on?

What I have learned about reselling is that it is not just about listing, selling, and shipping. You also have to take good photos, write enticing descriptions, network, and keep up with trends and industry news.

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Thank you for letting us get to know a little more about you, Rachael!
Be sure to stop by Rachael's eBay and Etsy stores to check out her goodies, and drop her a note on her blog while you're at it!

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If you'd like to be one of our Featured EBUG Members, please drop us a line and we'll get you on the schedule!

Highlights From This Week's eBay Underground Discussions

2012-01-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a feature I've gotten away from for some reason...

Our boards have been extremely active this week. It's so encouraging to see more and more new posters and lurkers coming out of hiding! We've covered some great topics this week. Many are ongoing, so if you have any thoughts or information you'd like to add, please stop by!

Several of our members have experienced several drops in their sales now that the holidays are over. A lot of buyers overspent for Christmas and have just gotten their credit card bills. January and February are a slow time for a lot of sellers. Come and read some tips on how to deal with slow sales during these months.

eBay Top-Rated Seller evaluations just went through. Several of our members were excited to announce that they have joined the ranks of Top-Rated Sellers! Join us in congratulating them! (Tina has a great 10-part series on how to become a Top-Rated Seller in under a year. Check it out!)

There has been some GREAT conversation about our top must-haves and do-wants for our businesses. What do you use that you couldn't live without? What do you WISH you had to make your job easier?

When is the best time to list certain items? Find out when our members list seasonal items.

There are so many different photo editing software programs available. We've been discussing the pros and cons of quite a few of them.

The all-important BOLO (Be On the LookOut) list - how do you organize yours?

These are just the highlights. There have been lots and lots more topics going on this week. And as always, if you aren't interested in any of these topics, feel free to stop by and strike up a new conversation!

The eBay Thrifter Is Up and Running!

2012-01-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

It's not running very fast or very far, but it is running. My personal eBay blog is officially published as of today. From this point on, We Sell on eBay will be group- and forum-focused, and The eBay Thrifter will be focused on my personal eBay business and day to day life of an eBay thrifter.

See you around!

Change Is A-Comin'

2012-01-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of reorganizing this blog. It has changed directions from where I want it to be. In the future, it will be more focused on our eBay Underground forums. I plan to leave the personal and teaching posts off of here. Don't worry - I will be transitioning all of that content to a new blog, which will be unveiled once I actually find some time to get it going.

My tentative plan for this blog is to make it more focused on the forum. I would like to feature one thread twice a week, along with a brief summary of the thread and my thoughts on it as well. Once a week, I will do a Top 10 EBUG Threads post, where I will give a brief rundown on the most popular threads from the week. I used to do that awhile ago, but for some reason I got away from doing that.

I would also like to do a Featured EBUG Member post once every 2 weeks or so. I used to do that too, and would like to resurrect that feature. If you are interested in being interviewed for that feature (free advertising!), please contact me.

All of the Fabulous Finds, Top eBay Moments, and general teaching and chit-chat posts will be moved to a blog that's more personal to me. There will be a clear division between this blog (posts about the forum only) and my personal blog (my day-to-day eBay and thrifting activities).

I hope you're willing to stick around and follow me once I make my move. I enjoy hearing from all of you and reading your blogs, and I look forward to catching up with you after the move!

Correction Regarding eBay & Paypal Fees

2012-01-14T07:54:00.000-08:00

I don't know what the deal is with blogger lately. I haven't been able to reply to any comments or post my own comments all week. My comment page keeps freezing. Argh!

Anyway ... Anonymous commented here with some excellent information. I erroneously suggested that eBay and Paypal fees could go on the Commissions & Fees line of the Schedule C. They should actually go on Line 48 (Other Expenses), which will then get totalled up and put on Line 27.

That makes a lot more sense. Part of that comment pointed out that the IRS isn't going to be too terribly picky about WHERE we put the different expenses, as long as we explain what they were. That's what Line 48 allows. There is a space on Line 48 to specify the different expenses.

Thank you, Anonymous!

And no thank you, stupid Blogger. Let me comment on my own blog!

Schedule C, page 2 - Information on your Vehicle

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not a tax accountant. Read the instructions for yourself or consult a tax attorney. That should be the last time I have to say that :)

Schedule C
Schedule C Instructions

All that's left is information about your vehicle. Mileage is a BIG deduction. You'll definitely want to be sure and use it!

Line 43 - When did you place your vehicle in service for business purposes? This will be the date of your first shopping trip in your current vehicle, regardless of the year.

Line 44 - Of the total number of miles you drove your vehicle during 2011, enter the number of miles you used your vehicle for business, commuting, and other. The business line will be all the mileage from your road trips, thrifting stops, post office, trips to Walmart for bubble wrap, etc. ALL business-related driving. And here's a tip for this year: any time you're out running errands, stop into Goodwill. Whether you buy anything or not, you can still deduct the mileage for stopping to look. This way, you will be able to deduct the mileage for getting groceries. You should only deduct the miles from your house to the thrift store though. If the grocery store is 10 miles from your house, but Goodwill is only 7 miles from your house, you should deduct the 14 mile round trip to Goodwill, not the 20 mile round trip to the grocery store. But that's 14 miles you wouldn't have been able to deduct if you hadn't stopped in to shop.

The commuting line is for miles driven from home to work. The other line is for all other miles. You don't need to keep track of them, but you should have a pretty decent estimate of how many miles you drove total throughout the year, which you can use to figure out how many miles weren't business and commuting.

Lines 45-47 are simple yes or no questions. If you don't have a written record of your mileage, I suggest you make one. Hopefully you've kept track of when and where you shopped, so it would be very easy to create a written record. I use a pocket calendar. When I make a trip somewhere, I just jot the mileage down on the correct day. Then I add them up at the end of the year.

That is IT, folks! The very last section of the Schedule C is for "Other Expenses," but unless you have some extenuating circumstances, I'm pretty sure everything has already been covered elsewhere on the form.

Good luck with your tax forms this year. Remember: just take it one step at a time. If you get stuck, read the instructions. If you are still stuck, don't take my word as ultimate inerrant truth. Please PLEASE double check with a tax accountant if you are unsure.

My Top eBay Moments This Week - Vacation Edition

2012-01-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

I had my store on vacation for 5 days this week. I left my items visible and available to purchase, but I was sure to message each buyer with a reminder that I wouldn't be able to ship until Tuesday. I offered them all the options of cancelling or waiting, and I had no cancellations. I didn't have any buyer problems either! It was a good week :)

I sold 52 items this week, only 8 of which were shoes. I sold a lot of shoe repair products again this week. I'm running very low on that, so I just placed a huge order with my suppliers the other day.

I am expanding my horizons too. I have finally discovered the lucrative world of women's clothing. Early each week, I make a good long trip to Goodwill looking through ALL the women's clothing (except pants - haven't made it that far yet), looking for new with tags items that are the half off color of the week. Every week, I am surprised at how many I find. How is it that new with tags items hang around long enough to become the half off color? I've also been surprised at how quickly that stuff sells!

My favorite sales:

This was one of my first women's clothing purchases. It's not new with tags (I have learned much in the few shorts weeks I've been doing this), but it is Sag Harbor, 100% wool, plus size, and it was the half off color, so I took a chance. I immediately regretted it, but listed it anyway. I had someone contact me in the first few days saying they didn't want to pay $22 for a used jacket. Normally, I get annoyed at that sort of thing. If you don't like my price, move on. But in this particular instance, I was concerned that it wouldn't sell at all, so I did lower my price for her to move it out quickly. I think the fact that this was a 20W was the only thing that sold it.

Acquired: 12/31/11
Listed On: 1/2/12
Sold On: 1/8/12
Paid: $2.99
Sold For: $15.99 + shipping

I bought these NWT Hanna Andersson capris at the consignment sale that I did so poorly at in November. I went on the last day to pick up my check and saw a bunch of stuff I would have bought at half price. I told the woman running the sale and she said, "Then go buy them! I'm keeping a separate record of things that sell today and I'll send those checks out separately." So I loaded up on all the Gymboree and Hanna that I could find. Sadly, none of them have sold until these sold yesterday.

Acquired: 11/13/11
Listed On: 11/24/11
Sold On: 1/11/12
Paid: $6.50
Sold For: $19.99 + shipping

This was a very fast sale. It's an Adidas tennis skirt, size small. I have another one very similar to it that's NWT. I wasn't sure how well the pre-owned one would do, but it was the half off color, and I decided I was willing to risk a whopping $1.49 to find out. I'm glad I did.

Acquired: 1/3/12
Listed On: 1/4/12
Sold On: 1/10/12
Paid: $1.49
Sold For: $19.99 + shipping

I have to be honest here - I was bummed that this one sold so quickly. I love it, and it's my size. But oh well. There will be more :) It's a Worthington skirt, new with tags. It was the half off color.

Acquired: 12/31/11
Listed On: 1/2/12
Sold On: 1/10/12
Paid: $1.49
Sold For: $20.00 + shipping

I've had these Sofft suede mary janes forever. They're pretty cute, so I thought for sure they would sell quickly. I can usually sell my Soffts for around $25 plus shipping, but they are NOT fast or consistent sellers. I only pick them up now if they are in perfect condition or super cheap.

Acquired: 3/12/11 (told you - forever!)
Listed On: ?
Sold On: 1/11/12
Paid: $5.25
Sold For: $25 + shipping

This NWT Rothschild coat came from the huge yard sale I went to in September. Unfortunately, I bought this the first day, before I knew they would be having a half-off day. Next year, I won't even bother going until half-off day, because I still managed to find tons and tons of stuff on the last day. I paid too much for this coat, but I still turned a bit of a profit (and learned a good lesson).

Acquired: 8/27/11
Listed On: ?
Sold On: 1/9/12
Paid: $14.00 (yikes)
Sold For: $30.00 + shipping

Here's another item I've had for ages. These were in bad shape when I bought them, but a half a jar of Meltonian fixed them up nicely. They are earth (lower-case "e" ... avoid the capital "E" - those are Walmart brand). They retailed for $169, so I aimed high on these. I had no offers, no bites, no messages about them - nothing. I finally ended up clearancing them to $50, no best offer. Even that wasn't working, so I added best offer and finally got an offer on them. I probably would have taken just about any offer at that point, but I was happy with the amount.

Acquired: 1/5/11
Listed On: ??
Sold: 1/5/12 - interesting - I just realized these sold exactly one year from the very day I bought them
Paid: $2.99
Sold For: $40 + shipping

And my favorite sale of the week ....

I can't explain why I bought these. (For perspective, the mama is about 8" tall.) I was in a local thrift store and was buying $5 worth of merchandise. I didn't have any cash, and they have a $10 minimum on charges, so I had the cashier hold my things while I went across the street to the bank to get some cash. On my way out, I spotted these in the display window. I went back in and asked to see them. They were very fingerprinted and not at all shiny or pretty, but for some reason I decided I wanted them anyway. I get them a quick once over. No chips or ugly spots. Tag on the bottom that said "Japan." They were $2.99 and $4.99, so that put me over the $10 limit to use my debit card. I got them home and thought, "Wow, I paid $8 for these. That's way too much."

I didn't give them much thought until the next day. I used some Windex and shined them up nicely and took a bunch of pictures. The more I looked at them, the more I decided I loved them. I don't have any sort of affection for elephants, so I really can't explain why I loved them so much. I have nowhere to put them, so I decided to go ahead and list them.

I started to do some research, and the first thing I discovered was that the tag on the bottom said "Jaru" not "Japan". So I did an eBay search for Jaru and was pleasantly surprised. I did a search for Jaru elephant and nothing came up. I checked completeds and saw one set just like mine (but bronze color) that sold at auction for a whopping $13.99. Boy, was I disappointed. But then it occurred to me - this is a special item. It will take just the right buyer. You're probably not going to get a bidding war over something like this, so it's NOT an auction item. I listed it ridiculously high, just to gauge interest. I put it in my store for $99.99 or best offer, not really expecting to get even $50 for it. I knew I would have a hard time accepting a lower offer for it, because I really did love them. Imagine my surprise when they sold (full price!) while I was on vacation!

Acquired: 1/3/12
Listed On: 1/4/12
Sold On: 1/5/12
Paid: $8.46
Sold For: $99.99 + shipping

How'd you do this week?

Reply to a Comment from dherself

2012-01-12T07:29:00.000-08:00

dherself - for some reason, blogger isn't cooperating this morning and I can't reply to your comment on my previous post. All I mean by zeroing out my inventory is that I wrote a "0" on line 41, basically showing that I sold all my inventory and am starting over at the beginning of the year. That's not true, of course, but as long as all of my inventory is being accounted for, I'm ok with doing it that way. You really should check with a tax accountant to find out if that's an acceptable way of tracking your inventory.

Schedule C, page 2 - Cost of Goods Sold

2012-01-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

Again, I'm not a tax accountant. Read the instructions for yourself or consult a tax attorney. Yada, yada, yada....

Schedule C
Schedule C instructions

Page 2 of the Schedule C is for your inventory. I will be honest. I don't do this page correctly. I zero my inventory out at the end of every year, but I am going to walk you through this the way it is supposed to be done.

Line 33 - Method used to value closing inventory. Choose cost. This will be significantly easier than trying to determine what your inventory is currently worth.

Line 34 - Was there any change in determining quantities, costs, or valuations between opening and closing inventory? This will likely be No. If you filled this out last year and chose something other than Cost, and you are choosing Cost this year, then your answer here will be Yes. You'll also need to attach an explanation for why you changed methods.

Line 35 - Inventory at beginning of year. If you just started selling this year, then your answer here will be $0. If you already had inventory at the beginning of the year, you'll need to figure out how much you spent on it. I honestly don't know how we're supposed to figure that number out. This is why I zero out my inventory every year, so I can start each new year with $0.

Line 36 - Purchases less cost of items withdrawn for personal use. This is where you'll add in your inventory receipts. The cost of items withdrawn for personal use does NOT mean you include all the totals of your receipts, even if there are personal items on there. What this means is, you previously accounted for the $5 you spent on a pair of shoes intended for resale, but then you decided to keep them. You would subtract that $5 out, only if you already included it in your inventory purchase total.

Line 37 - Cost of labor. I honestly don't know what this is, and there is nothing in the instructions about it. I would have thought it would be if you paid someone to help you list, but I would think that would go on the Schedule C under Wages and Commissions paid. If you paid someone and didn't report it under Wages and Commissions Paid, then you should probably ask a tax accountant what line 37 is for.

Line 38 - Materials and Supplies. We already included our supplies on the first part of the Schedule C.

Line 39 - Other costs. If you had any other expenses related to your inventory that you didn't already account for somewhere else, enter them here. I can't think of any examples, because there has been a place to account for everything that I have thought of.

Line 40 - Add lines 35 through 39.

Line 41 - Inventory at the end of the year. You should go through your remaining inventory and total up what you spent on everything and enter it here. (Again, I put a zero here, showing that I sold everything that I bought during the year.)

Line 42 - Cost of goods sold. Subtract line 41 from line 40. Enter the result here and on line 4.

I just realized I did things a little bit out of order. You do need to finish Schedule C before you can do the Schedule SE. All the information is here - it's just out of order :)

All that's left is vehicle expenses, which we'll get to tomorrow.

Schedule SE (Self Employment)

2012-01-11T06:59:00.000-08:00

We're almost done! When I started this series, it didn't occur to me that it was going to be this long. There are a lot of steps, and I'll be honest with you - tax prep software really cuts a lot of steps out. I use H&R Block online software. It really does walk you right through it, but it's good to know where their numbers are coming from.

My usual disclaimer: I'm not a tax accountant. Double check the instructions for yourself or consult your tax attorney.

The Schedule SE calculates the amount of self employment tax you owe. Here are the instructions.

This form is pretty easy. We are basically plugging in numbers from other forms and performing mathematical operations. That's it.

First, we need to decide if we should use the short form or the long form. I can tell you right now, we're going to be using the short form, but look over this chart to see why:

Now, let's look at the schedule itself:

Line 1a - net farm profit or loss from Schedule F. If you've got farm income, you should have filled out a Schedule F. If so, enter the number from Schedule F, line 34 here. (Sorry - you're on your own filling that form out. I know NOTHING about farm taxes.)

Line 1b - This is also related to farms.

Line 2 - net profit or loss from Schedule C. This is us. Look back at your Schedule C. I know we haven't finished it yet, but we've finished it far enough to be able to complete this form. The number on line 31 of the Schedule C will go on line 2 here.

Line 3 - Combine lines 1a, 1b, and 2. That's pretty easy.

Line 4 - Multiply line 3 by 92.35%. This is the amount of our Schedule C income that is actually subject to the self-employment tax. Basic math. The number on line 3 x .9235

Line 5 - Self-employment tax. This is the amount of self-employment tax we owe. If line 4 is less than $106,800, multiply it by 13.3% (.133). If line 4 is more than $106,800, multiply it by 2.9% (.029). Then, add $11,107.20 to the result. Enter your answer here and on your Form 1040 line 56.

The last line of the Schedule SE determines how much of your self employment tax is deductible. It is also basic math. If line 5 is $14,204.40 or less, multiply it by 57.51%. If it is more than $14,204.40, multiply it by 50% and add $1,067 to the result. Enter that number here and on Form 1040, line 27. This amount will come off your income to help determine your adjusted gross income.

That's it! All that's left is finishing up page 2 of the Schedule C, which is your inventory and your vehicle information.

Depreciation of Your Home

2012-01-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

I am going to be honest here. I feel like I'm quite out of my league with this section, so please please PLEASE, double check the instructions for yourself or check with a tax accountant.

We're finishing up the Form 8829 (Business Use of Your Home). It should be quick - there are only a few lines left.

Line 36 - Enter the smaller of your home's adjusted basis or its fair market value. I'm not sure where you could find that information other than an appraisal. Fortunately, our county just required appraisals sometime during the last year or so, so I happen to have my number handy. I hope yours is as easy to find as mine.

Line 37 - Value of land included in line 36. That's pretty self-explanatory.

Line 38 - Basis of building. Subtract line 37 from 36. Also self-explanatory.

Line 39 - Business basis of building. Multiply line 38 by line 7. This gives you the value of the portion of the home that you use for ebay.

Line 40 - Depreciation percentage. If you used your home for business during all 12 months of the year, then your percentage is 2.461%. If you started using it later in the year, then you'll need to consult the chart in the Form 8829 instructions. (There are more numbers in this chart. This is just a small section of it.)

Line 41 - Depreciation allowable. Multiply line 39 by line 40. Enter result here and on line 29. If you improved your home or added on, you'll need to read the instructions for this section. Otherwise, just do the multiplication and enter the result on both line 41 and line 29.

Line 42 and Line 43 are basic math problems.

That finishes up the Form 8829 for Business Use of Your Home. You'll need to transfer the number from line 35 of this form onto line 30 of your Schedule C.

The rest of Schedule C, Page 1 (above) is pretty self-explanatory too. I will get to Page 2 of the Schedule C, as well as the Schedule SE, later this week.

Capitalizing on New Years Resolutions

2011-12-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

Weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions. Everyone's just come through a wicked food-centered holiday season, from Halloween candy to turkey to ham dinners to Christmas cookies to New Year's Eve parties. We've probably all put on at least a couple pounds and are looking to the New Year to bring about changes. Many, many, MANY people are resolving to lose weight in the New Year. Now is the time for YOU to help them accomplish their goals!

If you haven't already done so, get your weight loss items listed as quickly as possible! Exercise videos, exercise equipment, workout clothes, scales, diet cookbooks ... people are looking for these things right now.

I just sold this a few minutes ago. This is the fourth Deal-a-Meal that I've sold. The very first one I bought, I actually bought for myself. I paid $1.50 for it and was so excited to start using it! But then I looked it up on eBay and saw how much they were selling for and figured I could do any old diet. I didn't NEED a Deal-a-Meal. So I put that first one up for auction and was lucky enough to get two international buyers fighting over it. It went for over $100. It was a fluke, because I don't recall seeing one go that high since. I'm pretty sure it was because I was willing to ship internationally, and there just happened to be two international buyers looking for one at the same time.

The second one I sold only went for $20. The third went for $40. This one went for $60. I think it just depends on the time of year and who is looking at it. The $20 and $40 were both mid-year, buy it now or best offer. Diet aids just doing go quite as high mid-year as they do the end of December into early January. So now is the time to get those things listed. Good luck!

**that's totally me in that top picture, by the way ... snort ...

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-12-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot to do my top moments post this week! Ack!

With all the horror stories of psycho Christmas buyers, I was really expecting to get at least ONE complaint last week, but I had none! No non-paying buyers, no returns. Oh - I did have a complaint that a pair of Clarks broke the first time the buyer wore them. Clarks are kind of notorious for that. I've gotten probably 5 or 6 complaints of the same thing during my time selling on eBay. Because I know Clarks have a tendency to do that when they get old, I don't even ask for pictures anymore. I just apologize profusely. I let the customer know that I inspect all of my shoes before I list them, and that I can't possibly predict what will happen to them later, but of course I will refund your entire purchase price and shipping. They have all been understanding so far.

I sold 48 items last week, 11 of which were shoes. My favorites:

I bought these back in March. When the time came to list them, I couldn't decide whether they were brown or black, so I decided to keep them. I wore the heck out of them this summer, but quickly got tired of them. They were in pretty worn condition, so I dumped them cheap. But they sold very quickly.

Acquired: 3/12/11 (my sister-in-law picked them up for me)
Listed On: 12/12/11
Sold On: 12/23/11
Paid: $6.90 (got that much back out of them just by wearing them all summer)
Sold For: $15 (-$4.90 shipping)

I was SO GLAD to see these go! I have had them since LAST October. Yes, LAST October. I kept meaning to take better pictures, but I just never got around to it.

Acquired: 10/9/10 (sister-in-law)
Listed: ?/2010
Sold: 12/27/2011
Paid: $3.90
Sold For: $17 + shipping

This was a super-fast flip! I probably could have gotten more for it, because it's a pretty cool mug, but I'm really enjoying all my fast flips lately. Always pick up 3D animal mugs.

Acquired: 12/23/11 (local Goodwill)
Listed On: 12/27/11 (how do you like that? 4 days after I bought it!)
Sold On: 12/28/11
Paid: $2.11
Sold For: $20 + shipping

I "knew" this was a mistake as soon as I got it home. It's a V-Tech BigTop laptop. I tossed it on the pile and moved on to better things. Then during my crazed list-everything-in-sight mode last week, I decided to clean this up and get rid of it. I listed it with free shipping, thinking it would fit into a side-loading Regional A box (and ship as a 2 lb. package), but it didn't fit, so I had to ship it as a regular 3 1/2 lb package. That wouldn't have been a problem, except naturally, someone in California bought it. But I'm still happy with how it ended up, considering I probably shouldn't have bought it to begin with.

Acquired: 11/15/11 (local Goodwill)
Listed On: 12/19/11
Sold On: 12/24/11
Paid: $2.17
Sold for: $24.99 (-$9.37 shipping)

The woman who bought this drove a hard bargain. We went back and forth in an offer/counter-offer several times. I decided to check the feedback she left for others and saw my eBay username on there! She was a previous customer and I didn't even know it! Because of that, I sold this for a little less than I would have liked, but I'm ok with that since she was a repeat buyer. She had previously bought a large Cheer Bear Care Bear for $25 and free shipping, so that's what I sold this one for. I am down to just one huge Care Bear. They all sold during November and December. Note to self (and to you!): pick these up and be sure they are all listed for next Christmas selling season.

Acquired: 9/3/11 (yard sale)
Listed On: 9/18/11
Sold On: 12/29/11
Paid: $1.00
Sold For: $25.00 (-$6.57 shipping)

Always, always, ALWAYS buy these. I cannot keep these in stock. This is the Clairol Style Setter. Sometimes they say that on the cover, sometimes they don't. There is more than one Clairol Style Setter out there, but the red base always sells quickly for me. I have gotten anywhere from $24.99 - $39.99 for these. I had 2 sets to list the other day, so I put them both in the same listing for $39.99 or best offer, plus shipping, and I put that I had 2 available. I had a woman make me an offer for BOTH sets. I quickly jumped on it, not only because it was a good offer, but because she was buying both. I'm always willing to sell things a little lower if they buy more than one.

Acquired: 9/23/11 (local Goodwill) and 10/21 (getaway weekend in West Virginia)
Listed On: 12/20/11
Sold On: 12/26/11
Paid: $3.17 and $3.98
Sold For: $30 each + shipping

Another very fast flip this week! I'm not sure what made these Clarks sell so quickly, but I don't ask questions :)

Acquired: 12/23/11
Listed On: 12/27/11
Sold On: 12/28/11
Paid: $2.99
Sold For: $30.00 + shipping

I bought this at an auction over the summer that was to benefit a good family friend of ours with cancer. It was in the original box, but the box was in BAD shape. When I saw it, I just knew it was going to go higher than I wanted to pay for it. But I gave it some thought and decided I'd be willing to go as high as $10 for it (big spender, I know...). The evening went on and on and on and ON, and this gem didn't even make it out from under the table. I finally asked a friend of mine who was a runner that evening to please drag it out so I could bid on it. He gave me a funny look but pulled it right out. The auctioneer made fun of it, but started the bidding at $5. No bids, so he dropped to $2. Still no bids, so he dropped to $1. I bid and won it! What fun to get something for a tenth of what you had planned on paying! Took me awhile to get it listed, because I needed to test and clean it, but I finally got around to it the other week and I'm glad I did. It sold pretty quickly. I have another one (blue) that I'm hoping sells quickly too.

Acquired: 8/12/11 (local auction)
Listed On: 12/18/11
Sold On: 12/29/11
Paid: $1.00
Sold for: $35.00 + shipping

We met some family for dinner last evening. I managed to keep from checking my email for most of dinner, but during dessert, I just couldn't help myself. Imagine my delight when I saw that this sold for my full asking price, which was a mere 7 cents less than our dinner bill! Another VERY quick flip!

Acquired: 12/23/11
Listed On: 12/27/11
Sold On: 12/28/11
Paid: $4.23
Sold For: $59.99 + shipping

This was another item I regretted buying as soon as I got it home. They are Etienne Aigner, but they aren't even leather. I've never bought that brand, because I see it all the time. Brands that I see everywhere, I usually figure aren't worth the effort. But because these were tall boots with tall heels, I figured it was worth a shot. I was surprised at how high and how quickly they sold. This just goes to show that even those of us who have been doing this for awhile can't know everything about everything, and sometimes you just have to take a chance. Sometimes it's worth it, other times you'll get a dud. I listed them with free shipping, and naturally, they went to California again. Why do my free shipping listings attract the California buyers??

Acquired: 11/1/11
Listed On: 12/13/11
Sold On: 12/24/11
Paid: $4.99
Sold For: $69.99 (-$11.43 shipping)

What were your favorite sales this week?

I've Got a Secret!

2011-12-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

Remember when you were little and you kept a diary and you wrote every detail of your day in it? I have one of my old diaries from when I was 8 or 9. It is full of every detail ... who I played with at recess, what I wore to my violin lesson, what I got for my birthday. There was a fun combination of big events and everyday events too.

Well my secret is ... I know a blog that is just like that. Tina is a very dear friend of mine. She's recently started a blog that she writes just like a diary. She writes about her every day occurances (sales, returns, etc). She writes about big exciting things (awesome sales or finds). She writes tutorials, eBay policy updates... I'm pretty sure she writes about everything that happened that day that was eBay-related, whether it was big and exciting, or just a normal everyday event.

I really like the tone of her writing. I haven't come across an eBay blog with a similar style, so it's fun and refreshing. She'll draw you right in and make you feel like you're in on the secrets too! Go check her out - she'll be glad you came :)

Thrifting Fast Update

2011-12-29T10:11:00.001-08:00

So how's it going? Have you all been shopping?

I haev a very exciting announcement about my shopping fast! I got ALL my old unlisted inventory listed last week! So I got to go shopping! I found a lot of fun new goodies, which I got listed within 4 days. And you know what? 3 of them sold overnight!

Let me tell you - it is an AMAZING feeling to bring a bag of goodies into the house and list them and send them right back out again. It also feels pretty great to be out shopping guilt-free. I didn't have any thoughts in the back of my mind about the mountains and mountains of stuff I already have at home that I should list, so why am I buying more. It was just fun!

So I'd like to challenge you (and myself!) for 2012 ... get all your new purchases listed within one week of bringing them into the house. I am going to aim for 48 hours, but life does happen around here, so I'll officially give myself a full week. It's great not having bins of stuff all over the living room. I'm excited to see if I can keep that up. We can do this!!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

I am officially distracted by this little thing called Christmas. When given the choice between depreciation and Christmas celebration, I'm afraid Christmas will win out every time. :)

I make no promises about posting between Christmas and New Year's, but I will try. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! See you soon!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-12-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty decent week. Sales just weren't as high as I was hoping for the week before Christmas, but I mostly sell used shoes, which just isn't very high up many people's wish lists, I guess. Sales were steady, so I shan't complain.

I sold 57 items, 10 of which were shoes. I did sell a lot of interesting items, rather than just the boring old shoes, clothes, and books. So it was fun packaging up a wider variety of stuff this week. It is amazing to me how many of my sales this week were of items that I had either JUST listed or that I had recently ended and listed as a "Sell Similar" item.

I don't recall that I had any problem buyers this week. I lucked out and haven't had any irate "Where Is My Item" customers (I got to be one of those myself this morning! And believe me - I was irate! But that's a whole different story ...). Anyway, I did get myself another Neutral feedback this week. Someone was disappointed in the condition of their game box. I might have had that one coming. I was pretty vague in my description about the condition of the box....

So here are my favorites - I had a lot of fun sales this week, so it's a long list!

I got this for Christmas when I was a little girl. Nearly a year ago, I decided to purge our massive stuffed animal collection. I thought this one would go fairly quickly, but apparently not. I sold it this week. Four days after I shipped it, I got a message from the buyer that she wanted to cancel this order, because she didn't realize she had actually gone all the way through the purchasing process. Really? The 2 times that you had to confirm your purchase, and logging in to Paypal, and logging in to eBay to confirm your payment, and the 2 emails you got from eBay and the email you got from Paypal, and then the shipping confirmation email you got from me weren't enough of a clue?? So I wrote her and said, "This shipped several days ago and tracking shows that it was delivered yesterday. Did you receive it?" She wrote back, very apologetic. She ordered mine first, then accidentally ordered a second one and intended to cancel the second one. She was very happy with mine and was excited to give it to her granddaughter for Christmas. That made me smile, to know that it was going to another little girl for Christmas 25 years after *I* had gotten it for Christmas. Happy ending!

Acquired: 1987?
Listed: 2010
Sold on: 12/15
Paid: $0
Sold for: $16.99 + shipping

Remember this story? Those shoes FINALLY sold. No, I didn't get $35.99 for them, but I knew I wouldn't right from the start. That's what the Best Offer button is all about. I did ultimately end up clearancing them and offering free shipping, but the woman who bought these also bought them with another pair of shoes, and both pairs fit in a Regional Box A, so I was able to ship both pairs for around $8. This was a mistake purchase for more than one reason. First of all, I would never buy such dirty shoes now, and I am finding that canvas Clarks just don't sell well. I think I was lucky to break even on them.

Acquired: 12/4/2010
Listed: 12/?/2010
Sold on: 12/18/2011
Paid: $3.00
Sold for: $20.00 - shipping

This was in a bin of Care Bears my sister-in-law bought for me in November. She only paid a dime for it, and I was glad, because she's in pretty worn condition. But I optimistically listed her for $21.99 with free shipping and to my surprise, she sold quite quickly! Paula - I owe you an apology! lol

Acquired: 11/26/2011
Listed: 11/27/2011
Sold on: 12/17
Paid: 10 cents
Sold for: $21.99 - $2.09 shipping

I feel like I have had this stinkin' thing forEVER, but I see I just listed it in July. On December 15, I ended the listing and clicked on "Sell Similar." Sell Similar is better than Relisting, because that tells eBay's search engines that it's a new item, so it gets moved up in search results. I saw the proof of this time and time again this week. I relisted on 12/15, sold on 12/21. Paid 14 cents, Sold for $24.00 (-$5.45 shipping).

Acquired: 7/16/2011
Listed: 7/??/2011
Sold on: 12/21/2011
Paid: 14 cents
Sold for: $24.00 - $5.45 shipping

I bought this intending to set it aside until I had collected several Blues' Clues toys to list as a lot. I'm in desperate listing mode right now though, and I didn't want to wait, so I decided to list it and see what happened. This was another very quick seller!

Acquired: 11/26/2011
Listed on: 12/20/2011
Sold on: 12/22/2011
Paid: $2.11
Sold for: $24.99 - $5.00 shipping

I've had this one for awhile too. It's a vintage Hoover hair dryer and nail dryer. I know production companies often buy this soft of thing for in movies, so I was optimistic. I priced it high ($49.99 or best offer), but I never got any offers, no watchers, and not very many hits. In October, I ended the listing and did a Sell Similar listing, dropping the price and removing the best offer option. Finally sold it this week! I have a few other similar ones that I just listed this week, so I'm hoping they move a lot more quickly than this first one did.

Acquired: 5/31/2011
Listed (Sell Similar) on: 10/18/2011
Sold on: 12/18/2011
Paid: $6.35
Sold for: $25.00 + shipping

I bought this during an evening of very distracted shopping. My brother's girlfriend was with me, and she and I chattered the whole way through the store. Honestly, I got home and started pulling stuff out of my bag that I didn't even remember picking up! I looked at this and thought, "Why on earth did I buy this?? And why did I pay $3 for it?!" And then I tossed it into my to-be-listed bin and forgot about it. Again, desperate listing mode led me to drag it out and clean it up and get it listed. Imagine my surprise when it sold for my full asking price overnight!! And mine was the most expensive one of this particular model that was listed. I don't understand that, but who am I to question??

Acquired: 11/8/2011
Listed: 12/19/2011
Sold: 12/20/2011
Paid: $3.17
Sold: $27.99 - $4.90 shipping

My sister-in-law recently gave us a whole bunch of bags of clothes. She specifically said to keep what we wanted and to sell the rest. Knowing that we have a whole closet stuffed full of winter coats for our kids to grow into, I decided to sell this. It's a 2-part convertible Reebok coat. It has a lighter fleece jacket that you can zip into it for a heavier coat, or you can wear either part separately. It's a really really nice coat. I listed it for $39.99 or best offer and got a good offer not too long after I listed it. I shipped it out, and then a couple days ago, I realized my 8 year old's winter coat is too small for him now, so I headed into the closet, and to my horror, I discovered that we actually do NOT have a coat for him! So I guess I'll take the money from this sale and buy him a new one. Oops!

Acquired: 11/26/2011
Listed: 12/3/2011
Sold: 12/18/2011
Paid: $0
Sold for: $29.99 - $7.83 shipping

I read long ago that Polaroid cameras sell really well, so I bought up several of them the next time I was out. And there they sat, NOT selling. I had just given up on them when they all sold within a few weeks of each other, all for my full asking price of $39.99 + shipping. Needless to say, I continue to buy Polaroids. I was lucky enough to buy one once with a used-up film cartridge in it that I've been able to use to test the cameras, so I think being able to say that they were tested and they work has really helped to sell them.

Acquired: 11/23/2011
Listed: 12/18/2011
Sold: 12/19/2011
Paid: $2.11
Sold for: $30.00 + shipping

This one was crazy! I listed it the other night, and literally 3 minutes later, I got an offer on it! Because it took me so long to sell my Hoover one, I decided to go ahead and accept the offer on this one.

Acquired: 10/1/2011
Listed: 12/20/2011
Sold: 12/20/2011
Paid: $2.11
Sold for: $30.00 + shipping (although they haven't paid yet)

Another crazy quick sale. I'm telling you, this week was amazing for quick flips! This was ours. Yes, we have an antenna. And an old, old tv. But we recently got basic cable, so we don't need our digital converter box anymore. We originally bought it with a voucher and got it for free, but I thought I'd list it and see if we could get a few bucks out of it. Again ... imagine my surprise when it sold 2 hours after listing it!

Acquired: 2008?
Listed: 12/20/2011
Sold: 12/20/2011
Paid: $0
Sold: $32.99 - $4.70 shipping (it fit perfectly into a small box in a flat rate envelope!)

I am STILL laughing at this sale! My daughter bought this for my son several years ago for his birthday. I think she paid about $12 for it at Walmart. It's not like it's a vintage item. When his Hot Wheels collection outgrew this holder, I put it in our yard sale with a $3 price tag on it. No one showed any interest in it at all. I recently went through our unsold yard sale items and pulled out a few things that I thought I'd give one last chance to on eBay. This was one of them. I figured I'd list it for $9.99 and hope for the best. As I started researching it, the first listing that came up was for $35+. I laughed at that seller for thinking they'd get that much. But the more I researched, the more I was amazed at what these things are actually selling for!! Most are going for $35-40 at auction, so I decided to price mine just under the highest auction listing and hoped to catch someone who missed winning the auction. It sold 2 days after I listed it, so my plan worked!

Acquired: 2007?
Listed: 12/18/2011
Sold: 12/20/2011
Paid: $12?
Sold for: $39.99 (-$4.90 shipping)

I haven't sold much lately from the big yard sale I went to in September, so I was pleased with this sale. I bought this coat the first day of the sale, so it was NOT half off. I did pay too much for it, but that's ok. I had a buyer make me a too-low offer, so we counter-offered back and forth several times. I could have held out for $10 more in the spring, but I decided it wasn't worth it to hold it for 4 months for just $10 more, so I finally took her offer.

Acquired: 9/2/2011
Listed: 9/9/2011
Sold: 12/16/2011
Paid: $16.00
Sold for: $50.00 + shipping

And to add to my son's delight about the money he'll get for his Hot Wheels car, he also had a box set of Magic School Bus books that he asked me to sell for him. I checked eBay, and that particular set wasn't even selling for $8.99, so I opted to list that on Amazon. I like to list on Amazon, because you can list it and forget about it. And forget about it I did. Until I woke up to an email this morning that his set had sold ... for $39.99!! So my son has had a remarkable sales week this week too!

Thanks for sticking with me through that epic post... How was your week?

Almost Done! - Home Office Expense

2011-12-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

I needed the weekend off :)

Part One
Part Two
Schedule C Tax Form
Schedule C Instructions

And remember: I'm not a tax accountant. Always double-check my comments by reading the instructions for yourself or by consulting your tax accountant.

Today we'll go over the Form 8829 for your home office expenses. Here are the instructions for that. I will be honest. This is the first year I have used this, so I will be learning right along with you. We will just read one line at a time and research it. It looks pretty self-explanatory.

Line 1 - Area used regularly and exclusively for business. They are looking for square footage here. You will measure your eBay room and put the square footage on Line 1. The instructions say this:

Your home office will qualify as your principal place of business if you meet the following requirements.
You use it exclusively and regularly for administrative or management activities of your trade or business.
You have no other fixed location where you conduct substantial administrative or management activities of your trade or business.

You can also deduct expenses that apply to space within your home used on a regular basis to store inventory or product samples from your trade or business of selling products at retail or wholesale. Your home must be the only fixed location of your trade or business.

Line 2 - Total Area of Your Home. Again, enter the square footage of your entire home on this line. We will use this to figure what percentage of your home is made up by your eBay space.

Line 3 - Divide Line 1 by Line 2. Enter the result as a percentage. My home is 2200 square feet. My eBay room is 146 square feet. 146 divided by 2200 = .067, or 6.7%. That number will go on Line 3.

Line 4 - Multiply Days Used for Daycare During Year by Hours Used Per Day. We are eBay sellers, not babysitters. This will be 0.

Line 5 - Total hours available for use during the year. We're ignoring this as well.

Line 6 - Divide Line 4 by Line 5. Since Line 4 was 0, Line 6 will be 0. Lines 4-6 are for people who run a daycare in their home.

Line 7 - Business Percentage. Daycare providers do something different. All others enter the number from Line 3. Enter the number from Line 3 :) This number is the percentage of your home that is used for business.

Line 8 - Enter the amount from Schedule C, line 29 .... Basically, we need to do just that. If you made money outside of your home office, then you'll need to read the instructions to see how to determine the number that goes here. Also, it looks like any profit or loss from selling your home would need special consideration too. If that applies to you, read the instructions, but I think most of us can just enter the amount from Line 29 of our Schedule C.

Line 9 - Casualty Losses. Looks like this is another special situation - theft or fire damage to your inventory or office space, I think?

Line 10 - Deductible mortgage interest. Deduct the portion of your mortgage interest that is deductible on a Schedule A. You will definitely want to read the instructions for this. This number may be limited, depending on your Adjusted Gross Income. Something very important that I'd like to point out here ... if we end up itemizing this year (filling out a Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction), I'll need to remember to only deduct 93.3% of our mortgage interest on my Schedule A, since I'll have already deducted 6.7% of it on the Business Use of Your Home form.

Line 11 - Real estate taxes. This is the same process as mortgage interest. You'll find your real estate taxes paid on the same form as your mortgage interest paid (1098). Remember to split the percentage correctly.

Line 12-15 are basic arithmetic problems.

This looks like a big chunk, but a lot of it is simple arithmetic. For lines 16 through 20, column A is for direct expenses, column B is for indirect. Column A is for things like painting or repairs in your eBay room - expenses that were directly used for your eBay space. Column B is for things that benefit your whole home, but a portion of it benefits your eBay space. There are exceptions to this. The example in the instructions is a good one:

Line 16 - Excess mortgage interest. If your mortgage interest deduction was limited because of your adjusted gross income, then you can enter the rest of it here.

Line 17, 19, and 20 - Insurance, Repairs and Maintenance, and Utilities. Enter the full amount of the insurance, repairs, maintenance, and utilities that you paid for your home through the year.

Line 18 - Rent. If you rent your home, then you'll put your full rent paid on this line. If your housing is provided free of charge and is tax exempt, you may not deduct any rent.

Line 21 - Other expenses. If you have any other home office expenses that aren't included in lines 9 through 20, then put them here. I can't think of anything that might go in here, and the instructions don't give any examples.

Line 22 - Add lines 16 through 21. This is the total expenses paid on your whole home.

Line 23 - Multiply line 22 (column B) by the amount on line 7. This is the percentage of your whole home expenses that just your eBay space used.

Line 24 - Carryover of operating expenses from 2010 Form 8829. If you filled this form out last year, then find it and copy line 42 from last year's Form 8829 onto this year's Form 8829 Line 24.

Line 25 - Add line 22 (column A), line 23 and line 24. Simple arithmetic.

Line 26 - Allowable operating expenses. Enter the smaller of line 15 or line 25.

Line 27 - Limit on excess casualty losses. Subtract line 26 from line 15.

Line 28 - Excess casualty losses. If you had casualty losses (from theft or fire, for example), you would have figured that number on line 9. If they were limited, then you can take the amount that was over what you wrote on line 9 and multiply it by the percentage on line 7. That number goes here on line 28.

(Who was it that said this all looked easy and self-explanatory??)

Line 29 - Depreciation of your home from line 41 below. We'll be doing that section in my next blog post.

Line 30 - Carryover of excess casualty losses from 2010. If you had home business expenses last year and had casualty losses last year that you weren't able to deduct, you can enter that carryover amount here. Check your 2010 Form 8829. Copy the number from line 43 onto this year's Form 8829 Line 30.

Line 31-35 are all arithmetic. Yay! I love it when we get to that part, because it's easy and I don't have to think. :)

Ok. That is a LOT for today. I'll have to study the depreciation section before blogging about it. That may be a day or two, but that's ok. I don't want to get burned out, and I don't want you to give up on me. I may do a light post or two between now and then. This is supposed to be a fun place, not a heavy one full of hard work. :)

Movin' Right Along on the Schedule C ...

2011-12-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

Part One
Schedule C Tax Form
Schedule C Instructions

Quick disclaimer: Remember, I'm not a tax accountant. I worked in a tax office for a couple years, but that's been awhile. A lot has changed. Always double-check my comments by reading the instructions for yourself or by consulting your tax accountant.

Now, on to the expense section of your Schedule C:

This is just the left column of the Expenses section. You can pull these numbers straight from your Dome book.

Line 8 - Advertising. This is for your business cards, pens with contact information, and other advertising. This was Category 3 in your Dome book.
Line 9 - Car and Truck Expenses. The easiest way to figure this is to use the standard mileage deduction. It's a LOT easier than keeping track of tires, oil changes, and other maintenance. And it's usually a better deduction anyway. The standard mileage amount went up in the middle of the year, so you'll need to split your mileage into January through June, and July through December. For the first half of the year, the mileage rate was 51 cents per mile, so take the miles you drove during those months and multiply them by .51. Jot that number down somewhere. The second half of the year, that rate increased to 55.5 cents per mile. So take the miles you drove the second half of the year and multiply them by .555. Add that number to the other number and jot your new total down. If you had any tolls, go ahead and add them in here. Write the grand total on Line 9.
Line 10 - Commissions and Fees. If you sold items for anyone else and paid them commissions that you didn't treat as inventory purchases, that will go here. This was Dome Category 31. eBay and Paypal fees also go here.
Line 11 - Contract Labor. If you paid someone to help you with your business, that goes here. If you paid someone more than $600 over the year, you'll need to fill out a form 1099-MISC for them. (Be sure to see the instrutions if this applies to you)
Line 12 - Depletion. I don't think this applies to any of us, but double check the instructions just in case.
Line 13 - Depreciation and Section 179 expense deduction. This line is for printers, cameras, and other large purchases that have a useful life of more than one year. You have the option of either spreading the deduction out over several years or just deducting it all at once. I bought a thermal label printer this year (best investment EVER, by the way!), so I will put that on this line. I will just deduct it all at once as a Section 179 expense. If you do that, you'll need to fill out a Form 4562. I'll cover that form in detail next week. Line 13 doesn't have its own Dome category, but I made Dome category 35 my own custom Section 179 category. If you've made large purchases over the year, you should have a category in your Dome book for it somewhere.
Line 14 - Employee benefit programs. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that no one here has employees that they pay wages and benefits. If you do, read the instructions for this line.
Line 15 - Insurance (other than health). If you have insurance on your business, then your premiums go here. This is NOT for shipping insurance.
Line 16 - Interest (Mortgage and Other): From what I can tell in the instructions, this is not for interest paid on your home mortgage. This would be if you pay interest on property OTHER than your main home, and you use that property for your business.
Line 17 - Legal and professional services. Tax prep and legal consulting fees would go here.

Still with me? I love doing taxes, but there's just no good way to explain them without it being dryyyyyyy.....

Let's look at the right side of the Expenses section now.

Line 18 - Office Expense. This will be a combined total of any office supplies (pens, papers, ink, labels), shipping supplies (boxes, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, tape), and postage (shipping you paid, as well as shipping insurance and delivery confirmation). Those all come from Dome categories 5, 18, and 19.
Line 19 - Pension and profit-sharing plans. This doesn't apply unless you contributed to pensions for employees. If you contributed to a pension on your own behalf as a self-employed person, that will go on your 1040, NOT on your Schedule C.
Line 20 - Rent or lease. This is not for your property or home rent. This is for if you rented equipment for your business. A steam-cleaner for furniture, or something like that... Read the instructions to see what all qualifies.
Line 21 - Repairs and maintenance. If you needed to have work done on your computer or printer, or on anything that you sold, that will go here. This is Dome category 21.
Line 22 - Supplies. I'm having a hard time determining what goes in this category. I think most of our supplies went under Office Expense (like paper and tape). This category seems to be for more major supplies, but I can't think of anything offhand. Maybe a shelving system?
Line 23 - Taxes and licenses. This will be any fees that you paid to acquire your sales tax license or any other licenses required by your location. Also include any sales tax that you paid to your state on behalf of your buyers. Dome categories 22 and 16.
Line 24 - Travel, meals, and entertainment. You'll need to split this up. The first line will be for lodging. If it was an overnight business trip (a weekend thrifting road trip, for example), you may deduct lodging for yourself. Not for your spouse or your children, but you may deduct your own lodging. Be sure to read the instructions to make sure your lodging expense IS a qualified deduction. The second line is for meals and entertainment expenses occurred while away from home on business. If you're on a thrifting road trip and you grab a burger out, you can deduct that here. BUT ... and this is news to me ... you can only deduct 50% of the total. So if you ate a $4 burger, you can deduct $2 on this line.
Line 25 - Utilities. Read the instructions on this one too. If you have a second line on your home phone that is specifically for your business (or a distinct ring tone), then you can deduct the business portion. If you just use your regular home phone line for a couple business calls, you can't deduct your phone service. If you have an itemized phone bill, I think you can probably deduct the cost of individual long-distance charges for those specific calls.
Line 26 - Wages. If you have paid employees, be sure to read the instructions for this line. I'm skipping it because it doesn't apply to most of us.
Line 27 - Other expenses. You will pull this number from another section that is further down on the schedule C. Don't worry about it just yet.

That's enough for today. We'll discuss the expenses for business use of your home, as well as Other Expenses, in a future post. But for now, you need to get these expenses all totalled up and entered on the right line.

This really isn't as scary as people make it out to be. If you get overwhelmed, just take it one line at a time. Read all about that line in the instructions. And if you're still overwhelmed or confused, you need to call a tax accountant. But 90% of this is just common sense, easy enough if you stop to think about it and read.

We'll finish up in a day or so - if you've made it this far, I'm pretty sure you can handle the wrap up!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-12-15T21:52:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot this post! I had a good week, up until yesterday. All the whackos came out yesterday. "Where's my package?? I live far away, but it should have been here as soon as I confirmed payment!" "This is broken, you misrepresenting liar! I hope all of your shoes aren't falling apart like these are!"

Ok, maybe not those exact words, but those words were implied by the tone.... Oh, and I got myself another neutral today. Someone bought a $1 set of replacement pieces to a board game and apparently wasn't ecstatic about it, so they gave me a neutral. "Arrived on time." Huh? Seems that particular buyer has a real habit of doing that, according to toolhaus.org

I also sold a board game that the buyer immediately asked to cancel. She didn't mean to buy it. /eyeroll/

Anyway ... I sold 94 items this week. That sounds like a crazy-high number, but most of them were very low dollar shoe care products. I only sold 8 pairs of shoes, but I sold 64 jars of shoe cream. Geez. So much for working smarter, not harder.

My favorites:

I thought for sure this would sell faster than it did. It's new in the package. I paid 84 cents for it in June. It finally sold this week for $17.99 (-$5.45 shipping).

This was another super-slow sale. They're Privos (by Clarks), in fantastic condition. BUT ... they're a size 6. Size 6 is a tough sell. It's my slowest selling category, and most of my oldest shoe inventory is size 6. I've got to learn to quit picking them up. They just don't sell. I paid $9.90 for these LAST October (2010). They finally sold this week for $20 + shipping. Totally not worth it.

I used to sell on Addoway. Correction. I used to LIST on Addoway. I only ever sold 2 or 3 things there, so I finally closed down my booth. I had someone send me a message this week about an old Pac-Man game I had listed there months ago, wondering if I still had it. I didn't have that exact one, but I had this one. (Same game - third one I've found). I listed it on Addoway and sent her a message with a link to the listing. An hour later, it sold on eBay! So I had to message the Addoway buyer and let her know that it had just sold and was no longer available. You snooze, you lose.

Always buy this game when you see it. Like I said, this is the third one I've bought and sold. I've sold them all in the $25-$30 range. I paid $3 for this one at a yard sale in September and sold it for $29.99 (-$5.09 shipping).

I used to sell a lot of Vision Ware. It's not the easiest thing in the world to store and ship though, so I've gotten pretty picky about the VW that I buy. It needs to be either a 2.5 L saucepan or a casserole/dutch oven, or I don't bother. No teflon on the bottom, and NO skillets. If I find a 1.5 L, I'll buy it though, because "someone" broke mine. Apparently that's the size I use most often, because I'm going crazy without it. Anyway ... rabbit trail ... this was a 2.5. I paid $4.21 for it in October and sold it this week for $29.99 plus shipping.

This was a quick flip! Normal-sized Funshine Bears don't sell well, but I always buy the huge ones when I see them. This one was 20" and super-soft. I paid $1.48 for it on November 28. It already sold for $29.99 + shipping.

The next day, I sold the goofy version. I have had this guy since January, so I may not bother buying this one again (except the one my sister-in-law just brought me a couple weeks ago). I paid $3.17 for it and sold it for $29.99 plus shipping.

This sale makes me laugh. I paid $4.20 for these in Virginia during an impromptu road trip this past August. I decided to keep them. I wore them often, but then recently decided I was bored with them, so I listed them. They sold 2 days later for my full asking price of $30 (-$4.90 shipping). How can I not love a job that allows me to get full use out of my merchandise, and STILL sell it for my full asking price??

I've had these awhile, and I really thought they would sell quickly. They're suede Converse. I paid $7.90 for them in May and just sold them for $30 + shipping. For 5 cents a month in listing fees, it was worth the wait, and I will continue to buy good condition Converse when I see them.

I so desperately wanted to keep these for myself. They were even my size. But I have absolutely zero use for red pumps, so I sadly listed them. I paid $6.97 for them in October and just listed them last week. I even tried to sabotage the sale by listing them higher than I normally list my Clarks. But that was no deterrent to someone who actually DOES have a use for red pumps. They sold the next day for my full asking price of $35 ($5.45 shipping). I didn't even get a chance to borrow them :(

I just cannot keep Merrells stocked for the life of me. I paid $2.99 for these at the end of November. I listed them 3 days ago and sold them yesterday for $40 (-$6.65 shipping).

And last but not least, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Buy SAS shoes. Only in good condition of course, but they are an excellent brand! I paid $2.99 for these on November 19. I listed them December 11th and sold them 3 days later for $40 + shipping.

This week was an interesting mix of quick flips and old inventory....

What did you sell?

Tax Series Finale - Putting It All Together On Your Schedule C

2011-12-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

Before we even get started, print this. And bookmark this. The first link is this year's Schedule C. This post will be a lot easier to follow if you have that in front of you. The second link is the instructions for filling out the Schedule C. It's 11 pages, so you can print it if you'd like, but I personally wouldn't bother wasting the paper. But then again, I've done this lots of times before... Up to you ...

Also - I am NOT a tax accountant. Don't take my word for it. That's why I linked you to the instructions, so you can see for yourself where I'm getting my information. Be sure to read the instructions and interpret them for yourself.

Now, we're just going to start at the top and work our way down. Grab a pencil and let's get to it!

This is the top of your Schedule C. I'd like to think that the majority of this is self-explanatory.

Line A (Principal business or profession, including product or service (see instructions)): Give the general field or activity and the type of product or service. I will put "Online Retail Sales" or something like that.
Line B (Enter code from instructions): You'll find these codes on pages 9-11 of the instructions. On page 11, find the section called "Retail Trade." In the second column from the left, toward the bottom, you'll see "Nonstore retailers." We are code number 454112 (Electronic Auctions - if you do auctions) or 454111 (Electronic Shopping - if you do fixed price store listings).
Line C (Business Name): I think you can handle this one. This will be your store name. If you don't have an actual store name, then just leave this line blank.
Line D (Employer ID number): Because we don't have employees, we shouldn't need this. If you put anything in your Commissions or Wages Paid section, it will probably require you to have an EIN in order to file electronically. You'll have to Google how to do that. I did it last year, and it wasn't complicated, but I don't remember now how I found that.
Line E (Business Address): ummm.....
Line F (Accounting Method): 99.9% of the time, this will be cash. That just means that you count your income and expenses when they happen.
Line G (Did you materially participate in the operation of this business during 2011?): I suspect that's a yes for all of us. That just means that we did the work.
Line H (If you started or acquired this business during 2011, check here): Again, self-explanatory. See? You don't need me! :)
Line I (Did you make any payments during 2011 that would require you to file a form 1099?): Form 1099 is the form you would fill out if you paid someone else. You may want to double check this with your tax accountant, but I don't think you have to fill one of these out unless you paid any one person more than $600 during the year. But don't quote me on that, because I can't actually find that written down anywhere.
Line J (If "Yes," did you or will you file all required Form 1099s?): This is an amusing question. Like you're going to say no to that. If you find that you have to file a Form 1099 for someone, then you'll check Yes here. If you don't have to file a Form 1099, then leave this line blank.

So far, so good, right? Let's move on to the next section:

The next section is all income-related. Expenses come later.

Line 1a: This is for Visa, MasterCard, etc payments (merchant cards), as well as Paypal and Google checkout (third party payments). As you can see, this doesn't come into effect this year. It says "For 2011, enter 0". So enter 0. That was easy.
Line 1b: This will be all the rest of your income. If you get a 1099 from Paypal, enter the income from that form on this line. If you don't get one, then you can go by your Dome book. This line will include purchase price PLUS shipping - all business-related payments you received throughout 2011.
Line 1c: Online sellers won't be receiving W-2s, so this line will be a 0.
Line 1d: Add up lines 1 through 3. (should be pretty easy, since lines 1 and 3 are 0's)
Line 2: Enter any refunds that you issued.
Line 3: Subtract line 2 from line 1d.
Line 4: Cost of goods sold. There are 2 different ways of doing this. Officially, we should only be deducting the inventory costs of the items that we actually sold throughout the year. This requires carryover of all of our unsold items into the new year. I prefer to "zero out" my inventory on paper, so I just put all of my merchandise costs on this line. So it's the cost of ALL my goods, not just the ones that sold. You should talk to your tax accountant to see how he/she thinks you should handle this.
Line 5: Gross profit. Subtract line 4 from line 3.
Line 6: Other income, including federal and state gasoline or fuel tax credit or refund. This line is unfamiliar to me, so it must be relatively new. Reading the instructions for this line, it looks like most of us won't be using this line. Read the instructions just in case you have anything that qualifies for this category. I think if you received any insurance reimbursements, those payments should probably go on this line.
Line 7: Add lines 5 and 6.

That section was easy. It was just simple arithmetic. Let's take a breather before moving on to our expenses...

The last tax post is in progress...

2011-12-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

This Schedule C post is taking a lot longer than I expected. It involves a lot of research and screen caps. I want to make sure it's done right - don't want to mis-guide anyone.

Besides, you have lots and lots of report-printing and reconciling to do, right? So you don't need the tax post right away anyway....

Tomorrow is Thursday. You know what that means? My Top eBay Moments post! Yay! That post is the highlight of my week! Well, maybe not of my whole week, but it's definitely my bloggy highlight of the week.

Be watching for that tomorrow, and the finished Schedule C post by the weekend.

Thrifting Fast Update

2011-12-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

So how's it going? We started out at 32 days. We're all the way down to only 19 days. And these 19 day will fly by, with family gatherings, parties, and year-end distractions. At least that's what I'm telling myself. I think I'm almost through my worst withdrawal symptoms (the shaking, the drooling, the eye twitching). I only had one close call, but I stayed strong.

It's amazing to me how much I can get accomplished when I'm spending my time listing instead of shopping. I have gotten nearly 40 pairs of shoes listed during this fast! Also 10 or 15 Care Bears, a stack of turntables, and a few odds and ends. I have 3 bins of stuff left to list. One bin is all soccer shoes. I really need to get those listed before the end of the year, because I think January is a big time for indoor soccer leagues?

So I'm still going strong ... how about you? Are you adding to your to-be-listed pile? Or are you shrinking it by actually ... you know ... listing it?

Reconciling Our Monthly Paperwork

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Warning: Long, Dry Post Ahead!

Now it's time to make sure our paperwork matches the reports we've printed. Some people skip this step, and I suppose that's not a big deal since ultimately we're going to make our paperwork match the reports. But I like to have the double check step, just to make sure I haven't missed anything. This step is just like balancing your checkbook. You're just going to go through each of the reports that you printed yesterday and double check them to your Dome book. I like to check them off as I've matched them up.

Then at the top of each report, I put the total for that particular report. Be careful on these. For your Fees and Payments Received reports, if you deleted any transactions that were personal or duplicate, then the total that is printed at the bottom of the report is going to be WRONG. You'll need to manually add the numbers in those reports numbers if you deleted anything.

As you finish double-checking and adding up a report, you can go ahead and write that in the correct space on your Dome monthly page.

On the right side of this page is where you'll write all of today's numbers.

Category 1 is Merchandise purchases. You'll find this total by adding up all of your receipts (and double checking it to the left page in your Dome book). Go ahead and write that total under "Total This Month".

Category 2 is Accounting. I don't use this, because I do all my own paperwork and taxes, but if you pay someone to do that, then write that here.

Category 3 is Advertising. This would be where you write any business cards, pens, or other promotional materials. If you include a free pen (with your website on it, for example) in your packages, then you can put that here.

Category 4 is Auto Expense. I believe this is for leased vehicles. This is not for gas and mileage when out shopping.

Category 5 is Cartons, Etc. This is for any shipping materials, tissue paper, packing peanuts, .... you get the idea.

Category 6 is Contributions. If you make any donations in the name of your business, they go here. I just lump my tithing in on our joint Schedule A, but you could put that here if you'd like.

Category 7 is Delivery Expenses. I don't even know what that is, but I know this is not where we put our shipping costs. (real helpful, huh?)

Category 8 is Electricity. If you have a space in your home that is 100% dedicated to your business, then you can deduct a portion of your home expenses. You'd need to figure up the total square footage of your home, then figure up the square footage of your dedicated eBay space. Then divide the eBay square footage by the total square footage to find the percentage. Then you can deduct that percentage of all your home expenses (heat, electricity, mortgage, etc). I'm going to just figure that up at the end of the year, but next year I will probably figure it each time we pay a home bill.

Category 9 is Entertainment. I believe this is for if you take a client out for a business dinner, and other things like that. I don't use it.

Category 10 is Freight & Express. This is for inventory that you purchase. I don't separate it out. I just include it in the cost of my inventory purchased.

Category 11 is Heat. See Category 8 above.

Category 12 is Insurance. I'm not sure what this is for, but it's not for shipping insurance.

Category 13 is for Interest. If you buy inventory with a credit card or Kabbage, then you can deduct the interest for those purchases here.

Category 14 is Laundry. I've never thought of this, but I suppose we could deduct the laundry soap for any clothing we purchase for resale that needs washed. You would have to keep a bottle of laundry soap separate for JUST resale clothing, and you would have to do the entire load of JUST resale clothing. That seems complicated to me. I'd rather just toss my 2 or 3 pieces into the washer with the rest of my family's laundry, but if you sell mostly clothing, this is definitely a category to keep in mind.

Category 15 is Legal Expense. Hopefully none of us gets sued...

Category 16 is Licenses. If you had to pay for a State Sales Tax number, or for a Tax Exempt number, those expenses could go here.

Category 17 is Miscellaneous Expenses. I've only used that once this year. I bought an eBay book for $5.95 that I put here. Most of our expenses will have a specific category, so the miscellaneous one will be used rarely.

Category 18 is Office Expenses. This is for office supplies like pens, envelopes, your Dome book, notepads, calendars (for logging mileage), etc...

Category 19 is Postage. This is for all of your shipping paid, as well as your shipping insurance. This is a big one! This will do some serious damage to your taxable income, so you'll want to make sure you've got all of these numbers.

Category 20 is Rent. If you rent your home or apartment and you have a dedicated eBay space, then put the correct percentage of your rent here.

Category 21 is Repairs. I guess this would be for repairs to a dedicated eBay computer, or if you had to pay to have inventory repaired before you listed it. I've never used this category.

Category 22 is Tax - Sales. Pretty self-explanatory. You don't want to have to pay income tax on someone else's sales tax. When someone pays you sales tax, and then you pay that to the state, write that here.

Category 23 is Tax - Soc. Sec/Med. This is for if you have employees and deduct these taxes from their pay.

Category 24 is Tax - State U.I. Same as above.

Category 25 is Tax - Other. Same as above.

Category 26 is Selling Expenses. This is for gifts that you've given to customers in order to keep their business. This category has always seemed strange to me. It's basically the bribe category, don't you think? I never use it.

Category 27 is Supplies. This is cleaning supplies. If you buy Magic Erasers or Lysol or paper towels for cleaning dirty toys, or shoe polish for shoes or whatever, that goes here.

Category 28 is Telephone. This is a touchy subject for tax preparers. You really shouldn't deduct your entire cell phone bill, unless you use it exclusively for eBay. When I upgraded from regular service to a data plan, I was planning on deducting the difference, because I was upgrading primarily so I could look things up when I'm out shopping. But I find that I use it an awful lot for Facebook and other non-business things, so I won't be deducting any of my phone costs. Use very careful judgment in this category. Cell phone deductions often trigger red flags to the IRS.

Category 29 is Trade Dues, Etc. Dues to organized groups, and magazine subscriptions go here. I never use this category.

Category 30 is Traveling Expenses. Here is where you'll put your food and toll expenses from road trips.

Category 31 is Wages & Commissions. If you sell for other people, you would put the amount that you paid them in this category. Alternatively, when you sell something for someone else, you could write their receipt up as if you were buying the item from them for that price. If you go that route, you would put that number in Category 1 instead of this one.

Category 32 is Water. I don't think we really need this one, since our businesses don't generally use water.

Categories 33, 34 and 35 are for whatever we want them to be.

I have made Category 33 my eBay/Paypal fees category. I lump them together.

My Category 34 is Subscriptions. That's where I put my Seller Sourcebook charges, as well as my godaddy.com charges (for domain names that redirect to my store).

My Category 35 is for Section 179 expenses. When we buy large items like printers or computers, we're supposed to depreciate them over several years. That means were aren't really supposed to deduct the full amount in one year. We're supposed to spread it out. However, we can call them Section 179 expenses and just deduct it all at once if we want. I have my Thermal Label Printer in this category.

If you had to issue any refunds during the month, be sure to note those somewhere. I put them in line 57, even though that's totally 100% the wrong spot. I just write it there as a reminder.

I know that was a lot of information, but it's important. Thanks for sticking with me. One more quick paragraph before I'll let you go for today. Once you've got all these numbers written in, it's a matter of just quickly adding everything up to get your bottom line for the month. Add up all of the left side of this page (Total Receipts From Business or Profession). Add up all of the right side of this page (Expenditures - the categories we just talked about). Subtract your Total Expenditures from your Total Sales Receipts (Total Amount column). That number gives you your net profit for the month.

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Other posts in this series:

Getting Ready for Tax Time, Part 1 (an overview)
A Sample Day in My Dome Book
Printing Reports from Paypal
Monthly Reconciliation
Allowable Deductions - I think I'm going to scratch this one, because I pretty much covered that today.
Putting It All Together on Your Schedule C

Printing Reports From Paypal

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

So far, we've discussed what you should be writing down every day. Now, I'm going to show you what to do with all that information at the end of the month. This is where the right side of page 2 in our Dome book comes in.

We're going to total up everything from the Expenditures page and write it in the write spot on this page. But first, let's print some reports from Paypal to make it easier.

Here is what you'll need to print, and where to find them (bookmark Paypal's Transaction Finder - it's about to become your best friend):

Payments Received. In the Transaction Finder, leave the Search Keyword(s) field blank. Choose your date range (the first of the month through the last of the month). Choose "Payments Received" from the drop-down menu. Click on Search. This will take a few minutes to generate.

Once the report has been generated, you'll want to download it to your computer. On the right, next to the Printer icon, chose Excel from the dropdown menu, and then choose Download. (Obviously if you don't have Excel, you'll have to do a PDF. I prefer Excel, because I often have to modify these reports. More on that in a bit...) It will ask you if you want to Open or Save the document. I don't bother saving, because I usually make my modifications and print immediately. If you don't have time to do that, then go ahead and save.

Once you've got your Excel document open, you'll want to delete the blank columns and shrink the other columns so that it's only one page wide. Now, there's two more very important things to double check before you print. You'll want to go through this document and delete any personal transactions (Aunt Jane sent you $50 for your birthday - you don't have to pay taxes on that). You'll also want to double check for duplicate transactions. See this example?

Leonardo bought 5 items from me on November 1. The total of ALL 5 transactions was $20.81. But because it was 5 separate items paid in one transaction, for some ridiculous reason Paypal shows that as 5 transactions of $20.81. I need to delete 4 of those, because they are DUPLICATES. This is very important. Unless you want to pay 5 times the income tax that you need to. So go through your Payments Received document and delete personal transactions and duplicate transactions. Once you've done that, go ahead and print that spreadsheet.

eBay Fees. This one's an easy one. I pay my eBay fees weekly, and every week, I save my Paypal receipt that comes to my email. I just print out those emails. But if you only pay once a month, you should be able to find this number in your eBay account (probably by printing the month's invoice?)

Paypal Fees. You can get this from the Transaction Finder. Leave the search field blank, choose the date range, and choose "Fees" from the drop-down menu. Go ahead and Search, then download as an Excel document just like you did for Payments Received. At first glance, this report is going to look exactly the same, but this report shows any fee reversals (from refunds). You'll need to double check this report for duplicates and personal transactions. Also make sure you delete any empty columns and shrink the other columns down to fit on one page across, then go ahead and print.

Shipping Paid. In your Transaction Finder, there are 2 different reports you'll need, depending on how you print your shipping labels. If you ONLY print through eBay, then enter "eBay" in the search field, choose your date range, and choose "All" in the drop down menu. If you ONLY print through Paypal, then leave the search field blank, choose your date range, and choose "Shipping" from the dropdown menu. If you do a mixture of both, as I do for various reasons, you'll need to do both of those reports. Once these reports have been generated, download the Excel version, just like you've done for the other reports so far. These shouldn't need double checked for duplicates, but they may need double checked for personal transactions - if you shipped something to a friend, or if you shipped books for Paperback Swap, for example.

Insurance Paid. This one will depend on who you insure your packages through. I use the Shipsaver application through eBay, so all of my insurance payments go to InkFrog. To find that report, I type "inkfrog" into the search bar, choose my date range, and choose "All" in the drop down menu. Same as above - download as Excel, make sure it fits on one page across, and print.

Refunds Given. Another easy one. In the Transaction Finder, leave the search field blank, choose your date range, and choose "Refunds Sent" from the dropdown menu. You know the drill. Create the report, download as an Excel, print.

Inventory Purchases. You won't find this in Paypal. This is just on the list to remind you to gather up all of your receipts from the month, which you SHOULD have already entered into your Dome book. You just want to have them so you can double check your entries and then add them to your monthly bundle of papers.

Supplies. When you order supplies (boxes or bubble wrap on eBay for example), save the order confirmation email that you get. I have a "Print for December" folder in my email (which I obviously change with each new month). All my eBay related expense emails go in that folder until the end of the month. If I print them as I go through the month, I'll lose them. So as you're printing your other reports, you'll want to go into that folder and print any of those emails. If you don't have them, hopefully you've written them in your Expenditures section in Dome, so you'll be able to easily find them in your Paypal history. Just print that page instead.

Road Trips. Gather up your food/toll receipts. I have an EZ-Pass, so I go into my EZ-Pass account and print a statement from the month, highlighting the relevant toll charges.

Commissions. If you sell for anyone else, you'll need a record of how you've paid them. I send my sister-in-law her payments through Paypal, so I just print the Paypal receipts from each time I pay her. Other people that I just sell for here and there, I have a receipt book. I save the carbon copy for myself and give them the original. Gather all of these receipts now.

Miscellaneous. If you had any expenses that I didn't already mention, print those receipts. This might be a 3rd party listing service subscription, or a book you bought about selling on eBay, or a book about a specific topic (glasswares, Pez dispensers, whatever other research topics...).

Ok, I have given you a TON of homework in this post. I know I promised that my way of doing paperwork will be quick and painless. Honestly, this step is the hard part. It takes me about an hour to get all my reports printed for the month. But it's better to spend an hour a month printing reports than to be scrambling around in March trying to find a YEAR's worth of reports. So now you've done the hard part. You've gathered all your reports and receipts. Staple each type of report together (all your Payments Received pages, all your Shipping Paid pages) into its own package and tuck them in the back of your Dome book. Tomorrow I'll teach you how to use these reports to reconcile your books for the month.

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Other posts in this series:

Getting Ready for Tax Time, Part 1 (an overview)
A Sample Day in My Dome Book
Printing Reports from Paypal
Monthly Reconciliation
Allowable Deductions
Putting It All Together on Your Schedule C

A Sample Dome Day

2011-12-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I mentioned my beloved Dome book. It looks overwhelming at first, but today I'm going to walk you through a day's work in it, step by step. It's so much easier than it looks, I promise!

We'll start with the easiest page - the Detail of Monthly Expenditures Sheet. Here is mine:

The left side of the page is to record your inventory purchases. I try to do this as soon as I get home from thrifting, but more often than not, I'm digging out 4 or 5 receipts from the bottom of my purse and entering a bunch at once. For the new year, I'm going to try really hard to get into the habit of doing this immediately. Waiting is how receipts get lost. Lost receipts are lost deductions.

So in the far left column, you'll write the date. You have a new one of these pages for every month, so you don't even need to write the month. If you shopped on the third, just write a 3 in this column. The next column is to record who you paid. That would just be "Goodwill" or "Yard Sales" or if you bought something from a specific person, write their name here. The next column is for check number. I don't usually pay for things with checks. I just write "PP" for Paypal, a checkmark for checking account, or a $ for cash. This has helped me a few times, but not often. If I don't have a receipt, I can tell at a glance how I paid. If it was a check, I can print the check from my online bank account. If it was Paypal, I can print my transaction details page from them. If it was cash, well, I'm out of luck. The last column is for the amount. That should be pretty self explanatory.

Now let's look at the right side of this page. This is for other expenditures that are NOT inventory. This would be for shipping or insurance that you purchased, boxes, labels, tolls and meals from road trips (not gas, unless you are planning on taking exact expenses for travel, which I don't recommend), eBay fees, sales tax paid to your state, etc... It's the same layout as the left side of the page. Date, who you paid, check number, and amount. But there is one extra column for account number. You'll be getting this number from the page that we're about to discuss. After a week or so of entering data, you won't even need to look up these account numbers anymore. You'll have them memorized.

Now let's look at the other page you'll be using daily.

This one looks more complex, but it's really not. Just take it one line at a time. The left column will be for your daily income received. You're going to take these numbers straight from your Paypal account. These numbers will not match your eBay sales for the day. You're only going to write the money down on the date that the item was actually paid for. The numbers that I have along the far left (outside of the chart) are how many payments I received. I don't know why I write that down. It's useless information, and I probably won't bother keeping track of that next year.

I have added an extra column to my book. My state requires that I separate shipping out from the purchase for sales tax purposes. We don't have to pay sales tax on shipping in Pennsylvania, so I need to keep that amount separate. So my book has four columns in this section: Taxable PA Sales (my own column), All Sales, Shipping, and Total Amount. Down the left, you'll see there's a line for each day of the month.

So each morning, while you're waiting for your coffee to cool, log in to your Paypal account and do a basic search (top center of the screen) for the previous day's date. Once those transactions come up, add up any shipping you paid the previous day and write that on the first page we talked about (in the right column). Find any other expenses you had the previous day and write them in the right column too. Next, you'll need your income numbers, which are on the same screen. If you don't need to separate out your shipping for sales tax purposes, then just add up all your payments received and write them on the second page we discussed. If you have to separate shipping out, then you'll need to actually go into each transaction. I write click on "Details" for each transaction and open it in a new tab. That way there's no annoying back and forth. Open each transaction in a new tab. Then go through and add up the item prices and write them down in the All Sales column. You'll also need to add up the shipping charges and write them down in the Shipping column. If any of them were taxable, then write just the taxable sales amounts in the Taxable PA Sales column (using your own state, obviously).

Let's look at an example from my book.

On December 7th, you can see that I received 5 payments. I had one taxable PA sale. It was $9.75 plus shipping, so I separated out the $9.75 into the Taxable PA Sales column. The next column will be ALL my sales (including that PA sale). All 5 transactions (purchase price only) totalled $78.25. The total shipping for all 5 transactions was $28.24. I received 59 cents sales tax, so I jotted that down real small so I would remember to add that amount in. Then I added up the Total Sales, Total Shipping, and tax received and got a total of $107.08.

If I have any out of the ordinary transactions, I jot them down in the Memo block at the bottom left of this page. This is where I write any refunds that I have to issue, or any shipping refunds I received for labels that I had to void.

I know this sounds like a lot, but once you get the hang of it (after about a week or two of regular entering), you'll be able to do a whole day's entries in 5 minutes or so.

So to recap, each morning, you should be writing down this information from the previous day:

all shipping/insurance paid
any other expenses paid
all payments received (separating out the shipping if your state requires it)
any oddball stuff (shipping refunded to you, refunds you issued, etc...)

For now, you aren't going to do anything at all with the right side of this page (the expenditures). You won't have to do anything with that section until the end of the month. We'll be discussing that in a couple days. I've given you enough for one day :)

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Other posts in this series:

Getting Ready for Tax Time, Part 1 (an overview)
A Sample Day in My Dome Book
Printing Reports from Paypal
Monthly Reconciliation
Allowable Deductions
Putting It All Together on Your Schedule C

Getting Ready for Tax Time, Part 1

2011-12-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Don't be afraid. It's not scary and overwhelming if you do it a little bit at a time. Of course, if you haven't kept up with your paperwork for 2011, it's a little late to do it a little bit at a time for this year, but hopefully this series will help you be better prepared for 2012!

I so often read posts where people say, "Oh, I only made such-and-such on eBay" or "I just sell part-time" or "I'm just a hobby seller" so they think they don't have to report their income to the IRS. Well, guess what. Income is income. You DO have to report it, whether you made $1,000 or $100,000. The only difference is, Paypal won't be reporting your income to the IRS if you had less than $20,000 (all incoming funds, not just the actual sales amount - this includes shipping!) AND 200 transactions. You still have to report it.

So you want to get that number as low as you possibly can, by saving receipts and taking every deduction you can think of. But we'll get to that in a later post. Today's post is about keeping a daily record. If you do this every day, or even every 2 or 3 days, it only takes a couple minutes, and at the end of the year, you will be totally prepared for tax time!

To start with, I highly recommend a pencil and paper approach. I know that sounds archaic, but who do you trust with your money numbers? A computer program (with proven glitches), or your own records? I personally prefer my own records. So I use a Dome Record-Keeping Book. I used a monthly book for 2011, and that's what I've linked to, but I'll be using a weekly book for 2012. I really have a LOT of transactions over a month, and reconciling my books every month was taking a long time. I'm going to try the weekly book this year, because I'm hoping reconciling my books weekly instead of monthly will be quicker.

The Dome book is great! It's got everything you need right there. There are sections for all your deductions (shipping supplies, inventory purchases, shipping costs, fees, etc...) and there is a section for all your payments received. It's broken down monthly, so at the end of each month, I print my reports and double check the numbers. After any given month in the year, I know exactly what my net income has been for the year. It's a nice way to keep tabs on your business and not be totally shocked and unprepared at the end of the year.

I try to do this daily, but more often than not, I end up doing it every couple of days. (I do have a life outside of eBay, you know...) Each morning, I go into my Paypal account and write every transaction in my book. Some of them I combine, like all the shipping I paid. I write that total down under expenses. I add up all my payments received (I separate out the shipping for state sales tax purposes) and I wrote those numbers under income. I also enter any receipts into my expense section as soon as possible after I get home. I have a 13-section divided portfolio that I drop those into immediately, so they don't get lost. A lost receipt is a lost deduction :(

I keep a small calendar in my purse, so every time I go to Goodwill (or yard saling, or wherever), I can quickly jot down my mileage on the correct day in my calendar. Mileage can add up to a HUGE deduction at the end of the year! My miles will be a really big lifesaver this year.

This post feels like it's all over the place, but it's just an introductory post. A brief overview. I'll elaborate more over the next few days. But for starters, get yourself a Dome book, study the pages, familiarize yourself with the setup. Over the next few days, I'll teach you more specifically how to use it.

Upcoming Posts in This Series:

A Sample Day in My Dome Book
Printing Reports from Paypal
Monthly Reconciliation
Allowable Deductions
Putting It All Together on Your Schedule C

Packing With Care

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you've gotten your boxes and your packing materials. Now it's time to get that sold item safely delivered to your buyer. Nothing says "I care" quite like tossing an item in a box and taping it shut. So I like to step it up a bit and go the extra mile to show my buyer that I DO care if they are pleased with their item. There are as many different methods for packaging as there are sellers, but here are a few tips on how I package different items:

Clothing: I wrap clothing neatly in tissue paper and slide it into a polymailer. I squeeze all the air out and seal it shut. Super easy.
Books: Most paperback books I just drop into a polymailer. (So much for that extra mile, huh?) If it's got sharp corners or if it's a hard back, I either put it in a bubble mailer or I wrap it in bubble wrap and slide it into a polymailer. I don't sell a lot of books. Clearly.
Plush: If it's just a regular one (no hard parts or sound boxes), I put it in a polymailer. I would prefer to wrap them in tissue for nicer presentation, but plush isn't exactly easy to wrap in tissue, and I'm afraid my efforts would make it look sloppier than if I just leave it unwrapped. If it's got hard parts or a sound box, I put it in a polymailer and then in a shipping box.
Shoes: I slide my business card into one shoe (more on that later) and place that shoe 1/3 of the way over a large sheet of tissue paper. I fold the shorter end over that shoe, then place the other shoe next to the first shoe and fold the other end over all of it. I tape the tissue up and slide the shoes into a priority shoe box. Then I put some balled up newspaper in the end.
Breakables: If it's a hollow item (casserole, saucepan, bowl, mug), I fill it with packing peanuts. Then I wrap it in bubble wrap (usually at least twice around). If it's got a lid, I wrap it separately, then I tape the wrapped lid very tightly to the wrapped dish and wrap the whole thing once more. If it's multiples (more than one plate or mug), I wrap each individually, then tape them tightly together and wrap again. If it's nesting bowls, I wrap each individually (filling only the smallest with peanuts), nest them together, tape them very tightly together and wrap once more. I use a box that will give me 2" of space on all sides. I put packing peanuts in the box, then the item, then fill the rest of the way with packing peanuts. You want it packed tightly with peanuts so that there is NO movement in the box once it's taped shut.
Board games/Latch hook kits: These usually just slide into a flat priority box (medium flat rate or regional rate side-loading) with some newspaper or air pillows to fill the extra space.

I think that's the bulk of what I sell. I don't get into large breakables (lamps and similar items), so if you sell those things, please let us know in the comments how to pack them safely.

One last thing I like to do, just to add a nice professional touch. I have a business card with my contact information. I always include one of them in each package.

(I just blacked out my email so I don't get junk mail.) When I am notified that I've received a payment, I grab a card and fill in the date ordered, paid, and shipped. On the back, I jot down what they bought and write a "Thanks!" across the back. I also make a note of anything I need to remember for shipping. 99% of my items go priority mail, so I don't usually write anything. But if it's an extra large package that the buyer chose parcel post for, and it's too big of a difference for me to upgrade to priority (this happens alot with microwave turntables), I just write "parcel" in the corner. If it's an international shipment, I write "FCI" in the corner so I don't pack it in a priority box and have to repackage it.

I think this card is a nice touch. The hand-written "thanks!" shows them that I took an extra moment to thank them instead of just dumping their item into the bottom of a box. The dates section on the front shows them that if they paid 4 days after they ordered, and I shipped the same day, the delay was their fault, not mine. It shows them that I ship promptly, regardless of when they ordered and paid. It also gives them an easy way to contact me if there is a problem, and it helps them easily find me if they want to buy from me again.

What special touches do you like to add to your packages?

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By the way, I know I've been promising a series on taxes, and I really will do that. The end of the year is coming, so it's definitely time. I'll get to it soon. Pinky promise!

Economical Packing Materials

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

A week or so ago, I talked about free USPS Priority shipping supplies. But what if you're shipping internationally? Or what if it's a really heavy item and your buyer chose parcel post? You'll need to come up with boxes for those items. This picture isn't my house, but it's what my eBay room looks like sometimes, when I let the boxes take over.

There are quite a few resources available to us for plain boxes. I've not tried all of them, because my closet is already overly full, but hopefully this will give you some ideas.

Friends and Family. Social networking isn't all just Farmville and Likes. It can be a very useful business tool. Just post a status update asking your friends and family to save boxes for you. This time of year is especially good for that, because people are ordering Christmas gifts online and are probably wondering what they're going to do with all those boxes, packing peanuts, and air pillows.
Craigslist/Freecycle. This is the same as my above point, but you're asking strangers instead of friends and family. Strangers buy Christmas gifts online too :)
Local Stores. You could always stop in to local stores and ask them what they do with their boxes. I've heard that Dollar General is an especially good place to ask for their boxes. Cell phone stores are good for air pillows. Ask around. It won't hurt to try.
Buy them. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay for boxes. Most of my boxes are free to me, but I never come across free boxes that will fit a microwave turntable, and believe it or not, I have a hard time finding free plain boxes that will fit a pair of shoes nicely without being way too big. I buy my turntable boxes and shoe boxes on eBay. The prices seem very high, so you'd want to be sure you're buying them for high profit margin items. When you're paying $1-2 per box, you don't want to use that box on an item you're only making $10 profit on. I generally make $20 profit on my turntables, so I can justify paying $1 for a box. It certainly beats spending 45 minutes building one!

Now for economical filler materials.

Newspaper is the most obvious, but it can actually add a lot of weight to a package. It also flattens easily, so it's definitely NOT good for breakables. I do use it for filler in shoe boxes though.
Shredded newspaper is another option. Of course you'd have to buy a shredder (long-cut, not cross-cut). Shredded newspaper is fluffier than regular, so you can use less of it to fill more space, which cuts down on the weight.
Egg cartons can be used to fill up a little extra space with virtually no extra weight. Again, they're crushable, so they will only work on not-heavy items.
Folded cardboard can fill extra space too. I've never done it, but I've received packages that had folded cardboard in them. It worked pretty well.

I'm sure this isn't an exhaustive list, but it's enough to get you started. What am I missing? What do you use for packing?

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-12-08T03:15:00.000-08:00

I need a "Top eBay Moments" logo. Anyone out there do that sort of thing??

Last Christmas, I hadn't really built up my store as much as I needed to in order to really experience a good Christmas selling season. This year, I was really looking forward to this big booming Christmas season, but I haven't seen it yet. I hear that I'm not the only one. It's pretty disappointing, but my sales have been steady for the most part, so I won't complain.

I had another good week, customer-wise. My last 1-month negative fell into the 6-months category, so I feel really good about that. My DSR's are climbing back up and should start falling off my 3-month evaluations in the next week or so. I survived the worst feedback month I've ever experienced. Yay!

I sold 47 items this week. That is definitely less than I have been selling lately. My dollar amounts are lower as well. I only sold 5 pairs of shoes. I have about 50 pairs that I really need to get listed in the next week or so! People are buying more of my NWT items and I've really sold a LOT of clothing this week, both new and pre-owned.

My favorite sales:

My sister's boyfriend's mother passed away a couple months ago, and I am listing a lot of her wardrobe. I just listed this last night. It's a cowl neck sweater dress from JP Knits. Nothing special about it, but it's plus size. I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to an offer already this morning. Sold for $20, free shipping ($4.70).

Tap shoes always sell well for me. I've sold girls', women's, men's. I've sold flat mary janes, heels, lace up jazz tap shoes. These are Bloch brand girls' tap shoes. I paid $2.99 for them in October and sold them this week for $25, free shipping ($5.00).

This was also given to me last week. My sister-in-law brought me a really big pile of coats and jackets from one of her neighbors. She said, "Keep what you want, sell the rest." I really like this one and would have kept it for my 8 year old, but we've got SO many coats and jackets, it's not even funny. There was another orange plaid hooded jacket in the pile, so I gave my son the choice of which one he wanted. Lucky for me, he wanted to keep the non-brand name one and I got to sell the Lands' End one. This sold 2 days after I listed it, for my full asking price of $29.99, free shipping ($5.45).

Last January, I bought a 6-piece set of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer plush at a local thrift store. They are all CVS brand. I didn't expect them to do really well because of that, but they were half off, so I went for it. I got this Santa, a Rudolph, a huge Bumble, Sam the Snowman, Yukon Cornelius, and Hermie the Elf. I paid $7.95 for them and listed them individually. Because it was just after Christmas, they sold very slowly, but they did finally all sell. The Santa was the last one I had, and it sold this week for $29.99 + shipping. Total sales from that $7.95 investment? $147.96!!

This wasn't mine. I sold it for my sister-in-law. She sold on eBay for a brief spell, but because she was brand new, she had a hard time getting any sales at all, so she finally asked me to sell her Care Bears for her. This one sold within just a few days for my full asking price of $29.99 + shipping! Some Pillow Pals do better than others. I've had Love-a-Lot, Funshine Bear, Cheer Bear, and now this Friend Bear. Friend Bear sold quickly. The others didn't. But when they did finally sell, it was for a good profit, so I'll continue buying them.

I paid $1.50 for these suede Dansko sandals at the Goodwill bins in October. They weren't even in awful shape, as a lot of GW bin shoes are. They just needed a suede brush, and the insoles needed cleaned up. They sold this week for $45, free shipping ($4.70).

I'm really surprised these Uggs didn't sell faster than they did. I paid $5 for them in May. But they were a size 5 or 6, which isn't a fast-selling size for me. I did finally sell them for my full asking price of $45 + shipping this week.

I just woke up to this sale this morning! I paid $5 for them at a yard sale in July. You know your kid has too many toys if he doesn't even open up his Lego sets! An Australian buyer bought this set this morning for my full asking price of $49.99 + shipping. Shipping to Australia is always so expensive. They paid an extra $23 to ship these. And they chose First Class Mail, so I hope they aren't expecting it in time for Christmas.

I'm sure you all are well aware of my love of Doc Martens. They always sell very well for me, and these were no exception. I paid $5.99 for these in October. I couldn't find this pair listed anywhere (they zip up), so I listed them high at $99.99 or best offer. I knew full well I wouldn't get that much, but I was hoping to get at least $50 out of them. Someone offered me $35 the other day, and I almost declined, but I thought I'd counteroffer instead. I countered with $60. She came back with $45. I countered with $50. She came back with $43. Wrong direction! Our buyers only get 3 chances to make an offer, and she had used hers up. I knew if she wanted them badly enough, she would have to pay whatever I sent her back as a counteroffer, or she'd have to pay full price. I could have been ignorant and gone back up to $60, but I countered with $50 and she bought them. I'm sure I could have gotten more if I'd waited, but again - size 6. Slow seller. I'm happy with the $50.

And my top sale of the week! I had entered this beauty in our Ugly Christmas Sweater contest on the discussion board, but I didn't get any bids on it. I had started it at $29.99 and only had a couple watchers (from our group, I think). I was VERY pleasantly surprised when it sold this week at my full asking price of $69.99, free shipping ($6.65) !!

What were your favorite sales this week?

Dealing With Family and Friends' Reactions to What We Do

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

"You do WHAT for a living?!??!"

Anonymous brought up an interesting subject on yesterday's post. S/he is hesitant to share that they sell online, because they have gotten mixed reactions in the past. I will admit, several years ago, I knew of two people who sold on eBay. When I found out, I scoffed. It seemed like such a ridiculous waste of time, and just plain wrong to go around buying people's stuff for cheap and reselling it for high, as if it was actually worth something. (Ok, ok, I was a jerk about it...)

When I started selling on eBay, I only sold what I had around the house. I declared that I would never become "one of those people who buys stuff and turns around and resells it." (Yeah, yeah, I was a jerk then too....)

It only took me a month or two to realize that there was good money to be made doing this, and that it would be really nice if I could contribute a few extra dollars to our household income. That quickly snowballed into a full-blown business that I am very proud of!

Along the way, I have had mixed feelings about sharing what I do. I once had someone ask me, "Where do you work?" (As if stay-at-home moms don't work hard enough as it is!) I said, "Oh, I don't work." And then I said, "Wait. Yes I do. I sell on eBay." She kind of chuckled a little bit, and I immediately felt defensive and blurted out how much I had in sales that month. Yes, that was tacky, but I didn't like the idea of her scoffing at me and my silly little hobby. I felt a need to validate it. I don't go around blabbing how much I make (except here occasionally, and in our sales goal threads on the discussion board), but I still struggle with feeling a need to validate what I do. I think most people don't realize how many people sell on eBay for an actual living, and not just for a hobby. I had no idea myself until I met the people in our fabulous group!

Even aside from people thinking it's just a hobby, I also get other unpleasant reactions from people. I have had people express their displeasure that I am buying up items from Goodwill that are intended for less fortunate people and using those items for my own financial gain. Well yes, I am buying items from Goodwill and reselling them for my own financial gain. That's called running a business. And no, I don't think the items at Goodwill are specifically intended for less fortunate people. Goodness knows there's enough there for everyone.

Another reaction I get is people belittling the work I put into this. I've had people actually get annoyed with me when I celebrate an exciting sale, because they think I don't work hard, or that I don't deserve it. They think it's not fair that they work harder than I do and make less money. I am extremely fortunate to have been able to find an exciting job that I love that allows me to stay at home with my kids. I understand it's not for everyone. I also understand their frustration that they've paid oodles of money for college degrees to get jobs that pay less than what I make, and I didn't have to shell out those big bucks. But ya know ... We all choose our own paths in life.

So I guess now that I've babbled on long enough, I'll address the actual question. Basically, I don't go out of my way to tell people what I do, but I don't hide it if they ask. I try really hard not to feel defensive when I see them snicker or roll their eyes or blow it off as a silly thing, but that's not easy. Once they see that my eBay business has paid for our entire Christmas, or for our entire week-long family vacation, then maybe they'll realize that it's a valid career choice. But I won't be dwelling on it then. I'll be lounging poolside :)

I Just Might Be Able to Do This After All!

2011-12-06T05:11:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I was out of town for a doctor's appointment. I was by myself. The kids were at home with my husband, who was doing school with them. There was no set time that I had to be home. This town has 2 larger thrift stores that I don't often get to go to. It was the perfect opportunity for some relaxing take-my-time-browsing shopping! But guess what. I didn't do it. I went to the doctor and the bank, and then I came straight home. It did sting just a little, but I lived to tell the tale! I think getting past that first shopping opportunity may have been the hardest one. It's all easy coasting from here to the end of the year. I hope!

An Open Letter to Our Readers

2011-12-05T20:08:00.000-08:00

A recent guest post on this blog has received a lot of criticism lately. I didn't write the post, but I wanted to address the comments that have come up. This is a blog that is dedicated to teaching people to buy items at a low price and resell them on eBay for a profit. It is a blog that is dedicated to helping eBay sellers build up a successful work-at-home business. It is not a blog that targets anyone, or that is out there looking for an easy mark.

Collector blogs and online-selling blogs are clearly two different worlds. As online sellers, we price our items at a price point that the market supports. Collectibles are a high-demand item. High-demand items generally come with a higher price. As sellers, we are not taking advantage of our buyers. We are simply analyzing the market and pricing our items accordingly, to do what is best for our business. We do not set out to harm collectors. We set out to run successful businesses to help support our families.

If any of our new readers are offended by our Buy Low, Sell High strategies, then perhaps this blog is not one that you should be reading. We won't be offended if you move along to blogs that don't offend you. The internet is a very large place. There are blogs out there for everyone. No need to continue reading a blog that offends you.

Thanks for stopping by.

And to those of you who are NOT offended by our blog, we thank you for sticking around. As you know, we try to make it a point to stay positive and upbeat around here. We apologize to our regular readers for this interruption...

eBay Stores vs. eBay Auctions

2011-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or is that a freakishly long thumb?

Anonymous said: "I would also love to hear your thoughts on when it is good to have an ebay store rather than just listing auction items."

I'll give you the short answer, and then I'll give you the long answer.

The short answer: Don't do auctions.

The long answer: In general, I am very anti-auction. I started out selling on eBay with auctions only. I suspect that's how most people start out. I didn't even know there was such a thing as eBay stores back then. That was during the day that store listings were separated out from auction listings in search results, so I wouldn't have wanted to do that anyway. Once I started to sell more, and once eBay integrated store listings back into search results, I decided to make the leap. I was half-sick about that $15 a month (or whatever the basic store level is), because how would I afford that??

It became obvious in a very short period of time that I made the right decision, and I've never looked back. My store fees were only 5 cents per month (back then - they have since changed it to 20 cents per month for basic stores). That $15 paid for itself very quickly. I was able to list my items higher and get what I wanted for them, rather than listing them at auction and hoping for the best.

Several months later, I did the math and realized that I would save even MORE money by upgrading to the mid-level Premium store. If I thought I was sick about paying $15 a month, imagine how I felt at the thought of paying $50 a month! But again, what I was saving on listing fees quickly added up to pay for the store subscription. I don't think there's a boost in search results by having a premium store, so I don't think making that upgrade really increases your sales, but there is a point where mathematically, it makes sense to upgrade. Let's take a look at that before I talk about why else I don't do auctions.

Basic Store: $15.95/month; listings 20 cents each

Premium Store: $49.95/month; listings 5 cents each

If you have a basic store, and you list 230 items per month, you are paying $15.95 for the store subscription, and you are paying 20 cents per listing, which is $46.00. Your total monthly fees (excluding final value fees) are $61.95.

If you have a premium store with the same 230 items per month, you are paying $49.95 for the store subscription, and you are paying 5 cents per listing, which is $11.50. Your total monthly fees (excluding final value fees) are $61.40.

So yes, your premium store subscription looks like a lot of money, but you are actually SAVING money by upgrading. You pay more up front, but your listing fees are lower.

***********

Ok, so now that I've gotten that off my chest (something that had nothing to do with the original question) ... let's go back to the original question. When is it better to run auctions? And I think I said something like, "Never." Let me explain my reasons for saying that:

Instant Gratification. We live in a Gimme-It-Now society. Auctions are a thing of the past. More often than not, people don't want to bother waiting for an auction to end. They want their item, and they want it now. I speak from experience here. I just bought something the other day that was an auction listing with a BIN option. I didn't want to wait until the end of the week. I wanted it sooner. The difference was just a few dollars, so I just bought it now. I was not the least bit interested in waiting until the auction ended. People don't like to wait.

Over-saturation. eBay has been running all these ridiculous 1,000 free listings promotions. Everybody and their mother is listing their stuff at auction right now. If you search for something like "Clarks Black Shoes Size 8," you will probably be overwhelmed by all the search results. Because everyone is listing, there are way too many listings to choose from. A bargain buyer will sort those gazillion search results by lowest price. You have 2 options: underprice and be the lowest price so yours sells, or price fairly and let the lower-priced auction get the sale. Neither of those is appealing, so you need to price your item where you want it and wait for a Gimme-It-Now buyer.

Ordinary inventory. I sell shoes. They aren't exactly collectible. There are a lot of shoes out there in the world. Let's say a buyer searches for "Clarks Black Shoes Size 8" and finds a pair that she likes at auction. She bids, but is outbid. She has a gazillion other Clarks Black Shoes Size 8 listings to choose from, so she'll just move on to the next one. On the other hand, let's say a buyer searches for "Curse You Red Baron Fire King mug." There is currently ONE of those listed at auction. This is a rare item (one that I actually managed to find and sell last summer!) If there are 8 people looking for this mug, those 8 people are going to get into a bidding war over that ONE mug that is listed. They HAVE to win it. There is no other option. They can't just move on to the next mug listing. That is an auction item for sure. You need to know what's ordinary, and what's extraordinary. Put the ordinary stuff in your store. Auction the extraordinary stuff. And it needs to be truly extraordinary. I have had great success (meaning $100+) with only 3 auction items in my history of selling on eBay. All three of those items were hard to find and were one of very very few that were listed at the time.

Time investment. I'm busy. I'm pretty sure most of you are busy too. During several of eBay's recent free auction listing promotions, I decided to go ahead and move some of my older inventory to auction, as a form of clearance. I spent over an hour switching those listings over to auctions, only to have just 3 or 4 of them sell. I then had to spend over an hour a week later switching those listings back to store inventory. Maybe it didn't cost me money to switch them to auction, but it did cost me money to switch them back to store inventory. It also cost me a great deal of time, time that I could have spent listing NEW items.

So to summarize: only use auctions if you have a super-special, extraordinary item that is rare, with only 1 or 2 other active listings (or better yet - zero!). Price your auction wisely. Start your item at a price that you would be content with. But generally speaking, if you are planning on sticking with eBay for awhile, you NEED to open a store. I guarantee you your sales will increase. Not necessarily in units, but definitely in dollar amounts. You can price your items how you want them, and you can relax, knowing that that price is the price you will get. Eventually. Store listings are less exciting than auction listings, but they are definitely more reliable.

Let's hear some opinions in the comments. Who has a store? Who just does auctions? Why? If you have a store, have you ever looked back? If you only do auctions, are you considering opening a store?

Fantastic Finds Friday

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

We want to hear all about your Fantastic Finds! This features isn't about your exciting sales. It's about your exciting finds! There are so many places to find inventory: your closet, your garage, a yard sale, thrift stores, a consignment item you're selling for someone else. What did you find this week that you are excited about? It can be something you're excited to get listed OR something you're excited to keep! You can even post to your listing, if you'd like. Free advertising!

==========

Because of my shopping fast, this will be my last FFF post for the year. And it's not even a very exciting one. :) I shopped a couple times and didn't find anything super-exciting, but I finally found my first Reyn Spooner shirt. I've heard a lot about them, and that they are good sellers, but I've never really ventured into men's clothing before, so I've never actively looked for them. I actually had time to kill one afternoon this week, so I plunked the toddlers into the cart with a toy and browsed the entire men's shirt rack. I found a couple cool Authentic Western cowboy shirts, a men's 2XL Charlie Brown Christmas shirt (which already sold), and this Reyn Spooner shirt. It looks like it was sewn with the fabric wrong side out, but all the seams are on the inside like they're supposed to be, so I guess it was on purpose. Kind of different-looking anyway. I'm anxious to see how this does for me.

~~Jessica
==========

Hi all you fellow eBayers, remember me?...Lesley? I've been busy in the retail world working my day job...tis' the season you know, but I managed to go shopping yesterday and I'm so glad I did. Christmas was in full gear at my favorite Goodwill. In fact they had just remodeled it, dividing it into 2 stores side by side (one for clothing/shoes and the other for housewares). I had the most fun in housewares. It's was literally Christmas heaven!

Here are some of my highlights:

Santa Claus was everywhere and here is what hubby and I walked away with. There's a vintage salt and pepper set (actually 2 sets), a paper mache Santa from Japan, a Royal Daulton mug, and a vintage ceramic Santa ornament. These I will use throughout the house as decor all the while they are listed for resale.

I was also in need of garland for an area of my home and found some brand new pre-lit garland for $3.99. I also picked up wrapping supplies and bows (all new) and some unique ornaments like a Jim Shore new in box set of 2 carolers!

This adorable little Santa Claus night light house is now taking up space in my bathroom. I won't list it because I decided it was an early gift for myself!

Okay, but what will we make money on.....??

This wooden Santa stands about 4 feet tall. Hubby actually found this tucked away in a corner. Okay, I admit I don't really want to sell this either because as you can see it looks so cute tucked in at the stairs. But, hubby and I agreed to put a huge price tag on it and see what happens. After less than 24 hours there is currently an offer of $150! Sorry, but I can't part with him for that price! ;)

And no, I'm am NOT a hoarder!

Merry Christmas and Happy eBaying!

~~Lesley
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What about you? If you found something this week that you are excited about please share your enthusiasm here!!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-12-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

It was a pretty good week. I didn't have any problems, any complaints, any irritating buyers. One more negative fell off my "1 Month" column into the "6 Month" column, so that's another weight off my shoulders. I'm just not getting the pre-Christmas sales that I was hoping to see, but apparently no one is, so I guess I can't complain.

I sold 65 items this week, 11 of which were shoes. I ran a 25% off sale from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. That helped me clear out some really old inventory. I am selling more NWT items, which are probably Christmas shoppers.

My favorites (I have a lot this week!):

I picked this up the other day and then immediately regretted it, because IUP isn't exactly a huge, well-known school. Imagine my surprise when it sold less than a week after I listed it! Paid $2.99, sold for $14.99 (-$2.94 shipping).

I bought this t-shirt on November 26th. It was a 2XL, so I was hoping that would work in my favor. I was disappointed when I researched it and saw the same shirt (different sizes) listed for $8.99 new with tags. I priced it above that and hoped for the best. It sold the next day! I assume it was because of the size, in which case I could probably have gotten more for it. Bummer. I paid $3.99 and sold it for $14.99. I had free shipping on it, but the buyer paid to upgrade to priority mail.

This was another super-fast sale. My sister-in-law picked it up for me. I paid $2.01 for it. I brought it home last Saturday and listed it the next day. It is a Build a Bear, and I was excited because it wasn't a bear. Non-bear BABWs sell better than bear ones. But again ... current and completed listings were less than exciting. I listed him for $15.99 (-$5.24 shipping) and he sold the next day.

Ugh. This isn't a favorite sale. I'm telling you about this one as a lesson to you and as a reminder to myself. I have had this stupid thing listed since last January. There is nothing wrong with it. It gets hot. Cosmetically, it's great. But there it sat. Clearly it is not a desireable brand. I have auctioned it, put it on sale, added best offer, added free shipping. Everything I could think of, and nothing was working. It was a part of my 25% off sale this weekend, so it was marked down to $16.49 or best offer, with free shipping. Someone offered me $12. To that zip code, shipping would have been over $12. I declined the offer and explained that, so they offered me $14. I declined that as well and removed the best offer option. He ended up buying it for that price. So the lesson is to not leave the best offer option and free shipping on a sale item. It's a pain in the butt to go through and remove all my best offer options for a sale, but it was worth it. So I paid $3.15 for it, sold it for $16.49, and paid $8.03 for shipping. Wow. That was worth hanging on to this thing for almost a year, wouldn't you say??

I've had these listed since LAST October! I have them in brown and black. I thought for sure they would sell quickly, but clearly I was mistaken. I paid $5.90 for them and finally sold them this week for $18.75 (-$4.90 shipping).

This girls' Columbia windbreaker was from the huge yard sale I went to in September. I paid $5 for it and sold it for $22.99 (-$2.26 shipping).

Back in my early eBay days, when I was still doing auctions, I had a Moods board game that was from my own closet. I had tried to sell it in our yard sale for several years for a whopping $2. For some reason, I decided to try to auction it. I started it at 99 cents and ended up selling it for $25! It has been on my BOLO list ever since, but I had never found one until this August. I bought this at a yard sale for $2. It was missing one of the stones, and the box was slightly damaged, but I figured $2 was a good investment. It sat for 2 1/2 months and sold this week during my 25% off sale for $24.74 (-$8.36 shipping). I guess they don't sell quite as well as they used to, but if I can find it for $2 or $3, I would buy it again.

This was in the same delivery from my sister-in-law that the BABW horse was in. I paid $3.07 for it, listed it on Sunday and sold him the next day for my full asking price of $24.99 (free shipping). The same buyer also bought a joke telling Cheer Bear from me, so I was able to combine shipping on them. I paid $7.09 to ship them both. I have sold 3 of the glow-in-the-dark Bedtime Bears, so keep an eye out for that one.

I bought these in October on a road trip. They are earth (lower case e) brand tennis shoes. I always buy lower-case-e earth shoes. The capital E Earth Shoes are Walmart, but lower case is very good! I only had these listed for 3 1/2 weeks. They sold during my 25% off sale for $26.25 (-$5.45 shipping). I probably could have gotten more if I had waited, but that's ok. Sometimes a quick nickel is better than a slow dime :)

This is a new with tags Izod shirt from the big September yard sale. I paid $5.50 for it and sold it during my 25% off sale for $29.99 (-$4.70 shipping).

Cole Haan shoes in general just aren't all that attractive. I paid $2.99 for these in October and sold them for $30 + shipping this week.

I bought quite a few of these at the September yard sale, different teams, different sizes. I thought for sure they would sell like hotcakes once football season started. But this is the first one I've sold. I paid $5.50 for it and sold it during my sale for $32.24 + shipping. If I can sell them all at that profit margin, I will be one happy girl!

And finally ... this was an exciting sale to wake up to! I paid $9.99 for these Salvatore Ferragamos back in February. I sold them during my sale for $112.50 + shipping! Yippee!! Always buy nice men's Ferragamos. I haven't had any luck with women's, but men's will sell well eventually.

What did you sell this week?

It's Time to Stop!

2011-11-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

I have an embarrassingly huge amount of inventory that needs listed, and I'm in the process of planning a December road trip!! What on earth am I thinking? I have bins (!) of great stuff to list. And when that's done, I have 3 bins (!) full of great fabrics that I've given up on ever using. I need to sort through them and get them listed. And when that's done, I have a HUGE (!) bag full of patterns (many unopened and uncut) that I need to list. And when THAT's done, I have an entire closet full of other sewing supplies (vintage threads and trims, pattern magazines, reference books out the wazoo...) that I need to go through and list.
So ... it is with a heavy heart that I am making public my new personal challenge:

That's right, ladies and gents. I have officially put myself on a shopping fast. Not a diet. A fast. I can't do anything in moderation, so diets don't work. It's all or nothing. Between now and the end of the year, I will NOT set foot in a thrift store. I have too much money tied up in unlisted inventory. This fast will be great for my bottom line, because I'll have hardly any money going out the rest of the year!

So there you have it. I've made it public. So now I HAVE to stick to it. No matter what. Heaven help me. And the people who have to live with me during my withdrawal period....

My Listing Process

2011-11-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

Amy said: I'd love to know about your listing process. There are so many steps - cleaning, photographing, researching, listing, etc. Do you do it in batches or one at a time. What do you find works best for you?

*******

Yes, there is a lot involved in listing items on eBay. I have several different systems that I use, depending on my mood and what I'm listing. Sometimes I use the assembly line method, other times I use the divide and conquer method, other times I'm totally random.

#1 - Assembly Line: This is my preferred method, because I can get a TON of items listed in one sitting when I use the assembly line method. I mostly use this for shoes, but it works well on clothing too. With this method, I will spend an entire afternoon washing 20 or 30 pairs of shoes. Then I will spend that entire evening polishing them. Depending on what I have going on that day, I'll either spend the late evening taking pictures, or I'll wait and do that the next morning. And then of course I either edit the pictures or pay my daughter to do that. Then I'm ready to just sit down and crank out the listings.

If you're using the assembly line method for clothes, it would look a little different (unless you polish your clothes!). After I've washed and dried a lot of clothing to list, I'll take 10-15 items into my eBay room and take the pics (on my mannequin). Then I grab another pile and another. I try to do at least 30 in one session to make it worth the effort. Then I spend awhile editing the pics. Here, there are 2 different ways you could continue. You could do all your measuring/weighing at once by jotting all the details down on a piece of paper. Then take that information to the computer and do you listing from your paper. I prefer to measure and weigh as I go, so I take my pile of clothes to my table and get cracking.

#2 - Divide and conquer: This is the method I use on items that don't really need any prep work. Grab all the turntables, or all the board games, or all the stuffed animals, or all the .... you get the idea. Snap photos quickly, edit them, and get to work. It's pretty similar to the assembly line method, but there aren't as many steps. I just pull out all the like items and get them done in one afternoon or evening.

#3 - Random: AKA panic mode. This is the mode I resort to when I just can't stand the piles any longer! I grab a bin and get it all done. No matter what it is. No matter what cleaning it needs. No matter if it's efficient or not. Just get that bin done and put away. I'm sick of looking at it. This method is especially effective on those bins of items that aren't home runs. They're just so-so items, so you keep putting them back in the bin while you list the more interesting items. Or they're the items you don't want to deal with - the puzzles that you don't want to count the pieces of, or the coat that you don't want to sew the button back on. This is my least favorite method, because it usually involves all the unpleasant tasks that I've been putting off. But sometimes the piles are just so overwhelming, and the mess is so out-of-hand, that I've just got to get it done.

The main idea with any of my methods is once you start, don't stop. Don't move on to anything else until you are done. Here's an example: I took pictures of 50 tops one afternoon. I edited all of them the next day. I started listing them the next day. No, I didn't list all 50 tops in one day. It took me longer than a week, as a matter of fact. But I didn't get distracted by taking pictures of other things or listing more interesting things. When I had a few minutes, I listed one or two. Little by little, I chipped away at them. Because I had done a huge chunk of prepwork ahead of time, it was no big deal for me to just sit down and quickly write up a listing when I had a second.

*******

What's YOUR listing method?

Here a Box, There a Box, Everywhere a Box Box!

2011-11-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

I showed you a picture of my box closet the other day (bless you for still reading after THAT), and I thought I'd share a bit about my favorite free USPS priority boxes and what I use them for.

Did you know that USPS will deliver boxes to your door for free? You don't pay for the boxes, you don't pay for the delivery. The only catch is that you have to use them for priority shipping only. But more often than not, priority shipping is just a little cheaper than parcel post when paid online, so we're probably shipping priority anyway.

Let's start with the flat rate stuff first:

The regular Priority Flat Rate Envelope - I use this as often as possible. It's just thin cardboard, but you can shove a lot of stuff in there. I have shipped jeans, heavy sweaters, books, even breakables! If you've got small breakables, put them in a small flat rate box and slip it into this envelope. It will save you a few cents over the small flat rate box, but it will have the extra protection that a box affords. This envelope costs me $4.70 to ship ($4.95 at the post office and $4.90 without the USPS savings program).

The padded Flat Rate Priority Envelope - I use these even more often than I use the regular ones. These are good for everything that the regular envelope is good for, but what I use them the most for is sandals. As long as the shoe doesn't have a heel or a back on it, I just slip it in here and ship it for $4.90 ($4.95 without the USPS savings program). I'm not sure you can even ship these from the post office.

The legal size Flat Rate Priority Envelope - Pretty much all I use these for is larger shoe cream orders. I put the creams into a box and slip them in here. It costs 20 cents more to ship these than the regular ones, so I use the regular ones as often as I can. ($4.90 with the USPS savings discount, $4.95 without).

The Small Flat Rate Box - I almost never use these. Why? Because they cost $5.00 to ship. The regular flat rate priority envelope costs $4.70 to ship. This box slips perfectly into the envelope. So why would I ever pay $5 to ship it when I can slip it into the envelope for 30 cents less? Good for smaller breakables or smaller items that you don't want flopping around loose in an envelope.

The Medium Flat Rate Box. This comes in two shapes: side-loading and top-loading. I almost never use these. Most of my inventory is 2 pounds or less, which means that even shipping clear across the country is only $8.20 for me. These boxes are $10.20 ($10.50 without the USPS savings program, $10.95 at the post office). So unless I'm shipping something heavier than 2 pounds that just happens to fit in these boxes, I don't use them.

The Large Flat Rate Box also comes in two shapes: top-loading and, more recently, board game shape. I have never used either of these. I got all excited about the board game box until I realized it was a large flat rate box. These boxes cost $13.67 with the USPS savings program, $14.20 without it, and $14.95 at the post office. You'd have to have some large heavy stuff to make these boxes worth it.

Now, on to the ever-confusing Regional Priority Boxes.

The regional A boxes come in two shapes: side-loading and top-loading. These boxes both ship for the same price as a regular 2 pound priority package. I was using the top-loading box ALL.THE.TIME for shipping shoes. These are the absolute perfect size and shape for most pairs of shoes. But once I signed up for the USPS savings program (this is starting to sound like a sponsored blog post....), the regional box A was actually a few cents more than a regular 2 pound priority package. "A few cents more" sounds petty, but when you ship 200 packages per month, that can add up quickly over a year. So the only time I use these boxes now is for items that are MORE than 2 pounds. The occasional hot rollers fit in here, or a heavy stack of books...

The side-loading one I didn't use too often. I still use it for my Meltonian orders. I can fit a starter kit in here nicely, or 10-12 creams. Then I cut the box down and it slides right into a legal flat rate envelope. Other than that, I have a stack of them assembled and holding my poly mailers.

The Regional B boxes also come in side-loading and top-loading. I rarely use these, because they ship for the same as a 4 pound package. I rarely ship things that are heavier than 4 pounds, so I wouldn't see any cost savings.

The rest of the boxes I'm going to talk about are just regular priority boxes. They ship at regular priority shipping rates. But some of the box sizes are really convenient for specific things, and like I said - they are free.

These are boxes 1092, 1095, and 1097. They look the same. For all intents and purposes, they ARE the same. There are very subtle differences, 1/2" here, 1/4" there... I don't use them often. They also work well assembled and stacked to make storage shelves for poly mailers. They work well for Wilton cake pans, but I've started wrapping them in bubble wrap and shipping them first class. They also work well for latch hook kits, but if it's more than 2 pounds, you'd be better off using the Regional A side-loading box.

This is the box I use most, which stands to reason, since shoes are my niche. It's 15x8x5. It's just a little too big for most of the shoes I ship, but overall, it works well. It also works well for most hot roller sets, Care Bears with voice boxes (that shouldn't be sent in poly mailers), or tall mugs or glasses.

The priority video box is just a little bit bigger than a small flat rate box. I don't use it much, but I use it to ship up to 6 shoe creams. This box slides nicely into a regular-sized flat rate envelope. This would be a good box to use for small items that you don't want sliding around in an envelope.

The 12x12x8 is a good one to have on hand. It's good for plates, smaller square board games (like Memory or Yahtzee - just cut the box down shorter), boots, bowls, casseroles, etc....

Last but not least, the 7x7x6 is another handy one. It's perfect for mugs, but it would also be great for cup/saucers, Christmas ornaments, smaller bowls, knick knacks, or any other smaller item.

So there you go - that should be enough to get you started. Hopefully I've given you a few ideas to think outside the box (so to speak...). Go to the usps website and browse their free shipping supplies. Order a bunch. Get to know the different sizes. You can't beat free shipping boxes!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this post a day early, so my numbers are gonna be off a bit.

I sold 64 items this week (some of which overlapped with last week, because I'm using 7 day data but it's only been 6 days since my last Top Moments post). I sold a TON of shoe creams this week. I'm pretty sure they made up at least half of my sales, quantity-wise.

Good news! Last week, I had a negative feedback switch from the 1 month column to the 6 month column. This week, I had a neutral make the same switch. So now instead of an ugly-looking "1 neutral, 3 negatives" in that "1 month" column, I just have "2 negatives," which looks so much better.

My favorite sales from the week:

I have had 2 of these Vision Ware 2.5 quart casseroles for what feels like forever. I've had them listed for $24.99 each. I got an offer the other day for $12 each (she wanted both). Normally, I would have declined that offer, but for some reason, I decided to counter offer. I think I just wanted them gone. I counter-offered for $18 each and she accepted! I paid $6.25 for one of them in May and $5.29 for the other in June. So I turned $11.50 into $36 plus shipping. Not awful. I'm just glad they're sold. I'll have to ship them out Friday morning. I'm really looking forward to THAT packaging project. /sarcasm

Another new with tags Columbia sale. This was a neat pale green blouse with pale yellow tropical fish on it. Retail price $40. I paid $4.50 for it in September and sold it this week for $24.99 with free shipping ($2.43).

If you aren't convinced yet that microwave turntables are a good seller, I don't know what more to say or do. For awhile I quit buying them, because I already had a tall stack and didn't want to have to start a second stack. But then I sold several in one week and came to my senses. I've bought 10 or 15 in the past couple weeks that I need to get cleaned up and list. They list quickly, so I don't know what the hold up is. I paid $1.13 for this one in July and sold it this week for my full asking price of $24.99. When someone buys a turntable for my full asking price, I generally upgrade the shipping from parcel to priority, even if it costs me a few bucks. I figure it's the least I can do for them being respectful of my asking price. I get SO many lowball offers on turntables, it's disgusting. So this buyer will be pleasantly surprised to get their turntable much sooner than they expected!

Another new with tags item from the infamous yard sale. I wish I had gone for a higher price on this coat. Retail price is $60. I paid $7.25 for it in September. With all of this new with tags stuff, I have been aiming for a selling price of at least half of retail. I must have been having a slow sales day, because I accepted an offer of $27.50 plus shipping on this.

These shoes are neat looking. They sat in my store with no interest whatsoever. Two days ago, I ended the listing and relisted using the "Sell Similar" link instead of the "Relist" link. They sold the next day! I'm convinced that's a magic solution to selling old stock. I paid $3.97 for these in February. Yes, February! I was so glad to see them go this week for $30 and free shipping ($6.65).

I took this picture in the bed of our pickup truck while I was waiting for my daughter during her horseback riding lesson a few weeks ago. I usually wait about an hour and I have no cell service there (gasp!), so this particular week, I took a basket of already cleaned but not polished shoes, my travel case of shoe polish supplies, my backdrop, and my camera. During that hour, I got 12 pairs polished, buffed, and photographed. I paid $6.97 for these SAS shoes in October and sold them this week for $45 and free shipping ($8.20).

Did you sell anything this week that has a fun story behind it?

This Week's Thrift Finds

2011-11-19T18:56:00.000-08:00

I went to Goodwill twice this week. Both trips treated me well! On Tuesday, I decided to branch out into toys a little more. Despite having 4 kids, I know nothing about what toys sell well, so I took a risk on these. I suspect I paid too much for them, but I'm hoping for the best.

V-Tech Big Top Laptop: Paid $2.17. Completeds aren't too terribly exciting, but I should be able to get at least 5-6 times my investment.
Mattel See 'n' Say Says Whooo: Paid $4.23. Before I bought this, I did a quick search on my phone and there was only one listed (for $49.99 auction, $59.99 BIN). I snatched it up quickly. Once I got it home, a more careful search showed me that most people listed it with the wrong number of O's in "Whooo," and that the $49.99/$59.99 listing is definitely an outlier. Hopefully I can sell it for $20 or so, but I'm not holding my breath.
Blues Clues Tickety Clock: Paid $2.11. I'm thinking about putting together a Blues Clues toy lot.
Vision Ware 1 L spouted saucepan with lid: Paid $3.17. Definitely paid too much for such a small pot, and I knew better. I must have been distracted when I bought that.
Cheer Bear with Microphone: Paid 53c. Doesn't look good. Will probably list for $20 for awhile and see what happens.
Born Mary janes: Paid $2.99. Will list for $30 and free shipping.

I stopped in again today and again, I wasn't disappointed.

3 snow-brick makers: Paid 99c each. These are for my kids. They get brittle and break, so it's nice to have extras.
6 Ugly Christmas Sweaters: Paid $3.99 per sweater, $2.99 per vest. I'm hoping these will do well in our EBUG Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest.
SAS oxfords: Paid $2.99. I always do well with this brand. This pair is a size 9 WW. I'll probably list them for $45 with free shipping.
Columbia IUP fleece vest: Paid $2.99. This is a local college. I probably should have passed on it but will give it a shot at $20 with free shipping.
Horse & Sleigh sweater: Paid $3.99. This is for my horse-obsessed daughter.
New in package mushroom latch hook: Paid $4.17. I was just thinking the other day that I'm running very lot on latch hook kits. I was down to one. A dumb one that will never sell, I'm sure. I'm hoping for $30 on the mushroom one.

Keeping Track of Expenses

2011-11-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am have a life-long sordid love affair with my spreadsheets. I have a spreadsheet for everything! It's about the only way I can stay sane. I had a couple people ask me how I keep track of what I spend on my inventory. The answer is easy - I have a spreadsheet! :)

My eBay spreadsheet has 13 worksheets on it. Here's a shot of my inventory one. It's pretty self-explanatory.

I have a column for the date, where I got it, what it was, how much I paid for it, the date it sold, and how much it sold for. I actually use this for several things, not just for knowing how much I paid for something.

Mileage: When I need to add up my mileage for the month, I can tell at a glance what days I went where. I know Goodwill is an 18 mile round trip for me, so every time I bought something at Goodwill, I know I can count 18 miles.
Clearance: When I'm running a steep clearance sale, I can easily see how long I've had an item. I can scroll to the top of my spreadsheet and see what I've had around forever and clearance those items (or even pull them to donate or put in a yard sale).
Future Listings: I find the same inventory repeatedly. I have bought 3 Namco handheld Pacman video games, for example. When I'm listing something that I previously sold, I can look at my spreadsheet and see how much it sold for and price the new one accordingly.
Making Best Offer Decisions: When I get an offer for something, I can easily use my spreadsheet to see how much I spent for the item. That helps me to make a quick decision about whether I want to accept the offer or not.
Commissions: My sister-in-law shops for me. She has my BOLO (Be On the LookOut) list and shops in between her visits back home. She presents me with goods and receipts. I pay her for the purchases. Then I also give her 20% of the profit on anything she brought me. I need to know what I spent in order to properly figure out how much I owe her for the sale.

People make fun of me for my spreadsheets (you know who you are!), but you see... it's not just about my obsessive spreadsheet habit. This one's actually USEFUL. :)

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-11-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

This week made me happier than last week. My sales slowed a bit at the beginning of the week, but I didn't have nearly as many bumps in the road as I did last week. I do have two unpaid item cases open at the moment, and I'm not optimistic about either of them paying. But great news! One of my 3 negatives in the past 1 month just got moved to the "6 months" column! Yay!

I had 56 sales this week, only 9 of which were shoes. I'm really clearing out a lot of my odds and ends. I'm seeing some freed up shelf space and hanging space. I have mixed feelings about that - it's great that stuff is selling, but seeing empty shelf space means I don't have as much inventory as I probably should. Time for a road trip??

I didn't have a lot of high-dollar sales this week, but I have a few good stories.

I bought 14 pieces of brand-name maternity career wear at a yard sale this summer. The wife was in the house and the husband was desperate to get rid of it, so he sold it to me for $1 a piece. I'm sure she'd have thrown a fit if she knew, because this stuff was seriously in like new condition. But maybe she should have been supervising :) I only sold this shirt for $7.49 + shipping, which on the surface doesn't seem like a great sale. But I looked over what I had already sold from that sale. Remember, I bought 14 pieces for $14. So far, I have sold 7 of them for a total of $79.44. Sometimes it's not the profit margin on one single piece that I'm after. Sometimes it's okay to buy a bundle of things and look at the overall profit. If I sell the rest of the pieces for that same profit margin, I'll end up with almost $160 out of that initial $14 investment.

My sister's boyfriend's mother died recently. She had an appallingly huge wardrobe. The vast majority of it got thrown away (stained or holes) or sent to Goodwill (missing size tags, faded, but otherwise perfectly wearable). I was left with 76 items that I offered to sell on eBay for them. I looked at this sweater the other day and almost didn't bother listing it. It's just a plain, boring black sweater vest cardigan (wow - just that phrase makes it sound so unappealing). On top of that, it's probably from the late 80's, a no-name brand, 100% acryllic. But for some reason, I decided to list it anyway. It actually sold 2 days later! Not for much, but for more than they'd have gotten by selling it at a yard sale or a local consignment store. It sold for $12.99 free shipping ($3.28).

Is this not the ugliest, most dated latch hook design you've ever seen? Who, when thinking about their Christmas decor, decides that they want to latch hook a duck with a wreath around its neck? Really now. But it was new in the package, so I bought it. I paid 50 cents for it at a yard sale this summer. It sold for $14.99 to the UK during my 25% off sale this week.

On the other side of the coin, this is quite possibly the most adorable little girl's outfit I've ever sold on eBay. I paid $1.99 for it at Goodwill in October. The retail value is over $60, so I listed it for $29.99 or best offer, with free shipping. I got an offer for $15, and I countered with $25, explaining that it's in excellent condition and a very expensive outfit new. She countered with $19, telling me that the exact same outfit sold for $11 the day before. I countered with $25 again, pointing out that mine is the only one currently listed that includes the sweater, and that just the dress (used) is listed for $25+. Then the next day, it ended up being a part of my 25% off sale, so she bought it for $22.49 free shipping ($3.11). So I guess we ended up with a decent compromise. I'm certainly happy with $20 for an outfit I paid $2 for.

I found 4 of these NWT woodland camo BDU jackets at Goodwill in September. I paid $3.99 each for them and was able to list them in a multi-variation listing (they were all different sizes). I sold my first one this week for $27.99 plus shipping.

This fleece vest was from the big yard sale I've mentioned several times now. I paid $6 for it and accepted an offer for $28 (free shipping) this morning. Shipping will cost me $3.09.

I was so excited to find this unopened plastic canvas kit at a yard sale this summer for only $1! I listed it immediately and have tried several different price points. I had several watchers, but never any offers. I had a UK buyer contact me to see if I would ship to the UK and to confirm that it was truly unopened. I told her yes I would and yes it is truly unopened. She bought it full price the next day for $39.99. I had free shipping on it, but because it was an international sale, she paid the shipping. And because I offered free shipping, I don't have to pay any final value fees on the shipping!

Last but not least, my mother-in-law had a set of 3 of these. They are furniture throw covers. She paid a LOT of money for them and quickly discovered that they are annoying. She was constantly having to rearrange them and redrape them and she got tired of it. She asked me to see if I could sell them as a full set. I didn't know anything about them, but I told her sure. And there they sat. I'm pretty sure they sat for at least 3 months before I got around to listing them. I enlisted the help of our eBay Underground members. I listed the full set on October 11 for $149.99 or best offer (plus shipping). I got an offer yesterday for the $100 that we were hoping for! She hasn't paid yet, though, so we'll see....

That's it. Just a short list today. What did you sell?

What I Read With My Morning Coffee

2011-11-17T09:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I don't drink coffee, but you get the point.

Anonymous said: I would love to hear if you have any favorite blogs you follow.

Yep, I sure do! Not only do I spend entirely too much time on ProBoards, but I also spend entirely too much time reading blogs. Here are all the eBay/thrifting blogs that I read, in no particular order (well maybe alphabetical order, since that's just how I am ...):

Big Thrifty Deal - Ginger doesn't post often, but when she does, it's usually about a specific niche.
Coupon Tipster - Amy writes blogs about a wide variety of topics, not just eBay. She yard sales, she coupon shops, she sells, she thrift shops, a little bit of everything.
Do Not Count Your Chickens - Tina's a little quirky, but we love her anyway :) She posts excellent tutorials and topics on everything from how to create promotion boxes to what eBay is really thinking when they offer us special promotions. (Tina now blogs at My Secret eBay Diary.)
Goodwill Haunting - How is it possible that I don't know her name? I love her posts about what she sold each week!
Money in the Garage - Dude writes about thrifting, yard saling, and selling on eBay from a male perspective. He tells some fun stories.
My Dear Trash - Kelly and Laura share their adventures in not only selling on eBay, but also on refinishing estate finds and selling them on Craigslits.
Precipice of Disaster - Adrienne has really been struggling. She wants to sell on eBay, but she's not had much luck. She does really well on Etsy though!
Savvy Saver Secrets - I don't know much about Janessa yet, because I'm a fairly new reader to her blog. She seems very enthusiastic about all things resale and eBay.
The Savvy Shopperette - Yvette doesn't post too often, but it's interesting reading about thrifting and eBaying from a Hawaiian perspective.
The Recycle-ista - Shannon's been distracted by Early Pregnancy Syndrome lately (Congrats!) but her energy level has picked back up and she's rolling again!
The Selling Sisters - Rachel and Lizzie sell on eBay and Etsy and post about their finds, their woo-hoos, and some really awesome selling tips.
Treasures in Thrifting Land - Becky loves to share all the cool and wacky things she finds when she's out thrifting.
Yard Sale Mommy - Again - how can I not know her name? She posts about ... you guessed it, yard sales! She also sells at kids' consignment sales and on eBay.

That's quite a list, and it would take me TWO cups of coffee to get through them all each morning (if I drank coffee, of course...), but I'm always looking for more.

So now it's your turn - who did I miss?? I'm sure a lot of YOU write blogs that I haven't checked out yet. Link up!

All About Road Tripping

2011-11-16T04:26:00.000-08:00

Anonymous wrote: I would love to here more about where you shop on your planned trips. (We only have Goodwill where I live.)

I only have one Goodwill too. I've mentioned several times before that I periodically take buying trips. These trips really are one of the highlights of my business. I love them! I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of 4. I don't get a lot of All By Myself time. I love my family madly, but sometimes a girl just needs to get out and do her own thing for a day.

I am very lucky in that I have willing babysitters near where I do my road trips. The kids and I pile in the van early in the morning, run through the McDonald's drive through for a bagel and orange juice, and head off. I drop the kids off as soon as we get there, and then I head out the rest of the day, not coming back until the stores have all closed.

I have 2 routes that I do regularly: one in Harrisburg (day trip) and one near Philadelphia (weekend trip). I go to Philly twice a year and Harrisburg as often as I can fit it in the rest of the year (usually every 2 or 3 months). When I originally planned my routes, I enlisted the help of family and friends that live in those areas. They helped me make a list of all the resale shops they knew of. I printed out the addresses, grabbed my GPS, and off I went. I have tweaked my list over the months, because there were some that were no longer in business and others that I stumbled on that weren't on my list.

I hit Goodwills, Salvation Armies, Community Aids ... I generally stay away from the hole-in-the-wall local consignment stores, because their prices are higher than thrift stores, simply due to the nature of their business. I don't hold that against them - consignment stores are an entirely different business model.

Before my trip, I save up as much money as I possibly can (leaving it in my Paypal account - gotta get that 1% cash back!). When I'm road tripping, I don't want to have to leave any great finds behind just because I ran out of money. I usually head out with at least $300 for the day trips and $500 for the weekend trips. I know more or less what I'm willing to spend on any given item, so it's really nice to have the ability to just toss items into my cart as I go, without having to stop and think and research to see if the price is right. I know I've got the money, I know it's within the price range I'm comfortable with, so I just toss stuff in my cart and keep on rolling.

I've done both routes often enough that I know basically what to expect in each store when I get there. I have figured out which stores overprice (so I know to only watch for the half-off color in that store). I have figured out which stores have better inventory (based on the neighborhood). I have figured out the best routes to get where I want to go. I have figured out at what point I need to stop to eat because I know the next several stores aren't anywhere near a restaurant.

The one thing I haven't figured out is how to get all my inventory AND all my kids to fit in the van to come home. I usually pack the van full of inventory while I'm shopping, and then I remember I have to put the kids in there somewhere. It takes some creative rearranging, but I haven't had to leave one behind yet ;-)

It really is a dream day! I shop where I want to. I go to the bathroom when I want to, and I don't have to make sure the kids go at every bathroom we find so there are no accidents. But you know the best part?? I get to EAT wherever I want to! No McDonalds! And when I get my food, I get to eat my food. I don't have to cut up other people's food, clean up other people's spills. It's an entire day all about me! Yes, I know that sounds terribly selfish, but it doesn't happen all that often, so I soak it up when I can :)

Just a few quick tips before I wrap this up:

Save your receipts. Obviously you want to save your shopping receipts, but also save your meal and snack receipts.
Track your mileage. This is an easy one. Just reset your trip odometer to zero before you leave your house, and write down the total when you get home. We get to deduct somewhere around 50 cents per mile on our taxes. This can add up very quickly. My Harrisburg road trips are around 250 miles round trip. That's $125 I get to deduct for each trip!
Keep track of your purchases. This is the hardest part of the trip for me. When I get home, it's really hard to match up which receipt went with which bag(s) of stuff. I keep track of how much I spend per item so I know what offers I'm willing to accept. You'll also need to remember to cross any personal purchases off your receipts. I take a tablet and pen with me and, after each store, I sit in the car for a minute and jot down everything I bought there. You should be able to just write on the back of the receipt too.
Take lots of water/caffeine. I have a small cooler I take with me. I put 3 or 4 bottles of water, 3 or 4 cans of Diet Pepsi, and some ice packs in there. The caffeine is especially helpful on the long drive home after an exhausting day.
Have fun! This is your excuse to go shopping ... guilt-free! Enjoy it! It's your JOB!

You Can Search Now!

2011-11-16T04:00:00.000-08:00

Hey - lookie there! We have a search bar now! How embarrassingly easy was that?? I didn't realize there was a blogger gadget for adding a search bar. It took me about 2 seconds. Enjoy!

What Do YOU Want to Learn About?

2011-11-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

I need some inspiration. I want to teach you. I want you to learn. I've been selling on eBay long enough that I've forgotten what some of the basic things were that I had to learn. What do you need help with? What are you struggling with? What new aspect of selling on eBay are you afraid to branch out and try? Please give me some posting ideas in the comments. This blogging business is harder that it looks from the outside. It's HARD to come up with things to write about (except my weekly finds, sales, etc posts). What do you want to learn? And don't worry - if you ask me to teach you something I don't know how to do, I have a whole team of people to help me learn :) No question is too easy or too hard.

Another Consignment Sale!

2011-11-14T05:49:00.000-08:00

I participated in another children's consignment sale this weekend. It's the same one I did in September, but it was in a different town. I learned a lot of lessons this time and thought I'd share them.

First off, something I should have thought of but didn't: Town A is a lot more well-to-do than Town B. I didn't take that into consideration with my pricing. Therefore, only my lower-priced, non-brand name items sold this time. My higher-priced Gymboree stuff hardly sold at all, not even on half off day!

Second lesson: I went into this sale with high expectations. Too high. I didn't realize this was the first sale they have ever had in the new location. It was in a kind of hard-to-find location. The traffic just wasn't there. When selling at a new sale, don't get your hopes up. The sale in Town A has been there for a couple years now and it is huge! I don't doubt the Town B sale will grow, but it does take some time to get the word out. I was very disappointed, because I went into it expecting way too much from a brand new sale.

Third lesson: Minimize the driving as much as possible! This town was also an hour from me. I dropped my stuff off on Tuesday evening, went back up on Wednesday evening to shop the presale, then went up again on Sunday afternoon to pick my unsold items up. That ended up costing me about $45 in gas. (I hadn't actually figured that up until just now - ugh). I need to combine trips. Here's what I'm thinking for next time: drop my stuff off as late in the day on Wednesday as possible, then hang out in town Wednesday afternoon until the pre-sale that evening. Volunteer for a late shift on Saturday, then take my unsold items home with me that evening. Have them mail my check after the sale. That will cut the driving down by one whole trip (90 miles) and $15. Also, by volunteering, I'll get an extra 5% of my sales, so not only will I save money on gas, but I'll make MORE money at the sale.

Fourth lesson: I didn't get to make it for the half-off sale (see Third Lesson above). When I stopped to pick up my unsolds yesterday, I was amazed at how many items were left that I would gladly have bought for half price. I casually mentioned it to the woman who runs the sale, knowing full well that selling items on pick-up day would be a logistical nightmare. But she said, "Well then go buy them! I'm keeping track of today's last minute sales and will send out separate checks tomorrow." So I set my stuff down and shopped away! I spent about $50 on 13 items (all Gymboree and Hanna Andersson for resale). I was so excited about the things that I bought, that I left without my check! Yes, I LEFT MY CHECK on the counter in the store. Ugh. I emailed her. I REALLY hope she found it, and that someone else didn't accidentally scoop it up. That would really stink - all that hard work for nothing. Actually for significantly less than nothing when you consider how much I spent on gas and the clothes that I bought.

So here's the final report (you'll see why I was so disappointed):

I took 93 items and sold 42. I guess that's decent, but as I mentioned earlier, it was all my low-priced stuff. I sold a total of $160.50 worth. The people who run the sale keep 60% of that, plus a $5 consignment fee per seller. I list half of my stuff under my name, and half of my stuff under my sister's name so she can get into the sale early as a "consignor," so that's $10 that I lose in consignment fees, plus the 40%. So my checks totalled $86.30.

Let's do some sickening math, shall we?

Total Earnings: $86.30

Total Spent Wednesday night on clothes for my kids plus 2 items for resale: $40

Total Spent Sunday afternoon on clothes for resale: $50

Total Spent in Gas: $45

============

$48.70 in the hole, assuming I get my checks ($135 in the hole if I never see them again)

I'm not going to count ink, cardstock, or hangers, because that is even more sickening.

So sad.

I had a good time, I enjoyed prepping my items for the sale. But I've got to either lower my prices for Town B next time, or just stick with the sale in Town A (my personal preference).

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-11-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

I'd like to thank you all for your supportive comments on my last grumpy post. It's very helpful to know that I'm not just being defensive, and that my buyer really was out of line.

In this week's Top Moments post, I'm not going to mention ANY of my downs from the week (believe me, there were plenty). I'm going to stay upbeat and focus on all the ups (believe me, there were plenty of those too!). I have to shift my focus. Every couple of weeks, I find that I need an attitude adjustment. My income isn't required. I need to learn to be grateful for the income I do have, and not focus on the stupido's out there.

So without further ado .. I sold 61 items this week, 15 of which were shoes. I sold a good mix of older and newer inventory this week. I am on day 3 of a 3-day 15% off shoes sale. I've sold a few, but it didn't spark the higher sales that my 25% off sale caused last week. I think this afternoon I will study my sales over the past few weeks. I think Tuesdays have traditionally been my slowest days. If that proves to be true, I will try to run a 25% off sale next Tuesday, one day only. I need to work on boosting my sales on those slow days.

My favorites - because I'm not talking about the downs, I have extra ups to talk about :)

I had one of these that my babies had outgrown, and I found a second one at a yard sale this summer for a quarter. I had them listed in one listing with a quantity of two available. I sold both to the same buyer for $10 each. Not a huge dollar amount, but turning a quarter into $20 isn't bad at all.

This was part of a lot I bought in September. I bought a Big Jim Safari Hut and all of these Big Jim accessories were in it. Naturally, none of these pieces actually went WITH the Safari Hut set, so I had to sell them separately. I thought it would be a big seller, but alas. I sold the hut for $10.50 at auction awhile ago, sold 2 pieces of accessories for $6, and sold the rest of them yesterday for $17. Again, nothing earth shattering, but I ended up with $33.50 from my initial $6.35 investment.

This guy was my daughter's. Squeeze him and he roars and says, "My name is Bufford, and I'm proud to make your acquaintance!" He sold for $18.99 (-$2.94 shipping).

My sister's boyfriend's mother died recently. She had more clothes than I have ever seen in one home before. I picked out the nicest stuff to sell for them on eBay. I ended up with 76 pieces total. This was the first one that sold for $19.99 (-$2.43 shipping).

This wasn't a big exciting sale either, but it makes me smile. I paid $1.50 at a yard sale in June, but only because it was still in the wrapper. I sold it for $19.99 (-$6.65 shipping).

Now we're getting into the higher sellers. I thought for sure these Eccos would sell quickly because of the crazy color, but I put off listing them until it was too late for northern hemisphere spring and summer. I paid more for these than I would have liked ($9.90), but they still did alright. I sold them to an Australian buyer (where it IS spring, headed into summer) for $29.75. I had them listed with free domestic shipping, but because it was an international sale, she paid the shipping too.

These were another item from the new with tags yard sale I went too in September. They are just plain ol' men's Columbia pants. I paid $7 for them and sold them for $39.99 (-$4.75 shipping).

And another yard sale find - a Columbia 3X women's fleece vest. I paid $7 for it and sold it for my full asking price of $41.99 (-$3.28 shipping).

These sold quickly! I paid $4.99 for them on October 20 and sold them this week for my full asking price of $50 (-$5.08 shipping). I love Danskos!

The next day, I sold my black ones. I paid $8.97 for these in July and sold them for $50.00 plus shipping. I'm always willing to pay more for Danskos (up to $10), because I know they're a guaranteed $50 sale.

I sold this for my aunt. An older woman from her church gave it to my cousin, who just wasn't interested in dolls. My aunt kept very good care of the doll for all these years and asked me to sell it for her this summer, hoping for a tidy sum. I looked her up, but completeds showed that she was only selling for $5-10. I took a risk and listed her high, figuring I could always accept less later. She sold this week for my full asking price of $69.99 plus shipping! My aunt was thrilled!

And last but not least, another yard sale find - new with tags Timberland puffer coat. I paid $9 for it. I had someone message me to ask if it was authentic. I had to confess that I couldn't say 100% for sure, but that everything else that I had bought that day had proven to be authentic, so I thought so. I didn't hear back from them, and that afternoon, a different buyer bought it for my full asking price of $73.99 plus shipping!

At that yard sale, I bought 120 items for $717.75. To date, I have sold 37 items for $1030.47. I'm at a profit of $300 and I still have 83 items left to sell!

How about you? What were the highs of your week? (Remember, no lows today. Focusing on the highs!)

Harrumph

2011-11-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

Just so you know, I'm busy hiding in the corner, having a snit-fit about my latest stupid undeserved negative. I don't feel like coming out to play today. But I got myself a good dose of retail therapy this evening. Maybe I'll come out and play tomorrow for a Goodwill finds post. Maybe. After I wash my feet.

Fantastic Finds Friday

2011-11-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

We want to hear all about your Fantastic Finds! This features isn't about your exciting sales. It's about your exciting finds! There are so many places to find inventory: your closet, your garage, a yard sale, thrift stores, a consignment item you're selling for someone else. What did you find this week that you are excited about? It can be something you're excited to get listed OR something you're excited to keep! You can even post to your listing, if you'd like. Free advertising!

==========

~~Lesley
==========

I found a big fat nothing this week. Absolutely nothing. This is the first time in a LONG time that I didn't even set foot in a thrift store. I just didn't have the time. But we have a short day of homeschool planned today. You can bet as soon as it's over, we're headed out to run errands, one of which is Goodwill. I hope to find something worth the wait!

~~Jessica
==========

What about you? If you found something this week that you are excited about please share your enthusiasm here!!

My Top eBay Moments This Week

2011-11-03T04:43:00.000-07:00

This week on eBay has been a prime example of the ups and downs of this crazy business. I've got another return on its way back to me ("They were a bit snug in the butt area"). I got yet another negative (I'm up to 2 this month, 3 this year) from a woman who insisted that my new with tags size 7 child's rash guard shirt was really a toddler size, and that it wasn't US sizing. I questioned her about her negative, because I did accept a return and refunded her (albeit, minus my restocking fee since I made no error), and she replied back that it wasn't personal - she just wanted to warn my future buyers that I sell clothing that isn't US sizes. Ugh. Whatever.

But I'm letting that go. I had an awesome sales week! I sold 73 items. 16 of those were shoes. And as with last week, a lot of them were shoe care products. And the best part of my week is that everyone actually paid! I didn't have to open any UPI cases. I do have 2 jars of shoe cream that are currently unpaid, but they just bought them this morning and requested an invoice. I ran a 3-day 25% off sale with very good results. Without that, I'm certain my sales would have been nowhere near what they were. But then I got sucked right into a black hole on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll keep an eye on my traffic and sales, and I'll call eBay if necessary.

Some of my favorite sales:

Let's start out with a bang. This is a $2 replacement piece from Thomas and Percy's Carnival Adventure. I paid $5.29 for it in April. You can imagine my deep, deep disappointment when I realized it was missing quite a few pieces. I've been selling the parts (for other lucky folks who are able to complete their own sets thanks to me). So far, I have sold 20 pieces for $47. No, it's not $300, but at least it wasn't a complete bust.

I paid 53 cents for this last December. It is on Tina's Golden Books top sellers list (top selling as of last October), but it was only in acceptable condition. For 53 cents, I decided to give it a shot and was surprised to see that there weren't many others that were listed, and the ones that were were listed for around $30-40. I initially priced mine for $39.99 or best offer (with free shipping). Over the next year, I put it on sale and changed the price several times. I finally sold it for $19.99 with free shipping. Not awesome, but not bad for a 53c investment.

My 4 year old and I were cleaning her room a couple months ago, and she completely voluntarily said to me, "I don't use this anymore. You can sell it." lol. I listed it 2, maybe 3 months ago for $29.99 or best offer. I sent it to auction a couple times. I had watchers all along, and one ridiculously low offer, but that's it. Last weekend, during my 25% off sale (on sale for $20.99), I had someone offer me $15. I counteroffered for $20 with a note explaining that the 25% discount already made it an excellent price. That afternoon, someone else bought it for the sale price of $20.99. That evening, the original offerer (?) wrote to see if I still had it because she wanted it. That's eBay for you. If you see something you want, buy it. It may not be there tomorrow.

This was in that huge lot of baby clothes I bought in February. I figure I paid less than 30 cents per piece for that lot. I've sold most of it and have made back 8 times my investment! New, these are listed for $40-60. Most used ones are listed for $13-20. I sold mine for $22.49.

I didn't have this long. In retrospect, I shouldn't have included it in my 25% off sale. But it was bulky, it's gone, and I'm happy with the price I got for it. I paid $2.99 for it 3 weeks ago and sold it for $29.99 free shipping. I was able to wrap it in bubble wrap and ship it first class in a poly mailer for only $3.28.

These SAS shoes were in excellent condition. I could have gotten more for them, but again ... clearing out older inventory. (I just watched a deer run across the road in front of my house) I paid $6.50 for them in June and sold them (25% off) for $30. Always buy SAS shoes when you find them, unless the size has been worn off. I've had that problem with more than one pair of these.

Yet another Alf. This is the 4th one of these that I've sold. This is another one that shouldn't have been in my 25% off sale. I guess I got a little generous when I was selecting what to include in the sale. I paid 53 cents for this guy 3 weeks ago. Shipped him to Puerto Rico for $37.49. The free shipping only cost me $5.39.

These Birkenstocks can't possibly have ever been worn. There was absolutely zero wear to the insoles, and the edges of the soles were still sharp. I paid $2.99 for them 3 weeks ago and sold them this week for $37.50 (25% off sale). They were free shipping too (I'm moving to all free shipping until after Christmas), but they went in a padded flat rate mailer for only $4.90.

These don't have a story. They are Johnston & Murphys. I had heard that they were good sellers, so I was excited to find them. Other than my infamous Ferragamos, I've had NO luck at all selling men's shoes. I paid $6.97 for these in August and sold them (25% off) for $37.50. I'll continue to scan the men's shoes for Ferragamos, but other than that, I don't really bother with men's shoes anymore.

So that's about it. No major out-of-the-park sales, but lots of good sales that added up to a great week! What about you? How'd you do this week?

Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I love that title quote from Malcolm Forbes. I had a really crummy October. I've gotten negatives, neutrals, more returns than I can count. I've been feeling very defeated this week about selling on eBay in general. Because of that, the victory that I'm about to tell you about is extra sweet to me!
JulieJ asked on eBay Underground if having a sale in our eBay stores really works. I replied to that post saying that I've never had any luck with my week-long 10% off sales. I decided to go a little more drastic this weekend and see what happens. I put my entire store 25% off for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Then I realized that my friend's $4000 silver set was a part of that sale, and I panicked. So I deleted that storewide sale, breathed a sigh of relief, and started over again. I didn't do completely storewide the second time, but I ended up putting about 650 out of my 750 items on sale.

The very first sale that came in was for a listing I had just listed the night before. And it was free shipping. D'oh. The point of a sale is to clear out the OLD stuff, not the brand new listings. But that's ok - I decided I wasn't going to worry about the profit margin on each individual item. I was going to focus on quantity over quality this weekend. Generally speaking, I prefer to work smarter, not harder. I prefer to sell fewer items for higher prices. But for just 3 days, I was going to throw that rule out the window and take as many sales as I could get.

Well ... let me tell you, ladies and gents. It worked. It worked in an amazingly awesome way. During the 3 days of my sale, I sold 56 items! Yes, I said FIFTY-SIX! In THREE days! How insane is that?!

Day One: Sold 14 items for $155.11
Day Two: Sold 20 items for $176.46
Day Three: Sold 22 items for $421.93

!!!!!

So I'm convinced. Next time I have a sales slump, I'm definitely doing a 2 or 3 day 25% off sale. I strongly urge you to give it a shot next time YOU are having a sales slump. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised. I sure was!

Sure I'll Take That Back ... But It's Gonna Cost You ...

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, I implemented a 20% restocking fee on returns. I had several reasons for doing this:

Now that we are being charged Final Value Fees on our shipping, eBay wasn't going to refund that if we ended up refunding our buyer.
Returns cost me time. I have to go through the motions of refunding the buyer, requesting a transaction cancellation, relisting the item, and putting it back into storage. Hopefully I won't have to re-polish shoes, or re-wash clothes, or anything else like that.
Returns cost me money. As I just mentioned, I'm losing the Final Value Fee on the shipping. I also have to pay to relist the item. Yes, only a nickel, but nickels add up very quickly.
My hope was that the restocking fee would discourage buyer's remorse returns.

I've had to enforce it a few times, with mixed results. I had a buyer who admitted that she didn't read the listing, and wanted to know if I would charge the restocking fee if she returned the Care Bear. Of course I will. YOU didn't read the listing. Why would I not charge that fee? Of course that's not how I worded it. But it still ruffled her feathers. She was annoyed with me right from the start. I stood my ground though. I also blocked her. Not for returning the item, but for giving me a hard time about my return policy. She found out I blocked her, and she gave me a negative. So ... not a real good outcome.

I had another buyer who insisted the size tag was wrong on a shirt I sold her. It was new with tags. The card tag and the silk tag both said the same thing. She wasn't too thrilled and felt that it was "unfair to charge a restocking fee when the shirt obviously isn't a size 7." But again, I stood my ground. She returned it, I promptly refunded, she agreed to cancel the transaction, and never left me feedback.

I had a third buyer who wrote me to let me know that the shoes were great and that my description was accurate, but that the heels are too high for her comfort. I reminded her of the restocking fee. She apparently changed her mind, because I never got the shoes back and she left me positive feedback. That is exactly what I was hoping for when I implemented the restocking fee. I hoped that it would make people think twice about returning for silly reasons.

This week, Cheryl on eBay Underground discovered that eBay is in fact refunding our FVFs on shipping. I double-checked my invoice and sure enough - they are! So now I'm rethinking my restocking fee. Here's what I've decided to do:

I'm going to leave the restocking fee wording in my listings. This will hopefully continue to deter the silly returns. I will waive the restocking fee on most of my returns. If the buyer comes right out of the gate being nasty (hello Care Bear lady), then I'll charge it (as long as it wasn't my mistake, of course). On the other hand, manners go a long way in my book. For example, I sold a pair of pants this week that didn't fit the buyer. Yes, I included measurements in the listing, so I could certainly charge the restocking fee since it wasn't my fault. But she was very nice and apologetic when she contacted me, so I don't mind waiving that fee at all.

I'll just have to decide on a case-by-case basis. I'll leave the wording, so I'll always have the option of charging it if I'm grumpy :) But more often than not, I suspect I won't be charging it. That will make the buyers feel special!

What do you think? As a buyer, would you buy from a seller with a restocking fee? As a seller, would you charge a restocking fee?

This Week on eBay Underground

2011-10-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

The boards have been HOPPING this week! We've got more than 600 members now, so there are new topics being started all the time! If you don't have time to keep up with them all, here are some highlights from this past week:

We've started to compile a list of our quickest sellers. This is a great quick start guide for our new sellers. What have you sold that is a consistently FAST seller?
We've been discussing some tips for running a successful sale in our eBay stores.
More lamentations from the Black Hole and what to do about it once you've fallen in.
Our October listing contest is wrapping up. How many items have you gotten listed this month??
It's Pyrex Week! Tina wrote a great Pyrex article here on We Sell on eBay, and we're discussing it even more on the boards.
Tanya found a crazy item this week, which has sparked some pretty amusing conversation.
What to look for in woven trivets - what do you think, are they ugly or not?
We've also had quite a few conversations about what to do when things don't go exactly as planned: delayed shipping at the buyer's request, item was refused and sent back - who pays shipping?, buyers who don't understand supply & demand when it comes to pricing, where is my item?, and so much more!

Stop by the boards and say hello! As always, if none of the current (zillions and zillions of) topics interest you, start a new one about something you'd love to talk about!

We Love Pyrex!

2011-10-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

The topic this week on Ebay Underground is all about Pyrex. Now that is a big subject! We all agree that we love PYREX! We love the colors, we love the patterns and most of all we love to sell Pyrex. It is estimated that over 80% of all homes own Pyrex and who knows how many of those home collect the beautiful colors that Pyrex has to offer.

One of our favorite places to ID our Pyrex pattern name is "Pyrex Love" This place is jammed with information! I hope you visit that site and bookmark it. You will be glad that you did!
Another great place to visit is Corelle Corner. This has a wealth of information! Love, love, love it!

So here is a good representation on how Pyrex junkies can get carried away. This Gold Electroplate Pie Pan holder (with clear straight sided pie pan) went for over $400! Sadly the person didn't pay, for it looks like the next week this buyer sold it at a little over $100. Still that is a sweet price, don't you agree?

You can not go wrong selling a set of Pyrex Primary Colors stacking bowl set! That is if you can bear to part with it. This set went for $100.00 Prices can vary depending on how many are at auction or available at that time. I like to keep track of auctions only to be able to price my item high in the store. For instance, if I had a set in my store at $99, the other bidders might mosey over to my store after the auction is over since they are hot after these babies.

The Gooseberry pattern is hot right now! Did you notice the shape of these bowl, one side being a spout? This is known as a Cinderella bowl. Now don't be fooled, Cinderella is NOT a pattern name. I've seen the term Cinderella coined as a pattern on some other blogs, but I can tell you in certainty that Cinderella means that the bowl has a handle on one side and a spout on the other. This was a very popular design with the housewives, you know, back when women baked from scratch. Cinderella bowl is essentially a mixing bowl! (with spout) There were Cinderella sets in the late 1950's, which were 3 piece casserole sets.

Check this covered casserole! This seller sold for over $80! The color Turquoise is HOT right now, the design has clean lines and the clear glass cover is the icing on the cake. Right now with all the bad press being given to plastic containers and the toxins that leach out during microwaving you will notice the surge in buying glass.

Is it Pyrex?

You will notice that some buyers put Pyrex in their titles when the item is Fire King, Hazel Atlas, and Federal. This is NOT correct. However there are some companies that did contract with Corning for their items.

GEMCO
Hamilton Beach
Salton
Melitta
Silex
GE
Universal
Cafex
Chemex
Fry Ovenware

Dating Clear Pyrex

Did you know that you can tell the date of your clear Pyrex by the shape of the handles? It is true! Pyrex has changed over the years in a very clear way.

Clear casseroles with no handles date from 1915 to 1926. You will also notice that there is a knob on the top of the casserole covers. Spot a casserole with that knob, you know you have an old one!

This is a scalloped handle. This pan would be dated between 1926 to 1939. If you find a pie pan with this handle, you could easily price it around $30 at this time.

Between the years 1939 and 1947 the handles were plain and boring. This add gives you a good idea however of what those handles looked like and what was being offered. The handles were level with the pan, not upturned. This particular ad was 1939. Take a look at the Flameware on the bottom of this ad! You can find these at thrift stores, estate sales, indoor fleamarkets and vendor malls.

1947 - 1950 was the sculptured handled era. It didn't last long. Generally the lid's handles fit right down over the container lid.

The handles became full width from 1950 into the 1980's

When you are listing your piece, you will want to include the model numbers. For lids, look on the rims or handles, for other items look on the bottom or under the handle. These numbers actually are the item description.

Item Numbers

72 Butter Dish
75 Margarine Dish
77 Gravy Server
022 Round Bottom Casserole 1 qt (lid 622, 682)
023 Round Bottom Casserole 1 1/2 qt (lid 623, 683)
024 Round Bottom Casserole 2 qt (lid 624, 684)
026 Round Bottom Casserole 3 qt (lid 626, 687)
043 Oval Casserole 1 1/2 qt (lid 943)
045 Oval Casserole 2 1/2 qt (lid 945)
063 Oval Casserole 1 qt (lid 945)
322 Rimmed Nesting Bowl 1 qt
323 Rimmed Nesting Bowl 1 1/2 qt
325 Rimmed Nesting Bowl 2 1/2 qt
326 Rimmed Nesting Bowl 4 qt
401 Nesting bowl 1 1/2pt
402 Nesting bowl 1 1/2 qt
403 Nesting bowl 2 1/2 qt
404 Nesting bowl 4 qt
441 Cinderella bowl 1 1/2 pt
442 Cinderella bowl 1 1/2 qt
443 Cinderella bowl 2 1/2 qt
444 Cinderella bowl 4 qt
471 Cinderella Casserole 1 pt
472 Cinderella Casserole 1 1/2 pt
473 Cinderella Casserole 1 qt
474 Cinderella Casserole 1 1/2 qt
475 Cinderella Casserole 2 1/2 qt
501 Refrigerator Dish 1 1/2 cup
502 Refrigerator Dish 1 1/2 pt
503 Refrigerator Dish 1 1/2 qt
664 Round Casserole 4 qt (no handle, wide rim)
722 Creamer
770 Small Bowl (footed 1 cup)
1410 Pyrex mug (8-9 oz) 1970's on marked 300ml
7401 Clear Round Bowl 1 1/2 pt
7402 Clear Round Bowl 1 1/2 qt
7403 Clear Round Bowl 2 1/2 qt
7404 Clear Round Bowl 4 qt

There you go! Now you know why we love Pyrex!

Join us on Ebay Underground! We would love to meet you. This group is dedicated to helping others unselfishly be successful at online sales.