2/23/11

Reselling Challenge Update

Last sale find: glass of vintage swizzle sticks...
Hi folks.  With 5 days left in the month of February, Apron Thrift Girl's Reselling Challenge is coming to an end.  So far I have listed 10 items this month for the challenge, making a total of 17 items in my shop.  Not so good.  I am only half way to my goal of 20 new listings for the month of February.  I have plenty of inventory, it's just a matter of finding the time to take pictures (there is no light left when I get home!) and research the items, and - heaven forbid - actually put them on the internet.

Aside from being completely addicted to the internet, constantly checking my Etsy shop to see if I have any more views/hearts/sales... I think this has been great for my creativity.  I have a few great ideas up my sleeve for marketing my shop - which I am keeping secret until I have time to do it.
They make fun plant picks.
What I have learned:

I think sometimes I get carried away at a sale - I definitely did this weekend.  There were people rushing all around me swooping in on things they had seen in the photos and this made me feel I had to pick up anything remotely cute.  I ended up getting some things that I don't think I can sell at a profit because they were priced to high to begin with, or with items that don't fit my shop.  I suppose I will put them up anyway just to see how they do.  I have also come home with items that looked great in the store, only to take them out in the light and realized they had chips or cracks.  I want the keep the quality of the items in my shop really high... so finding chips and cracks is no good.

I've had two sales - and got burned on the shipping for both of them.  The first one wasn't too bad - I only lost a couple of dollars.  I really lost money on the second sale though.  I didn't charge enough for the item so my profit after the fees was only about a dollar.  Then I didn't charge enough for shipping so I ended up having to pay to send the item out of my pocket.  I figured since I only lost a dollar or two all together it was best to just suck it up and send it nicely and hope I get a good review - that's worth the effort at least.  

I think as I become more experienced I will develop a better eye for what sells and what doesn't, and how much it will really cost to ship.  I also will hopefully get a better idea of what will sell on Ebay, as I think I need to prioritize my time and energy into selling at that venue, as I think there is more steady money available there (at least that is the impression I am getting from the comments left on ATG).

Ok... Expect an update on my progress in the last week soon!

1 comment:

  1. Oh bummer about your loss on the shipping. It's a fine line between charging just enough which might screw you and too much which might drive away a sale. When I sell on eBay, I state in the auction that I add on a $1-$2 shipping charge just to cover my butt and to cover packing materials and the trip to the Post Office.
    The reason I bought the plates from you was because I thought the shipping was so reasonable. :) I'm so pissed at myself, I broke one of the bowls. It flew off the end of the dish drainer after a wash, I should have just put it in the dishwasher!
    There seems to be a different audience for Etsy and a different one for eBay. Etsy folks are looking for cute, trendy vintage glass owls. On eBay that could get lost in the shuffle of 1000 glass owls from TJ Maxx. But, if you've got a hot ticket item with a name attached to it like a Jere Owl, you want to go to eBay because you will get the best price for it. Multiple selling venues seems to be the way to go.

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