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!