Etsy Shop Update!

Boy oh boy.  Last month I participated in Apron Thrift Girl's Reseller Listing Challenge.  My goal was to list 20 items in the month of February.  I did pretty well - I listed 18 items and sold 2 items from the challenge for a total of 4 total sales since opening the shop in January. 

Then March came...and I have sold 9 items in the last 3 days alone!  I now have a total of 15 sales!  Woohoo! This is so incredibly exciting.  Of course, I check my shop obsessively to see if i have any favorites/sales/views, and when I get a sale it is so gratifying - especially when it is something you have had in the shop for a while that you were beginning to believe would never sell.

My educational charts have been a huge hit.  So far, almost all my sales were on paper items.  I'm beginning to wonder if that is my niche.

I am also looking into selling vintage eye glass frames - because I love them.  I just bought a pair on Etsy but they are a little small - not sure if I should resell them or see if I can make them work with some adjustments....I've been wearing the same pair on my face for four years - it's time for a change.

Anyways, what seems to sell best in your shops?

Thrift Share Monday: More Paper Items!

WooHoo!  Hello!  Thanks for visiting!

I didn't go out thrifting this weekend - there were no good looking estate sales that weren't really far away - and as I have to commute to the suburbs for work during the week, I never really feel like commuting to the suburbs on the weekends.  No wonder.

I did find some things at the sale I went to last week that I haven't shared yet, however. 

Wee!  Don't you just love these?  !!

This one is especially cute!

I found these at the estate sale of a former school teacher... and there are more!  I have an entire set on animals, as well as an entire set on magnetism.  These charts were intended to help teach kindergarteners about science.  The color scheme for the magnet ones is a lavender/ periwinkle type purple, which I love.  I have already sold one on my Etsy, and I just listed them yesterday.  I like selling paper items on Etsy because I can offer a low shipping price, and charge free shipping on the other paper items they buy because they can all fit in the same envelope cheaply.  I think I might take my shop more in the direction of selling paper goods, but with so much cute stuff out there - it is hard to discriminate! 

Linking up at Apron Thrift Girl!

Reselling Listing Challenge: Complete

I'm such a kid at heart...

Well folks, February is over (can you believe it?) and so ATG's Reselling Challenge is complete!  Here is how I did:

Goal:  20 listings (Ebay and Etsy combined)

Actual listings:  18 - not too shabby

Total of items from the listing challenge that sold:  0.  

Yup, big fat 0.   Edit: 2!  YAY I sold two bird prints!

That's ok though because I am still having fun scouting and taking pictures and being creative.  And all in all, 18 listings isn't really that much - especially since most of them were on Etsy.

Weeeeeeee!

Overall I have loved this challenge.  It was a real motivator for me.  I have discovered that I really want to make this work for me, as it is one of the few things I have tried that I am actually motivated to do.  I have spent so much time working for crap money for other people - It is so refreshing to have the chance to work for myself, make my own decisions, and be creative. 

March has begun!

My new goal for March is 20 listings (again).  Let's see how it goes...

Crazyness at the Estate Sale

Wow.  I headed out to an estate sale that was billed as being "stuffed with vintage treasures," a house where the people "stopped throwing out things fifty ears ago."  Looking through the pictures, I did a ton of research on what I could see, checking out how much they could be sold for by doing an advanced search on ebay etc... 

I got there an hour and a half early and I was number SEVENTY EIGHT.   78!  Apparently, the list had started the night before the sale around 6:00 P.M.  People spent the night in their cars.  The sale promised lots of antique toys, and apparently there were a ton of collectors there for those - not to mention all the other resellers/ dealers/ antique store booth owners in line (all very friendly people). After the sale started, people were taking toys out of the little bungalow by the box loads.    I wish had gotten there early instead of taking my sweet time in the morning dancing around the apartment with my kitty cat. 

What a life.

Hours later, after watching a girl who literally looked like Marilyn Monroe come out and hop in a cap to pick up the van load of vintage clothes she had found, my number was called.  YAY!  Unfortunately I only took a half day off at work (Yes I took off work to go to the sale), and I only had about 25 minutes left before I needed to leave. 

When I got in, most of the things I had scouted out were either gone already, or priced to high to buy and resell:  the Easton Press sealed editions were almost $50, the McDonald's Fire King Mugs were almost what they were selling for on Ebay and the Snoopy Fire King mugs were gone.

The owner of the house had been a school teacher, so there were shelves and shelves and shelves of old little golden books, vintage activity books, flash cards, construction paper, and posters - many with charming art.  I stocked up on what I could before I had to leave.  I have yet to photograph all the quirky classroom art I found, which were real treats to find.  I found some vintage Audubon posters that I thought were really charming...

All are in my Etsy shop!

Thanks for visiting!  Linking up at Apron Thrift Girl!

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!

Hi!  Look what I'm doing!

Alright... So I started this little Etsy business called Knick Knack Parade, where I sell cute little vintage items.  Trouble is - I love the treasure hunting part of the job so much that I neglect the actual selling part.  Seems kinda like I'm missing the point...

So - I am challenging myself - as part of Apron Thrift Girl's Reseller Listing Challenge - to list at least 20 items this month.

20 items...

Sounds like a paltry number... but between work, Korean language class, and God forbid - THE GYM, 20 listings will probably prove to be no small feat. 

Thrifty Finds

Hi all!  Yesterday I was supposed to take the tree down, but  I went thrifting instead.  Now I'm sitting in my apartment with my shiny new finds, nestled cozily under the tired Christmas tree as it sheds pine needles onto the floor.  Oh at some point I'll recuperate from the holidays.  Probably not today though.

For now, check out what I found!

I just can't get over how pretty this shade of blue is!

I brought this little hen home - and Boyfriend actually likes it. 

I love this jar!  I really want to keep it but I think I will put it up for sale to see how it does.

I opened a new shop on Bonanza called the Knick Knack Parade***, and you can find all of these items for sale.  I'm new to this whole thing. I think I will start out on Bonanza and see how that works out, and then move over to Etsy if I think I could do better over there.  Does anyone else have experience with Bonanza?  

*** I moved my items over to Etsy after I realized I could sell less expensive things more cheaply there.  Here is the link to my shop!

I am linking up with Apron Thrift Girl - gotta love all the inspiration I get while reading her blog!

Sweet Holy Moley! I'm Reselling!

Woohooo! I set a goal for myself and accomplished it!  YAY!  That almost never happens.

As you may or may not know, I am swamped with student loan debt and being a teacher aide doesn't exactly cover all the bills.  I want to go to grad school to get some skills that would hopefully qualify me for something with a salary - but until I can make a decision on what to study, and then actually go to school, and then actually graduate, and then actually get a job with a salary...  I have been at a loss for what to do about all the bills...

Solution?  Reselling!

I am tired of spending my precious fleeting time at soul crushing jobs, but treasure hunting thrifting is something I enjoy doing!  Now... if only I could make a little cash doing it.

I spent all day working on this project - and set up a little booth at Bonanza!  Check it out!  It is filled with a few vintage odds and ends... with more to come!

:)