Listing Items

Listing an item has to be the worst part of reselling.  It's not that I mind doing it, its just the amount of time it takes to list.  Since I recently started venturing into the world of clothing, listing has taken longer then previous items I've sold.  About the time I started listing more clothes, I also changed the time that I list.  I used to always be a night lister.  I would start about 9 pm est and would work on it for about 2 hours. 

Recently I switched to listing during the day.  I usually put my kids down for naps between 1 and 2.  After that I will take about an hour of their naptime to list whatever I can.  Usually my goal is 10 items, but I try to quit after an hour so that I have time to do other things.  If I take pictures of the clothing ahead of time it moves the process along alot faster.  I also have started taking the pictures in our dining room.  I have a wide open space, I lay a old curtain down and I can move through the clothing pretty quickly.  Our office space is cramped and I just found out hard to move around which was time consuming.  I do occasionally list at night, but during the day has been an awesome change.  I thought changing to the day would mean no last minute bidders, but I have found not only have people bidded last minute, but more people are paying right away.  I do sell on Craigslist as well, but I just do that whenever.  It only takes 2 minutes to list a posting, so I can whip those out quickly.

How and when do you list items?  Have you found a system that works for you?

Finding Resell Items

Finding an item to resell is one of my favorite things to do.  I love thrifting, but it can be very time consuming.  I have a main store that I thrift at and it's awesome, but I can't don't take my kids to this store.  It's very dirty, the bins have all sorts of things thrown into them and kids have no business in there.  Plus, I'm usually in there for a few hours and it's not fair to them to have to just stand around while I shop.  One way I deal with this is to go in the evening.  If I go during the week, I go right after dinner.  That gives us dinner as family time when my husband gets home.  As the meal preparer, that means I need to have dinner ready to go when he walks in the door.  One of the nice things about going in the evening is it limits the time I spend in the store.  They rotate the items in and out of the store I go to, so if I go near closing time I can only stay for so long. 

I've also been exploring more thrift stores and now that garage sale season is here I can take my kids along on that.  My kids like tagging along to these types of places.  I just try to keep their tolerence in mind in order to make it a happy trip for me and them.  Usually food and letting them pick out a small inexpensive item helps further my shopping time, but when they are done I stop.  Reading their cues is defintely most important.

How do you balance thrifting and family life? 

Balancing Life with Reselling

One of the biggest issues with reselling can be the time it takes.  For me, its finding a good balance between the time spent on reselling and still managing my personal life which is most important.  Here is a list of the steps I see in reselling.

• Finding the item
• Listing the items
• Answering any questions that are sent
• Preparing the item for shipping
• Shipping the item

This week I plan on writing a few post that will address small changes I have been making to help my family life and still have time to resell.  When it comes to family life I find that being organized and prepared can make life run smoother and easier.  I'm the last person on the face of this earth that should write a post on being organized.  I'm a messie at heart and have to make an effort to keep my act half way together.  One of the things that has helped me is "scheduling" my time.  I use timers daily in my life.  If my kitchen needs a quick cleaning, I'll set the timer and work on it for 15 minutes.  Even if I don't complete it, at least its in a better place then it was before.  I also do this with my kids.  If I think our day has been so busy and I feel like I haven't had quality sit down time with them, I'll set a timer and play one on one with each one of them.  What do you do to help manage your time or accomplish the daily task?

Box Tops for Education

Box Tops for Education have been a great seller for me in the past.  I sell the ones I collect off boxes of food as well as the bonus certificates you can sometimes receive in the store.  Most people don't even consider this to be an item that you can resell.  I know some people look down or frown upon selling them, but you look at it from the point of view that they are paying for you time to collect, not the actual item.  Plus, its most likely some great mom is buying them for their child's school contest.

When I have listed and sold these, most often they go at face value.  HERE, HERE and HERE are some completed auctions.

Leap Frog Tag Book

Leap Frog has a reading system called Tag.  The system is comprised of a "pen" that a child moves across a page in a specially designed book.  I've come across and sold the books a few times with a good return.  You can see a list of completed lots HERE and a list that has some completed single books HERE.  If you can find a grouping of 2 or 3 books, they resell for a pretty good price.

Boys Madras Shorts

Keep an eye out for Boys Madras (plaid) shorts.  These seem to be very hot sellers.  HERE is a listing for Gap brand and almost all the listings sold.  HERE is the results for a generic completed search for these types of shorts.  Most seem to be name brand and selling well. 

Saturday Thrift

I was very excited that this was going to be a big garage sale weekend for my area.  Community sales are starting to pop up and the weather is getting warmer.  But, when I woke up today..it was chilly, wet, and the sales were so so.  I ended up only hitting 4 garage sales.  The only resell item I walked away with was an Abeka homeschooling book which I will list later in the summer.

I had only planned on being out for a short time due to my husband work schedule.  So, after not getting much from the yard sales, I called to see if I had time to visit my beloved Goodwill Outlet.  I headed over there and she did not dissapoint.  I spent about $5.50 there and got 5 clothing items to resell, and a bag full of gray Tomy Track and accessories, Geo Trax, and Take Along track. 

How was your Saturday Thrifting?

Tomy Tracks

I've written alot about Thomas the Train stuff on my blog.  This stuff goes very well and for me its pretty easy to come by.  Recently, I started collecting the blue Tomy Track.  From what I read its an older style track.  There are adapters out there that can connect this track with other Thomas plastic tracks.  I have only been collecting my blue track for the last month.  I currently have a little over 30 tracks saved up.  My goal is to get between 75 and 100 before I list.  HERE, HERE and HERE is a list of some completed auctions. 

The last auction shows some gray track that I also recently found and picked up.  I knew it was Thomas, but wasn't sure how it fit in the picture.  Currently have 5 different Thomas collections going on, not including the train engines themselves.  The blue Tomy track, the Take Along Track, 2 other sets of gray Thoma track and wooden tracks.  Seriously, I need a little boy around here.  He would be one happy camper.

Delivery Confirmation-Is it Worth It?

Up until I started shipping from home recently, I rarely purchased delivery confirmation.  If something seemed a little fishy about a buyer I would get it, but most of the time I didn't bother.  I really haven't had that many problems with customers in the past and if I did, they were easily resolved.  Now that I ship from home you have to buy a delivery confirmation.  They are very inexpensive and I have the cost built into my shipping.  First class and Parcel post confirmations are only .19, while priority is free.  Those rates are much cheaper then if you purchase them from the post office. 

Recently, I had a customer claim that she didn't receive a package.  Had I been shipping from the post office instead of home, I would not have had the confirmation.  I would have eventually refunded her money.  But, I had a confirmation, looked up the info and showed that it was delivered 2 days after I shipped it.  I forwarded the info to the buyer, so they coud see it also.  She kept stressing that she wanted her money back or the item, which I refuse to refund.  I contacted ebay and they told me I was in the right because I had the confirmation.  When you ship at home, your confirmation number is automatically linked with the package.  Along the way, I was very polite with this woman.  She threatened to open a case, which I told her that was fine.  After a week, she "supposedly" talked to the mail carrier.  They scanned it as delivered, but never did and it was sitting at the post office.  She did leave me postive feedback, apologized, but still said I should have refunded her money. 

So, is a delivery confirmation number worth it-YES.  For me, its worth the extra money.  It gives me peace of mind when a customer comes along and states they never received a package.  I have proof that I not only shipped, but can tell whether it was delivered.  On the example I gave above, had I not shipped using a DC, then I would have been out $17.00.  Not alot of money, but not something I would want to do even every once in a while.  I'm sure there are more seasoned sellers who would say a DC isn't neccessarly proof it was delivered, but for me, and my experience it was.

Kelly's Kids

Kelly's Kids is a brand of childrens's clothing.  They also have clothes for the entire family that can be coordinated and matched.  I've personally never sold any, but they seem to go well.  Prices on ebay are all over the place, but selling prices seem to be good. 

HERE is a completed auction list.  HERE, HERE and HERE are some items that sold at decent prices.  Notice that they have some items that look updated, while others look like an old style (at least to me).

Boy Scout Pants

I'm often asked how do I know about the different things that I have sold successfully on ebay.  I never have a clear answer because I really don't know myself.  Most of the time its a hunch.  I have kids, so I think I see what's popular and go from there.  Other times when I'm researching products I want to list, I come across other items that I see going well.  I have a pretty good memory, so I usually store it away and when/if I come across it it I snag it up.

Last week I was browsing Ebay for an item I was interested in selling.  Along the way, I made my way onto a listing for Boy Scout pants.  I was very impressed with what the items were selling for.  Men's pants seem to be a hot seller.  I don't know what the retail prices of these items cost, but if you can find some at a garage sale for a buck or 2, I think it would be a great turnaround.  HERE is a list of completed auctions.  HERE, HERE and HERE are some other ones that I thought sold well.

Kid Sale Results

The kid sale I partcipated in this week was a great success.  I had a friend that preshopped a few days before the sell and  I had some preshoppers (other vendors), as we were setting up our booth.  One thing nice about being a seller is you can shop everyone else's stuff before hand.  Keep that in mind if you ever decide to sell.  There were a few things I saw beforehand that I would have liked to have bought to resell.  Some prices were to high, others I just didn't feel like messing with.  I did pick up some Robeez for .50.  Another vendor had some Robeez and Keds I was checking out.  At the end of the sale, I asked her if she would go down on them.  She told me to just take them, so I was happy.

With preshoppers and the actual sale, I sold $235 worth.  Defintely my biggest kid sale ever.  With what my friend whom I split the booth with sales and mine, we made around $311.  I think overall we both were happy with our earnings.  We rented a double booth, so our cost were $12.50 each.  The booth size was 20x10.  We went a little over on one side becasue it was a open area due to a door.  My sister was in the booth next to us, so we had a tiny bit more room on that side.  We had our bigger items (stroller, pack n play etc.) on that side (not pictured).  We had a full booth and was really busy for the first few hours, after that it dwindled down.  This year they did the sale for 2 hours longer and it was totally not worth it.  Most of the people started packing up early.

Gymboree Jacket

This jacket is a prime reason why I'm about to successfully rent a booth in a kid sale.  I love to buy for my girls, especially cute name brand items for way less then retail.  Did we need another size 6 coat?  Probably not, but it will look really cute on my 4 year old next winter and it was only .44 cents.  After that, I'll wear it on my now 3 year old and then resell it.  Even if it only sold for $10, I will have made more then my initial cost, plus wore it on 2 kids.

I've talked about Gymboree in past post, but I can't stress enough how well this stuff sells for me.  I've only had 1 item never sell and it was a little skimpy toddler bikini.  There's no way I would ever put one on my girls, but that doesn't mean someone else would not.  I only paid .50 for it and it was in great condition.  I might relist it one more time before I throw it in my next garage sale.

Kid Stuff Sale

While I love sellling on Ebay and Craigslist, I also love to have a host garage sale of my own.  The only downside is that it cuts into my own garage sale hunting.  Once or twice a year a friend and I host a few garage sales, as well as particpate in a kid "stuff" sale. 
A kid "stuff" sale is one in which you can sell anything that is kid related.  My friend and I usually rent a double booth for $25.  We are provided with 2 tables, but we are free to bring in any extra tables.  We will have a few hours to set up on Friday night and the sale is 9-2 on Saturday.  This year the sale is 2 hours longer then normal, so I'm hoping we still get good traffic late in the day.  I prefer these types of sell over consignment sales because I walk away with more of my money.  Plus, I always have a good time selling my junk and chatting it up with other people.  I also like that I can preshop "other" vendors and get the good stuff early.  Last year I bought a huge lot of robeez and pedipeds off another seller  for $16.  I made a huge profit off those items.

As a mom of 3 girls, I always have a ton of clothes.  My friend that is participating in the sale with me preshopped and bought $42 off of me today.  Along with clothes I have shoes, a stroller, pack and play, baby gates, bumbo, and blankets.  I also bought a few items from the thrift store to purposely sell here.

Selling Adult Clothing

In the last few weeks I've started to seek out adult clothing to sell.  In the past I would buy adult clothing if I found it, but I would never actively look for it.  I've sold 3 items in the last week and a half and have and 7 more items listed now.  The brands I have sold included Dockers, American Eagle, and Express.   I have more American Eagle items for sale this week and they seem as though they will be a top seller for me. 

The thing I like about adult clothing is I have access to a huge selection for cheap.  I only paid .18 for the American Eagle dress I bought last week.  After fees and such, I will clear over $9 in profit.  I'm not expecting to make that much off of every item, but I also cleared at least that on the other adult items I sold. 

What I don't like about clothing is the amount of time it takes to list.  Buying used clothing you really have to look the clothes over carefully.  It's also a little harder to stage pictures.  I'm hoping that I can get some body forms this summer to help with clothing.  I've also been reading about selling clothing on different blogs, so I'm going to experiment more with my packaging.  I prefer to ship it first class since its cheaper.  But, buying padded envies can eat heavily into my profit.  So, I'm actively searching out alternatives.  At the end of April, I'll do a post on my adult clothing.  I'll then decide if its worth selling or if I should just go back to the way I was doing it.  With garage sale season coming up, I know I'll find even more name brand adult clothing to sell.  Would love any comments on what brands sell best for you.

Keds

A few weeks ago I came across a cute pair of Ked shoes.  They were a infant size 1, but were in really good shape and I only paid .16 for them.  So, I figured even if I only sold them for the .99 I started the listing at, I would make about .50 which is what I would sell them for at a garage sell.  I ended up having a nice group of watchers and even had someone contact me about ending the auction early and doing a buy it now.   After fees and purchase price, I cleared about $7.00 profit on these shoes. 

I did a quick completed auction search and found that Keds go for a decent profit if you can find them cheap.  The infant and toddler sizes seem to be most popular.  I've decided to put them on my list for things to keep an eye out for this summer.  These aren't a get rich item, but looks like there is a little change to be made.  Here is a list of completed auctions.

Petunia PickleBottom

Petunia Pickle Bottom offers stylish necessities that we all use as parents of young children.  I have no idea where I even first heard the name, but I've never ponied up to own any items personally.  However, I did gete lucky once and came across a diaper bag at a garage sale and scooped it up.  The items they offer are beautiful, but being the thrifty person I am, I would never splurge for one. 

The bag I bought at a garage sale was an older style.  It was marked $2.00.  At first I doubted that it was what I was remembering because of such a cheap price.  Being the garage sale person I am, I of course offered to pay a $1.00 (I would have paid $2) for it and the lady accepted it.  Eventually I sold it on ebay for around $30.  Not a huge turn around for the cost of these bags, but considering how old it was and the condition I was very happy with the profit.  Check out their website to see some of the newer items.  If you come across one of those and can bare to let it go, I bet it would be a nice profit.  Here are a few auctions that have closed for a decent amount..HERE and HERE.

Butler Pullover

Since I'm from Indy, its only approiate that I feature something that involves Butler.  Lately, I've had good luck finding Butler shirts at my local thrift store.  Most I have kept, but I did sell this Butler Pullover to a lady.  I paid about $1.00 and I listed it on Cragislist for $15.00.  It sold the next day.  Should have held out and listed it for $20, but happy with my profit.  Go Dawgs!