My Take on Store Fees

I've had a few people ask me about the fees for the Ebay store and how they compare to not having one.  My Ebay situation may not be the same as yours, but hopefully my reasoning will give you more insight if you are interested in looking into the store route.

First, I checked out the Fee Illustrator.  I played around with this at many different angles.  I plugged in about what I'm averaging in listings currently (which is around 50 to 75 a month)and what I hope to in the future.  I also played around with selling prices, more auctions versus BIN and vice versa.  In the end I almost always came out ahead on the store.  Usually, they were only off by a few dollars, but as I start to list more, I'll see more cost savings.  My Ebay fees usually are between $40 and $80 a month. 

Since opening my store late Sunday night I've had a few sales.  I have many watchers on my items.  I'm hoping as fall settles in sales will really start picking up.  By the end of October I will decide to keep it open or close it.   My strartgey is to list daily to build up my store even if its only 1 or 2 items a day.  Yesterday, they had 1 cent auctions that store owners could particpate in.  I loved that I not only got 1 cent auctions, but also with the store you get up to 12 pictures in your listings.  Having the chance to put so many pictures in at no additional cost is very nice.

Please feel free to keep asking questions.  I can't tell you what will work for you, but I can tell you my experience and maybe that will help.  You can also email me a momspaycheck1@yahoo.com

I opened a Ebay store

For the last few weeks I've been debating on whether I should open a Ebay store.  Over the summer, with the free Buy It Now option available, I started using that for many of my auctions.  I'm starting to enjoy that option more then traditional auctions.  I will continue to do auctions as well, but mostly will focus on the BIN for the next few months.

The worst part of opening the store was picking a name.  But, I finally came up with one and opened my store late last night.  Since then, I've started listing items in between homeschooling and during naptime.  Today I had 2 BIN which just about covered all the fees I've had this month as well as the cost of the store for the next month.  My goal is to have 200 items in my store by the end of September, which is big for me because on a good week I'm usually running between 15 to 20 auctions. 

So, if you have a store or had one in the past, any helpful advice would be much appreciated!

Garage Sale Finds

I think for the most part garage sales are done around here.  They are still popping up, but I'm not motivated to drive all over the place for scattered sales.  Instead, I always have the wonderful GW to provide me with goodies.  Last weekend I went and spent a few hours digging.  I didn't find a ton, but did get some good items.  I spent less then $5.50 and this is what I got.

Mickey Mouse and Dumbo Disney Costume (my mom paid for one)
Build A Bear Clothing
LeapFrog My First LeapPad Books and Cartridges
Skipbo Game (for my girls)
Minnie Mouse Shoes (for my girls)
Janie and Jack Boys Clothes
American Girl Bitty Baby Clothes
Weebles
Game Boy Advance Games
Geo Trax Track
Fisher Price Loving Family person
Name Brand clothing for consignment sale (Gap & Gymboree)
Hangers for consigment sale

There is only a few of these items that I will list in the near future.  The rest I will pack away for lots that I'm working on building up.  I'm happy with this round of items I found, just need to find more things to list now and not later.

Oak Meadow

 A few months or so ago, I was shopping at my local Goodwill.  They usually have a big selection of books, but I usually don't  find anything, but every now and then I strike gold.  On this particular Saturday I was rummaging through the books waiting for rotation.  Flipping through the books, I picked up a large spiral bound book that said 1st grade syllabus.  I almost threw the book back down, but the word syllabus caught my eye.  Usually when I think of the word syllabus, I go back to my college days.  To see a first grade book that said it, just seemed a little weird to me.  I assumed it was probably for a daycare or private school setup.  I flipped through the book and immediately saw the word homeschool in it.  As a homeschooling mom, I think I've heard of most homeschooling curriculum, but never have I heard of this one.


I did a quick look up on my phone.  It took a few searches, but I finally found what I was looking for.  My initial generic search of Oak Meadows turned up something like THIS.  But, after I got more specific and typed in syllabus, I was a happy camper.  HERE is a list of completed auctions for a syllabus.  Had I held out and waited till late July/early August, I think I could have gotten more, but I was very pleased with my book that sold for $75.00 book.

Garage Sale Finds

This weekend was a pretty decent weekend as far as yard sale finds go.  I did have to drag all 3 kids with me.  My oldest loves to go to garage sales, but my other 2 could care less.  I try to always remember the movie player when they come along.  I took about $45 out with me this weekend and came back with out $9.

My biggest purchase was from a friend selling this Sit and Stand stroller for $30.  I'm hoping to sell this for around $75.  Overall, its in good shape and she still had the infant attachment bar, which I think is a good seller.

I also bought this LeapFrog Musical table from my friend.  She was selling it for $2.00.  I'll probably list it on Craigslist to start out with for $15, if not I'll just put it for the same amount in the consignment sale.  Either way, I'll get profit, its just a matter of how much.  This version does English and Spanish.

I bought all this stuff at various sales.  I bought the polka dotted Wallababy Sling and a pair of Janie and Jack jeans for $3.50 total from a sale.  I listed the sling for $30 and already have someone inquiring about it sold it.  All the clothing was .25 a piece.  Except for the brown sweater, everything is Gymboree & Gap.  The little snack bowls were .10 a piece from a church sale.  I'm keeping one and then will put the rest in a consignment sale I'm participating in next month.

Overall, I had a great weekend getting out.  I did get some great deals at Goodwill which I hope to share later in the week.

Linking up to Yard Sale Mommy, My Life on Taffy Pull, Her Library Adventures, The Penny Worthy Project, Thrift Share Tuesday

Build A Bear

Build A Bear..the bear that keeps on costing.  Thankfully, my girls haven't fallen to hard for the Build A Bear craze.  Anytime we hit the store up, all they want is accessories for them, that they can play with, who cares about the bear.  I recently startred collecting BAB because I know there are people out there who LOVE them.  I can get clothing extremely cheap at my favorite thrift store, but I know they are easy to come by at garage sales as well.  HERE is a list of completed auctions.  Check out these lots HERE, HERE and HERE.

Goodwill Outlet-Keeping it Real Version

Yesterday I wrote and told you about the facts of the Goodwill outlet.  Today, I'll share with you the keeping it real version about shopping there.

People can be rude.
People stink.
Kids get on my nerves.
You might get a hot date.

I have met some really nice people in the GW.  But, there is always someone who has to ruin a good time.  At the Goodwill I shop at, there is a group of people that are there ALL the time.  I think they take shifts gathering items.  The rules are don't get in the bin while they are being placed, do they listen..NO.  There has been more then once when I've been eyeballing something, they'll come up and when the GW employee isn't looking they'll snatch it out of the bin.  If your not aggressive enough, they'll try to push their way in front of you if something catches their eye.  I've learned to be aggressive right back.  

There are alot of people at the outlet that have bad body odor.  It's sometimes bad enough that I'm checking myself to make sure it's not me.  I've decided they use this as a tactic to keep people away from the good stuff.  Be prepared to smell funky people.

As I said in my last post, kids have no business at the outlet.  First off, the place is dirty.  I often see kids digging through the bins trying to get toys out.  It's not uncommon to find broken glass in a bin and its very easy to get cut.  I used to be nice to kids that were digging in the bins.  If they were reaching for something I would help them or if they were in my way I would walk around them.  Not anymore.  I have money and I came to buy.  If the kids are in my way, I just reach around, over, or through.  If they have something in their hands, I just snatch it (just kidding).  But, it is annoying to see unsupervised kids OR when parents let their young ones gum a toy that's been in the bin-yuck!

Lastly, be prepared to get a date.  I'm not sure how often this happens to other people, but I can't count on one hand how many times someone has try to pick me up at the Goodwill.  Usually, they'll make some comment about my looks, which I politely thank them for and tell them that my husband feels the same way.  Usually they leave me alone at that point, but I have had someone ask me if I cheat on him. 

Overall, the Goodwill is a good time.  I think the more times you go there, the more comfortable you get with that place.  There are some regular people that I see and we often have decent conversations while shopping.  I absolutely love this store and I'm so glad that I gave it a second chance and went back after my initial visit.  It's a junkers paradise!

Goodwill Outlet-The Facts

(photo source)

I've had some questions and comments about the Goodwill Outlet, so I thought I would give my readers the lowdown on how the Goodwill Outlets work.  You can search HERE to see if you have any in your area. 

When they first opened a outlet in my area I was excited about checking it out.  I was not reselling at the time, just a avid garage sale goer who loved a deal.  My mom and I went one afternoon and it was confusing, overwhelming and crazy.  We stayed about 10 minutes, left and I didn't go back for about a year and a half.

If you've never been to an outlet they might be confusing at first.  Everything is thrown into rolling bins.  I always associate shopping there to be similar to trash digging.  It's definitely not for everyone.  Gloves are recommended because you never know what you'll find laying in a bin.  It's not surprising to find broken glass, something wet, or something else you don't want to accidentally touch.   Pricing is based on the pound.  Ours is .49 a pound for glass, .99 for shoes, and .69 for everything else.  On the first Saturday of the month pricing goes to .29 for glass, .79 for shoes, and .49 for everything else.

Going to the outlet is not a in and out shopping experience.  At our store they rotate the bins every 2 hours.  When I go, I usually spend a minimum of 2 hours in there.  It may only seem like you've been there 20 minutes, but its easy for an hour to fly by.  Our store has 8 rows of 8 bins each and 2 rows of 4 bins each. 

During rotation people line up along the edges where they push the bins in.  You are not allowed to pull anything out of the bins until they have them in place.  At our store, if you are seen grabbing something out, they'll call you out.  When your all done shopping, head to the cash register.  All stores I have been to have 2 scales.  A large scale that you can roll your whole cart on or a smaller on that you can set your items on.  The majority of the time, I just use the small scale and stack my items on there.  You bag your own items, sometimes I do it right at the cash register, but they also have a 2 small areas that you can bag your items at.  I highly recommend you leave your kids at home. 

Tomorrow, I'll give you the keeping it real version of shopping at the Goodwill outlet.

Thrift Store Finds

These are some items I thrifted last Wednesday from my favorite GoodWill outlet.  Sorry, the picture is not the best, but I don't have the patience to stage a bunch of items unless its for an auction.  I spent $3.00 on everything shown here.  I have a full SuperWomen girls costume.  This will probably end up as auction, as my girls want princess/girly dress up stuff.  I discovered some American Girl animals.  Never knew these exsisted, but seems to be a good resell market for them.  I got 3 animals and a carrying case.  I also got 5 Playskool Pal cars.  Those are headed towards a consignment sale.  I kept coming across these in the past and never picked them up, but going to try and sale them that route.  Not much in the way of sales on Ebay.  Found 2 sets of LeapFrog Leappad books with cartridges.  It's hard to find complete sets of these in the GW bin.  They get tossed all over, but these are going in my collection pile.  Would like to collect at least 10 of these before I list.  Lastly, I got 2 Thomas the Train Aquarium train pieces and some Thomas Take Along Track.

I also picked up a few puzzles for the kids and 2 small dolls that I don't know much about.  Will research them eventually.

Linking up to Yard Sale Mommy, Her Library Adventures, Cherished Treasures,Southern Hospitality

Medela Breastpumps

In the past, I haven't sold very much in the breastpump department, but there's a huge market for these items.  Thankfully, I have served my time to this line of work and I'm fully retired.  But, for the rest of those that are joining the force, they only want the best. 

Medela is well known for their breastfeeding equipment.  They have quality products out on the market, but they are pricey.  With my second child, I bought a Medela Pump in Style backpack breastpump.  My little greedy eater wanted nothing to do with a bottle, so it was hardly used.  The story with number 3 isn't much different, so my pump made a better doorstop then a milk maker.

I personally think things sell better with the boxes.  Even if its more used then the next item, people love to see boxes.  I sold my pump locally on Craigslist a few years ago.  I was just getting addicted to reselling and sold it in the box with all the extras stuff I could find laying around.  The pump was originally $320.  I paid $30 with insurance and I sold it for $150.  I see breastpumps often at garage sales, but in the past it hasn't been a market I've dabbled in.

Recently I was helping a friend price her pump to sell on Ebay.  Checking out the prices, these things go very well on Ebay.  I personally would probably do a BIN, as some do occasionally go cheap, but overall there could be a good profit.  HERE are the completed auctions. HERE, HERE, and HERE were a few higher priced ones that were used items.

Garage Sale Finds Part 2

I had such great luck finding items for my oldest daughter at the free sale, that I was excited to get out and find some things to resell.  I hit up the first community sale on my list that my sister told me about.  I had found a pair of Keens at this community earlier in the summer for .50 that I sold for $31.00, so I was hoping to score at least one good item like that.  When I got to the neighborhood, there was no sign of a community sale happening.  In fact, I only saw 2 garage sale signs and the first one wasn't set up, so I decided to move on.  I had trouble finding the second neighborhood.  I left my GPS at home and was to lazy to look it up, so I headed to the 3rd neighborhood that was near my house.

I got there around 8:50 and people were just starting to drag stuff out.  I stopped at 2 sales and it wasn't worth the extra gas it took to restart my car.  At this point I was annoyed and over it, so decided I would drive over to the Goodwill Outlet.  It opened at 9, I told my hubbie I would be home between 10 and 10:30, so he could go work.  That gave me a solid hour to dig.  After an hour of hunting I walked away spending less then $5.00.

The coat on the bottom is a Hannah Andersson coat.  It's in excellent condition and would fit my oldest perfectly, but I scored her a really nice Columbia coat this summer, so I'll probably resell this in the fall.  I also got 2 Wii games, Transformers DVD Season set, Sharks Tale DVD, Leapster case and game, Mark Anthony cds, Thomas Track, Graco Toys, Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Letters, Leap Frog Fridge Barn, Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Sun (already have letters to fit) Nintendo Game Boy Advance Case (already have a system to sell), Thomas Pj's and some Capri's for my oldest.  Finding all this stuff for less then $5, made up for all the horrible sales that weren't happening.

Craigslist Playhouse Sale

Not sure if everyone else agrees, but I think its harder to sell items on Craigslist in the summer, then winter.  This summer I have hardly listed anything.  A few weeks ago I listed this playhouse.  The story behind me selling this playhouse motivated me to get top dollar.  We got this playhouse 3 or 4 years ago from my ex-neighbors.  They decided to let their house go and said we could have any of their play items in the back yard.  The house was already sun faded and needed a good washing.  We cleaned it up and my girls have enjoyed it every since.  Our backyard is wooded, so we get a ton of bugs and spiders and my girls just weren't playing in that much.

A month ago, I finally got around to taking pictures of it.  My husband said he didn't think I would get that much out of it.  A family friend came over who dabbles in reselling and I was telling him I was going to sell it for $50 because I didn't want to clean it up.   He told me I would be lucky to get $5.00.  Don't ever tell me I can't sell something.  Last week we bought a new playhouse for the girls.  This motivated me to finally get the playhouse listed on Craigslist and 4 days later I got a email of someone who had a friend that wanted to buy it.  They came the next day and bought it.  Now, I probably really should have put this on the driveway and sprayed it out.  They had to take it apart to take it with them and there were spiders running for their life.  Needless to say, the girl that bought it was super happy about this house.  Now, the best part of this story was that I sold it for $75.00.  Of course, everyone was surprised that someone would pay this much, my husband, my family and the friend.

One thing I have learned about selling on Craigslist is to always start high.  I usually settle on a price and then add a little extra to it, just to see if it will sell.  It only takes 1 buyer!

Garage Sale Finds Part 1

I was very excited at the chance of getting out for a few hours on Saturday morning.  I must have been really looking forward to it because I woke up at 5:30am and couldn't go back to sleep.  Had I known what a horrible yard sale weekend it was going to be, I would have went back to bed and laid there.

I had decided the night before I would hit up an advertised church clothing sale and 2-3 community sales.  I went to the church sale first, arrived about 10 minutes before starting.  I sat in my car until I saw someone else pull up and get out.   I was very excited to see all the clothes they had.   I found the girls section and immediately start browsing and making a stack.  The pastor came up and introduced himself and said everything here is free and they would not take donations.  I have a love/hate relationship with these types of sales.  I think they are great for the community, especially for individuals that need them.  On the other hand, my husband and I have been very blessed.  God has provided for us our whole marriage and to this point we have never struggled.  In a way I feel like I'm taking from someone else.  But, I reminded myself that I didn't come to this sale expecting not to pay.

I kept browsing.  They had a nice selection of items that would fit my oldest daughter.  I got my bag full and headed over to look at the shoes.  They had a big area filled with shoes.  I found a few pair that would have been great to resell, but I only selected 1 pair that would fit my middle daughter.  On my way out, I picked out a pair of jeans for me.  I've been needing to change sizes, but to lazy to go out and buy new jeans, so this was a great chance for me to try a different size out.

I did see alot of items that would have been great to resell.  But, I took only what I could truly use for my girls.  The picture above shows what I selected.  Some of my favorite items was a red plaid Ralph Lauren dress for my middle daughter and a Gap winter coat for my oldest daughter.  I know this picture isn't the best, but it was take it then or it never would get taken.

Have you ever encountered one of these sales?  If so, how do you feel about them?  Stay tuned for Part 2 of my Saturday garage sale adventure.

Linked up to Yard Sale Mommy