Family and eBay

I have a question for all you veterans out there.  I'm sure you all have sold things for your family or friends.  My parents are very excited I am selling on eBay, and have given me a bunch of stuff to offload for them.  I don't mind, they are my parents and do so much for me, listing for them is the least I can do.  However...

How do you break the news to them that their "priceless" collectible isn't really worth anything?!?

My parents are the type that are easily lured by the words "limited edition", and it breaks my heart to tell them that what they paid $50 for 20 years ago was pretty mass produced and there are so many on eBay already that it's only worth $15 today.  I really don't want them to be disappointed!

I hope you all are having a great selling month, even though it's July :)

Lindsey

BOLO Lincoln Logs? Maybe?

So, this is my first time posting a hot item, but this item sold for me within 24 hours.

Lincoln Logs!

I found this set of Lincoln Logs in a bag at Savers for $2 so I picked it up, hoping that someone would purchase it.  It sold at the BIN price of $19.95 within a day!  Nothing better than waking up to that notification on my phone! Well, maybe it would have been better if I had heard the ka-ching sound... I do love that sound :) My husband said it would sell fast because the little pieces that I have so many of and the ones with a flat side are hard to come by, there aren't too many that come with the set.  He was right, and this is one of the only times I'm OK with him saying, "I told ya so!"

Hope July is going great for everybody!  Have a fantastic week!

Lindsey

Setting Goals

So, I have decided that I need to set goals for myself to really start turning my listing into real money.  I am a spreadsheet, goal setting, organized type of girl, so having money randomly come in or not messes with the flow of things!

I have created a list of goals that starts July 1st.  I will do my absolute best to stick to this!

1. List at least 5 items per day
2. Go to the thrift store or garage sales at least 2 times a week
3. 100% positive feedback
4. $500 monthly sales (I know this is low compared to all of you long time sellers, but I want my goals to be obtainable!)
5. Take better photos and write better descriptions

So, I've already started on #5.  I bought myself a mannequin I found for cheap to help list my clothes!  I have a ton of brand new business casual attire that I never wore because I got pregnant with my first baby right after I got my fancy office job, and business casual maternity clothes that barely got worn!  I'm hoping I can make some money off of these, I heard that maternity clothes are a big seller.  I think the mannequin will help them sell, it looks a lot better than a picture of them on my floor or on the bed!

I hope you all had a wonderful June, and are looking forward to July!  Have a great day!

The Good, The Bad, and The Shady

Well, this week has been filled with ups, downs, and what the heck moments.

Let's start with the good!  I love being positive!

THE GOOD:

I went to a thrift store for my first time as an eBay seller!  I was there for a good 3 hours looking at the racks and searching items on eBay.  I couldn't leave empty handed, so I picked up a couple books for myself (I'm an avid reader), a belt I actually needed for work, and these mugs.  The mugs were stamped "Berggren" so in doing a search I found that the mugs sell for about $10 each, I picked up 4 of them for $2.

Question for you all:  I have 3 of the one on the left and only 1 of the one on the right.  Do I sell each mug individually or should I put them in a lot of some sort?

THE BAD:

The Chatter Phone (my first sale ever) ended up resulting in a unpaid item claim.  The buyer never even responded to my messages, nothing.  Ugh, some people.  It really left a bad taste in my mouth.  Well, phone is relisted.

Question for you all: Is there a way to see who is watching your item?  The second I relisted the phone, I had a watcher.  I want to make sure it isn't him!  Go away, bad buyer!

THE SHADY:

Kari at She Thrifts, She $cores recently posted about the 53" Hugfun bears being a BOLO, and I just so happened to have one that my kids got as a gift a couple years back and never played with.  It literally sits in the corner of their room.  So it got listed right away, of course.  I got a message from someone who bidded on the item, saying that he lives close to me, and would rather pick up the item and pay me the BIN price I had listed.  He needs the item by Friday, it's a gift for his girlfriend.  I know that handling things outside of eBay is a strict no-no, and this buyer created his account just yesterday. How do I handle this one?  I would rather not ship the ridiculously big bear and just give it to him, but I am also a "play by the rules" kind of gal.  Plus, he asked me to remove my listing, which I certainly won't do, plus I can't now that he's bid on the item.  I'm hoping he's actually a nice guy and just wants to give his girlfriend this bear, rather than prey on new sellers.

Hope you guys are having a great week!  I just want to say, you all are so great and friendly!  Thank you so much for all your help!

First Sale!

Well, I finally got to hear that sweet, sweet KA-CHING! sound my phone makes when I have sold an item!  Holy moly, I jumped up and got so excited!  The best part?  This item was on auction, and the buyer just bought it at the BIN price with no bid!  I went and sent an invoice right away, hopefully payment comes soon so I can ship this item and get it out of my house!

Good-Bye, Chatter Phone!

Now I have the concern that the buyer won't pay.  I'm waiting for PayPal to tell me that payment has been received.  I put on the invoice that the buyer has a week for payment.  Do you guys ever have an issue with the buyer not paying for an item?  How do you deal with that?  This eBay world is such an emotional roller coaster!

Hope you all are having a great week!

Auctions Ending...

Well, I have 7 auctions ending today... and 7 auctions with no bidders.  I know they are kids toys, which are hard to sell, and I know I am new to the world of eBay and selling online in general, but I can't help but feel... disappointed.  Ugh.

2 of my items that end tomorrow have some watchers though!  Now how to turn those watchers into bidders?  I am selling one of those HUGE Hugfun plushes, and would love to see it gone!  It takes up so much room in my house!  I am thinking of using the price raise strategy, since I started the auction at the lowest possible price I would take. I've seen some completeds where this bear has gone for $150!

Please go away, Mr. Massive Teddy Bear!

Anyone have any recommendations to turn those watchers into bidders?  

Officially to 10 Auctions!

Hey there!  Well, since I've started this whole eBay thing yesterday, I've been a photo taking, description writing machine!  I'm up to 10 things up for auction.  I have no watchers or bidders yet, but in my limited eBay experience, I have seen that this usually happens hours or even minutes before the auction is over.  Trying to stay positive over here to keep this as fun, and hopefully profitable!

Feel free to see my items currently available here, and follow me on twitter @wifeysellsthing

Any tips for this (and any) newbie on how to maximize my auction views?