Build $50k - $100K in Working Capital in 12 Months (or less) Utilizing eBay's Platform!

Reserved for future references, summary, and links.

Thanks for doing this thread.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes and also to learn some things from you.

I enjoyed Savidge4's thread and think this will be great to see how you've taken some of his lessons and made them work for you.

Thanks again. Looking forward to this

Just subscribe to the thread, looking forward to your updates. Wishing you a successful journey over the next several months.

Just a brief update and some backstory to better set the staging for future postings...

Terri and I had ZERO experience with any eCommerce platform, and until mid-May I never even had an eBay account for buying or selling.

All truth be told, I rarely (*If ever bought) or buy physical products online. Terri has an active account with eBay since 2016 primarily as a potential buyer (*not as a seller.) She could drain bank accounts if given the liberty to shop on multiple online platforms, no insult intended, she simply loves to shop! I love studying the marketing process, advertising, copywriting, placement, positioning, and SELLING, over that of buying STUFF.

To date, there's been a very slow up-tick in our stats and traffic, which has been rather slow and dismal, as our current CTR (*click through rate) is stuck at .2% of ALL recorded impressions (*912, 076 impressions with 2,333 visitors to our listed items as of today Sunday 08/14/2022.)

As far as time invested, that has been INSANE... as I respect many seasoned eBay'ers (*savidge4 and his wife Erin included) who can accomplish a great deal of work in just (2) hours a day, whereas as a newcomer to this platform, I'll admit... I am taking way more than 2 hours, although it is becoming more fluid.

The Time Invested - So Far...

I've been personally been clocking *50-60 hours per week, basically working 6-8 hours per day for the past 2 months!!! (*And, with due respect being completely green to this platform, I'm still learning the software, algorithms, photos, and best listing practices... it's not rocket science, but it is definitely a learning curve nonetheless! (*I'm sleeping about 3 hours per night again, as when my mind starts going into over-drive, I tend to overthink everything, good ole' ADD or ADHD!, LOL

That "TIME SUCK" includes:

Hunting and sourcing items, which can be time consuming depending upon the store, inventory, and the time we spend researching pricing, eBay's "SOLD" listings, and the current seller's asking prices (comparing the with and without FREE Shipping)... and it's crucial to know the markets and what the buyers are willing to spend. That has been tricky, as PRICING is "all-over-the-map" on eBay, from people who will spend $20 and be happy getting back $22 (*and only profiting $2) - to those like Savidge4 who start at a MINIMUM of 3X (*300% or greater) ROI! <--- That makes sense! $1 IN - $3 OUT... brilliant!

So in essence, I personally have invested roughly 400+ hours, just getting my bearings, learning the system, seller dashboard, staging, photos, pricing, listing process, photos, and trying to utilize the best shipping practices and economical rates. I can honestly say it has become a daily addiction, and if I miss listing an item or several daily, I feel a huge VOID as it goes against my long-term vision and that which is become a "daily necessity" to maintain the forward progress, regardless of paycheck today, or the lack thereof!

I'm treating this like any other disciplined effort. (*And, while money is a HUGE factor - I think Terri nailed it when I asked her WHAT SHE REALLY WANTS IN THIS LIFE & THE FUTURE? - Her answer was simply: "A Sense of Security") To not need, stress out, or worry about money. We've been walking that path on/off for 31 years already, we're growing tired of the old routines, at least I am.

Granted, unlike savidge4 who openly states; "selling clothing sucks" - I will attest he may not be completely wrong (*as I am in that time suck zone) - but, there too is a blessing (and a curse) embedded in the selling of clothing especially for those disciplined enough to continue the pursuit - even if only through blind faith and a relentless determination. (*I started sub-contracting at 20 years old - (30 years ago) with a $2500 investment (*a private loan at that), van, shovel, pick axe, and a will to win in the pool industry!) *It sucked, but it paid 6 figures per year (back in the day!) and did so for nearly a quarter-century! (*I refuse to reenter that arena today, it's too familiar, non-stimulating, and exhausting amount of brain and labor! - and, it doesn't pay like it used to either!)

My take on (*accidentally) building a clothing store on eBay... is as follows, and I still cannot guarantee success just yet! I can only base it upon the top rated sellers and people who specialize in those markets... and, I am far from that intelligent, educated, or nearly as disciplined as many of the MENTORS (*examples) I am currently following.... they have their disciplines and routines dialed in, whereas, we are still trying to SUSTAIN long-enough to reap the future rewards, which are VERY PROMISING!

So... here's the overview:

The Pros:

• Naturally, clothing is an evergreen niche market! (*Unless you live in a nudest colony!)
• Several Top Seller's (*TechNSports, Daily Refinement, and others) are crushing it - primarily with clothing!
• Clothing requires minimal storage, and is easy to acquire inexpensively, store, and inventory.
• Name brand items are abundant and easily acquired in our area - we live nearby Disney (*here in Central Florida)
• Our average article of clothing COST ranges between $2 - $3 (*Goodwill is considerably higher, BUT, we have a honey hole nearby!)
• Our average ROI to date has been 400% - 600% gains on our initial product/goods... (*We may sell more dropping that price to the 300% ROI) and on-going TEST/case study.
• Shoes, Sneakers, Jordans. Nike, Adidas, have shown greater potential and greater ROI's - it's hard to find decent buyer markets for resell ATM. So, we do acquire those items, just not as abundantly as clothing.
• Shipping clothing is fairly cheap and easy considering it cost more to ship than to acquire the items. (*I'll discuss the packing process we use in later postings...)
• We've had minimal returns/refunds (*so far) - usually buyer claims; "doesn't fit"
• The larger percentage of our now *68 sales have been shoes, sneakers, and/or clothing
• The INVENTORY becomes a growing ASSET - to wit, I'll discuss our long-term plans to drop bigger chunks of inventory in the future to generate bigger payouts...as I have plans to exercise some ideas, once our inventory grows to substantiate the execution.
• I currently see the inventory likened a "saving account" accruing a 300% - 600% ROI (*in the near and not so distant future!)
  

The Cons:

• We've purchased articles that have stains, damages, and/or wear that wasn't visible at first glance. (*Some of which can be treated or laundered, others are trashed, work rags, or will be re-donated!) - I prefer not to sell too many damaged items, if at all. (*We are getting more particular about what we buy as well) <--- spend the TIME inspecting items more thoroughly, it'll be worth it later on!
• There's been steady traffic to most of our clothing items listed, but it takes more views in many cases to sell the items from what I have experienced. And... even then, we've sold items with ONLY 2 views, so who knows WHEN it will, I just IT WILL SELL to the right buyer!
• If you allow offers, expect low-ballers who'll seek to get you to sell and ship the item at your costs, (*So learn the MATH FAST!)
• There's always a higher risk of refunds or returns due to buyer's ability to say; "doesn't fit" and we always honor those returns. (*Currently, buyer pays return shipping, but once we clear the 1st few hurdles we'll enable FREE Returns to build credibility and secure the Top Rated Seller Plus status, hopefully!) <--- lower fees, better perks, and seller benefits!!!
• I believe in order to sustain a full-time income we will need a least *500 - 1000+ items in stock, with a minimum daily sales average of 1% of total inventory DAILY (*5 - 10 sales daily, requires 500 - 1000 items in stock in this formula!) *Granted, we hope to increase that ratio to 2% - 3% overall sales conversions as we build momentum, reach Top Rated Seller, gain bearing, etc.
• Despite the 300% - 1000%+ potential ROI on clothing, the profit margins are rather small - so it requires far more sales to generate larger payouts. (*Something GordanJ warned me of and I am aware lower profit requires increased number of sales.
• Lastly, I "DO NOT" believe in saturated markets, there is room for EVERYONE in ANY market if done correctly... BUT, there IS a TON of people "pushing the same dope" so to speak on eBay, meaning: we are selling what many others are already offering.
• Lastly, I NEVER realized how many item specifics clothing contains; from the collar styles, to what types of sleeves... there are many details in listing these items properly.
• Lastly, it has become evident there are people wholesaling items, resellers, and retailers alike mixed on the eBay platform... so, I think it's critical to recognize the low-ballers are seeking to buy and resell, whereas, we are resellers by definition, but seeking to retail those products to an end user more over that of selling to other sellers (at least until we have more inventory!)
  

Hence the TIME one may find themselves spending to get started will vary based explicitly on the niche market(s) you choose to target - And, the knowledge you possess prior to entering those arenas... like a typical guy, my knowledge of clothing prior was minimal, and just knowing if the shirt was on inside out was about my biggest whoa when it comes to clothing.

By request, I was asked to include and honest time-frame (*time investment) from the initial start-up and will continue to log our weekly time investments.

Truth be told, paranoia may be impart the cause of taking longer to gain bearing in ANY new venture, and in entering a new arena may also be a factor when someone enters a new discipline or daily routine. We hear people speak of this in reference to New Year's resolutions, and seldom do the majority break routine and break routine long enough to see it through.

I personally took savidge4's advice literally when it comes to staging, taking pictures, item specifics, and especially, the extra TIME and work I spend when itemizing the DESCRIPTION BOX - as most seller's appear to be very LAZY in many of these areas... and, I can only hope the extra time, energy, and effort pays off. To date, I do not have enough data to determine "IF" doing all the extra is worth the effort and time invested... which reverts back to that negative vibe often associated with changing one's routine or entering an unknown arena.

What I didn't do is heed the warning that clothing may be a TIME SUCK until the inventory, traffic, and conversions reaches optimal levels of predictability or to where you have so much inventory, the sales become a daily flow. Right now, I think we are just shy of reaching (2) sales per day with just under 200 items listed. (*Every time we are about to break 200 listing something sells or we are lacking funds for inventory!)

Also, I've noticed there are several TOP Rated and Top Rated Plus Sellers that have been on eBay for a number of years, some upwards of (2) decades (*20-years) and they get away with posting 2 or 3 basic pics, minimal itemized specifics, and basically NO DESCRIPTION, or a bland description at best, by comparison to how I am disciplined for each and every item we list thanks to savidge4's orientation to small details! *Many of these people have a YouTube following or social media hub that is basically selling to their audience, which isn't wrong... but, doesn't exactly mean they are operating their stores properly or teaching propoer techniques either.

[And... I am still going back and fixing pictures, specs, and descriptions as I wasn't doing it right until 6 -7 weeks ago, and now it has become more fluid! (*Faster and easier, less thought... autonomous almost!)

BUT... that too, BREEDS a certain frustration, as I believe "in the long-run" our ORGANIC TRAFFIC will increase to epic levels as we are currently seeing WAY MORE 'organic visitors' than we get from eBay's sponsored ads, which I too have tested, and see NO REASON to set our sponsored ads any higher than 2% to be put in their ad rotation and SNAG sales...just as savidge4 mentions in his posts and indirect correspondence with my posts (*questions) on his eBay thread.

Although, I "DO NOT" have the template completed for our weekly updates just yet..., I do plan to be 100% transparent with our (*currently LOW) sales revenues, time, energy, and our weekly, monthly, and 90 day totals concerning payouts. (*And... to be honest, it's almost embarrassing at the moment when examining the time, energy, and money invested -vs- the returns to date...

BUT... the REAL FOCUS the is the INVENTORY is already over $5,000 and GROWING! (*just from donating plasma to start this ad-venture!

So, if you can TRY to IMAGINE what a $160 weekly payout looks like when it's $1600 per week instead of $160... that has kept my attention and is actually driving the bus, so to speak! (*Meanwhile, I feel like a passenger on this trip awaiting to arrive at that destination!)

I'll be posting on Wednesdays or Thursdays (*for the most part, life permitting) as we have our "Payouts" set for Tuesdays - which generally clears the bank account early Wednesday morning.

For those who haven't read the other 3-year and counting eBay thread, it helps "IF" you allow eBay to use the sales revenue you generate to cover the shipping labels (*which are discounted considerably by eBay within your sellers hub - roughly 25% discounted from the standard USPS costs) and in covering ANY and/or ALL fees acquired from eBay's sponsored ads (*only 2%), and the percentage fees based on specific selling niche market costs! (*From what I've gathered the average around 15% until you earn bigger discounts, pay a premium, reach Top Rated Seller, etc...)

Another words, be it best you generate the sales, keep a positive balance within eBay, as they deduct all the fees LESS... your cost of goods, shipping materials (*i.e., tape, boxes, packing supplies, gas, etc.) which keeps a tight & easy itemized spreadsheet for future taxes.

I believe, we were issued a 1099-k form once we surpassed $600 in sales, but that $600 in sales (*in my current experience) equates to about 50% PROFIT MARGIN, after all costs, and the average ROI (for us) sits at or around 450% ROI (*or 4.5X for every $1 - Dollar in, we've received $4.50 in returns.)

My biggest problems to date:

1.) TIME (*putting in a great deal of time and haven't really pulled a paycheck from this venture to date, outside of bare bones minimal. We've turned the earnings into inventory - which rests now at $5,273.36... and, I have been playing with pricing - lowing some items, raising others as my knowledge of costs and shipping grows.

2.) Our largest payout to date was only $160 (and some change) largely due to selling mostly $15 - $20 items, and after sellers costs, shipping labels, and eBay sponsored ad fees - we clear about 60% (*before deducting our item costs, gas, and packaging not supplied freely by USPS).

3.) Late Saturday sales... we have our shipping TIME set at 24 hours, so if a buyer pays at 11:59 PM - the post office is closed until Monday, I believe we may start using UPS on Saturday purchases to keep our PROMISE of 1-Day deliver, as the UPS Store is open until 4 pm on Saturday's here... and CLOSED on Sunday's - so even late afternoon Saturday sales may exceed our 1-Day delivery promises!

4.) Growing Inventory - we are on limited funds, so until we can generate higher weekly payout, we too are limited to the number of items we can list daily. The conundrum becomes; I intended to be Full-Time already doing eBay as our primary income. To date, that "IS NOT" generating nearly enough to rely solely on eBay ATM!

*In addition, the idea was NEVER to start spending the money as it was generated, rather build a CHUNK... "Working Capital" - to wit, my mind was wired to think:

If we/I can produce $4000 per month (*or $1000 average weekly payouts on Tuesdays) - I could easily acquire enough inventory to LIST 10 - 20 items per day, and do so with $1000 - $1200 of the sales revenue, leaving the equilvelant of a full-time job!

However, that depletes the overall goal of having $50K - $100K stowed away in usable cash 1-Year from NOW!

This is a different type of mindset by what my normal routine demanded for years, as I was self-employed for most of my working career - serving local clients in multiple trade skilled arenas spanning pools, spas, homes, apartment, and commercial properties as a "Jack of all trades; master of none, but still better than ONE!" (*In most cases!)

Finally, in hope not to bore anyone...

We funded this using DNA - plasma donations!

So, despite any humility, there is NO EXCUSE that I can personally conjure up NOT to continue this pursuit relentlessly, and as a player and a scorekeeper... I'll admit my earliest projections have failed miserably, so this will be ONE HELLUVA UPHILL BATTLE for the next few months!

THE ULTIMATE VISION:

Once we get to a DAILY consistent listing of (10+) items per day, our inventory SWELLS and that becomes the ASSET(S). The ONLY RISK is NOT SELLING ENOUGH - Fast enough to generate a full-time income, increase inventory, and still meet the year end goals!

Oh, and I will say this... we are not currently supported by any other financial resources currently, which means I will likely be seeking temporary employment or risk our current residence as bills are staking up, which makes it difficult to maintain a positive focus!

In fact, I had NOTHING to list for the past (2) days as last weeks payout was a meager $70 - of which $40 went straight into new inventory, $12 went to packing supplies, and $18 went straight into the oil man's tank, as our Mazda 3 gets about 9 miles to the gallon ATM!

So, we have NO Significant advantages over anyone else who is facing the proverbial uphill financial struggles, I LIVE there ATM... and I think; to a degree I did it on purpose, as a means to BREAK MY OLD ROUTINE of relying on 3rd party outside contractors, clients, and/or employers.

And still... I NEED to acquire temporary employment -or- I do not think this venture will provide a living wage until we surpass the minimal $3500 - $4000 per month milestone!

For the record, I am terrified of documenting this journey or attempting to teach others, as most the people I've tried to teach other skillsets to in the past wanted the money, not the reality of having to "DO THE WORK!" - and WAIT for the rewards!

I'll be sure not to make a thesis of every post, I just want to make sure I am clear about the goals, our starting position, and the reality; we started this with minimal access to funds, so there will be a struggle expected for the next 2 - 3 months, after that we/I am hoping my predictions are TRUE and it explodes in a rolling inventory and cash flow system!

To be continued...

First off, Thanks to everyone who has nudged me to document this journey, I greatly appreciate the support.

Savidge4,

I'm no expert at SEO - but I did do some intense research years ago concerning Google's algorithm, on-page SEO, and keyword density in articles and posts, etc... and I can definitely see where the search terms and item specifics are crucial on eBay's platform


I've still yet to fully grasp the randomness to our sales, we listed a pair of men's Wrangler 'flex waist' jeans and expected those would take awhile to sell... We had (2) views, they're sold.

Meanwhile, we have 215 views to a brand new Biaggi carry-on bag... and 11 watchers, still sitting there unsold... The sales are just so random.

I used to think selling a bathroom remodel was hard, now I realize the odds then were 50/50 or maybe 33% chance of landing the job when a potential client received 3 bids.

I think the biggest struggle we are facing (*other than more money to fuel our inventory faster) is being at the mercy of the market.

I don't identify as a control freak... But, in theory that was exactly what drew me into this web of selling online... To some degree, I believe we can control the outcome of these events, provided we sustain the first 6 months.

I do believe we should be "hunting" the more highly sought items (*and the very popular or evergreen merch) that has a higher demand than the number of sellers on the platform.

We have sold some weird random items... Like 130 oz movie popcorn tins... that fetched 40X what we acquired them for... But, finding more is unlikely.

In regards to the Cassini algorithm, I understand that it centers on the keywords and a potential buyer's search terms and we've utilized the "real estate" as much as possible from the number of pics we use (*min 6) usually 10 -12 per item, the item specifics we detail everything and even add fields (*when they are missing) like measurements, weight, width, etc..

I do not see most of the "top rated" sellers doing any of that extra work... So, I believe in the long run, it'll be worth doing it on everything we list!

But, much like Google SEO where "content is king" - I feel like we are guppies swimming in eBay's huge ocean of potential buyer's and I could be wrong - as we are just crossing the 90-day mark since signing up, I do feel eBay like Google places more favor on their "top sellers" much like Google favors the seasoned blogger with 3,000 pages of content.

I sincerely hope my gamble on increasing inventory "out-of-pocket" doesn't backfire and leave us with a mountain of stuff that is slow to sell.

What I really desire is to be sourcing 70 -140 items (1- 2) days per week... And listing 10 - 20 items per day.

I wasn't aware of that shipping TRICK... once the label is printed the clock starts... Good to know!!!

And... I did take note: eBay will send us a notification to SHIP by 'X' Date - which appears they do understand Sundays are just about void in the industry... So, I do feel there is a slight grace period before being penalized.

Our shipping dipped because I had (1) sale on late Friday or a Saturday morning, and my stubbornness got the better of me... To wit, I was like WHY spend the profit driving to USPS for (1) measly sale that has an $8 profit, just to burn $5 in gas, lol.

But, now I am realizing the discounts, benefits, trusted badge and top rated seller status will pay that back 10-fold later... So, hindsight in this venture is a huge factor.

Like seeing a project on paper in it's completion before ever stepping foot on the job site, this mindset shares a similar frequency or vision.

As GordonJ mentioned I feel like Sipyhus pushing the bolder up the mountain, as I honestly expected to be seeing $600 - $1000 per week payout sooner... But, I know those rewards are eligible, we're just not there yet.

You see, I can get juicers, mixers, kitchen items, and more popular items - but they cost more upfront... Meaning, if we don't move them quick we suffer the penalty of listing minimal items each week...

So, now I am a bit conflicted; whether we should build this 1st store primarily based on clothing, shoes, apparel, etc(?)... Get it flowing, then niche into other areas after we have the process and turnover times dialed in.

Right now, I don't care if we are selling "Star Fish" to Norbert on a BOGO SALE or Board Shorts to surfers... I am 100% disconnected from the inventory regarding what I value those items to be worth... whereas, Terri approaches the pricing from the prospective; price it higher!!!

We're still working on the metrics to SELL MORE (*faster) as opposed to the "Whoo-hoo we made $50 on a $2 item!" - It's definitely a RUSH when you find a $5 item that is priced at $269 as a collectible piece, but with clothing - I sincerely think I'm finding the "sweet spot" buyers are willing to pay (*especially, for pre-owned, non-vintage pieces!)

We are competing against sellers who have "brand new' T-shirts in bulk who sell a VAN's shirt for $12.50 (*and have 74 more in stock) with FREE Shipping... and we need $15.00 minimal to cover costs and pull at least 3:1 ROI's.

So, that is a reality we can only guess suggests, once we build that working capital we can "invest" in a totally different mindset towards what we sell and the minimum we need to "ROLL" future inventory into bigger (*or faster) ROI's.

Lastly, I know how to use photoshop and in the future those 3D manikins with multi-product images are attractive - seems many of the Top Sellers use the same tactics... we're still trying to graduate from "bootcamp" at this juncture, lol.

Weekly Progress Report:

• Total Sales - Past (7) Days: $192.18
• Total Sales Past (31) Days: $921.56 (*up 46.3% from the prior month)
• Total Sales Past (90) Days: $1,696.21 (*really only 9 weeks in)
• Number of Items Currently Listed: 189
• Total List Price of ALL Inventory: $5,210.83 (*asking prices, not final)
• Number of Items sold: 77
• Positive Feedback: 100% (24) 5-Star Reviews - (0) Negative Feedback
• CTR (*Click-Through-Rate): Currently .3% (up .1% since last review)
• Listing Page Views: 2360 Total Traffic (up 15.5%)
• Total Subscribers: 9

Our weekly payout on Wednesday, August 16th, 2022 was $99.96

Also, despite our 90-Day Sales Total being $1,696.21 - we've only had a total of (9) weekly payouts, as the 1st few weeks were VOID of sales and I didn't really FIX our listings until about 6 weeks ago... so, there's been some 'gray area' and 'lessons learned' that could be chalked up as the learning curve lessens, which does greatly effect our forward progress.

We've made (15) sales since August 8th and the start of this post... still slow growing, but it is growing!

To be honest, this past week we only really invested about *15-17 hours, due to the fact, I cannot continue to spend more money 'out-of-pocket' than what the weekly eBay payout permits from this point forward.

Our $99.96 payout was absorbed on 30 new items to list, *we spent $60 on merch - (2) Bundles of (12 pk) 11 x 8.5 Bubble Mailers (*Walmart) = $15, and $20 in the tank.

*If you look at the 30 items - the average item will fetch $20 (on average) = $600 (or 10X) before any seller fees, ads, or shipping. Clearly, our average cost per item right now is $2.00 each.

Terri is just now starting to understand the math... although we may sell a $2 item for $20, around 50% gets eaten up in fees, shipping, and our costs. So, if we land a $20 sale, we are receiving a 500% gain, 5X, or a 5:1 return on the initial investment.... which in this example would be $2 in and $10 out.

People like Chris at Daily Refinement are stating as 'sellers' we need to understand what our TIME is worth - and he often states; $50 per hour 'X' number of hours per week... viola' you earned "X" amount.

However, if I calculated my TIME right now, the earnings would be ZERO - but, I do see the $5210.83 as my FUTURE EARNINGS... and, that is growing, as once I list these 30 items, that number will jump to at or around $5800 - $6000 in listed inventory!

Just my 2 cents. but it is easy to see why so many students fail when entering new arenas, as there is that all-too-easy desire to fallback on the old mindset that might put more money in your pocket in the short term, but in the long-run... often keeps people trapped, dependent, or too comfortable) on a specific budget with little (if any) real room for growth.

I think sometimes that feeling of 'discontentment' is actually good, as it renders a necessity to explore beyond one's known routines.

"However, if I calculated my TIME right now, the earnings would be ZERO"

I understand what you're saying here...but, I sometimes remind myself that if I were sitting around watching T.V., or posting on forums , I would be making zero.

Sometimes when we start doing something we try and calculate how much an hour we're making, when in reality that's not conducive to statistics because we're not estimating how much our normal "doing nothing" is costing us. Don't know if I explained that right...

Here's what stands out to me:


That sounds good - but in my opinion that is worth 'squat' when you are starting out in a new business.

A lot of online advice comes across as 'platitudinous' to me. Where is a 'voila' in multiplying hours times hourly rate? Better move might be to take the number of $$ earned last month and divide it by the hours actually worked....and try to improve that number next month. Two goals with that - to improve the $$ from sales and to work more efficiently to reduce hours.

Your feedback is great.

I think this 'path' threads is going to be really good for you...if you look back on it in a few weeks I think you'll notice something I see already - many of the basics Savidge4 told you - that you weren't quite sure of - are beginning to solidify for you.


I really commend you for sticking with it (and also for giving your wife credit - let's face it, she puts up with you!) and I truly believe by 2023 you will be so glad you stuck this out - you're definitely moving ahead.

Lets set some expectations here... A doctor spends how many years in school - to be a doctor... does that time count when he finally is a doctor in consideration of earnings? ( other than the student loan payment? )

When you were a child and playing pool... did those hours count when you started earning?

If I am sitting taking the Real Estate License class ( 40 hours ) do I consider the time spent when I break down my first couple of commissions?

We all know that answer is no, we dont.

In THIS instance you have the pleasure of learning and getting paid - think more in line with say joining the union... you start as a helper... after 3 million hours you work up to journeyman, and then another billion hours later you become a Master.

So there is this not so obvious ( until pointed out ) parallel between the Union Analogy and what Chris ( Daily Refinement ) "teaches" In a Union you are learning 1 skill.. you are niched into one specific trade... Chris suggest there are 14 specific niches to target.

List clothes for 10,000 hours and at some point you will get proficient at it.

I have said this before will say it again... I find clothes to be non efficient. You can get 1000 shirts... BUT can you get 1000 of the same shirt in the same size and the same color? forget 1000 how about 5?

And its right there that I believe what Chris suggests, and the path you are on is flawed - and flawed huge.

There is just about no difference between what I shared in my thread with buying items from multiple niches... and just buying clothes.. a string of one off listings.

The "just about part" and I know Art will get this, is the learning curve with each niche you jump into... Mugs for an example... there are good brands ( Starbucks ) and there are not so good brands ( simple living ). Then you get into the subject matter of the cups.. from Football to Nascar to Disney to to and to

BUT listing a coffee mug... 1/2 the time it takes to lista shirt? 1/4? its quick. There are very few item specifics - its 6 photos and done. The description is very minimal.

So backed to the flawed part... what Erin does... is a far cry from what Chris does. We buy 10's of something...100's and in some cases 1000's. An example I have shared here is right after Christmas running around and buying all the Walmart Christmas ugly sweaters on closeout for a dollar... like 400 sweaters I think 5 different patterns.

all 400 items could be listed in 5 listings. We break listings out by size.. because the title matches what the person is searching. "Size Small woman's Christmas Ugly Sweater" BUT even with that.. the size is the only thing changing in the listing - "Sell one like this" click click click and done.

Of course this isnt something that someone starting out is going to do... you have to #1 have the bank ( capital ) to do this, and #2 you need to start developing relationships with people that can make these types of transactions possible. This in my mind is efficiency to a whole other level.

Do we buy and sell one off things... Yes we do... but when Walmart has a whole stack of air filters in closeout.. when we see it will generally buy the whole shelf.. 5 and 10 and 20 of things.

And once you are looking for this kind of thing... its everywhere... Grocery stores do it, The big box stores do it.. Hardware store do it, Department stores do it... my local gas stations from time to time will have carts full of stuff... it is literally everywhere.

And how many times do you have to do this before someone notices and says "Hey the next time I have this stuff can I get your number and I will just call you?"

We spent $15,000 at a walgreens not to long ago... and it all came from a call "Hey we got a load of things, do you want it?" rang it up, loaded it in the truck - after hours no less. 8000 items ish and I dont think it was 1000 listings... more like 800. Again in my mind this is efficiency.

Bulk buying clothes - that take forever to list even getting a pile of 1000 items is still 1000 listings and I think that sucks.

Niching in the eBay game is about knowledge... but when your knowledge is in "how to sell things on eBay" then you can sell anything - and the learning curve to sell an item isnt time wasted... but becomes time BANKED - for future efficiency

And yet another way to look at this... when you get to say $2500 a month or $5000 a month will it matter if you are working 80 hours a week?.

YOUR time only matter is if instead of doing the eBay thing that is time consuming you could and would be using that time elsewhere earning $$$. So if the eBay is NOT taking away from earning elsewhere YOUR TIME is FREE - means nothing... your in educating... your putting in those 10,000 hours

and you are headed in the RIGHT direction.. so put a dang smile on your face and think back where you were 6 months ago... and look at where you are at today - I know for YOU...that right there is a HUGE contrast.

If you live in Florida near Disney then you should be looking for golf clubs at your thrifts. Florida is one of the best places to find good golf clubs.

A quick heads up...

We've temporarily "paused" our store for the next 7-10 days as we've relocated to a much better living environment. The journey will continue as we have another 44 items purchased and ready to list.

Just before moving... our sales conversions were coming up, the traffic was increasing, and we still have 100% positive feedback.

We have 188 items listed, 87 sales, and the new environment will make the journey much easier as we will not require a storage unit to do staging, photos, and storage. At least not until our inventory exceeds the area we have to store items.

I'll update with more details in a day or two.

I will be back remodeling homes and bathrooms by Monday, so we can maintain the original plan to roll our eBay earnings into more inventory and hopefully meet (or exceed) our initial working capital goal by August 2023.

The past 2 weeks were a bit hectic, but everything is lining up, perhaps that "shift in mindset" is manifesting a series of positive changes... many that were long overdue!

Alright, the store is back up & running... (*finally)

Still modifying our set-up a bit and preparing to start tackling a few renovation jobs - so not not to take away from growing our inventory and rolling our weekly profits into 'working capital'.

We lost a few weeks getting everything sorted out during our move, but we have another 100+ items to stage, photograph, and list, starting today - which I am aiming to list a minimum of (5) items per day... (10) if time and our eBay payouts permit.

We currently have 188 active listings, and we are going to be approaching things a little bit differently as we will need to source items locally, and occasionally revisit our favorite thrift store (*which is now 2 hours away!)

Understanding that clothing is not the most efficient items to list, I must enjoy the hardship, as I am still going to be uploading more clothing and apparel... primarily due to the ease of storing, shipping, and inventorying those items.

Albeit, we will also be searching and sourcing other niche items to 'test' as we are neither niche specific, nor bias as to what we are offering (selling) - so long as it sells, and has a certain measure of quality (or value) remaining in those items.

We certainly are not trying to sell junk or anything less than good -to- excellent condition items.

Also, the only regret to date was not maintaining at least 150 - 300 new listings per month...

We'll see how eBay treats us after 'pausing our store' for a couple weeks - I'm not sure how that will effect us over the next 7-14 days, as I figure we'll need to regain the algorithm and build back our traffic by staying consistent with new listings and uploads.

Our payouts are set for Tuesdays, so in reality; we have today, Saturday, and Sunday to get our sales flow going again... and Monday's are generally held until the following weekly payout.

Not expecting much this week, but I do intend to list at least *35 -50 items by next Thursday!

Lastly, I was getting addicted to the daily routine - and the last 2 weeks sucked, as we didn't really didn't want to 'pause' our store while relocating - now were are ready to kick some serious @$$...

No more playing around... this is fixing to get real, cause now I see the true potential this platform offers, and it is an amazing view!!!

The numbers from this week...

• Current Number of Active Listings: 208
  
• Total Number of Items Sold: 89
  
• Total Sales Revenue (Past 7 Days): $318.94
  
• Total Sales Revenue (Past 31 Days) $447.79 (*Down 52% as we paused sales)
  
• Total Sales Revenue (Past 90 Days) $2,038.40
  
• Click-Through-Rate: .3%
  
• Sales Conversion Rate: 1.7%
  
• Current Fixed Price Inventory: $5,525.58 (208 active listings)
  
• Current # of Watched Items (Watchers): 45
  
• Subscribed Viewers: 9
  
• 35 Positive Reviews (100% Feedback rating)

Our Tracking and Uploaded on Time stats are still low: 94.59% - but, that number should be over 95% as our last 11 sales were all uploaded, tracked, and shipped within 24 hours.

It can be difficult to determine the weekly numbers, as they change on a daily basis. eBay tracks the statistics based on a 30-day revolving time period - which changes everyday.

As is to be expected, the numbers (*stats) are going to drop for a minute - since we had the store 'paused' from our last sale(s) on August 27th -thru- Sept 15th - (a total of 19 days - with no activity, and *NO SALES!) - So, that VOID is crippling the current stats.

PS - I still barely hit the goal of having *35 - 50 new items listed, we had 188 listings, sold 11 items since last Friday, and we're at 208 items listed now - That's only 31 new listings , and I'll be listing (5) more tonight... in essence, that'll put me at (36) new items listed in (6) days... getting better, lol.

As projected, we went ahead an 'upgraded' to eBay's "basic store" monthly subscription for $27.95 - and it should pay for itself, as we were approaching the FREE 250 ITEM listing limit, and in-turn the seller fees will deduce a little bit... Probably should've done it sooner TBH.

Also, we have our shipping time and handling back up to 95% - which is the minimum requirement to qualify for Top Rated Seller and Top Rated Seller Plus levels.

Still creeping up on those 1st - 100 sales, which I'll admit; is taking a little longer than expected.

Picked up some new items Friday, most of the staging and photos are done, but we still need too get everything listed and uploaded.

Whilst, I didn't spent too much time on the Store design (*branding) - went ahead and created a quick banner 1280 x 290 for the main store, and a similar 300 x 300 logo for the profile pic.

The next step is learning how to create storewide sales discounts, coupons, newsletters, and design a few more banners for advertising. Overall, I am happy with our progress, although we just had (2) days with 0 sales... which kind of takes the wind out the sails a bit, but I'm still focused on the long-term goals, regardless of the resistance we're experiencing getting everything to flow.

Another lesson learned...

Prior to upgrading to a "basic store" subscription, we offered 30-Day returns, but... the 'buyer' had to pay return shipping.

It didn't make sense to me at first to allow FREE RETURNS and pay the return shipping as all of our items included Free Shipping already. The idea of paying to ship the item, and then eat the return shipping costs - seemed a bit absurd to me... at first!

Now, looking at the benefits and examining the idea of giving the BUYER the "piece of mind" to know; "we are willing to eat the return shipping" opens up another HUGE level of respect with eBay as sellers on their platform...

When you set your "Free Returns" to 30-Days or "60-Day FREE Returns" - eBay automatically grants the BUYER with a no-haggle - no hassle policy to wit;

What could a buyer possibly ever do, say, or think from a negative perspective(?) - Especially, "IF" YOU offer them FREE Shipping & FREE Returns???

The answer: Nada, Zero,Zilch!!!

There has been no "negative feedback" on our first 98 sales - even the items that were returned and return shipping was paid by the buyer - we had NO NEGATIVE feedback.

BUT... the idea behind switching all our inventory to "FREE RETURNS" leverages eBay's "Seller Protections" against potential buyer complaints or their ability to leave any negative feedback.

The overall consensus from most seasoned sellers seems to be unanimous - the number of returns are minimal, provided YOU describe, define, and be 100% transparent when staging, photographing, and listing your items.

For example: We (*I) actually bought a pair of Pre-owned Men's Wrangler Jeans, and didn't thoroughly inspect the condition of the item... they had a clear and distinct 'outline of a cell phone' in the left front pocket... I disclosed the item as being in 'good condition' - photographed the wear, and defined the item as it were; good condition and discounted the pricing to $16.97...

To my amazement, they SOLD in just under 24 hours... still blows my mind!!! (*even with the distinct outline of a cell phone baked into the front pocket!).

So.. I respect the game and the players... from a seller's perspective, just knowing I'll likely NEVER have any sustainable negative feedback is HUGE BENEFIT and will help us a ton in the future!

Also, as we were located in the path of Hurricane Ian here in Okeechobee, we learned that eBay protects seller's during natural disasters... And, protects us from receiving any negative feedback, delays in delivery, and will basically eliminate ANY negative attempts made to deduce the seller's ratings in the event(s) of a natural disaster... so, I do believe; eBay does 'look after' BOTH the consumer and the seller's who pride themselves on customer satisfaction... as we do, and hope to continue doing in the future.

We're still slow to upload this week, as there's been a bunch of 'unforeseen' events, the (2) contractor jobs I was to start on, both have had delays due to unforeseeable events, leaving me looking to 'apply' at the USPS here in town... seems befitting enough, I need to learn more about shipping and freight any way, as the future may provide the means to start "parting out cars, trucks, boat motors, rv's, motorcycles, etc" - as I am looking in other niche markets that can allow someone to acquire items very inexpensively and turn those items into 'working capital'.

Be it is STILL a slow crawl getting this THING mastered, and the holidays are approaching fast... by next year, I hope to have a warehouse FULL of pre-seasonal inventory in a variety of categories.

We missed our delivery today, as the post office and nearly everything in town was "Closed" and without power...

We've rode out a few hurricanes in our 36 years in Florida, but, the nasty part is losing power, the higher chance of tornados, and the the fact; IAN cranked it up to 157+ MPH winds (CAT 4 - almost a CAT 5)... at least we didn't have any major damages, just some tree limbs. Unlike Ft. Meyers, and the West Coast as people were swimming in their homes - one guy had a video of a snook swimming inside his house! (***INSANE!***)

As far as eBay... We've been going for nearly 100 Days, we currently have 220 Active Listings... SOLD 98 so far, and we had nearly 3 weeks of "down time" due to relocating, which helped my mindset 1000-fold!

In essence, depending on who you follow concerning eBay - having moved 98 items of 318 Total items we've listed... I think we're actually doing far better than many sellers.

Chris at Daily Refinement just did a video of Thread Up... a $300Million-Dollar eBay Store and stated; "For every 11,000 items they list - they sell 1 item... I felt better INSTANTLY, LOL!

But, he too did a comparison of a guy who started about the same time we did, who sells 3-6 items per day, and has 658 active listings...

I'm still debating whether to test some other backgrounds and maybe mix-it-up a bit, as I have to admit - depending upon what you are selling, there does seem some validity to the idea of using a 2-toned backdrop, maybe a wooden table or flooring with a gray background... as I am spending "way too much time" erasing backgrounds, editing photos, and writing bullet list descriptions on many of the items we list... and I gotta wonder; WHY the hell are the numbers still soooo low - especially this week?

Our sales have nearly stopped this week... a small trickle have come through... and, I am guessing since eBay weighs today's numbers with the numbers 30 days prior (*when we paused our store) - we are now in a sort of dead zone... our traffic has decreased by nearly 75% since last month, BUT our sales conversion is higher as were our 'views' - which is good; less visitors, more buyers, I cannot complain about... but, the traffic has definitely SLOWED DOWN and I am curious to see if that continues over the next 2-3 weeks as it mirrors our DOWN TIME last month!?

Hoping everything is back to normal tomorrow as stores, the post office, the banks, and most local markets were closed today - they should all be opened back up by tomorrow... (***We lost power from 9:30PM Wednesday night until about 5PM Thursday... wasn't too bad - But, it was a FUN night, as the winds were ripping, whipping, and the trees howling, snapping, and cracking all night!

Luckily, nobody we know suffered any injuries or major damages. Ft. Meyer's (*and the West Coast) appears to have taking the brunt of the beating from Ian here in Florida... hoping Ian is the last threat of the season this year! It was a pretty intense night!

To be continued...

Alright... Two milestones finally achieved, we hit our 100+ sales mark (*finally) - and although it is not showing on our store just yet, the current seller rating sates; "If we evaluated you today... Top Rated Seller!" - Whoop-whoop!

That should kick the algorithm up a notch, or at least I hope!

Just scored a 'pool tile repair job' to start on Monday... small job, but that will relieve some pressure and might open up some other work!

We have (2) flea markets here in our area, one was open today, the other is closed due to roof damages from Hurricane Ian... so, we're planning to start sourcing items locally next weekend. Last weeks payout was a meager $128, and we haven't had a chance to really source any new items this week... but my daughter gave us a bunch of stuff to list, so we can carry that over until next week's hunt!

Again, we are trying to remain a "general merchandise store" and test a variety of items, and although most of listing are still clothing, we've been noticing thing on clearance EVERYWHERE we go... and I can see how we'll be able to source from retail clearance and other retail outlets once we can afford to drop bigger chunks.

Also, I really "do not" use the terra peak research tools within the eBay dashboard, but I have taken notice of the fact they show some of the primary categories that offer good to great opportunities whereas, there are certain items (*like men's jeans" that have far more searches than the number of items listed... so, I am paying more attention to those areas or markets now as well!

It's funny, I can already feel those in my close proximity acting "as if" I am crazy for doing this... all they see or observe is the time I've invested, and the minimal monies that are coming out the back end... But, what they don't see is the growth of inventory value, as that is steadily increasing, and we are gaining more CTR and a higher sales conversion (*which was at 2.4% tonight, with two pending sales that are awaiting payment... So, I don't think those 'sales" are factored in yet!

All-in-all, things are moving forward, and I am not quitting until I get this machine dialed-in and running at optimal operating performance... and, here I thought this would've been a cake walk, there's a lot of moving parts - all-of-which I could certainly be doing a better job at.

Nonetheless, I am starting to type faster as the routine and listings are creating familiarity - even if we are not crushing it, just yet!

I'll post this weeks numbers tomorrow, nothing too fascinating... just amped to have finally cleared the "Top Rated" milestone, that feels good! (*Even if eBay doesn't post it until our next evaluation on October 20th!)

This is awesome! I have a buddy who buys shipping containers full of returns from liquidations.com. He spends like $20k on the container, sorts it with his team, then resells everything on ebay.

He's gotten to the point where he has a nice-sized warehouse. Ebay can become super robust if you stick with it.

My apologies for missing some weekly reporting... had an eventful week.

We've been juggling potential local clients for the past 7-10 days, we're gaining bearing on sourcing from cheaper suppliers, and still scoring some nice items from the "ole' honey hole' - as our last trip may have been our best score yet!

We landed some new Jordan Retro 11 'Bred' playoff hi-top that are going for $300 - $599 these days... And, I probably have another 150 - 200 items stockpiled to stage, photograph and get listed.

My knickers got a bit twisted for the past *5-7 days, as I smoked the 1TB hard-drive in my Alienware laptop... rendering the entire machine about "useless" for an entire week. (*I thought it was a virus or bad Windows update - understanding the software, bios, and trouble shooting is not my strongest skill set, lol.

The funny thing being, I've not listed an item on eBay with my phone, as I feel it limits certain fields - so I am stuck in a routine of only doing our listings via; laptop!!!

Anyway, we are seeing the traffic come back slowly as we are still STUCK in the "dead zone" from last month's shut-down. I've figured out some of the store features, and regret not paying the $30 per month sooner... Just due to the extra features, marketing tools, and the 1000 listings it includes!

I am 'still waiting' for eBay's next evaluation; as we are "Top Rated" - but they are holding off until October 20th to "unlock" those benefits... Which leads to my current dilemma;

The Air Jordan's I scored should sell for about $400 as far as we can tell... BUT, we have a storewide discount running with $10 OFF EVERY $50 a customer spends! - We've had one decent item sell as a result!

We have a 2.8% - 2.9% sales conversion rated ATM, and our sales are up nearly 50% since September was a 'bad month' sales wise!

Last weeks payout, $118 still not tickling my spine much, as I just had our daughter drop $100 on her Amazon credit card for bins, bubble mailers, and supplies...

I'm atruggling to make a decision between a contractor who wants me hourly RIGHT NOW... And (2) other sources that will "piece mail" me gigs by the job (*which I prefer!!!)

I can honestly admit; it's taking me way too long to source, prep, stage, photograph, itemize, list, inventory, and store items ATM.... Iwas up until 4:30a.m. just staging and photographing stuff.

Our bedroom looks like a storage unit, LOL... The inventory is growing - I'm looking at iPhones and a better camera - as my LG 16MP camera kinda sucks for grapping attention gettin' deets... I want our listings to look a fat juicy 'Whopper' on a window cling - and they look more like what you actually get when you order fast food at the drive-thru!

I'm awaiting a call from a local realtor who has a bunch of rental properties in the area, and she seems to know of me - I have no clue who she is or the status of her land-lord-ship (*hoping she's not a slum lord, like some of them around these parts!)

Meanwhile, gained back 15 lbs (*of the 30 lbs I dropped during agoraphobic 12-18 month sabbatical, lol).

I love this venture... Part of me want to build my credit back up and leverage that privilege, and yet... Doing that wouldn't accomplish what this journey was initiated to do - build 'working capital' without taking ANY LOANS or carrying ANY DEBT!

I need to start using the "tools available" and STOP being too meticulous, I mean were competing against folks that throw 2-3 pics up, no description, and barely "tick" any item specs... And they are killing it while we are still learning the core basics - which is equally awesome and frustrating as hell!

Our traffic (*impressions) was down nearly 75% when we turned the eBay machine off for those 3 weeks. Now we're back on... And, it's only down roughly 13% now - as our sales conversion are approaching the 3% milestone I've been aiming to hit.

I get the whole concept and ideology that thete's a learning curve and we're really only 100 days in... But, I set goals, plan, and to some degree desire to CONTROL THE OUTCOME, even with this eBay venture... And, damned if I can ignore the fact; when we 1st started our payouts were higher - not knowing diddly-squat about their Cassini algoritm, staging, listing, etc...

But, I have a BIGGER VISION - and, although it may not be the fastest method to employ, once I can get that inventory value to $10k - $20k - it opens up other options, and the ability to move larger chunks of merchandise - that's still the focus.

The DAILY DISCIPLINES are shifting to wit; I need this to move faster... It's taking way too long erasing backgrounds, editing photos, using a POS 3rd party Microsoft app to upload photos one at a time... The listing tool keeps changing, which for the love of God - I kinda wish eBay would just leave certain elements the way they were, it's taking longer to list now they keep playing with the shipping deets and options menus...

Like savidge4 repeatedly states; "control the controllable" and I fully get the mindset he see's from to rise above and overcome all the dumb sh!t that interferes, as it doesn't help to bitch, be negative, or complain about the little stuff... If the big picture really motivates someone!

I'm fixing to drop a few item at USPS... meet this realtor and discuss a few jobs she wants done, and I have nearly 200 items to stage, list, and upload...

Terri is still "tiptoeing" in the whole idea there's money in this venture - so, for now; she shops (*as do I) for merch and she's good at that part... The rest, WE... WE... WE... I'm pulling double duty...AGAIN!

Even my daughter is like; why bother with eBay if you're not making money...

I cannot wait until 2-3 years goes by (*which will likely fly-by) and re-visit the attitude others take in their approach to ignore bigger opportunities.

I'm not doing this to prove anyone wrong... Although, it sure would feel good to look back 2 years from now and scream back; "yeah, now what do you think?"

It's not getting boring yet... It's just not moving fast enough to keep the excitement "on-high" - at least not yet!

Hit a wicked-googly today, and, felt it appropriate to clarify my "mistake in thinking" in a prior post...

When I upgraded to a Basic Store, it states: Basic Store Subscription - 1,000 Fixed Price Listings to wit, I assumed that meant as a store subscriber I was eligible to list up to 1000 items on eBay...

Turns out, I hit my 250 listing selling limit today, and although it was only a phone call to get a limit increase (they boosted me to 350 listing for now) - it did kind of slow my progress today a bit.

I've been sourcing locally and although I don't want to stockpile too much stuff, it is getting easier to find resalable stuff here locally at yard sales, flea market, etc. - as a result, we have acquired another 150+ or so items, much of which is clothing and apparel (*mostly name brand stuff) - and we're seeking to start 'picking' other items from here on out as well.

Our sales are up 112% this month with 115 total sales since we started this adventure and to date we've sold $2,755.65 in merchandise... and currently have 233 listed items with a total "asking list price value" of $6,715.61 (*so, our aver item cost is roughly $28 and some change!)

More importantly, I wanted to note that looking back on what we started with (*pennies, really) we've sold $2,755.65 + listed $6,715.61 in roughly 100 days... (*Total of the two being = $9,471.26 - just shy of $10,000... from zero!)

Granted, that's not exactly paying the bills, mind you... BUT, the mindset to imagine, project, and/or forecast what could be possible with the right packaging, positioning, and pricing does make one wonder; how long before I can get the sales and merchandise "rolled into" say; $100,000 now that it is paying for itself, and we are not buying anything out-of-pocket... just building from the sales revenue.

There's a definite sense of awareness taking place too, as everywhere I go - I'm seeing STUFF selling cheap enough to flip items, double-down, and even triple up.

Gordon just mentioned someone spending $400 and turning it into $500... for a hundred dollar gain, and I am sure anyone in their rih=ght mind would call that a win. Here we are testing and seeing 400% returns... whereas, $100 on $400 turned into $500 is only a 20% gain... and that system works... I can only imagine what'll happen when this gets the right traction and flow of traffic, sales, and steady sales conversions... AWESOME!

And, no... we are not seeing a paycheck from it right now, which is what I think would make most people quit. (*And, there's been plenty of days, I even considered throwing in the towel - as I too often think; How long before it really starts churning out results?)

Hopefully, my stubbornness to build easily acquirable inventory (*like clothing) doesn't come back and bite me in the behind, as it isn't the most efficient way to start... it was however, the easiest to acquire, ship, and store... until we can get our bearings and get into bigger markets.

All is good!

Alrighty, so we hit the "Top Rated Plus" status and that will most definitely save us some money on fees and shipping.

At the same time, this past 10 - 12 days has been SLOW in sales, go figure.

The irony being, after stepping back and evaluating progress... Most of the targets we set are being hit.

We've sold (1) shy of 120 items, currently have 240 listed - which is a formula several people teach when turning the (1) item sold into (2) new listings...

Looking at the humble beginnings from a different perspective, we invested about $1500 in the beginning on merchandise. Maybe add another $500 for costs outside of merchandise... And, it reveals a pretty simple formula in-line with what savidge4's post teaches - 3X formula of sorts.

If we get what we set our current prices at, we are just shy of $7,000 in the 240 items listed, we've sold $2,800 to date, and have approximately 100 - 120 more items to list (*lower end items, average list price) = another $2,000 (*or so to be listed)

In total... that's $11,800 between sold, listed, and to be listed items... Granted, we may accept a little less here or there to move inventory, BUT... the math is dead on!

If we put in $2000 to start, round up to $12,000 in sold, listed, and unlisted inventory... That's 6X our initial investment.

Now, roughly 50% will be absorbed in seller fees, shipping costs, and operations. Leaving $6000 in projected profit... Rooting back to the concept of 3X ROI.

When you list an item, and it just sells within hours - it blows your mind. We just sold a 2-pack ink cartridge that we got for $1.00 at a yard sale (*along with a pile of other stuff) and to my amazement - it was sold for $18... Cost $8 in fees and shipping and we get 10X on that one item.

The concentration now falls between getting ahead of this... Having the photos, itemization, and listings entered, but to be scheduled...

So, if I am working 6-7 days per week - keeping up will be easier, if we get out-in-front of it now.

In theory, we could source enough product for the entire month in one day. Once the sales increase, it may require more time, more listings, and in-turn more items to sell.

I think it's kind of funny, what we'll save in shipping by hitting the Top Rated status is in a way perfect timing, as the shipping just went up nearly 20% - so, with reduced seller fees, and a better shipping discount - that affords us a little more wiggle-room on pricing, and we don't get hit as hard as those under-performing.

I've learned a lot more than expected already... Still cannot say I'm thrilled with the actual sales numbers - as our sales conversion dropped from 2.9% to 2.2% in just the last week... And, according to eBay's seller hub, we're still up .6% (or pts) from last month's numbers.

We are getting more impressions, gaining a few watchers, and more click-through - and I can see the items pulling the most attention, are significant to the brand, item, and to a degree the design or style.

Meanwhile, no sales Fri, no sales as of yet today... And, this week is looking a bit bleak on the current payout (*currently at $48) and Sunday's are hit/miss.

Last week was by far the worst payout we've had to date, at a whopping $15! (*ouch!)

Over all, I still see the inventory as future income, so long as we don't get stuck with a pile of stuff that never sells, we'll be good!

I'm trying not to obsess over this months sales, as we didn't expect much this month.

Not sure if you are aware of this Art, this was sent by eBay yesterday. It's about holiday shipping. I will leave the information from eBay here with the link to register on eBay.


"Connect with eBay staff and sellers to learn more about holiday shipping and our newest program - eBay International Shipping. Plus, get key holiday insights, win prizes with eBay trivia, and much more!

Wednesday, November 16 "

This is to official page on eBay - https://hopin.com/events/holiday-sel...n/registration

On another note, I have been following along on this thread. You are doing good on your Journey.

Quick update...

Now that I am back to remodeling and doing renovations full-time (*for now), there's been a slight breach in staying disciplined with our daily listings... which we are getting a little bit behind on staying ahead of the philosophy...

Sell (1) - List (2) minimum!!!

We've sold 133 items, just under $3200 in total sales... Our current listings (*including multiple items under one listing) is at 256 total... So, I am not 'slacking off' too bad, I guess.

The focus remains on building a steady flow of income, sales, and cash flow. I've been networking and putting my name out there again... So the work load is definitely increasing, and it too has caused a side effect to wit; I just dropped nearly $1000 on tools and considering reinstating or getting my LLC back by New Year's or by the end of January.

With another hurricane "knocking on our door" - my schedule just changed as (2) clients are "on-hold" until after the storm passes... They're leaving town until Nicole passes through, lol.

Despite the fact that I have been 'slacking off' (*on eBay) a little bit due to the increasing local demands starting to flow again... We are finding (and sourcing) better products and other markets to target.

Also, in consideration to something Gordon mentions when it comes to 'storing surplus' (or having money invested in stored inventory) - I completely understand there are non-physical items, services, and even products that can be created "one time" and then sold over-and-over again. Such as reports, eBooks, white papers, and digital product creation... I'm still pursuing those future interests as well.

That process (and mindset) of creating a product or a service that can be created, sold, and delivered with less time, energy, and effort, is still a developing skill that I believe is contained within this journey as well... afterall, that was what drew me into this forum 11 years ago!

In the meantime, I'm still passionate about fixing, building, and renovating homes, pools, spas, etc... It is hard to HATE what I have always been good at... I think the real struggle has been "dealing with people" in those arenas, as there are good, bad, and the ugly clients in nearly any business venture.

Thus, I starting to believe what really drew me to this forum was the ability to learn, develop, and hone the skill sets to combine our past knowledge and bridge that gap to be able to control the outcome with less resistance (*generally people slowing the flow)... And, build a well-oiled machine capable of producing income on-demand. As opposed to remaining 'stuck' relying upon jobs, gigs, or the physical limitations working creates.

You can only due so much (single-handedly) in a day... Even my son-in-law expresses his love and hate relationship with his employer... He's pulling $1100 - $1200 per week right now working 60 - 65 hours per week... He has work ethic, integrity, and reminds me of my younger self.

I'll be updating the stats more later this week...

As my focus remains on eBay 1st - despite the fact, I'm now building (2) businesses and trying to manage our TIME & ENERGY with a concentrated effort that the Home Improvement business is still a TEMPORARY solution until eBay and other plans come to fruition.

Funny thing being, I feel the (2) are almost polar opposites... One is limited (*home improvement) - whereas, eBay is unlimited and can be scaled to 7-figures with far less time, energy, and effort.

I may not hit the target goals set above in 12 - 18 months... But, my gut tells me; so long as we do not quit... We will get this business running more efficiently as time, experience, and income permits.

Again, the distractions are steadily altering the course and forcing changes - I have at least 3-5 business models in my storage unit (the brain) and I think once one proves worthy...it will fund the bigger visions. All-the-while, they all require disciplined effort, testing, and developing the mindset to see them through to completion.

I don't know too many businesses that can produce the ROI's we are seeing with eBay.

Just last night we posted a Canon PowerShot ELPH 190 IS 720p Digital Camera (*Open Box) - Terri scored that item for $10 at a local pawn shop...

5 minutes after listing it for $185... BOOM we had an offer for $111.00.

I counter-offered $150.00 with FREE Priority Shipping... didn't get the sale.

Meanwhile, part of me says;"You should have took the $111.00 and put 800% back into more inventory... But, this is THE LEARNING CURVE, whereas, I am not attached to the product per se... I'm still learning what the markets will bear on the eBay platform.

Once we KNOW without contemplating the prices too much, I intend to sell pallets, containers, and a warehouse (*or two) of inventory.

Still feeling like a noob in this journey... But, it is getting interesting for sure!

Finally got a good run on adding some new listings, and with 134 items sold (as of last night)... We only had 247 items listed... which was a bit less than the Sell (1) List (2) formula.

Now, (*after last night) we've listed 268 items, and I am considering upping my game to Sell (1) List (3) to increase our inventory faster...

And, hopefully source more items with a faster turnover rates!

The next move will be pricing our items to sell faster, and still maintain the (bare bones minimum) 3X ROI's...

In truth, many of our current listings would likely move quicker "IF" (*or when) we stop inflating the frontend pricing and allowing offers, and deflating the original listing prices to create the illusion of the buyer getting a better deal.

I knew going in, we were pricing items a little higher than the SOLD comps... But, as idiotic as it may sound; I too wanted to build up enough inventory to be able to offer bigger discounts as we have nearly $10,000 in items either listed (*or to be listed) in the next couple of weeks.

Overall, I am still happy with our results... despite the learning curve, lower priced inventory, and the time we've invested... Which is lessening as the research, sourcing, and 'the work' is becoming more fluid and systematic now.

Even my daughter is keeping an eye on how this works... And, (3 of her picks) have already SOLD... As she has went sourcing with us a couple of times!

Lastly, despite my current lack of knowledge concerning "Global Shipping" through eBay, I have recently opened that option to sell outside the US as well... Now, I have to edit 268 listings, LOL!

To be continued...

What are your research methods?

Would love to know!

Quick update...

Current sales = 140
Current listing = 280
Total Sales $3,498.00
Positive Feedback (100%) 52 people
Watchers = 61
Subscribers = 10

Sales Conversion Rate 1.9%

Overall we're still enjoying this business venture, and after 5 months... we've learned a great deal, and the entire process is becoming familiar as our experience grows.

As mentioned (in another thread) our daughter has taken quite a shine to the idea of rolling a one-time investment into both; more inventory and building working capital.

Her 1st two lots were certainly insightful, as she has a little nest egg and credit to boot.

My advice to her was to start light, move enough product to get your initial investment back, get in profit quick, and roll those earnings into bigger buys - be it liquidations, estate sales, auctions, or sourcing via; local markets. (*Which to my surprise the local markets here have quite a lot to offer, with plenty of potential profits).

I may be guilty of lighting a fire under her butt, as she is researching large lots, pallets, and truckloads... her goal is to drop a nice chunk down on a home & property.

Either way, her 1st (2) lots opened our eyes to just how much surplus is available online (and offline).

Meanwhile, both businesses are growing now - the home improvement has had me busy, and although TIME has been going by faster (*now that I am busy) I am (to a degree) in better control over how I choose to invest (and spend) my time these days.

Lastly, we are still a far cry from reaching that $50k - $100k goal... but as our efforts and time compound our past few months investments... I think we'll hit the mark by August 8th, 2023.

Even if we don't... I still have other business ideas to implement, and will likely help us get there quicker!

Meanwhile... this is starting to be FUN, and a lot less like work, lol.

To be continued...

(*Reposted from Mind Warrior thread...)

Interesting series of events this week...

Our daughter has been keeping up with our eBay progress, and we've had several conversations about buying bulk items via; liquidations, auctions, and other sources. She just landed 50 used iPads, and 6 used MacBook pro's... Granted the iPads are 4th Gen with 128 gb's and the MacBook Pro's are running Catalina (2019) with i5 processors... so, they are not NEW, but "IF" they sell... she may be on to something!

I've already claimed ONE of each, LOL

We've been a bit slow on the sales the past few weeks, but we've hit 140 sales, 280 items listed (*including items with multiple units available) and we are still ahead on inventory.

Last weeks payout was better, just over $200 in profit, so it is starting to FLOW a little better. Largely due to Terri's pick on that Canon ELPH that returned 11X what she paid for it! (*That was a good one!)

We're up to 52 positive feedback, just over $3,500 in sales to date... and, we really need to ramp up our game if we are going to hit our target goal in 12-18 months!

The biggest hurdle by far in learning eBay, has been shipping costs, which I am getting much better at... now that we've shipped nearly 140 items to date.

Now that our daughter is getting involved we are planning to help her move her product(s) and test different markets... She is looking at pallets and truckloads, I told her, sell what you just purchased and ONLY use the money from those 1st (2) buys to refuel your inventory.

I can see a warehouse being needed in the near and not so distant future, lol.

Work has picked up as 'word-of-mouth' has landed me a couple more repair gigs. Hopefully that'll carry us through Thanksgiving, as I expect work to slow down the closer we get to Christmas... it almost always gets slow after Thanksgiving into the New Year.

That will give me more time to put into eBay. I'm still stoked our daughter is excited and interested in the buying/selling. I know enough now to help her get her store up and running and she will do TikTok and "Go Live" on video... whereas, I am a camera phobic (face for radio type, LOL) - so, now we have another eBay seller in training, LOL... I am really happy she is taking interest in sourcing, reselling, and learning this, feels like a compliment!

To be continued...

Despite my absence these past few weeks... I am relieved work has (*as predicted) slowed down, and we/I can focus more time an attention to our eBay journey.

No excuses...

This past month has had me running ragged, and as such "tested my patience" - broke my routine and in essence, I negated to put those 2-3 hours into eBay... or in essence, listing daily. We were still brokering deals, sourcing new inventory, and hunting down some amazing deals!!!

And, still... yesterday's efforts are producing greater rewards today.

We've hit a few more milestones in the past month... no epic sales or wheel barrows full of cash...

But... eBay messaged us, and upped our item listing limits from 350 items to 1050 items - which was a huge compliment and feels good as our customer service record is 100% on feedback, upload and shipping tomes, and we've maintained good customer relations.

Although I haven't been staging, itemizing, and listing much the past few weeks - we have steadily been reinvesting 100% of our eBay payouts, and landed a "pile of inventory" after brokering a deal with a local storage facility...

We scored a FREE RENT on a 10'x15' unit, in exchange for clearing out (2) leftover units filled with a mix of goods & garbage!

We haven't even put a dent in what items remain hidden within those (2) units... and, already have listed around $1000.00 of those items in the past 2 days.

Just to update my daughter's (2) purchases... we learned a great deal,as the(50) iPads and (6) MacBook Pro's she acquired have returned 80%of her investment... as they moved enough iPads through work, friends, an associates to almost recoup 100% of their initial investment... leaving another $3500+ in potential sales, which should put her at or around the 3X (*profit) on her 1st attempt at buying lots.

But... here's the kicker;

Many (most really) of the iPads arrived with smashed and broken screens... so, she had to order screens, dbl-sticky tape, and the frames to refurbish those units.

Minor setback, as her man broke the 1st one he attempted to fix, but now he's a pro at replacing the screens...

Now he wants to quit his job (building dairy barns and welding) - and go hunt goods too, lol.

Granted, we are not listing or moving enough inventory just yet to support the household... he, like I is amped on buying bulk, doing storage unit acquisitions, and buying/selling... he just turned 27 and is getting burned out building & repairing dairy barns after 10 years. Plus, he's about "maxed out" on the salary he currently makes $40k - $45k (*if he works overtime).

Meanwhile... here''s an update on our current stats - which are steadily increasing;

• Number of items sold: 160
• Total Sales Revenue: $4,482.12
• Net Sales: $2,470.56
• Current Active Listings: 268
• Total Fixed Price Listed Items: $9,759.59
• 100% Positive Feedback: 58 Reviews/Feedback
• 100% Upload, Track, and Shipping Time
• Sales Conversion: 1.8% (*was up to 3%, fluxuating)

Due to having sold a few higher priced items over the past 2 weeks... our seller cost this month dropped from 38% to 27.5% which means bigger profit margins.

Also, net sales jumped 89.3% this month and our average item per sale jumped from (our annual average sale - which is still $28.01 per sale) to $46.59 this month...

Yes, these stats are largely inflated, as we sold a pair of Air Jordan's for 1500% gains... and turned a $20 buy into $307 profit, our biggest flip yet... the ROI (15X) on that sale is just mindblowing!!!

Our average ROI is 500% (5X) after ALL costs, fees, and acquisition of goods...

Which has me THINKING;

While we are just shy of having $10,000 in Fixed Price Listings... with at least another $10,000+ in inventory to be listed...

That $1500 we invested from donating plasma is now over $20k in merchandise... AND, we haven't spent a penny out-of-pocket since - eBay is fueling eBay 100% NOW! <--- I like it when business pays for itself!!!

I'm tempted to run a Storewide 20% or 25% OFF SALE on EVERYTHING... from Now - New Year's... we can't possible lose money at this point (*unless we quit) and the inventory is starting to find us nowadays, there's deals EVERYWHERE that we can easily Sell (1) and buy 3-5 more items.

Even though we're 6 months in and total year-to-date sales are just under $4,500 to date...

My focus still remains on the fact; we've turned $1500 into over $20,000+ in product/inventory.

So, even "IF" we let that inventory go for 25% less than our current "Fixed Price Listings" - it will still 10X our initial $1500 investment!!!

Although, it is still 8 months away (*August 2023)... that goal to have $50k on-hand seems "almost too good to be true" - but, I now know, and definitely believe; "we'll have over 6-figures in inventory, even if we miss the mark on having that "$50k Working Capital on -hand".

Thus, all the signs suggest; it WILL HAPPEN, as time compounds and the listings (offers) grow... and in-turn our experience and sales are growing.

It's almost hard to believe we've made 160 sales online already... to some that's a good day online... but, to have that "cha-ching" notification while shopping, working, and doing other things.. it is becoming highly addictive... and, since I describe everything, very few messages, questions, or customer conflicts have taken place, just "lick it, stick it, and ship it!" and...get paid...I love this ad-venture!

To be continued...

Sorry to hear your business has been slow. Sound like you understand why it's been lagging so I am sure the confidence is there to get your business back rolling again.

I was definitely intrigued when I read you utilized the Warrior forum to start the business. You always hear of success stories starting from the forum, not as much as in the past, so its good to see this forum helping people in 2022.

Naturally, after 6 months... we've learned an enormous amount during this journey and listening to a few seasoned experts who do very well with eBay (*and eCommerce) sales platforms...

There seems to be a consensus amongst many that suggests; a lot of eBay sellers are giving up, going out of business, and throwing in the towel.

I'm NOT quiting. We are still working on finding the "sweet spot" and learning about multiple niche specific markets.

Chris at Daily Refinement has been predicting this next year being both s blessing and s curse... as even places like Goodwill have raised prices making it harder to find profitable items... but, thereto, they're dumping more inventory through pallets, bins, and liquidations... meaning; there are opportunities to buy those items in bulk (*cheaper) after they pull that inventory from their retail stores.

Personally, we DO NOT have a problem finding amazing deals, or the ability to acquire items at lower pricing... that is the easy part.

The hard part is burning through our inventory faster!!!

I'm in no way, shape, or form attached to our inventory... in fact, we've reached a point, we could discount EVERYTHING 40% - 50% and still profit 2X...

What concerns me is this...

People like Chris (*Daily Refinement) are teaching people how to sell on eBay.

BUT... He openly admits his "sweet spot" is based on earning 20% on items... where we are aiming for 300% or higher!

If you could move $100 bills for $120 in bulk, sure... that's still a decent return, just as is buying a $1000 car, boat, or motorcycle and flipping it for $1200.

I would be hard-pressed to THINK 20% profit could be a long-term winning strategy... unless, you are moving truckloads of inventory or wholesaling to OTHER resellers... which is what it appears Chris is no doing on What Not's "live auctions".

To a newcomer just getting started, I think that model screams FAILURE... as most just getting started ARE NOT selling enough inventory to really sustain or compete against those WHO CAN move 1000x more inventory.

I'm sticking with the 3X model (*$1 in - $3 out) and I think it'll require us to HUNT DOWN better deals (*even to the extent of finding $10 items - that will sell for $50 - $75 -or $100 per sale!

Also... I am confident WE will need to start marketing "off platform" via; YouTube, TikTok, FB and maybe even start vlogging or documenting the journey via; blog or website this next year.

I really wasn't expecting to have to have additional marketing in place when we began, now I believe that may be the deciding factor IF we succeed or fail in this venture... we're going to have to "DO MORE" to compete this next year!

If the forecast of a recession remains throughout this next year (*2023) - we're really going to have to fully commit to "DOING WHATEVER IT TALES" or we may "get stuck" with a ton of inventory.

Again... we're already "in profit" the new inventory is paid for... there's NO LOSING at this point... there is a silent fear though that we may not SELL everything for 3X, 5Xor 10X as people are focusing more on necessities, over the less-essential wants or desirable.

We took the grandson to see Santa at the new "Lake & Trail" fishing store up the road... basically a gas station, fishing and apparel store, and a boat sales section...

I took one look at their prices and "scoofed" - I wouldn't buy a single item from them... prices are way too high!

$75 for a pair of surf shorts... $60 for a T-Shirt, and $3.00 for a candy bar or 20oz soda???

No wonder their parking lot is a ghost town 99% of the time.

I sincerely CANNOT fathom HOW they expect to sustain their overhead.... let alone PROFIT.

This town has plenty of millionaires, like a few ranchers and dairymen that are billionaires... and the majority here struggle... I see it from "Top to bottom"

But, IF these prices continue to rise on all essential and non-essential goods... I too a HUGE OPPORTUNITY to capitalize on these businesses that will either be liquidating their merchandise (*like Goodwill... which closed down here last year, and we just bought 10 items at a yard sale for 25% of what the Goodwill tags had those items priced at... obviously, the lady acquired a massive lot when they went out-of-business.

So again, finding the DEALS is EASY... Now, we need to FOCUS on moving those goods faster... I'd prefer not to jump on Chris's bandwagon and SELL EVERYTHING for 20% - 40% over costs of doing business... I do not like that business model for small start-ups and newcomers.

I respect everything he teaches, and he does know a ton about this business...far more than Terri or I.

This next 8 - 12 month's will require much more research, focus, and discipline...

And, I'm curios to see what the next 5 days holds after dropping our prices 20% on a Storewide markdown... our last sale produced $381.00 in sales... this should do better, but who knows... with much of our inventory being under $20 s it were..we're... we may change directions and start hunting $30 - $50 - and $100+ items more and cut-back on the lower hanging fruit.

While, I don't want to do a full re-start on our store... I am noticing some of the newly listed items are gaining far more traffic than items we've had in stocks for over 4 or 5 months. I don't care if it takes a YEAR or longer to SELL at this point... so long as the payout afford us to hunt better merchandise.

Again, we cannot lose at this point... the ONLY concern (*outside of staying profitible) is TIME.

I could be watching Netflix... which is rare, I don't do much TV - aside the occasional movie to chill for an hour or two... the focus remains on business building!!! (*am I obsessed? OR... passionate?) BOTH, as I am determined to operate on my own clock!

Lastly, I need to set aside 4 hours a day (*everyday) until that side hustle produces full-time income, until then... we have much to research, test, and LEARN!!!

To be continued...

On a positive note, one of the biggest challenges to stay committed to this journey has been to maintain FOCUS on the long-term goals, and overcoming the financial limitations we have faced in building some forward progress.

Again, our sales numbers to date, haven't exactly earned us any bragging rights... BUT, the increasing value and compounding interest we've allocated in building up our inventory,; still fascinates me enough to continue this pursuit.

Yesterday, I was 'out bid' on (3) larger auctions 133 miles from our location. Within those (3) warehouses being auctioned, there were 12 pallets (per warehouse x3), each containing 24 boxes per pallet. Each box contained 20 pcs (or individual units) - which equates to 480 pcs (or units) per pallet... X 12 pallets = 5,760 pcs (*units) that I estimated would RESELL for a minimum of $10 - $15 per item.

Now, having been out bid on ALL 3 of these of these warehouses... is where the 'frustration dwells' - for YOU SEE, those (3) units SOLD for just under $1,000 each... and contained a potential ROI (*over time) of... 5,760 units x (*on the low end) $10.00 per sale = $57,600.00 per warehouse (X3 warehouses full of product) = $172,800.00 in reseller VALUE.

I was quite depressed, as the other bidder's exceeded our budget and ability to "out bid' them!!!

THIS is the WHY (the reason) we've elected to POSTPONE being PAID TODAY and entered this venture, to build 'WORKING CAPITAL'.

We hear whispers of people who have the funds, financial stability, and privilege (*for lack of a better word) capitalizing on OPPORTUNITY(s) in these dire times... and it "makes sense" to start building that 'working capital' NOW... so, in the near and not so distant future - we WILL BE able to scoop-up those deals, as business owners, service providers, and contractors alike 'forfeit' their assets when the economy crashes.

Now, mind you... we learned a few of these lessons ourselves... THE HARD WAY, as I reflect on the past, when the business STOPPED PAYING for ITSELF! -And, we went down faster than the Titanic!!!

In fact, as I recall... we learned about local auctions, after forfeiting a warehouse of our own, and years ago; we not only recovered those loses - but, we made money and re-acquired 10X more, and we were just fooling around back then.

We did not have the knowledge back then to utilize 'existing platforms' or the skills to leverage the internet to SELL MORE of the goods we had acquired - which ranged from collectibles, antiques, kitchen and household goods, and piles & piles of resalable goods we were acquiring for PENNIES on the DOLLAR!

Today, as we revisit those prior ventures, it beckons the question; WHY did we stop buying and selling goods back then... And, the only answer is; we didn't have the knowledge, experience, or the means to MOVE the INVENTORY QUICKER.

This year, SHOULD prove to be quite interesting, entertaining, frustrating, and FUN... as, I can identify a few markets, the research is becoming easier, and as I literally PUNISH MYSELF (*call it a self-disciplinary arse-whooping) - I find myself listing women's dresses, learning new popular brands, and markets alike... that 10-15 years ago... I would have told YOU that YOU were INSANE; "IF you thought there was MONEY to be had in these markets."

I was WRONG then... and, it's just starting to become clear now... some of those markets I would have considered DEAD (*or worthless) are in fact; proving truth to some of my 20-year-old writings, that I've NEVER shared or perhaps believed I would ever share, as I am exploiting some of my own weaknesses in doing so HERE on this forum.

Perhaps, this is WHY we have brilliant minded people here on the WF who have all but beaten the message home... concerning; the HUGE opportunities that 'sit idle, sit in wait, and the only thing missing was for the student, disciple, or person seeking such opportunities to accept the challenge, apply the action(s) consistently, and be PATIENT ENOUGH to see the long-term rewards.

In this case, losing out on those (3) warehouses SERVED as a reMINDer as to WHY I am doing this, despite the meager $5,000 in sales we've made since June - July 2022 when we started this journey.

Again, that $5,000 is peanuts in comparisson to the knowledge gained already...

And still, I hesitate to advocate to another of just how rewarding the future may or might become for those willing to surrender, sacrifice, and make due (*without paying oneself) UNTIL the bigger payouts permit the bigger vision to come to fruition.

Likewise, I SEE opportunities here, "Hidden in Plain Sight" within certain members signature files, that ALL BUT GUARANTEE; "if you follow this simple blueprint - you WILL get 'X' results".

So thereto, I find myself still procrastinating under the (*foolish) belief; I am not yet qualified to orchestrate, organize, frame-out, and deliver on the PROMISES I intend to kjeep when I start compiling all this research, knowledge, and experience... and in-turn start OFFERING that information to others.

I knew RIGHT from the RIP... eBay was teaching me something far greater than just selling wares online... little did I know then, what it is actually doing is rekindling that FIRE WITHIN to help align others with 'mutually benefitial' knowledge, tools, and resources to align them with all-in-which they seek.

I have been 'playing with fire' since I can remember, and I learned long ago, the more you tempt yourself to explore beyond your 'comfort zone' or known circles, and venture off into exploring new paths... you can (*as Frank Kern says "expect to get your @$$-kicked a few times over, before you 'tap those oil wells".

All these cliche's, metaphors, and guru mindset self-adorations and success stories... mean very little to me. Sure, I read ALL of Napoleon Hill's works a few times over, and can honestly say; "he borrowed the success of others to create his own fortune".

Call it 'piggy backing' - 'mirroring' - 'copying' or whatever may suite your current mood and mindset, BUT there is something PULLING me AWAY from my old habitual routines, reliances, and even my mindset towards MONEY & FINANCES is changing (*and, has changed significantly) since entering this venture.

But... it really isn't about WHEN we achieve that next milestone... or HOW LONG it'll take to complete this MISSION to build $50,000 - $100,000 in Working Capital... sure, that helps fuel the pursuit to some degree.... BUT, what truly matters, is heightening your perceptive views, increasing your conscious-awareness to just how much opportunity remains; "Hidden in Plain Sight" and, HOW willing YOU ARE to continue to 'get back up" after taking the proverbial @$$-whoopings we tend to distribute upon ourselves; primarily psychologically!!!

IF you do not believe you deserve "X" - you may want to re-think your 'Y" - as I see it as a biological, mathematical, and probable equation of simply; "giving yourself permission" (*as oppossed to seeking those permissions, benefits, or rewards from others) - as we tend to seek approval, and in many cases I have studied, researched, and to an extent... 'blindly observed' - there are far too many documented cases to wit; once people accepted the challenge, invested in themselves, and ideally; given themselves permission (*and, perhaps some forgiveness to boot) they suddenly seem to accelerate and become drawn to success, like a moth to the flame.

Now, I didn't intend to share my entire philosophical (and personal) renderings as to WHAT, WHY, or HOW someone else may approach their next pursuit, but... I am finding that much of the problems abroad stem from habit, conditioning, and the company we keep.

Hell, I have been sedating myself, sabotaging the bigger dream, and procrastinating on going "all-in" on some projects for YEARS... WHY?

What have I to lose at this point, outside of the self-admissions and in essence; feeding the 'pessimist within' and procrastinating to provide greater resolves to 'other people's host of problems' - we all have THEM; problems... I think they call it; "The Human Condition" - call it whatever toots your horn...

But... despite mountains of humility, failures, and again, my own ignorance in THINKING everything should-be perfect, flowing, and up-lifting... it seldom ever is, especially, when you step-outside your comfort zones, habitual routines, and make a break for the next new milestone you seek to achieve.

I sincerely WISH to have more respect for money... I have very little respect for the history and the making of money... it goes way back... to China actually, and in my mind - if the powers that be can leverage abundant and otherwise usless resources....UNTIL someone came (Or comes along) and places a VALUE to those NOTES... then, maybe we too should learn to reverse-engineer how money was made! (*Basically, from the minds and the imaginations of those who seized the opportunity to appoint the values those notes carry...and, at face value, even that fails to measure-up to simplistic formulas many here are teaching (*or TRYING to TEACH!)

Right now... our store has FINALLY surpassed 300 ACTIVE LISTINGS... we've SOLD 177 items, once this buyer pays for his Dan Marino Jersey (*we acquired for free in an exchange, bartering, and brokering that storage locker deal).

For nearly (3) weeks, I obsessed over eBay's (*SneakerCon) employees (*3rd party authenticators, and so-called experts) for having VOIDED our biggest sale, profit, and payout to date... and in-turn, eBay IMPLIED we (as sellers) would knowingly attempt to deceive the authenticator's, sell counterfeit Air Jordan's, and the sheer IGNORANCE of such an implication, almost caused me to effectively QUIT eBay!

Truth be told, I do neither trust eBay's authenticator's (*SneakerCon employee's) are indeed (*experts) or qualified to be making executive decisions based on the one-liner we received regarding the "authenticity" of the 2012 Air Jordan's we SOLD.... and, then were (in essence) punished for Selling.... as eBay automatically sided with their (*incompetent?) 3rd party service provider's - whom, for what it is worth; admitted THEY (*the experts) "Cannot Authenticate Our Items" and triggered a rash of negative events...

You see, the people hired to determine "IF" those 2012 Air Jordan XI Bred - Varsity Playoff sneakers were REAL? or FAKE? - basically responded with a "one-liner"; "cannot be authenticated" - in no way, shape, or form did they provide rhyme or reason WHY they could not authenticate, they failed to respond with any meaningful finding, reason, or fault within the product... they simply stated; "we cannot do our job - because we do not know if these are indeed real? or fake?"

Yet, eBay... whom I share a love and hate relationship with (*like marriage) - automatically sided with their so-called experts, despite the fact; my research suggests; the SAME EXACT shops hired by Nike in China that manufacture these Air Jordan's are KNOWN to create additional pairs of the same identical Air Jordan's - ONLY, those bootleg pairs (*made with the exact materials, stitching, logos, and soles) are impossible to identify from the genuine; Nike authorized productions!

So... rather than CRY over spilt milk... I simply wanted to note; we are planning to have these Air Jordan's inspected thoroughly by (3) more well-respected 'authenticators' as soon as funds and time permits... for now, they sit idle, unable to be relisted on eBay...whom generously accused us of (knowingly) trying to sell counterfeit items on their platform, which is asinine!

Granted, IF (*and, this is a BIG IF) these sneakers fail the (3) inspections we are preparing to have done... to determine mostly for ourselves; "Are they real Air Jordan's? or indeed fake Air Jordan's?" - because for intent and purposes, I have researched until my eyes have all-but bled, and guess what; "there is NO indication anywhere present that these 2012 Air Jordan's are not authentic!"

Humbly, I have made the executive decision.... NOT to to throw away all that has been learned, good, and beneficial since we began this journey, as it would be critically stupi on my part to 'throw it all away' over a $307 REFUND and the INSULT of (knowingly) trying to deceive eBay's authenticity programmed partners...

Even though, this happened to be... The 1st Time we EVER sent an item in to be authenticated, and god forbid - these 3rd party (experts) couldn't do their job....what a backlash that turned out to be!

In the end, ONE objective remains... BUILD PURCHASING POWER via; 'working capital" so when those BIG DEALS (*oil wells) present themselves... we won't be sweating having been out bid, or bitching about a $307 refund on the pretense, eBay's experts "cannot authenticate" a pair of Air Jordan's!!!

To be continued...

One more thing, as it is both funny and somewhat relevant to my 'depression over being' out-bid yesterday...

Before, I bid on those auctions, I tracked down the phone number to the facility hosting the auction... in fear, I wouldn't be able to afford renting a big enough truck to move the merchandise (*in the 48 hour window they alot) - I was trying to 'outsmart' the system, buy some time, and in the event that we/I did 'WIN' 1 or more bids yesterday...

Comprised a plan to simply RENT the unit (133 miles away) and buy us 30-days to start selling the product... to in-turn pay for the costs of acquisition (*had we won the bid or bids, respectively.)

The gentleman I spoke with was too busy with a customer, and assured me he would 'get back to me with a solution".... well, he was a little late, and left a detailed message this morning... that ONLY (1) of the (4) warehouses being auctioned, actually went through... as the business owner with (36+) pallets of goods.... made a last minute payment, saved his own butt... and those who essentially 'out-bid' us... didn't win those units either!

That would have been a HUGE PROFIT for anyone who landed those units... even though, the contents consisted only of wooden boxes... be it jewelry boxes, art supply boxes, or just basic boxes... my research indicated they sell between $10 - $20 (*on the high end)....and, I likely would have had to cross promote, maybe use Amazon's FBA program, eBay, and other platforms to move that much inventory! - BUT, the (36+) pallets all appeared to have the same stock numbers, weights, and item descriptions, which suggests.... there was 17,280 units of new 'wooden boxes' - to wit; if one were to put a 'tenner' on each one....WHOA! (*That would've been a fun ride to building some serious working capital).

And, it was too good to be true, as the owner PAID his (or her) dues and saved their inventory...

Which now beckons the question....

How much supply and inventory becomes available in situations like the aforementioned, whereas, had the owner NOT PAID their dues... those other bidders would have landed a "Gold Mine!"

Plus, it fits the model savidge4 mentions... if you buy a bulk load of one thing, it's only one listing, unless you have so much you can diversify and cross promote to deplete the inventory quicker, or course....

I'm still 'on-the-hunt' for bigger lots... as our current 'active items' on eBay shows... (*well it was 302 active items when I finished listing last night... now, it's down to 297) - which as I write this... we have had an amazing day... SOLD over $330 already TODAY and it's still early...

I am a wee-bit heart-broken the Mitchell & Ness VTG T1976 Gaylod Perry Texas Rangers "Home Whites" Jersey sold within a few hours of listing though... as I could not determine the actual value of such a rare item... and I am too cheap (at the moment) to commit to paying Worthpoint to learn what they've sold for in the past???

I listed it as "RARE" with an asking price of $350... (*ran a 5% OFF SALE for New Year's) and "let it go" earlier for $225 on a counter offer... WHY NOT, I had 20 minutes invested in the item, and that too was acquired through a deal brokered at our storage facility, so... we paid NOTHING for said item. My greed almost got the better of me, until I stepped back and PROCESSED the fact, I can now spend another $175 buying more inventory, LOL... which is becoming my underlying NEW ADDICTION, second only to the "Cha-Chinga" of the phone, when an offer or payment is made! <--- I'm developing a sincere passion for that sound!

Current numbers are as follows...

TODAY we've sold $332.74 (*makes up for those Jordan's getting kicked-back and the refund to the buyer!)

Total sales = 179 items SOLD
Average Sale (per item) = $26.71
Seller Costs (on average) = 40.7%
Total # Watched items = 69
Earned Positive Feedback: 100% (*64 buyers)
Sales Conversion Rate: 2.1% (*climbing!)

We're up 33.7% in Sales Rev over past 31 days... so, that's no too bad, I guess. (*I'd like to triple or quadruple those figures already!!!)

Listed Page Views: Up 31.1% (*again, maybe eBay does still love us, lol) <--- business is like a marriage, never a dull moment, lol

Average profit per item: Over 450%
Listed Inventory 'Fixed Price' Value: $8,667.25 (*with a 5% storewide sale running now - Jan 1st)
Current Number of Active Listings: 297
Subscribed: 12 Followers (*it's hard to keep followers with one-off merch tho!)

Status: Top Rated Plus

Even despite the huge negative experience over the Jordan's - and my attempts to "let go" of some of the mental frustrations doing business has been known to produce... I'm still on 'my own clock' and this New Year, I really need to buckle-down, bite the bullet, and start exercising (and implimenting) MORE PRODUCTION, not just on eBay, but in all areas of pursuing healthier means!

Again, I have no shame in stating; had I truly went 'all-in' - we would have OVER 1000+ items in-store already, and this year, as I juggle the home improvement (*I have a few jobs that look promising, from repeat clients) - building this eBay venture, and maybe... creating some noteworthy writings to position, package, and sell as another TEST...

I think we're going to crush it, and what looks impossible ATM - may not be as far out as it currently appears! (*At least, I hope not - failing this challenge publicly would really SUCK!)

Overall, the promises we make to ourselves should occasionally exceed our expectations, even though, reality often suggests 'the higher you set your expectations' - the more work, consistency, and discipline is required.... and as THEY say; "FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION" - No, it's a mandatory REQUIREMENT, IMHO!

If I was to learn to only invest 2 hours per day DOING the 20% that makes eBay fun, and STOP obsessing over the 80% of BS that comes with it... I think we'll hit (*or exceed our targets by August or September 2023)... I'm of the mindset, the formulas are 100% TRUE to the promise, it's the 'human condition (mind) that needs to BELIEVE IT!

And, I am starting to believe, we've barely dipped our toes in what CAN BE (or become) of this venture in the near, and not so distant future... so long as their is air in the lungs, a beat in the heart, and an ounce of common-sense remaining in thy brain... "we ain't quittin"

To be fulfilled... at later date, LOL

A.) Back on December 29th, we SOLD the following (6) items:

1.) Mitchell & Ness 1976 Gaylord Perry Team Jersey (Texas Rangers) $225.00
2.) Dan Marino #13 - Team Jersey (*1984 Throwback) Home Whites $45.00
3.) Willow Athletic Women's Running Shoes $30.00
4.) Mixed Lot of Cosmetic Jewelry (*180 pcs in total) $24.95
5.) Hollister Womens Skinny Jeans - Boot Cut $18.00
6.) Los Angeles by Bus Stop - Women's Short Sleeve Top $21.50

A.) Total Sales December 29th = $364.45


B.) Our Total Costs of Acquisition (*6 items) $11.00

1.) Mitchell & Ness Jersey $0 (*cleanout, labor 2 hours)
2.) Marino Jersey $0 (*cleanout, labor)
3.) Willow Athletic Sneakers $3 (*thrift)
4.) Mixed Lot Cosmetic Jewelry $2 (Thrift, bulk purchase % of lots purchased)
5.) Hollister Women's Jeans $1 (*church yard sale)
6.) Bus Stop Women's Top $2 (thrift)

B.) Total Costs of Merchandise = $11.00


C.) Shipping labels (and added insurance on the Mitchell & Ness Jersey)

1.) Mitchell & Ness Jersey = $14.22
2.) Dan Marino Team Jersey = $7.09
3.) Willow Athletic Sneakers = $9.94
4.) Mixed Lot Cosmetic Jewelry = $14.00
5.) Hollister Women's Jeans = $7.60
6.) Bus Stop Women's Top = $4.27

C.) Total Shipping Costs & Added Insurance (1) item = $57.12


D.) Ebay Seller Fees ($43.68)

1.) Mitchell & Ness Jersey = $26.06
2.) Dan Marino Team Jersey = $5.50
3.) Willow Athletic Sneakers = $3.54
4.) Mixed Lot Cosmetic Jewelry = $3.46
5.) Hollister Women's Jeans = $2.36
6.) Bust Stop Women's Top = $2.76

D.) Total eBay Seller Fees = $43.68


Summary....

A.) Total Sales December 29th (*excluding sales tax) = $364.45
B.) Total Cost of Goods $11.00 (*out-of-pocket)
C.) Total Shipping Costs, Seller Fees, and (1) Ad Fee = $101.34
D.) TOTAL ROI 23.91X



TOTAL NET PROFIT = $263.11

*LESS the 2 hours of our time acquiring what amounts to a few hundred items already listed, to be listed, or holds some resell value in various markets, if/when we decide to sell those other items acquired in the cleanouts we did in just under 2 hours.

OK, so nothing too phenomenal, but the idea was to show the initial investment of $11.00 - turned into $364.45 in sales on December 29th... with (6) sales.... (*our best sales day to date on eBay)

Less our selling fees and postage costs = $101.34[/COLOR]
Net Sales Profit = $263.11

If we divide the $11 investment into the $263.11 return (*after selling fees & postage)...

Just shy of a 2400% ROI

Whilst I have had far bigger paydays working and remodeling homes and such... I find landing this 23.91% ROI - is just mind blowing!!!

***Oh lastly, last Tuesday we/I just scored a $1200 Ludwig 5 pc drum set, hi-hat, vintage cymbals (20" crash, 15" ride, (2) 14' hi-hat cymbals) stands and accessories... all for helping a guy unload a 26' U-Haul (7 hours hard labor, lol)... all stemming from cleaning out those (2) storage units...

The same guy who wants me to help him sell off his (*5-6) high end vintage drum sets...

So, now... I am planning to LEARN another discipline this year.... MUSIC & DRUMS!!!

I would've have told you; you were crazy to think a 50-year-old should start pursuing interests such as playing drums at my age... but, the gentleman who hooked me up with the Ludwig drum set is 69-years-old and he's been drumming for 61 YEARS.... ***NOW, due to neurosis in his legs and feet, he just bought a baby grand piano, and at 69-years-old, he's just now learning to play the piano...

Moral of the story....

It's never too late to LEARN NEW DISCIPLINES!!!

To be continued...

I don't know if it's okay to post this, but I have a hack that I use to evaluate products whenever I shop for stuff to resell on eBay.

There's a little button by "Search" that says "Advanced". Click on it.

You're now in the "Advanced Search" menu.

Type in the name of whatever product you're looking to sell, then scroll down a tad to the "Search Including" menu, there you'll see 3 boxes reading "Title and description", "Completed listings", and "Sold listings", click on the one that says "Sold listings".

Now hit "Search" and it'll take you to a page with all of the recent sold listings of the product you're wanting to list for sale, sorted by date sold with the most recent at the very top of the page. Viewing these sold listings should give you an idea of how in-demand a product is and how much it's selling for.

Right now, solid state hard drives are in major demand, and have been for about a decade, due to all the cryptocurrency mining that's been going on. If you can get a steady, wholesale supply of hard drives at a deep discount, you would definitely make money easily as long as those drives are compatible with the latest computers and software.

It is interesting, I am looking forward to see if you make it.

In reflection of the past 6 months or so, since the beginning of this eBay journey, I can say with some confidence, it's time to perform a thorough assessment of both the milestones we've crossed and the fact; we appear to be stuck in a (1) sale per day algorithm.

Whilst, I believe we have room to improve our presentation - and could be taking better photos to display our offerings, the other key areas I feel we've done about as best as could be expected, in utilizing the title (*keyword) real estate, items specs, description box, and in defining the primary areas of selling on ebay or any established seller platform.

That leaves only ONE area that may be largely responsible for our inability to break-through the 30 sales per month barrier (*or our consistent average of making approximately 1 sale per day) over the past 6 months.

For awhile there, I believed we simply did not have enough items listed to increase both our sell-through rates and increase the daily sales flow.

Now, in stepping back, I see little reason to just keep listing more and more items, as it becomes evident; we are STUCK in a month-to-month algorithm to wit, regardless of the 300+ items we currently have listed... the only thing that I can imagine needing work is; our PRICE POINTS!

There are a few differing philosophies being taught throughout the eBay communities, and some almost appear polar opposites... whereas, Chris (*Daily Refinement) openly admits to selling nearly $50,000 in goods on the What Not platform in just 2 weeks... but, reports that he only really profited $5,000 of taxable earnings in that exchange.

His philosophy is much different than that which savidge4 teaches and the mindset I am trying to maintain with an average ROI of 300% or 3X after all seller costs, shipping, and in turning a $1 investment into a $3 return.

Right there, I now see part of our problem in being STUCK in a (1) sale per day algorithm, as I have repeatedly stated we are seeing 450% - 600% ROI's for nearly all the sales we've made to date. Sure, that is amazing and all, and it feels to good to see those types of returns on one's investments....

But, thereto, I am nearly 99% certain we will not break this (1) sale per day cycle, simply by listing more items. In fact, I've narrowed it down to 1 of 2 things that must be responsible for the slow sell-through rates, and with 300+ items listed, we damn sure should be doing more than (1) sale per day -or- averaging 30 sales per month - which appears to be consistent to date.

With 191 items SOLD... and 302 active listings at the time of writing this post... I am by no means disappointed with the progress we've made, the milestones we've crossed, or the fact we've easily 10X'd our initial investment when taking into consideration of how we started this journey from very humble beginnings.

I will admit to having set my expectations higher, and in doing so, it has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, as I anticipated having more sales revenue generated to date.

While I am currently outlining a "Premium Report" and sincere in teaching others not to delay or make the same mistakes I am now able to recognize, there's only a few things that can be examined at this point that may conclude WHY we appear to be STUCK in a certain sales flow... of 30 sales per month - on average.

Clearly, this cannot continue or we will fail to scale this business to faster inventory turnover rates, or build the sustainable income and sales flow we are aiming to achieve.

In this regard, it sucks admitting it, but what better way to teach others what not to do?

So, between the specific niche markets we've primarily focused - mainly clothing and apparel, it's been said that selling clothing may not be the most efficient items to sell on eBay or online, as they are fairly easy to acquire inexpensively, and there is to a degree, a ton of people selling name brand articles online.

Again, some are doing so from the philosophy that Chris @ Daily Refinement teaches, which is a far cry from seeing 300% (or greater) ROI's - he openly admits, he is content to spend $100 to get $120 in return... so he operates on a much lower profit margin.

The 3X model is far more a superior teaching in my opinion, as most beginners will not be able to withstand investing $100 to get back $120, as most beginners are not moving a truckload or warehouse full of inventory, as people like Chris do... neither approach is wrong per se.

As I've mentioned several times (*not to brag) that we've seen a steady ROI ranging (*on average) between 450% - 600% and as much as I love those ROI's - it has become quite obvious, the longer we have to wait to sell our inventory, the more it costs to store that inventory in our warehouse, and in-turn the less we'll make in the long run!

So I have decided to reevaluate my approach, lower our PRICING to that 300% (or 3X) bottom line, and although, I will still be listing name brand apparel, I too must agree that there is so many seller's that follow teachers like Chris, that it is becoming rather obvious WHY our items seem to be slow to sell.

Granted, if we can sell more faster (even taking less money) that will likely trigger the eBay algorithm to produce better sell through rates, increase our daily/monthly sales average(s) and in-turn enable us to focus on finding more lucrative items that will sell faster, and possibly for more money.

I do agree at this point clothing and apparel may not be the most efficient items to sell, but we've done fairly well with jeans, t-shirts, dress shirts, and name brand items such as sneakers, shoes, and reputable brand items.

If we have 302 items listed right now, and we continue to leave our prices at the 450% - 600% ROI average... that in itself suggests; 30 items per month in sales will require a 10-Month sell-through rate of our current inventory, which is neither conducive, nor suitable to reach the bigger vision we have set out to accomplish.

And still, I am grateful for having to recognize these patterns as we're about to cross (2) more milestones;

1.) We're about to break 200 sales on eBay (*which happened fairly quickly)
2.) With 191 items listed and sold & 302 active listings - I've nearly surpassed listing 500 items to date.

Thereto, this suggests; there is plenty more room for growth, as I feel we/I should be sourcing more items, listing more items daily, and increasing our overall inventory numbers to start listing 5-10 items per day (*if not more)

The process has gotten far more familiar and in-turn is easier and faster. The shipping rates are now more honed in, as I know exactly what my costs are before listing a wide variety of items. The ability to acquire resources is the EASIEST PART, as there are endless opportunities to land quality merchandise for literally pennies on the dollar.

Of course, as an everything seller, I do need to start focusing on merchandise that has more viewers than active listings, and even then we've acquired some rare, vintage, or one-off items that are difficult to price, as nobody else appeared to have those items for sale... so, there is still a constant need to research, test, and utilize the experience we're building to focus our attention towards, pricing, turnover times, and seeking to allocate items that not every has to offer... as we've done well with some of those rare finds, for sure.

In regard to the dollar amount or the date we had set to have "X" amount of money, that is still a motive, but certainly takes a back seat to what can be achieved, so long as we continually work on making our store a better experience for the buyers.

My few pet peeves are minimal as people file return requests and have 30 days to return the item(s) with a free shipping label, as we offer FREE RETURNS to maintain our Top Rated Plus seller status, which makes it worthwhile to offer customers a hassle-free return policy. To date, we've only refunded (1) customer, and have had only other (2) open returns - (1) was forfeited after 30 days as they did not send the item back... and we have an "open return request" right now for a leather purse (*Sold for $45) to wit; the buyer claims; "It doesn't fit" - but 17 days into her return request, she has yet to utilize the FREE Shipping Label and return our item... hence, in any likelihood, 13 days from now that case will likely be closed in our favor, and those funds will be made available - as eBay automatically places the sales amount "on-hold" until one of 2 things happens - they send the item back within 30 days - or - forfeit their refund request.

Meanwhile, I have not been listing much, as I see no reason to keep putting more items in store, until we can figure out what we need to do to move the merchandise and inventory quicker. I've already begun lowering pricing, and will continue to do so - until we can establish a better sell-through rate, even if we earn less ROI's per sale! (*We are still deadset on trying to maintain the 3X model savidge4 teaches) as I am neither a fan of spending $1 to get back $1.20 - and, I may have to focus our attention on markets outside the name brand apparel - or in the least, mix up our future listings to include a wider variety of merchandise outside of just clothing, as it does appear to take longer to sell, and being competitive against those dumping larger quantities (*cheap) is difficult to compete with and not too efficient, if we have to deduce pricing to less than 2.5X - 3X ROI's.

I mean, we still make good on every sale...and, I can lower pricing and still be in 2.5X - 3X ROI's, no doubt.

I personally wouldn't be upset taking 1.5X or even 2X on items listed for 5-6 months, as I'd prefer to be rid of those items quicker, and find better items with faster turnover rates.

In closing, I am aiming to decipher the primary reason we are seemingly STUCK at an average of (1) sale per day or 30 sales per month, as that is neither acceptable, nor stimulating my greater interests at this point.

Meanwhile, we've been slow in sales online and with home improvement the past month, so the added pressure is demanding we find a more fluid system, faster turnover rates, and the means to increase our average daily/monthly sales conversions rates.

To be continued...

Whilst the last 3 posts contain a ton of value, to wit; I'll respond to later this evening...

One thing I know for certain is; I need to access our weekly sales more thoroughly. My bookkeeping skills are neither on-point, nor that difficult to correct upon.

When I began this thread... one of the main intentions was to document our buyers costs and seller fees... including shipping labels, materials, and everything to required by us to determine the actual profit... per sale, down to the penny.

I know with great accuracy what we acquired each item for at costs... and, having gained experience with the shipping costs... it is not that difficult to weigh our costs against our weekly payouts, and know with confidence we've exceeded the 3X model... indicating a stubbornness to let items go at that 300% target ROI.

Thus, I believe our pricing is not competitive enough to move the inventory quicker!!!

Also, I am far from being a professional photographer, as I still struggle to exercise the patience to increase the quality of our presentations.

No excuse, as a cheap phone camera, better lighting, and some more patience (*time) can resolve that issue, no doubt.

I mean, if need be - I too am pretty good with photoshop, which I have - and seldom use for eBay pics, as I could modify at least the main photo in just a few clicks.

I have not found much success with the background eraser tool... as it only seems to work well with drastically differing the item colors and the white background... which is 98% of all our listings.

So... the problem is most likely "our pricing" - I'd say that is 80% of the problem right now and 20% is likely due to poor images and our photos...especially; the main photo.

I am ranking in Google SERP's - as our titles and keywords are getting traction outside of eBay.

The only other REAL weakness I can account for at this time is I am not promoting our items on other platforms, social media, both FREELY and/or via; paid ads outside of the 2% eBay sponsored ads they run for us.

I'll respond to some key points made by both Gordon and Savidge later this evening.

Hello, how is everyone doing?

That's a nice goal I hope you get it, and your work ethic sounds great so work wise you will be fine. The key is to just keep at it like you are doing consistently, and you have a plan as we all know Nobody Plans to Fail They Just Fail to Plan so go for it!

Quick note...

We sold a pair of King Baby Driver II Sunglasses in the original case for $100 a couple weeks ago...

We acquired the item in a storage cleanout, so we had no financial investment.

But, the buyer contacted us, stating the item was "warped" and "doesn't fit"

I suggested he file for a refund through eBay and upon return of item and inspection, we'd glady refund his purchase.

The item arrived last week... I opened the box, confirmed the case and contents were indeed the item we sold. I even put the glasses on my head, and they did appear to be oddly shaped on my head!

Went ahead and refunded the customer... And, went back to work staging, itemizing, and photographing items to be listed...

In that light, I noticed some very faint "burn marks" that were not immediately visible when I initially inspected the items.

The buyer clearly attempted to blow torch (modify) the plastic frames to fit his head!!!

Now, this was literally 15 minutes after I approved the REFUND!

OOPS...

Called eBay and after *30-40 minutes LEARNED a valuable LESSON...

If you voluntarily issue a refund and eBay processes (*or has already processed) that refund...

YOU lose the power to file a dispute and recover your loss(es)

Granted, I knew better and should have inspected the items more thoroughly!!!

Thus, if YOU SELL anything on eBay and the buyer requests a refund... Do your diligence and be 100% sure the buyer didn't destroy the item and render it useless and unsellable!!!

Again, we had no cash investment - just a time loss...

But to anyone who MAY NOT BE AWARE...

*IF you volunteer a refund - no matter what damage the buyer inflicted on your product - YOU LOSE!

Whoops... Guarantee that will NEVER happen again. I just cannot believe "I missed the fact" he burnt the damn frames, what a d... - then asked for a refund.

In the words of Jackie Gleason to his ol' pal Ed Norton... "Why I outta!!!!"

Trying to switch up some things here shortly... If all goes well by April, our focus, inventory system, and PROCESS is about to SHIFT towards allocated better, smaller, and more easily acquirable items...

To date, I have listed in excess of 534 items, sold 222 items, and despite that being decent... I think we can do much better with the overall sell-through times and more importantly; the daily sales conversion...

According to savidge4 we should be aiming to sell 3 items per day for every 100 items listed... Even with a current sales conversion of 2.5% we are still only moving 7-12 products per week...

That's not acceptible - time to refocus our attention to building better inventory items!!!

To be continued...

Well... to add to that shift, I too just took a F/T job as a dismanteler for an auto salvage/recycling company (*junk yard dog, lol) that pays hourly, overtime, and offers incentives for 10 (or more) vehicles dismantled in a week...

From what I've gathered (*and was rather shocked to learn) is the average dismantled there makes $1200 - $1500 per week Mon - Fri 8am - 5pm.

To keep this in-tune with the eBay journey and the PROCESS of avoiding the temptation of tapping into the eBay payouts... this may prove far more consistent to wit; I won't be bringing my work home like the 'home improvement' and the set schedule will either prove I can be disciplined doing BOTH eBay and maintain the 8 - 5 gig...

Plus, there's a ton of money being made through eBay motors and selling of car parts as well... so, it could be equally educational should I decide to do some buying/selling of Junk cars, boats, motorcycles, etc... again, my neighbor sells parts on eBay and seems to do well from his backyard shop - he has items out front everday that the post lady scans and picks up!

Staying optimistic... and the home improvement gigs around here were paying (*about) what a job at McDonald's or Burger King now pays... so I am long overdue due for a CHANGE of atmosphere... and, I happen to know a little sum-sum about mechanic work, so it should be a quick study to learn their process and get over 10 vehicles done in a 5 day week which pays $1200...

I have my daughter to thank for this one... she told me the guys that work there were making good money, as she cashes their checks at her PNC branch.

CONSISTENCY...

That is the KEY that I NEED to hit the eBay goal by August (*or therein or about!!!).

Either way... money is still the bi-product and until I re-train my brain to PROCESS steady and consistent growth... nothing else matters!!!

The past few weeks have been brutal...

We've resorted to printing our shipping labels and dropping items off at a "USPS blue box" nearby, as I am working 50 hours per week again.

Sadly, despite the USPS pick up times being 1:59 pm, they are "failing" to scan items before 3pm EST (Noon PST) - And, as a result we've nearly lost our "Top Rated Plus" status... as our upload and scanning times have taken a huge hit.

Our mail-lady doesn't come until well after 4pm (most days) - so we're sitting "on the fence" @ 95% Upload and scanning... which was 100% - when I was taking items to the post office!!!

Meanwhile, I've been neglecting our store as the "flu" and total physical burnout hit last week... barely made it through the week without calling in sick!

In fact, last week was the 1st week I missed my $600 dismantling bonus for 10 cars... only got 8 vehicles done last week - which cut my check in half.

In the next couple weeks I'll be making some new eBay buys... and getting back on track.

I think this may be the 1st time our eBay store failed to pay for itself in sales... we've seen nearly a 40% drop in impressions and traffic, largely due to my failing to list a minimum of *1-2 items per day (for the last few weeks)... so right now, our store appears to be "dead in the water"- momentarily!!!

Meanwhile, I plan to get a balance between the daily grind and get some new inventory for eBay...

Good news is... we are "debt free" and after this next check, we (should) be able to live on 50% of my JOB income, and start buying better merchandise for eBay!!!

Still in the game... just wore out these past few weeks!