A little too quick
Between some unfortunate medical issues and some fortunate dating fun, I was distracted this month. I didn't list much, write much, post much, or sell much, but, hey, that's life. Sometimes, you need to take a seat in the back for other things. But, honestly, I think it was necessary. Not only am I happy getting to know someone new, I'm always learning something with this business. Let's get into it.
By the numbers
Spend: $76.56
Net profit: $406.99 (vs. $482.34 last month)
Listed on eBay: 21 (vs. 27 last month)
eBay rating: 99.5%
What Sold
Highlights
Flippin' $5
What I thought started as a failure ended up being alright! Last month, I mentioned an enthusiastic Instagram follower from Dublin (@hollysthriftedtreasures) suggested I show how to flip when you're just starting. To do that, I decided to see how far I could theoretically flip $5. And I thought I was off to a bad start after spending $3 of my $5 budget on a bag for a semi-rare Yo Gabba Gabba figure. I didn't think it would sell with any speed, but I'm happy to say I was wrong. I did need to drop the price and send an offer, but it sold less than 2 weeks later for $12. I used that $12 to buy some more bags and flip some more goods so that by April 24th, I took $5 to the grand total of $34. Not the biggest profit in the world, but May is another month and I think I'd like to try it again.
Flipshark Decor
In the continued effort to make space for fresh inventory, I started to dig through my decor again. I have a collection of shelf warmers, coffee mugs, vases, and more from when I first started reselling. I don't even bother listing most because they don't have enough profit to list on eBay and I absolutely hate shipping them anyway. What to do? Head to Instagram. I reminded my local Instagram followers that I existed by sharing a few new finds as fresh posts. Plus, I swapped my name from @njflipshark to @flipsharkdecor A nice touch on a new effort. And, even better news, I made a sale!
Lego auctions
Like a lot of things in my inventory, I've been sitting on piles, waiting for them to naturally grow as I buy more bags. This month's pile was Lego minifigures. I had had a ziploc bag full of them for months and since I wasn't buying much Lego anymore, I figured what better time to sell? I placed them on eBay auction with my fingers crossed and I was not disappointed. A buyer from Dublin placed the winning bid of $76!
Goodbye Shrek
In the ongoing saga to relieve some space I was glad to say goodbye to my largest stuffed animal purchase, a Jumbo 25" Shrek. Some ogre fan overseas spent the extra dough to ship him to his new home. Thank god!
Fails
Media Mail is a wonderful thing. If you didn't know, the USPS discounts the shipping of all sorts of media content, including books and movies, which is how I usually use it. But this month it slipped my mind that you can't use this option for blank media. I went ahead and listed a stack of blank VHS tapes on eBay. It was weird the system allowed me to offer Media Mail as an option, but the tapes were sold in under 24 hours. And by the time I had to pay for shipping I realized my mistake. Instead of cancelling and trying again, I figured I'd eat my mistake and make $0 profit. Lesson learned. For now.
Going forward
I have lots of work to do.
There are some little extra steps I need to take to move some larger than normal products:
Purchase a large box (longer than 22") before I even list my Highway 61 flat bed model truck
Spend a weekend afternoon testing my large stack of VHS movies
Find an Atari connection so I can test it on my modern TV
Photograph and pack Strawberry Shortcake memorabilia
Another round of consolidating the toy bin
In addition, I think it's only right I start a new $5 challenge for May. It'll give me a reason to post on Instagram and share more of my journey.
But the biggest move of all this month is reading through Mauborgne and Kim's Blue Ocean Strategy. I think it' going to open my mind to where I want this reselling operation to go. As much as I love flipping toys online, it's never going to transform into the full-time business I want it to be. It's a red ocean strategy to try and elbow out the competition at thrift stores and find top dollar. I need to find an angle and a value that will make better money simply by avoiding the competition.
I have some ideas. Hopefully, I can share some success next month.
