Good Times and Gambles
By the numbers
Spend: $360.24
Gross profit: $1,122.99
Net profit: $762.75
Listed on eBay: 98 (vs. 76 last month)
eBay rating: 99% (Yes!)
What Sold
Highlights
It was hard-fought, but my eBay rating jumped .1% back to 99% Feels good, man.
Sailing
Garage sales have returned and I couldn't be happier! Actually, Ma might be happier. She couldn't stop saying how much she missed bouncing around the New Jersey suburbs and hoping out of the car to find some goodies. And we did! Even in just the past two Saturdays, I've managed to bring home quite a bit at a reasonable price. That's the thing - garage sales will always offer more opportunity than the thrift stores. The prices are too good!
Gamblin’ Lego Man
I took a gamble this month and bought $60 worth of sealed Lego sets. It didn't feel like a gamble because I had looked up each on eBay before buying and the profit could be doubled. But I didn't know the seller. She posted the Legos up for sale through a Hoboken Facebook group, so I thought I had to seize the opportunity. She turned out to be a nice enough lady. What I didn't consider was the smell. She was a heavy smoker and even though the sets (minus one) were sealed, they stunk. I've been laying out the boxes in the sun on my fire escape and, honestly, most of the stench has faded away but since I plan on disclosing the possibility of a mild odor, it might take a bit longer to sell on eBay. We will see!
Good Riddances
The Good Times Trading Post sale was a success! While I was happy to make some sales, I was even more pleased to make some room. Some of the items had been with me for years, like that stupid antique rooster. I didn't even buy it for reselling, it was a souvenir from an antique barn in New Jersey.
Nevertheless, it was so freeing I almost had the urge to go out and buy some more home decor. I just love seeing people fall in love with pieces and prepare to bring them home. And I love making new friends. But when I thought of all the work and time that went into one Saturday selling, I came to my senses. I'll stick to action figures for now.
So long, Stormtrooper
Just like the stupid antique rooster, I was so glad to see the Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet go. And, to be honest, I was a bit nervous. Even though I disclosed all the details on the eBay listing, the helmet snaps were a bit loose and the voice-changer feature was so sensitive. Both features might have been the fault of the toy maker, but I just couldn't understand how anyone would throw down $50 for it. And yet someone did!
Sale again
Back in April, my first eBay markdown sale (5% across the store) had me say goodbye to just one Yankee Candle. This month, I launched another sale late Friday into Saturday and sent off a few more! I took 7% off the whole store for 24 hours and ended up selling two of my three Ben 10 Omnitrix watches. I guess I had them both priced a bit too ambitiously.
Fails
While I did manage to post quite a bit more on the Flipshark Figures instagram, I've seemed to have plateaued at about a dozen Likes per post. Most of the time, it is the same very supportive friends. I need to get my toy photography and reselling tips in front of more appropriate eyeballs. Which I think means following and connecting with a lot more toy resellers. They won't be searching for me, I need to find them.
After the negative feedback last month, I asked eBay to review the case. I thought there would be a slim chance that they would understand that the USPS was to blame. No go. We'll need to rebuild.
Going forward
During this last month, I was mentally toying with the idea of reselling furniture. My brother rightly pointed out that so many folks move in and out of our little Hoboken town and there is not much of a balance between cheap Ikea ubiquity and the overpriced uptown West Elm. If I could offer some regular inventory at a modest fee, it might be a quick way to make some better bucks. The question is where do we start? Do I buy some pieces and store them at my parent's house? Which pieces? Do I need a storage unit? Two? Can I offer delivery?
But I placed furniture on the back burner again when I started to think too long about how heavy it can be and how long a large piece can sit.
Plus, I know I’ve been saying it for months but I don’t think it’s possible in a sustainable way to make a full-time income, just flipping from thrift stores. Of course, it’s always possible I could be wrong.
Instead, I want to take a step back for flipping in June and write some content. I know how to make $500-1000 flipping every month, so why not share that wealth?
The best way I know to provide something valuable is through my website. It’s the cross-section of my entire career so far - building Squarespace websites, reselling toys and plush, and blogging for years.
Right now, the plan is to start with an article that can help new resellers identify and resell a number of different toys. Hopefully, from there, I can start to do heavy research and crank out specific guides for different toy lines, effectively saving resellers the time and energy of doing it all on their own.
How I’ll grow and monetize from there is a gamble, but I need to start somewhere and this is the beginning.
