How I’m listing less and still winning big
I might have been doing this wrong all along.
October was another month I spent listing less and still winning big. I don’t think you can always exactly nail down the reason for success in reselling, but I can try. I definitely listed less on eBay this month, but I've been upping my Facebook Marketplace activity. Spooky season brought some extra attention to select goodies, like the Nightmare board game, scary movies, Goosebumps books, and more. My Chucky doll and Charizard trapper brought home some big bucks, $125 and $50, respectively. And, with anything, there is always a bit of luck.
By the numbers
Spend: $259.05
Gross profit: $1,341.63 (vs. $1,649.64 last month)
Net profit: $1,082.58 (vs. $1,329.96 last month)
Listed on eBay: 36 (vs. 43 last month)
eBay rating: 99.6%
What Sold
Highlights
Yard sale success
Somehow the Scharchs only manage one yard sale per year but it always helps. I delayed it so long this summer because I didn't want to spend a solid Saturday hawking my own goods when I could be out and about buying more. But I finally bit the bullet, literally the morning of. It was a tough decision. Everything I couldn't sell on eBay was already piled up at my parent's house and my dad even put out some extra tables before I arrived. But the allure of a town-wide sale somewhere not too far had me wondering if we could delay just one more week. Finally, though, I decided it would never be easy to do so we just went ahead and did it. And, boy, I'm glad we did! People bought all sorts of things I didn't expect to go from frames to piles of toys to everything else.
Little People, Big Profits
I started collecting Little People figures months ago with some vague aspiration of selling bundles. Then one day I was digging around and noticed I had a ton! Instead of taking the time to list on eBay, I threw a random collection of 10 multicultural figures on Facebook. They sold in a day for $10. It was on. I threw up several more bundles and before I knew, the collection had turned into a pile of cash!
Get by with a little help
I was so happy to announce I crossed over 300 Instagram followers this month, I made a post about it. Twenty four hours later, I had 370! I think the boost was the result of a few very popular resellers also sharing my guides during the past few weeks. I'm going to need to do this more to build my audience.
Local sales for old media
From time to time, my brother has gathered some out-dated production equipment and, rather than send it to the e-waste graveyard (i.e. nonconsensually dumping it on some other poorer country), he bring it to me and I bring it to eBay. This month, he found some older miniDV tapes in his childhood room back home. I sold the first of two sealed bundles one week after listing. And, just my luck, the buyer wanted to pick it up locally. When he did, he asked if I had more. And so eighty bucks later, they're all gone!
Plus, another .1% jump in my eBay rating is always something to celebrate!
Fails
Shipping mix-up
It was bound to happen. With the amount of sales I've been making and an organization strategy that could use a bit more structure, I finally mixed up two orders. I sent two action figures to the wrong buyers. Naturally, both messaged eBay for refunds/returns, which I happily obliged. The weird thing is that only buyer followed through and sent back the incorrect toy. I have no clue what happened there. Both toys were about the same value and not really similar at all. Maybe the other buyer had a friend that wanted his purchase. The world will never know.
Less listing, still winning?
This month was so profitable, but there were more than a few days where I didn't list anything at all. That's not the best for keeping the reselling gods happy. On the bright side, it wasn't due to laziness, I was just out and about in the world, not reselling. How dare I!?
Need more data
Now that Facebook Marketplace has become a viable alternative for selling off toys, it would be helpful to keep track of where I sell and how. I wish I would have done this sooner but there is no time like the present.
Another piece of data I'm surprised I never knew is the eBay toy fees. While stumbling through the eBay documentation this month for other reasons, I found a bit that said items sold under the Toys & Hobbies categories were only charged 11.7% compared to the 13% or so I was recording earlier. More money, more problems, right? I might need to go back and fix my books.
Going forward
I've been talking a lot about building an audience and I'm happy to say it's starting to work. I've made time to share buying guides on Instagram and more than a few people have thanked me for the knowledge. That's the big idea. Instead of hustling for the next reselling profit goal, I'm trying to focus my efforts on a system. If I can regularly share knowledge, we all win.
I'm going to try and share 5-10 new Instagram posts this month and cross the 400 follower mark. Yes, these are goals but I have faith that a system of sharing valuable, quality knowledge and connecting with people can get me there. Let's give it a shot!
