Thrown for a loop
December has been a month like no other. A mixture of the holiday and some chance opportunities really mixed everything up.
Originally, the goal and the plan was to invest some time into researching toys. But that idea went out the window when toys started flying off my shelves for the holidays. You can see from the What Sold sections below.
Instead, my second reselling event (at Porta bar & restaurant in Jersey City) and a new opportunity with an old boss made everything all the more interesting.
By the numbers
Profit: $488.11
Spend: $175.99
Ebay listings added: 15/60
eBay rating: 97%
YTD total spend: $1947.02
YTD total net profit: $3966.85
Porta
I could anticipate a bit more what to expect after selling at Porta for the first time this past summer. But that didn't stop me from anxiously zipping around the morning of. Luckily, I had everything packed and ready to go, which was a major improvement over the last time. What I didn't have was bags or bubble wrap or change or price stickers.
My luck turned when I arrived in Jersey City "early" and found a parking spot right down the street. When I got inside the bar, setup was way more simple than last time. I had three loads in strong Rubbermaid containers and I just started throwing everything out on the table, organizing as I went. After pricing everything, I was just about ready to go when the doors opened at 11am.
Plenty happened in the five hours I was by my booth.
By the numbers, I did pretty well. I made about $240 that day and after all was said and done about $150 in net profit.
But there were way more exciting parts than the money!
A bunch of my friends came to munch on pizza and bullshit with me a bit at the booth. They even bought a few things and encouraged others to do the same!
I sold a framed Mucha print a day after I found it in the thrift store, only validating that I know what these crowds like.
I saw the Electric Avenue girls again. They have plans to open an antique warehouse of sorts in Harrison, NJ and I was glad I remembered to ask them for their contact information this time around (for reasons you'll see at the end of this report).
Quite possibly the best part happened by accident. My friend Annmarie had swung by my table a few times throughout the day, even encouraging some friends to join her in Jersey City so they could make a day of it. After chatting for a bit, her and her friends went down the block to Pet Shop for some lunch. Maybe ten minutes later I get a text message from her:
Coincidence
Quite possibly the best part happened by accident. My friend Annmarie had swung by my table a few times throughout the day, even encouraging some friends to join her in Jersey City so they could make a day of it. After chatting for a bit, her and her friends went down the block to Pet Shop for some lunch. Maybe ten minutes later I get a text message from her:
And even though I absolutely love hanging out and talking to strangers (to the point of forgetting to eat or drink anything), packing up was so much easier without a bunch of items coming home with me.
Future improvements
The event wasn't without opportunities to improve. Next time, I'd prefer to use Sharpie marker on better white dot stickers (not my dollar store option). Plus, I'd like to clean the Sharpie marks off my items better. I'd like to hang the art better with hooks or tape or putty. I need to add my Venmo username to my marketing material. I could bring some bags and more bubble wrap for my more delicate sales. And the biggest improvement of all could be my marketing - I need to be sharing more of this adventure, especially as it's happening! (By the way, if you want to follow along and get some real-time updates on new items, check out the Instagram!)
What sold at Porta:
What sold elsewhere:
I've had a mountain of Skylander toys in my apartment since the dead of summer. I found a few great deals to collect them all but I started to question if I could sell one of these pseudo-electronic figurines without testing them first. Fast-forward to December, several months later, I finally pulled trigger and bought a Skylander video game - a whooping $8.50. And out of 100 figures/toys I've tested so far, 100 work!
In addition to testing a bunch of things I've been procrastinating on, I also pulled the plug on selling a few items. I basically threw out some things not worth selling - a vintage Dell keyboard (slightly broken and untestable), some vinyl records (that never had a sleeve), and some loose toys (not worth cleaning and only cluttering my kitchen floor).
Littlest Pet Shop toys flew off the "shelves" as soon as I FINALLY listed them! It might have been a happy accident to wait until the Christmas season, or the fact that I probably didn't list their prices competitively, but they're out and gone. Profit in my pocket!
I've known for a bit that some of my Ebay listings had darker-than-necessary images. Something about photographing certain colors tints the white background of my make-shift photo lab. But when I decided one day to replace a photo or two for a Fisher Price Cookie Monster figure, two things happened:
It finally sold less than 12 hours later!
I noticed revising and adding photos is so much easier through the Ebay mobile app!
Fails
Listing 60 Ebay items was a bit ambitious once again, especially for a month with a major holiday and a reselling event.
Plus, with all the chaos of the holidays, I've realized that the costs are probably not worth it to pursue used books. Among other expenses, a regular monthly subscription to both Amazon Seller Central and ScoutIQ (a database for checking Amazon prices in real-time) totals $80. I'm not sourcing or selling nearly enough books to justify those costs, and I don't plan on doing more of either. Time to cut the losses.
I've been lucky enough not to get too much negative feedback in my short reselling career. But remember how I said I felt uneasy selling Skyland toys without testing them? Yeah, that's basically because one buyer said one of their purchases didn't work - and their kid lost his mind! Knowing how bad my niece and nephew can get, my heart went out to a very cool Mom that just wanted to gift some toys to her kid, so I partially refunded the unresponsive Donkey Kong figure and we parted ways.
There was, however, a purchase I was not ready to refund - Tinsel, the Build-a-Bear reindeer. It was very cute and very expensive for a stuffed animal, so I was happy to send it off. But when the buyer received it, she said, "It arrived smushed and deformed in a packet with white pet hair on it. It has an odor too. I have allergies. I'm very disappointed." I admit, it probably did arrive smushed because I wrapped it in bags and a box to protect it from the rain on the day I sent it out. But it's a stuffed animal, I'm sure it will be fine. On the other hand, white pet hair and an odor makes no sense. I photographed it and threw it on the shelf until it sold. I don't own a pet and never have in this apartment. I apologized and told her all of this, offering a full refund if she sent Tinsel back. She said it was too much of a hassle since she has a severe spinal injury, and asks for a half of a refund. I counter with the fact that I don't understand what I'm refunding. Then she flat-out asks for $5. Nope. Case closed. Feedback intact.
Going forward
Nothing yet in this journey compares to what 2020 could potentially offer.
Where do I start? Second-hand stuff has always been my love. But I suppose I began reselling on a professional level when I worked in junk removal. I'd clean homes full-time, throwing their unwanted items in the back of a bright blue truck and then cart them off to the landfill. Most times, though, I hauled off goodies and threw my own garage sales on the weekends to salvage most things from a smelly death.
And from that job, I kept in touch with my old boss. I'd say we've always been friends. I never forgot that he treated me like an adult before I think I should have been called one, and he even paid for me to attend a seminar in New Mexico when I left the junk removal franchise to travel around the continental US in my car.
With that being said, I’ve been talking to my old boss and the opportunity to salvage and divert has come again. It's especially ironic because I had the idea more than five years ago when I worked for the company.
There is a possibility to partner with my old boss and the local junk removal franchise. The goal would be to divert as much as I can from the landfill, reselling whatever possible. The guys would clean homes and throw goodies in a storage unit for me to effectively and efficiently get rid of. What I need is a system to fit directly into theirs. The junk removal crews need a cut, as does the franchise. I need to organize storage units and find several ways to quickly and cleanly move all sorts of product. And right now just imagining the possibilities opens up all kinds of feelings. It's one of those amazing opportunities that's so big, you're not sure you're ready. But when will you be? How can you know? I imagine the truth is you can't know, until you dive head-first, figuring out your parachute on the way down.
I've cleared my mind and sorted my thoughts a bit better by really trying to imagine the worst and naming my fears. Right now, the main fear is, as one person, I won't be able to manage the speed and size of all the things that could be sold. Storage units would fill up and nothing would get sold quick enough to make it worth it.
What can I do to mitigate the disaster of this happening? I could be as clear as possible with the team about what I want. Ask them for photos before dropping off. I could start more relationships with buyers that want things right away, so listing isn't necessary. I could open my own storage unit to free up space after I list something online. I could bring some stuff home. There might be fear, but there are options.
What's even more exciting now is where to begin.
Stay tuned!
