Saturday, November 10, 2012

Ebay - The Week In Numbers

This week was a busy "ebay" week for me. For those that don't know, I sell on ebay full-time. 

On Monday, I drove about 500 miles. I picked up 140 items to re-sell. Two of them turned out to have large flaws and were thrown out. I was driving or shopping for 11 hours. I also packaged 32 items to ship on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, I listed 40 items. I also napped for 3 hours since I woke up at 4am. I packaged 38 items to ship on Wednesday. I worked for 13 hours on ebay or ebay items. I also made 12 cupcakes and 30 cookies. They were given to my mail carrier, my father-in-law and the lady who is helping us secure VA benefits for my father-in-law.

On Wednesday, I cleaned and steamed over 100 items. I think I also listed a few things. I seriously cannot remember. This took FOREVER! I was up at 3am and was exhuasted by 4pm. I quit early - after about 10 hours of ebay. I packaged 18 items to ship on Thursday.

On Thursday, I listed about 75 items. This may be an all-time high for me. I packaged another 20 to ship out on Friday. I ebay-ed for 12 hours. 

On Friday, I went shopping again since I was almost out of items already. I picked up another 20 items and drove 100 miles. I also went grocery shopping for us and for my father-in-law (he no longer is able to drive). I listed the rest of the items I picked up on Monday and packaged 15 items for Saturday's mail. I shopped and listed for 10 hours. I then went to a friend's Mary Kay party.

On Saturday, I packaged another 15 or so items before the mail was picked up. Then my hubby & I went to a funeral luncheon. I came home and cooked eggs, beef & chicken for my husband so he could eat for a few days. I cook these in bulk and separate them in containers. He can then re-heat them. He is a very healthy eater and eats a lot of protein. I spent the rest of the day cleaning the items I bought yesterday. 

During this week, I sold over $600 on my store ID and about $1500 on my non-store ID. 

I sold 42 items on my store ID and 71 items on my non-store ID. 

I am still waiting for 6 people to pay but everything else has shipped. Yeah!

Tomorrow will be a day of REST! I'm looking forward to it. 

Here are my favorite sales for the week: 

1. A vintage black dress I purchased in Florida. I think I paid about $40-$50 for it. I could check my receipts but I am being lazy. It sold for $225. 

2. This jacket was returned (something I usually don't allow) because the buyer didn't like the buttons. I refunded JUST the purchase price ($140) and not the shipping. I got it back and relisted it. Thankfully, It sold for the same amount. I didn't lose a cent and I am thrilled! St. John Collection jacket, sold for $140.

3. I found this ring years ago. I think it was the pocket of another item. It was tested by a local jeweler and was real gold. I finally remembered to list it and although it was missing a stone, it sold for $53. 

4. I loved, loved, loved this carpet bag. I purchased it for $2 and sold it for $25. 

5. J. Crew pineapple skirt, sold for $60. 

6. Jones Wear tiered dress, sold for $40. 

7. Talbots dandelion print skirt, sold for $40. I have two more of these exact skirts (in different sizes). For some reason, they keep finding me at the thrift store.

8. Vintage Casio Secret Sender 6000. My sister had this as a girl and I remembered it. I paid $3 for it and it sold for $20. Not a huge sale, but it brought back a lot of a memories. 
 
Exhausting, right? 

It was nothing compared to my husband. He cleaned two houses (ours and my father-in-laws), mowed two yards (his dad's and his uncle & aunts), fertilized his dad's lawn, took his father to two doctor's appointments, shopped for groceries at the beginning of the week, sang with the oldies band twice (both times were out of town), took his father to Lowe's (this in itself is an all-day ordeal), took two vehicles in to the mechanic, picked my father-in-law up when he fell (yet again...this was the fourth time in less than 6 weeks) and will be leading TWO worship services and have a church worship rehearsal tomorrow.  And this is just what I can remember. 

We are going to (try to) slow down with this new week approaching.  

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

What I am looking forward to...

The hubby & I have a game we play. I usually start it and I call it "what we are looking forward to". Each person has to name five things they are ... well ... looking forward to. Ha! 

It helps us stay positive during the day and allows us to be thankful for all the amazing things we have in our lives. 

The things over the years have been big and small. So, here are some things I am looking forward to (By the way - for all you teachers & English majors - I googled ending my sentence with a preposition and it is supposedly now okay. That is a load off of my mind.)

1. Being able to walk without pain or a limp. My knee is slowly healing from surgery and there are entire hours that pass without my thinking about it. I feel I am an overall healthy person and am so thankful for my health. It seems like I spend a lot of time thinking about my knee and I would rather be thinking about...anything else! 

I had most of the back meniscus removed.
You probably didn't even know you had a meniscus in your knee.
I went 32 years without thinking about it.



2. Our next vacation! We won a charity auction for a trip to the Caymen Islands for a few days and we plan on going in February. We love to travel and usually have a few trips in the works. This year we had nothing planned due to my father-in-law's worsening health. Then the auction was won and I am excited. 


3. Cleaning our carpets next week. I know this is an odd thing to be excited about but I love all things that have to do with organizing & cleaning. We clean them every year and it makes such a big difference. All the furniture comes out of the room which means everything will be neat-as-a-pin when we put it back.
Dollar General currently has a $10 mail-in rebate for their machines, which run $25-$30 for a 24 hour rental. 
Check out this website & put in your zip code. It will take you to a printable form.
4. The holidays! Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday of the year. It is a time where I get to see family and eat crescent rolls stuffed with cheese. 

Sprinkle cheese in them before you bake them. YUM!

5. Heaven! This always makes "the list". My hubby & I recently watched a Netflix program called God of Wonders. I would highly recommend it. It is amazing how God created and cares for the universe. And heaven is going to even better than that. 


Saturday, November 3, 2012

Recent Ebay Sales - 11/3

The other day I walked into a thrift and one of the employees was carrying around a juicer. I followed him around (as fast as my knee would take me!) and told him I wanted it as soon as I caught up. It was a Vita Mix which is one of the best brands you can buy. I paid $40 for it - much higher than my usual buy. 

Yesterday I sold it for $170! After ebay fees, I made $100. I would love for every sale to be so easy! 


2.  Talbots blue & white striped dress, sold for $20. 

3. Evan Picone velvet dress, sold for $20. The buyer of this dress also bought five other items. I love when that happens! 

4. Alberto Makali jacket, sold for $23. 

5. Alberto Makali jacket, sold for $20. 

6. New Quaker Factory pants & top set, sold for $21. 

7. Kate Hill plaid skirt, sold for $25 within a day of listing. 

8. My lot of doll furniture sold. I purchased it for $1 and it sold for $26. 

9. Athleta skort, sold for $26. 

10. Gap denim skirt, sold for $16. 

11. Lanz flannel night gown, sold for $26. 

12. Talbots wool jacket, sold for $20. 

13. Vera Bradley purse, sold for $20. This was my personal purse and it was getting faded & a bit old looking. I am trying to pair down! Ha! 

14. H&M top, sold for $20. 

15. Banana Republic silk dress, sold for $20. 

16. Anthropologie's "C. Keer" top, sold for $15. This was pretty amazing since it had a hole in the front of the top! I didn't realize it in the store. I took a photo of the hole and listed it "as is". 

Sometimes items with flaws don't work out so well! 

I sold this Elie Tahari suit for only $6 because of the iron sheen marks on it. I only paid $4 for it so I basically broke even. But this would have went MUCH higher if it was perfect. I missed the marks in the store. 


Another item with a flaw which I missed in the store. Ralph Lauren men's pull-over. It had a white mark on the front which didn't come out with washing (darn it!). Sold for $15 which was great since I paid $4 for it. 

And one more. This one had the lining cut out by the previous owner. It was not done well. It sold for $5 and I had paid $2.50 for it. Again, I broke even.


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Two Weeks After Knee Surgery

I'm quite excited. Today I will go to the doctor's office and get my stitches out. They have been catching on my pajama pants and it is too cold to wear shorts. In fact, we had snow yesterday. Yuck!

This was my second knee surgery and it was to fix a torn meniscus. Today I will also find out what they did during the surgery and will hopefully be told how not to tear my meniscus again. 

The bruising is mostly gone from my knee and has now moved onto my calf and shin. I love the colors of brusing - browns, greens, yellows, purples and blues. It is like a little rainbow on my leg. 

The swelling has also gone down and I am starting to see my knee cap again. I am walking without a limp and my knee only hurts when I stand for too long.






Update: 

My stitches are out! The doctor said my range of movement is good and my knee will take atleast 6 weeks to heal. I cannot jog until then. That should be NO problem since I am not much of an athlete. I found out that they took out most of my back meniscus since it was beyond repair. You can live without a meniscus but most likely arthritis will develop in the empty space. Since I still have part of mine, this isn't a certainty. But, if I wear to tear it again, it would be "bad news" (these are the doctor's words). 

The muscle above my knee is weak and I can no longer lift my leg to a 90 degree angle. The doctor said this will take time and exercise. I can only lift it about 30 degrees. My left thigh actually measures 1" LESS than my right due to the lack of using it over the last year. After a full year of knee pain, I am just so thankful that my knee is now able to heal correctly.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Recent Ebay Sales - 10/30

My heart goes out to all of those dealing with Hurricane Sandy. My family is without power on Long Island. Thankfully here in West-Central PA, we have power and (so far!) no snow. Just about 20 minutes from us received snow and we didn't want to have to deal with that so soon in the season. 

My ebay sales have soared over the last few days so I am just going to post a few things that did fairly well. 

1. St. John Collection navy jacket, sold for $140. I am always on the look out for St. John pieces.

2. Barnes & Nobles Nook, sold for $108. We actually purchased this a few months ago for my husband. He recently upgraded his cell phone to an awesome smart phone and didn't need this any more. 

3. St. John navy pants, sold for $56. They perfectly matched the jacket above but I listed them separately. St. John almost always does better when you list the pieces separately.

4. Express gray pants & jacket suit, sold for $52. 

5. Tahari by Arthur S. Levine red skirt & jacket suit, sold for $50.  I loved this suit!

6. New Coldwater Creek dark pink jacket, sold for $50. 

7. Dale of Norway wool sweater, sold for $40. 

8. Chico's Travelers tank, sold for $41. I originally listed this piece with a buy it now of $27. I realized I had a TON of watchers within the first hour and pulled the buy it now price. I am not sure why this went so high. It could be the size ("3" - the largest size) or the animal print. 

9. J. Crew bubble skirt, sold for $40. 

10. New J. Jill floral jacket, sold for $35.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Recent Ebay Sales - 10/25

Yesterday I went thrifting for the first time since my knee surgery. I only went to one store and did pretty well. I am going to shop again today. I currently have over 400 items for sale between the two ebay IDs. 

I had a friend ask me why I pick brands like Ann Taylor and Talbots. The only reason is that is what my thrifts offer. If my thrifts had better brands, I would be picking them up! 

My average sale is for about $20-$25 and my average piece costs $4 to purchase at the thrift. This allows me for a $10-$15 average profit per piece (about ebay/paypal fees & taxes).

Yesterday I purchased 30 pieces at the thrift in the morning and then listed those same pieces later in the day. So for one (long) day's work, I would make about $300-$450 (if everything sold). Of course not everything will sell so I will realistically make $200-$250 for one day's work. 

Here are a few things that sold within the last two days.

1. Anthropologie Odille skirt, sold for $27.

2. Talbots dark red skirt suit, sold for $25.

3. Ann Taylor wrap dress, sold for $17. 

4. Talbots navy blue skirt suit, sold for $17. This sold for a bit less due to my lack of photos. I just realized I only included one photo in the listing (oops!). More photos usually equal more money. 

5. Willi Smith long houndstooth skirt, sold for $20. 

6. I purchased this skirt based on the pattern. It is by Linea Domani and sold for $15. 

7. Luella for Target bubble dress, sold for $33. 

8. Coldwater Creek silk skirt, sold for $27. Sold within minutes of listing!