Vacation Settings

I never expect a ton of sales in December due to my type of inventory.  Let's face it, not a lot of people are shopping for used clothing this time of year.  I've only had eight sales since I turned my vacation settings back off last week.  

Even though I KNOW this - it doesn't stop my from HATING the bins of clothes that take up part of my basement.  It's one thing to know they are moving out as I bring more in, but right now it just feels like more and more keep accumulating.  

Listed these this week:

 

 London Fog Kelly Green Trench Rain Coat - Large

I LOVE this jacket, wish it was in my size so I could keep it!

 Lands End Blue Plaid Down Vest - 3X

I was going to go out today to do some Christmas shopping but my husband got called into work leaving me with the kids today.  Tonight we have his work Christmas party, always a nice dinner at a country club but a little forced conversation with people I don't know at all.  I'm not the best at small talk.  :(  Wish me luck!

The Vacation is Over - Sad!

We are back from our vacation - hard to believe this was my view in La Jolla, California last Saturday.  

We spent 4 days in Disneyland with the kids and then a quick stop to San Diego to see my cute sister in law and her family.  

We had such a fun time!

My store was turned off for over a week and it was BLISSFUL!  

I love the sales, but a break from all the listing, photos, shipping was much needed.  

We got home Sunday night and I was back to sourcing on Monday.  Spent today listing and getting the store up and running again. Making my Christmas lists and finishing up the shopping. 

 I love this time of year!

My Fickle Love

Oh the highs and lows of selling online!  Last week I was about to scream and throw all my inventory out into the garbage - sales were SO SO bad!

This week?  I have been doing a happy dance all week! 

Weekly sales before fees have topped out at $974.00

Dressers paid for and delivered.  Nightstands are on backorder - should be here by end of December.    

To top off the great sales, my local thrift store had a 50% off all clothing for Veteran's Day.  I was able to stock up and get quite a few new great items to list at great prices.

 Brooks Brothers Pink Cardigan - Extra Small

 MOTH Anthropologie Sweater Shrug - Medium

 Eddie Bauer Collectibles Sweater - Large

Harley Davidson Tyler Boots Size 8.5

I've changed my listings up by revamping titles and lowering prices a tad - perhaps I was being a bit too greedy.  Whatever it is, it's working!  How are your November sales going?

This is Pathetic

$28 in sales this week.

478 items listed. 
I'm listing at least 1-3 daily.
Great pictures, great listings, nothing has changed.

Except there are NO BUYERS.   This is honestly, the worst week of sales I have had since I started doing this as a job and was excited to make $100 my first week. 

I'm so frustrated with eBay right now.  I would call but I don't want to be on hold for 55 minutes like last time. 

Counting (spending) Chickens...

Before they hatch!

Guilty...and now I am stressing about money.  Gah.

I just booked our family trip to Disneyland in December! 

 I always use Get Away Today - they are simply hands down the easiest company to work with when booking a trip to Disneyland.  (And no, they don't pay me a dime to say that, but they should, I tell everyone I know!) 

I have always paid for our Disney trips in cash from my ebay store earnings.  It's a great feeling knowing that the trip is paid for before you go, down to the spending money, etc.  

So I need some money for that.  Just a little.  ;)

And I bought this on Friday:

Two dressers, a mirror and two nightstands.  We've been using cardboard boxes around here since our remodel and I'm ready for furniture!  We have been married 13 years and have never bought a bedroom set - before we used my set from Ethan Allen that I got when I was 12.  TWELVE.

It's in my daughter's room now.  

I got a great deal on the set at 45% off 

(otherwise it would have never had been in my price range) 

and paid for half of it in cash upfront.  Which means I need the other half of that money in four to six weeks.  

Uhhhhhh....shoot.

I currently have 503 items listed and not a lot of money to buy inventory.  So I am going through a lot of stuff lying around the house and trying to list those things first.  I'm also listing a lot of things on local yard sale sites on Facebook.  We have some pretty good ones here - I made $40 yesterday just selling some soccer cleats and a fish tank.  Small change sounds like just that until it starts adding up!

I have a few high priced items in my store right now - it would be REALLY great if some of those would sell and quick!  

I did get my check from the JBF sale - I made $664.00 this time!  LOVE that sale!

Just Between Friends Fall Sale

I was so pleased with my results with the local JBF sale in August that I decided to go for round 2.  The same woman who runs the sale by my house also runs the one 40 minutes North of me.  

So I took the items I had left over and already tagged, revised a few and started adding to the pile.

I ended up with 326 items to take. Mostly kids clothing, a LOT of books (early readers/level type) and some toys and shoes.  

Instead of bartering, I did a volunteer shift when I dropped my items off and then I did the pick up one as well.  I figured since I had to drive there, I might as well stay and get some more money back on my check.

 

The back of my van was FULL.  Happily, I only brought around 100 items home - and made about $650.00 in the process.  The sale is really well run, not too big that it's out of control and all the women who I've met volunteering are so nice.  

This is all going to our Disney vacation this winter - and as far as the JBF sale goes, I'm hooked!

Who Knew!?

That consignment sales were so easy?  

(A lot of you knew that already I'm sure!)  

It was seeming like such a pain and I hated having the piles around here getting ready, but now that I have one under my belt, I'm hooked.

I took 203 items to my first Just Between Friends sale, sold a little more than half of what I brought, and made $502.00!!  

I did work one volunteer shift as well as I bartered by bringing some postcards around to a few local schools.  It went great and I was thrilled to get that check in the mail.

This was the first sale, about 75% set up, a lot of bigger items came in later.  Nothing like some of the other ones I've heard - they are huge.  

Ours is pretty small at this point.  I think our marketing here leaves a little to be desired, but maybe that is just my PR major coming out?

There is another sale coming up here shortly where I am taking my previous items as well as a lot more.  Kids clothes has been such a slow seller for me on eBay that I would rather these cute Gymbo clothes go somewhere else besides my storage room! 

My Favorite Sound!

cha-CHING!!

Nothing motivates me more to list than hearing that sound!  I was so happy to wake up to five sales and then have two more this morning.  

Still not super enthusiastic about doing the JBF consignment sale coming up - I don't know if I like having all this stuff  hanging around here all summer.  I hope it pays off when the sale comes and I can cash a nice sized check. Any sort of check? 

This is what I'm hoping will sell this weekend...

 J. Crew XXS shorts - ADORABLE!!

 I have over 20 watchers and yet these won't sell!  

Buy some cute shorts people!

 Quacker Factory Butterfly Shirt - Large.  I love this brand!  I always pick this up when I find it.

Vera Bradley Caffe Latte Purse

We have a family event to go to in the morning.  Not sure I'll be able to go to any sales.  Forcing me to finish for the sale and list some things I already have.  

Shopping is always the fun part, isn't it? 

Have a great weekend!

Slow sales and no thrifting

We love summer around here but it seems like my kids short break has flow by!  We are year round school so it's only six weeks.  We have had cousins visit from Georgia and friends from Oregon, along with all the usual family parties and happenings...so garage sales and thrifting took a back seat while I focused on cleaning up our basement to make it guest worthy.  

Which you all know means hiding the junk in bins until you can get around to listing it!

I sold these shoes that I bought two weeks ago for $3 fairly quickly. I wasn't wanting to keep these around all winter for an extra $5-10 so I listed them at $19.99. 

Speaking of which, I have a rule of thumb that I use where I try to get at LEAST four times the amount for something I paid.  So on these, I wouldn't list them for anything less than $12.  Which would still hardly get me anything after fees, but it wouldn't be a loss either.

I've been digging around listing some older items too....

 Clarks Indigo Sandals - I would keep these in a heartbeat if they were my size, so cute!

 Anthropologie Maeve Dress

 IXIA Pink Rose Dress

 OILILY Cargo Skirt

Dr. Martens Monk Strap Oxfords

While I'm waiting for these to sell, I sent these three back to school...

My daughter had a different first day for first grade, so no I didn't send her to school with crazy hair like that.  :)  One is ALREADY home sick today and the other tried to fake it this morning.  They are trying to convince me to homeschool them and I'm still not sure how I feel about that! 
Linking up to Ivy & Elephants

Garage Sale Stories July 12th

Dan was a brave soul and took our 9 year old up to Cub Scout Camp.   Greg is usually the one to wake me up to go while my oldest, Graham hold zero interest in this interest of mine.  But I promised him a doughnut and we got off to a very late start.  

Not much of a haul I know, it was SO HOT.  I couldn't stand the thought of being out there digging through boxes of clothes.  Bleh.

The desk it's all sitting on is new, I've been looking for one for my front room and saw this on a local Facebook site for $50.  Dan needs to reglue one of the legs, but other than that, I'm pretty happy with it!

I got the 2 super nice plush pig and dog costumes for $2 each and she gave me the baby toys for free. Car seat cover was $2, Bebe Sounds was $1, Clarks were $3 (like new) and the cute baby cowboy boots were $2.  

Certainly not my best trip out but I had a lot of fun with my 11 year old and got to hear him sing in the car.  Priceless. 

Patience Pays Off!

Remember this Paul and Shark shirt I grabbed for $5.00? 

After several low ball offers thrown at me, I accepted an offer for $130.00 on it.  I was hoping for a tad more but my windshield broke and the cash will come in handy to replace it this month. 

I also sold the blue Garnet Hill dress for $55.00...another one I'm glad I held out a little longer for a higher price.  

Still pleased with flips like that!  I wish they all were this great!

Now if I could only get this Roberto Cavalli dress to find a home, I would be tickled pink! 

What? Where Have I Been?

        How have so many months gone by since I've blogged?  

Yikes. 

 I'm still here, listing my little heart out and listening to the crickets sing in my store while my listing numbers get higher and higher.  Isn't summer miserable that way for eBay?  I love hitting all the yard sales but MAN, my house is overflowing with inventory!  

I used to have a wedding flower business, but stopped when we had our daughter.  Now I just do weddings for friends, family and by word of mouth.  I did these last month for a couple who got married up in the canyon...they smelled AMAZING!  

Love those David Austin garden roses!  

 

I have managed to go to a few yard sales and you can bet my wallet is fat with ones ready fore the morning!  

I picked up this lot three weeks ago:

 Dance leotards (already sold one for $20) 2 NWT Justice bathing suits.  The big pile in the bag was brand new clothes I got for my 11 year old.  It's rare for me to find things his size! And oh yeah, 

Practically BRAND NEW COLE HAAN dress shoes for $1!  

 I have a store full of lookie loos right now...over 12 watchers on each of these items.  Just waiting for someone to jump and buy! 

 J. Crew XXS Shorts

 Anthro Lithe Skirt Size 12

 Lucky Brand Cashmere Cardigan Medium

Garnet Hill Blue Cotton Gauze Sundress

 I've had 2 offers already on this dress, it retails for $98 but is on sale for $48 right now.  However, Garnet Hill is no longer offering this color.  I am holding out at $60 with f/s for at least another week with so many watchers so fast.  

Can't wait to go out tomorrow morning! 

Hoping the summer slump passes quickly, is it just as slow for you? 
Linking up to Ivy And Elephants
 

 

Shopping the House

I hope everyone had a very happy Easter Sunday! 

The Easter Bunny found my three and they had so much fun finding eggs.  We went to church and dinner at my mom and dad's afterward.  Now that we are all sugared out, I need to get back to work

The kids have been off track from school (we are year round here) so they go back tomorrow.  

It's a lot of fun having them home but I'll admit I didn't get much done.  They did help me out at a yard sale with some friends on Saturday morning.  

I made a whopping $40.25.  

FORTY DOLLARS! 

That is the WORST I have ever done selling at a yard sale.  It was fun hanging out with friends but I was a tad disappointed I didn't get at least $50! Booooo.

Since my kids absolutely hate going to thrift stores with me, I have been trying to shop the house to see what I can come up with.

 I bought this David Warren faux wrap dress years ago at TJ Maxx for $15 and never wore it.  I finally listed it and it sold a few days later for $54.00.  Not a bad return for cleaning out my closet! 
(I spoke too soon, a return has been started on the dress, grrr.)

I picked this GK Leotard for Lauren to wear to tumbling class at a yard sale last summer for 50 cents. She wore it once and it said it bothered her.  I've got it listed now and have 5 watchers on it so far. 

I have a church activity next Saturday morning that is going to keep me from going out to yard sales, so I'm going to have to look around a little harder for things to list.

How is the shopping going for you?  Yard sales are just popping up and I can't wait until 2 weeks from now when I can really hit some hard!

Taxes

 I REALLY hate doing my taxes.  

(who doesn't, right?)

I usually do my business side of them and then my husband does the rest.  But this year we are both procrastinating and I really just need to buckle down and get them out of my hair.  

Let's face it, shopping and having the phone go "Cha-CHING!" are the favorite parts about this business!

Things have been a tad slow around here, but I've still managed to have a few good finds and get some listings up. 

Anthropologie MOULINETTE SOEURS Arribada Turtle Dress Size 2

ANN TAYLOR LOFT Dress Navy Blue Aqua Floral Small

ANN TAYLOR LOFT Dress Green Black Wrap Career 4 Small

The best sale was my husbands old projector that stopped working last year. I listed it as is and for parts only...it sold 2 weeks later for $220 including shipping.  Not bad for something that was just taking up space!  

Back to taxes....grrrrrr!

Garage Sale Stories- Snooooze

What a train wreck I had this weekend.  The older boys were going to a Boy Scout Merit Badge Pow Wow so I was looking forward to spending the morning out with Greg and Lauren.  

Not so fast...her tummy hurt.  

I told her we would stay close to home and we drove by one place to only see tools and hunting gear.  Not my thing. 

Her tummy hurt more.  

Bleh...grandma to the rescue.  I dropped Lauren off so she could snuggle and watch cartoons with grandma and grandpa.  Then I felt super rushed because you just can't leave your sick baby girl with your parents for hours on end.  

Greg and I hit 3 more sales, he found some BeyBlades and I stumbled across a fundraiser sale where I sped shopped while Greg played his DS in the car.

 

This is about half my pile that I picked up for $35.  I ended up with 50 items, so it came to .70 cents a piece.  I have several winter coats, dresses, costumes, sweaters.  Most all of it is Old Navy, Gymbo and Carters. 

Last summer I would have left everything there, since there was nothing at that sale in my kids size.  

But this last month I went to the JBF Consignment sale and was baffled at all the so-so clothes people were grabbing up.  

They were loading their carts FULL of clothes I wouldn't dream of dressing my kids in.  

(I'm a little snobby though, so that needs to be considered.)

I realized that I come across awesome kids clothing all the time and just leave it since it's not in my kids size.  So I am jumping into the consignment sale arena and stocking up on items to sell at the next big sale here in August. 

 I think I have a good eye for it so we will see how I do!