1000!

I have just gotten my 1000th feedback on Ebay!  This is important to me for a couple of reasons:
About 2/3 of them have come this year since I have become a full time seller.  It makes me glad to know that my buyers are happy with the items they have bought.
This particular feedback (1000) was left by a buyer from the Netherlands who bought a fragile ceramic Coca-Cola cookie jar from me on November 27th.  I packed it up as well as I could, and was a nervous wreck that it would be damaged.  It was delivered on December 10th.  I figured that if it was damaged, I would hear about it, this being the classic "no news is good news" scenario.  So I was very pleased that it arrived safely and she liked it.
Finally, looking back over the past year and remembering the highs (and a few lows) that I have enjoyed and learned from, I want to thank two people, without whom this achievement would not be possible:

• Autumn - my girlfriend, partner, and head of the mighty Pioneer Valley Fashion Footwear Division.  A great picker - almost as good as me, though she will tell you different ;), several of the stores top performing categories are due to her suggestions. She has put up with me through everything and is still here.  She's a keeper, that's for sure.  Honey, I love you!
• Meinard Agraan - the man behind The Thrift Store Reseller and the reason I got into this whole thing.  It was his guidance and friendship (and eBook) that helped me out and pointed me in the right direction.  

I thank you both, and all the buyers whom I have interacted with. I look forward to 2013, and wish everyone good luck and happiness! Thanks again!!

Freestyle Thrifting

As a general rule, Autumn and I only go thrifting when there are sales or promotions.  As resellers, we look to pay the absolute lowest prices possible.  Sometimes however, we go thrifting for the heck of it, or in yesterdays case, to kill some time.  Our daughter got invited to a birthday party at a roller rink about 30 minutes from the house, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone by hitting the thrift stores in the area.
First we went to a Goodwill, which has never been that great of a source for us.  I immediately saw a shopping cart full of shoes with a sign that said $1.50 each on it.  Very cool!  I dig out a nice pair of SAS Whisper, Autumn finds a pair of Clarks, then I find another pair of SAS. Autumn also picks up some doodad, and our total is $5.65.  I use my $5.00 off card ( talked about here), bringing the total to .65 cents! 
On to the Salvation Army.  This particular SA is one of my favorites.  For those unfamiliar, SA has 5 different color price tags.  Each week a certain color is half price except Wednesday when 4 of the 5 are half price. Today blue tags were half. Right off the bat, I find a pair of Z-Coil shoes.  Full price, but at $7.99 I buy them.  Autumn finds a few things, and I find a bunch of stuff but all full price so I pass.
When we get home, I clean and polish the SAS Whispers and the Z-Coils and get them listed.  Well lo and behold, when I wake up I find the Z-Coils have sold already!

I looked at completeds to see what I could hope to get for them, and they were all over the place. At first I thought $49.99, but finally settled on $69.99.  Glad I did!  So keep your eyes open for these things, quite strange looking, but they sell!

In other news, my 1000 feedback milestone is right around the corner.  This however, will be the subject of another post.  Have a great day!

Thrift Store(ies) 12/19

Autumn and I went to 2 Salvation Armies yesterday.  Everything was 50% off except for items with pink tags. We have quite a few SAs in or area, so we divide them into "zones" and go to a different zone each Wednesday.  Yesterday we went North.  We had not been up here in over a month, so we were excited to see what was new. At the first one we did well. After this we went to a Pizza place that we really like and had a nice lunch.  Then off to the second Salvation Army.  This one is smaller than the first, but we consistently have good luck there.  We did well there also.  Here is the breakdown, clothing wise:

• Ermenegildo Zegna shirt
• Marvel Spider Man button down shirt - SOLD! $29.99
• NWT Mountain Hardware shirt
• 3 Under Armour shirts
• 2 Life Is Good shirts
• Polo Jeans shirt, Polo Sport shirt, Polo t shirt
• Columbia shirt
• Ralph Lauren Blake shirt (71% silk)
• Spongebob t shirt

We also did well in the shoe department:

• Cole Haan penny loafers - SOLD! $29.99
• Converse One Star
• Clarks loafers
• SAS - SOLD! $39.99
• Born Maryjanes
• Merrell Chameleon Stretch (not pictured) - SOLD! $49.99

Finally in the housewares department:

• 4 Orchids of Hawaii Tiki Mugs
• 3 Orchids of Hawaii Hula Girl Mugs
•  Hilo Hattie Coffee Cup
•  Microwave Turntable

 I am off to photograph and list.  If the world does not end tomorrow, I will continue to update this blog on a regular basis.  If it does, this will be my last post.  Good luck, all! :)

Double Stamp Monday 12/17

 The closest thrift store to our house is a Goodwill. We stop by quite a bit, but I have just never had good luck there. I do much better at the Salvation Army. Lately, however, our luck has been changing. In the past few weeks, we have been doing great at Goodwill.  We also found out that every Monday is double stamp day.  It works like this: You get a value card at Goodwill (pictured above).  For every $5.00 you spend, you get one stamp. But on Mondays, you get 2 stamps! When you get 20 stamps, you get $5.00 off your next purchase. We spent $26 and got 10 stamps!  Half a card! We also got some good stuff:

• MBT Amali shoes - SOLD! $49.99
• 2 Ralph Lauren shirts
• 1 Tapout t shirt
• 3 coffee cups
• Clarks Springers shoes
• Polo Jeans hoodie

Sales have been good lately with these highlights:

 Autumn picked up this Hawaiian Punch telephone (brandy new in styro box) at a yard sale over the summer. It is going to California (not Hawaii).

We got this Starter jacket last Wednesday at the Salvation Army.  Autumn recently got a new cell phone because she wanted to be able to look up items at the thrift stores more efficiently. This jacket was one of the first success stories for the phone! What did we do with her old cell phone, you ask?

We sold it, of course!

Thrift Store(ies) 12/12/12 Edition

Another Wednesday, another 50% off sale at the Salvation Army!  We definitely got back on track by scoring some good items.  Pictured above, l-r:

• Johnston & Murphy shirt
• Jamaica Jaxx silk shirt, NWT (I only bought this because it is new and was cheap!)
• 2 Under Armour polo shirts
• 2 Lauren Wool/Angora sweaters
• Burberrys of London shirt
• Starter Mighty Ducks jacket - SOLD! $49.99 + $8.65 shipping
• Tommy Bahama Pinehurst Golf Club shirt
• Polo Ralph Lauren Big Pony shirt - SOLD! $25.00

Other clothing items consisted of 2 NWT Victoria's Secret bras, The Mountain T Shirt, Nike polo shirt, and a CSI T shirt.  We had been in a minor drought the past few weeks, and this trip really picked up my spirits.

Shoe finds included:

• SAS loafers
• Born sandals
• Dansko clogs (blue!) = SOLD! $39.99

I found a nice pair of Air Jordans, but they were full price so I didn't pull the trigger.  If they had been in better shape, I would have bought them.  Finding Danskos always makes me happy, as they are great sellers for me.  We had not found any in a few weeks, so these were a pleasant surprise.

Autumn found a couple of plush items, a Hard Rock Cafe bear, and a Disney Duffy bear.  I once sold a pre-Duffy bear for $80.00, this one is not that valuable but for $1.50, it was a good buy.
After we left the Salvation Army, we went to an indoor "tag sale" which was basically a consignment store. We browsed around for a while, not finding too much until I saw these:

A great 60 piece set of Prolon dishes. They were listed at $50, and I made an offer for $40 which the seller accepted.  Prolon was manufactured in the town I live in (Florence, MA) at the Prophylactic Brush Company many years ago. This set is in great condition, and I am going to list it today.  Last summer, I bought a similar set at a yard sale that I broke up into lots and they sold very well.
I have my work cut out for me, so have a good one and stay tuned!

Thrift Store(ies) 12/5

Wednesday was Family Day at our local Salvation Army, and needless to say, we were there.  So was 75% of the people in our area.  In spite of this, we still made some good finds.  Not too many "wow factors", but some good old solid stuff:

• Descente Triathlon jersey
• The Mountain T Shirt "Gift Of The Eagle Feather"
• Depeche Mode T Shirt
• Fox Racing T Shirt
• Tapout T Shirt

I am starting to look into t shirts more lately.  Mainly because they are always in abundance at all of our thrift stores, and they are cheap ( especially when 1/2 price!).  And people love them.

 Autumn scored 2 really nice Wilton cake pans, Smurf and Smurfette.  They are new and have both the insert and the decorating guide.  I have these listed already for $29.99 OBO each, and already have had an offer on Smurfette (which I politely declined and made a counteroffer). 

 

Autumn also found a great pair of MBT Sport 03 sneakers.  We always buy MBTs.  They sell well, and we usually find them in very good condition.  Autumn's luck continued when she found a North Face Khumbu fleece jacket.  It was full price, but North Face sells, so no problem!  

After the Salvation Army, we went to a Goodwill down the road, but had zero luck.  Things should be picking up after Christmas when people start donating their unwanted presents.  

On the selling side, a few weeks ago, I found a  Salvatore Ferragamo tie at our Goodwill for $1.00.  It sold yesterday for $44.99.

Until next time, happy thrifting, and good luck selling!

Lost

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  I had a perfect track record for items being delivered successfully until I sold this jacket to a buyer in Hungary on October 13th. On November 10th, I got a message from her via Ebay telling me that she had not yet gotten the jacket.  Uh oh!  I responded by asking her to wait one more week and see if it came.  She was cool with that.  A week comes and goes, and still no jacket.  Since I insure every international package with ShipSaver, I was not worried.
I opened a claim with ShipSaver and forwarded the documents they sent me to the buyer, who filled them out and submitted them.  A few days later, they told me that we had to wait several more days to file our claim.  Apparently, 45 days must pass before an item is declared lost.  She resubmitted the documents on the proper day, and within a day, the money was in my Paypal account.  I refunded the buyers money, and she was so happy, she left positive feedback!

So, if you do a lot of international shipping and don't use insurance, you should consider it.  It costs $1.00 for up to $100 worth of coverage. I just factor this into the price of the item.  It is well worth it just for the peace of mind it brings!  I also insure domestic shipments if they are fragile, or are worth over $50.00.