Consignment sale totals are up for the second full day. I’ve now sold 123 of 390 items. Only 38 items sold today. I’m feeling rather discouraged, like this was all a big waste of time. One day left (the half-off day) and I’ve only sold about 1/3 of what I took. Most of my toys, books and movies have sold. Clothes, not so much. I think part of the problem is that I had a lot of small sizes to get rid of (between 0-12 months) because that is what my youngest has recently outgrown. And there is a lot of “competition” in these sizes – so many people bring them. Also, I think part of the issue is that this is only the second time this sale has been held in my town, and the last time was over a year ago. People just aren’t sure what it’s all about yet. And, although it is held at the state fairgrounds, it’s in a kind of odd, out of the way building that I have never been to for anything else. I wonder if people are having a hard time finding it.
I priced almost all of my clothes low, and marked them for discount too, so here’s hoping they all go flying out the door tomorrow. I went back and shopped a bit this evening (consignors got a jump on the 50% off sale) and I noticed that a lot of the consignors chose NOT to discount their items on the last day. I thought that was kind of odd, but hopefully it means my stuff will have less competition tomorrow!
Jennifer B. says
May 19, 2012 at 11:14 amThere used to be something under the account tab in the myEbay page under site preferences that you had to select *in addition* to the ‘will not ship internationally’ option on the listing page in order to actually block international buyers. I can’t find that option now but I know it was there about a year ago when I first started selling again (I had sold a *long* time ago, back when buyers would send you checks in the mail) and was nervous about doing international sales. Maybe someone else can post as to where to find it if it still exists.
I know I had posted in the Sellers Central forum on ebay when I had started selling again because I had selected ‘will not ship internationally’ and one of my first sales was someone in Germany and I didn’t know what to do and found out about the second box that needed to be clicked. Crazy that there were 2 different areas I needed to go to to not have international sales! I did click it but went back a day later and deselected it and changed my listings because I figured why *not* ship internationally if it meant more money for me?!
Veronica says
May 19, 2012 at 3:48 pmTina at My Secret EBay Diary blog went through about a month ago how to set up your settings to exclude certain countries when shipping international. She included screen shots for people that have a hard time figuring things out like me. You might want to check it out. Good luck on the consignment. I had heard previously that small sizes for babies don’t sell well because people get so many at showers and when a baby is first born that the market is saturated with them.
Kate Deals says
May 19, 2012 at 7:16 pmCalculated shipping is very easy to use. Just select “Calculated: Cost Varies by Buyer Location”, then enter the weight of your package and what service(s) you’re offering. Sometimes I offer both Priority Mail regualr (based on weight) and also a fixed rate Priority Mail box (using the Offer Additional Service option). Once a package is over one pound there is a huge difference in postage, based on distance. It’s virtually twice as expensive for a two pound package to the west coast versus one that stays in the Mid-Atlantic region for me. eBay displays for potential buyers what their postage would be based on the weight of the package and your zipcode and the zipcode of the potential buyers. The reason I sometimes offer both a flat rate box and weight based postage is because sometimes one is cheaper for the buyer than the other.
Swampgirl says
May 19, 2012 at 10:16 pmThe consignment sale in our town lasts 2 weeks! And it is held twice a year. The last 2 sales I have had about 300 items and the few I did not sell I could carry in one hand! My best sellers are the older boys clothes because there is less competition. Most of my leftovers have been preteen-teen girls. I gather name brands from yard sales and resell them (in smaller sizes). I hang and tag clothes a little at a time so it does not seem like so much work. Then when the sale comes around I just have to deliver them, work my volunteer hours and pick up my check!