She Thrifts

Thrift. Flip. Repeat.

Helloooooo

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I know, it’s been months.  So long that my laptop died (need to buy a new one, currently long-term borrowing my husband’s), and my bookmark to log in to my blog was lost with my laptop.  It just took me about 15 minutes to even locate the page to log in.  (Face. Palm.)

The funny thing is – I mentally write blog posts almost every day.  You know when you just let things go so long, that sometimes it is hard to pick them up again?  That’s kinda what happened.  Anyway.  I don’t have time for a lengthy catch up post right now, but I thought if I actually posted a short something now it will be easier to post another something tomorrow.  And the next day.  And the next day.

Anyone still out there?  Hope you’re doing well.  ♥♥♥

Big Summer Goals: 9

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I was consistent with my listing the first half of the week, and then I got wrapped up in a big project which diverted a lot of my attention at the end of the week.

Last week I listed 37 new items, for a total of 567 listings since June 1.

My 31 day sales are actually up, for the first time in weeks.  Which actually just emphasizes how crummy my sales were in July, because you can see my sales compared to last year are still down by a lot.

At this point I *think* that this will be a less hectic week, and that I should be able to re-focus on my eBaying.  But, you know, summer.  So we shall see.

Conspiracy Theory – update

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Do you remember when I (only kind of jokingly) mentioned my eBay conspiracy theory?

So, on Sunday I listed 12 new items, all of which I listed by finding a like item already listed in my store and using “sell similar”.  When I woke up on Monday morning I had one sale and one offer – both on items I had used as the basis of a “sell similar”.  And I got an offer on another of my “sell similar” items by lunchtime.

Three of the 12 had offers or sold within a 12 hour window of using “sell similar”.  And it’s not like those were new or exciting listings.


Sold overnight, listed since February, 2018


Got an offer overnight that I countered, listed since April, 2018


Got an offer before lunch (that I accepted), listed since August, 2016 (!!!)

So, all plush because that is what I was listing on Sunday.

But, still, it’s weird, right?

Of course it could just be a coincidence.

Maybe?

Maybe not?

Big Summer Goals: Week 7/Week 8

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Sorry I flaked on my update last week.  I didn’t have anything great to report (again), so I just procrastinated …. until an entire week went by.

Last week I listed 41 new items, for a total of 484 listings since June 1.

Sales were still down.

This week I listed 46 new items.

Since June 1 this puts my grand total at 530 new listings.

Again, sales are still down.

I think I have been focusing too much on my weekly goals (which resulted in procrasting the first half of the week and then trying to make up for it at the end of the week – and almost always falling short).  I somehow lost sight of the fact that this whole thing was supposed to be about CONSISTENCY which means doing the smaller number of listings day after day after day after day after day.  So that is what I am working on in August – meeting my original, smaller, attainable listing goal every single day.

Onward.

Shop on eBay via Ibotta!

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I promise I won’t keep droning on about Ibotta, but wanted to offer one last way that I use it to great effect.  Ibotta will (sporadically) offer bonuses for mobile shopping.  So, I used my eBay shipping coupon and completed the purchase through the Ibotta app.  My grand total for the items I purchased was $50.90 (out of pocket 90¢).  I got back 1% just for shopping through the Ibotta app, and then also got a $5 bonus for completing a mobile shopping transaction.


The “Christmas in July” bonus is available for almost another week (until July 25) and is good for almost anywhere online you want to shop, not just eBay.  An easy $5.

Happy shopping and saving!

Big Summer Goals: Week 6

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I hit my listing goal this week.  What I really need to start doing is exceeding my listing goal because there have weeks where I’ve fallen behind.  If I am going to have any chance of actually hitting my big goal I need to make up some ground now.

Anyway.

This week I listed 77 new items.

Since June 1 this puts my grand total at 443 new listings.

Sales this week are my worst in months.  This whole summer has been pretty awful, but this week took the cake.  I am actually feeling pretty discouraged about it all.  I know last year sales were slow in the summer and picked up again in August.  I am hoping that happens this year too, but I dunno.  I really don’t know what to think.

In addition to listing, I am also trying to keep up on getting my newly listed inventory put away.  Also, keeping my tax info updated.  Also, I am still updating my listings that are mysteriously missing photos.  And I have been trying to cross post most of my new clothing listings to Poshmark.  And hang out with my kiddos and have fun since they are on summer break.  It’s a lot to juggle.

Onward to a fresh new week!

Will you be my Ibotta buddy?

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I am in need of some new Ibotta buddies!

I like using the Ibotta app.  In its most basic boiled down way I use it as a way to download coupon offers for different stores, then I purchase said items(s), scan the receipt, and get credited back the coupon amount.  This is how I use Ibotta most frequently, getting money back from grocery shopping I would do anyway at Fred Meyer, Winco, Wal-Mart, Safeway, Circle K, the Dollar Tree, etc, etc.  (Smart phones are smart.  I notice when we are in different areas it automatically updates to include participating stores in that area.)

You can also get rebates for shopping online, participating in different bonuses, etc.  Participating in bonuses is where I could use help!  Sometimes if your Ibotta friends meet a certain rebate threshold within a month it can help you in earning a bonus.  (I must have originally signed up for Ibotta via FB, because FB friends who use Ibotta show up as Ibotta friends.)  I used to have a couple “friends” (aquaintances I never actually see in real life) who used Ibotta quite frequently, but for whatever reason they haven’t been using it over the last couple months.  I need some new friends!!  If you haven’t signed up yet, but are interested in doing so you could use my link HERE.  We could be friends and help each other out.  Even better, I would get a $5 bonus if you sign up, and you would get a $10 welcome bonus for signing up.

Once you get to a $20 threshold you can cash out in different ways (purchasing gift cards, Venmo, Paypal, etc).  I always just deposit my funds into my Paypal account.  Gotta love cash.

I’ve been using Ibotta for awhile now.  I’m not going to say that it is a huge $$$ maker, but it does add up.  And, depending on your personality, you might think it is fun.  I don’t play games on my phone, but this is kinda like my game.  The game that pays me money!   🙂

 

How many items do you list each day?

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Consistency seems to be my biggest nemesis.

Yesterday I listed 28 items.  Today I have listed 3.  Tomorrow I am working most of the day at my other job and have plans in the evening, so if/when I get some listing done it will be minimal.  Argh.

I have seen the occasional Youtube video about people listing 50+ items a day and I just don’t get it.  30 is about where I have topped out, and it’s not a sustainable pace for me.

But I am curious.  How many items do you usually list each day on eBay?  And how long does it take you to get them listed?

And if you actually are a high volume lister and have some tips or tricks that make it possible, I’d certainly love to hear about that.

Happy summer listing, everyone!

Big Summer Goals: Week 5

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This has been a kinda weird week, listing-wise, because for 3 whole days during the week I didn’t list at all.  What I did do was enjoy my 4th of July and spend part of the weekend at my parents’ house.  But, I was determined to get my listing in anyway, and put in a lot of work the last couple days.  I finished up my last few listings for the week not long before midnight, happy to exactly meet my weekly goal.  And then I did the math for this blog post.  And realized I was off, and am actually 10 listings short for the week.  Darn.  It.  Anyway.  But, thinking I was closer than I was to my goal made me work harder to reach it, and I did extra listing tonight that I probably wouldn’t have done if I realized hitting my goal was out of reach.

Anyway.

This week I listed 67 new items.

Since June 1 this puts my grand total at 366 new listings.

Sales have maybe ticked up a bit, but honestly it still seems really slow.

Here’s to starting an even more productive week tomorrow!

eBay and the case of the missing photos

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Who else has listings missing photos?  I can tell from the eBay FB groups that I am not alone.  It seems that the photos in at least 100 of my listings have gone AWOL.  Ugh.

So, I first noticed a few days ago, in a couple of my listings.  And I admit I ignored the problem.  Hoped it would magically fix itself.  Spoiler alert:  it didn’t.  But it also gave my brain a couple days to think over the issue without really thinking about it, if you know what I mean.  And although I don’t save photos for items I already have listed (and just a week or two ago I actually finally emptied my trash can on my laptop, forever deleting thousands and thousands of photos) … there was another place I could look for the photos.

Bonanza

Yup, I import my listings over there.  I sell maybe a couple things a month there (oddly, almost entirely replacement loveys – I have a theory about this, maybe I’ll go into at another time).  Every once in awhile when inventorying I come across an item that is no longer in my eBay inventory.  I then turn to Bonanza to see if it is still listed there, so I (hopefully) don’t have to recreate the listing from scratch.  Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not.

New problem, same possible solution.  It’s still a hassle, don’t get me wrong.  I am still investing hours of my time looking for my items in my Bonanza booth, saving the photos, and then re-uploading them to eBay.  But, it’s a heck of a lot better than having to re-take the photos.  (Which I will still have to do for a few items that for some reason are no longer in my Bonanza booth at all.)

Want to see if you have some items missing photos?  Here’s the most direct way I’ve found to do it, from a suggestion on an eBay FB group:This tip helped me a lot, so I know exactly which listings to focus on.  I’m less than a third of the way through fixing my listings (more sighs), but I will keep chipping away at it.  Here’s to hoping you dodged this particular eBay bullet.