She Thrifts

Thrift. Flip. Repeat.

Big Summer Goals: Week 6

by 1 Comment

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!

Big Summer Goals: Week 5

by Leave a Comment

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!

Big Summer Goals: Week 4

by 2 Comments

I fell short of my listing goal. And my sales are down quite a bit.  I had several days in a row where barely anything sold.  It’s so strange.  I feel like eBay has been SO glitchy lately.  Things I notice that obviously aren’t right, and after a day or two they correct themselves.  Right now a bunch of my listings have photos that aren’t showing up when you click into the listing.  New listings, old listings, there seems to be no rhyme or reason.  I keep hoping it will resolve on its own, but I should probably call eBay.  I had someone e-mail me to ask about a $50 coat because they couldn’t see any photos.  Sigh.  I don’t want to have to take all new photos for a bunch of listings, so I keep holding out hope it will be magically fixed.  Anyway.

This week I listed 63 new items.

Since June 1 this puts my grand total at 299 new listings.

I have been fighting a summer cold, and went to be earlier than usual a couple nights this week.  And with the 4th of July holiday week coming up we are extra busy with fun stuff, so keeping up on my listings this week will be rough too.  And so it goes.

Sad week of sales:

Here’s hoping the summer slump doesn’t stick around, and things start to bounce back.

Big Summer Goals: Week 3

by Leave a Comment

Week three already.  I met my listing goal.  But, just.  And because I listed about a third of my week’s listings today.

But, you know what?  That means this is working.  I certainly listed more today (and this week overall) because of my Big Summer Goal, and knowing that I will be posting this weekly update.  And I’m okay with that.  Whatever it takes to get the work done.

This week I listed 78 new items.

Since June 1 this puts my grand total at 236 new listings.

I am still struggling with balance.  Sometimes I get up early and get a lot of work done and feel really good about it.  Sometimes I get up early and feel really tired and go back to bed.  It’s not a perfect system.  My to-do lists are long, my time is always running short.  Sometimes I feel like I am just along for the ride.

My sales have ticked up just a bit this week:

It’s not much, but it is nice to see it in the green.

How are your summer goals going this week?

Big Summer Goals: Week 2

by Leave a Comment

It’s only week two, and I have already faltered.  I fell short of my listing goal by quite a bit.

This week I only listed  60 new items.

Since June 1 this puts my grand total at 158 new listings.

I really struggled with balance over the last week.  From listing, to working my other job, to my boys being out of school, to having fun family activities planned – I did not get everything out of it that I had hoped.  But, another week starts tomorrow, and I plan to do better!  Which includes going to bed early-ish tonight and getting up early tomorrow morning to get back to work.  I find that I am generally more motivated to work early in the morning before anyone else is up than I am when I put it off until after my boys are in bed.

Unfortunately, along with my lack of listing, my sales have dipped this week:

And so it goes.  Gearing up for a better week to come.

How are your summer goals going?

Big Summer Goals: Week 1

by Leave a Comment

This week I listed 81 new items.

Since June 1 this puts my grand total at 98 new listings.

So, I stayed just above target this week . . . barely.  Next week I will try to list even more.  I am still a little behind from the first few days, and I would like to have a bit of a buffer already in place because I know there will be some busy summer days during which it will be difficult to complete all of my listings.

I am happy to report that my sales are up a bit right now too.


How are your summer goals going so far?

Big Summer Goals

by 4 Comments


I have set a kinda big goal for the summer: 1000 new listings.

But really?  It’s not so big.  Because if I consistently list 11 items every day between June 1 – August 31 I will hit my goal.

Of course, I only set the goal this morning, so I am already behind.  Since the beginning of the month I have only listed 17 new items.

My plan is to check in every Monday with an update.  Anybody want to join me?  I would love to hear your summer goals (eBay or otherwise).  It would be great if we could help hold each other accountable!

2018 Goals . . . falling short

by 2 Comments

It has been over a month since I posted my goals for 2018, so I thought it was time for an update . . . or to confess my lack of progress, I guess.  I am hoping posting this will help hold me accountable, and the next time I check in I will have more to report.

Listing

(Goal) My small manageable goal is to list 10 new items each weekday and 5 each on Saturday and Sunday.  Ideally I will list 10 each weekday and schedule 2 each day for the weekend (totaling 10), leaving my weekends free from listing.  Somehow this rarely seems to be the reality however.

(Update) I bumped my weekend listing up to 10 each day too.  Most days I am able to get 10 new listings up, but I was only able to pre-schedule ALL of my weekend’s listings once, the first week after I posted my goals.  Since then a variety of things have come up (I was sick, my son was home sick a couple days, there have been a couple inservice/holidays which means my kids are out of school, I was out of town for several days, I have been working more shifts than normal at my “real” job, etc) that feel like they conspire against me getting ahead.  And right now there is the threat of snow where I live, which means we may end up with a snow day tomorrow or Thursday, another day without school. Such is life.  And so I have been listing on the weekends too.  

Selling

(Goal) I would like to gross $60,000 this year.  $60,000 divided by 365 days = $164.38/day.  When I am listing consistently my sales are often in that range.  Again, doable.

(Update) I miss this sales goal about twice as often as I hit it.  Just one of the areas in which I need to make progress.

Shipping

(Goal) I ship within one business day.  I will continue to do so.

(Update) Done.

Sourcing

(Goal) Part of the reason my listing goals are so low is that I am currently doing almost no sourcing.  Now, that’s not to say that I don’t have items to list.  I definitely do.  Items that have been hanging around unlisted, for I don’t even want to say how long, that I need to get through.  The thing is, there is often a reason I haven’t listed those items yet, that they have been set to the side.  There is a flaw, or it needs new batteries, or needs to be cleaned up a bit, etc.  So it takes me longer to get the items ready, and photographed.  I am finding some really great items in among some low-value items.  But, it’s a process.

(Update) I am currently thrifting once each week (picking up maybe 30-40 items), all of my other listing is from previously purchased inventory.  It’s a slow process, but I am making progress.

Inventorying

(Goal) At the beginning of every year I go through all of my inventory.  After the first month of being listed most of my listings are set to GTC, so sometimes things hang around quite awhile.  I’m okay with that.  I really believe pretty much everything will sell eventually, and some items take longer (especially plush, which I love to sell).  But I do need to go through it occasionally, ending listings, selling as similar, freshening things up here and there.

(Update) I have only inventoried two totes.  I really need to make progress on this, but it falls to the bottom of my to do list when I am feeling behind on everything else.

Keeping Records Updated

(Goal) There are a lot of spreadsheets and options out there to keep track of eBay sales.  I have tried a few, and Easy Auctions Tracker is my favorite.  It downloads all of the information for the last three months, I just need to input how much I paid for the items I sold.  The trick is to keep it updated.  And, updated is a loose term, but I’d like to keep my sales spreadsheet current within the last 30 days, so I don’t have a lot of work hanging over my head at the beginning of 2019.

(Update) I am finishing up taxes for 2017, so I haven’t been focusing on 2018 numbers quite yet.  I did renew my subscription to Easy Auctions Tracker, so I will be able to download all of my info easily.

Just for fun

(Goal) I printed off a list of the 50 states.  I am going to see how far into the year I get before I have shipped a package to all 50 states.  It’s totally just a curiously project.  I’ve been thinking about doing this for several years.

(Update) I am behind on this too.  I plan to update it at the same time I work through my 2018 tax info.

Blogging

(Goal) I’d like to blog more.  It is something I enjoy doing, but among all of my other goals it often gets shuffled down my list of priorities.

(Update) I am blogging a bit more.  I have so many things I would like to blog about, it’s just finding the time to do it.


How is your progress working towards your goals this year?  Better than mine, I hope!  Onward and upwards, right?

eBay Goals, 2018

by 12 Comments

My word for 2018 is: CONSISTENCY (aka Slow & Steady)

This plays into many areas of my life, including eBay.  I am starting with small, manageable goals, but I am hoping to grow them as the year marches on.

Listing

My small manageable goal is to list 10 new items each weekday and 5 each on Saturday and Sunday.  Ideally I will list 10 each weekday and schedule 2 each day for the weekend (totaling 10), leaving my weekends free from listing.  Somehow this rarely seems to be the reality however.

2600 weekdays + 520 weekends = 3120 new listings in 2018.  Totally doable, one little chunk at a time.

Selling

I would like to gross $60,000 this year.  $60,000 divided by 365 days = $164.38/day.  When I am listing consistently my sales are often in that range.  Again, doable.

Shipping

I ship within one business day.  I will continue to do so.

Sourcing

Part of the reason my listing goals are so low is that I am currently doing almost no sourcing.  Now, that’s not to say that I don’t have items to list.  I definitely do.  Items that have been hanging around unlisted, for I don’t even want to say how long, that I need to get through.  The thing is, there is often a reason I haven’t listed those items yet, that they have been set to the side.  There is a flaw, or it needs new batteries, or needs to be cleaned up a bit, etc.  So it takes me longer to get the items ready, and photographed.  I am finding some really great items in among some low-value items.  But, it’s a process.

Inventorying

At the beginning of every year I go through all of my inventory.  After the first month of being listed most of my listings are set to GTC, so sometimes things hang around quite awhile.  I’m okay with that.  I really believe pretty much everything will sell eventually, and some items take longer (especially plush, which I love to sell).  But I do need to go through it occasionally, ending listings, selling as similar, freshening things up here and there.

Keeping Records Updated

There are a lot of spreadsheets and options out there to keep track of eBay sales.  I have tried a few, and Easy Auctions Tracker is my favorite.  It downloads all of the information for the last three months, I just need to input how much I paid for the items I sold.  The trick is to keep it updated.  And, updated is a loose term, but I’d like to keep my sales spreadsheet current within the last 30 days, so I don’t have a lot of work hanging over my head at the beginning of 2019.

Just for fun

I printed off a list of the 50 states.  I am going to see how far into the year I get before I have shipped a package to all 50 states.  It’s totally just a curiously project.  I’ve been thinking about doing this for several years.

Blogging

I’d like to blog more.  It is something I enjoy doing, but among all of my other goals it often gets shuffled down my list of priorities.

What are your goals for 2018?  I would love to hear about them!  Maybe we can try to hold each other accountable.

Reaching a goal

by 1 Comment

Oh, what a summer.  I can’t believe it’s slipping by so fast.  I’m slowly starting to make the mental shift towards fall, my boys starting back to school, and having a more regular routine.  But that doesn’t mean I am wishing away the last few weeks of summer!

Every week I think about doing a “what’s sold” post and a “what I’ve found yard saling” post.  While I find good items here and there at yard sales, and the prices are generally unbeatable, I feel like the number and quality of yard sales this year has gone down.  Maybe because of all the FB and other newer online selling venues, maybe because it has been unseasonably hot, maybe for reasons I haven’t even thought of.  BUT ~ this weekend there area a couple big rummage sales, as well as a “neighborhood” sale in my area.  I put neighborhood in quotes because it is actually dozens of streets.  My boys wanted us to have a yard sale too, but I said heck no!  This is the weekend to shop.

I’ve kind of gotten into a listing groove recently.  I have been listing 12 items every day.  A small, consistent, doable goal.  And my sales are improving.  In fact, I hit a goal I’ve been eyeing for quite awhile.

My sales are up over 100% over the same time period last year!  I’ve been watching the % creep up, but it finally tipped over the 100% mark today.  Yay.

 

How is your summer?  How are sales?  Trucking along or summer slowdown?  I’d love to hear about it!