She Thrifts

Thrift. Flip. Repeat.

What I’ve sold via GSP.

by 9 Comments

I am always curious to hear what others have sold via GSP.  What do international buyers want so much that they are willing to paying for an item + the costly shipping charges?  Here are the items that I have sold via GSP recently:

I have actually sold multiple Ikea plush internationally in the last couple years.  I like to buy Ikea plush, but they can be really hit and miss.  I’ve come across some that are selling for less than $10.  On the other hand, I’ve sold some for $60-$75.  In my experience the more realistic-looking plush animals have the potential to be worth more, the more character-y looking plush aren’t usually worth picking up.  But there are always exceptions, so I look up every Ikea plush I come across.

Ikea Bear
Paid: $2.99 @ VV, Sold: $34.95

I went to a yard sale last summer that was the remnants of a used bookstore.  They probably had thousands of paperback books in boxes, all for a quarter each.  It was kinda overwhelming.  Most weren’t in great shape.  This was the only book I picked up there.


Doc Hollywood Paperback Book
Paid: $0.25 @ ys, Sold: $13.75 (on sale)

I paid full retail for this votive holder at a PartyLite party a friend hosted years ago, because of course I felt like I had to buy something.  It’s pretty, but years later it was still sitting unused in the box it came in.

PartyLite Tealite Holder
Paid: (retail price) @ PartyLite Party, Sold: $19.95

I SUPER DUPER loved this show!  Still feel a bit resentful that it was canceled when/how it was.  And that they have only ever released the first season on DVD.  Again I paid retail for this because I bought it as a gift for someone, then decided to give something else instead.  I lost money on this one in the whole scheme of things, since it wasn’t originally purchased with the intent to resell.

American Dreams, Season 1
Paid: ($20ish/full retail), Sold $14.95

Build A Bear Brown Bunny
Paid: $1.39 @ VV, Sold: $24.95


Assassin’s Creed Teen Costume
Paid: $2.49 @ Walmart, Sold: $44.95


Plush Creations Turtle
Paid: $0.25 @ ys, Sold: $14.95

  Kellytoy Plush Cow
Paid: $0.99 @ VV, Sold: $14.20 (on sale)

Do you sell via GSP?  If so, what kinds of things actually sell for you?

Recent Quick Flips + Rummage Sale L♥ve

by 6 Comments

I found a bunch of goodies at a rummage sale over the weekend, and am still working my way through it all getting it listed.  But, I’ve already had two of my rummage sale items sell, making back almost half of what I spent that day, and I have SO many more items from that haul yet to sell.  

Worn Brand Men’s Corduroy Pants
Paid: $2 @ rummage sale, Sold: $24.95 (within a couple hours)
NWT Kohl’s Wocket Plush
Paid: $0.50 @ rummage sale, Sold: $14.95 (day after listed)

 

And here are a few more fairly quick flips:

Annie Little Einsteins Bean Bag Plush
Paid: $1.50 @ local consignment store, Sold: $14.95 (6 days later)

I love buying and selling Dr. Seuss book lots, but this was a good reminder that the board book lots don’t sell for as much as the hardcover book lots do.  My profit on this sale was really low.

Dr. Seuss Board Book Lot
Paid: Around $4, Sold: $14.95 (8 days later)

And I think I should have priced a little higher on this one.

Mini Lalaloopsy Treehouse Set
Paid: $8? from FB ys site, Sold: $39.95 (day after listed)


A couple weeks ago I happened across a yard sale on the way home from my
son’s school.  They were selling all shirts for $0.25 and all pants for $0.50.

Women’s Neeso Camo Pants
Paid: $0.50 @ ys, Sold: $14.95 (17 days later)

I love finding these “train conductor” style overalls.

OshKosh striped “train conductor” overalls
Paid: $0.50 @ ys, Sold: $15.95 (4 days later)

 I thought these were really cute!

GS115 Distressed Jeans, Size 3T
Paid: $0.50 @ ys, Sold: $19.95 (7 days later)
Electric Purple Fit Flops
Paid: $5.99 @ VV, Sold: $64.95 + $25 shipping to Australia (3 days later)
Baby Blue Disneyland Mug
Paid: $2.99 @ GW, Sold: $29.95 (8 days later)

How have your sales been this month?  April has been a bit weird for me sales-wise.  It started off busy, and then slowed down to almost nothing for several days, then picked back up to normal yesterday.  Here’s hoping the sales continue!

Favorite (not) Five (not) Friday, 3/2/13

by Leave a Comment

It’s been several weeks since I did one of these posts.  Here are some of my favorite sales from the end of February.

I picked this up at GW several months ago, and it has been riding around in the trunk of the car my husband drives ever since.  We swapped cars last week, and since it was home I took it out and snapped some photos.  I was just planning to list it on Craigslist, but when I searched for it on eBay I couldn’t find any.  I thought I would try listing it high there too, and it sold in less than a day.

Little People Ride On Firetruck
Paid: $4.99 @ GW
Sold: $49.95 – shipping

I dug out my other tote of PVC toys and have been working on getting them listed.  When I looked this item up on eBay I could only find one other listed for $50 + shipping, but didn’t find any that had actually sold.  I listed it lower, and it sold overnight – maybe I listed it too low!

Sleeping Beauty PVC Toy
Paid: $5 for a tote full at a yard sale last summer
Sold: $19.95 – shipping

I listed this lot around the same time, and it also sold in about a day.

7 Cinderella PVC lot
Paid: $5 for a tote full at a yard sale last summer
Sold: $19.95 – shipping

And this one:


Cinderella PVC Mouse Lot
Paid: $5 for a tote full at a yard sale last summer
Sold: $12.50 – shipping
This was in a bag of Legos I picked up somewhere (VV maybe?)
I pulled this piece out to sell separately.

Lego Conveyor Belt
Paid: ? @ ?
Sold: $16.50 – shipping

This sold in about a day . . . twice.  The first buyer never paid.  The second did – it was my first time shipping to Puerto Rico (no different than shipping to the U.S.)  His head was HUGE!  It was hard to find a box that it would fit in.

Stewie/Family Guy Plush
Paid: $1.49 @ Value Village
Sold: $29.95 – shipping


No idea when/where I picked this up.  It ended up in the eBay pile when I was cleaning out my son’s drawers recently.

Lands’ End Bunting/Snowsuit
Paid: ? @ ?
Sold: $19.95 – shipping

 This guy was big – approx 22″ tall.

Bright Heart Raccoon Care Bear Cousin
Paid $2 at local thrift store.
Sold $34.95 + shipping to Australia

Little People Camping Set.  This was darned cute, and in great condition!
Little People Camping Set
Paid: ? @ yard sale
Sold: $29.95 – shipping


I also ran a sale in my store for the last couple weeks of February.  20% off a bunch of stuff.  I’d guess between 10-15 of those items sold.  Nothing super exciting – just nice to clear out some inventory that’s been hanging on for a long time.

Cha-Ching + A Couple BOLOs

by 5 Comments

I’ve read a number of times about all the folks who have iPhones, and how when they make a sale on eBay, their phone makes a Cha-Ching-ing sound.  A few months back I asked my husband to see if he could make my phone do that.  He looked at it, but we have Droids instead of iPhones, and he said it did not seem to be an option for my phone.  I was bummed.
Fast forward to this afternoon.  My son and I were sitting at our kitchen table working on a puzzle when we heard a noise.  A noise neither of us had ever heard before, and yet, I somehow knew exactly what it was when I heard it.  Cha-Ching!  For no apparent reason, my phone is now making the sought-after sound.  I heard it three times today!
And on to a couple BOLOs.  I thought I would quickly share a couple items that have sold well for me recently.

I know I’ve read (somewhere?) about selling lovey/security blankets.  I picked up a few in the last month or two.  Two were generic (non-character), one was Mickey Mouse.  I’m guessing all sold in less than a month.  They aren’t huge dollar item sales, but they are pretty easy (and cheap) to find at yard sales, and not difficult to list or ship. I’ve been very surprised at how quickly they sell.

The other item I sold over the weekend that I thought I would mention was a pair of FitFlops.  I know nothing about expensive-ish shoes in general, but I love FitFlops.  (I consider flip flops that retail for $50+ to be in the expensive-ish category.)  I bought my first pair around four years ago, and wore them (literally) almost every day until they finally died last month.  I was really (REALLY) sad.  Because they are fairly expensive I decided I would start keeping an eye out for FitFlops at yard sales and Value Village.  (Even though there’s a real ick factor when thinking about used flip flops.)  Imagine my surprise when I actually found a pair on my next VV trip!  Happily, they were in great condition.  Sadly, they were size 6, and try as I might, I could not get my feet to fit in them.  So I left them there.  And immediately regretted it.  To my surprise, they were still there on my next visit, so I bought them.  Even at a size 6 they immediately had watchers, generated international interest, and sold for $30 in less than a week.  There have been several different “generations” of FitFlops made.  This is what the older ones look like:

Happy Hunting!

Huh. What’s up with that?

by 2 Comments

I just prepped a package that I am mailing to Germany.  Before printing off the customs form I double checked Germany’s prohibited items list.  Here it is:


Prohibitions (130)
Human remains, sure.  Infectious substances, makes sense.  Radioactive materials, of course.  
But, wait.  Playing cards?  Ya know, except in complete decks properly wrapped. 
Why?  How, I can’t help but wonder, did that make Germany’s list of prohibitions?  
But now you know.  No used playing cards for Germany.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  
🙂

Customs Form Update

by 6 Comments

After much hemming and hawing, I finally sent my buyer the following e-mail (heavily borrowed from Jessica’s suggestion):

Hi xxxx,

Thank you for your purchase and prompt payment. It is against the law to falsify any information on customs forms. I am not able to change the value or mark this item as a gift. If you wish to cancel your order I completely understand. Please let me know what you decide.

Thank you,

Kari


For some reason I was waffling on this all day long.  I really considered just doing what he asked.  And not because I was afraid of losing the sale – I am sure that I would be able to sell the item again.  The guy, even though he was asking me to do something I knew I shouldn’t, was very compelling.  Something about the way he wrote his e-mails made me WANT to help him.  Maybe that just means he’s good at what he does. 

I just sent the e-mail about 10 minutes ago, so I have not heard back from him yet.  I will update this post after I get his response. 

UPDATE ON THE UPDATE (10:31 p.m.):
He still wants it, and was perfectly pleasant about it all.

Customs Form – CN22 – What To Do?

by 4 Comments

I got this note from a buyer this evening:

Please put a value of $20.00 on the CN22 Customs form or I will end up owing at least another $50.00 to accept the shipment. Thanks ~xxxx

This is a buyer from Canada.  The item in question I paid $15 for, but he is paying me $75 + shipping.  From what I can tell he seems to be an active and reputable buyer and seller on eBay.  I would like to accommodate him, but I also don’t want to get myself into trouble.  

I know I’ve read that it’s NOT okay to mark a purchase as a gift.  I’ve tried to do some research specifically on the CN22 and I am not finding a clear cut answer.   In what I have read the CN22 is often referred to as a “green sheet”.  Huh?  I do all my shipping online via eBay from home, including the customs forms.  Am I even able to adjust the value amount when doing that?

I’m really not sure what I should do.   And am just generally confused.  Thoughts?

“What about the Post Office?”

by Leave a Comment

We were out running errands yesterday afternoon and my oldest asked where we were headed next.  I told him we were going home.  “What about the Post Office?” he asked.  Even the 4 year-old noticed my eBay sales slump.  Sadly, there was no need to stop by the PO yesterday.
The good news is, it seems to have passed, at least for now.  We came home to discover two things had sold while we were out running errands, and four more have sold since then.  The plush sale seems to be working, since plush items make up four of the six sales.
One of the plush sales is going to Argentina.  Another buyer who just randomly decided how much to pay in shipping.  They have had the best guess so far, though – the shipping costs they added were only 22 cents short of the actual shipping cost!  So, I just went ahead and mailed it.

Okay, I’ve put it off long enough.  Off I go to get some listing in.

Totally Off The Wagon + Other Updates

by 4 Comments

I went to 10 yard sales this morning.  Got “caught” again at the very first one (a MOPS rummage sale) by a different mommy from the same playgroup.  This time I didn’t even feel guilty.  Guess my thrifting fast is a bust.
This morning I was actually on the hunt for something specific – summer clothes and pajamas for the 4 year-old.  I haven’t found anything lately at Value Village, and I didn’t find anything at the consignment sale, so I thought I’d try a few yard sales.  Didn’t find anything today either.  I fear we’ve reached the dreaded age when I will have to actually start buying him NEW clothes.  I’m not sure my heart can handle that.
I did find a few other things during our morning of sales, for us and for eBaying.  I meant to take photos and share them here, but the photo taking has not happened yet.  Maybe I’ll add them later.
I wanted to thank everyone who commented on my last post.  I know you are all right.  I need to figure out calculated shipping.  It’s kind of been my secret all along that I’ve NEVER used it.  I like to offer free shipping, and do so on pretty much everything that I sell.  Obviously I am not able to extend that to international sales.  I did hear back from the guy in France, and he asked me to just refund his money, which I was happy to do.
I’ve been thinking for awhile now that the smart thing to do would be to continue offering free shipping on items I can send first class and in the flat rate envelopes, and then use calculated shipping for everything else.  I’ve just had a lack of motivation to try and figure out something new.  (Yup, I’m really that lazy.  I’ll work on it.)  🙂
The weird thing to me about the international sales is that they are happening at all.  One of the many things that changed when I opened my store was that I had to determine where I would ship.  I couldn’t just say yes or no to international shipping, I needed to go through and select which countries I would or would not ship to.  And, much like my procrastination with using calculated shipping, instead of taking the time to work through the international sales options, I just selected “will not ship internationally” thinking I’d just figure that part out later.  And yet, the international sales keep happening.

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!

Consignment Update and What???????????

by 8 Comments

After the first full day of the consignment sale, I have sold 75 of my 390 items.  I originally thought I dropped off 395, but, unbeknownst to me, the four-year-old liberated a few of the toys while I was otherwise engaged.  Whoops.
I’m not sure if I should be happy with that number or not.  There are still two days of the sale left, so I am sure more will sell.  I stopped by the sale this morning, and it left me feeling anxious.  There is a LOT of stuff for sale.  How in the world are people going to find my stuff amongst everything else?  It’s kind of overwhelming.  Also, I dropped my stuff off the first of two drop-off days, and I realized as I browsed that this may have been a mistake.  Because most of my stuff was buried under/behind what was dropped off after me.  Every time one of my items caught my eye I (slightly guiltily) pulled it out and made sure it was visible.
I just don’t want to end up bringing most of it back home.  That will not make me happy.  Sigh.
And, on to the what??????????? portion of this post.  Be forewarned, I am going to complain.
Why in the world are international eBayers buying my items and then just deciding for themselves how much they should pay in shipping?  What????  I’ve always been happy to ship internationally, and I say so in my listings, but I also say:
International bidders are welcome, but please contact me prior to bidding for a shipping estimate.  
That’s directly from each and every one of my listings.  I guess I should change the phrasing because I am no longer using auctions, but still, you get the gist.  I would say about 90% of the time the international bidder does NOT contact me prior.  They just go ahead and buy the item.  BUT – up until the last couple weeks, said bidder would then wait for me to invoice them, and would paying the shipping amount I determined.  
But the last couple weeks?
First I sold this jacket to a gal in Australia:
She paid for the jacket and added on $10 in shipping.  Why $10?  No idea.  I contacted her and let her know that if she wanted first class international shipping she had overpaid, if she wanted priority she had underpaid by $3.  Which was her preference?  She wrote back, very nice and apologetic, letting me know this was her first eBay transaction and she wasn’t sure what she was doing.  She asked me to please invoice her for the additional cost and to send the jacket priority.  
Well, darned if I’ve been able to figure out how to send a second or revised invoice since I’ve opened my store.  It’s one of the many little (annoying) things that are set up differently for us store folks.  And, it was only $3.  So I mailed the coat, and sent her an e-mail that said something like:
I decided to cover the additional cost for you.  I mailed your jacket yesterday.  Welcome to eBay!  🙂
Fine, no big deal.  After my initial confusion it was not annoying.
A week or so later I sold this jacket (to someone in Latvia!):
And they also tacked on their own shipping costs.  $3.50.  !!!???!!!  No idea where this number came from.  But it came nowhere close to covering the shipping costs.  I think the cheapest way to ship cost around $18.  So I e-mailed them to let them know that, and asked if they wanted me to invoice them for the additional cost (assuming I can figure out how), or if they prefer that I cancel their order and refund their money.  A couple days later I get this response:
“Tanks!”
Ummmm.  I’m guessing they meant thanks?  But, thanks for what?  Do they want the invoice or the refund?  I’m not sure.  I sent them another e-mail, asking for clarification.  Surprisingly, in all of my past international eBay transactions, language barriers has not been an issue.  I’m thinking it may have been in this case.  A couple more days went by and I heard nothing back from them.  So I finally just went ahead and refunded their money.  Still no response.
And then this afternoon, I sold these to a buyer in France:
Who paid for the potato heads, but added NOTHING for shipping.  Um, nope.  That’s not going to work for me.  I e-mailed them letting them know the cheapest shipping available costs almost $18, do they want to pay it or would they prefer a refund, blah-de-blah.  We’ll see what they say . . . .

That’s it.  That’s my vent.  It’s over.  For now.