Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2021 2:29:40 GMT
Hi everyone, a few months ago I came back to say hi and perhaps start selling women's clothing again. I have not started yet, but was thinking after I finish some other projects that I am working on. When I left several years ago, I was finally starting to sell very well and then I had to hold everything to a halt. It was never easy getting to that place. It took many years of learning. Now, I will probably have to start over as most of my inventory is dated. I don't know why I held on to it in my closets. I know I have to widen my selling to many different venues besides eBay and that is OK, I can do that. But here is the thing, finding great items is no surprise, it has always been a problem for many years. Finding so-so items in a large quanity is hard for me. I do not drive and there are two thrift stores that I know that will have larger quanities of mostly so-so clothes with the occasional lucky find, but again rare. One will be around $10 per item or more, which I quit going to and the other is far away and would cost around $5 per item. If I did other thirft stores, I would be lucky to get two to three items of so-so items and it would not be worth it to me. I do not have anyone to go shopping with, so I would have to get there. Honestly it leaves me with one thirft store, that I will probably pay for a uber that most of the time has so-so clothes. Is it even worth it? I have been gone many years, I don't know how selling is going today?
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Post by staytuned on Jul 26, 2021 3:41:43 GMT
All I could suggest is list what you already have and see how that goes before considering looking for more inventory.
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Post by jandsknight on Jul 26, 2021 6:46:46 GMT
All I could suggest is list what you already have and see how that goes before considering looking for more inventory. I agree.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2021 7:34:25 GMT
Thank you, can I ask how you two are doing?
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Post by labbypaws on Jul 26, 2021 14:18:59 GMT
Take a look at current shipping rates. They keep getting worse and worse. I am glad I got out of the briefcase and handbag selling market years ago.
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kritter
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Post by kritter on Jul 26, 2021 14:33:33 GMT
Just my opinion but if you are paying $10 or more for so-so items and then adding in the fees, it is going to be difficult to make any money.
The competition with so-so items is a race to the bottom.
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Post by staytuned on Jul 26, 2021 14:59:34 GMT
Thank you, can I ask how you two are doing? I'm doing fine, thank you for asking. I'm working on going through stuff and reopening my booth on Bonanza and see what happens. Definitely not ready to jump back into ebay.
Glad you're back and hope you do well selling again!
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Post by kat on Jul 26, 2021 16:03:43 GMT
Last year a member here reached out to me privately with a very fair and generous offer to sell me some of her inventory when I had sourcing issues. Maybe she will see this and hopefully is still in the position to offer to you too. I ended up going in a different direction but she has nice stuff.
I also had some luck buying Amazon returns from WiBargain. I bought the clothing box three times now and they come to about $5/item since there’s usually a couple things I kept or was too meh to sell. I just ordered a case of unopened mail from them. They have envelopes or boxes. I chose boxes and I can’t wait. I’m a sucker for mystery boxes.
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Post by Emerald_Door on Jul 26, 2021 16:47:08 GMT
kat that sounds interesting. Keep us posted.
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Post by jandsknight on Jul 26, 2021 19:06:20 GMT
My situation is different from most here. I don't shop for things to sell. I mainly sell things my husband & I no longer want or need. A daughter-in-law also gives me things like that to sell for them. I sell a few hats I knit, too.
I used to sell jigsaw puzzles. I'd buy them at thrift stores, assemble & then list them. When Covid hit I gave a lot of them to locked down friends & family. I sold the rest of the puzzles I had listed and I haven't found time to work any more. I still have a large stash I want to put together. That hobby has been taken over by mask sewing for the extended family and neighbors.
My sales are down some since Covid, about 20%.
Thanks for asking, Body Articles. I am careful that I don't lose money on any transaction. If I don't think I can make a few dollars on something I donate it to our local charity shop. And of course, in my clean-outs I find things for the garbage, too.
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Post by denise15601 on Jul 26, 2021 21:48:28 GMT
I have been selling for over 16 years and have been cross-posting to 6 other sites besides eBay. I haven't been into a thrift store for over a year and have no intentions of doing so for years.
I would go through your closets and kitchen cupboards and clear out any items that you don't need. Those things go very well. I do sell Walmart clothing and most of my purchased clothing items are not high-end anyway.
Some people go onto their NextDoor local sites and ask for donated items to resell. That usually goes well when people are clearing out their stuff and don't feel like driving to GW to drop it off. If the stuff is yucky, just put it into the trash. But I have read posts where some super nice stuff is donated.
You can't beat free stuff!
Oh yeah, I am still selling items that I have had for 16 years, if you want to talk about dated.....
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Post by treetop on Jul 26, 2021 22:05:58 GMT
After doing my taxes a couple years ago, I decided it wasn’t worth it to me any longer. I just wasn’t making that much and I was tired of the clutter. I was tired of eBay constantly changing the rules—and never to my benefit. I was tired of the glitches and headaches. I sold mostly new items because I just never found good thrift stores in my area. I think many people find that it is worth it for them; that answer is different for everyone depending if they are finding good things to sell, if they are having fun doing it, if they have the patience and know-how to excel. I no longer enjoyed it and it just wasn’t worth it for me any more.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jul 26, 2021 22:24:54 GMT
Don't worry about the 'dated' stuff - list it anyway. A lot of people aren't looking for trendy, they want styles and brands that fit them well and they know what they like. My idea of clothes shopping for myself is logging onto the UFO site and ordering up four pair of pants and then going to Nike or Joe's New Balance and ordering up six shirts. If I find the same on eBay, for instance, I'll buy it. Brands discontinue some styles and people look for them on eBay or Posh, etc.
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kritter
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Post by kritter on Jul 26, 2021 23:13:26 GMT
That is where I am at now. This will be my last year selling. I have about 50 listings left and some of those are dogs that are just there now hanging out. At the end they will be donated.
I have already started cleaning out the box hoard in my dining room. Most of my stuff is new that I grabbed on closeout sales online. I haven't been to a thrift in over a year and then I only bought books during covid because the library was closed. I didn't even stop and look at the clothes or anything else on my way out.
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Post by staytuned on Jul 27, 2021 2:25:34 GMT
I'm not buying any inventory, either, just going through stuff I still have from before I got a full time job and doing closet and shelf clean outs and see if I can make some money before giving up and donating. At this stage of life, I'd rather have more space and less stuff to deal with.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2021 3:13:11 GMT
Thank you all so much! Thanks for the great info Kat! Thank you Denise, Chap and Staytuned, for the advice on trying to sell my dated items. Thank you everyone else for your opinions and answers also. I will give it a try, if it goes well I will buy more. Kritter, it would probably be around $5 per item. I quit going to the $10 and up thrift store. But the $5 thrift store is far away. My common sense tells me it does not look good. The cost to get to the thrift store, buying the item, bringing my prices down because of high shipping, like Labby says,final value fees and huge competition with so-so items. I will give it my all with what I have and then decide. I really want to hear how the Amazon boxes go for you Kat!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2021 3:28:53 GMT
This is what I'm worried about. Even though I was starting to sale well before I left, it was not like I started out well and would I continued to do well if I stayed? I started out excited and found some good items at low prices near me. But the places were always crowded and the prices kept going up and up until a blah brand Ann Taylor dress cost $10 at %50 off. All the people and greed, eventually I started to hate the thrift stores.
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Post by electro*retro on Jul 27, 2021 6:11:46 GMT
I agree with the thrift store comments. BUT------ It is peak garage sale season! Check some out!
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Post by Pantlandia on Jul 27, 2021 16:02:19 GMT
Last year a member here reached out to me privately with a very fair and generous offer to sell me some of her inventory when I had sourcing issues. Maybe she will see this and hopefully is still in the position to offer to you too. I ended up going in a different direction but she has nice stuff. I also had some luck buying Amazon returns from WiBargain. I bought the clothing box three times now and they come to about $5/item since there’s usually a couple things I kept or was too meh to sell. I just ordered a case of unopened mail from them. They have envelopes or boxes. I chose boxes and I can’t wait. I’m a sucker for mystery boxes. i just ordered from them. I hadn't heard of them and I have done extensive searching and research on these types of sites over the past year. I suspect the are only posting only their good reviews, but I only ordered a $35.00 box and I got 20% off (so $28 for 12 items). I want to buy their swimsuit box, but I'm hesitant. Plus, I still have roughly 30-40 swimsuits that I need to list
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Post by kat on Aug 2, 2021 0:07:51 GMT
You just reminded me that I still have some swimsuits from my box to sell. I think they were from the Amazon box. I watched several unboxing of the unclaimed mail on TikTok and have only seen the packets, not boxes results. The packets are disappointing. It looks like it’s mail the was sent back to Amazon but not returned to the Chinese third party seller because they all look like Wish type stuff and misslook clothes. I hope my boxes aren’t false eyelashes and baby toys.
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Post by Pantlandia on Aug 2, 2021 7:02:31 GMT
I was very pleased with what I got for $28. My mom bought two pieces that I got for $10 each, so she almost paid for the box. I actually got 12 items plus another 7 pair of NWT underwear (which is something I sell, too), so got 19 items for $28.00 ($1.47 each). I ordered again and got another 20% off, so $28.00. It's all Target stuff, but 11 of the 12 were NWT and the 12th I could tell was never worn. All the underwear was NWT and I got one swimsuit.
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Post by zoesam on Aug 2, 2021 18:45:51 GMT
Hey Body, Good to 'see' you :-) IIRC you used to sell higher end items that were more sensitive to being 'dated'. If you're talking more run of the mill brands, that's not an issue, as chapeaunoir stated or maybe run some of the brands by us, here. I keep things listed 'til they sell, though I do stop/start them & I know I still have a few items from 6 years ago & many from 2 years ago, listed. On B&B brands, it's going to be hard to make much of a profit, paying $10/each. But if you're selling more high end, it's ok. Maybe I'm confusing you & Mup though. I would get to learn about sales in your area, sale colors & senior day (for ARC it's Tues, GW it's usually Wed). ARC's senior day & every Sat is 50% off all but the current color. I realize you don't drive, but if you go on a sale day, it may be worth the Uber. I shop at ARC a lot, almost always on Tues :-) Like others have said, I would start with what you have & see how it goes for you & if you still like it. There have been a lot of changes. Also, I would wait til September, as you may recall that this time of year is the absolute slowest for us (unless you sell BTS). I was doing ok, but this last weekend was BRUTAL, selling only 1 $5 non-clothing item all weekend. I think kat was referring to me above (thank you Kat, I'm blushing) & I do have a lot of excess inventory that we may be able to work a deal out on, but it would be a lot of work for me, so I'd only consider it after you have tried selling again & are sure you want to get back in the game. Also, just FYI, you don't have to sell on different venues, though obviously your sales will be greater if you do. I still don't sell anywhere else but Ebay & while I keep wanting to try Posh, there's no easy way to transfer listings back & forth, you pretty much have to do new listings for Posh & deal with the social media aspect, which I have no desire to do. It does seem like ppl get better prices on Posh, but it also seems like sales are slow there too, you can look around here to read about what ppl's experiences with Posh has been & Mercari, Tradesy, etc.
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Post by denise15601 on Aug 2, 2021 19:34:45 GMT
Zoesam, AFA the social thing on Posh... At first I followed back the 100 or so new people who followed me every day. But the sales that I do make have mostly been from newbies.
And it hasn't seemed to make a difference if I shared parts of my closet during the parties, or any time of the day.
And as with Mercari, the low-balling is so annoying.
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Post by denise15601 on Aug 2, 2021 19:35:29 GMT
I was very pleased with what I got for $28. My mom bought two pieces that I got for $10 each, so she almost paid for the box. I actually got 12 items plus another 7 pair of NWT underwear (which is something I sell, too), so got 19 items for $28.00 ($1.47 each). I ordered again and got another 20% off, so $28.00. It's all Target stuff, but 11 of the 12 were NWT and the 12th I could tell was never worn. All the underwear was NWT and I got one swimsuit. Are you close to overtaking the "bra king" yet?
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Post by Pantlandia on Aug 2, 2021 21:46:30 GMT
I was very pleased with what I got for $28. My mom bought two pieces that I got for $10 each, so she almost paid for the box. I actually got 12 items plus another 7 pair of NWT underwear (which is something I sell, too), so got 19 items for $28.00 ($1.47 each). I ordered again and got another 20% off, so $28.00. It's all Target stuff, but 11 of the 12 were NWT and the 12th I could tell was never worn. All the underwear was NWT and I got one swimsuit. Are you close to overtaking the "bra king" yet? I'm trying
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Post by denise15601 on Aug 2, 2021 21:51:19 GMT
Are you close to overtaking the "bra king" yet? I'm trying You have to mark them as "defected". And if someone complains that something doesn't fit, he either pretends that his wife is petite and it fits, or that she wears a large and it also fits. Must be the reason for his King-ness.
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