Ebay Pricing

Lately I've had a few people ask about pricing their ebay items so I thought I'd do a post explaining the method I use. I'm not generally a .99 cent type of girl- I like to use nice round numbers, mostly: 7.00, 8.00 and 9.00. If you like the .99 cent thing- great, either way I don't think it will make or break a sale. So here's my method.

1. For brands I'm familiar with: Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Gap, Old Navy, etc. I start pants, skirts and sweaters at 7.00-8.00, Jeans 8.00-9.00, Overalls 9.99 (here's where the .99 cent rule changes) and jackets and suit coats 8.00-9.00. What determines if it's a 7.00 or 8.00 or 8.00 or 9.00- Maybe it's new with tags, or it's amazingly cute- then it earns the higher price.

2. If I find a brand that I'm unfamiliar with, but feels like good quality, and is cute, I purchase the item, come home and type the brand name into the ebay search box. This will tell me all the auctions that are listed with that brand. I then check the completed listings box on the left side of the screen to find out how much this particular brand SELLS for. When looking at the completed listing, note whether the item received mulitple bids, was a buy it now, or received 1 bid.

3. If the item generally sells in the 10-15 dollar range with mulitiple bids, I'll start the item at $9.99- Why? Because that's the most I can list the item for at the .25 insertion fee.

4. If the item generally sells with 1 bid or a buy it now, I try to price it closer to those winning bids- $14.99 or $24.99 (maybe I am a .99 cent type of girl?)

5. Once I get all of my items listed, I monitor how well they sell. After the first week, if the item hasn't sold, I will again relist at the full price. After 2 weeks, if the item hasn't sold, I lower the price to $5.50. After 3 weeks, if the item hasn't sold, I lower the price to $2.99. If the item doesn't sell at $2.99 it either gets sold at my next garage sale or donated. Because I deduct the cost of the clothes I'm listing each week, the numbers I report are profit- It accounts for all of the clothes- So, if an item hasn't sold after those 4 weeks, it's okay to let it go.

6. I usually have between 225-250 items for sale. I only list 70-100 new items a week, but with my relist system, it keeps my inventory full.

7. When pulling non-selling items from the rack I'm usually able to see some commonalities. Petite size pants don't sell well for me- now I avoid petites. Even if an item is New With Tags- if it's a no name brand, it usually doesn't sell. I was quickly able to see when Linen stopped selling and wool and tweed became the hot item. Each week my non-sellers teach me little bits of information that help me be a wiser shopper.

8. I know several sellers that start all of their items at .99, or 1.99- I would really discourage anyone from doing that. Ebay is so unpredictable- They've had new ipads sell for less than $5.00. Start your items at a price you would be happy with if you only received 1 bid. In the past month, 75% of my items only received 1 bid. If those items were listed at .99 I would not be making very much money.

I'm sure there's so many other questions I'm forgetting to answer- please leave a comment if you think of one. I will respond to all questions in the comments section, with a comment. Before I go, however, I will tell you what I think are my two biggest tips for ebay success:

1. Do not allow yourself to shop for new items if you haven't listed the previous weeks items. We all know shopping is one of the best things about selling on ebay, however, if you're not listing those items in a timely manner, it can quickly go from fun, to expensive, to overwhelming to borderline "Hoarder" I discipline myself by not allowing any shopping until all items are listed. So far I've been able to shop each week. This will also cause you to be a pickier shopper. If you know everything you buy has to be listed in the next 6 days- you don't buy as much.

2. Give back: I'm a firm believer in Karma and in serving others. Laura and I both will pass along items we find to those we know are in need. We also pay tithing to our Church. Find an organization or individual that you feel passionate about and give back.

Hope these suggestions help. If you have any tips or questions be sure to leave a comment. Love, Kelly

Friends

Let me introduce you to a few of my friends, although this first person you already know quite well.

Friend Kelly

A typical conversation with Kelly goes something like this -

Kelly: “So, what’d you find this weekend?”

Laura: “A ping-pong table for $20.00 bucks, how ‘bout you?”

Kelly: “Oh my gosh, these amazing frames, clothes for .50 cents and a dining room set for $5.00.”

Laura: “No way. What are you going to sell the dining room set for?”

Kelly: “Maybe $500.00.”

Laura: “Sweet.”

Kelly: “Yeah, I already have it on Craig’s list and have someone coming by later to pick it up.”

Laura: “You know the Eileen Fisher XL Silk Cream White Camisole Shirt I found last week out yard selling. It sold on EBay for $26.00.”

Kelly: “This week was the best for me too. I found Tommy, Chico’s, a dress from Anthropology. . .”

At this point one of us is interrupted by a kid, a spouse or I just jump in and interrupt Kelly because I have a disorder I call:

 I get so excited that I have to tell you how excited I am disorder.

Kelly and I don’t waste anytime. We got right into it.
My time with Kelly is the best. She’s so much fun and creative. I just bask in the whole adventure and enjoy every minute with her.  Kelly cleaned my toaster oven on my birthday; yeah, she's that great.

Friend Monica

Monica and I go way back.  We both served mission on Temple Square.  As the only vegetarian and hippie sister missionaries, we totally bonded over being slightly rebellious and have been best of friends ever since.  Last month, Monica asked if I’d participate in a triathlon with her. She wanted to do the running and biking portion of the event, but she’s not a swimmer.
I love to swim, so she asked me to swim the swimming portion of the event.
I’m not sure if loving to swim makes me a good candidate for a competitive swimming event, but I was really excited to relive my youth.
I swam a few laps in my pool for practice and thought “Alright, I’m ready for this.”
The morning of the triathlon, I drove past the elementary school and saw Kelly, working and getting ready for the fund-raising garage sale she and the PTO sponsored.

 Kelly is one of the hardest working people I know. I didn’t have time to stop, but I sent her a telepathic hug.
The swim, just the idea of the swim kept me up the night before worrying if I was a good enough swimmer, was so much fun. Plus, I got all tatoo-ed up.

 The triathlon was more for “promoting healthy living” then for competition, so I leisurely swam my portion of the event and let Monica do her thing; first burning up the bike trail and then smoking through the run.
Here we are with Monica's sisters, Carla and Renee.

We proudly wear the Chunky Chics shirt's Renee made.
Monica, thank you so much for letting me be part of this fun event.  You are such a beautiful person.

Friend Ashlee

My sweet friend Ashlee, a girl who just beams with joy.  Below is the link to her blog.

I know what you're thinking and yes, she really is this beautiful.  I grew up with Colin as my next door neighbor and I’ve know him since he was running around in diapers. Colin and Ashlee married several years ago and are so in love, it inspires me to be so in love with the people in my life. Both want to be parents and amazing parents they will be, but because of infertility, they have had to wait. They are currently hoping to adopt. I send prayers on their behalf.
Here they are with Little Sis.  Watch as Colin loves Eden into a trance.

A serious love trance.

I hope you become a follower of My Spoiled Eggs. Ashlee is a wonderful writer and does great give-aways.
She featured me on her blog here because I'm a mother and have really cute kids.  Thank you, Ashlee for writing such sweet things about mothering.

Friend Jeni

Jeni makes me laugh like I’m ten-years old again. We’ve been friends for almost 8 years. Read more about our little adventures here.
Jeni is currently sponsoring a bit of fun called “The Frasier Field Swap.”

 The swap is where each participant brings 3 items they no longer want. Put them in the pile and swap out 3 items you do want.
To make the event even more memorable, there’s a tweed theme.

 The swap takes place November 12, 2010 at 7:30pm.  Of course, there will be goodies and door prizes.  If your in the valley, please sign up here and come.  We'd love to see you and have you swap out some of our trash.

Friend Butler

Butler, as I call her, is another darling friend from my mission.  As missionaries, we got into the habit of calling each other by our last names instead of our first, so I don't even know Butler's first name (just kidding).

Don't let her crazy curly red hair fool you, she really is as feisty as it would suggest. We spent many nights caring for the stray cats we took in, dancing to the Sound of Music and dreaming of after our mission, finding prince charming and living happily ever after.
Butler lives in L.A., the land of the ultra cool and rich, so when she garage sales, it's always good.  On a whim, she mailed me two large boxes of her latest finds and asked if I'd post them on EBay for her.
Check out the good time we had making money off her trash.
These Brighton necklaces sold for $24.99 each.

This Women's Tablots Size 12 NWT Lace Cream $148 Silk Shirt sold for $20.50.

Friends and EBAy and blogging; and I've been able to meet so many friends because of blogging and EBay.  Who knows, I just might feature you next.

Trash To Cash Wednesday!

What would you do if someone unexpectedly handed you $1,000? Or If it just showed up in your bank account? Think about that question while I show you my top sellers this week...

Formal dresses aren't usually a good seller on ebay, however, with the holidays approaching it appears some want to pick up designer evening wear at a resale price. This Women's Jones New York Size 10 Red Cocktail Dress sold for $14.99.

This Women's Dana Buckman Size 16 Black Silk Cocktail Dress sold for $24.99

This Women's NWT Nicole Miller Size 2 $275 Black Lace Dress sold for $26.00

This Women's Bebe Size S Sexy Black Dress sold for $36.00 (remember I said I was experimenting with this brand- so far all items have sold big)

This Diane Von Furstenberg Size 6 Silk Vittoriana Dress sold for $41.00 (if you aren't familiar with Diane Von Furstenberg, she was a guest judge on Project Runway, A highly acclaimed designer and is credited for creating the wrap dress in the 60's- find a vintage Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress and you've got a winner on ebay.) Don't get me wrong, dresses aren't the only thing selling on ebay. Here's some of my other top sellers this week...

Women's Eileen Fisher Size Petite Large Chocolate Brown Pants sold for $29.99

Women's Gap Size 20 Curvy Trouser Denim Jeans sold for $34.00- Trouser jeans are really in right now. Now you know I don't usually buy men's clothing for ebay, however these jeans were in the women's section. I thought they were cute, and for women, so I bought them for $1.00.

I wasn't familiar with the brand AG Adriano Goldschmied so I looked them up on ebay, under the completed listings. I discovered they are actually men's jeans and sell quite well. These came in as my top seller this week. Men's AG Size 34x32 Denim Jeans sold for $42.00. So why do I want to know what you would do with an extra $1,000. Because that's almost what I earned this WEEK on ebay. Completely and totally unexpected! I love the financial freedom ebay affords my family. I'll repeat my weekly advice: If you've ever thought of selling on ebay, start now. Sometimes I feel like an infomercial, but believe me I'm not receiving any type of compensation from ebay. I know these are hard economic times and I truly believe ebay is a nitch that not only isn't suffering from the economy, but is actually thriving, as more people are looking for a better deal then a department store. Here's my totals for the week:

Ebay Profits:$973.45

Craigslist Profits:0

Costs: 88.00(clothes), 120.02(ebay fees), 67.56 (paypal fees)

Total Profit: $697.87

It's not $1,000 pure profit, but who's complaining! Looks like a little early Christmas shopping for my family. So, Tomorrow is Goodwill's dollar day (If you're in a location that has dollar day) go pick up 20 items and give ebay a try. Your first 100 items are free to list each month so you've got nothing to loose. Okay change the channel now, I'm really am sounding like a commercial. Love, Kelly

This Weeks Garaging Finds!

This was a HUGE garage sale weekend. However, I was asked to help organize a rummage sale for my daughter's elementary school- So work, work, work and no play for me and the PTO members of the school. We collected items on Friday and began setting up at 5:30am Saturday morning.
So, so many clothes! We had a ton of fun and raised over $800.00- so it was all worth it. I did get a chance to do a little garaging on Friday with Mr. Right. Here's what we found...
The old frame was $1.00, the set of 3 candlesticks was $5.00 (these are big and chunky and I love them) and this little iron mirror was $3.00. I also picked up something at the Rummage Sale on Saturday...
These are nice square pieces of wood that need a little redo, but will be perfect in my tweens room reno.- pictures coming soon. I know this has been on my to do list for months, but we are digging in tomorrow and must finish by Monday when my 21 year old returns from Florida. We're doing a little room switcheroo, so it's the perfect time to redecorate. Hope you all had a great garaging weekend. Love, Kelly.

P.S.: I'm helping another family organize an estate sale here in Mesa, Arizona. If you're local, mark your calendar for Nov. 5 & 6. I'll be posting pics closer to the sale.

THE FAIR - The Opposite of Thrifting

I love saving money.  

I try to make my dollar stretch like a chewed up piece of double-bubble bubble gum.  I'm always looking for a deal, so when the counselor suggested we take the kids to the Arizona State Fair, my mind started thinking of ways we could do it for cheap.  

We looked on-line for coupons, two-for-ones or anything that offered a financial break in the fun-filled adventure.    

The counselor found out on the first day of the fair there was no entrance fee.  For our size family, that saved about $40.00.

I remember years past, taking the kids to the fair.  Sure, it's a good time; kettle corn, roller coasters and ferris wheels, but all those smiles and giggles comes at a price.

The fair is what I like to call 

"The opposite of thrifting."

Why?

Because unlike thrifting, going to the fair is the most over-priced experience one can have in the state of Arizona.

Image found here.

For all the times I cut corners, save a buck here, save a buck there, eaten at home instead of eating out and so forth, the fair puts a stop to that way of thinking.

Actually, it mocks it.

The fair is deceiving.   It tricks the average parent into thinking "If my kid doesn't experience this place to the fullest, then I'm a bad parent."

Standing in line to get our tickets for rides, I thought I would have an anxiety attack when the counselor asked "What should we get, like a $100.00 in tickets?"

The boys looked at the giant sand castle being built. I was surprised we weren't charged a  looking fee. 

It this poor economy, you wouldn't believe the cash being thrown around.   $4.00 for a soda, $8.00 for a 60-second thrill ride and that's only the first few minutes in the gate.

To throw a dart and try to pop a balloon is $6.00.  Where's the fun in that?

All it took was watching my kids go down this enormous slide and I was all smiles.  We had so much fun.

That is, as much fun as we could afford.

The boys are sweet and gracious little consumers.

Little sis had a nice short nap 

until she heard the Sponge Bob Square Pants theme song.

I'm not sure who was more excited to see Sponge Bob, the kids or the counselor (can you tell who is the better parent in this equation?).

The highlight of the "opposite of thrifting" was playing in these air-filled balls while rolling around in the water.

First they fill up the plastic ball with air.  

Then, they let the kids loose.

Who knew having fun could cost so much money?

We played on the playground until the destruction derby started.  

The counselor couldn't wait until the cars started crashing.  

Sissy loves her white-trash daddy.

For the writer in me, the fair had a booth sponsored by Harlequin novels.  I stopped by their booth and they gave me a free trashy romance novel.  

Don't be surprised if next week My Dear Trash has a give-away of a free Harlequin trashy romance novel. 

All in all, it was a great time.  

If may not have been thrifting, but saving money can't buy everything.
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