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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Big Challenge Week 3!

It's Week 3 of the big challenge to earn $5,000 in 6 weeks to pay for my daughter's wedding! If you missed week 1 & 2 you can start here. I set an ambitious goal to earn $2,000 just this week. I knew I had an estate sale and I've been listing like crazy on ebay- So.... let's see how I did. Here are this weeks top ebay sellers... Women's Fresh Produce Size XL/XXL Pink Floral Top sold for $19.38
These Women's Royal Robbins Size 12 Teal Nylon Skirt & Shorts were an unfamiliar brand to me, but felt like great quality. I was happy to see they do well on ebay when they sold for $20.50

I love Anthropologie! This Women's Anthropologie Odille Size 0 Floral Silk Dress sold for $20.50
Women's Alyn Paige Size 3/4 Brown Cotton Dress Sold for $20.50
Wrap dresses are a consistent seller- no matter what the brand. This Women's Lane Bryant Size 14/16 Black Wrap Dress sold for $24.00
Women's Ann Taylor Loft Size 8 Pink Linen Dress sold for $26.51

Another unfamiliar brand I pulled from my summer pile: Women's Speed Control Size XL Graphic Floral Dress. It was my top seller of the week at $31.00. In addition to selling on ebay I also held an estate sale for a client. I advertise, organize, stage and price all of the items to prepare for the sale. During the actual sale I usually have Mr. Right and a family member or friend or two on hand to help wrap, load, restage etc. I charge the client 30% for these services. This weekends sale was very successful. I was able to sell everything in the house and go over, what I quoted the client on potential sales. I also sold my first car! I wasn't able to take a 30% commission on the car as my client clearly stated what she needed to profit. My client also allowed me to bring in some of my pieces to sell. It always helps when you have a variety of items to offer: Antiques, modern, etc. Here's how my week added up!

Estate Sale Commission: $800 plus $300 for the car
Estate Sale Personal Sales and Delivery Fees: $400
Ebay Sales: 899.01
Costs: 81.00(clothes), 101.82(ebay fees), 61.95(paypal fees) 49.95 (advertising)
This Weeks Profit: 2104.31
Total Profit: 2931.13

I'm right on track to meet my goal of $5,000 in 6 weeks. I've got one more estate sale coming up next weekend and I'm keeping my space at Qcumberz well stocked. I took things a little easier this week and only listed 31 new items on ebay, however, the wedding invitations are done and will be mailed today!!!! 457 handmade invites! I will share those with you on Friday. Keep us posted on your BIG challenge, we love to hear from you. Love, Kelly.

26 comments:

  1. I am completely blown away! You go girl!

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  2. You are an amazing woman Kelly! I'm tired just reading about it. ;) Good luck meeting the goal and I bet the wedding is fantastically fun!

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  3. How the heck do you get it all done??? I am completely amazed, and very happy for you! I hope you will post some pics after the wedding!

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  4. That is amazing! I love reading the updates so keep up the good work.
    http://shabbytochicqueencreek.blogspot.com/

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  5. WOOHOO! Your amazing!!! I am so impressed!! Good luck with the next estate sale! Can't wait to see the wedding invites, did you say 468? Hollly moly.

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  6. Whoah! That is crazy money girl! Your daughter should be so appreciative.

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  7. Words FAIL me! Congratulations, I am in awe :-)

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  8. Awesome!

    I just started selling clothes on E-bay thanks to all the great information you've posted since the blog started, and I have some questions.

    When you say that your Ebay sales were $899.01 for the week, is that all clothing sales?

    And, now that I've been at it for 3 weeks, and am totting up averages every week, my average is pretty low... about $6 per item sold. What is yours?

    How many items do you list each week? for instance, to get $899 in sales, how many items did you list and how many actually sold?

    I am seeing a 50% sell rate from the items I list. For instance, 90 listed; 45 sold.

    Ann Taylor seems the best seller, and I have lots of Ann Taylor, but it's really hit and miss. Shirts go sometimes, pants go sometimes... nothing seems a surefire sale.

    What do you think?

    Also, what do you think of the new fees Ebay is charging for shipping?

    Thanks so much for keeping up such a good, informative blog. I learned a lot from you before I started selling.

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  9. Newsed6:
    Let's see if I can answer all of your questions:
    1. I typically only sell clothes on ebay- occasionally I sell a collectable, but the totals I'm reporting are all clothes.

    2. According to my ebay report my average for March is 11.00 per item. It was $9.03 in Feb. and $8.38 in January. It's taken me a long time to build it though

    3. I typically list 50-80 items per week, but with the challenge I listed all of the summer clothes I had been collecting and came in over 250 last week.

    4. I sell between 50-60% of what I list in the first week- After my 5 week list process I sell approx. 70-90% of what I list. When I first started I sold 20-30% of what I listed, so you're doing great at 50%.

    5. Ann Taylor is very hit and miss and rarely brings in surprising amount. It's what I call the bread and butter of ebay. I can count on $7-$9 for each item. I prefer to sell Anthropologie brands that can often bring $30-$40 per item. I completely stay away from Petites and usually only buy Ann Taylor dresses and skirts- unless it's really an exceptional item.

    6. What do I think of the new ebay fees? It's a bummer we have to pay more, but I look at it like I look at the post office when they raise shipping prices a few times a year: It's not something I have control over. Ebay is the number one etrade site, so I'll continue to list and pay their fees. Hope all this helps.

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  10. Holy Smokes! You are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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  11. You truly are amazing. I love it!!! It might be around here somewhere, but will you give us a link to your ebay "store"?

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  12. Hey Kelly, I've got a question for you:
    At what point did you decided to do a store rather than by item? What are the real benefits to doing it that way?

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  13. Thanks, Kelly!

    Another question: How much time do you devote to your ebay business? Is it an 8-hour-a-day job?

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  14. holy smokes kelly you Rock the house!! march was a great month for my sales - i listed like crazy. this month is proof that if you don't list you don't sell. your hard work at 250 items paid off. way to go!

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  15. You are an inspiration! And your daughter is completely lucky to have a Mom (and Dad) who would work so hard to do this for her!

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  16. Amazing! I hope to be that good someday.

    Also, have you considered opening an ebay store? What are the pros and cons to this?

    And what is your 5 week selling process? Thanks!

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  17. Amber Lena,
    I don't actually have a store, but my seller name is Skidoo3 and you can look at my items by clicking advanced next to the search box and then checking "by seller".

    Emelie,
    I decided not to have a store because I can't justify the monthly fee- It really benefits sellers that post multiple pictures and I only do one for each listing.

    Newsed6: I devote approx. 15 hours a week to my ebay business- this includes shopping time. I do all my pictures and listings on Monday mornings so all my auctions end on the same day- Then I usually ship Tuesday and Thursday- I require payment within 3 days so by Thursday I'm usually done until Monday rolls around again.

    Carrie and Michael, You can read my response to the store above. I talk about the details of my 5 week selling process in this post:
    http://mydeartrash.blogspot.com/2010/10/ebay-pricing.html
    #5 explains it. Hope that helps.

    Thanks for all the great comments! It really motivates me!

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  18. Wow, I am just blown away with all that you do! From reading your posts, seems that you pack ALOT into those 15 hrs and still manage to list 50-80 items per week .. wow! Do you get any help from your girls? Seems alot to do for just 1 person .. you must be a dynamo! Hope you don't mind my adding my 2 cents re: an eBay store. Ebay stores are good for folks who want an online RETAIL BUSINESS. Just like in a real store, most folks have hundreds, even thousands of items listed in their ebay stores since it costs only 5 cents/month to list vs. 25 cents per week. An item can be in your store for a year and it'll only cost sixty cents for the whole year. But since ebay charges a monthly fee for the store (cost depends on size), the more items you have in your store the more cost effective it is. Also, good for higher end items.

    I do have a store which I've had for several years, but now that I'm selling clothing and it's doing well, I am reconsidering the store. I just don't think a store works as well for clothing as it does for other products. I sell more clothes at auction than I sell products from my store. Unless I can find product for my store, it's something to reconsider.

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  19. You are doing such a great job! thanks for posting your schedule, it makes a lot of sense. Maybe this is something that would help me. Do you write out schedules for everything ? are you a list maker ? How do you not get distracted ?????
    Again, you are doing a great job.
    ~ Christie

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  20. Congrats, Kelly. We all KNEW that you could do it. And 457 invitations? That is amazing and enormous. Sounds like a fun party. Can't wait to see all the details. Knowing you, it will be the party of the year in Mesa!
    Edie

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  21. I can't wait to see pics of the event as well! Your last wedding decor was amazing!
    Thank you Kelly & Rita for the info on the store, it is something I have been wondering about, if I were doing things the "right" way by not having a store. I love it when there are 50 free or in the past 100 free listings a month, I would eat those up in a week sometimes. Also Kelly thanks for outlining your week again. I think I really need to stick to a better schedule, because I feel really disappointed in myself when I only get some listed here and there and then realize a whole week has gone by and I've only sold a handful of things and still have a closet ful to list. Hearing about all your success gives me more drive to succeed.
    Thanks for it all!

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  22. Whoo hoo!! I'm so impressed! What a great feeling and accomplishment to make so much in a week. Your daughter (and family) are lucky to see the rewards of your hard work. I'm sure they are learning a lot from your example! Can't wait to see the invitations and wedding pics!

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  23. So I've been trying to check out clothes at garage sales (something I've usually bypassed) and actually found some Chico's tops. Do the Chico's Travelers have a special label? The tops I got just say Chico's but they are certainly a material that would be wrinkle resistant so I'm just curious about the labels and if I need to leave 'Travelers' out of the listing.

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  24. Jennifer,
    The Chico's Travelers label will be marked "Chico's Travelers" I have purchased Chico's in the same acetate/spandex blend as the traveler and I usually make a note of it in the description, but not the title- That way any one searching for chico's travelers will find your listing. Hope they sell big!

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  25. AH-MAZING! I'm so proud of you Kel! You should write a book LOL

    I've been slacking on my ebay sales TERRIBLY because of personal family issues and then I had unexpected surgery this morning.

    BUT - I had to kill 45 minutes a week ago while waiting for a medical test so I went to Goodwill. Of course. LOL I scored a brand new, with tags, Badgley-Mischka cocktail dress!!! I paid $3.99 and the price tag is $650 - and it's piece from the 2010 winter collection. WOOHOO!!! Now I need to get my butt in gear and list it!

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  26. Kelly - thanks for sharing your ebay seller name! I just won the London style brown and white dress. Wee!

    Amber Lena Fashion Bargainista.com
    outfits FOR SALE from $10!

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