Lots of GREAT info on this video! Many thrift stores restock continually. So you need to know how they replenish, and adjust accordingly. Might need to visit multiple times a day if it is convenient. Others I visit once every two weeks or so. I use $25 margin minimum on cheap items I buy ($1 or $2). This margin is to cover my time sourcing, taking pictures, creating listing, storing, packing and shipping. On stuff that takes longer to ship like hifi equipment (I use $100) and bicycles, I use $200. Packing a bike can take me 3 to 4 hours. Now packing bike parts is easy, then the $25 rule applies. Not interested in selling cheaper stuff, with the exception of books. Books are so easy to pack, if I can make at least $10 on a book, I'll do it. And I also group books, so I might sell a set of 5 or 10 for $30. I tend to find books for anything from 25 cents to $1. Got to have an inventory system if you are selling books, as a lot of them move slow. You need to be able to find it six months from now. My system is easy, in the listing I'll put "On shelf A." I have bookcase shelved up to "O". And another bookcase that goes from X1 to X5. I've been selling on ebay for 24 years. I offer free returns no questions asked as well. Returns are well under !% of sales, so I don't sweat it. The only boxes I buy are record boxes for LPs and a small box for caps. Otherwise, I find boxes anywhere I can. I do buy and use padded poly mailers of different sizes.
Thank you for the video. You and JRide Flips are my fav YT resellers because you have a perfect mix of 'what sold/sourcing' and (more importantly) 'how-to/anecdotes' of reselling, which most others typically forgo the latter. I've learned so much from you. Thank you!
Hey Justin, another great video...one of the best ways to calculator shipping is using eBays shipping calculator. I live in California so when I post a listing I used the farthest location i.e., New York City, as example, I will also setup all my listing with "Make Offer" and when an offer comes in I will used the eBay calculator to pinpoint the exact cost of shipping and adjust my counteroffer or acceptance on the true cost of shipping. Doing it this way I rarely lose money on shipping. This works for first class and all other shipping methods. eBays shipping calculator is a must in my book. I used it every day. Helpful hint...never decline an offer...counter it or hold it until it expires all my listings state: "All Reasonable offers will be Considered". 20+ years on eBay.
@@Serialfreek All my listings also state "offers will never be declined" that tells buyers that I'm not afraid of low ball offers, in fact I welcome all offers. When an offer comes in low that I don't want to accept or counter I just leave it alone and let it expire, others buyers looking at the same item will see that there is an offer already pending on the item, for a day or so...not a huge benefit, but much better than declining the offer. I will often counter offers, but never decline. I think it might also help with eBays algorithm...no proof on that just a feeling. Other sellers will decline and then explain why they can't accept the offer...buyers don't care why. The few times I make offers via "Best Offer" and get an auto decline, which just ticks me off because I never lowball other sellers, which is another reason I don't decline.
@@Serialfreek Not declining offers also tells other buyers that there is an pending offer, competition is good...for a day or two, not a huge deal, but much better than just declining the offer. I believe that it also might help with eBay's algorithm, no proof just a feeling. As a buyer the few times I make an offer via Best Offer and get an auto decline, that just ticks me off because I never lowball other sellers, another reason not to decline...
You can label where your inventory is on eBay in your listing, you dont need a separate inventory management tool. When you are preparing a listing in the 'item specifics' down at the end is a spot that says 'custom sku' that's where you put your code for where your item is stored.
Justin, my wife and I are resellers in Southern Illinois and I just recently found your RU-vid channel. I would like to say thank you for the great content! We watch many online resellers for inspiration and we have now subscribed to your channel. We really enjoy your content. Plus it is great to know there is someone else succeeding in the Midwest! Keep doing what you're doing. Maybe we'll catch up with you sometime in St. Louis. 😉
May I suggest that if a buyer says item not received, and tracking shows delivered, give them all kinds of sympathy in your message- "Oh I hate it when that happens! Let me see what I can find out. I will go to USPS website, and search tracking number. More details may show up." Then tell buyer what you learned. Copy/paste the USPS history detail in your eBay buyer reply answer. Suggest he call his LOCAL PO branch. They will know his house and name. He can ask carrier where item was placed. I have had one where it showed buyer asked to hold for pickup. He did not. That got solved. Another buyer's package was at their PO branch, shoved in a corner for about two months. I told this buyer exactly what the package looked like. Sent her a photo to show the PO. It was kind of unusually packaged. They found her shipment. At the least, 95% of INR complaints will be solved. This saves YOUR reputation with eBay- hopefully. When buyer appeals your refusal to refund, eBay can read all of your helpful, sympathetic, detailed messages. That's good for YOU. :)
Other advantages to having an eBay store include: Can set 'time away' when on vacation, which I use a lot. Also can run sales, send coupons, etc. On ending and relisting usung 'sell similar' - yes I do this a lot too and often get sales within a few days so a good strategy - however sometimes I've ended up with duplicate listings as a result. Not sure yet how these are falling through the cracks. I 'm not inclined to 'sell similar' in bulk listings due to this.
Yes, that’s happened to me with ending up having duplicate listings. Not fun having to tell a buyer you no longer have that item! So, although I love the little boost that “Ending and Sell Similar” gives me on some of my listings, I don’t do it very often and if I do, I am super diligent to make sure to Delete my Ended listings afterwards.
As to pricing my items, i search sold listings by highest price and read the descriptions of the highest priced solds for condition, also view photos to see if i can get away with charging that much. Works for me♡
I’ve bought and sold dozens of the atmos clocks! Great sellers!! I also have two in my clock collection with the original cases and paperwork. Another great post!
Thanks for answering my question! I agree with you with the garage sales. It’s just not economical no matter if you have the resources or money to spend on gas, but the wear and tear on the vehicle and then you’re on the road a lot. I generally stick to a certain radius of miles when going to garage sales. I also avoid garage sales that heavily Advertise kid stuff/ clothing because I don’t sell that type of stuff. Love it when I’m in St. Louis because I too know what areas to go to. I actually love the state of Missouri because it’s so diversified every region offers different items and some of the same. I recycle materials for shipping as much as possible but I do take pride in appearance and wanting the consumer/customer to feel like they’re getting a really great product. I know some resellers are getting great prices from Grainger on boxes and if you pick them up. Also, thanks for saying that from St. Louis, Oregon or upper state Washington was probably the most expensive for you. I did know that when trying to figure out how much something cost to ship you should really go the further zip code. We are lucky that we live in the Midwest, especially Missouri because of shipping cost. Most new resellers probably don’t realize that that’s how you kinda figure how much something’s going to be when shipping and of course, knowing the weight and the dimensions. Thanks for the great videos and all the great information that you are always willing to give out. I’m currently moving to the town over from me and my eBay store isn’t getting the love it needs to have sales, but But I’ll be dedicating more time to it soon and love that the garage/yard sale season is here! Will consider using Flipwise once available for everyone! I hope you continue to do well with all your adventures.
Re question about being a new seller with a long eBay buyer history, that’s who I was when I started selling last year. I can’t say it helped in the algorithms BUT it did prevent all the scammers hitting me up as a newbie. I’ve been buying since 1998 with 600+ 100% positive feedback ratings. I doubt most buyers are looking at the breakdown of seller vs buyer feedback so I wasn’t seen as a new seller.
thanks for the box info, ive actually been needing this really bad but keep forgetting. and looking for a local box supplier is a great idea! i found one in my city im going to contact them soon and see is i can arrange some deals! fingers crossed
Good news all around Justin. So happy to hear that Flipwise is going to be handling cross posting if and when we're ready to do it. I was only hesitant in ending and relisting to make sure it wouldn't mess up my data in Flipwise but if you're doing it I know it must not, was just concerned about start dates etc Sure I can figure it out Thanks much for all the info great video!
@@justinresells It’s going to be the best, most versatile and useful reseller’s tool out there in a few short months. You guys are really dotting al the i’s and crossing all the t’s!
I do calculated shipping and think i am likely losing customers..not sure how to do it otherwise as I live in OR. Shipping to east coast a lot and feel like I would eat a lot of shipping costs the other way. Wondering if there is a happy medium?
What do you do to keep your reselling business running while on vacation? How would you go about staying consistent listing if you can not easily access what is needed to do so?
I think people have gotten used to free returns on Amazon and from other major companies for new goods but not necessarily eBay. I've always associated the latter with used niche or harder-to-find items and deals. The likelihood of not being to return an item comes with the territory of finding that rare thing or saving a chunk of money. I buy quite a bit on eBay and I can only recall returning one thing, pants that were 6" shorter than what was in the listing and on the tag. I'm still a part-time seller but I haven't had a return in a few hundred sales. I'll accept a return if it's justified but like with Amazon I think that "free returns" label is just going to attract more tire kickers than I want to deal with.
Is ending and relisting the same as ending, sell similar? You have probably discussed this before, but not sure. Do you think when selling similar changing the photo, description, and price are important? The best Ebay videos are your by far! Thanks
I asked this before but cant find it again! How do you ship golf clubs? I see people saying cheap shipping but the options I see are out of sight. How do you package them?
U answered a commented re: an ‘item hasn’t arrived’ case. I inform the buyer, but my question is, Does eBay automatically inform the buyer that he has tracking?
I’m still fairly new to reselling and I find that I’m continuing to add to my overall inventory more than I’m selling. I feel I have good items, pricing and pics so I think the sales are low because of the eBay ‘algorithm’ you alluded to. Any thoughts on what I should explore to get more sales moving?
I have a small problem. Is there any option as sell similar on ebay. While i search items on ebay, i tried to see whether there was an option as sell similar on the product itself. But i could not find such option.
Hi Justin, I’m 3 months in to this super fun business and I greatly appreciate all of your information and observations. I have a follow-up question about ending and resisting. EBay appears to end and re-list automatically every month. Isn’t that the same thing?
"If you bought something in 1986 for $200" then $200 is your cost of goods. There is no reason to estimate current fair market value - what you sold it for is the current fair market value. You might want to estimate the original purchase price since you probably don't know that for personal items bought years ago (you probably don't remember you paid $200 in 1986). Whether the IRS lets you estimate that, and not produce a receipt, is a point of disagreement in discussions I've seen. That's a major reason for the push back against the new law, not that people are wanting to cheat on their taxes.
Ending and Relisting/Selling Similar is only effective if your item has a demand, STR, improved keywords and better pictures and of course price. If you didn't have any of these in a listing sitting for a while, it won't make any difference for eBay as you will be de-listing and relisting the same stuff. Remember, Garbage in = Garbage Out..
I don't think that's necessarily true. You can still benefit from the 'new listing' tag and the bump you get from having new stuff. I listed a few hundred vintage magazines at one time with 0 item specifics on any of them at first. Sold at least 15 on title alone before getting around to tightening up the specifics.
Just found your channel, lots of great info, Thanks. I have a question about promoted listings. In previous video, listing in under 4 minutes, you promote everything at 2%, I normally do 6%, eBay normally recommends around 12%. I am thinking of dropping to a lower percentage and I am wondering why you chose the 2% number. With your OKR approach to this business, I would love to thoughts on this topic. Thanks
@@justinresells I would like to offer free shipping on some of my items. But I want to know how much thats gonna be since obviously I'm gonna pay for it as the seller. How do I find that out? (I sell a variety of items but nothing over 5lbs, most are 2lbs & under, some are ground, a lot are media but I know the average cost of that) -- I used to sell on facebook marketplace and it told you that clicking free shipping deducts $4 from your profit, but what about ebay? THANK YOU!
@@shannongreenlaw321 It's gotten much easier to do that since Ground Advantage came out. I live in NY and offer free shipping on 99% of my stuff. I calculate by looking up the approximate cost (using PirateShip or similar) to ship to Los Angeles or Seattle, so I have an idea of "worst case scenario." Even with the calculation for the farthest possible distance, I get a lot of local sales without having to be the cheapest option. Make sure your main picture really pops. People often overlook a few dollar difference when the seller seems serious (I think this way when I'm buying or selling).
I think you're a lot better off ending and selling similar than you are ending and relisting. One obvious justification is that your listing date/time is updated to the current time if you sell similar. But, if you relist, your date/time is the original date/time so, if customers are sorting their search by Newly Listed so they can catch the freshest items, they won't see your item that was just relisted. I have noticed this date/time discrepancy recently; don't know if it's always been that way. Also, on a separate topic, I don't see the algorithm being that important if you sell items for which the Buyer is likely to sort lowest-to-highest, like a TI-84 calculator. The algorithm isn't going to hide your items from the list which is sorted by price. If eBay shows the "We’ve streamlined your search results to show you the best listings" message then the Buyer just selects "Show more results" to see them all.
little known fact: relist and sell similar are the same thing. it used to be different but they’re the same now. relist gives you an entirely new ebay item id and pub date just like selling similar. (i still use the sell similar option by habit but use the two interchangeably when talking about it)
I'm not sure, but you can test it and see for yourself. Relisting also gives it a new eBay ID and thus publish date. And in the eBay API, there is only one function for both relist and sell-similar.@@polarbearmom6420
13:30 great points, but I'd add there may not be anything wrong w the listing. II'll choose the more expensive of the two if the price is close enough, but the items location is significantly closer. Im on the east coast in PA. Yes, the item in CA is the cheapest, but for $5 more (& $2 less on shipping) I might be able to purchase the same item from someone in say, NY or NJ.
Congratulations on going "independent"! That's a big step, but of course, you have worked the numbers. :-) I can't believe how much those Atmos clocks go for - a grail item for me that I very seriously doubt I'll ever see irl, let alone be able to get a deal on. Appreciate the videos, best of luck on FW and expanding the online selling.
Great info!! Some questions for next vid. I don't have a "store" but i have about 150 pieces on ebay. Can you extract your inventory from eBay? Is there a special tool for that? Can you group like items, shoes, electronics or do you need a store for that as well? Can you do a video on flip wise when you are ready to promote it? I'm interested in cost and ease of use. Thanks
Another comment on shipping. I have always used calculated shipping. But I have noticed eBay's calculation often runs high, very high. Shipped an item today. Actual weight was 6 pounds, I had 5 pounds in my listing. Ebay charged buyer $14 for shipping. My actual was $7. Shipped another item today, eBay's calculation was $16, actual postage was $9. This was on a $32 item, so buyers are being overcharged. I get the dimensions correct, I am either low or right on weight, yet the postage runs about 30% lower than ebay charges via their calculation. I am not overjoyed with this, as it can put my items at a disadvantage price wise versus other sellers. I can't remember a single time where eBay's calculated shipping was on target, except on media mail. If I was selling $500 items, it wouldn't matter. But most of my items are in the #0 to $50 price range.
you can set your calculated shipping so the buyer gets your sellers ebay shipping discount. I only use calculated on heavy items and i give the discount , i also know the exact measurements and weight when i do use calculated shipping but its a real pain to pre package things but i make an exception to do this if i know its a fast sell through item.
Justin, how long are you holding onto "Dead" inventory? I picked up a lot of 8 of these larger items that I have come to realize were probably a bad purchase... that being said, they only set me back 15 bucks each...so not overly terrible...but they have been horrible in performance. Do you do a garage sale for your dead inventory or do you have another method? Redonate?
@@justinresells that’s where my head was at! Still a write off :-) Do you generally have a timeline of when you consider doing that with an item you have tried to relist multiple times and got no traction?
