7/29/12 Purchase Summary

That's right. I went garage saling on a Sunday! I actually didn't go saling this weekend. I did my usual morning walk around the neighborhood yesterday and stopped at two sales. They were both very poor and I bought nothing. However, I did see a sign advertising for a sale this morning so I did the same thing today. As it turned out, it was a neighborhood sale for a very small neighborhood of duplexes near my house. Seven families were participating and I bought from two of them. I bought 3 books for $0.25 -- solving the issue of what I'll be reading when I go backpacking next week -- and a set of computer speakers for $2. $2 was a little more than I was hoping to spend but I needed them (my computer didn't come with any) and these were nicer and cheaper than any others I've seen recently. <

This means my current computer cost me a total of $24.13 after shipping. The tower and everything in it excluding the graphics card and the RAM came out of a dumpster. The RAM came out of another dumpster the same day. The graphics card cost me $14.65 on eBay and the cable it didn't come with cost me another $7.48. My friend gave me the monitor because it's slowly dying. The mouse was free and I got the keyboard free a few weeks ago. Finally, I got the speakers today for $2. 

Having your Own Sale: Liquidating Inventory

If you've ever had a garage sale in the past, you probably know that there are some things you just desperately want to get rid of but don't just want to give away to Goodwill at the end of the day. Usually it's because the item is undesirable due to weight and volume (so it takes up a lot of room and is difficult to move) or some other reason but is still worth a little bit of money. For example, during my sale back in April, I was trying to get rid of the silverware I had had since January because it was worthless and my friend was trying to get rid of his laser printer because it was huge.

The easy way to get rid of something you don't want is to announce it to your customers. Don't be obnoxious about it; don't say "You definitely want this washer and dryer set" to the sixteen year olds who come by. Target people who may actually buy it. If you're really lucky, the person will want it, but usually you will have to follow up with "Not even for X [seemingly ridiculously low amount of] dollars?"

For whatever reason, this technique works to get rid of stuff. I'm not sure if it's because people don't notice the items until you point them out or if it's because you mentioning it makes them realize they do need or want them. The trick worked for both my friend and me. We each only got $10 but we were happy; I made a $5 profit on the silver -- and it looked like I would be taking my first loss -- and my friend didn't have to take his printer to Goodwill.

Items to Look for: Video Game Guides

I've been continuing in my push to get rid of as much of my unwanted possessions as possible that I mentioned back in December. Going through my bookshelf, I found some old N64 player's guides (Prima's Guides, etc.).

Out of curiosity, I checked their value on Amazon. Some of them, as I expected, were valued at $0.01 but to my surprise, most were in the $15-$20 range. Two cost more than $50 each.

Like textbooks and video games, the market isn't predictable. If you can get them for $0.10 each and they end up worthless, you can just sell them at your own garage sale or try to Craigslist them. This is yet another class of items for which a smartphone is a very useful tool -- just use it to check the book's value on Amazon before you commit to purchasing it.

It my browsing of player's guides on Amazon, I have noticed a correlation: valuable games tend to have valuable player's guides. The original Paper Mario is one example of a game that fits this trend.

Yet Another Sale of my Own

I had some dumpster diving stuff and some older Craigslist stuff I wanted to get rid of so I had another garage sale of my own today. Unfortunately, the day was terrible; I have enough stuff left over to have another sale next week.

For whatever reason, very few people came by my sale today. I ended up making only $62 (although everyone in total made ~$135, not terrible for a sale), $24 of which came from the same person. The only good thing about today was that I got rid of some Craigslist items that weren't moving, including the Game Gear TV Tuner from May 12th ($5) and the NES Power Pad from June 23rd ($20). These means I've already made almost $55 from the twenty-third of June.

In other news, one of the textbooks I bought May 12th just sold. I made just over $8 on that book but it's not the expensive one; the other book I bought that day is still listed for $40. Between the book and the two items I sold at my garage sale today, my 2012 pre-gas garage saling profit is now almost $300.

The Basic Elements of Online Selling: Guest Post, Part 5

Selling on Amazon

Amazon only offers fixed price listings. Amazon limits the items you can sell based on what is currently available on the Amazon website, unless you opt for a pro merchant account. Depending on the type of account you purchase, you may sell anything that is listed on the Amazon site with certain categories requiring approval or pro merchant status.

To list an item, search for it in the Amazon store. Once found, click on the link on the right to sell a similar item. This will take you to the listing page, where you can list the condition, description, price, and quantity and preselected shipping methods. Currently only USPS and UPS are available. Unlike eBay, you do not determine the shipping price unless a pro merchant, so adjust your selling price accordingly to account for this difference. Amazon assumes since you are selling an item already in their store, they have account for the shipping cost price which is not always true.

Once it is listed, it will show up under Amazon’s purchase price, where there are categories of new, used or refurbished based on your listing. Amazon is particularly subject to dynamic pricing, so price accordingly as Amazon list items based on price that merchants list. As all items are already listed on Amazon’s website, you do not have the ability to post pictures so be as accurate as possible when describing your item

Once an item is sold, log again into your seller account. Generally you will see pending orders on the left hand side of your seller account. Click on the pending order. From there you can include packaging slip, buy shipping, or cancel an order. Again like eBay, you can conveniently purchase shipping, which automatically confirms shipment of an item. If you choose, you may just purchase shipping at the post office or UPS and then manually enter a tracking number code/confirm shipment of the product.

Just as with eBay your seller account includes a messaging system where prospective buyers can message you about an item.

Once an item has shipped, the funds will be transferred to your seller account which appears as a balance on the right hand corner. From there you may request to withdraw to your back account. Withdrawals may only be made every 24 hours.

Unlike with eBay, you do not leave seller feedback and only buyers may leave you feedback. Amazon is tipped in the favor of buyers, so be sure to be as honest as possible when listing and provide excellent customer service to avoid receiving negative feedback.

7/7/12 Purchase Summary

Sales today were abysmal. There were a lot of them but most were entirely clothing; I estimate we did drive bys (bies?) at close to 80% of the sales we found. This is a really high figure -- usually a really bad day is 50% drive bys at most.

I ended up spending $1.85 today. I spent $1 on ten of the large size Abba-Zabas. My sister really likes them and that size is usually $2 each (I think; I don't buy candy). I spent $0.50 on a wireless router. I was hoping it's DD-WRT compatible but it's not. Fortunately, I already have DD-WRT installed on one router so I can use it as a wireless bridge for my dumpster desktop (if this doesn't mean anything to you don't worry; it didn't mean anything to me until I got my computer out of a dumpster a few weeks ago) so I can just use this one as a regular router with my other one as a bridge should I eventually get my own place. I also spent $0.25 on a Christmas decoration for my mom and $0.10 on a VGA cable for myself.

The Basic Elements of Online Selling: Guest Post, Part 4

Selling on Ebay

There are two main modes of selling on ebay, one is auctioning and the second is fixed priced listing. To Auction or used a fix priced listing, you can either list an item by its UPC code from ebay’s database or list an item of your own. Just log into your account and click the sell now link on the top. For auction listings, you may also include a buy it now price in addition to a beginning auction price.

Use the research tool to pick and price your items accordingly. Look at what other people are pricing their items for. This will give you a generally idea of what to price your item.

Do a search for similar items—both currently for sale and in completed listings—to get an idea of your competitors pricing and shipping costs. Pay attention to their titles, photos, and how they described items.

Prepare your photos and description. Write an enticing title and description. Be honest, detailed, and mention any flaws. Be as honest as possible.  List the exact condition of the item whether it be new, used, new other, etc. While using words like mint condition or brand new are great, avoid using extreme words such as immaculate or impeccable. Especially if the item is used, this decreases your credibility especially if you have zero feedback.

Here you'll add your title, pictures, description,  and shipping and payment options. Ensure you have decent photos. A buyer wants to see every aspect of the product. You have up to 12 photos you can post and the 1^st one is free. You can further add bold listings, a designer package, or photo previews so that your ad stands out when a buyer searches for your product.

Enter your Paypal account to accept online payments. You may also use credit card, but Paypal is most efficient.

Select how you want to ship. Generally most people will ship by USPS. If the item you are sending is fragile or more expensive, generally choose a more premium service such as UPS or Fedex. Make sure to offer the buyer different shipping options.

Stay on top of questions and payments in My eBay. Communication is key. A buyer might have question about your item. Respond in a timely manner. This demonstrates good customer service and most likely a sell.

When you receive payment notification, ship promptly.

Print and pay for shipping labels right from your own computer. Simply log in to My eBay and with a few clicks, you can print and pay for a label pre-addressed with your buyer's information. By printing labels online, you save time and money, and your buyer is automatically notified of the shipment. You’ll get paid faster, too. Get all the details in a 2-minute shipping label video.

Give your buyer positive feedback in My eBay to build trust in you as a seller. Do not wait for the buyer to give you positive feedback. The buyer has completed their end of the deal by paying promptly. Some sellers will wait to give feedback as precautionary measure to avoid getting negative feedback. DON’T, if you provide quality service there should be no issue with giving good feedback to a buyer.

The Basic Elements of Online Selling: Guest Post, Part 3

Amazon

Amazon is essentially a MarketPlace where no auctioning takes place. To become a Amazon seller is fairly simple and involves just using your existing Amazon account or applying for one. Once your account is created you must also link a bank account to your seller account to ensure the safety of you as a seller and the buyers who purchase from you.

If you opt for a Pro Merchant account, you may sell with reduced fee listings and more customizable store. However, there is a monthly fee of 39.99 for the service.

Discounted Selling

The $0.99-per-sale fixed closing fee is waived for every listing sold after you become a Pro Merchant. You pay only the remaining 6 to 20 percent commission and the variable closing fee, plus a monthly subscription fee of $39.99.

Volume Listing and Order Management Tools

You'll have access to the tools for listing and managing dozens--even thousands--of listings at once. Reports allow you to download data to spreadsheets to keep on top of orders, inventory, and active listings

Create Product Pages

List a new product in our Amazon.com stores that is not currently found there. New products will appear alongside products offered by sellers and by Amazon.com itself.

Eligibility for Featured Merchant status

You'll be eligible to compete for the Buy Box placement on Amazon.com product detail pages. For many sellers, this placement has led to increased product sales.

Unlimited Marketplace Selling
You're welcome to maintain an unlimited number of product listings on Amazon.com. Your listings will remain on Amazon.com until they are sold or cancelled by you.

Meta Announcement

I've gotten really bad about posting the last couple weeks. I think I've finally thought of some more stuff to write about. I'm going to finish with the guest series and then I'll start writing my own content again. I think from now on I'm going to stick to around one post per week so I don't get burned out.