BOLO: Perfection

Last week while with my brother, we briefly stopped by a few yard sales before heading out to a sibling breakfast with my dad. We were kind of late in the yard sale world of timing, so I figured we wouldn't find much. My brother picked up a perfection game that was like NEW. Remember perfection? A total 90's kid game.

Much to my brothers disappointment the game was broken. He was going to toss it, and I asked him if I could keep the pieces. Luckily all pieces were there, and I quickly listed them. Within the first hour I had them listed I got quite a few watchers, and then bang... a buyer! Sold for $11.95 FS. (We paid 50 cents for the game).

 

After the listing ended, I even got a few messages from eBayers wanting to know if the pieces sold, and REALLY wanting them. Wow. So this of course sparked my curiosity for how much the game goes for itself.

 

 

Check out this recently ended Perfection game auction HERE

 

Seriously. I see these games alot. Its just a matter of if they have all their pieces intact :)

 



A lesson learned in shipping

On my last post I mentioned that I had quite the experience with the shipping of this item:

So I sold this item for best offer of $25 free shipping. I realized after shipping cost me $11 I didnt make too much off of this adorable peacock costume.

I shipped it FedEx. Why FedEx? I love their rates for large boxes, and as you can see those are some crazy wings on the costume and I didnt want to risk folding them up and ruining the costume.
-If you have something LARGE to ship, go FedEx.

So I packaged the costume up and went to a local satalite postage center. I believe alot of towns have these little franchises around. Its a little store that has UPS, USPS, FEDEX, DHL all in one place. Its the closest thing to my house, so I almost always ship packages out here... especially if I am going Fedex. That day I shipped out the above Peacock costume via FedEx and 3 other USPS packages. These were all prepaid Ebay labels, so all I had to do was hand the packages to the worker.

Now fast forward a few days. I recieve an email from the buyer of the Peacock costume saying that she has not received the package and there is no tracking information available. I quickly find the tracking information and sure enough there were no timestamps. Not even one for the pick up at the location I dropped the package off at. I called FedEx. Filed a claim. I then call the postage satalite center, the owner swears up and down he would never misplace a package and was very insulted I even insenuated that he or his employees might have. (Whatever). I then email the buyer and let her know what is going on. I told her that if Fedex does not find the package in 2 days I would refund her.

2 Days pass. Package is still MIA, and I refund the buyer. She is SUPER nice about this luckily and is totally understanding.

The day after I refund the buyer she writes me, "USPS just showed up at my door with the package. The package has the FedEx label on it. My postman said it somehow ended up with their stuff. I paid $13 to my postman for the shipping, and I can send you $12 for the costume."

At this point I am really annoyed with my postal center. Obviously they sent it off with the wrong carrier. I reply to the buyer and tell her that she doesnt need to pay anything and can keep the refund still. I then call the postage center and ask for the defensive manager I spoke to last time. I explained to him what REALLY happened and he told me it was my fault that I did not tell the employee which package went to certain carriers. Really? They dont check the labels over there?
ugh. I was really frustrated with this. I told him because of their mistake I lost money, and wouldnt ship anymore packages through them. After this he became very apologetic and said it wouldnt happen again.....

So what have I learned? 1. I cant assume postal workers know where to put packages, or even check labels. 2. I need to give directions to everyone that handles my packages... take no risks! 3. USPS will steal a package to make an extra buck $$ (policy is that they are supposed to return the item to its original carrier) 4. There are some good buyers on eBay that dont want to leave you negative feedback for fun.

Some friendly competition & sales

When I was younger I met a girl at my church named Mandy. She was a little weird, and so was I. Her mom loved good deals, and so did my mom. It was a match made in heaven! Our families became friends, and I spent most of my adolescent, teenage years becoming good friends with this girl and her family. After we were both out of high school we worked together at a local elementary school. We ran an after school program there... and let me tell you.... we were awesome at our jobs... Those kids had some awesome parties, some awesome games, and interesting activities. Because Mandy and I think so much alike, the kids had such a fun time... Before and after work Mandy and I would spend our time vegging out, talking about single cute guys, but most importantly... going to thrift stores and yard sales looking for awesome deals. (I told you it was a match made in heaven). On weekends we would go yardsaling with our moms... The 4 of us would pile into our car and go scouting for deals.....
Fast forward a few years.......
Mandy lives in another state now. I have kids. She has a son. And we keep in contact quite often...(actually at least 5 times a week). I have FINALLY gotten her on the eBay train. Its taken me months of bragging to her about my sales... but it finally worked... and let me tell you.. She is alot better at scouting out items to sell on eBay than I am, and has been selling like crazy. In fact she has been selling so much, it has made me a tad bit jealous.... There I admitted it. She at one point had more listings then me. So I stepped up my game. I listed a ton of items one week and jumped ahead of her. My hubby told me that If I could stay 15 listings ahead of her every week, he would take me out to dinner of my choice that weekend. (Hows that for some motivation. I will NOT turn down food!).
Challenge accepted. Mandy knows of my bet with my husband, and we are listing like crazy. We both have been encouraging and making sure we stay on top of our sales/listing. Its been so fun to have a friend in on this, and my sales are improving.
I even told Mandy she should move back here so we can thrift together, and after we both realized that might be too competitive being out together looking for the same deals, we both realized that could be a bad idea. (HAHA).
Moral of the story: Find a friend in another state to be your ebay buddy, and compete with. Great motivation.

(Me on the left, Mandy on the right- Back in our prime years- being our crazy selves)

On another note, here are some recent sales- (All sales are Free shipping unless noted):

Christmas cookie cutter lot.  Paid $1 Sold $21.95

 Babystyle Peacock Costume. Paid $5 Sold $25

The post office lost this package and then it was found. This is a crazy story I am saving for another blog post. 

 Kids Play Tools Lot Paid $2 sold for $24.95

 Hard Rock Cafe Hawaii Bear Paid 50 Cents sold for $9.95

 Starbucks Tazo Tea Bone China Cup Paid 75 cents sold for $10.95

Disneyland Baby Dumbo Plush. A gift to my daughter. Sold for $19.95

Happy Thanksgiving.I am so thankful for my family, our health, a beautiful home to live in, and all of you! I love the ebay blogging community!!!

Goodwill Boycott. WHO IS WITH ME!?

Thats it. I am fed up. Their overpriced items are one thing, but I am so tired of them destroying all these great finds with sharpie markers! So what do you know... I wrote them a little letter today:

To Whom it may concern;
I am a long time thrifter and antique enthusiast. I frequent many thrift stores throughout California, and whenever I am traveling. I live in (my city) California and frequent the (my city) Goodwill store occasionally. This particular store has a horrible system for marking prices. They use sharpie markers on everything. Clothes, toys, kitchen wear. You name it, they mark it. The problem with this is that it virtually destroys whatever it is they mark. I will pick up any article of clothing and can easily find a big 5 marked right on the inside of a shirt, and it clearly bleeds through the shirt and can be seen by anyone who wears it. Yesterday I visited this (my city) Goodwill and purchased a brand new teddy bear that was in great condition. Upon returning home I looked over the bear only to realize the foot of the bear has a large “2” marked on it foot with sharpie marker. I cannot get the marker off of it, and the bear is destroyed. I have skipped buying multiple items because they are destroyed with the price marked on them. Purses will be marked with a price written directly on the purse, a pair of sunglasses with sharpie marked on one of the sides, a set of books duck taped together with the price written on the book. There are so many examples of how this careless way of pricing items has destroyed the items and eliminated any chance of them being bought.

I frequently donate to Goodwill and will no longer do so until I know that my items being donated will not be destroyed.

Something needs to be done about this. Because of my voice in the trifting blogging community, and the many contacts I have across the US, (YES I AM TALKING ABOUT ALL OF YOU)I know that not all Goodwills mark their items this way. Please do something about the way this Goodwill destroys perfectly good items.

Sincerely

Ashley (my last name)

So I am no longer donating or shopping at Goodwill until something changes. Plus, Salvation Army would make better use of my items since their proceeds help many men and woman across the country.
If you have a problem with your local Goodwill go here and let them know.

Oh and PS here is the ruined bear. It has a "O" for the worker who price marked it and a "2" for the price. If I had seen that before I bought it I wouldnt have gotten the bear obviously, and I wouldnt have paid $2 for the dumb bear.

Take THAT Goodwill.
 

BOLO Dala Horses

I have catching up to do! Especially with all my favorite eBay bloggers! We have had such a busy month in October, and I was sick for almost the WHOLE month.

Soo a few weeks ago I decided to hit up a favorite thrift store with my mom. She loves thrifting as much as I do. Occasionally my mom will bring me home things to sell on eBay, and usually they are worth nothing. I appreciate her effort, but have had to roll my eyes occasionally because they are usually silly things.
On this particular day, my mom found a beautiful small wooden turquoise horse sitting on a shelf. She told me she thought it was worth something. I kind of brushed off the horse, and she told me again that I needed to look it up to see if it was worth anything. I reluctantly pulled out my phone to search for this horse. It did have a marked "NILS OLSSON." I pulled it up, and what do you know... they were selling anywhere from $20-$80.
So I bought my little horse for $1 and went home to list it.

Well... I listed it at $34.99 FS and it sold within 20 minutes.

I was happy but realized I priced it too low. Later after the buyer received the horse, she told me that this was a very RARE color. Sure enough, I looked on eBay, and there were not any other turquoise ones. Dang it. I knew there wasn't any other turquoise ones on eBay, but I didn't really think to list it higher because of that. Apparently, I was too excited about my find.

So these horses are called "Dala Horses". They are Swedish... and Nils Olsson isn't the only one who makes them.
Check out the completeds here.

Moral of the story: Don't rush to list a listing you are excited about, and always listen to your mom.

End of Sept. Sales

I am a little late posting my sales. I have been sick. You moms out there know, there is NO time to be sick. Blah.

 So there was a ton of talk on the East coast about a new line at Target (That's right. TARGET) by a designer by the name of Phillip Lim. I read that tons of people would be lining up everywhere for this designers stuff..(Namely handbags) as they would be limited to every store. Only certain Targets were planning on carrying the line. What do you know... my little towns Target would be carrying the line. Since my town isn't too up on "fashion" I didn't think people would be running out the door with these bags...and I was right. I picked up one of these bags (That were sold out in many other towns) for 54.99 and listed it at auction. It sold in a 24 hour auction for $92 plus shipping. Not too bad.

 UGGs are the craziest thing to sell on eBay. No matter how raunchy they look, if they are priced cheap I pick them up. These were pretty dirty. I picked them up at a Yard sale for $5 and they sold within 24 hours for.......49.95- Free Shipping

 Holy Bible. Paid $1 Sold for $12
This bible was once listed for $84.99 with over 15 watchers. It sat and sat. I even talked about it on eBay Radio if you saw my post about it awhile back. I caved when I got a best offer on this selling dud.

 FFA Tie. Paid 50 Cents. Sold for $15 Free Shipping

Fabric Baby Book. Paid 50 Cents sold for 6.95 Free Shipping. (Another long time selling dud)

Not Pictured:
2 Separate packs of HP Ink. Paid $1 Sold for 24.95 Free Shipping

IPhone 5c. I had an upgrade. Got the 5c. Decided my Iphone my 4s was fine.... and SOLD THE 5c! I know I am crazy! But I am a true eBayer. If I see a flipping opportunity.... I just HAVE TO DO IT!
Paid $135 for a 5c 16gb Iphone.
Sold for $575 free shipping.


Shout out to Lorraine at We are Clamco for suggesting to make a listing end with a ".95" price. So instead of 12.99, change it to 12.95. Ok I experimented with this idea and it WORKS! Crazy...Right?

Remember that "haunted listing"?

Well the listing ended. No watchers. No Buyers.... and do you see how many page views? 781!!!??Thats the weirdest thing to happen to anything I have ever listed. Its not even a hot item, or something electronic.

Creepy.....

A Week of Sales

Best offers seem to be the "thing" right now for me. I have added best offer to a few things this past week and most of the items have sold.

My sales for the past week are as follows:

 It sold!!! Ok. So all week I have been holding out for someone to snatch it up for the listing price. I was getting lots of offers and emails about the mug. Nothing that suited my fancy however. Friday a buyer who had already made 2 other offers, offered me his highest at 150$. At first I thought...no way... and I also remembered Veronica's post here about holding out and waiting for the right buyer. My husband told me that was still an excellent sale and to just go for it. (He likes me to get the inventory OUT of the house). So for the sake of wanting to get stuff sold (and pay eBay fees), I countered $165 and it was a deal!
Paid: 50 cents. Sold $165 free shipping. Yay!

 Barbie lot of clothes. I paid $1 for it all.. I realized after I bought it, I prob wouldn't get much for it. I priced it at $9.99 with free shipping... just to get rid of it. It sold within a few hours... Maybe I priced it too low.

 Texas Instruments Touch and Tell. This was my husbands when he was little. (So much for me being sentimental when it comes to eBay! ;) ) I accepted a best offer of $25 with free shipping.

OK friends. Its time to get those UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS listed! Like now. Check out the completeds. They are selling like hot cakes. I paid $1 for this, and accepted a best offer of $16.99 FS on it. (I didn't mean to put best offer on this one, but decided to sell it to the nice lady at that price anyway).

Another Starbucks Gem

On my previous post I talked about that wonderful little find I had with a Starbucks mug. When I was figuring out what to list it for, I decided to see which Starbucks mugs really sell well, and decided to browse through the completeds. I got a good idea of what to look for.
On Monday hubby stayed home with our son, and my daughter and I ran some errands. (Whats errands without a thrift store stop?) So I stopped at Goodwill (Have I mentioned how much I dislike despise Hate Goodwill?).

I spotted this baby right away:

I think If I hadn't recently looked through the Starbucks Completeds, I would have walked right past it. Its a Global City mug from the City Icon Collection.... Starbucks highlighted major cities with special mugs back in 2009. Some cities are worth $20-$30 while a few range in the $200-$900 range. CRAZY right?
So I grabbed it. I crossed my fingers as I looked up the value on eBay, and what do you know... one sold recently for $250!!!! Yay! The Sacramento one is worth more than most.
I was so excited. Goodhellwill of course had to mark the bottom with a Sharpe. It had a nice large $5 written on the bottom. The lady at the checkout gave it to me for 50 cents.

I was able to get the Sharpe mark off with some nail polish remover, and some baking soda. I listed it right away. $230 BIN with best offer. Crossing my fingers. I already have a few watchers.

(**Side note to my fellow readers. See that pink glare on the mug in the picture? Its not a good idea to wear a neon pink shirt when taking photos of reflective objects.)

Here are some other Starbucks City Mugs to look out for:

-South Islands (New Zealand)

-Lisbon

-Seattle

-Jacksonville

-Fort Worth

-Cleveland

-Tampa

-Merida Mexico

-Tampa

 

 

Good luck!



Sunday Jackpot

After I posted my last blog post about my 4 sales for the whole week, I put away my laptop and got myself and my children ready for church. While sitting in Church, I heard my phone buzz in my purse. I ignored it. It buzzed again 10 minutes later. I ignored it again... and it buzzed again 20 minutes later.
Usually my phone going off 3 times in a row could only mean one thing. My mother. She occasionally likes to text me throughout the day, and if I don't respond back she automatically assumes I am dead in a ditch. I pulled out my phone ready to respond to my mother that I am in church and to politely "chill out." But instead saw 3 little eBay notifications. 3 Sales. WHAT? 3? In one hour? It was amazing to say the least... I haven't had that many sales at once since last winter....

So here's what sold:

 Starbucks Park Series Collectors Mug. Paid 1$. This sold within 12 hours of being listed. There was only one listed when I checked my phone at the thrift store when I bought it. It was listed for $399 so I was freaking out. When I got home I saw there were some others around the $50 range. So I listed it for 75$ with best offer. I received an offer Sunday morning of $45, I countered with $55 expecting them not to go for it. They did. And that was that. Not a bad profit! My best in awhile.

 Little Einsteins Pat Pat Rocket. BROKEN! If you look at this thing, the plastic top part of this is missing. I sold it for $25.99 Free Shipping (to a city right next to me). I paid $1.79 for it.

If you saw my "About Me" post awhile back.. I confessed to my undying love for J.Crew. I could spend hours there. I fell in love with their red "Beaded Statement Necklace" a few months ago. (Its similar to the blue one above). I decided I wanted to possibly skip doing eBay and open an online jewelry boutique. So I bought a ton of these colored beaded rose necklaces, just like the J.Crew ones (ahem...knockoffs)...from a manufacturer overseas...(FOR CHEAP!)... and started a little business and begin selling them. Well, after a month and 100+ sales later... I realized that the jewelry business is hard competition... and not really my thing. I live for the thrifting thrill that eBay gives me. So I still have a few of these necklaces left that sell here and there on eBay. This one sold for 15.99 plus shipping. (Paid $5).

 

And those were my magical sales, from my Sunday magical selling hour. Miracles happen people.

 

Sales

Sales for this past week:

 

Paid $1.80 Sold for $17.00 on Sale minus shipping. I was totally fine with this small profit. The laptop had some wear from being played with.

 Boys Levis "Husky" size. Paid $2.00 Sold for $10.00 Minus Shipping. I bought these thinking they were mens. Once I realized they were boys, I priced them low to get a quick sale and my money back. :/

 Hummel Figurine. Given to me by my MIL. Sold for $40 Minus shipping

Victoria's Secret Green Dog. Paid $.80 Sold for $10 Minus Shipping.

 

 

 

Nothing spectacular. Just a few random boring sales, with no major profit :/

My husband and I went to a few estate sales yesterday....only to find that they were not estate sales...(just yard sales). Bummer!

 

Happy Labor Day weekend.

Haunted Listing?

This guy has been sitting around forever. He is a Boyds Bear Teddy. My mother in law gave me a whole box of them. Unfortunately none of the bears have their original tags... and unfortunately I think my husband donated the whole box to Goodwill when we moved. So this guy is the only one left. I have listed him about 5 times in the last year. I usually get about 20 views in a 30 day period. And maybe 1 watcher. Last month I decided to list him again. He sat. Hardly any views, and no activity. About a week ago I relisted him again. I did not change anything in my listing:

118 Views? What is going on!? He has never even made it past 20 views!
Maybe the post really is haunted... or maybe he has a secret admirer. In any case, I just hope he sells so I can get him the heck out of here!



Some random sales

So I know, I am a terrible blogger. Summer is just so busy as a mom!
Our family just spent a week in northern Cali camping, and a few beach trips. We also had cousins in town, and in a few weeks are doing a few days of Disneyland. Ebay has taken the backseat again. I have a store with 27 listings in it....<face palm>. But I need to kick it back in gear for two reasons.
1. I need a new J.Crew winter Wardrobe,
and 2. There are a few dance classes I want to put our almost 3 year old in, and I vow to pay for them with eBay funds.
So, catching up, here are my past few sales:

 Care Bear Lot. That's right! It sold. Paid 10$ For 30 bears, sold this lot of 12 for $30 Free shipping.

 

 Merona flats. Bought these two years ago on clearance for $3, they didn't fit. Sold for $12 Free shipping

Carters Onesie Set. NWT. A gift my daughter never wore. Sold for 16.99 Free Shipping.

 

And that's seriously it. Yikes. But seriously eBay has been slow. Things that normally sell quickly are not moving.

On a good note, I am so happy with the Fall Seller Update!! Did you hear if you happen to fall behind on TRS standards, you have two months to fix it.
The ebay heavens have heard my prayers!!!

Care Bear Fail

A few weeks ago I went Yard Saling by myself. (Which rarely happens...) Usually my husband, mom, or brother goes with me. (I like to have someone there with me to fight off the crowds!). I was having some not so good luck and was heading home... when I decided to hit up one last sale on my way back home. There was a ton of stuff, but what most stuck out to me was a large collection of Care Bears. Out of curiosity I asked the woman how much for all the Care Bears.. She asked her daughter who looked to be about 13 or 14 because they were hers... as the daughter was thinking of the price, I did the math in my head and figured $20 would be the highest I would pay. I figured I could get $80 for the lot, maybe more if I put them at auction. The girl thought about it and told me $10. SOLD! I tried to hide my excitement as I packed up my garbage bag of 35+ Care Bears. I have sold Care Bears a few times, and they ALWAYS sell. After I got in the car I texted my hubby that I just found an AWESOME deal. His reply "I hope its not something that you realize CANT sell and its sits in our garage."
UGH. He was RIGHT!
When I got home and pulled out all the bears to organize them for pictures, I realized all of their tags had been cut off. WHAT? Who does that!? (A child does.. duh.) Why didn't I check for that? After further inspection, I realized all of their hair was cut off too....bummer.
My 2 year old had a grand old time with them. And with some cousins in town recently... Care Bears where everywhere in the house. Hubby hates it but likes to give me the "I told you so" grin! Ha! Well I am breaking up the lot and trying to at least get my money back. I casually let people know in my listing that they may be missing some tags... and hair. Yikes!
Moral of the story... Inspect your purchases BEFORE purchasing.

Store OPEN!

Ok. I took the plunge. I opened a store.
Now for all my eBay experienced readers... What store level did you subscribe to? I am at a standard for now...
If you have 300+ listings is it usually not big deal to pay your fees? I dont know... 59.95 seems like alot to add to my already big ammount of fees every month.

M.I.A

I have been MIA from my blog for 5 WEEKS!? So dissapointing sad. I didn't realize how long it has been. We have had so much going on here... Last time I wrote an entry I was planning on going yard saling that next morning... and it never happened. Our daughter woke up hysterical that night, and screaming that her stomach hurt. We rushed her down to the ER thinking it was appendicitis... Hours later, and lots of $$ and a few tests later, they sent her home sure that she had strep throat and a cold. That whole week I took care of my sick daughter, son and husband! Everyone got sick (except me!)... Following that we had some family in town for an adoption, some vacationing, and then our dog swallowed a ball. I'm not kidding people... our dumb dog, who we love... swallowed a ball. It was a NIGHTMARE.
He was sick for a few days, before we realized what was going on...The vet we took him to estimated $5,000 to remove the ball, meds, overnight stays, etc. There was no way we were willing to fork out that kind of money. The only other option was to put him down... As my hubby was taking our 2 year old to go say bye to the dog (While she is tearfully asking for a new puppy)... My moms wonderful vet called me and told me he would do the whole thing for $500! DONE DEAL!

And thats the ball that was in his stomach. How ironic... the pirate ball with the "death" symbol. Ugh.

I have spent the last few weeks literally taking care of the dog like he is a new born. He got his staples out today so I feel like a new woman again, with FREEDOM!

Anyways.. that's where I have been. I have many fellow eBay bloggers to catch up on. I have missed reading all the blogs!!

 

During my absence from the internet, I did make a few sales. And I did REGAIN my Top Seller Status... Here is just a few favorites:

 

 Singer Centennial Version. Similar to a 221 Model. This was my grandmothers that my mom was going to give to Goodwill. Sold for $225 + Shipping. It sold within a hour of posting it... I priced it too low.

 Best offer of $18 + Shipping. Paid $7

 Sold $22 Free Shipping Paid $1

 Sold $11.99 to Canada. +Shipping.   Paid .89

 Sold Best Offer $21 + Shipping.   Paid $1

 

 

One of my favorite thrifty friends was in town last week, and we were able to spend a morning thrifting with our kids in tow. I found a few good things, but this one in particular was my favorite:

This is a CorningWare Blue Cornflower 10 Cup Electric Coffee pot. Love it right? Well unfortunately these were recalled in the late 1970s. See that metal spout? When they get hot, a few were known to fall apart. So in 1976 and 1979 they were recalled. eBay does NOT allow you to sell them. They are forbidden, since being recalled. BUT, the inside parts are HOT selling on eBay.

Check out the completeds here.

So I cleaned up the parts and listed them. No bites yet, but we shall see. I have seen the actual pots still selling on eBay as "Water Pitchers." I mean I guess they could still be a water pitcher... I have been going back and forth wondering if I should sell my pot as an actual water pitcher... But my conscience is telling me don't do it! Has anyone every found one of these? I am really hoping to stumble on Blue Cornflower baking dishes one day.

 

Happy Selling!

Mac VS PC (and some other stuff)

Ahhh. My computer is slowing leaving me. I knew the time was coming, but I didn't know how soon. I have a pink little Dell XPS that I have had since 2009, and its def running on its last leg.
This week, there has been a few times that I thought it was for SURE a goner. Like, it wouldn't turn on a few times.... <<cue the depressing music>>.

So we have been looking at computers. I am a TOTAL PC girl. I have only owned PCs my whole life...Although I have owned Iphone, Ipods, and Ipads. I am kind of leaning towards a Mac book...(even though they are more expensive than a PC/Laptop....gulp)

So whats better... PCs... or Macs?

In other news

I lost my Top Rated Seller Status.... :(
Remember that buyer that revised his feedback last week? Well since he revised it on the 21st of May, after eBay's 20th of the month TRS check, (where they make sure your meeting all requirements) I lost it. I actually think its kind of lame. The feedback was revised.. My Fb is over 98%... but because it fell under 98% with that buyer for that SHORT time...They took it away.
What a BUMMER!
But, I am back up to meeting the requirements...(once the buyer revised his FB), so I get it back June 20th. Ughhhh


---Ive been trying to list everyday...(If my computer turns on)... And working on getting my listings to 100.. I have been majorly SLACKING. We went to Disneyland 2 weeks ago, and I had so major commitments in my church that have taken up some time... But this past week I have been listing daily..Not that many things though. Here's my sales the past week:

 Paid 89 cents... Sold 5.50 - shipping

 Same as above

Mud pie shortall. Paid $0 (gift) Sold $18.00 - Shipping

 

Printer- Paid 1-2$ Sold $38 - Shipping

 

 

And that's it! Nothing fantastic. I need to pump up those listings.

I'm so excited to go yard saling tomorrow with my brother. Hubby is taking the kids, and my Brother and I are going nuts. Ill be posting my finds tomorrow, along with my thrift finds later tomorrow night!

 

Happy Selling!

Some Thrift Store Tricks and Tips

As I was browsing a local thrift store last week, I realized I have a system down. Most of you reading my blog are probably PRO at thrift store shopping so this might be a waste of a read. Here are a couple of things I have learned about thrifting:

1. Know your stores markdown schedule. My fav thrift shop has All clothes 50% off on W,F, Kids clothes 75% off on Thursdays, and the whole store 50% every other Saturday. Not too shabby! :)

2. Go early. Most thrift stores stock the night before or early morning. Most stock EVERYDAY. They are constantly getting stuff in... don't expect to find some GREAT finds later in the day. The stuff that is worth something will already be gone.

3. When browsing clothes look on the end of the racks on all racks first. Have you ever watched workers set clothes out? When they pull out clothes to put on racks it goes right on the end. Everything that doesn't get sold gets pushed to the middle. Most thrift thrift stores pull out everything in the middle to get rid of every other week. What hasn't sold GOES.
When I get to the clothes I browse the ends of all racks. I seriously find the best stuff quickly this way.

4. If you see something you are having a hunch about, don't expect it to be there the next day.

5. Positive thoughts! If you are in a hurry, stressed, or have cranky kids... you will not be able to find anything or take the time to really look. I try to give myself enough time to go so I don't feel rushed, and I bring my kids treats to keep them busy.

6. Have a system. I go.... CLOTHES-SHOES-HOUSEHOLD AND MISC/TOYS-FURNITURE-BOOKS-CHECKOUT.


Last week when I went I saw so many beautiful pairs of cowboy boots! They were marked so high! 40-50$. I have never sold cowboy boots, but I am very interested after seeing some of the completeds. Anyone have experience with these?

Update on my last post:
My buyer revised his feedback. He denied a refund and then revised it. Awesome.
eBay needs a policy that makes a buyer contact the seller before leaving anything below positive feedback. Its only fair. So for now.. I am back to 98.8%! If only I could get rid of one ding on my account left. I spoke to ebay about it a few weeks ago and the account that left it is under review. If they are suspended from eBay the neg FB is automatically removed from my account. Fingers crossed! Buyers scamming sellers shouldn't be allowed on eBay period.

The good, bad, ugly, and great.

The Good:
So update to my last few posts, the angry buyer immediately left me positive feedback after I offered a full refund. They denied the refund and gave me positive Fb! Woohoo! I was SOOO relieved.
The Great:
Remember that negative feedback I wrote to you guys about? Ebay REMOVED IT! I love eBay again!!
So I guess if your listing has the "fast and free" logo on it, a buyer cannot complain about shipping or leave negative feedback because of it! Awesome! Funny thing is.. after going back and forth with the buyer for days, he told me not to contact him again or he would report me... (I was not harassing him, just responding to his messages to me)... Ebay removed the feedback and the next day he sent me a message saying..."Ok i will change my feedback cause I have a heart."
haha. OK dummy buddy.
The Ugly:
I got dinged with another negative feedback within 24 hours of getting that last one removed. Seriously! Their complaint was they don't like the printer. They didn't contact me, and they are not responding to my messages. EBay wants me to call them... on the phone!! Has anyone ever done this? I am nervous.
The Bad:
I think those printers are bad luck. I am so over selling them, and I am wanting to go back to what I love! Thrifty finds and flips! I am thinking about trashing the rest of them.
I have to get my feedback score back to 98% in order to maintain my top rated status. I am at a 97.6% right now. I have so many buyers that never leave feedback. Do you guys ever send messages asking for feedback? I have gotten some before from sellers... I was wondering if its a common practice.

So on that note... here are some finds from last week that I am listing right now:

 Levi 550's. Like New Paid $7 (gulp..I know, that's not like me) I will most likely get around $30 from these. Nothing spectacular

 Cassette Tapes! Paid $1, Listing for $30

 Printer Ink, Paid 80 cents... will get barely anything. Should have checked completeds.

 Same as above.

 Latch hook Set Paid $1.80. Completeds have one that sold for $35

Royal China by Jeanette Cheesecake platter. Paid $1, and will prob only list for $15. 

Hoping for a better week this guys! Got to get that feedback up!! 

Happy Selling!