A Warning For Sellers

Last night around Midnight, I sold this cute Paddington bear. Paid, .75 Cents for it, sold it for $20. Not bad. When I went to ship it this morning I noticed a strange address. It was going to a company called ACI Express Inc. in California. The address also had a weird reference code after the letters KGL. I thought it was weird but decided to ship it. After I packaged it all up, I decided to Google the address just in case.
I only googled "ACI EXPRESS" and tons and tons of forums popped up with sellers saying "DO NOT SHIP TO THESE PEOPLE...." etc.

ugh.

Apparently they are a forwarding company. They buy from US sellers and then ship overseas. They buy thousands and thousands of things a day. The problem is... things do not get to their destination safely. The international destination. So they try to hold US, the sellers, responsible. They call Paypal to get a charge back. There is SOOO much stuff about this company online. They have TONS of buyer IDs. And this has been going on for years.

The most common thing I have read they are doing is either 1. Saying the package never got to CA (really their international destination), and opening a claim with Paypal...NOT EBAY. Or 2. Saying the item is broken. Because they are buying thousands of things everyday... and shipping it overseas... sellers are learning about this company.. and many are posting about their experiences on the web.

Luckily my item is a stuffed animal... so it will not break... but there is a good chance it can mysteriously disappear.

So. If you sell anything with the name ACI or KGL in the ID or Paypal name... use caution. I strongly suggest you have them sign for the package.

I posted about this in the FB group... and a few sellers remembered the name and had some weird encounters/emails with them already. Chances are some of my readers have to.

Interesting Christmas in July find

 Today there was a huge Christmas In July sale at our main Salvation Army in town. I decided to pack up my kids, grab my mother (for morale support of course), and make the 20 minute drive to the sale. It was such an AWESOME sale. They had pallets and pallets of Christmas stuff that they were pulling out, and selling for dirt cheap. The manager told me that they had accumulated so much in the last 7 months, they had to have a July Sale or they would run out of room. She could tell I was in the market to fill up a cart, so she said she would make a deal with me if I bought alot. The only problem was that it was outside, super hot, and my kids were so cranky. So I had to find stuff quick.... even though I wanted to stay forever because they just kept pulling out more and more stuff. I ended up filling up an entire cart for $15 which included a huge box of Christmas China. Yay!
So this was by far my most interesting find:

I was in a hurry, and quickly posted the above picture in the eBay FB group to see if anyone knew anything about it. I couldn't find it on eBay. A few ladies jumped on it and did some research for me and came back with nothing.. but encouraged me to buy it if it was cheap- since it was unique.

Well it is unique. It has a rolling screen that displays "Happy Holiday." And some cute twinkle lights. All battery operated. 

Interesting right? So I found the company's web page, and emailed them asking for info. The company is an aquatics company that makes swimming gear. Weird. 

Anyone see anything like this? 

I paid $3 for it.. worth just the amusement of such a weird item. Trying to decide what to price it at on eBay... I cant remember what those rolling screens are called either!!

Blog probs

I am SOOO annoyed with blogger. I have written two posts within the last week and they keep getting deleted. Theres something going on with the draft portion of the publishing area. I am seriously so frustrated with my blog. I spent probably an hour on the first post that was lost, and almost 45 mins on the second one. So frustrating.
Ok. Rant done.


So I had a bunch of things I wanted to blog about.. But Ill stick to just one since this post will probably disappear too...

I have had some great sales recently... but two in particular that have been stellar.

My brother got ahold of some busted Zebra thermal printers.. He was thinking he might fix them up and resell them. After realizing they were too much work, I gladly took them off his hands (he was going to throw them out).

He had two of them, and I sold each one for $255 free shipping, FOR PARTS!
Isnt that amazing?
Rule of thumb, always check completeds with busted electronics. You never know what people are looking for..especially when it comes to parts.

The Ol' Switch-a-Roo

So this will be kind of a boring post (no pictures), but I have some good info you might want to consider.

I have been doing alot of online chatting, and joining in various eBay groups... and there seems to be a common scam going on in the eBay world with buyers....

Buyers are buying items, opening up INAD cases (INAD= Item not as described), and sending back their "similar" item that is broken.

For example... One seller said that she sold a new without tags Vera Bradley purse on eBay. The buyer contacted her saying it had flaws. She was confused because the purse had never been used. She thought maybe she overlooked something so she accepted the return. When she received the return, it was the same style purse she sold.. but definitely not the same one. The inside was clearly worn, and covered in cat hair. The buyer was clearly trying to get a newer version of their purse.

There were lots of other stories of this happening! Its crazy.

***Update: Lorraine @ CLAMCO just informed me this situation just happened to Kimberly at Garage Sale Heaven. You can read the post HERE. Totally missed this post by Kimberly. Sorry this happend to you too Kimberly!!! 

There was alot of talk of how sellers are now secretly marking their items with black light pens so that in case of a return, they can verify that it really is the item they sold. Some sellers are even tying color coded zip ties with their own markings on it, and stating in the return policy that the item has to have the original zip tie on it in order to receive a refund.

I found this all interesting. And I have been thinking of ways to protect myself as a seller in case this happened to me.

Anyone hear of this happening, or have any experiences?

Sales & more Mug shipping talk

I am still trying to slowly (but surely) ramp up my listings.
Its so hard when you have, zero, zip, energy. Pregnancy kicks my rear end.
I have sold a few things recently... Mostly items that have been sitting for awhile.. with lowered prices in hopes of getting them moving. (I guess that's a good thing).

 Starbucks Pumpkin Bearista Paid: 50 Cents Sold: 11.95 Fs

 Doberman Mug Paid: 25 cents Sold: $14.95

 Boyds Plush Bear. Sammy the Slugger Paid: Free (My mother in laws) Sold: 10.95 fs

 Gamehide hunting jacket. Paid: Free (from a local auction my brother won) Sold: Best offer $45.00 fs

 Sugarloaf Chiki Tiki. Paid: 80 cents Sold: 14.95 fs

 Another Robert Graham Shirt. Severely stained around the inside collar. Paid: Free Sold for: 26.95 fs within hours of listing.

BCBG Maxazaria Red Dress. Paid: $3.25. Bought it for myself, wore it a few times and then got tired of it. Sold for $29.95 within hours of listing. (THE BEST KIND OF FLIPS). 

-------

So on the eBay facebook group I am in, I recently was reading a thread about shipping mugs. A lady had posted a question about how to ship a mug... I was about to chime in with a "Jelly roll method, all the way" comment.. but then I read a few comments saying how people didnt trust that method. The group owner, who is a big blogger herself, (Suzzane Wells- eBay selling coach)... mentioned how unprofessional the "Jelly Roll Method" (Or also known as FOMO method) is. Hmm.. I was actually completely disappointed. I love the jelly roll method. AND- I have gotten feedback and emails from customers saying how my mug packaging is GENIUS! 

What do you think? 

Dollar Store Sourcing

A few months ago, I read a few articles online about finding products to sell at the dollar store. I thought it was an interesting concept... but was skeptical.
I decided to go to a local 99 cent store (instead of the actual Dollar Tree) to find some items to sell. Our local 99 cent store tends to have more of overstock items rather than Dollar Tree brands...so I thought I might have some better luck this way.
I had a goal to only spend $10-$15 on items to "test".
I bought about 10 items, and here is what has sold so far:

 Queen Anne Chocolate Covered Blueberries. I put a note in my listing that they would melt in delivery most likely, and I was not to be held responsible. They actually just sold last week for $18.95. Shipping was 8.00 and they cost me about $3 for all three. After fees I made about $6.00

 Beverly Hills Polo Club "Crazy Bright" Socks. I knew these might possibly do well since bright socks for men are in style right now. Large lots of these actually sell well. I opted for two pairs, and listed them for 12.95. Shipping was about $2.00, and I paid $2.00 for them. About a $7.00 profit after fees. 

 Cashmere Bouquet bar soap. I'm not lying, my eBay cabinet smelt like my grandmas house with these babies in there. It was a pleasant smell, and actually all the clothes I had listed started kind of smelling like this soap... I am not sure if that was good or bad. 

Paid $1.00 for a 2-pack. Sold for $6.95. Shipped for $3.00. About a $2.00 profit (Boo!)

 Another box of Queen Anne. I wish I bought more of this kind. This one box sold for $19.95. Paid $1.00, shipped for $5.95. Overall profit about $12.00

Father of the Bride DVD. A quick sale, especially because for new DVDs eBay lets you use their stock photos. Paid $1.00, sold for $5.95 minus the $1.99 Shipping. About $2.50 profit. 

OVERALL:

Invested money: $8.00

Profit: $29.50

I definelty made some money back, but was it worth it? Probably not. For as many thing as you have to list to get about $30 back... I feel like I could do that with 1-2 of my regular items I list. 

However, because this was just a trial run, my items were kind of all over the place. If I had focused on one item, like the French Vanilla Cherries for example, I could have made a large profit. If I had bought ten boxes of those that could have been a $10 investment, to make a $100+. 

So can it be done at the Dollar Store? Yes. But carefully. You have to know what it going to get you a decent profit so your not wasting you time with things that make you $1-3 dollars in return. Its not worth your time for such a small return. 

 Have any of you ever tried sourcing at your local Dollar stores? Please share!

I LIVE!

I have been gone for so long... I was plagued with the dreaded morning sickness. The worst out of my 3 total pregnancies. I didn't list, ship, or do anything. I didn't even come here to catch up on blogs. It seriously took everything in me to survive the last 6 weeks, and to (barely) keep my kids alive. (Shout out to Netflix for babysitting my kids for 6 weeks).

I am finally feeling almost back to normal.. and I am missing eBay. I have to say though, eBay totally saved my life the last few weeks... The last time I listed anything I had about 100 items in my store. Then I fell ill. MS caused me to puke when I smelt food, opened the fridge, thought about food, or even looked at it. I could not cook for my fam at all. Luckily I had a steady stream of sales while I was sick (about 45).. and these allowed me to, order pizza almost every night and whatever else I could get delivered to my house to that I could feed the family. It was so nice to have that extra $$ to take care of food. I am also so luckily that I had a cool brother to come and ship all my stuff for me. He saved my life.

So here are just a few of the things that sold while I was on my supposed death bed:

 Tupperware Yellow Pitcher Paid .50 Sold $14.95 FS (paid about 5 bucks for shipping)

Carters Monkey Lovey Paid: Gift Sold: $11.95 FS

 Bunkhouse Western Coat Paid: Free Sold: $35.95 FS

 Fog Machine New Paid: $1 Sold: 39.95 to Australia

 Gymboree New Skirt Paid .10 Sold $8.95 fs

 Remember these? Sold Best offer $30. fs (Paid $2). The guy who bought them lived in my city and wanted me to hand deliver them. Um.. no thanks. 

Robert Graham STAINED shirt. Given to me by my father in law. It had pretty bad neck stains. Sold within 1 minute for $26.95. I even emailed the buyer and made sure he saw the listing that it was stained. He replied, "Yes I read that. Still a great deal. Thanks!"

BOLO Robert Graham. 

Glad to be back. Hope all is well with my eBay bloggers and readers! And thank you for all the well wishes on my last post!! 

Latest

Lots of things going on for me right now:

First of all... my sales have picked up since my post. I have been getting at least one sale a day which makes me feel better. On a eBay facebook group I'm in I have been reading about this weird conspiracy for store owners... The talk is.. if the door of your store changes to Blue your sales stop, and if its red you get lots of sales. Anyone heard about this? I haven't even noticed this because I have never seen the door color change... I don't even know what door they are referring to. I think there are alot of weird eBay conspiracies...
----
This last week I spent 4 days in Utah visiting some family. Of course while I was there I met up with my eBay friend Mandy.. and she took me to the DI (aka Desseret Industries). If you haven't heard of it.. its a very large thrift chain put on by the LDS Church, in a few states. This store was HUGE. I wish I took pictures for my blog. The workers wheel out carts every few minutes and there are people standing around like vultures that attack the carts as soon as they stop rolling. It was absolutely INSANE. I got in a conversation with one guy standing around waiting for carts and he mentioned he was a reseller, and that most of the people there were resellers. I picked up a few things.. but unfortunately I wasn't willing to attack carts of merchandise while my children watch me... terrifying.
----
Some fav sales of the week:

 Wow Wow Wubbzy Laptop. Paid $1 Sold $21.95 to Australia

 Ralph Lauren Button Up Paid $1 Sold $19.95 FS

 J.Crew Tunic Paid $1.50 Sold $25.95 FS

 This is a funny glass. Its a super tall shot glass with funny pirate sayings on the back. I almost didn't buy this... and it sold so quickly. Paid $1 Sold $18.95 FS

Ok and here is my weird find of the week:

Illuminati Playing Cards... I had heard about Illuminati conspiracies with celebs. Have you heard about how Beyonce and Jay -Z are part of the Illuminati? I had no idea what it really meant until doing some research. Well... its Satan worshiping I guess. Being the religious person I am... listing these made me a little nervous... but I listed them for $50 so that made me a little less nervous.. haha. 

Looking over the cards they look like Tarot cards.. Definitely a BOLO. 

----

And Finally I found out some exciting news recently. We are expecting our third baby!! We decided to keep it a secret awhile... but since I dont know my readers personally and I am dying to tell someone.... here we are! I am kind of in shock still.... and when my first thought when I found out was.... "How in the heck am I going to thrift with 3 in tow?"

Oh the life of a reseller. 

Ramblings

Its been one of those months. Last week on April 1st, my hubby had a minor outpatient sinus surgery that required my care for the past week. Knowing that I would be busy taking care of him and our two kids, I ramped up my listings to 91 BIN listings. (This is big for me). I listed and listed the whole last week of March, and even went through old inventory and cleaned up my eBay/Shipping center in my garage. The day of his surgery I was so bummed I hadn't had any sales in 7 days. I always have ongoing sales... even if my listed items is around 40.
Finally, while I was waiting for the procedure to be done... I sold something.

The last Saturday in March I did a little yardsaling. At one stop I found a bag full of hand held electronic poker games. I knew they could be worth a little bit, so I asked the lady how much for the bag. She said, "$5" and I asked how much for just one. She sighed and told me to just take the whole bag for $1. (score!!). When I got home I found this little snoopy game in it, and I eagerly looked it up knowing it was nintendo and could be worth something. The completeds went from anywhere from $50-$110. Its a Nintendo "GAME & WATCH" hand held game. There are a few different kinds. Snoopy being one of them. I sold it the following day I listed it for $69.99 Free Shipping. Not a bad FLIP! Especially after a week of NOTHING.

Since that sale, I have sold three more things.
My sales are so bleak its depressing. I even called eBay. I am not getting views on my items, or even watchers. Seriously its so weird. The eBay rep told me maybe I "don't have things listed that people want to buy..."  ...................oh geez. Thanks eBay guy. Way to kick me when I am down.

So now I am reevaluating what I am selling. Maybe I should concentrate more on a more specific category of things to sell. Not sure... but I think this might be my eBay mid life crisis.

---On a Update to My LAST post about USPS---

They (my local post office) DID call me and apologize... Three times. I guess since I live in a new development they don't have a permanent postman.. and no on seems to know the route very well. They did say that the carrier shouldn't have scanned in that they picked up my packages. The manager said he would be personally speaking to the carrier that did this. Glad they took charge, and at least made me feel like this was a big deal to them.

On a closing note:

Enjoy this picture of our adorable new family member named Minnie!! (We are on day 3 of her in our home) I am welcoming all crate training / potty training advice... This little cutie is not letting me sleep at night!!

USPS fail... a question for my fellow sellers

Well I had a scheduled pickup today- and USPS did NOT pickup my packages. But don't worry- they sent me an email at 7pm saying "A Successful Package Pickup was Made"... but low and behold, my packages were still on my porch.
This annoys me for many reasons.. but mostly because I don't want to get dinged by this from my buyers. My packages that were being sent out sold over the weekend.... (One on Friday Afternoon, and One on Sunday)....

So my question for my readers is...
Would you message the buyer and tell them? 
Or would you let it go?

I have 1 day handling on all my listings...
So today would be the day technically they would have to be out on... since they all sold over the weekend. So they will be one day late since I have to personally take them to the post office tomorrow.... a day late....


I hate relying on the post office for this stuff. Never again!!!!

BOLO: An Iconic Frosting.

Yes you read right. Frosting. Only the best frosting around that takes me back to my childhood....

Just looking at this picture makes my mouth DROOL!

Betty Crocker unfortunately decided to discontinue the Rainbow Chip Frosting.... (and cake mix I believe), and replace it with "Rainbow Sprinkles".... which "in my opinion" is NOT the same as rainbow chip.
.....PSSST... Betty Crocker... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Luckily for us... its selling like crazy on eBay.

Check out the completeds by clicking HERE.

4 tubs of these babies just sold for $85!!!

Yesterday I went to hunt out some still lurking around in those low end grocery stores that sell items for really cheap that are about to expire. I had NO luck.... and I was so BUMMED.
So- If you have some of these in your pantry, or know of a grocery store that might still be carrying them... Get them listed! OR do what I might have done... eaten them.

Weekly Sales Wrap Up

This last Monday I was in a "eBay Slump". I realized when I woke up Monday that nothing had sold during the weekend. Usually I get the most sales over the weekend. I was getting sad about it. My hubby's birthday was coming up and I wanted to get him these shoes I saw him drooling over with my own hard earned money... Not OUR money that he works so hard for. That might be silly, but as a Stay at Home mom, I sometimes miss working hard for my own consistant paycheck like I used to. There is nothing better then earning money you worked hard for. And sometimes it feels so weird to just spend the money my husband earned on his birthday. Does anyone get what I mean?
Anyways... So on Monday I decided I was going to spend the whole day going through my house and listing anything and everything I could find... Whether it was old inventory I never got around to listing, or stuff we no longer we needed.
Guess what happened? Stuff started selling... AS I WAS LISTING. It was so weird.
I know everyone says it, but I am going to reiterate it. The more you list, the more you sell.
So- that being said.. here are some of my past week sales.

 Disney Winnie the Pooh Waffle Iron (I kind of wish I kept this for myself now!!) Paid $10 Sold $44.95 Fs

 J Crew Jackie Vest. Paid $1.50 Sold $15.95 Fs

 Mini Merrill Lynch Padfolio Paid: Found it in my house Sold: $34.95 fs

 Barney Pillow Pet Paid: Gift Sold: $24.95 Fs

 Clarks Loafers Paid: Free (belonged to my brother). Sold: 24.95 Fs (These could have gone for more but they had a big scuff on them)

 ShoreTel Business Phone Paid: Free (From my father in laws old business). Sold For parts: 24.95. I couldn't test it so I couldn't get a a lot for it. If it was in working condition it would have went from $50-$160

1987 Marcus Rodent M.D. Paid: $1 Sold: 18.95 Fs

I am so glad I finally sold this ugly thing. 

Remember all of those printers I had blogged about here?

Well I tested alot of the ink before I would send them off. I realized I had about 70 empty cartridges laying around still. So I looked them up in the completeds.. and what do you know... empty cartridges DO sell! 

These sold for $199.95 Free Shipping. Awesome sale... and sold within a few hours. 

So I WAS able to get those shoes... AND I was able to throw a nice little party. 

And at the end of the day, this is why I love eBay!

Copy Cat Listing Part 2

If you didn't read about my latest eBay dilemma, you can here.

eBay never removed the listing that was using my picture. And the listing was in my watching list just taunting me. So I took the matter into my own hands.

My message to the seller:

Hi. I am writing you to ask you to please take down the picture for this item that you took from my personal listing. This picture is my own that I took myself. It is against eBay policy to use pictures that are not yours.
Thanks

Seller Response 1:

That is not a problem not sure when I have my own listings my new girl used your picture and made a new listing. Wow! 49.95 and you are worried about a picture. Consider it taken down dear. Sarah

Seller Response 2:

I hate to tell you but your description is false they did not come out in 1994 I know for a fact they were made last year.

Seller Response 3:

271413115260 that is my new auction number so you can see I took it down. Sarah

My response to 1, 2, & 3:

Thank you. And thank you for being so polite about it... (SARCASM)

Seller Response 4:

Just an fyi the copyright was 1966 and the registered trade mark in 1994. We are a Hallmark dealer. That is what the c and the r with the dates stand for not the date it was made. I just didn't think you understood what those dates are for we get them in all the time. Sarah

So all in all the picture was removed. The seller loved to point out all my mistakes since I pointed out hers I guess. I wanted to explain myself to her, but didn't think that was necessary. At the time of listing the mug, there was no other listings and hardly any info, so I decided to list it high with a best offer. And now my pride is in the way, and I refuse to lower to my price because Sarah pointed it out to me :)

The only thing that really bugs me about this whole situation is that eBay took no action. I love eBay, and I understand that the system can be flawed at times, and I do think in the last few months they have made a better effort at being on the sellers side... but in this case it should have been a no brainer. Its an easy rule to follow....


 

Update and BOLO

An Update on my last post:

There is none.

I called eBay AND filed an online report... and nothing so far. Part of me thinks eBay will not do anything. Why make the "big guy" mad when hes raking in the dough for them, just to help out the "little guy." I am hoping I am wrong, and they will still take action... if not.. I have lost alot of faith in the eBay system.
Thanks to all my fellow readers and their comments of support.


Now to the fun stuff.

A few weeks ago my hubby and I had some free time and hit up a thrift store. I had mentioned to him that Hawaiian shirts that are actually made in Hawaii are usually worth at least something, and sometimes ALOT. We browsed through them and he found this one:

And he was right. It was a great find. This is a Paradise Found Hawaiian Shirt. I guess its the same shirt that Tom Selleck wore in Magnum PI. (before my time).
I listed it for $49.95 and it sold within a few hours. (I paid $2 for it)
Gotta love those quick sales.

Copy Cats.

People say that copying is the highest form of flattery.

I sometimes disagree. I more or less think its laziness or lack of using your own head.

Usually I can just ignore it- for example:

-You (my neighbor) want to decorate your outdoor lawn just like mine for christmas? Thats cool.
-You want to wear my exact same outfit I wore yesterday... Thats cool too.
-You want to make a blog with almost the same exact title as mine? Ok-cool. whatever

......But you want to copy my ebay listing???

ohhhh heck no.

The top mug for $49.95 is mine. That's my stinking granite counter top my mug is sitting on! And what do you know... a seller with 4000+ transactions has my exact mug on my exact counter.

So of course I reported them to eBay... and of course I am trying to think of a witty little message to send the seller.

Seriously... I work so dang hard at my listings and some dumb "big" seller comes in and seriously copies my listing?

Sellers like that do not DESERVE TO SELL ON EBAY! I mean how many other listings have they done this with?

....ok end rant. I need to go shake it off.

Sales as of late

My sales have been pretty good the last few months. I have had a steady stream of them every week. I have been able to keep 50-70 listings in my shop at a time, which has been perfect for me and my busy life. All you 200+ listing sellers are probably rolling your eyes at me right now... I know... I am a total baby when it comes to listing.

So this last weekend, hubby and I decided to go on a mini vacation to Palm Springs, Ca- without our kids! It was so much fun.. and the best part? We spent one of the mornings there going to thrift stores, garage sales, and estate sales. It was so much fun... and I got some GREAT finds that I will post about later as soon as I take some pictures.

So here are some more recent sales for me:

 Starbucks 2006 Pink Mug Paid: $1 Sold: $21.95 FS

 Pampered Chef Accent Decorator Paid: $1.50 Sold for $16.95 FS (Shipped first class! Wohoo!)

 Wrangler Jeans Paid: Free (given to me) Sold: 15.95 FS

 Bailey's Irish Creme Mug Set Paid: $2 Sold: $15.95 FS

 Starbucks Cork Base Mug 2013 Paid: 50 Cents Sold: $19.45 FS

 Starbucks 2007 Easter Mug Paid:$1 Sold: $13.95 FS

 Prince Consort HungryMan tie (This sat for MONTHS!) Paid: 50 cents Sold: $22.95 FS

 Blues Clues Dancing Singing 14" plush Paid: $3 Sold: $28.95 FS

Prada Sport Shoe. Paid: FREE (My husbands shoes he barely wore) Sold: $77.95 FS

 

So these are just a few of my sales. I know its a ton of mugs..(this isn't all of the mugs I have sold). Even though mugs are not a huge profit, they are very easy to sell. They are usually very cheap to buy, easy to list and easy to ship. I ship all my mugs in a priority padded envelope using the jelly roll method. I have perfected my packaging method for these babies and will have to share sometime!