A Christian Woman Thinks (And It's Dangerous)

Fall Back - eBay Store

Howdy! I haven't posted for a while, not much to share for pictures (house still doesn't look much different) and nothing too exciting lately happening. There is no snow here, as there is in some parts of the U.S. this week, thank God! Looking forward to getting an extra hour of sleep this weekend, too, as we "fall back" on the clock.

I am almost ready to put items in my eBay store again. It has been closed since August, maybe even the end of July, when we were getting ready to move. I downloaded a new program called iSale from Apple to try out. It has nice templates to use in your auctions. I also bought quite a few templates back in May/June, so my auctions should look pretty spiffy. I have a link to my store on the right, if you're curious. I get a lot of items from a cousin who runs an antique/auction gallery. The leftover auction items come my way. Half the fun is trying to figure out what an item is before listing it!

Earlier this year we listed and had success with things like a kewpie doll, a Jelly Belly Trifari brooch, a record player, and other odds & ends. It's always a surprise to see what comes out of the gallery.

Some of you have asked me about eBay. Is it worth the effort? Well, I think it is for us if we can earn enough to pay for at least one of our monthly expenses, such as our daughter's karate lessons, for example. It does get costly to sell and it is time consuming. When I get a box of items, I need to sort them out and sometimes clean them up, take photos of each item, put the photos on our computer and edit them, upload them to my photo hosting site, figure out what each item is (research!), make a listing, get packing supplies ready and find boxes for shipping, collect payment for the items, ship them out, leave feedback, and then make payment to our cousin (he lets us keep a percentage of the sales). I also need to keep accounting of all my expenses and sales. I am not always good about this- but come tax time it will be important.

My goal earlier this year was to become a power seller - to do that, you have to have three consecutive months of $1,000+ in sales. I had one month where I did that - after that I didn't make it. You really have to do bulk listings, lots and lots of listings - not everything sells, and you don't always get the money you hope for for things.

I was hoping I could eventually stay at home and just do the eBay work, but it would take a LOT of sales to match my current part-time work income, so we shall see.

If you want to try it out, find a few items around home and list them. Don't worry about a fancy listing for now, just get comfortable selling. In general (and there are several schools of thought on this), I feel if you start your bids lower you will generate interest and probably get more than one bidder to up the price. If you start higher, many people will pass by your listing and search for a lower alternative. Think of it this way: even if you only make $2, or $5, or $10 after expenses, that's $2, or $5, or $10 you did not have when the item was just laying around. In general, most of the auctions I do start at $9.99 or less. I do not like reserves, unless you have an item worth quite a bit of money and can't part with it for less. Also, if you start with a lower opening bid and no reserve, your initial eBay fee will be less. These fees add up! Finally, consider using Pay Pal to accept payments. It does add further fees, but it's quick and easy. You can ask for money order only, but that really limits your bidders and slows down the transaction process as you wait for days... and days... and days sometimes to get your check in the mail.

Drop a note if you sell on eBay and tell me about your experience, if you'd like.

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{ 12:21, Friday, October 27, 2006 } { Posted by SofteningClay }

I have been selling on ebay off and on for 3 years. I tend to go in spurts. It is a ton of work so I usually wait until I have a good pile of items to list. I sold some books that the kids had outgrown and made enough to pay for new tires for our van. I have also used the money to buy gifts for Birthdays and Christmas. Overall, it has been a good experience.

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{ 12:22, Friday, October 27, 2006 } { Posted by BuzyMumof3sons }

I pray that your ebay business you're starting up again is very successful!

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{ 03:19, Monday, October 30, 2006 } { Posted by morningsunshine }

oh yes! i love New England! i went to college in the Finger Lakes of NY (which I know isn't technically NE....) and traveled with friends to Vermont & Mass. We spent our honeymoon (6yrs ago this month!) in NH, and I spent 18 months just over the border in Quebec Provence. I have been looking at houses in NH for over a year, and that is where I would really like to settle. but, work and family (dh is loath to move so far away from them) dictates we stay here in the beehive state, for now - and having just moved, I think FOREVER!!!! lol but I love NE so much! every fall I get this irresistable urge to go back there. the expense it what makes it reisitable!

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{ 03:22, Monday, October 30, 2006 } { Posted by morningsunshine }

ps - I traveled to CT two years ago for a friend's ordination; it was as lovely as everywhere else I had been in New England. her parents got me started on the gardening aspect of homesteading, also in the suburbs. I cannot remember where exactly, but near Hartford.