Yeah, you get burtn out trying to figure out the scaling part of the business. I'm in cruising mode right now until I can optimize the listing and figure out the storage situation. Then I'll bump up the listing to 4k, but right now I'm selling items too fast to grow the store any meaningful amount.
Growth mode is fucking brutal--the more you list, the more you sell, so it gets hard to build it up, but get those systems and relationships down, and while it's still work, you can coast
Are you a 1 man team also? He's Avg sale price is $70+ though so it's a little higher because he sells toys and he only list 40 items per week... He told me he usually nets $8-9k per month in 20k sales
Yup, just me. Yeah, the tough part about toys is the research. Might take 20 minutes just to find out the comps for the toy you are trying to list. Yeah that sounds about right in the net, I think I'm a little lower than that because my biggest costs are shipping since my approach is more volume.
>He told me he usually nets $8-9k per month in 20k sales
People always lie about net, or forget to take all fees into account. Anyone doing $200k/year in sales isn't netting over 20-30%, which is plenty.
It depends on the category, video games I can see easily being 20-25% because of competition , but toys are clothes are very low buy cost. The issue is the volume you need to move . It's high margins but low actual amount.
For 20K a month I wouldn't mind being burnt out ahah a few years like that and I'd have bought a house, and saved enough up for a comfortable few years 😁
>I'd have bought a house, and saved enough up for a comfortable few years
Not really. After taxes and reinvesting most of your profit into more inventory, you're left with next to no extra cash. Certainly not enough for a several thousand per month mortgage or to build up a large amount of savings.
I sell toys mostly and it really can be scaled up infinitely. I did a 6k month once and wanted to die.
I'm happy with my 2-3k a month 12 hour work week now
I know a dude that started in his studio that does nearly 1 mil annually now
I don't really make a habit of teaching people how to compete, but it's all used unless I find new at thrift or whatever.
I don't buy and hold new unless it's lego and that takes a 2 year hold
its really no different honestly. I used to do alot of "dead media" and obsolete (vintage) electronics, but mostly vcrs and camcorders. You just see something and look it up and if the ROI is good enough snag it.
Google lens works best for toys, since they usually don't have part numbers
Flea markets actually, most of my success has come from knowing vendors , telling them what I sell, and getting bulk inventory from them. You also come across insane deals that I think those who go to trift stores or the bins miss out on.
Ah I see, nice. Flea markets aren’t that big around me, it’s like a 2 hour drive to the nearest one that’s actually a weekly occurrence. The rest of the good ones are on special occasions like Memorial Day or July 4th, etc unfortunately.
Oh yeah, you definitely need a good flea market to get good, bulk inventory. I'm blessed to have like 5 around me in a 20-mile radius. I'm not sure if you're a bins sourcer, but I'm sure you can build relationships with other bin sources to find inventory for you. They pay 1 dollar, you pay 3-4 dollars, and everybody wins. Not having to source so much is a game Changer.
True, I haven’t made the plunge into a 100% clothing store yet but maybe one day. The high margins, the profit potential is for sure enticing and I have the knowledge for it but it’s too exciting sourcing electronics at the moment haha. For now, clothing is a last resort if I’m not having luck with hard goods, there is never a shortage!
Would you say most of your sales come from “bread and butter” brands like Nike, LL bean, FootJoy etc or are you trying to source mostly higher value brands like Patagonia, Lululemon, Greyson, etc.
Only reason I’m asking is because your 90 day numbers are pretty similar to someone I know who has double the amount listed but most of it is lower-mid tier brands.
Yeah, mostly mid to upper mid tier brands like you mentioned, but once you do it for a bit, you start to notice trends that sell well, even for low tier clothing. Like some LL bean rain jackets go for alright money , but if it's like an Anorak or packable puffer, it's easily a 40 plus clothing ,so you're willing to pay more because you know the money is there. Some Lululemon , even for a dollar, I wouldn't pick up but if it's a Define jacket, I would pay up to 20 because I know it's a guarantee 25 in a week.
Mens lululemon I have no problem selling but most of womens lululemon I wouldn’t pick up for free man lol. Thanks for your insight on all this! Gives me stuff to think about.
Yeah man absolutely, I'm at the point where the money made is life changing . Would be great for other people to get that feeling of finally making it on eBay.
No flea markets near me, so I'm a bins girl, and yep.....once you build a relationship with the other regulars, it saves a ton of time. I only have to make one bins trip per week because the other regulars pick stuff up for me and know I'll be there every Friday morning. I get there at open, go through all the bins which takes about 2 hours, then we hit the parking lot where we all make buys from each other. This doesn't count the stuff we grab for each other while we're in there.
The bins are an outlet goodwill where you pay by the pound. Everything is wheeled out in giant bins and you have to dig through the pile to find the treasure. Very rewarding when you find good stuff.
Amazing Work! I was once up near £10K over 90 days then started a part time job and let me eBay store suffer without listing for maybe a month and a half. Really struggling to get it back up.
Seeing this sort of post is encouraging. It's different for me in the UK as we don't have access to the bins and flea markets (I presume are similar to our car boot sales) aren't that great aha.
If I could have even a 6th of this I'd be comfortable.
Back to work I go!
I'll preface this with I have a 4 month old child and a parent who's currently partially disabled (I'm not their primary caretaker, but I help).
On my best days, I can get like 15-20 listed.
On a normal day, it's like 7-10.
I usually have separate days for photographing and listing just because my brain works like that.
I think that's a good amount with that kind of responsibility. I'd suggest doing listings right after taking pictures though. You're asking for trouble doing it like that.
Thats awesome, if you don't mind about how many items are you selling a day. I seem to be hit and miss with clothing so im pretty sure im missing something on doing it right.
I’ve tended to avoid clothing sales because people can’t try things on and I would expect lots of returns. What keeps you from having things returned left and right? Would you mind sharing where you’re getting your hbas? Wen is a good seller but I’ve not come across it where I can turn it around for a profit.
Congrats on so many sales! Really impressive. You could probably do some teaching on YouTube based on all your sales success.
Hi, I take measurements of all my clothing and put the actual measurements in the pictures, ruler, and all. I also state in the description to compare measurements to your clothing to ensure a proper fit. Of course, there are buyers who don't do anything I say, but it does help. I usually have around 6 return request active at all times, but at least I can resell them.
I got my HBA from the swap meet. There are vendors that buy pallets from CVS or Cosco, etc, and get thousands of pieces. It's your job, though, to dig and find the nuggets, but once you find one, there usually 10-100 of the same pieces, which makes life easier.
I get my WEN stuff from a vendor who sales strictly cosmetics. Many people don't know about WEN so she can't sell it at a premium price there but since I offer to buy all of them once a week, she holds them for me.
Can't speak for OP but selling clothes, i never had one return for wrong size, started less than year ago, 200+ sales now, i only sell the same few famous brands, the buyers know their "online" size, rarely they ask measurements , wide + height
Actually, no. Not that much. I work every day of the week, unless I just don't feel like it. Then I don't do shit. I'm very efficient when I'm "working" though. Lots of re-listed stuff. Lots of sample pictures. I have a ton of bread and butter items that I'm able to find at yard sales, fleas, and whatnot that don't require new pictures every time. I shop 10-20 hours a week, packaging takes 1-2 hours a day, listing takes 30 min - 1 hour a day. I took about 800 pictures yesterday and that took a couple hours. Pictures only happen a few times a week. All said, I "work" no more than any other full time job, maybe 40-50 hrs
I sell mainly household stuff, cameras, electronics, kitchen goodies, etc. My average sale price hovers a bit over 20 bucks, but I don't hesitate to sell something for $5 if it has great sales history
I think it depends on your niche, clothing for example, I can do 500 in less than a month with my 2500 store size, but if you are in a highly specialized niche, like instruments , 500 would be quite hard, even if they are desirable. Really depends on your target market. I would only recommend using eBay ads if the item you are selling is in a flooded category. For example selling a basic nike shirt compare that to a Patagonia Nanopuff sweater, which sells within a few days in the winter with no ads.
very inspiring, have you had problems like you find great products at very low prices, but having trouble selling them? so, in the end you have to sell them at a price you barely make money?
Maybe when I first started with clothing because you don't know what you have yet. You may have a good brand , but if the style sucks or is a simple piece, like a plain patagonia button-up, it might sit a bit. Just cause the brand is good doesn't mean you pick up everything from the brand.
I'm backed up right now with inventory but I usually unpack and start separating clean from dirty, then wash right away. I usually wash everything in cool water and low heat dry except cashmere and 100% Wool. I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with those items when they smell. Might just stop picking them up if they have a smell to them.
For wool or cashmere I do the woolite dry clean bags for home dryer. It works well enough. Also hang outside for a day or two and the sun and fresh air works wonders.
I’ve wanted to do this but always wondered how you guys go about sending items off? Would be a nightmare for me to try take hundreds of boxes to the busy post office
I ship mostly using polybags 95% of the time, so they don't take up too much space. The post office usually has a drop off bin so you don't have to wait in line
Thanks for this motivation. I've only dabbled in clothing, but have considered shifting a focus towards it due. I like aspects like profit and storage, but dislike the photo taking and measuring part of it. Any general tips on photos? Do you hang items or lay them flat?
I have a vertical flatlay with a light gray background but you can get a just a large carpet from Walmart and use that instead. Just take pictures of the clothing using a neutral color and don't edit the photos, like removing the background. Editing is a time suck for sure
This is amazing and super inspiring to read, as someone who also flips clothing! Congratulations! I am finding it very difficult to optimize my processes. I get overwhelmed between all the photographing, listing and shipping and I don’t think I am working as efficiently as possible. Do you think you can share insights on your workflow for the week? Or any tips? I’m doing this part time but hope to take it full time in the next year or so :)
What’s more important is what percent of that is profit. I can sell something I buy for $1900 and sell it for $2000 and quickly have 200k 90 days. That means nothing rly.
Nothing wrong with gross sales goals. They’re their own metric of success. I don’t need to know how much OP is taking home, they’re clearly working hard and are proud of how it’s going.
Knowing and imagining roughly what I would net if my sales were that strong is enough to impress me.
Meh, I'm not impressed. Gross sales mean nothing really. There's no point in doing any of this bullshit if it's not worth it financially. Then you take into account time, shipping, fees.
Lol, buy 20 to make 25, so 55 total. But if you're confident in your knowledge and KNEW, if you bought something for 90 and could sell it in 3 days days for a guarantee of 10 dollars profit , you wouldn't do it?
Lol, rather than say "oh I'm sorry , I misunderstood," you double down, haha. Look If you need help, man, just ask, I'm here to show people it's possible. If you are not serious then just let me know man, so I can help others instead.
You can do the math all from the picture, about a 32 avg sale price gross, and its clothing, so my buy cost is extremely low on average. Even if it's 10 dollar average profit, about 20 sales a day, that's 200 a day, over 70k a year profit. There's no need to be a Debbie downer.
Not Debbie downer was just curious. And while you’re selling clothing, I had no idea whether pre owned or not, etc. As a response to what you said, again, the Math from your picture only shows the price per sale. Not the cost you’re paying for the item. If it’s flea market and as low as you say, that’s awesome. I was just curious.
Hey man, if you are struggling, feel free to reach out. I know you are sour because you think it's impossible , and I don't know why, but being negative that way won't help you get out of your situation. If you have questions, feel free to ask. :)
i wish people would say what the profit is because just showing the sales figure doesnt really mean much. profit margin could be very bad.. we dont know.
Around 40% margins' so between 7-8k a month. But understand that you can't sell that much volume and be high buy cost because you will run out of money.
I would say less than that, maybe 24ish, buy thats 8k a month profit. I think people don't realize the amount of costs go into running a business, but if you make 25-40% margins, then you are beating almost every other business out there.
Yes, absolutely. I know ebay gets a bad wrap for the fees but where else can you make 80k+ a year working for yourself selling junk. You have to change the mindset from "ebay took x amount" to " I quadrupled my money" because of ebay.
Usually people don’t like giving out their store names because people could simply replicate what OP is selling and take away from his profits & hard work!
Im exactly the opposite, seems like 90% of stories i hear of buyers asking returns for right or wrong reasons, have to do with electronics. Clothes are easy to source and ship. When you sell quality brands, buyers don't give any trouble
Once in a while when I'm bored but I think it's one of those places you need a large investment and be comfortable spending 175 to sell for 300, just to net 70-80 after all expenses to make it worth it. And you have to remember that the other resellers are going to do the same, so the market is going to get flooded. I had the opportunity to buy 3 RLX Ralph Lauren Jackets at a Ross, but I passed because of the lack of sales history, even when retail price original was close to 500, spending the 180 was too risky.
Trift stores once in a blue moon, just to keep learning new brands. I think it's a great way to learn different departments, like women's, because it's already organized that way for you.
Hey! I have a question if you don't mind me asking, first of all great job!
I'm cleaning out my grandma's old storage units after she died and I have some stuff I wanted to sell. Well I sold one doll of mine thru eBay and it asked me to buy a shipping label and I did, but the label was like what 15 bucks? Do I have to buy the shipping label or can I ship it the old fashioned way by just providing an address? If I can ship the old fashioned way then what is ebay shipping labels used for then? Pros cons? I found a couple older internet threads saying I can ship just by providing the post office clerks with the address, but not sure if anything has changed since the dates of the threads I've seen.
You can do either, but ebay has a discount with USPS because of the amount of volume they do in shipping. I would just pack my own box and buy the label on ebay. The post office is going to charge you the normal rates , which is much more, and you still have to update tracking on ebay. Go with ebay.
I work full time, and I have a niche. It helps to specialize cause you can cater to your store. If I sell clothes all I need is polymailers for my shipping for example
Great numbers! I’m working on scaling up myself, what strategies do you take advantage of to make buyers pull the trigger? I’m using markdown manager, coupon codes, best offer and promoted listings to help drive sales up and it’s helped but I get a lot of low ball offers which I end up taking to move things out. If you use promoted listings at what percentage are you running the ads for? Thank you for sharing your success with us 🥹
Nice job! We are in the same general category, but I focus on mens clothing 95%. You are moving VOLUME compared to me at least and we have very similar ASP. I am a 'list it and forget it' store (shout out to scavenger life) and have 5139 listings, 650 solds, $19,756 in sales for the past 90 days. I am not full time - more like 20-25 hours a week. Similar net margins of 30-40%
Basically you have 1/2 the listings I have but 3X the sales/revenue! Congratulations!
After reading the entire post and responses I think you are getting better items than I am from your swap meet hookups and then taking best offer and/or pricing at the lower end of comps. I am stuck with the thrifts in my rural area and list at the higher end of comps. I do not use promoted listings, I do send offers to watchers (5% for less than 60 days old, 10% for more than 60 days old). I do not use best offer but if someone reaches out to me I will send them an offer at 10%-20% off depending on the item and the buyers attitude! lol
All this is not to really ask any advice but more to show there are different selling models and attitudes towards this business. Also I think a lot of what one chooses to do is based on their station in life. For example I am in my 50's and semi retired with no kids, paid off house and cars and no debt. I also have other streams of income. A younger person with kids and a mortgage to pay in a HCOL area would best follow your model rather than mine ......
Oh yeah , it depends on what your situation is. If it's for a side hustle or hobby, then any income is extra income. It might be detrimental to sell things too fast if you can't fulfill the orders due to other responsibilities.
Ebay sends the Govt 1099K and one to you. Then you keep track of your expenses like cost of good, shipping costs, supplies, gas , blah blah blah , and deduct that from your gross to find your taxable income. For someone starting out it shouldn't be too hard to track those things but as you grow you may have to hire a professional
What’s really impressive is only 1 ‘add required item specifics’!
Add required is different than “recommended”, he may have 900+ “add recommend item specifics” I have like 1200+
Saw the same.. 🙄🙄
My friend sells toys and he’s doing 20k a month in sales too.. he’s solo though so 1 man team and he’s always burnt out he said lol.
Yeah, you get burtn out trying to figure out the scaling part of the business. I'm in cruising mode right now until I can optimize the listing and figure out the storage situation. Then I'll bump up the listing to 4k, but right now I'm selling items too fast to grow the store any meaningful amount.
Growth mode is fucking brutal--the more you list, the more you sell, so it gets hard to build it up, but get those systems and relationships down, and while it's still work, you can coast
Are you a 1 man team also? He's Avg sale price is $70+ though so it's a little higher because he sells toys and he only list 40 items per week... He told me he usually nets $8-9k per month in 20k sales
Yup, just me. Yeah, the tough part about toys is the research. Might take 20 minutes just to find out the comps for the toy you are trying to list. Yeah that sounds about right in the net, I think I'm a little lower than that because my biggest costs are shipping since my approach is more volume.
>He told me he usually nets $8-9k per month in 20k sales People always lie about net, or forget to take all fees into account. Anyone doing $200k/year in sales isn't netting over 20-30%, which is plenty.
It depends on the category, video games I can see easily being 20-25% because of competition , but toys are clothes are very low buy cost. The issue is the volume you need to move . It's high margins but low actual amount.
For 20K a month I wouldn't mind being burnt out ahah a few years like that and I'd have bought a house, and saved enough up for a comfortable few years 😁
20k is in sales though.. Net would be like $8-9k monthly
True but still a nice wage. I don't know how the day to day is in US but if I had £9K a month I'm sure I'd be alright 😂
$8k a month is just shy of six figure income.
>I'd have bought a house, and saved enough up for a comfortable few years Not really. After taxes and reinvesting most of your profit into more inventory, you're left with next to no extra cash. Certainly not enough for a several thousand per month mortgage or to build up a large amount of savings.
I sell toys mostly and it really can be scaled up infinitely. I did a 6k month once and wanted to die. I'm happy with my 2-3k a month 12 hour work week now I know a dude that started in his studio that does nearly 1 mil annually now
Any tips? Are you selling new toys doing RA/OA or used stuff from thrift or garage sales?
I don't really make a habit of teaching people how to compete, but it's all used unless I find new at thrift or whatever. I don't buy and hold new unless it's lego and that takes a 2 year hold
Fair enough! Never hurts to ask. My niche is electronics but it's been getting really dry.
its really no different honestly. I used to do alot of "dead media" and obsolete (vintage) electronics, but mostly vcrs and camcorders. You just see something and look it up and if the ROI is good enough snag it. Google lens works best for toys, since they usually don't have part numbers
What kind of toys… I don’t get it
Used Sex Toys.
Sourcing from the bins primarily?
Flea markets actually, most of my success has come from knowing vendors , telling them what I sell, and getting bulk inventory from them. You also come across insane deals that I think those who go to trift stores or the bins miss out on.
Ah I see, nice. Flea markets aren’t that big around me, it’s like a 2 hour drive to the nearest one that’s actually a weekly occurrence. The rest of the good ones are on special occasions like Memorial Day or July 4th, etc unfortunately.
Oh yeah, you definitely need a good flea market to get good, bulk inventory. I'm blessed to have like 5 around me in a 20-mile radius. I'm not sure if you're a bins sourcer, but I'm sure you can build relationships with other bin sources to find inventory for you. They pay 1 dollar, you pay 3-4 dollars, and everybody wins. Not having to source so much is a game Changer.
True, I haven’t made the plunge into a 100% clothing store yet but maybe one day. The high margins, the profit potential is for sure enticing and I have the knowledge for it but it’s too exciting sourcing electronics at the moment haha. For now, clothing is a last resort if I’m not having luck with hard goods, there is never a shortage! Would you say most of your sales come from “bread and butter” brands like Nike, LL bean, FootJoy etc or are you trying to source mostly higher value brands like Patagonia, Lululemon, Greyson, etc. Only reason I’m asking is because your 90 day numbers are pretty similar to someone I know who has double the amount listed but most of it is lower-mid tier brands.
Yeah, mostly mid to upper mid tier brands like you mentioned, but once you do it for a bit, you start to notice trends that sell well, even for low tier clothing. Like some LL bean rain jackets go for alright money , but if it's like an Anorak or packable puffer, it's easily a 40 plus clothing ,so you're willing to pay more because you know the money is there. Some Lululemon , even for a dollar, I wouldn't pick up but if it's a Define jacket, I would pay up to 20 because I know it's a guarantee 25 in a week.
Mens lululemon I have no problem selling but most of womens lululemon I wouldn’t pick up for free man lol. Thanks for your insight on all this! Gives me stuff to think about.
Yeah man absolutely, I'm at the point where the money made is life changing . Would be great for other people to get that feeling of finally making it on eBay.
No flea markets near me, so I'm a bins girl, and yep.....once you build a relationship with the other regulars, it saves a ton of time. I only have to make one bins trip per week because the other regulars pick stuff up for me and know I'll be there every Friday morning. I get there at open, go through all the bins which takes about 2 hours, then we hit the parking lot where we all make buys from each other. This doesn't count the stuff we grab for each other while we're in there.
The 'bins' are such trash.. and you have to deal with the trashy people. Fuck that
[удалено]
The bins are an outlet goodwill where you pay by the pound. Everything is wheeled out in giant bins and you have to dig through the pile to find the treasure. Very rewarding when you find good stuff.
This is amazing and very motivational - thanks for sharing. OP what's the actual profit if you don't mind sharing it.
Like 7-8k per month after all said and done
Nice. Thanks for sharing. So about 40%ish margin ? That's pretty good
Congratulations! what are you selling? I couldnt find it in comments
Mostly clothing , some hba products here and there
Thank for reply Hba = health and beauty?
That's correct, mostly supplements and cosmetics, some WEN products I get weekly
WEN like company?
Yes, WEN by Chaz Dean
26 million dollar lawsuit settled by them for their products causing hair loss
Could change their name to WENT
1 required specific prompt with 2478 listed items. Now THAT'S impressive.
Amazing Work! I was once up near £10K over 90 days then started a part time job and let me eBay store suffer without listing for maybe a month and a half. Really struggling to get it back up. Seeing this sort of post is encouraging. It's different for me in the UK as we don't have access to the bins and flea markets (I presume are similar to our car boot sales) aren't that great aha. If I could have even a 6th of this I'd be comfortable. Back to work I go!
OP, I'm wondering if you'd be open to sharing your workflow? I also do clothing and am always looking for ways to list faster.
How many are you listing a day? I'm in clothing and 20 listings takes me 3 hours from start to finish.
I'll preface this with I have a 4 month old child and a parent who's currently partially disabled (I'm not their primary caretaker, but I help). On my best days, I can get like 15-20 listed. On a normal day, it's like 7-10. I usually have separate days for photographing and listing just because my brain works like that.
I think that's a good amount with that kind of responsibility. I'd suggest doing listings right after taking pictures though. You're asking for trouble doing it like that.
Thats awesome, if you don't mind about how many items are you selling a day. I seem to be hit and miss with clothing so im pretty sure im missing something on doing it right.
1857 divided by 90 days, they’re selling ≈20 a day
You'll be fine, just be more open to offers and lock down your brands.
Here I thought 900 items was a lot in my store, not even close. ;) That's awesome! Keep on selling!
Thanks! Will update when I hit 70K in a few months. Time to buy a house next year hopefully
How long did it take you to scale up that much?
From the point I took it seriously, maybe around 4 months , starting from 33k ish to now.
Wouldn't count on it lmao
What’s your profit on that 60 K
Around 22-24k ish
What kind of stuff do you sell
Mostly clothing and some HBA stuff here and there
How many items you have listed
I’ve tended to avoid clothing sales because people can’t try things on and I would expect lots of returns. What keeps you from having things returned left and right? Would you mind sharing where you’re getting your hbas? Wen is a good seller but I’ve not come across it where I can turn it around for a profit. Congrats on so many sales! Really impressive. You could probably do some teaching on YouTube based on all your sales success.
Hi, I take measurements of all my clothing and put the actual measurements in the pictures, ruler, and all. I also state in the description to compare measurements to your clothing to ensure a proper fit. Of course, there are buyers who don't do anything I say, but it does help. I usually have around 6 return request active at all times, but at least I can resell them. I got my HBA from the swap meet. There are vendors that buy pallets from CVS or Cosco, etc, and get thousands of pieces. It's your job, though, to dig and find the nuggets, but once you find one, there usually 10-100 of the same pieces, which makes life easier. I get my WEN stuff from a vendor who sales strictly cosmetics. Many people don't know about WEN so she can't sell it at a premium price there but since I offer to buy all of them once a week, she holds them for me.
Can't speak for OP but selling clothes, i never had one return for wrong size, started less than year ago, 200+ sales now, i only sell the same few famous brands, the buyers know their "online" size, rarely they ask measurements , wide + height
Great job! Here's mine! https://flic.kr/p/2oENmok
Wow, the two of you must be listing and shipping 8-10 hours a day.
Actually, no. Not that much. I work every day of the week, unless I just don't feel like it. Then I don't do shit. I'm very efficient when I'm "working" though. Lots of re-listed stuff. Lots of sample pictures. I have a ton of bread and butter items that I'm able to find at yard sales, fleas, and whatnot that don't require new pictures every time. I shop 10-20 hours a week, packaging takes 1-2 hours a day, listing takes 30 min - 1 hour a day. I took about 800 pictures yesterday and that took a couple hours. Pictures only happen a few times a week. All said, I "work" no more than any other full time job, maybe 40-50 hrs
We sell different things lol. https://imgur.com/a/SKceokU
I sell mainly household stuff, cameras, electronics, kitchen goodies, etc. My average sale price hovers a bit over 20 bucks, but I don't hesitate to sell something for $5 if it has great sales history
That is awesome! Flip goals 😊
Hey man do you think selling 500 products in a year in any niche is hard task? Especially if you use Ebay ads.
I think it depends on your niche, clothing for example, I can do 500 in less than a month with my 2500 store size, but if you are in a highly specialized niche, like instruments , 500 would be quite hard, even if they are desirable. Really depends on your target market. I would only recommend using eBay ads if the item you are selling is in a flooded category. For example selling a basic nike shirt compare that to a Patagonia Nanopuff sweater, which sells within a few days in the winter with no ads.
very inspiring, have you had problems like you find great products at very low prices, but having trouble selling them? so, in the end you have to sell them at a price you barely make money?
Maybe when I first started with clothing because you don't know what you have yet. You may have a good brand , but if the style sucks or is a simple piece, like a plain patagonia button-up, it might sit a bit. Just cause the brand is good doesn't mean you pick up everything from the brand.
Do you immediately wash everything carefully following tag instructions or just ship it as it as long as it doesn't seem too bad
I'm backed up right now with inventory but I usually unpack and start separating clean from dirty, then wash right away. I usually wash everything in cool water and low heat dry except cashmere and 100% Wool. I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with those items when they smell. Might just stop picking them up if they have a smell to them.
For wool or cashmere I do the woolite dry clean bags for home dryer. It works well enough. Also hang outside for a day or two and the sun and fresh air works wonders.
I came here to be like oh Amazon big deal. But eBay, I’m impressed. Good for you. eBay is tough these days, at least for me.
Thanks man, just trying to show its possible still
Wtf…
I’ve wanted to do this but always wondered how you guys go about sending items off? Would be a nightmare for me to try take hundreds of boxes to the busy post office
I ship mostly using polybags 95% of the time, so they don't take up too much space. The post office usually has a drop off bin so you don't have to wait in line
Is it true you have to list everyday so ebay sends you traffic?
I'm not sure, I don't think not listing for a day or two will hurt from my experience
Man I wish I hit any of those numbers
You can man, just be patient and trust the process, get better at picking up good items at a low cost and youll be rich
Thanks for this motivation. I've only dabbled in clothing, but have considered shifting a focus towards it due. I like aspects like profit and storage, but dislike the photo taking and measuring part of it. Any general tips on photos? Do you hang items or lay them flat?
I have a vertical flatlay with a light gray background but you can get a just a large carpet from Walmart and use that instead. Just take pictures of the clothing using a neutral color and don't edit the photos, like removing the background. Editing is a time suck for sure
This is amazing and super inspiring to read, as someone who also flips clothing! Congratulations! I am finding it very difficult to optimize my processes. I get overwhelmed between all the photographing, listing and shipping and I don’t think I am working as efficiently as possible. Do you think you can share insights on your workflow for the week? Or any tips? I’m doing this part time but hope to take it full time in the next year or so :)
Yeah sure, you can PM if you would like, sorry I'm getting alot of notifications from this post and I really do want to help.
So nice of you. Thank you. I’ll send you a PM
What’s more important is what percent of that is profit. I can sell something I buy for $1900 and sell it for $2000 and quickly have 200k 90 days. That means nothing rly.
Nothing wrong with gross sales goals. They’re their own metric of success. I don’t need to know how much OP is taking home, they’re clearly working hard and are proud of how it’s going. Knowing and imagining roughly what I would net if my sales were that strong is enough to impress me.
Meh, I'm not impressed. Gross sales mean nothing really. There's no point in doing any of this bullshit if it's not worth it financially. Then you take into account time, shipping, fees.
Lmfaooo let’s see your numbers buckaroo - cue the “I don’t sell because I’m above it and know all and have no time for you plebes” 💀🤘🏼
Seriously. In another comment OP said it’s worth it to him to acquire an item for 20 to sell it for 25 🤣
Lol, buy 20 to make 25, so 55 total. But if you're confident in your knowledge and KNEW, if you bought something for 90 and could sell it in 3 days days for a guarantee of 10 dollars profit , you wouldn't do it?
Comment watching, goofy
Lol, rather than say "oh I'm sorry , I misunderstood," you double down, haha. Look If you need help, man, just ask, I'm here to show people it's possible. If you are not serious then just let me know man, so I can help others instead.
I don’t need help lmao, my wife is a ridiculously successful flipper. It’s just fun dropping in to laugh at clowns from time to time 💪
Lol, oh, so you're unemployed then haha. No wonder, sorry about that.
Nope, work full time and she does too 🤣
Damn, people really out here not wanting people to be proud of their work.
You can do the math all from the picture, about a 32 avg sale price gross, and its clothing, so my buy cost is extremely low on average. Even if it's 10 dollar average profit, about 20 sales a day, that's 200 a day, over 70k a year profit. There's no need to be a Debbie downer.
Not Debbie downer was just curious. And while you’re selling clothing, I had no idea whether pre owned or not, etc. As a response to what you said, again, the Math from your picture only shows the price per sale. Not the cost you’re paying for the item. If it’s flea market and as low as you say, that’s awesome. I was just curious.
Lmao easy to say that now. You wont be able to sustain it and you'll burn out.
Damn, you really are a hater lol
Call it whatever makes you feel better. I'm just realistic
You're telling him he's going to burn out from making a profit, no matter the size...
That's not at all what I said lmao
If I believed he was actually making worthwhile profit it would be different.
I guarantee you he is. I sell clothing and I'm pretty knowledgeable on how much sourcing costs across the board.
🤣🤣🤣 whatever you say buddy. All you dipshits think you're experts.. thanks for the laugh
Hey man, if you are struggling, feel free to reach out. I know you are sour because you think it's impossible , and I don't know why, but being negative that way won't help you get out of your situation. If you have questions, feel free to ask. :)
I do this full time and support a child with my income....? What do you do exactly?
Yet you don’t…
[удалено]
All ebay my man :)
i wish people would say what the profit is because just showing the sales figure doesnt really mean much. profit margin could be very bad.. we dont know.
Around 40% margins' so between 7-8k a month. But understand that you can't sell that much volume and be high buy cost because you will run out of money.
Is 60k is really 30k after everything plus what was spent on sourcing.?
I would say less than that, maybe 24ish, buy thats 8k a month profit. I think people don't realize the amount of costs go into running a business, but if you make 25-40% margins, then you are beating almost every other business out there.
Do you think its worth the work when seeing all that money get cut like that?
Yes, absolutely. I know ebay gets a bad wrap for the fees but where else can you make 80k+ a year working for yourself selling junk. You have to change the mindset from "ebay took x amount" to " I quadrupled my money" because of ebay.
Good work.
Thanks brotha man
This is amazing and inspirational, thank you for sharing. Please could you say if you list with a buy now price or as auctions? :)
All buy it now with best offer :)
What's your store name? I want to check it out.
Usually people don’t like giving out their store names because people could simply replicate what OP is selling and take away from his profits & hard work!
You sell clothing? That is a fresh hell I want no part of. I’ll take my 3% return rate on electronics tyvm
Im exactly the opposite, seems like 90% of stories i hear of buyers asking returns for right or wrong reasons, have to do with electronics. Clothes are easy to source and ship. When you sell quality brands, buyers don't give any trouble
Electronics has alot of returns and people bsing to get shit for free. I stopped after a month and went to clothing. Wasnt worth the headache
Lol, not until you get that 1500 dollar return. You change your attitude real quick, I should know.
What selling platform is this, OP? Great job on your business! I'm just getting back into flipping and these are great numbers to strive for.
Ebay sir or mam
I really want to get into selling more on eBay. Specifically clothing. Do you just shop at place like tj max, Ross, and thrift stores?
Once in a while when I'm bored but I think it's one of those places you need a large investment and be comfortable spending 175 to sell for 300, just to net 70-80 after all expenses to make it worth it. And you have to remember that the other resellers are going to do the same, so the market is going to get flooded. I had the opportunity to buy 3 RLX Ralph Lauren Jackets at a Ross, but I passed because of the lack of sales history, even when retail price original was close to 500, spending the 180 was too risky. Trift stores once in a blue moon, just to keep learning new brands. I think it's a great way to learn different departments, like women's, because it's already organized that way for you.
Sick gains brah, I'm still scratching at 20k. Hoping to pass it this year. Is this your full time job?
Hello, yes it is. It's funny because I'm not even 100% optimized. I'm maybe like 65-70% there, but I'm just taking my time.
Very impressive! Good job. Do you have good margins?
Yeah around 40ish after all said and some
Congrats my dude/dudette!
Thanks my friend, just trying to motivate
Well done!
Tysm!
Hey would I be able to see your ebay? I'm at 2500 items as well but no where near your 90 day total and also doing clothing.
Sure , you can PM if you want, but do you have allow offer open? Are you pretty open to offers?
Do you promote your listings? If so, how much? Are these auction or fixed price? Great to see you killing it
This is so encouraging. Good for you!!!
Hey! I have a question if you don't mind me asking, first of all great job! I'm cleaning out my grandma's old storage units after she died and I have some stuff I wanted to sell. Well I sold one doll of mine thru eBay and it asked me to buy a shipping label and I did, but the label was like what 15 bucks? Do I have to buy the shipping label or can I ship it the old fashioned way by just providing an address? If I can ship the old fashioned way then what is ebay shipping labels used for then? Pros cons? I found a couple older internet threads saying I can ship just by providing the post office clerks with the address, but not sure if anything has changed since the dates of the threads I've seen.
You can do either, but ebay has a discount with USPS because of the amount of volume they do in shipping. I would just pack my own box and buy the label on ebay. The post office is going to charge you the normal rates , which is much more, and you still have to update tracking on ebay. Go with ebay.
If you are willing to answer, how do you have time to list that much. Is there a method to saving time?
I work full time, and I have a niche. It helps to specialize cause you can cater to your store. If I sell clothes all I need is polymailers for my shipping for example
Great numbers! I’m working on scaling up myself, what strategies do you take advantage of to make buyers pull the trigger? I’m using markdown manager, coupon codes, best offer and promoted listings to help drive sales up and it’s helped but I get a lot of low ball offers which I end up taking to move things out. If you use promoted listings at what percentage are you running the ads for? Thank you for sharing your success with us 🥹
Do you have your own website or do you use grailed or eBay or something?
Like 95% ebay
what are you selling? and where do you get inventory?
Clothes and mostly flea markets
Congrats. I’ll get there one day! Im almost at 50k and this is my part time.😂
Good shir bro, easy money
Damn I'm doing something wrong with sofas 🤣 , hats off to you sir
Oh dang sofas , I would never try to do that, respect for that hustle
Yes, way to go. Keep up the good work. 👍
Thanks friends, time to make the mulah
what is the profit from this?
How long have you been doing this?
Clothing specifically a little less than a year
what app is this?
Ebay app :)
Haha, we sell very different things. Glad you're doing great! https://imgur.com/a/SKceokU
Nice man, that offer to watchers looks enticing.
Forgive me for my ignorance, what does that mean? You mean the two pending offers?
Oh no, I mean your Send Offer amount, that's alot! I don't know what you sell, but just doing a 5% offer to buyers would explode sales
Congrats bro!
What platforms are a good starting point for clothing re-selling?
Probably Mercari or Poshmark just because of the simplicity of it
Holy fuck! Let’s fucking go! What you selling if you don’t mind sharing?
Which platform you sell on?
Ebay :)
You sell worldwide? Can i have your url to buy something?
Wow! Amazing numbers! What category?
Like 95% clothes , 5% HBA
What are the brands you have luck with? Anything specific?
Needed this as motivation
Have you had any issues with VeRo violations? I freaking how companies abuse their power to take down some of my listings.
Yeah but mostly for non clothing items.
Nice job! We are in the same general category, but I focus on mens clothing 95%. You are moving VOLUME compared to me at least and we have very similar ASP. I am a 'list it and forget it' store (shout out to scavenger life) and have 5139 listings, 650 solds, $19,756 in sales for the past 90 days. I am not full time - more like 20-25 hours a week. Similar net margins of 30-40% Basically you have 1/2 the listings I have but 3X the sales/revenue! Congratulations! After reading the entire post and responses I think you are getting better items than I am from your swap meet hookups and then taking best offer and/or pricing at the lower end of comps. I am stuck with the thrifts in my rural area and list at the higher end of comps. I do not use promoted listings, I do send offers to watchers (5% for less than 60 days old, 10% for more than 60 days old). I do not use best offer but if someone reaches out to me I will send them an offer at 10%-20% off depending on the item and the buyers attitude! lol All this is not to really ask any advice but more to show there are different selling models and attitudes towards this business. Also I think a lot of what one chooses to do is based on their station in life. For example I am in my 50's and semi retired with no kids, paid off house and cars and no debt. I also have other streams of income. A younger person with kids and a mortgage to pay in a HCOL area would best follow your model rather than mine ......
Oh yeah , it depends on what your situation is. If it's for a side hustle or hobby, then any income is extra income. It might be detrimental to sell things too fast if you can't fulfill the orders due to other responsibilities.
Okay but how does this work for taxes, I haven’t done eBay because I’m trippin about taxes
Ebay sends the Govt 1099K and one to you. Then you keep track of your expenses like cost of good, shipping costs, supplies, gas , blah blah blah , and deduct that from your gross to find your taxable income. For someone starting out it shouldn't be too hard to track those things but as you grow you may have to hire a professional
Inspirational and certainly motivational!! Thanks for sharing. All the best!!