Evaluating My Progress - 56 Stars Later

It's been a while since I sat down and re-evaluated my progress. When I first started this blog I had a measely 25 stars under my belt, and while I still only have a measely 81 positives, a lot has happened since you and I first met.

Remember my eBay accounting post, where I talked about conversion rates, margins and profit per item?  I was selling $10 items for $8 in profit back then.  My first big profit item was that skirt you see on the right - I made $18!  There was no "secret supplier," no CAMERA, no Facebook page, no Bonanzle and dirty carpeting gallore.  And after all this, where have I landed?  Well, I'm making more revenue, that's true, but what about profits?  And margins?  And conversion rates?

Back of the envelope, I would say my conversion rate has dropped to about 50%.  Half my items sell, but the other half doesn't.  Not surprising, considering not everyone can plunk down $200 on a pair of shoes.  However, my profit per item has increased from $9 to roughly $35, and I'm now selling an average of 15 items per month.  What's interesting though is that I've also started to develop a side business of finding things for people OFF eBay, which combines the two things I enjoy most about this venture - customer service and SHOPPING.

I'm currently working on three projects, with varying degrees of difficulty.  They all involve locating specific types of ladies shoes to sell to friends old and new.  And while I'm never going to become a millionaire in this line of business because I don't yet have the resources to find things cheap enough to add a good mark-up and still offer the people I'm helping a good deal, I can't begin to tell you how satisfying this is for me!  I LOVE the challenge of tracking down exactly that thing that will make my customer happy.  I looooove figuring out how I'm going to do it, where I'm going to find it, what strategy I'm going to use.  It's almost like a riddle, and I've always been obsessed with riddles.

Am I making a ton of money?  Not yet.  Do I have my ups and downs?  Yup.  Do I sometimes feel like this is a wasted effort?  You bet.  And then I make that sale, or find that thing, or get good feedback, or get a new blog visitor, and it makes my day.

Some bloggers celebrate their 100th post.  My 100th post came and went, business as usual, but given how far we've come, I'm thinking we've got to set something up to celebrate my 100th feedback whenever that happens.  After all, who else would I celebrate that milestone with if you not you, who have stuck it out with me since my $9 item days?

Thanks guys. Thanks for your support.