Not Your Mama's eBay?

I don't really have that much to say about eBay anymore.  Is that a turn off for you guys?  The thing is, most of my business now is coming from personal shopping.  I have an average of 5 to 7 projects in any given month, and that makes me just as much money as selling on eBay used to... except it's better, because it's a guarateed sale, whereas with the eBay merchandise I STILL have two pairs of shoes that I'm going to have to pay people to take from me!  It's ironic, but now that I'm a Powerseller and have Top Seller status I list half as much as I used to because 75% of the time I buy something it's for someone specific.

The problem with the personal shopping is that I can't talk about it as much as I do eBay.  I'm sure people don't want me blabbing about their personal purchases, and besides, going into detail about my projects involves revealing trade secrets about how I do what I do.  Yes, I've given you guys tips and the like but it's not the same as telling you exactly where to look for things and how to get them at a discount.

So it struck me as really ironic that this blog is called Not Your Mama's eBay but I never really write about eBay anymore!  I'm going to have to think up some eBay-related thing to tell you guys about, otherwise I'll be forced to change the name of my blog. :)  Hopefully a few of the things I'm selling this week will atually sell.  Maybe they'll sell for a terrible price and THEN I'll have a fun story to share with you.  Either that or I'll have to start dipping into my arsenal of personal stories to keep you all around.  One way or another I'll have a lot more to talk about next week!

For the Love of All That's Holy, Don't Pay Retail!!

One of the questions I get most frequently from people who read my blog is "who is your secret supplier?"  What if I told you there's absolutely nothing special about my "secret supplier" and that if you wanted to you could get the same kinds of things I get for CHEAPER than my asking price?

The shoe in the picture is a Christian Louboutin Declic 90 mm in a black patent.  It retails for $675 at Saks, Barneys and Neiman Marcus.  These shoes sell out quickly and never go on sale.

A while back, when I first started buying designer shoes to resell on eBay and Bonanzle, a friend of a friend (let's call her Maria) contacted me about the first pair of Louboutins I had for sale.  They weren't what she was looking for, but she wondered whether I could help her find a black Louboutin pump with a relatively low heel for less than the retail price.

Without giving away trade secrets, I located the gorgeous pair you see here from a seller abroad, had them shipped over and then sold them to Maria for about $100 less than retail.  I've had them authenticated TWICE, with the same results - 100% authentic.  And I made money.  Not huge buckets of money, but a little money.  Best of all, I had a great time trying to figure out how on earth I was going to get the shoes that never go on sale, well, on sale.

The truth is I've developed a knack for hunting things down and figuring out a system to obtain a discount. Which got me to thinking.  What if my next venture were to write an e-book about how to get discounts on expensive items?  It's not an elaborate system, but it does take time and persistence.  Since you guys have been supporting me all this time, here are a few tips:

1) Sign up for the email list to Off 5th (Saks), Last Call (Neiman), Nordstrom Rack, and any other brand that you're a fan of.  The stores will then send you information about upcoming promotions, as well as coupon you can use to get even better prices on your purchases.  It doesn't matter if you don't live close to the outlets.  Most shops will allow you to buy things over the phone and ship them to you for a low fee.  Once you've identified an item you want, call around, use your discounts and buy your item for 75% off.  Woohoo!

2)  Check eBay, Bonanzle, and if you live in the United States, Craigslist!!  You can use this link here to search all of Craigs, and despite the fact that Craiglist encourages users to trade locally, you can still safely purchase things from willing sellers and protect yourself from fraud by using Paypal and a credit card to complete your purchase.  Have the seller send you an invoice through Paypal with a detailed description of the item you're purchasing.  If something goes wrong you have the option of filing a case through Paypal, or even better, requesting a chargeback through your credit card.

3) Hoard coupon codes.  Right now I'm sitting on coupon codes from Piperlime, Endless, Banana Republic, Neiman Marcus Direct and a few other online retailers.  Using these coupon codes will allow me to buy hard to find items that never hit the sales racks at a discount.

4) Email me! :)  I may not be able to help you find what you're looking for, but I'd be more than happy to give it a shot!

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.

Things Are Looking Decidedly UP

Sorry for the melodrama yesterday.  Things are going much better today.  I got an opportunity to redeem myself for my shoddy packing skills, my items are generating a lot of interest AND I went on a fantastic shopping trip where I got the beauties you see below for a great price.

I also got a few more affordable clothes to sell in lots, AND I did a little bit of accounting and figured out
my PROFIT for May was about $500. :)  I haven't listed anything yet so if you see anything you want to call dibs on, let me know!!

Help Me Decide - End Auction Early??

Someone sent me an email offering me $350 for the Christian Louboutin flats if I end the auction early and sell them to him Buy It Now through eBay.  He says it's his sister's birthday on May 20th (he's in Japan) and would like to get them before then.  He's willing to pay for expedited shipping.

The item has 6 watchers and is getting lots of traffic.  My guy feeling is that they will sell for about $400 but I can't be sure, of course.  Thoughts??

Finding Unexpected Treasures

In addition to my shopping trip on Saturday, I also went down to Charlottesville to see my brother Sunday.  I wasn't expecting to do any eBay shopping, but coincidentally as we were walking to lunch we happened to find a small outdoor market where vendors were selling scarves, jewelry, hats and some other random items.

Two of the nicest, most unique things I picked up this weekend are not Manolo Blahnik or BCBG.  I purchased the two items you see below at said outdoor market for a pretty modest price.  If I had been shopping for myself, I personally would have paid twice what I did.  The dress is 100% cotton and the scarf is softer than any cashmere I've ever owned.

I'm putting both of them up for auction tonight with a starting price of $.99.  I bet you anything they do better than the Banana Republic shirt I have for sale.  Any of you care to make a wager??