Having a Great Auction Week!

I don't really have anything super interesting to say tonight.  I'm having a fantastic week with my auctions, so I just wanted to share some of my successes.

I had a couple of Coach bags left over from a special project I took on a couple of weeks back, and since "Coach" is one of the most popular search terms on eBay I figured it would probably help my other auctions if I listed these two bags for a super low price instead of returning them to the store.  I sold one of them today and the other has a bunch of bids, so that's making me feel good about my decision.

I also got a bid on the Christian Louboutin Mary Janes I am selling, and it's high enough for me to make a small profit.  I was starting to be afraid I would get stuck with these shoes, even though they're super hot, just like I got stuck with those AMAZING Dior sandals in my avatar.  I listed those this week, as well - for $9.99!  Thankfully they're up to $60 or so with 2 days to go - although that's still quite a ways from what I paid for them, I figured that's a sunk cost at this point and I really need to get some of my money back to invest in other items.

Finally, I had taken on a T Bags maxi dress to sell for a friend and I'm happy to report she got a GREAT price for it.  It sold to someone in France for $150.  Apparently these maxi dresses are HOT on eBay, so I went and got the two I modeled for you earlier.

Oh, one last thing!  I'm having my monthly Bonanza tomorrow in my Bonanzle booth!  I know you guys are probably sick of my stuff and have seen it a million times, but stop by and say hello!  It's http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/notyomamasclothing.

Good night!

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.

Post-Auction Roundup, Part Deux

I'm exhausted and promised myself I would get to bed early, but I did want to update you guys on my last batch of auctions.

Yesterday's auctions went phenomenally well!  Best performing items were:

Awesome pair of pre-owned Kate Spade pumps in great shape

Silk Banana Republic dress I wore to the wedding I went to in NOLA

The last of my brother's shirts

Tonight's auctions, on the other hand, were a big flop. Only one item sold. Oh well. I'm pretty pleased about this week's winnings, so I'm not too bothered. :)

Auction Jitters

I have a bunch of auctions ending tonight.  Most of tonight's items have bids, so I'm happy as it stands, but wish me luck anyway. :)

I get so excited when new things sell.  I get such a kick out of the process of "meeting" new buyers.  As I've mentioned in the past, some are friendly, most are silent, but when I do have a good interaction it puts a big smile on my face.

Finally, I got some great feedback from last week's auctions.  Every item but the Louboutins has arrived, and everyone has given me awesome feedback.  It's so stressful when you send an item to a buyer, especially a pre-owned item, and you're not there to see their face when they open the package (that sounded creepy, but I didn't mean it that way).

Anyway, I'll give you breakdown tomorrow once this batch of auctions ends.  See you then!

T-24 Hours

Hi folks!  Still in New Orleans so I'll be brief.

My nine auctions end tomorrow, and although I've picked up a couple of things here in New Orleans I probably won't have time to list anything until Tuesday or so, so this is going to be the most excitement I get in over a week!  Only two of the auctions have bidders (the two lower price ones) and the rest have about a bazillion watchers each but no one taking the plunge.

Funny how once again I'm way off about what will attract people's attention. The most popular items have been:

By number of clickthroughs - My Kalah Snakeskin Clutch (I guessed this one would get attention, but I've also been promoting it quite a bit.)

By number of watchers - My Pre-owned Prada Belt. This one has 19 watchers and only 1 bid so far.

By number of questions - The Louboutin Miranda Flats. I'm not surprised no one has taken a chance on this one yet, even though it's got 8 watchers. $270 is still a lot of money to spend on shoes, even if these are $750 shoes!

By number of bids - My Ruched Tube Top with 4 as of the writing of this post.

Of course, most of the bidding goes on in the last few hours of an auction, but as always I'm nervous some of my favorites will go for less money than I'd hoped.  I'll let you know how it all went tomorrow night around 10 PM EST!