Busy Day in eBayland

I think I went a little overboard with the inventory.  The bad thing about having this eBay business is that it gives me a good excuse to go shopping, which I get an HUGE rush from.  You know that first Shopaholic book?  That is so me.  I had completely weened myself off the shopping but now I get to do it because it MAKES me money. :)  Anyway, went back to the secret supplier today (read: pusher!) and got three more pairs of shoes.  I couldn't resist, they were GIVING them away!  Here are a few more pictures of the things I'll be listing tonight:

I would usually wait to list these things throughout the week but eBay is offering free auction style listings, and today is the last day to take advantage of the promotion.  This is an obscure fact that only eBay sellers know but eBay gives auctions higher visibility over Buy It Now items, but charges higher fees for listing auctions that start high.  It's a catch-22: if you want buyers to see your item and pay fewer fees you have to list them for a very low price and risk taking a loss.  Meanwhile, if you list at a fixed price you minimize your risk of taking a loss but maximize your risk of not selling your item, since fewer buyers will see it.  Needless to say, I will be taking FULL advantage of eBay's promotion tonight!

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!!

On days like today, I just want to quit

I logged into my computer for the first time since this morning to find that one of the buyers from last week's auctions had left me neutral feedback. The buyer feels I didn't package the item well enough, and that it was not in as good a shape as I'd described it in the listing.

The feedback, although neutral and not negative, left a bitter taste in my mouth because:
1) I wanted this buyer's item to be well protected, so I actually went out of my way to package the item in a box rather than a mailing envelope, which made the package heavier and raised the cost of shipping for me.
2) I geniunely believed the item was in as good a shape as I said it was. However, I do understand perceptions can vary, and my buyers are under no obligation to see things my way. That's why I allow returns, so people won't feel trapped into keeping an item they aren't happy with, and thereby unhappy with me.

Of course, I've offered a full refund and return shipping NOW, but things like this still make me a little sad. I'm not sure why I take it so personally. It's irrational for me to be upset at myself for having disappointed someone I don't know, but frankly I take a lot of pride in my little business and I like to do things right.

Other than offering the refund and shipping as I've done, any other ideas about how I can make this right?

:(

The Ultimate Publicity Stunt

I've started doing something new lately, something I haven't told you about.

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts (or maybe one of my comments - can't remember) that I've noticed that my auctions are a good marketing platform, in the sense that auctions attract your buyers to other auctions.  To try to exploit some of that, I put a scrolling banner from Auctiva at the bottom of every listing, with pictures of my other listings.

That got me thinking.  Not all of my auctions attract massive amounts of attention.  Some of my items are more ordinary than others.  I've been buying to resell a lot lately, so a lot of them are price at lower but not unbelievable prices.  As a result, I only need one or two bids to do well financially, the auctions stay off the eBay "hot item" radars, and fewer people visit.

To test this theory, I've listed my cousin's pre-owned tan Jimmy Choos for 99 cents.  On the second day after listing the item, it's already been bid up to $5.50 and has 15 watchers, so I have no doubt it will sell for a decent price.  Is it having the desired effect of attracting traffic to my other items?  That's yet to be seen, but it's worth a try, right?

Anyway, I've saved the best for last, because you're really going to love this.  I've decided that if the pre-owned Choos have the desired effect, I'm going to auction off a brand new designer item with a starting price of 99 cents.  If I'm right, it will sell for its true market price and drive enough traffic to my other auctions to cover my losses. :)

The Louboutins Have Landed

The Louboutin Miranda flats arrived in Norway safe and sound, thank GOD.  I've been having nightmares about them being lost in the mail and having to fork out ... well, what I paid for them!

Icing on the cake?  The buyer loves them.  Hooray!

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!