Apron Thrift Girl

Thrift Share Monday - Feb 28

Studio Art Painting by Unger - reminds me of Sweden - $10

There was one sale on Friday and 40 dealers waiting to get in. It was a bit of an anxious crowd knowing that this was the only gig in town. And many of the dealers were very keen to lay their hands on some Catalina Pottery. I was also interested until I realized that everyone was going for them and it was expensive (for my style of buying). I left them rushing around the living room and dining room after the Catalina items and jewelry and instead headed to the craft room.

Little Pins that almost appear to have mercury glass beads on the top.

I found these pins as well as a couple bags of craft supplies. I did very well with the books. The previous owner was an Orchid fan and many of the books I found were pretty valuable. They will probably take their time to sell but it should be worth it. I was the only bookseller at the sale and it was beautiful to have some space to look through the books. Hardly anyone came into the room so I was able to truly enjoy my book browsing.

Vintage Pepsi Clock form the 70's.

I think our skating rink in Chico, CA used to have this hanging in their cafe. My mother loved her pepsi. It was the only soda in our fridge as Coke was definitely frowned upon. I grew up in a time where all our Pepsi bottles were glass. My mom would buy the large bottles and the small individual ones. Although I rarely drink conventional soda (I do love Izze- it was on sale at Costco this weekend) I can still taste the flavor of Pepsi when I think about it.

Little Boxes full of wonderment.

Saturday morning I woke and felt awful. I didn't sleep well, had a headache and still had remnants of my cold. I still pushed myself out the door. I ran into my friend Amy at the first sale who scored some amazing vintage craft supplies. She kindly gave me these fabulous little boxes.

Look what I found inside. 50¢ for all of them.

I only found a few items at the sale so I headed in another direction to an Estate Sale.

Box of jewelry bits and bobs to play around with. My find of the weekend was a 14k gold pin that weighs nearly 10 grams.

Early in the sale I placed this box of jewelry in my bag (which I carry to every sale) and a woman who was helping with the sale thought I was going to steal it. She kept following me and guarding the front door anytime I went near the door. She wouldn't stop starring at me. It was quite unnerving. Finally I mentioned to another woman running the sale that for the record I was not a thief and had no intention of stealing. Seriously do I really look like a jewelry thief? And the box above was $11, not $100. I didn't feel well so maybe I gave off a thief vibe.

A Modernist style pendant and Modernist Earring. They were included in the box above.

It's a little silly but one of my greatest joys of thrifting is coming across unique and vintage glasses for our everyday use at home. I love how much texture they added to glasses in the 60's and 70's. There's a 3rd glass as well and they cost me $3 for the lot. They are perfect for a little orange juice in the morning.

This was another one of my finds of the weekend. They are a pair of iittala festivo candlesticks designed by Timo Sarpaneva. They are heading to eBay this week. Overall I just went to a handful of sales. It was probably best since I stayed in bed most of Saturday afternoon. When I wasn't sleeping, I was working on Little Shop.

Here are some items available for you in my Little Shop.

Little Shop Prices are based on price I paid, the shipping cost and work involved to take photos, list the item and ship. I do try to keep Little Shop prices low. If prices are higher than others, it's usually because of the price I paid for an item was higher than usual.

I'm now deleting items once they have sold to make easier shopping when you scroll down the page. If you do try to link to an item and the page is blank, this means it has sold. I've also added a little bit of information about Personal Shopping Services on the top post at Little Shop.

I hope that you enjoy this weeks selections.

Vera Napkins can be found here.

This little set of Matryovski Dolls are waiting for you here.


Vintage Turtle Bookplates can be located here.

This little collection of buttons are here.

Did you go thrifting this weekend?

Thrift Share Monday celebrates the Art of Thrifting. As a community of readers and bloggers we are able to connect through the process of buying second hand, selling and sharing.

We Thrift  - We Share

Here are some guidelines if you would like to join Thrift Share:

• Your Thrift Share Monday blog post should include your thrifted finds from the weekend.
• Create a blog post with photos of your items.
• Link your Thrift Share Monday post back to Apron Thrift Girl.
• Link to your Thrift Share Monday post on Apron Thrift Girl using inlinkz below.
• If you participate with Thrift Share Monday regularly, please add this button to your side bar so that we can build our Thrift Share Community.

Don't forget to visit Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds.

Sponsorship

March is right around the corner and it's time for my monthly post about Sponsorship. The ATG Signature Sponsor spot has opened up if anyone is interested. Here is the information about different sponsor options:

Ad Format/ Pricing

□ Apron Thrift Girl Signature Sponsor

Prime placement at top right hand side above the fold.

150 x 200: monthly rate is $40.00

1 Spot Available

 

□ Apron Thrift Girl Platinum Sponsor

Placement on right hand side under the fold.

150 x 100 monthly rate is $20.00

Minimum purchase of 2 months.

Options

2 Months $40.00 4 Months $80.00 6 Months $96.00

□  Apron Thrift Girl ~Little Shop Boutique~ Sponsor

Placement on right hand side under the fold at Little Shop boutique site.

200 x 110 monthly rate is $10.00

Minimum purchase of 2 months.

Options

2 Months $20.00 4 Months $40.00 6 Months $48.00

 

□ Apron Thrift Girl Peak Viewing Sponsor

Place your name onto Monday’s peak viewing post. This is branded “Thrift Share Monday” and has 20% more viewers than any other day.

Your name and logo will be in a linkable banner at the top of the post.

Monthly rate is $100.00

Options

1 Month $100.00 2 Months $200.00 6 Months $480.00

 

□ Apron Thrift Girl for a day

A sponsored blog written by Selena about your product or service.

Rate per post is $100.00 

  

More details about becoming a Sponsor of ATG can be found here. Thanks so much for your support.

Truth about ReSelling

possible future ReSeller

A friend of mine recently pointed out that there are some people in the reselling business that make this job sound easy. Not only that but they are selling courses and ebooks with their "insider" knowledge. They make it seem like you can run out and buy a bunch of inventory, work a few hours a day and make thousands of dollars a month.  As we can see from that listing challenge this may not be the case. They sell this information with the idea that you can make money instantly and that annoys me.

There are more and more "experts" on ReSelling that are saying you can get rich quick with this job and selling you products to help you do so. Be cautious when you stumble across these entrepreneurs and try to see how transparent the "experts" and "coaches" are. Can you see their auctions? Are they making money or are they very busy selling themselves telling you that they are making money?  Look at their feedback to get a sense of how they run their business. Also research what you are getting for your money.

Many of us taking part in the listing challenge are discovering that it's a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of effort. Now that isn't to say that effort isn't worth it but for me it has been eye-opening. I've been reselling for quite some time but it's the first time I've taken it head on as a full-time business. I think it's really important that I instigated the listing challenge because I think in order for me to teach & share about this work I need to talk the talk and walk the walk. I need to be a ReSeller.

I need to be out there trying it and saying that I can I do it. I want to show that I can make money as well as explain how much work that it takes. I'm discovering it's a heck of a lot of work because my goal is to bring in a lot of money. I want to bring in $3000-$6000 a month and I think I can do that. I know the more work I put into it, it will pay off but I think anyone advertising that you can make quick money with reselling is misleading and I think they're doing a disservice for anyone in the ReSelling business.

I want to be truthful here and I think honesty and transparency is really important. It's partly why I asked the other day if you want to know my numbers. I don't want to be here sharing about my sales if people are sitting there feeling uninspired by it but if you are feeling motivated then I'll go ahead and reveal my numbers. I want to share the hours I work, the money I make and the effort involved because it's a lot of work.  I love the work and I'm passionate about this work which is why I think I am doing it so well. I think that can be the difference between being successful and not being successful. I can think of all the businesses and jobs that I've not been successful with because I didn't love the work.

I'm reading Martha Stewart's book Martha Rules right now and I had to laugh because I mentioned it in a previous post and someone pointed out about Martha's trip to jail. Yes that's true but who goes to jail and then comes out and just makes so much money like Martha has done? It's really amazing to think about what she's done with her life. I find her book very inspiring. I just read about how if you love your work and if you're passionate about your work, it doesn't feel like work. In fact it is almost fun and that's what my job is more times than not. I am having so much fun even when it means waking up early getting out of the house and standing in line for two hours. I love it all. I even loved going into that hoarders mess yesterday. I loved sitting on the ground with my flashlight in hand searching for the gems amidst the garbage.

There are times late at night when I just can't get to sleep quick enough so that I can wake up and start going through inventory or listing items on-line.

I think that many of you can be successful in reselling but you just need to know that work, effort and some money spent is necessary to make your job successful and the more passionate you are and the more you love this work, the more successful you will be. Your heart and soul will be right there with you. Isn't that what lifes about?

Even when I'm taking a break to have lunch I'm watching Pawn Stars or I'm watching American Pickers. Or during a meal I'll be looking through my Miller's Book of Antiques. I'm learning even when I'm relaxing because I have a craving to learn more.

Wha'ts your favorite part of ReSelling where the word "work" doesn't even come to mind?

Hoarders

I spent two hours digging through the mess of a hoarder. I found 2 boxes worth of odd tools and spent $42 in total. Yesterday I spent about the same. My best find was a large collection of train magazines.

There must have been 25 odd CB's, 150 screwdrivers, tons of electrical parts and tools and a lot of garbage. It was dirty and it was fun. I would rather it had been crafts rather than tools but I still enjoyed myself. There are days when I simply love my job.

How to get a Thrift Job

Some of you may be realizing that your hobby revolving around thrifting just might be borderline obsessional.  Here are some of the warning signs:

• You must thrift at least once a week or you start to go through withdrawals.
• Christmas loses it's allure because everything you get is retail awhile everything you want is 2nd hand and/or vintage.
• Half of your day is spent roaming the listing at eBay/Craigslist/Etsy.
• The other half is reading Thrift & Vintage Blogs.
• Your meal breaks are spent in front of your tv watching Pawn Stars & American Pickers. 
• Friday marks the beginning of your week when the garage sales & estate sales start.

This is what happened to me. The more I began to live a thrifted life, the more I became passionate about everything to do with thrifting. In other words, thrifting became my life.

I kept thinking that I wanted to be an artist, Waldorf school teacher, Travel Agent (back in the day), actress and many other creative and exciting jobs and occupations but my interest just kept coming back to thrifting.

I thought I'd make a list of business suggestions if you love thrifting and want to make a career out of it:

• Antique Store Owner
• Antique Appraiser
• Antique Store Employee
• Antique Store Booth (rental)
• Consignment Store Owner (childrens or adults or even furniture)
• Estate Sale Company
• Flea Market Seller
• Flea Market Owner
• Online ReSeller
• Auction House Owner
• Antique Co-Op Website Owner
• Antiques & Collectibles Newsletter Owner
• Antiques & Collectibles Magazine Owner
• ReSelling Tool Websites (Inkfrog, Terapeak, Worthpoint)
• App Designer (thrift store locater apps, tool apps, research apps)
• Interior Decorating (business focused on decorating with 2nd hand items)
• ReSelling Consultant
• Thrift Personal Shopper
• Prop Precurement (see below)
• Prop House Owner
• Junk Removal Company
• Used Book Store Owner
• TV Show Personality (American Pickers, Cash & Cari)
• Thrift Store Owner (profit or non-profit)
• ReSelling Coach (teach others how to buy & sell)
• Artist & Crafter (using 2nd hand item supplies)
• Website Owner (like Krrb, Thrift Shopper)

There are so many job opportunities that focus on our passion for 2nd hand items. Even if your dream job is not listed here, you could create something new and unique doing what you love.

Shara (used to write the Goody Girl Red blog) now sells to Prop Companies. She had this to say about this amazing job "Here's the jist of what I do as a Prop Scout: Since August I've been buying for two Pilots; a Western & Sit Com.  I also keep an eye out for a couple ongoing shows, but for now my focus is pretty much the two. I'm given an inventory "wish list" & basically shop at estate sales or thrift stores.  I only shop at sales where I'm given a receipt otherwise I don't get paid as the total must match my cc receipt, etc...  I get a percentage of sale & finder fee.  In my garage I have a couple mid size shipping crates where I put the props I can fit in there (the shipping company we use packs it all, so I just place it in there.  In the case of furniture I call the shipping company we use & they pick up from purchase place directly.  I ship once a month sometimes more sometimes less--last month twice because I found a ton of stuff at one sale. 

Good perks: I get to LA every other month & get to go behind the scenes. I've met some very interesting, creative people. Negatives: I've found some really cool stuff that I either wanted to keep or could have sold for a good amount of money.  My etsy store is often the place I put the items rejected.  Often times they still pay my finder fee so I price the stuff pretty cheap. Also, my employer is huge on discretion so I wasn't allowed to post any of my prop finds.  Ultimately I let the blog go which has solved that issue.  I've hooked up with a girl who buys vintage clothing for the same company.  she has a background in theatre design & stumbled upon this via craigslist.  I got the gig via my blog.  My "boss" liked my name & style.  I thought it seemed pricey for them to pay people like myself & ship, but they consign inventory through a shop in Hollywood which does very well. People pay for a table that was on some show, etc..."

Doesn't that sound fabulous?

The most important thing about working in a Thrift Career is that it shouldn't feel like work. That's the beauty of passion. I'm going to discuss this idea more in my post on Friday.

If you are on the fence about creating a job around Thrifting here are my suggestions:

1. Write down what you most love about Thrifting.
2. Figure out how many hours you have a week to work.
3. Write down all your dream ideas even if they sounds crazy and big.
4. Listen to your heart and intuition and see if you can find any answers as you look at your written list.
5. Explore the Thrift Job ideas that I've shared with you by trying a little bit here and a little bit there.
6. Talk to your closest friend and bounce off ideas. Make sure to go to the friends that have an open mind. You want to share your ideas with positive, supportive friends.

Although there is training to become an antique appraiser, many of these jobs you become simply by doing. I've become a professional ReSeller because I've bought and sold during the last decade (and longer). Each day I learn more and more about my work. I didn't take any classes and I don't have a degree in shopping. I simply love what I do.

What's your dream Thrift Job?

My answer is silly but I would adore buying thrifted items for celebrities. Endless money - long shopping list of hopefully interesting things.

I know...I know. So silly.

ReSeller's February Listing Challenge - Week 4

Week 4

Raise your hand if you are miles and miles behind in the challenge?

My hand is raised and waving.

I'm completely and utterly behind. Like many of you have experienced in the last couple of weeks, sickness has hit our house. Every single one of us has caught a cold. We've limped along with the housework, meals and work. Luckily the worst of my sickness was after the yard sales on Saturday. I'm still recovering though and the house is wrecked. And as I mentioned yesterday, the kids are home from school all week. Today I finally felt a bit of my energy come back so I tackled the inventory in my office. It took me two hours to clean off my work table. How does that happen?

Here are my numbers:

eBay Store items listed since Feb 1st: 50

eBay Store items (from listing challenge) that sold in the last week: 7

Value of Store items sold: $176

Total Sales of Auctions & Store items in the last 7 days: $480.87

Total Sales of Auctions & Store items in the last 30 days: $1904.72

Although I realize that I'm probably not going to meet my listing challenge goal, what I've learned from this challenge is how to make eBay a full time job. Not only that but when I really focused on ReSelling as a business, my sales increased dramatically. I also have had book sales from Amazon, Etsy sales (just a few) and Little Shop orders during the month. I'll give an overall tally next week from all ReSelling venues.

My most productive days of the week were Monday & Tuesday. I find that I have the most energy to list both auctions and store items. When Wednesday rolled around my energy wasn't quite so high and I began to slow down. What day do you find the be the most productive for listing?

Now I want to hear how you did last week with the Listing Challenge.

If you'd like to chat about your daily goals and accomplishments you can use this phrase on twitter:

#listingchallenge

Are you a part of ATG's ReSeller's Listing Challenge?

Here's what I'd like you to do in order to take part in week 4 of the challenge:

1. Comment and give us an update. A current tally/items sold from the listing challenge.
2. Add a link to your ReSelling Venue/Store. (optional)
3. Continue to List your items - don't forget to tally up your listings since items hopefully will start to sell.
4. Grab a Button and spread the word. We want to motivate & inspire.
5. Check in every Tuesday until March 1st. Share your progress in the comments.
6. Share your link every Tuesday to show us how busy you've been. (optional)
7. On March 1st, share whether you've reached your goal and if you wish, share how many of your Listing Challenge items have sold.

Here's your ATG's ReSeller's Listing Challenge button:

Thrift Share Monday - 3 Days of Thrifting

Handspun Wool - Estate Sale

Friday began with an estate sale that looked interesting but not over the top fabulous. I was so glad to be completely wrong. It was incredible. I was there for three solid hours working but enjoying every minute that I was in the house. You know quite quickly when you walk into an estate sale if you have a connection with the previous owners. The woman who had lived there previously was a crafter and a part of me wishes that I had known her. She was into everything. Spinning, painting, weaving, jewelry making, stained glass, sewing and of course collecting.

This is only a small sample of her library.

I loved this piece of art immediately when I saw it. I researched it later only to discover that the painter Bernard Gantner is rather collectible. This painting reminds me something straight out of the early part of last century. The kind of art that usually included a faery or two. It is a signed limited edition lithograph.

Yards and yards of brass chain. Do you think this is for jewelry?

The garage was packed and you could really get into boxes and dig. This sale hit all the key points I love about thrifting. Prices were relatively reasonable, the items for sale were interesting and you could dig through cabinets, boxes and closets in search of items.

Little Heath bowls. I'm not sure if these are considered prep bowls or not. Does anyone know? I found 9 of these at the sale.

Craft supplies from an estate sale in Novato (some available in Little Shop here & here)

I wandered down to San Rafael early Saturday morning. When I arrived I was 5th on the sign in sheet. A half hour before the sale was to begin the skies opened up and it poured. Despite it raining and the fact that there was a list, people were lining up. I was so annoyed to have to leave my dry car but I threw my hood up and got in line. There were at least 20 of us in a tiny, tiny porch all squeezed far too close together. It was sort of awful but at least I got in the sale in the first batch.

 

There were so many owls this weekend.

Today we went together as a family to the town of Sonoma. I found this binder full of newsletters about Antiques for $1.95 at Church Mouse Thrift Store. I have hours of educational reading during the next month. 

I thrifted all three days and my office is literally overflowing with inventory. I can barely get through between the bags and boxes to go from one side to the other. It's a good thing despite the fact that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. The children are off of school this week so I get to do some serious juggling to balance everything.

Here are some items available for you in my Little Shop.

I may be a little slow in replying this week so please be patient with me. With the children home I have to slip in little minutes of work time here and there.

Little Shop Prices are based on price I paid, the shipping cost and work involved to take photos, list the item and ship. I do try to keep Little Shop prices low. If prices are higher than others, it's usually because of the price I paid for an item was higher than usual. I hope that you enjoy this weeks selections.

Vera Watermelon Napkins available here.

Vera Daisy napkins available here.

Russian Dolls can be found here.

Vintage Paper Coaster are here.

Mushroom Towels can be found here.

Did you go thrifting this weekend?

Thrift Share Monday celebrates the Art of Thrifting. As a community of readers and bloggers we are able to connect through the process of buying second hand, selling and sharing.

We Thrift  - We Share

Here are some guidelines if you would like to join Thrift Share:

• Your Thrift Share Monday blog post should include your thrifted finds from the weekend.
• Create a blog post with photos of your items.
• Link your Thrift Share Monday post back to Apron Thrift Girl.
• Link to your Thrift Share Monday post on Apron Thrift Girl using inlinkz below.
• If you participate with Thrift Share Monday regularly, please add this button to your side bar so that we can build our Thrift Share Community.

Don't forget to visit Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds.

ATG Readers Survey

little parcle of vintage wonderment for one lucky winner

A year ago I sent out my first ATG survey to learn a little about my readers. This helped me in the direction of taking my blog from hobby blog to creating a business out of Apron Thrift Girl. My readership has grown so much in the last year and I'm ready to take it to the next step.

I would love to know your thoughts about Apron Thrift Girl. I have ideas on the direction I want to take but I'd love your imput.

We are in this together like a team or a community. I want to write what you'll be interested in reading of course. I've written up some questions and I'd love it if you'd take the survey. Please leave a comment when you've taken the survey and I'll draw a winner next week for the vintage craft supplies.

I'm going to be switching announcing winners to my Facebook page rather than the blog since I often forget about including it until the post has been published.  So please make sure to check over there next Friday morning.

Thanks so much!

Click Here to take survey

Collect Share - Thrifted Art

Collect Share - Thrifted Art - Paint by Number $5

I blame my obsession with art on my parents. If you visit their house you might step one foot into the foyer before you be greeted by a piece of vintage, thrifted art. When you continue into the living room you'll discover more art. They've tried to limit the number of items in the main living areas leaving the stairway to the basement with a museum like feel as you wander down the creaky old steps of their 1915 home. There are pictures and paintings covering most of the wall space as well as clocks, Big Mouth Billy Bass (much to my mother's horror) and a bell from a trolley car. Keiran takes at least 7 minutes to get down the stairs after inspecting each frame carefully, dropping a penny in the plastic slot machine and ringing the trolley bell a few times. Yet I still love every bit of their home and the warmth that I feel when I am there.

Art can also be very expensive. Luckily as thrifters we can barely get out of a rummage sale without falling over painting after painting. I try to resist my need for more art but I don't usually listen to my sane self and instead bring home another piece.

This came from a fabulous sale of a house full of Mid Century Modern. This is the same house where this clock came from. I spent 2 1/2 hours at the sale and these owls were the first thing I grabbed. This piece was $35 and it's actually intended for my friend Jacki but I got lazy and decided that I didn't want to ship it. Maybe this will entice her for a visit. Or if she doesn't want it it can stay on our living room wall with our other owl collection.

I bought this last year for $35 from an estate sale. It's one of my favorite pieces in my home. That bird nest leaves me weak in the knees every time I look at it.

Thrift Owl Art $1

Dogwood Flowers - Thrifted

Sometimes I buy art because it reminds me of something small. I always remember my mother telling me about Dogwood being her mother's favorite flower. I never met my grandmother but I think of her every time I pass by this painting in the hallway.

I think I'm the only one in the house that likes this painting. This is just a small bit of it. The entire painting is the largest one we own. It usually is on the mantel but C Jere owls on the branch are currently there so this is in the hallway. I fell in love with this when it was $60 at an estate sale. I came back on the half off day and took it home for $30. Dave definitely wondered w.t.h. I was doing when I walked in with it. It reminds me of the sea and I like it. That's enough for me.

Thrift art with texture. $10.

This reminds me of Northern Wales for some reason.

$12 from an estate sale. I bought this for a silly reason. It reminds me just a little bit of the painting in Holiday in Handcuffs. Do you remember the painting at the end of the movie? When you do a search for it on Google you'll find lot so of people looking for it. The movie was painted by Sarah Jane Holtom but there aren't any photos that I can link to. It's a shame because Sarah's painting was so beautiful. This painting above is a Sonoma County artist.

 

 My last piece to share was made by Keiran using thrifted craft paper. He created this for me the last time he was sick. His favorite medium to work with at the moment is paper. He loves to make pop-up cards, sculptures and art.

What is your favorite piece of thrifted art in your home?

Do you Collect anything that you have blogged about recently?

We Thrift - We Craft - We Share

Here are some guidelines if you would like to join Collect Share:

• Your Collect Share post should include at least one item that is 2nd hand.
• Create a blog post with photos about your recent addition to your collection. Or write a post that features your entire collection.
• If possible, give us some background about what you collect such as where items are made or who designed them. We'd love to read about why you collect and when you first started collecting.
• Link your Collect Share post back to Apron Thrift Girl.
• Link to your Collect Share post on Apron Thrift Girl using inlinkz. There will be inlinkz on every Collect Share post so that you can add your photo and link back to your blog.
• If you participate with Collect Share regularly, please add this button to your side bar so that we can build our Sharing Community.

 

ReSelling - Best Offers on eBay

C Jere Owl Recently Sold with a Best Offer on eBay

Best Offers are helping me move inventory at eBay. As a fan of bartering and trading, I find it just another tool on my negotiator's belt. I rarely decline an offer without a counteroffer because I think it's kinder to try to come to an agreement with the buyer. I do adore and appreciate every offer that I receive even if we both counter and the item never sells. I love the anticipation of waking up to Best Offers every single day.

My C. Jere owl went through an auction for 7 days. It was a free listing sale so I listed it high and let it sit there. When the auction closed without any bids I moved it to my store with a lower price than the auction but still a relatively high price. The owl is quite rare and I couldn't find any others similar that have sold when I did a search on Worthpoint (the site's data goes back years rather than weeks).

Not long after I placed the owl in my eBay store I received a Best Offer. I sat on the offer for quite awhile unsure of what to do. It was a very nice offer and it certainly didn't insult me. (I've received $3 offers on a $60 items before) This offer was quite a distance from my asking price. I researched the owl some more, I contemplated having the money in my business account and I considered a counter offer. Dave wanted me to ask for $50 more. Since I was considering accepting the offer, I didn't want to risk losing the sale. If I countered back the buyer could walk away. There isn't much communication and definitely not eye contact and a shake of the hand like they do in Pawn Stars. In the end I accepted the offer and said a warm goodbye to the owl which we had been enjoying on our mantel since the summer. I'm very happy with the sale. Maybe I could have sold it for more but at this point in time I'm grateful that the money is in my bank account.

 

A couple weeks ago I listed an Easton Price for $19.99 with an option for best offers. I received an offer the next day for $18.99. I kind of laughed at why someone would go to the effort for $1 but I was glad to have the sale. I gratefully accepted their offer.

BEST OFFER PRICING

When I price items to go in my shop, I will consider the price I'd ideally like to sell an item for. I will then think about the Offers that might come in so I add a little more to the asking price. If I want to sell my Easton Press book for say $15 or so dollars, I'd list it anywhere between $17-$24. This is also based on market research for the item. I try to gage the value by looking at completed auctions. I also look at condition and how I will market the auction. I personally feel that good photography will help sell an item over a lousy photo with a poor auction title. 

I decided early on last month that if I was going to sell on eBay seriously that I would attempt to walk away from each sold auction feeling satisfied with the amount of money I made. I can't tell you how many auctions that I have started low (such as $6.99) only to have 5 pieces of dishes sell for the starting price. I would feel so frustrated and angry to have to do so much work for so little money. Especially with breakables.

This does mean that I'm paying higher listing fees because I'll often start an auction for more than $9.99. I'll start them at $14.99 or $19.99. Sometimes I'll have just one bidder instead of the possible 4 that I might have had if I had started it at 99¢. I'm okay with one bidder paying my starting bid because I've calculated my work time (which I roughly calculate at $35 or more an hour) and the cost of the item. If I sell an item for $9.99 that takes me 20 minutes to list and 30 minutes to pack and ship, my working rate will be far too low. I want my profit margin to grow as my business grows.

Best Offer Mentality

Some people come to eBay because they want a deal. They want to walk away and think that they got something for a fabulous price. I still collect and adore Ben Seibel but I will only buy it when it is a large collection and the shipping is affordable. I won't buy a $20 plate with a $10 shipping cost to boot. My last purchase (which was ages ago) was a large collection which I think I bought for $40 or so with a $20 charge for shipping. To me that is a fantastic price and I felt pleased that I saved lots of money.

I think that is why the Best Offer feature is important to consider when listing 30 day items. At the moment I receive a Best Offer a few times a week, sometimes once a day. If you look at my completed auctions you'll see a lot of Best Offer sales. For the most part my COG (cost of goods) is very low so I can play around with Best Offers and still come out making money.

Summary of Tips for Best Offer on eBay

• Research your item using completed auctions to get an idea of the overall value.
• Price your Best Offer item with room to negotiate with interested buyers.
• Reply to every Best Offer even if it is just a counter offer.
• Consider negotiating with the shipping as another option to get to a mutual selling price. If a buyer is in a nearby state and the item has a flat shipping fee, I'll offer to refund the difference (if the shipping is cheaper) if they accept my counteroffer.
• Add a message to your potential buyer when countering the offer such as "Thanks so much for your interest. Would you consider $30 for the book?"
• Don't feel that you have to take every first offer that comes along. Eventually if it is priced correctly, the right buyer and you will agree on a price.
• Remember that an item is only worth what someone will pay for it. While some offers will be low, I find the people that really want your item will offer a respectable price.

I've sold 12 items since February 1st through Best Offer. I would guess that possibly 4 counteroffers were sent to the buyer that ended nowhere. Overall for my business, Best Offer has been very successful.

Do you use Best Offer for your eBay items? What have you found that has worked well for Best Offer? I'd love to hear what's worked and what's been difficult.

Great feedback on the Listing Challenge. It's been just wonderful to hear your stories and experiences. It truly is a window into the lives of ReSellers. I think every eBay and Etsy executive should read the comments you left to understand how hard all of you work. You are all fabulous!