The auctions for items purchased during the fifth week of the 2008 Garage Sale Challenged ended on Sunday evening after I returned from Canada.
I had a total of thirty-three qualifying auctions running while I was gone. Of the thirty-three, twenty two sold for a total of $518.38. The sell-through rate was 67%. Not the greatest, but still well above eBay’s average. My Amazon store was placed on “Vacation” status while I was gone, but before leaving, Amazon did account for an additional $57.34 in sales.
The highlights of the week were two Creative Memories sticker binders with protectors I paid $5 each for. They sold for $76.25 and $73.00 respectively.
Here’s how things look after the seventh week of the Challenge:
| Ended | eBay Sold | Amazon Sold | Cost | List Fees | FV Fees | PayPal Fees | Incid. Fees | Miles | Net Profit | Total |
| 5/11 | $193.46 | $59.99 | $35.35 | $6.30 | $18.04 | $10.27 | $0.00 | $24.75 | $150.37 | $158.74 |
| 5/18 | $923.70 | $247.40 | $59.55 | $8.15 | $109.00 | $35.63 | $0.00 | $46.97 | $911.80 | $1070.54 |
| 5/26 | $589.03 | $298.12 | $65.50 | $10.40 | $92.46 | $15.59 | $0.00 | $59.09 | $644.11 | $1714.65 |
| 6/01 | $348.10 | $174.30 | $30.70 | $6.15 | $50.69 | $24.89 | $0.00 | $23.74 | $386.25 | $2100.88 |
| 6/8 | No auctions - fishing in Canada | |||||||||
| 6/15 | $518.38 | $57.34 | $58.25 | $10.25 | $45.60 | $24.52 | $0.00 | $36.87 | $400.23 | $2501.11 |
| 6/22 | $21.25 | $3.05 | $0.00 | |||||||
This week there are only nine items running on eBay. These nine items are the remnants of what I purchased the week prior to leaving for Canada but didn’t have the time to list. Because of this, there is no mileage expense for this week. The items are:
- A 7″ Fire King Tulip mixing bowl - paid $.50
- A Red Wing spongeware stoneware mixing bowl - paid $.25
- A Getzen trumpet - paid $10.00
- A Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book - paid $.50
- Meg Swansen’s Knitting book - paid $1.00
- 4 old photo postcards - paid $.50 (in addition to these four, I also bought a duplicate of the Missouri River Lumber Co. card)
4 responses so far ↓
banksauctions // June 18, 2008 at 10:18 am
Gary,
I’ve got my Amazon marketplace storefront running here’s the link.
The PDA media scouting tool works like a dream, except the battery runs down within 2-3 hrs of use, so I’ve purchased a car charger which has sloved that issue while I’m out scouting!!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/shops/index.html?ie=UTF8&sellerID=AI1RK0UNCK9TY
If you want to add this to my “blogroll” links feel free to do so. No sales as of yet, but hopeful!!
Q — Do you focus on price or rank when listing on Amazon?
Q — How do you price your items… high, low in the middle??
Q — Are most of the books you sell text books, and what other type stuff do you market on Amazon besides books??
You know me, LOTS of ?????
Thanks in advance for your insights!!
Gary // June 22, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Stephen,
1. I usually price my Amazon listings either at, or close to, the low price already available. My reasoning for doing so is that the business model I use is to turn inventory as quickly as possible and invest the money in other inventory.
That’s just the way I personally do business, and you will find a lot of sellers who will advise you to ignore the lowest price and price your book at what you think it’s worth or for maximum return.
I’ve seen a lot of dealers use each method over the years in the antiques field, and my opinion is that the fast turnover dealers are almost always more successful and make more money long-term. (again, just my opinion).
2. All I sell on Amazon are books and an occasional DVD or VHS. On an annual basis, probably a third of the books are college texts. This time of year, when school gets out for the summer, the mix swings more toward textbooks because the kids are getting rid of them. Other then textbooks, I stick exclusively to non-fiction.
3. I use generalized guidelines of both price and rank when BUYING books. First, I look at the lowest price shown. Then I look at the ranking.
I pretty much ignore anything with a lowest price of $15 or below. The only exception would be something I might pay a quarter or fifty cents for and expect to get $9 or $10 for within 48 hours based on it’s popularity ranking.
Gary H.
bunniesr // June 23, 2008 at 3:06 am
Hi, Gary, you are doing great selling Creative Memories things!! As a Creative Memories buyer and seller, I do have a couple of suggestions for your current auction for the green album. I would add NLA (No longer available) as a lot of CMer’s search for that keyword. Also, if you have room, I would put “page protectors” or “protectors” in your title also. It makes your auction more valuable.
If you don’t have room, I would add “Plus,” so people will look to see what comes in addition to the album. Just a few suggestions to gain even more hits and hopefully more bids!! Diane
Gary // June 23, 2008 at 7:21 am
Diane,
Thank you for the tip. I’ve edited to title to reflect your suggestion.
Gary H.
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