WEEK 14 STATS

Hi Everyone!

Where on earth does the time go? I can’t believe it’s August already and summer is coming to an end. This challange has really taught me some valuable lessons about trying to get a business started and how life can and does affect it.  I won’t make my challange goal at this point, but with the lessons learned, I’m hoping to do better with the way I buy and managing my time. My DSR’s have come up, as has my feedback percentage which I have always worked hard at since starting on ebay years ago. I have numerious physical disabilites which also have affected how often I can get out and about. I have days that I can barely do anything and that was another reason I wanted to try this challange, too push myself and not let them take over my life. We planted a garden this year and with my hubby’s and daughter in laws help, we have managed to can several quarts of veggies and we will have enough that we won’t have to buy this winter.

Gary’s 2008 Garage Sale Challenge - Week 14

The auctions for items purchased during the thirteenth week of the 2008 Garage Sale Challenge ended Sunday evening with 12 of the original 24 items listed selling for a total of $278.74 and a sell-through rate of only 50% for the second week in a row.

As if my sell-through rate wasn’t bad enough, this week my sales on Amazon were higher than my sales on eBay. I don’t remember that ever happening previously.

Twelve books sold on Amazon during the last week for $338.05. The highlight of eBay sales was the early Hohner accordion catalog selling for $54.00 (280251371290).

Here’s how things look after Sunday:

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 - went fishing in Canada
6/15	$518.38	$57.34	$58.25	$10.25	$45.60	$27.83	$0.00	$36.87	$396.92	$2497.80
6/22	$215.92	$241.08	$21.25	$3.05	$56.44	$8.97	$0.00	$0.00	$367.29	$2865.09
6/29	$701.34	$139.91	$74.97	$12.35	$69.99	$25.42	$0.00	$49.49	$609.03	$3474.12
7/06	$935.78	$118.42	$41.75	$14.55	$78.21	$29.73	$0.00	$39.90	$850.06	$4324.18
7/13	$365.10	$125.98	$42.72	$5.35	$44.21	$16.12	$0.00	$21.71	$360.97	$4685.15
7/20	$366.07	$321.05	$89.50	$9.55	$86.45	$11.91	$0.00	$42.42	$447.59	$5132.44
7/27	$495.80	$469.26	$50.75	$11.35	$110.35	$22.73	$0.00	$52.02	$717.86	$5850.30
8/03	$278.74	$338.05	$45.00	$9.50	$81.83	$9.80	$0.00	$58.99	$411.67	$6261.97
8/10			$45.90	$11.15				$38.38

Larry and Kathy’s Update - Weeks 12 and 13

Our two-week vacation ended last week so we have no sales to report.  We did hit a few sales this weekend, and things seem to be picking up a little from the July slump.  We found the following and have listed them on eBay this week:

• Southwestern Student Handbook, 4 Volumes - paid $2.00
• 18 Stampin’ Up! Stamp Sets - None of them will be big sellers, but I paid only $1 or $2 apiece.
• Lot of Miscellaneous Rubber Stamps in a Case - I ditched the case and listed the stamps in a lot.  You couldn’t beat the price - FREE!
• Lot of 34 Stampin’ Up! Ink Pads - I paid $15 but hope to double or triple my money.
• Lot of 51 Children’s Books (Barbie Book Club, Pokémon, Magic Tree House, Disney) which I divided up in lots - Paid $.10 apiece
• Tupperware Push-Button Gallon Pitcher - Paid $.25
• Vintage Glass Pitcher - Paid $.50

In addition, we picked up the following which I listed on Amazon:

• CD - Peter Mayer, Elements - Paid $.50
• CD - Plas Johnson, The Blues - paid $.50
• Book - NIV Discoverer’s Bible - paid $.10, sold for $9.99
• Toy - Pokémon Battle Arena - paid $5.00 (probably too much)
• Toy - Pokémon Pikachu Figure - paid $1.50
• Toy - Pokémon Cranida Figure - paid $1.50

Ended	eBay Sold	Amazon Sold	Cost	List Fees	FV Fees	PayPal Fees	Incid. Fees	Miles	Net Profit	Total
5/08	$0.00	$46.93	$5.50	$0.00	$9.74	$0.00	$0.00	$10.74	$20.95	$20.95
5/15	$0.00	$231.92	$24.75	$0.00	$51.17	$0.00	$0.00	$21.97	$134.03	$154.98
5/22	$61.97	$299.91	$72.50	$2.50	$68.29	$3.01	$0.00	$12.59	$202.99	$357.97
5/29	$77.06	$186.25	$41.25	$3.55	$42.95	$4.61	$0.00	$10.12	$160.83	$518.80
6/05	$0.00	$139.65	$6.00	$0.00	$15.25	$0.00	$0.00	$4.71	$113.69	$632.39
6/12	$0.00	$93.59	$8.75	$0.00	$20.80	$0.00	$0.00	$$6.59	$57.45	$689.94
6/19	$0.00	$98.29	$4.50	$0.00	$22.84	$0.00	$0.00	$4.94	$66.01	$755.95
6/26	$0.00	$114..30	$4.25	$0.00	$23.90	$0.00	$0.00	$6.48	$79.67	$835.62
7/3	$0.00	$100.95	$13.25	$0.00	$24.05	$0.00	$0.00	$6.49	$57.16	$892.78
7/10	$0.00	$61.25	$4.75	$0.00	$15.29	$0.00	$0.00	$3.52	$37.69	$930.47
7/17	$345.50	$35.25	$46.40	$8.41	$34.47	$17.12	$0.00	$19.58	$254.77	$1185.24
7/24	On Vacation – No Sales
7/31	On Vacation – No Sales

Gary’s 2008 Garage Sale Challenge - Week 13

The auctions for items purchased during the twelfth week of the 2008 Garage Sale Challenge ended Sunday evening with 16 of the original 32 items listed selling for a total of $384.93 and a sell-through rate of only 50%. Two of the 32 items didn’t surive the week.

I ended the auction for the LeBlanc Noblet Paris wood clarinet when, in response to a question from an interested buyer, I found it did have a small crack in the wood. The description has been changed to reflect that crack and it has been re-listed this week. eBay ended the auction for the SPSS 13.0 Windows Student Version software, saying I was in violation of it’s VeRO policy.

Three additional items were sold Sunday evening. The other two Zippo Vargas lighters were sold via second change offers for $38.88 and $36.00. In addition, after the auctions closed, I received an offer of $35.00 for the Pen Sketches Of Nebraskans book that I accepted. These sales bring the eBay total for the week up to $495.80.

This weeks auctions were led by the 1998 limited edition Remington Wildlife pocket knife that sold for $101.11. Amazon sales accounted for an additional $469.26 in revenue this week from the sale of fifteen books. Amazon sales were led by three algebra textbooks that sold for $60+ each.

Here’s how things look to date:

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 - went fishing in Canada
6/15	$518.38	$57.34	$58.25	$10.25	$45.60	$27.83	$0.00	$36.87	$396.92	$2497.80
6/22	$215.92	$241.08	$21.25	$3.05	$56.44	$8.97	$0.00	$0.00	$367.29	$2865.09
6/29	$701.34	$139.91	$74.97	$12.35	$69.99	$25.42	$0.00	$49.49	$609.03	$3474.12
7/06	$935.78	$118.42	$41.75	$14.55	$78.21	$29.73	$0.00	$39.90	$850.06	$4324.18
7/13	$365.10	$125.98	$42.72	$5.35	$44.21	$16.12	$0.00	$21.71	$360.97	$4685.15
7/20	$366.07	$321.05	$89.50	$9.55	$86.45	$11.91	$0.00	$42.42	$447.59	$5132.44
7/27	$495.80	$469.26	$50.75	$11.35	$110.35	$19.01	$0.00	$52.02	$721.58	$5854.02
8/03			$45.00	$9.50				$58.99

WOOHOO! RITA FINALLY SHOWS A PROFIT!!!

Howdy, howdy all

I finally did it, Woohoo!! LOL  Granted it’s a small one, but it feels good to be out of the hole. The past few weeks have been so very hectic with little time for the challange or even e-bay for that matter. I figued that once hubby’s vacation and grand kids visits were over I’d have more time. Wrong! The garden is coming in  and I’ve started canning. I have not been buying anything new for the challange lately as I’m listing from items already bought for the challange in previous weeks.  This update on the challange totals are from July 9th - July 28th. I’m going to make more of an effort to post stats every week like I used to.

Ebay Sales…155.81

COG….0.00

LF……10.10

FV Fees….8.49

PP Fees….12.16

Net…….125.06 (-26.40) 98.66

Total challange net….98.66

Rita

Christmas Sales

I think it’s time to start looking for Christmas items when you’re out hunting and getting those Christmas items listed!!  I just sold four Christmas items out of my store this weekend.

Diane

Ken & Deb Catching Up - Week 12

Sorry it’s been so long since we posted. We still here, still plugging along and still in the hole. I think we were more than a tad ambitious when we set our goals for the challenge. We’ve been buying more than we can get listed, in spite of a few weeks when we couldn’t get to sales. Deb is tied up this weekend so I’m going to try to get as much of it listed as I can rather than going to sales. Lets see if we can get into the black by the end of next week.

Week #	Week	Sales	Cost	List Fee	Fv Fee	PayPal Fee	Misc Fees	Mileage	Net Profit	Total
1	5/8/2008		105.50	8.40				53.03	-166.93
2	5/15/2008	353.33	27.85	13.80	25.80	16.73	2.99	71.71	194.45	27.53
3	5/22/2008	161.94	86.35	6.86	15.57	11.45		74.74	-33.03	-5.50
4	5/29/2008	314.36	584.50	3.15	24.62	13.06	5.52	44.44	-360.93	-366.44
5	6/5/2008	108.78	20.20	9.80	8.16	3.81	0.00	90.40	-23.58	-390.02
6	6/12/2008	155.09		2.80	12.94				139.35	-250.67
7	6/19/2008	56.98	73.00	2.45	4.71	3.55	0.00	48.48	-75.21	-325.88
8	6/26/2008	94.93	41.14	13.30	8.43	4.35		59.59	-31.88	-357.75
9	7/3/2008	155.70		5.60	13.21	6.60	0.00		130.29	-227.46
10	7/10/2008	66.46	183.40	4.06	4.94				-125.94	-353.40
11	7/17/2008	151.70	41.75	3.88	1.62			95.36	9.10	-344.30
12	7/24/2008	136.17			9.41	1.75			125.01	-219.30

Gary’s 2008 Garage Sale Challenge - Week 12

The auctions for items purchased during the eleventh week of the 2008 Garage Sale Challenge ended Sunday evening with 19 of the 27 items listed selling for a total of $366.07 and a sell-through rate of 70%. Amazon sales accounted for an additional $321.05 in revenue this week from the sale of twelve books.

Once again, there were no really exciting items sold this week. The highest priced item was the Pepsi-Cola advertising thermometer that sold for $46.95. During the same week I had two books that each sold for more than that on Amazon. When that happens, eBay didn’t exactly rip it up for the week.

For the third or fourth week in a row the garage sales in Grand Forks failed to produce anything really exciting. Probably the item for sale this week with the most potential is the Noblet clarinet I have listed. Two sales this past week did have nice selections of antiques but, in both cases, the prices the sellers wanted made it impossible to buy anything and expect to make a profit on it.

After 10 weeks of sales here’s how things look.

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 - went fishing in Canada
6/15	$518.38	$57.34	$58.25	$10.25	$45.60	$27.83	$0.00	$36.87	$396.92	$2497.80
6/22	$215.92	$241.08	$21.25	$3.05	$56.44	$8.97	$0.00	$0.00	$367.29	$2865.09
6/29	$701.34	$139.91	$74.97	$12.35	$69.99	$25.42	$0.00	$49.49	$609.03	$3474.12
7/06	$935.78	$118.42	$41.75	$14.55	$78.21	$29.73	$0.00	$39.90	$850.06	$4324.18
7/13	$365.10	$125.98	$42.72	$5.35	$44.21	$16.12	$0.00	$21.71	$360.97	$4685.15
7/20	$366.07	$321.05	$89.50	$9.55	$86.45	$11.91	$0.00	$42.42	$447.59	$5132.44
7/27			$50.75	$11.35				$52.02

He’s… BAAAAACK!!

Hello everybody,

WHEW, that was a rough ride, feels good to be back!! 

I gotta tell ya if you don’t back up your info on a regular basis you’re just asking for trouble!!

Here’s a tip, spend a few $$ on a USB external hard drive and save your most important folders and files there, so in the event you have a complete system failure like I did, you’ll have your most important stuff safe, secure and accessible.

Luckily for me, 3/4 of my most important files were stored on a 2nd hard drive I had installed when I built my now dead (RIP) PC, but the 1/4 of my MOST important stuff was on the primary drive…oh well.

I’m back to about 95% capabilities, hungrier and wiser

Still trying to get my numbers together for update purchases and final sales figures, which I hope to have finished late this week or early next. Bear with me, I’m a slow poke!

Also work continues on the review of my PDA Media scouting endeavours which I hope to post this week… stay tuned!!

BTW - If you have any particular questions you’d like addressed in my review, just add a comment to this post and I’ll do my best to ensure it’s covered… if I can!!

Remember, this was a leap into the dark for me, as I’ve not used any type of media scouting tool/service, so I’ll only address findings and experiences particular to this individual service/method as I found them to be during my use. 

Larry and Kathy’s Update - Weeks 10 and 11

We had 18 eBay auctions ending this week for a total of $345.50.  Fifteen of 18 items sold for a sell-through rate of 83%.  In addition, we sold items on Amazon for a total of $96.50.  Some of the highlights were:

• Longaberger Candy Corn Crock - paid $.50, sold for $23.39
• Vintage Royal Typewriter - paid $5.00, sold for $39.55
• Nikon 50mm Camera Lens - paid $3.00, sold for $35.01
• 11 Agatha Christie Books - paid $2.75, sold for $39.00
• 12 Wilton Cake & Cookie Pans - paid $12.50, sold for $77.48 (in two lots)

Ended	eBay Sold	Amazon Sold	Cost	List Fees	FV Fees	PayPal Fees	Incid. Fees	Miles	Net Profit	Total
5/08	$0.00	$46.93	$5.50	$0.00	$9.74	$0.00	$0.00	$10.74	$20.95	$20.95
5/15	$0.00	$231.92	$24.75	$0.00	$51.17	$0.00	$0.00	$21.97	$134.03	$154.98
5/22	$61.97	$299.91	$72.50	$2.50	$68.29	$3.01	$0.00	$12.59	$202.99	$357.97
5/29	$77.06	$186.25	$41.25	$3.55	$42.95	$4.61	$0.00	$10.12	$160.83	$518.80
6/05	$0.00	$139.65	$6.00	$0.00	$15.25	$0.00	$0.00	$4.71	$113.69	$632.39
6/12	$0.00	$93.59	$8.75	$0.00	$20.80	$0.00	$0.00	$$6.59	$57.45	$689.94
6/19	$0.00	$98.29	$4.50	$0.00	$22.84	$0.00	$0.00	$4.94	$66.01	$755.95
6/26	$0.00	$114..30	$4.25	$0.00	$23.90	$0.00	$0.00	$6.48	$79.67	$835.62
7/3	$0.00	$100.95	$13.25	$0.00	$24.05	$0.00	$0.00	$6.49	$57.16	$892.78
7/10	$0.00	$61.25	$4.75	$0.00	$15.29	$0.00	$0.00	$3.52	$37.69	$930.47
7/17	$345.50	$35.25	$46.40	$8.41	$34.47	$17.12	$0.00	$19.58	$254.77	$1185.24

Last weekend was a busy one for us personally so we didn’t get to very many sales, but the ones we did visit didn’t produce anything.  Are we already to the “dog days of summer”? We will be on vacation the next two weeks so our next update won’t be until the first week in August.  We wish you all the best as we head into the last half of the Challenge.  Larry and Kathy