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February was a stellar month for us. People go crazy preparing for 4th quarter sales every year but some of our best sales are in Q1. I would assume it’s because everyone is home and depressed with the post-holiday blues and want to drown their sadness with used goods from eBay! Whatever the reason is, we’re happy to meet that need!
While we’ve been focused on designing a new supplement and “something else” for our soon to be launched fitness company, eBay sales have been slowly increasing and have consistently been over $10k a month.
We normally wouldn’t get very excited by a Tommy jacket but this one was NWT and in an extremely good size! Most stores only carry up to a 3XL so, if you wear a larger size than that, it can be extremely difficult to find things that fit properly. Down jacket, huge size, mainstream brand, no brainer! It took 2 days to sell at this price
When Kirstie was pregnant I actually bought her 4 different down jackets until I found one that fit well. (this was a non-fitting one….) I am familiar enough with most outdoor brands and their styles that when this one came up on Mercari for $30 I bought it instantly. After Kirstie tried it on and it didn’t fit we stuck it on eBay and doubled our money in less than 24 hours! Oh the joys of reselling.
This dress had a lot going for it. Boden stuff can be really hit or miss but this piece was a good size, a great pattern, and made of 100% linen! It got interest and watchers from the moment we posted it but it didn’t end up selling for around 4 months. It sold on a -19 degree day for us but it’s always sunny and warm somewhere!
Hopefully this is the kind of thing you don’t need to see on a BOLO list to know to pick up. If you see a pair of boots this nice on the shelf, you better be looking up the brand whether you recognize it or not.
We live in one of the densest populated Boy Scout areas in the world…seriously…scouts are everywhere. So it’s very normal for us to find mounds of scouting stuff, particularly vintage scouting stuff. In fact, several local thrift stores actually have dedicated racks for just scout uniforms and pants. Keep your eyes open for NWT scouting items and vintage wool items. We have sold vintage wool “shackets” for over $200! We have never picked up actual uniforms to flip however because they are always covered in patches that would have to removed by us or the new owner.
eBay is full of Carhartt items, almost all underpriced. Carhartt items are typically left in the clothing piles at the Goodwill Outlet, including this NWT piece. All items Carhartt sell well but keep at eye out for people that have been “broken in” meaning they are softer and have better patina than new items. Also, tall items (especially vests) tend to do better than regular version.
This one came out of a pallet of returned clothing we purchasd and had a decent snag/scratch/cut thing right on the chest. We make sure to over-describe such flaws and take good pictures of it and our returns of flawed items are actually lower than normal items.
The louder and flashier vintage ski jackets are the more you can ask for them. This one was actually pretty muted but it had a Swiss Ski Team patch on it so we priced it high and waited almost a year for the right buyer to come along.
While we usually don’t pick up GUESS items (especially women’s) we make exceptions for men’s items that are in excellent condition and have some other things going for them. This was a wool coat in a current fashion and we found it in the dead of winter. We knew it would sell but even I was surprised when it sold the next day!
This shoe we decided to price among a sea of similar shoes that were listed in the $20-30 range. If you are not in a hurry to sell something, think about this in this way: These shoes were in excellent condition so I pretended I was shopping for them. I couldn’t find a good deal on the new and so looked everywhere for them used. I couldn’t find a good deal on the exact model so I settled on a price that was half of what a the cheapest new pair cost at the time. A lot of people (like myself) do a lot of research before purchasing and decide on a particular model. If you are offering the best deal on that exact size and model (or maybe even color) they will end up buying from you, even if you are priced twice as high as shoes that are similar but of different models.
Kuhl pants are another items that are routinely underpriced by eBay sellers. These pants cost $99 directly from Kuhl and typically sell online for $85 (new, not on eBay). While people routinely price Kuhl pants for $30 or less, anyone who wants a nice use pair will gladly pair 50% or more off retail value for them! In the right season, I have seen used versions of these same pants go for up to $60!
This item was kind of a disappointment. I bought it in the early days of my thrifting career and listed it at $200. It had quite a bit of initial interest and got several watchers but the interest died out after awhile and not matter how I re-listed it I couldn’t get it to sell. It took almost two years to sell and get me my $10 back but I was glad to get it gone!
It’s hard to tell in the main picture but this jacket was actually in TERRIBLE condition. It had lots of staining, several small cuts that had been poorly repaired, and was missing some teeth on the zipper. I was still willing to pay the $20 Goodwill was asking and priced it to sell fast. I always like pricing damaged items at firesale prices that will still make me a profit. That way, the item moves fast and the buyer is usually happy to get such a good deal! Win-win!
Here is another example of selling an exact model. Since I was able to look up the style number and get the exact name (and the jacket was still on the market) I priced it according to what someone would pay if they were looking for the best deal on that exact jacket, not just any insulated jacket. A good color and size helped the price along and it took about a month to sell.
I snagged this one off the rack as soon as it rolled out and was stoked to pay the $30 they were asking. Because I live in a ski state I often find gear from ski teams, Olympic jackets, etc. Items like this are unique enough that you have to price it according to what someone will pay if they are desperate for it, not just think it’s cool. I refused several lower offers including several from a very persistent gentlemen who really wanted to “do me a favor” and “take it off my hands” for $120. After all, that was “probably the best offer I’d get for such an old jacket in that condition.” Anytime someone tries such bargaining techniques it does two things: ticks me off (if you want a deal, don’t open the conversation by insulting my stuff), and reassures me that the thing I have is actually valuable and they’re desperate enough to try anything to get it.
As good as this shirt was I almost didn’t pick it up because I didn’t want to take pictures of it. Linen items (particularly dress shirts) always look wrinkly and lumpy and, to make matters worse, this one had blue stripes which always makes the picture look yellow and muted. But then I thought of all the crappy pictures on eBay that sell things and remembered, you don’t actually have to do things well, you just have to do them better than most people. You may not be the best seller on eBay but if you’re better of them then you’ll sell more than most of them!