Discontinued Item to Sell on eBay - Lollia Luminary Dream Candle

I stumbled on this one by accident. I had sold one of these a couple of years ago - found it in a thrift store for $1, new, had never been burned. It sold for about $20. I came across this one at Tuesday Morning marked down to $7. I actually bought it for myself because I liked the scent. Then I looked it up on eBay and found that it has been discontinued / retired and is selling for $30. So much for keeping it. Watch stores like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross, and Tuesday Morning for this line of candles.

Happy Selling!

Why All eBay Sellers Should Have a Fair Return Policy

A fair return policy on eBay is critical for building your customer base. Having a fair return policy creates trust between you and your customers. How likely are you to buy something from a stranger on the internet without being able to return it if something isn't right or if you change your mind about it? If you sell on Amazon, you already know that Amazon requires all sellers to offer a 30 day return policy. (If you have not tried selling on Amazon, click here for a great guide that explains it.)

A fair refund policy allows refunds within 30 days. Research shows that the longer the return policy timeframe, the LESS likely customers are to use it. There is no sense of urgency. They forget about it, put the item on a table and it gets covered with other things, and they find it six months later. Consider extending your return policy to 30 days.

Accept returns for any reason, not just if the item is grossly misrepresented, as many eBay sellers state in their return policies. It really doesn't matter why the customer wants to return the item, if they aren't happy, you lose as a seller. The buyer gets the last word, even if they didn’t even read your policy. You are risking negative feedback and losing a customer who will never buy from you again.

Make it clear in your listing that the customer is responsible for paying return shipping fees, unless it is the seller's error. (You sent the wrong item, etc.)

If an item is returned, you can always re-list the item again. Refund the customer’s money, and then go to eBay and find the item in your archived listings. Relist the item with one click, and you are done. You can still get positive feedback from the first buyer, especially if you promptly process his refund and include a professional email thanking him for his business. Make the customer happy and get positive feedback.

Happy Selling!

Looking for Estate Sale Finds to Sell on eBay?

Are you into estate sales? Or maybe you want to learn about estate sales, but have no idea where to start? Some people just love the thrill of the hunt and looking and all that old stuff. It can be fun.

AuctionZip is a cool website that provides information on local estate sales and live auctions. Just enter your zip code, and you will get a calendar like this:

Then, click on the links on the calendar to find out where and when the auctions take place. It will look like this:

Then, click on the auction you are interested, and you get all the details, including an inventory of what will be there. It looks like this:

Now for the best part. Click on VIEW PHOTO GALLERY (if offered), and you can preview what is going to be up for sale. It looks like this:


So, for example, I see they have a lot of vintage books. I am not a book expert. I also see that they have some vintage gas station maps. I know about those - they can go for between $50 and $100 on eBay depending on the year and where they came from. This is where you will spend some time researching the items before you go to the estate sale to figure out what you should spend and how much you can sell the items for. I call this eBay recon (reconnaissance).Exploring in order to gain information. And you can do this from home. So check out AuctionZip.com to see what is happening in your area. You might find some real gems hiding out there.

Happy Selling!

Twilight Saga - New Moon Giveaway

The movie New Moon opens on Friday so this fun giveaway is just in time! The winner will receive the New Moon book and one tube of DuWop Lip Venom V. Lip Venom V is a shimmering crimson lip stain suspended in a venom-laced liquid lip conditioner with a super potent bite (watch out!), and contains argan, avocado, olive oils and vitamin E. Retail value of this giveaway is $27. Great gift for your favorite vampire or Twilight fan.

To enter, just leave a comment below. For extra entries, help me promote this giveaway by doing any of the following:

(Please remember to put an email address in your comment, or make sure it links to a place where I can easily find your email! I need a way to contact you if you win.)

Post on your blog
Post on Twitter
Post on Facebook
Post on a forum or group (Facebook, Yahoo Groups, etc)
Stumble this post
Digg this post

Be sure to leave a comment for each extra that you do, and your email address so I can contact you if you win! Good luck!

Clearance Item to Sell on eBay - 100% Sell Through Rate

I found Nicorette Commit Lozenges on clearance at Publix this morning while I was doing my grocery shopping. I ALWAYS check the clearance section no matter where I am, you never know what gems are hiding in there. The box of Nicorette Commit lozenges, Cappuccino, 72 count, 2 mg, was marked down to $12. Regular retail price is about $40. You may remember a post a while back about Nicorette orange flavor gum that was discontinued and was a hot item for a while.

So here is the research. Whenever I find something like this, I check it out on Hammertap to see the sell through rate and average sale price. When I searched for the terms NICORETTE LOZENGE 72 CAPPUCCINO, I got these results:



Then, using Hammertap, you can go to this screen and see the actual listings:



Hammertap is a couple of days behind, because the data is extracted from eBay and sent over - it isn't like looking at completed listings that are up to the minute. So you always want to check completed listings, too. Here is listing for this exact item that ended yesterday, November 6:



See the listing here: COMMIT Lozenges--CAPPUCCINO FLAVOR--72ct--2mg Each

Now you may ask, "How did you know to buy it?" I kind of already knew that the stop smoking products are expensive, and this seemed like it had been marked down quite a bit. I went up to customer service and asked if they could tell me what the regular price was, and they looked it up - regular retail is $44. I asked if this flavor had been discontinued, and they said they didn't know. The expiration date is 5/10, the package is sealed, so I took a chance. I will let you know how it goes, and please let me know if you find any or learn if this product is discontinued. If it is discontinued, it will probably be selling for much more in the future.

Happy Selling!

Source for eBay Inventory - Tuesday Morning

Tuesday Morning is often overlooked as a source for eBay inventory, but definitely a place you should check out. If you have never heard of Tuesday Morning, according to their corporate page on the company website:

"Tuesday Morning is a retailer specializing in upscale closeout merchandise, with more than 800 stores across the United States. Our successful concept was founded on a unique philosophy: sell first-quality, famous designer and name-brand merchandise at extraordinarily discounted prices on an event basis. Our 10 major events usually kick off on the first Tuesday of the month. We receive new merchandise shipments daily, and customers can return often to find the shelves replenished with new items."

I have found really great stuff in there. (No, nothing like Joes Jeans - more on that later.) I found some Beatrix Potter ceramic items that sold well, and also a $300 home espresso maker marked down to $75. (By the time I researched it and came back to get it, the machine was gone.)

Click here to go to the Tuesday Morning store locator and see if there is a location near you.

Click here for a comprehensive list of where to get items to sell on eBay. You will be surprised where you can find things to sell right in your own community.

Happy Selling!