Check Out This eBay Seller's Space

 

I had the pleasure of visiting with another Atlanta eBay seller this week, Catherine Norwood who has an amazing set up in her basement. Catherine is a savvy thrifter with a great eye for designer labels and fashion trends. She started creating her basement boutique collection about a year ago, just visiting different thrift stores around Atlanta, getting great deals on women's clothing, shoes, and accessories, and selling her finds to her friends. Once her business started to grow, she had a space finished in her basement and created a lovely boutique with 2-tiered clothing racks, a try-on area, jewelry displays, and even a mini-fridge with beverages for her customers.

Catherine's Closet has about 2,000 items for sale. Most items are women's clothing ranging from trendy boho tops, classic dresses, suits, skirts, designer jeans, and shoes. She is just starting to learn to sell on eBay. I love working with clients like Catherine who already have the merchandise, know how to find deals, know what sells,and just need some help learning the eBay landscape to reach customers all over the world.

A wide variety of brands are available at Catherine's Closet as you can see in this photo- St. John, Juicy, Armani, Lilly Pulitzer and Michael Kors. During my visit, we discussed the risks of selling high-end clothing on eBay with the VERO program and making sure anything designer is authenticated. Just a note for new sellers, don't start off selling only high-end designer names. Introduce them slowly so that you don't trigger eBay to more closely inspect your account. New accounts with high-dollar items and a lot of expensive brand names can be restricted or the items removed for VERO violations.

Catherine had many different displays set up with clothing on mannequins. This is great for transitioning to eBay since internet shopping is quite different than shopping in person in a boutique. When selling clothing on eBay, it is important to show the garment on a mannequin so the buyer can get an idea of how it fits and how it looks. Catherine had so many stylish pieces and accessorized her displays with gorgeous costume jewelry.

No boutique is complete without vintage! Here is a lovely 100% silk vintage dress. Catherine also has some interesting vintage coats, some Pendleton skirts, pantsuits, and even furs.

Speaking of jewelry, isn't this a cute display? Costume jewelry is a great seller on eBay. Sell by the piece to get the best price. Some good mainstream brands of costume jewelry include Chico's, White House Black Market, Ann Taylor, and even some brands from Kohl's.

More jewelry! Be on the lookout for interesting pieces at garage sales, estate sales, and consignment stores. Costume jewelry sells. Be sure to research the brand, style, and color before buying for resale.

Here is the denim section of Catherine's Closet. Trendy embroidered and embellished styles and popular brands like Miss Me, Lilly Pulitzer, and True Religion. A note to new clothing sellers - be careful selling expensive brands as many are fakes. (Blue jeans are faked almost as much as handbags.) Do your research and authenticate before listing on eBay.

And here is the illustrious Catherine posing in her very cool basement boutique. I was really glad we got to visit and that she lives 12 miles from me! I learned a lot from her about clothing and I helped her get rolling on eBay by showing her how to add international shipping to her listings and a few other tips. Let's go shopping soon, Catherine!

Learn more about Catherine's Closet by liking her Facebook page here.

And to learn more about selling pre-owned women's clothing on eBay, check out my online class:

 The Profitable World of Selling Pre-Owned Women's Clothing on eBay

Do you have something interesting going on with your eBay business? A unique set up or product line you would like to share? Send a message using the contact box on the right and I can share it here on my blog.

eBay Introduces Money Back Guarantee

Did you receive the email this week about eBay changing the Buyer Protection Program to a Money Back Guarantee? According to the email, the new eBay Money Back Guarantee states that eBay guarantees buyers that they will get the item they ordered or they receive their money back. eBay Buyer Protection covers the original purchase price plush original shipping on most items on eBay. The current eBay Buyer Protection policy and claims process is not changing.

This change is to build buyer confidence. If buyers can be confident that they will get what they order, sales will increase. And that's a good thing for sellers! Tune into eBay Radio on Tuesday Nov 5 to hear more about this new program.


Other news this week:

It's Ugly Christmas Sweater Time Again!
Where the tradition came from and why people pay so much for them on eBay.

Don't Throw Those Metal Bottle Caps Away - They are Worth Cash on eBay
These are a craft supply item - see how much you can make selling them!

Gross Stuff Sold on eBay - Used False Teeth
Find them at estate sales!

10 Hot Toys to Sell on eBay for Holiday 2013
Toys mentioned on hot toy lists.

Top Amazon Reviewer Gets Tons of Free Products
His house is full of free stuff!

Hot Toys to Watch for Holiday 2013

It's that time of year again, when the questions start coming in, "What are the hot toys for this year? What should I be buying? What will make a huge profit?" These are questions nobody can really answer with any accuracy. Things change very quickly on both eBay and Amazon and unless you have a crystal ball or a psychic gift, there is no way to nail down exactly what toys will be hot this year. Remember, making a profit as an eBay or Amazon seller depends on many factors:

Seller cost of the item

Selling price of the item

How many other sellers have the item in stock and their prices
(The more sellers, the more chance of the prices going down)

Availability of the product both online and locally

Also factor in toy recalls and intellectual property rights issues - when eBay or Amazon is required to pull the product either by government directive or because the manufacturer requires it

My best advice is to do your homework. That means, DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK. Here are a few resources with some hot toy reports and predictions, but please use caution when buying quantities and don't let greed cloud your judgement.

10 Hot Toys to buy on eBay when stores sell out on Black Friday

Target Hot Hoy List 2013

Amazon Hot Toy List

Toys R Us Hot Toy List 

WalMart Hot Toy List 

Money CNN Hot Toy List

Cyber Monday, December 2, is expected to be the busiest online shopping day in history. Will you be ready?
 

Weird eBay Items that Sell - Animal Orgy Mugs

Truth really is stranger than fiction, especially on eBay. Have you heard about Animal Orgy Mugs by Taylor & Ng? Yes, these are a real thing that you may be able to find when out treasure hunting at thrift stores, garage sales, and estate sales. Keep you eyes out for these crazy mugs as they can sell for up to $30 each. Not a bad flip when mugs only cost 25 - 50 cents at thrift stores and garage sales. We had an interesting discussion about these mugs on my Facebook group, thanks to Su posting a photo of her cat orgy mug find. I am the first to admit, mugs are not my specialty, but I am pretty sure "animal orgy" is now burned into my brain.

And now for your viewing pleasure, a few examples of these Taylor & Ng animal orgy mugs:

Set of 2 (bear and rabbit) sold for $53.99 - free shipping

Dogpile orgy mug sold for $34.99 - free shipping

Giraffe orgy mug sold for $25.49 with free shipping

Sometimes, you think eBay just can't get any weirder, and along come animal orgy mugs!

Be sure to check out my new blog over at SuzanneAWells.com, where I will share more ecommerce tips about eBay and Amazon, interesting and legitimate alternative income streams, and basic home business and entrepreneurship info. And make sure you are on my newsletter list, so you can receive info not shared online, like the special Hidden Treasure feature each month.

What have you found lately and plan to sell on eBay that is unusual or just plain weird? Post a comment below or drop me a line at suzanne@suzanneawells.com and share your interesting find!

eBay Holiday Seller Workshop

 

eBay will be holding a free holiday seller workshop on October 24 at 11 AM Pacific time. Prepare for the holiday sales rush with best practices and holiday selling tips to boost sales. You'll learn about the latest shipping services, carrier discounts and deadlines. They will also cover seller protections and policies to safeguard your feedback and seller performance.Hey, its free, and if you are at your computer listing or shipping, why not listen in? Register here for the workshop.

It's always a blast being on eBay Radio! I was honored to be interviewed this week and had a nice laid back chat with Griff and Lee. If you missed the interview, click here to listen.

Also, we have several classes this weekend, including a new eBay Basics class that's perfect for a family member or friend who wants to learn eBay, and maybe you don't have time to help them learn. Check out the full class calendar here.

Why Overalls Sell Well in October

 

Here is a great tip from a fellow seller: When listing denim overalls in the fall, put the keywords Halloween and scarecrow in the title. Not only are people buying overalls for their farmer Halloween costumes, they are using them to make scarecrows and other autumn-themed decorations. And the overalls don't even have to be in great condition to sell for a decent price. Completed listings for these used overalls go up into the $30 range. So if you have denim overalls listed now, you may want to tweak those titles so your items will come up in searches related to Halloween costumes and scarecrows.


In case you missed the announcement, this blog is moving! Please check out my new blog here, and be sure to subscribe so you can receive updates on what's going on with eBay, Amazon, ideas for alternative income streams, and general home business tips.

When is Recycled Packaging Inappropriate on eBay?

Last week we had an interesting discussion on my Facebook group about packaging and the importance of the customer's perception and the customer's satisfaction. I had received an eBay item shipped in a UPS mailer turned inside out. It looked like this:

The discussion has 121 comments so I thought I would repost here and see what other eBay sellers and customers think about packaging, and when recycled packaging is or is not appropriate. I posted the picture because as soon as I opened the package and saw that it was a UPS mailer turned inside out, I immediately thought, "Oh, boy, I'm glad I got this and it didn't go to some other sellers I know, because they would have left this seller a negative feedback immediately."

Now, there is nothing wrong with recycling. I am all about reduce, reuse, and recycle - in my home we have a recycling bin in just about every room and we reuse packaging quite often. However, running a business is different than what you might do in your own personal household. For example, here is a photo of an eBay item another person received packed in a cereal box. This was a vintage item that cost a bit of money, and she felt the recycled packaging was not appropriate based on the item she purchased because the box wasn't sturdy at all.

Some sellers shared stories of items they received in what they considered inappropriate packaging such as frozen food boxes, flat rate mailers stuffed way too full, and even a Target bag with duct tape around it.  As for the flat rate mailers, the USPS says, "If it fits, it ships." But really, is your customer going to be happy receiving this item - is this really a good idea?

Just because you can do it, does it mean you SHOULD do it? Regardless of your views on recycling and loving the earth, the bottom line here is that the customer has the last word about your packaging. Even though DSRs don't have a rating for packaging, the customer may be turned off by something inappropriate and leave a bad rating for something else, or leave a negative or neutral feedback. The customer may not share your vision for recycling, and on eBay, the customer is always right. When is taking recycling too far? Should we even consider it on eBay?

On another note, this blog is moving! I'll be posting most often on my ecommerce blog. This blog will still be around for a while, but be sure to subscribe to the new blog as well so you can receive the latest news about eBay, Amazon, alternative income streams, and general home business tips.