Totally knew this was going to happen….the second after I hit post on my January profit post – I sold another item! That makes my January profit over $1000! My goal in February is to list on average 5 items a day. This goal may seem small to some, but this is my “side hustle” and I still would like to have some time for myself!
Now, we are only less than 3 days into February and I haven’t listed a single item yet (which means I’m going to have to catch up and list 10 today and 10 another day instead of the goal of 5) but I still have made a $90 profit.
I wanted to talk about something that I have only recently found to be true. The quality of your listing < the quantity of your listings. Now this is only to a certain extant. I used to spend upwards of 15 minutes on a listing, but now that this is my side business, I try to spend the least amount of time possible (averaging about 6-7 minutes per listing). I used to use a light set-up, white background, and a Canon Rebel. I now use my ceiling fan light, hardwood floors, and cell phone. And you know what? My sell through rate remains at about 50-60%. If anything, I now price my items higher because I’m not worried about them selling all that fast and I have went from a 1 day handling time to a 2 day handling time.
I really cannot believe that I spend half as much time on my listings and selling just as much (in proportion to how much I list). I wish I had known this all along, but if someone told me that, I probably would not have believed them.
Here’s something I sold today (note the crappy cell phone picture):
GAP Jeans
Paid: $6.67
Sold: $29.99 +$6.35 S&H
Check back for a weekly profit update!
Flipping Thrifty 
Awesome!
LikeLike
If you have a sought after item you don’t need the flowery description. Just keep listing!
LikeLike
I keep reading blogs and how they stress the importance of excellent pictures. I agree to an extent. If you have an average picture of something that everyone wants, your item will sell – that’s just a part of the free market. I look at ‘solds’ on eBay all the time and some of the picture are god awful but they still sold. And don’t get me started on OfferUp photos – 80% are downright thoughtless and crappy. Now if you have something that’s been sitting around on eBay for months and hasn’t sold, maybe I would update the pictures. I think you are on to something.
LikeLike
I LOVE your blog. Just found it. So I need some help….you spend only a few minutes on a listing. CRUD! I can spend an hour or even more on one. I have to research and research, then write it and then take pictures. What am I doing wrong? I don’t have a store and am not a power seller. I am just listing through the eBay site on a computer. I use to use Auctiva, but that took me a very long time for just one listing. Any help is appreciated. I also have an iPad that I can use. OK…give it to me straight. I can take it. What am I needing to know???
TIA,
Rita
LikeLike
Hey Rita! You probably aren’t doing anything wrong! When I first started, I was rather slow also. My boyfriend has been doing it for almost a year and can spend 30 minutes to an hour on a listing. For him, he just has it in his mind that his listing need to be perfect. After a while, I think everyone realizes the listings don’t need to be perfect. I used to use a super fancy Canon Rebel camera and would take super high quality pictures and lots of them. Now I take about 3 cell phones pictures. I only take a few measurements – two for jeans and at most three for tops. After a while, you won’t need to research anymore. 90% or more of my listings are created going through my sold items and using the “sell similar” feature which saves so much time! Because I’ve sold so many things, I usually know how much I am going to price items without looking them up. You will get there and learn lots of short cuts along the way!
Thanks for reading!
Julie
LikeLike
Great answer. Thanks. I am LOVING your blog. Thank you for all the time you put into it!
LikeLike