April Is Going To Be Good

Like Phil Collins says: "I can feel it coming in the air tonight!" April is going to be a great month. No doubt. Why? 

You may have heard me mention my dog is kind of famous. Strange...I know! Well, now she receives monthly royalty checks for her video. This month we got $134! Last month was $74. Who knew? She is almost to 1.15 million views. Just insane! So, that was a great start to the month. I'm looking at it as the start of the new month anyway. 

The other reason? I've listed 34 items from my Naples shopping spree already and several have sold. Here are a few: 

    Lucky Brand Women's X-Long Jeans

          Cost: $2.00          Sold: $19.99 

 

     Hudson Signature Bootcut Jeans 

          Cost: $4.80          Sold: $34.99 

This is the second pair of Hudson Signature Bootcut jeans I've sold in 2 days and third in a week. They sell for a nice profit EVERY time. 

         NYDJ Jeans with Rhinestones 

          Cost: $2.50          Sold: $19.99 

     Tommy Bahama Men's Short Jeans 

          Cost: $3.00          Sold: $19.99 

     Gene Ewing Bis Vintage Men's Shirt 

          Cost: $2.15          Sold: $12.99 

The Gene Ewing shirt is the only item I'm mentioning that has been listed for a while. I had never heard of the brand, but after you've done this for a while; that can be a very good thing. If I find a unique item like this shirt, I usually buy it. You might not make a huge profit, but you can bet someone is looking for that strange item. 

How do you feel about April? I hope everyone has an incredible month! 

The Process......

I bought over 100 items in SW Florida last weekend, so I thought it was a good time to discuss my selling process.  Maybe you can learn from my process and I can learn from your process. If your process differs from mine, please share below! 

Here is my process for selling items: 

1. Find quality items to sell 

2. As soon as I get home with my items, I inventory them. Write down the brand, size, fabric content, and how much it cost. I remove all price tags. 

3. Research how much to sell each item for and write it in my inventory notebook. 

4. I wash everything

5. I measure everything 

6. Next day I separate everything into 10-20 groups. Each day I photograph and list a pile. Usually, I do jeans, shirts, jackets then shoes. Listing is quick and easy as I have a format in my head. 

7. Anything that needs steamed gets steamed and I list those items last (my least favorite part). 

8. I inventory everything into a cabinet or closet. They are divided by clothing type and sorted in alphabetical order by brand. 

* I generally have 100 items washed, photographed, listed and inventoried within 5 days. Nothing sells sitting in the closet* 

9. When something sells: I know exactly where it is located. I find it and pack it up. 

10. I schedule the post office to pick it up the next day and print the shipping labels. 

11. I list every sold item in my selling notebook with all the costs, income and profit. 

It's actually a really easy process. How does your process differ? 

Here are a couple items I sold the last few days: 

               FSU Monopoly Edition 

          Cost: $2.00          Sold: $19.99

Monopoly generally sells pretty well. Any University's Monopoly edition will make you a nice profit. Just make sure the game is complete or you'll be stuck selling off the pieces. 

          Joe's Jeans Honey Fit Size 32 

          Cost: $3.00          Sold: $34.99 

These jeans were the first item I listed from my Naples visit and they sold in 10 minutes. Joe's Jeans prices vary, but the Honey fit almost always sells very well. 

        Hudson Signature Bootcut Jeans

          Cost: $1.59          Sold: $49.99

Great find from the Goodwill Outlet! I was very excited to find these jeans. 

Hello From Naples.....

I spent the first half of Spring Break in Naples with Daniella. We went to the beach, museum and pool. Her first time away from home without her parents was a success. I'm spending the second half of Spring Break to thrift shop. I'm down to 130 listed items and needed some inventory. Luckily, I'm in thrifting heaven. Take a look: 

This cart full of stuff only cost me $50! I've found some AMAZING items and tomorrow is 50% off day at Goodwill. So far, I've spent $143.29 and my potential profit is: $1819.00 (before shipping). I'd say a $1500 or so profit to point. So of my favorite finds so far: 

Balenciaga women's 80's silk blouse: paid $4.29/ list price $124.99 

Cavalli Floral Jeans: 

Paid $4.99/ list price $75

Levi's Big E Reversible Vest from 60's/70's. My first Levi's Big E find! 

Paid $3.00/ list price $75 

Helly Hansen Vintage Snow Suit

Paid $8.00/ list price $74.99 

Woolrich Vintage Thick Jacket 

Paid $4.00/ List price $119.99

Love this Navy jacket I bought for $2.00. It's very cool! 

Of course I had to buy Drake's Hotline Bling sweatshirt too!!! Could never pass that up! 

I also found the usual brands: Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, Pendleton, Nike, NYDJ, Hickey Freeman, Jhane Barnes, Calvin Klein, Jamie Sadock and Baracuta. Tomorrow should be EPIC! 

Apparently, I'm the only who really buys and sells jeans. Positive: at least I didn't have to send anybody a great pair of jeans. Negative: I'm not sure how much I'm helping people with my posts, when so many items I sell are jeans. 

I've only sold 8 things this week and most have been jeans. If you aren't selling them....still be on the lookout for great brands. I find them everywhere! Here are a few items I sold: 

        Lacoste Men's Jeans Size 36 

          Cost: $5.00          Sold: $21.99 

     7 For All Mankind Men's Austyn Jeans

          Cost: $6.00          Sold: $39.99

  Lucky Brand Boyfriend Women's Jeans

       Cost: $2.99          Sold: $29.99 

   Adriano Goldschmied The Stevie Jeans

       Cost: $4.99          Sold: $19.00

       Lilly Pulitzer Womens Golf Pants 

       Cost: $4.00          Sold: $13.00

March Madness

Sorry I haven't posted! It's NCAA Tournament time and I get a LITTLE distracted with all the passion. There is nothing I have more (other than my family) than basketball. Plus, I had a first birthday to attend: 

   My brother, niece and I at her first birthday party ❤️❤️

As it pertains to ebay, I've sold a few things. Down to only 136 items listed. I can't wait to thrift shop down here in SWFL. Bad news: I went 6 months without anything being returned, now I've had 3 returns this week. None of them my fault....people either don't read descriptions or don't know their measurements. Still, I HATE the returns. I'm very detailed in my descriptions; in order to avoid returns. Oh well. 

Here a few items I sold the last couple days: 

 

     7 For All Mankind Austyn Men's Jeans

          Cost: $6.00          Sold: $49.99

        Madewell women's skinny jeans

          Cost: $4.49          Sold: $27.99

        Jamie Sadock Women's Jacket 

          Cost: $10.00          Sold: $24.99

Apparently, $10 was too much to pay for this jacket. You live, you learn. 

     White Mountain Lunchbox Puzzle

          Cost: $0.00          Sold: $17.99

We are a little bit obsessed with puzzles. We've completed 17 Thomas Kinkade DISNEY puzzles since Christmas. See an example: 

I was given the lunchbox puzzle as a gift but am not feeling the White Mountain puzzles. So, I decided to sell it. Not too bad of a sale for an item that cost me nothing. 

     Lucky Brand Men's Western Shirt 

          Cost: $4.49          Sold: $24.99 

Western shirts with Pearl snaps are almost always a great buy. Snatch them up...if you find them! 

        NYDJ Women's Jeans Size 6 

          Cost: $2.00          Sold: $14.99

I didn't make a huge profit on these jeans but couldn't resist NYDJ jeans for $2.00. 

How is March treating you? 

So Ready!

I'm so ready for Spring Break next week! Why you may ask? 

I only have 144 items listed on eBay. It would be understandable if I had inventory waiting to be listed, but I don't. I only have a couple items that need steamed and listed. 

So, Spring Break I'm taking Daniella to Naples for the week. I will finally be able to do some thrift shopping. In Naples, I usually find 15-30 items per store. In Gainesville lately: 2-3 items for store. It feels like my paypal account is stagnant, but only because I don't have anything to list. Does anybody else ever encounter this issue? 

Here are a few things I did sell in the last 2 days: 

     LL Bean Sherpa lined Women's Vest 

          Cost: $6.00          Sold: $34.99 

I try to look for Sherpa lined jackets and vests; they sell very well. 

       Michael Kors Men's Jeans size 42

          Cost: $0.00          Sold: $27.00 

These were another Goodwill of Southwest Florida loyalty purchase. Those little cards save me so much money! 

         Joe's Jeans Mini Skirt Size 27 

           Cost: $4.49          Sold: $11.99

I thought this skirt would sell for more. I generally don't buy and sell skirts, so it's a lesson learned. 

          Miss Me Capri Jeans Size 31 

          Cost: $6.00          Sold: $49.99 

Daniella and I went to Goodwill on Friday. She has become quite the thrift shopper, when I push her in a wheelchair and basically hold her captive! We only found 2 quality items in the whole store. I listed the two pairs of jeans I found today. I got an offer on one pair and this pair sold within hours of listing it. Just shows people will buy quality items. Problem is: finding them. 

Take a Stand

Interesting question: are there any brands or items you refuse to buy or sell? I don't mean because of the horrible profit margin or bad quality but for moral or ethical reasons. Or does it not matter as long as you can make a buck? 

Currently, I have three items/brands I will not buy or sell. They are: 

               Abercrombie & Fitch 

I refuse to buy anything made by Abercrombie and Fitch. I didn't appreciate their CEO's elitist attitude or ignorant comments. He only wants a certain type of person buying and selling the company's clothing and I decided I'm not that type of person. 

My stand was put to the test when I found the above jacket 👆. The men's jacket was new with tags and I could've made a nice profit; but I didn't need the money that bad. 

               University of Michigan 

I don't buy anything from the University of Michigan. Why? O-H-I-O! My fandom is not for sale 😃😃😃! 

                    Donald Trump 

Ok (sigh). I'm not starting a political debate. If you want to debate me politically, friend me on Facebook. Anna Robey. We can debate all day. I'm just using this as my example. If your on the other side and don't want to buy or sell anything with Barack Obama on it...great. I refuse to buy or sell anything from Donald Trump. I find his ties or dress shirts in the men's section about once a week. Even if I could make $50 a shirt, I wouldn't buy or sell them. That's just my personal choice. 

Are there items or brands you refuse to buy or sell? 

Here are a few items I sold today: 

  R. Lauren Authentic Dry Goods Jacket  

           Cost: $5.99          Sold: $21.99 

     Steven by Steve Madden Flats 6M 

          Cost: $0          Sold: $21.00 

You'll find Steve Madden shoes everywhere. I only buy: Steven by Steve Madden shoes in great condition. I got these for free with my SWFL Goodwill loyalty card. 

        Gieves & Hawkes Men's Jacket

          Cost: $3.00          Sold: $24.00 

You won't find Gieves & Hawkes jackets very often; they are fairly rare on ebay. So when you do find one....buy it!  The profit may not be huge but it will sell. 

P.S.: Sorry to my Republican readers for including Trump on my list. I just had to be honest on the items I refuse to buy 👍. 

Oh Thrift Stores Crack Me Up Sometimes

I saw this picture and thought it was perfect. Love it! 

So, thrift stores can be a funny place. The things you find and people you meet can be halarious! Here are some funny things I found along the way: 

WHAT? Who would buy this painting? Who exactly is that in the painting? I was laughing pretty hard when I saw it. 

I know Habitat for Humanity stores sell toilets; yet I found the toilet in a Hospice store. It was randomly sitting by clothes and mugs. I should've gotten a wider photo shot. 

Hey, at least the company is honest! This was the brand tag on a men's shirt. Haha! 

I guess someone was hungry and too lazy to throw away the pizza crust! 

I bought this mug. Couldn't resist. 

What funny items or people have you seen along the way? 

March has gone fairly well. I'm sick again so I haven't been able to do much shopping. Here are a few items I've sold recently: 

         Hugo Boss Linen Jacket 44L 

          Cost: $3.00          Sold: $39.99

       Ralph Lauren Men's Argyle Vest 

          Cost: $2.50          Sold: $23.99

     Polo Sport Bear Rugby Men's Shirt 

        Cost: $4.50          Sold: $45.99

       Joe's Jeans Skinny Jeans Size 30

          Cost: $4.99          Sold: $15.99

         Mother Women's Jeans Size 25 

        Cost: $6.00          Sold: $45.00