Top 15 of 2015

2015 was a great year! December has turned around and the year is ending on a positive note. I decided to create some Top 15 of 2015 lists and here is my first one: 

Top 15 Flips of 2015: 

Most my flips profit $15-$30 each. Some flips profit much money....thankfully! After all the costs: ebay fees, shipping and purchase costs; here are my best flips of 2015. 

1. Dries Van Noten Jacket: $112.09 profit

2. True Religion jeans: $78.18 profit 

3. Harley-Davidson shirt: $62.12 profit 

4. Dries Van Noten Cardigan: $61.29 profit 

5. 7 For All Mankind Josefina jeans: $59.30 profit 

6. Lucky Brand men's jeans: $58.15 profit 

7. Ralph Lauren alligator belt: $54.45 profit 

8. Dries Van Noten tunic: $53.66 profit 

9. MEK jeans: $45.91 profit 

10. Marni cashmere sweater: $44.29 profit 

11. Wounded Warrior Cycling jersey: $43.61 profit 

12. Tommy Bahama shirt: $43.29 profit 

13. J Brand jeans: $43.29 profit 

14. E. Zegna jeans: $41.50 profit 

15. Chippewa Boots: $41.06 profit 

Honorable Mention: 

7 For All Mankind Jeans: $41.00 profit 

Harley-Davidson shirt: $40.24 profit each

Harry Potter First Edition: $40.00 profit 

Penny Hardaway jersey: $39.00 profit 

J. Press Jacket: $38.76 profit 

What were your best flips of the year? 

2016 Goals

I can't believe it's almost 2016!!! 2015 was a great year. We adopted Gator Bait and Buckeye. We visited Washington DC, San Antonio and New Orleans. Honestly, the best part was improving from financially struggling to having some breathing room. Yes, I still owe a lot on my medical bills and need to purchase some furniture; but ebay will make it possible. Living quarter to quarter instead of penny to penny is 2015's great gift! 

Ultimately, I don't want to just survive but to thrive. The desire to start a non-profit organization pushes me every day to improve. That being said, here are my goals for 2016: 

2016 Goals: 

1. Profit $1000 per month: I have yet to reach this goal for a month so just hitting it once will be a great first step. 

2. Maintain 500 listed items: currently keep around 200 listed. 

3. Reach the 1000 positive feedback milestone: I'm sitting at 460. This could be a stretch, but if I list more, my feedback will quickly improve. 

4. Find 100 new brands on my brand BOLO list. My list includes 500 brands and I've sold 107 of them so far. 

5. Thrift shop in 5 new cities. 

6. I would like 25% of my thrifted items to be non-clothing items. Currently, I'm at 12.6%.

7. Improve my organizational system for my listed items. Buy new cabinets and clear closet space. 

8. Pay $300 a month of my ebay profits on my credit card AKA medical bills. 

What are your goals for 2016? Are they possible? Think mine are possible? 

Here are a couple sales I had today: 

                        Cost: $6.00 

Buy anything Vineyard Vines. It sells very well! 

                         Cost: 50 cents 

I accepted a best offer of $50.00 on this sweater. $50.00 off 50 cents works for me! 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everybody! How was your Christmas? We had an amazing Christmas. It was amazingly hot!!! 91 degrees on Christmas is just not right but it was still a great day. My ebay sales bought perfect gifts for family and friends. 

Not surprisingly, my eBay sales have been pretty good the last couple days. Every time I leave my stuff at home, I sell a ton of items. I changed the handling on all my items to 10 days, but it doesn't seem to impact my sales. I currently have 18 sold items to ship at home and have shipped several here in Naples. Here are a few of the items I've sold recently: 

                        Cost: $3.75 

                       Cost: Free 

                        Cost: $4.99 

                        Cost: $5.00 

                        Cost: Free 

                         Cost: $2.00 

                        Cost: Free 

                        Cost: $1.50 

                        Cost: $2.00 

                        Cost: $5.00 

                          Cost: $5.00

MBT is a brand to look out for. These are the only pair I've ever found; but MBT shoes/sandals sell very well. 

                        Cost: Free 

                         Cost: $5.00 

                         Cost: $6.00 

I've got a good amount saved in PayPal and play in my fantasy football championship tomorrow; will make either $400 or $900 with that game. Currently, saving to pay for my dog's training, to donate to a dog rescue organization and furniture; including a TV. Next, I'm working on my debt and a HUGE summer vacation. 

I'll detail my goals tomorrow. What are your goals for 2016? 

New Approach

December was an extreme disappointment for me. Last December I sold 64 items; this year I've only sold 34 so far. I have two choices: 

1. I can blame it on everything but me. "The economy improved so people don't need to buy from me" 

"There is more competition this year," 

Blah! Blah! Blah! Or I can 

2. Take a new approach next year. Think I'll start stockpiling inventory in the Spring/Summer and list it in September. I'll focus on non-clothing items and holiday items. 

Think I'll go with #2! In general, I want to step my game up in 2016. I've sold consistently for almost 2 years; inconsistently for almost a decade. So, it's time to buy and sell on a larger scale. I'm still working on my exact goals for 2016 but I'll share when they are complete. 

Here are a few items I've sold recently: 

                         Cost: $4.00

                         Cost: $1.94 

                          Cost: 50 cents 

                         Cost: $6.00

                         Cost: $4.00

                          Cost: $4.29 

How have your sales been? What would you change next year? 

Drama

How is everybody doing??? Having great Christmas sales? 

This year has definitely been slower than last year. I have more items listed, the quality of my items is better; yet I've sold a lot less. 

Sorry I haven't posted any helpful posts recently. I have one ready to type, just been busy. The HOA where we live has decided my rescue dog is a monster and needs to go to Dog Boarding School or she can't live with us. She was abused and has PTSD so certain things can trigger aggression in her. She doesn't seem to have any control of it and is very apologetic afterwards. She has never actually touched anybody but she is very scary. My heart aches for her. Gator Bait is such a sweet girl, who has overcome so much already. Hopefully, we can get her the help she needs. Only problem: boarding school is over $1000 for 2 weeks. The ebay Gods better help me! 

                         Gator Bait 

I have not been able to focus on eBay as much but here are a few sales from the last week: 

                       Cost: $5.00 

I had no clue what the symbol on this sweater stood for. I just knew it was old and I'd never seen it before; which is a good thing. After putting my entire family on the case, turns out it's a fraternity. Get profit margin. I'll look for fraternity and sorority items in the future. 

                         Cost: 60 cents 

                         Cost: $3.00 

                        Cost: $6.00 

Goodwill is so expensive compared to other thrift shops. 

                        Cost: $5.00

We leave for the holiday tomorrow. I packed some items that may sell. Of course that means everything I left behind will sell. I'm doing 10 day handling for everything I don't bring. People will buy anyway. 

Hope the holidays are treating you right!