This is how you sell an item on the Bay!

So what do you think it is?  It fits into our find the unusual rule.  Hubby saw this at a Lansing Goodwill.  The first sign that this is something of value is that it is made in Italy.

 Here is where the useless information we store in our heads comes into play.  See that white sticker it says "Dance Depot USA"  Since our oldest daughter was a dancer, a dance teacher and a choreographer we had Dance Supply books all over the house for over 30 years.  I know form keeping her in tap, ballet and jazz shoes that nothing comes from one of these places for cheap!  So we take out the smartphone, go to Ebay, under completed auctions we find that this exact item sells for $50 to $80 dollars.  The Goodwill price is $4.99.  OK, we have something to sell!!

So once we have an item, it goes home on the inventory shelf.  When hubby is ready to write it up, first it is cleaned, those stickers and permanent makers for price need to be cleaned up and taken off.  The item needs to be checked to make sure it is working correctly, powers up, does what it is suppose to do.

Now photos are taken, several, hubby is the over achiever with photos, and that is nothing compared to his packing ability.  Photos taken, measurements if needed are taken, anything that we will need to write the item up for Ebay.  Weight and size are needed for shipping estimates that are in the listing. 

Now that we have all the things that are necessary its time to set down in front of the computer.  We have templates set up in Ebay that give our sales rules, such as when we ship, how we ship, etc.  This can take up to a half an hour just to pull everything together.  We need to decide if the item goes up for auction and if so how long, maybe we list it with a set price Buy It Now.  It really depends on the value, the time we need for people to see it, is it seasonal (Christmas Tree Stand) and do we need to sell it quickly!

Our Pro Arch, an arch stretcher for Ballet Arches......Yup that thing is for dancers to stretch and strengthen their arches.  It was listed yesterday for $49.99 with a $75.00 Buy it now for 7 days.  It lasted 24 hours and sold tonight for the $75.00.  Since it was a Buy It Now the item has been paid for, the shipping was paid for and tomorrow it will be shipped out.  Here is a link to the completed auction write up on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Artform-Dance-Supply-Pro-Arch-Foot-Stretcher-Stretch-Strengthen-foot-ankle-396-/251187444299?category=28065&nma=true&si=FfRkzI09nlcAH6xJkR8STzNiGUU%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

So that is how we make our living for the past 14 years.  Today we hit Lansing again and brought home about $400 of inventory to start the process all over again!

I'll cover the shipping in a couple of days!  Until then, enjoy Thanksgiving.  I hope you are all surrounded by people you love and wonderful food! 

Dilly