Depop Diaries – Loading Up on the Inventory

                Determined to generate my first sale on Depop, I have been loading up on the inventory as of late. In these past two days, I have added 8 new items. Below are the four new items that I have added to my online store:

Clockwise: Alice + Olivia silk butterfly maxi, $100; Ann Taylor Loft turquoise cotton maxi, $20; Alice + Olivia silk floral maxi, $125; and mint floral Ted Baker v-neck dress, $50. I have international shipping for both the Alice + Olivia maxi dresses. Now my online Depop store has nearly 20 items. By being diligent on my Depop store, I see myself receiving my first sale on this platform. I have put the same amount of elbow grease into my eBay store netting me over $2000.

Visit my Depop store here: https://www.depop.com/en-us/phenomena

Depop Diaries – New Inventory = New Money

                Buoyed by my first Depop customer inquiry, I have decided to dedicate more time and energy towards turning a profit. I have uploaded 4 new items: 3 dresses and 1 pair of shoes. I have also kept up with the cocktail dress theme. All three of my dresses are sequined. My shoes are too. I am making sure that my prices are fair but have also entered *no swaps, no returns* in the item descriptions. People have a tendency not to read my bio which also states that. Furthermore, I am considering a Labor Day sale this week starting either Wednesday or Thursday (I am thinking about running one on my eBay site too as to thank the customers for purchasing from my site.).

                Below are the four new items that I have added to my store:

You can buy these items here: https://www.depop.com/en-us/phenomena

Depop Diaries – My First Customer Inquiry

                Okay so I have not been on Depop because I am not receiving any sales. eBay has been generating money so that’s where my attention has been; however, today, I peruse the app and notice that I receive something in my inbox. Well, what do you know? There is a question about bidding on my dress. I am willing to accept a lower rate (above 50%, of course!) with full shipping. I am very happy about this because my store is starting to make traction; and, my goal is to move as many clothes as possible. Depop is part of my decluttering process. eBay is moving my shoes at a fairly fast clip; but, I still have piles of clothes that I have not worn in a long time that I have not been able to sell on eBay. I hope that the lady returns to Depop because I am anticipating my first sale on this site.

Visit my Depop store here: https://www.depop.com/en-us/phenomena

eBay Adventure – Fees Don’t Fail Me Now

                I receive my monthly fee statement and nearly have a heart attack because it is higher than last month (Darn fraudsters! See here: http://carlarjenkins.blogspot.com/2016/08/ebay-adventure-fraudsters-are-back.html ). I have called eBay customer service to remove the $1000 because I am being charged fees. The $1000 in the red is being counted as payments but it is fraud (As of today, eBay still has not removed it so I will call again because the last thing that I need in my life is paying fees due to fraud. Yuck!

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure - Expanding Shipping Options

                I have relisted the global shipping item that the customer wanted. She returned and placed a bid which I accepted. Even before she pays me (she has two days), I tweeted eBay’s customer service account to learn more about its global shipping program. What I have learned is that I do the same thing as before: ship it priority but only this time, I ship to the center not the customer. This means that I am relinquishing control of shipping. I am photographing my merchandise in the box as an insurance policy because my customer will not blame me for the middleman especially since she has selected the global shipping program option. However, I am very happy to make my first sale this week.

Visit my store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Change the Name, Keep the Game

                This weekend I realized that I needed to view my eBay store as a business. Heck, it generated over $2000 since June. I followed this guy, Raiken Profit, on YouTube and started watching his videos. He sold on eBay and Amazon FBA so why not better educate myself? I was in the sales profession and I needed to become a better seller. That meant because learning new or more ways to improve my online eBay sales. Right now, I had to do some continuous improvement just like I did with project management. I took Raiken’s advice and changed my title and my summaries; I changed my prices; and, changed some of my sales from fixed to auction or auction to fixed. I needed to increase the probability of receiving my sales.

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Learning from Earning

                These past two months have been an extreme learning curve for me. I have gone from zero to pro (at least in my own mind). I have handled a disgruntled customer, two fraud complaints and fielded many customer inquiries. Also I have learned the importance of photography and timely shipping. My same-day shipping philosophy is the reason why PayPal releases my money 2 days after the buyer receives his merchandise versus 30 days like in June. I have learned a whole lot from my two months on eBay. Until June, I did not think that I could sell over $2000 in merchandise by myself. I have always had a job so being able to move 2 Gs’ worth of merchandise is very big for me. Now I know how to properly operate an online store, fulfillment, customer service, marketing and eliminating fraud. As always, you can visit my store:

http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Global Shipping Program

                I have listed some new merchandise receiving a brand new order. I have also received a new customer inquiry about the global shipping program. I have never heard about this program before so I tweet @askeBay to inquire. I think that it would be better if I call customer service so that they can walk me through it. I would love to sell the shoes to her so I have called eBay’s customer service line. The representative has been very helpful guiding me through the process. I have learned that I can select eBay Global Shipping for all of my items or just specific items. In addition, I have learned the eBay handles all of the shipping with the global shipping program and the company tries my packages as domestic items even when shipped globally (The customer inquiry comes from Germany). Once I have selected my specific item for the global shipping program. Hopefully, this customer returns and purchases it.

Visit my eBay store: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Class Act

                I have been writing eBay Adventures for a while and I love sharing my journey with so many people on Instagram and other social media channels. I have discussed with my coach how I have sold over $2000 in 60 days, combat fraud and bad customers trying to soil my reputation, she says that I should create my own eBay course. I think that this would be a great idea pricing it at $37; of course, I will give way more content and behind the scenes of creating a store, linking your PayPal, what to pick and how to accelerate PayPal releasing your funds (I have managed to go from 21-30 days to 5-7 days in less than 2 months!). My goal of this course to kill the learning curve! I don’t want anyone to go through the same mess that I have gone through. I don’t want anyone to un-learn all of the crap that I had to while reading resources. This course will solve all of this.

As always, I will still keep writing eBay Adventures because I love my community so much and am happy that you will continue sharing my journey with you!
Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Sales Solve Everything

                Sunday I uploaded new items and started promoting them all over social media. I also made a $1000/week goal accompanying my new merchandise. I thought that it would take some time to get a sale but, nope, out of nowhere came a sale and payment. Usually, I would have to wait 1-2 days for payment. Buyers would inundate me with ‘please’ give me 1 more day to pay. However, receiving the money is great because now I can prepare the item for shipping. This sale also moved me beyond the whole negative review thing because someone wants to buy from me. The only downside is that I will ship it out Tuesday because DC has a 115 heat index. I am not passing out in that because I will have to also go to Staples and re-up on boxes and tape. Like I have said in the title, ‘sales solve everything!’

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – New Merchandise = New Sales

                Yesterday I added some new merchandise onto my eBay store. I felt that it needed an overhaul and new blood. I added three new Stuart Weitzman shoes including the Saxony sandals. I promoted it on social media (Periscope, Twitter, Blogger and Instagram). This morning out of nowhere, I receive a sale. It also comes from a new repeat customer. I am very happy about it. I will ship the item tomorrow (I have no boxes and it is currently a DC heat index of 115 degrees). The great thing is that PayPal will release my money in one week.

                I am also thinking about relisting my Stuart Weitzman and doing video to highlight my merchandise so that people can see it. I am upping my livestream video game because I think that this is paying off. There is still over $2000 worth of merchandise in my decluttering process. I will move them.

                This new sale has been a learning experience about strategically using social media to generate sales. In addition, I will keep promoting my eBay store on Periscope. I know that I am getting a lot of reach out of it. I am very happy that I am off to a great start to this 30-day cycle.

Visit my store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Two Months In

                I have been selling on eBay for 60 days and have experienced every single imaginable incident (happy customers, unhappy customers, fraud). I have managed to sell nearly $2000 worth of items and have learned so much about how to operate a store, how to properly price my items, how to market myself and my store, stand up for myself against people who abuse eBay’s buyer protection program and the fraudsters who want to make a buck off of you.

                I have learned early on that my customer only wants to buy shoes so I have stopped uploading clothes. Instead, I have placed all of my clothes on Depop and started marketing that online platform. In addition, I have learned the importance of taking a copious amounts of photos, answering customers’ questions and shipping the items the same day I receive payment. Initially in the beginning, PayPal held onto my money for 21 days. Now if I ship on Monday, I receive my money two days after the customer receives her merchandise. This is big when I need the money to pay bills!

                Another thing that I have learned is how to properly price things. I have learned that the hard way ($177 in insertion and other fees during my first month). I have reduced or increased my price to sell 17 items in two months. In addition, I have leveraged social media namely Instagram and Blogger to generate awareness for my store. I have blogged eBay Adventure just to chronicle my experience as a newbie eBay seller trying to declutter her condo; and, the people love it. I am genuinely happy that so many people love reading about my journey because I have learned a lot along the way. Furthermore, photographing the blog post and uploading it to Instagram has spread like wildfire. Instagram enables me to share on Facebook and Twitter so I have three major social media outlets. Moreover, I have an eBay Pinterest board and have been on Periscope and Snapchat showcasing my latest additions. Overall, I must say that I have gotten some sales based on social media and blogging.

                Finally, I have experienced some bad things which happens. The bad customer and fraudsters have taught me not to believe everything that someone tells you on YouTube. The YouTubers will tell you that eBay always protects the buyer; however, that has not been the case for me. I offer no returns and promptly ship all merchandise.

I do have new sales goals for this new 30-day cycle. They are to move $1000 per week and to start working on devising my new fashion line. Now that I have gotten the hang of eBay and online selling, I am ready to take this to the next level.

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

DePop Diaries – Building Out My DePop Store

                I admit that I have not been paying as much attention to my DePop store because my eBay store has been making more money and I have been experiencing some fraud problems; however, I am BACK with a vengeance! I have added no less than 5 items to my store. It is essential that I fill out my DePop store. My goal is to have no less than 20 items on my store. Moreover, I have goals this week. I will make my first sale on DePop. I already have my Twitter linked to my DePop so whenever I upload something new, all of my followers see it. Blogging helps me so much because it gives me free advertising. Below are some of my new items. They range from Macy’s (blue ombre party dress) to Alice + Olivia (red floral asymmetrical maxi dress) to Michael by Michael Kors jaguar print skinny jeans. Finally, I will also advertise more on Instagram and Snapchat. Thus far, my biggest hurdle is not making enough people aware of my site. This will change starting today!

Visit my Depop.com store here: https://www.depop.com/en-us/phenomena

eBay Adventure – Positivity Not Matter What

                After an underwhelming day of combating the pesky fraudsters, I see that my customer review rating is back up to 7. I check to see that I have received another 100% customer rating from a Monday customer. I always pride myself in swift customer service. Same day pay. Same day ship (Hey, I like the jingle! I need to be in advertising!). This has really buoyed my spirits because I have so many positive feelings towards eBay. This auction platform has taught me a whole lot about selling and operating an online store.

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – The Fraudsters Are Back!

                I am feeling very good having taken my birthday off. I return to eBay to check the status of Monday’s shipments. When I click on my messages, I learn that the two fraudsters open a refund request out of nowhere saying that I have not shipped them their items. Angry I tweet eBay customer service; but, decide to ramp it up by calling the 800 customer service number. These chicks are NOT getting away with this! I call customer service tell them about the fraud and how they haven’t paid. The lady enters this information into the computer then transfers me to the actual fraud representative who sides with me and closes those two cases. Although this is not the ‘welcome back’ I expect from my birthday, I am very happy to expeditiously resolve this matter. People will try you on eBay yet still I rise!

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Rebounding with Revenue-Generating Activities

                Monday morning my first order of business is going to the post office to ship my eBay order. It is a revenue-generating activity so it is first on my list. I cannot ignore this. I am awaiting another PayPal payment that is overdue but she promises to pay me as soon as she gets off of work. Hey, whatever. I just know that my birthday is Tuesday and I am not shipping anything until Wednesday. Technically, this buyer is beyond the 2-day pay period so I can cancel if she gets funny. Also, today summer has decided to return. Once again in DC it is over 90 degrees so I can get particularly cranky when it is humid.

                I arrive at the post office bright and early (9:10am) and am the third in line. Later this afternoon, the second buyer pays. Immediately I write my thank you card (I always express gratitude with my purchases. They can go anywhere else yet they have decided to pay me.) and the shoes. I manage to ship my second order around 4:30pm meaning that it will arrive to the buyer this Wednesday. This order was one of the shoes which the fraudsters ‘ordered’ but then left eBay. I regained some money out of the situation.

Visit my eBay store: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure - Bouncing Back from a Bad Review

                I admit that it still stings that I receive a bad review. I mean the customer’s feet don’t fit and she tries to lambast me. Although eBay has sided with me (buyer protection does not cover when you explicitly say that there are no returns), the bad review is messy because it actually subtracts from my positive reviews. Before I had 7 positive review. Because of the 1 negative review, my number is down to 6. The nerve! However, I am grateful that I have received two more payments for items. Receiving PayPal notifications do help the situation!

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Reading Comprehension is Key

                Well, it has happened. I have received my first negative comment coming from the lady who says that I should give her a refund because her feet are too big for my shoes. First, it is clear as day on my site that I offer no refunds. Second, you should know your shoe size before buying them. You are a grown woman who should know her measurements by now.

I have responded to her negative comment stating that my site says no refunds and your feet not fitting the shoes doesn’t mean that my items are defective.  I have to respond because that lady is not messing up my future sales because she doesn’t know her measurements (I have received 3 sales after that little angry rant!).

I know that many buyers believe that eBay will side with them regardless. There have been many videos made from long-term sellers. A lot of buyer abuse eBay’s buyer protection program. I have decided to buck this trend because I don’t lay down like a rug. I offer very clear photos and high-quality customer service from responsible buyers who already know their measurements.

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – All in the Clear

                Immediately after declining the return, all of a sudden I started receiving positive business. I received my payment for two shoes, my bid cleared and I received two more bids from another potential customer. I accepted one but declined that other because business was business. Even though I was decluttering and selling my wares, I still needed to make a profit. I shipped my items priority this past Friday early in the morning. The post office said that it would arrive by Monday. Now this was the first time that I ever shipped to a post office box; but, hey, I still aimed for prompt, high-quality customer service! Besides, the customer paid for it so why not ship it the same day?! I just hoped and started working towards ensuring that I kept the momentum going because I wanted to sell as much merchandise as possible.

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – No Happy Returns

                I just received a return from a lady who said that her feet were too big to fit into my shoes. My store said no returns. Also the customer never said that my merchandise was defective. I consulted with eBay and the company said that this customer was not covered under buyer protection. That saved me $100. I admitted that after around 2 months on eBay, I never received a return. What I did not know was that when a customer requested a return, it automatically went to PayPal. I checked my account and saw that negative number. The minute that I denied the return, my profile returned back to green. That was crazy but the return taught me something new about selling on eBay.

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

Depop Diaries – The Inaugural Post

This is a new diary series chronicling my decluttering effort and selling my clothes on another platform. I have learned about Depop over the weekend through Patricia Bright’s YouTube channel (She is brilliant. Here is her channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0KiGuCTrehqzSQ7ikjxSQw . Check her out!). Depop is mobile-only and I like that its format is similar to Instagram. I have done some due diligence via watching more Depop tutorial videos and visited the app (I cannot believe that some lady has the gall to post on her profile that buyers should expect cat hair on their items because she has pets. I am like what?!). Anyway, here is my store: https://www.depop.com/en-us/phenomena

eBay Adventure – Sales Coming Out of the Blue

                I relisted my items and a couple of days after receiving my bid on another item, I received two bids from a new buyer. I was particularly happy that she bid higher than the repeat person whom I declined. My item was for $100 and she had the unmitigated gall to bid $40 again. The new bidder gave me $80 so it was hers. My rule was I was getting at least 50% because hey this was a business. Furthermore, if they did not sell this time, I would put them on dePop. I was grateful for that especially since I reposted these shoes multiple times (I was also happy that I had no insertion fees.).

                I started retweeting my current offerings on Twitter (Must strike while the iron is hot!). Also I have scheduled my eBay adventure posts in Hootsuite across all of my social media platforms. It is important to keep it going because I do want to be paid for my decluttering effort!

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure - Drop Shipping

                Now that I am starting to get the hang of eBay (after all of 6 weeks!), I have been looking into drop shipping. I was originally introduced to this idea through a Pinterest pin. Intrigued, I started watching YouTube videos to better educate myself about drop shipping. I then stumbled upon learning that I could do drop shipping using eBay. I have tweeted its customer service account about its rules and policies. I then return to YouTube and learn from some other people that eBay drop shipping makes you less money. Furthermore, I have learned that many sellers do not even want you to sell on eBay because they have a minimum price. On eBay you can sell something for 99 cents. Auction sites are a no-go. Moreover, the program which interests me uses Shopify. Now all of my current websites use WooCommerce so learning another commerce site could pose a challenge; but, there are a lot of tutorials and if I enroll in a program, I would receive human support. That’s the selling price for me. I like dealing with humans because I would have questions and don’t want to be out there. Of course, I am still on eBay and reviewing all of my options so that I won’t get caught by fraud again.

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure - Sellers R Us

                It’s August and I’ve relisted my two shoes that the fraudsters got me for last month. It is all about rebounding! Immediately I have received questions from a persona about my mules’ soles and the definition of new with defects. I tell the buyer that everything is in pristine condition except the soles which have minor scuffs on them. I photograph the soles and thank her for visiting my store. In between this exchange, I learn that the email is another seller. Who knew? My mind blown! Now I have been an eBay seller for all of 6 weeks and I already feel like I am part of the eBay seller community (Well, I am very big on courtesy and providing quick and high-quality customer service. I pride myself on shipping out my merchandise the same business day that I receive them). I have learned so much from customer and their inquiries. They have improved my customer service and ability to deliver.

Visit my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6