eBay Adventure – Pause for the Cause

                Okay I am the first to admit that having 4 sales in 5 days (one of those days was Veterans Day, a federal holiday) is time and energy consuming. You have to pack, write thank you letters and ship. Resale is hard work so I have taken a slight break Monday. All I’ve done is track my Saturday package. I haven’t relisted anything. I even let some things expire. I just take a break from the madness (It also helps that I am getting instant PayPal payments because now I don’t have to wait until the buyer receives her package to receive my money.)

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

eBay Adventure – Receiving My 15th Star

                I have working feverishly photographing merchandise to put in my store. There have been a lot of sales lately but I will keep all of my items ready for sale. I must keep a fully stocked store especially with these few weeks before Thanksgiving. After uploading new merchandise, I see a new rating. It has gone from 14 to 15. My heart flutters because I am truly honored that my customers view me so highly. I will remember these hearts because they say that they appreciate my customer service. I shop same day upon payment. Also I ship only domestic and global USPS priority mail so that my customers get their items ASAP! On a personal note, I am very happy that my overall rating increases to 92.3%. Haters take that!

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

eBay Adventure - All Hail Instant Payment PayPal

                Resale is not an easy business. I have been doing it for 5 months. I have listed, relisted, negotiated, fought fraudsters, checked ungrateful customers and been surprised by shipping weight more than once at the post office. Throughout it all, I’ve written thank you cards, purchased materials and shipping the same day as payment. All of this toiling and seed planting have reaped me a bountiful harvest: I now qualify for PayPal’s instant payment.

                This blessing ranks right up there like manna from heaven! Liquidity and solvency are important to every business. Instant payments mean that I can transfer the money to my bank. I achieve liquidity because these transfers are cash infusions. Also with cash on hand I stay solvent by paying my bills!

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

eBay Adventure - 120 Days In

                This 30-day period is my slowest because I have taken myself offline after the Depop failure. I have emotionally regroup from that. I have only sold one item for $55; and, I am perfectly okay with that because eBay’s fees are super slow. The last thing I need right now is a heavy heart and high fees. I do think that I will reassess what I do regarding selling my clothes.

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

eBay Adventure - 90 Days In

                Right after Labor Day, I am in a very nadir place. I have decided to sell my clothing items on Depop. I have seen some YouTube personalities mention it so I say ‘why the heck not?’ Well after 6 weeks with no role (I’ve even done a Labor Day sale plastering my photos everywhere from Blogger to Instagram to Pinterest with no such luck.). I have never experienced no sales. It has taken me less than 2 weeks to get my first eBay sale. I declare defeat deleting my Depop store.

                This has taken a whole lot out of me. First, I’ve devoted time towards learning a new system. Second, I have created a separate marketing campaign. Third, I am still stuck with unsold inventory which costs me time, space and money. I so need a break from resale!

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

OFA Alumni Volunteer Meetup at the Lincoln Memorial

                I have gone to the Organizing for Action (OFA) alumni volunteer meetup at the Lincoln Memorial. I am very happy to be in an elite class. Also I am glad to switch out of the Cleveland fashion week t-shirt for the Ann Taylor blouse because it’s a more formal event. I feel slightly underdress when I see black men in suits show up. I am very glad to be photographed. Most importantly, I am grateful to not sit down because I’m tall and in the front. I highly doubt that those ladies would’ve told a man that. Yes, I’m defiant but hey that’s the same character trait that has given me the Vote Corps slot. I am no slouch.

                I see myself as others there back in the same place four years later. I am going to do the work to ensure this. I guarantee. Check out my video!

eBay Adventure – Some People Are Not Your Customers

                No sooner do I accept the Kate Spade black patent leather tote bag then the buyer emails me through eBay saying ‘please disregard’. Now this is a new one: a customer saying that she wants to cancel an order after doing a bid. I am like ‘huh?’ because this has never happened to me. I agree to cancel because I refuse to fight over $26. Inside I feel like blocking this buyer for her messiness. However, I decide against it because she is probably petty and I need to conserve my energy for more sales.

                This incident magnifies that not everyone is my customer. eBay is a global auction place where anyone and everyone can come into your store; however, not everyone should be my client. You need to be discerning because some clients do not want to pay; and, you are in business to sale!

                Since I am now selling purses, I may get these customers because unlike my shoes and dresses, purses have a wider demographic. What I will do is ask more questions and screen them because cancelling orders hold up merchandise.

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

eBay Adventure – Here’s to Another Successful Week

                I am fresh off of receiving three sales. I have been successful implementing the webinar strategies and shipping same day as I receive payment. I attribute my success towards more than merely positive thinking. I have taken massive action. I have been thinking like a businesswoman. I am looking at the sales goals subtracting my costs of goods sold. This is why I have increased the domestic shipping cost for my gladiator sandals. That dim weight shipping cuts into the revenue.

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

eBay Adventure – Flying off of the Shelves

                I awake a little perturbed about that brown embossed Kate Spade purse counteroffer falling through. I am feeling some kind of way about it. I carry on about my day but on a chance I check my account. Low and behold my second pair of Stuart Weitzman snakeskin Backview gladiator sandals. My items have been selling like hotcakes. I am very proud to take the action from Halloween Monday’s Holiday Promo webinar (Read here: http://carlarjenkins.blogspot.com/2016/11/ebay-adventure-holiday-promo-prep.html   ). Furthermore, I am very happy that I have stood on my price raising my domestic shipping price for all of gladiator sandals. I have been hit with the dim weight at the post office ($45, I will never forget that!). I have learned from the webinar that I should never apologize for raising my prices because I am a businesswoman. Wal-Mart doesn’t apologize; and, because I have not felt too sorry to raise my domestic shipping price. The customer has purchased them anyway. I am proud to have stood my ground regarding my prices because items are flying off of the shelves!

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

eBay Adventure – Receiving my 14th Gold Star

                I have been under the weather for the previous two days. It has been wrenched. I am just happy to have loaded up my store, done my Periscope and built rapport with people. My two packages have been shipped. When I feel better, check my eBay profile and see my 14^th gold star. I am extremely grateful whenever I receive these gold stars because I am honored that they truly love my stuff (I am getting teary-eyed even typing this because I am very happy that I have a successful store. 4.5 months into this eBay adventure!). Seeing this rating reinvigorates my spirit to be better and restock my store.

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

eBay Adventure – Wheeling and Dealing

                My eBay store activity has picked after these two sales. Also, I am happy that those weird midnight requests are gone. I have noticed something new that is happening to me. I am starting to receiving offers and counteroffers. This is a new trend so I am starting to flex my counteroffer muscle. In one such case, I have a brown embossed Kate Spade purchase where someone pitches me $35 for $75. I counteroffer $45. It is fair because half of $75 is $37.50. She has not replied but I am standing in my price and fairness. Since the beginning my counteroffer policy has always been ½ of the stated price. I am not bending over that. Remember, even though I am decluttering, this is a business. As a seller, my goal is to make a profit. I always tuck that MBA in the back of mind. It is the reason why I have made over $3200 in sales in 4 ½ months.

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

eBay Adventure – Foot Fetish?

                Now I was fresh off the holiday sales webinar feeling great. I had a full store and was about to retire when I saw that I had a message on eBay. I assumed that it was from one of my newer sales. Nope! It was from someone asking about the Rene Caovilla. These inquires were old hat. There were so many people asking about them. I even had people direct message me on Instagram about them; yet, they were still in my store. I relisted them at least twice. I opened up the message and here was someone telling me that I needed to photograph myself wearing the sandals. Yo! Was the person contacting me a foot fetish person?! It was 12:55 am after all. I shot the photo (no fingernail polish. No one got this at this ungodly hour of the morning!). I admitted that I was sideswiped by that strange request. I woke up later that day seeing the Rene Caovilla

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

eBay Adventure - Holiday Promo Prep

                I registered for this Holiday webinar happening on Halloween for two reasons: 1) I knew that I would get something out of it from the teacher and 2) I had not had an eBay sale in 1 week. I needed to do something different to get a different result. It was first advertised as a lottery selection. If you reshared the coach’s Periscope and Facebook Live livestreaming content, you would enter a lottery to be picked for a free ticket. I never believed that pay thing because I was already enrolled so why would not I had been accepted. That was neither here nor there. I registered for the webinar. It was not like I was trick or treating (Sidebar : I did tell my father to go to the Heinen’s grocery store and pick more candy for the kids in the neighborhood). I might as well did some personal development plus this webinar could help my bottom line.

                I attended the webinar where I learned and laughed so much throughout. The coach gave us 30 ways to make money. I started taking notes because I knew that my eBay store would benefit from this. The light bulb came on : I would put several of my Kate Spade purses up for sale. Accessories were huge! Although women may not fit a size 12 shoe or dress, every woman wore a purse. That addition expanded my target market. That meant more money and I sorely needed that. Even though the webinar ended at 11pm, immediately I started photographing my items. I uploaded 2 Stuart Weitzman sandals and 5 Kate Spade purses. I was proud to had done that all before midnight. I knew that I was ready for tomorrow and more sales.

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