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Inventory storage and safety tips

Never store your inventory in an outdoor storage shed near the neighbors backyard fire pit. Depending on which way the wind blows the contents might absorb the smoky scent.  (Happened to a friend).

 

Never store your inventory in cardboard boxes in your garage. Gasoline and oil smells as well as cut grass clinging to the lawn mower and moisture from humidity can permeate the boxes. Black mold and mildew can be an issue.

 

Wherever your inventory is stored add a smoke detector and fire extinguisher nearby.  Lightening might strike, an electrical fire or spontaneous combustion might occur putting you out of business.

 

Keep your inventory off the floor unless it's water friendly.  Basement floors can be damp or slightly damp, not to mention that icky mold creeping in corners. 

 

Keep scented items no matter how well they are sealed and in storage containers far away from everything else. A no-brainer but worth mentioning. 

 

Sharp items or those with rough edges should be positioned so you don't grab them and injure yourself.  Keep up with your tetanus shots just in case.

 

Tall stacks of boxed treasures can fall on you causing damage to you and the aforementioned treasures.

 

Lift with your legs, not with your back leaning over. 

 

Anyone care to add to the list?  

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Inventory storage and safety tips

Never set off a "bug bomb" in a storage unit. 

 

It might kill all of the creepy crawlies but the stink will invade all of your inventory and may even leave tiny overspray dots on everything. 

 

If you set one off close the door quick.  Then plan on spending a full day or two sitting out front of it with the door wide open airing it out so you can enter it again without inhaling the fumes.  Have to guard your goodies if you rent a unit and if in your backyard to keep other critters out.

 

Beware of the product DoomAll.  Antique dealer friend used it on furniture and the smell hung around the pieces for weeks. Gets into the crevices and seams.  

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Inventory storage and safety tips

Ever hear the old saying "when you hit 50 your butt becomes your gut"?

 

Same with inventory. Won't sell no matter how many times you move it around between sites or change listings?

 

Your inventory has become your glut.

 

What are you going to do about it?

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Inventory storage and safety tips


@vintage-camerastuff wrote:

Never let you cat sleep in your photo box.  Cat hair is a b.... to clean up.cat 005.JPG

 


You mean don't take photos of your items in your cat box.

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Inventory storage and safety tips

Why do I feel like this list is compiled of life experiences? Slumdog millionaire style. 😂 Good list!

 

I'll add don't wear perfume/cologne or smoke anything while handling your inventory. 

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Inventory storage and safety tips

Don't stack glass tumblers together without something in between them.

Don't just put something on a shelf and think you'll remember it later.

Labels are made/used for reasons other than shipping.

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Inventory storage and safety tips

Plastic bin/totes have many benefits over cardboard boxes, no matter where they are stored.

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Inventory storage and safety tips

.... or take stoned photos.

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Inventory storage and safety tips

Never over-describe and under-deliver.

 

whopper.jpeg


“The illegal we do immediately, the unconstitutional takes a little longer.” - Henry Kissinger

"Wherever law ends, tyranny begins" -John Locke
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Inventory storage and safety tips

Never ever remove 'inventory' for personal use! 😱

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Inventory storage and safety tips

I am always having "Trouble with Tribbles" in my grain bin.  🚀

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Inventory storage and safety tips

Just imagine the fun we have trying to store books safely!  We've currently got dehydrators running and lost some stock after a flood in our building (nothing we could have done).

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Inventory storage and safety tips

Product Recalls - sellers are not allowed to list recalled products of any type, regardless of age. Listing recalled products can jeopardize your selling account.

 

www.recalls.gov/search.html is the government's database of recalled products. This site has links to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for household items, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for vehicles and parts, Department Of Agriculture and Food And Drug Administration for food, cosmetics, drugs and health products.  

 

You might be surprised at what is on those lists. Portable chargers that can explode, toxic sneakers, products with melamine pieces or bits of plastic in consumables, mis-labeled packaging, dangerous furniture, etc.

 

Always a good idea to check those flea market, garage and estate sale finds as well as store clearance items and those purchased for resale from third party vendors or offshore sites. 

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Inventory storage and safety tips

www.barcodelookup.com is a great site to find product information and even has some great photos.

 

You can search by UPC code, ISBN or by item name. Often additional product information is listed there and if you don't want to take your own photos you can copy theirs and use a photo resizer site to edit them to eBay specifications.

 

I have used this site to find info for new out of box / package items.

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Inventory storage and safety tips


@b86fiero wrote:

Product Recalls - sellers are not allowed to list recalled products of any type, regardless of age. Listing recalled products can jeopardize your selling account.

 

 


Even when (not if) the bots gets it totally wrong and the item you had pulled is NOT the item that was recalled.

 

They don't care. List it elsewhere.

"If a product doesn't sell, raise the price" - Reese Palley
"If it sold FAST, it was priced too low" - also Reese Palley
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Inventory storage and safety tips

I'm guilty.  Leaving unused 80 year old vacuum tubes unused, is a challenge. I failed.

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