Setting Up an eBay Room/Workspace

[southernfriedbelle]

Going to work on organizing a work space for my eBay sales. Would appreciate input on what other sellers have done or have found to work for them regarding designating a room or area in their homes for this purpose. Photos welcome!

[lex-talon]

Most of my shipping materials are stored in my closet. The patio is used for preparing items for shipment. The inventory is stored in my attic for easy access. Sometimes, my room is used for inventory. I have some tidying up to do today.

[postingid2017]

When I used to go to estate sales, I would always look for the older heavier garment bag for the dresses/gowns and I keep them my old bedroom away from the cats.  For everything else, I use rolling racks that I cover with clean old sheets to keep dust/dander away as much as I can.  But organizing, sigh, it has been tried and I fail all the time 🙂

I am trying to wind down my online selling, but I have so much of everything, I do not know where to begin 😞  I was thinking of listing here, but I have the same argument with myself - sometimes I win/sometimes I loose 😉 

[timemachine777]

---

@keziak wrote:

---

@timemachine777 wrote:

The thing is to keep everything together as much as possible. I wouldn't want people coming into my home and seeing a mail order business being run out of it. Who wants to be married to online sales 24/7 as they walk from room to room in their home. I know people that do this, and it looks like they live in one of my storage rooms.

<<<<<<<<<<<

So true! In my dreams the ideal house would have a walk-out basement with area for a workstation, shelving for all the books,  area for incoming books, and mailing supplies. All on the same level as the car, all collected in one place away from living space.  We won't be moving any decade soon so I am working on getting a better grip on things, a primary goal being to purge the family room from boxes of incoming books.  

---

---

My house is almost set up like that. It's kinda weird. My garages are half way between the basement and the 1st fl of the house. The have a huge 6 foot wide stairwell with about five removable steps into my basement, and the same going into the house. I have a few entrances into the basement which makes it a more convenient space for me. 

[xgoblazersx]

I keep all of my stuff in the garage.  I hang dresses, and everything else is in a bin or box.  The shipping supplies are kept in the office in the closet, then we have: pens, tape, markers, scissors, etc. in a desk with the printer.  As for pictures: I take them in the living room either on a door, on the coffee table on bolts of fabric, or in one of our decorative chairs with recessed lighting, and I store it back in the garage when done.  It's important too if you live in a hot area like me to have some air flow in the garagebasement to prevent mold.  We keep a floor fan going at all times.

[hollysfinds]

Just giving fair warning,

It always starts with just one room & before you know it

ebay is starting to take over your home.

Help me please, LOL.

[myclosettwoyours]

Off topic, but how do you take photos of your solid black items?  Mine most often times appear faded or washed out even though the item itself is still solid black.  I have recessed lighting above the mannequin area and spin her and move her away from the light to take the ultimate photo to little or no avail.  

Sometimes I apologize in my listing for my lack of photography expertise.  All comments after the purchase of a solid black item have always been something to the effect of "better than photographed."   But...

[postingid2017]

So true LOL.   I forgot to mention the front hall closet where I keep the coats/bridal gowns/luggage and a baby rocker.  And then there is the dining room for household items in boxes.  

The only thing is that is keeping me from shopping/estate sales is that I no longer have my vehicle.  I donated it a couple of weeks ago.  She was old (17 yrs) and needed work (check engine light was on) and was hit a few times while parked 😞  (crazy New Jersey drivers).  The only good thing is that since I stopped driving her last year, I walk most everywhere and lost 15lbs.  But I did go to DMV on Friday to turn in the plates and stopped at my fav thrift - picked up NOS/UNWORN vintage shoes for myself and the Sugar Canister for my Lincolnware set that I needed for me, YEAH!  I told myself that I will be the best-dressed unemployed female in Northern NJ, LMAO! 

Now back to typing descriptions 

[southernfriedbelle]

---

@myclosettwoyours wrote:

What works for me is dedicating the spare bedroom in my home as my ebay room.  

The wardrobe system, which is the back-drop to my photos is where I store inventory...Sliding doors revealing shelves of numbered bins.  All clothing folded neatly.  How do I know which item is where?  In the "Special Notes" section of my listing, I place the bin number corresponding to that item's location.  So when sold, I refer to the number and go straight to the item.   Tissue paper, labels, postage scale and things of that nature are stored in a 5 drawer cabinet next to the desk in easy reach of the desk/shipping department.  

All of my ebay inventory is confined to my designated work-space so as to not lose or damage anything or create clutter.  

I hope you found that helpful and I am wishing you much success!  

---

Thank you! This is what I'm going for, just one well organized space. Will be haunting local thrift shops for a dresser. In the meantime, will probably just get a plastic one with wide drawers. Love the idea of the bins with numbers recorded in notes on the listing.

[xgoblazersx]

Patterned lighter fabric works for me and you want to try taking the pics in the afternoon in natural light, or under a bigger light like with a ceiling fan.  I hardly used my recessed light because it just doesn't work.

[gagnon234]

I'm impressed w/ your pictures! Especially like the bubble wrap on the rod.
I wouldn't dare post a picture of my ebay room though. Ya'll would say I needed an emergency family intervention.

[myclosettwoyours]

@southernfriedbelle I am delighted that I could be so helpful in your process!  The system I have I bought at Ikea along with the bins that hold my items.  The bins themselves have little slots for insertion of notes.  Ikea has smaller versions, I chose the large one because the wall it is covering is long and I think it looks better than half of that.  Below is a photo of one side opened.

When I first started, I had the plastic bin you are referring to that looks like a dresser except it is clear plastic.  Then that quickly turned into 4 plastic dressers which was pretty unsightly..  I am a neat nick and it made me nuts looking at it.  But they did serve their purpose and kept everything tidy.  

[southernfriedbelle]

---

@myclosettwoyours wrote:

@songbirddu7 Thank you so much for spending some time looking at my listings and giving me such positive feedback.  I appreciate that very much.  

I looked at your listings and if I were 1/2 as good as you... You my friend, are a true professional. Which makes your comments on mine ever more special.  Thank you for that.

I try not to be over priced as the clothing market is fully saturated and I am happy with my price points.  I run sales quite often and am completely thrilled in that my buyer gets a fabulous piece at a great price. 

Sonia

---

@myclosettwoyours@ and @songbiirddu7 I looked at both your listings and they are top-notch! Also, very relevant to what I primarily will be listing, so of special interest to m. I noticed you both use a mannequin/dress form to display and photograph clothing. It really makes your listings look professional. I recently invested in a full mannequin, and it more than paid for itself within my first 2 sales. Of course, I'm still working on working out a way to take better photos, but have found some helpful tutorials online. A bonus is the mannequin spooks my husband, so he avoids my soon-to-be eBay only room! My main challenge besides organizing is somehow getting the computer and printer I currently have replaced with newer ones I can use for listing and printing labels and packing slips. I'll have to involve hubby with the setup, as he's the resident expert. One thing at a time, though! Thanks to both of you for not only the great advice you both gave, but for motivating me as well! Best wishes for great sales!

[southernfriedbelle]

Wow! Love it! Yeah, not a huge fan of plastic drawer units but will later use somewhere else where it won't be seen. Neighbors recently had great dresser sitting out for trash pickup . It would have been perfect, in great shape, not grungy. Begged husband to go ask if we could take it. He refused. Had to leave for work. When I returned home that evening, of course it was gone. Oh well. 😏

[myclosettwoyours]

@southernfriedbelle My former mannequin suffered a terrible throat condition and I had to retire her.  She was with me about 8 years.  I found my current one at a local dress shop at a great price.  

Too bad hubby refused to ask the neighbor for the dresser but mine would have too.  It would have been me pulling and tugging it up the driveway in my pajamas...

If your computer and printer work for listing and printing your labels, I would not invest in new ones just yet.  I stretched my old printer until it died printing its last label.  Best to buy just before school starts again when all that kind of stuff is on sale... 

What are you using for poly bags?  Are you wrapping your items in tissue?  What is the reason for the packing slip?  To me, only an opinion...wasted ink and paper.

All the best to you!  Sonia 

[scstool]

My ebay rooms sort of look like the pic below.

Had to ( reluctantly) send the wife and kids to the MIL to make room.

I let the dog stay, never saw the cat again with all those boxes laying about.