What are your Goals, Plans, and Hopes for December 2021?

[rosachs]

Christmas shopping is upon us!  What are your plans to maximize your sales, or are you just going to 'go with the flow'?  Have your sales picked up or not yet recovered?  And what thoughts have you given to 2022?

Inquiring minds would like to know!

-Bob.

[chapeau-noir]

I had cataract surgery several years ago.  It was like a miracle.  I've had bad vision all my life, was born cross-eyed and started wearing glasses at 2 years old.  Went through life being a wallflower because of those damned glasses and my crossed eyes (nothing fixed that), and seeing double.  The only thing that helped the cross-eyes were contacts, but as I got older and the years of long hours of computer work took their toll I was back in glasses again...and cross eyes.  Then, finally, in my 60s developed cataracts and had them fixed. It was a miracle!! The smallest thing I could see...everything was clear for the first time since I could remember (by that time I was almost legally blind).  Even the worst dump I would look at and say "I can see it clearly...crystal clear!" My eyes have stopped crossing.  I would have paid a king's ransom for that.

[route66gif76]

SOLD 1 MORE  FOR 8. AND I HAVE ONE AUCTION FOR 1 SO I  GO.

SO I HAVE 9/11 TO GO. I HAVE 2 MORE TO  GO FOR THE TOTAL. I CAN 4 MORE TO GO FOR THE ON THE ON MONTH.

CLAY

[postcardcountry]

Bob,

Why is it the boss never listens and never learns?

I have a boss that neglects the business, then comes back for a brief while (when the money in the bank is low) planning on getting things "back on track."  As good as we all are, employees can't make decisions and sometimes they need immediate attention...not radio silence because you are "out to lunch". 

Boss just read his "company manual".  The one written 6 or 7 years ago and not updated.  Started telling me the company hasn't been run correctly for a while.  I countered "it's hard to tell  when 75% of the manual no longer applies."  Which is true.  He is going to rewrite it.   That is not going to fix the problem.  Never going to change him, but sometimes he creates his own problems. 

[luckythewinner]

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@rosachs wrote:

Christmas shopping is upon us!  What are your plans to maximize your sales, or are you just going to 'go with the flow'?  Have your sales picked up or not yet recovered?  And what thoughts have you given to 2022?

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My goal for 2022 is to research my COGS as I go, and not leave it to the very end. 

I sell music memorabilia. About half the items I sell are things I have bought in the fairly distant past, either for my personal collection or just because the deal was too good to pass up and "someone will want this someday".

Although I have access to almost every receipt for every item I have ever bought, they are all either buried in paper files by year or in the eBay messages announcing that I won (yes I also have every email I have sent or received since 1995). 

So at the end of every year, I am faced with the tedious task of locating the receipts to justify the cost of everything I sold that year. And at the end of every year, I chide myself for failing to do this as I sell the items so the task does not loom over me every January 🙂

[summersails4u]

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Even though I have stopped selling on here, I still think of you often. I will try to pop in and see how you are all doing. Legessi, I am happy that you love your place. Kentucky is beautiful, but too cold for me. LOL! I prefer Florida. Clay, You sound like you are still trekking along with ebay and your local sales. Rosach, You sound like you are very busy hitting that pile of inventory! LOL!

Downright & Debbie, I keep in contact with you both, of course with PMs. Postcard, Have the estate sales slowed down? Bokhoma, I love your new family member, the Australian Shepherd. Are you now going to get some goats or sheep for herding? LOL! I know I am leaving someone out, but my brain is in a freeze. LOL!

[sakic92710]

If my December & fall plans were to feel like a failure on eBay, my plans were a success!   lol   Nov/Dec were my worst months in 2 years.  The only thing getting me through this week is FB.  My biggest goal for 2022 is to find a way to away from this site & fees.  Unfortunately, difficult to cut off one of the branches needed to try & grow online.  Enjoy your holidays, eBay-ers.

[krazzykats]

My hope is for Peace amongst all men, and that everyone cares just a little more about others...

A little bit of love goes a long way.  Give a little of yourself, and make someone smile this Holiday!

[rosachs]

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@summersails4u wrote:

Rosach, You sound like you are very busy hitting that pile of inventory! LOL!

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Hitting but I don't think I'm denting just yet.  🙂  Selling off the working PCs that are relatively current is not really a problem - my investment is small, so I have room to flex on selling price.  And I find it relaxing to futz with them, getting them ready to resell.  It's the old ones that I want to start making progress on.

I've worked out a method to effectively have 500 listings running every other month - with no listing fees.  Which means I need to up my elongates inventory (fastest to list, deepest inventory) so I can see if this will work.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  It will be interesting to see how work does while I'm gone this week.  Last time I was gone (4 weeks on truncated programming contract), they almost closed down the account!  Something to do with not responding to Return Requests.... 🙂

Enjoy the new digs!  Youngest may be moving out of our house in 2022, and we're hoping this housing market holds long enough that we can unload it quick for a great price.... and then the market can calm down and get more realistic so we can invest in building our 'retirement' home. 🙂  Sounds good... looks good on paper... feels good and makes us both smile... but reality can be a harsh dominatrix. 🙂

-Bob.

[rosachs]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

If my December & fall plans were to feel like a failure on eBay, my plans were a success!   lol   Nov/Dec were my worst months in 2 years.  The only thing getting me through this week is FB.  My biggest goal for 2022 is to find a way to away from this site & fees.  Unfortunately, difficult to cut off one of the branches needed to try & grow online.  Enjoy your holidays, eBay-ers.

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You probably don't need to totally remove eBay so much as adjust the inventory you list here, putting your higher profit items on sites offering higher selling prices and better seller protections.  Requires looking at the sites you use, ranking them as what they are best & worst for selling, and then adjust your listings accordingly.

At work, we've added a couple new venues, and they are doing very well, better than expected.  As a result, we are changing our eBay product mix, moving the better sellers to sites that offer better prices and/or better protections or a greater sense of buyer/seller equality.  B&M retailers do it all the time - national chains carry much of the same product at all stores, but they also have a lot of 'locally targeted' inventory as well.  Items that sell well in one part of the country may not sell well elsewhere.  So you place them where they sell best.

-Bob.

[rosachs]

Merry Christmas Everyone - and may we all have a Happy New Year!

December is playing out pretty much as expected, and that's just fine with me.  I have this coming week off (12/27-31/2021), so I'm hoping to get a few more systems reset & sold, the storage space a bit more organized, and my at-home supplies & parts significantly more organized.  The organizing is my priority - it's driving me nuts that I know I have parts I need but simply cannot find them...until I no longer need them.  Getting that controlled will help with the refurb processing greatly, and will make it easier to access some components I've outgrown and a few purchases strictly for resales.  Getting to those makes them easier to sell, and that's money back in the bank.

I've also got to get my books in better order.  2022 will be the first tax year at the new $600 1099-K trigger point, so I want to be sure I've got all my receipts in order.  And start making quarterly tax payments to avoid a major hit at year's end. 😞

-Bob.

[chapeau-noir]

I'm still selling down, but need to acquire SOME inventory to keep feeding the beast enough to get eyes on my older stuff.

@rosachs  You probably don't need to totally remove eBay so much as adjust the inventory you list here, putting your higher profit items on sites offering higher selling prices and better seller protections. Requires looking at the sites you use, ranking them as what they are best & worst for selling, and then adjust your listings accordingly.

I totally agree with this - as someone who has sold on multiple sites since 1999 - flexibility and agility is the name of the game here.  I've always found that some markets do better on some sites, and others on other sites.  I know I'm a little table-topper, but was still able to make a living without having to maintain thousands of listings just because I don't limit myself, but hustle briskly.

[downrightspecialkids]

@chapeau-noir Incredible story about your vision. What a shame it took so many years to be able to see clearly. 

Debbie, sorry you had to cancel Christmas. Hopefully you get to see the new baby soon. 

Bob, I hope your son moves while the market is still strong for you to sell. At the same time, I want it to calm down because we have now been renting for almost 10 years and I really want to own again. The rent increases are astronomical and they don't maintain the property. With what we pay for rent, there is no way I am painting a house or staining a deck on a place I don't own. 

Noah still has several years of school, and I hate the thought of moving him, but don't want to live here much longer. With the way housing prices shot up, I am not even sure we can afford to buy again, unless we do what my DD did and move way out, which I really don't want to do. 

@luckythewinner 

Every year I say I am going to do better with my receipts and taxes, but every year, I am scrambling at the last minute trying to get everything together. 😞

[route66gif76]

GOD  BLESS YOU LESLIE>>>>>

[route66gif76]

I SOLD 12 TOTAL  SO FAR THIS DECEEMBER.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

CLAY

[postcardcountry]

Happy New Year!!!

This one is finishing a little better than I expected.

I took all my listings down so I could easily fix the main category (eBay didn't catch them all) and update all the item specifics -- with postcards, even the recommended are important.  Postcard sales dipped after October.  I also avoided the "will it be here for Christmas" questions by cancelling listings after 12/17.  Concentrated on getting items corrected.  I was able to start relisting 12/25, a full week sooner than expected.  Everything but 22 items have been relisted.  Those 22 need a tad more research before ready to go.  Sales have picked up noticeably.

I joined a facebook group "Death Pile Destruction".  It's encouraging to see others are in deeper than me.  (misery loves company) but....it is also encouraging as each member moves forward, even tiny steps, to getting ahead of that massive inventory.  I call it my max-global empire that has taken over the garage, sent tentacles into my two office rooms, the spare bathroom and the laundry room.  We are encouraged to "be accountable" to ourselves and the group for our progress.  Making slow steps, but can report with a smile I haven't added to my empire in 3 weeks.   It seems to be what I need.

What I don't need is a boss who has already told me he is going to need more of my time than usual in January as he redoes the company handbook, the sales contract and starts working on other procedures.  I do need the money, but sometimes.....

DH cooked Christmas dinner.   Turkey breast, stuffing, gravy and green beans.  I just helped eat it and put the leftovers away.  It's so nice he is feeling so much better.  I even have him doing dishes.  We need to talk about a New Years meal. ....

Everyone stay safe this New Years.

-Cora