Source for eBay Inventory - Hallmark Stores

Hallmark stores can be a great source of inventory. You will need to check back often as new markdowns are taken. Here are some good things to look for.

Yankee Candles are good sellers on eBay. Yankee Candle is the number one selling candle brand in America, offering over 150 scents and a huge selection of sizes and candle products and accessories. These candles are not cheap. The large jar candles sell for around $25. That is why Yankee Candle lovers turn to eBay to find their favorite candles for lower prices. Hallmark will often mark down candles that are out of season. For example, in the spring when all the floral and beach scents are popular, you might see the Christmas and Halloween candles on clearance. These will sell year round. People collect Yankee Candles and some people never even burn them. If you stumble on a scent that has been discontinued, stock up. As soon as an item has been discontinued, its value will increase. To figure out which Yankee Candles are selling for the most, do a search on eBay completed listings for RETIRED YANKEE CANDLE.

Look for marked down NCAA team related products. Hallmark stores often carry knick knacks like bird houses, license plates, ceramic figurines, beer steins, and jewelry that is related to your local NCAA team. This kind of stuff sells well year round. Check the original price on the item and determine if you are getting a deal. 10% off is not a deal. 75% off is a deal. Do your research and use your best judgment.

Look for collectible themed items. Examples include Barbie, Harley Davidson, Coca-Cola, and Sesame Street items. Look in the clearance section and see what is marked down.

Hallmark also has a rewards program called the Hallmark Gold Crown program. You can earn 10 points for every $1 you spend on Hallmark products and 50 points for each greeting card. Points accumulate toward reward certificates.

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Charter Club Cashmere Sweater - eBay Seller Success Story

Kristi at Spend Less Save More sent in her success story:

I have been following your blog for a few months now & love it. I wanted to share a recent success with eBay. I purchased a Charter Club Cashmere Sweater at my local Good Will. I was surprised at how high it went for because it isn't really a name brand.

Here is Kristi's listing:




Kristi's cost - $3.59
eBay selling price - $51.88
Profit before fees - $48.29

Fantastic sale! There has been some discussion on my Facebook eBay group about selling cashmere year round. In my experience, it sells any time of year. Other sellers are discovering this, too. Worst case scenario - put the cashmere sweater on a fixed price listing for 30 days - the cost is only 20 cents.

Click here to find my huge list of thrift store items that have been sold on eBay for a nice profit. Check out Thrift Store Goldmines, which contains 61 pages of items just like this. You may already have some of these huge money makers in your house, and not even know they are valuable!

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eBay Coach Top 5 Thrift Store Items to Sell on eBay

When I am working with new clients, and teaching them about thrifting for items to sell on eBay, they often seem overwhelmed by the lists of "what to sell" and how much to pay for an item to resell. To simplify this process, I created my top 5 list that contains 5 items that I can regularly find that also sell for a nice profit.

Cashmere Sweaters

Look for 100% cashmere sweaters and sweater vests. Look for any style, any color, any size. Men’s or women’s. Make sure there are no moth holes or stains. The brand does not matter as long as the item is 100% cashmere. Don’t pay more than $5 per item. When preparing the item to photograph, remove any pilling.

Dansko Clogs

These are popular in the restaurant and medical industries because they are made of an oiled leather that repels liquids and protects the foot. These shoes can cost over $200 new. Look for the clog style. They come in European sizing and are unisex. Don’t pay more than $7 per pair. My eBay Flipped Listing - Dansko Clogs

Eileen Fisher Women’s Apparel

This is a high end brand of women’s clothing sold at Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Saks 5th Avenue. The fabrics are usually organic cotton, silk, and other very comfortable and expensive materials. Some of the pieces retail for over $300. The black pants do very well on eBay. Also look for tops, sweaters, jackets, and skirts. And if you are lucky enough to find these with the tags on them, that’s even better. Don’t pay more than $5 per piece. Click here for examples.

Under Armour Apparel

Under Armour is a brand of athletic and casual wear made from performance fabrics. You can find this in men’s women’s, and children’s. The hoodies do great. Look for ANYTHING in good condition with this logo. Click here for more info. Don’t pay more than $5 per piece.

Bobby Jones Men’s Golf Shirts

These cost around $100 new. You only want large, XL, and 2XL. The smaller sizes don’t sell. The ones with golf course and tournament logos do great. Even if it has a company logo, it will still sell. Click here for more info. Make sure you get the ones with the golfer design on the placket. Don’t pay more than $5.

Click here to check out my Kindle book, "Thrift Store Items to Sell on eBay."

I would love to hear your top 5 list! Please post a comment with your top 5 items and how much someone should pay at a thrift store for the item if they are reselling it on eBay.

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eBay Top Rated Seller - What is it REALLY?

You have seen the Top Rated Seller logo on eBay profiles, but what exactly does it mean? Is this something to strive for?

The Top Rated Seller status is a label granted by eBay that identifies you (according to eBay's criteria) as a seller with proven quality and service. To qualify as a Top Rated Seller, you must:

1) Have at least 100 transactions
2) Have at least $3,000 in sales with US buyers over the past year
3) Have very few instances of low DSRs from US buyers
4) Follow the Best Practices policy

So, Top Rated Seller doesn't necessarily mean that you sell huge volume, it means that you do the job "right" according to eBay's criteria. If you qualify, you are granted these privileges:

1) 20% discount on final value fees
2) Higher placement in search results (Best Match)
3) More visibility for fixed price listings
4) Top rated seller badge on your listings

So, if anything, look at the Top Rated Seller status as a way to help you save money on your fees. Click here to read all of the details of the Top Rated Seller program.

Happy Selling!

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Free Shipping on eBay isn't Free for Sellers

Offering free shipping on your eBay items may place your listings higher in Best Match, but this comes at a cost. Of course, any business person knows that you aren't shipping the item for free, you are incorporating the shipping fee into the asking price of your item. But, remember that your final value fees are figured on the sale price of the item, so the higher your sale price, the more fees you will pay. Here is an example of how offering free shipping will cost you money.

Let's say you are selling a large or heavy item that costs around $20 to ship. If you offer free shipping and build that $20 cost into your asking price and offer this item on a fixed price listing, it is costing you $2.40 in fees. (Based on 12% final value fees.)If this is a stock item that you sell many times a month, you can see how that fee will add up over time.

So, the free shipping option is really a catch 22. Do you offer free shipping at a cost to appear higher in Best Match? Or do you not offer free shipping to save on fees and settle for appearing lower in Best Match? What do you think?

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Happy Selling!

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Free eBay Tool - DSR Watch

DSR Watch is a service offered free of charge by Channel Advisor. "DSRWatch is the easiest way to discover, track, and benchmark detailed eBay seller ratings." - ChannelAdvisor.com

To use the service, just enter a user name in the box and click go. You can see where the user falls in the different categories and in what percentile.

Once you have done the search, you will get a screen where you can opt in to receive email updates when the user's DSR changes. The idea was to keep an eye on the competition, but I just use it for myself to find out when my DSRs change.

Click here to try DSR Watch. If you sign up for the email notification, you can stay on top of how your customers are rating you and be proactive in improving your DSRs.

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Used Book to Sell on eBay - Bar Review Books

Amy sent in this tip:

"Here's an item to look out for in thrift stores. Bar Review books. They caught my eye because I was a paralegal for many years before becoming a stay at home mom. These are hard to find because they're so expensive and are re-sold to other law students rather than being donated. At the same time, I got 1 bar review book specifically for Tennessee. These are definitely something to look out for. They're very thick, so they easily stand out. Just make sure they're fairly current. These were 2008-2009."

Amy's listing:



Amy's price - $7 for both books
eBay selling price - $56.03
Profit before fees - $49.03

Very nice job, and thanks for the tip! Books can definitely be lucrative if you know what to look for. There are eBay sellers who specialize in books, and really know their stuff. But if you can look for a few specific items and actually find them, you can do well.

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Keep those success stories coming!

Happy Selling,

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