Category Archives: How To

Goals, How To

May 2018 Goals: What’s Different

I like setting goals because they hold me accountable.  I also like adding to my goals to change it up.  Adding to my goals always me to find new ways to do things or grow myself in my business.  For example I’ve starting to add revenue to my goal setting as it allows me to do more to make more profit.

Here are my goals for this month.

  • List at least 1 Mercari Item per day
  • Get up to 875 active listings on eBay.  I’m starting with 800 for the month.
  • Revenue of $2,500 for the month
  • Added Goal: Lower one long listed item per day to get it to sell.
  • Non Selling Goal: Walk the dog at least 3 times a week.

I’ve added a non selling goal to help create more of a schedule for me to adhere to.  Plus it will allow me to get out with the dog and get some exercise during the week!

Here are some goals set out from all of the views on YouTube.

  • Michigan Girl – 500 active listings
  • Kathryn – currently 365 to go to 450 listings
  • Scott Lindey – currently 160 to get to 250 active listings
  • Charlotte – wants to get to 800 listings
  • Ebizzy Chris – currently at 320 to get to 500 listings
  • Donna Wester – wants to get to 400 active listings
  • Packman – wants to get to 800 active listings and 7500 revenue
  • Scott L – currently at 119 and wants to get to 200
  • Redneckerson – currently at 690 and wants to get to 850 listings
  • DarrinAdams – wants to get to 300 listings
  • Diesel Engine – currently at 51 wants to get to 70 listings
  • Andi Patrotic – currently at 994 wants to get to 1200 listings

Let’s end this month strong and grow each other!

-Chris
LiquidationOH@gmail.com

 

Goals, How To

March 2018 Goals

Goals are defined as the following: the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.

I find setting goals in your business is a great way to not only allow you to grow, but it also holds you accountable.  When you write your goals down, it forces you to look at it and question why you’ve not hit it yet or why you hit it too quickly!  You want to make goals so that they are attainable but not too easy.  I find I thrive more when I set a couple of goals that I know are attainable but to also set goals that might be a little more lofty.  I call these stretch goals.

A simple goal that I might set for myself in a single month is to list 5 items a night.  A stretch goal for me might be to have $5,000 in sales.  Given my historical monthly sales numbers I see that I haven’t hit $5K in a single month yet, so setting something a little higher will force me to make some changes in my process to try and hit it.  It is a goal that force me to think outside the box

Stretch Goal is defined as the following: A goal that cannot be achieved by incremental or small improvements but require extending oneself to the limit to be actualized. Expressed in the saying, “You cannot cross a chasm in two steps.”

The first step to achieving success is staring your obstacles in the face.  In my video below, I challenged everyone to set a goal for the month of March.  If you want to join this challenge of holding yourself accountable please comment below or message me and I can add you to the list.  Once march is over we will review and see what we could have done differently or if we hit it or hit it too easily we will want to know what we did to make it happen!

Here is everyone who joined!

Me: Listing goal of 800 active listings, and $2500 profit
Charlotte: 800 listings
SoGitThisFlips: move from 150 listings to 175
Kathryn: 300 listings
Patriotic: 1200 listings and $2000 sales
Arizona Hustle: move from 104 to 250 listings
Sandi: 0 to 100 listings
BigGuy: 60 to 100 listings
Gail: 297 listings to 400
Ajayi: 60 listings to 150
Debra: wants to max out listings at 30

Lets knock these out together!  Looking forward to the March review show!

How To

Liquidation Item Series: HDTV Antennas

Here is the first post in the new liquidated item series.  I want to pick a new product each time and review with you different things to look out for before you purchase as well as what to do if you get the item.  I would like to run this in conjunction with my video series on Youtube.  Keep in mind these are from my own experiences.  If you have different ways you do things or something to add feel free to comment below!

Before Purchasing:

I really look for Mohu Leaf products if i’m going to look at HDTV antennas.  I find that this model sells really well and price will depend on the specific mileage range units.  I’ve seen a 25 mile one and a 50 mile one.  Here’s an example of one below.

Keep in mind they come with multiple pieces (listed below), so you may be missing some if you’re expecting them in a liquidation lot.  Also the actual antenna is a thin plastic sheet, so sometimes they corners could be cracked or missing.  Some of the models have sticky velcro pads that can stick to the wall which also could be missing.

Items possibly in the box:

  • Flat plastic antenna sheet
  • Coaxial cable
  • Wall Plug – some units require extra power
  • Velcro stickers to put on the wall to hold it up
  • Pushpins into sheetrock – some have this
    (You can always validate which items come in your unit by looking up that same antenna on Amazon, etc. to make sure you have everything)

After Purchase:

Once you get them in the box usually they come in the retail packaging with is nice.  Some of the items listed above are pretty small, so make sure to check in your box if they fell out.  Other times they just put the items in a big poly bag.  Make sure to take everything out and make sure the plastic antenna didn’t crack.

Testing:

This is the most important part of your journey to reselling.  It took me a little bit to figure out how these work.  Hook everything up such as the coaxial, dc plug if available, and hold the antenna up high if you can preferably near a window.  Once plugged into your TV you will need to change the source to “Cable”.  Now here is the tricky part.  I had to go into my tv settings and change the antenna settings.  Once this is changed to match the HDTV antenna, your TV might need to do a scan to receive your channels.  Once the scan is over you should start getting a signal.

Listing:

I usually list my units on eBay.  Double check the comps and determine based on the pieces you have what a good price is.  usually for the 50 miler I get around $50, and the 25 miler I get around $25 all with free shipping.  Given when you list yours the comps may be different.

Stay tuned as I will be putting more of these item reviews up so you can not only make better liquidation purchases, but come to better understand your products!

-Chris
LiquidationOH@gmail.com

 

How To, Liquidation

Some Liquidation Tips and Tricks – Buying Product

I’ve been purchasing liquidated items for over a year and a half now and I’m not an expert by any means.  But the process I have developed helps me get the best product at the best price from Liquidation.com.

Same Seller: Find a seller that works for you.  You can discover them from trying new ones out of the blue or discussions with current resellers.  I find out a lot of my tips and tricks through my own trial and error, but also through a large Facebook group that I have formed relationships with resellers and liquidators.  You can visit their group here.

Make a List of Products: Once you start to get the hang of reselling then try and stick to the same items that do well.  I have started a running list of products that I intentionally comb through manifests to find.  Once I find these manifests I add the auctions to my wishlist.  I then look up other other high priced items on the list to gauge profit.

Homework: Make sure you put in your homework and comb the manifest prior to bidding and check your shipping costs.  I take the top 10 or so items and look up their value on eBay.  I look at what they are actually selling for, not what they’re listed at or what their MSRP is.  Ultimately their value is only as good as what they are selling for.  To understand your net profit then before bidding make sure to quote your shipping cost so you know what your total cost is all and what you can expect to sell your items for.

Gut Check: Keep your wits about you when you’re bidding.  Don’t let the thrill of bidding and getting new product keep you hooked into bidding.  If the bidding gets too high, meaning it gets over what you think your profit could be on that total auction then let it go.  There will always be similar auctions with similar products.

The only secret is doing your homework and networking.  It will not guarantee that you will make money but it will increase your odds of winning.  You will make as much as the effort you put back into this process.

-Chris
LiquidationOH@gmail.com

Want to follow my day to day?  Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow along!

eBay, How To

How to Cancel an eBay Order

As a seller on eBay you will run across a time when you will need to cancel an order that either a buyer won or used a Buy It Now.  There are many reasons why an order would need to be cancelled.  Here are some reasons why orders have been cancelled in my experiences

  • Buyer wanted to cancel because they bought it in error or they didn’t read the full description (where I sell items for parts or not working)
  • Shipping is incorrect and buyer wants me to change the address.  DO NOT edit the address on the label purchase screen.  If you edit the address you forfeit your seller protection
  • You are out of stock or item is damaged (seller defect).  Use this rule as a seller will give you a defect.  If you fall below 0.50% then you will lose Top Rated Seller, and I’m assuming if you get enough of them eBay could step in on your selling account status.
  • Seller doesn’t pay for their item after their auction, and a case is opened for unpaid item.

Buyer Requests Cancel:

For issues where buyer simply wants to cancel an order I always first request that the buyer cancel from their side.  You should have the ability to go into the listing and cancel it if its shortly after they’ve purchased the item.  If they cannot do it then I will go into the sold screen on eBay and cancel it.  Be sure to click “Buyer request for cancel” so that you do not get a defect on your account.  This will usually issue an immediate refund through PayPal.  I believe you will lose $0.30 per cancel from PayPal for the transaction.

Address is Incorrect:

Again make sure you select the right reason when you cancel this order type.  If the buyer requests that you change their address on the label then make sure you ask the buyer to cancel and rebuy the item with the correct address.  They must make the edit in PayPal before completing the transition.  If you edit it yourself and the buyer opens a case you will be fighting an uphill battle.  eBay will most likely refund the buyer and you’ll be out of the item!

Out of Stock:

If you are out of stock then you will be hit with a defect.  Understandably eBay will give you a defect because they want sellers to know their purchase will be fulfilled.  I always check my listings to validate that what I have listed is what I have in stock.  Sometimes I have seen that I will have duplicated listings and I can go in and end the listing.  As you grow your number of listings, I can see this happening.  Sometimes I will get a hiccup in the system or something will glitch out and I will duplicate listings.  Go in and look at your store every so often to make sure what is listed is what you have in stock.

Tip:  If you relist and listing that had multiple quantities, then that relist will also pull in that same multiple quantities.  Make sure to edit this number so you’re listing doesn’t have more than you physically have!

Unpaid Case:

If you setup auto unpaid case opening for unpaid auctions then this will not impact you as much in terms of cancelling an order.  If you do not have it open automatically for you, then you will have to open a case manually, and then manually close it after a certain time period.  Once the case is closed your item should be auto posted again.  In all cases make sure you check that the listing is reposted.

Sometimes I have heard some strange stories at why people want their order cancelled.  Probably the most infamous and most frequent is that “so and so” took my phone and ordered it.  The only inconvenience is that if you had watchers on your listing then it will take awhile to get that back.  I always feel that it hurts the chances of my item selling and extended it from selling.  What are some of your strangest stories on why a buyer wants to cancel an order?

Want to follow my daily progress? Click on the video and subscribe to my channel!

-Chris
LiquidationOH@gmail.com

eBay, How To

Tips for eBay Success – Listing Daily and Bundles!

As I have been listing items the last few days I wanted to share some tips that have been working for me.  Also something I’ve started doing with my slow moving inventory.

Slow Moving Inventory ($0.99 auction):
When I first open my liquidation.com box I usually list the top selling items immediately and move on to the next box.  Then there becomes a backlog of lower priced items that sit around for awhile.  These items sit because I get other lots coming in and I’ve already made my money on the box.  Here’s what I’ve started to do moving the slow items.  I will move these items as $0.99 starting auctions, but the key is to cover your shipping cost.  I will not do free shipping but start the auction at $0.99.  Even if I make minimal amount on the item, then its better than it sitting in my basement making $0.  Two take aways:

  • Start Auction on slow items only when you’ve made your money on the lot.  Start them at $0.99
  • Cover your shipping cost on these items. DO NOT DO FREE SHIPPING.
  • These type of auctions also work for items that do not work (condition: for parts not working).

Listing Daily:
I’ve had great success listing items daily.  I try to at least list one item a night.  Now don’t get me wrong listing more than 1 is great, but getting in the habit of something every day works wonders.  I’ve heard rumors of listing daily gets you better search results for buyers, but I’m not so sure.  I usually sell between 2 to 8 items daily.  My current goal is to get 400 active listings, so I need to list more than I sell.  Plus having more listings allow for more sales!  Increase your probability of a sale!

Bundling Lower Priced Items:
Not only listing lower priced items as a $0.99 cent auction is good, but if you continuously get the same lower priced why not sell them as a bundle?  My recent example is iWatch bands that I get a ton of in my boxes.  When I look online I see bands going for anywhere between $4 and $7 depending on the band.  If I were to list each one individually it would consume all my free listings, and my time.  I’ve already made my money on these lots so netting $3 profit is not worth it assuming they’d even sell!  So I bulk listed all 40 bands for a buy it now listing of $50.  It sold within the week!  This is a greater bang for my time and my listings.  This also works for electronic items that are defective.  I have three defective PlayStation 4 headset units that I’ve bundled together.  People will buy broken items to fix and resell.  Instead of throwing them away I will make some money on them and get them out of my inventory.  But make sure to calculate shipping and your fees correctly to not lose money!

Lastly if you haven’t seen my latest video please check it out.  I’m interested in learning on how you handle local sales and how you’ve achieved success if any with them.

Keep listing and innovate how you sell your items.  There is money in everything!

-Chris
LiquidationOH@gmail.com