eBay Scavengers: Trash to Cash. A podcast about making a living

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Monday, 10 February 2014

eBay Scavengers Episode 91: Interview with Sue from the eBayRV Life: How to run an eBay business on the road

Posted on 10:43 by Unknown
Sue from eBay RV blog, shows up her mobile eBay store and home. Beautiful!

We love to travel for weeks at a time. It's one of the luxuries this independent life has given us. But obviously it's difficult to sell from the road since our inventory is home based. We get around this problem for short periods by putting our store on "vacation mode" but continue to sell, telling buyers that we'll ship when we get back. Luckily, most buyers will wait for several weeks to get their package. We talk about how we do this here and here. But coming home, we'll often have over 100 items to ship.

In this interview, Sue from the eBay RV tells us how she sold her house and now travels the US (mainly in the Southwest), running an eBay store out of her RV. She was already a vintage seller since the early days of eBay so already knew the process of selling. But her genius was deciding to focus on vintage scarves which are easy to store and ship from anywhere.

Sue shares with us how she finds, photographs, lists, and ships her items. She takes advantage of getting power from her mobile solar panels and internet through the cell towers. She now lists from some of the most beautiful places in the country. And more importantly, she has time to work on her art and put on shows while she travels.

We could only reach her on her cell phone, so pardon the quality of the recording. It's worth listening to her story if you ever dream of traveling and selling. Sue even says she's working on a book to teach others how to sell and have a mobile lifestyle.

Sue's blog and her story. Sue's eBay store Fun Frugal Finds.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 90: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Posted on 10:35 by Unknown
A bottle of perfume and a metal sculpture were both re-pinned on Pinterest this week and they both sold. Coincidence?


This week has been slow, as you can see in our numbers. But we have no fear, we just keep listing. We've made a new video about how we take photographs for eBay. Adam and Emma from Mysterious Caravan have taken a big step by having Emma take the plunge and quit her job to go full time with eBay. We'll be keeping you updated on their progress. Good Luck Emma! New Russian shipping rules are a real bummer for sellers and customers over there. I have tried the eBay Valet program by sending a box of clothes in, we'll see how that goes. We randomly mention the insanity of the 1% as displayed on Rich Kids On Instagram, you'll need to take a shower after viewing, I swear.

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We've included our weekly Ebay numbers below. In the comments, go ahead and post what you've done this week. And let us know if there are other numbers you want us to share.

The Weekly Scavenger Numbers

Our Store Week Feb 2-8, 2014

  • Total Items in Store: 3123
  • Items Sold: 38
  • International Sales: 8
  • Total Sales: $1,351.27
  • Highest Price Sold: $66.83 (vintage owl needlepoint)
  • Average Price Sold: $35.55
  • Returns: 1
  • Positive Feedback: 31
  • Neutral Feedback: 1
  • Negative Feedback: 0
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eBay Scavengers VIDEO: How To Easily Photograph Items For eBay

Posted on 10:34 by Unknown

ITEMS MENTIONED:
Panasonic GH Series Cameras
Panasonic 20mm lens
Large Weight Scale
Small Weight Scale
Steno Notebooks
Tape Measure
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Monday, 3 February 2014

eBay Scavengers Episode 89: How to Find, Buy and Sell Art on eBay

Posted on 18:30 by Unknown
This was our latest haul of art from an auction and the local thrift stores. Cool, weird stuff!
We love to sell art on eBay. First, it's just fun to do. But more important is that most people overlook art at yard sales, flea markets, estate sales and thrift stores. As a regular buyer, who has room on their walls? And other scavengers probably are thinking, "I don't want to store and pack that no matter what the price." We love the overlooked piles. We enjoy the challenge.

In this episode, we share our very generous definition of what art is: needlepoints, prints, lithographs, etchings, charcoal drawings, sketches, drawings, wood burnings, as well as watercolors and real oil/acrylic paintings. It doesn't have to be signed or dated (but it's nice if it is). The art just has to look cool. If you think a piece of art looks cool, someone else will.

Just look at the prices that Ikea charges for reproduction artwork. This is why people decorating their apartments will gladly pay for one-of-kind needlepoint from the 1970's. We often buy these for $1 and sell for $40+. We'll also invest $50 in nicer framed art to sell for $200+.

Don't worry about packing, just watch our video on how to pack art in a glass frame. Let us know in the comments your experience buying and selling art.

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eBay Scavengers VIDEO: How To Pack Delicate Glass Lamps & Light Fixutres For Shipping On eBay

Posted on 17:41 by Unknown
ITEMS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO INCLUDE:
biodegradable bubble wrap
regular bubble wrap
shipping tape gun
fragile stickers
USPS ebay printing labels
USPS roll of 1000 Priority stickers
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eBay Scavengers Episode 88: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Posted on 17:40 by Unknown
Having fun buying and selling vintage perfumes. This Lanvin has a beautiful bakelite top.


Hey, we made another video! This week it's about packing and shipping delicate glass lamps and light fixtures for your ebay buyers. Check it out. We are very proud of ourselves for submitting our taxes to our accountant this week, all thanks to the organization of GoDaddy Bookkeeping. Don't forget that you can subscribe to the blog through email, just fill in the form on the right sidebar. Check out my favorite USPS shipping labels for eBay. When I've printed both labels, I used my heavy duty Fellowes shredder to make the perfect packing material from the backing paper. We get some advice on buying newsprint paper in bulk to pack stuff. Jay mentioned the idea of Retail Arbitrage as mentioned in this YouTube video about Amazon FBA. Turns out you can print a USPS Scan Sheet through Paypal, but not through eBay. Hm, that's weird. This is the tape gun I use and cannot live without. Also, we try out the eBay Valet "Sell for Me" program.

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We've included our weekly Ebay numbers below. In the comments, go ahead and post what you've done this week. And let us know if there are other numbers you want us to share.

The Weekly Scavenger Numbers

Jay and Ryanne’s Store Week Jan 26 to Feb 1, 2014

  • Total Items in Store: 3085
  • Items Sold: 55
  • International Sales: 5
  • Total Sales: $2,371.69
  • Highest Price Sold: $135.00 (wooden owl table)
  • Average Price Sold: $43.12
  • Returns: 1
  • Positive Feedback: 42
  • Neutral Feedback: 0
  • Negative Feedback: 0
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Monday, 27 January 2014

eBay Scavengers Episode 87: Our Experiences Buying and Selling Military Surplus on eBay

Posted on 14:57 by Unknown

We have been experimenting with selling vintage and modern military surplus on eBay for a couple years now. Sites like Government Liquidation are filled with cool stuff in bulk quantities, but often take a large initial investment to get started. You might also need a big old truck, a trailer and some serious storage. We have also approached individual sellers to help them cull their insane surplus hoarding and have had good luck. Do you have experience buying and selling surplus items? We'd love to hear your stories in the comments.

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eBay Scavengers VIDEO: How To Pack Delicate Artwork (Framed with Glass) For Shipping On eBay

Posted on 14:55 by Unknown

ITEMS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO INCLUDE:
biodegradable bubble wrap
regular bubble wrap
fragile stickers
USPS ebay printing labels
USPS roll of 1000 Priority stickers
Read More
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eBay Scavengers Episode 86: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Posted on 11:15 by Unknown

Hey y'all! As you can see above, we have made a new video about how to pack and ship delicate artwork for ebay. We get that question about once a week, so we decided to show you how. Other things mentioned in this episode: Thrift Hunters aired on Spike TV with the dudes from Thrifting With The Boys. We enjoyed it and you can too- they have the full episodes streaming on the Spike website. We have a new FAQ page to answer frequent questions faster than an email could. Check out this cool video on Laughing Squid where Michael Pollan explains how cooking at home is much healthier than eating out.

Direct .mp3 link.
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We've included our weekly Ebay numbers below. In the comments, go ahead and post what you've done this week. And let us know if there are other numbers you want us to share.

The Weekly Scavenger Numbers

Jay and Ryanne’s Store Week Jan 19-25, 2014

  • Total Items in Store: 3105
  • Items Sold: 60
  • International Sales: 15
  • Total Sales: $2435.17
  • Highest Price Sold: $150.00 (Mid-century framed prints)
  • Average Price Sold: $40.58
  • Returns: 1
  • Positive Feedback: 34
  • Neutral Feedback: 0
  • Negative Feedback: 0
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Monday, 20 January 2014

eBay Scavengers Episode 85: We check in with Adam from The Mysterious Caravan

Posted on 18:04 by Unknown


About 6 months ago, we interviewed new ebay seller, Adam, from The Mysterious Caravan store. Since then, he's built up his store from under 100 items to 500 items. All while him and his wife, Emma, have full time jobs and a baby to tend to. Pretty amazing work! We check back in with Adam to see what has changed since he started and see if their on track to getting one of this ambitious couple to work full time doing ebay. Thanks for chatting with us Adam!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 84: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Posted on 10:05 by Unknown
Cool sparkle vest that we re-photographed and it finally sold (for a mere 5.99). Fire King cup sold to an international buying company for $30. Pair of bench made English riding boots was a nice high end sale this week for $175.
 We talk about what's up this week in our eBay store. We have been cheating on eBay and listing on Amazon using Profit Bandit app on our iphones and ipad. But we have no idea if we'll be successful selling books without doing FBA. We've had a few very nice sales to international buying sites like the Japanese Sekaimon. Jay mentions one of his favorite blogs Mr. Money Mustache where extreme early retirement, paying off debt and investing wisely are the main topics. We mention using USPS Pickup as the best method for beginner shippers. Also try the USPS Flat Rate Variety Pack of boxes for free. Don't forget to stock up on our recommended shipping supplies as listed on our Resources page. Also check out Pixelmator for the Mac for simple photo editing.

Direct .mp3 link.
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We've included our weekly eBay numbers below. In the comments, go ahead and post what you've done this week. And let us know if there are other numbers you want us to share.

The Weekly Scavenger Numbers

Jay and Ryanne’s Store Week Jan 12-18, 2014

  • Total Items in Store: 3063
  • Items Sold: 46
  • Total Sales: $1799.72
  • Highest Price Sold: $175.00 (Benchmade leather riding boots)
  • Average Price Sold: $39.10
  • Returns: 1
  • Positive Feedback: 30
  • Neutral Feedback: 0
  • Negative Feedback: 0
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Monday, 13 January 2014

eBay Scavengers Episode 83: What If It All Disappears? Conquering Your eBay Fears

Posted on 11:09 by Unknown
I'm not the only one who has 80's flashbacks when I see this image. Bought for about 5 cents, sold for $25.


When we first started selling on eBay, it never seemed like something we could do full-time. Make a living selling items we scavenged? No way. Then, as we began to consistently list and fill our store, it just became a numbers game. The more we listed, the more we sold. The more we sold, the more realistic it became that selling on eBay could become a full-time job.

But then we had a curious fear: what if we ran out of things to sell? What if the thrift stores stopped putting out items of incredible quality? What if everyone else found out about the treasures just lying around, waiting to be sold? What if people stopped donating and just sold the stuff themselves? I mean, there are now multiple TV shows detailing how to "pick & flip". Do a search for "selling on eBay" on Youtube and there's no mystery. Even Goodwill now has their own eBay clone where they sell millions of dollars of items a year themselves instead of putting them out on the floor.

In this episode we talk about how we stopped worrying, knowing that there will always be waste to find. We share our strategies on how we make sure we have plenty of different sources to scavenge at anytime of the year.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 82: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Posted on 07:45 by Unknown
An example of our Panasonic GH1 and 20mm Pancake lens with a shallow depth of field.


Jay and Ryanne talk about what's happening in their store this week. A $1000 day, while rare, was a welcome deluge. We start doing our taxes with the help of GoDaddy Bookkeeping. Jay mentioned the New York Times article You Can’t Take It With You, but You Still Want More. Suzanne Wells gives us a great tip on how to see eBay Best Offer prices. Check out this variety of polymailers on Amazon. I pretty much get every size to be honest. We also mention our Panasonic GH series camera and 20mm lens that we love. We also love the Canon PowerShot cameras for a simpler point and shoot.

Direct .mp3 link.
Direct ogg vorbis link.

We've included our weekly Ebay numbers below. In the comments, go ahead and post what you've done this week. And let us know if there are other numbers you want us to share.

The Weekly Scavenger Numbers

Jay and Ryanne’s Store Week Jan 5-11, 2014

  • Total Items in Store: 3025
  • Items Sold: 71
  • Total Sales: $2566.54
  • Highest Price Sold: $150.00 (King Size Goose Down Duvet)
  • Average Price Sold: $36.14
  • Returns: 3
  • Positive Feedback: 35
  • Neutral Feedback: 0
  • Negative Feedback: 0
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Monday, 6 January 2014

eBay Scavengers Episode 81: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Posted on 15:40 by Unknown
Sold the $1 Danish Modern Office chair for $90, and packed the sh*t out of it in a huge recycled box!
Happy New Year, Scavengers. This week we play a musical intro created for us by Adam from Skrap-Ill in Philly. He says he started selling on eBay to help fund his music. Smart.

So with the New Year, there's always new changes. Mikey and Wendy have decided to leave the podcast to work on other projects. They've always been an inspiration for us so we're excited to see what they do next. You can follow their projects and adventures at The Holy Scrap Hot Springs Blog. And check out Wendy's book The Good Life Lab. If you're a scavenger, you should read it. You can still hear them throughout the first 80 episodes.

In this episode we talk about how January has been great so far, more evidence that the "General Store" theory works. And of course we answer all your questions. We also talk about what we hope to accomplish this year. What will your 2014 be like? Tell us in the comments.

Direct .mp3 link.
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We've included our weekly Ebay numbers below. In the comments, go ahead and post what you've done this week. And let us know if there are other numbers you want us to share.

The Weekly Scavenger Numbers

Jay and Ryanne’s Store Week Dec 29, 2013 - Jan 4, 2014

  • Total Items in Store: 3004
  • Items Sold: 65
  • Total Sales: $2364.40
  • Highest Price Sold: $210.00 (Vintage Typewriter)
  • Average Price Sold: $36.37
  • Returns: 1
  • Positive Feedback: 38
  • Neutral Feedback: 0
  • Negative Feedback: 0
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Blog Archive

  • ▼  2014 (14)
    • ▼  February (6)
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 91: Interview with Sue fro...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 90: What's Happening In Yo...
      • eBay Scavengers VIDEO: How To Easily Photograph It...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 89: How to Find, Buy and S...
      • eBay Scavengers VIDEO: How To Pack Delicate Glass ...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 88: What's Happening In Yo...
    • ►  January (8)
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 87: Our Experiences Buying...
      • eBay Scavengers VIDEO: How To Pack Delicate Artwor...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 86: What's Happening In Yo...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 85: We check in with Adam ...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 84: What's Happening In Yo...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 83: What If It All Disapp...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 82: What's Happening In Yo...
      • eBay Scavengers Episode 81: What's Happening In Yo...
  • ►  2013 (82)
    • ►  December (10)
    • ►  November (8)
    • ►  October (11)
    • ►  September (8)
    • ►  August (8)
    • ►  July (9)
    • ►  June (4)
    • ►  May (10)
    • ►  April (8)
    • ►  March (6)
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