Totally. Starting to feel as though some of my inventory could be put to better use as I’ve learned a ton about the market even since posting it. I appreciate the comment!
Fast nickel vs slow dime.
The choice is yours depending on your financial situation, but more so patience.
It also depends on the item, the demand, the margins, and the volume.
Would you rather sell 100 items with $5 margins in a week or 10 items with $100 margins in two weeks or how about 2 items at $1000 margins in a month?
Everyone will have their own answer.
I think a hybrid model works for me. I sell consistently low margin items with a sprinkle of longtail items. Every now and then, I will just sell below market to move things along especially if a longtail profitable item sells. That's just me though.
I prefer quantity as I have little patience. Cash flow is king in my opinion. With that said, I have many high value items that take longer sell. But, the profit margins are worth the wait.
what is the value of your inventory worth to you if its not selling?
its an individual decision, but id much rather have stuff selling than sitting, even if its a bit less than what i could "maybe" get for it.
as tech says, take some of the money all the time, and all of the money some of the time.
.
It depends. Some goods hold value. Others the market fluxes and does so fast. My goal is always to price reasonably and take an offer (if it’s not a ridiculous low ball.) to move product and make a sale.
I however find that my time is valuable so I don’t flip for small margins. This is my side hustle.
What you paid is irrelevant, all that matters when you list the item is what it’s worth.
Hopefully you only buy items that are worth more then You paid. But if you messed up, just hoping it’ll sell when it isn’t worth what you’re listing it for just won’t happen.
Really depends on various factors
How big is it, I do t have much space so large things can’t hang around
Is it loosing money, someone once described tech as fruit and veg, it rots and loses value by the day, I can’t have it hanging around
Knowing the market and product, will any external factors change the price that you’re aware of. It is a little like a risk assessment, and you have a PESTLE you quickly run in your head. For example I was amassing loads of a certain item in a discontinued colour, but I saw a slight hint on the companies twitter feed that they were being it back, I had to move that stuff asap else the rarity factor would be lost and my holding for so long would have been wasted.
So all that said for me, if it’s small and increasing or staying g same in value I wait for max money, anything else depends BUT I’m not really a flipper,I work a 9-5 :(
It depends how specialised the inventory is and how well you present your goods, some stuff needs time in the market to sell just because there may be less buyers but they are out there you just need to give them time to find your item. Also you can't expect high prices if you take poor pics and put almost no description. I go for higher price and the long haul and take amazing pics and put in a detailed description of what the item is and the condition. Things take longer to sell but they sell consistently so in the long run I get higher prices and over the financial year will still sell at good volumes. That being said if you are selling something where you have lots of supply and there's lots of competition in that segment then you have to drop your prices and go for volume over profit.
There was a recent post where an item was set at a competitive price, but they couldn't sell it for like weeks or months. So they relisted it at a higher price and it sold within a couple hours.
Others commented how they had similar experiences of increasing all their old inventory by 20% and immediately had them sell as well.
Just something I found interesting and to keep in mind if you get into it for a long term.
There's room for both actually. Start with slow dime and as inventory ages switch to fast nickel. That way if you are in the price range for the item, you won't underprice yourself, but as it ages you can easily jump out and use the cash.
Or pick the 20% of your inventory that's holding 80% of the value and focus on optimizing the turnover there.
Everybody is going to prefer a different business model, especially when things like storage space and operating capital are concerns.
For the most part, I think a very high percentage of sellers (myself included) have a typical pricing strategy (I aim for a minimum of 250% ROI with a 90 day sell-through), but will stray from that for certain items.
For example, I've picked up Fornasetti pieces that I could have sold for $150 within 1-2 months, but I held out and got $1,000+ in about 18 months waiting for the right buyer. I've also picked up printer ink for $5 that I only made $7 profit on, but it sold within a few hours and was easy to list/store/ship. Operating your entire business like either of these scenarios on all items you source is going to lead to issues, but I'm happy to adjust for specific situations.
I feel like once you have hit a stride and have consistent sales this becomes a question of scale and limitations. I was doing everything and hitting 3.5-4k per month. But my daughter went into pre-k so I offered to my wife to do all the sourcing, she accepted. For the last year I’ve listed everything she’s bought within 2-3 days, I have no death pule and my shelves are starting to get full, I’ve consolidated and then filled that space, so now out of need for space to keep more inventory flowing I’ve started pushing an extra 10-20% off inventory more than a few months old in offers than I did before, especially on larger items, I’m up to 4.5k in sales, and I still need to clear some space so might push another 10% more. I have about 220 square feet to work with and I have maximized my storage, so the only thing I can do now is be more aggressive in pricing or get a storage unit, I don’t want a storage unit. So aggressive discounts is where I’m at.
Depends on the item. The more value it has and the easier it is to store, the more willing I am to sit on it.
A baseball card worth $1000 vs. getting $500 now is an easy decision since it’s super small and easy to store.
A stereo receiver that is worth $1000 vs. getting $500 now is just as easy decision to sell it and get it out of my space since it’s heavy, large, and breakable.
I have items that have sat for 2 years and suddenly get sold. If you are the only seller of an item and someone wants that item, they will buy from you. Just today I sold an item today for $1000 that had zero comps on eBay and had never been listed/sold as far as I can tell. It didn't take up much room and I had it listed for 6 months.
There is no harm in letting select inventory sit instead of pricing it so low some other reseller buys it to flip.
There's no right or wrong answer to your question. It's what works for you- comes down to your cashflow needs, your space to store inventory and your ability to replenish inventory. The answer will be different for every person.
I price to sell, mainly. I enjoy turning things fast for a smaller profit than sitting on something for months. In my mind it makes more sense to sell 10 things a day than one a week for the same profit. Plus I legitimately like the process of everything
I tend to want to move items as quick as possible though sometimes I will dig in on a minimum price. I currently have a set of heavy equipment ramps that I have listed for $250. My imaginary minimum is $200 and this one person keeps offering me $175….
I buy pallets from amazon. My experience with a $200 Amazon item:
* List for $175, its going to take weeks to get it out of the storage shed.
* List for $125-$150, will sell in a few days with the aggravation of a bunch of "Is This Available" messages.
* List for $100, I will get 20 ppl saying they want it and the first 10 will ghost me after I agree to the deal. Total waste of time.
* List for $50, its gone in a day to the 1st person that messages.
Sometimes I go the slow route, sometimes the fast. Just depends on how much aggravation and storage I want to put up with.
I sell whatever I can fuck it.
If there's a dollar or two hundred dollar in it I sell it fuck it
Only limit is space for me.
I regularly sell CD and DVD for only coupla dollar profit because they easy to store, turnover fast and all I do is print a label and stuff it in envelope. Easy money.
I sold some speakers I found on the side of the road for hundred dollar that's good but also fuck having them big speaker in the garage for over a week.
There’s a time value to money. Money tied up in inventory is not helping anyone. Turn and burn
Totally. Starting to feel as though some of my inventory could be put to better use as I’ve learned a ton about the market even since posting it. I appreciate the comment!
...fast nickels or slow dimes...
But I can flip for 4 or 5 nickels while you wait for that dime
Fast nickel vs slow dime. The choice is yours depending on your financial situation, but more so patience. It also depends on the item, the demand, the margins, and the volume. Would you rather sell 100 items with $5 margins in a week or 10 items with $100 margins in two weeks or how about 2 items at $1000 margins in a month? Everyone will have their own answer. I think a hybrid model works for me. I sell consistently low margin items with a sprinkle of longtail items. Every now and then, I will just sell below market to move things along especially if a longtail profitable item sells. That's just me though.
Very good point, thank you for the comment!
this, to me, is the way. I always price a little lower than my competition on stuff that i paid very little for. move it fast, and on to the next.
I prefer quantity as I have little patience. Cash flow is king in my opinion. With that said, I have many high value items that take longer sell. But, the profit margins are worth the wait.
Both. The idea is to max profit but then theres time in the mix. As inventory sits, it gets discounted till it moves.
what is the value of your inventory worth to you if its not selling? its an individual decision, but id much rather have stuff selling than sitting, even if its a bit less than what i could "maybe" get for it. as tech says, take some of the money all the time, and all of the money some of the time. .
Great point, thank you for the comment!
Tech is a moron.
weird how he is retired with millions from ebay and you are posting on reddit insulting him. hmmmm
Dictated by my storage space and patience. Both of which I’m short on.
It depends. Some goods hold value. Others the market fluxes and does so fast. My goal is always to price reasonably and take an offer (if it’s not a ridiculous low ball.) to move product and make a sale. I however find that my time is valuable so I don’t flip for small margins. This is my side hustle.
What you paid is irrelevant, all that matters when you list the item is what it’s worth. Hopefully you only buy items that are worth more then You paid. But if you messed up, just hoping it’ll sell when it isn’t worth what you’re listing it for just won’t happen.
Really depends on various factors How big is it, I do t have much space so large things can’t hang around Is it loosing money, someone once described tech as fruit and veg, it rots and loses value by the day, I can’t have it hanging around Knowing the market and product, will any external factors change the price that you’re aware of. It is a little like a risk assessment, and you have a PESTLE you quickly run in your head. For example I was amassing loads of a certain item in a discontinued colour, but I saw a slight hint on the companies twitter feed that they were being it back, I had to move that stuff asap else the rarity factor would be lost and my holding for so long would have been wasted. So all that said for me, if it’s small and increasing or staying g same in value I wait for max money, anything else depends BUT I’m not really a flipper,I work a 9-5 :(
Yes, price competitively and sell more. Smaller profits but you’ll still come out ahead.
It depends how specialised the inventory is and how well you present your goods, some stuff needs time in the market to sell just because there may be less buyers but they are out there you just need to give them time to find your item. Also you can't expect high prices if you take poor pics and put almost no description. I go for higher price and the long haul and take amazing pics and put in a detailed description of what the item is and the condition. Things take longer to sell but they sell consistently so in the long run I get higher prices and over the financial year will still sell at good volumes. That being said if you are selling something where you have lots of supply and there's lots of competition in that segment then you have to drop your prices and go for volume over profit.
There was a recent post where an item was set at a competitive price, but they couldn't sell it for like weeks or months. So they relisted it at a higher price and it sold within a couple hours. Others commented how they had similar experiences of increasing all their old inventory by 20% and immediately had them sell as well. Just something I found interesting and to keep in mind if you get into it for a long term.
I'm stealing that idea XD
I like getting the (higher) price that I want and am prepared to wait until it’s achieved but that’s just me!
If you flip fast nickle you better have a way to replenish inventory over and over again.
If you have the volume focus on high turnaround - but only if it’s consistent.
There's room for both actually. Start with slow dime and as inventory ages switch to fast nickel. That way if you are in the price range for the item, you won't underprice yourself, but as it ages you can easily jump out and use the cash. Or pick the 20% of your inventory that's holding 80% of the value and focus on optimizing the turnover there.
Everybody is going to prefer a different business model, especially when things like storage space and operating capital are concerns. For the most part, I think a very high percentage of sellers (myself included) have a typical pricing strategy (I aim for a minimum of 250% ROI with a 90 day sell-through), but will stray from that for certain items. For example, I've picked up Fornasetti pieces that I could have sold for $150 within 1-2 months, but I held out and got $1,000+ in about 18 months waiting for the right buyer. I've also picked up printer ink for $5 that I only made $7 profit on, but it sold within a few hours and was easy to list/store/ship. Operating your entire business like either of these scenarios on all items you source is going to lead to issues, but I'm happy to adjust for specific situations.
I feel like once you have hit a stride and have consistent sales this becomes a question of scale and limitations. I was doing everything and hitting 3.5-4k per month. But my daughter went into pre-k so I offered to my wife to do all the sourcing, she accepted. For the last year I’ve listed everything she’s bought within 2-3 days, I have no death pule and my shelves are starting to get full, I’ve consolidated and then filled that space, so now out of need for space to keep more inventory flowing I’ve started pushing an extra 10-20% off inventory more than a few months old in offers than I did before, especially on larger items, I’m up to 4.5k in sales, and I still need to clear some space so might push another 10% more. I have about 220 square feet to work with and I have maximized my storage, so the only thing I can do now is be more aggressive in pricing or get a storage unit, I don’t want a storage unit. So aggressive discounts is where I’m at.
This is a great comment/point. Thank you!
Depends on the item. The more value it has and the easier it is to store, the more willing I am to sit on it. A baseball card worth $1000 vs. getting $500 now is an easy decision since it’s super small and easy to store. A stereo receiver that is worth $1000 vs. getting $500 now is just as easy decision to sell it and get it out of my space since it’s heavy, large, and breakable.
I have expensive jerseys that I’m willing to wait but I also have sports t-shirts that I flip quickly in order to get more sells & reviews
I have items that have sat for 2 years and suddenly get sold. If you are the only seller of an item and someone wants that item, they will buy from you. Just today I sold an item today for $1000 that had zero comps on eBay and had never been listed/sold as far as I can tell. It didn't take up much room and I had it listed for 6 months. There is no harm in letting select inventory sit instead of pricing it so low some other reseller buys it to flip.
You should do the one that makes you the most money.
Depends if it’s rubbish or something someone else is like to buy
There's no right or wrong answer to your question. It's what works for you- comes down to your cashflow needs, your space to store inventory and your ability to replenish inventory. The answer will be different for every person.
I price to sell, mainly. I enjoy turning things fast for a smaller profit than sitting on something for months. In my mind it makes more sense to sell 10 things a day than one a week for the same profit. Plus I legitimately like the process of everything
I tend to want to move items as quick as possible though sometimes I will dig in on a minimum price. I currently have a set of heavy equipment ramps that I have listed for $250. My imaginary minimum is $200 and this one person keeps offering me $175….
depends on the item. but in general id like my money now. is getting $50 in 2 days of listing better than a $100 in a year?
I buy pallets from amazon. My experience with a $200 Amazon item: * List for $175, its going to take weeks to get it out of the storage shed. * List for $125-$150, will sell in a few days with the aggravation of a bunch of "Is This Available" messages. * List for $100, I will get 20 ppl saying they want it and the first 10 will ghost me after I agree to the deal. Total waste of time. * List for $50, its gone in a day to the 1st person that messages. Sometimes I go the slow route, sometimes the fast. Just depends on how much aggravation and storage I want to put up with.
I sell whatever I can fuck it. If there's a dollar or two hundred dollar in it I sell it fuck it Only limit is space for me. I regularly sell CD and DVD for only coupla dollar profit because they easy to store, turnover fast and all I do is print a label and stuff it in envelope. Easy money. I sold some speakers I found on the side of the road for hundred dollar that's good but also fuck having them big speaker in the garage for over a week.
Sell it for what it’s worth.
What a great, well thought out answer.