My Goals These Past 30 Days:
1. Get to 750 Listings- I surpassed this goal! My two keys for getting more listings done is (1) using hydralister and (2) consistently listing every single day (except one day off on weekends). I was afraid I wouldn't reach this goal because I had a death in the family that distracted me (rightfully so) for a few days. But I picked up the slack and got it done!
2. Average One Sale Every Other Day– Little did I know I would have at least one sale EVERY DAY! Some days were definitely better than others but I did sell at least one item every day.
Other Achievements:
I got a few more positive reviews which always help. I also upgraded my score to the $75 premium plan that gives me 1,000 free listings.
My listing limit also increased:
Challenges/Mistakes
Oh boy were there are lot of them this month.
1. Time – As I mentioned before, I had a death in the family this week. I also spent the last few weeks moving into a new apartment. Both took up a lot of time and it was hard to keep up with my business at the same time. None-the-less, I made the time and played catch-up when I had to. I still got everything done.
2. Sloppiness – I made A LOT of mistakes with my listings this month. Probably because I felt rushed for time but that's no excuse. In one of my titles for a 100 pack of screws there was a typo and I listed it for 1000 (thousand) screws. Oops! I had several mad customers who only received 1/10 of the screws they ordered. Some just accepted a return. Others demanded and got their money back. Lesson- be more careful!
Another listing was for an accessory for an appliance. The appliance is usually $500. The appliance only $50. The picture I chose as my main picture showed the accessory attached to the product. Both the title and the description clearly stated it was for the accessory only. Still, two people thought they were buying the appliance. One admitted it was his mistake and paid the 20% restocking fee. The other customer said I was falsely advertising my product. I have since changed that photo.
3. PayPal case- I had a bizarre case opened against me where the customer said he never bought the item but that if it arrived he would keep it. He opened it while the item was in transit. Not sure why he even opened the paypal case but he did. In my sloppiness, I uploaded the wrong tracking number to paypal as proof of delivery/mailing. Paypal then decided the case in his favor and refunded him. I'm in the process of appealing it with the correct tracking number.
The Numbers
Income:
5387.27 – Gross Income from Sales
151.52 – Cash Back
Expenses:
-3424.28 Inventory Expenses
-207 Paypal Fees
-637.08 Ebay Fees
-14.99 SkuGrid
-79 HydraLister
-75 Ebay Premium Store
Total Profit: $1101.44!!!!!!!!
But wait, there's more! Remember that credit card I signed up for last month? Well I spent enough this month to get the signup bonus. The bonus is worth a whopping $750! That puts my total profit this month at an astonishing….
$1851.44!!!!!!!!!
I know I won't get that signup bonus every month but it sure does feel pretty awesome right now.
Goals For Next 30 Days:
1. Get up to 1,000 listings. Then figure out where to go from there. Upgrade my store? Delete under performers and then list new items to stay under 1000 listings? I'm not sure where to go from here. Time is always an issue for me as I work a full time job. I'm not sure if I have the time to grow.
2. Don't be sloppy! Be more careful with my listings.
3. Continue not to focus on the profit/numbers. This alone has made me stress out less about my business and therefore do better!