Eek! What's happened to my sales?

You're silly with this EEEEEk stuff.
<big smile>

I won't know if sales are slow or not until a week after Labor Day and then I'll clue you in.

This is the only ID I have up and selling from now and sales slow to a snails pace from May to September.

After Labor Day is when I start selling everything else again.

Let's keep our fingers crossed Rick for the week after Labor Day.

See ya round the salt mines.
<smile>
Donna

I was just about to ask the same question. The first 2 weeks in August were great and now we are selling very few things! I think I will hold off listing until the weekend or after. The last 2 weeks have been a waste of time. Maybe it's a back to school thing.

Aren't most kids back in school now? Or are there still a lot of schools that don't open until after Labor Day? If that's the case I guess there could be a lot of last-minute vacations..

My sales did slow down with summer but have still been fairly steady. But the past two weekends -- yikes! It makes me nervous.

This weekend and week so far have been slow for me. The week before last was a good week for me. I have noticed a bit of slow down too which makes me wonder if I should bother listing anything until after the holiday.

While schools here in NC are back in session, schools up north in NY (were we just moved from)are not. They do not go back until next Wednesday. Same is true for Pennsylvania kids and some of the other northern states.

Marcia

Normally my weekend does little to no sales --- not this past Saturday. I sold a few on ebay and a bunch on ecrater.com

My shipping department said Hey what is this Christmas already, lol

Note, my shipping department is my 15 yr old daughter, lol.

Hmm...

Maybe I should employ my shipping department... If I did that I'd have 4 extra hands helping out...haha...

I can tell you that this year in Michigan they passed a law that none of the schools are allowed to start until AFTER Labor Day.

Nothing I sell has anything to do with back to school...but I still took this week off just because of the upcoming holiday.

Mike

I'm experimenting with sales. Mainly, pricing. I launched 40 items at .99 cents last week. So far, 17 have bids. The bids are much lower than I hoped for, but may still bid up. I have a TON of hits on my counters and a definate increase in watchers (doesn't mean much to me).

I don't know about other categories. However, in apparel, I'm beginning to think lowballing the initial price is the way to go. Even if it means selling some items at the starting bid price. It seems if you're listing popular brands they bid up most of the time and it all averages out in the end. I base this on watching several sellers over the last 6 months or so. The big advantage is, most everything sells the FIRST time listed.

Also, try going to the WANT IT area of eBay. You know, where buyers post what they're looking for on eBay. Then do a search for items you have to offer. Don't bother weeding through a gazillion ads. Search for what you have to offer and then offer it. Free advertising.

I have a few more ideas I'm playing with. Once I try them out, I'll let you know. As sellers we can fall into a rut, get stale. Sometimes, it's good to shake things up a bit.

Make a big deal about having a mega /super sale. Hold it on the same day and every week. Send out newletter emails to your subscribers. Post it in all of your listings. Something like, beininng at *:** AM/PM, every **** is our Mega Mania Sale! All items starting at $***!

I would have to say, one of the biggest hinderences to my growth has been, me. Not being consistent. We're running online stores. We have to keep buyers motivated to purchase from us. We have to stand out from the competition. Gain buyer loyalty and so forth. Okay, I'm rambling. Gotta go.

More later gators.

PS - I'm sure most of you already know all of this. Me, I'm always learning.

quote:

Originally posted by BTPS:
Normally my weekend does little to no sales --- not this past Saturday. I sold a few on ebay and a bunch on ecrater.com

My shipping department said Hey what is this Christmas already, lol

Note, my shipping department is my 15 yr old daughter, lol.

haha... my shipping department is my 15 year old younger brother... haha...

Don't feel bad Rick, we are just plain dead & have been for a while We are seasonal as the fellows that use our tools and busy with vacations and summer honey do's in the summer. After school starts back, they come back when they can justify spending money on their habit. Last summer was out first summer and we were still building so we didn't notice. We thought it was great! Bert says they will be back after the holiday and hopefully we'll sell some homemade items for Christmas. Emails will be going out this week and waiting for them when the holiday ends. I hope prayer helps.

Good luck

Rosemary

PS Good to see you over there.

Good luck to all.

My own personal sales have been mediocre at best, but at least I made my PS $ threshold for the month...not that being a PS means anything these days anyway ::sighhhhh::

I also work for an eBay store (shhh..don't tell..hehe!) but they've been having an incredible month, so who knows? Maybe it has more to do with what one is selling than I realized?

-Fox

Well, I'm hopeful that things will start kicking again after the holiday and routines are back in place...

Magie, I agree with you about the lower starting prices. It's risky and you have to have decent stuff to sell but I've found (at least when sales are steady) that the really good sales are plentiful enough that I don't mind the ones that only go for the starting bid too much.

quote:

Originally posted by Foxfyre33:
My own personal sales have been mediocre at best, but at least I made my PS $ threshold for the month...not that being a PS means anything these days anyway ::sighhhhh::

I also work for an eBay store (shhh..don't tell..hehe!) but they've been having an incredible month, so who knows? Maybe it has more to do with what one is selling than I realized?

-Fox

I'm an assistant to a seller on eBay. VERY Expensive Watches. His business is not hurting in the least bit. He's doing great and there's no set time of year for him.

Me? I know my limitations as a seller. I don't have any rolex's, movado, Tag and more watches to sell. <smile>

Counting down till after Labor Day,
Donna

Memorial weekend to Labor Day weekend On eBay = Slow sales in auto parts. Or maybe I should say Vintage/Classic ~ Options/Accessories/Other Neat Auto Related Doo-Dads.

Oh, you can still sell parts, but sell-through is down - items go less or quite a bit less than they do in Sep>OCTOBER>Nov. & Mid Jan>Feb>MARCH>April>May. Christmas time and the summer = POOR SALES. Either the wife and kids want all of the money for Christmas shopping or in the summer the guys are just out & about, driving their cars or going to shows/swap meets - getting out into the great outdoors etc . . . This summer has been extremelly slow, but pretty much typical . . . watchers are WAY down. On similar items - as an example, in the winter I may have anywhere from 30-60 wathchers average - but in the summer . . . 4 or 5 up to maybe 9 or 12 . . . Yeah watchers don't really mean much...except maybe that there is ACTUALLY someone out there -lol!

Things do seem to be much tighter right now - even on the rarer, more sought after stuff...Although I have seen some stuff sell this summer for prices that knocked my socks off...3 'correct' rods to connect a 4 speed shifter to a transmission - in this case for a MoPar make muscle car. Yeah - they're tough to come across - hard to find...BUT GEEZY LOUIZIE . . . over $400? So goes to show you...Ya never know!

Gas prices...Loom & Doom of War...Election On The Way...Life In General - it all has it's effects. I guess all I can say is
DIVERSIFY .... Buy a bigger house>shop> BIGGER Storage Building and sell a variety of stuff . . . Vintage Military Stuff does gangbusters all the time, the 'Gun Guys'...any of it - all of it sells ... watch your markets then dump your scrap Gold / Silver (This can be a pretty amazing and entertaining category to 'Watch') . . . Certain 50's and 60's kitschy little China/Porcelain things/figurines go well anytime...Any collectible/antique type thing that is RARE will go good anytime - but there again...HOW GOOD... depends on the time of year.

I myself just get the feeling that things may get tougher before they get better . . . but don'tdespairandThanktheLord for the consumer driven bunch of people that we've all become.

It's going to be raining in Florida for the Labor Day Weekend.

Anybody planning on a get away to the beach or tourist destinations might be indoors and shopping on eBay.

You just never know..sales might be good this weekend.

Good Luck,
Donna

Hi I'm new to ebay and auctiva. I've tried to sell 2 items in june/july and didnt sell either...i guess because i dont have any feedback. How long did it take you guys/gals until you 1st sold an auction? My sister sells too, she does alright, but I think she's getting tired of me ask her to list for me. Does any one have any pointers for me starting out?

Sandy

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Bradford:
Well, I'm hopeful that things will start kicking again after the holiday and routines are back in place...

Magie, I agree with you about the lower starting prices. It's risky and you have to have decent stuff to sell but I've found (at least when sales are steady) that the really good sales are plentiful enough that I don't mind the ones that only go for the starting bid too much.

My experiment included 40 auctions lauched at .99 cents each. I have bids on 19 of them with watchers on some of the rest. So far, There is $160.26 in bids. That's only, $8.42 average per item. My shipping covers all fees. At this rate I'll make about $8.00 per item. I guess that's okay for an under $20.00 investment. I hope they bid more tomorrow night before closing.

On the items that were without bids as of this morning, I placed higher amounts on them. I really don't care to give away suits for .99 cents. I'd rather place them in my eBay Store. Someone will but it.

This one blouse (I think is kind ugly) is up to $19.00! Cool.

I think a mix of .99 cents and items under $9.99 for most things is a good way to go. For sure, the low starting price generates the heat for popular brand named items. My inventory is mid-level Macy's type of stuff.

I see some apparel sellers who sell artsy boutique apparel for a nice chunk of change. Some of it goes for hundreds a piece. I can't get a hold of that type of merchandise. Anyway, the brands and low starting prices.

I'll let you know what I end up with tomorrow night.

Oh yeah, September has always been a very good month for me. Sales are coming.

quote:

Originally posted by babyandmecakes:
Hi I'm new to ebay and auctiva. I've tried to sell 2 items in june/july and didnt sell either...i guess because i dont have any feedback.
Sandy

Sandy,

I won't buy from a seller who has low or zero feedback.

June/July are slow months to start off with and if you don't have feedback that will make it worse.

I started with eBay back almost 8 years ago and it was a whole different ball of wax then. It's hard to explain. Everything sold. Lots of items sold without pics.

If I were you, I'd find some nice ebooks, recipes with free shipping and fast feedback. Search eBay for Recipes or eBook. At least build your feedback up to 10 before uploading any more auctions.

Not to push myself on you..but please check out my eBay store as I do sell those types of items from this eBay ID.
Suthrnjewl's Recipes & Remedies

Enjoy!
Donna

My Best,
Donna

quote:

Originally posted by Magie Noire:

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Bradford:
Well, I'm hopeful that things will start kicking again after the holiday and routines are back in place...

Magie, I agree with you about the lower starting prices. It's risky and you have to have decent stuff to sell but I've found (at least when sales are steady) that the really good sales are plentiful enough that I don't mind the ones that only go for the starting bid too much.

I hope they bid more tomorrow night before closing.

On the items that were without bids as of this morning, I placed higher amounts on them. I really don't care to give away suits for .99 cents. I'd rather place them in my eBay Store. Someone will but it.

This one blouse (I think is kind ugly) is up to $19.00! Cool.

Oh yeah, September has always been a very good month for me. Sales are coming.

Magie,

You KNOW the heat of the bidding comes in the last 20 minutes or so..I'll keep my fingers crossed for your totals to climb this evening.

You won't ever know if something works unless you try.

I've got some great suits I'm getting ready to put up under my Clothing ID. (Or I might just put everything under this ID, I'm not sure) I don't know if I would have the gazunga's to start those at .99...I'd be scared they would end up getting them for .99. <smile>

Some of the ugliest pieces of clothing I've seen and picked up for pennies thinking there has to be a market for this...has done well. When I look through some of the closed Vintage items..I think..<blech>. But I'll be sure to make a note to myself that if I run into a similar item while thrifting to pick it up.

September starts the selling frenzy up until end of December. Can't wait. I've got some great items I want to get up and make the buckeroo's on.

Hope all finds you well!
Donna

Have you thought about buying something first and then getting your feedback from the seller? At least you will have a feedback. That way when you list your items, it will show you made transactions.

My friend who started out initially did that.

quote:

Hi I'm new to ebay and auctiva. I've tried to sell 2 items in june/july and didnt sell either...i guess because i dont have any feedback. How long did it take you guys/gals until you 1st sold an auction? My sister sells too, she does alright, but I think she's getting tired of me ask her to list for me. Does any one have any pointers for me starting out?

Yep, I agree with Donna and nobostore. I did this when I was first on Ebay three years ago. I purchased many items that I needed for our girls and for around the house. I think I even purchased coupons that I needed for formula. Whatever it takes to build up your feedback and there are tons of low cost items out there so that you are not spending a fortune to do that.

Marcia

I had three auctions end last night and it was a slow bidding process right up until the end. I am not surprised that the prices increased a lot the last day but I was a bit surprised that all three were sniped. These were just moms buying RL shirts for their little guys and they ALL used sniping. Boy have things changed on ebay. No wonder I am not winning any of the auctions I am bidding on.

Marcia

quote:
Originally posted by babyandmecakes:
Hi I'm new to ebay and auctiva. I've tried to sell 2 items in june/july and didnt sell either...i guess because i dont have any feedback.
Sandy


I started out my eBay career by buying some things to build a start to getting Feedback. Not really quite the same as "Selling" Feedback is . . . but if your buying Feedback shows you to be Quick & Conscientious in your dealings that may go further than having no Feedback at all.

As an extra perk to going that route - I bought some really good stuff VERY reasonably

Hi Everyone. There is some very helpful advise in thins thread. Surprisingly, my sales were higher than I expected in August. I really don't know why. I had a lot of active listings. Working on my descriptions to use searchable words and switched to Auctiva. Also sprung for one featured item and used the Keywords program (which I understand is changing end of this month,) Anyway had double the traffic of last month and sales were good. Wish this magic formula were easier to understand. I never know if I have done something right or if I am just lucky. Looking forward to the coming season, but can't sit on my toadstool and wait. I have to keep listing, which is the hardest thing for me to motivate myself to do. Blessings,

I'm up to $207.53 for 19 items for a $10.92 average per item. It's getting better. That one Linda Allard for Ellen Tracy silk blouse (popular brand) is up to $21.49, lol. Too funny. I guess they realize the big shoulder pads can be taken out. Then again, they might be 80's ladies, lmao. I'm goofy.

So ya want some feedback? Go buy the .01 eBooks. That's what I did for all of my other selling IDs. I wanted to be able to use the BIN feature. So, I purchased like .20 cents worth on each ID. Of course, if it's a newer ID, you'll have to wait 5 days (new FB rules) before you can leave them feedback. Many of these sellers won't leave FB for you until you give it to them BUT at least you'll get it.

Yeah, the great suits, I'm chicken as well. I have a realllyyy nice size 12 pant suit up. I started it at .99 cents. It's up to $16.00. Normally, I would listed it at $34.99 or so. Oh well, there's still a few hours left.

I'm doing well. Aside from my computer/eBay account being hacked again. Ah, but those days are over. Knock, knock...ya can't come in.
Now, it's fun to watch the &5#**&^@ try to get in. Arrogance has brought many great men down throughout history, so what of a few biatch*s. Their days are numbered. Anyway, enough about them. You know who you are (and so do I).

I'm off to enjoy my day.

Ciao!

Over the last 2 hours I've received some traffic. I'm up to 20 items (out of 40 listed) and $246.64. Averaging out to 12.33 per item. The stuff that didn't receive bids is still nice apparel BUT not 'in demand' brands. Amanda Smith is like, JC Penny's or Sears, I think. This type of apparel is better off listed in the store. At least, I think it is, lol. Unless, it's ultra sexy or something.

Okay, tick, tock............bid ladies!

More to report later gators.

Oh wow, it's working, 23 items are up to $317.77 and counting. More to report later.

Let's start a thread where we can all share ideas for improving our sales.

Lol, I'm talking to myself. That's okay, we all learn from each other. I have great news to report. The selling low WORKS! That is, IF you are selling the right brand names. For me, I'm able to get the mid-level (Macy's) brand names. So, that's what I sell. I can't locate high end boutique apparel or I would definately sell it.

Here is my tally for this evening.

I launched 40 items all starting at .99 cents.

Out of the 40 items, 24 sold their first time out. I have no idea what percentage that ends up being (54%?) but I do know, it is over 50% sell through. I'm happy with that and I believe I can increase it by leaving out all of the brands that move slowly or don't sell.

Only 3 items ended at .99 cents. One suit sold at $2.25. Two items at $3.25 and one item at $5.01. The rest preformed well.

Remember that blouse I felt was sort of ugly? Well, it sold for $28.90! Oh wow, I was cracking up. The silk and wool dresses went as follows, $42.05, 30.99, $31.00, $23.50 and so forth. The rest went for $15.00 to $20.00 or so.

I sold a single store item for $9.95.

Launched 40 items, 24 sold for $349.84. Add the store item for a total of $359.79.

I've decided on the suits not to go too low. As for the rest, some at .99 cents to draw buyers in and the majority around $5.99 to $9.99.

One more thing, I stopped accepting money orders. I was very tired of SLOW payers, NPBs and the hassel of driving to my PO Box. As far as I know, it hasn't affected my sales. I now use the MUST have a PayPal account block. I love it. The PP buyers pay almost always right away! My kind of buyers. I will still accept MOs upon request. There are plenty of great MO buyers as well. Anyway, that's my report.

In demand brand names with low starting bids is the way to go. List the so so stuff in your store or don't buy it at all. That's my 2 cents.

Oh, one more thing, please keep in mind that I'm able to get my inventory for less than $1.00 each item. So, I wasn't risking anything accpet my initial cost. If you're paying a lot more for your inventory, then going low might not be the way to go for you.

I hope this report helps some of you. As for me, I'm motivated again. To sell!

Good luck with your sales.

Magie, would you send me your store name. I want to look at it and learn from it. I have learned so much that way. I am considering doing some .99 auctions. A big thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Magie Noire:
Oh, one more thing, please keep in mind that I'm able to get my inventory for less than $1.00 each item. So, I wasn't risking anything except my initial cost. If you're paying a lot more for your inventory, then going low might not be the way to go for you.

I hope this report helps some of you. As for me, I'm motivated again. To sell!

Good luck with your sales.

Congrats Magie glad it worked for you. Most of my inventory begins at between a dime and one dollar, too. I think the most I've got invested in a clothing item is 3.00.

I'm getting ready to get my clothing rock n rollin auction wise after the weekend. I was going to upload some for the Labor Day Weekend shoppers and still might...I may just wanna chill for this last weekend before the selling season of eBay starts.

Once again, Congrats.
Donna

quote:

Originally posted by betty122243:
Magie, would you send me your store name. I want to look at it and learn from it. I have learned so much that way. I am considering doing some .99 auctions. A big thanks.

Hi Betty,

Just be prepared to sell it at .99 cents. Meaning you can live with it, if it ends up selling at the start price of .99 cents. I had 3 items sell at .99 cents.

I had a suit sell for $2.25 and another for $16.50. I wasn't pleased with this result. On the 6th day, a few items still were without bids. So, I hiked them up to $8, $15 and $20. A pair of pants sold at $8, a blazer at $15 and two suits at $20.00. If I didn't raise the price, they would have sold at .99 cents.

I've treated this eBay ID more like a hobby for some 3 years. However, after watching several sellers sell product simular to mine with great success, I'm ready to get serious. Everyone has something they can sell. In apparel, there are so many differnt choices. The high end boutique apparel fetches A LOT of moola. Plus it has a cult like following. I've busted my hump looking for these designer names in this area but I haven't had any success. I find mid-level stuff like, Coldwater Creek, Eileen Fisher and so forth. This stuff is okay but not high designer. Since I can't locate the high end boutique/artsy stuff, I guess, I'm sticking with mid-level Macy's type apparel.

It just means more work. More volume to make big $$$.

That's okay too.

As far as this eBay ID goes, most people who know me from, SpareDollar already know it. So, I have no problem giving it out here. I'm eFashion2Go.

My eBay Store

Currently, I have all of my so so apparel launched to auctions from my store. I was very busy this past week and couldn't create/finish listing for this ID. I use to launch blanks listings and then try to fill them in. Of course, this was a HUGE mistake.

Anyway, my current auctions are NOT what a seller wants to list. This is nice apparel but not auction apparel. This is store apparel. I will be editing these listings throughout this weekend to replace it with better apparel. So, check back then.

These are the mid-level, Macy's type apparel that sell.

Here are my closed listings from last night.

Skirt Suit $20

Blazer $3.25

Pant Suit $7.50

Dress / Store Item $9.95

Skirt Suit $20

Blazer .99

Silk Blouse $28.90

Dress $23.50

Skirt Suit $2.25 - Mint Condition

Dress $31.00

Knit Top .99

Wool Slacks .99

Wool Slacks $15.00

Dress $16.01

Dress $42.05

Blazer $3.26

Dress $20.00

Blazer $17.16

Pant Suit $16.50

Dress $30.99

Sweater $14.49

Slacks $8.00

Knit Top $5.01

Blazer $8.50

Slacks $13.50

That's everything from last night.

This is a suit I couldn't sell at auction. I placed it in my store high at $34.99 and accepted a $20 Best Offer.

Skirt Suit / Store / Best Offer $20

Okay, that's all I have to report. I hope it helps. As for me, I've decided to treat this eBay ID more like a business and less like a part time hobby. My goal is to have a $500 night. Then 2 $500 night up to $2,000 per week and or $8,000 per month. I feel I can do it. Time will tell. I'm not sure I could do much better than this alone. I have several other IDs. I can only do so much at a time. I'm sure you know what I mean. Let me know if any of this info helps.

Get ready for September the sales are coming!

quote:

Originally posted by Suthrnjewl:

quote:

Originally posted by Magie Noire:
Oh, one more thing, please keep in mind that I'm able to get my inventory for less than $1.00 each item. So, I wasn't risking anything except my initial cost. If you're paying a lot more for your inventory, then going low might not be the way to go for you.

I hope this report helps some of you. As for me, I'm motivated again. To sell!

Good luck with your sales.

Congrats Magie glad it worked for you. Most of my inventory begins at between a dime and one dollar, too. I think the most I've got invested in a clothing item is 3.00.

I'm getting ready to get my clothing rock n rollin auction wise after the weekend. I was going to upload some for the Labor Day Weekend shoppers and still might...I may just wanna chill for this last weekend before the selling season of eBay starts.

Once again, Congrats.
Donna

Thanks,

Thanks Magie for the info and advice. When I went to your store, I realized that I have it listed in my favorites. Donna had told to me that I could learn alot from your store. I am like you---I live in an area that just don't have too many high-priced quality brands, but, I am growing! I think, also, that I am needing to price my items just a "little" higher. Several Ebayers have told me that. I will just have to test the waters. Thanks again.

Betty,

Here's another seller who sells mid to high end apparel. All of her women's items no matter how nice begin at $6.99. All of her men's items begin at $7.99. She starts everything lower, not higher and she seems to be doing just fine.

Look at her brand names and styles.

This is what is needed. These types of brands and styles. Career wear, evening wear and some vintage sells very well.

I'll be pricing more along these lines.

AllSuitedUp - Click Here

And also check out this type of selling that I sometimes use..

Lot Plus Size Womens Career Suit

Alot of times when I do my research I find that selling a "lot" of similar clothing styles in the same size sells alot better than singly.

Good Luck,
Donna

quote:

Originally posted by babyandmecakes:
Hi I'm new to ebay and auctiva. I've tried to sell 2 items in june/july and didnt sell either...i guess because i dont have any feedback. How long did it take you guys/gals until you 1st sold an auction? My sister sells too, she does alright, but I think she's getting tired of me ask her to list for me. Does any one have any pointers for me starting out?

Sandy

I first began as a buyer. By the time I was ready to begin selling anything I had a feedback score of 58 which wasnt high by no means but it was something to grow on. My point is they were not looking at the actual number of items that was from sells. Maybe you would like to purchase a few .99 ebooks get a few feedbacks and try listing again. Yes pictures are a must, good discribtion of the item(s) research the price of other simular listings. Use auctivas templates to help decorate a little. I know this isnt much to go on, just thought I'd put in my 2cents worth from what I have learned over the last year.

Hi.
Thanks for the advice. I thought about the reciepes before, didn't think about e-books however.
I also thought about buying a few items for the feedback too. I don't think I could explain buying in order to sell; to my husband. The entire ebay/auction/PP thing took a while to explain to him, before he got a grip on what I saying to him. *He doesn't even try to do anything online, so it's all greek to him*

It sort of sounds like 'cheating', buying in order to gain the feedback. I know feedback is king in ebay land. To tell ya the truth, there's nothing I need on ebay; to buy, but the stuff I want on ebay, is way over our budget!
Well, if I don't sell anything this time around, I'll just let my sister sell my items...maybe

Thanks for reading and helping out.
Sandy

Thanks, Donna and Magie for all the advice, and, for the stores to look at and learn. I am doing better with sales, but, there is still so much to learn, but, Donna, I remember you telling me to take baby steps! I have been introduced to Collage Maker which will help me sell in lots. Thanks again for all the suggestions, and, let them continue to flow.

Well, I sold my 1st item. A used skateboard. yea...sort of. I forgot to add my s&h charge to the final shipping fee shipping. Which isn't much, a couple of bucks, but the problem I have is I under estimated the weight. AHHh, so anyhow,...........I took everyones advice, even against my "seems like cheating" thought. Just bought a birthday gift for my niece.
Anyway, I babble on........
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR GREAT ADVICE!

Congratulations on the sale.

I'd advise buying a postal scale to make sure your charged weight is going to be correct. I've been there and done that and learned my lesson as far as needing a scale.

It's not cheating..having some feedback built up is an important factor of selling. I would say build your feedback up and get to work as the main selling season of eBay is approaching....fast!

Take care, Donna