Unplanned Situations & Changing My Mindset
12 Minute Read
Let me start this off by saying that I am by no means a “sales expert.” I have simply tried different strategies, sales tactics, and changed my mindset to amp up my business, and failed many times. However, I think I’m on to something. And I’ve made this post to share just that.
As of late, like most of you I assume, my husband’s (our family’s breadwinner) has had limited hours at work this year. I want to express how incredibly grateful I am that he is even working for that matter, as I understand that there are many that so sadly are not.
Since I’ve went full-time last October, (I can’t believe it’s been a whole year already!) I have been slowly growing my small business one step at a time. I didn’t plan on the pandemic, as I’m sure is how many of you feel as well, and therefore had relied on my husband’s income to supplement my lack of a “real” job, until I got my business up and running full force.
Luckily, we had planned (a little) ahead, and are doing okay so far through this workforce slow down. Although, with him home more often, I have less time to dedicate to my ever-growing business. This is quite alright with me, since I thoroughly enjoy spending the extra time with my best friend! (He’s currently taking his extra time off to BUILD us a new couch! Eek!)
Through the past few months however, I have stockpiled my inventory from a handful of yard sales and thrift trips, although not nearly as many as last year. My plan was to just keep listing a set amount everyday so that I had enough to last awhile, in case another shut down came up.
Crunching the Numbers
Lately I’ve been thinking, that my “Money Pile” is getting quite large. And there’s some things that I could really use that stash of cash for! (As I’m sure everyone can relate to). So I’ve begun doubling my listings, because they just don’t make anything sitting there staring at me. This has helped some.
BUT. Let me tell you, the most beneficial thing I’ve done recently to boost my sales, is drop my prices. This sounds counterintuitive, I know. Although, the numbers do really speak for themselves and I can’t complain at the least.
The hubster has Fridays through Sundays off right now, which means for me, the weekend starts on Thursday. Going off of this schedule, is how I will calculate my weekend numbers. This would be 10/1/20-10/4/20.
My total number of sales for these 4 days alone, totaled 52. Total GROSS Sales, came out to a whopping $873.02. Oh my gosh! My mind was blown. I am still elated about these numbers, as I am quite certain that they make for my best overall weekend to date.
Keep in mind, this is Gross Sales, not Net Sales. That means, the total before fees, shipping, cog (cost of goods), etc. I am still super excited though, and couldn’t wait to share it with you!
This would break down to approximately $16.79 per item, an average sale price that I am pretty stoked about. These numbers were calculated over all 5 platforms that I use, and I will break this down for you as well below.
- Poshmark: 40 Sales totaling $589.50
- Ebay: 7 Sales totaling $115.63
- Depop: 3 Sales totaling $118.40
- Mercari: 1 Sale totaling $27.00
- Kidizen: 1 Sale totaling $22.49
- Total Number of Sales: 52
- Total Gross Sales: $873.02
My New Strategy
As you can see from the numbers above, Poshmark was killing it! I was truly in disbelief.
Having this epiphany midday Thursday, I came to the conclusion that I needed to step up my game while working from home full-time. I needed to make some changes as I turned over a year of reselling, so I wanted to try something new.
This is turn, led me to drastically dropping my prices on Poshmark, a tactic I have long thought about, but was a little hesitant of. Probably because I’ve heard so many other resellers rave about their high profits and big margins. They go on to say that they won’t take less than $10/item profit, or don’t accept low ball offers, or even go on to decline offers! Oof. That hurts when those buyers don’t come back.
(Be sure to stop over to read this post about how I’ve decreased my expenses, thus increasing my profits!)
I am all about customer service, having worked in the hospitality industry until beginning my reselling journey, and I am a total people pleaser. I appreciate the fact that out of 5 MILLION sellers on the Poshmark platform alone, customers chose MY teeny weeny closet to shop from. That is a real ego booster if I do say so myself.
Check out the Poshmark Blog site to find out more stats and fun facts about the platform!
Run Those Sales
When you have this mindset, a few dollars here and there really isn’t a big deal. I try to keep in mind the amount of shipping time that it’ll take me for 52 items, but when you work from home, you can break this up if you need to. As long as I’m making a profit, I’m usually good with accepting lower offers. (Although it is quite nice whenever you have someone swoop in and purchase for full price now and then!)
Now as for the other platforms I sell on, my pricing was already set pretty fairly in my opinion. However, since these all have options to run a sale or “promotion,” I took full advantage of turning those suckers on and setting them at a more affordable level. I usually like to price a smidge higher, to allow for offers, and shipping cost (since I ship most everything for free), but I wanted to give this strategy a try, and boy did it pan out.
*This holds Mercari as an exception, since you are unable to run a “sale.” In turn, I just made sure to promote as many listings as possible each day, (usually this is a maximum of 10), and list at least a few items daily as well to keep my store active and noticeable.
Quick Flips & Thrift Trips
Switching back to Poshmark once again, the benefit is that normally the seller doesn’t have to pay for shipping. This of course can be altered if you decide to offer discounted or free shipping, and in this case you will eat the cost from your profits. (I like to do this as often as profits can allow to increase potential sales).
Another benefit, is that bundles are a real thing on Posh. I’ve come to figure out that if I price my items more affordably, even just at $5 lower, people are much more apt to making offers or purchasing outright. Yes, the profit margin is obviously going to go down, but this is totally worth it if you can get more inventory out the door.
I’m all about the quick flip and fast sales, because like everyone I’m sure, sourcing is by far my favorite part! I love the treasure hunt it entails, and can’t wait to get back out in the wild. This means that the more I can flip, the quicker I can get back to the fun stuff. 
(Although I have to admit, I do enjoy pretty much every aspect of reselling…even the bookwork! Weird, I know).
Bundling & Sharing
Back to the bundling feature that Posh offers though, it can be a game changer. If you price your items more affordably as I’ve said, people are more willing to create bundles instead of purchasing just one item. This can be beneficial in two ways.
One, you can keep your store count down, (this is extremely helpful when you think about how much time you spend sharing), if you are consistently selling more items than you’re listing. (This is more achievable when selling bundles). And two, you can increase your profits just slightly, because bundling will save both you and the buyer money.
Sharing is a big chunk of time for me usually. (Subscribe to be notified of a future post where I talk all about my sharing strategies!) When I say a big chunk, it’s because I have had between 1,000-1,500 available listings on Poshmark for most of the past year. This is quite difficult to keep up with if you want to share the recommended 3x per day.
Bundling is enabling me to move my older, stale inventory, to make room for newer items in my bins, and also get my sharing time down some, as the number of items decreases. Win times 3! Woop woop!
Side note: *This of course is more prevalent on Poshmark, when referencing bundling and sharing. The other platforms all have their pros and cons, but I make most of my sales on Posh, and therefore will relate most of my information regarding this platform in particular.
Summary
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
As you can see, trying out new sales tactics and switching things around sometimes, can really pay off. Just be sure to stay active on your platforms, and try out new a mindset when you need a little boost!
(Pop over to this post when you’re finished here, to find 3 quick tips to listing DAILY on Poshmark!)
Keeping up with activity on the regular, and running new promotions now and then, can really bring your stale items back to life. Don’t hold onto something for a few pennies, when you could be replacing its inventory space with something more worth its square footage.
Remember to keep your costs as low as possible and source smartly. This means leaving some things behind here and there, but keep in mind that you are in the reselling business to sell, not to transform your house into a storage unit. Keep it moving! And keep those sales rolling in! Get after it!
Thank You!
A giant thanks to everyone that has supported me this far into my journey! I greatly appreciate you returning to read my posts hope that you will continue to drop by in the future.
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Happy selling friends!
Platforms
If you’re up for sifting through some of my one of a kind finds, please be sure to visit any Platform you prefer below!
We have also created a Merch Store that donates 10% of profits to the National Resources Defense Council. If you are interested in helping out to promote Rooted Drawers Stores, please stop by to contribute! Remaining profits will be put towards our ever-growing business and are always genuinely appreciated.
Please feel free to drop any comments below that you would like to add! I am always open to advice, suggestions, or even hearing related stories of your own! I stay as active as possible in the comment section, therefore I will reply to any questions asap.
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