eBay Scavengers Episode 42: Interview with Ben from Voodoo Vintage & Estate - An eBay store in New Orleans

Wendy talks to Ben from Voodoo Vintage & Estate in New Orleans. He's been finding some very unique NOLA items at estate sales and selling with great success through ebay. All it took was one phone call from Wendy to convince him that opening an eBay store was the right thing to do!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 41: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

A swanky Louis Vuitton wallet worth so much, you'll be too broke to fill it!

Wendy and Mikey talk about what's going on in their store this week. Lots of non-paying bidders and offers. A Louis Vuitton wallet that got a best offer of $1100 that had a non-payer, but will eventually sell because of rabid LV fans. Wendy experiments with auctions to find the right market price for odd items and Mikey coins the phrase yard sale "sweeper".

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eBay Scavengers Episode 40: Interview with Sharon and Sam from ShopCheap 1980 in Australia

Jay and Ryanne woke up at 6am EST (now that's dedication) to interview Sharon and Sam from ShopCheap1980 an eBay store in Australia! The similarities to a US ebay store are very close. They shop at auctions, flea markets and thrift stores too. Only difference is that they have to bring all their boxes to the post office. No Australia Post pickup for them. Visit their store at ShopCheap1980. Thanks Sharon and Sam!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 39: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Wardrobe too big for our house- paid $275, sold for $450. Letterman painting- paid $5, sold for $225.

Jay and Ryanne talk about what's going on in their ebay store. Selling more furniture may be in their future. Paintings and funky kitsch art are a pain to store, pack and ship, but they sell so well we can't help ourselves! Stuff mentioned in this podcast include- eBay store Calculator (see if a store makes sense financially for you), the Andy Warhol elementary school sketch auction on ebay, Amazon now selling museum quality art and last but not least- eBay's Fall update with Top Rated Seller grace period.  Thanks to Glen for writing in to ask exactly how to get the Cha-Ching sound to activate on the iphone eBay app.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 38: Our Process and How We Make a Living on eBay - Wendy and Mikey

Wendy and Mikey talk about their process of running an Ebay store. We cover buying and sourcing, organizing, cleaning, photography, listing, selling, shipping and customer service. Everyone has a different way of running their business, this is how they do it. Check out the tools they use: Yard Sale Mapper for finding yard sales in your area. Terapeak- Mikey and Wendy use Terrapeak and the Terapeak iPhone app to research and accurately price items they scavenge. GarageSale to build their store template and list all their items. What they don't use are....notebooks.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 37: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Vintage Patch- Paid less than $1, sold for $120. Adobe Illustrator CD- Free, Sold for $35.

Mikey and Wendy talk about what's happening in their store this week. Exciting moments include an actual flood, big sales of vintage patches and Adobe software. A genuine Louis Vuitton wallet purchased for $20 at a yard sale may fetch over $1200 on Buy It Now. Also, the dreaded moment when your beloved postal worker gets transfered, leaving a new carrier to figure out your USPS pick up quirks has happened to them.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 36: Our Process and How We Make a Living on eBay - Ryanne and Jay

Sometimes the process of photographing and listing looks like this. But you gotta do it!

Jay and Ryanne talk about their process of running an ebay store from start to finish. We cover buying and sourcing, organizing, cleaning, photography, listing, selling, shipping and customer service. Everyone has a different way of running their business, this is how we run ours. Check out Pixelmator, the app Ryanne mentions for quick and easy photo editing for the Mac. Also we mentioned using GarageSale for laying out a template for your listings. We use the Panasonic GH1 camera with a 20mm Pancake lens for our photos. Watch Ryanne's video about how to pack a big heavy typewriter for shipping.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 35: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Saddle and fabric selling bonanza in our store this week.

Summer sales have been picking up for us as we sell several high dollar items in one week. Thrilling, yes. But the more consistent smaller sales are what will keep you afloat in slower times. Shout out to Sam and Sharon who are ramping up their ebay store in Australia, thanks for writing in! Also another one of our listeners has started The eBay Freshman blog chronicling his eBay scavenging finds and methods.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 34: eBay Best Offer Negotiation Tactics - Tips for Beginners

Mikey and Ryanne talk about when and how to use Best Offer on your ebay store listings. How do you negotiate with customers to get a good price for you and them? How do you cut out the noise of low, low offers? Don't forget to reply to offers asap with your phone alerts and be sure to keep communication open with your customers. Thanks to Adam from Mysterious Caravan for asking!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 33: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Newest store items include huge furniture and rare power supplies. Sell it!

Ryanne and Mikey talk about what's going on in their eBay stores this week. Slow summer sales are picking up a bit due to our ABL (always be listing) motivation. But Ryanne is dealing with an uncooperative, crazy customer. Mikey is listing power supplies and hoping to sell them to some electronics geeks. Check out our new About and Resources page that we just put up. We are real people and these are the tools we use.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 32: Storage & Organization. Tips on How to Store and Organize Your Ebay Store Inventory.

This episode is all about how we store and organize our 1000 and 2500+ item ebay stores. Organization and storage are critical to a successful ebay store. It doesn't have to be difficult- some plastic bins, metal shelves, duct tape and a sharpie can easily get the job done. Check out the slideshows above to see how we store all our stuff.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 31: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Sometimes summer sales are slow! Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Robb North.

Jay and Mike talk about whats going on in their stores this week. Jay and Ryanne have been burned too many times on auctions, so they're calling it quits. They both agree that summer sales aren't bad, but they're definitely slow. Jay and Ryanne get a surprise when Richard Sinnott, Michael Kors Creative Director of Accessories and Footwear buys a bunch of shoes from them.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 30: How to Clean Items for Selling on eBay. Tips for Beginners.

Creative Commons photo by kodomut on flickr.

Ryanne and Wendy get into the nitty gritty about how to clean items for ebay. Clothes, electronics, metal, cookware, shoes, fabrics- we cover it all. Check out the links below for most of the products we discuss. Here is a link to the non-toxic recipe for Goo Gone. Try it out, let us know how it goes!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 29: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Thanks to Adam from Mysterious Caravan for this awesome anti-scavenger, anti-dumpster dive photo. wow.

Wendy and Ryanne talk about what's going on in their ebay stores this week. Wendy and Mikey just came off 5 weeks of vacation mode with no second store sales to show. Fortunately, sales picked right up when they got home. Ryanne continues to experiment with 7 day auctions with mixed results.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 28: Interview with Adam from The Mysterious Caravan

Mikey and Jay interview ebay newcomer Adam from The Mysterious Caravan about how he and his wife are getting started. Valuable tools mentioned in this episode include: USPS labels through ebay, USPS pickup and free USPS shipping boxes, Brother Laser printers and toner, Scales both big and small, bubble wrap and GarageSale for Macs. Thanks for being on the show Adam, good luck!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 27: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Jay and Ryanne arrive home from traveling to a bunch of cool stuff to ship. Some big ticket items too! We answer two listener questions about how to list items a month at a time and when to start an Ebay store rather than just listing items individually under your username. Thanks to Adam of The Mysterious Caravan and Charles for writing in! Check out the Ebay stores price list to do the numbers and figure out which level works for you.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 26: Interview with Jena from Jumble and Clutter

We have our first interview with long time Ebay Seller Jena from Jumble and Clutter, also, she's Ryanne's mom. We talk about how she got started, how she evolved from the early days of listing auctions on dial up to having a large fixed price store that is her full time job. Check out her Ebay store here. Check out GarageSale, the Mac software she uses to write and post her listings.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 25: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Love these lamps, but they aren't selling on fixed price or auction. We know someone out there will want them!

Jay and Ryanne talk about what's going on in their eBay store this week. We've tried another auction, rented a storage space and discuss the pros and cons of the new Best Offer program. Also, thanks to all our listeners sending emails, leaving comments and leaving ratings on iTunes!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 24: On the Road with Mikey and Wendy

Mikey and Wendy try to make and ship some Thrift Scores while traveling in the Northwest.

Being on the road while running an eBay store can be very challenging. Even with their store on full vacation mode, Mikey and Wendy are still dealing with returns and making sure customers are happy. Meanwhile, they're trying to keep selling their travel finds using Flat Rate Padded Envelopes in the Northwest. "FRPE"s are a rarity at local Post Offices, as many don't carry them and the USPS.com store limits customers to 90 per order per day. Why? We don't know. But they are one of the best deals for shipping items everywhere in the US.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 23: We Answer Your eBay Scavengers Comments and Questions

How do you find stuff to sell for $30-40? One great place is the Goodwill Warehouse Outlet.

Ryanne and Jay answer questions that have been rolling in from the blog. Where you do find valuable items? Why don't you offer free shipping? Thanks to Don and Steve for striking up the conversation. We love feedback and conversation, so please leave comments or email us!

Some websites to look for auctions and estate sales are AuctionZip.com and EstateSales.net. You might find treasure at the nearest Goodwill Outlet Warehouse in your area. Also check your local newspapers for yard sales happening every weekend. Good Luck and Good Scavenging!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 22: eBay Store Vacation Mode - Traveling in Portland, Oregon

Visiting The Pendleton Woolen Mill Store in Portland, Oregon. A stunning experience for any wool nerd.

Ryanne and Jay are traveling for 12 days out west while their eBay store is still up and running on vacation mode. They talk about the pros and cons of not being able to ship while stuff is selling. Overall, it's a great experience to be able to continue to make money while traveling.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 21: Finding Macklemore - A 'Thrift Store' Scavenger Hunt

If you aren't one of the over 300 Million people to have watched the 'Thift Store' video, click the link above and check it out. Produced by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, a pair of independent artists, the video has gone more than viral- Thirft Store is the first independent song to hit #1 on US charts in over 20 years. Mikey and Wendy theorize that Macklemore is or has been an eBay seller. With a deep knowledge of what is valuable in thrift stores and dumpsters, is Macklemore among us on eBay? If you think you found him, link to his store in the comments!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 20: eBay Global Shipping Program Pros and Cons

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Jay and Ryanne discuss the Pros and Cons of the eBay Global Shipping Program. We love the full tracking, shipping to Kentucky, and the seller protection. What we don't love is potential lost sales, some of which we've had already. How will the Global Shipping Program pan out for sellers? Have you tried it? What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 19: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

We sold a lamp from our eBay store to the set designer of Mad Men. And look, there it is!

Jay and Ryanne talk about an exciting week in their eBay store. Seeing a mid-century lamp debut on Ted's desk on Mad Men a few months after it was purchased by Mad Men set designer Claudette Didul. Also, after many years of putting everything at Fixed Price, Buy It Now, they decide to put a necklace on auction and it grosses enough to pay their mortgage for a month!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 18: How to Sell on eBay. Tips for Beginners.

The best way to get started on eBay is to clean your closet and sell some of your own stuff.

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CC-BY Photo Clothes by Akirahnu

Mikey and Ryanne discuss the long list of tips for new eBay sellers. There is a huge learning curve of stuff to avoid and remember and this podcast will explain it all from shipping to descriptions. We tell you how to follow other ebayers, where to source your items, how to avoid being a hoarder, avoiding the post office and much more!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 17: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Fixed price or Make Offer? Ryanne says Fixed Price for jean jackets works! Doesn't she look happy about that?

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Ryanne and Mikey discuss what is happening in their eBay worlds this week. Mikey's bones got returned, Ryanne's coat hanger sale goes wrong and we are now in the iTunes store. Plus an update on global shipping.

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eBay Scavengers VIDEO: How To Pack A Vintage Antique Typewriter For Shipping On eBay

Check out our new Youtube Channel. We'll be bringing you lots of How-To videos on packing, shipping, repairing, eBay listing and more.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 16: Research

Terapeak, Worthpoint, eBay completed listings. What works for you?

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How do you research your eBay merchandise before listing it? Do you watch other ebayers, use Terapeak, or scan the completed listings? Jay and Mikey discuss what tools they like to use, don't use and would really like someone to invent. Figuring out price and keywords is definitely an art. Learn more about it in the episode.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 15: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Mikey sold some real animal bones for some real dough on his eBay store!

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Jay and Mikey discuss what's going in their stores and the eBay world at large this week. Jay went on vacation and sold some stuff while thrifting in Florida. Mikey and Wendy broke 1,000 items in their store. Jay and Mikey are now interested in the extreme early retirement scene. Jay talks about living without health insurance after cutting his hand. eBay is still fighting the online sales tax, but just how will that work out? Tune in to learn more.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 14: Wendy and Mikey's eBay Lifestyle

eBay as a lifestyle allows us a lot of freedom. We get to do other things like grow food!

Wendy and Mikey talk about what it's like living the eBay scavengers lifestyle. Sitting on the beach, but still selling stuff. Visiting new places and having the perfect excuse to explore a city through yard sales. Living in the waste stream can be extremely fun, satisfying and profitable.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 13: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Even selling stuff that's broken can be a success on eBay. Full disclosure is the key!

Mikey and Wendy get real honest about what they should keep and what they should sell on eBay when they open their tool shed and it's filled up to the hilt. So far, so good- they've been selling tools, even broken ones, for a good profit. That's the beauty of eBay, it's one of the best recycling resources in the world.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 12: Ryanne and Jay's eBay Lifestyle

Hey, I'm hanging at the beach, but my eBay store is still selling!

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Jay and Ryanne talk about what it is to live the eBay lifestyle. Always on the hunt, always scavenging, but also always selling. Even when we travel to look for cool stuff, visit family or do freelance work, our store is open and ready for business.

This episode brought to you by all sizes of Sharpie markers. I've recently bought the Sharpie Magnum and it's brilliant at covering print on old boxes for shipping.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 11: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

eBay's Global Shipping Program- only time will tell if it helps our customers.

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Jay and Ryanne discuss one of the biggest topics of their ebay store this week- eBay's new Global Shipping program. Will it help or hurt their business? Only time will tell.

This episode brought to you by all types of shoe polish. We mentioned cleaning and polishing about 200+ pairs of shoes this last week. These are the tools to do it!

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eBay Scavengers Episode 10: Master eBay Packers

Might look like trash to some, but these are essentials for ebay packing.

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Packing is an acquired skill. You quickly learn that if sold items reach your customers in broken pieces that you need to change your packing techniques. Wendy and Ryanne explain how they use their favorite packing materials and offer many tips to newbs on becoming a master packer.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 9: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Our eBay stores are rocking the owl hangings and very Euro moped helmets. Mikey likes it.

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Every week stuff sells and there are stories behind it. Wendy explains how she filled her car for $5 and sold some high end helmets and boots. Ryanne's selling lamps, owls, sweaters and shoes. They both had to show some restraint on talking about packing techniques as that is the topic for episode 10.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 8: What is Value

What is valuable? We all agree the money is in the owl!

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Is value what you are attracted to? What you are interested in? Is value an item you learn from? Jay and Wendy explore what is valuable for them. Items from Japan, rare items, kitch and much more.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 7: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Cool sales of old license plates, designer clothes and records in our eBay stores.

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Wendy and Jay catch up on what is happening on their stores this week. This episode includes stories about brittle records, big vintage fabric rolls and tortoise shells used as currency.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 6: The Challenges of Packing and Shipping on eBay

You know it's a good week on eBay when you have piles of stuff for USPS pickup.

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There is probably no harder learning curve with eBay than figuring out how to ship all your merchandise at the best price possible. Ryanne and Mikey review their favorite shipping tools, hacks, printers, tape, scissors, boxes and strategies for dealing with customers when things take too long.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 5: What's Happening In Your eBay Store This Week?

Lots of cool sales on eBay this week: Lamps, watches and algae!

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Ryanne and Mikey talk about some action they have seen both in their stores and on their secret ebay mailing list. Their friend Andy is selling algae, Mikey moved some watches and Ryanne is selling top dollar lamps and men's cologne among other things. This is the pre-shipping podcast so things tend to drift towards the ever shipping topics.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 4: The Dark Side of eBay - Negative Feedback, Low DSRs, Returns

The Dark Side of eBay: Turn that frown upside down and keep selling!

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The biggest challenge for any ebayer is keeping the buyer happy. Waking up to negative feedback is brutal. Getting a item returned with a message of 'item not as described' just hurts. Losing top rated seller status can cost you a fortune in fees and shipping each month. Jay and Mikey discuss how they handle these darker issues.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 3: What We Will Buy, What We Won't Buy

Blazers! Will you buy them? Do they sell on eBay? Sometimes yes, Sometimes no.

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Jay and Mikey discuss what they will not buy. What does not sell, what is difficult to store, what is hard to pack? It's impossible to discuss what we don't like to deal with without going into what we find ideal to sell. Leave those popcorn poppers and neck massagers. Be sure and pickup any inflatable limb braces.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 2: Where We Shop, Our Techniques

We live at auctions, flea markets, thrift stores and yard sales.

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Jay and Mikey discuss where they buy the good they are selling on eBay. Thrift stores, yard sales, auctions and flea markets are all discussed. This episode gets into the little tricks for negotiating a good price and what to look out for.

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eBay Scavengers Episode 1: Who We Are, How We Started Selling On eBay

One of the first Members Only jackets we sold!

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Let's start this podcast right and go back to the beginning. In this episode Jay and Mikey explain how they met, their back to the land lifestyle shift and how eBay came into their lives.

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