How I Organize My Inventory: Part 2- From Box to Photographing

** This post contains affliate links which may benefit me monetarily if you choose to click and purchase from them.

This a continuation of my first post about how I organize my inventory You can read it here. (Link)

I usually photograph one afternoon a week for a couple of hours. I photograph every week, even if I haven't listed anything new- that way I always have plenty ready to go. There have been a few times the kids were sick, or I had extra time to list, but wasn't able to because I didn't have photographs done. If I have a stock pile of listed items I am ready to list at a moments notice. A couple of hours of photographing usually gives me enough to list for the rest of the week plus a box or two extra. I usually keep about 4 boxes of unphotographed inventory in my ebay room on this amazing shelf I have. I love it to store unlisted hanging items as well as 4 bankers boxes with unlisted inventory.

      

When I'm ready to photograph I grab a box off of the shelf and turn on my photo lights and my "studio' is ready. I also have a 3 sided poster board for the background (I have a plug right in the middle of the wall where I take photos, and the board covers it well.) I also have a white foam board sheet for the bottom. I have both of these things set up on top of  a old dresser and in the top drawers I keep my photo props (plate holder, foot forms, etc) so they are easy to access quickly. In the bottom two drawers I keep things like candles, perfume and other meltable/freezable items I have listed. My ebay room is heated and air conditioned, so they will be safe in there.

I also make sure to have an empty bankers box ready to go, so as I take out of one box to photograph, I can put it in another box when I'm done. That way nothing is sitting out with the possibility of getting broken- trust me I know this from personal experience.

        

Then I start taking photos, lot of photos! I try to take photos from every angle and get the enough to fill the 12 pictures in Ebay listings. Get it from every angle, with close-ups of names, writing, damage, maker, size, fabric content. etc. I can usually get thru 4-8 boxes on a photo day- depending on how cooperative my children are! Once they are all photographed, they go back to the unlisted storage area, but this time on the photographed side. All ready to list, whenever I am. 

I also have to recommend a good camera and my eye-fi card which I would have a hard time living without. (read my post about it here) A good camera saves you a lot of time in editing and re-doing pictures. I started out with a $49 camera and my ipad in the beginning, but I currently use the Coolpix and love it. You can good a really good deal on these cameras several times a year (especially at Christmas time) so be sure to do your homework before purchasing. It's not the most expensive camera, but it works good, and takes awesome pictures for me. I combine it with a tripod to help stop the camera from shaking- which can happen after you photograph for a few hours. 

         

What sold this week on Ebay/Etsy/Amazon/Craigslist/Kid's Consignment- May 12th, 2016

Amazon:
Amazon continues to be slow for me- there were a few days when my sales for the day were less than $10, or sometimes no sales at all. Partially because I have not sent anything to the warehouse in over a month. I have been taking advantage of the slow time and getting my shop cleaned out and organized, so when the busy season hits again I will be ready to go. I am planning on sending in a shipment at the end of this week or the beginning of next week. Getting some inventory out will help make more room to clean and organize my packing area. It has been a lot of work, but will make things so much easier when it is done!


Ebay:
I have been able to get lots of listings up here, as you saw in my post yesterday. A lot of the stuff is not what I bought purposely to resell on ebay, but leftovers from my old craft retail business, as well as estate leftovers from my old house, both of my grandparents, an uncle, or things people have given me. I have also been listing my teaching supplies, as I am not planning on returning to teaching next year either (Yay!) and I said after 3 years I would start selling it all.

empty film canisters- Paid $0, sold for $25 plus shipping

leopard short jacket- paid $2.00, sold for $33.00 plus shipping

amazon return, paid $19.99 sold for BO of $45

Etsy:

remington rand typewriter paid $14.99, sold for 65.00 plus $35 shipping 

this mug was featured in My re-haul post. 

sold for $24.95 plus shipping 

I talked about this fun vest here . It sold for $39.95 plus shipping. 

Craigslist;
Since I have been clearing out my shop I decided to sell some of the big items on Craigslist. I remember why I don't like it. Having to load and drive 45 minutes to town to meet someone and they don't show up, or didn't the right amount of money etc. My hubby has been trying to do most of it since he is usually in town several days a week. I am trying to go only once a week. I have been able to get rid of a lot of big stuff and have more I plan on listing soon. I'm glad to have the room and a little extra money too!

personal shelf from my old classroom- $25
singer sewing machine table $100

Decorations from our wedding (10 years ago this June) I was going to use them to rent for weddings from our retail/floral shop, but I just never did. Happy to have them go to a new home.
lanterns- $35
flower garland $10
Wreaths- $10
Birdcage- $40
Floral Basket- $40
2 candle screens-$100
table $15
2 large wall candle holders $40



Kids Consignment Sales: I signed up to do 3, but only ended up doing 2. I was able to get rid of a train table, lots of clothes and several large toys and make about $400.

How I Organize My Ebay Inventory: Part 1-Sourcing and Unloading the Car

This is a post that contains affiliate links.  These links, should you happen to click them, may benefit me monetarily.

I have had this post in the drafts section, waiting for the rain/snow/wind to stop long enough to take pictures. It has taken 3 weeks to finally have a perfect day! This is what my yard looks like today:

I have had several people inquire about how I organize and store my inventory. So I'm going to do a series on Ebay inventory from purchase to sale- How I organize, store, list, photograph and ship. I will also talk about what to do with those items that don't sell. I will be writing a separate series about my Amazon listing process. Stay tuned for more information about that in upcoming posts. 

Part 1- Sourcing and Unloading the Car (Ebay)

     

(Meet your new best friend!) 

First, I unload the kids (I usually have at least one with me) give them snacks/drinks/bathroom break and get them settled doing something outside (if the weather is nice enough) or find them something to occupy them inside while I unload. Sometimes they will help me sort the items- depending on how long our day has been. I'm hoping to have my storage area cleared out enough by winter that I will be able to pull the car in and unload in a more protected area. Unloading in the snow, rain, or strong winds is no fun!

I start by backing up my car to the driveway as soon as I get home from sourcing, whether it be thrift store, retail arbitrage, garage sales, trip to my mom's- whenever my car is loaded with inventory. I line my driveway with empty banker's boxes that I store just inside the door for unloading days.
I also have some empty totes ready to go for Amazon inventory and a laundry basket for items for the house/family. I often combine sourcing days with grocery shopping, and I am always on the lookout for things for my family or one of our many projects (homeless bags, Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes, Awana prizes for our Church, School Donations, etc)

Then I start filling the banker's boxes as I unload the car. It doesn't matter what goes in the box, I just try to fill it up using all of the space. I continue filling boxes until the car is unloaded.

(I was using my extra Amazon totes for consignment inventory this week, so I only have one overflowing tote this time, not how I usually do it) 

Once all of the boxes are loaded I carry the boxes into my shop and place them on the first set of shelves for unlisted inventory.  If the item is too big to fit in a box, I use the top shelf of all of my storage shelves as oversize storage. If the item will freeze, melt, or otherwise be hurt by storage, I have a few shelves and drawers in my small ebay room that has heating and cooling for safer storage. Also, at this point the boxes stay unmarked (you'll see why in a later post)

boxes of various ebay inventory ready to carried inside to unlisted inventory area

Walkway to unlisted inventory shelving (left) hanging storage for ebay, etsy and kids consignment sales (right) 

unlisted ebay inventory 

 

(in the week since I took this picture, this whole section has been listed and moved to the listed inventory shelving, woohoo!)

oversize unlisted inventory

 

close up hanging storage ebay/etsy/kids consignment