Not a very sexy or fun part of the business, but not estimating shipping well will kill you. If you put the cost too high on something, it will stop people from buying it. But if you put it too low, you may end up loosing a sizable portion of your profit. I even have a better handle on when to go to FedEx and when to go USPS.
In the beginning of this venture, just finding boxes for shipping was a pain, but even that has become easier. I know the spots where a couple stores put their boxes once they've emptied them from deliveries. They don't mind me taking them at all, it saves them the time and effort of preparing them for recycling.
I have a better idea of the best days and places for going to yard sales, too. And the day my favorite thrift store gets in new merchandise...these are very useful pieces of information for finding things for the shop.
I also think I have developed a better eye for what will sell, although I am still flabbergasted sometimes at what sells quicker than others.
This mirror is a good example. I knew enough to get it when I found it in a church basement charity shop, but thought it would probably languish for a bit - this is an unusual piece, not everyone's cup-of-tea. So I was surprised when it wasn't even in my shop a week before it sold.
On the same day I found this mirror, I also found two matching white chenille bedspreads for two single-beds. They are so pretty, I would have sworn they'd go first.
Maybe this will always allude me because it has more to do with timing and chance...that particular person was looking for that kind of item, and they happened to find mine that day...than anything more predictable.When I hit the year mark in July, I will have too look back again and try to understand the rhyme or reason for what sells quickly and what doesn't. Or maybe accept that sometimes there just isn't any.
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