August 2015

Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you all are well rested, and ready for a new daily challenge! So today I want to focus not on selling things gleaned from your home, but items that can be made from items you have on hand. I am speaking of ETSY.

Today, I would like you all to consider all of the homemade crafts, recipes, items, and crafts that you have a knack for making, can easily make from the items you have on hand at home, or items that can be made quickly! Are you a painter, knitter, crafter, good at wood working? Can you make candles, wax melts, or boot cuffs? Then my friend, this is the post for you! As today I want you all to consider opening up an ETSY Shop.

So, why ETSY? 

1. If you’re an artist, jeweler, soap maker, knitter, baker, or you simply have a house full of vintage items, then you might be in a perfect position to start your own business on Etsy.
2.  Etsy is an online marketplace designed exclusively for people selling handmade and vintage items.
3. The site allows people from all over the world to sell their homemade goods, and anyone, from stay at home moms to well-respected gallery artists, to have an open market to sell their work.
4. Currently, Etsy has over 400,000 sellers, 7.7 million listed items for sale, and over 7 million customers. In 2010, the site sold more than $300 million worth of goods. 
5. Etsy is egalitarian in nature. This is not simply a place to make a quick buck, but a place where anyone can create a home business, where sales can range from simple, passive income, to massive, evolving sales platforms, depends on your schedule! 

What Can I sell:

• Crocheted items
• Soap, lotions and candles
• Handmade clothing
• Jewelry
• Paintings
• drawings,
• sculpture
• Handmade furniture
• Books and magazines
• Vintage items (20 years or older)
• Quilts
• Bags and purses
• Baked goods such as cookies, cupcakes, bread, jam, etc.
• Yarn and other supplies catering to the handmade/crafting crowd
• Blown glass
• Handmade paper items
• Upcycled goods
• Nearly anything! 

How to Sell:

1. You should first start by figuring out what you will create and sell.
2. Next inventory what supplies you have on hand to create your products.
3. Setting up a Seller Account on Etsy is an easy, two-step process.
4. First, you’ll need to have a Paypal account, and a valid credit card. 
5. Next you need to enter your billing information. You will need a valid credit card so Etsy can verify your identity.
6. You’re now an official Etsy seller.
7. Setting up your shop is going to take more time. You can create a customer banner for your Etsy store, and you’ll want to upload a picture or logo so customers can put a face or image with your shop.
8. Next create a prototype of several items.
9. Next,  you’ll also need to photograph all your items, and create a listing for each one. You’ll also need to insert “tags,” or keywords, that will help customers find your items.
10. Cross list items; For instance, imagine you’ve just listed a turquoise necklace. You would use tags such as “necklace”, “turquoise necklace”, and “blue”, all which will help your item get noticed when customers search for those specifics.
11. Pay for your listings.
12. When items sell, be sure to quickly ship, usually within a business week, and mail all parcels withsignature confirmation delivery. 
13. Payments will be added to your sellers account within 48 hours of payment clearing.
14. All listings will need to be renewed seasonally!
15. You’re now a seller! 

Sellers Tips:

• Fees are charged per sale; a flat 3.5% fee will be added to your sellers account only if an item sells.
• Fees are refunded on returned items.
• Be sure to create a clearly expresses return and shipping policy.
• Be sure to create a detailed customization policy, if you plan to allow changes be made, per order.
• Consider changing stock seasonally.
• As your store grows, your sellers account ceiling will grow accordingly; the larger the shop the more charges can be added to your account.
• All account fees are due the first business day of each month.
• You can charge shipping costs to your account, up to your limited account cap.
• Account caps are evaluated and adjusted bi-annually in July and December; you are emailed if your account cap changes.
• Be sure to create an email account to go with your shop name; i.e. etsyshoptobenamed@gmail.com.
• Always use USPS’s Media Mail option, for shipping heavy books.
• Be sure to create a Facebook fan page, to advertise your goods.
• You can create in-app ETSY coupons for customers; be sure to include a thank you card with your coupon code enclosed with each order to promote return business.
• One week after delivery, you can politely ask buyers to leave you ship feedback.
• Never list orders for items that you cannot fulfill or have stock to prepare! 

Support:

• One of the most amazing aspects of Etsy is the amount of support and the sense of community you get through the site.
• Etsy has a lot of helpful tutorials to help sellers get more exposure and earn more money.
• The forums are extensive and Etsy’s thousands of sellers will help answer any question you have about setting up your shop.

So today I challenge you to sell items on ETSY! Moreover, do you already sell on ETSY? What has your experience been like? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! Be sure to come back this evening to see how my daily challenge went, as well as how I was able to additionally save around my home!

As an ETSY shop owner myself, I am partial to this site, and hope that you all could consider this site! It’s beyond awesome! Please feel free to check out my shop, here!  As for me, as I already have a seasoned account, so I listed ten new seasonal items for sale; items for Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter, Spring, Mother’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo.

My Selling Goals Were:

• I am going to list 10 seasonal items. 
• All items will be listed for one season.
• The items cost $2.00 to list, which was paid with funds from iBotta, in my paypal account. 

As well today I was also able to accomplish:

1. As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
2. Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
3. I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
4. I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
5. Read my daily devotional.
6. I waked two miles.
7. 1. I read part of a new review book.

Today I saved:

• I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $6.95.
• I scored a free 1-year subscription to Midwest Magazine, a savings of $16.00.
• I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag. 
• I cooked three meals from my home pantry, saving $6.81 in the process.
• My family drank water today, and saved $0.69, the cost of a 2-liter of soda.
• I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.
• I earned $5.00 from Receipt Hog. 
• I mailed off a package of coupons for Coups For Troops.

Total amount I saved my family: $45.38

This months savings goal remaining: +$73.95

Please be sure to check back tomorrow for another way to save for this months No-Spend Challenge! 

Here’s to saving,

Hello again, savvy savers! I hope you all are well rested, and ready for a new daily challenge! By now, you’ve probably heard of, purchased from, or price matched by way of Amazon.com. It is currently the largest retailer in the world, and honestly one of my favorite shopping venues as not only to they sell everything under the sun, offer free shipping  with Amazon Prime, or on orders of $35.00 or more, they also do not charge sales tax! Woohoo! Amazon makes the act of shopping in your slippers, a state of mind! 

Moreover, the Amazon’s seller program, similar to Ebay, doesn’t offer auction-style selling, but instead offers sellers everyday items such as textbooks, books of all values, conditions, and print-type, dvd’s, music cd’s, collectibles, and more to a larger, more managed audience! One aspect of Amazon selling I like is the FBA (fulfillment by Amazon) shipment method, where you can send all your inventory to Amazon and let Amazon do the shipping for you; for those who frequent the post office, this can be a major time-saving system.

So, why Amazon? 

1. Registering an account is free is you sell under 40 items per month; if you are selling more than 40 items per month, there is a monthly fee of $39.99.
2. Simplicity: You can watch movies, listen to music, and then sell for profit, or Amazon gift cards, to buy more of what you want, or apply to monthly groceries, by way of Amazon Pantry and Amazon Subscribe & Save! 
3. Extras: Somehow you ended up with two identical books/kitchen utensils/wall clocks. Rather than keep both, list one for sale.
4. As a profit-driven venture: Thousands of businesses use the service to sell products.

What Can I sell:

• Anything! Books, video games, movies, craft supplies, kitchen accessories, …the list goes on.
• Keep in mind that some categories are off-limits, such as “adult products,” and if your item is on the off-limits list, you’ll be notified. 
• An item may be in “acceptable”, “good”, “very good”, “like new” or “new” condition.
• It’s a good idea to be honest about the condition, accurately describing it as best as you can.

How to Sell:

1. Click here to sign in with your Amazon email address and password.
2. Next, enter your legal name and read the “Agreement”. Accept the terms and select “Continue”.
3. Add your credit card information: Amazon needs identity verification, so it asks for valid card information.
4. Choose your “Display Name”, aka shop name. Enter your mailing address.
5. On the next page, agree to be called or texted, as a  verification step.  A PIN will be provided, which you will need to enter before registration is complete.
6. Congrats–you’re a registered Amazon seller! 
7. If you have not already set-up two or more payment methods, on a buying account (one of which is a bank account), or if you have changed your payment method in the last 7 days, you will have an additional 7 day wait before payments are directed deposited into your bank account. 

How To List An Item For Sale:

1. From the homepage of your Amazon seller account, go to “Add a Product” (in the lower left sidebar). This takes you to another page where you can see if the product is on Amazon already. If not, choose “create a new product”.
2. List your item. Be sure to use a good quality stock photo, and then enter as much information about the product as possible. 
3. Before you set a price, gauge how others have priced it based on the condition. If it’s priced too high, it probably won’t sell; if it’s price too low, then it will sell really fast but you won’t get as much as you potentially could have.
4. Note that all shipping charges are preset. 
5. You can also opt to have your items mailed to Amazon, who will mail them on your behalf.
6. Amazon sends an email to you when a product sells.
7. If you prefer to mail parcels yourself, try to ship the item–with signature confirmation/tracking– be sure to do so within 3 business days to keep your customer happy.
8. Funds are deposited into your banking account on a scheduled basis.
9. After items have been received for a full 3 business days, you can request buyers leave you a product review, and a sellers review, too!

Sellers Tips:

• Fees are charged per sale.
• Fees vary based on the category and the selling price.
• Amazon deducts them from your balance. 
• Always use USPS’s Media Mail option, for shipping heavy books.

 For me, as I already have a seasoned account, I listed ten items for sale.

My Selling Goals Were:

• I am going to list 10 household items; 12 Blu-Ray Discs, and 10 PS3 Games.
• I hope to make $100.00 in profit.
• All items that do not sell will be donated to charity.
• All items will be listed for one week.

As well today I was also able to accomplish:

1. As part of my #Choose30 Daily Challenge, I woke up at 7:25, walked my fur babies, showered, & dressed to my shoes. (Thanks, Flylady!)
2. Worked on my daily Motivated Moms Planner.
3. I finished a day’s worth of clerking assignments ahead of schedule!
4. I cooked from my pantry for each meal.
5. Read my daily devotional.
6. I waked two miles.

Today I saved:

• I eat at home this evening for dinner, saving our family $6.95. 
• I recycled, upcycled, and composted one bins of deluge, and saved $0.25, the cost of 1 trash bag. 
• I cooked three meals from my home pantry, saving $6.81 in the process.
• My family drank water today, and saved $0.69, the cost of a 2-liter of soda.
• I also did not watch cable tv, and saved $3.68 by doing so.

Total amount I saved my family: $21.38

This months savings goal remaining: +$60.33

So today I challenge you to sell 10 items on Amazon.com! Moreover, do you already sell on Amazon? What has your experience been like? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! Be sure to come back this evening to see how my daily challenge went, as well as how I was able to additionally save around my home!

Please be sure to check back tomorrow for another way to save for this months No-Spend Challenge! 

Here’s to saving,

Hello again, savvy savers! A new day, a new daily challenge, as part of our No-Spend Month Challenge!

So as this week we will be focusing on selling the items we cleared out of our home last week, today I want to focus on eBay sales!

So why eBay?

• eBay is a popular shopping website where individuals and businesses can buy and sell new and second-hand items. 

• a computer with an internet connection
• a credit or debit card.

1. Go to the eBay website.
2. You can only buy or sell on eBay if you’re registered, so if you don’t have an account, now is the time to create one. If you’re new to eBay, click register above the eBay logo.
3. If you’re already registered, click Sign in, enter your user ID, then your password, and you will be logged in; you can then skip to Step 5. 
4. To register, you’ll need to fill out details such as your name, email address and chosen password.
5. Click the blue Submit button at the bottom of the screen.
6. A confirmation email will be mailed to you.
7. Check for this email.
8. Click Continue if you are happy to proceed, within the email prompts. 
9. You will be taken back to the eBay homepage, and your seller account is completed!

How To List An Item For Sale:

1. Click on Sell at the top of the screen, and a ‘Update your information’ page will open.
2. Complete your address information and click Continue.
3. You will now be taken to a new page where you can start to list your item for sale. 
4. Type the name of the item you want to sell in the box provided and click Get started.
5. A new page will open with step-by-step instructions on how to create your listing, including how to give your item a clear, specific title and how to upload a photo.
6. It will also show you how much money it will cost to list your item; these fees will be added to your sellers account, payable monthly.
7.  Once you’ve filled in all the details for your listing, click List with displayed fees at the bottom of the screen.
8.  A new page will open. Here you’ll see how your listing will look before it’s posted on eBay.
9. Click Continue if you’re happy with the way it looks.

How To Edit A Sale Listing:

1. Click Edit listing if you want to make any changes.
2. A new page will open asking you for extra information. Click Continue.
3. Review your account information, check the box and click Continue if it is correct. 
4.  eBay will then verify your information.
5. You will then be asked to verify your phone number. Click the Call me now button and an automated service will call to give you your PIN. Once you have this, enter it into the PIN field and click Continue.
6. You will then need to log back in. 
7. When you sell items on eBay, the website charges a small fee. You now need to choose how you will pay any fees. Select the payment type you wish to use; credit card or paypal, and continue.
8. If you chose to pay via PayPal, you will now need to agree to the PayPal user agreement. When you have read it, click I agree.
9. A new page will open giving you the chance to review your listing again. 
10.  Your item is now posted!

A few tips:

• Start with no more than 10 items; this will lessen your chance of any listings being reviewed by bots.
• Click Track your listing in My eBay to see if anyone is bidding for or buying your item.
• You can also click My eBay at the top of the screen at any time to look at these details.
• Potential buyers may ask you questions about your item via email, so answer them promptly to ensure you get good feedback later.
• You may receive haggle offers, but you are not forced to accept any offer.

When an item sells:

•  When your item is sold, you’ll receive an email from eBay.
• Go back to ‘My eBay’ and click Sold.
• There you’ll see the name of your item as well as the price it sold for.
• Click Send payment details to send your buyer an invoice, which PayPal prepares automatically if you’re using that method of payment.
•  Once the payment has been received, you’ll receive an email from PayPal.
• Go to the PayPal website and enter your email address and password to log in to your PayPal account. 
• Always promptly mail parcels, as soon as possible.
• Always mail items with SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION delivery options; this avoid people charging back offers for non-receipt of items, once you’ve mailed a parcel.
• Always offer a “no-refund” policy, except if an item is grossly misrepresented, and list items as no-shipping refunds, no return refunds, too; this prevents mailing scam issues.
• Always list shipping tracking numbers on both eBay and Paypay.

So, that’s it. That’s how to successfully sell on eBay! So, naturally… today I challenge you to:

1. Crate an eBay/Paypal account.
2. List 10 items.
3. Have fun selling!

So, be sure to check back tonight for a recap of today’s challenge!

Here’s to saving,