Yellow Bee Vintage, An Awesome Etsy Shop

I always like to see what other online sellers are up to, especially people who enjoy searching for cool vintage finds. Some of the best sellers for unique vintage items are on Etsy, and Yellow Bee Vintage is a great example of a well-curated shop.

Yellow Bee Vintage sells a variety of clothing, accessories, and home decor items, including handkerchiefs, sewing patters, depression glass, and jewelry. The items are easy to find and browse because of well-thought-out categories within the shop. And while the shop carries a variety of items, I feel like they are all united by the seller's aesthetic, which leans toward mid-century modern and the eras just before and after that time of beloved 20th century design. For example, I admired the shop's collection of mid-century wedding dresses that are very reasonably priced.

The shop owner, Nicci, is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Nicci's day job involves working in the renewable energy industry by day. Then she spends her weekends hunting for vintage treasures. She describes her tastes as "a bit eclectic"--personally, I would say that she has a good eye for quality and for items with a classic, clean design.

Nicci also says that she loves how vintage items have stories behind them--and that she believes in creative reuse as a sustainable, planet-friendly practice. I can't argue with that, and hey, it gives me even more reason to indulge my own treasure-hunting pursuits...!

The eBay Selling Limits and Restrictions Nightmare

A lot of people spend a great deal of time preparing to launch their eBay business. They do research, accumulate inventory, work on effective keywords and descriptions for their items, etc. And then they bump into the issue of selling limits and restrictions.

When you first start selling, your account will be limited in terms of how many items you can list/sell in a month. Sometimes these limits are incredibly low, such as just ten items a month! Also with a new account, you run into issues with PayPal putting a hold on your funds so that it takes a long time to get the money from your sales, and this can really be an issue because you have to cover the funds for shipping out of your own pocket until your PayPal funds start clearing on the same day, after you've established your account after a duration of time.

There is a UK-based business called Power Seller Shop which has been set up with these very concerns in mind. They sell established eBay accounts so that sellers not only avoid the limits given to new sellers, but the established accounts also come with a solid feedback rating. Another challenge for new sellers is building up feedback; sometimes you just don't get sales starting out because nobody wants to buy from someone with zero feedback.

Power Seller Shop sells different "levels" of established accounts, from accounts geared more toward brand new, inexperienced sellers to accounts that have been established as "power seller" accounts for people who want to launch into eBay at a very high level. Basically, there are people who have established an eBay business and want to sell their business and move on, and Power Seller Shop helps connect people with those sellers.

In brick and mortar businesses, you see people sell their businesses and move on all the time, so why not do it with eBay, too? If you could buy an established business and save the time and effort of starting from zero, wouldn't you consider it? I think this is an intriguing idea to be sure.

Introducing MyMisi, A Site for Buying and Selling Handmade

I'm always interested to learn about unique venues where people can buy and sell products online. I recently heard about MyMisi, a site where the goal is to create a marketplace for buying and selling handmade products where people also feel a sense of community.

One thing I liked about the site right away is that it's easy to navigate, with a menu across the top which links to different categories on the site. Looking at the categories, I like that there's a special category for personalized items. You can sort items in a category to narrow the results--for example, you can narrow your search to view only "made to order" items. I think these are some cool features which would allow you as a buyer to partner with an artist/craftsperson to find just the right item you want, and as a seller, you would have the chance to set up shop and do small commissions within the framework of a larger marketplace (which, let's face it, always helps in bringing in more customers!).

Here are a couple of examples of products I saw on MyMisi. First, here's a hand-carved jewelry piece that I thought was pretty impressive!

And in the baby and child section, I found a lot of very sweet knitted items. Who could resist these little bunny slippers?

I think it's great that more sites are coming on the scene to help buyers and sellers find each other online. I will be keeping an eye on MyMisi to see how it continues to grow!

The Value of Finding a Good Niche

I recently learned about a great story of an independently run online business based here in Washington state. Recently on my With Five Questions blog, I interviewed Charlotte, co-founder of Save On Tapestries. The story of her business is an inspiring one as it really demonstrates the success you can find as an entrepreneur when you find a unique niche--and when you cultivate good relationships with craftspeople and other suppliers.

Though the company is based in the US, Save On Tapestries specializes in importing tapestry work from artists in Europe. There are a variety of designs to choose from on the site.

Plus, customers feel comfortable ordering from the business as it has been operating since 1998 and is a privately-owned, family-run company.

The business owners also put a lot of emphasis on customer service, and they are very knowledgeable about their products. Anyone who is running a business can improve their own company by focusing more on these two aspects of operating a successful enterprise, big or small.

I never thought of ordering a wall tapestry before I visited Save On Tapestries, but the site has opened my mind to tapestries as a unique way to furnish a home or office. They would make really neat gifts, especially as there are tapestries to fit many different themes, from religious imagery to nautical imagery, from Pre-Rafaelite style art to Art Nouveau.

Customers benefit from the experience of the people behind Save On Tapestries: you can find the products you want at reasonable prices.

How to Find the Best Offer Sale Price for an Item on eBay

How many times do you see that an item sold for a "best offer" price on eBay, and you wonder what that actual price was? Here's a short and simple tutorial from Stuart Turnbull which shows you how to find the actual sales price for items where the seller accepted the buyer's best offer.

By the way, I've been doing most of my listings on eBay as fixed price items with the best offer option enabled. Many times, buyers just go ahead and pay the listed price, but I do have some interesting price negotiations through the best offer process.

Do you accept best offers on your fixed price listings?

Planning for Seasonal Sales

Honestly, I have not done very well at all in getting seasonal items listed for sale on eBay. Well, I did sell a Mrs. Santa Claus Build-a-Bear dress this past Christmas, but otherwise I didn't plan for Christmas-related items. The reason I'm doing this post is to report that I did, in fact, get it together to list a fun item with a Valentine's Day link. It just sold this morning.

The first time I listed this item, I didn't even think to use Valentine's Day as a keyword. Then when I was renewing the listing, I realized I was missing an opportunity. I bought the t-shirt because, let's face it, you just don't see very many unique and fun politically (or a-politcally?) themed tees out there, and I thought this was a great one.

For me, the moral of the story is: it's OK to think about holidays in offbeat ways, and always think creatively when it comes to the keywords for your listings.

Indie Entrepreneurs Are Doing It for Themselves

Of course I love eBay, or I wouldn't have started this blog! But I also love stories about independent business owners who got their start on eBay and similar selling communities and then expanded into their own web businesses that they host themselves. I just wrote up a profile of one such shop, Cartrell General Merchandising, on my With Five Questions blog; I hope you'll check out the story. You can also click directly over to Cartrell General to explore the site for yourself.

I have also enjoyed learning about a lot of people's stories by following a few different online selling communities on Facebook. If you search for "eBay" on Facebook, you'll start finding a lot of groups. I have followed a number of different groups and ultimately found a group I really like. It can be inspiring to talk to other online sellers, especially when you're having a moment of frustration.

Go Beyond Your Personal Taste

Much of my thrifting and online selling is centered around stuff I like. It's easier to have an interest in searching through racks and shelves of things I enjoy, and I don't even mind getting organized around storing things when it's stuff I get a kick out of looking at, like unique books and clever t-shirts. A lot of times I just buy stuff that I like and have a feeling that other people will like.

But of course you have to learn to expand your scope a bit as a seller. I mean, I'm no arbiter of taste, right? People like all sorts of stuff that I wouldn't necessarily want to buy. It's always a bit of a pleasure for me when I buy something a bit outside of my personal tastes which ends up selling right away--then I tell myself, hey, my instincts are pretty good about what sells!

I listed this Ronald Reagan tee this past Saturday, and it sold on Sunday. I knew when I saw it at Goodwill that just because I might not wear a Reagan tee doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't love it!

I guess you could say the Gipper won one for me.