eBay Seller Success Story – Nymphenberg Retired Mouse

Carolyn Pritchett sent in her eBay success story:


This is the story of a little mouse. This little mouse was sitting on a table at a yard sale with all kinds of knick knacks! When I pulled up to the yard sale, I start looking immediately to see what direction I am going in when I get out of my truck. This particular table drew me, as I was walking towards it -I saw the most amazing little mouse. I walked straight to him and picked him up without even looking around me. I placed him in my pocket, because I had not looked around yet. I ended up buying over $100.00 in items-Toy Story Dolls in original boxes etc..... Anyway, I am very, very honest and as he was adding up my total, I said "Oh, I have this little Mouse". The man said oh I'll throw that in, I said no, let me pay for it. He said "Is .50 okay" I said no problem.


To shorten this story of the little mouse, I bought him home and washed him, holding my breath while I did it, hoping that there wasn't any damage. Whew-No Damage. Because I knew what I had, I listed him in what was my store for $450.00. I knew it was one of those items that I needed just the right buyer for. I did not mind waiting. I was offered $375.00 and the "Little Mouse" went to England, were he is living happily ever after. This manufacturer is rare to find here in the United States, this mouse is retired - the current mouse listed by the manufacturer is $1,200.00.

Look for more posts from Carolyn as she will be a regular contributor to the eBay Coach blog. Carolyn has a family history in the antiques business and has some great yard sale and thrift store flips to share. You can visit Carolyn’s Country Kitchen eBay store here, and her membership website, Treasure Hunter’s Cove here.

Do you have an great sale or an interesting eBay item to share? Send your find to eBaycoach@yahoo.com for consideration.

Related posts:

Tom’s eBay Success Story

eBay Success Story – Dolce and Gabbana Jacket

eBay Success Story – Ferragamo Shoes

Amazing eBay Story - Sue the Truck Driver

I received an email a few weeks ago from Sue regarding selling books on eBay and Amazon. You have to hear her story. Sue is quite a resourceful and shrewd business person. I am amazed at what people can do when they decide to do it.

I am a long haul truck driver, just me and my dog Kelly. I stay out from home about 4 weeks at a time. I have my net book computer and I use truck stop wifi to gain access to the internet. I have some books, cds and dvds in my truck cab and list them for sale online. I also have a printer and can print the shipping labels. When something sells, I can package it with my packaging materials that I keep in the cab too, and drop it in a mailbox at some truck stops.

And I also have many amazon affiliate links on my websites, as well as affiliates for other places. So if anyone buys from my sites, I get a commission. I am also going to sign up with e-junkie.com and use their service to process ebooks and other electronic items that I can sell. I am a member of click-bank and they have a wide variety of items that I can sell on my websites or on amazon and eBay.

If I get to a yard sale or thrift store, I can scan bar codes with my i phone app and then determine by the price of the item whether or not to buy for resale in amazon or eBay.

This is a side hobby I do in my free time when I'm not driving. We get a 10hr break after every 14 hr work period. Sometimes we wait all weekend long at a truck stop to deliver on Monday, so we have a lot of time to do internet work.

My websites right now are www.truckersue.com and www.tropicalsue.com and www.bajapoker.com. I use register.com for my sites as they are not too pricey and are very user friendly. I can build a website in a few hours. I then use godaddy.com with discount code "ron" (from harry potter) and get domain names. Then I forward those domain names to my websites.

I am slowly building my sites where I can do a shopping cart with ejunkie and when customer buys, they are taken to download the items they purchase. I don't have to stock anything. It's all automatic. I give the personal touch by sending them a email thanking them for their purchase. And I can and will set up nice coupons and discounts for customers as well. I do all this whenever I have free time.

I also enjoy making videos and have started a video series called "Ride Along with Trucker Sue" on YouTube. I check in from various places in the country & talk about anything exciting. I then always include some links to my sites in the videos. I have done podcasts too. But I don't have too much time for too much stuff!!

I am on facebook at www.facebook.com/myyango I post on there probably more than anywhere else. It's a fun place to keep in touch with friends & family.


Susan Miller and my dog Kelly

Wow, a mobile eBay and Amazon business run from the cab of a truck. Very impressive! This just goes to show that you can do what you want to do and figure out a way to do it if you are persistent and determined to find a way.

Dolce and Gabbana Jacket - eBay Seller Success Story

Dana sent in her success story:


I purchased this Dolce & Gabbana Women's Jacket for $5.99 at a Goodwill Store. I started the 10-Day Auction on a Thursday night at $74.99 with a BIN of $99.99. It sold on the first Saturday for BIN! Wonder if I should have priced it higher?

Here is Dana's listing:



Wow, $99 for a used jacket from Goodwill! Congratulations, great sale. You can visit Dana's Little Bit of Everything store here on eBay and take a peek at her other great finds.

Do you have a success story to share? Send it to me at ebaycoach @ yahoo and you can be featured here, too. Also visit my eBay seller's Facebook group where nearly 2,000 sellers discuss their finds and other aspects of eBay selling.



Download my FREE guide with all kinds of eBay how-tos

Mens Ferragamo Shoes - eBay Seller Success Story

Diana (one of my former clients) send in this success story:

Suzanne - I had to tell you about one of my sisters "big" sales. She called me last week and I was on the phone with another person and couldn't get off the phone with them. After the conversation ended, I called my sister back to see what she wanted. She said too late now for she had already left the Goodwill to go home. She said she found a pair of mens Ferragamo shoes for $3.99 but put them back because the soles were pretty worn. I looked them up on e-Bay and told her she should have gotten them. She then proceeded to take a u-turn and head back to the Goodwill to pick them up and sold them tonight for $79.99!!! Unbelievable. I told her I need to start getting a percentage of what she sells (HA!). What I wouldn't give to have that type of Goodwill near my house. It is in a high end part of town so therefore there are more high end items for sale there. Here is the listing:



Thrift store cost: $3.99
eBay sale price: $79.99
Profit before fees: $76

Wow! is about all I can say! If you have a success story to share, send it in to me at eBaycoach @ yahoo.com.

To learn more about thrift store finds to sell on eBay, check out my eBook:

eBay Business Strategies - 9 Tips for eBay Success

Bruce, one of the few male members of the SAHM eBay Seller's Facebook group, shared this lovely post about his own personal tips for succeeding with his eBay business. Bruce owns US Camo, Etc on eBay, is a Top Rated seller, has over 5,000 feedbacks, and sells approximately 700 items a month. Here is Bruce's post.

The topic on how much do you make on eBay got me thinking of what I've done in the past in order to increase my sales and become somewhat a decent seller. I'll pass on a few of my tips, please add others as each seller has their own little "secrets". Also, success is what you make it. I was successful when I hit 100 FB's, then $1,000 in monthly sales, jumping with joy on a regular 5k month, and now celebrating 5000 feedbacks.

#1 - GREAT personal customer service... speaks for itself. This is one way I can get an advantage over my competition (and I have lots of it). All questions are answer asap, with a "Hello, thanks for inquiring about our store merchandise". If they include their name in the message, I address them by name. My reply ends with "Best Regards, and my full name with my eBay store underneath. Takes a little time but I want them to get to know me as a person.

#2 - Ship within 48 hours and 95% of the time, within 24 hours. I like to get stuff I order online asap and so do my customers. It's very easy to drive down the road and buy from the brick and mortar stores.

#3 - Give them the opportunity to return to your store...make it easy for them to find you. I include a business card with ALL info that is necessary for them to find or contact me including phone number, email, and website. I include a packing slip with this info as well as a personally signed "Thanks!" along with instructions on leaving feedback.

#4 - Stand behind your product. You don't like what you bought, send it back and I'll most likely refund your full amount including ship cost. I don't advertise this in the store, but I've had repeat business by doing this. I do make it clear on the refund that this is not my normal return policy. I do this on a per item basis... nice to me and I'll be nice to you!

#5 - Fair ship cost.... I can't stress this enough. Not only does it affect your DSR's, but buyers today do not like to pay a separate ship cost... or very little if they have to. Also, many sellers including myself do partial refunds when ship cost paid is quite a bit more than necessary. Give a refund they'll remember you by... being I'm a coin collector, if the amount of the ship cost refund is $2.00. I'll include a two dollar bill, a buck refund gets you a new dollar coin. People love it.

#6 - Keep an eye on the competition, do what they do that generates sales and do what they don't do to generate sales. Like the Taco Bell commercial... think outside the box.

#7 - Be part of an online group. Give support to sellers when they have slow periods and share the love when you're on a roll and having good selling periods. I've got to say...all of you are aces in this one!

#8 - Tell everyone what you do. Don't be a secret. Most people love to hear what I do with online selling. Get excited!!!

#9 - Set goals... you can't get from here to there without knowing where you're going.

(Reprinted with permission from Bruce.)

Thank you Bruce, for sharing these tips about your eBay business, and for being such an inspiration.