Defunkd

[Fatandyz]

Up up, down down, left right, left right, B A, B A

I've found and sold Contra few times myself. Keeping 1 cartridge for myself of course.

It sucks seeing someone pull something out before you start picking. I was going through a t-shirt rack once at a Savers. There was a guy on the rack next to me. I saw him pull out an Nike Air Jordan sneaker shirt. At that moment I wished I was packing a taser.

[ShirtSounds]

So, Fixed Price auctions on E Bay... I, personally, don't get it. Why wouldn't you just start a regular auction at the lowest price you're willing to accept for an item and avoid the fees? What is the advantage of Fixed Price? E Bay makes it super easy to re-list items that do not sell, so you could keep putting the same item up over and over again with no fees.

[Fatandyz]

The only time, (I understand) that ebay does not charge relisting fees on an auction is if the item sells. To be honest I haven't looked at the ebay fee chart in a few months. I'll have to check it out again.

When you have an eBay store you can list fixed priced listings (any price) for $0.20. The listing stays on for 30 days. With a fixed price listing you can use the 'make offer' option. Potential buyers make offers and you can accept, decline or counter. I've sold a lot of items this way.

I also take advantage of eBay's free and $0.01 listing day specials. On these days, I'll switch some of my older fixed price listings to 7-day auctions.

[ShirtSounds]

I've only been charged a re-listing fee if I have extra pictures or sub-headings... you know, for what you would normally pay extra. Other than that, the fees are always canceled. That might be recent, though, as it was only a little while ago they did away with listing fees (well, the first 50 are free now despite the price).

[Fatandyz]

That's right! I forgot about the first 50 listings. I don't believe I'm eligible for those with my store.

[Frank]

There are a lot more Amazon sellers grabbing up the valuable books using their accursed phone scanners. I find a couple but no huge payoffs there.

[ShirtSounds]

Can't fault them, though... once I upgrade to the 4G, I'll probably do the same thing when it comes to scanning books. I use my phone to double-check shirts all of the time.

Also, what are the fees like on Etsy?

[jimmyj]

Etsy is 3.5% commission and a 20 cent cost per listing.

[ShirtSounds]

Does Etsy charge for each additional picture?

[oscar]

Nope. 20 cents includes the pics. But you're limited to 5. That's usually enough, but sometimes I wish I could add a sixth.

[jimmyj]

At defunkd you're given 7 free photos! SHAMLESS PLUG. I think I might up it to 8 though - found while listing I could have used one more a few times.

[ShirtSounds]

So, since I like Defunkd a lot and want to help it grow, if I do list the same shirts on Etsy (to reach more people through searching right on the site), it's better to have the shirts listed cheaper on Defunkd, right?

[oscar]

I would and do, when possible. I had a chick ask if I could reserve a shirt for her until she can afford it. (common thing on etsy) Which I did, but I also sent her a link to the listing here and told her she can get it 20% cheaper on defunkd.

[ShirtSounds]

Oh, one more Etsy question... does Etsy link up to your Paypal account like E Bay does? Or can you pick how you pay them for the percentages and listing fees?

[oscar]

It's all linked up to paypal. There's probably some credit card option too, but I'm not sure since I don't think anyone would ever give me a card.

[ShirtSounds]

Hey guys, I just sold my first shirt via Etsy. It was that green 1985 Shark Fishing Tournament shirt that I also had listed here. That was my only shirt listed there, as I was just testing it out. I'll probably throw some more up tomorrow, as it's always encouraging to sell an item.

So, yeah, I tripled what I would have made if I would have stuck it up on E Bay for a low starting price. Grand total in fees was 59 cents, I paid under a buck for the shirt (that's okay to divulge, right? I mean if a lot of us are picking thrift stores, that's kind of a given, right?), and sold it for $11.00. Not bad. Now, I just have to get back to finding some old concert shirts, as I haven't picked one up for a couple weeks now, sans a mid-90s AC/DC shirt.

Thanks again for the all of the advice.

[ShirtSounds]

Here is my Twitter handle if anyone ants to add.

https://twitter.com/#!/shirtsounds

So, now that I am comfortable selling in the storefront setting, what are some good ways to promote yourself online? I have my Twitter linked to my Facebook already.

[mondomover]

Hi There,

So I just found defunkd last night, what a great website. I sold my first vintage shirt to someone in Malaysia. Any tips on the best way to ship it there? Should I always pay for a tracking number?

Thanks,
Mondomover

[jimmyj]

Welcome! Strangely after selling 4k tees I don't remember shipping to Malaysia. A few sellers have reported problems with shipping there...so might be wise to have tracking.

[CRAZYBUBBA]

I'm still waiting for my vtg t-shirt to arrive from Malaysia

[ShirtSounds]

My shirts have arrived safely to Malaysia. I can't even have a rayon shirt up for more than a hour before someone buys it.

[mondomover]

Thanks for the advice..

Ok, I went for the flat rate choice with tracking, the cost is around $23 so I charged him a few extra bucks for handling. I still haven't gotten payment though.. I'll give him a few days. If he doesn't pay should I leave negative feedback or do you think he might leave negative feedback back, I took a couple of days to get back to him about the shipping price..?

I also just listed a velva sheen t-shirt, would you guys mind taking a look at the listing and letting me know if I can improve it in anyway? I'm loving the vintage tshirt business, it's addictive!

Here's the posting:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130637018631?ss ... 602wt_1292

[ShirtSounds]

Just wanted to follow-up a bit.

Everything everyone has said here has been 100% helpful. I've sold a ton of random shirts on Etsy for $10.00-$15.00 that would have, maybe, netted two or three dollars on E Bay.

Selling worldwide has made a huge difference, too. Today someone from South America bought $60.00-plus of random shirts.

I've even moved a couple concert shirts for over $30.00 each, whereas before I would start them low on E Bay and wouldn't get much.

Now, I just need to find out how to pick some higher-end shirts. I have no idea how people are getting tons of $200 or $300 shirts to sell.

[oscar]

Nice work!!