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Tag: thrifting
NWT Thrifting: Brand New Items for Under a $1
When people think of thrifting, they often think of used items only. About 20% of my inventory are new with tags and lately I’ve been finding some really neat items, all for less than $1. Here’s a few things I’ve picked up since the beginning of the year.
Life of a Thrifter: How to Take Better Pictures
When it comes to taking pictures for sites like Ebay, it can be difficult to make your item look as good as it does in person. When I first started Name Brand Thrift, I would clean the carpet thoroughly and take pictures of the items on the floor. They didn’t look bad, but they definitely didn’t look professional either. Still, sales were good and the business grew. Many of my items still contain those pictures, as I don’t have time to retake them all, but my newer listings now have a clean white space.
As the business has grown, I’ve chosen to invest in it so that it can grow as quickly as possible. I purchased a lighting set up for under $40, use the myTouch 4g phone for pictures, and now have good, quality pictures. You don’t want your pictures to be too good, however, for one simple reason. I’ve heard from many sellers that the buyer was disappointed with the item when it arrived because the pictures were better than the item. You have to find the fine line between good and J Crew good. J Crew good may look nice, but it also has the potential to disappoint the buyer when they receive their order.
This picture is not perfect, but it accurately shows the item and looks much more professional than a floor/table/door in the background. Here is the lighting set up that I purchased and the white space in the background only cost me $4. I found some incredibly thick cardboard that was nearly as strong as wood, cut a piece to put clothes on, and then purchased white fabric from the local Wal-Mart (from the remnants). I stretched the fabric tightly over the cardboard, stapled it onto the back, and now have a nice white space to take pictures on. I also put white sheets on the wall and the floor so that my photo space has white edges, though I still crop out the “extras.”
Hot New Levi’s Pants Pink Palm Springs Print Golf Preppy High Fashion
Kick off the winter season right with these hot new pants:
Radio Ad for NameBrandThrift.com
Check out the first radio ad for Name Brand Thrift:
Life of a Thrifter: Best Finds of November
Being a thrifter is kind of like being a treasure hunter. You have to sort through a ton of junk to find the treasure. Here are a handful of my favorite finds this month:
Life of a Thrifter: Top 10 Clothing Brands
Top 10 Brands that aren’t Jeans
10. Lululemon
I rarely come across anything Lululemon, but always get excited when I do. Their basic fitness pants are easy to sell for $30 and they are high quality.
9. Under Armour
This is a brand I find all the time. I particularly like finding jackets and hoodies, but also specialty items like padded shirts for sports. While I buy UA stuff all the time, I currently have only one UA item in my store because they sell so quickly.
8. The North Face
Here’s another brand I love to find, but only come across a couple times a month. Their jackets and hoodies do really well, while their shirts don’t hold the same value.
Here’s another brand I love to find, but only come across a couple times a month. Their jackets and hoodies do really well, while their shirts don’t hold the same value.
7. Banana Republic
This is a brand that I prefer to find for men rather than women. Their jackets and fleeces do really well for men and they have nice pants for women too.
6. Les Mills
This is a brand I was unfamiliar with up until a few months ago. I came across 15, or so, of their fitness tops and all but a couple have sold for $35-55. They are high quality and have a loyal customer base. If you come across these, don’t leave them behind!
This is a brand I was unfamiliar with up until a few months ago. I came across 15, or so, of their fitness tops and all but a couple have sold for $35-55. They are high quality and have a loyal customer base. If you come across these, don’t leave them behind!
5. PrAna
This is a relatively new brand to me. I found it first a few months back. I knew it felt like quality so I bought the pants and didn’t bother looking them up first. Sure enough, they were high quality and had a good resale value. I’ve stumbled upon them a few times since and will be looking for them in the future.
This is a relatively new brand to me. I found it first a few months back. I knew it felt like quality so I bought the pants and didn’t bother looking them up first. Sure enough, they were high quality and had a good resale value. I’ve stumbled upon them a few times since and will be looking for them in the future.
4. Nike
This is probably my #1 brand since I sell more Nike than any other brand. It’s rare that a day goes by where I don’t sell at least one Nike item. You have to be careful with Nike as some of their items don’t hold their value as much as others. Still, if it’s a jacket/hoodie/pants, you’re normally going to do well. You might not make the most profit from Nike, but they are virtually guaranteed to sell.
3. adidas
adidas is right up there with Nike when it comes to easy-to-sell items. Their hoodies/jackets/pants sell quickly and are high quality. I find a lot of specialty sports teams clothing from adidas that do really well. Their first “a” is lower cased, btw.
adidas is right up there with Nike when it comes to easy-to-sell items. Their hoodies/jackets/pants sell quickly and are high quality. I find a lot of specialty sports teams clothing from adidas that do really well. Their first “a” is lower cased, btw.
2. Juicy Couture
Their jackets and pants sell fine, but it’s the blingy ones that do particularly well. Whenever I find one of their hoodie jackets with the bling or sweat pants with stones, I know it will sell quickly. They are high quality, but this brand runs small, so be sure to include measurements (always include measurements, no matter what brand you are selling).
1. Victoria’s Secret
This is a brand that sells great in so many different areas. You can find value in everything from bras to sweats and hoodies to jackets. One VS item that doesn’t hold its value is VS jeans. They will sell, but not for a high value.
I didn’t include jeans in this list since most, if not all, could have been brands like Miss Me or Rock Revival. So, what brands do you get excited to find?
How To Clean Your Washing Machine For $1
With four kids, we do laundry all the time. On top of that, buying and selling clothes means our washing machine goes through a lot. Over time, you’ll notice that the clothes aren’t coming out as clean as you’d like. This is the easiest and most affordable way that we’ve found to clean the washing machine (and it really works).
1. Get white vinegar.
2. Start and fill the washing machine with hot water, on the biggest load.
3. Add four cups of vinegar to the load.
4. Close the lid and let it run for a couple minutes.
5. Open the lid and let it sit for an hour.
6. During that hour, dip a towel inside and clean the outside of the washing machine with the water/vinegar mixture.
7. After an hour, let the washing machine run its cycle.
We do this approximately every two weeks and it makes a HUGE difference in the clothes coming out cleaner and smelling clean. This is mainly for top loading washers, as the front loaders have their own cleaning cycles, more times than not.
Top 10 Finds of 2014: Life of a Thrifter
Over the course of the year, I’ve found some pretty cool items. Below are ten of my favorite things I’ve bought and sold in my store. Some of them have sold while others are still for sale. Click on the picture to read more about them.
10. Boston Celtics KC Jones Jersey, For Sale: $59.98
9. Zermatt Switzerland Fleece, Sold for $24.98
8. Two Bears of the Blackfeet #76 of 100, For Sale: $1,190
7. Adidas Real Madrid Sample Hoodie, Sold for $30.88
6. The North Face Velour Jacket, Sold for $44.98
5. Bierendonck W< Wild Lethal Trash Cycling Jersey, For Sale: $47.02
4. Vintage Flutie Flakes Sweatshirt, Sold For $23.74
3. Nike Livestrong Cycling Bib, Sold For $50
2. 100 Black Men Of America Jacket, For Sale: $35
1. America’s Cup Jacket Spain Desafio Sailing Jacket, For Sale: $67.92
Secrets of Thrifting: Excellent Customer Service & Feedback on Ebay
I’ve had my Ebay store, Name Brand Thrift, for a little over a year now. In that time, I’ve racked up nearly 1,600 positive feedbacks, 1 neutral, and 0 negatives. On top of that, I’ve been fortunate enough to maintain a perfect 5-star rating in all the categories that a buyer has to choose from.
So, what’s the secret?
The first things is this: be kind. Never argue with the customer and always do everything you can to make them happy with their purchase. This starts with the shipping process. If you’re using poly mailers for lighter items, like I do, double bag them. They cost about $.04 and it’s well worth the nickel to make sure that the shirt/pants/shorts arrive in good shape in case the bag gets ripped in the shipping process.
Bags get ripped or torn all the time and even though it’s not your fault that it got ripped, it is your fault that you didn’t package the item well enough. Buyers are happy to see that you put in the extra effort to make sure their item arrives safely. If the item you’re shipping is a little heavier like jeans/shoes/jackets, Priority mailing supplies are free when you use Priority shipping. I always use two flat rate mailers or put them in a Priority tyvek bag and then in the flat rate envelope.
The next step to maintaining positive feedback and excellent customer service is to follow up after the item has arrived. I message the buyer on the afternoon that their item has arrived. Once I click on the tracking info in Ebay, I can see if it’s been delivered. This allows me to catch errors before the buyer has a chance to leave feedback. I simply send a nice, personalized message making sure that they are happy, and ask for positive feedback if they were. If there is a problem, I ask them to let me know so that I can make it right. It only takes about 10 minutes to send out all the messages and is well worth the time.
Nearly 100% of the time, the buyer is happy. They are happy because I go the extra mile to inspect my items before shipping and to describe them accurately, listing any flaws if there are any. On the rare occasion that I missed something or that they are unhappy, I do whatever it takes to make it right. Sometimes it’s a discount on a future purchase, a partial refund, or a full refund if the mistake warrants it. I’ve found that the buyer has an issue with the item about 1% of the time, and it’s usually minor. When I first started, it was closer to 3-4%, but I’ve learned and gotten better as I’ve grown.
Before I offer a refund, I check the feedback that the buyer has left for other sellers. If they appear to be an honest person, I’m more than willing to work with them. Two times in the past year I’ve had buyers try to take advantage of me, and when that happens, I still do my best to make them happy. On one occasion I was able to resolve it. On another I had to have Ebay help me, because they wanted a full refund, and they were unwilling to return the item for the refund. They wanted to keep it and get their money back.
The bottom line is this: be kind to others and they will be kind to you.
Visit my store for more Ebay guides, to see how I list/photograph items, and for great deals as well: www.NameBrandThrift.com
Jackson Paul Baer 