Online Reselling Life–Waiting for Cha-Chings!

I view my Etsy stats by month so when each month ends and a new one dawns I am back to all zeroes. And it always gives me pause. I know I’ll get sales but I find myself a bit anxious till that first sale of the month happens. And on May 1st I had zero sales and zero revenue till 4:00 p.m. when a gal bought two charms and 30 minutes later another gal bought a memento mori sterling silver piece. I breathed a sigh of relief. The curse of the zeroes was broken!

Even though I have a long-established shop with 460 items and fairly regular sales I tend to think of this biz as a “waiting game.” At any given time I have dozens of items in carts, but that doesn’t mean folks will actually buy the item. For example right now I have a listing for seven sterling silver demi spoons in four carts. Will one of these people pull the trigger and buy?? (Some guy did send me an offer for $100 for the spoons but melt value alone is at $125.) And on any given day I can have dozens of items “favorited” but that doesn’t necessarily equate to a sale either.

Etsy does have a couple of features to nudge these folks into buying. I could send people an “Abandoned Cart Offer” or a “Favorited Item Offer.” Unfortunately you cannot select specific items (as you can on Ebay) and I have some items that I do not want to discount. I see “firm” written on some price tags at antique stores and I get it. Sometimes the price is the price. Period.

So as I go about my day I am listening for those cha-chings. We all do. And it is exciting when it happens. A little rush of dopamine. But I have noticed not all sales are created equal. Some sales are much more satisfying while others you are just glad to see the back of the item.

Here was a satisfying one. I bought this chunky mixed metal Aztec-style necklace in February of this year at the flea market for $10 and it sold eight weeks later for $75. It was a quick sale that was easy to ship and made a decent profit.

But this Thai metal purse, I was just glad to see it go. I paid $20 at the flea market and it sat in my store for years finally selling for $55. (I had it originally priced at $70.) I made a profit, but not the one I was expecting given my research.

This sale was satisfying even though it took two years to find a buyer. It was a wonderful gilded plaster column modeled after Solomonic columns. I paid $25.98 for this beauty and my friend who was shopping with me wondered why I was buying it. And honestly it was hard to explain. I just knew it was good. (Sold for $225.)

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While waiting for cha-chings I’ve been spending time researching items, updating photos, and downsizing some old inventory (still!). I’m also not sourcing as much as I used to and when I do I’m trying to be more selective.

I did pop into my neighborhood thrift store today and it was rather touching to have several folks comment they hadn’t seen me in a while!! I saw a couple of possibilities on the shelves. One was this Chinese carved wood wall-hanging in a pretty frame. It was vintage, but had a little damage including a crack. I went back and forth and forth and back and in the end left it behind. I would have bought it if the carving had been more finely done or the scene more compelling. It was only $6 and change (and the frame was worth more than that!) so leaving this behind might have been a mistake on my part.

I barely look in the plastics and metal cookware aisle but today, in a quick scan, I spotted this French Remy Martin acrylic ice bucket. I did an in-store search and brand new they sell for $200! Good grief. A used one recently sold on Etsy for $85. I was definitely buying this.

To be honest while the carved Chinese wallhangings were more my thing, I know that this ice bucket will sell without a fuss and it’s nice to have some items that will move quickly.

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As I post this I haven’t heard a cha-ching for two days, though this May is head and shoulders above May of 2025 so I’m not concerned. Still I am looking forward to that next cha-ching!!