Posted by Years ago when I opened my Etsy store I followed a podcast of a couple who sold full time on Ebay. Their motto was “List it and forget it.” Once you had done the work getting the item listed, you were done till it sold. No matter how long it took. That was the common wisdom of the time and I adopted it for a while. Eventually it dawned on me that this was not the best strategy. If an item wasn’t selling year after year, something needed to be changed to get it seen and sold. And I’ve been leaning into that and continue trying to “switch up” lingering items. When a few pieces recently sold I realized I’d learned some valuable lessons.
Let’s dive in.
Item 1–Tiny Sterling Silver and Persian Turquoise Fur Clip/Pin
I bought this tiny pin in November 2019. It was purchased at a bougie thrift store at their 50% off sale, but I still paid $35. It was a sweet thing, but out of fashion, and in retrospect I’m not sure why I was willing to pay $35. But I did. And it sat in my Etsy store priced at $70 and for years I kept lowering the price in increments while racking up the small listing fees. Well, recently I put it on Ebay for $40 and it sold in an hour. I am relieved to have it sold, but I lost money on it.
Lesson1–Stop paying too much for items out of my wheelhouse. I think it’s one thing to “pay up” for quality items that we are confident have more profit in them and another to gamble. I gambled and lost.
Lesson 2–Try a different selling site/venue sooner. This was so silly on my part because I do have other selling options, including Ebay where I’ve been buying for 26 years and doing intermittent selling during that time. And that’s where it sold. So why didn’t I try there sooner??
Lesson 3–Lower the price to get it sold! I knew I wasn’t going to donate this piece so I should have done a more drastic price reduction sooner.
Item 2–Large Antique Rhinestone and Pot Metal Pin
I bought this pin in December 2019 for $10 at the flea market. I thought it was just fabulous and actually wore it a number of times. The stones had a ton of sparkle. But year after year it didn’t sell. I finally added a video of the stones flashing in the sunlight and it sold a few months later for $45.
Lesson 4–Take the time to add videos! My photos obviously did not do this piece justice but even my amateurish video did the trick. I do think videos can give buyers more confidence in what they’ll be getting and I need to start adding more.
Item 3–Old Engraved Sterling Silver Sash Pin
This beautiful pin with a C-clasp was in my personal collection and then a few years back I added to my Etsy store because I hadn’t worn it for a long time. And there it sat. I felt all the photos were good as were the search terms so I kept renewing the listing. Finally, I gave it a new listing and increased the price a little and it sold for $75 without a fuss.
Lesson 5–Sometimes raising the price is the right move. If a price is too low potential buyers may think there’s something wrong with the item or it’s not valuable. And this heirloom quality pin was such a good thing.
Lesson 6–Create new listings for stale items. Actually I started doing this in September 2025 and I saw my sales improve but figured it was the “4th quarter effect.” Still when other stale items with new listings continued selling in 2026, I realized I might be onto something!
Item 4–Small Polychrome Signed Navajo Clay Pot
This 2026 purchase did no linger in my store as the others, but had a lesson too.
Lesson 7–Buy bread-and-butter items that consistently sell. In general, I am trying to focus on more valuable items and this small signed Navajo pot wasn’t valuable (sold for $38) but it was attractive and pieces like this have sold for me in the past. I realized at the $3 purchase price it would be silly to pass up an item that I was sure wouldn’t take long to sell and would be easy to ship and when all was said and done would net me at least $28 profit. Sometimes my store survives on these smaller sales.
There is always something to learn in the vintage reselling biz and I am trying not to get stuck in the ways I run my business or the things I buy.
Would love to hear your lessons!
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