Fun with Ye Olde eBay store...

So, I've been running my own eBay store for a while now. I love to go to thrift stores, find awesomely cheap and quirky stuff, clean it up and post it on eBay. Here in Flagstaff, our Goodwill doesn't use the coupons you get in the mail and they don't do "1/2 off Everything" Saturdays, but what they DO do is once a week on Sundays, they pick a color tag and everything in that color is $1.00 all day. The second coupon color they pick is good for 25% off all items in that color.

(left: one of the items in the shop. I tried to like this, but... stripes just don't do me justice. Stupid wide shoulders...)

Which is awesome when you happen to find good stuff and it hasn't already been picked over. Or, in the case of what happened a few weeks ago (so I hear from someone else), all the employees were told to take all the white color tags off the racks on Saturday night and move them to their new store. The next day on Sunday when all white tag items were $1, there was nothing there. That's pretty dirty pool if you ask me. Sounds like a bait and switch... I've been a little miffed about that lately so I've been going to other thrift stores. Goodwill seems to do a lot of good for their community but pulling a bait and switch? ... A little bit underhanded if you ask me.

So anyway, I've got a motley collection of things in the eBay store: some dresses, a few tops, a couple of pairs of heels, and then a few unique items like the leather vest, some cute handbags and a Lynyrd Skynyrd tee for girls (that I'm sort of half-hoping doesn't sell!). I had a small bidding match with a Juicy Couture purse last night that sold for twice what I started the bid at, which is always neat.

As far as being profitable goes... it has NOT been. I think the important part is that I've been having fun and now that my sewing machine is out of the shop (by the way, see my Yelp review of that mishap!), I can start getting the creative juices out of my system again so I can sleep at night. Nor has the Etsy shop brought in any money, but thankfully we're surviving on my beau's income so both shops have been more of a curation of interesting and occasionally oddball knick knacks.

To check out my eBay shop and watch or bid on items, here's my profile on eBay. The link to see all my items is on the bottom left, or you can get there by clicking here. Let me know what you think. Does anybody else have an eBay store? If you're a buyer, what kinds of things do you look for? Have you had any of those, "I can't believe I won this!" moments?

To see the Etsy shop and other neat vintage bits and bobs, here is my Etsy page.  For a coupon, you can put in code "EBAYLOVE" at checkout, or if you're a fan of the Dark Star Vintage facebook page, you can use code "WELCOMEFB", both coupons are for 15% off. There are several items in the shop with free shipping. Have fun! :)