Overwhelmed with selling . . .

[Haruna]

So, I have about 300 ponies to sell. I have this many because I buy lots (as in, groups) of ponies in order to pay less per pony; almost unavoidably at this point in my collecting, there are ponies in every lot that I already have. So . . . I have a lot. (no pun intended) It's fun to get the lots (just received a very cool lot) and it's fun to find new homes for the ones I already have, but sometimes the in-between can be hard.

In my life in general, I tend to procrastinate on tasks until they really need to get done, and then I do the task all at once. But with around 300 ponies to sell, 2/3 of which I still have to clean, I can't clean/list/photograph/sell them all at once! I'm just not sure where to start. I have ponies that just need a once-over cleaning; ponies that need a deep cleaning because they're filled with rust or mildew, etc.; and ponies that I've already cleaned. I need to save my rarest stuff until last, though, in case I need to make up costs for the others if they sell badly. Some of the rarest stuff is clean; some is not. And I need to keep track of who came in what lot; I have an Excel spreadsheet, but sometimes I'm looking at my sixty-five Glories, for instance (exaggeration, but still) and I can't remember which one came from which lot. I try not to mix them up . . . or does it even matter . . . Photos can be difficult, too, because my house has pretty bad lighting and so I like to take pictures outside, which works best at a certain time of day when it's not raining. Add to this life's responsibilities and you can imagine the craziness. It's not too bad, but it's getting kind of ridiculous, seeing this army of ponies lined up and waiting for me on my bedroom floor, lol. (I figured it would help if everyone were visible so I knew what I was dealing with.)

Anyway . . . how do you guys organize your selling? How do you get started if you've ever been overwhelmed with a large group of ponies? Do you clean the grungiest ponies first? Do you sell what you have done or wait until you can sell a lot at one time? Do you list all at once or in little batches? I'm very familiar with the selling process; it's just the preparing process that has me hung up this time because I've procrastinated on getting them ready. Advice or commiseration would be appreciated!   

[Pheasant]

I've been in that situation a few times before! Like you, I try to accomplish entire tasks at once, which never leads to anything but frustration.

Each day, try setting aside a small amount of time - thirty minutes to an hour, for example - to clean and prepare as many ponies as you can in that time frame. You don't nessecarily have to photograph / get them listed at the same time; finish the work in small bits. It may be slower than you hope for, but at least you can progress without disrupting your entire day.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Set aside ONE container to be your active one- they are clean, ready to go on sales listings, etc.  The other containers can be a triage unit - needs cleaning, needs restoration, needs a brushing, needs an ID, etc.  Then when you have time to fix something, just dip into that bin and do it.  Eventually more ponies will make it into your active one!

[Pokeyonekenobie]

I totally hear you!  I've been debating whether or not to thin my herd (I have about as many as you do to thin out!) but they're almost all G3s that I picked up for customizing.  (However, most of them aren't what I would consider custom bait, they're just duplicates, which is why I haven't customized them either.) 

When I get new ponies, I set them aside and do a mass cleaning when I have 20-30.  It takes a few hours and then I let them air dry for a few days before putting them away.  Perhaps you could set aside a few hours one day a week to clean as many as you can, since you have so many.  That way they'll all get done and have time to dry properly so they can be put away until you have time to list them. 

When you're ready to start selling set aside a specific day to list your ponies.  You can set it up so that they end on a particular day and then you can plan a trip to the post office the next day.  If you have it scheduled it might be easier to keep up on it.

As far as whether to sell in lots or individually goes, it kind of depends on how much time you want to spend listing them and whether or not it's worth trying to sell them individually. 

[Baby Mischief]

That is great advice lovesbabysquirmy!

[banditpony]

You really should look into making your own light box. All you would need is simple supplies and an appropriate lamp. The set up is predictable and it'll go really fast. When you have 300 items, its pretty crucial you have a system. ): all that stuff takes a lot of time

[Ringlets]

I think you have some good advice here already  

My advice is also not to try and do too much at once. Do one at a time, or set aside a few ponies each week to work on .  I personally start with the clean items -the ones ready to go to a new home without you having to do anything other than list them/take pics.  Those are easiest and least stressful to rehome.
Work through a bit at a time with those  (don't list so many at once that if they happen to all sell fast you will get stressed getting them all shipped on time ) . Once you've cleared those, then do the ones with the next least amount of work to do  (does that make sense? ) , finally the ones that need a lot more time/attention/cleaning/describing flaws
As for rarer ponies/items.. it depends. With the buying season at its busiest from now til xmas I would get those ready as soon as you can as you'll get more money for them at this time of year  (if you are listing on ebay for example) . It doesn't matter if you want to hold onto them longer though if you don't need the extra money (especially the ones that need some cleaning etc )
Hope all goes well with your sales and it doesn't become too stressful for you If it does become a stress, even with listing them a bit at a time, take a break or list say..one pony a week..until you feel you have time and can cope with more again

[flying_narwhal]

Lots of good tips already mentioned here. I also get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I want to sell but there is sometimes just this mental block that prevents me from getting anything done. Here are a few things I do to help make the process easier:

1. I put together sets of "like" items to be listed at the same time- with ponies this might be categories like So-Softs, Big Brothers, by generations (G1 and so on), etc. depending on what your collection consists of. I prep whatever category I've set aside in its entirety and then list the like items on the same day. Maybe not always with ponies, but with other items I sell I figure that people might be looking to purchase more than one item within a specific theme or category.

2. As others have mentioned, do small bits at a time. It makes it less overwhelming. On one day I might clean up toys. Then the next day I'll take all the photographs. Finally, I list the items. I think it is more efficient to do all of one thing at a time (like cleaning) rather than clean/photograph/list one item and then repeat the process.

3. Put less valuable items into lots- Ok, so maybe you won't make quite as much money. However, I've found that with items at a price of $5 or less it is not worth my time to list individually because I have limited free time and don't want to spend it all listing on eBay lol. It also feels really good to get rid of a nice big box of items all at once.

4. Make the process more enjoyable by putting on music or radio in the background if that is something that you enjoy.

5. Expensive items- To list first or last? This is really a personal preference. Personally I like to make them a priority to list first just because it's satisfying to get that payment  I also agree with what Ringlets said, with the holiday season coming up now is prime time to sell- and you're more likely to get a better price since people tend to spend more this time of year.

6. Another category of items I list first is bulky or larger items, things that take up a lot of space. I want to get that stuff gone as soon as possible!

7. When things aren't selling after being relisted several times and the price is already so low I can't discount further I just donate the stuff to charity. I figure someone else will get use out of what I've donated and it gives me more space.

8. You probably already do this since you're experienced selling on eBay but I found that streamlining my listings helped- For example, I have a specific format that I use for ponies, one I use for Littlest Pet Shops, etc. Then you can just plug in specific info where needed.

[Haruna]

Thank you all so much for your help! Not only do you have good advice but it's motivating. I think I will start with a small cleaning lot tomorrow . . .

[Babydoll]

In my life in general, I tend to procrastinate on tasks until they really need to get done, and then I do the task all at once.

Ha I'm glad I'm not the only one that does this! I also have about 300 ponies to sell as I'm always buying lots in and can get overwhelmed sometimes, I tend to list around 30 every fortnight and add buy it Now's weekly when I get the time. I'm not the best person to give advice as I do tend to leave things last minute but one good habbit that I have got into is cleaning the ponies when I receive them so it just means they need their hair washed & conditioned. Also know your struggle of needing good lighting for pictures, it's dull & rainy here in Scotland nearly every other day so the suggestion of making your own lightbox is a great idea, I made my own and it definately helps!

 

1. I put together sets of "like" items to be listed at the same time- with ponies this might be categories like So-Softs, Big Brothers, by generations (G1 and so on), etc. depending on what your collection consists of. I prep whatever category I've set aside in its entirety and then list the like items on the same day. Maybe not always with ponies, but with other items I sell I figure that people might be looking to purchase more than one item within a specific theme or category.

2. As others have mentioned, do small bits at a time. It makes it less overwhelming. On one day I might clean up toys. Then the next day I'll take all the photographs. Finally, I list the items. I think it is more efficient to do all of one thing at a time (like cleaning) rather than clean/photograph/list one item and then repeat the process.

3. Put less valuable items into lots- Ok, so maybe you won't make quite as much money. However, I've found that with items at a price of $5 or less it is not worth my time to list individually because I have limited free time and don't want to spend it all listing on eBay lol. It also feels really good to get rid of a nice big box of items all at once.

Agreed with all of the above, I do this too! Great advice from everyone I will definately be taking some tips.

Babydoll~

[Galactica]

Since I work more than full time, I only sell small batches of things at a time- no more than 5, and usually more like 3.  Otherwise it is way too easy to mix up orders or lose track of who has paid who is paying... 

[Haruna]

In my life in general, I tend to procrastinate on tasks until they really need to get done, and then I do the task all at once.

Ha I'm glad I'm not the only one that does this!

Oh, and for the record, I always think your auction photos are beautiful, Babydoll!

Today I had what was, in retrospect, a hilariously ridiculous time trying to take photos of my ponies. The weather forecast was rain later in the day but I had to take pictures today, so this morning I dutifully carried out my pony box, got my camera ready, and set up my backdrop outside . . . where it kept blowing down. Over. And over. When rain's on the way in Florida (probably anywhere), it gets super windy. I used painter's tape to attach the backdrop to the patio table and the ground; when that didn't work, getting desperate, I used duct tape; that worked okay but I ran out of duct tape after the wind still kept blowing down the darn background and had to use packing tape in strange formations. I normally am able to put the backdrop on the patio table, but because of the wind it had to be on the ground. Some curious ants would wander onto it and I had to thump them off (I don't want to kill them and I don't want to get smears on the backdrop anyway!) At one point I was using Slugger to scare away an ant . . .  I was insane. The worst was when a wasp came over to investigate. I have a mortal fear of wasps . . .

tl;dr: I really need to make a lightbox. But at least the pictures for this week are done!

[Ringlets]

 sounds like you had a fun time    Its usually bad weather in the Uk (especially now)  so I rarely risk the outdoors to do my pics - you're braver than me
I'm glad you got your pics done in the end , despite the weather and the visiting wildlife