Introduction
A reader alerted me that Starbucks was selling some limited edition Lilly Pulitzer Swell water bottles last week. They retailed for $39.99 a bottle and at the time, they were going for $80 on Ebay. I ran down to my nearest Starbucks and bought 4 bottles. My coworker came with me and bought their last 4 bottles as well. I then got a bit lazy and didn’t look to buy anymore. Then around the afternoon, I drove to another store and bought their only 3. Then I drove to a second store and the barista told me someone had called in to reserve their last 4. WTF!?!? Why didn’t I think about that? I then called up 3 nearby stores and had them hold about 8 more for me. Then a buddy was able to buy a set of 4 near his work. Thus, by the end of the day, I had 17 on hand and 4 more that my friend was holding for me.
Ebay I go
I immediately listed the 8 I had in the morning once I got back to work. I then sold one right off the bat for $80 shipped. After 24 hrs, none sold and so I lowered the price to $70 shipped. Within 5 minutes, I had 3 sales. I then immediately raised the price back to $80 shipped. Another one sold after that and then I went on a dry spell for a whole week at $70 shipped. I realized then that the color made a huge difference. I had sold all 4 of the white color bottles whereas the green/blue ones didn’t sell as well. I also realized that when I raised the price back to $80 shipped, I BELIEVE Ebay dropped me lower in the search rankings.
Over the last few days, I have been moving them for about $66 shipped. They are a bit of a pain to ship since they are oblong shaped, but I’ve been wraping them in bubble wrap and shipping them first class at 13 oz. I still have 4 to go as I type this as well as the 4 my buddy has. I may sell his 4 as a set since those are commanding a bit of a premium.
ROI
- Gross – $66.25
- Ebay/Paypal – $8.25
- Shipping – $4
- Net – $53.75
- Cost – $44 after tax
- Profit – ~$10 per bottle
- ROI – 23%.
Of course I was making more when they were selling for $80. I think once I factor in all 21 bottles, I’ll have a total profit of about ~$300.
My reader did a lot better than me since she sold hers locally on CL for $65-70 cash. I tried both the CL and FB route and got no hits. I just don’t think the people here in Seattle are into Lilly Pulitzer as the East Coast.
Lessons Learned
Similar to those limited edition Starbucks gift cards, apparently there are some minor reselling opportunities at Starbucks. The main thing to learn here is that try not to raise your price on Ebay if you are getting momentum or else it may drop you down in the search rankings.
Would it still be worthwhile to resell the green or blue ones? I found a location with a few.
Sure; prices are still around $80 shipped on the bay.
I was looking all over for this. I think I was a day or two too late!
Most stores I went to only had ~4. Depends on how big the store is. One store HAD 16 before it was sold out by that afternoon.