"YES!!", I thought, "I got my first sale...YIPPEE!" You would have thought that I hit the lottery, found gold, grew wings...something wonderful and great. I texted my husband, IN ALL CAPS, and told him what had happened. And not only did I sell one item, but I sold two to the same person. The angels were singing in heaven - I could hear them "Ahhhhhhh". But that is where the "heavenly" story ends.
Let's just call it a learning experience. Now it is definitely not a buyer-issue. The buyer was fine, no problems there. The items I sold were two of our cocktail recipe shaker glasses (as mentioned in a previous post), and not some of the great artwork that I invision in my mind, and that have yet to come to a sellable fruition (is that even a term??). Anyway, I was glad to have the sales - I know some people wait months for a sale, and I was prepared to do so, but I had faith they would come...and they did. I took the two glasses down to the local shipping store, and I took a box & some protective wrapping that I had, hoping that they would be able to use it. Now, I know the people at the shipping store and have used them on various other occasions, so I do believe that they will treat me right. More so, I believe that they will package my item so it will arrive safely and securely. Well, they tell me and show me that indeed my box is too small. OK, so we go with their box and their protective packaging. Then, when the box is packed, they measure it, weigh it, and ask me how I would like to ship it. Well, "What can I get that is trackable but I don't need fast shipping?" It was a price about 3 times what I had charged my customer for shipping. OK, so "What can I get that is not-trackable but can get delivery confirmation?" Nope, still too high. So, I finally land on the option of standard delivery, which is still $2.00 more than what I indeed charged the customer for shipping. When you add in the supplies needed for shipping, the actual shipping charges, the fees to list items, the fees when you sell the items, and oh, gas for the car...and compare it to the actual price that I sold the items for (including shipping), we...lost...money. Yep, I paid the customer to take those items off my hands.
OK, so it was a learning experience. I thought I had done my research in shipping charges, and obviously I had not done enough. Or perhaps the sale price of my item should have been at least a little higher. Or...there are perhaps other reasons why this first sale, although appreciated, actually lost me money. Bottom line, I've got to start somewhere, and I've definitely got somewhere to improve!! And for that, I am thankful!
