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Man super thanks for the shout out. Mark (my husband) & I were driving back from the thrift store and were catching up on our podcasts. When we heard the shout out we were pumped!
There’s 2 things that you talked about that I wanted to comment on.
When you talked about selling on ebay and taking care of a parent it made me think about our situation. We’re coming on one year since when my older sister suddenly died at the age of 35. She died in the morning before waking her 3 kids up for school. Had I simply been called and told my sister died then I maybe could have had a smoother start to 2016. Instead I awoke to my oldest nephew telling me over the phone how he found his mom and that he needed help calling 911 and us rushing over to see come face to face with the harsh reality of it. My sister was high functioning autistic (Asperger). Her husband of 7 years has his own challenges. My sister’s 3 kids all have different dads and have learning challenges (nothing too crazy). There was a month when we weren’t sure where the middle child was going to live. Long story short each of the kids went to different family members on their paternal sides. The middle kid ended up becoming our weekend kid. My parents got partial custody of him but my parents are old so really it’s our time with him. It was a very complex situation on top of processing the loss.
In the spring I was dabbling with the idea of getting a job. While there are many reasons why I couldn’t commit to being an employee it’s worth noting that scheduling is a part of that. The kind of jobs that I’m qualified for (food & service industry) really require staff to be available on weekends. So needing certain weekends free so that we can chauffeur the kid around to see his siblings as well as entertain and love him. I need to be there for him. Plus the flexible schedule of ebay was endlessly supportive when I had zero capacity to be productive. I couldn’t imagine having to put on a smiling face to deal with customers during that time.
2016 we made about the same amount of money as 2015 but with a lot less work. In 2015 I had hoped to grow our business but with additional priorities to handle ebay become lower on my “to do” list.
I’m shocked by how happy and adjusted my sister’s kids seem to be. In some ways it feels like a blessing to have my nephew a handful of days a month. I have no idea how people do it full time. He’s such a good, sweet kid but I’m drained after just a few days. Hats off to everyone who does it 24/7.
My heart totally goes out to Nerdy Thrifter. I haven’t heard of her but that’s my absolute worst fear. I need my husband. Up until my sisters death it didn’t occur to me how fragile life is. 90% of the mental trauma I had after my sister passed was me replaying my sister’s situation and subconsciously imaging me as my nephew and my husband as my sister. I hope there’s a silver lining for her as awful (and corny) as that sounds.
What both of you are saying isn’t anything I hadn’t thought before but I need my ebay pictures too look the way they look. In short I would say my pictures need to be are clear & anonymous. zero personality.
My new etsy shop on the other hand has big goals for creating some really interesting lifestyle photography. I have a very specific vision for that.
I bought a scientology rain coat at the thrift store. When we got home Mark found a small flashlight in the pocket called Surefire. I thought it sold for $125 but Mark insists that it sold for over $200, I’ll take his word on it. He has better memory than me. Keep your eyes out for that brand!
“I am doing less work, but I am bringing in about the same amount as last year.” <— this is me! Last year we spent more, worked more and made less. This year we’ve been super relaxed and have made about the same.
Same as everyone else. Overall the month is looking good from one high dollar sale but we’re getting small bursts of sales then back to steady.
I like this “To prevent burnout before it starts, take a day or two off each week from listing and sourcing. Pretend this doesn’t exist”. I haven’t made a habit of turning my work brain off (ebay and my 2 other side hustles). I’ve made a huge habit of thinking about it. I could see mastering the art of mental silence being a part of the solution.
We never have death piles. We list 99.999% of what we buy so at least I never have that hanging over me. While death piles could be negative since they’re always there looking at you I could see them very helpful in a time of burnout. You wouldn’t have to go to a thrift store with a death pile in your ebay room. When I’m in burnout mode I am so repulsed by thrift stores it’s not even funny or rational. I usually LOVE thrift stores!
I don’t use software tool but I could see how that would switch your brain over to pragmatism from despair.
Ebay buying road trip is most ideal solution. Major thumbs up to that.
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