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05/14/2018 at 11:03 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 360: Is Diversification a Myth or Reality? #39854
Nancy: +1
05/14/2018 at 11:01 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 360: Is Diversification a Myth or Reality? #39853Totommyto: I will second what Mark says and it is one of the items I like with SixBit. We had an issue once where we were blocked on eBay for a week (long story). With SixBit, we could have kept working and making new listings since it is on the desktop. Similar for when we lose internet connection. Rather than not be able to list, we list on the desktop and upload when the internet is back.
As to backing up the photos, we keep ours on the hard drive via SixBit. There have been a couple of snags where we were glad we had the photos and didn’t have to reshoot. It is also handy that I can reuse a listing from a year ago to make a new listing since it is in the database. Saves time. It may not sound like a lot, but minutes can add up.
For example, we had a pair of jeans that were sold to Russia last November go missing. We had to refund the buyer and we moved on. A few weeks ago, the jeans showed up on our door. So I just relisted them. Didn’t have to make a new listing, no new photos, nothing. Just relisted.
Also, we like the idea that the photos and work that we did with the listing is ours, not eBay’s. If we get banned or kicked off or anything like that, we still have our work and can easily list on another site.
05/14/2018 at 10:54 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 360: Is Diversification a Myth or Reality? #39850Paulo: Excellent historical perspective on diversification. Love that.
Amazing what we can learn from history and from those that came before us…
05/14/2018 at 10:48 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 360: Is Diversification a Myth or Reality? #39849ChristineR: “I still feel like Google doesn’t like Ebay so much” — Amen.
Have you ever looked at the Traffic section on Seller Hub? I have monitored and logged their data for years. We used to get 100’s of hits per day from outside of eBay before Google slapped eBay. Now it is single digits and we have 2-3 times the amount of inventory.
05/14/2018 at 8:31 am in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 360: Is Diversification a Myth or Reality? #39833Jay: I can agree with that on clothes and shoes. But velocity also has impact on one-of-a-kind items. Since you are fishing for rarer fish, that don’t bite as often, it is more worthwhile to land that fish, because you don’t know when you will get another bite. And if it is a larger item, you will have to have it stored for even longer.
Paulo: I agree with your Net Profit percentages of 30%-40%. We have been in that range for the past few years, even while we expand and take on labor and warehousing. I’m sure that there are ways that we can improve that percentage, but most of them take being really be strong and hold the line on pricing, which would restrict cash flow and put inventory at risk for being obsolete. There are some items that we hold the line on, but there are a lot of others where we are looser on the price and “move the merch.”
I hear you on Passive Income. I can get with that definition. But I always feel that the less you are working on the business, the more you are at risk for losing it. Even on rental property, you have to make sure that the property is maintained, in good shape, think about capital improvements, etc. And if I had people in a property that long, I’m looking to get a second place and start a separate pipeline.
So I agree… But I’m probably not the Passive type… 🙂
05/13/2018 at 11:17 pm in reply to: Scavenger Life Episode 360: Is Diversification a Myth or Reality? #39815Week of 5/6-5/12
Total Items in Store: 2,105 (Up 42% YOY)
Number of Items Listed: 116
Number of Items Sold: 78 (Up 28% YOY)
(Includes 1 Etsy, 0 Bonanza, 0 TrueGether, 1 Amazon)
Weekly STR: 16% (Down 2% YOY)Total Product Sales: $2,062 (Up 63% YOY)
Cost of Items Sold: $436
Highest Item Sold: $76 – 1939 Mine & Smelter Supply Catalog
Competition: Highest Priced Sale: Veronica wins the week and Troy leads the year at 10-9. (I don’t think I will keep the lead for long…)eBay Clothing
# Listed: 1,320
# Sold: 52
STR: 17%
ASP: $23.54eBay Shoes
# Listed: 194
# Sold: 15
STR: 33%
ASP: $33.95eBay Hard Goods
# Listed: 591
# Sold: 10
STR: 7%
ASP: $29.84Etsy Hard Goods
# Listed: 150
# Sold: 1
STR: 3%
ASP: $39.82Regarding listing on different platforms. I would first say that if anyone is new in this business (less than one year), listing on different platforms would not be efficient. We like to FOCUS: Follow One Course Until Successful. Until you have a single platform down, trying to spread out will create too much chaos.
I do like your thinking of only listing certain items on certain platforms. That would be the easiest way to handle the situation, so that the backend inventory management is simple. You don’t have to remove a listing on Platform A if something sells on Platform B (or try to remember if it is something that is crosslisted.
Regarding the “business dudes” that say you should diversify and that it “makes sense”… You are right, that it takes work. And that work that you spend on cross-listing will take away from time that you spend on listing new items if you let it. It is true that you only have so much Time. We all have the three T’s (Time, Talent, and Treasure). For Veronica and I, we want to lessen the impact that Time will take on cross-listing. If you have a goal to list a certain amount of items per week, then you by God list that number during that week, and cross-listing is done on top of that.
This is why we spend so much effort in having an efficient process for our business. If I think cross-listing will take 5 minutes, then I want to see if I can make it 2 minutes. Once we get it as efficient as possible, then I want to see if I can speed up some other part of the business so that we can use that time cross-listing (or any activity we want to expand into). Let’s see if we can use Talent to help our Time.
And maybe we use our employees to save our time so that we can use some time to cross-list. We use Treasure to help our Time. Or we use SixBit to manage our inventory, speed up our listing, and get our numbers in order. It all matters in how these changes impact the business. You can spend money on software and people and go broke fast.
Or you can manage your processes to be as efficient and effective as possible first, know your numbers, and then apply capital properly to expand.
This is why we have not gone onto Poshmark yet, but we are considering it. The cross-listing I can do quickly, but until I can see an efficient way to manage our inventory on the backend, it will not make sense for us (unless the STR and ASP on Poshmark make it worthwhile).
One other item I would like to add. Getting the most money for an item isn’t always the best strategy. If you can turn inventory faster for a slightly lower price, there are a lot of benefits to making that sale. It can’t be to the detriment of the business (at some price points, faster sales mean losing money quicker), but don’t discount velocity of sales. If cross-posting on another platform gets your item in front of different buyers (not all buyers are on all platforms) and gets it sold quicker, then you have more capital faster to buy more inventory and to pay your bills.
I love ItsDeductible. I use it every year.
Congrats on the change in lifestyle. I will second those above that have said how discipline is a major factor in your success. When I first left my Controller position, I needed some downtime before jumping in to eBay. We had plenty of groceries, the house was clean and the laundry was always done…
After that, I started taking this business seriously and putting in the work. I feel you have to treat this as a real job. Good news is you are the boss. Bad news is that the boss is a jerk. I’m writing this at 3:52am… Why? Because I felt behind in my listings, woke up at 1am, couldn’t stop thinking about being behind, so I got up and worked. I’ll take a nap shortly and then it is Game Day (Yard Sales).
That is somewhat extreme, but that is the mindset I have. Learning to stop not when it is 5pm, but when the job is done. However, there are benefits when you are the boss and decide what you do each day. When we need to visit our son, we go (but…we schedule our work around it and make sure we still get work done). Want to plan a trip? Do it. But you have to still work around that time. There are no paid vacations in this business, and no such thing as sick time.
And not to say that you have to follow our model. The key is finding what you need financially to live on, how many hours a week that it takes for you to earn that, and then execute. And it will take time to get there! Stuff takes time to sell!
Jay and Ryanne have a great low cost of living where they are and they have done a great job of working to have the income stream that will support that. Veronica and I have a higher bar in the Denver area with 2 kids, but we make it work. So find what you need in terms of hours you need to work, then make sure you are doing the work.
And that means listing most of all. Don’t just shop! 🙂
MyCottage: “Business is business. I’m in the business of selling stuff , not reforming human nature.”
Well said.
Thanks Jay. And I get it on some of the guys that just want to spend money to make money, and spend more to make it smooth.
That isn’t always the answer. If you don’t understand the business for yourself of what works and what doesn’t, you will make bad decisions. I haven’t read it, but Daymond John of Shark Tank has a book “The Power of Broke”. I have heard him talk about it a lot on podcasts. Sometimes all money does is make you go broke faster.
You have to have the process down, and allocate the capital correctly. And for the love of God, know your business before you just throw money at a problem!
This ain’t no get rich quick thing we do. Growth takes time. You aren’t where you want to be? Go fast but have patience…you will get there.
If you don’t want to learn about investing then yes Index Funds are the way to go. It isn’t the best diversification, only the best diversification in stocks and bonds. But other areas like real estate, commodities, currency, options, etc. broaden the term diversified.
“If you can figure out how to list on different platforms without sacrificing listing elsewhere AND it not costing you more money in employee fees AND you enjoy your life, then you could be the new Youtube reselling Star.”
Yeah, probably can’t be done. But…can you have an efficient process where you are growing your net profit per hour worked? Yep. Might I use an employee to list while I cross-list? Sure, if I am making more net profit per hour at that point. It is all in the business model, and life, that you want to build.
Generally, at some point, investment in the business is worthwhile if the end result is better profit per hour or better life. One business model makes 40% on $100k Gross Revenue, another makes 20% on $300k Gross Revenue. If the risks are OK, and I like the job, I’ll take option B. Or would I prefer 20% on $100k but spend 25% as much time on the business? Maybe I take that too. Do I invest in an employee to make more net through volume, or do I offset that cost with better margins from different sourcing?
Investing more $ in the business doesn’t bother me…as long as the net result is worth it.
Jay: You are correct. You can only deduct your cost that you paid for something. This is why you need to keep receipts for as many COGS purchases as possible. For yard sale items, it should be reasonable if audited.
The values that the IRS gives for items you donate is an accepted valuation since they are lower than what you would pay retail, and they understand that you don’t keep those receipts.
Jay: Ok, I have to push back on that. Investing takes a TON of work if you are doing it right. There is a lot of knowledge that has to be accumulated to know how to invest in good stocks, how to identify good companies, what is a good price, what is an exit strategy, etc. And then learning bonds (whole different animal). And then learning real estate (a totally different process).
There is no such thing as passive income. That is a myth. All value requires work.
On your other points, you are correct. There is work involved to cross-list, or to even put different items on different platforms. All part of the equation.
I’m not saying that any of these platforms are currently an “ebay killer”. But but it might become a serious competitor. You guys would not be selling like you are now on eBay had you not put in the time 10 years ago to learn it. For those that were early adopters of Amazon FBA and work it right, they are set up great now. If one of these sites DOES pop up to gain share, it would be good to learn it and be good at it early. And by learning different platforms, and how to develop an efficient process to manage it, we become better at our business. Knowledge is always valuable.
And my thought isn’t to sacrifice listings for new platforms. I want to maintain the level of listing we want to be at for eBay AND start branching out to CraigsList, or Mercari, or Poshmark…etc.
I have learned that a lot of life is AND…not INSTEAD OF.
ChristineR: May be good to just test and see how it goes for year (just to see). Or just see how Q4 is (if they don’t sell in Q4, then you know it isn’t worth it).
You never know until you try. All else is speculation…
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