1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,480 Welcome back to another episode of the Resellers Mindset Podcast. 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,160 My name is Mike, also known as the used book guy on YouTube, 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,120 along with my friend and fellow full-time reseller, Johnny B. 4 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,720 We help people start and grow their reselling businesses from the ground up. 5 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,640 We also have a weekly zoom call and private discord for all YouTube members. 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:21,180 Head on over to youtube.com backslash use book guy to join the channel and gain 7 00:00:21,180 --> 00:00:25,480 access to the full length podcast zoom call and private discord today. 8 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,100 Let's get into this week's episode. What is up everybody? 9 00:00:28,100 --> 00:00:31,320 Welcome into another episode resellers mindset podcast, 10 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:35,680 use book guy Mike here along with Johnny and we've got another John J and J today. 11 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:39,240 John Muscarella. Everybody knows him as side hustle experiment, YouTube, 12 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,440 Instagram, Twitter, all the social media platforms he is on. 13 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,840 He has moved from bulk books to online arbitrage only. 14 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,920 So this is going to be very exciting because a lot of people that listen to this 15 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:52,920 sell media and somebody that, you know, 16 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,760 had a warehouse and kind of pivoted out of that, you know, what's it look like? 17 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:58,160 So I'm just going to throw it over to John here. 18 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:00,840 He's going to introduce himself kind of what he does and then me and Johnny, 19 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:02,440 I'll just kind of pick on what's up. John. 20 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:07,560 Going on. Thanks for having me guys. Um, it's crazy to be on. 21 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,960 I've just saw Mike from afar watching his YouTube. I was like, uh, 22 00:01:11,980 --> 00:01:16,040 this dude's like in one of my thrift stores. Uh, what's this, what's going on? 23 00:01:16,060 --> 00:01:20,080 Or at the time I was doing bulk, so I wasn't doing anymore, but I was like, oh man, 24 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:20,840 it's like, 25 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:25,560 I don't really have like a local bookseller that I've ever like knew or 26 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:30,360 texted or anything. So, um, but yeah, I've started thrifting books, 27 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,120 quit my nine to five, gotten to bulk books. Uh, 28 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:37,920 I had two storage units upgraded to a 4,500 square foot, 29 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,200 uh, warehouse, got the forklift, got employees, all that stuff. 30 00:01:43,220 --> 00:01:47,640 That seemed cool, but it turned out that was a huge headache. Um, 31 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,840 restock limits happen. Uh, 32 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:55,760 I went from a limited storage down to like 20,000 to 10,000 33 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,120 at one time at 4,000, how to get rid of like 2000 books. 34 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,480 Then I was like, I guess I have to merge and fulfill, uh, 35 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,400 did not want to merge and fulfill. So that was kind of it for me. 36 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,000 And then I kind of got into online arbitrage. 37 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,200 A lot of people that kind of, everyone seems to start with books. 38 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,360 So like a lot of people like miles and mourner, um, 39 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,840 I started what they were doing with OA and kind of was like just talking to 40 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:25,080 them. I'm friendly with them and they kind of, you know, learn from them, 41 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:30,000 start watching YouTube videos. But then yeah, got to OA, um, 42 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,560 and yeah, sold over, I think that's like 1.8 million, um, 43 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:38,920 on Amazon. And that's like, I would, if it was all OA, it'd be so much higher, 44 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:43,440 but it's only like, what, a year and a half OA and then like books. 45 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,120 It is, uh, it is funny, right? So for those, I mean, me, 46 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,760 I probably could have went over to John's house and we kind of just would have 47 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,480 shared one microphone, right? It was right across the river from me. And, uh, 48 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:58,800 it, it's weird, right? So he gets out of thrifting thrift stores and starts bulk. 49 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,840 And then I come in and I'm literally thrifting all of the stores. 50 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,080 He used to thrift before he got a warehouse. 51 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,400 It's almost as if like the stars align that's like, Oh, John's out. 52 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,480 Here comes Mike. It's like, it's so weird. It's so weird to think about. Um, 53 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,480 but I did, I mean, I don't want to give you credit for my whole business, right? 54 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,520 But, uh, an interview you did with Roemer, I don't even know. 55 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,600 It might've been 2020, 2019. And, uh, 56 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:26,480 the title was like making money selling books in central Pennsylvania. 57 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,360 And I'm sitting at CBS. I'm like, wait a, wait a damn minute. What about me? 58 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:35,200 Right. So I do give you some credit to kind of inspiring me to, 59 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,120 to start the book business altogether. But, uh, 60 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,240 I'm just curious here, like what, so the restock limits hit you. 61 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,000 Like they always do. Um, I guess I'll kind of start with that. 62 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,040 Do you think there's going to be restock limits this year? 63 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,400 A hundred percent. Um, they do it every Q4. 64 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,560 It's they want fast moving toys and stuff like that. I mean, 65 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,160 I don't know. I'm no expert. Like no one knows what Amazon's going to do. 66 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:04,440 I mean, they came out with the email, I think yesterday or today, um, 67 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,160 saying that they're not going to raise like the surcharge fees. 68 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:12,600 They'll be the same as last year, uh, which is nice. But I mean, yeah, 69 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,440 I think, yeah, they probably will. 70 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:20,440 Um, and that's why it's kind of important like for OA anyway, 71 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,200 to kind of just be moving volume because you keep your space that way. 72 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,120 For those that don't know, like as media sellers, uh, 73 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,760 especially when you have a warehouse, you know, you're carrying 20, 30, 74 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,960 40, 50,000 units in Amazon at any given time. 75 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,400 So what happens is when restock limits hit, 76 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:41,480 you go from being able to continually send in pallets of books and media to 77 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:43,040 being able to send in nothing. 78 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,920 So he basically reached a point where he said, well, what do I want to do? 79 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,080 Do I want to have a merchant fulfilled business or do I kind of want to pivot 80 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,920 here and move to OA and you kind of hit it on the head, right? 81 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,440 There's a, there's a lot of other people out there. Miles Warner, um, just like, 82 00:04:57,720 --> 00:04:59,800 give me, give me what was going through your head when you, 83 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:01,560 when you started to step away from books. 84 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,280 Cause I know for a while you were kind of doing both and you got to a point 85 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:05,760 where you're like, all right, this is enough. 86 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:07,480 Like what was the break at point for you? 87 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:10,480 For me, it was really just 88 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,080 to be honest, I think you have to always like, just pick your heart. 89 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,480 And for books, I had a good source. 90 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:23,760 Um, I think I did a poor job planning the move into bowl where it just seemed 91 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:29,640 cool. And like, that, like, for those who don't know, like what everyone looks at, 92 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:31,200 like, oh, I am wholesale now. 93 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:35,280 Like that was a book seller, like everyone and their brother, like the book sellers 94 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:36,880 were like the cool people at Amazon. 95 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,760 I'm not really like to not say you guys are cool or whatever, but like, 96 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,560 that's what everyone wanted to do and be in like thrift. 97 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:48,080 But now everyone wants to do like, oh, wait a prep or wholesale and prep or all 98 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:48,840 this other stuff. 99 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:52,840 Um, but yeah, for me, I was just like, you know what? 100 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:54,520 Like this is just way too much work. 101 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:59,320 And it was really the merchant fulfilling and getting help. 102 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,240 Like I don't, it's always hard to get help. 103 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,280 I mean, I was trying to get help in the pantry, but I was like, 104 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:07,160 I mean, I was trying to get help in the pandemic. 105 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:12,280 I'm paying like someone $15 to scan a book, which is, it just doesn't work like 106 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:13,960 that. Like it's ridiculous. 107 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:16,960 Like, yeah, everyone should get like a fair wage and all that other stuff. 108 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:22,280 But like, they're just like some stuff that just can't pay that much and kind of 109 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,560 use books is that it's a volume game and you have to get through it quickly. 110 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,880 And there really is no quick way to get through a gaylord of books. 111 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:34,880 I mean, we had a dumper, we had a table, um, and had like a good process going, 112 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,000 but like, unless you're going like the conveyor belt route, which is going to 113 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:39,680 cost you like 40, 50 grand. 114 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,000 Um, you know, there's only so many ways you can make it quick. 115 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:45,640 And that was kind of the thing in my head. 116 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,160 It was just like, you know what? 117 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:50,760 Scaling, oh, you're spending more money. 118 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,040 Skip to scale book business. 119 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,520 You could buy two truckloads, but you have to process two truckloads. 120 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,840 So now that means I need like four or five people for, oh, I, I'm just like 121 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:03,440 sitting there, swipe my credit card. 122 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,200 Like I can buy 10, I can buy 20, I can buy 30. 123 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,920 And then like, yeah, it's just too much work. 124 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,480 I was also doing eBay full time. 125 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:14,560 So like, it was just way too much. 126 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,480 I don't even know how I did it at this, like looking back. 127 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:23,160 So do you, are you currently a solo op or you have some staff on a smaller scale or? 128 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:25,000 I use a prep center. 129 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,280 Like, I guess I consider that like staff because, you know, they do all the 130 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:31,000 prepping and shipping to Amazon. 131 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,000 And then I have a virtual assistant who sources for me. 132 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,200 And then another one that kind of helps with content a little bit. 133 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:39,920 So nobody you see every day who brings you coffee. 134 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:41,560 No, no, no. 135 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:42,280 Okay. 136 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,480 And are you still doing eBay or are you out of eBay entirely? 137 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:51,120 Uh, so I'm partnered with this other prep center that will list 138 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:53,320 my returns on eBay for me. 139 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:53,840 Okay. 140 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,000 I have like mixed feelings about it. 141 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,560 It's like going, okay. 142 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,680 Um, but now that I have more space, I literally just moved into like a 143 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:04,520 house from an apartment. 144 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:06,360 Uh, I might like kind of take it back. 145 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,480 It's kind of, it was more of a hassle than anything else. 146 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,480 So a little eBay, but not really. 147 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:13,680 Gotcha. 148 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:16,840 I, um, I'm curious here, right? 149 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,400 Because it's just like all, all the OA people, right? 150 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:22,200 They show you your bars on your phone, right? 151 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:23,480 Oh, look at these bars. 152 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:24,200 Okay. 153 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,480 Just give me a realistic expectation. 154 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:30,800 If somebody starts online arbitrage of like a profit percentage, you know, 155 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:35,240 is it between like 10 and 25, like give me kind of the low and then the higher 156 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,720 end of like what you have seen since you started OA just so people have a real 157 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:42,000 expectation because a lot of people get caught up with the sales numbers and 158 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:42,920 not the profit numbers. 159 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:44,800 So the sales numbers. 160 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:52,040 Oh, that is one thing with OA that is really hard, like with books, so easy 161 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,600 to track, like you go to Goodwill. 162 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,200 Like, I don't know how you did it, but like with me, I used to do like the soft 163 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:02,120 back and then I got to a point where it's like whatever's in the bag, like we 164 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,080 split it, whatever the cost was. 165 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,320 And like, that's how we're doing it for OA. 166 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:14,400 There's lots of lost inventory, um, stuff that was at the prep center or stuff 167 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,360 that Amazon loses, like there's just money everywhere. 168 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:23,160 Um, so I'd say probably about like 10%, 10 to 15%. 169 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,840 It really depends if you're smaller, like you could definitely find stuff of like 170 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,320 30, 40, 50% ROI. 171 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:34,680 Um, but it's really hard to do that at scale. 172 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,960 Uh, you know, doing like 60, $70,000 a month in sales. 173 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,480 Um, it's hard to try to keep that margin up. 174 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,320 Um, but it's just, you just gotta, kinda gotta look at it. 175 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,760 I like to look at it more like almost to like profit. 176 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,040 It's like, there's some stuff, like I've seen a lot of people, um, 177 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:59,360 I'd rather make 20% on something and make $20 than have like something 178 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:01,760 40% ROI that I'm making $2 on. 179 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:03,480 Like I don't care. 180 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,920 Like, so I think you just have, it's a constant bounce of that. 181 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:11,000 And then it's like returns, like there weren't many returns in books. 182 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:15,400 I mean, maybe textbooks returns were a little higher, but yeah. 183 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,160 So there's just a lot to track and a lot to go on. 184 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:22,800 But again, like, yeah, like with anything else, it's just, you got 185 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,960 to figure out what you want to deal with and kind of go from there. 186 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:30,280 So most people in our group, they kind of, they don't traditionally do a, 187 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:31,920 there's a, oh, there's a couple of them. 188 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,240 So what would you say the startup costs for getting into OA and let's just, 189 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:38,400 let's keep it nice here in books. 190 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:42,840 What would that cost somebody trying to get into that in 2023 numbers to 191 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:44,640 clarify for people listening in the future? 192 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:46,840 That was the craziest part. 193 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:53,080 So that was probably the biggest obstacle for me to wrap my head around. 194 00:10:53,280 --> 00:11:00,160 I was probably paying like four to $5,000 a month for books, like just 195 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:04,920 for inventory and like a helper and stuff like that for, like some days 196 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:06,480 that's what I spend in a day. 197 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,840 Like we're trying to spend like 40, $50,000 a month just on inventory. 198 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,840 So to get started, everyone says, oh, you started $0. 199 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:17,160 I don't really buy into that. 200 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,760 I would say ideally like two to 3000. 201 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:25,200 It's also depends on like how hard you want to make it. 202 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:30,360 Like you don't need inventory labs, but like it's a good idea to have that. 203 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,480 Like what are you going to do list on seller central? 204 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:37,400 I mean, I guess you could, but like, I don't even know how to do it anymore. 205 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:44,040 But like, so I would say like two to $3,000 and yeah, you just gotta like 206 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:47,480 that I would say that five, the more money you have, the better. 207 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:52,640 And I'd like to recommend that like, you don't rely on like a credit card 208 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:57,680 because like you're for sure losing money on your first like couple of buys 209 00:11:58,280 --> 00:11:59,720 because like you're just learning. 210 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:00,920 It's just how it is. 211 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:01,600 It is. 212 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:03,520 It is weird to kind of think about, right? 213 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:09,080 Like you go from going to your warehouse, like, you know, how six, seven days a 214 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:12,320 week to now you can basically the room you're sitting in, right? 215 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:14,760 You can get off this call and you can go source products. 216 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:17,320 Like has that changed in like your environment? 217 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,960 Like if you have times where you're like, damn, I wish it like, I could just 218 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,720 like go sit in the warehouse by myself, like somewhere outside of like your, your 219 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:26,320 house to source, like, do you do that? 220 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,320 Like you go to coffee shops and whatnot, just as like a change of scenery. 221 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,360 I will like, yeah, sometimes it's like nice. 222 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,640 So sometimes now it's really nice. 223 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,120 Cause like I have all this whole like space down here. 224 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:42,040 But yeah, I'll go to like Panera where like Barnes and Noble is some coffee 225 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,360 shops just to like break it up. 226 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:43,960 Yeah. 227 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,120 It's weird, like not leaving the house and like just kind of like sitting 228 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,200 out of a computer all day. 229 00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:55,280 But yeah, sometimes I think I miss eBay a little more than anything else. 230 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:58,120 Cause we were doing like the rare, like high end books. 231 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:00,200 Like I started to really get into that. 232 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:06,280 It was like a love hate because I remember, I think we did like 50 K and 233 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,880 sales in a year and I'm like, Oh, this is amazing. 234 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:14,080 Like, and now like we do that on Amazon in like a month and you're just like, 235 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:15,560 wow, I took you a whole year. 236 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:17,120 Like it's just very different. 237 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:22,800 Obviously the profit and stuff is much better on eBay on like a 50 K sales. 238 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:27,720 But yeah, it's just, do you need a prep center for OA? 239 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,400 Like say, like say somebody like myself, you know, and even like yourself, right. 240 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,880 And books, you're kind of doing all the prep work yourself. 241 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:39,000 Like is it feasible because the big thing right is, oh, way you can travel the world. 242 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,800 You can do what you want and it goes to a prep center. 243 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:43,400 You don't even touch this stuff, right? 244 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,480 Like, so how feasible is it to like have a prep center? 245 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,880 Do you recommend having a prep center when you start or is there like kind of 246 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:53,280 like a timeframe where it's like, okay, build your business to this point. 247 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:54,760 Then you can think about a prep center. 248 00:13:55,400 --> 00:14:01,120 So I think for prep centers, you should know, you should be doing all the prep 249 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:05,520 yourself at first, just because you have to know how the process works. 250 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:08,720 Like I thought a big, oh, you sell books. 251 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,600 It's going to be easy to do online arbitrage, but it was an obstacle. 252 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,560 Like it's nowhere like the issues and headaches. 253 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:18,880 Like it's just like anything else. 254 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,280 Like you have it with books and like, I didn't realize, I thought I was going to 255 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:24,640 like smooth into it, like no big deal. 256 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:29,800 But yeah, I mean, I think you should do all the prep yourself and you just kind 257 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,640 of got to look for advantages. 258 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:37,880 So like for instance, in like Pennsylvania, like you don't pay tax on food, like 259 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:42,040 grocery store items, like vitamins, some health stuff. 260 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,800 So those are clothing, you know, so those are really good items to go around. 261 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:52,200 Cause one of the best things about a prep center is in a tax free state. 262 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:56,720 So you don't pay sales tax or usually that is a good one to go with. 263 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,400 But I mean, you should, I did a ship in myself the other day. 264 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,560 I actually like went really deep into something and was just like, it was a 265 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:04,600 good opportunity. 266 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,240 So it's like, I'm just going to prep it myself and get it there quicker. 267 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,440 So there's pros and cons, but I definitely think you should start. 268 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:13,640 When should you get one? 269 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,000 I think it just like depends on your time. 270 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:24,000 You know, if you, the theory behind it is, you know, if you could spend, if you 271 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:28,680 spend to your time sourcing, you can make more an hour than you can prepping. 272 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:36,120 But they'll come a point where you kind of need more time to source potentially. 273 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,200 And that's usually the time to get one. 274 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:47,080 I feel like probably on a 20, 30 K in sales, maybe start looking for one. 275 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:51,800 Plus you have to realize that it's like costs, like it's upfront, like obviously 276 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:55,640 you're not doing the work. I feel like sometimes everyone's like in such a rush. 277 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,160 It's like, Oh, I want to be like, cool. 278 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,560 And, you know, have a, and I did too. 279 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,560 And like, I lost like $5,000 in inventory. 280 00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:06,440 So I didn't know what I was doing when I hired the prep center. 281 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:10,280 And like, it turns out that like, I was like, yeah, I'm going to do this 282 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:11,520 book business full time. 283 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,040 Like I need to outsource to prep. 284 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,000 And then like, I had no idea what I was doing with OA and it turns out like the 285 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,000 prep center was bad and like everything got messed up. 286 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:25,880 Everything got screwed up and like, I wasn't sure if it was normal, like just 287 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:27,160 all this stuff happened. 288 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:34,400 So you definitely need to like, there has to be a balance of how much work like 289 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:39,080 you're willing to do and how much you can outsource. 290 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:43,240 I feel like, like I'm one to like, I guess, kind of like to work, which is weird. 291 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,840 Um, but yeah, it's just really hard. 292 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:48,280 I think it just depends on the person. 293 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:51,720 Now, if you have like a full-time job, I feel like that's a little bit of a 294 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,240 different story, like you're going to have to hustle and like prep, but then 295 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:59,160 like, it might make sense for you to outsource that sooner than it would for 296 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:01,000 someone who's like just doing a full time. 297 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,840 So what do you consider to be the biggest problem in OA right now? 298 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,000 Uh, there are a lot of problems right now. 299 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:12,000 Number one, what's at the top of your list? 300 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:18,000 Uh, for OA, I think it's getting inventory, like banned from 301 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,320 stores, like I pretty sure I talking to Mike, I just got banned from like one 302 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:25,200 of the biggest websites I was like ordering a lot of stuff from. 303 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:30,120 Um, so like you spend a lot of time like learning how to give around stuff. 304 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:35,960 Um, you know, the sales cycle for that site and all this other stuff. 305 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,560 And then like you're banned and then you're like, damn, like I gotta 306 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:41,880 do this again at another store. 307 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:46,520 Um, so I think that's probably like one of the hardest obstacles to overcome, 308 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,640 but there are definitely stores out there that you don't have this 309 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:51,640 issue with and categories. 310 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:56,680 Like I used to be really big into apparel and you could get like tons of 311 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:01,040 apparel like without a lot of issues, but the returns are higher. 312 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,360 So like I, all the time I like go back and forth and maybe I should just 313 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:05,960 like get back into apparel. 314 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,760 Um, but yeah, I'd say that's probably one of the biggest ones. 315 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:13,080 Uh, I'm curious here because you've been doing OA for a while now. 316 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,360 Like, uh, there's people that sell like leads, right? 317 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:21,640 So like you have a list of things and like, uh, I've heard stories of like, 318 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:26,800 uh, VA's like, uh, Johnny's both your and my VA, right. 319 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,680 And you're kind of like, does that happen often? 320 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,960 Like, I feel like, I just feel like if it's like a bot that's sourced 321 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:36,240 sourcing these leads, like the bots probably all do the same thing. 322 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,080 So it's like, Oh, you get on this leads list and you think, Oh, you're 323 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:41,760 going to make this money and that's kind of like the easiest way to do it. 324 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,800 And a lot of people do it, but I do think like, give me some nuances when 325 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,560 it comes to like leads list and VA's like, have you ever had like a VA 326 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:50,080 that worked for you and somebody else? 327 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:50,920 I did. 328 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:52,040 And I had to fire him. 329 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:56,680 I was in this group called arbitrage ops and they ran like a service that 330 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:01,680 you could like submit your VA to like, and he started doing like, really 331 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:06,360 like kind of crappy and like, wasn't doing a good job and I just happened 332 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:09,960 to like submit it and they're like, Oh yeah, like that guy's worked for like 333 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:14,080 three people and then, so like I go to hire another one. 334 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:18,240 And he applies because like, you would see like the history of like the 335 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:20,840 applicants and I was like, Oh my God. 336 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:22,600 But yeah. 337 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:27,200 So I feel like for leads lists, it's like anything else, like that's like 338 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:32,560 one of the hard parts about it's I like definitely envy you because it's so 339 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:37,040 much in the terms of like content creation was so easy to make content 340 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,600 about books and like, Oh, I have this big warehouse and there's books 341 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:47,800 everywhere and like making like 20, $30 a book or sell a book on eBay for $500. 342 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:50,960 But if we know that like, you can't really share anything. 343 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,400 Like people get real mad. 344 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,920 I'm actually just joined the leads list to kind of like test it out. 345 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:00,960 It's definitely interesting more. 346 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,760 So a leads list works best when you don't buy anything that's on the 347 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:10,000 list, you use it to like, be like, Oh, like targets having a sale. 348 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,240 Like they're like, Hey, this water bottles on sale on target. 349 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,360 You're like, Oh, are there any other water bottles on sale? 350 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,800 And that's kind of how like the best way to use it. 351 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,040 Cause a lot of the leads, like people are just going to buy it. 352 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:27,360 Like they're just going to buy it and then they're going to panic and freak out. 353 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:33,280 So if you're using the right way, I mean, I guess it, it could be beneficial. 354 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:35,440 I kind of like to be on the list too. 355 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:39,560 Cause like, I like to know what's being put on the list to like stay away from 356 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:40,520 that kind of stuff. 357 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:45,320 Um, there's definitely some like things where you're just like, wow, like 358 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:46,520 this is a great lead. 359 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:53,080 And then it just goes to crap and it's like, Oh, like, yeah, I was on this list 360 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:53,800 or whatever. 361 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:59,200 So it kind of can help you like not buy as heavy if you know it's on the list or. 362 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:00,640 Yeah. 363 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:06,880 So leads lists, I mean, it's a good way to like get some ideas of different 364 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:11,200 stores or sources that are probably a little less unknown than others. 365 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:16,960 Um, but overall, I mean, it just really depends on what you're trying to do. 366 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,840 It's always best to source yourself. 367 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:21,880 That is like, I guess I'll leave it at that. 368 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,240 Like it's always best for you to figure it out. 369 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,240 Um, but I could understand why people would want to go with the leads list. 370 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:30,480 Absolutely. 371 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,600 So repeat more people jumping into OA. 372 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,000 Um, I mean, the gateway is a little high for people to start two to three K. 373 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,560 And then some people don't have 2000 and even in their savings account. 374 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,600 So once they get there with more people jumping into OA, where do you see 375 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,960 people like yourself staying ahead of the curve in the OA market? 376 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,280 What, what lay is in the future for you? 377 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:58,280 So for me, it's really, I think it's really the future is like almost 378 00:21:58,280 --> 00:21:59,680 like keep a product finder. 379 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:04,000 So a lot of what's going on now, a lot of people are trying to talk about it 380 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:05,640 and giving away their strategies. 381 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:10,360 It's a very interesting time in the OAS space as somebody who creates content 382 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:15,040 and has like kind of sells coaching and like might do some other stuff. 383 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:20,200 I mean, it almost seems like that's like the move for a lot of people. 384 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,840 And that's why so much stuff is being shared because it's like, you share 385 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,600 this juicy tidbit of like a lead or something. 386 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,480 And I'm like, the idea is like, oh, like they're going to join the discord 387 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,640 or whatever the hell they're doing. 388 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:38,360 Um, so, I mean, I think there's like that, but I think it comes down to 389 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:44,680 just like creativity and I think just knowing, um, like, I don't know, 390 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:46,680 it was kind of like related to. 391 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:53,040 Like when you guys do books, so like, you just have like time. 392 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,840 So like, you have a lot of experience, you scan a lot of books. 393 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,600 And like, you just know where not to go. 394 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,360 So like if me and Mike went into a thrift store and I'm new, like he's 395 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:05,200 going to go to a certain spot, I'm not going to really know where to go or what 396 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,560 to do, and I think they're just stuff like that, like you just build on your 397 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:12,920 experience and just kind of like staying on top of like the curb. 398 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:17,000 And it's really comes like just listening and being part of the community 399 00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:21,040 because like it's real obvious, like where people are pointing people, 400 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,200 like everyone's pointing people to like apparel. 401 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:25,800 So like that's like, okay, like everyone's going there. 402 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,640 So like, maybe I shouldn't go there and just knowing what like leads are being 403 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:34,120 shared, having like an inside ear with like, you're tight with some people, 404 00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:36,800 like what's actually going on in some situations. 405 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:42,240 Um, but I mean, there's so much opportunity to like, to buy stuff. 406 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:46,080 I mean, geez, like there's just sales all the time. 407 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:51,000 And I just think you just have to be like, sound like a little more edge. 408 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:51,640 I guess. 409 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:56,560 Like you're just keep learning and kind of, I always like, I still this day, 410 00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,160 like by courses, like I remember like signing up for one and someone's like, 411 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:01,040 what are you doing in here? 412 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,360 It's like, you know, like getting a refresher, like sharpening the edge. 413 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:05,680 Like, I don't know. 414 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:10,120 Cause like, you just see like these little tiny tweaks and I think like those 415 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:14,760 little tiny tweaks when you apply it to what you already know, like instead of 416 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:18,760 like just getting like so-so results, you get these crazy results. 417 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,880 Cause like, you know, 90% of it, it's just like this little tweak that like 418 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:24,880 takes it to the whole another level. 419 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:27,200 It is, uh, it is interesting. 420 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,520 I'm curious, like, cause I feel like if I did OA right. 421 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,560 And I'm like, maybe I find like this hot item or like this hot website, you 422 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:35,720 know, this kind of one-off thing. 423 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:39,200 Like, do you have like, you don't gotta tell me who it is, but do you have like 424 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,200 an inner circle of like, maybe like four or five people where like, if you find 425 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:47,080 something, maybe you're like, Hey, this is a good deal right now on this. 426 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,520 And like, you know, like, Hey, it's Mike, he's not going to tank the list. 427 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:51,400 And I can give him this lead. 428 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,560 Do you have like a trust in like inside circle where you kind of like share stuff? 429 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:57,120 I definitely share stuff with some people. 430 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:00,720 I probably could do a better job, like building that circle. 431 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:04,240 Um, I definitely have like a couple of people that I'll share with. 432 00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:11,320 Um, it's always hard because it's to be like an influencer or whatever we're 433 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,760 called or whatever, um, you know, you're a big target. 434 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:19,760 So like anytime, like, you know, you're driving around or like, I don't know 435 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,520 if you guys know, but like, sometimes like people share stuff and I was like, 436 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,440 I know exactly what website that is. 437 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:28,440 Like they just took like a little picture and it's like, well, I know 438 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:33,760 like the color of that checkout button or that's the text or like every email 439 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,200 they send out has this, like there's just little stuff like that. 440 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:41,720 Um, we're like, I think a lot of people get their store like burned. 441 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:47,240 Um, when they brag, like, oh, I like sold a hundred of these and like go to 442 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,960 Target, you're like, okay, like knowing what I know, you can go to their 443 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,960 store or find it, like everyone uses their Instagram handle, like, well, 444 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:56,240 I don't know why they do that. 445 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:57,040 For what? 446 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:58,240 Like the Amazon seller name? 447 00:25:58,240 --> 00:25:58,560 Yeah. 448 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:02,880 Their Amazon storefronts, like their Amazon, like their Instagram handle 449 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:07,000 or like something like in their Instagram name or just like, okay, like 450 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:08,560 this is definitely this person. 451 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:13,280 Um, so yeah, I mean, it's always, you gotta constantly be like changing 452 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:15,200 stuff up, but yeah, it's always good to share. 453 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,040 I mean, I love to share with the community, like even I'm not 454 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:19,480 getting anything like back for it. 455 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,880 I think it's like, for instance, like there's just so much stuff to buy. 456 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:28,280 And like, even if I like had infinite capital, like still, I don't know. 457 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:29,680 There's so much out there to get. 458 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:34,320 That is, uh, I think there's so many little nuances that go into OA. 459 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:36,120 It's not just going to the Amazon storefront. 460 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:38,720 It's not just going to the website and just buying it. 461 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,720 Like you actually have to sit there and like, Oh, you need a reprice or 462 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:42,840 you need to do this and you need to do that. 463 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:47,400 So like, I'm curious, like what's your angle for like, uh, like give me your 464 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,840 YouTube, give me your YouTube story, like why you started YouTube and like what 465 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,400 the future is of like your channel, because you're, you just shoot it 466 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:54,440 straight with OA, right? 467 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:55,600 You shot it straight with books. 468 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:58,800 And it's like, there's not many people out there that kind of be like, well, 469 00:26:58,800 --> 00:26:59,760 this is how much I made. 470 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:01,240 These are the mistakes I made. 471 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:02,040 Don't do this. 472 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:02,720 Don't do that. 473 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,160 So like, give me why you started YouTube, where you want to take it. 474 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:12,240 So I started YouTube really to, so Instagram, I started like to kind of 475 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,160 document the journey, like that whole kind of thing. 476 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:19,800 I wish I had documented so much more, but I had like a nine to five and 477 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,520 like stuff like that could get dicey. 478 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:27,360 Like the owner of that company was always kind of like, I don't know, 479 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:28,600 Hugh definitely pissed. 480 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,600 Like if he like saw that I was doing it on the side, like, I don't know. 481 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,240 I thought that it comes up like questions, like, what are you doing at work? 482 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:38,400 Like all this like shit comes up. 483 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,560 So I'm just like, I don't want to do that. 484 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:45,080 And then like, I was just kind of driving and I was like, I wanted to 485 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:49,640 make content and like Instagram was just like, it was just hard. 486 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,400 Like, I feel like you just had to write a lot and I don't know. 487 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:56,680 It just wasn't my thing when I first got started and I was actually 488 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:00,960 listening to a podcast and Russell Brunson, who he's like an internet 489 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,760 marketer, he runs, he owns ClickFunnels. 490 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,760 He was just saying, Oh yeah, like I had no time to make content. 491 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:14,600 So like on my commute to work, I would just like film and like do the podcast. 492 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,480 Cause I had like a 10 or 20 minute commute. 493 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:21,320 I was like, Oh, kind of like a 10, I have like a 20 minute commute. 494 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:26,560 Like if I just go and like film a video driving home, like that would work 495 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:27,520 because it would be easy. 496 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:28,640 I just upload it. 497 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,520 As I thought, I didn't realize like you need to make a thumbnail 498 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,040 and like all this other stuff. 499 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,600 But yeah, that's kind of why I started, like just to give back to the community 500 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:41,840 and just, I don't know, I feel like it's always hard and a lot of people 501 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:43,680 like help me for free. 502 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:46,480 And like, I'm like friends with these people now, like we text 503 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:48,360 regularly and meet up. 504 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,480 So I feel like to give back, help other people. 505 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:53,200 I mean, I hated my job. 506 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:56,280 So like, I know there's a lot of other people out there. 507 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,800 So like even, and then like selfishly, it just feels good when someone 508 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:03,960 like comes up to you and they go, Oh, like I quit my job because of you. 509 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:10,840 Or, you know, you helped me do this or I made like $2,000 when I implemented this. 510 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:14,280 So I feel like stuff like that just like really feels good. 511 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,640 And like, it's more rewarding than like orange bars and money. 512 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,640 And I kind of want to put more of a focus on that, that this year, like 513 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,680 it's always hard for me anyway. 514 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,280 Cause like, when you kind of do that, we're like, Oh, I'm going to put more 515 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,360 of a focus on community and helping other people. 516 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,360 People are, Oh, your Amazon business sucks. 517 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:33,960 Like you're just doing it for months. 518 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,840 Like it's like this whole stigma. 519 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,840 And it's just like, all right, like go watch like the three or 520 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:40,600 400 videos that are out there. 521 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:45,560 Like if you still truly feel that, then like whatever that's on you. 522 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:49,720 I'm like, it is what it is, but yeah, it's always kind of like that. 523 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,280 And it's what I enjoy the most. 524 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:53,400 Like I would do this like all day. 525 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,000 Like I love selling on Amazon, but doing podcasts, making YouTube 526 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,240 content and just like helping other people. 527 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,880 I mean, I feel like that's just so much more rewarding. 528 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,120 So when you're getting started in your journey, how supportive were your 529 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,880 friends and family before you were a success? 530 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:13,440 Yeah. 531 00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:15,440 It's funny how that kind of changes. 532 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:21,800 Like even like now, cause when you post numbers and stuff, people are like, 533 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,800 like, especially if they're not in the space, like they don't know what that 534 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,960 number means or like what is even at the end, like I don't even think my parents 535 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:32,200 know exactly like how much money I make. 536 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:33,960 Like there was like, Oh, it's like everything. 537 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:34,840 Okay. 538 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,040 Like just want to make sure like, are you eating okay? 539 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:39,440 Do you need money? 540 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:40,440 Yeah. 541 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,440 Things have never been better. 542 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:49,000 Um, so yeah, I feel like at first it was, it was always, I didn't really tell anyone. 543 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:55,240 So the first, so I started flipping furniture locally and feel like sometimes 544 00:30:55,240 --> 00:31:00,280 you just should just like keep some stuff to yourself and like figured out yourself. 545 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:07,960 Um, because a lot of times I feel like my parents are super supportive, um, of me. 546 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:09,720 I'm like, I love them and all that stuff. 547 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:12,120 But I feel like if they're like, what the hell are you doing? 548 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:17,320 Like bringing like a table and chairs, like what, like, what are you doing with that? 549 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:23,480 And I think like those like little things, like as dumb as it sounds, like could really 550 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:26,920 like, like get someone like not to do it. 551 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:31,560 They're like, Oh, like this thing's, this is dumb or like, uh, like they're probably 552 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:33,160 right or something like that. 553 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:39,080 So I think when you start and go out and you're like, yeah, yeah, it's going all right. 554 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,560 I mean like, you know, 500 bucks. 555 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:42,760 And they're like, Oh, what? 556 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:48,440 Like, it's like when you have that little proof to kind of like go up and like kind 557 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,440 of combat some of these arguments. 558 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,520 And like my parents are super supportive. 559 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,360 Like my dad was like an entrepreneur. 560 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:55,800 So like he gets it. 561 00:31:55,800 --> 00:32:00,760 But like, yeah, I think for most people, like family and friends could like almost be their 562 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:02,600 worst or their best. 563 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:09,160 Um, like as it got out a little more, like, you know, my like aunt's, her uncle's big, 564 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:10,680 Oh, like we have this or that. 565 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:11,960 Like, are you interested? 566 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:16,520 So like it was good, but like, I think at first, like it's like anything else. 567 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:21,560 It's like, you think it's dumb until you see like one of your friends doing it and you're 568 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,440 like, Oh damn, like they're actually making money doing that. 569 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:30,040 Like I thought it was stupid, but I think that it's sad, but I feel like that's just 570 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:31,080 how it is. 571 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:36,840 It's the same thing like on social media platforms, like, Oh, you get a certain amount of Instagram 572 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:37,400 followers. 573 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,280 Like you're over 10 K or you're over a thousand. 574 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:42,920 You just, it just gets very different. 575 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:44,200 It's, it's hard to explain. 576 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:48,920 It's, uh, it is pretty weird when you think about it because like friends, and like you 577 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:52,760 said, like they could be, how do you have like any family members or like close friends, 578 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:55,720 like reach out and be like, John, can you teach me how to do what you do? 579 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:57,560 Yeah, they never do it. 580 00:32:58,200 --> 00:32:58,840 Same with me. 581 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:04,200 They're like, yeah, you could go to here, like you buy this, you could buy that. 582 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:09,240 Like you just have to sign up for an account and then they're like, oh, they go back to 583 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:10,600 do whatever they're doing. 584 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:13,080 Uh, I think everyone loves the idea. 585 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:14,200 It's like anything else. 586 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:21,640 Like everyone loves the idea of like making like passive income and like, yeah, but like 587 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:24,520 when you like break it down, it is a lot of work. 588 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:29,720 Um, especially upfront and it takes a certain person. 589 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:37,400 I think for a lot of people, it's like, if you can't stomach losing like $500, like it's 590 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:38,600 not going to work for you. 591 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:46,200 Like it's just not like this is a business where like you like, I consistently lose on 592 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:51,080 ASINs, but you know, most of the time I win. 593 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:52,680 So you're always going to be losing. 594 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:58,200 And I think people just can't feel like if you want to make like quick money, like flip 595 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:00,200 on Facebook marketplace, like locally. 596 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:01,240 All right. 597 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:08,520 I need, uh, something then like, I need a testament from you for all the people out 598 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:13,960 there that are thrifting media from thrift stores that say, I want to get into buying 599 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:19,160 gay lords of books and they can just roll them into their storage unit or their warehouse. 600 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:23,560 And they think that, you know, it's just going to be, it's just going to be magical and they're 601 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:24,840 going to make millions of dollars. 602 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:31,320 So I need you to give me like a few paragraph here summary of the actual hard work and all 603 00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:36,120 the overhead and everything that goes into having that bulk business when you had it. 604 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,080 Yeah. So it always seems good on the surface. 605 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:45,160 Like, oh, if you're going to buy only got 10 cents a book, like, oh, I'm more than like 606 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:46,120 triple the money. 607 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:51,400 It's like, yeah, like I would, let's be honest, probably 90% of that is you're going to have 608 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,280 to like donate back or get rid of it somehow. 609 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:56,120 And like, you're not rolling anything. 610 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,600 Like you need a pallet chat, like for sure. 611 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:03,720 And you probably need like a plate if you're doing that, a storage unit, because like there's 612 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:04,600 a lip. 613 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:09,640 And like, I learned that the first time, like, like, yeah, like, how is this going to work? 614 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:13,720 So I think like on the surface, it's, it's good. 615 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:15,000 It's like shiny. 616 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:20,600 It's like the cool thing to do, but you're going to have to get rid of like 80 to 90% 617 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:22,760 of what you're getting. 618 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:25,880 And to get rid of that, oh, everyone loves to read. 619 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:27,000 Everyone loves books. 620 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,960 Like, well, not everyone could like haul a Gaylord out. 621 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:35,720 Like, and if you want to box it up, it's going to take like 50 Home Depot boxes to box it 622 00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:35,880 up. 623 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:37,720 And then like, no one wants to haul that either. 624 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:41,720 And you're literally taking all the good stuff out. 625 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:47,320 Kind of obviously like it would books, like some people love romance novels, but like 626 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:51,640 to find that person, they don't want 20 boxes of them now. 627 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:56,120 So I feel like there's just so many logistics you have to think about. 628 00:35:56,120 --> 00:36:01,080 Like when I did bulk out of a storage unit, I literally had a moving company, like picking 629 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:06,600 up the books at the thrift store, rented a pallet jack for the first couple of times, 630 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:08,920 because like, I didn't know if I wanted to do this. 631 00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:10,360 Didn't really fit in my Jeep. 632 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,560 So like, I would just drive like with the Trump Bundy down. 633 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,720 Then like, you have to pay for the Gaylords and the pallets. 634 00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:19,080 So it's like 15 each. 635 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:24,280 And like, you eventually like recycle them like in, if you keep buying from someone. 636 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:29,400 And then you go through all the books and then, yeah, you got to get rid of them. 637 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:35,000 It's like, you almost have to do it if you're not doing it regularly in like a day or two. 638 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:41,160 Like when I got my first load, I got like a Penske truck and I got, I had a person help 639 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:45,480 me, literally got the Penske truck, scanned all everything. 640 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:49,560 I think we did it that day and we literally did it in the truck. 641 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,760 And there was like so many like bad things. 642 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:57,320 We're like, all right, because like you don't want to pay for the truck rental twice or 643 00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,160 for two days because it's expensive. 644 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:03,320 It's like, it's at least 250 bucks, I feel like. 645 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,640 So by the time you do that and then, so you have to get the books, go through all the 646 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:09,720 books and then get rid of the books. 647 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:14,200 So you don't have to pay for like two days of the truck because like you're paying like 648 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:16,360 probably 500, 600 for the books. 649 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:21,080 Like the truck is going to cost you $500 if you have it for like two days. 650 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:24,680 So like you got to go like super quick donating. 651 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:26,520 Like it was such a disaster. 652 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:33,080 Like I went to the Goodwill outlet and like we had it like all boxed up and like it didn't 653 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:38,120 even occur to me to like see if they would like take them in pallets. 654 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:40,920 And like I was like, would you ever like take it in pallets? 655 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:41,800 We're like, yeah. 656 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:50,280 So like me and this other person, like literally there's probably like two or 300 like medium 657 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:55,080 home jewelry boxes that we were just like dumping in gay lords. 658 00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,840 It took us like an hour or two just to do that. 659 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:00,920 And like it was so terrible. 660 00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:04,040 But like, yeah, getting rid of the books is probably like the hardest thing. 661 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:11,160 And I think like anything else, it's just like, like imagine like, I think for people, 662 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,920 it's like, imagine you had to buy the entire, all the books in the thrift store. 663 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:16,200 Like that's what you're doing. 664 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:17,720 That's essentially what you're doing. 665 00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:21,880 Like you're better off just like scanning and going to more thrift stores and taking 666 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:27,400 that on because two, like you don't know, like especially if you're buying from a thrift 667 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:33,720 store, like you have people like probably like Mike or like just like dumping crap like 668 00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:37,720 at the thrift stores because like he's getting it from the library and he doesn't want to 669 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:43,080 like, you know, throw them back to the library or, you know, he's dumping it in another city 670 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,400 because like he doesn't want to dump it into his thrift. 671 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:48,920 Like all that stuff, like he's dumping garbage. 672 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:50,360 They're putting it on the shelf. 673 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:51,400 No one's buying it. 674 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:53,320 And that's going into a Gaylord. 675 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:55,480 So like, you just never know where it's coming from. 676 00:38:55,480 --> 00:39:02,440 And it's always like, so is a crap sheet, but like both books seems like cool and sexy. 677 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,720 And I always tell people, like, oh, I just want to test one. 678 00:39:05,720 --> 00:39:08,200 I was like, you're going to lose a ton of money. 679 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:09,640 Like, what are you going to do? 680 00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:10,680 You're going to pick up one. 681 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:13,960 You're going to run a truck to pay a hundred bucks. 682 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:17,160 You're going to run a truck to pay a hundred dollars. 683 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:23,160 Like if someone saw me one, you're like paying like three times the price, most likely of 684 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:24,200 getting one. 685 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:31,640 Like you should be paying like five, five to eight cents a pound for per books. 686 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:34,600 So like probably 60 to 70 bucks a Gaylord. 687 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:39,480 If you're paying more than that, like that's a bad deal. 688 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:47,080 Because like, unless there's like a gazillion textbooks in there, like it's just not happening. 689 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:53,160 So how much has networking transformed your business dealing with people asking questions 690 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:54,160 and stuff? 691 00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:57,400 Because we've got a lot of people that are background lurkers and we never see them except 692 00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:58,680 every now and then. 693 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:02,440 But how vital do you think networking is? 694 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:06,440 I think it's so important. 695 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:11,160 Just like to be part of the community and just like showing your face. 696 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:16,440 It's just, I don't know, there's so much opportunity that I've had. 697 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:22,480 Just it's like one thing where it's kind of sounds so bad, but like I can literally probably 698 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:26,480 get a hold of anyone and like resell them just because of what I put out. 699 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:30,360 Like if I have a question or if I want to get into wholesale, I wanted to do something 700 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:36,000 else, I could probably get like a call with one of the top people like doing that. 701 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,960 And I think it's just like one of those things where it's just like, oh, like you're in the 702 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:42,120 community, like they're giving back, you're giving back. 703 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:47,760 And I think when you're willing to give, like people are like really willing to help you. 704 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:48,760 And it was crazy. 705 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:51,760 I was at a conference with Jameson. 706 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:55,280 I don't know if you know Jameson, Philippi. 707 00:40:55,280 --> 00:40:59,200 Some girl like came up to us like, because me and Jameson have like a similar story, 708 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:02,320 like we were depressed and like went through all that stuff. 709 00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:05,240 And like she was like, you guys have no idea. 710 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:06,640 Like I never commented. 711 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:12,640 I don't, never DM'd you guys, but like you guys basically like saved my life. 712 00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:16,680 Like just hearing your story and like how you were able to overcome it and like I'm 713 00:41:16,680 --> 00:41:17,680 about to do seven figures. 714 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:23,440 And you're just like, damn, like I have no idea who this person was. 715 00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:28,200 Like they've been watching all the YouTube videos and you just never know who's watching. 716 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:32,120 And I feel like that's kind of like the cool part about it or like going to meetups and 717 00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:34,640 people are like, oh, I watched this video. 718 00:41:34,640 --> 00:41:38,280 I don't know if you guys ever have this where you're like, people like watch it. 719 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:41,720 Like, it's just like this weird thing where like people are coming up to you and you're 720 00:41:41,720 --> 00:41:45,080 just like, yeah, I guess people like, yeah, it gets views. 721 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:47,960 So yeah, obviously people are watching it. 722 00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:52,560 So I mean, I think it's always good to like network because like you're going to need 723 00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:54,560 help at some point in the journey. 724 00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:56,800 And people are like super friendly. 725 00:41:56,800 --> 00:42:02,640 Like I have an inbox full of people want to make reels for me or they want me to do Amazon 726 00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:05,240 Automation or all this crap. 727 00:42:05,240 --> 00:42:09,040 Like not a lot of people are asking for like fundamental help. 728 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:11,920 Like I'm always happy to help. 729 00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:15,120 So I feel like the inbox isn't crowded for like legit people. 730 00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:20,200 I will say like if you're going to reach out to someone, like do some homework, like don't 731 00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:24,960 ask like, hey, like how do I start OED? 732 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,280 There's like probably five different videos like on my YouTube. 733 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:31,920 Like you just type that in and like side hustle experiment and like go watch that and then 734 00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:35,400 say, hey, I watched the video about this. 735 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:36,400 Like what do you think about this? 736 00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:40,000 And it's like, okay, like they watch something like, all right, let's talk about it. 737 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,920 I once had someone ask me, I have like a video. 738 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:46,520 It's like, oh, like 10 great places to buy. 739 00:42:46,520 --> 00:42:48,360 And I was like, oh, like here's the link. 740 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:49,360 There we go. 741 00:42:49,360 --> 00:42:50,360 What are good places to buy stuff from? 742 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:51,360 I was like, oh, here's the link. 743 00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:54,360 All right, can you send me the list of the stores? 744 00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:56,360 And I was just like, what? 745 00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:58,680 I was like, what is going on here? 746 00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:01,000 And I was like, I'll stop talking about them. 747 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:04,560 But all right, I don't need an explanation, but you have to choose. 748 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:07,040 You can't go wish you watch you 50 50. 749 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:11,640 What community is better, the book selling or the online arbitrage community? 750 00:43:11,640 --> 00:43:17,280 I have to say, I feel like the people are more friendly. 751 00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:20,040 I mean, the book community is awesome. 752 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:22,880 And like, obviously I was a big part of it. 753 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:31,000 And I think there's more, probably more like complaining and more like shaming of like 754 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:36,960 people, I don't know, not knowing stuff or I'm not really even sure. 755 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:43,320 Like, I mean, there's like plenty of like bad stuff going on on Twitter with OA and 756 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:45,280 people like being mean and stuff. 757 00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:50,440 But I feel like sometimes it's, I don't know, it's just, I think the booksellers have like 758 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:54,760 a lot to complain about because it's a tougher game. 759 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:56,760 Like it's definitely a tougher game. 760 00:43:56,760 --> 00:44:02,480 And I think people are maybe a little older and crankier. 761 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:04,320 And I'm probably gonna get killed for this. 762 00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:05,520 But like, whatever. 763 00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:06,520 I do think that's the case. 764 00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:11,160 And there's a lot of people that were like, yeah, like, I just did it by eye. 765 00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:16,400 And now like you could like whiz by them with like, scout IQ or whatever using the scan. 766 00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:20,960 And I think there's definitely like some like resentment there. 767 00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:28,280 And I think like, some reason I feel like there's more people who are like, yeah, there's 768 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:29,280 no money in books. 769 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:31,280 Like they're saying that to like key people out. 770 00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:32,280 I don't know. 771 00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:33,280 It's like a weird. 772 00:44:33,280 --> 00:44:39,080 Listen, I never been in the Facebook groups anymore. 773 00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:44,560 So I'm not like, but like, I do remember like, people would be like, oh, like, the old, the 774 00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:47,480 famous one of it, oh, we're gonna get keywords of books. 775 00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:53,680 And these people would get crushed, like 30 or 40 people would be like, you're so dumb, 776 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:57,160 like, find your own source and all this stuff. 777 00:44:57,160 --> 00:45:00,000 Like, oh, I'll sell you those like 300. 778 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:04,040 Like, oh, like, damn, like, just scroll by. 779 00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:07,680 I never like, I'm not a part of really any OA communities. 780 00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:12,860 But I can say for a fact that the book, the book community is not as nice as people make 781 00:45:12,860 --> 00:45:13,860 it out the scene. 782 00:45:13,860 --> 00:45:16,640 I think that's kind of why a lot of people gravitate towards me. 783 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:21,120 Because if you go just post a question and you know, like any of the Facebook groups 784 00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:22,680 for any of the softwares, right. 785 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:27,000 And even if it's the most noobiest question, should I buy this book? 786 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:31,080 You don't understand how this what you're looking at is like, it's so toxic. 787 00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:32,080 So I do agree with you there. 788 00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:33,280 I was just curious what your take. 789 00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:36,080 I knew your answer what it was going to be. 790 00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:39,080 But it's also like super apparent to me. 791 00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:42,920 It's like, I don't know how like much you're like on YouTube with OA. 792 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:45,400 But like, we're always together. 793 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:49,360 Like me and Michaela, we do a show and like, we always have someone on. 794 00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:56,280 Like I feel like it's crazy to me, like, especially just in the thrifting, like, world of books. 795 00:45:56,280 --> 00:45:59,120 Like you guys, like, you could share everything. 796 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:04,360 And like, someone in Florida, like Max is not coming to Pennsylvania. 797 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:06,320 Like to like, look at rare books. 798 00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:10,600 Like, he's like, Mike, you go find them and ship them to Florida. 799 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:16,280 Like, you guys like have this like amazing thing where you could like share basically 800 00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:19,240 everything and like all win. 801 00:46:19,240 --> 00:46:20,960 Oh, it's a little different. 802 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:28,400 Like, we share like a lot of information, like actual ASINs are not really but like, 803 00:46:28,400 --> 00:46:32,040 you could literally be like, oh, like buy this first, be on the lookout for this first 804 00:46:32,040 --> 00:46:33,040 edition. 805 00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:35,160 And like that wouldn't hurt them at all. 806 00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:40,320 And it's just crazy to me that like, there's not like that mesh. 807 00:46:40,320 --> 00:46:47,520 So if you could take you now and go back to until year one, you reselling one piece of 808 00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:50,600 advice, what would it be? 809 00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:53,960 Get started sooner. 810 00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:57,640 Like, I feel like it's always like that. 811 00:46:57,640 --> 00:47:01,160 I probably would have went into a much sooner. 812 00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:05,400 I feel like I think it's like who you surround yourself with. 813 00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:10,680 I feel like now when I first started, it was like, do books, like, don't get distracted. 814 00:47:10,680 --> 00:47:13,920 Like it was like, books is amazing. 815 00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:17,760 Retail arbitrage, you're just going to go to Walmart and buy something and it's going 816 00:47:17,760 --> 00:47:19,960 to tank and you're going to lose money. 817 00:47:19,960 --> 00:47:22,680 No one is really talking about online arbitrage. 818 00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:26,800 And wholesale was like for people like, if you crushed your book selling business, like 819 00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:30,360 maybe you could transition to wholesale like five years away. 820 00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:31,840 Now it's like totally different. 821 00:47:31,840 --> 00:47:34,640 But I think yeah, get started sooner. 822 00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:37,760 And just like, I think it's just take action. 823 00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:39,080 Like it's just so sad. 824 00:47:39,080 --> 00:47:41,640 Like I like literally made a YouTube video. 825 00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:46,160 Like someone came here to put together furniture for us and he was like, oh, like we're just 826 00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:49,800 talking and it's like an Uber for like furniture or something. 827 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:51,600 Like you pick your job or whatever. 828 00:47:51,600 --> 00:47:53,960 And he's like, yeah, I thought about it. 829 00:47:53,960 --> 00:47:56,040 Oh, like, you know, right around the pandemic. 830 00:47:56,040 --> 00:47:59,600 And I was like, dude, like you would have like been retired. 831 00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:04,560 Like if you like sourced the pandemic, like you could literally sell anything at once. 832 00:48:04,560 --> 00:48:07,360 Like Walmart for like triple the price on Amazon. 833 00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:12,400 And it's just like now it's like kids a little harder. 834 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:17,640 Like, so I feel like you just have to like take action and like no one wants to lose 835 00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:19,560 money, but I don't know. 836 00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:20,560 It's going to happen. 837 00:48:20,560 --> 00:48:21,560 Like just get over that. 838 00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:22,560 Like just do it. 839 00:48:22,560 --> 00:48:25,520 And then to see what happens. 840 00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:31,000 And I feel like you don't have to like go all in, like just try it. 841 00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:34,480 Because like I feel like a lot of times too, it's like a lot of people will be like, yeah, 842 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:35,480 that would be amazing. 843 00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:36,480 And then they do it. 844 00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:37,480 And it's like not amazing. 845 00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:38,480 It's like, well, you just wasted like two years. 846 00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:45,280 You could have found out two years ago, like this sucks and it's not for you. 847 00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:49,280 So I mean, I think just taking action and like just do it. 848 00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:50,280 Don't tell anyone about it. 849 00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:51,280 Just do it. 850 00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:53,880 And if you lose 500 bucks, like no one else has to know about it. 851 00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:56,360 You lose 500 bucks at the casino real quick. 852 00:48:56,360 --> 00:48:57,360 Only a few spins, right? 853 00:48:57,360 --> 00:48:58,360 You got a high rolled room. 854 00:48:58,360 --> 00:48:59,360 You're done. 855 00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:00,360 You're broke. 856 00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:01,360 You're out the door. 857 00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:02,360 I think we're going to wrap it up here. 858 00:49:02,360 --> 00:49:06,760 But John, where can people find you plug all of your YouTube and Instagram and all that 859 00:49:06,760 --> 00:49:07,760 stuff? 860 00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:13,200 Yeah, you guys can find me on YouTube, Instagram, side hustle experiments. 861 00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:16,400 Just type that in and I'll pop out. 862 00:49:16,400 --> 00:49:17,400 He's an open book. 863 00:49:17,400 --> 00:49:21,120 So like maybe you're selling media now or maybe you're doing RA. 864 00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:22,120 Shoot him a message. 865 00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:23,120 He'll give you a straight up answer. 866 00:49:23,120 --> 00:49:25,420 No, no fluff or none of that kind of BS. 867 00:49:25,420 --> 00:49:28,120 We appreciate you hanging out with us today. 868 00:49:28,120 --> 00:49:29,280 And it was a fun time. 869 00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:34,600 We look forward to the future of you and OA and, you know, building your YouTube out here. 870 00:49:34,600 --> 00:49:36,320 So we appreciate having you on. 871 00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:37,760 Thanks for having me guys. 872 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:38,760 This is fun. 873 00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:41,200 We'll talk to everybody in next week's episode. 874 00:49:41,200 --> 00:49:44,520 Welcome back to another episode of the resellers mindset podcast. 875 00:49:44,520 --> 00:49:48,280 My name is Mike, also known as a used book guy on YouTube, along with my friend and fellow 876 00:49:48,280 --> 00:49:52,760 full time reseller, Johnny B. We help people start and grow their reselling businesses 877 00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:54,040 from the ground up. 878 00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:57,960 We also have a weekly zoom call and private discord for all YouTube members. 879 00:49:57,960 --> 00:50:02,600 Head on over to youtube.com backslash use book guide to join the channel and gain access 880 00:50:02,600 --> 00:50:06,840 to the full length podcast zoom call and private discord today. 881 00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:28,560 Let's get into this week's episode.