Welcome back to another episode
of the Resellers Mindset Podcast.
My name is Mike, also known as the used book guy on YouTube,
along with my friend and fellow full-time reseller, Johnny B.
We help people start and grow their reselling businesses
from the ground up.
We also have a weekly Zoom call and private Discord
for all YouTube members.
Head on over to youtube.com backslash used book guy
to join the channel and gain access
to the full length podcast Zoom call
and private Discord today.
Let's get into this week's episode.
What is up everybody?
Welcome into another episode of the Resellers Mindset Podcast.
Mike here alongside Johnny as always.
Today's topic is, it's gonna be a fun one
because we kind of can get off the rails with this
and it's controlling the controllables.
I know it's a mouthful.
You can't say it 10 times in a row
as fast as you possibly can, but it is super important.
So I'm kind of just gonna dive right into this
and throw it over to Johnny.
So when we say controlling the controllables,
it's when people, the biggest one is
my sales are down for X, Y, and Z that I can control, right?
The economy, the platform I sell on sucks, things like that.
So what's your take on outside forces
affecting your business?
And do you let it affect your business
or are you just business as usual every single day,
regardless if the comments come in to hit the earth,
regardless if eBay is doing some kind of update?
I mean, it affects me slightly.
I examine is the product we're listing
not good product anymore?
And why may that be?
Is it because of the news cycle?
Or is it because they're doing an update on the platform?
Or is it just everybody's outside
and not on the internet these kind of days?
But you can't really let it affect
your day-to-day operations other than
you may need to make a slight pivot somewhere in that,
but the operational size the same.
So instead of, I don't know,
Stephen King books aren't popular anymore,
let's put in some Clive Barker instead.
Oh, Clive Barker is selling left and right.
Let's keep on with Mr. Clive here.
He's doing pretty good.
For those that don't have access
to doing stuff in droves like that,
you're doing these one-offs,
well, you may need to decide on your niches and stuff.
Maybe you're just doing no dust jacket books,
nothing before 1940 or nothing after 1940 rather.
So getting more into the antiquarian side of things.
As far as letting it affect you,
it's gonna affect you, sure.
That's money not coming into your account, absolutely.
Maybe it's going on to a different platform
to kind of stabilize till,
let's say the platform's having issues
for x, y, z reason like you're saying.
Maybe adding in another platform
where you're making the same and or more because of that.
And once this picks up over here,
well, now you're making even more money.
So you gotta make these mental adjustments
of what do I need to do to make money today?
What is inside my control?
Is adding another platform,
maybe increasing my listings another 10
if you're an eBay seller or 20 or whatever your number may be
or maybe it's a different type of product.
There's all these ways to adjust and pivot
while maintaining the status quo more or less.
You just may be tacking a little more on
or making some slight tweaks here and there.
I don't know, man, because most people's reaction,
you just said, oh, all right,
Johnny's gonna add 10 listings if his sales are down.
People do the opposite, man.
Think about it.
Somebody has a crappy week, a crappy month on eBay.
All of a sudden, they're second guessing
their whole existence in the reselling world.
And well, it's almost like it gives people ammo
to not go and do what they're supposed to do,
like their daily tasks, right?
Because, oh, Johnny, why am I gonna list my 10 today on eBay
if eBay is broken and they're not gonna sell, right?
That's gonna be the first thought
that comes into most resellers' minds is,
I'm gonna do less since the platform's broken.
It's not, I'm gonna do more like you said.
I mean, I've fallen down that rabbit hole before too.
Like, what am I missing on eBay?
Maybe I need to increase my promoted listings
by a quarter of a percent.
I've done junk like that before.
Or maybe I need to end listings and relist my same items.
I mean, there's all these hocus pocus tricks
that arguably may or may not work.
Nobody has any proof, 100%.
Oh, I did this, my sales went up.
Well, I did the same thing and my sales didn't go up.
Who's right or wrong?
Don't care.
What is in my control, I can list more.
Or I can tack on another platform.
Or I could do some cross-listing.
Or I can open a storefront.
I can do all these external things
that are completely within my control
versus like I was saying,
these hocus pocus Halloween buzz thing there
to hope that it works.
I wanna know an extra listing.
That's a guaranteed extra thing out there that could sell.
Me changing the product listing, I mean, in theory,
could bring in some more traffic, which could produce a sale.
But I know for certain, an extra listing
has much more of a probability
of actually producing money than a gamble.
That's what promoted listings are to me is a gamble.
And I use promoted listings.
I like promoted listings, honestly.
But I can't prove definitively whether it works or not.
I know a listing going up, that's definitive.
I got even a more controversial one here
when it comes to controlling the controllables.
And people will be yelling about this, but it's whatever.
Finding better quality items.
I think personally that you control this.
It's not a just random roll of a die here
to see if it falls on number three every single time.
I think we have a lot more control
when it comes to the stuff we decide to buy to resell.
And I think a lot of people will get caught up and say,
well, my thrift stores suck now.
So what am I gonna do?
Like that's the big argument when I tell somebody
to stop selling the low value junk, right?
Stop selling the 10, 12, $15 stuff.
Let's get up to $20.
Let's get up to $25.
And the argument always is,
well, Mike, I can't find that stuff where I'm at.
And I would argue the complete opposite
because my business from last year to this year,
I'm going to the same thrift stores, right?
It's not like I moved towns and all of a sudden
I'm finding the higher value stuff.
I'm in the same stores.
The change you have to make is
you leave that junk behind for somebody else
and you just buy the better stuff.
So what's your take on when somebody says,
I can't find better items to sell?
Like, I'm just curious.
It's bullshit.
You can't find better items to sell.
You can absolutely find better items.
So let's just go extrapolate.
Let's say legitimately,
they can't find items at the thrift store.
Sure.
Have you tried estate sales in your area?
Have you tried auctions in your area?
Have you gone to your library store section?
Yes, they have stores and libraries
or looked at library sales
or have you gone to bookstore, an actual bookstore?
My gosh.
Now, however, me saying this,
thrift stores are gonna be cheaper.
These other avenues may be a bit more expensive
but you're coming back with higher quality goods.
And you know what?
If you're in, I don't know, Juneau, Alaska,
okay, you have access to the internet.
Look for it.
Yes, you are gonna pay up,
but you may pay, I don't know,
20 to get a hundred dollars
versus your nickel to get a hundred dollars.
But you're not finding any hundred dollar items
in your nickel store.
I mean, that may be a thing for you,
but online you may have to pay up to get a hundred dollar
item, so you sell it, you're gonna make 80 bucks back,
maybe get 40, 45 out of that versus,
well, I bought it for a nickel and I sold it for $10.
After fees, no, you didn't.
But there's always a way.
You just have to dig
and you don't have to leave state lines
or any nonsense like that to get stuff.
I mean, you can if you want, it's a fun trip.
You could try new areas.
You can even ask people.
There's plenty of groups free out there,
forums and whatever, to get advice
on where to get your goods from.
There's always, always a way, always.
Yeah, I agree with that.
I don't know what it is with people that,
especially with resellers,
it's almost as if we just want to be busy,
all the time within the business.
Instead of being as profitable as we can,
it's almost as if, hey, well,
I'm gonna get all this stuff because I can list it,
even though it's not gonna make me any money.
But hey, I have, I think for me,
the argument of I have X amount of items in my store
when it comes to eBay is just as stupid
as the argument on Amazon,
as I'm a seven figure, eight figure seller.
I think it has no validity.
Sorry, I know you have a lot in your store, Johnny.
I just don't think having, well, I got my t-shirt on.
I got 20,000 items in my eBay store.
What does that, I don't even think it's an accolade,
honestly, if you had stuff that was actually selling,
then you should get to a point where
you're selling more than you're listing.
So like my argument is as you go up in numbers
and it's not coming back down, you're just listing junk.
Absolutely, or your store, let's say you may,
you listed like crazy one year
and you tapered off for a higher end model
and maybe you're not listing as crazily.
Well, that first year, you clogged up your store.
The people coming in traffic wise,
they're just seeing junk, a lot more junk
than your gold and silver and platinum pieces, honestly.
And I'm a believer in eBay
only gives you so much traffic a day
and I want them to see a winner versus a loser.
That's not to say I don't have junk items in my store.
I didn't know what I was doing when I started.
This is a book, it can go up, sling it up
and list it and forget it.
Probably earlier next year,
we are going to pull out a lot of my items in my store
from that first year of learning because it's just junk.
We're just trying to liquidate, they're on markdown sales.
I'm sitting like 75% off offers, just trying to clear it out
to make as much money as I can.
But I'm pulling the cord on that stuff,
probably in Q1 of next year, just to get it out entirely.
Whatever isn't gone by then,
oh, I'm sorry, it's hitting my storefront
and it could sit on the shelf out there.
The next one I wanna get into is,
well, I couldn't list today because X, Y and Z happened.
People not having a schedule to their reselling life,
I guess this would be.
I couldn't list today because I ran out of diapers
for myself, so I had to go to the store to get diapers
during my time where I usually list.
So I couldn't list today.
And then the next day happens and it's something else.
I needed to give my cat attention today
instead of listing on eBay.
I think people that kind of like have this schedule
that's like wishy washy,
it's almost worse than not having a schedule at all.
If you're always gonna cancel on yourself
versus just not having a schedule.
But I do think this happens so often out there like,
well, you know what, I'm not gonna do this today.
I'll take care of it tomorrow.
And you just keep pushing things down the line.
And in your mind, you think you have all this going on
around you, right?
Like, oh, I gotta go do this.
I gotta go do that.
When in actuality, you're just finding an excuse for yourself
not to actually sit down
and do something related to your business.
And listen, you say it all the time.
You gotta embrace the suck sometimes.
You just have to suck it up, get it done.
And that happens in every business,
every kind of online business.
There are days I have them,
Deb has them where you have to sit down
and you have to do things you really don't wanna do,
but that's how you win.
But most people are just like,
well, I gotta go to dinner shop tonight.
I don't have time to do this for my business.
So I'm going to talk to the wishy washy people.
Not only that,
people that just have chaotic, disrupted lives.
You mom and dads out there,
they got five kids talking to you.
You can list the quota you need on a daily basis.
Just list a little bit more
when your schedule is more stable.
Don't launch all these listings.
eBay has a draft bank.
Save it up for those emergency type days
where, I don't know, Billy broke his arm
horsing around with kids at school.
You need to go take a Billy.
Absolutely, go take a Billy.
Go take care of Billy.
That's an emergency.
That's unplanned for.
Those are the kind of things happen.
Any wishy washy people that need to have meditation time
with your cats, okay, same applies to you too.
Just do a little bit extra on your more stable days
to account for those unforeseeable
or you need a break kind of days.
There's plenty of people that only list five days a week
that do this full time and have the weekends off.
They just include those two extra days
in those five days of work
and they get their weekends off.
Same mentality you for people
who don't have a static schedule or a very disruptive life
because of children and or unforeseeable emergencies
or family health issues and stuff of that nature.
I'm curious, you gotta have some,
you gotta have a short list here,
maybe even a long list of pet peeves
that like things you hear resellers
like lame duck excuses of things they should be doing
and they just choose not to because
the cat needs a belly rub, right?
Like what are some things that kind of irritate you
when you hear resellers that make these excuses
for not doing, maybe not listing
or not sending off a box to Amazon?
Like you have any in your mind
like off the top of your head that just drive you nuts
if somebody's like, well, I couldn't list today
because or I couldn't go to the thrift store today
because the car wasn't running right or something.
I don't know.
What do you got over there in your head?
I know you got some stuff in there
that probably drives you nuts.
You keep on buying and you're asking your excuse.
I had to go source today instead of do my listings
because I must source today because sourcing.
Stop buying, jerk.
List.
Well, I didn't get my listings up
because it was my bedtime.
It was nine o'clock on the dot.
Stay up a little later.
Get your listings done.
I stay up late.
Things interrupt my day too.
You can do it as well, sir or ma'am.
Let's see, another one that drives me insane.
Oh, I can't find anything to buy.
You're not trying hard enough.
Go on the internet, buy online.
Stop going to the thrift stores
where you can't find anything,
but it's my local thrift store.
Don't care.
Go to your non-local thrift store.
Hit up Craigslist, Facebook.
You can find a way.
There is no excuse.
I don't care what niche you're in
unless it's like bars of gold.
You're a gold bar seller.
I may cut you some slack,
but outside of you guys, figure it out.
You can.
If you can't figure it out, ask somebody.
You'll get an answer.
That is like the,
I feel like we need t-shirts that say this, right?
Your excuse not to list stuff
is because you have to go buy more stuff not to list.
What is wrong with you?
You death pile people, what is wrong with you?
List.
There's difference between a death pile and a queue.
We've gone over this before,
but you people not listing,
you got a death pile over there
because you're over buying.
I'm sorry.
I'm not sorry really, but yeah.
You, I don't think like,
well, I mean, I know for a fact,
you cannot have a death pile with Amazon
the way the price is raised to the bottom.
Like people would just be bankrupt completely.
Like they would just have piles and piles of media
sitting in their house that are,
is no longer worth the descendant at Amazon.
I, that mentality is so crazy to me that
I have to go buy more stuff before I list what I have.
And like you said, we're not talking about,
okay, I have the queue of two weeks of stuff
that I'm gonna list gradually.
Yeah.
We're talking about the people that just have stuff.
They have no intentions of listing
and your queue can't be your pile.
It's not just, oh, well my queue is over there
in the corner, right?
You just throw stuff over there.
The queue is okay.
Here's the 10 items I'm listing today.
The next day, the next day, the next day, the next day.
That's crazy to me.
And I know there's probably, you know,
50% of resellers are probably doing that exact thing today
instead of listing.
They're gonna go to the thrift store and fiddle faddle around
for three hours.
So here's the thing that gets me.
Well, I'll miss out on those grail items
or I don't know what I'm gonna find if I don't go.
Newsflash, they'll always be there.
You will always find them.
You can miss a day to list
because you know what happens when you don't list?
It doesn't sell if people can't see it.
And this is, most of this information,
I'm regurgitating in a stern fashion
from Mr. Tech and Sports, which we had on a few weeks ago.
But it's true.
It'll always be there.
And the stuff you wanna go buy, you can always find it.
I promise you.
And the stuff that isn't for sale can't be sold.
There's no way for you to accumulate money
off a pile of stuff just sitting on your table,
in your garage, in your shed,
if it's not up for sale,
if it's not listed or not boxed up.
Now you box people, Amazon sellers,
I get the mentality of you need enough to send a box, sure.
So your objective should really be accumulating enough stuff
for whatever your schedule is to send a box
on whatever timeframe you set for yourself.
You're doing a box once a month, fine.
How do you get a box worth of stuff in a month,
or a week, or two weeks, or a day,
just depending on whatever your speed is.
Don't care what that is necessarily.
Just that you do it and figure out a way to accomplish,
sending it out on whatever goal you set for yourself,
from a month to a day person, doesn't matter.
I think the main takeaway that we haven't hit on yet
is that as a reseller, whatever you wanna call yourself,
when it comes to selling goods online,
there's gonna be sacrifices
you're gonna have to make for your business.
I mean, that's just the reality of anything.
If you're building a business, which we all are,
we're all business owners,
whether you're part-time, full-time doing this,
a lot of us sell ourselves short,
we just resell junk online once a week,
and yeah, it's cool.
But overall, there's gonna be things
you have to sacrifice, right?
Like, you can't just sit around,
like, we can't just get off this call today, Johnny,
and me and you go play video games
for the next five days straight, right?
You have to make a choice.
Are you gonna grow the business?
Are you gonna stop doing some of these things
that maybe aren't, you know,
maybe you're not gonna watch Netflix
for five hours a night, or, you know.
There's certain things you can cut out
that really aren't making you money.
If you're gonna take your business seriously,
that's just the reality of anything.
And even if somebody has a job,
I'll be the first one to tell you,
it was one of the main reasons I left CVS
is because you sacrifice everything.
If that job needs you to be there,
they're not gonna let you call out.
They're gonna make you cover someone else's shift.
You don't have a choice in the matter.
So now you have a choice.
So now we can plan for these things,
like you said earlier, a draft bank, thinking ahead.
Well, I know next month I'm going on vacation for this week.
You can plan ahead and you know,
these are the days I'm gonna have off.
But we still choose not to do these things as resellers.
We still just, oh, well, it's here.
So I gotta shut everything down.
And you know, who knows if I'll ever come back.
It's crazy to me.
And here's one for you,
especially for people that have kids out there.
If you know little Billy's gonna dilly dally
for an extra 30 minutes a day,
as you're toting him around town from school to some place
he wants ice cream after school.
And that costs you 30 minutes of your allotted hour time.
So now you're down to a half hour
and you always feel that you're behind.
Well, you got two choices in my opinion.
You wake up an extra half an hour early
or you go to bed an extra half hour later.
You can make an adjustment in there.
If you have a known quantifiable thing like Billy,
he cost me 30 minutes a day.
Love Billy, love taking him around downtown
to get his little ice cream cone every day.
Great for Billy, but you need to assign time
for your business if you're trying to treat it seriously.
And you gotta make, well, like Mike was saying,
those sacrifices, it's 30 minutes of going to bed later
or getting up 30 minutes early, honestly,
to make those adjustments.
Now, extrapolate that to whatever time sink
you have going on in your life.
This is just a rough example.
I'm gonna wrap it up here before we jump over
to the members part.
I think it's important to not worry about things
that are out of your control.
And we didn't talk about this,
but I'm gonna sum it up real quick
because I know both of our stances on it.
Platform fee increases, what are you gonna do about it?
What is me and Johnny gonna do when they decide
to raise the fees by one, 2%?
There ain't nothing you can do.
I'll call Johnny in the middle of the night
on my little rotary phone,
but Johnny, they raised fees, this is the end.
No, we don't care, right?
We just keep moving.
You keep doing what you're doing.
Block out all the noise, all the nonsense that goes on.
I'm not saying be miserable, I'm only business type person
because we have the business where if I wanna watch
the Walking Dead every Sunday night at 9 p.m.,
I can work that into my schedule
because I'm the business owner and I can do things
in advance to make these things happen.
The whole point a lot of people do resale
is for freedom, freedom to have your own schedule,
freedom to be your own boss.
But with that comes responsibility
and sacrifices are gonna be made.
So control the things you can control,
block out everything else around you
and just focus on your business
and you'll be amazed at the results you can get
whether you're selling on eBay or Amazon.
So we appreciate you listening.
We'll talk to you in next week's episode.
Thanks for listening to another episode
of the Resellers Mindset Podcast.
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