1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,580 Welcome back to another episode 2 00:00:01,580 --> 00:00:03,500 of the Resellers Mindset Podcast. 3 00:00:03,500 --> 00:00:06,180 My name is Mike, also known as the used book guy on YouTube, 4 00:00:06,180 --> 00:00:09,500 along with my friend and fellow full-time reseller, Johnny B. 5 00:00:09,500 --> 00:00:11,860 We help people start and grow their reselling businesses 6 00:00:11,860 --> 00:00:12,980 from the ground up. 7 00:00:12,980 --> 00:00:15,420 We also have a weekly Zoom call and private Discord 8 00:00:15,420 --> 00:00:16,860 for all YouTube members. 9 00:00:16,860 --> 00:00:20,020 Head on over to youtube.com backslash used book guy 10 00:00:20,020 --> 00:00:21,700 to join the channel and gain access 11 00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:24,040 to the full length podcast Zoom call 12 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:25,700 and private Discord today. 13 00:00:25,700 --> 00:00:27,980 Let's get into this week's episode. 14 00:00:27,980 --> 00:00:28,820 What is up everybody? 15 00:00:28,820 --> 00:00:31,420 Welcome into another episode of Resellers Mindset Podcast, 16 00:00:31,420 --> 00:00:32,700 Mike alongside Johnny. 17 00:00:32,700 --> 00:00:35,780 And as 2023 comes to an end, 18 00:00:35,780 --> 00:00:37,580 we thought it'd be a good time to kind of share 19 00:00:37,580 --> 00:00:39,720 our biggest wins and losses of the year. 20 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,820 So maybe it could help you not step into the same pile 21 00:00:42,820 --> 00:00:44,920 of crap we did in 2023. 22 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,300 And maybe some of the wins are ways you can probably win 23 00:00:47,300 --> 00:00:48,180 in 2024. 24 00:00:48,180 --> 00:00:50,420 So I guess I will start it off and not, you know, 25 00:00:50,420 --> 00:00:52,380 kind of throw it to Johnny just right away. 26 00:00:52,380 --> 00:00:54,260 I'll start off with one of my, 27 00:00:54,260 --> 00:00:57,540 one of my bigger losses for me in 2023. 28 00:00:57,540 --> 00:01:01,740 And that's gonna be focusing too much on bulk pickups 29 00:01:01,740 --> 00:01:05,260 as a solo entrepreneur media seller. 30 00:01:05,260 --> 00:01:07,340 So just to give a little context, 31 00:01:07,340 --> 00:01:10,460 I used to do heavy ads for free pickups for books, 32 00:01:10,460 --> 00:01:13,020 pay for DVDs, pay for CDs. 33 00:01:13,020 --> 00:01:13,940 And it's fine, right? 34 00:01:13,940 --> 00:01:16,300 You get the idea that, oh, it's free. 35 00:01:16,300 --> 00:01:18,140 So you're always gonna win. 36 00:01:18,140 --> 00:01:20,720 But somewhere along the line, 37 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,560 I stopped taking in the time I was spending 38 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,360 on the free pickups into consideration. 39 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,260 So yes, it's free. 40 00:01:28,260 --> 00:01:29,740 How much time am I spending? 41 00:01:29,740 --> 00:01:32,740 And if I spent this time doing other parts of the business, 42 00:01:32,740 --> 00:01:35,420 how much money would I make in comparison? 43 00:01:35,420 --> 00:01:37,540 And I quickly realized this that, 44 00:01:37,540 --> 00:01:41,060 hey, every time I go do a free pickup, yes, I make money, 45 00:01:41,060 --> 00:01:42,480 but at what expense? 46 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:46,220 How much time am I taking to make the 300, $500 47 00:01:46,220 --> 00:01:50,060 from the free book pickup versus if I was just outsourcing? 48 00:01:50,060 --> 00:01:52,960 So for me, probably the first seven, eight months 49 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,220 of the year, I was free pickup guy, right? 50 00:01:55,220 --> 00:01:57,900 Somebody rings my line, hey, I got free books. 51 00:01:57,900 --> 00:01:58,720 Come get them. 52 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:00,260 I'm right there, right? 53 00:02:00,260 --> 00:02:03,380 That week, cut everything out, I got to cut out. 54 00:02:03,380 --> 00:02:08,260 And I was sacrificing thrifting days for pickup days. 55 00:02:08,260 --> 00:02:10,300 And we all know getting through a bulk pickup, 56 00:02:10,300 --> 00:02:11,340 especially if it's a car full, 57 00:02:11,340 --> 00:02:13,060 it's gonna take you a full day. 58 00:02:13,060 --> 00:02:14,420 Then you gotta get rid of stuff. 59 00:02:14,420 --> 00:02:15,380 It's a whole nine yards. 60 00:02:15,380 --> 00:02:20,020 And I didn't really realize the cash loss, 61 00:02:20,020 --> 00:02:22,080 even though the items are free, 62 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,980 my dower per hour is way lower with bulk 63 00:02:24,980 --> 00:02:27,300 than it is if I'm just out cherry picking 64 00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:29,420 and it's a lot less work because I'm only taking 65 00:02:29,420 --> 00:02:31,780 at things that I know we're gonna sell. 66 00:02:31,780 --> 00:02:33,740 I don't have to get rid of any of the bad stuff, 67 00:02:33,740 --> 00:02:34,980 any of the garbage. 68 00:02:34,980 --> 00:02:37,520 So for me, that was probably one of my biggest losses 69 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:38,780 of 2023. 70 00:02:38,780 --> 00:02:41,240 So Johnny's probably thinking he's gonna come at us 71 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:42,540 with his biggest loss, 72 00:02:42,540 --> 00:02:44,680 but we're gonna make him go to the good side 73 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,340 and give one of his biggest wins of 2023. 74 00:02:48,580 --> 00:02:50,260 My biggest wins? 75 00:02:50,260 --> 00:02:52,780 Definitely opening up my own brick and mortar. 76 00:02:52,780 --> 00:02:54,300 I'm gonna say you're sitting in it. 77 00:02:54,300 --> 00:02:57,940 Yeah, which kind of plays into what you were just talking 78 00:02:57,940 --> 00:03:00,460 about, it saved me a lot of pickup time 79 00:03:00,460 --> 00:03:02,860 or exploring finding places to do stuff. 80 00:03:04,020 --> 00:03:06,180 It's already had kind of established sources 81 00:03:06,180 --> 00:03:08,900 and it was just like, there's all this other stuff. 82 00:03:08,900 --> 00:03:12,300 I'm saving it, not wanting to get rid of it. 83 00:03:12,300 --> 00:03:14,300 And I tried to get rid of it a couple of times, 84 00:03:14,300 --> 00:03:18,140 but I didn't like the deals that were thrusted upon me. 85 00:03:18,140 --> 00:03:20,020 So I had to decline them and like, okay, 86 00:03:20,020 --> 00:03:21,380 I gotta figure out what to do with this. 87 00:03:21,380 --> 00:03:23,980 It's either this or literally throw them away. 88 00:03:23,980 --> 00:03:26,660 And so I decided to give this a whirl 89 00:03:26,660 --> 00:03:28,060 of the brick and mortar. 90 00:03:28,060 --> 00:03:29,820 And it's probably been the best thing I've done 91 00:03:29,820 --> 00:03:32,500 other than I am locked down in my book dungeon. 92 00:03:32,500 --> 00:03:35,720 I can't leave, cause I have store hours now, 93 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:37,720 but I have inventory that comes to me, 94 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,060 walks in my door, they drop it off or set it down for me 95 00:03:41,060 --> 00:03:44,500 and will it on this side of the warehouse, 96 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:46,940 process it just like I would any other bulk pickup, 97 00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:48,580 except I don't have to go out and get it. 98 00:03:48,580 --> 00:03:50,540 I don't have to waste my time unloading, 99 00:03:50,540 --> 00:03:52,860 loading my truck, unloading my truck, 100 00:03:52,860 --> 00:03:54,860 wasting my employees time with that as well. 101 00:03:54,860 --> 00:03:56,780 Cause usually it's a bulk pickup, 102 00:03:56,780 --> 00:03:58,820 the things are heavy and it just goes quicker 103 00:03:58,820 --> 00:04:00,900 if I were to go out and get stuff. 104 00:04:00,900 --> 00:04:03,840 Now, do we still do pickups with our regular sources? 105 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,940 Yeah, we still do that. 106 00:04:05,940 --> 00:04:08,760 But any kind of one-off things like what Mike's talking 107 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,380 about free pickups or let's try it at a state sale. 108 00:04:12,380 --> 00:04:14,380 It looks like they got some good stuff. 109 00:04:14,380 --> 00:04:17,820 We don't necessarily do those as much anymore. 110 00:04:17,820 --> 00:04:21,100 We'll do them every now and then, but it's on our time. 111 00:04:21,100 --> 00:04:24,180 We need to do this kind of thing. 112 00:04:24,180 --> 00:04:25,020 I agree, man. 113 00:04:25,020 --> 00:04:27,700 Just the stories you tell me about the stuff you got, 114 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:29,340 you're coming in and you're buying from people 115 00:04:29,340 --> 00:04:30,980 or people are donating. 116 00:04:30,980 --> 00:04:32,500 It kind of changes the game for you. 117 00:04:32,500 --> 00:04:33,900 And I do want to preface this, right? 118 00:04:33,900 --> 00:04:36,820 Like Johnny didn't go just open up a store in a mall. 119 00:04:36,820 --> 00:04:38,460 He already had his warehouse. 120 00:04:38,460 --> 00:04:40,500 He works out of his storefront. 121 00:04:40,500 --> 00:04:44,580 So he doesn't lose anything by having the storefront. 122 00:04:44,580 --> 00:04:45,820 He only gains from it. 123 00:04:45,820 --> 00:04:47,100 And I think a lot of people, 124 00:04:47,100 --> 00:04:48,340 especially in thrift and in reselling, 125 00:04:48,340 --> 00:04:50,580 they're like, oh man, a storefront, that sounds great. 126 00:04:50,580 --> 00:04:52,940 Yeah, well, it's easy when it's just sitting right there 127 00:04:52,940 --> 00:04:54,580 in front of you on the other side of the screen 128 00:04:54,580 --> 00:04:57,220 versus having to go to a physical location 129 00:04:57,220 --> 00:04:58,780 that's not your warehouse in the whole nine yards. 130 00:04:58,780 --> 00:05:01,020 But I do think that's definitely your biggest win. 131 00:05:01,020 --> 00:05:06,020 My biggest win for sure this year was raising my ASP. 132 00:05:06,420 --> 00:05:09,380 I know it's like, it's kind of like arbitrary to say, 133 00:05:09,380 --> 00:05:12,620 like you hear somebody, oh, you raised your ASP. 134 00:05:12,620 --> 00:05:15,380 Like you just wave a magical wand. 135 00:05:15,380 --> 00:05:17,980 Well, with Amazon, we use software. 136 00:05:17,980 --> 00:05:21,340 So all you gotta do is increase the target profit 137 00:05:21,340 --> 00:05:24,420 you're looking for per item and your ASP goes up. 138 00:05:24,420 --> 00:05:26,580 So if you look at last year, 139 00:05:26,580 --> 00:05:31,580 I was around the $15 mark for media on Amazon for an ASP. 140 00:05:31,860 --> 00:05:34,900 And that's kind of like, for books, it's terrible. 141 00:05:34,900 --> 00:05:37,140 Like if you sell a book for $15 on Amazon, 142 00:05:37,140 --> 00:05:41,020 if it's a hardback, maybe making two bucks, three bucks, 143 00:05:41,020 --> 00:05:43,780 that's just not gonna cut it in the world 144 00:05:43,780 --> 00:05:45,740 of you being a solo entrepreneur 145 00:05:45,740 --> 00:05:47,820 trying to build an Amazon business. 146 00:05:47,820 --> 00:05:51,500 So this year I raised my ASP to right around $20. 147 00:05:51,500 --> 00:05:53,900 And you wouldn't think that $5 difference 148 00:05:53,900 --> 00:05:56,660 makes a big difference in how much you make. 149 00:05:56,660 --> 00:06:01,660 But with Amazon, that $5 mark from 15 to 20 150 00:06:01,780 --> 00:06:03,580 is where you flip the tables 151 00:06:03,580 --> 00:06:06,100 and you start taking more of the sale than Amazon does, 152 00:06:06,100 --> 00:06:08,220 especially with DVDs and CDs. 153 00:06:08,220 --> 00:06:11,580 So it's cheesy as it sounds, and we hear it all the time. 154 00:06:11,580 --> 00:06:13,180 I can't find the better stuff. 155 00:06:14,060 --> 00:06:17,140 I'm living proof that I had the same thrift stores 156 00:06:17,140 --> 00:06:17,980 last year. 157 00:06:18,940 --> 00:06:20,700 I basically did the same amount of sales 158 00:06:20,700 --> 00:06:23,540 last year to this year, but this year I made more money 159 00:06:23,540 --> 00:06:25,940 because I increased my ASP. 160 00:06:25,940 --> 00:06:28,740 So you can basically do less work, right? 161 00:06:28,740 --> 00:06:30,540 Because you're not buying all the junk 162 00:06:30,540 --> 00:06:33,300 and make more money by increasing your ASP. 163 00:06:33,300 --> 00:06:38,020 And I'm in the same exact thrift stores that I was last year. 164 00:06:38,020 --> 00:06:40,140 I can't even, like, I think about it, 165 00:06:40,140 --> 00:06:44,300 like carrying an inventory at Amazon of 4,000 items 166 00:06:44,300 --> 00:06:48,500 versus this year where I'm barely staying above 1,000 items 167 00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:51,060 because my stuff is selling so quick. 168 00:06:51,060 --> 00:06:52,580 I wish I would have did this years ago, 169 00:06:52,580 --> 00:06:57,140 but I had the mentality of if I can turn a dollar into $3, 170 00:06:57,140 --> 00:06:58,860 it seems like it makes sense. 171 00:06:58,860 --> 00:07:01,740 But yet again, what's your time worth, right? 172 00:07:01,740 --> 00:07:05,500 Is prepping the extra 3,000 items a year worth it? 173 00:07:05,500 --> 00:07:06,940 Probably not, and especially the way 174 00:07:06,940 --> 00:07:10,100 the fuse are structured on Amazon, especially with books, 175 00:07:10,100 --> 00:07:12,340 especially how heavy books are. 176 00:07:12,340 --> 00:07:15,900 Third floor, four flights of steps up and down. 177 00:07:15,900 --> 00:07:17,260 Definitely wasn't worth my time. 178 00:07:17,260 --> 00:07:20,460 So increasing my ASP was definitely my biggest win. 179 00:07:20,460 --> 00:07:23,740 I mean, I don't even have to carry crazy amounts of inventory 180 00:07:23,740 --> 00:07:25,700 to make more money than I was making last year 181 00:07:25,700 --> 00:07:29,860 when I was literally three, four, five, six Ikea bags 182 00:07:29,860 --> 00:07:31,780 every single time I'm out because I'm grabbing 183 00:07:31,780 --> 00:07:33,860 the two, three dollar profit stuff. 184 00:07:33,860 --> 00:07:35,540 Leave that behind for somebody else. 185 00:07:35,540 --> 00:07:37,540 If somebody else wants to play that game, that's fine. 186 00:07:37,540 --> 00:07:41,660 But you as a single person with a media business on Amazon 187 00:07:41,660 --> 00:07:42,820 got to value your time. 188 00:07:42,820 --> 00:07:44,620 You got to get in, you got to get out. 189 00:07:44,620 --> 00:07:47,980 And just because you have more items listed 190 00:07:47,980 --> 00:07:50,060 doesn't mean you're going to make more money. 191 00:07:50,060 --> 00:07:51,340 I would argue against that. 192 00:07:51,340 --> 00:07:53,020 If you're sending in the low dollar stuff, 193 00:07:53,020 --> 00:07:55,380 you're going to make less money than somebody like me 194 00:07:55,380 --> 00:07:56,900 who's sending in the high dollar stuff. 195 00:07:56,900 --> 00:07:59,300 And sure, you might be able to say, well, 196 00:07:59,300 --> 00:08:01,620 my sales are $3 million. 197 00:08:01,620 --> 00:08:03,380 Well, what's your profit at the end of the day? 198 00:08:03,380 --> 00:08:05,820 Sales means nothing in reselling. 199 00:08:05,820 --> 00:08:08,140 Anytime I hear somebody talk about sales, 200 00:08:08,140 --> 00:08:10,740 I'm like, well, what did you actually make on that? 201 00:08:10,740 --> 00:08:12,620 Because you don't know what they paid for that. 202 00:08:12,620 --> 00:08:14,860 And especially with Amazon, like we said, 203 00:08:14,860 --> 00:08:16,780 you sell a book for 15 bucks. 204 00:08:16,780 --> 00:08:19,220 If it's a bigger hardback, if it's a coffee table book, 205 00:08:19,220 --> 00:08:20,900 you're losing money guaranteed. 206 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:23,300 So the sales really means nothing on Amazon. 207 00:08:23,300 --> 00:08:26,300 And that's why I kind of wanted to raise my ASP and say, hey, 208 00:08:26,300 --> 00:08:27,980 I'm going to put more money in my pocket. 209 00:08:27,980 --> 00:08:31,220 The best decision I made from the beginning of the year, 210 00:08:31,220 --> 00:08:33,860 this is one of the ones I made early on in around January 211 00:08:33,860 --> 00:08:37,140 and February before restock limits even lifted. 212 00:08:37,140 --> 00:08:39,060 I said, I'm only going after the better stuff. 213 00:08:39,060 --> 00:08:41,420 And I was like most people like, well, 214 00:08:41,420 --> 00:08:42,500 I got the same thrift stores. 215 00:08:42,500 --> 00:08:43,780 Is there going to be better stuff? 216 00:08:43,780 --> 00:08:45,500 Well, I'm here to tell you, when you start 217 00:08:45,500 --> 00:08:47,180 looking for the better stuff, you find it, 218 00:08:47,180 --> 00:08:48,860 as long as you're doing the actual work. 219 00:08:48,860 --> 00:08:50,460 So that's my biggest win. 220 00:08:50,460 --> 00:08:55,140 I think it's Johnny's times for one of his losses of 2023, 221 00:08:55,140 --> 00:08:56,660 because you started with a win. 222 00:08:58,820 --> 00:09:00,620 There's so many losses this year. 223 00:09:00,620 --> 00:09:02,060 Which one shall I go with? 224 00:09:03,300 --> 00:09:07,620 I think the time lost I spent on taking some advice 225 00:09:07,620 --> 00:09:11,460 from some bigger sellers of just listed all. 226 00:09:11,460 --> 00:09:13,140 I wasted a lot of time in that. 227 00:09:13,140 --> 00:09:14,620 I kind of went over some of my numbers 228 00:09:14,620 --> 00:09:16,980 before this fall with Mike. 229 00:09:17,900 --> 00:09:22,740 It was not worth the time I spent and my employees time 230 00:09:22,740 --> 00:09:25,940 that I paid to have spent doing this thing. 231 00:09:25,940 --> 00:09:27,860 We were doing like 60 items a day, 232 00:09:27,860 --> 00:09:30,820 but it was all, it was literally anything. 233 00:09:30,820 --> 00:09:31,940 We were listing anything. 234 00:09:31,940 --> 00:09:32,980 Didn't really matter. 235 00:09:33,980 --> 00:09:37,020 Because we were going with my model that proved to work, 236 00:09:37,020 --> 00:09:38,460 just vintage stuff. 237 00:09:38,460 --> 00:09:41,860 If I do a quality listing, I can jack the price up on that. 238 00:09:41,860 --> 00:09:44,500 Did not translate well onto modern stuff, 239 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:46,380 which is mainly what we were listing in that cycle, 240 00:09:46,380 --> 00:09:49,820 because I already had that stuff boxed up and sorted. 241 00:09:49,820 --> 00:09:51,100 They're like, okay, let's just pull it out 242 00:09:51,100 --> 00:09:52,700 and list it and get it over with. 243 00:09:54,860 --> 00:09:57,340 I was running ragged during that time. 244 00:09:57,340 --> 00:09:59,500 I was waking up at four in the morning 245 00:09:59,500 --> 00:10:04,500 and not getting home to like one or two in the morning. 246 00:10:04,500 --> 00:10:07,940 It was bad times, but I was doing it day after day. 247 00:10:07,940 --> 00:10:10,260 Well, how could you only function on two hours of sleep? 248 00:10:10,260 --> 00:10:11,180 Well, you're right. 249 00:10:11,180 --> 00:10:15,020 That's why I drink two days a day and it sucked. 250 00:10:15,020 --> 00:10:16,300 It sucked diddly diddly. 251 00:10:16,300 --> 00:10:18,460 Now it ballooned my store. 252 00:10:18,460 --> 00:10:21,340 It was nice to have that vanity thing of a large store. 253 00:10:21,340 --> 00:10:22,180 Woo, yeah. 254 00:10:22,180 --> 00:10:24,620 But it did not translate into the dollar per hour, 255 00:10:24,620 --> 00:10:29,100 which we preface and emphasize on this podcast a lot. 256 00:10:29,100 --> 00:10:30,300 That was a lesson learned. 257 00:10:30,300 --> 00:10:32,740 I didn't trust my gut instinct of not to do that. 258 00:10:32,740 --> 00:10:36,980 I just took some information that I assumed to be correct 259 00:10:36,980 --> 00:10:37,820 because it's what they do, 260 00:10:37,820 --> 00:10:40,180 but it did not translate to what I was doing. 261 00:10:40,180 --> 00:10:42,620 So again, we kind of reiterate this. 262 00:10:42,620 --> 00:10:44,940 What applies to one business may not apply to the other. 263 00:10:44,940 --> 00:10:46,620 It did not apply to mine. 264 00:10:46,620 --> 00:10:48,700 And I stuck with it longer than I should have 265 00:10:48,700 --> 00:10:50,220 because we did it for like two or three months. 266 00:10:50,220 --> 00:10:51,780 And then I said, no more. 267 00:10:51,780 --> 00:10:53,020 But the stuff was already listed. 268 00:10:53,020 --> 00:10:56,540 I'm still trying to trim through it. 269 00:10:56,540 --> 00:11:00,220 50% off sale, 75% off, just to get it out of my store, 270 00:11:00,220 --> 00:11:01,380 honestly. 271 00:11:01,380 --> 00:11:02,700 And in a few months here, 272 00:11:02,700 --> 00:11:04,300 we're probably just gonna rip all that down 273 00:11:04,300 --> 00:11:05,820 and get all the garbage out of my store. 274 00:11:05,820 --> 00:11:07,620 But it's peak season right now. 275 00:11:07,620 --> 00:11:09,940 We're just trying to sell off what we can 276 00:11:09,940 --> 00:11:11,540 with that cycle of inventory. 277 00:11:11,540 --> 00:11:14,660 So listing bad items, there we go. 278 00:11:14,660 --> 00:11:15,620 Let's go with that. 279 00:11:15,620 --> 00:11:17,420 No matter, you can't polish a turd. 280 00:11:17,420 --> 00:11:18,860 I'll say that. 281 00:11:18,860 --> 00:11:20,020 I tried. 282 00:11:20,020 --> 00:11:22,860 Many turds were polished during that time. 283 00:11:22,860 --> 00:11:25,220 I have one that's like, it's kind of wishy washy. 284 00:11:25,220 --> 00:11:27,820 It's like a good thing and a bad thing, I guess I could say. 285 00:11:27,820 --> 00:11:31,460 And that relates to eBay in my business. 286 00:11:31,460 --> 00:11:34,700 Most people know I don't mess with eBay, rarely any. 287 00:11:34,700 --> 00:11:37,420 And you could argue both sides of the fence. 288 00:11:37,420 --> 00:11:40,500 A more focused attack on Amazon only for me 289 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:42,700 makes me a whole lot more money. 290 00:11:42,700 --> 00:11:44,820 But if I did dabble in eBay some, 291 00:11:44,820 --> 00:11:46,260 I probably could put an extra, 292 00:11:46,260 --> 00:11:50,980 I would say if I listed maybe 15 items a month, 293 00:11:50,980 --> 00:11:53,980 I could probably put an extra $5,000, 294 00:11:53,980 --> 00:11:56,300 maybe five to 10K in my pocket 295 00:11:56,300 --> 00:11:58,380 at the end of the year with eBay. 296 00:11:58,380 --> 00:12:02,020 But for me, eBay doesn't excite me. 297 00:12:02,020 --> 00:12:04,540 And I finally came to the conclusion 298 00:12:04,540 --> 00:12:06,660 towards the end of the year. 299 00:12:06,660 --> 00:12:09,740 I just, I'll have an eBay pile for, 300 00:12:09,740 --> 00:12:12,420 if the time comes and the Grim Reaper 301 00:12:12,420 --> 00:12:13,740 comes and gets me on Amazon, 302 00:12:13,740 --> 00:12:16,380 I'll be ready to rock and roll on eBay. 303 00:12:16,380 --> 00:12:18,740 But allowing, I think it's like this. 304 00:12:18,740 --> 00:12:20,420 I can't list as fast as people 305 00:12:20,420 --> 00:12:22,980 that do eBay proficiently, right? 306 00:12:22,980 --> 00:12:24,340 And I accept that. 307 00:12:24,340 --> 00:12:26,980 So by me like half-assing eBay, 308 00:12:26,980 --> 00:12:30,100 like, oh, maybe I'll throw a listing up today, 309 00:12:30,100 --> 00:12:31,900 maybe tomorrow. 310 00:12:31,900 --> 00:12:32,860 It just didn't work. 311 00:12:32,860 --> 00:12:35,580 And it just keeps my mind distracted on something else. 312 00:12:35,580 --> 00:12:37,540 So now I'm to the point where, 313 00:12:37,540 --> 00:12:39,500 if it's something for eBay, right? 314 00:12:39,500 --> 00:12:41,900 I got a little eBay stack down here. 315 00:12:41,900 --> 00:12:44,060 Let me grab something from my eBay stack 316 00:12:44,060 --> 00:12:45,540 for stuff to get listed. 317 00:12:46,940 --> 00:12:49,380 Tommy Wiseau presents the neighbors. 318 00:12:49,380 --> 00:12:52,100 You know Tommy Wiseau, the guy from the Room movie? 319 00:12:52,100 --> 00:12:54,260 Yeah, The Room, I was gonna say that, yeah. 320 00:12:54,260 --> 00:12:57,340 Well, it's got an autographed picture inside of Tommy. 321 00:12:57,340 --> 00:12:58,180 Yes, it is. 322 00:12:58,180 --> 00:13:00,940 It's like a kid's DVD, isn't it? 323 00:13:00,940 --> 00:13:04,980 It is one of his TV series, I guess, that he- 324 00:13:04,980 --> 00:13:06,580 Oh, a TV show, okay. 325 00:13:06,580 --> 00:13:08,780 Yes, so this was something I got. 326 00:13:08,780 --> 00:13:10,460 And autographs, you know, 327 00:13:10,460 --> 00:13:12,100 you can only sell this on eBay, right? 328 00:13:12,100 --> 00:13:14,060 So it's one of those things where 329 00:13:14,060 --> 00:13:15,420 there's money in this stuff, 330 00:13:15,420 --> 00:13:16,820 but it doesn't excite me. 331 00:13:16,820 --> 00:13:19,740 And I do think it has to excite you 332 00:13:19,740 --> 00:13:21,540 for you to actually be willing to do something. 333 00:13:21,540 --> 00:13:23,620 Because if you're miserable doing it, 334 00:13:23,620 --> 00:13:27,420 kind of like, you know, when you were 4 a.m. to 1 a.m., 335 00:13:27,420 --> 00:13:29,100 right, it's not fun. 336 00:13:29,100 --> 00:13:30,340 It kind of ruins it for you. 337 00:13:30,340 --> 00:13:31,180 And you're not gonna be, 338 00:13:31,180 --> 00:13:32,820 and I think that's what happens on eBay 339 00:13:32,820 --> 00:13:34,580 with a lot of people is, 340 00:13:34,580 --> 00:13:38,340 you feel like you're in this never ending grinding rut 341 00:13:38,340 --> 00:13:40,220 where you really don't get results, right? 342 00:13:40,220 --> 00:13:42,300 Because in all my experience, 343 00:13:42,300 --> 00:13:44,660 I've always, my Amazon sales 344 00:13:44,660 --> 00:13:46,500 have been way over my eBay sales. 345 00:13:46,500 --> 00:13:49,380 Even when I only sold on eBay as an everything seller, 346 00:13:49,380 --> 00:13:51,740 it was nowhere close to what I do on Amazon now. 347 00:13:51,740 --> 00:13:54,860 So for me, it was a win that I finally accepted 348 00:13:54,860 --> 00:13:56,900 the fact that I suck at eBay. 349 00:13:56,900 --> 00:13:58,980 And if the time comes, I know how to do it. 350 00:13:58,980 --> 00:14:00,460 And I have the people around me, right? 351 00:14:00,460 --> 00:14:03,100 I'll just be like, all right, Johnny, how do I do this? 352 00:14:03,100 --> 00:14:04,500 All right, I'm joining tech's group. 353 00:14:04,500 --> 00:14:05,660 I'm gonna be in every single call. 354 00:14:05,660 --> 00:14:07,500 I'm gonna figure it out. 355 00:14:07,500 --> 00:14:08,940 So that was a win, but like, 356 00:14:08,940 --> 00:14:11,940 I lose Tommy Wiseau's autographed DVD 357 00:14:11,940 --> 00:14:14,020 that's gonna sit here because I really don't feel 358 00:14:14,020 --> 00:14:16,380 like listening it because the platform does nothing for me. 359 00:14:16,380 --> 00:14:19,820 So it was a both sides of the fence for me. 360 00:14:19,820 --> 00:14:22,820 I just focus on what's working. 361 00:14:22,820 --> 00:14:26,380 And we had Ed on last week and he sells on multiple platforms. 362 00:14:26,380 --> 00:14:30,500 And I think he's a good example of focus on the platform 363 00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:31,860 that's giving you results. 364 00:14:31,860 --> 00:14:34,340 It's almost like a separate way of thinking 365 00:14:34,340 --> 00:14:36,420 when you start looking at, okay, well, 366 00:14:36,420 --> 00:14:37,820 is this platform giving me results? 367 00:14:37,820 --> 00:14:40,460 But the problem with that argument is most people 368 00:14:40,460 --> 00:14:41,940 don't try different platforms, right? 369 00:14:41,940 --> 00:14:43,580 They're scared to start Amazon. 370 00:14:43,580 --> 00:14:45,260 They're scared to get on Bonanza. 371 00:14:45,260 --> 00:14:47,620 They're scared to sell on Etsy or something like that. 372 00:14:47,620 --> 00:14:50,260 So for me, I'm glad I'm on multiple platforms. 373 00:14:50,260 --> 00:14:52,060 So I can pivot if I got it, 374 00:14:52,060 --> 00:14:53,580 but just focusing on the platform 375 00:14:53,580 --> 00:14:54,900 that's giving you results, right? 376 00:14:54,900 --> 00:14:58,820 If you're doing $5,000 in sales a week on Amazon, 377 00:14:58,820 --> 00:15:01,180 why are you gonna shift to go do eBay, 378 00:15:01,180 --> 00:15:04,620 just so you can do eBay and make 300 bucks a week? 379 00:15:04,620 --> 00:15:05,540 It just doesn't make sense. 380 00:15:05,540 --> 00:15:07,140 But so many people get caught in this trap. 381 00:15:07,140 --> 00:15:09,940 Like, well, I'm a reseller, so I gotta sell on eBay 382 00:15:09,940 --> 00:15:13,100 and Amazon and I'm like, no, if this is working, 383 00:15:13,100 --> 00:15:13,940 I'm going that way. 384 00:15:13,940 --> 00:15:15,780 If that's working, I'm going that way. 385 00:15:15,780 --> 00:15:18,740 There's a lot of truth there. 386 00:15:18,740 --> 00:15:21,940 Like, you have a good thing going, 387 00:15:21,940 --> 00:15:24,580 why are you gonna deviate from that good thing? 388 00:15:24,580 --> 00:15:27,580 I did this with my example of trying to list everything. 389 00:15:27,580 --> 00:15:30,060 That was, by everything, I mean all books, 390 00:15:30,060 --> 00:15:32,940 not some burros and kazoos. 391 00:15:34,740 --> 00:15:39,300 But going with the one that's paying you the most money, 392 00:15:39,300 --> 00:15:43,460 I also think we fall into the trap of insecurity 393 00:15:43,460 --> 00:15:45,500 that this good thing can go away. 394 00:15:45,500 --> 00:15:49,820 I need to diversify to have some security 395 00:15:49,820 --> 00:15:50,780 and peace of mind. 396 00:15:50,780 --> 00:15:53,460 And that's a valid argument. 397 00:15:53,460 --> 00:15:56,980 But when you can allocate time and or resources 398 00:15:56,980 --> 00:16:00,500 and somebody else's time to do it for you, 399 00:16:00,500 --> 00:16:02,100 that's when you should make that move. 400 00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:05,900 I don't think you should try to split your mind 401 00:16:05,900 --> 00:16:08,380 having multiple things you're trying to juggle 402 00:16:08,380 --> 00:16:10,780 at the same time, because it gets overwhelming 403 00:16:10,780 --> 00:16:13,100 and you can do two things okay, 404 00:16:13,100 --> 00:16:15,020 but you can really do one thing great. 405 00:16:15,020 --> 00:16:16,780 I'd rather you do the one thing great 406 00:16:16,780 --> 00:16:20,460 than do two jobs sloppy, essentially, 407 00:16:20,460 --> 00:16:21,780 is what I'm trying to get at. 408 00:16:21,780 --> 00:16:23,660 Diversifying should be as, 409 00:16:23,660 --> 00:16:26,780 when I tell people to get on multiple platforms to sell, 410 00:16:26,780 --> 00:16:30,260 I'm just talking about you creating a seller account 411 00:16:30,260 --> 00:16:32,820 on that platform, testing it out, saying, 412 00:16:32,820 --> 00:16:33,940 hey, does it work? 413 00:16:33,940 --> 00:16:35,380 Am I selling anything? 414 00:16:35,380 --> 00:16:37,980 But like Johnny said, you can't give 100% 415 00:16:37,980 --> 00:16:39,420 to multiple different things. 416 00:16:39,420 --> 00:16:42,300 So you have to focus in, especially with, 417 00:16:42,300 --> 00:16:46,340 and people complain about platforms. 418 00:16:46,340 --> 00:16:48,060 If the platform ain't working, 419 00:16:48,060 --> 00:16:50,060 try selling the same stuff on a different platform. 420 00:16:50,060 --> 00:16:52,380 See if you get a different result. 421 00:16:52,380 --> 00:16:54,380 Just saying in the same platform 422 00:16:54,380 --> 00:16:56,580 in the same little bubble you're in, 423 00:16:56,580 --> 00:16:59,380 it's just limiting beliefs, honestly, with reselling. 424 00:16:59,380 --> 00:17:02,460 I think more people need to branch out to more platforms. 425 00:17:02,460 --> 00:17:05,580 Even if Johnny tells me, hey, this platform sucks, 426 00:17:05,580 --> 00:17:07,740 well, that's Johnny's experience. 427 00:17:07,740 --> 00:17:10,220 Maybe he was listening incorrectly, 428 00:17:10,220 --> 00:17:11,620 he's selling different items than me. 429 00:17:11,620 --> 00:17:12,740 We all sell different stuff. 430 00:17:12,740 --> 00:17:15,420 So maybe you on that platform is actually good, 431 00:17:15,420 --> 00:17:17,460 but people just take everything at word, right? 432 00:17:17,460 --> 00:17:19,660 Like I can make a YouTube video saying, 433 00:17:19,660 --> 00:17:21,620 don't ever sell on Bonanza. 434 00:17:21,620 --> 00:17:22,940 Well, I'm sure there's people out there 435 00:17:22,940 --> 00:17:24,940 that probably make a good amount of money on Bonanza. 436 00:17:24,940 --> 00:17:26,020 They just sell different things 437 00:17:26,020 --> 00:17:28,060 that are in demand on that platform. 438 00:17:28,060 --> 00:17:29,140 No, absolutely. 439 00:17:29,140 --> 00:17:32,460 And what's interesting is I attended a Poshmark call. 440 00:17:32,460 --> 00:17:33,300 What? 441 00:17:33,300 --> 00:17:34,860 The bookseller attended a Poshmark call? 442 00:17:34,860 --> 00:17:36,900 I did, and I asked her book questions, 443 00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:38,300 and she was shocked that I did, 444 00:17:38,300 --> 00:17:41,940 because it's primarily known as a clothing and shoe platform. 445 00:17:41,940 --> 00:17:44,180 She's like, okay, I'll indulge you, Johnny. 446 00:17:44,180 --> 00:17:45,860 You're a pretty good guy. 447 00:17:45,860 --> 00:17:46,700 And so she did. 448 00:17:46,700 --> 00:17:49,180 We did some deep dive on what books 449 00:17:49,180 --> 00:17:52,260 actually sell on Poshmark, and it's different. 450 00:17:52,260 --> 00:17:54,860 It ended up being like fashion-related things, 451 00:17:54,860 --> 00:17:59,180 or how-to for home decoration type of stuff, 452 00:17:59,180 --> 00:18:04,180 and or your really bad trashy romance stuff, lots. 453 00:18:04,860 --> 00:18:07,380 But in most scenarios, it was lots of books. 454 00:18:07,380 --> 00:18:10,060 But in those two primarily categories, 455 00:18:10,060 --> 00:18:11,980 to make any real money. 456 00:18:11,980 --> 00:18:15,220 This goes to Mike's point of certain things do better 457 00:18:15,220 --> 00:18:17,820 on certain platforms. 458 00:18:17,820 --> 00:18:21,140 So if you're listing Westerns on Poshmark, 459 00:18:21,140 --> 00:18:22,940 you're probably gonna do terrible, 460 00:18:22,940 --> 00:18:25,820 maybe not sell any of them for months. 461 00:18:25,820 --> 00:18:28,780 Now, if you were to do Westerns on eBay, 462 00:18:28,780 --> 00:18:30,780 you are gonna sell a lot more. 463 00:18:30,780 --> 00:18:32,740 Now, if you were to do Westerns on Amazon, 464 00:18:32,740 --> 00:18:34,780 maybe sell a lot, lot more. 465 00:18:34,780 --> 00:18:39,620 So it just really depends what item does well where. 466 00:18:39,620 --> 00:18:41,540 If you're trying to do them all, 467 00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:44,660 well, that gets questionable on, okay, 468 00:18:44,660 --> 00:18:45,860 you're not really focused. 469 00:18:45,860 --> 00:18:47,820 You're kind of taking a shotgun approach 470 00:18:47,820 --> 00:18:49,020 instead of a scalpel. 471 00:18:50,620 --> 00:18:52,460 Then I would say to you, okay, 472 00:18:52,460 --> 00:18:55,620 how do you do the best shotgun blast you can? 473 00:18:55,620 --> 00:18:58,460 So you have to be surgical with your shotgun. 474 00:18:58,460 --> 00:19:00,060 And this is a horrible analogy, 475 00:19:00,060 --> 00:19:02,780 so I'm gonna switch it back over to Mike. 476 00:19:02,780 --> 00:19:07,540 If you're gonna list everywhere cross-listing software, 477 00:19:07,540 --> 00:19:09,540 there is even limitations to that. 478 00:19:09,540 --> 00:19:13,180 So like Johnny said, your turd isn't gonna sell on Bonanza 479 00:19:13,180 --> 00:19:16,020 or Etsy or eBay or Amazon. 480 00:19:16,020 --> 00:19:18,980 I think another one I wanna jump into is, 481 00:19:18,980 --> 00:19:22,020 it's kind of on defense both ways for me, 482 00:19:22,020 --> 00:19:26,900 is relationships within basically reselling, right? 483 00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:29,660 So whether that's me and Johnny's relationship 484 00:19:29,660 --> 00:19:32,460 or you in a thrift store or you in a library, 485 00:19:32,460 --> 00:19:34,260 for me it's worked both ways. 486 00:19:35,620 --> 00:19:38,900 Being somebody that's on YouTube, has the podcast, 487 00:19:38,900 --> 00:19:40,500 on all social media platforms, 488 00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:42,580 posting short videos every single day, 489 00:19:43,860 --> 00:19:45,740 you can get burned out pretty quick 490 00:19:45,740 --> 00:19:49,780 when it comes to trying to basically save everybody. 491 00:19:49,780 --> 00:19:52,100 And I've come to realize somewhere along this year, 492 00:19:52,100 --> 00:19:55,740 I can't give an exact date or the exact morning I woke up 493 00:19:55,740 --> 00:19:59,060 and I told myself, Mike, you can't save everybody. 494 00:19:59,060 --> 00:20:00,980 Some people just ain't gonna do it 495 00:20:00,980 --> 00:20:03,500 and that's just a reality and usually those people 496 00:20:03,500 --> 00:20:05,140 will suck the most life out of you 497 00:20:05,140 --> 00:20:07,340 when it comes to questions. 498 00:20:07,340 --> 00:20:10,740 How do I start this or how do I do this? 499 00:20:10,740 --> 00:20:13,620 And it turns into three hours of your life, 500 00:20:13,620 --> 00:20:15,140 you're never gonna get back. 501 00:20:15,140 --> 00:20:17,140 And then the person doesn't go and do anything. 502 00:20:17,140 --> 00:20:20,340 So for me at least with relationships, 503 00:20:20,340 --> 00:20:23,740 I was getting to a point where I'm investing all this time 504 00:20:23,740 --> 00:20:25,620 and I'm not saying there's gotta be a payoff, right? 505 00:20:25,620 --> 00:20:27,180 You asked me a question, I'll give you an answer. 506 00:20:27,180 --> 00:20:28,100 I respond to every comment, 507 00:20:28,100 --> 00:20:30,940 even if it's something that's negative, 508 00:20:30,940 --> 00:20:33,420 but I do think there is a balancing act behind the scenes 509 00:20:33,420 --> 00:20:35,900 that has to go on because I can't sit down 510 00:20:35,900 --> 00:20:37,900 with every single person 511 00:20:37,900 --> 00:20:39,780 and curate a business for them, right? 512 00:20:39,780 --> 00:20:42,340 It's not that hard to figure this out. 513 00:20:42,340 --> 00:20:43,260 You just go and scan. 514 00:20:43,260 --> 00:20:45,700 I don't do anything different than anybody else. 515 00:20:45,700 --> 00:20:48,780 I have relationships that I've built with stores 516 00:20:48,780 --> 00:20:50,500 and that gets me to the next one is, 517 00:20:52,020 --> 00:20:54,460 you have to be thinking outside the box. 518 00:20:54,460 --> 00:20:57,060 The thrift stores are the lowest hanging fruit 519 00:20:57,060 --> 00:21:00,380 where every reseller is going to go. 520 00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:02,580 I don't wanna hear this nonsense. 521 00:21:02,580 --> 00:21:04,900 Well, I don't like talking to people 522 00:21:04,900 --> 00:21:07,740 and I don't wanna ask if I can scan in the back room 523 00:21:07,740 --> 00:21:10,820 or I don't wanna tell people about my business. 524 00:21:10,820 --> 00:21:14,580 And it's so silly to me because the relationships I've got 525 00:21:14,580 --> 00:21:16,780 are just me talking to the person, 526 00:21:16,780 --> 00:21:18,180 even at the cash register like, 527 00:21:18,180 --> 00:21:20,820 hey, you guys got a lot of books out here. 528 00:21:20,820 --> 00:21:22,260 It's my first time here. 529 00:21:23,500 --> 00:21:24,380 You got any more? 530 00:21:24,380 --> 00:21:26,820 Oh yeah, well, we got 50,000 discs 531 00:21:26,820 --> 00:21:28,540 in the back, well, all of a sudden, boom, 532 00:21:28,540 --> 00:21:30,020 your business blows up overnight. 533 00:21:30,020 --> 00:21:32,340 This relationship isn't gonna go anywhere. 534 00:21:32,340 --> 00:21:34,380 You're supplying them with money. 535 00:21:34,380 --> 00:21:37,220 And all it was, and people, hey, what do you do? 536 00:21:37,220 --> 00:21:38,380 I sell media full time. 537 00:21:38,380 --> 00:21:41,660 I have a little online store that I support my family with. 538 00:21:41,660 --> 00:21:43,980 And people are like, yes, support your family. 539 00:21:43,980 --> 00:21:45,620 It's me, Deb and the cats. 540 00:21:45,620 --> 00:21:48,060 Well, listen, I treat my cats as my kids. 541 00:21:48,060 --> 00:21:50,180 Yeah, I raised four kids off these stinky books 542 00:21:50,180 --> 00:21:51,740 that I sell, right? 543 00:21:51,740 --> 00:21:54,620 I think people have to start thinking outside the box 544 00:21:54,620 --> 00:21:57,020 with relationships, libraries. 545 00:21:57,020 --> 00:22:00,740 Everybody knows I work with libraries behind the scenes, 546 00:22:00,740 --> 00:22:03,060 getting their donations for next to nothing 547 00:22:03,060 --> 00:22:04,900 besides donating to the library. 548 00:22:04,900 --> 00:22:05,740 They don't even ask for it. 549 00:22:05,740 --> 00:22:07,300 I just do it in good faith. 550 00:22:07,300 --> 00:22:09,820 And thrift stores, and I got thrift store back rooms as well. 551 00:22:09,820 --> 00:22:11,700 And it's all built off relationships. 552 00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:13,700 So that's been a huge plus for me 553 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:15,500 is maintaining these relationships 554 00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:18,060 and seeing what else you can get from relationships. 555 00:22:18,060 --> 00:22:20,820 Because once you get one library, then guess what? 556 00:22:20,820 --> 00:22:23,260 If they hang out, if there's a big library party 557 00:22:23,260 --> 00:22:25,540 in central Pennsylvania, and they're like, hey, 558 00:22:25,540 --> 00:22:27,020 we got all this stuff we got to get rid of. 559 00:22:27,020 --> 00:22:28,820 Well, hey, we got a guy that gets rid of it. 560 00:22:28,820 --> 00:22:31,380 And all of a sudden, your network starts growing. 561 00:22:31,380 --> 00:22:33,180 But it also works the other way. 562 00:22:33,180 --> 00:22:35,300 When I have a million people saying, 563 00:22:35,300 --> 00:22:37,380 well, I can't find better items. 564 00:22:37,380 --> 00:22:40,500 Well, I can't miraculously make better items go to you. 565 00:22:40,500 --> 00:22:43,900 And I will say this, resellers are lazy people, man. 566 00:22:43,900 --> 00:22:47,020 I always tell everybody, scan the bottom shelf. 567 00:22:47,020 --> 00:22:49,500 If you go in any thrift store and you scan the bottom shelf, 568 00:22:49,500 --> 00:22:51,060 I probably would guarantee you're 569 00:22:51,060 --> 00:22:53,100 going to find at least one accept on the bottom shelf 570 00:22:53,100 --> 00:22:54,660 because people don't want to do it. 571 00:22:54,660 --> 00:22:56,820 So relationships for me, it might be different for you, 572 00:22:56,820 --> 00:23:00,180 Johnny, because you don't have a YouTube channel. 573 00:23:00,180 --> 00:23:02,340 And if people yell about you on YouTube, 574 00:23:02,340 --> 00:23:04,500 you really don't even got to respond to it. 575 00:23:04,500 --> 00:23:07,300 But for me, I lost a lot of time, 576 00:23:07,300 --> 00:23:10,460 wasted a lot of time with a lot of people that are just like, 577 00:23:10,460 --> 00:23:11,980 I want to do this. 578 00:23:11,980 --> 00:23:13,740 And unfortunately, this has happened to me 579 00:23:13,740 --> 00:23:17,060 in the past where it's like a friend or a family member. 580 00:23:17,060 --> 00:23:19,620 And you're like, hey, I can show you step by step 581 00:23:19,620 --> 00:23:22,900 how to make an extra $40,000 in profit a year 582 00:23:22,900 --> 00:23:24,180 doing this business. 583 00:23:24,180 --> 00:23:27,780 And it turns into a never ending conversation that never 584 00:23:27,780 --> 00:23:29,300 actually takes any steps. 585 00:23:29,300 --> 00:23:30,100 It's all talk. 586 00:23:30,100 --> 00:23:31,140 And talk means nothing. 587 00:23:31,140 --> 00:23:33,540 You have to actually go out there and do it. 588 00:23:33,540 --> 00:23:37,220 I mean, my relationships apply different than yours. 589 00:23:37,220 --> 00:23:39,060 You probably get some of this. 590 00:23:39,060 --> 00:23:40,340 Well, I'm not going to say that. 591 00:23:40,340 --> 00:23:42,620 You probably get more of this than I do. 592 00:23:42,620 --> 00:23:45,820 Hey, Johnny, you want 100,000 books? 593 00:23:45,820 --> 00:23:49,140 Hey, Johnny, you want 60,000 romance novels? 594 00:23:49,140 --> 00:23:50,020 No, I don't get that. 595 00:23:50,020 --> 00:23:52,860 Hey, Johnny, you want 40,000 blah? 596 00:23:52,860 --> 00:23:54,460 These are all true stories. 597 00:23:54,460 --> 00:23:56,660 And you know what my answer to every single one of those 598 00:23:56,660 --> 00:23:57,180 was? 599 00:23:57,180 --> 00:23:57,940 No. 600 00:23:57,940 --> 00:23:58,740 And it's not want. 601 00:23:58,740 --> 00:24:00,060 They want me to buy them. 602 00:24:00,060 --> 00:24:03,900 Those are the messages I get by doing this podcast, which 603 00:24:03,900 --> 00:24:04,620 is great. 604 00:24:04,620 --> 00:24:07,220 And then some other people message me for what I want. 605 00:24:07,220 --> 00:24:09,220 I'm like, yes, I want that. 606 00:24:09,220 --> 00:24:10,820 Because if you don't know in our Discord, 607 00:24:10,820 --> 00:24:13,260 I have a thing of what I will buy generally. 608 00:24:13,260 --> 00:24:15,420 And then usually they'll show me photos. 609 00:24:15,420 --> 00:24:19,140 I'll be like, yes, I'll do that. 610 00:24:19,140 --> 00:24:23,140 But the generic 60,000 romance novels? 611 00:24:23,140 --> 00:24:26,460 No, no, no, no, no. 612 00:24:26,460 --> 00:24:28,300 I guess I kind of put you in this situation. 613 00:24:28,300 --> 00:24:28,820 I guess. 614 00:24:28,820 --> 00:24:29,340 You did. 615 00:24:29,340 --> 00:24:32,620 I get solicited, Mike, to buy these studs. 616 00:24:32,620 --> 00:24:33,860 You could still do it. 617 00:24:33,860 --> 00:24:36,700 You wouldn't even exist on the internet. 618 00:24:36,700 --> 00:24:38,340 And you'd probably be much better off. 619 00:24:38,340 --> 00:24:39,140 But here I am. 620 00:24:39,140 --> 00:24:42,620 I drove you into this realm. 621 00:24:42,620 --> 00:24:45,660 I mean, it'd probably be worse if I had my own YouTube channel. 622 00:24:45,660 --> 00:24:48,460 Because I would offer to buy if I had my own YouTube channel. 623 00:24:48,460 --> 00:24:50,620 You're like, yeah, I'll buy, but only certain stuff. 624 00:24:50,620 --> 00:24:52,660 But I would still get those messages for the people 625 00:24:52,660 --> 00:24:56,060 that don't read what I want and don't want. 626 00:24:56,060 --> 00:24:57,700 And if you're listening to this and you're 627 00:24:57,700 --> 00:25:00,820 one of those fine people that offered me such a prestigious deal, 628 00:25:00,820 --> 00:25:01,980 I thank you. 629 00:25:01,980 --> 00:25:04,780 But you guys got to remember, I operate out 630 00:25:04,780 --> 00:25:07,380 of a 1,000 foot square foot warehouse. 631 00:25:07,380 --> 00:25:09,740 I have a second one that's like 250. 632 00:25:09,740 --> 00:25:13,660 I'm not set up to take in 50,000 plus books, 633 00:25:13,660 --> 00:25:16,580 because I already have 50,000 of my own books. 634 00:25:16,580 --> 00:25:17,740 Thank you. 635 00:25:17,740 --> 00:25:22,140 Now, a couple of boxes here and there I could do. 636 00:25:22,140 --> 00:25:24,100 But I've also met other people where 637 00:25:24,100 --> 00:25:26,580 I have long established relationships through this 638 00:25:26,580 --> 00:25:28,180 that know what I want. 639 00:25:28,180 --> 00:25:31,380 And I say yes to them every time. 640 00:25:31,380 --> 00:25:33,740 And some people just, they don't even bother asking me. 641 00:25:33,740 --> 00:25:35,420 They already know and just send me a box. 642 00:25:35,420 --> 00:25:37,100 And sometimes I just end up with a box. 643 00:25:37,100 --> 00:25:40,100 Mike sends me boxes too. 644 00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:42,740 It's my payment for showing up for you fine gentlemen and ladies. 645 00:25:42,740 --> 00:25:44,700 That's not enough money, but oh well. 646 00:25:44,700 --> 00:25:46,780 No raises this year in inflation. 647 00:25:46,780 --> 00:25:48,700 Maybe an extra box, we'll see. 648 00:25:48,700 --> 00:25:50,700 But no, relationship building is great. 649 00:25:50,700 --> 00:25:53,300 And with some of my local people, 650 00:25:53,300 --> 00:25:55,500 I had to readjust some of those relationships. 651 00:25:55,500 --> 00:26:00,780 Like you've done business this way for over a year now. 652 00:26:00,780 --> 00:26:04,860 I think we can shift over to this kind of way of doing things 653 00:26:04,860 --> 00:26:06,300 if you're OK with that. 654 00:26:06,300 --> 00:26:08,420 And some of them said yes, some of them said no. 655 00:26:08,420 --> 00:26:11,180 The ones that said no, well, we parted ways. 656 00:26:11,180 --> 00:26:14,620 But the ones that said yes, it makes my life a lot easier 657 00:26:14,620 --> 00:26:19,340 now because we got to look at how we are doing things 658 00:26:19,340 --> 00:26:22,460 and how we can improve doing those things to save time, 659 00:26:22,460 --> 00:26:25,020 which goes into what Mike's been addressing several times 660 00:26:25,020 --> 00:26:27,340 in this episode, your profit per hour. 661 00:26:27,340 --> 00:26:29,860 Is it more profitable for an old man 662 00:26:29,860 --> 00:26:31,780 to hand you one book at a time and give you 663 00:26:31,780 --> 00:26:34,220 the life story of the book versus like, no, 664 00:26:34,220 --> 00:26:36,900 you go over to your corner and let me do my thing 665 00:26:36,900 --> 00:26:39,020 and then I give you money and I take the books? 666 00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:44,020 Sorry if this person is listening to this episode, 667 00:26:44,020 --> 00:26:48,060 but I made a thing talking about, do you know, 668 00:26:48,060 --> 00:26:50,780 do more than 50% of resellers know how much they actually 669 00:26:50,780 --> 00:26:52,060 make per hour? 670 00:26:52,060 --> 00:26:55,180 And someone responded saying that knowing how much you make 671 00:26:55,180 --> 00:26:56,780 per hour does not matter. 672 00:26:56,780 --> 00:27:00,620 I thought to myself, like, that is the silliest thing I've ever 673 00:27:00,620 --> 00:27:03,420 heard because your overall number means nothing 674 00:27:03,420 --> 00:27:04,380 at the end of the year. 675 00:27:04,380 --> 00:27:07,900 At what expense is the $20,000 you 676 00:27:07,900 --> 00:27:09,900 made at the end of the year? 677 00:27:09,900 --> 00:27:12,780 I think we get so just like, oh, you know, 678 00:27:12,780 --> 00:27:15,420 like yet again, a YouTube relationship, 679 00:27:15,420 --> 00:27:16,460 I guess kind of thing. 680 00:27:16,460 --> 00:27:17,460 And I responded to the comment. 681 00:27:17,460 --> 00:27:19,340 I said, you have to know how long it takes 682 00:27:19,340 --> 00:27:21,020 you to do these processes. 683 00:27:21,020 --> 00:27:23,820 You have to know every part of your business as a reseller. 684 00:27:23,820 --> 00:27:26,900 You can't just be like, well, I sold $20,000 this year. 685 00:27:26,900 --> 00:27:29,220 I think I probably worked, you know, 100 hours, right? 686 00:27:29,220 --> 00:27:31,340 Maybe 200 hours, somewhere in there. 687 00:27:31,340 --> 00:27:33,980 Like, I think that's how we win going forwards. 688 00:27:33,980 --> 00:27:35,780 But I do think relationships are important. 689 00:27:35,780 --> 00:27:38,100 I always tell everybody to surround yourself 690 00:27:38,100 --> 00:27:40,180 with like-minded people. 691 00:27:40,180 --> 00:27:41,900 And it works both ways with this, right? 692 00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:44,060 Because if you only go on YouTube 693 00:27:44,060 --> 00:27:47,300 or you only listen to podcasts and every title is, 694 00:27:47,300 --> 00:27:51,580 eBay's a dying platform and eBay sucks 695 00:27:51,580 --> 00:27:55,980 and I'm not getting sales for XYZ reason, 696 00:27:55,980 --> 00:27:57,860 you start to believe it. 697 00:27:57,860 --> 00:27:59,940 It's one of those weird phenomenons 698 00:27:59,940 --> 00:28:03,900 where you hear it enough and even though it's a lie, 699 00:28:03,900 --> 00:28:05,340 you start to believe it, right? 700 00:28:05,340 --> 00:28:08,540 Just because this person is saying there's no sales. 701 00:28:08,540 --> 00:28:11,020 And this has been overtaken by YouTube. 702 00:28:11,020 --> 00:28:13,100 I mean, I could go on for hours this year 703 00:28:13,100 --> 00:28:16,580 about how the negative reselling videos 704 00:28:16,580 --> 00:28:17,820 get the most clicks, right? 705 00:28:17,820 --> 00:28:21,340 So 2024, I'm not gonna have a single positive YouTube video. 706 00:28:21,340 --> 00:28:23,340 Everything's gonna be the sky is falling. 707 00:28:23,340 --> 00:28:25,780 I'll have 50 trillion subscribers 708 00:28:25,780 --> 00:28:27,260 and everybody will agree with it. 709 00:28:27,260 --> 00:28:28,740 So when it comes to relationships, 710 00:28:28,740 --> 00:28:31,380 like in your inner circle, get yourself around, 711 00:28:31,380 --> 00:28:33,220 you know, like-minded people 712 00:28:33,220 --> 00:28:34,820 that are kind of in your business 713 00:28:34,820 --> 00:28:36,740 or can offer you some kind of insight, right? 714 00:28:36,740 --> 00:28:39,420 Like, honestly, what am I gonna do 715 00:28:39,420 --> 00:28:41,980 talking to somebody that sells shoes full-time, right? 716 00:28:41,980 --> 00:28:44,500 I can maybe bounce off a few ideas, 717 00:28:44,500 --> 00:28:47,140 but like, it really doesn't relate to my business 718 00:28:47,140 --> 00:28:48,020 at the end of the day. 719 00:28:48,020 --> 00:28:49,660 And there are processes you can learn. 720 00:28:49,660 --> 00:28:50,980 I say it all the time, like, 721 00:28:50,980 --> 00:28:53,820 listening to Chris and tech over the years, 722 00:28:53,820 --> 00:28:57,260 it's, I never even really had an eBay story 723 00:28:57,260 --> 00:28:58,780 that was anything worth anything, 724 00:28:58,780 --> 00:29:00,220 but you learned processes. 725 00:29:00,220 --> 00:29:02,140 So there is something to be said about that, 726 00:29:02,140 --> 00:29:07,100 but you have to control the time you spend on relationships 727 00:29:07,100 --> 00:29:10,100 and surrounding yourself with certain people. 728 00:29:10,100 --> 00:29:11,620 No, I agree with that. 729 00:29:11,620 --> 00:29:14,940 I mean, Tech's Group is primarily clothing sellers, 730 00:29:14,940 --> 00:29:17,540 but there's tons of non-clothing information in there 731 00:29:17,540 --> 00:29:20,500 that are great for business that I need for my business. 732 00:29:21,380 --> 00:29:23,540 Just like when I come over to Mike's group 733 00:29:23,540 --> 00:29:27,100 about just Amazon practices, that's what I go there for, 734 00:29:27,100 --> 00:29:28,900 or Jack's call on Tech's Group, 735 00:29:28,900 --> 00:29:32,980 or even sometimes Max's call for his antiquarian books, 736 00:29:32,980 --> 00:29:34,700 because I'm not an antiquarian expert. 737 00:29:34,700 --> 00:29:36,180 People think I do antiquarian, 738 00:29:36,180 --> 00:29:38,060 but I really don't, I do vintage, 739 00:29:38,060 --> 00:29:41,140 and there's a very giant gap in years on that. 740 00:29:42,220 --> 00:29:46,620 Or I actually met Kayla, or talked to Kayla earlier this year, 741 00:29:46,620 --> 00:29:49,100 who does the antique book collective, 742 00:29:49,100 --> 00:29:52,220 I can give him a call or an email or message, 743 00:29:52,220 --> 00:29:53,420 and he'll respond to me. 744 00:29:54,620 --> 00:29:56,620 But if I didn't do what I'm doing now, 745 00:29:56,620 --> 00:29:57,460 like through this podcast, 746 00:29:57,460 --> 00:29:58,820 I would have never met these people. 747 00:29:58,820 --> 00:30:00,980 I would never had access to these people. 748 00:30:00,980 --> 00:30:03,580 So putting yourself out there, 749 00:30:03,580 --> 00:30:07,900 it comes to the price group solicitation of 100,000 books, 750 00:30:07,900 --> 00:30:10,300 but it comes with some other positives. 751 00:30:11,820 --> 00:30:13,260 And if negatives end, man, 752 00:30:13,260 --> 00:30:14,540 I should start my own YouTube channel. 753 00:30:14,540 --> 00:30:15,780 I'm great at being negative. 754 00:30:15,780 --> 00:30:17,340 No, I will never do that. 755 00:30:20,620 --> 00:30:23,780 I also think when it comes, not only with sourcing, 756 00:30:23,780 --> 00:30:26,660 but people that help you out from time to time. 757 00:30:26,660 --> 00:30:29,620 Like if you have, I don't know, cousins, 758 00:30:29,620 --> 00:30:32,660 or something to help you unload the truck. 759 00:30:32,660 --> 00:30:35,060 Just going with them and talking with them 760 00:30:35,060 --> 00:30:38,140 about how we can do this better for the next time 761 00:30:38,140 --> 00:30:39,740 to improve relationship with them. 762 00:30:39,740 --> 00:30:41,580 Because if you don't, 763 00:30:41,580 --> 00:30:43,180 you give them the phone call to help you out, 764 00:30:43,180 --> 00:30:44,060 they may just say no, 765 00:30:44,060 --> 00:30:45,820 because things have not gotten better, 766 00:30:45,820 --> 00:30:47,780 and you've provided a horrible experience 767 00:30:47,780 --> 00:30:49,300 from the previous time. 768 00:30:49,300 --> 00:30:50,940 But if you work with them a little bit, 769 00:30:50,940 --> 00:30:52,260 they'll be more inclined to help you 770 00:30:52,260 --> 00:30:55,340 as long as they have the mentality of things getting better. 771 00:30:55,340 --> 00:30:56,820 Now, if you have employees, 772 00:30:56,820 --> 00:30:59,180 well, you set that standard and that tone. 773 00:30:59,180 --> 00:31:03,140 And I actually go to mine a couple of times a quarter 774 00:31:03,140 --> 00:31:05,100 and like, is there anything we can be doing better? 775 00:31:05,100 --> 00:31:06,420 What helps you out? 776 00:31:06,420 --> 00:31:07,940 What can I do for you? 777 00:31:07,940 --> 00:31:10,580 I offer to serve them in this capacity. 778 00:31:10,580 --> 00:31:12,060 What do you need to do your job better? 779 00:31:12,060 --> 00:31:13,180 I'm not even talking about equipment. 780 00:31:13,180 --> 00:31:17,100 I'm just talking about workflow stuff or processes. 781 00:31:17,100 --> 00:31:18,300 I think these are vital. 782 00:31:18,300 --> 00:31:21,180 And then you also have to self-examine yourself on that. 783 00:31:21,180 --> 00:31:23,700 How can I do my job better? 784 00:31:23,700 --> 00:31:25,260 Which in turn may spill over 785 00:31:25,260 --> 00:31:27,260 to improving their quality of life. 786 00:31:27,260 --> 00:31:31,020 So let's, as we wrapped this up, 787 00:31:31,020 --> 00:31:33,740 let's throw out a few kind of rapid fire wins and losses. 788 00:31:33,740 --> 00:31:36,140 I guess I'll start, we'll just go back and forth here. 789 00:31:36,140 --> 00:31:39,260 So after all, one of my quick wins here was 790 00:31:40,100 --> 00:31:42,260 refining my thrifting routes, 791 00:31:42,260 --> 00:31:45,060 only thrifting two full days a week versus, 792 00:31:45,900 --> 00:31:49,180 I go to 12 stores in a day versus three stores 793 00:31:49,180 --> 00:31:50,140 over four days. 794 00:31:50,140 --> 00:31:53,580 That made a huge difference in my mental health 795 00:31:53,580 --> 00:31:56,540 and my productivity because I know today, Johnny, 796 00:31:56,540 --> 00:31:57,980 I'm going thrifting. 797 00:31:57,980 --> 00:31:59,660 There's nothing else going on. 798 00:31:59,660 --> 00:32:02,100 I'm focused exactly what I'm doing 799 00:32:02,100 --> 00:32:04,460 in and out business transactions at thrift stores. 800 00:32:04,460 --> 00:32:06,020 That was a huge win for me this year. 801 00:32:06,020 --> 00:32:08,740 And I'm gonna continue that on the next year as well. 802 00:32:08,740 --> 00:32:10,020 Getting more sleep. 803 00:32:10,020 --> 00:32:11,740 Surprisingly, you could think a little better 804 00:32:11,740 --> 00:32:12,580 when you do that. 805 00:32:12,580 --> 00:32:14,220 So when I brought on the employee, 806 00:32:14,220 --> 00:32:15,860 I could sleep in a little longer 807 00:32:15,860 --> 00:32:19,260 after that stint of 60 listings a day. 808 00:32:19,260 --> 00:32:22,060 After that, I got to sleep a little bit more 809 00:32:22,060 --> 00:32:27,060 and I noticed I was a bit more clear-minded on planning 810 00:32:27,420 --> 00:32:29,340 than struggling with it. 811 00:32:29,340 --> 00:32:31,860 Because sleep deprivation, that's a real thing 812 00:32:31,860 --> 00:32:34,140 and it's harder to focus and concentrate 813 00:32:34,140 --> 00:32:38,460 on critical delicate tasks, even in planning. 814 00:32:38,460 --> 00:32:40,060 As far as a loss goes, 815 00:32:43,900 --> 00:32:46,660 getting out of Amazon, I should have stayed in. 816 00:32:46,660 --> 00:32:49,980 Yeah, hindsight's 20-20, I guess on that one. 817 00:32:49,980 --> 00:32:52,060 You just love eBay so much. 818 00:32:52,060 --> 00:32:53,460 I do. 819 00:32:53,460 --> 00:32:56,340 Another one that kind of relates to the thrifting, 820 00:32:56,340 --> 00:32:59,340 the streamlined thrifting is having a schedule 821 00:32:59,340 --> 00:33:02,900 and an actual calendar that I use 822 00:33:02,900 --> 00:33:04,620 for all my monthly stuff. 823 00:33:04,620 --> 00:33:07,060 I never had a calendar until this year. 824 00:33:07,060 --> 00:33:09,620 Deb yelling at me, Johnny yelling at me for months. 825 00:33:09,620 --> 00:33:11,020 I'm like, you two leave me alone. 826 00:33:11,020 --> 00:33:12,780 I don't want a calendar. 827 00:33:12,780 --> 00:33:14,780 It's actually so much better 828 00:33:14,780 --> 00:33:17,620 understanding here's what I have exactly going on 829 00:33:17,620 --> 00:33:19,500 throughout the month, days I can do stuff, 830 00:33:19,500 --> 00:33:21,100 days I can't do stuff, 831 00:33:21,100 --> 00:33:23,020 incorporating that into your business. 832 00:33:23,020 --> 00:33:26,420 And for me, especially with YouTube and social media, 833 00:33:27,300 --> 00:33:30,420 getting a scheduler to schedule out my posts and everything 834 00:33:30,420 --> 00:33:32,420 freed up so much of my time. 835 00:33:34,020 --> 00:33:36,580 Getting back into Amazon was a win. 836 00:33:36,580 --> 00:33:38,380 So I left and I came back. 837 00:33:39,380 --> 00:33:40,780 All in the same year, funny. 838 00:33:40,780 --> 00:33:43,580 And as far as a loss goes, 839 00:33:45,740 --> 00:33:46,580 probably, 840 00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:51,140 it's hard to say if it was a waste of time or not 841 00:33:51,140 --> 00:33:51,980 because now I know. 842 00:33:51,980 --> 00:33:53,020 We'll just say it was. 843 00:33:53,020 --> 00:33:56,300 Me trying to go on these long adventures 844 00:33:56,300 --> 00:33:58,020 to get rid of my duds, 845 00:33:59,260 --> 00:34:01,820 because I remember from other episodes, 846 00:34:01,820 --> 00:34:05,820 I went to flea markets, I went to bookstores, 847 00:34:05,820 --> 00:34:07,260 I went everywhere under the sun. 848 00:34:06,300 --> 00:34:11,300 I went to flea markets, I went to bookstores, 849 00:34:11,300 --> 00:34:12,380 I could think of to get rid of these places 850 00:34:12,380 --> 00:34:14,420 other than just flatly donating them. 851 00:34:14,420 --> 00:34:16,580 Because I wanted a deal and a proposition. 852 00:34:16,580 --> 00:34:18,340 I spent a good three weeks, 853 00:34:18,340 --> 00:34:22,620 which was time loss elsewhere. 854 00:34:24,940 --> 00:34:28,300 And there's a loss for you, time lost. 855 00:34:28,300 --> 00:34:29,660 Time lost is definitely, 856 00:34:29,660 --> 00:34:32,260 I mean, the first half of the year, I lost so much time. 857 00:34:32,260 --> 00:34:35,500 That's just the facts of everything that comes with this. 858 00:34:35,500 --> 00:34:37,860 So I agree, time lost hurt me too 859 00:34:37,860 --> 00:34:39,140 for the first six months of the year 860 00:34:39,140 --> 00:34:42,460 until I finally started figuring out what makes sense to do, 861 00:34:42,460 --> 00:34:45,140 what days and hammering down a schedule. 862 00:34:45,140 --> 00:34:48,900 I really like, I didn't have any huge losses 863 00:34:48,900 --> 00:34:52,060 when it comes to buying or selling on any platforms. 864 00:34:52,060 --> 00:34:54,860 Like I said, the ASP kind of bumped up 865 00:34:54,860 --> 00:34:57,380 the profit I made this year over last year. 866 00:34:57,380 --> 00:35:00,980 And I really didn't have any huge buys 867 00:35:00,980 --> 00:35:03,660 where I could go and spend $5,000 868 00:35:03,660 --> 00:35:06,900 and take a huge roll of the dice. 869 00:35:06,900 --> 00:35:09,940 I just kind of just been consistent with it, honestly. 870 00:35:09,940 --> 00:35:12,300 Another one for me, I guess would be 871 00:35:12,300 --> 00:35:14,340 understanding my sources. 872 00:35:14,340 --> 00:35:16,420 And this sounds so stupid to people 873 00:35:16,420 --> 00:35:19,100 because I know resellers don't track 874 00:35:19,100 --> 00:35:21,260 what their sources are producing. 875 00:35:21,260 --> 00:35:23,380 But if you're gonna have a thrift route, 876 00:35:23,380 --> 00:35:24,980 which you need to have, 877 00:35:24,980 --> 00:35:27,460 you have to understand what stores make sense 878 00:35:27,460 --> 00:35:28,780 to hit how often. 879 00:35:28,780 --> 00:35:31,100 And if you don't know what you're pulling from these stores 880 00:35:31,100 --> 00:35:33,700 or what the stores even have to offer, 881 00:35:33,700 --> 00:35:36,660 how often are they getting new inventory? 882 00:35:36,660 --> 00:35:39,220 It's an easy conversation to have when you're checking out 883 00:35:39,220 --> 00:35:40,820 with whoever's at the register. 884 00:35:40,820 --> 00:35:44,380 Hey, how often do you guys put out new books? 885 00:35:44,380 --> 00:35:45,220 That's it. 886 00:35:45,220 --> 00:35:46,220 You don't even have to be greeting, be like, 887 00:35:46,220 --> 00:35:47,940 hey, do you have a back room full of books? 888 00:35:47,940 --> 00:35:49,780 You're just asking a normal question 889 00:35:49,780 --> 00:35:51,660 and they're just gonna assume you're a reader. 890 00:35:51,660 --> 00:35:53,540 Like, hey, oh yeah, we put them out every week, 891 00:35:53,540 --> 00:35:54,540 every two weeks. 892 00:35:54,540 --> 00:35:56,740 Then all of a sudden you start refining things. 893 00:35:56,740 --> 00:36:00,500 So for me, it's just that literally understanding my sources 894 00:36:00,500 --> 00:36:02,620 and how often I need to go to these places 895 00:36:02,620 --> 00:36:04,260 and fit them into my routes, 896 00:36:04,260 --> 00:36:06,620 that makes everything so much more streamlined. 897 00:36:06,620 --> 00:36:09,140 I know when I go to the store that I should find stuff 898 00:36:09,140 --> 00:36:11,260 because it's been X amount of time 899 00:36:11,260 --> 00:36:13,220 and I know they put out X amount of inventory 900 00:36:13,220 --> 00:36:15,140 within that timeframe for me to scan. 901 00:36:16,460 --> 00:36:20,900 Hey, here is both a win and a loss at the same time. 902 00:36:20,900 --> 00:36:23,340 I spent a lot of money on bullpen hiring 903 00:36:23,340 --> 00:36:25,260 and I'll clarify what that means. 904 00:36:25,260 --> 00:36:27,660 I hired a lot of personnel with plans 905 00:36:27,660 --> 00:36:29,380 only to keep maybe one or two of them, 906 00:36:29,380 --> 00:36:31,660 ended up with one, which goes into my win. 907 00:36:31,660 --> 00:36:33,820 Probably the best individual I've worked with 908 00:36:33,820 --> 00:36:35,500 in and outside of corporate. 909 00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:38,940 She comes in very quiet, does her work, goes home. 910 00:36:38,940 --> 00:36:40,260 Never complains. 911 00:36:40,260 --> 00:36:43,460 Does whatever I ask of her with a smile. 912 00:36:43,460 --> 00:36:45,460 She smiles, she doesn't talk, she smiles. 913 00:36:47,180 --> 00:36:48,620 She is great. 914 00:36:48,620 --> 00:36:52,580 However, I spent about nine to 10 grand 915 00:36:52,580 --> 00:36:54,940 over that bullpen hiring scenario. 916 00:36:54,940 --> 00:36:56,780 So that was a financial loss, 917 00:36:56,780 --> 00:36:58,220 but it turned into a net gain 918 00:36:58,220 --> 00:37:00,300 with having probably the most productive individual 919 00:37:00,300 --> 00:37:02,580 I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. 920 00:37:02,580 --> 00:37:03,420 Or an employee. 921 00:37:03,420 --> 00:37:05,100 All right, I'm gonna wrap it up here. 922 00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:08,220 I can't top your amazing employee you have over there. 923 00:37:08,220 --> 00:37:10,620 Two times I've heard her, she sounds like she's super nice 924 00:37:10,620 --> 00:37:12,980 and I'm grateful you found somebody through all this. 925 00:37:12,980 --> 00:37:14,620 Hey, you're so mean to her on the phone. 926 00:37:14,620 --> 00:37:16,140 So mean. 927 00:37:16,140 --> 00:37:17,300 I'm trying to get her out. 928 00:37:17,300 --> 00:37:20,420 Yell help three times if you need me to fly down to Texas 929 00:37:20,420 --> 00:37:23,540 and break you out from Johnny's warehouse. 930 00:37:23,540 --> 00:37:24,740 I got nothing to top that though 931 00:37:24,740 --> 00:37:26,780 because when you have a good employee, 932 00:37:26,780 --> 00:37:28,220 nothing beats it in this business. 933 00:37:28,220 --> 00:37:31,180 You gotta be willing to take the risk to hire a few people 934 00:37:31,180 --> 00:37:32,460 because the first person you hire 935 00:37:32,460 --> 00:37:33,580 ain't gonna be the superstar. 936 00:37:33,580 --> 00:37:34,860 And if it is, I mean, 937 00:37:34,860 --> 00:37:37,060 you're literally a unicorn in the world. 938 00:37:37,060 --> 00:37:38,820 So it's tough to hire somebody, 939 00:37:38,820 --> 00:37:41,660 but if you get the right person, the sky's the limit. 940 00:37:41,660 --> 00:37:43,340 You double your production overnight. 941 00:37:43,340 --> 00:37:44,700 I mean, it's kind of crazy. 942 00:37:44,700 --> 00:37:47,180 So as always, we appreciate y'all listening 943 00:37:47,180 --> 00:37:50,020 and we'll talk to you in next week's episode. 944 00:37:50,020 --> 00:37:51,580 Thanks for listening to another episode 945 00:37:51,580 --> 00:37:53,620 of the Resellers Mindset Podcast. 946 00:37:53,620 --> 00:37:55,940 Today's full episode and all previous episodes 947 00:37:55,940 --> 00:37:58,060 are available to all YouTube members 948 00:37:58,060 --> 00:38:00,860 along with the weekly Zoom call and private Discord. 949 00:38:00,860 --> 00:38:04,020 Head on over to youtube.com backslash to use book guy 950 00:38:04,020 --> 00:38:27,020 and consider joining for as little as $2.99 a month.