1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,440 Welcome back to another episode of the Resellers Mindset Podcast. 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,160 My name is Mike, also known as the used book guy on YouTube, 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:09,080 along with my friend and fellow full time reseller, Johnny B. 4 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,680 We help people start and grow their reselling businesses from the ground up. 5 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,560 We also have a weekly Zoom call and private Discord for all YouTube members. 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,840 Head on over to youtube.com backslash used book guy to join the channel 7 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:25,400 and gain access to the full length podcast, Zoom call and private Discord today. 8 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:27,360 Let's get into this week's episode. 9 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:28,360 What is up, everybody? 10 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,880 Welcome into another episode of Resellers Mindset Podcast. 11 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,320 Mike next to Johnny, as always, important one. 12 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,840 You could be the best reseller out there, but if you don't figure out 13 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,440 there's one important part of your business, it doesn't matter 14 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,480 how good of a reseller you are, however you want to define it. 15 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:48,880 So I think about reselling, think about people that are like, I'm a great reseller. 16 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:53,720 And the first thing that comes to mind is that they are the best sorcerer in the universe. 17 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,360 They have the best connections. 18 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:57,320 They got the best hookups. 19 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,720 But the main component of having a business is understanding 20 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,840 whether or not you are making money. 21 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:10,720 And this is huge in the Amazon space because people like to show off their sales numbers 22 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,320 and even in the eBay space, because they give you the 90 day total, 23 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:15,800 which is your sales number. 24 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:18,280 It's not your actual bank account number. 25 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:20,040 And they do this on purpose. 26 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,440 I think about Amazon and eBay, they they show you your overall sales. 27 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,960 So you feel like you're making more money than you actually are. 28 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:33,160 And so many resellers fall victim to not understanding the business, 29 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:38,960 basically monetary behind the scenes, what it goes into actually having money 30 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:43,160 coming into your bank account and actually making money, not just sales, 31 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,480 the imaginary sales number we all care about. 32 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:52,080 And in addition to that, I want to talk about the idea that resellers, 33 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,920 we almost live in this world of imaginary money, because if I go to the store 34 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,840 and I buy this phone and I'm going to I look it up and I'm going to make $200. 35 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,160 In my mind, I've already made the $200 for this item. 36 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,120 When there's so much more that goes into it besides just the component, 37 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:09,840 you got to list it, you got to sell it. 38 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:10,960 It's got to get to the customer. 39 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:12,720 They got to keep the item, no refunds. 40 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:14,640 And then you actually get the money. 41 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:17,480 I don't know, man. It kind of irritates me when people say, 42 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,040 well, this is so much in profit. 43 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,240 Well, if it's not listed and not sold, it's nothing in profit. 44 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,200 It actually costs you money sitting there. 45 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:29,560 Yeah. I mean, you can have a $2 million business and spend $2.1. 46 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:32,920 You make no money. 47 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,640 In fact, you spent more money than your business made. 48 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:38,680 And to me, that's not success. 49 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,480 That is failure. 50 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,560 There's also people have the false hope they will scale their way 51 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:47,760 into profitability that goes in there. 52 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,160 And that's why they flash their big numbers, 53 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,240 even though they may be operating in the red. 54 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,120 They aren't even close to the black. 55 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:56,520 It's like, look at me. I look successful. 56 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,400 And that's probably, I'm going to say that's something psychological 57 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:00,400 with these people. 58 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,120 They needed to make themselves feel better because they need that 59 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,000 reactant from everybody else not producing those numbers. 60 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,480 But I'm here to tell you that you're probably making more money 61 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,600 than a lot of the people that actually like to flash those numbers. 62 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:20,200 The people that are doing those numbers tend not to flash those numbers, 63 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,640 legitimately making more money coming in. 64 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:27,400 They just have, well, A, they probably don't have the time to do that. 65 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,280 And B, they don't have that psychological hold up of self validation 66 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:36,480 of look at me or look what I'm doing to make themselves feel better, honestly. 67 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:42,640 Now, there are some people that go outside this realm that do produce 68 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,480 those numbers, make a lot of money and flash those numbers. 69 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,760 We're not saying every single one of the people that flashes their numbers 70 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,520 and big charts or whatever, they're not actually clearing money. 71 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,000 But given me and Mike been around the block a minute, 72 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,040 a lot of them are not making a whole lot of money. 73 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,880 Take it with a grain of salt, I guess, is kind of just because somebody 74 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,160 shows you some crazy numbers, crazy sales numbers. 75 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,880 Just think about how much overhead you listening have in your business 76 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:14,600 at the scale you're at, right? 77 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,680 Think about you as a solo reseller, how many subscriptions, 78 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:20,120 how much you pay in supplies. 79 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,680 Well, when somebody shows you these crazy big numbers, 80 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:28,960 think about 10x, 100x supplies, 100x overhead employees. 81 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,600 There are so many things that don't get taken into consideration. 82 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,040 And unfortunately, that's how a lot of people start reselling 83 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,920 as they fall for the trap of you can make an infinite amount of money today. 84 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,560 And I'm here to tell you reselling is 100%. 85 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:43,800 You can print money once you get it figured out. 86 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,000 But in the beginning, it's going to be a learning curve. 87 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:53,760 And finances in a business, I mean, you can be a profitable reselling business 88 00:04:53,760 --> 00:05:00,880 and do a dollar a month in sales and make 25 cents after fees and whatever. 89 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,040 There's people out there that are doing tens of thousands of dollars a month, 90 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,680 like Johnny said, and not making no money. 91 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,080 And that's why I don't get bent out of shape. 92 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,880 I cheer for people that make more money than me, right? 93 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:14,240 I'm your biggest fan. 94 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,040 I want you to make more money. 95 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,800 But I've got myself to a situation where the money I make 96 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,800 allows me to live comfortably because I understand 97 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:24,600 the finances of the actual business. 98 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:29,400 And I guess it is a little unfair because I was a store manager at CVS. 99 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:30,800 We get monthly P&Ls. 100 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,040 We have to review, where's the money going, the four walls, 101 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:36,120 how much is going here, how much is going there, 102 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,160 what is getting spent here, budget here, budget there. 103 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,680 But you do need this because you are a small business. 104 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,000 And the smaller you are, the more important it is. 105 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,800 And it goes both ways because I think when you start out, 106 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,680 you're worried about every dollar because resellers don't start 107 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:51,560 with a lot of money. 108 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:52,920 I got $100. 109 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,360 Every one of these dollars has to have a purpose and make me more money. 110 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,240 In the middle ground, you get a little bit smarter. 111 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:00,800 You kind of understand it more. 112 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:02,680 The money kind of opens up. 113 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:04,200 But then you get to that higher ground. 114 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,160 And that's the second trap of this business is, OK, 115 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:08,640 you're making all this money. 116 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,400 Now, all of a sudden, you feel like, well, I can just hire everybody. 117 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:14,880 I can get exuberant amounts of space I don't need. 118 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,840 And then you wind up right back to every dollar matters 119 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:21,000 because you're barely breaking even every single month. 120 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:21,640 Absolutely. 121 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:26,280 I mean, a couple of weeks ago, maybe a month ago, 122 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:29,720 I took a look at a brick and mortar book business. 123 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,640 And he had posted his numbers in an interview article 124 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,880 he did about two years ago, so 2022. 125 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:40,880 His top line, his amount in sales, was $2.5 million. 126 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,480 And then in that same article, because I pay attention to the finer details, 127 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,200 he said he had 27 employees. 128 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,920 I don't know how much they got per hour, but I was kind 129 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,720 and said on an annual basis, they'd probably get $36,000. 130 00:06:53,720 --> 00:07:00,920 So $36,000 times $27,000, that's $972,000, almost a mil, out of his $2.5 131 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:02,320 right then and there. 132 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:07,280 Then, well, he has a gigantic space for his brick and mortar. 133 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,680 The cost of cooling alone in this gigantic space 134 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,840 is almost 30,000 square feet of bookstore, right? 135 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:17,440 It has to be astronomical. 136 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:19,240 And that doesn't even include the rent. 137 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:20,600 I don't think he owned the building. 138 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:22,120 He might have. 139 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:27,320 But even then, you tack it on your rent cost. 140 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,560 And then let's just assume your cost of goods, 141 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,760 because he, like me, has books coming into his store as well. 142 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:35,760 Plus, he'll order some, just like me. 143 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:37,160 He doesn't do a whole lot of online. 144 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:39,760 He's clearly brick and mortar focused. 145 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:44,960 And what's left for him out of that $2.5 million 146 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:49,000 is not anywhere close to $2.5 million, I'm here to tell you, 147 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,880 because expenses just add up. 148 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,320 The people that have the gigantic warehouses and the gigantic crew, 149 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,680 outside of the building costs, employees are usually 150 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,720 the next highest cost and expenses. 151 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,720 And that doesn't include those gigantic one-off purchases. 152 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,760 The cost to get a forklift, the cost to get a conveyor, 153 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,880 if you're doing the conveyor. 154 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:14,400 Just your shipping supplies, the inbound, outbound shipping, 155 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,160 getting the raw material to come in, process the raw material, 156 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:18,240 and then ship it out. 157 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,320 All these things, all these things add up. 158 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,720 That's not to say scaling is unprofitable. 159 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,520 That's not what I'm getting at here. 160 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,280 What I'm getting at is what's in front of you, 161 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:32,400 what's visible to you and I, is not what's behind the curtain, 162 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,040 my friends, not the Scrooge McDuck money you may think it is. 163 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,080 Yeah, and I mean, we've had people on here 164 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,880 that are single person entrepreneur resellers 165 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,440 have six figures, seven figures, and it's possible. 166 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,720 And just because money is not going to get you 167 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,360 to where you want to get in reselling. 168 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:53,560 It can be used as a tool to help you get there. 169 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:57,040 But having a business sense and growing and realizing, 170 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:58,920 well, maybe I don't need an employee, right? 171 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,520 Like there's one people operations out there on Amazon 172 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,160 that are doing seven figures and they don't, 173 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:05,280 you never need an employee. 174 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,080 Just you don't need one, you never need one. 175 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:08,920 And you just kind of scale it that way. 176 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,560 But finding what's comfortable for you 177 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:14,400 and what works for you is the first step of this. 178 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,240 And figuring out your finances from a basic level. 179 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,760 Because if I decide I want to add an employee, 180 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,880 well, all of a sudden that's $40,000, $50,000 a year. 181 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:26,440 I'm coming out of my business and you have to make that. 182 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:28,400 What's the good rule of thumb if you hire an employee? 183 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,480 Like how much more you're supposed to make? 184 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,960 Like 10X, 5X? 185 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,880 I mean, any X above one is profitable. 186 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:39,720 Profitable. 187 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,040 Profitable in quotations. 188 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:42,880 In quotations, exactly. 189 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:47,840 But if you're not making 10X, like mine, 190 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:51,680 I pay him $5 an hour and he's an as needed person. 191 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:53,400 And so I just have him shipping. 192 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:56,120 So every hour he spends shipping, 193 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,880 and he can usually get a box and change done 194 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:00,800 and spending five additional hours 195 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:02,920 while I'm over here processing. 196 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:07,920 So he's generating for me, I don't know, 197 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,320 like after cost of goods and all that, 198 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:16,360 he's probably generating me about $800 an hour 199 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:18,240 for the five hours he costs me. 200 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:21,320 I don't think it's rocket science either. 201 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,840 I'm not sitting here telling you you need an MBA 202 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:25,760 and you need to have this crazy degree. 203 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:27,920 I'm a man of simple math. 204 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,520 If it makes, if it maths, it's maths. 205 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,520 If it doesn't math, you can't, the numbers are the numbers. 206 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:35,400 So unless you're willing to change the numbers 207 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:37,120 in one way, shape or form, 208 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:38,840 the equation is still gonna be the same, 209 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,840 whether you try to tell yourself or convince yourself, 210 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:43,600 the number is a concrete thing. 211 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:45,200 So if you spend more than you make, 212 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:47,680 then the negative number is always gonna be negative. 213 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:49,200 Whether you decide to do X, Y or Z, 214 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:51,200 you have to change the numbers by taking action 215 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,080 and doing something different. 216 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,600 Right, and to circulate to the original question, 217 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:57,880 I think anything 10X is good. 218 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:00,520 Anything above and beyond that's fantastic. 219 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,120 And again, if you're doing nine X, eight X, seven X, 220 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:05,640 that's still pretty good. 221 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:10,200 But anything above 10X, I think is where you need a target 222 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:11,240 if you're able to do that. 223 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:12,760 And if you can't figure it out, 224 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,000 I don't think you should be having an employee 225 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:16,480 in the first place. 226 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:19,080 Now, that's not to say people don't gamble. 227 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:22,680 And again, try to profit scalability 228 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:25,000 and they hire a bunch of employees and hope for the best. 229 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,360 So very few of those people make it. 230 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,560 The ones that do, you knew your back end numbers, 231 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:32,960 you had your sourcing lined up 232 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:34,800 and you're just waiting to collect. 233 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:35,880 Good for you. 234 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:37,920 But a lot of people that didn't know their numbers 235 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:39,280 and decided to wing it like that, 236 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:40,840 we did a podcast on winging it, 237 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,040 maybe this gets released further and now I make no sense. 238 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:48,160 But you will, 239 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,960 odds are you're gambling and house always wins. 240 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:53,360 Yeah, you're correct. 241 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:57,120 And when I talk basic numbers, I'm talking basically, 242 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:58,800 are we accounting for everything 243 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:01,440 that we're paying for as a reseller? 244 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:03,160 And I've always thought about doing this, right? 245 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,400 Because we use software and you can put in a buy cost, right? 246 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:07,520 How much is your buy cost? 247 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:08,840 Now, what if, for example, 248 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:11,880 you wanted to take all of your overhead into consideration? 249 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,120 This is 100% possible. 250 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,080 What software are you paying for? 251 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:17,520 What subscriptions do you have? 252 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:18,960 What groups are you part of? 253 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,080 You can get a total number, 254 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:24,440 divide that into how many on average items you sell a month 255 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,960 and you can kind of come to a roundabout number. 256 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:28,480 But for some reason, we just, 257 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,720 it's like the idea that people are signed up 258 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:32,800 for like 30 streaming services, right? 259 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,400 You got Netflix, Paramount Plus, MGM, 260 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:37,200 you got every streaming service. 261 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:38,680 It's the same in the Amazon space 262 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:40,640 because there's so many softwares, 263 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,360 there's so many groups, it piles up. 264 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:44,840 And I'm here to tell you, 265 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,720 I'm one of the cheapest cheapos out there. 266 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,400 And I guess I'll just always be this way. 267 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,920 And I'm always looking to cut expenses. 268 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,960 I don't know, like expenses to me can eat into your profit. 269 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,880 Every unnecessary dollar I spend, 270 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:03,720 I think to myself, well, maybe that's another item 271 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,440 I can find and resell and make a whole bunch of money off of. 272 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,440 Right, like maybe that dollar I spend on expenses 273 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:14,440 is possibly a $20 profit item I'm gonna find and resell. 274 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,280 So it's not just a dollar, right? 275 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,480 It's a dollar that's hit my bank account, 276 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,920 but it's potentially 10, 20 X that in profit I can make 277 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:24,640 if I spent that dollar in a better way. 278 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:26,920 And just to give some perspective here, 279 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,400 just in subscriptions, paid groups that I'm in, 280 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,040 I pay between the three groups on an annual basis, 281 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:41,040 about $720 for three groups, honestly. 282 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,960 So right off the gate, just in knowledge consuming 283 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,560 and community, I'm paying a cost of $720. 284 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:50,600 And that's before we even get into any softwares. 285 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:53,240 That's before we get into any cost of goods 286 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:56,320 and packaging supplies and or labor costs 287 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,760 and or warehousing expenses. 288 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,120 So the expenses truly do add up. 289 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:04,240 They don't seem like it, like this group, 290 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,760 I'm paying like 120, I think. 291 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,080 Yeah, why don't you just downgrade to the $290 and $290 292 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,200 and downgrade to the $299 tier? 293 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,000 Well, I feel bad about that, Mike. 294 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,800 I mean, I pay you monthly. 295 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,040 So like why you pay, why you give me 10 of it back? 296 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,080 Just go down to the $299 one, don't feel bad for me. 297 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:22,280 If anything, I feel bad for you 298 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:24,600 that I don't pay you to sit here on the podcast. 299 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,080 Well, I'm trying to drive people to the $1099 300 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:32,720 or the $999 tier by my one little sub, I'm holding strong. 301 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,920 And then Tekken Sports Group, that's 33. 302 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,480 And then that paper goal group, that's 20. 303 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,160 All those things that I just said, 33, 10, 20, 304 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,200 they don't sound big, but through the course of the year, 305 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,640 it adds up to about $720. 306 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:49,840 And I don't even think I factored in taxes here 307 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:51,440 because they all charge tax. 308 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:52,280 So there's probably more, 309 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:57,000 probably closer to $750 all in, even closer to eight. 310 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,440 But I think it's another thing I wanna hit on 311 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,440 while you're on the topic of like, 312 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,720 expenses and your subscriptions. 313 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,720 We have like an advanced call every single month with a, 314 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:08,640 it's a smaller group with more advanced people 315 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:12,840 and the one guy, Roy, he brought up a good point is, 316 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:16,000 financially, we as resellers think we should just buy things 317 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:17,960 to write them off and like that, 318 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:20,400 we're just gonna get the full tax benefit of that. 319 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:26,600 Yeah, that's, that seems to be the norm, just write it off. 320 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,240 I hear that everywhere as well, just like he does. 321 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:35,040 And you still have to spend that money to get that right off 322 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,880 and you would have been a better off financially 323 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:41,400 versus not spending versus spending it 324 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:42,960 for a write off purpose. 325 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:46,160 If you're gonna use it, sure. 326 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:47,360 If you're buying supplies, 327 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,960 you constantly use over and over and over again, 328 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:53,240 you wanna do a lifetime bulk order purchase 329 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,440 just to get a bigger, well, because you need it. 330 00:15:57,440 --> 00:15:59,120 And it just has the added benefit 331 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:01,400 of being a bigger write off for the year, sure. 332 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:02,960 Again, key word, you need it. 333 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:06,280 It's not because you wanna do a write off for write off sake. 334 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:08,840 That's what tends to be what people think to do. 335 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,920 Oh, I'll just go to Mickey D's by the goodwill. 336 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:13,600 That's a write off, yeah. 337 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:14,920 You could have just brown bagged it 338 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,080 and saved yourself so much more money humanely 339 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:18,840 through the course of the year. 340 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,040 Honestly. Yeah, you're literally better off 341 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,040 keeping the money and not paying the 30% tax 342 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:25,880 and spending the money. 343 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:28,440 You literally just taxing yourself just to do it. 344 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:29,840 Yeah, it's foolish. 345 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:30,680 It is, it is. 346 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,480 And it's hard for me because I'm a math guy. 347 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:35,480 I sucked at reading. 348 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:36,840 Anybody who's watched my YouTube videos, 349 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,840 I can't pronunciate 75% of the dictionary correctly. 350 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:42,600 But math was my thing. 351 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,520 And the bank account has to be going up. 352 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:49,480 The business has to be maintaining or growing 353 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,560 in a way where I'm not just magically spending 354 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:53,800 more and more money. 355 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:55,240 It's okay to spend more money. 356 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,200 There's times where you're gonna spend more money. 357 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,720 I source in places now like record shops 358 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:01,080 where you gotta pay up for the items, 359 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:02,600 but they're better quality items. 360 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:04,480 You're still making money on the backend. 361 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,000 You're not just keeping that same mindset. 362 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,960 Well, I'm gonna spend more money, 363 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,160 but I'm just gonna boost my sales number 364 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:12,080 because I'm here to tell you, 365 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,560 if you got $100,000 and you spend $100,000 to sell, 366 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:17,520 you should hit on $1,000 in sales. 367 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:19,760 You can be any number if you got that money to spend, 368 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:21,720 technically speaking, if you're just buying items 369 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:23,480 where you break even. 370 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,560 Yeah, I mean, I got an item sitting over here. 371 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:29,840 I think it's already packaged ready to go. 372 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:34,840 I mean, sold for $1,700, that sounds great, right? 373 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:36,080 But I could tell you, 374 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:38,480 I spent way more than that to get this item. 375 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,960 But what I haven't told you is I got, I don't know, 376 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:46,120 4,000, 5,000, other additional items. 377 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:48,240 That kind of just paid for my air flight 378 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:51,280 and my hotel costs essentially, 379 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,400 and probably the food expense as well. 380 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,560 So that one item made me break even. 381 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:56,560 All the other little stuff, 382 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:58,920 they'll sell for far less than that item. 383 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,640 That's probably the most expensive item from that haul. 384 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,200 That's where I'm gonna start getting profitability 385 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:06,840 from those smaller end items. 386 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:11,400 But if I didn't have that item, 387 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,800 I'd be looking at maybe three axing, five axing 388 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:16,120 my investment. 389 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:19,320 Here, it makes it more closer to the eight X, nine X mark, 390 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:20,160 which is great. 391 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:24,400 And that's through the course of time, right? 392 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:25,480 Because it's a time delay. 393 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,640 They're not all gonna sell day one that they're listed. 394 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,440 So you're waiting to recoup your costs. 395 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:33,880 Now where people fall in the trap is, 396 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,360 again, like Mike said, they don't know their numbers. 397 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:40,160 So they're praying and hoping that their sell through rate 398 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,920 and the dollars they will get through the sales 399 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,640 will beat their costs 400 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:49,440 before the credit collectors come a call in essentially. 401 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,960 So I had a, we'll just go do a kind of wacky example here. 402 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,440 So Johnny sold that book for $1,700, right? 403 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:02,240 So Johnny gets the book, it's worth $1,700. 404 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:04,480 In his mind, alternate universe, Johnny says, 405 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:08,440 well, this is $1,700 I have coming into the bank. 406 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:13,280 So I can just go spend $1,700 before the item even sells. 407 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:14,880 I know this sounds crazy to a lot of you, 408 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,960 but a lot of resellers, they do this type of stuff. 409 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,960 They see the estimated profit of the book there 410 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,640 and they're like, well, I'm gonna have $1,700. 411 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,160 So I can go spend $1,700 today. 412 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,760 And then when that sells, I'll just, it'll be an even wash. 413 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,400 And what happens here, it's like the girl math idea 414 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,880 where you just spend the money before you got it. 415 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,120 And it just doesn't make any sense. 416 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:43,060 And that's $1,700, how long did you have it listed? 417 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:46,080 Since March. 418 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:46,900 So there you go. 419 00:19:46,900 --> 00:19:49,920 Johnny makes a YouTube video back in March and says, 420 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:53,160 I made $1,700 off this book and this exists. 421 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:54,320 I see it all the time. 422 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,120 And all it is is people talking about what they sourced 423 00:19:57,120 --> 00:19:59,880 and this potential imaginary number 424 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:01,640 they think they can get for this item. 425 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:03,880 And it gets you back to, okay, 426 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,180 you don't get paid until it sells. 427 00:20:06,180 --> 00:20:08,080 That's how your business has to operate. 428 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:10,560 It can't operate in potential profits. 429 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:12,960 You could potentially go buy a lottery ticket 430 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:14,900 and win trillions of dollars. 431 00:20:14,900 --> 00:20:18,000 Potentially, are you calling yourself a millionaire today? 432 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:18,920 No, you're not. 433 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,880 It's crazy to me, this mindset we have as resellers 434 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,280 that that's $1,700 book, I sourced it today. 435 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:27,720 I made $1,700 today. 436 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,000 And I know it's gonna take six months to sell. 437 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:34,040 But today I made $1,700, nah, you didn't. 438 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:36,520 You know where else I see the same kind of mentality? 439 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:38,840 People who have money in the stock market. 440 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,560 Their stocks are valued at this. 441 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,020 Great, that money ain't in your bank. 442 00:20:44,020 --> 00:20:47,200 Those stocks can tank tomorrow or within the next hour. 443 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:48,440 They could all go to zero. 444 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,560 And then you have, well, zero plus zero or times zero 445 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,720 or divide by zero is still zero 446 00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:57,440 no matter which way you slice it. 447 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:00,400 Just like listing a bunch of inventory 448 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:04,160 and you're seeing the number on eBay and or Amazon, 449 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,760 your inventory value is blah. 450 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,060 It's some outrageous number, right? 451 00:21:09,060 --> 00:21:12,120 It's not all gonna sell all at once. 452 00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:13,960 You have, and it's only the money 453 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:15,720 that goes in your bank that matters. 454 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,000 And that's, I don't know what the huge disconnect is there. 455 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,220 I never had a problem with this. 456 00:21:20,220 --> 00:21:22,520 I don't think you ever had a problem with this. 457 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:26,480 But people out there can't make this connection 458 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:31,080 and they think they are not rich, but well off. 459 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:32,860 And they're not, they're spending more money, 460 00:21:32,860 --> 00:21:34,680 like you said, than they can make it. 461 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:39,680 And this is a case of inventory rich, but cash poor. 462 00:21:41,220 --> 00:21:42,360 They have no cash. 463 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:43,780 They're broke as a joke, 464 00:21:43,780 --> 00:21:46,840 probably maxing out the credit cards left and right. 465 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:51,640 And I don't know, if you're one of these people 466 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,360 and you're still not connecting, 467 00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:58,280 please message Mike, subscribe to the use my channel. 468 00:21:58,280 --> 00:21:59,680 Message Johnny, don't message Mike. 469 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:00,920 Oh my God. 470 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:03,720 He'll help you a lot. 471 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,520 No, in all seriousness, 472 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,080 if you can't make that fundamental connection, 473 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,360 you need more than our help can probably give you honestly. 474 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:13,400 Cause what you will require is huge amounts of training 475 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,840 and I think you should honestly go 476 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:17,040 to a different career path. 477 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:18,320 You're not cut out for business 478 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,800 and you can't understand that simple concept. 479 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:21,640 I agree. 480 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:23,220 Me and Johnny talk about it all the time. 481 00:22:23,220 --> 00:22:25,120 We're not in the business of talking books 482 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:28,240 and collecting books and being book aficionados. 483 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,440 We are in the business of helping you 484 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,720 have a profitable business and making money 485 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,760 through the pathway that is used media. 486 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:39,660 We know there's no collectors section in the discord. 487 00:22:39,660 --> 00:22:42,080 We don't have a collector's call every single month. 488 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:44,280 We have business related calls. 489 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:45,880 And I got a question for you. 490 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:48,160 Is the reselling business growing 491 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,040 if the person's sales is going up, 492 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,000 but their actual revenue isn't? 493 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:54,520 So they're spending every dollar 494 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:56,540 they're getting back into the business, 495 00:22:57,540 --> 00:23:00,200 but their actual money into their bank account 496 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:01,500 is not going up. 497 00:23:01,500 --> 00:23:03,920 Is that business growing or is that a business 498 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:07,040 that is just, I don't think it's growing honestly. 499 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,000 Because if you're not making the money on the backend, 500 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,960 if you're not making more money, 501 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:15,600 isn't that the definition of growth is making more money? 502 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:16,440 Right. 503 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:17,480 And this is probably a case 504 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,520 of what I like to call reseller inflation. 505 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,440 And that's because the fees go up either, 506 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,620 well, any or combination of the following. 507 00:23:26,620 --> 00:23:28,600 Your cost of goods have gone up. 508 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,200 You're buying the same stuff, the same stuff is selling, 509 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,560 but the just general cost of acquiring these items 510 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:34,400 have gone up. 511 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,840 Your platform fees have gone up. 512 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,260 And again, you're buying the same stuff. 513 00:23:41,260 --> 00:23:42,320 You're listing the same amount 514 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:44,040 or you're boxing the same amount. 515 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,880 And then finally, we had the post office fees. 516 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:50,120 So, and or, and here's the last one. 517 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:53,840 People don't think about your external expenses, 518 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,740 your storage unit cost and or warehouse cost, 519 00:23:56,740 --> 00:23:59,000 and or you gave your employees raises 520 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,160 or tacked on more employees 521 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,080 and you're producing the same amount of output 522 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,920 and you haven't compensated for any of these costs going up. 523 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:09,280 You're not sending in more. 524 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,400 You're maintaining the status quo. 525 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,440 And that's why you're seeing your bank account decline. 526 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,180 And lucky for you, there's an easy solution. 527 00:24:18,180 --> 00:24:20,980 Work harder, do more, list more, send more. 528 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,560 That's how you compensate the reseller inflation. 529 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:26,480 It's the people that maintain the status quo 530 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,640 and make no adjustments in their business 531 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,840 because it worked year one, I'm not changing for no one. 532 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,200 Or they're oblivious to things have changed. 533 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,080 They don't know their numbers as you spoke on earlier. 534 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,440 It's cool to think about because the reseller 535 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:43,060 that makes a hundred dollars in sales a month 536 00:24:43,060 --> 00:24:45,520 and puts $50 into their bank account 537 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,200 is making more than the reseller 538 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:49,000 who thinks they're growing their business 539 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,760 that's spending $20,000 to make $20,000. 540 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:54,020 But we don't see it that way 541 00:24:54,020 --> 00:24:57,180 because if that overall sales number is going up, 542 00:24:57,180 --> 00:24:59,740 we automatically think there's more money 543 00:24:59,740 --> 00:25:01,040 going into the bank account. 544 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,280 And in theory, in my business and in your business, 545 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:05,920 if our revenue goes up, 546 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,200 the more money goes into our bank account 547 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,120 because we don't add on these extra things. 548 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:11,880 If we do, it's a calculated decision. 549 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:13,960 What am I gonna get in return? 550 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,300 But the majority of resellers, well, my sales have doubled. 551 00:25:17,300 --> 00:25:19,880 Well, then that means your bank account balance 552 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,700 should have been close to doubling 553 00:25:21,700 --> 00:25:23,040 because you're not gonna be able to take it all 554 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:24,760 because if you're buying more inventory 555 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,100 to double your sales, you're gonna have more expenses. 556 00:25:27,100 --> 00:25:28,740 But your bank account should be a lot higher 557 00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:31,320 than it was back when you were at $1,000. 558 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:33,340 Now, if you're doing $2,000 a month, 559 00:25:33,340 --> 00:25:35,380 you should be seeing more money coming to you, 560 00:25:35,380 --> 00:25:38,560 not more money just disappear or a little gain 561 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:40,720 because even if it's a small gain, 562 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,380 well, if you're doing double the work 563 00:25:42,380 --> 00:25:45,420 and you're only getting an extra 5% on the bottom line, 564 00:25:45,420 --> 00:25:46,260 that doesn't make sense. 565 00:25:46,260 --> 00:25:47,840 It's not scalable. 566 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,320 Yeah, and that's why I determined with my eBay business. 567 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:52,720 It would be scalable, 568 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,160 but the amount of time I would have to wait was ridiculous. 569 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,920 But it was only like a marginal gain, like 10 to 12%. 570 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:01,940 It was really low. 571 00:26:01,940 --> 00:26:03,440 And I was like, man, I'm doing all this work. 572 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:05,640 This seems silly. 573 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,200 So another thing people don't think about is, 574 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,640 okay, so you sell $100 in Amazon land, right? 575 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:17,060 In my opinion, Amazon off the gates taken 50%, 576 00:26:17,060 --> 00:26:19,320 but it goes higher. 577 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:20,480 And here's why. 578 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,440 How much did you pay for the item? 579 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,160 And that 50%, does it calculate what it costs 580 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:28,960 to send that item in that box, part of the mailing label? 581 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:31,720 And if you're using the placement fees, adding that on. 582 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:36,520 So I think you're spending closer to 60% in Amazon land. 583 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,840 So if you sell $100 in sales, 584 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:40,660 for those that can't do the mental math, 585 00:26:40,660 --> 00:26:41,800 I'll go ahead and give you the answer. 586 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:46,140 You're gonna clear maybe $40 out of every $100 at Amazon. 587 00:26:46,140 --> 00:26:48,700 So make those kinds of adjustments. 588 00:26:49,980 --> 00:26:53,320 And then, and the other reason it's closer to 60% 589 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,380 is if you're listening to this, 590 00:26:55,380 --> 00:26:57,760 well, if you're subscribed to the used book guy, 591 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,480 you have Scoutly, you have Kipa, 592 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:02,400 you have all of these tools, right? 593 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,720 You're inclining more to that 60% margin 594 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,320 than you think you are at 50%. 595 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,360 So there's a substantial amount of money 596 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,000 between 50 and 60%, I'm here to tell you. 597 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,520 Not a lot of people realize that, 598 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:18,680 hey, I'm gonna get about half of everything 599 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:19,520 I send to Amazon. 600 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,000 No, no, no, you're probably not, 601 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,120 unless you are subscribed to no one. 602 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:28,840 You have no software, you're listening on Amazon directly, 603 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:32,060 and you're doing the multi-box split mint kind of thing. 604 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,600 And even then, you're probably at 52, 53% 605 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:37,200 because of mailing labels. 606 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,000 Yeah, yeah, it's true. 607 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,480 You don't realize how quick it can add up, 608 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:43,980 but you can be smart about it. 609 00:27:43,980 --> 00:27:45,440 Just because you're growing doesn't mean 610 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:48,400 you need to get the next fanciest, 611 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:50,760 bells and whistles software, the next, 612 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:54,840 the better looking, this, the cooler. 613 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,080 I mean, we're almost to a point now in the resale world, 614 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,400 I hate to admit it, but people, 615 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:03,400 you got the people that love the Rolos, 616 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,760 or they love the Dimos, and it's almost like, 617 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,280 who cares, does it work, right? 618 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:10,640 Just go get you. The only time I care 619 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,720 is when I get mentioned, I'm like, team Rolo, 620 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:14,840 and that's the only time I think about it. 621 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,400 It's crazy, but that's the reality of it. 622 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,360 Resale has become so trendy, hip, and cool, 623 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:22,600 it's like we should all have reselling rooms, 624 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:24,360 and we should all have storage units, 625 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:25,960 because it's cool to have a storage unit. 626 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,360 And I think to myself, let's turn and burn, 627 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:30,480 sell through, let's get the money actually 628 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,040 into the bank account. 629 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:34,120 You don't get paid until it sells. 630 00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:37,840 And this is why I always undercut the prices on Amazon, 631 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,520 buy a penny, because Amazon weighs the price, 632 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:42,800 the lowest price, the heaviest in their algorithm. 633 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:44,620 I want my stuff to sell. 634 00:28:44,620 --> 00:28:48,800 I want my money, even if it's not the $1,700 635 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:50,880 you thought you were gonna get for the book. 636 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,080 If I told Johnny, instead of $1,700, 637 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,000 he would get $1,200 by the end of April, 638 00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:59,680 one month turnaround. 639 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:01,760 I guarantee you, he's taking that money in April 640 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:03,880 and moving on to the next thing. 641 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,920 Yeah, and let's go back to that sold item over there. 642 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:09,080 Let's see, paid and shipped. 643 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:10,520 Let's go down the fee breakdown. 644 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,480 Did I clear $1,700? 645 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:13,320 No. 646 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,680 Yeah, but I mean, you got $1,700 showing 647 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,240 into your 90-day total, and that's all we care about. 648 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:19,320 Ooh. 649 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,560 So I paid about 20 cents for the book 650 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:23,800 with the cost of travel and all that. 651 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:25,540 We'll just call it 50 cents. 652 00:29:27,140 --> 00:29:31,000 So in sales tax, $142. 653 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,920 In transaction fees, $248. 654 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,560 I think I had this thing at 2% promoted. 655 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:39,400 And then I bought insurance with it 656 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,200 because it was a higher end item. 657 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:42,040 It's $40. 658 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:45,320 So at the end of it, I'm left with $1,400 659 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:47,120 that's going to my bank account. 660 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:51,240 That did not factor in, well, minus 50 cents 661 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:54,320 because that's the cost of goods, right? 662 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:56,480 But that's not $1,700. 663 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:57,800 That's $1,400. 664 00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:59,360 And again, that's looking at the numbers 665 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,120 and knowing the numbers and how everything breaks down. 666 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:04,920 Yeah, so promoted listings, 667 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,320 and then you have placement fees over at Amazon. 668 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:12,320 All these little things, the little things add up. 669 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,680 They add up to a tremendous number 670 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:17,360 at the end of the course of a year. 671 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:18,520 They really, really do. 672 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:20,480 When you look at how much did I pay 673 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:21,640 in promoted listings? 674 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,880 My God, how much did I pay in placement fees? 675 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:26,920 My God, why? 676 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:28,120 Why am I spending all? 677 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,880 Because we wouldn't sell it otherwise probably. 678 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:33,400 And the difference between me and Johnny 679 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:34,920 and somebody else is we account 680 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,080 for these things in the business, right? 681 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:38,920 Like I know I'm paying the 22 cents 682 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:40,680 per item for placement fees. 683 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:42,200 I put that into my software. 684 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,880 So I know when I scan an item, the profit is after that. 685 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:46,920 So it's not a shock. 686 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,120 I don't care about it because I've already accounted for it. 687 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:50,560 That's how you get ahead in this. 688 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:52,120 And I know it sounds stupid 689 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,240 and not a lot of people like dealing with numbers, 690 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:55,480 but if you're the person that's like, 691 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,120 you don't wanna deal with numbers, 692 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,040 but you don't know what your business is making, 693 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:04,200 get a notepad, write down your budget every month, 694 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:06,440 what's coming out, how much you're getting paid, 695 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:08,600 how much do you actually have left over? 696 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,680 This is the only reason me and Deb have gone 697 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:14,440 to the point we have gotten with our finances 698 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,240 is I shit you not. 699 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:18,920 Deb used to have a little book just like this, 700 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:22,560 and she would write out all my CVS checks every two weeks 701 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,840 for the whole year and everything that came out of it. 702 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:27,520 And it wasn't one of those things where, 703 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:28,840 well, you just take all of it out. 704 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:30,960 Like my whole rent comes out of one check. 705 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:32,360 Well, I couldn't cover that. 706 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:34,640 So the check would have to be split into two different ones. 707 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,200 So half the check would come out of my first paycheck, 708 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,600 half the rent check would come out of the second paycheck. 709 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:43,360 That alone, understanding that fundamental math 710 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:44,880 changed our lives financially. 711 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,680 And I think reselling, it can work the same exact way 712 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,080 because you're gonna realize how much money 713 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:51,760 you're spending on stupid stuff, 714 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:53,400 where you can cut some money back 715 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,560 and put a little bit more money into your pocket. 716 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:57,440 This adds up over time, 717 00:31:57,440 --> 00:31:59,040 and this is how you get ahead of the game 718 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:01,080 and you don't wind up feeling like you're stuck 719 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:03,560 in this rat race where you're always just running 720 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,880 and you're not gaining ground. 721 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:10,000 Right, and I'm gonna use a horrible thing 722 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:12,240 in my explanation here. 723 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,320 Resellers should be like couponers. 724 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:19,320 Every nickel matters, every single nickel. 725 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,200 You gotta know where that nickel's going. 726 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,200 You gotta know where that nickel's saved 727 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,000 because it adds up, I'm telling you, it adds up. 728 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:31,560 And if you're just using your credit card, 729 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:35,160 are you counting for the little bit of percentage points 730 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,000 they're charging you for the convenience 731 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:39,760 of using that credit card? 732 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:42,200 Well, I got cash back with it, doesn't matter. 733 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,000 They're still gonna charge you interest. 734 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:46,840 But no, I sign up for a promotional. 735 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,560 I get a year free, interest free. 736 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:51,200 Well, that year's gonna run out 737 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,000 unless you're constantly juggling credit cards 738 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,960 with those promotionals, which you can do, I suppose. 739 00:32:57,960 --> 00:32:59,560 You don't know your true numbers. 740 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:01,160 You're knowing false numbers. 741 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:06,160 You're good for a year, sure, but I don't know. 742 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,120 I mean, Mike is absolutely right. 743 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:12,640 The fundamentals are there, and it's A minus B 744 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:17,400 and equals C is C plus or minus or zero. 745 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:18,800 That's what it comes down to. 746 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:20,960 And if you're not seeing a plus 747 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:24,160 and your plus is getting smaller each year, 748 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,280 you got some problems and you need to figure out what the, 749 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:29,400 identify what those problems are, 750 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:34,400 come up with a game plan and follow through on that game plan 751 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,640 and see if those numbers in the plus column 752 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,360 are going back up or they're maintaining the same 753 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,200 or they're not as many pluses as you wanted 754 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:44,240 in your calculations. 755 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,600 And then, well, back to the drawing board again. 756 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:49,400 You gotta do this continuously. 757 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:50,640 Trial and error. 758 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:56,280 We make our best guesses, guesses, quote unquote, 759 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:58,000 on how it's gonna perform. 760 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,040 But the proof in the pudding is how much money 761 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:04,560 is going into your bank account minus your expenses. 762 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:06,080 It doesn't get any plainer than that. 763 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:10,480 It's A minus B equals C. 764 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:12,080 All right, my final thoughts here 765 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:13,360 will wrap up this episode. 766 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:16,760 This is how the little guy, the little girl gets ahead. 767 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,000 By understanding these little numbers and understanding, 768 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:21,720 you don't always have to be in the rat race 769 00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:23,480 and feel like you're not making ground. 770 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,160 Financials is not complicated. 771 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:27,800 You don't have to get crazy with it. 772 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:29,560 You just have to understand your basic numbers, 773 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:31,640 what you're spending, what's coming in. 774 00:34:31,640 --> 00:34:34,680 Imaginary numbers, you don't get paid till the item sells. 775 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:35,880 Get that out of your head. 776 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:38,120 You sourced a $200 item today. 777 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:40,480 When it sells for $200, how much you're getting after fees, 778 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:42,600 you don't get paid until that money hits your bank account. 779 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:44,920 You don't get a refund, et cetera, et cetera. 780 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:47,080 This is how you get ahead as a small reseller. 781 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,480 I know a lot of you out there are small resellers. 782 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:51,880 You don't have to sell millions of dollars 783 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:53,960 to get ahead financially in life. 784 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,800 I'm here to tell you that doesn't have to be that way. 785 00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:00,160 You can have a small timid reselling operation. 786 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:01,560 And if your finances are good, 787 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,520 you're great at keeping track of things. 788 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:06,920 You can make leaps and bounds in your financial life 789 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:08,920 and reselling and your personal life 790 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:11,560 by just understanding those fundamental numbers 791 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:13,840 of how to grow a business properly. 792 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,280 And the only thing that matters is what you're actually selling 793 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,760 and getting paid for, not the imaginary numbers 794 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:21,000 of what items might be listed for. 795 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:22,680 I mean, you might as well be the person at the garage sale 796 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:25,640 that says, I've seen this on eBay for $30 million. 797 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:27,480 Well, you can list anything at any price. 798 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:29,000 What is it selling for? 799 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,680 How fast are you selling it to get the money back? 800 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:33,200 And that's how you get ahead in this game. 801 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:35,040 That's going to do it for this week's episode. 802 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:36,960 We'll talk to you all next week. 803 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:38,560 Thanks for listening to another episode 804 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:40,560 of the resellers mindset podcast. 805 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:42,960 Today's full episode and all previous episodes 806 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:45,000 are available to all YouTube members, 807 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,840 along with the weekly Zoom call and private discord. 808 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,040 Head on over to youtube.com backslash to use book guy 809 00:35:51,040 --> 00:36:10,040 and consider joining for as little as 2.99 a month.