WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.200 Welcome back to another episode of the Reseller's 00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:04.599 Mindset Podcast. My name is Mike, also known 00:00:04.599 --> 00:00:06.599 as the Used Book Guy on YouTube, along with my 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:08.640 friend and fellow full -time reseller, Johnny 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:11.199 B. We help people start and grow their reselling 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:13.619 businesses from the ground up. We also have a 00:00:13.619 --> 00:00:15.619 weekly Zoom call and private Discord for all 00:00:15.619 --> 00:00:18.500 YouTube members. Head on over to youtube .com 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:20.879 backslash usedbookguy to join the channel and 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:23.480 gain access to the full -length podcast, Zoom 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:26.160 call, and private Discord today. Let's get into 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.559 this week's episode. What is up, everybody? Welcome 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:30.199 to another episode of Reseller's Mindset Podcast. 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:32.679 Today's episode, I don't know, man. This year 00:00:32.679 --> 00:00:34.979 has flown by so quick. It feels so weird to me 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:36.460 that we're going to be talking about the biggest 00:00:36.460 --> 00:00:40.439 lessons and takeaways from 2025. This year has 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:43.000 been a whirlwind. So many changes on both selling 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.539 platforms of eBay and Amazon. I guess I will 00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:48.479 go first. The biggest thing I have from this 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:51.859 year is you can try to expect the unexpected, 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:54.159 but you're never fully going to be prepared. 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.750 Amazon has thrown... crazy curveballs this year 00:00:57.750 --> 00:01:02.789 time and time again and there's no feasible way 00:01:02.789 --> 00:01:05.849 like there was no crystal ball there was no miss 00:01:05.849 --> 00:01:08.489 chloe out there that would have predicted uh 00:01:08.489 --> 00:01:10.989 what's currently and what has happened previously 00:01:10.989 --> 00:01:13.909 three times this year on amazon and that's the 00:01:13.909 --> 00:01:16.150 whole buy box issue and i just try to think like 00:01:16.150 --> 00:01:18.709 if me and you like we just talked about the craziest 00:01:18.709 --> 00:01:20.609 things like at the beginning of the year that 00:01:20.609 --> 00:01:23.409 amazon could possibly do like I don't think we 00:01:23.409 --> 00:01:25.370 ever would have said that they would favor Merchant 00:01:25.370 --> 00:01:27.969 over FBA, even if the FBA prices were cheaper. 00:01:28.950 --> 00:01:31.670 Yeah, I mean it's a deviation from everything 00:01:31.670 --> 00:01:34.090 since they've started essentially, and it's like 00:01:34.090 --> 00:01:38.629 why? And there's a lot of conspiracy theories 00:01:38.629 --> 00:01:40.510 out there, and I don't care to dabble in any 00:01:40.510 --> 00:01:43.290 of them. It is what it is. This is the new status 00:01:43.290 --> 00:01:46.409 quo. It's the new status quo, and pivot and adjust 00:01:46.409 --> 00:01:48.989 and go forward. Yeah, and I think the big one 00:01:48.989 --> 00:01:51.900 with eBay. creeped in late with their new promoted 00:01:51.900 --> 00:01:54.500 listings idea where they're basically going to 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:57.739 get you almost guaranteed. That's a 2026 problem. 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:01.299 We're in 2025. Oh, so that's not really active 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:03.640 yet? They just announced it? Correct. It's not 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:06.560 happening until mid -January. Oh, that's funny. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.780 I guess Amazon and eBay are like, January 15th, 00:02:09.780 --> 00:02:12.240 we're going to cook these suckers up. Now, it 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.300 is active over in Europe. It started there. And 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:16.759 then everybody's like, is it going to come to 00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:18.460 the US? Is it going to come to the US? And well, 00:02:18.539 --> 00:02:20.300 guess what? It's coming to the US. It's funny 00:02:20.300 --> 00:02:22.780 too, right? Because I've seen something as it 00:02:22.780 --> 00:02:25.360 relates to Amazon. It's like the buy box, what 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:27.280 we're dealing with now is how it normally is 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:30.060 in the UK and in Canada currently. So people 00:02:30.060 --> 00:02:32.860 think they use those as test markets before they 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:35.520 roll them out to us over here in the US. Well, 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:38.900 that makes perfect sense just because it's a 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:41.930 smaller seller pool. And if they can make it 00:02:41.930 --> 00:02:44.090 work there, they can move it to their biggest 00:02:44.090 --> 00:02:45.550 selling pool, which is always going to be the 00:02:45.550 --> 00:02:51.469 United States, probably forever. So, yeah, the 00:02:51.469 --> 00:02:54.750 UK and Australia are great testing markets for 00:02:54.750 --> 00:02:56.490 them to see how it's going to translate over 00:02:56.490 --> 00:02:58.389 to the US. If it doesn't work, they can change 00:02:58.389 --> 00:03:02.610 it over there. But I feel bad for the UK and 00:03:02.610 --> 00:03:04.330 Australian sellers because they're always going 00:03:04.330 --> 00:03:07.009 to get hit first. Yeah, well, I guess, you know, 00:03:07.090 --> 00:03:10.449 like. Maybe we can't. I think I look at it the 00:03:10.449 --> 00:03:12.830 other way, too. Like, we can't cry, right? Like, 00:03:12.870 --> 00:03:15.830 because, you know, this is their normal, right? 00:03:15.909 --> 00:03:18.669 So, like, this is how it's been for them. So, 00:03:18.689 --> 00:03:20.729 it's just like, hey, guys, welcome to the party. 00:03:20.810 --> 00:03:23.069 Come on in, right? And we're like, no, we don't 00:03:23.069 --> 00:03:25.349 want to come in. Leave us outside. We're secretly 00:03:25.349 --> 00:03:27.669 wanting us to cry and quit. Like, come on. You 00:03:27.669 --> 00:03:29.870 know you want to. I think, you know, that's another 00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:32.770 big takeaway from this year is I've seen more 00:03:32.770 --> 00:03:37.379 people. come into the game. I've also seen more 00:03:37.379 --> 00:03:40.479 people than ever step out of the game, right? 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:42.099 I don't want to say quitting because I don't 00:03:42.099 --> 00:03:44.620 think that's a fair term for a lot of the cases. 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:46.460 I think people move on to other things, although 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:48.159 there are a lot of quitters. But the quitters, 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:50.300 the people I consider quitters, Johnny, are people 00:03:50.300 --> 00:03:52.759 that like started for like under two months and 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:55.699 say, oh, this ain't working. That's my definition 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:57.979 of quitter. Somebody that like steps away and 00:03:57.979 --> 00:03:59.960 moves on to somebody that's like been doing this 00:03:59.960 --> 00:04:01.919 for a while and maybe they're not getting the 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:04.889 results they want to do or maybe. They started 00:04:04.889 --> 00:04:06.750 focusing on something else and the business kind 00:04:06.750 --> 00:04:09.050 of goes by the wayside. It's weird, though, but 00:04:09.050 --> 00:04:11.969 I do feel like, you know, the discord we have, 00:04:12.009 --> 00:04:13.689 we have more people than we ever have. Right. 00:04:13.930 --> 00:04:17.170 But I've also had more people move on to other 00:04:17.170 --> 00:04:19.810 things and kind of stop reselling. So it's been 00:04:19.810 --> 00:04:21.649 a weird year when it comes to people coming and 00:04:21.649 --> 00:04:25.350 going. Yeah, I mean, and there's always going 00:04:25.350 --> 00:04:27.649 to be a new batch of new sellers. Right. But 00:04:27.649 --> 00:04:29.389 is that batch going to get smaller and smaller 00:04:29.389 --> 00:04:32.480 over the years? I don't know. I mean, people 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:34.720 are always going to try to look for extra money. 00:04:34.939 --> 00:04:39.079 And reselling seems the lowest gateway of entry, 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:42.000 essentially. So people will try it. Now, whether 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.120 they stick through it six months, 12 months, 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:48.379 18 months or not, I think that time frame is 00:04:48.379 --> 00:04:49.660 going to shrink. I think that's what we're going 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:52.720 to see more drastically over anything. Another 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:56.139 thing I want to talk about is I won't say I got 00:04:56.139 --> 00:04:59.209 lucky. For some reason, greedy Mike decided to 00:04:59.209 --> 00:05:01.449 start taking faster moving items with lower dollar 00:05:01.449 --> 00:05:05.110 profits. And I think it kind of made me not fully 00:05:05.110 --> 00:05:07.410 immune to the big changes that happened on Amazon. 00:05:07.709 --> 00:05:10.189 But like I weathered the storm a lot better than 00:05:10.189 --> 00:05:13.810 other people because I had a lot of every day. 00:05:13.990 --> 00:05:16.790 Deb hates this term and I got to say it. I had 00:05:16.790 --> 00:05:19.470 every day bread and butter items, right? Like 00:05:19.470 --> 00:05:22.310 bread and butter, dude. And resell them. Like 00:05:22.310 --> 00:05:25.110 I can't deal with that. Everyday value items, 00:05:25.269 --> 00:05:27.750 Mike. Everyday value. The bread and butter, for 00:05:27.750 --> 00:05:30.050 those not watching, I am buttering the bread 00:05:30.050 --> 00:05:33.870 that you can't see over on YouTube. But I literally, 00:05:33.990 --> 00:05:37.389 I made a mindset change at the beginning of the 00:05:37.389 --> 00:05:39.709 year, like I want my shit to sell immediately. 00:05:39.829 --> 00:05:42.410 Even if that means I spend a dollar and I only 00:05:42.410 --> 00:05:46.050 make $3 or I only make $3 .50, I'm fine with 00:05:46.050 --> 00:05:48.149 that as long as it's going to sell within two 00:05:48.149 --> 00:05:50.529 weeks of it getting to Amazon. And when these 00:05:50.529 --> 00:05:54.589 changes happen on Amazon, my items aren't super 00:05:54.589 --> 00:05:58.660 expensive items. They're in demand items. So 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:02.199 I still had sales carry me through. Even this 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:04.120 most recent one that's been going on for six 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:07.420 or seven weeks or however the hell long. I think 00:06:07.420 --> 00:06:11.319 that's where our focus needs to be. But I also 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:13.459 feel like I've talked about self. I feel like 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:16.100 we talk about self through so much and people 00:06:16.100 --> 00:06:18.860 still can't wrap their head around. It's okay 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:22.279 to three extra money if you're going to do it 00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:25.810 in a week, right? Even at a small scale. So you 00:06:25.810 --> 00:06:28.449 got to focus on items that have a demand and 00:06:28.449 --> 00:06:30.930 are going to sell or items that maybe don't sell 00:06:30.930 --> 00:06:33.110 often, but there's not a lot out there. So you're 00:06:33.110 --> 00:06:35.850 the only player out there that's actually has 00:06:35.850 --> 00:06:41.189 it listed currently for sale. I'll call Johnny 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:44.089 in the middle of doing a task. He did. Also, 00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:45.810 it was a window that was zoom. I couldn't close. 00:06:46.149 --> 00:06:52.449 Anyway. Yeah, it's the sell through has always 00:06:52.449 --> 00:06:57.240 been needed, but. The marginability hasn't been 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.920 as pivotal with lower dollar values as it has 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:04.699 in last, I don't know, post -COVID times. We'll 00:07:04.699 --> 00:07:08.019 go with that. So after COVID, I think the model 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:11.519 had to shift because the fees increase all around. 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:13.939 I don't care if they're inside or outside the 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:17.199 platform. The fees are increasing. So $10 sold 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:21.339 price isn't the same as it was. pre -COVID or 00:07:21.339 --> 00:07:24.540 during COVID and before. So $10 sale price, it's 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:26.660 kind of like a joke on what you can get. Now, 00:07:26.699 --> 00:07:30.899 a lot of us sell $10 items. The question is, 00:07:30.899 --> 00:07:34.500 should we? I mean, I don't know. I mean, with 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:36.639 the rising in fees, I don't think it's going 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.970 to be sustainable. $10 is going to become $12. 00:07:40.970 --> 00:07:42.829 That $12 is going to become $15. $15 becomes 00:07:42.829 --> 00:07:45.290 $20 over the course of time. Or you can stop 00:07:45.290 --> 00:07:47.689 that altogether and just go way higher of where 00:07:47.689 --> 00:07:49.350 you need to be and figure out how to build a 00:07:49.350 --> 00:07:52.029 model off of that. Maybe you're the $30 plus 00:07:52.029 --> 00:07:55.550 sold price item guy. You can build a great business 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:59.410 model for a decade plus with that. Yeah, I think 00:07:59.410 --> 00:08:02.920 it leads you down the road of... How many items 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:05.139 do you want to sell? What's your capacity? What 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:07.899 do you want your capacity to be? And what type 00:08:07.899 --> 00:08:09.839 of business model do you want to have? How much 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:12.839 is media mail nowadays? I haven't shipped anything 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:15.879 media mail besides the boxes I sent to you. If 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:18.439 I was just going to ship a one -pound book, it's 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:20.699 probably like, what, almost $5 now? Maybe like 00:08:20.699 --> 00:08:22.639 $4 .50? That's crazy, dude. I remember it used 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:25.699 to be like... 320 and every every like three 00:08:25.699 --> 00:08:29.220 months i i get a news article usps is raising 00:08:29.220 --> 00:08:31.100 their prices again like i can't even begin to 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:33.700 imagine how much media mail is now just just 00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:36.840 to ship one damn book like it's shifted so much 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:39.580 in the past like more 60 it's almost five bucks 00:08:39.580 --> 00:08:42.100 see dude that's crazy i remember it never being 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:43.960 over four dollars even it was like a pound and 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:45.820 a half book like it still wouldn't be over four 00:08:45.820 --> 00:08:47.940 bucks i mean i don't even ship media mail anymore 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:50.740 i do grab advantage because it's almost the same 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:53.120 price Depending on the region of the country 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:58.779 is going to. There's this, I mean, I think, you 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:01.740 know, it begs the question, right? Like, are 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:05.100 we getting to a point now where it is, you know, 00:09:05.100 --> 00:09:06.960 maybe you kind of hit it like there's always 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:08.720 going to be people looking to make quick money. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:11.259 Do we turn the corner here where reselling is 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:14.960 really not seen as a way to. uh actively make 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:17.500 quick money or long -term money just because 00:09:17.500 --> 00:09:19.600 of the rising costs across the board just for 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:21.200 your average person right it's different for 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:22.759 people that are like really into it but like 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:25.240 your average joe blow that's scrolling through 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:27.980 instagram and sees somebody flipping nike shoes 00:09:27.980 --> 00:09:29.919 and it's like oh i want to go do this like i 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:31.700 wonder if that appeal is kind of going to lose 00:09:31.700 --> 00:09:33.940 you know it's not going to be seen as much in 00:09:33.940 --> 00:09:36.980 2026 i think it's going to transition to this 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:39.500 we always have that relative or that friend like 00:09:39.500 --> 00:09:42.100 hey i've had this thing in my closet for 20 years 00:09:42.100 --> 00:09:44.639 i know it's valuable Can you sell it for me? 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:46.940 And everybody would squint that's a reseller 00:09:46.940 --> 00:09:48.440 and like, yeah, sure, I'll make a couple bucks 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:50.779 off of it. Why not? I think it's going to shift 00:09:50.779 --> 00:09:53.559 from that's not worth anything. I can't even 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:56.059 list it for what you think it's worth. It's no 00:09:56.059 --> 00:09:59.679 money. That $20 Christmas Barbie from $19 .99 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:03.179 to $20, I'm going to make $1. It's not worth 00:10:03.179 --> 00:10:05.740 my time to list your stupid Christmas Barbie. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:09.419 Sorry, Christmas Barbie fans. Yeah, I think you're 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:11.399 right, and I've actually had that happen to me, 00:10:11.460 --> 00:10:13.779 and I've told. I straight up told my family, 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.919 Johnny, no way, Jose. It ain't happening. I don't 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.039 care what it is. Once upon a time, you could 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:21.679 list stupid Christmas Barbie, make $10, worth 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:25.000 it a little bit. But going back to the point 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:29.740 of lower dollar items, it's just that game is 00:10:29.740 --> 00:10:31.580 always a grind because you need to list more 00:10:31.580 --> 00:10:35.940 to make more decent money. So gravitating to 00:10:35.940 --> 00:10:37.799 the other end of the spectrum, higher dollar 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:40.440 fast -moving items versus low dollar fast -moving 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:43.210 items. That's just more appealing. It makes more 00:10:43.210 --> 00:10:45.549 sense mathematically. Do I want to work twice 00:10:45.549 --> 00:10:48.210 as hard to make the same amount of money or not? 00:10:49.070 --> 00:10:50.929 What's up, Amazon sellers? We wanted to take 00:10:50.929 --> 00:10:53.070 a second to talk about GoToLister, the software 00:10:53.070 --> 00:10:55.549 me and Johnny both use to list and manage our 00:10:55.549 --> 00:10:58.629 inventory and grow our businesses. With the fastest 00:10:58.629 --> 00:11:00.610 listing speeds out there and built -in profit 00:11:00.610 --> 00:11:04.019 analytics, it's a no -brainer. Easily and quickly 00:11:04.019 --> 00:11:06.879 have items available for sale using 2D barcodes 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:09.240 and get more for your items with its built -in 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:11.759 smart pricing. Make sure to check out the 30 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:14.679 -day free trial at gotolister .com backslash 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:17.120 Mike or using the link in the description below. 00:11:32.190 --> 00:11:34.490 money coming into the bank account, you are not 00:11:34.490 --> 00:11:36.289 going to continue to spin your tires for very 00:11:36.289 --> 00:11:39.210 long. Unless you have zero obligations financially, 00:11:39.649 --> 00:11:42.929 you cannot continue to just keep going and not 00:11:42.929 --> 00:11:44.730 see any results. You're going to end results 00:11:44.730 --> 00:11:46.750 as in dollars because you could sit here and 00:11:46.750 --> 00:11:48.289 say, oh, well, I got more listed. Well, if you're 00:11:48.289 --> 00:11:49.929 not selling more, none of that shit matters. 00:11:50.710 --> 00:11:52.929 Right. If you go the angle of, well, I'll just 00:11:52.929 --> 00:11:55.830 list merchant now. well there's a lot of overhead 00:11:55.830 --> 00:11:58.090 you're not you haven't accounted for just yet 00:11:58.090 --> 00:12:00.230 my friend um because you're gonna run out of 00:12:00.230 --> 00:12:02.610 space really quick it's nice when amazon takes 00:12:02.610 --> 00:12:05.289 it all but when it's your own space you're gonna 00:12:05.289 --> 00:12:07.350 have to figure that whole thing out which is 00:12:07.350 --> 00:12:10.029 fine um there's plenty of people still to do 00:12:10.029 --> 00:12:12.509 fba that have a warehouse too but you're probably 00:12:12.509 --> 00:12:15.870 gonna if you're gonna do merchant seriously and 00:12:15.870 --> 00:12:17.450 make any kind of real money you're gonna need 00:12:17.450 --> 00:12:22.870 a very very large space um because there are 00:12:22.870 --> 00:12:25.009 there's been tons of merchant sellers even with 00:12:25.009 --> 00:12:28.250 it switching to buy box i still think you're 00:12:28.250 --> 00:12:30.509 waiting for everything to sell through you're 00:12:30.509 --> 00:12:33.610 gonna fill up before you need to figure out how 00:12:33.610 --> 00:12:35.950 to turn over your warehouse how do you turn over 00:12:35.950 --> 00:12:37.929 your warehouse you need faster moving will sell 00:12:37.929 --> 00:12:42.009 items because if you fill up well now you need 00:12:42.009 --> 00:12:44.879 a date -based system of when you're just going 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:46.919 to toss the stuff because you've run out of space, 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:48.620 but you need to continue to list, right? Turn 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:51.899 the machine. Merchant's a more complicated game 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:55.299 than people make it out. I'll piggyback off that 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:59.480 and say these people can't make it selling FBA, 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:00.799 and you think you're going to make it selling 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:04.519 merchant? Good luck. I got news for you. You 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:07.899 ain't going to make it. And that kind of gets 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:09.259 me to another thing I want to talk about this 00:13:09.259 --> 00:13:11.789 past year that I realized is people that are 00:13:11.789 --> 00:13:14.529 still treating it seriously as a business are 00:13:14.529 --> 00:13:17.149 still getting crazy good results behind the scenes 00:13:17.149 --> 00:13:19.870 and i've said this a lot lately like i got a 00:13:19.870 --> 00:13:22.110 lot of people i do one -on -ones with that are 00:13:22.110 --> 00:13:24.690 never in the discord are never on the calls and 00:13:24.690 --> 00:13:27.350 like i want to drag them out into the light and 00:13:27.350 --> 00:13:30.350 like show them off like hey check out this person 00:13:30.350 --> 00:13:32.870 look they actually treat it like a business and 00:13:32.870 --> 00:13:35.970 they're still getting results i think um And 00:13:35.970 --> 00:13:37.409 the reason they're probably getting results is 00:13:37.409 --> 00:13:39.149 because they're not screwing around and on the 00:13:39.149 --> 00:13:41.769 calls or, you know, in the groups messing around. 00:13:41.889 --> 00:13:43.450 They're actually out there getting shit done. 00:13:43.789 --> 00:13:46.809 But there's still lots of room for success in 00:13:46.809 --> 00:13:49.990 reselling. And, you know, 2025 will be my best 00:13:49.990 --> 00:13:52.950 year ever. I work more than I ever have worked, 00:13:53.090 --> 00:13:55.190 if that's what we're going to call it. But I 00:13:55.190 --> 00:13:56.909 still think there is plenty of room for growth. 00:13:56.929 --> 00:13:59.230 It's just a matter of. where do you want to be 00:13:59.230 --> 00:14:01.730 what do you want to do right so for me i'll probably 00:14:01.730 --> 00:14:05.750 tap out around like 175 for the year on amazon 00:14:05.750 --> 00:14:08.570 so like i ask myself do i want to try to grow 00:14:08.570 --> 00:14:12.269 this bigger than 175 do i want to keep it there 00:14:12.269 --> 00:14:14.009 do i want to scale it back and work on other 00:14:14.009 --> 00:14:16.389 things like we have to be asking ourselves these 00:14:16.389 --> 00:14:18.509 questions and for me i think i'm just going to 00:14:18.509 --> 00:14:21.529 keep it where it is trying to maintain you know 00:14:21.529 --> 00:14:26.029 12 to 17k months and focus on some other things 00:14:26.029 --> 00:14:28.720 that can make me money stupid other business 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:31.019 ideas that i have and you know things that i 00:14:31.019 --> 00:14:32.759 have going in the background that i don't want 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:34.200 to talk about because then everybody's going 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:35.779 to be bugging me hey mike what are you doing 00:14:35.779 --> 00:14:37.559 dude can you teach me how to everybody wants 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:40.799 to copy the leader can everybody yeah you can 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.399 start selling hot dogs staying courses and shit 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:46.299 like that i just think you know you have to realize 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:49.120 what business you want to be and what what you're 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:51.519 capable of right because i'm kind of maxed out 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:54.879 like i think i've literally sourced my sources 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:57.809 to the limit this past year like There's no room 00:14:57.809 --> 00:15:00.490 for me to go to them more. If I do, I'm just 00:15:00.490 --> 00:15:02.830 scanning the same inventory. So like with my 00:15:02.830 --> 00:15:06.269 hour and 20 minute radius, the used book guy 00:15:06.269 --> 00:15:10.750 is capped out at 175. Unless maybe he wants to 00:15:10.750 --> 00:15:12.629 deal with more bulk inventory, which I'll tell 00:15:12.629 --> 00:15:14.309 you, I talk to this guy all the time. He does 00:15:14.309 --> 00:15:16.129 not want to deal with more bulk inventory. He'll 00:15:16.129 --> 00:15:19.149 keep his few libraries that he has. But I think 00:15:19.149 --> 00:15:20.909 that's a big thing we have to realize is 2025, 00:15:21.250 --> 00:15:23.490 we should have figured out who we are, where 00:15:23.490 --> 00:15:24.889 we want to be, how we're going to get there, 00:15:24.950 --> 00:15:26.110 and what are we going to do when we get there? 00:15:26.169 --> 00:15:28.110 Are we going to keep going? Are we going to try 00:15:28.110 --> 00:15:30.929 to cut back the time or maybe hire an employee? 00:15:32.149 --> 00:15:34.730 Yeah, I mean, for you, you've probably maxed 00:15:34.730 --> 00:15:36.649 it out as far as you can. You got a couple of 00:15:36.649 --> 00:15:39.950 choices. Maintain as you are. which just sounds 00:15:39.950 --> 00:15:42.269 like where you're leaning. You can get an employee 00:15:42.269 --> 00:15:45.070 or two and they can help increase your bubble 00:15:45.070 --> 00:15:48.490 and or rotation off your current stuff. Or you 00:15:48.490 --> 00:15:50.909 do some online stuff, figure out how to make 00:15:50.909 --> 00:15:53.809 stuff come to you. But there's no wrong choice 00:15:53.809 --> 00:15:56.190 here. It's just a matter of, like you said, what 00:15:56.190 --> 00:15:58.750 do you personally want to do with your own business 00:15:58.750 --> 00:16:01.490 as you're free to run it as you see fit? Yeah, 00:16:01.490 --> 00:16:03.919 I think... the biggest thing with reselling that 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:05.960 drives me nuts is people like always feel like 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:07.700 they got to be growing their business like even 00:16:07.700 --> 00:16:09.750 when they're already maxed out they're like I 00:16:09.750 --> 00:16:12.470 need a bajillion dollars. I'm like, how miserable 00:16:12.470 --> 00:16:14.269 are you, right? Like, sure, there's business 00:16:14.269 --> 00:16:16.210 models out there that people enjoy doing and 00:16:16.210 --> 00:16:18.730 they enjoy working 80 hours a week. Nothing wrong 00:16:18.730 --> 00:16:20.370 with that. But there's a lot of people out there 00:16:20.370 --> 00:16:22.610 like, I'm grinding and I'm grinding. I'm beat 00:16:22.610 --> 00:16:24.570 up. I'm worn out. I'm like, well, let's make 00:16:24.570 --> 00:16:26.470 a change here. I mean, you don't have to always 00:16:26.470 --> 00:16:29.750 be trying to like, super max, mega max. I'm going 00:16:29.750 --> 00:16:32.190 to be Jeff Bezos Jr. type money, right? Like, 00:16:32.230 --> 00:16:34.389 just find out what, I don't know, dude, just 00:16:34.389 --> 00:16:37.190 be happy. I'm not going to do this if I'm miserable. 00:16:37.309 --> 00:16:38.570 I'm going to be straight up. If I was miserable 00:16:38.570 --> 00:16:40.190 coming on the podcast and you were miserable 00:16:40.190 --> 00:16:42.409 coming on the podcast, we ain't doing this shit. 00:16:42.529 --> 00:16:44.509 And there's a lot of people that do miserable 00:16:44.509 --> 00:16:46.549 things and don't get the money they make. At 00:16:46.549 --> 00:16:47.870 least you're going to be miserable. You better 00:16:47.870 --> 00:16:50.870 be super max in your bank account because I might 00:16:50.870 --> 00:16:52.870 as well just go back to CVS and be just as miserable 00:16:52.870 --> 00:16:54.970 over there. At least it's steady income. You 00:16:54.970 --> 00:16:56.629 get the benefits, right? The health insurance, 00:16:56.830 --> 00:16:58.730 all that shit that comes along with it. Who's 00:16:58.730 --> 00:17:00.929 reselling to be miserable? I don't understand 00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:06.339 the idea of it. I don't either. Yeah, it's kind 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:08.859 of like people who climb mountains, right? One 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:11.759 day they just stop. They've done enough. They 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.980 climb whatever checklist they have, whether that's 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:17.579 Everest or, I don't know, something down in Chile. 00:17:18.099 --> 00:17:21.259 But everybody's got their own mountain to climb, 00:17:21.339 --> 00:17:23.079 and whether they keep wanting to climb mountains, 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:29.059 that's totally on them. I think there's this 00:17:29.059 --> 00:17:30.940 drive to always doing better because there's 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:32.940 always another person that makes more money than 00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:35.529 you, right? Everybody has this mentality of, 00:17:35.549 --> 00:17:38.490 I want to be like Mike, right? I'm talking about 00:17:38.490 --> 00:17:40.829 Michael Jordan, not this Mike over here. But 00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:43.490 everybody wants to be the best. Everybody wants 00:17:43.490 --> 00:17:50.150 to be number one, the big person. But that, I'm 00:17:50.150 --> 00:17:53.109 not saying don't pursue that, but decide if you 00:17:53.109 --> 00:17:56.430 even want to. That's the biggest thing. Because 00:17:56.430 --> 00:17:59.769 everybody can have these lofty dreams in year 00:17:59.769 --> 00:18:02.509 one, right? But after year one, you really got 00:18:02.509 --> 00:18:05.910 to do a new, intake of what do you really want 00:18:05.910 --> 00:18:08.650 to do? Because now you've got an idea, not just 00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:11.109 I can do anything. That's the thing in reselling. 00:18:11.150 --> 00:18:13.490 When you first start, I could do anything. I 00:18:13.490 --> 00:18:15.630 just need enough time, right? And then time goes 00:18:15.630 --> 00:18:17.430 by and like, okay, what do you really want to 00:18:17.430 --> 00:18:20.190 do? And now that people ask themselves that question, 00:18:20.289 --> 00:18:21.960 I don't think. I think the problem is too with 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:23.779 that is like people think the more money you 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:26.160 make, the smarter or better reseller you are. 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:30.880 And it's 100 % false. It's 100 % false. Just 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:32.779 because you quote unquote make more money than 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:34.759 somebody does not mean you are a better, more 00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:37.500 intelligent. You do not get more IQ points the 00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:39.599 more money you make. I'm afraid to say this. 00:18:39.900 --> 00:18:44.140 I've met people. who are more simple than i who 00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:46.799 make way more money than me doesn't mean they're 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:49.039 technically iq smarter than me they just run 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:51.259 a more profitable business than me and on the 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:53.660 reverse i've met people that make way less money 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:56.420 than me but are super intelligent they went to 00:18:56.420 --> 00:18:59.660 like i don't know mit they're that kind of smart 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:02.480 i'm never going to be that smart but i don't 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.180 think they're dumb because they make less money 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:06.880 than me i just think their business isn't as 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:12.480 fine -tuned as mine and i think People, I think 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.940 you said it right. I mean, the more money you 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:16.640 make, the smarter you are. That's not true. That 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:19.160 is the most untrue statement there is. Yeah, 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.059 but in resale, dude, it's that comparison thing, 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:23.480 right? Like if I make more money than the used 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:26.140 book guy, right, then I'm better. I'm smarter. 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:28.420 I'm everything. I'm going to start my own group 00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:31.119 and crush Mike. I mean, good luck with that. 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:34.240 I'm glad for people that make more money, right? 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:37.920 I'm happy. And I used to be the worst, dude. 00:19:38.269 --> 00:19:40.450 I'll straight up I used to be the worst at comparisons 00:19:40.450 --> 00:19:43.109 when I first started YouTube and like reselling 00:19:43.109 --> 00:19:45.369 like I always had to like try to beat other people 00:19:45.369 --> 00:19:47.529 out like you see on social media I could care 00:19:47.529 --> 00:19:49.849 less I'm happy I hope everybody makes a lot more 00:19:49.849 --> 00:19:52.119 money than me I'll cheer you on. I'll be the 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:55.099 biggest cheerleader with my pom poms on the side 00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:58.200 of the marathon you're running. And I do think 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:00.140 a lot of resellers struggle with that. And I 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:02.180 think a lot of, you know, we struggle with the 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:04.640 idea that you see somebody else doing more. And 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:07.880 it's so like social media and content creation 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:10.579 and reselling. It just. pushes that narrative 00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:13.599 of you got to make trillions and billions of 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:16.180 dollars or you're you don't know nothing right 00:20:16.180 --> 00:20:18.180 like how many small youtube channels out there 00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:21.140 that resellers have such a wealth of knowledge 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:24.420 that will never ever be big time because they 00:20:24.420 --> 00:20:27.220 don't do the clickbait or the you know the flashy 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:29.900 types type of nonsense we see out there some 00:20:29.900 --> 00:20:32.279 of the best channels i actively watch are small 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:35.660 channels the big channels i get little from they 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:39.660 they appeal to the mass people thinking about 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:42.539 reselling or maybe want to buy a course to figure 00:20:42.539 --> 00:20:44.319 out if they really want to do it or attend a 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:48.200 seminar but they don't have the best info and 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:51.720 i'm sorry if you're one of those doing that but 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:54.640 you don't the smaller channels do they're giving 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:57.799 away the secret sauce the the really granular 00:20:57.799 --> 00:20:59.940 information and if you've been doing for this 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:01.859 minute that's what you crave you want the granular 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:04.000 information the stuff nobody's talking about 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:06.359 that they should be talking about Yeah, it's 00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:09.299 the same reason why we, you know, we have certain 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:11.539 people on the podcast over the years, right? 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:14.220 Like, you know, we've had tech on, but I mean, 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:16.119 that's the biggest name we're going to get. And 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:17.900 that's just because, you know, the relationship 00:21:17.900 --> 00:21:20.599 you have with him, but it's like everybody else, 00:21:20.660 --> 00:21:22.460 you know, they're just lurking in the shadows, 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:24.700 kicking ass, taking names. And, you know, they're 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:26.819 some of the most knowledgeable, successful people 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:29.900 reselling on eBay and Amazon. And there's much 00:21:29.900 --> 00:21:32.549 bigger, fancier. flashy names out there in the 00:21:32.549 --> 00:21:36.250 universe it's hard man 2025 is like this year 00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:38.829 has been just wild it's flown by there's been 00:21:38.829 --> 00:21:42.609 so many changes there's been it's just been crazy 00:21:42.609 --> 00:21:45.670 uh all across the board it's it's i don't know 00:21:45.670 --> 00:21:48.289 man i'm gonna make the call i think 2026 is gonna 00:21:48.289 --> 00:21:51.829 be worse yeah johnny's going on record already 00:21:51.829 --> 00:21:55.549 dooming us all uh i'm doing it before christmas 00:21:55.549 --> 00:21:59.200 let me let me get an umbrella out So I can prepare 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:02.299 for 2026. All I can say is no matter what happens, 00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:04.539 if your bank account is going up, if it's not 00:22:04.539 --> 00:22:06.240 going up, you need to start thinking about how 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:07.720 you're going to make it go up. Put money aside. 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:11.640 So when Johnny's meteor storm comes, I can block 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:14.859 the meteors with my fancy sunshade umbrella. 00:22:16.019 --> 00:22:19.160 I don't know. I don't know what 2026 is going 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:22.000 to be. Usually I'm like another term that Deb 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:24.200 hates that I say. Usually I'm bullish one way 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:28.579 or another. It's been so up and down. People 00:22:28.579 --> 00:22:30.660 will sit here and tell me, Johnny, that this 00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:34.039 year selling on Amazon books, CDs, DVDs is probably 00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:36.220 the worst year with the changes they've made 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:39.279 and the worst year for a lot of resellers. And 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:40.819 I said at the beginning of this call, like, it's 00:22:40.819 --> 00:22:44.079 my best year on Amazon. So it's like, I can't, 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:46.440 I can sit here and say, hey, this is my best 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:48.960 year. But like, I know for a lot of people, like 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:50.740 they're getting crushed with this new change. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:53.720 So I don't, I don't know which way it's going. 00:22:53.779 --> 00:22:55.809 I know in 2025, like. I think we're going to 00:22:55.809 --> 00:22:58.829 get an email toward the end of January with the 00:22:58.829 --> 00:23:03.049 new updates coming. And those updates are going 00:23:03.049 --> 00:23:06.109 to be bad. You're going to have less margin. 00:23:06.190 --> 00:23:08.269 There's going to be some BS thing nobody likes. 00:23:08.329 --> 00:23:12.170 Probably has to do with inbound shipping. Again, 00:23:12.269 --> 00:23:14.650 this is my crazy conspiracy theory of what's 00:23:14.650 --> 00:23:18.670 going to happen. And they'll probably announce 00:23:18.670 --> 00:23:22.319 that the merchant changes are permanent. Maybe 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:24.160 I don't even know if they'll announce that, but 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:27.380 they'll just be like, it is what it is. And there'll 00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:29.519 be some other horribleness that I can't even 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:32.220 think about because who knows what they're going 00:23:32.220 --> 00:23:34.480 to lay down, but it's going to, I'm going to 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:36.980 say it's not going to be great. And you can either 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:40.079 adjust, get out or sell something different. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:43.119 All right. So I'll wrap it up here. Johnny, just, 00:23:43.180 --> 00:23:45.240 you know, sell something different might be on 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:47.440 the plate for a lot of us come 2026, but for 00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:51.980 2025, if you had desirable items. it's business 00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:54.500 as usual right even with the crazy changes sure 00:23:54.500 --> 00:23:56.299 we take a hit but we're always going to take 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:59.440 a hit shipping goes up fees go up like this is 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:01.660 just the cost of doing business you got to get 00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:03.839 better at sourcing you got to build better relationships 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:07.059 and i think 2025 made it more evident that having 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:09.640 relationships is how you can level up your business 00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:12.799 and continually have quality inventory come to 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:14.400 you and i think that is going to be the play 00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:17.859 i do think 2025 smacked everybody outside the 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:19.980 face and made them realize that if you were a 00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:22.680 thrift store client your days are numbered maybe 00:24:22.680 --> 00:24:25.160 it's a year maybe it's two years but we talked 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:27.220 about how everything's going up the thrift stores 00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:30.400 are absolute i can't i mean it's hard now johnny 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:32.559 to find somebody that's like i love going to 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:34.220 thrift stores and my thrift stores are great 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:36.000 like no matter what they sell right it's hard 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:38.740 sure there's pockets out there right for the 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:40.579 person that's writing up the comment right now 00:24:40.579 --> 00:24:43.440 it's like my thrift stores are great you are 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:46.279 one out of like a thousand people that enjoy 00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:48.359 their thrifting experience and actually find 00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:49.960 profitable items because i'll tell you right 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:53.000 now It's not like it used to be. And 2025 made 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:54.720 us realize this. Like, we got to do something 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:56.980 differently if we want to kind of keep this going. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:58.660 You got anything you want to add after my last 00:24:58.660 --> 00:25:01.559 little rant? Sure. And to get off the gym and 00:25:01.559 --> 00:25:05.220 gloom wagon, every change is you can overcome. 00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:08.220 You can. You just got to figure out how to play 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:10.960 the game differently. It's the people who just 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:16.440 want to, I don't know, get angry and or conspiracy 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:18.819 and cross their fingers and hope for the best 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:20.829 that things will go back to normal. You're not 00:25:20.829 --> 00:25:23.069 going to do as well if you just adjust right 00:25:23.069 --> 00:25:27.150 now. The best time to adjust is right now. So 00:25:27.150 --> 00:25:30.230 get ahead of the curve. Don't wait till the curve 00:25:30.230 --> 00:25:34.410 to happen before you smash into it. Because waiting 00:25:34.410 --> 00:25:39.970 is, well, not the best sage advice, I would say. 00:25:40.089 --> 00:25:43.970 So just make your plans and execute your plans. 00:25:44.269 --> 00:25:49.980 What wagon am I getting off of? The Jim and Luma 00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:52.559 wagon? I don't know what you're talking about. 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:54.279 You said something at the beginning of that last 00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:56.160 rant you just had about getting off the wagon 00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:00.099 or getting on some wagon. I don't recall mentioning 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:02.500 the wagon. You already forgot about it, or maybe 00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:04.700 I just made it up. Maybe I think I'm living on 00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:06.400 the Oregon Trail, and I'm in the wagon about 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.019 to cross the river. I hope this goes in the blooper 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:11.039 reel. No, this is going in the real damn podcast, 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:13.940 not the fake one that we record on Mondays, not 00:26:13.940 --> 00:26:15.539 Sundays. All right, we'll talk to you all on 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:18.180 next week's episode. Thanks for listening to 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:20.279 another episode of the Reseller's Mindset Podcast. 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:23.099 Today's full episode and all previous episodes 00:26:23.099 --> 00:26:25.839 are available to all YouTube members along with 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:28.420 the weekly Zoom call and private Discord. Head 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:31.059 on over to youtube .com backslash the used book 00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:33.039 guy and consider joining for as little as $2 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:33.799 .99 a month.