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 --> 00:00:20.859 backslash usebookguy to join the channel and 00:00:20.859 --> 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 --> 00:00:29.339 this week's episode. Hi, guys. Welcome to another 00:00:29.339 --> 00:00:31.839 episode of Reseller's Mindset Podcast. No Eeyore 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:36.640 voice today. 2026 is here, or it's about to be 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:40.020 here. And our plans moving into the next year, 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:45.560 it's been a good 2025 for me. Will 2026 be better? 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:49.119 I hope so. If not, I'm fine with it being a little 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:50.600 worse, right? As long as I don't go bankrupt, 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:52.960 as long as I can keep the lights on. I'm not 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:55.820 a man of fancy things, right? I drive an old 00:00:55.820 --> 00:00:58.060 beat up car. Somebody actually made fun of me. 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:01.159 because I drive a 2008 Nissan Ultimate. One of 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:03.439 my YouTube videos, somebody commented like, you 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.180 drive a 2008 Ultimate, you must live under the 00:01:06.180 --> 00:01:07.859 braids. I'm just like, hey, to each their own, 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:09.780 right? Like, it's funny how people think cars 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:12.260 like - It turns over, it gets me to point A to 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:15.019 point B. They're like, cars are not a status 00:01:15.019 --> 00:01:17.780 of any type of thing like you have going on in 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:19.260 life. But it is funny when I get those kinds 00:01:19.260 --> 00:01:23.379 of things. 2025 was my best year reselling. 2026, 00:01:23.700 --> 00:01:27.340 will it be my - Best this year of reselling? 00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:29.519 I don't know, man, the way things are shaking 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:31.739 up with the fees and the current changes on Amazon. 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:34.700 If I was a betting man, I'd be lucky to kind 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:37.019 of maintain where I'm at overall profitability 00:01:37.019 --> 00:01:39.879 -wise. Because if I maintain my sales numbers, 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:42.540 my profit goes down because fees are going up 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:45.680 on Amazon next year. Sure, could I add in eBay, 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:48.659 but I really don't want to do that. It's going 00:01:48.659 --> 00:01:51.980 to be a real decisive year for the future of 00:01:51.980 --> 00:01:54.900 my financial situation when it comes to reselling 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:59.200 and content creation. I'm excited for it. I think 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:02.260 2025 had lots of headaches. We dealt with a lot 00:02:02.260 --> 00:02:05.980 of personal things behind the scenes. I feel 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:09.139 like the life got sucked out of me in 2025. Sure, 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:12.580 I had some really good high times. I had some 00:02:12.580 --> 00:02:15.159 of the biggest bulk buys ever, and I had my best 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:18.939 month ever on Amazon. But just to coincide with 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:21.479 that, like there were times a lot of times where 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:24.259 I was like down in the dumps just trying to grind 00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:28.759 my way through. So it's going to 2026. It's not 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:30.300 going to make or break me, but it's going to 00:02:30.300 --> 00:02:32.280 give me clear direction on where I'm going to 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:34.219 go in the future. That's where I see it as right. 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:37.900 Whether whether I continue to double down on 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:41.020 media on Amazon, do I start to explore other 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:43.780 avenues on Amazon? Do I start to explore other 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:48.280 avenues altogether? I think that's going to be 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:52.199 my takeaway from 2026 is finding out what I'm 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:54.340 going to do, where I'm going to be moving forward, 00:02:54.419 --> 00:02:57.599 whether that's staying exactly where I am or 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:01.199 trying something else out. I mean, that's perfectly 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:06.819 fair. I don't know exactly what Amazon has planned 00:03:06.819 --> 00:03:11.139 for next year. I'm going to lean toward bad and 00:03:11.139 --> 00:03:15.099 kind of embrace new things. I'm going to maintain 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:17.479 Amazon and eBay as they are, but I'm going to 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:20.240 get a little bit more in -depth into the social 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:23.840 medias with my channel I got going and my Patreon 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:26.259 I also got going and really try to grind that 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.400 out next year to see what kind of growth pattern 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:32.099 I can get if I really hit it hard. Because I've 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:34.180 kind of just been slinging up videos, very little 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:37.219 pushing on my end, to be honest. So I want to 00:03:37.219 --> 00:03:39.620 see what happens if I were to push it, and that 00:03:39.620 --> 00:03:43.289 will give me a better crystal ball there. On 00:03:43.289 --> 00:03:48.189 Amazon, I may try to try new, selling some new 00:03:48.189 --> 00:03:49.449 things. I don't know if it's going to be books 00:03:49.449 --> 00:03:53.650 or not, but that's unaffected by the current 00:03:53.650 --> 00:03:56.030 situation of the buy box. So it seems like, well, 00:03:56.150 --> 00:03:58.710 I could play the same game over there. I just 00:03:58.710 --> 00:04:00.409 got to figure out how to source differently so 00:04:00.409 --> 00:04:02.789 I can. I don't think that would be too terribly 00:04:02.789 --> 00:04:04.770 hard. I've kind of done some preliminary research, 00:04:04.830 --> 00:04:08.050 and I don't think it's all that hard, to be honest. 00:04:09.180 --> 00:04:11.099 I will have to pay up to play that game. I can't 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:13.840 be paying nickels or getting stuff free now like 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:18.600 it was before. That's okay. And getting some 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:21.300 more help on the eBay machine, probably leading 00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:24.339 a couple of VAs and just crank that out while 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:28.180 I'm growing my empire of social media or lack 00:04:28.180 --> 00:04:30.779 thereof and see what happens with my own thing 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:35.500 I got going on. I think I don't want to discourage 00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:40.019 you, but I will. Go for it. as somebody that 00:04:40.019 --> 00:04:42.540 lived the life uh but you know what dude you 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:44.379 get it right so even me sitting here telling 00:04:44.379 --> 00:04:46.699 you like it's a long -term play like you understand 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:49.220 it's going to be a long -term play and uh you 00:04:49.220 --> 00:04:50.839 know i have another business i'm working on in 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:54.540 the background as well and uh when i first started 00:04:54.540 --> 00:04:56.560 taking it seriously i said to myself you know 00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:59.839 it's probably a six month runway to for me to 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:02.800 actively sit here and say this is something that 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.930 i can see being a part of my financial future 00:05:05.930 --> 00:05:09.430 and my work going forward, but six months, right? 00:05:09.529 --> 00:05:11.790 And most people like, you know, nobody's going 00:05:11.790 --> 00:05:13.970 to commit to six months to anything, but we've 00:05:13.970 --> 00:05:15.730 been down the road, right? We started reselling 00:05:15.730 --> 00:05:17.990 from zero, right? When we had jobs. So like, 00:05:17.990 --> 00:05:20.449 we're like, whatever, like if I can make an extra 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:23.589 10 bucks, I can make an extra 10 bucks. It's 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:27.389 cool to kind of hear your idea for possibly, 00:05:27.550 --> 00:05:29.889 well, you plan on pivoting out of doing more 00:05:29.889 --> 00:05:32.029 of the eBay work and passing that on to somebody 00:05:32.029 --> 00:05:34.189 else. I think that's another way a lot of people 00:05:34.189 --> 00:05:38.170 are going to go is with the use of AI and VAs. 00:05:38.750 --> 00:05:40.410 I think a lot of people are going to start trying 00:05:40.410 --> 00:05:43.470 to figure out ways to, I don't know, get around 00:05:43.470 --> 00:05:46.790 doing the shit they don't like to do, which is 00:05:46.790 --> 00:05:49.170 a lot in reselling. We like the money in reselling. 00:05:49.820 --> 00:05:51.639 thrifted we like hunting and reselling right 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:53.459 like we're going to the stores or like doing 00:05:53.459 --> 00:05:55.680 the bulk buys and digging through the stuff but 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:57.899 when it comes to the nitty -gritty uh quote -unquote 00:05:57.899 --> 00:06:00.420 crappy stuff we hate to do the listing the photos 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:03.439 uh the packing the shipping i think there's going 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:05.240 to be a lot of a lot of maneuvers we're going 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:07.839 to see a lot of different crazy well we probably 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:09.759 would think was crazy if somebody told us about 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:11.800 it two years ago like oh there's no way you could 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:14.600 have ai do this but we are now in the time of 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:16.620 AI, right? Like there's apps out there now where 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:19.620 you can upload the photo of the bookshelf. That's 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:21.000 how it's going to be for everything, you know? 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:22.360 And maybe you just flip through the clothing 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:24.879 rack with your camera open and it's telling you 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:26.839 exactly the name, whatever it is, and it's pulling 00:06:26.839 --> 00:06:29.819 up comps right away. Like it's going to get easier 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:32.420 in a sense, but like when that happens and if 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:35.000 it's readily available for everybody, it's kind 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:37.060 of like selling media. Anybody can do it. You 00:06:37.060 --> 00:06:40.060 can start today on Amazon, eBay, like. the categories 00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:42.759 take a hit financially because everybody's doing 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:45.600 it right like it's a good thing for us that like 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.300 use it but then like then you just have somebody 00:06:48.300 --> 00:06:50.740 who has no idea like the used book guy come along 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:52.199 and all of a sudden he's flipping through the 00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:53.819 racks right next to you and you're like i've 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:55.439 been doing this for 10 years the hard way this 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:57.060 brand new person all of a sudden is out here 00:06:57.060 --> 00:06:59.740 like just using the software but that's the reality 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:02.300 of the world we're living in yeah like two years 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:04.459 ago i couldn't figure out how to get the book 00:07:04.459 --> 00:07:08.189 knowledge out of my noggin to a person without 00:07:08.189 --> 00:07:11.509 time a big time investment um i think with ai 00:07:11.509 --> 00:07:15.209 now um what's up amazon sellers we wanted to 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:17.149 take a second to talk about go to lister the 00:07:17.149 --> 00:07:19.850 software me and johnny both use to list and manage 00:07:19.850 --> 00:07:22.709 our inventory and grow our businesses with the 00:07:22.709 --> 00:07:24.709 fastest listing speeds out there and building 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:28.220 profit analytics it's a no -brainer easily and 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:30.740 quickly have items available for sale using 2d 00:07:30.740 --> 00:07:33.300 barcodes and get more for your items with its 00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:35.860 built -in smart pricing make sure to check out 00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:39.180 the 30 -day free trial at gotolister .com backslash 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:41.639 mike or using the link in the description below 00:07:41.639 --> 00:07:45.699 i i can pretty much do that i can transfer my 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:47.699 knowledge there like if i had to research something 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:49.899 how would i research it and that's that's teachable 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:52.360 to the robot right but being able to spit out 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:55.470 the answer for the human whether it's a VA or 00:07:55.470 --> 00:08:00.389 offshore or onshore employee, I think that's 00:08:00.389 --> 00:08:03.629 becoming a lot more feasible and getting quality 00:08:03.629 --> 00:08:06.629 done. You could always get quantity done, but 00:08:06.629 --> 00:08:09.670 it was harder to get the quality done. And I'm 00:08:09.670 --> 00:08:12.050 not speaking about Amazon in these terms, speaking 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:15.430 about eBay only right now. So I think that is 00:08:15.430 --> 00:08:18.250 a lot more viable than it was once upon a time. 00:08:18.370 --> 00:08:19.949 And once upon a time was only a couple of years 00:08:19.949 --> 00:08:24.040 ago, right? Yeah, I'm going to try it and see 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:26.899 how it goes. There will probably be some things 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:29.079 that I'm going to get annoyed by that should 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:31.680 be working that aren't, but we'll see how it 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:33.820 goes. So next year is going to be more of a I'm 00:08:33.820 --> 00:08:35.600 going to try some things out. I'm going to hit 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.860 the social and my channel and Patreon a bit harder 00:08:39.860 --> 00:08:41.659 because that's the thing. I think I do need a 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:43.919 social media presence in case I pivot to something 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:46.879 else. I can always have that following or partial 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.399 part of that following. Well, literally follow 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:52.279 me, right? that's where you're supposed to shamelessly 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:56.659 plug your uh patreon yes the book shepherd on 00:08:56.659 --> 00:08:59.179 patreon just like it sounds if you can't spell 00:08:59.179 --> 00:09:01.460 shepherd i'm sure mike will do something fancy 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:04.440 in the comments or something uh don't i thought 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:06.139 you're gonna ask me how to spell it dude i mean 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:08.639 if there's one thing no i can't because because 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:11.179 i see my name sometimes misspelled when you set 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:13.740 it up yeah as i'm just saying dude right like 00:09:13.740 --> 00:09:17.429 uh don't come to me for any uh reading comprehension 00:09:17.429 --> 00:09:20.830 type spelling stuff uh in 2026 i do not plan 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:23.049 on going back to school so you guys still have 00:09:23.049 --> 00:09:26.549 to deal with library and it's your birthday it's 00:09:26.549 --> 00:09:28.590 just how i was raised it's in my blood i can't 00:09:28.590 --> 00:09:30.690 change you know who i am i guess i could but 00:09:30.690 --> 00:09:33.990 i'm not gonna so too bad i helped everybody if 00:09:33.990 --> 00:09:37.330 you hop on the youtube it says it beneath my 00:09:37.330 --> 00:09:40.570 photograph the book shepherd yeah yeah there 00:09:40.570 --> 00:09:44.399 you go boom right there it's um I do think user 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:48.519 -generated content is the fancy way of putting 00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:51.720 it. I do think there still is a huge market for 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:55.960 that. I think there's a lot of space still available 00:09:55.960 --> 00:09:59.620 for growth, and I think it is appealing. When 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:02.740 it comes to the idea, if you ask me, Mike, what's 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:04.919 your YouTube channel? What's your group look 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:08.340 like in 2026? Is it going to be growing? Is it 00:10:08.340 --> 00:10:11.179 going to stay the same? I don't think I'll see 00:10:11.179 --> 00:10:15.000 the same growth in 2025 that I'll see in 2026. 00:10:15.139 --> 00:10:17.759 I think it will slow down some. I think it's 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:19.759 just there's so many different business models 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:22.200 that have come up. There's so many more flashier 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:25.799 items, less, you know, kind of stuff Johnny's 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:28.059 talking about, right? Like things you can do 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:30.320 at home on the computer to try to generate income 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:34.860 versus going out to 100 thrift stores and kind 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:37.230 of grinding that lifestyle out. I still think 00:10:37.230 --> 00:10:39.870 it does appeal to some people. I just think it's 00:10:39.870 --> 00:10:42.990 not as flashy as it used to be. My YouTube channel 00:10:42.990 --> 00:10:44.970 is what my YouTube channel is, right? I understand 00:10:44.970 --> 00:10:47.809 I'm super niched down when it comes to what I 00:10:47.809 --> 00:10:50.549 do, right? Amazon, selling books, CDs, DVDs on 00:10:50.549 --> 00:10:52.850 Amazon. I get that. I have no problem with it. 00:10:52.909 --> 00:10:55.629 Even if I take a step back in that, I'm still 00:10:55.629 --> 00:10:57.610 fine with it. I'm still going to continue to 00:10:57.610 --> 00:10:59.929 put out content, still put out my video. You 00:10:59.929 --> 00:11:02.490 guys will still get the podcast. It's crazy to 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:06.139 think, dude, by the end of next year, We'll have 00:11:06.139 --> 00:11:09.159 like, you know, over 200 episodes of the podcast, 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:12.240 like over three years of weekly talk. When we 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:16.899 get to 365, they'll have a video a day. That's, 00:11:16.899 --> 00:11:19.179 you know, maybe we should just download every 00:11:19.179 --> 00:11:22.000 single podcast and just make it one super long 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.600 ass video. That's probably what I'll do. There 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.820 we go. I mean, yeah, it's interesting. I mean, 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:30.919 there's only so many ways we could tell them 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:33.440 how to pack a box, right? the only thing that 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:35.980 really changes on an annual basis is adjusting 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:38.779 really your your trigger sets and or sourcing 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:40.399 methodologies if you don't really know how to 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:43.639 source um and the trigger sets are just based 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:45.679 off the the fees that come up either with the 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:50.940 post office or ups and or amazon so and then 00:11:50.940 --> 00:11:53.440 well there's pretty much like three business 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.000 models which one do you want a b or c there's 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.120 only so much we can really really say again and 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:00.409 again and again but we have new people come on 00:12:00.409 --> 00:12:02.250 board so we have to say these things which is 00:12:02.250 --> 00:12:05.789 fine um and then if we were to talk higher level 00:12:05.789 --> 00:12:09.909 it's more of well you could do more things at 00:12:09.909 --> 00:12:12.769 amazon or you can branch out of amazon and then 00:12:12.769 --> 00:12:14.429 if we were to have things on that there'd be 00:12:14.429 --> 00:12:16.990 too many because there's a bajillion things you 00:12:16.990 --> 00:12:19.919 could do Yeah, I think I think I'm going to focus 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:23.980 or I'm going to try to stumble into some more 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:26.519 bulk opportunities this year, just because I 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:28.600 think the way it is with the margins and the 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:31.360 margins going down and fees going up. I think, 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:35.039 you know, sure, having my roughly dollar buy 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.700 cost is nice, but like I would like to be in 00:12:37.700 --> 00:12:39.940 a world where maybe I just get, you know, two 00:12:39.940 --> 00:12:43.580 or three thousand units a month separate from 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:47.000 my library because those are monthly. maybe disc 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:49.559 media and i could send in you know roughly 1500 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:52.259 of that fast movement type stuff i think that 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:54.960 would be nice to have i'm still going to hit 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:57.259 all the thrift stores but you know we say it 00:12:57.259 --> 00:12:59.360 all the time my thrift stores ain't what they 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:03.419 used to be they're it's it's you know what would 00:13:03.419 --> 00:13:05.259 you guys see in some of the videos like i went 00:13:05.259 --> 00:13:07.980 to salvation army a few weeks back like eight 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:11.080 to 25 items is kind of like the average, right? 00:13:11.179 --> 00:13:14.220 So like, it's not all, oh man, you walk in and 00:13:14.220 --> 00:13:16.080 you leave with a full cart. Like that happens 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:18.320 maybe once every three months. It's like a seasonal 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:21.740 thing. So for me, it's going to, it's, I'm going 00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:24.320 to continue to keep, keep scanning, keep sourcing 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.360 the way I am, but I'm 100 % of where that margins 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:29.399 are going down and fees are going up, right? 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:31.500 The writing's on the wall and I'd be stupid. 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:33.259 It'd be stupid for us to sit here and be like, 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:35.100 hey, you guys better start figuring out a way 00:13:35.100 --> 00:13:37.159 to, you know, plan for the future. We've been 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:39.000 saying this for the past well over two years 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:42.200 now. Right. I mean, store prices go up. Post 00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:45.419 office and or EPS or whoever you're using goes 00:13:45.419 --> 00:13:50.059 up. Amazon fees goes up. So that $10 item is 00:13:50.059 --> 00:13:52.659 worth negative a dollar at some point. And you 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:55.580 got to go up, up in dollar value and sale price. 00:13:56.909 --> 00:13:59.470 Or you hit the Timu train and hope for the best, 00:13:59.809 --> 00:14:04.730 honestly. Yeah, it's just, I think everybody 00:14:04.730 --> 00:14:07.669 should plan on doing what they're doing now, 00:14:07.789 --> 00:14:11.110 but try to add one new thing. Whatever that new 00:14:11.110 --> 00:14:14.889 thing is, try it. If it fails, okay, try another 00:14:14.889 --> 00:14:17.750 new thing. Eventually, you'll get something that 00:14:17.750 --> 00:14:19.990 hits, and now you have a secondary income stream. 00:14:20.230 --> 00:14:22.309 And it can be adjacent to your business. If you 00:14:22.309 --> 00:14:25.220 want to figure out how to sell... locally we'll 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:27.600 figure that out whether that's a storefront whether 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:29.879 that's a carton antique mall maybe that's you 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:33.899 having a bookcase of stuff for facebook marketplace 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:37.039 or maybe you want to try ebay or hell i mean 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:38.980 i mentioned it before kind of jokingly but if 00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:40.820 you can figure out how to sell books on timu 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:43.679 more power to you i think i think you're right 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:45.480 i think the one thing we should really look for 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:50.039 in this uh this extra potential money making 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:53.419 uh idea that johnny talked about i think it should 00:14:53.419 --> 00:14:56.620 be something that you're kind of passionate about 00:14:56.620 --> 00:14:58.820 right like or you're you know you're going to 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:02.500 enjoy um because if you just do something just 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:04.419 to try to grind something else out like it's 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:05.960 not going to work you're not going to stick with 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:07.679 it so what johnny's saying is 100 right i do 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:10.600 think um especially for those that are like your 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:12.720 results are currently like flatlined or going 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:15.320 down like for me like And it's going to be impossible, 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:18.340 next to impossible for me, unless I stumble into 00:15:18.340 --> 00:15:20.639 some crazy good bulk deals throughout the year, 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:24.879 to grow past my $175K a year on Amazon, selling 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:27.919 thrifted books, CDs, DVDs, right? So, like, I 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:30.360 accept the fact that that's what I'm going to 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:33.259 be. Next year, I'm 100%. My numbers stay the 00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:36.399 same. Cool. I won't be able to show off my cool 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:38.740 percentage on my phone. Look, I'm up 3 trillion 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:41.159 percent over last year. Look at my bars. Look 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:44.019 at my bars. That means nothing, right? So I see 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:47.019 it as if I can maintain this and then maybe work 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:48.740 on this other thing that I'm working on in the 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:51.340 background and grow that to a point, well, then 00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:53.000 I'll be making more money. Then I can decide 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:54.820 down the road, well, what do I want to do? Do 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:57.669 I want to continue to scale that? Or maybe there's 00:15:57.669 --> 00:16:00.210 changes in Amazon where all of a sudden, you 00:16:00.210 --> 00:16:02.190 know, things are better on Amazon. And then I 00:16:02.190 --> 00:16:04.730 scale that program opens up and it changes the 00:16:04.730 --> 00:16:07.470 whole Amazon landscape. Yeah. So like, I think 00:16:07.470 --> 00:16:10.789 it is important to have another, I don't know, 00:16:10.809 --> 00:16:13.970 I guess, passion project going on because, you 00:16:13.970 --> 00:16:15.590 know, thrifting isn't fun. I think that's why 00:16:15.590 --> 00:16:16.970 a lot of people give up because a lot of people 00:16:16.970 --> 00:16:18.389 aren't in the stores, Johnny, and they're not 00:16:18.389 --> 00:16:20.730 scanning everything. And they kind of half -ass 00:16:20.730 --> 00:16:22.549 it. And like, when I'm out running my thrifting 00:16:22.549 --> 00:16:26.159 routes, I'm like, this is so much. fun boringness 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:28.399 i'm just sitting here like i'm literally like 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.539 a drone just scanning things in the store and 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:33.200 it's like it's not the most fun thing but the 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:36.000 money does pay my bills and allows me to save 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:39.779 uh for my future so like i keep doing it um i 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:42.039 just think you know i think 2026 it's going to 00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:44.860 be it's going to be a telltale year for a lot 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:49.500 of resellers more than 2025 i think 2025 was 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:52.159 their early like all right we're like hey you 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:55.720 know It was the best of times. I think a lot 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.580 of people got off the train in 2025, which I'm 00:16:58.580 --> 00:17:01.759 not mad about. But I think 2026 is going to be 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:03.299 a year where people are really going to have 00:17:03.299 --> 00:17:05.440 to start looking in the mirror and saying, what 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:07.599 do I want to do? Do I want to take this seriously? 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:10.599 Because if I don't, my days are numbered. I think 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:14.740 we're already hit that, probably mid -2025. I 00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:18.500 think we're on the early part of it, and I think 00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:21.740 it's going to... not be great prediction i'm 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:24.259 not saying it's fact but i don't think 2026 is 00:17:24.259 --> 00:17:28.460 going to be as i don't think it's gonna be better 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:30.279 i think they're gonna be worse times and we're 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:32.720 gonna see some more people exit and that's okay 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:34.299 they don't want to they don't want to have to 00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:36.460 figure it out and they're gonna go do whatever 00:17:36.460 --> 00:17:38.279 it is they're gonna do whether that's get a job 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:42.420 or move into some other platform or whatever 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:45.680 it doesn't matter um i think the fundamental 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:48.200 shifts like you're saying have happened this 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:51.039 year And then people are trying to make up their 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:53.440 mind or have already made up their mind. And 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:55.779 then I think the vast majority need to start 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:59.240 thinking about it. Like, I don't think the vast 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:01.079 majority started thinking about it. They're trying 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:03.059 to ride it out and cross their fingers and hope 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:05.099 for the best. That's not the play, ladies and 00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:07.480 gentlemen. You need to start thinking of, OK, 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:10.720 if this is the current landscape in all these 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:13.599 platforms. And I'm going to predict that my margins 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:15.200 are going to get worse year over year, which 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:17.599 they will because fees always go up. How do I 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:20.160 play the game for the long term? And is this 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.460 the game I need to be playing? That second question 00:18:23.460 --> 00:18:25.460 is probably more pivotal than the first. But 00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:28.079 if you want to buckle down, the first one definitely 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:32.180 needs to be answered. Yeah, it's weird, man. 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:35.880 Just for doing this, like, you know, starting 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:40.170 in 2019 and you get the big COVID boom. just 00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:42.930 seeing how far I've come. I see how far, you 00:18:42.930 --> 00:18:46.369 know, others have come and it's like, cool. We 00:18:46.369 --> 00:18:48.730 made it, but like, did we really make it? Like 00:18:48.730 --> 00:18:51.349 we, we, me and Johnny can't retire today. So 00:18:51.349 --> 00:18:53.750 like, we seem, you know, it seems great today, 00:18:53.809 --> 00:18:56.180 but on paper, like. We got to continue to make 00:18:56.180 --> 00:18:58.339 money from one of our businesses, right? So like 00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:00.720 we have to choose to either make the changes, 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:02.779 the big one in Amazon. For five years, I told 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:05.359 everybody to condition their books as good. Well, 00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:07.819 that no longer works. You have to change. And 00:19:07.819 --> 00:19:10.660 did I sit here and cry on my good hill? Yeah, 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:12.539 for about half a second. But then I'm like, well, 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.339 if this is what the platform wants, this is what 00:19:15.339 --> 00:19:17.440 I got to do if I want to continue to get paid. 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:19.220 But I said, well, I think people are so stubborn 00:19:19.220 --> 00:19:21.740 when things change and they're like, I'm not 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:25.009 doing it. You can't make me eBay. You want me 00:19:25.009 --> 00:19:28.490 to promote my listings at 3 % now, not two. Like 00:19:28.490 --> 00:19:31.269 I'm taking my ball and going home. And eBay says, 00:19:31.450 --> 00:19:34.549 see you later. Bye. We don't care. You're replaceable. 00:19:37.130 --> 00:19:39.410 It's like quitting a job at Microsoft. They're 00:19:39.410 --> 00:19:41.750 like, we don't care. You're replaceable. There's 00:19:41.750 --> 00:19:44.289 a thousand people waiting out the door with their 00:19:44.289 --> 00:19:48.140 applications. Goodbye. Dude, it's so true. And 00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:50.799 I think, I think resellers are so damn stubborn. 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:53.400 Like just do what the platforms want, right? 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:56.119 Like I get it. All right. It's frustrating. It 00:19:56.119 --> 00:19:58.779 sucks. We're not sitting here saying like, yeah, 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:01.259 eBay, take them for all they can or Amazon, take 00:20:01.259 --> 00:20:03.259 them for all they can. But like, this is what 00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:05.920 we sell on. So we got one choice. We can either 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.220 do it or the second choice, you quit and go somewhere 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:11.400 else and good luck. Yeah. I mean, there's platforms 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.630 popping up left and right. But they don't have 00:20:14.630 --> 00:20:18.069 the user base to support it like Amazon or eBay 00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:22.430 does, honestly. There's an argument for whatnot 00:20:22.430 --> 00:20:24.910 in this as well. There's an argument for Teemu 00:20:24.910 --> 00:20:27.730 even and Etsy and all these other things. It 00:20:27.730 --> 00:20:30.509 doesn't matter which one you choose, just you've 00:20:30.509 --> 00:20:31.849 got to figure out how to play the game to the 00:20:31.849 --> 00:20:36.329 best of its ability and max it out. It's their 00:20:36.329 --> 00:20:38.710 game. It's always their game. We are just players. 00:20:39.109 --> 00:20:42.490 And coming to terms with that... If there's a 00:20:42.490 --> 00:20:46.569 rule change, well, it is how it is. Even in sports, 00:20:46.769 --> 00:20:48.809 you've got to adjust. You can't say no. What 00:20:48.809 --> 00:20:50.930 are you going to do? Quit the majors? You're 00:20:50.930 --> 00:20:53.049 going to quit the NBA just because you don't 00:20:53.049 --> 00:20:55.950 like the rule change? No, you keep playing and 00:20:55.950 --> 00:20:59.230 you take your checks. Yeah, yeah. They moved 00:20:59.230 --> 00:21:02.369 the three -point line back a foot. I quit. Yeah, 00:21:02.390 --> 00:21:04.730 I'm done. I'm done. You're going to give up your 00:21:04.730 --> 00:21:08.670 $12 million contract, sir? Yep. No one does that. 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:10.599 I think you're right, though. I mean, you know, 00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:12.240 I think there's going to be more change. These 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.079 platforms have to change, dude. I mean, just 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:15.779 look how much the times have changed over the 00:21:15.779 --> 00:21:18.059 past year, the advancements in technology. These 00:21:18.059 --> 00:21:20.519 platforms have to start making decisions so that 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:22.759 they can be around for another 10 years. Right. 00:21:22.819 --> 00:21:25.059 So, like, we can expect them to make changes 00:21:25.059 --> 00:21:27.160 and we have to play by their changes. And I think, 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:29.079 you know, what happens if eBay starts promoting 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:31.059 more of their live selling? I noticed now since 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:34.700 I. I've been a little bit back on eBay. Like 00:21:34.700 --> 00:21:36.119 they got the live selling thing right on the 00:21:36.119 --> 00:21:37.880 main page of the app. Now you just click on it. 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:39.720 It takes you right to all the people that are 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:41.400 like doing the live selling, like whatnot. So 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:44.440 like, it's, I don't know, man, it's 2026. There's 00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:46.099 going to be a lot of changes, but I think it's 00:21:46.099 --> 00:21:48.140 going to shake down a lot of people. Like people 00:21:48.140 --> 00:21:49.880 are going to be getting hosed left and right. 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:52.099 You better start thinking about, you know, how 00:21:52.099 --> 00:21:54.740 are you going to prepare? How can you budget? 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:56.759 I think budget, I think budgeting needs to be 00:21:56.759 --> 00:21:59.079 more talked. Like I hate telling people like. 00:21:59.549 --> 00:22:02.009 what to do with their money right like i try 00:22:02.009 --> 00:22:03.930 not to give like financial advice but i think 00:22:03.930 --> 00:22:06.430 budgeting is not talked about enough in reselling 00:22:06.430 --> 00:22:09.869 like in general it's just reselling i sold x 00:22:09.869 --> 00:22:12.009 amount and i made x amount of dollars right like 00:22:12.009 --> 00:22:14.130 well i think there needs to be a i wish there 00:22:14.130 --> 00:22:16.309 was like a budgeting reselling channel if there 00:22:16.309 --> 00:22:18.250 is one out there and you're aware of it drop 00:22:18.250 --> 00:22:20.569 the link tell me who the hell they are because 00:22:20.569 --> 00:22:22.130 i want to have them on the podcast and i want 00:22:22.130 --> 00:22:24.849 to watch their content i'm so cheap like me and 00:22:24.849 --> 00:22:27.230 dad like have literally come from nothing notebook 00:22:27.230 --> 00:22:30.670 style budget right like I still think you can 00:22:30.670 --> 00:22:33.529 win reselling, even if you're not making trillions 00:22:33.529 --> 00:22:35.849 of dollars a year, if you're smart with your 00:22:35.849 --> 00:22:38.690 money, like you know exactly where every dollar 00:22:38.690 --> 00:22:41.049 is going along the road. You don't have to be 00:22:41.049 --> 00:22:43.990 this crazy. I'm making 50K a month to actually 00:22:43.990 --> 00:22:47.170 keep the lights on type reseller. Right, absolutely. 00:22:47.329 --> 00:22:50.930 I mean, knowing your expenses enables you to 00:22:50.930 --> 00:22:52.950 make more money because you can then figure out 00:22:52.950 --> 00:22:55.210 what are the unnecessary ones that I need to 00:22:55.210 --> 00:22:58.299 cut. And that, instead of it costing you maybe 00:22:58.299 --> 00:23:01.180 $3 a unit, you bring that down to $1 .50. You 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:03.779 cut it in half. You're more profitable on every 00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:07.180 item you now send in by $1 .50 per. Compounding. 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:10.960 That's huge if you can figure that out. Maybe 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:13.099 you're paying too much in overhead for the place, 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:14.819 if you've got a space, that you're renting out 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:17.579 of. But if you move two blocks over and cut your 00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:20.240 rent in half, whether that's a storage unit or 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.859 a warehouse or something to store your wares 00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:25.440 and equipment and whatnot. I mean, that's a win 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:27.319 too, right? Because that compounds month over 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:29.819 month. Maybe your software is too expensive. 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:31.779 Maybe there's an equivalent software that does 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:34.660 the exact same thing for one third the money. 00:23:35.960 --> 00:23:39.500 And again, like your shipping supplies, are you 00:23:39.500 --> 00:23:42.059 overpaying or underpaying? I'm not saying go 00:23:42.059 --> 00:23:45.319 dumpster diving for boxes is a good idea, but 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:48.819 hey, if you're paying like $2 per box or $1 .24, 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:51.480 you can hop over to the Dollar Tree's box bin. 00:23:52.450 --> 00:23:55.670 Like their trash can outside for the same boxes? 00:23:57.089 --> 00:23:59.710 There's an ongoing argument in the Discord that 00:23:59.710 --> 00:24:01.509 pops up once a month, Johnny. I don't know if 00:24:01.509 --> 00:24:03.450 you've seen it. One of the guys in the group 00:24:03.450 --> 00:24:05.150 does dumpster diving, and one of the guys in 00:24:05.150 --> 00:24:06.890 the group tells him he wastes his time dumpster 00:24:06.890 --> 00:24:09.349 diving, and it's like good versus evil. Like 00:24:09.349 --> 00:24:11.130 once a month, they get into it in the Discord. 00:24:11.230 --> 00:24:13.390 I just let it go. It's like you're both crazy. 00:24:13.410 --> 00:24:15.589 Just let it run wild. Like is he dumpster diving 00:24:15.589 --> 00:24:17.789 for shipping supplies or for like products to 00:24:17.789 --> 00:24:21.880 sell? For shipping supplies. Yeah, yeah. Say 00:24:21.880 --> 00:24:24.519 Johnny, we don't know what side is good and what 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:26.420 side is evil, but Johnny took a side that quick. 00:24:27.059 --> 00:24:31.339 Yeah, I mean, dumpster diving guy wins. No questions. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:34.039 I do think though, right? Like you said, like 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:36.200 my storage unit, it goes up like every two or 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:38.799 three months, right? So like what I do, I just 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:41.740 sign up for another storage unit and me and Deb 00:24:41.740 --> 00:24:43.819 go there one day and I just wheel everything 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:46.420 over to the other storage unit. Listen, it's 00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:49.000 not much. In the grand scheme of things, I go 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:53.289 from like 135 to like, I save $30 a month. It 00:24:53.289 --> 00:24:55.730 only takes me and Deb like 20, 25 minutes. And 00:24:55.730 --> 00:24:57.829 like people will be like the same idea of the 00:24:57.829 --> 00:24:59.809 dumpster diving thing, right? Mike, it takes 00:24:59.809 --> 00:25:01.630 more time to move all your stuff than if you 00:25:01.630 --> 00:25:03.349 just went and sourced items. But I'm just like, 00:25:03.430 --> 00:25:06.029 if I can cut my overhead expenses, I do it like 00:25:06.029 --> 00:25:07.529 every six months now. It's like, hey, I just 00:25:07.529 --> 00:25:09.430 wheel on over to another unit. They just keep 00:25:09.430 --> 00:25:11.730 sending me. I started in row 100 and now I'm 00:25:11.730 --> 00:25:14.029 in row 400. They just keep moving me further 00:25:14.029 --> 00:25:17.549 back down the storage units. The only way that's 00:25:17.549 --> 00:25:22.349 not a win is if your output is so fast and you're 00:25:22.349 --> 00:25:24.490 getting so much that you literally don't got 00:25:24.490 --> 00:25:26.990 time to take the half hour to go get your free 00:25:26.990 --> 00:25:30.450 boxes. Okay, fine. Order from Uline. Screw it. 00:25:30.470 --> 00:25:32.190 You're making that much more money. Why not? 00:25:34.410 --> 00:25:38.490 Yeah, and then, I mean, outside of shipping supplies, 00:25:38.869 --> 00:25:41.269 we'll go out and get to the most basic thing, 00:25:41.329 --> 00:25:43.630 your vehicle. Is your vehicle the most efficient 00:25:43.630 --> 00:25:48.150 vehicle, either in gas or towing capacity and 00:25:48.150 --> 00:25:51.089 or interior storage if you're loading the interior 00:25:51.089 --> 00:25:53.509 and the trunk full of stuff? Is there a better 00:25:53.509 --> 00:25:56.470 vehicle that may be cheaper all around for you 00:25:56.470 --> 00:25:58.829 to use because it uses less gas, less maintenance? 00:25:59.130 --> 00:26:01.049 If you've got a vehicle with a lot of maintenance 00:26:01.049 --> 00:26:03.230 problems or it's on the older side, you may, 00:26:03.390 --> 00:26:06.609 yes, spending money to save money is a thing. 00:26:06.730 --> 00:26:09.569 So maybe making the necessary shift on your vehicle. 00:26:11.509 --> 00:26:15.829 Might be a play. There's so many opportunities 00:26:15.829 --> 00:26:18.750 for you to make adjustments on the budgeting. 00:26:18.869 --> 00:26:21.049 And if you're the person that eats out instead 00:26:21.049 --> 00:26:25.730 of cooks, well, maybe you don't cook, but you 00:26:25.730 --> 00:26:27.710 figure out a way to go to the grocery store to 00:26:27.710 --> 00:26:31.069 get pre -ready meals, whether they're microwave 00:26:31.069 --> 00:26:33.829 or oven, or maybe you're the assembling guy. 00:26:33.970 --> 00:26:37.150 Anybody can make a sandwich. Anybody can make 00:26:37.150 --> 00:26:40.640 a sandwich. uh i dude it takes me forever to 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:43.319 make a sandwich like i'm not perfect about anything 00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:46.119 in my life but like with sandwiches with two 00:26:46.119 --> 00:26:49.319 slices of bread it's like it takes me 30 minutes 00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:53.380 to figure out which side to go the cheese has 00:26:53.380 --> 00:26:56.700 got to be perfect the ham the mayonnaise this 00:26:56.700 --> 00:27:00.039 i gotta cut the pickles perfectly the jalapenos 00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:02.599 like it's all it's a whole damn thing with me 00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:06.140 all right so uh I'm blown away by this. I know, 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:08.920 right? I'm a perfectionist in some aspects of 00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:11.380 my life. I think what you said, though, I think 00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:14.759 it's a lot of business. I think business owners, 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:17.799 entrepreneurs that are treated as small businesses 00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:21.640 are going to be perfectly fine in 2026. I think 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:23.980 a lot of people that got off the train and are 00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:26.619 getting off at the next stop after the conductor 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:29.640 says next stop, they're getting up out of their 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:30.880 seats. I think it's going to be a lot of people 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:32.730 that... you know, have gotten away with it. Because 00:27:32.730 --> 00:27:34.769 let's face it, you still can get away with it 00:27:34.769 --> 00:27:37.230 reselling. You still can make money on the side 00:27:37.230 --> 00:27:39.450 and really kind of just fly by the seat of your 00:27:39.450 --> 00:27:41.369 pants. If you're finding decent items here and 00:27:41.369 --> 00:27:42.950 there, sure, it might not be the most lucrative 00:27:42.950 --> 00:27:45.430 thing, might not be the most consistent thing, 00:27:45.490 --> 00:27:48.609 but you still can make, you know, be pretty dumb 00:27:48.609 --> 00:27:51.089 and make money reselling. That's just a fact 00:27:51.089 --> 00:27:52.690 of the matter. It don't matter how dumb you are. 00:27:52.710 --> 00:27:54.029 If you got an iPhone and you're going to sell 00:27:54.029 --> 00:27:56.069 it, you're going to, it's going to sell, right? 00:27:56.130 --> 00:27:58.880 If the price is right. If you're able to read 00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:01.740 a graph and a chart, you're good to go. Yeah, 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:04.079 I mean, it's an Amazon land. Like, it's pretty. 00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:06.880 But, you know, that also makes people like me, 00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:08.700 you think about it, right? If it is going to 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:11.519 be that easy, right? Like, are we going to even 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:13.960 get crushed more by the mega sellers? Or is there 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:16.240 going to be, you know, more competition? I don't 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:19.720 think, I think the average person, I think the 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:24.880 resale in life is not as glorious as it was portrayed 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:27.859 in the past years. Maybe it makes a comeback 00:28:27.859 --> 00:28:31.579 in 2027, 2028, but I think we'll see another 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:34.900 downswing in like reselling content overall that's 00:28:34.900 --> 00:28:37.119 put out there and just a growth of the reselling 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:41.680 market when it comes to eBay and Amazon in 2026. 00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:44.819 So I'm not worried about more competition. I'm 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:47.559 just worried about getting squeezed out as the 00:28:47.559 --> 00:28:49.970 little guy or girl because. At the end of the 00:28:49.970 --> 00:28:51.849 day, we're all little guys and girls compared 00:28:51.849 --> 00:28:54.670 to these huge mega players out there. And it 00:28:54.670 --> 00:28:56.569 pisses me off just as much as it pisses anybody 00:28:56.569 --> 00:28:58.789 off because we started this. Everybody started 00:28:58.789 --> 00:29:00.849 this business on their own. They bet on themselves. 00:29:01.250 --> 00:29:04.849 And I hate when, you know, we get the shit end 00:29:04.849 --> 00:29:08.329 of the stick. We you know, we don't have we don't 00:29:08.329 --> 00:29:12.109 have the fancy. 35 employees, the conveyor belts. 00:29:12.289 --> 00:29:14.210 We're just out here trying to make 10 grand of 00:29:14.210 --> 00:29:16.730 cash every single month so we can live comfortably 00:29:16.730 --> 00:29:19.069 and, you know, do things we want to do in life. 00:29:19.230 --> 00:29:21.390 So I'm on board. We're still fighting a good 00:29:21.390 --> 00:29:23.490 fight. I think that's what this kind of is. And, 00:29:23.490 --> 00:29:25.789 you know, still continuing to make as much as 00:29:25.789 --> 00:29:27.910 we can. But I do challenge people when it comes 00:29:27.910 --> 00:29:30.150 to time, like, let's start thinking about getting 00:29:30.150 --> 00:29:31.990 our damn time back. I want you to go outside 00:29:31.990 --> 00:29:34.369 like today. Johnny said he wouldn't do it. Maybe 00:29:34.369 --> 00:29:37.009 you come by and shovel the snow. We got three 00:29:37.009 --> 00:29:38.970 inches of snow on the ground, seven degrees. 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:42.259 with the wind chill like enjoy that go out and 00:29:42.259 --> 00:29:44.420 enjoy that and don't feel like oh man you're 00:29:44.420 --> 00:29:46.819 always like yeah johnny's like ah no goddamn 00:29:46.819 --> 00:29:50.880 way uh i think you know focus on being happy 00:29:50.880 --> 00:29:53.339 as a reseller that sounds so bad that sounds 00:29:53.339 --> 00:29:56.660 so cheesy right like i want you to be happy as 00:29:56.660 --> 00:29:59.319 a reseller that's going to be my motto in 2026 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:03.140 yeah let's go do some pilates mike and be happy 00:30:03.529 --> 00:30:06.269 hell yeah dude as long as the dumbbells ain't 00:30:06.269 --> 00:30:09.150 over like five pounds i'm in i can't be maxing 00:30:09.150 --> 00:30:12.490 out over here uh i'm getting old my joints don't 00:30:12.490 --> 00:30:15.089 work the way they used to i i think though the 00:30:15.089 --> 00:30:17.049 people that are happy and enjoy what they do 00:30:17.049 --> 00:30:20.410 or maybe the workload maybe like listen i don't 00:30:20.410 --> 00:30:22.089 i'm not like super happy about going out and 00:30:22.089 --> 00:30:24.869 thrifting but i understand the roi and my time 00:30:24.869 --> 00:30:27.289 like isn't going to be beat so like i think those 00:30:27.289 --> 00:30:29.750 people survive i think people that are like have 00:30:29.750 --> 00:30:32.700 been grinding it out And like have all these 00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:35.299 listings and things aren't selling and overhead 00:30:35.299 --> 00:30:37.319 costs, like you said, are piling up, especially 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:39.599 in the Amazon space, like storage fees and quarter 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:42.640 four triple what they usually are. I think those 00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:45.480 people are going to whether they like it or not, 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:47.660 are going to have to move on to greener pastures. 00:30:48.700 --> 00:30:54.369 Absolutely. I mean. Is it more challenging year 00:30:54.369 --> 00:30:57.230 over year? But if you're brand new, the challenge 00:30:57.230 --> 00:31:00.990 is what it is. It's not new to you. Well, you're 00:31:00.990 --> 00:31:05.210 new, but the grind is, well, it is what it is. 00:31:05.250 --> 00:31:07.289 You're not used to anything better. You don't 00:31:07.289 --> 00:31:09.849 know what better was. You weren't there. So the 00:31:09.849 --> 00:31:14.789 best time to start is literally right now. Yeah, 00:31:14.869 --> 00:31:17.369 I don't know what else to say other than pick 00:31:17.369 --> 00:31:21.299 a path, go down it. And if you want to have some 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:23.740 littler paths that you try to explore, which 00:31:23.740 --> 00:31:27.400 I highly encourage, explore new things. Add some 00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:29.460 more revenue. And if it doesn't work out, it 00:31:29.460 --> 00:31:31.240 doesn't work out. You still got the main path 00:31:31.240 --> 00:31:34.579 you're on, which to me is Amazon and eBay. I 00:31:34.579 --> 00:31:37.440 mean, yeah. Yeah, I agree. We'll wrap it up here. 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:41.000 I think 2026 will be a great year for us business 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:44.259 owners. For resellers, I don't know. You guys 00:31:44.259 --> 00:31:45.859 kind of fall into a different category in my 00:31:45.859 --> 00:31:48.170 mind because you kind of just, you know. oh yeah 00:31:48.170 --> 00:31:50.450 i'm a reseller i'm just like no you're a business 00:31:50.450 --> 00:31:52.109 owner let's start treating it like a business 00:31:52.109 --> 00:31:56.599 uh thankfully all of you people that have evade 00:31:56.599 --> 00:31:59.519 taxes because you make under 20k that's back 00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:01.279 in effect so you don't have to worry about paying 00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:05.940 taxes because you only made $19 ,999 on said 00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:09.220 platform so i we said that many times that would 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:11.740 have been a huge purge so you guys all dodged 00:32:11.740 --> 00:32:13.900 that bullet so you can drag along your half -assed 00:32:13.900 --> 00:32:16.339 non -tax paying reselling business i'm going 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:19.220 on a rant here johnny buckle up buttercup uh 00:32:19.220 --> 00:32:21.839 you know you guys will survive for another year 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:23.799 until you need the uncle sam hat and the whole 00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:28.140 outfit Yes, we want your tax money. No, it'll 00:32:28.140 --> 00:32:30.660 be a good year. I'm excited for it. I definitely 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:33.039 have things moving in the background that, you 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:36.759 know, I don't openly talk about, but I already 00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:40.720 have the YouTube. We have the podcast. There's 00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:44.019 so much I have going on and I'm excited to, I 00:32:44.019 --> 00:32:47.079 said this this past few weeks, like focusing 00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:49.099 on this other business without taking time away 00:32:49.099 --> 00:32:51.789 from my Amazon business. It's kind of cool to 00:32:51.789 --> 00:32:54.230 start something fresh, dude. Like, yeah, it's 00:32:54.230 --> 00:32:57.390 not exciting. Like when I when I make like three 00:32:57.390 --> 00:32:59.789 dollars, like I made three dollars today from 00:32:59.789 --> 00:33:02.230 my other business. Like, dude, it's not exciting 00:33:02.230 --> 00:33:05.029 to anybody. It's not even exciting compared to 00:33:05.029 --> 00:33:07.250 my Amazon business. I'm like, this is a goddamn 00:33:07.250 --> 00:33:09.710 waste of time. Right. But like I see the long 00:33:09.710 --> 00:33:12.309 term plan and I'm willing to commit to the experiment 00:33:12.309 --> 00:33:15.420 to see if it's actually viable. But like. I think 00:33:15.420 --> 00:33:18.480 it's fun to create new businesses and do things 00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:20.920 like something brand new and fresh while not, 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:23.880 I don't sacrifice my main business, my main source 00:33:23.880 --> 00:33:25.819 of income. It's not like I forget about that. 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:29.019 That keeps going as normal. I just squeeze time 00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:30.940 out to make this other thing work. It kind of 00:33:30.940 --> 00:33:32.880 like when we all started, we had a full -time 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:35.579 job and we decided to resell it. And we squeezed 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:38.099 time out to make reselling work. And now we're 00:33:38.099 --> 00:33:39.779 reselling. Well, now we're going to squeeze time 00:33:39.779 --> 00:33:41.319 out to maybe try something else. That's kind 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:43.900 of where I'm at. I think it's super fun and exciting, 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:46.130 even though I make, you know, pennies on the 00:33:46.130 --> 00:33:48.289 dollar with this business compared to mine. I'm 00:33:48.289 --> 00:33:51.130 like, hey, that's cool. I actually see results. 00:33:51.349 --> 00:33:52.930 I'm like, all right, six months down the road, 00:33:52.970 --> 00:33:55.009 we'll see what can happen. Maybe I'll be singing 00:33:55.009 --> 00:33:58.049 a different tune come six months. And I tell 00:33:58.049 --> 00:34:00.809 Johnny that I wasted half of my a half year of 00:34:00.809 --> 00:34:02.650 my life on this business. But you don't know 00:34:02.650 --> 00:34:04.890 until you actually put effort in. That's a big 00:34:04.890 --> 00:34:08.219 thing, too, that I want to. 2026, we can't quit. 00:34:08.340 --> 00:34:10.920 We can't say this is great or this is bad unless 00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:13.739 we actively put in the effort that it takes. 00:34:13.880 --> 00:34:15.980 You can't half -ass things and say it doesn't 00:34:15.980 --> 00:34:19.159 work. Oh, doing a podcast sucks. Well, you uploaded 00:34:19.159 --> 00:34:21.340 three episodes of the podcast. Come back, talk 00:34:21.340 --> 00:34:23.420 to me and Johnny when you're 160 plus episodes 00:34:23.420 --> 00:34:25.780 deep, right? Like you have to commit to these 00:34:25.780 --> 00:34:27.480 things, dude. We don't want to commit to nothing. 00:34:27.619 --> 00:34:29.960 And if we do, what's the most half -ass commitment 00:34:29.960 --> 00:34:32.199 where we're just like, oh, we just float on by. 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:35.820 Everything's just. dandelions and daisies and 00:34:35.820 --> 00:34:38.119 everything else dude i'm i'm all fired up now 00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:41.619 at the end of this episode i mean yeah I love 00:34:41.619 --> 00:34:45.260 doing my YouTube stuff because I don't talk about 00:34:45.260 --> 00:34:48.920 reselling at all. Yeah. Zero. And it's so much 00:34:48.920 --> 00:34:50.880 fun having an outlet and having an outlet with 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:53.599 others to not talk about reselling because that's 00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:56.260 all I do the other percentage of my time because 00:34:56.260 --> 00:34:58.940 either I'm getting phone calls or messages or 00:34:58.940 --> 00:35:01.400 I'm doing the podcast or I'm attending a call 00:35:01.400 --> 00:35:05.920 or I'm hosting a call and it's consuming. So 00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:09.590 getting a little bit. out of that is yeah like 00:35:09.590 --> 00:35:12.630 you said very refreshing yeah i agree um and 00:35:12.630 --> 00:35:15.289 if you do enjoy books more than just reselling 00:35:15.289 --> 00:35:17.530 them if you're not mr crabs like me and you actually 00:35:17.530 --> 00:35:20.690 enjoy knowledge about books and reading books 00:35:20.690 --> 00:35:22.690 and things like that johnny's got a patreon he's 00:35:22.690 --> 00:35:25.730 got a youtube channel uh patreon backslash the 00:35:25.730 --> 00:35:29.150 book shepherd correct yeah yeah no correct at 00:35:29.150 --> 00:35:31.309 the end it's just patreon .com backslash the 00:35:31.309 --> 00:35:34.710 book shepherd uh swing over there Hang out with 00:35:34.710 --> 00:35:36.949 the guy that enjoys books like you, not a greedy 00:35:36.949 --> 00:35:39.210 bugger like me who just collects rolls of pennies 00:35:39.210 --> 00:35:42.789 that I find out on the street. But yeah, make 00:35:42.789 --> 00:35:45.809 2026 your year, whether you decide to double 00:35:45.809 --> 00:35:48.750 down on your business, start something new, but 00:35:48.750 --> 00:35:51.469 set goals, attainable goals. Don't be like, I 00:35:51.469 --> 00:35:53.369 got to make a trillion dollars this year. No, 00:35:53.409 --> 00:35:54.889 you're not. I'm here to tell you I'm bursting 00:35:54.889 --> 00:35:56.710 your bubble right here, right now. It's not going 00:35:56.710 --> 00:36:00.800 to happen. Be realistic within your means. Put 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:02.519 as much money in your bank account as you can. 00:36:02.739 --> 00:36:05.199 And we will talk to you all in next week's episode. 00:36:06.119 --> 00:36:08.039 Thanks for listening to another episode of the 00:36:08.039 --> 00:36:10.880 Reseller's Mindset Podcast. Today's full episode 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:13.219 and all previous episodes are available to all 00:36:13.219 --> 00:36:15.739 YouTube members, along with the weekly Zoom call 00:36:15.739 --> 00:36:18.219 and private Discord. Head on over to youtube 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:21.159 .com backslash to use book guy and consider joining 00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:22.780 for as little as $2 .99 a month.