Selling on eBay and Amazon as a reseller can be a life changing business. You can make so much money reselling. Many fail to make a full time living reselling because they make these mistakes.
The issue too is that many resellers are not business minded. They are shoppers who want to shop--ask most what they enjoy most about reselling and the answer is usually the hunt(shopping), the answer should be making money(profit). Running a successful business takes strict discipline and takes some experience and or education. You can be dumber than dumb and still have made money during the pandemic. The sale numbers that occurred so easily during the pandemic will never happen at that level again. Running a successful business is work not shopping.
i think you nailed it for me, i've been reselling for going on 17 years on eBay, I'm not disciplined to do this full time, I have a job that affords me to be who I am. And yes, its the thrill of the Hunt for me, i have so much inventory that is just not listed
The problem with your philosophy is burnout. most people that shop for profit in reselling doesnt care about what they are buying so they burn out fast because there is no joy in it.
Actually, I can tell you the area I could do way better in, is sourcing. If I shipped like I source, there would be a pile of packages in my backseat that should have been mailed 2 weeks ago. I frankly hate sourcing. The pick places are cleaned out, and the pallet places are way too risky and filled with garbage that somebody else could not sell. The labor alone to test all that is not me. The yard sales where I live are simply ebayers trying to unload their death piles.
When I was a general manager, at one of our meetings the Director of operations asked ‘why are we in business?’. Of course everyone said ‘to make a profit’. That was the wrong answer. The correct answer is ‘to serve the customer’. If you approach it like that you’ll understand better. I’ve bought from the ‘to make a profit’ people. They do lack in many respects.
@@dianem6951 sure serving the customer is very important but if a person does not know how to run a business the best customer service will not save the business is my point. Example having a huge pile of product that never gets posted and yet the seller keeps buying is bad business
I have no desire to be a full time seller. I only do it on this side. I have 3 really great sources of income but just started doing Ebay to learn something new. I will probably cap out at about 100 items and focus on quality vs quantity. Never stop learning.
I agree with everything you said. I'm retired and I'm using my ebay business to help subsidize social security. Started in 2023 mid year and have learnt so much from you. Made plenty of mistakes in the beginning, but through you and other YTubers I'm developing my sourcing skills and been more selective on what I pick up. My goal for 2024 is to reach $80k gross with an expected $45k-$50k net. I've written out a plan for each day on what I'll do and where I'll go sourcing; thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales and various online marketplaces. Each month I have set goals ($$$) for my business to help me focus on the $80k. If I make it, great I'll celebrate in some fashion, if I fail, then at least I tried. Thank you for everything you share.
You’ve hit the nail right on the head! Buy & Sell things that are going to make a profit sooner rather than later, make sure to keep up with the numbers and learn more about your actual income, adjust and adapt to current/future trends, think of the customer first, be accountable for your own business and lastly, you only get out what you put in, that’s what I took away from your video 😊
Thank you for everything you do, learning everyday and taking responsibility for my stupitidy and each mistake I've made. I've made all of them. After a year on poshmark I will get serious and start a spreadsheet to track my purchases and sales. I've been selling on Ebay for 3 months and appreciate your help.
Also rant… I hate when resellers talk about their sales numbers, I don’t really care about your sales #. Maybe you did $82k in sales but your cost of goods was $60k… your fees/shipping were $20k what then was your take home?? Not a full time income! So many RU-vidrs try to get viewers by just saying their sales #!!
Excellent video, information, transparency and delivery. I am personally completely aware the main "problem" or rather "influencing factor" is myself what affects me and what I do within my control. I agree with all your points. I just need to develop the routine/systems to be consistent and aim for work life balance so I don't burn out either. Need to schedule time to reward myself after putting in the work, whether is sleep, time for myself or with others, or just anything not related to "the business" so I can feel like my whole life does not have to be centered around work work work until I can't no more, as an example. Thanks again for the video and happy new year's.
Seriously, I’ve started watching your videos and I’ve got to say, you are my new favorite thrift RU-vidr. I have watched a lot but none are as informative and helpful as you. I appreciate the tips so far and can’t wait to see your videos in the future. Thank you!
I absolutely love all your videos and free amazing advice. I wish RU-vid had a tip button because u definitely deserve it. Thank you. And your a LDS member that’s awesome
Something that isn’t discussed much is the focus on items. New sellers believe they compete with everyone because they sell a variety of items. Whilst true, eventually they need to see themselves as businesses that compete with other businesses. Walmart isn’t worried about Craigslist Joe. So likewise that mindset shift is needed for resellers to gain clarity and with that clarity, go the distance.
NO WAY! I just started watching your channel because I'm trying to learn more while I"m working on my reselling business and I would have never guessed in a million years that we live in the same area! so surreal, and also gives me confidence that if you're making it in Southern Utah then I can probably do it too. I hope I bump into you in the wild so I can thank you for all the advice you've given on here. You're awesome!
Yes, you are absolutely right. I only blame myself for my own numbers. I need to work harder and smarter for that to happen. I've watched most of your videos and I really want to thank for the knowledge that you are sharing.
I have started out selling things I no longer want in my home. Got a new iPhone and Apple Watch recently so I sold my old ones. The iPhone sold very fast. The Apple Watch is getting bids and will likely sell soon. I also put a Coach purse. I have an old Selmer clarinet that is selling for thousands on eBay that I also want to sell. I am considering taking it to have it worked on first but not sure yet. It is very old so could use some loving. I just wanted to start out with my things at home to see if I would like it and I am loving it. Will start thrifting soon and can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can go yard selling
Thanks for your content. I’m thinking of starting reselling to start part time. You have been extremely helpful. My background is market research. The customer and having the right product is key. You are so right. I hope you’ve researched your new area. Several people in the comments mentioned the quality in those thrift stores. I think all resellers are working harder nowadays. Goodwill has gotten ridiculous in some of their prices. Now I have to figure out how to determine sell through rates. Great job!
I've never had more than 250 items in my eBay store. Grossed $104K this year. Sold 1549 items averaging $56 per item. Learned the hard way about Sell Thru Rates. I have about 60 items that will never sell, lol. I try to sell items above a 75% STR, now. However, if I get a really good deal, I will go down to 50% but it must be a GREAT deal to go that low.
Time to move to Utah then! Haha. Great info! I started part-time back when the pandemic happened just like everyone else and I've actually been ramping up since then. I'm still part-time as I do have a full-time job, but my sales and profits have gone up 4x since the first year. Goal for me is to ramp up more to the point where my full-time job can be no more and make a full-time living as a reseller. Thanks for the great insight!
I like how you talked about driving a little farther to get those 100% STR items. When I go out sourcing my Goodwill stores I will drive a good 175-225 miles or more round trip just to go to my 4 favorite Goodwill stores here in NJ. Then when I do my PA run to go to my 2 favorite Goodwill and 2 favorite 2nd Ave Thrift stores I will probablt be around the 250-275 mile round trip. I'm extremely exhausted after my sourcing runs I will just unload my car then list everything the next day. I will go out sourcing about 3 to 4 days a week, and that includes my Flea Market trip on Sundays too which is about a 150 mile round trip. I live in a Beach Town which is pretty far from the bigger cities in my state so I have a lot of driving to do my sourcing, but it's all worth it to me. My sourcing days are at least a good 10hr day, they're very long days.
Amen Jride. I am in the process of changing my process because I sacrificed quality vs quantity by shopping only at the bins to increase my store size. I bought 350 items that basically no one wants. LOL! I've gone back to quality buying and if I leave a store with 4 good items I am happy because they usually sell within a couple of days. Thank you so much for validating and breaking this down. Peace!
Immediately youve made me switch my goal away from having a really large store. I instead should be seeking a store that sells through with good profit
Thank you so much for your videos! I picked up 4 seasons of Arrested Development from a pawn shop for $8. Sold in about a week for $30 + shipping. I might try to avoid media going forward after hearing what you're saying tho.
Hi, I like to mix it up, slow, medium and fast sellers! We list on a few platforms and we are doing good, not great. I have been selling online for 11 years, 5 part time full time job and 5.5 years full time! Always improving and looking for fast selling items when we thrift. Our eBay sales are increasing minthly. We answer customer questions as soon as possible! Customer service is important! Happy new year 🎉! All the best in 2024! Joe Bee 🐝 from 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 Canada!
Being flexible, able to pivot, and diversify in this is everything even if it means parting ways with a specific type of item or category you’ve made a ton of money with OR have a personal connection with (a lot of people preach sell what you’re interested in or love) He does what he has to do to source the products that make him successful. I’ve seen him mention so many different ways he sources and he might even keep some in the vault which is ok. If you can’t find those items in your areas or online explore other categories that at first will take you more time to source but once you find consistency then you can get rolling. Still a student of the game out here myself but being able to switch it up when need be has been one of the most powerful things I’ve learned with reselling. 8 years ago I used to find a lot of success selling used ps3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3ds games. Even some N64 GameCube but they became harder to come by (at least for me) over time and of course how the gaming systems evolve themselves. Thanks for the A+ content as always
Hi. Sell thru rate is important but dollar volume is as important. Better to sell one item with $500 profit at 10% STR than selling $10 profit with 200% STR.
10% 90 day sell through would be 1 sell every 2.5 years. 200% would be a sale every 45 days. At $10 profit you’re right only listing one. Now we factor in the ability to find $500 profit vs $10. You start to lose here. Now factor how many $20 profit you can find and you really start fall behind. Factor in cash flow and space and we really start to see a huge chang. I’d rather sell a house for $20k profit then 2000 items for $10. But I can scale much better at %200 sell through regardless of of the profit then at 10% regardless of the profit
@@JrideFlips Agreed. My example was too extreme, but I guess you get my point. I don’t want to make change multiple times a day, I prefer to wait a bit to hit a big BOLO item. I’m not interested in a high volume low profit model, but it’s just me. Thanks for your answer, I really enjoy your videos.
As I continued to watch your video. I’m in the same situation as you. I live 5 minutes away from a really great goodwill. Shopping here is like shopping at a target or tj max. The stuff that I have, you would think I got from target. I’m so happy and blessed that this place has made me some really awesome profits. I’m there literally 8 times a week because every time I go there’s something new and worth selling. I wish I done this years ago.
Thank you for sharing and Happy New Year to you and your family. I get that you don't have to do this and some would even say you might be hurting your own business by sharing your hard earned tips but my gut says you genuinely want to help others and in a world of scammers, this is refreshing. Can I ask who your own influencers have been in this reselling journey so that I may also add toy journey?
I am very lucky to live nearby to a dozen stores, multiple flea markets & in a city with bins, so I only have a 15 min commute. My husband is my investor and greatest cheerleader. I really hope to change the trajectory of our lives with this new business. I watch every single video you put out. You have helped me TREMENDOUSLY. Do you have a schedule for your Live YTs? I never seem to catch them. Thanks! 🖖✨
I am a Veteran ebay reseller since 2001. Honestly- I love reselling, but the amount of money I make doing this (the last several years) is laughable. I have two college degrees collecting dust, but- I got addicted to the hunt/thrill of the find and then flipping the item for more. And the young years of ebay ‘auctions’ I made good money, but with the transition and evolution of ebay, my profits are much smaller, with less items selling overall. I am almost 50 years old, scrambling, and wondering if I need to kick start a different career or maybe it’s too late for me. I would recommend dabbling in reselling as a hobby. But- to make a living as a solo reseller with no help…. Good luck😆
Every soul having internet access changed things ,especially the modern cellphone.I used to find really good stuff at estate sales,Goodwill etc. but now it’s easier to check the value on Ebay .I see resellers walking thru Goodwill checking prices on Ebay.Its annoying.
Great video here that most will overlook, because it stings to know that if your store is full of mediocre items they will not sell. The days of pandemic paychecks are over and folks cannot afford to squander their money on mediocre impulse buys on eBay. Also, antiquated methods of running eBay stores 10-20 years ago does not work in today’s stores. You have to adapt or die.
I am in Florida and beach, boating, fishing ,and military items are plentiful. Sometimes I finds other cool items too. Focus on what is in your area. If I focused on Patagonia,magnolia,ragnbone,jnco, and other clothing brands that are easily everyday accessible to people who live in California I would be broke here
The problem I have with focusing mainly on sell-through rate is that if I find an item and I see the sell-through at 50%, but I can price it cheaper than all the previous sold comps and still make a decent profit, doesn't that mean it might sell quicker than a 100% sell-through rate item but priced just like all the other comps and end up with less profit than the other one........
When you search, I would try filtering to your desired sell price range based on your COG. Then try calculating sellthrough for that price range only. I've been doing that a lot lately and it has been working for me.
My only goal is to supplement my disability. The more it goes up the more my other benefits get cut. So eBay is to help fill that gap. I'm physically limited on what I can do so I'm fine with 100 items. I'm in a 1/1 so I don't have a lot of space to store anyway and I'm not going to lay out money for a storage unit because that defeats the purpose. The first thing I did when I got back into it in Dec (I sold before in 2015) was to Google for all of the places in the area where I could source. Then I grouped them by area. That way I'm not running all over the city wasting time and burning gas. If I happen to be in a specific area on any given day I hot those stores. Most people think of Goodwill and the Salvation Army. But around here there are a couple of churches and a local community hospital that also have thrift stores so I shop those as well.
I've said this so many times to people complaining on not being able to find items in their area and they always end up getting mad. I just don't understand it. I do live near a city but when I've driven out to rural areas to source I've found lots of outdoor clothing, horseback riding themed items, workwear, etc. That's just one example. But it all comes down to finding what is available in your area. I also know some people who source entirely online. In a lot of ways it's actually better to not live in a huge city and constantly be fighting competition at thrift stores. I've also driven into the rough areas of my city to shop at their Burlingtons/Ross as a lot of people don't want to go there. I always find tons of high sellthrough items that just aren't of interest to people in those areas but sell great online. My goodwill bins is in an area people would term as sketchy but I never have any issues there and the place is usually empty, definitely no fights like I see in videos on youtube from other cities.
Good advice in general. There are exceptions though, and they need to be vetted and considered on a case by case basis. For example... i just closed a deal on new auto parts from a dealer service center that is closing. $23k for a little over 50k individual items (lots and lots of multi-quantity). I will make my money back in less than a month but it will realistically take about 18-24 months to sell through all of it. Overall I should gross over $700k on the deal. How can anyone pass that up? And would you just because you can't sell through all of it in 90 days? Sometimes you gotta go big and take a swing for the fences.
See I get conflicted because I’ll find items that have not sold within the last 90 days… I’ll still list them and they sell within 1-2 weeks, sometimes it surprises me, of course not every item is like this but sometimes the weird/odd stuff sells quick as well.
Jride, as always, GREAT advice, thank you. Wanted you to know that your mic is having issues (it gets louder at times and cuts out for a millisecond here and there).
Im in the second phase.... too much inventory to list. However im having to list what i have to get those funds back and reinvest. Last several times ive gone out looking i got 1 or 2 things to list with the high turnover.
That’s amazing that there are only 75 miles!!! Almost unbelievable, but just know that the more sources, the more sellers Probably also been a huge factor in your success. of all this and if that competition won’t be a huge issue for you you know what you’re doing
Yeah I have an outdoor maintenance construction business and garage sales are a good way for me to talk to home owners about my business and I get jobs out of it. Plus I am able to buy stuff to resell on ebay. Win win
I hardly ever find items with 100% sell through rate , I don't think I've ever found something with 100% sell through rate lol Not even 1 item , but I love how yall be finding 5+ But the items I do sell I get for almost nothing and get like 5-10x my money back , also I've noticed nothing I source in person sells. But things I find online sell really well in comparison
I agree with a previous commenter...this is a great video. Thank you. Can you speak to the formula to calculate the sell-through rate (STR) from looking up an item like we do when sourcing? I hear so many people say STR= (#sold)(100)/(#listed) That's how they can say at times the STR is greater than 100%. Shouldn't the STR be (#sold)(100)/(#sold+#listed) ? Thanks.
A fine example of a non researching seller is they sell the same Abercrombie and fitch pants as I for 10.00 and free ship. Mine are 100.00 and 9.75 ship. You lose
It should be noted that there's FAR more competition in urban areas, which required more time sourcing. Been tough to find any profit on the shelves during holidays; most purchases are from new carts/racks. I've been forced to start shopping at Volunteers of American & Ohio Thrift. There are deals to be had, despite their prices being higher in general.
Agreed! I live by a city and goodwill prices are out of control here now so I barely ever source at retail thrifts anymore. What has worked for me is sourcing at Ross/Burlington in the inner city, I mean like the rough areas that most resellers wouldn't go to. Those stores are always pretty empty and they end up with a huge clearance section. I always find high sellthrough items there that just aren't in demand in that area but when I post them online they sell fast to other parts of the country.
I agree…Goodwill is too greedy these days. My local one wanted $20 for a blouse that someone GAVE to them! We have great garage sales around here, but it will be spring until they fire up real good. It’s a good time for me to list my inventory!
Smart people in any retail know quality is always better than quantity. When I had a restaurant. I had zero interest in selling common dishes to sell at low prices and receive high volume. Volume with low margins equals more work and smaller profits. Try working smart while doing less work.
Not the way business works. Most sales follow pareto. But if you are not properly setting up the 20% with the 80 dogs you will lose grip. BTW you can build a business using your competition as the dog, like in n out burger. They let Wendy's sell the salads and Jack in the Box the tacos, and INNOUT simply excels at serving what ultimately is the core of any drive thru fast food joint, burgers fries and pop.
My biggest issue is buying huge lots of stuff because I see a few great items in them then once the good stuff is gone and it’s $5-$10 plus shipping that won’t sell in lots I lose interest. I’m getting a lot better about tossing stuff that won’t sell and listing lower end items and I’m also getting better at not shopping when I have a ton of inventory even if it’s not great inventory but it’s still a work in progress. Lol
Love your videos! So helpful both business side and sourcing. I have question please help. I have item that customer wanted to cancel right after he paid. It’s still counted in 90 day total and sold number. Is there a way to get it to not be counted to be more accurate?
With this logic, shouldn't it still be okay to have great sell through, mid sell through, and poor sell through if you grow your store large enough? I would think the sales would layer and at some point you'd have a good mix of old, newer and new going out the door pretty consistently. To think of a 5000 item store selling 3 a day is disheartening to say the least.
In theory, this is the only reason why they are still able to stay in business. The volume/scale of the business keeps them afloat, but they resign themselves to making a couple hundred dollars a day. They will never be able to sell thousands per day because the store is full of crap nobody wants.
Can you make a vid on how you would make 200k/ like a strategy? I can’t seem to figure how the sourcing would work out unless you hit big on either expensive items a few times a year or hit big on a big lot of something a few times a year. Still would be a tremendous amount of time hitting thrift stores (unless they are all within a few minutes of each other). Or possibly had someone sourcing for you?
I feel like without garage sales its so hard to even find a couple 100% sell through rate items. As good as it sounds. I just dont think during the off season of garage sales that it would be manageable to be able to replenish whats sold in a week trying to find such high sell through rate items at thrift stores etc. I know this isnt a good mindset to have but just being a bit more practical. Thoughts?
So when looking at sell through rate , do we look at price? Like maybe 100 are listed and 20 have sold which would look like a 20% sell through rate , but if you look and all 20 that sold were priced $20 free shipping , and the 100 listed are above $20 free shipping , it would seem that 100% of the $20 free shipping sold. So is that a 100% sell through rate at that price point? Or is it jjst a flat 20% sell through rate because of listed vs sold
I have a question, at around 2:10 you said you have a sell through rate of 300%? Formula for sell through rate is sold / ( beg inventory + purchases). Wouldn't his mean you sold all of your inventory + an additional 200% of imaginary Inventory. Thanks
In the retail world items that do not sell disappear from shelves. Even more distinct just watch seasonal sales. Why not sell Valentine related items in June? Why did men stop wearing brimmed hats in the 60's? Any sales format has to change to match customer demands. Even the VW Bug went away.
