6:41 AM. Just walked two outgoing packages to the mailbox. Sewing machine accessories that I bought from UGM thrift store in Jan or Feb. I spent like $30 on a handful of sewing machine parts and I went through and listed them individually on eBay. I think I’m making a return on them by now, as I’ve sold several pieces so far. The ones today sold for $15 and $5. There were a few parts which sold for around $20. Unfortunately I hadn’t started my ROI spreadsheet at that point, so I’m not sure of what kind of return I’m seeing right now. I’m sure I’ve at least broken even at this point, if not made a profit.
Oh my god, I just sold a K-ON booster pack for $58. ONE BOOSTER PACK FOR FIFTY EIGHT DOLLARS! All hail the otaku! I just made an instant return + profit on that sale! I need more like that. Sealed product for the win!
Yesterday I got one of the three packages I’ve been waiting on. It was perfect timing because I didn’t have much to list on eBay. I was just waiting for product and I couldn’t do much other than work on other projects which don’t earn me any money.
But yeah, I love opening packages from Japan and seeing the packing methods and differing packaging material. In the box I received which contained 9 different Buyee items, I noticed the Japanese newspapers used as packing material. I love seeing Japanese newspaper! It’s colorful and interesting and there are often beautiful photographs. Japanese writing is very cool indeed. I’m holding onto those to use as packing material for items I send out, which I think my otaku customers will get a kick of.
Off to a good start on the first batch of items I bought using my economic stimulus check. I listed three or four different booster packs yesterday. I spent a good hour or two on listing, making sure to get the words in the description and the pictures just right.
There is a Japanese seller who is selling the same booster pack I just sold for around ninety dollars. I think that was a little too steep for a booster pack, but when I check the facts, I see that it’s an out of print booster series and there is almost no place online where it can be purchased. A situation like that is exactly the kind of thing that card sellers need to survive.. Demand for their product and the scarcity which demands a high price!
I don’t regret not asking for a higher price. I locked in a high return and that’s A-OK!
Oh shit, they bought two boosters, not just one! One I sold for $50, the other was $40. Wow. Sealed product is my new business partner! I think I can make my dream business work out when I see sales like this!
I’m tempted to jump right into eBay and pack, ship, and log the sale in my spreadsheet. I still have 10 minutes on this writing phase. I want to stay focused and take things one thing at a time. I want to practice discipline. I don’t want to be ruled by my emotions
In this case, the emotion is excitement. I am excited to make a high value sale and move towards my goals of a successful eBay seller. I define successful as making minimum wage doing this job. Maybe I should come up with a different word than, “successful” because I don’t want to feel like I’m failing until I reach that goal.
Martin from Wintergatan (oh hey, it’s Wintergatan Wednesday!) spoke in his last video about setting good goals. He used to set a daily goal such as, “I will finish the marble divider today.” Despite his best efforts, he would often fall short of the goals he made, and feel as if he had failed at the end of the day. The problem was not that Martin would fail to to his best, the problem was that Martin couldn’t possibly plan for all the problems that would arise during the designing and building process.
Now, Martin sets goals such as, “I will stay focused on this project all day.” which he can accomplish if he simply practices discipline and avoids distraction in the form of dopamine dumping traps. It doesn’t matter if the thing he’s working on gets finished. Having a clear daily goal which depends on progress rather than perfection is what keeps Martin focused on his work and keeps him moving toward his goals.
I really appreciate Martin’s videos when he talks about goal setting, self doubt, how to focus, etc. It really uplifts me and gives me inspiration for improving my own life.
I’m totally stoked about the booster pack sales. Now I just gotta rinse and repeat! I want to set up a reminder event on my calendar to check Buyee for deals. This isn’t just a one time bargain I found via Buyee. There’s an endless supply of this sort of thing! There are a whole lot of people who don’t want to deal with shipper forwarders. That’s fine by me, because it gives me a place in the market to slip into and create a business that I really enjoy operating.
Excelsior!
It’s not the end of the article yet, but I really wanted to say it.
I hope the customer is honest and doesn’t decide to scam me! I am staying realistic yet hopeful. I’m definitely excited to have this sale and make progress toward my goal!
Ok so let’s come up with a better metric for success. Or a better word. I don’t want to feel like a failure because I know I’m not. I am putting in the work, and I am figuring out how I can operate profitably. I’m worth a lot and I matter as a person. I am not a failure by any means. I may fail from time to time to accomplish a goal or make something work out, but I’m still not a failure. Failure is a part of life, a part of business, and something that can be a great learning tool. Doesn’t mean I am one!
I’m going to say I have a master plan, and each step of the master plan is a major milestone. My measure of success is not whether I’m making n monies every hour. Rather, my measure of success is if I’m having a good time. I’m making it that simple!
I took a big risk by quitting my IT job and pursing happiness. I did it again when I quit my landscaping job to pursue happiness. I’m finally where I want to be at. I’m already succeeding!
Ok then, let’s set some milestones.
- 25 collectible card sales per week
- 50 collectible card sales per week
- The ability to place weekly restock orders
- Minimum wage achieved
- Debt free
I could keep going, but I don’t want to get that far ahead of myself. I know my long term goal is to live off the money I make at this business. I know there are a lot of intermediate steps between how things are now and how they will need to be to get to that point. I’m focusing on what I can control right now, and I don’t want to have the big picture seem like such a vast difference that I can’t make the leap. It’s not a leap! It’s a staircase and I have to place my feet on each step, one after the other.
minecraft and last call
I played Minecraft last night with B., M., and S. It’s been a long time since I played! I felt myself getting hooked. That game is amazingly complex and addictive!
I was good and I listened to my body. I got off at 1AM and went to sleep shortly after. It’s good to be with friends and play video games, but it’s even better to moderate!
I played for a solid 4 hours, that’s about as long of a session as I want to do anymore. Much more than that becomes my main event in life. Minecraft is not something that I can make money off of, so it’s best to avoid that! If money wasn’t an issue, I’d play more, but my reality is that I need to make the dough if I am to live a fulfilling life.
I woke up at 6AM so I could keep a good habit of walking packages to the mailbox. I was pretty tired, but it was not too difficult to get up because I was hungry. I’m eager to keep my customers happy, and observe my advertised 1 day shipping and handling.
There’s a setting in eBay which lets me place a cutoff time for same-day shipping. I’d like it to be 6AM, but I think that might be too early for most people. I have it set to 8:30 AM right now. That gives me plenty of time to pack and ship an order that came in around that time, plenty of time to walk to the mailbox and there’s plenty of time before the average time that USPS picks up.
I’ve seen USPS arrive as early as 9:30, and as late as 11:45. An 8:30 cutoff sounds just about right for me.
I was thinking 6AM because that’s when I like to walk to the mailbox. The sun is up, but no neighbors are out. The neighbor’s dog doesn’t charge at me, and I don’t feel uncomfortable having to smile and wave. The potential social contact is extremely low.
God I’m weird.
…But that’s perfectly fine!
It’s fine to be weird. I don’t think I need to be awkward though. I can be confident enough with my self to where I can say hi or smile and wave and it doesn’t need to be a big deal. Perhaps this later walk to the mailbox is just good socializing practice! I can be grateful for the little snippets of social contact because every time I do it, I’ll learn something and be better and more confident about similar events in the future. I got nothing to worry about! I can handle it!
Today I was thinking that it would be pretty nice to have a script which verbally announces, “eBay store cutoff time” or something to that extent, right at 8:30 when my shipping cutoff expires.
I was thinking that such a script might become annoying, especially if I have no outgoing orders to process.
But then I started thinking about it. I’m a fuckin’ web dev! I can simply make the script announce the call for shipping only if there are shipments for me to process. A script like that is something I’m really fucking good at! I could have it done by the end of the day!
So I think I’ll do that. I’ll finish up writing, I’ll ship out the booster packs I sold this morning, and then I’ll get some food in my system and write some code!
I’m lovin’ my Pomodoro Timer. GoodTime minimalistic Pomodoro timer on Android. Absolutely fantastic UI and does just what I need. I’m achieving a level of focus that I never thought possible!
I’m just going to keep at it. I’m going to continue using Pomodoro technique, and set an intention before I sit at the computer. I make exceptions of course. Video game sessions for one. Pomodoro really comes in handy when I’m either working or studying. I think it will be great for cleaning as well!
Speaking of cleaning… I’m not very good at that. I suppose it’s an easy enough task. My problem is that I simply don’t do it. I guess I have made some advancement in this area. I keep my shower pretty clean nowadays. I made a habit of cleaning a small part of it before I get in and bathe, which is working out pretty well.
So that’s a success. I like little successes! Lemme think of some other successes I’ve experienced lately. I’ve experienced the success of walking to the grocery store without having to make a big fuss about it. I put it of for days the previous time. The most recent time this week on Monday, it was just not a big deal. I got dressed, I went and walked. It felt good, it felt challenging, it started to suck, but it was within my abilities and I got through it and it wasn’t a big deal. I felt wonderful for having doing it and I’m incorporating those long walks and grocery resupplies into my daily life! It sucks a little, but overall it’s a net positive!
I’m feeling pretty sleepy now! I think it’s time to eat. 7:57AM. Eat, then ship, then code, then nap!
Naps are wonderful. I’m grateful for naps. Naps are refreshing and rejuvenating and just so absolutely wonderful!
I’m grateful for Minecraft. It was a groundbreaking game, a huge time investment, and I treasure the times I had with friends playing Minecraft. Here’s to many more in this latest instance of our minecraft world!
I’m grateful for Matzah. I discovered yesterday just how filling this stuff is. I felt full and satiated all evening yesterday, when my intake of food was comparatively low. I attribute that satisfaction to the Matzah! It tastes great and it’s only two ingredients!
87. I am okay. I am breathing. I am alive.
88. I am capable of achieving great things.
89. I light the world with my smile.
Excelsior!
