Reseller’s Definition of “Junk” – Anything NOT WORTH YOUR TIME TO LIST!

Some call these piles “Death Piles” and others don’t even see them anymore as if they don’t exist even though they are everywhere taking up valuable space. This space may be where you used to eat dinner like the kitchen table or the dining room. This space may be where you used to go sit and relax and read a book. This space may even be your living room! 

If you are like me, and got over zealous sourcing you need to STOP! Go through what you have and GET RID of anything that IS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME. Believe it or not, it will be worth your time to get rid of it and it will feel very GOOD to see it go if it has been affecting your daily life. Your kid’s daily lives. Have you stopped inviting friends over or maybe even are too embarrassed to even invite your grown kids to come for a visit and bring your grandbabies to play at Gigi’s house? 

How does this happen you ask? By bringing in more than what’s going out. By not sorting it and listing it within a set time frame. Make rules for yourself when you are going sourcing. Think about how much space you have, how much inventory you have that is not listed yet and at some point JUST SAY NO TO MORE SOURCING! 

Now remember sourcing is a re-sellers way of getting out of the house. We get to talk to other people instead of be secluded all the time inside. Yard work helps us get outdoors but it’s just not the same thrill as going on a treasure hunt and getting to interact with real live people!!! Of course we have our social medias but come on we need to be out in the world too right?!? 

My daughter has begged and pleaded with me to get the death piles out of the house. For her birthday her big present was getting the kitchen back clean of anything that didn’t belong there! I am sorry to say it didn’t last a full week before more came in again and started to cover the table, the floor beside the table… sad but true. The life of a re-seller does not have to be like this crazy, uncontrolled upside-down world. 

 

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Here is what I am doing to CLEAN UP AND CLEAR OUT (so we can live like normal people again and GET OUR HOUSE BACK!)

• MY 3 RULES WHEN IDENTIFYING JUNK:
  1. If you can walk past something for months and not want to list it then it’S JUNK!
  2. If you look at it and it brings you down instead of lifts you up then it’s JUNK!
  3. If you know that it’s something that is not worth more than $10-15 and cleaning it, listing it, re-listing it for longer turnaround items and fees makes it NOT WORTH YOUR TIME then it’s JUNK!
• What do you do with the Junk?
  • If it just doesn’t meet your seller requirements but is still usable then donate it! And don’t forget to get a receipt for a Tax Write Off! 🙂
  • If it’s not something anyone else would need/use then throw it out with the trash! Do not donate your trash for someone else to have to spend their time going through just to throw it in their trash. That’s just wrong!

• Sort your Listed Inventory vs. Unlisted Inventory – 
  • Design your space to have an area for processing new inventory when you walk in. If it’s full then DON’T GO SOURCING till it’s empty again.
  • Store unlisted inventory in a TOTE – Get everything that is already listed a designated storage tote or shelf in a designated “Listed” area. If you’ve been selling online for a while then you probably already have this setup. But if you have incorporated a bunch of unlisted items into this area because you ran out of space then GET IT OUT OF THERE! You won’t take the time to list it if you’ve stashed it some where that is out of sight and out of mind.
  • Sort your Unlisted Inventory – This is a little more complex if you have not recorded your costs yet and are unaware of the danger of it ruining before you can list and sell it while in storage areas so here are some suggestions:
    1.  Make an New Inventory Sheet and take it with you when you go sourcing. Record each place you go and how much you spend on either each item or an average cost per total items purchased. This is your preference. Many re-sellers on YouTube, I’ve noticed, prefer the average cost per total number of items purchased. I’m on the fence still. I like to know what I made or lost on each item. 
    2. Put your New Inventory Sheet with that set of bags/boxes and use it as a tool to prioritize your daily listings. It will tell you what’s in those bags/boxes and if those items are now out of season put them in tubs and store them in your Unlisted Inventory area for a later date. There is nothing wrong with having inventory on hand for upcoming seasons and holidays. It’s like money in the bank, like a savings account. Just don’t get crazy on how much you pay for these items. Make sure they are at a low-cost so if the market changes and prices drop on sales for these items you don’t lose too much of your profit margin.
• Storing Your Unlisted Inventory:  Store your Unlisted Inventory in a dry, cool place so it doesn’t get mildew, warp in high heat or melt. I have kept mine inside (making us miserable) for fear of it ruining outside in the storage building but there are many ways to safely store your items without ruining them. 
  • Outside Storage Tips: 
    1. Don’t store candles in an outside storage building
    2. Store all blankets and clothing sealed in plastic bags inside plastic totes. Boxes are okay for many things but not clothes, they will mildew.
    3. Move your building to a more shaded area to help keep temperatures down in it.
    4. Open it up and let it air out regularly so it doesn’t get stuffy 
    5. Add an air-breathing vent system in it so it can “breath”
  • Inside Storage Tips:
    1. Never store it in the attic, that is an uncontrolled zone for critters like squirrels, rats, mice and bees
    2. A converted garage is excellent as long as it has been finished out with insulation, sheet rock/panelling and AC/Heat.
    3. A spare bedroom, dining room, spare den, game room or office area is excellent as long as you don’t outgrow it! 
• Maintain your Storage Areas – Keep it Clean & Pest Free!
  • Make sure you don’t have any pest issues like mice (will eat paper, poop/pee on everything, shred clothing for bedding), moths (eat your clothes and lay their eggs which will have larvae that will also eat your clothes), roaches (lay egg casings that will ruin clothing/blankets), dirt dobbers (build mud/dirt nests on everything and anything), silver fish (they eat paper!) or wasp (they’re just plain scary to me!) – 
    • If you find a wasp nest in your storage building outside then are you really going to keep going out there to get stuff? Nope, you’ll justify going and buying more instead of listing what you already have. 
    • If you have mice running around your home because of those death piles then you better get it cleaned up quick or you will have several mice families steadily multiplying in you HOME! And that is unhealthy and unsafe for you and your family. So don’t let it happen.
    • Maintain your storage as if it were your own bedroom!
  • Keep it clean of any trash. Never keep a trash can in your storage area with food wrappers, drink cans, etc or you will have a pest problem.
• Plan Ahead for Future Growth
  • Just have a plan ready for when outgrow your designated storage areas so your inventory does not start bleeding into the rest of the house or you will regret it! Your house will no longer feel like home to you and your family!
  • When you think your death piles are going to be the death of you remember why you decided to be a reseller in the first place. Stay focused on the WHY of it and HOW TO make it through will come to you… YOU CAN GET THROUGH THEM!

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Cleaning up and Clearing out the JUNK, organizing the Inventory into categories for a faster listing process and putting holiday/seasonal items in their designated storage areas so you can focus on what needs to get listed right now!

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Here is what I have on my list of to do’s:

• Added more *Storage Shelves – I want to add 3-5 shelves in my storage area to get as much out of my living areas as possible! We want our home back!
• I took a lot of items to the resale shop space I rented…
  • 5 extra shelves for display only
  • closet organizer and clothing racks for display only
  • very fragile items that may get broken trying to ship them
  • lots of home decor, figurines, lamps, pictures
  • household goods like vintage thermos and tupperware cannisters, silverware trays and Lennox chrome lid holder, etc.
  • the very large items that would be difficult to ship- night stand, tall standing jewelry box, life size cardboard cutout of Michael Jackson, etc.
  • most of the clothes picked up in bulk last year but never listed yet
  • 20+ 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles
  • Glasses, coffee mugs, plates, vintage glassware, china

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Resale shop space I rented is at:

Rustic Resale & Refurbishing at 923 Main Street, Liberty Tx 77575

Find Us on Facebook

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• Death Pile #1 – Took everything out of my ebay room that was “Junk” and put it in the kitchen. My daughter was not happy… lol… but I told her it would be out before this day is over! (Poor thing!) But sometimes you have to make a mess to organize one!
• Death Pile #2 – Go through all the boxes in the living room that was a mixture of stuff that came out of my daughter’s room that she no longer wanted (Yes, this is all my fault because I was like “no honey don’t throw it away until I can go through it and pick out the sentimental things and any items we can sell online), some stuff from the estate sale last summer (down to about 3 boxes) and miscellaneous office supplies that came out of my office when I changed it into my Photo room!
• Death Pile #3 – Not sure what to do here because all of this is inventory needs to be listed before going into the ebay room. This is when you just have to keep an “I can do it” attitude or it will get the best of you and you will not be productive. Don’t let that wonderful inventory just waiting for you to make money off of bring you down… JUST DO IT! 

 

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Lessons Learned:

1. There is such a thing as having too much stuff and it will make you miserable if you don’t start throwing it on a curb or giving it away! 
2. Make yourself list almost all inventory before buying more if you buy in bulk or bring home whole yard/estate sales!
3. When your daughter cleans her room turn away, don’t look, close your eyes and whatever you do don’t tell her to put it in the living room thinking you’ll go through it at a later date! LOL
4. Remember new inventory will lose it’s shine and possibly it’s market value if you don’t get it listed within a reasonable amount of time.
5. Maintain your storage areas and keep that inventory controlled. Don’t let it bleed out into your living areas!
6. The best part of online sales is the treasure hunt sourcing new inventory but you need to make yourself rules to live by and stick to them. Don’t allow the death piles to multiply or you will get a shovel for Christmas from your family to dig your own way out because they will not have pitty on you… Hahaaaha, funny but so true!
7. Keep the joy in your life and the junk out… don’t be a junk collector. 
8. A faster, more efficient listing process means getting more listed… more listings usually means more sales… more sales usually means more income in your pockets!
9. Anything you can do to maintain certain levels in your daily routines will help you streamline your listing process, it can help you process sales and shipping.
10. Find what works for you and stick to it. I’d rather be the steady turtle in this race than the rabbit! Ebay is all about consistency and maintaining.
11. Set minimum daily limits and try to level up and increase them gradually.

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* Before and After Pics will be posted in a follow up blog so sign up for the email list!

Wish me luck 😉

Now Time to Get Back To Work! 🙂

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I hope sharing my daily grind helps someone out there deal with theirs.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Judy

 

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