Embrace the Reselling Journey: My Return as an eBay Reseller

The Back Story

Welcome back divergents! Today, I want to share an exciting chapter in my life as I embark on my reselling journey once again. If you're familiar with my previous post about the Robert Kiyosaki cash flow quadrant, which you can find here, you know that there are 4 ways to make money (Employee, Self Employed, Business Owner and Investor) and for those seeking financial freedom the ultimate goal is to become an investor. But until you're able to accomplish that goal of having your money make you money (passive income), you might have to focus on some active forms of making income.

Currently, I'm still a corporate employee with a full time job, but as i kickoff this reselling adventure, I'm venturing into the self-employed quadrant of the cashflow quadrant as well. Instead of hoping from the employee quadrant to the self employed quadrant, I'm starting a legit side hustle in order to increase my income while hedging any potential risk's.

What this means is that I get to maintain a steady paycheck but still expand my potential to earn extra money by starting a side gig, reselling online. So, let's dive into my reselling on ebay story, the challenges I faced, and my renewed determination to succeed in this online reseller business.

A few years ago, I experienced the thrill of being an eBay reseller. I was able to gross over $100k by also utilizing other platforms like Amazon FBA, Poshmark, and Facebook Marketplace. It was an exciting time, juggling multiple channels and making sales left and right. But little did I know, life had a curveball waiting for me just around the corner.

The night before we had tremendous rain but this particular day started like any other. I woke up, got ready, had breakfast and prepared to commute to my job. Before boarding the train, I get an unexpected call asking me to get to the warehouse space I was renting immediately.

Imagine my shock when I arrived and realized that the rain from last night was more than just a bit of rain. See, I was aware that Hurricane Ida hit the area but I gave it little thought because there were no bodies of water near the rented warehouse space. Unfortunately for me, Hurricane Ida dumped a record amount of rain in the area and overwhelmed the storm drains. This caused streets to flood and the water levels to significantly increase. That was bad news for my 3300 sq ft warehouse space which was located at sub-street level and had windows facing the street. Everything I had built over the years – my inventory, equipment, and furniture – was destroyed. I faced an extremely difficult loss of around $150k, which was numbing to even think about.

It was a heart-wrenching experience, made even more challenging when I discovered that my insurance didn't cover any of it. When requesting the insurance coverage there was no indication that flooding was much of a possibility in that area so the landlord nor insurance company suggested I add that specific coverage. The logic was that since I wasn't in a flood zone, I didn't need flood insurance. Here I learned a valuable lesson, instead of listening to logic and saving a few dollars, just max out your insurance coverage and get all endorsements to protect yourself, especially if you have what amounts to your life savings invested.

The original plan was to rebuild but once I found out there was no insurance coverage and no disaster relief outside of taking loans, I was devastated. I essentially took a year off from trying any new side hustle ideas because I was burnt out, broken, and depressed. Thankfully, my spouse and I had secure employment, so our individual expenses were not affected. However, losing that amount of money was a significant blow. It resulted in not being able to purchase a house and it has also prevented me from making any significant investments in other business ventures. Needless to say, it was very tough to get myself out of that "stuck" place but we must march on right?

The Comeback

Source: eBay on Spotify

I eventually mustered up enough motivation to reassess the challenges I faced while renting the warehouse space and running my ebay side hustle. One of the main problems I had was overhead costs. Having to pay rent, insurance, utilities and part-time contractors added enormous pressure and it also heavily ate into my profits.

That's why I decided to go back into reselling with a different approach – a home-based reselling business. By getting rid of the costly overhead, I can save valuable resources and focus on generating higher profit margins per item. I also wont have the pressure of having to spend countless hours listing and promoting items to cover the months expenses. This go around, any amount above the cost of goods and shipping is profit that contributes to my monthly financial goals.

Another challenge I had was that because I was under pressure to cover expenses for the business, I was neglecting my family and social life. As a full-time employee, a husband, and a dedicated dad, time management and efficiency will be paramount in my reselling journey. I recognize the need to strike a balance between growing my reselling business and spending quality time with my loved ones. That's why I've decided to focus on this reselling side hustle, mainly after hours. With a well-organized schedule and smart time allocation, I should be able to meet my goals without sacrificing precious family time.

As of now the plan is simple, my wife and daughter are in bed before 10, so I can dedicate one or two hours each night during the workweek. Shipping will be done during my lunch hour, with drop-offs at USPS, FedEx, and UPS. Since I won't be handling a tremendous amount of volume, this should suffice.

Once I get a better idea of how things are moving, I might adjust and add 3-5 hours of work during the weekend, but again, the volume probably won't require it (I hope). I aim to minimize the effect on family time by cutting down on mindlessly browsing news articles and the internet before going to sleep. That should account for the bulk of the hours I need to run this after hours.

In this new phase of reselling, I'll be leveraging the processes I had in place when I ran the warehouse operation. I know which apps to use for easy listing and cross-listing, and all the photography is done through my smartphone so no additional investment is needed besides a few software subscriptions that shouldn't cost more than under $100 a month.

In addition, my previous inventory system kept thousands of items organized, so keeping track of significantly fewer items in my apartment should be easily manageable. I also picked up some eBay tricks from watching Chris from "Daily Refinement" and Casey from "Rockstar Flipper" on YouTube, and those tips should come in handy when it comes to running an efficient operation..

Why Hustle?

Having a side hustle has many positive aspects to it. First, it keeps you busy and always growing as a person. Second, it helps diversify your income streams, providing stability and additional financial resources. Third, it reminds you that there's more financial opportunities than just working for a company – a successful side hustle proves that there's more than one path to success. Lastly, through pursuing side hustles, you learn from others through YouTube, blogs, courses, programs or networking with others in the same space.

With this reselling relaunch, I aim to strike a balance between my responsibilities as a family man, entrepreneur and full-time employee. I invite you to follow me on this reselling journey, where I'll share insights, tips, and stories of both successes and challenges. Together, we can inspire and motivate each other to reach new heights in our entrepreneurial pursuits.

And don't forget, the Corporate Divergent Community is still under development, but we're already accepting free sign-ups for those interested in joining a community that embraces the entrepreneurial mindset. Visit Corporate Divergent to learn more and become part of a supportive network that encourages innovation, collaboration, and the pursuit of alternative paths to success.

So, here's to the reselling relaunch, the power of a side hustle, and the endless possibilities that lie ahead. Join me on this journey, and together, let's make our financial dreams come true.