Seller Club Podcast
Seller Club Podcast
Episode 94: Prep for Q4 - Community Part 2
As we introduced last week, we’re focusing FIRST on community as we prep for Q4. In this episode, we’re sharing some more conversations with amazing sellers in the spirit of community. This is kind of a first for Seller Club, to interview other sellers about their journeys and businesses, so we are making a big deal about it! We hope you enjoy all of these delightful people and their perspectives. There are SO many ways to be successful as a seller; and there’s no question, we and our businesses are better together!
If you love podcast content created for eBay sellers, don’t forget to follow us @sellerclubpodcast and @ebayforsellers and @sellerledger on Instagram.
Hey everybody, welcome to episode 94 of the Seller Club Podcast. Let's drop that beat. What's up, Ken?
SPEAKER_05:Hi there. We're back again.
SPEAKER_03:We're back again. We're back again because we're just doing another quick intro today. We have some more really awesome community content on deck this week. So we wanted to get straight to it because we got to have some in-depth conversations and some conversations with people we'd never even met before. So we're sharing everything um other seller-wise that we have from eBay open with you today to keep that spirit of community going as we continue to prepare during September. But just a little preview of what we have for the rest of September. As you know, Ken, we've been talking about how this is all about prepping for Q4. And so we're gonna have some mindset stuff, we're gonna have some tactical stuff, we may even have a special guest or two, and we wanna really look at every angle to help you guys and ourselves get ready for a Q4. So remember what Jen Deal told us a couple episodes ago, and make sure you're listening and getting everything you possibly can listed while you're listening to this, okay?
SPEAKER_05:Don't be slacking. Don't be slacking. This is a time to grind. This is a time to grind, and we promise you if you're grinding in September, there will be major results by Q4. You shout out again to eBay for sponsoring this podcast. Make sure you follow him at eBay for Sellers on Instagram. And we'll see you in the next one. Peace. Bye. Alrighty, so welcome everybody, and we are here with a fellow seller. We are here at eBay Open 2025. And Yona, is that how you say your name?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, Yona.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, Yona. So why don't you introduce ourselves and uh tell us a little bit about your selling journey?
SPEAKER_06:Alright, so my name is Yona, and when I first started, um, was actually my brother's idea. I was in college and I was working part-time at a frozen yogurt shop making like$10 an hour, which was uh pretty awful, not a fun job.
SPEAKER_04:Right.
SPEAKER_06:But uh he was like, you should start selling sneakers, and I was just like, that's a dumb idea. Like, who's gonna buy sneakers for me if they could just go to Ross or Burlington or Nike themselves and like you know, grab it for themselves? But he's like, I'm your older brother, like listen to me, throws me in the car, we go to Ross, I buy one pair of like Under Armour cleats, yeah, and uh, you know, like maybe two, three days later, I made 20 bucks, and I was like, alright, that'll take me, you know, three hours at uh standing at the Burlington yogurt shop. So I was like, alright, you know, I'm gonna go to a couple Ross's Burlington Marshalls and grab, you know, two, three pairs. It started from there, and I just kept going, and I uh just recently passed uh 10,000 sales on eBay. Wow, congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_05:So when you said that you kind of know the Ross Burlington, how did you like were you a shopper there just for personal stuff?
SPEAKER_06:Um, not really. I mean, I saw a lot of like your videos with Hustler Hacks and uh showing that kind of stuff, and then I went to the Nike Clearance store one time out in uh Grapevine. I don't know if you're familiar with that one. Dallas is great.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, yeah, yeah. We did an hustle there, uh I think back in 2018 or 2019, so that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, so uh that's one of my main stores these days. I go out there a lot, and uh the first time I was there, they were bringing out like Vapormax Pluses. No. And this was like during COVID when like stuff was like really flying off the shelves. There was probably like a line of like 10 people following the employee around the store trying to grab them, and I was like, alright, like something has to be going on here. I remember actually trying to grab a pair from the restocker to be like, oh, you mind if I check those out? He's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, like no touching the merchandise until it's off the shelf.
SPEAKER_05:And I was like, you know, hands up, like so you so you had to learn how it works, yeah. You know, in first hand. Well, one of the things that I tell everybody is like, yes, uh, there's a lot of information out there in the internet, you know. Like, we we share a story. Hustler hacks have documented his Ross journey, but but it is really up to you to go do it. You know, like he says, go out and get it. So you have to physically do that. So uh Johan, so tell me what like what what drives you uh you know to build this business, like what makes you excited about the business?
SPEAKER_06:Um, I mean it's always kind of just like fun to like find that next pair of shoes, and like you never know what you're gonna find. You know, it's it's really that consistency I've learned, like going to the stores every day, uh making connections with other resellers. Like I have different buddies um who like sometimes, you know, I'm even out here or he's in grapevine and uh hitting the Nike Clearance store last night. He's like hit me up being like, hey, like I don't really want these for my page, like you want these. So shout out Gennaro, he's always helped me out. And I've met a lot of like cool people.
SPEAKER_05:Uh that's good, that's good. I mean, I think what you you just revealed is like, you know, a lot of people think uh about other sellers as competition, but as you have seen with me and Glenn Hustler hacks, we saw ourselves as co-workers, and you know, we collab and we kind of like help each other. And I'm glad that you're doing that too.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, and you never know like what kind of other business adventure like ventures you can get into. Like I uh I've been having like Dallas Mavs season tickets for the last handful of years, and like I uh I'll piece those off and like make some money doing that. When the Lakers come to town, you know, tickets go for like five, six X. So I actually uh I just got him in on it. He's gonna be doing uh we have four seats next to like two seats, two seats next to each other for next season. So that'll be pretty fun.
SPEAKER_05:Man, Glenn's gonna be gonna be wanting to see that game. Um he's a big Lakers fan. So okay, yeah. So Glenn's gotta hit me up and get some tickets from it. Yeah, um, so that that's pretty cool. So um, what's your uh future plans? Anything uh that that you you're thinking of, um, or maybe what what are the challenges that you're facing? Are you trying to grow the business? Are you trying trying to keep it the same?
SPEAKER_06:So, you know, I'm always trying to grow the business and find different ways to get inventory and just kind of keep, you know, just flip, flip, flip. I guess the more you flip, the more money you make, the more you list, the more people, you know, find your page. Correct. Um, some of the challenges I'm look dealing with these days, though, like especially the clearance store, like the prices keep going up as like how much you have to spend to uh buy inventory, but then you kind of have to pivot because it's like okay, the clearance store has been a little more expensive lately. So I've been hitting like some of the outlets, and like yeah, their prices have come down a lot since COVID. You know, they're doing 30, 40 percent back up.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, they're doing 40%. That's you know, like during the COVID COVID season, they didn't know. No, there was nothing. It was yeah, it was like 20% or something like that, or or they priced it at retail, you know what I'm saying? So it's kind of high. Right. So that's pretty cool. Um, so it so for somebody that was, you know, if you want to give an advice to somebody that was just in your, you know, when you were starting and that's working a job that they don't like, what would be your biggest advice to the people that are trying to build a side hustle and eventually make it their main hustle? What would be your advice?
SPEAKER_06:Um, I guess the biggest thing is just just start, just buy the first pair or two pairs, because like like I was saying, like, I didn't believe in it. I was like, right, why would this work? So the hardest thing is a starting and then B, I guess like just having the capital to keep buying is also like a little bit of a struggle. But if you like push past that, like at first I had one credit card, I uh you know, I was in Marshalls and like, do you want a credit card? I was like, all right, and like how much do you make? And I didn't I was making like nothing, I was working part-time while I was a student in college, but I was like, all right, I'll you know, fib a little bit. I was like, I make like 50 grand. I'm like, all right, here's a here's a credit card with the$3,000 uh like uh credit limit. So sometimes, you know, just just figuring it out, and then like even I filled that up and I'd be like, you know, I'm waiting on six hundred dollars from eBay tomorrow. I'd tap my card out and hit a friend up, be like, send me$130 today, I'll send you$140 tomorrow. Like money's coming in from eBay. So just having that belief in yourself and just you know, try different stores, try different items, right? Just keep hustling, I guess.
SPEAKER_05:Man, that's a great advice, and there you have it, you know, to anybody that's listening, that's on defense on trying to build this hustle, or maybe you're hesitant to grow your business. I mean, you've heard great advices uh from our friend here, and and it's it's simple, but it will take time, it will take time and consistency, and like all what always me and Glenn say you have to go out and get it, you never settle. So thank you for that uh conversation. I know it's pretty quick, but um, we just met here literally on the expo hall at eBay open 2025 here in Las Vegas. So thank you so much for coming up and saying hi. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00:Brian Enuma drop that beat.
SPEAKER_03:All right, Brian, welcome to the Seller Club Podcast booth. What are you doing at eBay Open?
SPEAKER_00:Thank you, thank you for having me. Uh this is my first time at eBay Open. I'm a seller of 15 years.
SPEAKER_03:Oh my gosh, welcome. That's incredible. It's my first uh in-person one too.
SPEAKER_00:Beautiful. Yeah, how do you like it?
SPEAKER_03:I love it, it's so fun. Um, I've been part of some of the content um for the virtual ones over the last three or four years, but I've never been to one in person. So all the things I loved about those experiences is like that's what I love about this, but it's like next level here. It's just so much bigger scale and so many sellers, you know. When we're when we've done that kind of virtual content before, there's usually like 20 or 30 other sellers, which is already really cool. But being surrounded by so many people and getting to connect with so many people has been awesome. So, what about you? Have you been to the virtual ones before, or is this your first like of all time?
SPEAKER_00:This is my first one.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my gosh, are you like overwhelmed at all?
SPEAKER_00:Very I feel I feel like I've been hidden all this time. I've just been staying in my warehouse, just shipping it.
SPEAKER_03:I totally get it. Yeah, I was I always tell people I was like just doing my business under a rock, you know, and just anonymously shipping things off to people in who knows where. And that anonymity is great, right? It's like you get to do your own thing. Um, but now you have the chance to connect with the community, and it's like so worth it. It's awesome. So I'm so glad you're here. I'm sorry you're overwhelmed, but I'm so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, my.
SPEAKER_03:So, what do you sell? Like, what's your eBay uh store like?
SPEAKER_00:So I sell home automation equipment and everything related to that. And my eBay handle is broomstick six. And I think we celebrated 200,000 items sold recently. So we're gonna be.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my gosh, congratulations.
SPEAKER_00:And my crew back home is uh in Gilbert, Arizona, and I just uh want to shout them out. So if this ever makes it, it'd be great.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, I love it. Well, I'm sure you know they're they're doing the hard work, keeping the business running. You're doing the hard work, getting totally fire hosed by information and new people here at eBay Open. So you gotta do all of it, you know. But have you um had any specific experience here yet that has just been like really standout to you?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I really like the keynote. It's just so nice to hear from other sellers their experiences, and then one thing in particular that one seller said is that everybody has their own path, and it's nice to hear that that uniqueness that only eBay provides. Like every business owner or every seller has their own unique path, and it's just nice to just appreciate that.
SPEAKER_03:Absolutely. It's it's really cool. Like you said, in the keynotes, you know, a lot of times if you just hear the word keynote, you think like, oh, that's just gonna be an executive. But like they they actually included sellers in the keynote segment to kick off the conference, which tells you right there, right? How much they value sellers and want to support our businesses, and like they really do care about our individuality, which is so cool. I think that's something that makes eBay so special as a platform. And yeah, it there's like 101 ways to have a successful business on eBay, and everybody does have a different path. So it's definitely worth repeating. And I think it's so cool that that was said from the stage. Um, there's so many amazing sellers here, too. Like, it's so cool to learn from them and just hear about those differences in you know how they got started or what challenges they faced and how they solved for things or how they pivoted or how they evolved. Like it is really encouraging, right? Because at the end of the day, like we're all finding our own path. So absolutely helps to hear like how it's possible. And I don't know, you're gonna find your own way regardless, but like hearing some uh some examples of how that can happen is really encouraging.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, it'd be fun too.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it is really fun. Well, do you want to tell us anything about like about your your path so far or where you want to go in the future with your business? Because that's so cool, that's really specific.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, speaking on own path, so uh I feel like I have a unique story. I have seven children.
SPEAKER_03:Oh my gosh, that's amazing!
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, seven children, a wife, and I have a huge work ethic. So I really, really love to work. I get up military time, 345 every morning, and just start my day off and very disciplined and all that. But uh the key to having the.
SPEAKER_02:I was like, you're like, um, I've already wrote.
SPEAKER_00:No, even for me, because we're in Vegas, it's it's still different, like it's it's very unique.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, Vegas is a different place.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you can't you can't have all that focus and energy here.
SPEAKER_04:For sure.
SPEAKER_00:But for me, yeah, with the family and uh and all the the the uh demand at home, I needed to keep it all at home. And so for me, just keeping the business at home has been the key. So in order to stay stay busy while keeping the family life intact, I moved to a home and I was able to build a warehouse from my home.
SPEAKER_03:That's incredible. Like we call it a warehouse, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00:But you you gotta you gotta call it you gotta call it a warehouse, you gotta call it an R V garage, but it's a warehouse.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:So I built the warehouse, and so I just kissed my kids goodbye, put on my shoes and go next door and work. I love that.
SPEAKER_03:So isn't that amazing?
SPEAKER_00:So amazing.
SPEAKER_03:My setup is similar. I always say I have it in e-basement because my whole whole basement is like my store. Um, but I love that like the commute is like down a flight of stairs, you know, in my pajamas often still. Um, but that is so cool to hear that you got the opportunity through eBay to not have to choose between your business and your dreams and and that to apply that work ethic that way and your family. Like you literally found a way to have it all. It's amazing. Yeah. Are you on any other platforms?
SPEAKER_00:Yes, Amazon, and I have a website. And the website is just more informational to drive people to inform them. Hey, I'm a credible business and the I'm real.
SPEAKER_03:I'm real. Don't find the RV garage. I'm real. Hey, entrepreneurs are scrappy, like that's what it's about. Yeah, I love it. Wow. So can you tell me more about the actual products? Because that sounds really fancy and cool.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's really unique. Um, so custom installer home automation is a is a whole thing in and of itself. Yeah, it's uh something that end users don't typically buy. Like if you're looking for something, you typically go to Best Buy and you buy like an Apple Home or Google Home powered device, and then you can download the app on your phone and you can install it yourself. Yeah, well, custom installer stuff is kind of like landlocked. You can only buy it through an installer in your area, like a network installer for a particular product. So yeah, I deal with a lot of brands like Prestron, Savant, Control Fork, and a little bit of AMX because they're still around. Uh those brands deal with custom installers only. And so the people that buy my products are those people. That's or maybe customer customers that know how to do it, but they're very sophisticated.
SPEAKER_03:Like they're kind of like uh it's not like your plug and play, DIY. Yeah, it's nerds, they're nerds.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, I I'm saying it, not you. You're not calling your customers nerds. That's me. I'm the one doing that.
SPEAKER_00:Yep, cheap, cheap nerds. Cheap nerds.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, honestly, I feel like across many categories, there are probably a lot of cheap nerds on eBay, as buyers and sellers. But I love it. I love, you know, that's one thing I love about both buying and selling. I'm definitely an avid eBay buyer myself too, but I always like love a good deal. I love to be able to give my buyers a good deal too, you know. Like that's a win-win. That's what it's all about.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03:So, well, is there anything else you want to share with us? I don't want to take up too much of your time because there's literally so much to do and see here, as we've already discussed.
SPEAKER_00:No, I'm just very impressed with how eBay supports their sellers. Yeah, that's probably the key takeaway is to how much they really do support their sellers.
SPEAKER_03:Awesome.
SPEAKER_00:And it's just nice to be around other people that do the same thing.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, absolutely. Well, dude, thank you so much for joining us. And uh, yeah, you'll have to listen out for when we release this.
SPEAKER_00:Nice, awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you so much. My name is Sherry Smith. Drop that beat. Oh my gosh, we're ready for that. Have you been practicing? Never. That's the best way. If I don't practice, if I practice, there's a problem.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I love that you're here with me right now because you're like a legit professional seasoned podcaster. So no wonder you just knocked that out of the park. But tell me about your eBay Open25 so far. How's it going?
SPEAKER_01:It's been amazing.
SPEAKER_03:Has it? Yes. How many have you been to like live like this? Because this is my first one.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my gosh. Do you love it? Yes, I love it. It so I went to, I think it might have been their 20th anniversary in San Jose.
SPEAKER_03:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:And I went to one in 2012 because I was teaching selling 101. Oh my gosh, I love it. That was in Denver, and that's when I lived in California. But I was talking to one of the eBay staff, and they're like, yeah, everyone is sick. Everyone has altitude sickness. Oh no. And I'm like, oh, that that fits. Oh my gosh, that's funny. But I didn't have altitude sickness. And now I live in Colorado. But when I have visitors, I have to be like, oh, drink a lot of water. Yeah. Maybe we shouldn't hike a 14er today.
SPEAKER_02:That's very kind of you. I know, but sometimes I forget. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Sometimes I forget my visitors, like, I have a headache. And I don't know why.
SPEAKER_02:Like, she seems mad.
SPEAKER_01:And then um, the last one I went to was the last one they had. I think that was 2019. Yeah. And that's what I hear.
SPEAKER_02:I wasn't at that one.
SPEAKER_01:It was so fun. Uh, so I was one of four people interviewed on stage for the closing thing.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, that's awesome.
SPEAKER_01:And I was up there with some big wigs.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. You're a big wig, Sherry.
SPEAKER_01:No, I'm such a little wig.
SPEAKER_03:I know you're such a little wig. Tiny wig.
unknown:Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02:No, you're like, you're in the hall of fame for me. So it's fine. Yeah. I would not be shocked at all to see you amongst mini big wigs.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, you're so sweet. Says the girl who inspires my wardrobe. Oh my gosh. Stop. And let me just share that not only does she have the romper or jumper on.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. What do we call these? Romper, jumper, boiler suit. Like, what are we going with?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's probably more boilers. You think? Okay. But it's crushed velvet.
SPEAKER_03:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:It is crushed velvet. So my love. I still need, I mean, she's always got the next one. Oh man.
SPEAKER_03:It's so mini though. It's like they take up a lot of space in your closet. So I need to stop getting more, honestly. I mean, I really love all the ones I have though. I try to wear them for like special things like this. Like this is an event, you know. I wouldn't just wear this around my house, probably, because I'd rather wear sweatpants. But you know, for today, a day like today, you gotta bust one of them out.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's dressing up when you have an extra thing to do when you go to the bathroom.
SPEAKER_03:Right. Right. It's like, is it worth that? However, I will say, probably TMI, but you know, we're in the desert, so I'm like, maybe I just won't have to pee at all because I'm just gonna be dehydrated the whole time.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, exactly.
SPEAKER_02:Maybe that'll work in my favor for once.
SPEAKER_01:You know, you are supposed to drink while you're here.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I I noticed that. Drink a lot of water. Yeah. So, okay, so at the last eBay open, they interviewed us for the closing thing. Yes. And the audience really responded because I cried when I was up there. And they're like, Pulled out the water works. I know, it wasn't.
SPEAKER_03:Cried with like emotional overwhelm, or like you were scared of being on the stage. Why were you crying?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, because they asked me, um, has there been like some obstacles? Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And you're like, have there?
SPEAKER_01:I'm like, um, let me tell you my story.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, there have been.
SPEAKER_01:So I I was sharing that and how eBay made all the difference in my life. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and the in the audience, they're like, I love we love you, Sharon. They're cheering, and yes. It was amazing. And then because they had to get our mics off, everyone went through the clapping tunnel who was at eBay open. And then it was like me and three people going through and having 150 eBay employees, you know, cheer us on. Yeah. And then they had the closing party where I danced the whole time. Oh my gosh. It was incredible. Then I'm at the airport the next day and I was selling my house in California. Oh, at the time? Yeah. So I was just like spending everything I had because I'm like, you know, my house is selling. Yeah. I already had my new house in Colorado, which is why I also like didn't have that much money left. Yeah. But I'm like, rock star. And then I get a text while I'm at the airport. Oh, the people pulled out, and it was the moment before they had no could do that. And I'm like, damn, that was a short career of being a rock star.
SPEAKER_03:Darn it. I mean, it was great while it lasted. I mean, so many. You're just an Icarus, flew too close to the sun, an eBay open. That is such a bummer.
SPEAKER_01:But obviously your house did sell eventually. It all worked out. Yeah. So I had, and it was really bad because I had this equipment that I was gonna get to buy. I had made a bid like with the big boys. Yeah. And I had it was gonna cost me$17,500. But it was all taken care of with my sale of my house. And I'm like, ooh, darn it. Yeah. Because we're on air. Shucks. What am I gonna do? I won this bid, and now I'm gonna be like, never mind, I don't have the money. Right. Um, things have changed. So I uh contacted someone who'd bought equipment for me before. I'm like, hey, um, I'm about to get this. Do you wanna rebuy it? Oh, so smart. And he did.
SPEAKER_03:And then you were like, and flip on the rock star switch again. And let's go back to the stage. That is hilarious.
SPEAKER_01:Where's my clapping tunnel? People at the airport are like, well, okay, stay away from her.
SPEAKER_03:Whatever. You are a legend. That is what a whirlwind, though. Also, like, oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01:Living on the edge.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So that kind of brings you to what is so special about these because I met the guys in the trust and safety uh department. It was funny because I went up to Philip when I saw him, and I'm like, hey. Uh oh, but he was busy talking to some eBay people. Yeah. So I left him alone. And then he came over and he's like, sorry, I was talking to Trust and Safety. I'm like, Trust and Safety left Philip there, ran over.
SPEAKER_02:That's what I need.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, because I had this crazy return with a freighted item. No. Well, they got it taken care of. Wow. As of today.
SPEAKER_03:Wow.
SPEAKER_01:It's all set. The customer's taken care of. I'm taken care of.
SPEAKER_03:I love it. It's so good to meet the people. Yes, there's nothing like being able to like interact with everybody from all these eBay teams, right? It's so special. It's amazing. It's so cool because number one, there's some freaking amazing humans that work for eBay.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Um, that's been like always just the most pleasant of surprises, right? When you're thinking about like a corporation and then you meet the people and you're like, oh my gosh, you're like the coolest people ever. Like really good, amazing people. And they're all like so passionate about what they do, which is to make our jobs easier than sellers. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So they're just and to make it possible, right?
SPEAKER_03:And you can just like iron things out in a conversation here sometimes, and it's incredible. So I was talking to Jaren Moore earlier, and this is for both of us, this is our first time like at a live event, a live eBay open like this. But we've been part of eBay open virtual and like seller week in filming for the last three years or so. Um, like both of us have been, you know, each year, and so we've gotten like this little taste of what it actually is like in person now, you know, and it's like all the things I loved about Seller Week, I love about this too, but it's like kind of on a larger scale. So it's been super cool. But yeah, well, I don't want to hold you up because there's so much to do and see here, but thank you so much for hopping on with me. It's just an honor and a pleasure. And do you want to plug any of your podcast things?
SPEAKER_01:I thank you so much for asking because I have to go face Philip and I don't want to get in big trouble. For forgetting to plug. No, please, shameless plug, shameless plug. Okay, so what I do with Philip Jackson is the selling on eBay radio show. We're polar opposites. He's the pro with the radio voice. And I'm the opposite. That's awesome. I love that. And uh the only podcast, and I sell on eBay, Sherry underscore sells. And that's all. But and I'm so glad I know you. Awesome.
SPEAKER_03:I'm so glad I know you. You're the best, and thank you again for coming on. This is so fun. Thanks for having me. We're gonna have the best time for the next day and a half. Yeah, they're dancing. Oh, yes, we'll be dancing. Oh, yeah. You will catch me in sherry dancing.
SPEAKER_07:My name is Alec Larson, and let's drop that beat.
SPEAKER_03:You're on air with us here at the Cellar Club Podcast booth at eBay Open 2025 live in Las Vegas.
SPEAKER_07:Exciting. Is that correct?
SPEAKER_03:All those facts are correct. Okay. So normally when you're on air, you are in the air.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:In an airplane.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, I'm usually a mile or two high.
SPEAKER_03:Um but right now you're like totally sitting on the ground.
SPEAKER_07:Now we're here safe on the ground with you guys.
SPEAKER_03:How has your eBay open been so far?
SPEAKER_07:It's it's been credible. Uh, because I don't know if you feel the same way, but I'm kind of alone at the business all day. Yeah. So you're sitting there all day, you know, you're in your own head mostly, you're doing computer work. You don't necessarily have much social interaction aside from the post office and maybe your neighbor at the warehouse next door by the way. And let alone, even if you have a social circle, you don't talk about your eBay business with them. It's hard to so being here with everybody that is eating, sleeping, and breathing eBay, it's uh it's incredible to bounce ideas. You you talk to you can sit there, your voice is you lose your voice by just talking to uh random people. It's so that's what I love about it. It's my social outlet. Um it's a good dopamine recharge. And then you get the excuse to travel. So what about you guys? How is it?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah. Well, it's been great. I mean, it's been great for us. So for me, tell me if this is the same for you. Um, this is my first like in-person eBay open event. Like, I know I know we've both been part of eBay open for the last several years, but it's all been virtual events as far as the ones I've been involved with. Have you been to an in-person one before?
SPEAKER_07:This would be the first actual official in-person. We did we went to like the the the LA version of this where there were some people. So that was sort of like a very similar, but yeah, yeah. Yeah, uh, so yeah, essentially the first time. Cool.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, my I mean, we've both had this same experience the last couple years of flying out to San Jose for seller week where we're like pre-filming stuff or the virtual event, and um that was had its own magic, but I do feel like this eBay open is like is like making me realize that that was just a microcosm of this. Like, yeah, like I love I love the same things about this, but it's much bigger scale um and kind of overwhelming, but it's great. Like we're just like immersed in it. What are the things you're like a very seasoned seller? Um don't laugh, it's true.
SPEAKER_07:Like I said, I like the old low standard stuff.
SPEAKER_03:I like the caveat though. I'm gonna veto any caveat you tried to put on that. No, but but you are you're a very seasoned seller, and so you're not here learning. You're welcome. You're not here learning like how to sell 101. So what are the things that you are like picking up, or have you had like a favorite moment or favorite thing you've learned or something so far?
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, the a couple couple of points where I my next my next move is to either to get to my the next goal would be to purchase a commercial property, uh expand with more employees. So I love talking to somebody that's three or four times the size as what I am now. Yeah. Um because I can ask them, so did you use an SBA loan to get the commercial property or did you do seller financing? And then you learn these other you know, you're talking to somebody that's done it, and um and and then you you looking back, that's how you kind of got where you are now is by somebody else, somebody else's path.
SPEAKER_03:You followed it along in some sort of uh not coattail, but but not reinventing a wheel or like finding out that stuff that like you don't know that you don't know.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, right? Exactly. And so that's kind of what what I get from here is I want to be, I want to feel like I'm really small. Because it you see your own numbers. And you get hyped up and you go, I've met that goal and that goal, and then you talk to somebody that's like 14 times the size of that, and you go, Oh, okay. It's it that's also possible, and that's how they did it. So that's my blueprint now that I can I can form in my head is not that far-fetched, and uh here's what I'm gonna do when I get back to start the first step towards that direction. So that's what I look for here, you know, and then and then just well, I don't know about how you felt about this, but by by being invited out the first couple of years um by eBay themselves, you kind of get a different validation of your business. You don't really have you have your you don't the only person that's really sitting there going, You're doing a great job, keep keep it up, is kind of like yourself.
SPEAKER_03:When you look in the mirror every morning, yeah, you kind of have to do it.
SPEAKER_07:You're doing great, Alec.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, keep it up.
SPEAKER_07:You know, you don't have a manager that's like, we're recognizing you recognizing you with this plaque you've done, you know, you kind of have to so when you have you know when you have that not it's like external recognition, yeah. Yeah, so you go, okay, so that makes me feel good. I have I feel like you get permission to continue growing, and so that so those things is what what I get out of it um for sure is that's awesome. Uh meeting everybody, obviously, the the community, of course. Um so yeah, if that answers those those two.
SPEAKER_03:It does. It makes me think of another seller I was talking to earlier today who shared that somebody said basically made the comment that um everybody has to like find their own path, and that he was so encouraged. He he had a lot in common with you. Um, you know, he has a pretty big business and he's very much flying solo running it. So it this was his first eBay open, also, you know, at all. Like he'd never even been to a virtual one or anything, but he was saying that that comment inspired him so much because it made him realize, like, yeah, it's possible for me to keep forging ahead. And I think that is so cool. Like, you know, on this podcast, one thing that we love to do is figure out, you know, the three of us who host it have really different businesses. We have different business models, different types of inventory. And so whenever we're talking shop with each other, sometimes it's like all the all the great insight is where things intersect, and sometimes it's where they don't intersect, right? And we can learn stuff from each other because we're different. And I think that's just like the magic of an environment like this. You can have like 50 of those conversations, you know, in the short window of time while we're here at the conference, and it can really show you, maybe it doesn't show you, like you said, it's not coattail writing, it's not your exact step for step, just do what I did in these 10 easy steps, but it's like giving you a lot of insight into how to carve your own path forward, even just like showing you how possible it is, like that is a huge part of it because you know, a lot of us are these kind of scrappy entrepreneurs and we're figuring it out as we go. And it is super encouraging to meet other people who have already like they're not like necessarily better than you, they're further down the road, and they've you know, they've carved out more of their path, and it's really inspiring to see that.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, and that's sometimes all it takes is just to observe someone doing something, yeah. And then uh yeah. Uh somebody climbing a mountain or something or climbing a tree, see them do it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:Uh and you could you could you see now that it's possible, so you climb up and it's yeah, it's uh it's the same thing with building something, you know.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Speaking of building something, oh yeah. Tell me what you've been building.
SPEAKER_07:I've just been working on software for my own business a little bit.
SPEAKER_03:Uh I use casually developing software, it's fine.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, I guess I as as a pretext, I should say kind of what I do, what I sell. Uh I do automotive parts and sourcing inventory for me is buying one-off items. So I, you know, I don't have a supplier per se where I have multiple, multiple quantities of one SKU and I'm always replenishing that. It's once I buy a part and I sell it, I'm probably never gonna have it again. So I have to continually replenish it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:You know, I'm selling, I'm doing shipping 50 orders a day, so that means every day I'm I'm adding 50 new products and sometimes more to try to keep growing.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_07:So sourcing inventory requires me going through thousands of part numbers, essentially appraising a list of inventory to decide I'll buy this, this, that, skip this, skip this.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:Uh and the way I do that is I use the product research tool in eBay.
SPEAKER_03:Shout out product research, three years of data.
SPEAKER_07:It's the secret sauce to my entire business model. Um, you know, it takes the risk out of every possible aside from like a hurricane destroying my warehouse.
SPEAKER_03:Which I mean you do live in the world.
SPEAKER_07:Which is a possibility, yeah. So using that, the the problem was it was a very tedious process for me. I would I would I would get a list uh from a dealership or an auction, and it would have a thousand line items on it that I'd have to go through. So I'd copy and paste one, two, and it would take me two days to go through like one list, and just the whole day is taken up by doing that.
SPEAKER_03:Just manually processing like data, basically.
SPEAKER_07:And so with eBay's help uh and using the product research API, I created a bulk tool to do that. So taking I can instead of manually copying and pasting part numbers, I can take an entire Excel spreadsheet, upload it into my software, and then it appraises the entire list for me, tells me here's what you should buy, here's what you should skip out on in about you know 15 minutes or so.
SPEAKER_03:That's incredible. So what a time saver. Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_07:It's a time saver, and then you know, there's implementing it and and executing on it, it has it has utility for I can think of a few ways that it could be utilized for sellers.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:And one way I'm thinking is uh, you know, I'm using it for parts where you have a unique identifier, a part number on every part, or uh, you know, with with with other products, it might be a UPC code or a ASIN number. But you could essentially use it as a tool to appraise your own store inventory. So it could run against your own store, tell you, you know, here's all your inventory that's grade A that you should focus on selling, right? And here's here's you know, 20 items that are probably better off being scrapped, or you can bundle these and try to auction them and clear out the space.
SPEAKER_03:Liquidate it.
SPEAKER_07:And I think that would be something extremely useful.
SPEAKER_03:Also, could be extremely depressing.
SPEAKER_07:Depressing, yeah. You know, you're looking at the dollar amount in inventory and you go, well, only this much might be sellable. But I think it would be so that's what I'm thinking of right now. I'm using it to, you know, source inventory, but I'm also thinking of I can put this tool in the field of you know, my my customers that are automotive dealerships, where oh yeah, you know, instead of using me to just buy their inventory, I can help them uh sell it themselves. Yeah. Uh using the software. Um so those that's what I'm playing with now, and it's almost done. I'm probably I'll probably put out like a you know, I use it every day. Um, but I I'll probably put out something and maybe get some of my friends to test it. Maybe you guys, if you want to test it.
SPEAKER_03:I bet some of your friends would be happy to test it. And uh depressing though it may be. No, just kidding.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, I don't think it would be depressing.
SPEAKER_03:It's tough love. You need to know if some of your inventory is not gonna do it.
SPEAKER_07:Like, you know, we do, I don't know if you guys you guys use promoted listings and and ads and stuff. Yeah. Um, for me, I I tend to because I have so much inventory, I blanket put that those ads on everything. Right. Well, if you have a really hot selling product, like a like an item that sells a hundred times a month, you probably don't need to pay for advertising.
SPEAKER_03:Right. And you could be saving that five percent or whatever.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, and then maybe it would be better off put on an item where it's you know uh really slow moving. Um like a ton of competition and so that's where like the the software I'm working on could come in and and and help in that regard too.
SPEAKER_03:So that's really cool. Those are the Does eBay know you're doing this?
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, I talked to them because they gave me this was this was the other cool thing about being um involved. I think they they were very friendly to me with the develop the the developer team. Um and I sat and had a little meeting with them when I got to um visit the HQ in 2022. I sat I sat with them and that was uh that was amazing.
SPEAKER_03:I didn't realize you've been working on it for that long.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, because I would use it, I had it in a I had it basically written as a script and a Google Sheet to where it didn't have like a fancy interface. It was just something that um I would copy and paste the whole list into and it would it was very hard to use a crunch of that. Yeah, you would like to do it. Like at the end, user would be like, What is this?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, a couple times.
SPEAKER_07:And I was like, okay, well let me, you know, why not? Now that building software with AI is a lot easier, why not try it? And put it in it, and it's it's a lot of fun. You would love it. I know you would love to mess with it.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, twist my arm, like yes, I'll test it, okay? Yes. I mean, I would love it. It sounds really, it sounds really cool and really valuable, like really helpful. Um, okay, so Alec, you have so many hats. Like, we know you a lot of people probably have seen you in eBay like eBay stuff because you're like their poster child for a lot of things, which is really fun. So, you know, you're a rock star, you're a pilot, you're like an auto parts empire guru. I know you're gonna hate the word guru, but I think it's hilarious I had to say to your face. But um what what kind of uh skill set or expertise do you have about something that people would like never guess? Like what's a a secret expertise that you have about something?
SPEAKER_07:That's a good question.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you.
SPEAKER_07:I'm definitely not a rock star. I'm used to be a uh like a contracted musician, if you could even say that. It was but uh the pilot stuff. Um, you know, I think I'm really good at troubleshooting. Uh like if you're you know, I can I I can fix says guy who builds his own software to solve his problem. Yeah, I can fix things, you know. Your car doesn't start, I can put a new starter on it in a couple hours. Um uh the airplane, I I could essentially rebuild the airplane and work on all the maintenance on the airplane and modifications are all inspections are all done by me. I don't know, skill level skills. I don't consider my I I'm you could say I could I would yeah, I would consider myself like a jack of all trades, master of none. Maybe master of I would say no. Okay, jack of all trades.
SPEAKER_03:Like off the top of your head, I would say you're a master of anything.
SPEAKER_07:I would never call myself a master of anything, because that would just be that would just be arrogant, but like I I like to I it's it's fun to learn new things and um implement them and because like you you can sometimes get burnt out of doing business all the time, so then you have an outlet. Okay, I'll go turn wrenches on the plane today, and now I'm recharged there, or I'm sick of being out here in the heat, I'll go back to going on the computer. So it's nice to have those outlets.
SPEAKER_03:Are you like secretly like an expert on leopard geckos or something?
SPEAKER_07:No, let me think if there's anything else I'm an expert in.
SPEAKER_03:What about Florida man stuff?
SPEAKER_07:You would think I could come up with something like that, like lore, like Florida lore.
SPEAKER_03:You just emerged out of the swamp one day.
SPEAKER_07:No, I'm not, you know, I'm not like. Let me think. I'll get back to you on that. For now, it's for now I'm really I'm really just nerded out on on the business, airplanes, and maybe some guitar stuff, but I don't pick up the guitar as much as I used to anymore, anyway, either.
SPEAKER_03:Do you miss it or did you need a break from the side?
SPEAKER_07:I miss it a lot. Do you? I miss the camaraderie of the band and the friends.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:Uh i i because you're going, you're not just going and playing music. Uh you're you're going to hang out with four of your best friends, you know, you're playing a show, that's fun. But then you're in the green room and you're just laughing hysterically at the meme that Andre just showed me, and you're just you're it's there's nothing like it. And you go out to eat afterwards, and you just you it's very hard to get that, especially as an adult. You hang out with friends, you have to make a plan. We're going out to dinner.
SPEAKER_04:Why to Vegas to hang out with your friends?
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, and that's like it's this big thing, but with the music stuff, it'd be like, well, we're at Disney four nights a week, I'll see you Thursday. Okay, I'll be there. And y'all you know you're gonna be there at five and everything. I miss that so much. Um hopefully, you know, hopefully sometime when I if I get more time and you know, the the the space maybe opens up um without stepping on anybody's toes. Because that's the thing is when you get everybody who wouldn't want to go play music.
SPEAKER_03:So yeah, so every you know, yeah, some somebody had to take your place, somebody has to take your place and then back out.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, and it's so so you pass you you let the baton get past and then so but you know, it's it's all there I I cannot complain about the life I've had over the past decade. I I I didn't think I would make it that far. I thought if I can do this music thing until I'm 30, I'd be happy. This would be great. And so if you're able to do that with music, um then you know that's that's you take what you can get and and be grateful for it. So that's where I how I look at it now.
SPEAKER_03:I love it. I think that's a really good perspective. Is there uh sorry, we're a photo's being taken of us for those of you listening. Is there um anything else you would want to tell somebody who maybe is having major FOMO hearing this, not in Vegas with us right now? Like, what would you say to another seller who's maybe looking for how to how to continue to carve out their path or yeah make some connections?
SPEAKER_07:It is for me, because you could see you can come up with all kinds of advice, and the thing with advice is it's always gonna be different. Yeah, it's gonna be perceived differently. Everybody's situation is a hundred percent different. Um but I think the common denominator in all of it is consistency, the patience, um consistency number one. If you're if you're consistently doing this, you're gonna see some results. And that result's gonna continue to push you to be move even more consistent. Yeah, and then you're gonna reinforce and then you're gonna get to the point where you have to be consistent because your food on the table depends on it. Yeah. So it it'll just snowball. So can if you can consistently do something like this, you know, for a couple weeks and see results, you're gonna that that's all it takes. Because the rest you'll figure out. Because you're it you're gonna have it, it's gonna be a maze, you're gonna hit a wall, you're gonna hit this, you're gonna hit that, you're gonna have to solve this puzzle, that puzzle, the your landlord's gonna double your lease, you're gonna get sued maybe. But you know, you're gonna have all those things, but the the consistency the consistency is going to equip you to have the tools to handle all those challenges and then grow and yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_03:And I mean, even if you're even if you are at eBay open or you're attending virtually or you're re-watching stuff later um that's that's been recorded, you know, and you're watching after the fact, like any any little change that you implement, you also still have to do that same consistent application process, right? Like that's on the large scale and the small scale to see your business grow.
SPEAKER_07:Because even if you had the secrets, if you had the secret recipe, if I gave my, you know, that's why I I stopped really caring about I used to always kind of be scared about telling my story of business because well then I won't want, you know, maybe I'll people will figure out that they can I can get they can compete with me and then there won't be it was a sort of a scarcity feeling when in reality it's kind of like uh you know the the the right way to think about it is all the ships will rise with the waters. Um but but you even with knowing everything under the hood, you still have to implement that consistently, and that's really yeah again, that's really all it is is just consistently doing it. Which is a the secret to everything.
SPEAKER_03:It's a difficult barrier though, because not many people are willing to do that.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, you have a job and you have this. Yeah, you have kids maybe, and it and it is difficult. I I think the cool thing with the eBay stuff though, as like a I guess like a final thought too is uh I started the eBay thing while I had two other jobs. I was I was flying and working on airplanes and the musician at Disney. Uh, but the cool thing about the eBay is you can start you can dip your feet in just a little bit.
SPEAKER_03:Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_07:You know, you can do it two hours a day and you're still gonna see a result, and then you can slowly let it creep into your life. And you know, it's not like you have to go commit. There's not a there's really no barrier to entry as far as like capital. You're you're not having to go put a down payment on a lease.
SPEAKER_03:You can start with one item.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, so that's what's so cool about the eBay or just reselling in general, is like you can start it very small at your own pace, you know.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_07:Um, what more can you ask for to start something?
SPEAKER_03:Nothing. Everyone should never ask for anything else, and that should be it, right there.
SPEAKER_07:Very hard to disrupt it. You know, it's it's gonna be very hard to disrupt with AI going and thrifting and and finding things that are uh neglected or auctions, and it's always gonna be mismanaged inventory to buy and sell. Uh unless we all end up living in like a virtual reality simulation, then it's then it's over. But like until that, like I think there's always gonna be we've got a long runway.
SPEAKER_03:We do we do, and that's that's just it. You can build your own runway on eBay and it can fit into your life however your life already is.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:I think we can drop the mic right there, Alex. We solved it all.
SPEAKER_07:Thank you for talking to me.
SPEAKER_04:And uh thanks for coming on the show.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, it's always good to hang out with you guys. Always, it's it really does make me happy and coming out here and all that. So awesome. We will have to go fly some time with everybody.
SPEAKER_03:I don't know. I rode in a Tesla with you one time, and I'm not sure I could get in airplane.
SPEAKER_07:Oh, yeah, the rented Tesla, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I think my soul left my body um for a little bit.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, I'd never force you to get into the plane.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I would never really trust anyone else enough to like even having ridden in the Tesla. Like, I trusted you with my life for real. It's very smart, you know. And I didn't die, so that should really be something.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, yeah, you should I it's smart to not trust everybody with your life.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, it is.
SPEAKER_02:That's good advice, I would say.
SPEAKER_07:I would say I'm I'm not I'm definitely one of those that's not gonna that's gonna tell you, like, yeah, the aviation, it's not that it's inherently dangerous, it's that it doesn't forgive carelessness in any way. So you just have to uh be aware that you know, in a car, looking at your phone, you're you might be forgiven by hitting a curb or something, but in like you know, the plane sometimes won't forgive you, it'll just yeah take you.
SPEAKER_03:So can we please end on that note? I love that so much. Oh my gosh. Alec Larson, you're wonderful. Thank you for coming on the show.
SPEAKER_07:Thank you. I'll see you. Talk to you later.
SPEAKER_03:Bye. Bye.