What is the solution for seller burnout?

[gwzcomps]

Been pretty burned out on selling on eBay like some other people I know.  Decided for February I would neglect my eBay duties and only put in minimal effort.  Still managed to do a decent amount of sales regardless.  With all my spare time I went through my inventory and got rid of about 20 truckloads of stuff.  Even grew other aspects of my business.  I probably won't stop selling here, but at the same time putting less effort in was nice.  It leaves me to wonder though, what do other sellers do to deal with burnout when it comes to selling on eBay?

[katz.paw]

Me - Treat it as a hobby, not a job.

Maybe you should hire someone part-time.  Your kids? a friend?

[chapeau-noir]

I went to part-time - this job is such a grind.  Part-time it's kind of fun again and seems I can squeak by on what I earn.

@gwzcomps20 TRUCKLOADS of stuff??!!  That's mighty! Here I'm kvetching because I'll probably fill up the back of my station wagon with stuff and take it in.  I want my storage back - I have other stuff to do with it like set up my heavy bag and speed bag, which is another way to relieve burn-out.  Do fun things. A lot of burn-out relief I think can be achieved by cleaning up the work area and processes, and then if possible taking some time off.

[gwzcomps]

I have 4000 square feet of stuff I have been hoarding. A lot of it is low value items that don't have a market for anywhere but online. You don't want to know what sicker price on all that stuff would have been 😛 Luckily my cost was low. Revamping and reorganizing is in the works. Going to have specific rooms for specific tasks now 😄

[mr_lincoln]

@gwzcomps   TRUCK LOADS??????????  Seriously?  YOU have TRUCK LOADS?  What in the world do you sell?

I actually like to process things through on a regular basis ... meaning slow movers eventually get dropped off at one of several local live auction houses.  I pick up checks after the sales ... pretty streamlined and no shipping or returns to worry about.   Some are strictly live and others are a combination of live and simultaneous online auctions.  Different things sell better at different venues.  I have a specific amount of space I like to maintain for online selling.   When that starts to get over run I clean it out.

[buyselljack2016]

eBay has been instrumental in preventing seller burnout for me, but they have put a little pressure back on.

Their relief came in the form of every other Monday extending  the estimated delivery date out 2 weeks to 17 days thus causing sales to pretty much flat line until the unchanging estimated delivery date got closer.

They are now only extending it by 7 days every other Monday, so the pressure is back on a little.

[gwzcomps]

Primarily computer related items. There are a lot of things that have no value locally. I recycled four 55 gallon barrels worth of wireless keyboards and mice for example. No one locally will buy them when you can get a brand new combo for $20. I got rid of a lot of "specialized" electronics like some collators for older HP printers. The problem with most of my stuff is it is time consuming to prepare to sell. The majority of the stuff I sell I have to have fairly detailed knowledge on how to troubleshoot and test it. I would love to hire someone, but to get someone at a meaningful skill level I would have to out pay other tech related companies that are willing to pay more for less.

[mam98031]

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@katz.paw wrote:

Me - Treat it as a hobby, not a job.

Maybe you should hire someone part-time.  Your kids? a friend?

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Boy I couldn't disagree with that more.  Selling on Ebay is a business.  There are NO personal transactions on Ebay.  Every single one is a business transaction and should be treated as such.  Selling on Ebay is a JOB.  Whether it is occasional, full time or part time is up to you.  But a JOB all the same.  Lots of rules to know and follow.

Hiring a helper is a fantastic idea if you sell enough to pay for one.  That could certainly relieve pressure.

[mam98031]

When you are a seller of a lot of one off items, burnout can be easy.  Lots of designing and posting listings to be sure.  If you could take that off your plate, you could stick to managing your listings and customers and leave the creating listings to someone else.  You could and should always review them before posting.

But if you used a program like Sixbit / Turbolister program.  Your listing designer could do the listings from anywhere providing you give them all the information they need to design the listings.  Then you could add pics and just go over the listing before you posted it.  

I know that may not work on everything you have to sell, but it could take some of it off your plate to free you up for a game of golf or movie night or something that is just relaxing and fun.

🍷  

[chapeau-noir]

I've often wished I could get a job just prepping and photo'ing stuff for some big shiny seller and not have to go out shopping and the like.  I'm not great at picking, but I'm great at operations.

[inhawaii]

I treat my ebay business as a job even though ebay is a side job for me.  I have a regular full time job that i work 40 hours a week at.

Sometimes at the end of the day i come home from work exhausted and still  have to tend to my ebay business. I know this is going to sound stupid, but i often find myself complaining when i have too many ebay orders to fill. How's that, complaining about sales.  LOL 

[inhawaii]

Here's a solution for burnout.

Be younger.  

I notice the older i am the more burned out i get.   😉

[drinkwine1204]

when I get burned out and motivation to list is low, I try to get outside. Raking leaves, spreading new mulch, even just sitting on the porch reading. Helps me out. When weather is bad, I have taken to refreshing & painting neglected areas in my house. Really forces you to pull everything off the walls, closet and I usually find some hidden gems to list. 

In the past 3 months, I have painted my walk in closet, 2nd bathroom and am almost finished with the laundry room. Shows you how slow my sales have been but I still get that sense of accomplishment and pride, though not with my biz.

Another thing I do is dig into my packing/shipping supplies and get that tidy. Always seems to be a mess. Good luck.

[frodobagginskennedy]

I sold regularly for several years then in 2008 the carp hit the fan here at Feebay and I just could no tgo on anymore.  In 2010 I said screw it.  Took almost two years off.  

Came back in 2012 and been doing it ever since.  My attitude is completely different though.  I changed my handling time to 2-3 days though I still try to get it out in one.  If a "buyer" has an issue simply state send it back and move on.  

Yesterday I was having a rough day and just did not feel like doing anything on here.  So guess what....I didn't....I went and sat on my chair and worked on my crochet project for the day.  

Just cannot take life here too serioulsy.  I only do this now to help pay for my dive trips to the Caribbean 2-3 times a year.

[turquoisetulips]

I'd like to take another trip to Maui and forget  for a few weeks  that I do basically the same thing every day  .. Tulips