changing up how I do business (not a question)

[keziak]

Various people who follow me here know I've had a very bad "hoarding" habit especially since discovering Facebook Marketplace during Covid. This was bad for two reasons: piling up more unlisted stuff and spending way too much time driving hither and yon to do pick ups. 

Fast forward to today when I have developed arthritis in my hip as well as my knees. That writing on the wall is a neon sign. My current goal is to do serious listing with the outcome of being caught up and developing  a much minor status quo of buying and listing books. Basically what I can get in a week and list while working part-time. Being prepared to dial it back if even this little is too much. 

So far I have cut out MP, local libraries, the used book store and thrifts. I've been listing hard and filling many boxes to shelve. I'm not remotely done but I can start to see the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately I have a lot I would like to sell at auction but those are dead so probably I will be dumping more stuff on charity. I need to empty the storage unit, too, but tackling the house is top priority. The whole thing could possibly take 6 months but I feel like I am finally on a better track.

[lakefor94]

Good deal @keziak . Stick with your plan.

[keziak]

I'm going to get PT for the hip but the situation is Not Good. I need to get to a place where I stop all the heavy lifting.

[lakefor94]

@keziak 

I had the left hip replaced at 64 years old and the right has arthritis but it does not bother me much yet. Knees are hanging in there.  

Hope you can find relief for those pains.

[a_c_green]

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@keziak wrote:

I need to empty the storage unit, too, but tackling the house is top priority. The whole thing could possibly take 6 months but I feel like I am finally on a better track.

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Might you want to empty the storage unit first? That's a monthly money pit that you're paying for, whereas storage in your house is free. 😉

[meme6253]

I can relate to your health issues, I have severe spinal stenosis, which is incredibly painful at times, It gives me a lot of problems with my legs, I also have arthritis in my hands, knees, & left shoulder, I am in constant pain that is managed with injections & meds, I keep pluggin along, I wish things would move quicker than they do, so i could really get parts of my house in better order.

[soh.maryl]

If you get to the place where you just want stuff gone, and don't necessarily need the money, most local libraries have book sales periodically.  Have donated a lot of my remarkably large collection to our library.  

[onefootflipper1]

I am in a wheelchair most of the time and understand the physical issues. 

I have had to limit myself multiple times. 

The last thing you want is an overwhelming death pile and storage unit full of books and media all doing their best to go to zero value.

Might I suggest this. Get yourself a wireless USB scanner (very cheap), open ebay, set your search default to price lowest first. 

Then start scanning every book and every piece of media that has a barcode. If even one seller has the item at $8.00 shipped or below then dispose of the item. At that price point you are only clearing $1.51 (allowing for under 1 pound media mail shipping and ONLY 25 cents for shipping supplies). Low end book and media prices as a whole are in a continual slide and you are better of just disposing of the bottom of the barrel stuff right now then hoping and praying that you can somehow sell your copy for more than the ones people already are not buying.

I see you are already exceptionally good at making sure you are not shipping out at a loss. However you also have a lot of listings that have already gone to zero value and thus will likely never sell. I have no idea if they have been listed for years and they went to zero value or if you priced them too high in the first place (often a combination). In either case those books and media that have gone to zero value are just a boat anchor on your life.

Example. Glock, the New Wave In Combat. 36 sellers as cheap as $5.91 free ship. Only 2 sold in the last 3 months. That is a boat anchor of an item. 2-3 more of those will enter the system for every one that sells. Every time a big time automated charity bookseller gets one they will list right at the bottom, and the price on the book will never recover.

Sure I could be wrong and that ONE BOOK could come back, however that doesn't stop an overwhelming trend. 

[fern*wood]

I would make my goal to completely stop buying more books.  I wasn't clear about what this meant "developing a much minor status quo of buying and listing books. Basically what I can get in a week and list while working part-time".   If you mean only buy what you can list in that week, I'd switch that to picking out from your piles what you can list in a week instead. 

[keziak]

It's free but comes at a cost of my husband's patience. He'd love to see it all moved to a unit. He wants my child's former bedroom for a guest room. Never mind we never have guests! That is a long slog of work. I finally listed art books I'd had in there since early Covid!

[keziak]

I was offered a shot for my hip but said I'd try PT first. It mostly hurts due to getting stiff lying and sitting down but I know perfectly well all the heavy lifting can't be helping.

[keziak]

Just dropped off 2 boxes after dinner tonight! I also take books to the used book store. I have about $1200 in credit saved up "for a rainy day".

I have a big set of nice recently published hardcovers about Churchill. No way will I ship all that and so far auctioning individual books is going nowhere. I want them  out of my family room, no good place to list and store them. I don't know if the store wants something that size. I know a guy who might be interested but not for big money. I tried selling them on MP but no success.

[keziak]

thank you. I recently skimmed off most of what I had  under $8. $8 is next but it's a lot of books. 

I find ebay frustrating for repricing. When I've checked books I've found my price was fine or even significantly lower than the crowd but the idea of laborously checking every one feels beyond me. Amazon makes repricing so much easier. 

I also have nothing on ebay older than last September. I have been discarding older books steadily. No space to keep everything. 

Maybe when I get out the other end I will have the time to park my butt and reprice regularly. Right now I am spending a lot of my time listing. 

[12345jamesstamps]

Always keep active...even if it hurts a little.

I am on a different approach when as we get older.

Keep your mind working and your body moving.

Life can be difficult as we age...

We live in a wondrous age for the older generation having a computer and an iPhone and we can sell items at home.

The computer and iphone were not available 30 years ago for us to use to sell items.

Keep trucking and don't stop!

[gloryglorygifts]

I'm glad to hear that you are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel! That's good news. 

I didn't have a hoarding problem but I had to downsize last year and my health has been horrible for decades so I can empathize. It's rough, so I know how difficult it is to do. You will feel SO much better when you start to see the piles disappear. I literally emptied out my 3-story townhouse and garage and it took me months to get through.  But, I kept in mind that at least it was me going through it all and not my son and his wife. That actually motivated me. My first floor used to be all for the biz with a large office space, products and shipping area. Now my first floor is a mil apartment and my office is now a computer stand. What's left of the products here are in a quarter of the garage on shelves.

You will get through it and you will be so happy when it is done. I wish you every success in getting through!