question for those with heavy merchandise, especially books

[keziak]

I sell books and media and sell both here and on Amazon. I also live in a three story house counting the basement (where I have my inventory and mailroom).  I spend a LOT of time lifting and carrying heavy boxes including on stairs. I have also been a martyr to knee pain for years. I finally got a diagnosis of arthritis in both knees. I am fairly upset because I don't know what the specialist will say. Lose weight for one thing (fair point). What will he say about the business? Will I have to make some big changes? I am 60, never thought I would really retire for several more years. 

There IS a question here: anyone else have this problem? Have you made changes and what were they? I've started an exercise program (finally) and the knees really impact what I can do. I've discovered that water aerobics are good but not like the hardcore sweaty workouts I did in the past, especially to lose weight. Instead it's just walking , water aerobics and weightlifting. I have workouts for the knees but they are on the floor and getting up and down is  holy heck on my knees. They also make gardening difficult. Old age!!

[mtgraves7984]

Old age!!

@keziak 

You just answered your own question! Do you have descendants nearby that owe you some love?? 😉

ETA: And if 60 is old... I'm a dinosaur. 😢

[inhawaii]

It sucks getting old. 😃

Hang in there and good luck.

[soh.maryl]

(1) Don't know if it would work for your particular house layout, but have you considered a stair chairlift? Not just for you, but to haul your books up?

(2) Any possibility of hiring an assistant (like a high schooler) to handle some of the heavy lifting?

(3) Don't know your age, but many folks of my acquaintance have touted knee replacements as being very helpful.  The postop therapy is, however, sometimes arduous and long.

[toysaver]

Everything I carry up or downstairs is in a giant blue bag from IKEA.  I no longer use a laundry basket, just an IKEA bag in the closet.  I have one in the car for trips into the post office and another by the basement door.  My knees are fine but I have arthritis, bursitis and all kinds of other itises in my arms and shoulders.  I have had shipping injuries to my arms from carrying boxes and bumping into stuff OUCH.  

[keziak]

Yes, my son helps but he isn't put on Earth to do my biz for me.  ; - )

[mtgraves7984]

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@keziak wrote:

Yes, my son helps but he isn't put on Earth to do my biz for me.  ; - )

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@keziak 

Spoken just as my 90-year-old mom (who sells books here) would say!!! Keep that attitude... it'll keep you younger. 🤗

[lamber9347]

A couple of things to consider. Everything in life changes and we need to learn to change along with them and accommodate. Start by moving your heavy items up to your first floor permanently. You'll need to move furniture to accommodate this. No one has said you have to stop selling, but you have to learn to change the manner in which you did it previously. 

Good on you for getting more exercise but diet is also very important. When I say diet, I mean what you eat. Increase your vegies portions. You mentioned gardening, are you growing your own vegies? If not, start doing so. You get both a healthier diet and exercise doing it. Cooking is a form of exercise, as well as grocery shopping. The point is to not sit on the sofa. 

Walking is wonderful and your selling is also a form of exercise. Not just your body but also your mind. You are still young and knee issues are extremely common. You should consider knee replacement surgery as well, should be mostly covered by insurance. 

You are doing great so far, just change your way of handling your inventory and you will adjust just fine. Best of luck to you....

[keziak]

I now remember starting more than one thread about accommodating bad knees. Sorry I forgot that in my unhappiness to finally get a diagnosis.  When I had surgery and was weight restricted I carefully carried only small loads but in the name of efficiency went right back to the heavy boxes. 

In a way this is more of an Ebay issue than Amazon for two reasons. One, my book and media lots here are heavy to ship and haul up and down to list. Two, when I double-list on ebay and amazon I bring the books upstairs where I am better set up. When only listing on Amazon I can use a laptop in the kitchen. 

So in a way the real question may end up being whether to keep my ebay business at all. Sad.

[nobody*s_perfect]

I agree with the suggestion to move as much as possible from the basement to the first floor.

[fern*wood]

Instead of destroying body parts,  I would change what I sell.  I’ve stopped selling many of my preferred items for various reasons.  

[keziak]

I was actually on the first floor for years. I moved up here to give hubby the dining room for entertaining. There is also no way that room would hold as much as does the office. 

I've been doing less listing/boxes to take downstairs due to spending time exercising. My knees feel better.  Golly what a coincidence.. I need to do some hard thinking about this. I actually love my ebay  biz, does it love me back?  🤔

[buyselljack2016]

I feel your pain.

Back some years, the stairs were one at a time for me.  As in one foot on a step, and then bring the other foot to that same step going up or down. Repeat for the entire 15 steps rather than a normal one foot on one step, and the other foot on the next step

Not only the pain, but the being so slow.

Fortunately mine is now kept in check by medications.

60 is a memory. Now when I go sourcing all day my body tells me that what I did should have been a 2 day deal, and not even 2 shorter days "in a row".

[soh.maryl]

It may, in your mind, suck getting old.  But compared to the alternative, I think it's pretty cool.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Sorry to hear you’ve had to deal with painful knee issues.

The great thing about eBay is its flexibility—each seller can set however many listings he feels he can adequately handle. The work load can be adjusted as necessary, and one can employ Time Away when needed as well.

While deciding how you want to adapt, consider listing lighter weight items if feasible.