you work for how much?

[keziak]

Dou you have people in your life who wonder why you are working for such low  money? Or no bedcause they keep that to themselves or you make plenty? I am married toa lawyer with decades of experience who seems to make more all the time while I seem to be stuck in the low 2000's (years) in the sense of no real inflation in book prices.

I did recently raise my minimum on Amazon a lot with the result I am making a lot less (smaller inventory). That was supposed to be a lead up to retirement one of these years. Still working as much as ever if not more! Some days I feel like at least I am nto working for The Man even  though I would probably make more.

[bryo_3145]

It could be worse you could be living on the street on drugs living in a carboard box. Or being bombed by Russia over in Ukraine. Just turn on the news.  At least your being productive and you have the loving support from your spouse. You're contributing to society, have fun, enjoy what you're doing. Look at the positives. Life is not a competition. You're not a hoarder all the therapists say that. Look at the rewards and do what makes you complete and happy. 

[dhbookds]

Seems to me your reaction to your husband's comment should be something you discuss with your psychologist........as stated, it could be read as "you're stupid to be working for so little" or it could be an honest concern about you ....."I hate to see you working too hard for so little".   

I think almost any of us have had that feeling of working for too little, at times, in most jobs we've had.....at least I have.  

From your past comments, you seem to have plenty of money between you for retirement (if any amount is ever perceived as enough)....but certainly you haven't ever indicated you fear having to live on the street when retirement comes so I don't think the money is the real cause of your discomfort.....but rather a perception of lack of respect of what you do from your husband..........

You've succeeded  in weathering alot of problems (challenges) in the last several years......consignment drying up due to Covid, etc........and you should be very proud of that....  You didn't quit.  Despite fears,  you reached out to learn new things and you've come along way.  But the only person that can really understand that is YOU and I don't think you are perceiving (or projecting) yourself as being as successful as you have been.   Time to Walk Tall, Be Proud, and move on to the next phase.......

Forgive the armchair analysis, but it's hard to see you struggle with this. 

[soh.maryl]

If I recall correctly, your previous issue was about a storage unit you had that had been damaged by a truck backing into it, making it structurally unsound.  You had had recent surgery and were at a loss as to how to get your things removed safely.  There were numerous suggestions for you at that time, which seemed pretty reasonable, to me at least, but you seemed reluctant to pursue any of them or to seek assistance or advice from your in-house attorney.

Have been wondering if and how you resolved that problem and whether  you were satisfied with the solution you chose.  

[dnasilver]

Earning a living is not a competition. Some people will always make more and some less. It is up to each individual to decide what is important in life. 

[duffy4444]

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@gosimus wrote:

@duffy4444 

< better than the $2k yearly you're claiming >     

I think you misunderstood what the OP said.  She said "stuck in the low 2000's (years)" meaning years not dollars.  She's saying that she's making the same as she made 22 years ago.  

---

   @gosimus:  (and anyone else who didn't read it)

   I already apologized in message 9 above, for my misunderstanding of what the OP was referring to.

 - Duffy

[keziak]

Good heavens, thank you for taking the time to  respond to me like that. I'll be fine....often don't fell successful...but it's not about ending up on the street. I DO worry about my son ending up there. We have investments for him but that is the "never enough" situation to me. If I can  get the bank account back up I can add to those funds. But I just gave me daughter thousands due to job loss and moving. I feel good being able to help. My kids are priority  One.

[buyselljack2016]

Don't know what my eBay hourly wage rate works out to. Have never tried to figure it out. Likely it is not much, but then I don't do it just for the monetary rewards, so really doesn't matter.

As much as, or possibly even more so I am rewarded by the fact that selling on eBay is beneficial to "body & mind".   The pre-sourcing/sourcing/sorting/inventorying/prepping for photos/photographing/listing/locating when sold/packaging and shipping these items provides activity for my body, and mind here in my retirement years

The $$ made is just a collateral benefit.

[keziak]

While  the unit was damaged I had no way to get in for example to move out the inventory. I finally found the right department in the company to report the ongoing problem of the unit not being repaired. Basically they were the ones who would have to go to arbitration with me.  Wouldn't you know, the NEXT DAY the property manager called me to say it was being fixed pronto and she was going to give me 2 months free rent, etc. 

I guess in life it's knowing who to talk to. 

My goal for 2022 is to clear out the unit and move to a better storage unit place in town. 

[bryo_3145]

It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. That's a full-time job in itself raising kids.  In our society that is so overlooked. That's nice you've always been there for them. In this economy I can't see how anybody can make extra money. Don't be hard on yourself.  

I still can't believe your therapist said that you might be a hoarder. A lot of people in this business look at this hording as an investment. Inventory. Extra income. Can you trust the stock market in this economy? You could always have a garage sale to downsize. Therapists in my opinion are just trying to justify their job. They don't know what you're really dealing with on a day-to-day basis. Especially with time management and kids. Even by more buildings to house more items. It's what you make of it and time. The main thing is "have fun."  As long as your productive and have loving support. Do what the only thing you enjoy. Even if it might be a hobby. 

[nuclearomen]

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@keziak wrote:

Dou you have people in your life who wonder why you are working for such low  money? Or no bedcause they keep that to themselves or you make plenty? I am married toa lawyer with decades of experience who seems to make more all the time while I seem to be stuck in the low 2000's (years) in the sense of no real inflation in book prices.

I did recently raise my minimum on Amazon a lot with the result I am making a lot less (smaller inventory). That was supposed to be a lead up to retirement one of these years. Still working as much as ever if not more! Some days I feel like at least I am nto working for The Man even  though I would probably make more.

---

@keziak idk why people say things along those lines like (example) "I'm selling on ebay and it's not yielding really high returns (profit) per sale" etc... and I always say "how much do you expect to make off "something"?, or how much profit do you think is reasonable? The truth is lower profits are actually real selling. When you go to retail store their profits aren't super high, for instance: one goes to store buys a $20-$25 item (as example) that item could have cost retailer between $5 - $10 to acquire, the lower would be those whom have their items made specifically for that retailer (such as Hobby Lobby, everything they have they have made in China that is why when you go to such store and they always run 50%-75% off because the cost for them to make the stuff is super cheap) but they are still making profit, though it's few bucks in comparison to actual retail price. In any case they still have to pay for the merch to get to their stores, pay employees, taxes, health care, property taxes, maintenance costs, etc... etc.. etc... It's no different selling on online platform. Cost the seller to acquire the items, pay for the shipping cost to them (if they are having it shipped to them), customs charges (if coming from overseas and over a certain value), the only difference is we pay fees to the platform for selling on it...so that $50 someone has should have cost them around $20-$30 and they come out in the end to make idk say $8 after fees shipping (if paying shipping). 

Bottom line is that even people will always try to get more and charge more don't need to make hundreds in profit on every sale and the real world retail stores don't. If seller gets away with it then great, awesome, but shouldn't expect to put everything up for sale and make huge return, people will just not buy until they find better deal. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@keziak wrote:

While  the unit was damaged I had no way to get in for example to move out the inventory. I finally found the right department in the company to report the ongoing problem of the unit not being repaired. Basically they were the ones who would have to go to arbitration with me.  Wouldn't you know, the NEXT DAY the property manager called me to say it was being fixed pronto and she was going to give me 2 months free rent, etc. 

I guess in life it's knowing who to talk to. 

My goal for 2022 is to clear out the unit and move to a better storage unit place in town. 

---

Heh - you pulled the right lever this time - good!  I had wondered about that.

I think it would be pretty easy for some to fall into hoarder territory doing this kind of work, but that threshold would be different for each person.

[keziak]

I imagine that my therapist would be OK with my "hoarding" if I would stop freaking out about how hard it can be to get the stuff listed, never mind sold and shipped. Maybe I should surprise her next time by saying "everything is great!" [except for obsessing about my son's future]. 

I was just typing a tirade about how hubby doesn't respect my business but that's of no interest. I have my therapist to belly ache to, and friends in the business who know exactly what I"m talking about! 😉

[soh.maryl]

Since you state that your husband does not respect your business, was that perhaps the reason he used for not helping you with your storage unit dilemma? 

[soh.maryl]

You feel "insecure" that you don't make much? Pardon me, but if I am reading your situation correctly, it's not likely that you will be evicted for not paying rent, be scrounging in the trash for food scraps or having to bathe in your local gas station's restroom.  

It's good that your therapist is helping you feel more secure and worthy.  

[gosimus]

@duffy4444 

< I already apologized in message 9 above >    

Using message numbers isn't an accurate way to reference them.  Members post "sub-replies" [for want of a better term – maybe "level 2 replies" is better] under the first level Replies and it bumps up the numbering of every reply below them.  Your apology, which I apologize for not seeing originally, as of this writing is now number 14.