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Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

I sold a product for a manufacturer for years, until it slowly became obsolete. Over that time I sold other things, some were great profit makers and some were disappointing. For a little while I tried used items, but for my selling style, I prefer to have a uniform product, so I can use the same listing info, the same shipping weights, and the same boxes, and know the condition and quality of the product.

Now I still sell full time, a semi successful product (not like the one I had before, you don't know what you have till you loose it!) and so that gets about 5-6 hours per day with emails and packing and post office runs, and then I spend an hour or more (the rest of my day) at my second desk.....

I keep a separate desk and shelf and computer and account and white board JUST FOR RESEARCH, which I use only to sit and search for new items and ideas, list them for sale, track, compare, and so on. I used to get my research for new ideas and products mixed up with my regular routine, and over time my regular routine took up too much time, and my research got too little attention. With everything simple and separate, it's easier to see my success and keep track how much time and effort I put specifically into the "new idea" efforts.

I spend at least an hour or two a day only on this research and/or test listings (and for browsing this forum), and from my past experience, it was the smartest thing I've done, putting aside the space and time to make that searching and research a priority.

It's hard when you work 100% for yourself and from home to avoid distractions, that's something I struggle with even though I don't have kids... but if you learn to manage your time and not get lazy, it can pay off really well in the long term.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Thanks aspkin, it sounds like you have a real drive to make money. I also have a rental property that I rent out and always considered buying more.

I've also always wondered how yous keep on top of the work and I suppose automation is a necessity. Hopefully as I progress on eBay I will have to think auto it myself.

If there any threads/ articles/website that you think I would benefit I would be eternally grateful.

Thsnks for the input.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Thank you for the input new York. That is pretty much what I would do it or would hope to do if things work out the way I plan them too.

I hues we all get lucky from time to time. I also had a guy that I was supplying things too and it is true that you miss it when it's gone. I made a fair amount selling to him but that ship has sailed.

Now I play to be in a similar position as some of you. I love making money and sitting researching things.

It's a hobby for me. Research hinges and sitting upto stupid o'clock is a hobby. Now it's time to put it into action and research has the correct things that are low risk and perfectly acceptable to sell on eBay.

I need a long term plan so to speak and make the most of stealth all the way.

Thanks agsin

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

I've always been a "night person" and have some of the most productive hours as midnight to 4 a.m. (or whenever I'm finished with the packing). In my area the listings are reusable but the packing/shipping is a real bear. Maybe I wake up around noon and take everything to the post office and eat lunch on the same errand trip.

Have been at it since 1999...I took a buyout at a large company in 1996 and used it to travel for a year (the "gap year" I never had) and then dipped into retirement funds to extend that after currency crashes over there suddenly made travel a lot cheaper (probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing).

By 1999 the money was running low and something had to give, so I tried doing the auctions in hopes of delaying the day of having to work for the Man again. It worked and supported travel, albeit at lower income than before and with no benefits whatsoever.

That's largely been the story since...less pay, no benefits except what I can self-fund (SEP-IRA, Obamacare, etc.) and not a big financial success, but I've repeatedly done "mend it, don't end it" rounds because the intangibles count for a lot (as they do for other posters here), and as an ISTP on the Meyers-Briggs I'm probably best suited for being my own boss.

OTOH there have been bumps, like largely moving from eBay to Amazon in 2007 (sometimes you don't just quit, but you stop maintaining listings), or taking a 50% revenue haircut peak-to-trough in the Great Recession.

Truth be told, I haven't been as good as I need to be about posting new listings or moving one-of-a-kind collectibles, or branching out and sourcing new potential items. All that is work, of course, and if there's too much of it for too few dollars per hour then I'd have to look at alternatives (my car, BTW, doesn't meet Uber standards).

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

I almost always wake up naturally in the morning(sometimes afternoon) without the aid of an alarm unless I have to catch a plane, train, or visit the doctor

The rest of the day is spent with Ebay, Amazon, Paypal, going to gym, eating, playing with my phone, checking the news to see if there's any new disasters in the world, researching travel destinations, talking to people on skype, viber, fb, etc.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Great input guys. The me expand on this once I finish the daily grind of working for a prick.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

I think the beauty of business is that *you* decide how you want your routine to work around *your* priorities.

What I tend to do is set x amount of hours I would work each week, and then spread those hours over the course of the week as it fits me.

That way I make sure I'm getting time to myself. I think sometimes we work so hard in life, we forget it live it. That's something I am very conscious of when setting my hours.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Well Made $150k in full time job, $25k Social Security and Sold $60k on Amazon, Etsy and Ebay with 55% margin, most I don't even stock item, just sell and have supplier ship. So life is good, work ebay twice a week and work full time job 30 hours a week.
LOL

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Great insight, appreciated a lot.

Sounds intriguing. From what I gather you are saying that your selling supports your lifestyle but admittedly if you put more work in you would receive more rewards?

I sort of have it in my head that to be successful on ebay/amazon one would be spending 10 hours a day on the laptop and 1/5 hours packing and posting. I'm the kind of guy to get my head onto something and go full steam ahead.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Wake up
check and answer email/text/voice mails
make somewhat of a schedule
ship ebay stuff
organise kijiji apointments
play xbox
sleep
Oh and also a full time student somehow

income are from ebay kijiji and rental proprety. I'm 24 but have been selling on ebay since I am 17 years old

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Nice man, thanks for the input.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

1.wake up
2. pee
3. smoke some weed or vape
4. ebay and google trying to find new items.
5. check listings
6. buy items and print packages
7. package them and put them in my closet for a few days
8. go to post office
9.sleep or have some late night fun with a girl :) .

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

@ Aspkin, you can't stop, you have to keep the mind busy...always

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

(For reference my profession is technology investing and I have no kids.)

06:00 or 06:30 -- Wake up, make bed, drink water, eat a small amount of food (a banana, or 30g whey protein, or something similar sized) then walk to a neighborhood cafe to buy a coffee (I usually don't know which one I'm going to until I get there). I used to brew my own coffee in the morning but ultimately decided that stretching my legs & getting some fresh air is more important to me than frugality.
06:45 -- If it's an off-gym-day, stay at the coffee shop for 45-60 minutes with a book. If it's a gym-day, walk 6 blocks to the gym and train for 45-60 minutes.
07:45 -- Walk back home, then scan e-mail quickly to confirm that nothing insane / disastrous / urgent has happened. Eat a little more food, or not -- doesn't matter. There's more food at the office.
07:55 -- Check Quora and Twitter notifications. Attempt to not get into arguments with strangers on the Internet. Probably fail.
08:00 -- Shower, dress, brush teeth.
08:30 -- Walk to work. Sometimes listen to a podcast or call mom while I'm walking.
09:00 -- Arrive at work, get a second coffee, then Eat The Frog (try to get 1 important thing accomplished that, if that's all I got done that day, would make the day a success) until 11:00 or 11:30, give or take. Two great articles that explain this: (one) and (two)

At this point, if I successfully pulled this off I'll have gotten { IMPORTANT_TASK + (GYM OR READING) } all wrapped up before lunchtime. Not bad.

The rest of the day is intentionally unscripted and un-routinized.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

3-4 months of the year I am on road trips around the world, as long as there is internet, I can work everywhere (thank God I found this site to teach me how to use VPS and VMware), the only place I screwed my business a little bit is this summer when I was in Cuba, didn't expect they have wifi issues and ebay is forbidden to sell when you are in Cuba (I log into my account on VMware with VPN, in somehow way ebay can see it).

Life is a little tough but really a lot of fun everyday. Get up early, drive whole day, sight seeing, meet interesting people all around the world, then get back to airb&b room, shower off the dust that day, work and sleep (this part is a little bit tough, specially if it's a long day).

The other months I base at home, fix work problem, source new products and suppliers, fix logistic supplier issues. Make sure they will run well before my next trip...

Life is fantastic I have to say if my PayPal won't be limited.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

How do you get your items shipped if you're on the road all the time?

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

I never ship by myself. I purchase my stock then send them to logistic supplier, each products are marked with a SKU sticker, when buyer purchases, I place shipping order to logistics, I pay their work, it's not cheap, but consider I can have freedom no need to stay home 24/7, it's totally worth it.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Good to hear from other location independent sellers. Met a lot of digital nomads on my travels, and I consider Ebay and Amazon sellers to be among the most successful.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

I see, so all your items are pre boxed so thatyoyr logistics people cannot see it, is that right? Care to share some recommended logistics companies you think are good?

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

Breakfast in bed
Some ebay work
Post office trip
Trying to also finish college, to throw the degree out
Spend some time to figure how the people are being controlled in todays society.
Eventually fall asleep

I see some people mentioned real estate,
Ive been really trying to get into it for rental properties, but have to go outside of nyc to afford something i can buy.
Do you guys use the mls to check for properties, or try to find distressed properties and get in touch with the owners to sell.

Ive been reading bigger pockets alot but now i gave to put the knowledge to use in real world.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

I have worked like this for decades, my products suppliers are trustworthy, they don't ship it to me anymore but bulk shipped to my logistic, they receive them, and pack each one as my order. So of course they see it.

There are really a lot of them, you can google it. Most of them are based in CA.

Re: So whats your daily routine?
 

^^^

You trust them? Wow, I'll have to work my way into doing that.