List, List, List, is an important principle if you want to sell more. It's really simple, you can't sell what you didn't list, duh! While some people choose to list less for whatever reason, I choose to make it my number 1 concern when it comes to my day-to-day activity as a reseller. With that being said, I realized yesterday I was looking at this all wrong. Maybe I wasn't listing because I wanted the inventory to get sold, maybe I was motivated by something totally different this whole time.
Pressure
Pressure is a funny thing because it really exposes you. When you think you can't do anymore, pressure will be the judge of that. The most interesting thing about pressure is its ability to conceal itself so well that you might even call it something totally different. With that said, I came to an epiphany yesterday that what I thought was motivation this whole time was actually pressure in disguise. I thought that having more sales was the driving force behind why I list so much, but I was totally wrong. I came to the conclusion that having a lot of unlisted inventory was the pressure behind why I list as much as I do. If you're wondering, I currently have about 1,500 pieces of unlisted inventory but, you guessed it, I'm still buying.
What I Thought
More Listings
will lead to more sales
More Sales
was the result of more listings
What I Realized
More Inventory
adds pressure to list more
More Listings
will lead to more sales
More Sales
was the result of more listings
The diagram above is a simplified explanation of what I'm trying to say. "What I thought" is a popular way that most of us see our operation. "What I realized" is the reality of things and really brings to the surface a new way of looking at listings.
So What's the Takeaway
Pressure, more specifically the pressure of having too much inventory in the death pile, should be the driving force behind listing more, not sales. Sales is something you can't control for the most part, while having a lot of unlisted inventory is something that you're fully in control of. I don't know about you but, I would rather be in control than not. By having more and more inventory in your unlisted pile, you will find the motivation to list more, or at least I do. Put differently, sales is not the driving factor behind me wanting to list more, having too much unlisted inventory is. Just look at more sales as the byproduct of having too much unlisted inventory.
Careful Now
This new paradigm will only work if you are a seller that thrive off of pressure. If you're not, I would stay away from this way of thinking completely because a mountain of unlisted inventory that will never get listed will be the result. However, if you're a person like me who feeds off of pressure then KEEP BUYING. Another word of caution is to only buy inventory that you can sell; don't just mindlessly buy everything!
Don't look at this like an "Eat, Love, Pray" style of doing things because you're going to go broke doing so. Just think of it as a "controlled madness".
Buy as much as you can, whenever you can (at a great price of course). Trust me, this will light a fire on your ass to list more because you'll be super motivated to chop down the tree that you planted.
2 Comments on “Keep Buying Inventory”
I just had my own epiphany and needed to share…
I want to truly thank you and express how grateful I am that you’ve chosen to share your lessons through every step of your process. As I’m sure I represent a lot of people with this statement, I am listening to your words loud and clear. But…
I am interpreting them into my own personalized experience. This is something I see you continuously point out in your writings, but i felt it was important to share how I’m realizing this as I’m sure there are many folks out there who will continue to make comparisons and attempt an exact step by step of what they are reading.
I’m working through my initial comparison feelings of worth and realizing I’m on my own personal journey. My takeaway from your postings is the core of the lessons you are learning. Then taking the advice of your lessons and applying them to my personal journey, no longer comparing our journeys. They are our own and they are individualized.
Sharing is caring. Xoxo
Glad you see it that way Angela, that’s actually the best way to look at it and I couldnt agree more.