075: So You Wanna Sell On eBay - Matt Pinquoch

  Matt is hell-bent on leaving the 9 to 5 world. He now works 80 hours a weeks so that he no longer has to work 40. He has cut down to 2 days a week for another employer and is just about ready to quit his job completely. He started selling on eBay in the late 90's but got really serious a few years ago. His number one source for products to sell is the dump. Interesting Notes On the 1st year Matt got serious on eBay, he was running an auction and sold $33,000 worth of stuff. But he paid $32,000 for his taxes. He considered the experience as his 1st year in college. He continued on, though. Matt has been working in the field of mechanical and small engine shops for fifteen (15) years. Experience taught him that almost anything sells. He has seen that people throw away equipment when one part goes wrong. So, he gets those and stripped it down. He gets the good stuff and brings it to people who are looking for those. He specializes in trimmers because he can get truckloads for free than nothing. It is also the most ignored ones. Matt does not go to source anymore. He has a guy who works in a dump. This guy sets aside trimmers for Matt. Matt meets him once a week. He fills up Matt's truck with trimmers. Matt then pays him for the stuff. Matt also has scrap haulers who bring him home scrap. At one point, scrap cost $200 to $300 per ton, but now it's $1000 per ton. But, yet Matt saves from paying the gas. Matt ships 15 to 25 items a day. Most of the items he ships are small and fits in a 4x4x4 boxes. He ships first class, then priority class. For the bigger items, he goes to FedEx. He gives free shipping to items that cost $5 up. In putting up a listing including taking pictures, Matt spends less than a minute per item. His average sales price is under $20. For riding mowers, Matt gets bigger sale prices. There are pieces that are worth more than those on trimmers. But, he can do more in the amount of time it takes him to tear down a trimmer compared to a riding mower. He can put up listings up to 70 items a day. That includes tearing and taking pictures of the items. Matt used to have a white background for his photos, but it is hard for his stuff to get clean. Now, he has a red background because it is the top of his parts washer --- a convenient spot. The other background is the grass. One of the biggest problems he had is keeping track of his stuff. He utilizes his 2nd house as a warehouse of his stuff. He has bins and shelves to organize his stuff. He keeps a record of his stuff in a regular paper binder ---the entire key to his business. He created SKUs to keep track of his inventory. He records this way: SKU # on the left, followed by the description, and location on the right. His locations are simple. For example, for yellow bins, he puts Y1, Y2, Y3. When something sells, he just looks at the SKU# and knows where it is. He, then cross out the number on the left, that helps to show what sells and what doesn't. Matt gives his email, Facebook page, and even his cell phone number. This way, people could contact him. He gives support to people and helps them solve their problems. Matt admits that he has 3,000 items listed that piles up. He is getting more slow moving stuff. He noticed that 70% of his sales came from stuff he has listed for the last 6 months. 25% came from stuff listed 6 months to a year. Then, 5% of his sales came from listings over a year. He concluded that he has to list new stuff because the premium stuff always goes right away. Matt has no intention to clear out his inventory of old and slow moving stuff that continues to pile up each year. He believes that his stuff is something that one could never find anywhere. People who search online are desperate to fix their machine. He keeps watch for that kind of sales. Last summer, Matt gave six (6) months notice to leave his job. But, yet he still works 2 days a week now. That is Mondays and Tuesdays to cover for his mortgage needs. Matt enjoys the freedom on his schedule. He can leave anytime his son needs him. Or simply to spend time bonding with him. He sees the possibility of hiring someone to tear down parts because he cannot get enough done. Only when he can find someone worthwhile. "Get all the stuff that is free and nothing. Then get rid of the other stuff and do what you love", is the best advice he got from Danni Ackermann. That is when he made his niche on equipment parts. Matt's advice to sellers: Find and join a Facebook group that has good and successful people. Quotes "Most eBay problems are easy. Whatever it is that is going on, the solutions are simple." "I don't want to concern myself with negative stuff. If I am still in the 99.99% range, then I won't worry about it. I still have better things to do." "You have to point out anything that is bad." "The freedom of schedule makes up for any extra hours I put in." "It (eBay) is not easy. You are going to work." "You have to have a little bit of a passion for you to put many hours into it." "You've got to be listing new stuff!" "Almost anything sells!" Contact Information Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mattsequipmentrepair Sponsors Premium DIY eBay Template ki Feedback Pro Buffalo Buck's Coffee