Well, here we go.
My daughter and I are about to embark on the biggest eBay related project we have ever done. This is probably the biggest project anyone has ever done with regard to catching up on a backlog of inventory. As my readers, you all have followed me on many projects including writing ventures, selling on Amazon, and downsizing my own home in 2015. Now, Melanie and I have partnered with Will Seippel, CEO of WorthPoint to help get his personal collection of items listed on in eBay store.
If you aren't familiar with Will, he is the founder and CEO of WorthPoint Corporation, the largest resource for researching, valuing and buying/selling antiques, art and vintage collectibles. WorthPoint offerings consists of WorthPoint.com, an online resource for researching and valuing antiques, art and collectibles; and an online resource for investigating makers’ marks as well as accessing a library of virtual books from leading publishers on a wide range of collecting topics. WorthPoint’s price guide is a comprehensive solution that gives a user access to more than 300 million historical prices and more than images 1.2 billion photographs. WorthPoint's research data goes back to 2007. eBay's data only goes back 30 days. The WorthPoint website gets 50,000 hits a day.
Will's eBay store, Wills1n4, has 3,968 active listings as of today and the items range in price from $1.95 for WWII envelope cachets, to $9,999 for an antique 1904 photo book. Will has been selling on eBay since 1999, has over 15,000 feedbacks, and sells about 300 items a month. A lifelong collector and world traveler, Will has amassed a collection of over 100,000 items that aren't even listed on eBay yet. He has gotten behind on listings just like many of you reading. Will says,
"I like buying and selling but could not keep up with the selling on my own. In some cases, I was slow in wanting to part with some things but that was generally not the issue. Some people called it hoarding, but that is not my issue."
As a busy CEO, world traveler, husband, and father of 5 children, Will is just like us - life gets busy. He has quadruplets in college and a son who is a recent college graduate who works in the WorthPoint office. Part of his work with WorthPoint is helping estate sale companies price items. In this capacity, he gets to see all kinds of unique items that he buys for his personal eBay store. Many times, he buys out the whole estate sale. Inventory can add up very quickly when buying hundreds or thousands of items at a time.
Another reason Will is ready to get his items listed on eBay is about the legacy he will leave for his children.
"I am turning 60 and I realize I do not want to end up like some of the estates we all see and it is time to focus on dealing with it. I just am also putting my mom's house on the market and it took me two years to get to that point. Like a lot of great pickers, I have stuff in several locations; the warehouse, my house, and the house in Maine."
Melanie and I will be working out of a 1,500 square foot warehouse full of items, as well as the items stockpiled in Will's basement and garage. Here are a few sneak peek photos of what the warehouse looks like now.
Not very exciting photos, but all I can think about is what treasures are inside those mountains of boxes! Will and I decided to make this journey public on my blog and YouTube channel, and document the progress for several reasons. First of all, many of you out there have a backlog of items and maybe the mountain has gotten just too overwhelming to even begin listing the items on eBay. Any mountain can be tackled, it just takes patience, determination, and the desire to get it done. We are going to eat this elephant one bite at a time. Perhaps our journey will inspire others of you to tackle your death piles.
Second, there is a shocking amount of money tied up in this inventory, and deferred profit. Many of you are dealing with that also. You have a significant investment in your inventory and cannot see the profit until the items are listed. It is time to take action so you can reap the rewards of your pickings. A dead tree can't bear fruit. Time to bring it back to life!
We are fortunate that Will lives in Atlanta, just a few miles away and we can go to his location to help him with this project. While we can't come to your homes or storage units to help, I have a team of virtual assistants who can help you. Here is how that service works.
If you are serious about getting your backlog of eBay items listed and pump some new life back into your eBay income stream, contact me here. I will connect you will an experienced seller who can help.
Stay tuned for weekly updates on this massive project. We are thrilled to be able to work with Will and his wife, Shari, and hope you all will learn some interesting things along the way.
12/8/2016 Update:
See the outcome of the project here.
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