Amazon Trade-In is your Friend

If you're are all up in the picking and flipping game, you are inevitably all up in the shipping game as well. Any online merchant worth his or her salt had better understand the costs and hassles of shipping. And you have better get yourself a pretty big stash of padded envelopes, adhesive labels, packing tape, and common sized boxes.

Sure, you can reuse old boxes and relabel old paddies here and there. But once you're shipping merchandise on the regular, you had better just bite the bullet and buy some supplies. You sure as hell don't want to be stuck paying full retail price for a last minute padded envelope at the post office or convenience store.

One of the best places to get cheap but effective shipping supplies sent directly to your home or office is right there on Amazon. Go ahead, do a quick search for #5 Padded Envelopes, or bulk packs of shipping tape. You aren't likely to beat those prices. And despite some frightening reviews, I've never had a problem with quality when buying generic supplies from a third-party merchant through Amazon.

And what's even better than buying discount boxes of boxes? Trading in picked books and media for 'em! Here is the short version of how it works:

Some popular items (books, dvds, and cds mostly) have trade-in value. To see if a book you are scanning has trade-in value, you need to use Amazon Student app (the regular app just doesn't give you these values). Just scan the barcode, and look for the extra value in green under the New & Used value. See:

So, in this example, you could list your recently bought copy of Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction for sale (the lowest competitive price is $6.40), or you can "Trade-In" your copy and get a guaranteed $4.59.

Basically, a "Trade-In" is a book that, if in Good or better condition, can be sold directly to a partner of Amazon. The best part is, they pay the shipping! And you can group all your Trade-Ins into one big package to ship all together.

The downside is that your Trade-In values are paid out in Amazon credit. This isn't much of a downside if you regularly shop through Amazon. And if you don't, you can use the Trade-In credit to stock up on shipping supplies, like we discussed at the beginning of this blog post.

A few things to keep in mind:

Not that many items have a lot of Trade-In value. And those that due usually have a value that is much, much less than what you could get from just selling the sucker. Examples like the one above a pretty rare. Even more rare, but certainly out there, are those anomalies that have the Trade-In value even higher than the lowest for sale price! If you find one of those bad boys, close the deal.

Also know that the Trade-In value listed on the item page on media items like CDs and DVDs are for New condition. The value for Like New and Good are usually much less. See the images below.

Another thing to remember is that the Trade-In value of an item can fluctuate (usually decreasing) over time. I used to save up a big box of Trade-In and then execute them all at once in one box, but even a few days in a holding pattern can reveal a huge drop in your potential credit. It's best to confirm and mail right away.

Lots of CDs have a Trade-In value of just 50 cents or so, but if you can get those cheaper, it is a guaranteed profit. No waiting to see if an item will sell, and no shipping costs to calculate (or mis-calculate). And I'll say it again, even if you don't want anything on Amazon, you likely will need to buy shipping supplies, so there you go!

Guest Post: Kathrine's eBay Store

This isn't Katherine... or is it?     It isn't.

I hope everybody out there is having a fun and productive time picking, flipping, finding deals and making friends. I know I've been having a blast and coming up on some decent scratch in the meanwhile. Best of all, I've gotten to know some real great folks out there as well as some real great folks on the net through this here blog. You all have some great stories and inspiring ideas. I've particularly shared some insightful emails with a fellow picker named Katherine. She was kind enough to write up her thoughts on eBay Stores for us, so here is our first ever Guest Blog on Part Time Picker:

I've been selling on eBay for so long it's become a way of life, and during those years I've seen many changes - some good, some bad, and some entirely unnecessary!

When eBay Stores first started I signed up enthusiastically, but within a few weeks closed my Store and went back to auction-style listings.  Why? Because back then stuff in Stores got no visibility.

If I remember correctly, Store items were tacked onto the tail end of all the auction listings. An insignificant link said something like See Matching Items in eBay Stores, so if you had a popular or common item, the odds of selling it out of your Store were somewhere between zero and a snowball's chance in hell.

So that was it for me. I ignored eBay Stores for years and discouraged anyone from opening one, for reasons that have now become obsolete.  Recently I've talked to a number of eBay Store owners who wouldn't sell any other way, so I investigated.

So what are the advantages of opening an eBay store?  

You can save money on listing fees – IF, and only if, you keep a minimum of 67 items listed all the time.  EBay's monthly fee for a basic store is $19.99 for a max of 150 listings.  For most non-store listings, you’re charged 30 cents. Multiply 67 x 30 cents and there’s your $19.99.  Pay by the year and it works out to $14.95 a month, an even better deal.

That means items you add to your store – from numbers 68 through 150 – are the equivalent of free to list. Cool beans.  Even better, final value fees (FVFs) are slightly lower with a store. In addition, you get a number of useful analytical and marketing tools and the ability to send newsletters to your subscribers.  You can also run sales if you need some fast cash or dump a bunch of dead stock and potential buyers can see that the price has been reduced.

Generally your listings run for 30 days, although you can opt for a shorter duration.  You could let your listing roll until sold (or you die), but I suggest that after 30 days you should change the main photo, adjust the price, and change the font and/or tweak the description. People will think it’s a brand new listing.

The other cool thing is, if you sell on Amazon, you could list your items in your eBay Store too. Some people shop for bargains exclusively through one or the other... why not get exposure to both? This, of course, won't work so well if you are using FBA.  

If you 'dual-list' with both Amazon and eBay you must be on the ball though to avoid complications from 'double exposure'. The instant something sells on one site, you’ll have to remove it from the other.  That means keeping your smart phone by the bed, if you get heavily into this – but what’s the chance something will sell on both sites at the same time?  Very little, but I hate tempting fate.  By the way, it's easier to cancel a sale on Amazon than it is on eBay, if that should ever happen.

Listing 150 items on eBay is very time-consuming, so if you have a mind to open an eBay store, start stocking up now. Don't do what a friend of mine did: open a store and list four items. Duh, that's a $5 listing fee per item, per month, fool.

In a recent interview on NPR, one of eBay's head honchos said that over 60% of listings are Buy It Now. The bidding novelty has worn off for many consumers. And besides, most people hunting for things on eBay want them NOW, so I haven’t run an auction-style listing in months.

I've sold a couple of 'local pick-up only' items too. There's an app people can use to find anything listed locally, and it can pay off. There are too many weirdos trawling Craigslist, so I don't mind paying eBay's FVF to get a serious buyer who has paid up front.

So maybe an eBay store would be right for you. With enough research, trial and error, and yes, even minor setbacks, you will find the right zone for your online business.  As they say: Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.

Garage Sale Picking Tips and Tricks

You will need: Preparation, focus, and a thick pair of gloves.

Even in these rapid-fire days where everybody and their Grandma seem to be selling loot online, there are still amazing picks and good times out there. But no doubt about it, there is more competition now than just a few years ago, and it's going to get worse before it gets better.

I love a junk store, and give me a soda and some sunscreen and I could browse a flea market all day, but for my hard-earned time the best picks are always at the garage sales. Hands down. And by 'garage sales' I also mean 'yard sales' or 'tag sales'. Basically anywhere where amateurs are selling their extra possessions for cash.

Sure, you can just spot a garage sale as you're driving by, pull over, and browse. It's fun and friendly, but you are unlikely to walk away with a trunk full of gold for resale. You need strategy and you need skills. And a little luck won't hurt, either.

So here are some of the Part Time Picker's favorite tips and tricks for garage sale scores.

• Plan where you are going to go - Once you have scoured the listings and decided on what spots you think will yield the best picks, get a map and make a plan. Keep in mind drive times and when and where you are going to get a bite to eat. 
• Start early - The early bird gets the worm, so don't hit that snooze button on Garage Sale Picking Day. Some of these things start as early as 7am, so be there and caffeinated and ready to dig. While I think it is fine to get to a garage sale a few minutes before the official start time, some folks show up an hour early. Those people are known as "jerks" and you don't want to be associated with them.
• Go late - The selection might not be as fresh, but you can rake in some big bulk deals (and even free stuff) by swooping in at the end.
• Know how (and when) to haggle - I can (and will) write a much more in depth article on haggling techniques, but a few of my favorites are:
• Carry small amounts of cash in each pocket - Something costs 7 bucks, and all you have is a fiver in your pocket? Sold. Nothing hurts your haggling game more than a fat knot of large bills.
• Ask for the bulk deal or 'add ons' - Garage sale hosts are what we in the industry call "motivated sellers". They want this stuff to move. And the psychology of adding-on more items into the basket is often easier to swallow for them than asking for a discount.
• Be friendly and smile - Seriously, being a nice person who politely asks for a deal is by far the most effective tool in your haggling kit. Even if you are going to try to argue your way into some savings by pointing out flaws in the merch and such, do it with a smile. 
• Be discreet when you are researching stuff on your phone - While some folks don't care who is buying their goods, others can be pretty reluctant to sell to someone who has an obvious profit motive. By blatantly researching items on your phone, you are basically conveying that anything you are interested in purchasing could be sold for more than they are asking. 
• Dig deep, open boxes, and look in drawers - Bring gloves and get dirty. There is some valuable, albeit dusty, stuff down in the depths. Don't be afraid to look inside everything. If it's in the sale zone, it's fair game.
• Ask if there is more stuff inside or elsewhere - especially if you are arriving later in the day. Time and again I have had the really big score handed to me simply when I asked, "Is there, by chance, any more toys (or whatever) that haven't been put out yet?"
• Bring your own bags and boxes - Don't count on there being bags or boxes available to hold all your loot. On more than one occasion I have purchased an entire bin of books only to have the seller tell me that they want to keep the bin. 
• If a seller won't negotiate, give them your name and number - More recently than ever in the past, folks are overpricing their stuff at their garage sales. If this is the case and they won't listen to reason and charm, just give them your number and tell them to give you a call later in the day or tomorrow if they find they want to move their items. Once late afternoon rolls around and the crowds start to dwindle, some of these sellers will seriously reconsider your offer.
• Stay hydrated - your body needs water so drink it. It might be a good idea to wear some sunscreen, too.
• Have fun!

Selling Books for a Penny... Now How Does That Work?

Go pick out a couple of books from the shelf that you have recently read or plan to read, scan them with your smartphone and favorite picking app, and observe the lowest 'Used' price on Amazon that other merchants are selling it for.

Yup. One cent. A lousy, measly, nearly-worthless penny! Now, why on earth would somebody sell a book on Amazon for only a cent? Aren't they losing money when you factor in the cost of picking the book and the Amazon fees? How could selling a book for a penny possibly make good business sense?

The short answer: Shipping charges... and lots of them.

I was once privileged enough to visit and get an inside look at the operation of one of these large Amazon sellers that deals in penny books. It was a huge warehouse full of shelves of books and DVDs with giant piles of mixed books and people with scanners scanning and sorting them and another room with people on computers listing them and another room for shipping. It was pretty impressive, but how is could an operation like this be sustained by penny books, I asked.

The math is actually quite simple. This operation buys books and media in bulk, and often can even get bulk books for free. I was told it costs an average of $100 for a palette of over 500 books and movies, sight unseen. So that averages to about twenty cents per book for the picking cost.

Now, a couple of these books are gold. It might be a rare occurrence, but all it takes is a few decent textbooks or artist monograms that can be sold for $20-30 each and the costs on the whole palette is recouped. When you're dealing in bulk like this, you only need, like, 5% of your books to be worth just a few dollars each and things can really start to get profitable. So even if two-thirds of the palette should be classified as 'penny books', enough profit is still generated from that other third to begin to cover the costs of storage and labor.

So, you're thinking, all those penny books are just the leftover chaff to be recycled. They're a liability, right? Nope, those penny books also generate profit not in the sale price, but in the leftover change from the difference between the shipping funds collected by Amazon and the actual shipping costs. And when you ship hundreds of books a day like this operation does, you can qualify for bulk shipping costs, which are much lower than even media mail.

We're talking actual shipping charges of about a buck per book. So even after Amazon fees and the costs of shipping materials like padded envelopes and labels, these penny books are bringing in a buck or two each. Do that several hundred times a day, add it to the bigger profits made from the sale of book and media that actually has value, throw in the occasional rare mega-valuable book, and you have yourself quite a thriving business.

This Amazon Forum thread about penny books from a few years back breaks down the math with some more detail, so give it a look if you still are scratching your head.

Obviously, selling books for a penny does not work for the Part Time Picker. A penny book operation requires cheap laborers, large warehouses, forklifts, and all kinds of crap I have no interest in dealing with. That doesn't sound like fun at all.

Sure, I'm happy to pocket the proceeds that come from the low costs of shipping a lightweight book, but I'm not about to base my livelihood on the principle. Don't get me wrong, I love penny books... love buying them, that is. (But then, of course, I'm paying the shipping charges too, so they are really $4 books, now aren't they.)

And since your so good at math there is no need for me to explain that books sold for a penny but using FBA results in nothing but a loss for the merchant. If you see someone selling a book for one cent with free FBA shipping, you should buy that book just to teach that idiot merchant a lesson.

Pick-tionary: BOLO - Be On the Look Out

BOLO: The acronym, not the tie.

If you spend any time perusing the internet for blogs and groups and comments about picking and flipping items on eBay and Amazon, you are no doubt going to be seeing the word BOLO being bandied about. What it means is Be On the Look Out. It originates from 1960s American Police jargon and is basically the same as an APB, or All Points Bulletin. But we're not out looking for crooks, we're looking for big picks with which to make decent dollars.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the phrase BOLO. Maybe it's that I just don't like acronyms (although I was delighted to find that 'Scuba' is one). Perhaps the word reminds me of the hideous neckwear. Maybe seeing this phrase in all caps over and over again just gives me the willies. And, technically, shouldn't it be BOTLO? Either way, I hesitate to use it here at Part Time Picker. But I do want you to know all about it. Why?

Because when you are combing the net for picking blogs and comments and such and you come across somebody posting a BOLO, you should sit up and pay attention. BOLO posts are a great way to build your mental radar for potential picks.

The online community of eBay and Amazon sellers is very generous with sharing their tips and finds. They love to brag about the huge profit they just made on an unassuming item, as do I. While many BOLO posts are about very specific items that you may never find and shouldn't waste your time searching for, it never hurts to know. Heck, I even keep a notebook handy to keep a list of potential BOLO picks I may have otherwise overlooked.

Two Facebook groups I like to scan for BOLO posts and comments are Stay at Home Moms Selling on eBay (those moms make up a large demographic of picker blog interactions online) and Thrifting With The Boys, who have one of those preposterous cable shows that make everyone think they can get rich quick by picking antiques.

So, yeah, that's BOLO. 

Feedback-pocalypse: eBay's new Detailed Seller Ratings

Everybody panic!

August 20th, 2014 has come and eBay's new Detailed Seller Ratings are in effect. What this means, and I'm still not entirely clear about it myself, is that all that the right to sell on eBay, and the benefits entitled wherein, can now be revoked or otherwise altered based on those five star ratings, which are now combined with regular old feedback to create the new "Transaction Defect Rate".

People seem really shocked and appalled in particular by the new requirement that eBay doesn't consider your packages shipped until the shipping service scans them in. So, basically, the seller is on the hook if the post office drops the ball.

A sampling of the 'blogosphere' shows reactions to this new evaluation / consequences system varying from rage-filled tirade-comments against eBay threatening to never use the service again (nothing new there) to utter relief that the sun did in fact rise this morning and we are still somehow free to sell junk online.

So how is your boy here at Part Time Picker reacting to all this? By not worrying about a damn thing. Here's why:

• I always describe my items accurately and try to take multiple good photos. I do this because it helps get me more bids, more sales, and helps my items show up more often in searches within eBay's Cassini Search system
• I don't gouge on the shipping charges. If I'm not doing Free Shipping, I keep those charges at or below what the actual costs will be. Nothing turns a buyer off faster than insane shipping charges. And in that very rare instance when I do accidentally overestimate and overcharge on shipping, I refund the overage to the buyer right away, even if they don't ask for it.
• I usually ship the next day after the auction ends (or the item is bought). Why wait?
• I also always get tracking on my shipments. Always.
• I respond to all inquiries, questions, and other contact the same day, usually right away if I can. I don't like having some unresolved issue hanging over my head. And with my smart phone, it is super easy to respond from wherever I am. If you don't have a smartphone, you should just stop reading this and go back to gathering nuts and berries to store in your cave because the winter is coming.
• I generally give great service. It's called being good at business and everybody should be doing it. It's how you get repeat customers. It's how you succeed. 

If you are already doing a good job at communication, item description, and shipping (which you should have been doing all along), you don't need to do a thing in regards to eBay's Transaction Defect Rate. Just be cool and keep picking the deals. Sure you'll occasionally get screwed by the post office or some idiot buyer who just gives you an unjustified bad rating, but, take a deep breath, everything will be ok. I promise.

There is a pretty good and even tempered blog about all the DSR controversy over at FlippingaDollar.com that you might enjoy as well.

Relist for Success

Don't worry, just hit 'Relist', sit back, and relax

If there is one thing that season after season of finishing at the bottom of my fantasy baseball league standings has taught me, it is that past performance is no guarantee of future performance. What's true in make-believe sports team management is often true in selling on eBay. Just because something has sold for big bucks in previously completed eBay auctions, that doesn't promise a repeat performance. Fortunately, the opposite is also true.

This was illustrated pretty dramatically when I recently auctioned off pack after pack of unopened, but expired Polaroid 600 instant film. As I've posted about before, Polaroid film frequently fetches $20 per pack, so when I was listing a pack on eBay every week for 6 weeks in a row, I expected to have grossed around $120 bucks when all was said and done.

I started each auction at $9.50, a price I thought would be low enough to get a good deal of 'watchers', but high enough that I would still make a profit if it went for only the opening bid. Week One's auction closed at $22, right on target. But the next week the same pack of film only brought me $13. What gives?

Even more curious, no one bid on the film pack the next week. Not a single bid. Had the market for Polaroid film crashed? Was somebody else offering the same item much cheaper? Was my computer malfunctioning? I couldn't figure it out.

My head really started to spin when, the following week, that same pack that had not garnered one bid the previous week sold for $35! The remaining three packs of film sold for $18, $25, and $22.50 (averaging $22.58 for all six packs). So the prices I was fetching varied by over 20 bucks from week to week.

This statistics-filled tale is an illustration that prices can fluctuate without much reasoning. With that in mind, it is always best to set your listing price at a comfortable level, making sure you are assured the profit you need for that item. It is better to not sell an item than sell it for too little.

Sometimes items will sometimes go from no bids at all to a bidding war after a quick relist.

Similarly, items that don't seem to interest anybody in an auction format can sell like hotcakes with 'Buy It Now' pricing. Certainly there are a great deal of people who want to purchase that item right now and are willing to perhaps surpass a deal for the immediacy of a purchase guarantee. Some folks don't want to wait days to see if they may or may not have won an auction... they literally want to buy it now.

And I won't even begin to launch into the fact that certain items fetch much higher prices in different venues. I know several sellers who purchase vintage things on eBay just to turn around and flip them for profits on Etsy. Remind me to write about that later.

So don't be discouraged if nobody seems interested in your treasure. Click that 'Relist' button and be patient. Try a 'Buy It Now' price. Maybe change a few words in your subject line. Good things come to those who wait, so don't sell your pickings short.

Apps for Picking and Reselling Books: iBookSeller

As I have written time and again, the essential ingredient of selecting books to resell on Amazon is using your smartphone to determine what is worth picking. You take the book off the shelf, you scan the barcode on the back, and you then determine if the book is likely to net you enough profit via resale on the Amazon marketplace.

The keystone is this whole interaction is a smartphone app that can quickly and clearly give you the information you need to make an informed purchase. There are several apps available, and in this blog post we will look at iBookSeller, from Shick Web Design, LLC.

First of all, let me be clear that I am in no way being compensated to endorse or review any product or service. Now that we have that cleared up, let's look at the app.

iBookSeller (version 2.2) is one of the most complete iPhone apps for scanning books. Once you scan a barcode (or manually enter the ISBN), it gives you a lot of information on a single page. Some of that more useful than others. The info I'm looking at is the Sales Rank (crucial), the New or Used Price (essential), and the number of copies currently listed for sale New and Used (in parenthesis after the price). I'm not as concerned about EAN and List Price, but those are there as well.

It also gives you an image of the book cover, which is convenient to confirm that you are, indeed, getting the proper info for the right book. I say this is convenient because several times the iBookSeller has given me info for the wrong book.
Let's take a look at a screenshot from my iPhone:

So there we have it. The above book has a decent Sales Rank, but a used copy is selling for only 55 cents, and there are more then 30 available. I would not pick this book. Someone with a tolerance for lower profit margins, who has more patience for this book to eventually sell at a decent price, or a who is a large seller that makes most of their profit from shipping charges might consider this book a buy. To each his own, but the app has given us all the critical info to make the call. Let's scan another:

Now that's more like it. A robust Sales Rank coming in at under 500k and a solid lowest available used price at $12.18. If I can purchase this book for a buck or two, you better believe I'm picking it.

Another useful feature on iBookSeller is a "Good Buy" settings system, where you can adjust the parameters of what you consider a book worth picking (Sales Rank, Price, Total Offers), and it will give you a quick green Thumbs Up or red Thumbs Down icon with every booked scan. This can really help if you need to scan a lot of books... You don't even have to interpret the data, just look for the thumbs up.

The phone's camera will activate your phone's LED light when the image is too dark to scan the barcode. This might be useful for when you are scanning books in a dank basement during an estate sale or something.

And a easily overlooked feature I really like is that a numerical keypad pops up when you are manually entering ISBN numbers. This is much more convenient that hitting the tiny numbers on the alphabetical pad. Although you do have to return to the alphabet keyboard screen to hit the "Go" button to get the data.

Other sometimes useful tidbits are a button to quickly punch-up the book's listing on Amazon's mobile website and a History page that allows you to see the titles you've already scanned. That's a lot of useful stuff coming from one quick scan.

iBookSeller comes with a 4-page eBook titled "Make Money with Amazon.com Marketplace". Not a bad primer on picking and selling books, but there is no information in here that you wouldn't already know before you purchased the app.

And speaking of purchasing the app... you need to purchase the app, because it isn't free. It originally cost me 99 cents, plus an addition $1.99 to use the scanner. However, as of this blog post, is costs $4.99, plus another $1.99 for the scanner. You'll need to buy the scanner, and it's a good scanner, but it is a 'hidden cost'. All said and done, the iBookSeller app will cost you $7! Pretty steep, as far as apps go.

Other than the cost, about the only other shortcoming of this app is the inability to give you a Amazon Trade-In values. The only app I know that does that is the Amazon Student app (which is free).

In summary, iBookSeller isn't perfect, but is probably the best book picking app available at the moment. If you have used this app, or others, let me hear your opinion in the comments.

Going Postal: How to Avoid the Post Office

Sorry for the long silence, now back to the show...

Stories abound about the United States' dysfunctional Postal Service and about how, at the rate they are going, they won't be around much longer. I heard they are stopping Saturday deliveries of everything except packages (a plan now put on hold), and rural branches are getting shuttered all the time. A little research reveals that the problems are much larger than any incidences of rude service, confusing changes in stamp values, and the mail carrier who somehow never gets it right. It has also been suggested that many of the USPS's woes are intentionally being escalated in an attempt to have the organization forced into massive bankruptcy, which would both eliminate current pensions and completely privatize the service. It has come to light that the spouses of US Senators have been given exclusive rights to sell USPS property. Corruption, anyone?

Is it email or ridiculous and unrealistic retirement plans? Or is most of what we are hearing misinformation? Or is it all about real estate? [If you haven't visited a blog in the past decade, when a group of words are underlined, that means they are a link you can click on.]

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the USPS. I think it is an amazing and quite affordable service when you consider just how much they do for you, and have done for you for your entire life. It really is amazing that you can send a letter to anybody, anywhere, no matter how cutty and out of the way they reside, for less than half a buck. Imagine you had to hand delivery all your packages.
Regardless of the reasons behind the troubles at the Postal Service, I sure hope they stick around, because my Part Time Picking business relies on them. Think about it... mail rules!

But visiting the Post Office does not rule. Visiting the local Post Office sucks! Lines are long, most customers are confused and angry, and most USPS representatives are pretty grumpy (the inevitable result of constantly having to ask confused, angry customers if their packages "contain anything fragile, perishable, or potentially hazardous").

Well, if you're shipping more than a few items a month, I would recommend considering an online postage service. You can buy shipping direct from Paypal, Amazon, and the USPS these days, although there are some limitations on what services you can use. The last time I checked, you couldn't ship Media Mail rate with USPS online. For myself, after a bit of research and a few particularly frustrating visits to my local post office, I decided to give stamps.com a try.

Stamps.com will cost you about $16 a month for their minimum service, but when you consider the hours saved by not waiting in line at the post office, I think it is worth the cost. You just enter the weight and dimensions of your package (or padded envelope), where its going, and by what service, plus any add-ons (tracking), and print your postage right at home. Apparently you can schedule a pick-up from your postal carrier, but I prefer to just drop off my stack at the local post office.

I trust you already have a computer, so the only other supplies you'll need are a scale and a big stack of labels. I prefer affordable generic 1/2 sheet labels that feed right into my laser printer. It's easy to copy and paste the tracking numbers into Amazon or eBay, and stamps.com keeps your shipping history if you need to look up info on a late package. One of the only drawbacks is that international shipping, with its customs forms, is still more reliable through actual human transaction.

There are other online postage services services available, and the costs and terms are always changing, so do a little research of your own. You may find that printing shipping at home is worth it just for the envious looks on the faces of those suckers who are still waiting in line at the post office.

The Ethics of Thrift Store Picking

Don't let a guilty conscience haunt you.

The Ethicist, a series published by the New York Times and written by Chuck Klosterman, recently discussed a question about the ethics of bargain hunting. Someone wrote in:

"I make a good salary and can afford to shop and buy new clothes at a regular retail store, but I enjoy shopping at a particular thrift store where I find great bargains. I sometimes buy items that I don’t need. My question concerns my enjoyment versus the needs of others who are less fortunate (and are now deprived of the opportunity to buy items that they probably need more than I do). Am I guilty of fulfilling a shadow pleasure at the expense of those in need?"

The response was that if a business exists to aid the underprivileged, it is wrong for you to shop there if you can afford to shop elsewhere. "...like showing up at a soup kitchen..." was a phrase used. However, it is mentioned that many thrift stores exist not only to sell items to the impoverished, but to sell items to anybody as a means to raise money for other charitable work.

I think this is spot on. I've gotten to know the employees and even directors of several charitable thrift stores in my years of picking, and they all tell me they are happy to have all types of customers. In fact, many of these stores are dependent upon large sales numbers to complete there charitable mission; Be it job training, humanitarian aid, or funding an operation completely unrelated to poverty. As long as you are willing to pay what they are asking, it's all good. And if someone desperately needs inexpensive clothing or home furnishings, most large cities have organizations that can provide these things at no cost to the recipient.

I understand that these businesses aren't there for me to make a profit. I often still conceal the fact that I am purchasing things to be resold. If I am 100% guilt free about my picking from thrift stores, why would I not be completely open about it? Perhaps I am slightly conflicted. Certainly I am afraid of being ejected from the store (as many conspicuous scanners are these days). I also make it my priority to be respectful and courteous to all employees and volunteers where I'm shopping.

Sure, I'll haggle, but I will never use intimidation tactics to get a better deal. It is much, much better in the long run to be considered a valued and even 'preferred' customer. That great deal you may get from aggressive haggling now will likely cost you a lot of discounts in the future.

Fortunately, I have developed a technique to resolve any ethical conflicts that my picking my cause. I resolve to keep things balanced with the stores I pick from. It's simple. My solution is to donate back to the stores.

I rarely take a trip to the Goodwill on a picking mission without bringing a few boxes of goods to drop off. It has even become a regular occurrence to return home with much less than I started out with. I have found local non-profits that deal with books, clothing, housewares, toys, and even building materials.
Besides making me feel good about myself, regularly clearing out all the excess possessions is a bit of a necessity for a borderline hoarder like me.

This past winter I even took things a step further and volunteered at a local non-profit second hand store. I spent the day cleaning and organizing the housewares section of the store... and it was a blast. 

So remember, many of the thrift stores that we rely on for our Part Time Picking business rely on us and our donations to keep their business going. So donate that big pile of stuff that you will likely never get around to reselling anyways.

Selling on eBay: To Lot or Not To Lot

I once read in some book (I think it was 1000 eBay Success Secrets) that you should never sell in lots what you can sell individually. I don't still have that book for reference, but I think the logic was that you will always make more money selling each item individually than you would putting everything together in one "Lot" auction. People expect discounts for buying in bulk. On the surface, this advise is good, but I find that I often prefer to sell things in lots.

The reason I sometimes prefer lots is simple... it is much easier to sell things all at once. I'm usually willing to sacrifice a couple of bucks to save myself hours of work.

Let me give you an example. Suppose I have come up on a big box of, say, 100 shoelaces. This is a hypothetical... I've never actually sold shoelaces on eBay. The scenario is that I could likely sell each and every one of the shoelaces of $2.00 each. That is, if I was willing to list, sell, and relist a single shoelace 100 times. At the end of the entire series of sales, I would have $200.

The first problem you can see right away. That is a lot of paperwork, a lot of packaging, a lot of trips to the post office, and a lot of potential problems. Even with the ease of one-click relisting the item, it would still take a lot of time and effort, all added up, to make that $200. And don't think that you can just list all 100 shoelaces at the same time, at least not as an auction. You're going to be competing with yourself.

And, frankly, I don't want to list anything that will only make $2, even it that's 100% profit. $200 is great, but not in $2 increments. I wouldn't do this with another item I had only one of, so why would I do it 100 times in a row?

But there is another way. Perhaps these shoelaces will sell nearly as well when divided into Lots. It may so happen that I can sell a Lot of 20 shoelaces for $35.00. Now, $35 is a real decent amount to be making on one auction. And I can do that 5 times in a row and end up with $175, total.

I may make $25 less than if I sold each shoelace individually, but I'll be dealing with 1/20th of the hassle (5 listings instead of 100)! For a guy like me who likes his free time, that sounds like a bargain.

I do this all the time. I'll often collect certain items until I have enough to make a Lot that will fetch enough money to justify the energy of listing it. I've sold many things this way: video game cartridges, pens, pencils mini-discs, action figures, art supplies, audio tapes, DVDs, dice, kids books, and lots of other stuff. These things weren't worth the time to sell individually (some stuff wouldn't even sell at all), but get a box of them together and you'll get some bids.

So, sure, you can often make more money, all in all, if you sell similar items one by one. But at what cost?

FBA: Unseen costs of using an Amazon warehouse

Something I didn't get into in our previous discussion of the pros and cons of Fulfilled By Amazon was the implications of what sort of business practices you are supporting by allowing Amazon to handle your inventory.

Back in March of 2012, Mac McClelland wrote a great story about her experience working in a giant internet fulfillment warehouse. The article was published by Mother Jones, and it was a real eye-opener for me. I always viewed Amazon as a progressive business, but now I'm not so sure.
The article exposes horrible things, like: unrealistic picking and packing goals, mandatory overtime, staffing through third party companies as a means to dodge accountability, no scheduled time off without penalty (even for health reasons), extreme temperatures, electric shocks, finers for crying, and more.

While the article doesn't specifically name the business for which this warehouse operates, it is implied, and I believe it, that Amazon operates in this fashion. Amazon is the largest internet retailer and often boasts of new Fulfillment Warehouses opening and the jobs that are being created. But are all jobs created equal? 

I leave it to you to judge whether these 3PLs (3rd Party Logistics) warehouses are a problem. Surely, even a harsh job like that is better than being unemployed (?). I just want you to be informed. When you switch from being a small Picking home business to an FBA business, you are taking a large step deep into participation in this system.

I don't fool myself that being an independent merchant through Amazon (even while not doing FBA) is not also financially supporting the largest of the internet businesses that uses 3PLs. Heck, being a customer of Amazon could be considered an endorsement of these business practices.

But knowing that some poor person working at a warehouse is getting terrible back pain and carpel tunnel while earning only $7 an hour to pick and pack my items is a big factor in choosing whether or not to go with FBA.

And on that note, here are some surreal photos I found on Imgur of Amazon Fulfillment Warehouses:

 

Ok, that last one was from Raiders of the Lost Ark. I couldn't resist.

Unfulfilling... Is FBA for you?

Strictly business.

It seems like almost every blog or book I've read that offers advice on how to make money selling items on Amazon cannot stop saying great things about Amazon's FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) service. They freaking love it and they are sure that you will too.

If somehow you haven't already been innundated with emails promoting FBA, let me give you a quick overview:
As a regular Amazon merchant, you basically list your products on Amazon's site and Amazon handles the transaction for you (for a fee, of course). You then pack and ship the product to the buyer, handle any returns or problems, and Amazon pays you out (minus their fee, of course) every two weeks. You also get a predetermined amount for shipping costs that the buyer pays. Basically, Amazon's Marketplace acts as the forum for you to display your products (for a fee). All clever comments in parenthesis aside, I personally think that their fees are reasonable considering they provide my items access to millions of potential customers that I never would have had otherwise.

But with FBA, you pay to ship your products to an Amazon fulfillment center, where they then handle the storage, packing, and shipping of the items to the customer. The idea is that you no longer have to deal with customers or shipping hassles. Another promoted bonus is that your sales are expected to rise both by your association with Amazon's brand, as well as the fact that your items now qualify for the free shipping offered to Amazon Prime customers and all that.
So basically, with FBA, all you do is Find Product, Send to Amazon, Get Paid, and Repeat... What could possibly go wrong?

Apparently, plenty. In fact, there is an entire blog devoted to the how FBA will destroy your business.

The main liabilities with FBA are also presented as its main assets... you no longer are dealing with your own inventory and shipping. While this is could be great in terms of your storage, organization, and time constraints, this also takes a lot of control out of your hands.

• What happens if a seller has a question about the condition of a specific item? Once your inventory is in Amazon's warehouses, you cannot actually look at them again.
• What happens if Amazon screws up and order? Here is the biggest problem. If Amazon damages an item or mispacks an order or otherwise screws up, you are still on the hook. Your merchant account will be the one getting the bad feedback. You will be the one paying for any refunds. Amazon controls your products and your service, but the customers will be contacting you about problems. Even though  Amazon claims that they will rectify any problems like this, there are reports to the contrary. 
• Do I still collect the shipping costs that customers are charged? Nope. If you are a merchant who enjoys the extra change leftover from the difference between what the customers are paying for a book (usually $3.99) and the actual costs of shipping (averages about $3.09), then you are out that money with FBA.
• What at are hidden costs? And now things get hazy. The many proponents of FBA rarely discuss fees. Amazon's information pages about FBA do contain fee information, but it is pretty much buried in promotional rhetoric and positive testimonials. Apparently there are other passive fees (such as restocking, oversized items, and variable storage fees) that aren't very clearly explained at all. Clearly, a seller needs to be very aware of their inventory, its weight, its "shelf space", and the average turnaround time in order to get a clear picture of the risks of FBA fees.

My thoughts? I'm somewhere in the middle. While I'm very suspicious about the near-constant sales pitches and unquestioning endorsements from other Reselling Blogs telling me how great FBA is, I'm also not convinced that FBA is just a scam to increase your fees and ruin your reputation. Clearly, Amazon benefits from FBA (otherwise they wouldn't promote it so much).
The question isn't whether FBA is good or bad; The question is whether the FBA system works for you.

For me, it does not. While FBA might slightly increase my sales, the likely increase in fees would not make it worthwhile. My Part Time Picking operation is a pretty small one. My storage and shipping situations are pretty streamlined, and my inventory is manageable. Plus, I like being in control. I get very stressed and frustrated when I'm not able to directly handle problems with customers.

So when would FBA be the right choice? My feeling on this is that you should seriously consider switching to FBA when you are seriously considering hiring someone to help you with your Picking business. If your operation is large enough that you are renting storage space and hiring someone to help with the packing of your orders, you should give FBA some consideration. It is likely that having Amazon act as your storage and fulfillment center actually is more economical (and simpler) than expanding your business the old fashioned way. But if you, like me, are a pretty smooth one-person operation with no needs for extensive storage or shipping help, Fulfilled By Amazon likely isn't for you.

So what do you think? Have you switched to FBA? Get in on the conversation by leaving a comment.

Time vs Money

To blog or snuggle with the cat... is it really a choice?

My loyal readers (hello... anyone?) may have noticed quite a lack of new content on this blog. Truth be told, I have had trouble managing my time these past few months. As much as I love to brag about the perfect balance I have found and maintained between picking, selling, working the regular job, spending time with my wife, and everything else I want to do, I have once again let things slip.

As obligations at my day job ramped-up, simultaneously with some other outside projects coming to fruition, I found myself beginning to feel those old pangs of stress creeping. Sure, things were going great, but with each passing week I felt like I was running out of time and things were not getting done. To keep up with work and other obligations, I started to sacrifice other time consuming activities. In fact, I wasn't really even conscious of making a choice of what to sacrifice, it just started to happen.

Without realizing it, I was eating meals in front of the computer. I was finding myself resentful of my picking trips if they didn't result in pure gold. I was loosing sleep and getting sloppy at work and with my online sales. Finally, when one of my eBay items had a problem in the mail, I lost it. After yelling at the computer for a few minutes, I realized I had lost my balance.

As I've stated in previous posts, the amount of money that can be made with Part Time Picking is directly related to how much time and energy you put in. I was making decent money with my online sales, but I was sacrificing my time, and the sacrifice had gotten too great. So I made some adjustments.

First on the chopping block was this blog. Rather than delete it entirely, I just didn't worry about making new posts regularly. I have several awesome drafts started, but until I have the time and energy to properly complete them, you'll just have to be in suspense. I do see that some of my older posts are getting hits and hopefully are helping other Pickers (particularly the Amazon Best Sellers Rank post), so even if new posts are scarce, I'm going to keep those older ones up.

Next, I re-evaluated my floor. No, I'm not talking about the hardwood floor in my apartment (although looking at it now, it could use a mopping). I'm talking about what the minimum profit I am willing to make from an item I'm selling on eBay or Amazon. Previously, I would sell books for as cheap as five bucks (with a profit of just a few bucks). The time it took to process and package those books was worth it, particularly because I would be selling several a day and had the time to spare. But with my new time crunch, I wasn't so sure. With my adjusted, higher Amazon profit floor, I may be selling less items, but each one is worth my time. EBay, which is even more time consuming with the listing writing and such, got a similar audit. Instead of going to the post office nearly every day, I'm only going two ro three times a week.

And, who knows, I may readjust my floor back down when my time frees up or I need to raise some extra funds. But for now, I'd rather have the extra time and the extra bucks.

Finally, I made the choice to refocus my picking energies. I was finding myself searching for re-sellable items in all sorts of genres that really had no interest for me. I just wasn't enjoying my time searching and picking. I may have learned a bit about other valuable items, but without the fun of researching items I was interested in, it felt like a job.

That was almost two months ago, and so far so good. While my Part Time Picking income has certainly decreased, I feel like I've gotten a bit of my life back. I've been enjoying my picking time a lot more lately. I've been cooking and eating meals at a table with my wife again. My productivity at the day job has also gone up.

And an funny thing also happened. When I refocused and refined my picking time and energy, I've suddenly had some really successful auctions and Amazon sales. For the first time I made over $100 profit on a book sale. I had several eBay auctions exceed $100 (with one going over $400!) recently, which is pretty rare. Coincidence?

Yeah, I'm sorry I haven't been attentive to this blog. It seems like some of my projects are near completion so hopefully I can get some good writing done here soon. I've got some great things to discuss with you, and I really appreciate that you have taken the time to check it out.

So, remember, have fun out there and take the time to take care of your time.

Dude, Where's My Feedback?

Holy Bible in "Like New" condition with only slight storage wear.

Previously on Part Time Picker, I regaled you with a terrifying tale of my recent run-in with neutral feedback on my Amazon merchant account. After much denial and resentment, I finally arrived at the conclusion that the source of my dissatisfaction wasn't that somebody had left me less-than-positive feedback (although I admit to no wrongdoing and never will). The problem lies in the fact that very few customers leave feedback at all on Amazon.

I estimated that maybe 1 out of 9 customers leaves feedback. I've been checking the forums and I see that while my ratio seems lower than normal, many are observing a downward trend in feedback left. If one negative or neutral feedback gets in the mix, it can really create an appearance of an unrealistic percentage of unhappy customers. I'll say it again, I'm getting screwed by the system!

Why is this? Why do buyers on eBay leave feedback more often than Amazon? I think it is because eBay has always been a business based on independent merchants, while Amazon introduced outside merchants into its system well after establishing itself as a online retailer. When something is bought on eBay, it is well understood that it is not eBay itself that is selling the item. Perhaps many shoppers on the Amazon Marketplace don't understand that they are not actually buying their item from Amazon, but rather through Amazon. More thoughts here.

eBay has gone to great, even annoying, lengths to remind buyers to leave feedback. While Amazon constantly reminds us sellers about the importance of good feedback, but then it doesn't seem to remind the buyers quite so adamantly.

So what can we merchants do? We can send the buyers an email, through Amazon, to request feedback. I've done this a few times when I've felt like I was being especially ignored and deserving of some publicly proclaimed positive reenforcement. But check out some of the responses in this Amazon forum thread about feedback...
Some suggest that an email requesting feedback is enough to prompt an otherwise dormant buyer into leaving negative feedback. Careful when you ask for feedback... you may get it.

One thing is certain, if you are going to request feedback, make sure to explicitly state that the buyer is under no obligation. Never offer any kind of discount or refund in exchange for positive feedback (or the removal of bad feedback). Keep it quick, keep it friendly, and then leave them alone.

Perhaps an even better email to send is just a basic follow-up on the order. You're just checking in with the buyer to make sure everything is all right. And, oh, by the way, here is a link where you can leave me positive feedback.
You can do this in an even less intrusive way by including a note to this effect in the package. I find this very ineffective, because unless someone is opening their package right next to a computer logged into Amazon, rarely is the reminder transferred from the paper to the browser. There is a big difference between a clickable (or copy/paste-able) link and someone having to type it in manually.

Honestly, after all this writing and thinking about it, my best advise is to just let it go. Do your best to give the best customer service you can. Describe your products accurately and be honest. When things inevitably go awry and it isn't your fault, just chalk it up to the Part Time Picking game and move on. It's good to apologize for any mistakes or oversights you may have made (even if you don't think you are to blame) and communicate with your customers, but sometimes life isn't fair, and there just isn't much you can do.

You'll feel better once the next positive feedback comes in.
I know I did.

Arrgh... Neutral Feedback!

Be more constructive with your feedback.

The other morning I awoke to a shocking discovery... somebody had left neutral feedback on my Amazon merchant account. They thought that the book they had received wasn't in the described condition. While I might beg to differ, it really doesn't matter what I think, the damage is done.

I wasn't contacted before this feedback was left, and other than sending an apology, there is not much I can do. I would have gladly provided a partial (or perhaps even full) refund to avoid bad feedback, but at this point that would be considered a bribe and is explicitly forbidden. You do not want to risk upsetting the Amazon gods by attempting trade money or product for feedback.

When I saw that grey number 3 (instead of a beautiful green number 5) in my feedback score I felt angry, betrayed, and hurt. These emotions are all completely unjustifiable and I soon got over them, only to be replaced by feelings of embarrassment and frustration. Embarrassment because I likely overestimated the condition of the book I sold. That one is on me. Frustration because the Amazon feedback system is very important to merchants like me, but rarely utilized by Amazon customers. I'm getting screwed by the system.

Unlike eBay, Amazon hasn't built a culture of feedback for independent merchants. Ask anybody giving advice on how to make more money on your items, and they'll tell you to "have a great reputation." The feedback (and star rating system) is basically your only means of gaining a reputation. The problem with this system arises when customers aren't encouraged, and then don't know how, to leave feedback.

I estimate that, for me, only about 1 in 9 successful transactions results in feedback. Maybe less. So even though I'm selling 30-40 books on Amazon every month (a small amount in comparison to others), I'm still only getting 4 - 5 feedback ratings for those sales. It has taken me several years to get over 100 feedbacks (with my "feedback percentages" continually changing because those are only based on the feedbacks of the previous 12 months).
Somebody looks at my feedback and thinks I've only complete about 100 transactions, and I want to shout that I've got nearly a thousand happy customers under my belt. Unfortunately most are happy but silent.

Things have the potential to get ugly. Just as an unhappy customer in the tangible shopping world is more likely to tell his or her friends about a bad experience than a happy customer would of a good experience, an unhappy customer is a lot more likely to take the initiative to navigate the feedback system to leave negative, or neutral, feedback. And let's face it, anything but positive feedback is considered negative.

Do the math and cringe. I could complete 99 successful transactions, but I'd likely only see 10 customers leaving feedback. Then, if one order goes awry, I get a negative feedback (which I probably deserved). While I'm posting a solid 99% success rate in the real world, my feedback score has me around 90%. It looks like I'm screwing up one in ten of my orders!

The problem isn't unhappy customers leaving feedback, the problem is happy customers not leaving feedback.

So what can we do about this?
Stay tuned, because my next post offers some strategies towards getting a little more love in the feedback area. I'll also probably complain about the system some more.

Shipment Tracking: Protection or Big Waste of Money?

It's every Part Time Pickers worst nightmare... you picked a great deal on some item, the bidding frenzy netted you hundreds of dollars, you ship the item promptly, but somewhere between here and there the item disappears. The buyer claims to never have gotten it. Potentially, you might have to give a refund and be out the cost of the item, the cost of shipping, the item itself, and you get some negative feedback for all your trouble. If only you had gotten tracking on you package, none of this would have happened.

Well, maybe, and maybe not.

Certainly, without tracking you are vulnerable to scams from a fraudulent buyer and confusion from the package carrier. With no record of where the package is during shipment, the buyer has no proof that you even sent the item in the first place. If a claim is filed against you as a seller and you have no tracking info, you will be forced to refund the buyer, and you should. This is true with eBay, Paypal, and Amazon.

But having the tracking doesn't necessarily mean you'll win the argument if a buyer claims their package never arrived. eBay's website claims: "Tracking information and Delivery Confirmation also protects you in the event of an eBay dispute and is one of the qualifications for getting an automatic 5-star rating for ship time.", but eBay is known for lousy customer service to both buyers and sellers, with many disputes resulting in automatic full refunds. You can scare yourself more by reading about one such occurance in this article about a 'buyer from hell' and the online auction service that was no help whatsoever.

And I can personally attest that Amazon will grant a full refund to any buyer who claims a package was not delivered, even if you have a tracking number that says it was. Apparently you need to get signature confirmation to even defend yourself to Amazon.
Once again, these policies are hard to locate on Amazon's website; but Basically, in regards to Amazon, the buyer is always right. This is great when you purchase items through Amazon, but can be a bit frightening when your are selling.

I usually ship most of my items through the USPS, so Delivery Confirmation (the cheapest form of tracking) will cost about 80¢ per item. Now, if this tracking doesn't actually protect me from claims that items weren't delivered, is it just a waste of money?

The answer is "probably". But, you know what, most of the time I get the Delivery Confirmation anyways. I want to give great customer service, and providing a tracking number is a big part of that. I have found that customers are much more patient when waiting for a shipping problem to resolve if they at least know the package was sent in the first place. There have been several times where I was very glad to be able to provide a tracking number to an impatient buyer.

When I'm buying and item on eBay or Amazon, I sure want tracking.

And if you purchase your shipping online, the cost of Delivery Confirmation is greatly reduced. With stamps.com, tracking is free with Priority Mail and First Class shipment, and just 19¢ for Media Mail and Parcel Post (not to mention the sanity saved from not having to wait in line at the post office).

So, while it may not fully protect you, I say go ahead and get the tracking.

The Taxman

Part Time Picker will officially launch with regular content on February 29th, 2012. In the meanwhile, I'll be publishing a few random posts while I tweak the design. Please feel free to leave your opinions as a comment regarding this post specifically or the blog in general.

This found photo may or may not feature actual IRS agents celebrating all the additional tax revenue they are about to recieve.

Coming at you right about now from our friends at the Internal Revenue Service is the new 1099-K form. Also known as the Paypal 1099, this form ensures the IRS gets their fair cut from your online sales earnings.

That's right. The IRS is going to monitor all the transactions from Paypal, Amazon Payments, Google Checkout, and other third party online payment networks. Well, not all transactions.

For a seller to qualify for a 1099-K for 2011, he or she needs to have made $20,000 or more through online payments and have made 200 or more transactions.
Apparently, you must meet these standards from a single merchant network to be reported, not combined from several online merchant sources. Still, this new filing requirement will affect millions of small businesses that sell online.

Keep in mind, you are required to report all of your online selling income regardless of whether you meet the 1099-K minimums or not. This new form just requires the "third party networks" (aka Paypal) to report sellers meeting these requirements to the IRS.

It is also up to you to provide the evidence of your expenses (original product costs, shipping, fees, sales tax, other business expenses, etc.) that need to be deducted from you 1099-K gross income totals. So always keep good records and receipts.

The 1099-K doesn't replace your 1099-Misc, so if you qualify, you will be getting both by the end of January 2012.

Handling your business and tax preparation professionally can save you a lot of stress, headaches, and money down the road. Things can get particularly complicated when you introduce a home-office into the mix. Consult a tax professional to maximize your tax planning.

Here is a link to the official 1099-K Form instructions from the IRS. Good luck with it.

There is also a well written article about the 1099-K from Patti Spencer here.

And then check out this article from TheStreet.com featuring an interview with Outright.com CEO Steven Aldrich. There is also a video to keep you interested.