My First Inventory Score

I started off with posting my own possesssions; some old DVDs that have been sitting under the couch in a plastic bin. This would be the most profitable strategy if I consider them to have zero monetary value being in my own house, however, not a sustainable one (nor, actually profitable).

Let's Pivot to the Business Goal

Easy, to make money. I am not looking to become a millionaire. I am looking for a sustainable way - that is fun - to make hobby money and expand my collection of media; specifically my CDs. This will be a side hustle, a learning experience and a whole lot of fun. So far, it has completely been a money suck with zero return on investment. I can't wait for the first sale!

Back to the Goods

I will add a picture here!

The first acquired inventory, two boxes of boxes amassing a total of 152 individual discs in total at a cost of $75 CAD from a lovely lady named Karen. The best part is, I am not even going to sell them all. The taste of Karen is very close to my own. I will be expanding my collection, selling duplicates and hopefully even migating the cost through some sales. What does that math look like.

Reaching a Profit

Currently, I am posting my old DVDs on eBay to try and learn the process. The goal with these CDs is to sell them via the store (that doesn't exist yet - a post will come soon) In order to understand the cost, I am limiting the target market, intentionally.

• I will only be shipping to Canada, to start
• I will only be shipping individual CDs
• I will be starting out on eBay
• I will only be using Canada Post to ship

The Cost Breakdown

For this batch specifically this is what the cost looklike without any sort of platform or advertizing cuts; hence the need for a personal store. Here are the material costs:

• CD - $0,50 (actually 0.493, but, can't round down with cost. My opinion. Fractions of a cent; watch Office Space)
• Thank you card (advertising for site) - $0.04
• Padded Envelope - $0.45
• Postage - $1.94 - $3.19 depending on weight.

Therefore, each CD will have to be sold, online, through a market for at least $2.93 to $4.18, plus whatever market fees!

How to Lower Costs

Long term, I will need to find a better solution to lower the costs here to maximize profit. The margins are most likely going to be very small, so the focus has to be on experience and volume - or well, targeting high end pieces (IE. Demo tracks, limited edition releases, etc.). How do I cut costs?

• Selling solely through the store
• The cuts the stores take is going to be high, this will be the best way to maximize profits long term
• Order larger volumes of envelopes.
• Order larger volumes of thank you cards.
• Ship in larger volumes.
• Price per unit should - in theory - go down. There is a lot more research to be done here, but, shipping and packaging will both be recalculated.
• Find free product? Improve sourcing? Use damaged goods for other products? Zero waste?
• Save time; time is money!

The Outlook

The focus now is getting that first sale. This will most likely be a money pit - not a crazy upfront cost - to start, but, should bring in some small funds and help clean up the hous a bit!

Not only that, a fun way to learn a bunch of new skills. Online marketing? SEO? Online Sales? Auction site? Buying/Selling Online. As someone who works in cyber security sales, this is a whole new ball game. Do I go to flea markets? Garage sales? Other places? The possibilities...