Reselling leak audit

What your mistakes cost each month, which fix is worth the most, and the unlisted pile kept as its own separate number.

Lost to returns this month (dollars)Return labels, refunds you ate, damage

$

Shipping you undercharged (dollars)Label cost minus what buyers paid

$

Things bought twice (dollars)Supplies or tools you already had

$

Hours hunting or redoing (hr)Lost items, retakes, relists

hr

Your hour is worth (dollars /hr)

$/hr

Paid for items not yet listed (dollars)

$

Unlisted items (items)

items

Minutes to list one (min)

min

Fix time hunting and redoing first. Give every item a numbered spot so it's found in a minute. It costs $60.00 a month, 50% of your leaks. The $250 in 30 unlisted items is separate: it's already spent, and about 7 hr 30 min of listing turns it back into stock that can sell.

Monthly leak

$120.00fixable, every month

If nothing changes

$1,44012 months of the same leaks

Fix first

Time hunting and redoing$60.00 a month

Cash parked in the pile

$250.00one-time, not monthly. 7 hr 30 min to list

Monthly leaks, biggest first

Leak	Per month	Per year	Share
Time hunting and redoing	$60.00	$720	50%
Returns	$30.00	$360	25%
Shipping undercharged	$18.00	$216	15%
Bought twice	$12.00	$144	10%

1. Time hunting and redoing: Give every item a numbered spot so it's found in a minute.
2. Returns: Name every flaw and add measurements before you list.
3. Shipping undercharged: Weigh and measure before you list, not after it sells.
4. Bought twice: Keep supplies in one bin and check it before you buy.

Show the math

1. Time: 4 hr × $15.00 = $60.00
2. Monthly leak: $30.00 + $18.00 + $12.00 + $60.00 = $120.00
3. Yearly: $120.00 × 12 = $1,440.00
4. Pile, kept out of the monthly number: 30 items × 15 min = 7 hr 30 min of listing for $250.00 already spent

Two kinds of money, kept apart

Returns, under-charged shipping and double buys come back every month until you fix the habit. That's a leak. The cash in the unlisted pile is different. It's already spent. It isn't lost, but it can't sell until it's listed.

Adding the two together makes one scary number that tells you nothing. This keeps the monthly leak and the pile apart, then ranks the leaks so you know which habit to fix first.

How to get honest inputs

• Returns: add the return labels you paid, refunds you didn't get the item back for, and what came back damaged.
• Shipping undercharged: for each sale, label cost minus shipping charged. Only count the ones that went negative.
• Hours: time spent looking for a sold item, retaking photos and fixing listings. A rough count beats zero.

Use last month's records, not a feeling. Beginner reselling mistakes covers where each of these comes from.

The math

What it can't see

It ranks by dollars, not by how hard the fix is. A $10 leak you can close tonight might beat a $30 one that takes a month. It also can't tell you what the pile will sell for. Price it from sold listings before you count on that cash.

Questions

Related

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• Beginner reselling mistakes that fill a garage
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