I know your dark secret. Admit it, it's hidden in storage and closets, it's your greed at a time where everything you saw were dollar signs. The sales were so good you got more than you bargained for! Death pile is a term resellers use for their unsold inventory. It's time to dig up the graveyard and give those items a new life. 💀
Be honest with yourself. Are you going to resell it? Keep it? Donate it?
The first step for me was to package all my books into boxes. I dedicated shelf space for my personal collection, books for sale and books I wanted to list.
It gave me space to reimagine my shop and I started getting day dreamy about reopening my secondhand bookshop, Hyla Brook Books.
A few months ago when I announced closing my shop I was so sad, like something died. Not like a pet but something in me felt defeated. Except now I'm starting to see what's beyond the beyond! 👻
Something else to consider is that I banned myself from buying more books. I can honestly say I haven't brought more books into my house for a solid 4 months, probably this whole year of 2022. 👻👻🏠👻👻
I wanted to have more curated collections. 🍂🎃 For you that might look like wanting to sell only vintage clothes or shoes or be known for a certain aesthetic.
Some resellers might decide to tackle their death pile by listing items from their Death Pile every day. This is also called "Money Piles." It's a way to reframe your business mind.
As a bookseller, I'm asking myself why books haven't sold in 2 years - have I listed it enough? Were the photos professional enough? Was it fair priced? It's through experience that we realize what we are willing to spend energy and time on.
There are a lot of books in my Death Pile I don't care to sell any more. I had the mindset of "if i can make even .70 cents back I want to sell it," but now my mindset is more of "what can i sell for the most profit?" Consider the time you have to list. Something the Pandemic has taught us about the workforce is that we our time is limited. ⚰️
I missed the thrill of the hunt! I now have two empty shelves to add books I want to list, and a whole shelf full of books that are currently listed. When I reopen my shop, it will be easy to find everything and promote my new stock.
As a reseller, be kind to yourself. The dream isn't dead. You still have goals your working towards. Don't let your death piles leave you stagnant.
Instead of listing my death pile, it's brought me more joy to give away books. Whether you believe in karma or grace, giving back more than you receive is an act of kindness. It's good for your soul. In a world where there's a lot of harsh judgement, it does a lot of good to be kind. This evidence comes from personal experience. Who knows how someone can benefit from the boots that have been in your storage for 2 years?
Stay disciplined. Just like getting out of debt, getting rid of your death pile requires discipline. When I get more books, like I did in my Fall Haul (post here) and at the Free Library (post coming soon!) then I have to donate the number of books I got times two.
I got 19 new books added to the shop yesterday so I need to donate 38 books before October ends!!
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