Scout Patch Collectors

Sunday Scouting Hot Finds Newsletter August 18, 2019

It is a sad irony that there are so many collections (accumulations in some cases) coming available but the buying market for these is not as strong as it was in years past. Right now on eBay there are over 200k items in our category but I can tell you from my sell through rate that on the modern stuff it’s hard to make a buck.

I have spent part of this weekend scouring YouTube for videos that can help me figure out some hack or idea to improve my business. I got inspired when I found a sports card seller that has 2.5 million items on eBay and multiple times that in their online store. That makes talking about creating a 10k item store a joke. But they are somewhat dealing in replenishables as they have created a database of known cards and can add inventory to it when they get new stuff in.

I will say the beauty of doing just one niche is I don’t have to go out and learn clothing, shoes, other antiques etc. – all the other online dealers mess with. I don’t even want to deal with Scouting uniforms so I know I’m not cut out for selling used clothing online.

I watched a video made about the card dealer and he said his typical customer was close to 40 years old. Someone who wanted to connect with their favorite team or player. I’ve always said adults collect their childhood. So that’s why I never got out of this Scouting memorabilia game because this was one of those things from my childhood that I never gave up. I’m sure most of you can connect with that!

My wife asked me this morning what did I learn from watching those videos. I struggled to find one tip or trick that I could honestly put into motion. But perhaps the one takeaway is that I have to treat it more like a business than a hobby. That means investing in hiring more help, setting goals and turning over inventory. My goal is to finish 2019 with a strong push to grow the business.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE AUGUST 18, 2019 ISSUE OF THE SCOUTING HOT FINDS NEWSLETTER