2006 Challenge

For 2006, I'm beginning a new challenge of turning nothing into $1,000,000 - as you might expect, this will be a long term challenge. You can keep track of this challenge through the below link:

2006 Money Challenge

The challenge comes to an end

It appears I will end this challenge well short of my goal of $5,000. I didn't give up on it becasue I wasn't going to make the goal, but because Nate and I decided to try and make the site into a full time job. That has meant that the free time I did have for the challenge, I haven't had the last couple of months.

Part of any goal setting is to re-evaluate the goals and priorities from time to time. While the challenge was fun and a good experience, it made little sense to continue with it when given the chance to try and turn the site into my full time job since doing so would be my dream job. In an effort to make that happen, I have been spending every spare minute I have working on some aspect of the site and thus no activity on with the challenge this past month.

For those who were following my challenge, my apologies for the lack of entries toward the end, but I hope you can understand the reasons for it. I placed my time and efforts toward what I believe will be most beneficial for me (and the site) in the long run.

I am looking forward to the new challenge beginning this January. I will definitely be taking part although the monetary goal will be a lot less as I expect the vast majority of my time will still be dedicated to building and improving the site. Since I have an extra six months this time, I hope to move beyond the $1,300 I was able to earn with this challenge.

October Advertising Revenue

Previous Total: $1326.00

Current Total: $1327.13

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 65 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges - 11 photos - 1 video - 1 Super 8mm movie - 3 books - 15 cards

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 0 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 17 hour 41 minutes

October advertising revenue on the separate sites I set up for this challenge was disappointing to say the least. The total came to $1.13 between them all which is far less than I hoped for. Then again, I didn't promote it at all so I guess I shouldn't expect much. I'm not expecting much of an improvement at all this month either, but won't turn away any of it :)

Updates On All That Has Been Happening

Previous Total: $1326.00

Current Total: $1326.00

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 65 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges - 11 photos - 1 video - 1 Super 8mm movie - 3 books - 15 cards

Time Spent Since Last Post: 1 hours 45 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 17 hour 41 minutes

Time for a long overdue update. First off, I've come to the realization that I won't make the $5000 goal by the end of the year. While I'm disappointed, it was simply a matter of where I needed to dedicate the time I had. My main priority at this point and time is growing the main site so that I can make it into my full time job and that has meant a lot of extra hours which I hadn't anticipated when I began this challenge. part of all goals is reassessing them as new developments take place and while I won't meet this goal, it hasn't been because I have been lazy (I'm still watching virtually zero TV) , but because I decided that there was something more important than this challenge where I needed to dedicate my time.

That being said, I'm not giving up on the challenge all together because it does bring in some extra money that is well worth the time when I have it. I'm lowing my goal to half the original and $2500 by the end of the year. Not sure if I can meet that either, but with the stock I currently have I should be able to come close without having to go and find a lot of new stuff.

I will update the changes since m last post that has added a bit to my total individually...again, mainly to keep it straight in my own mind.

Time Continues To Be My Enemy

Previous Total: $1243.82

Current Total: $1326.00

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 65 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges - 11 photos - 1 video - 1 Super 8mm movie - 3 books - 15 cards

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 36 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 15 hour 56 minutes

Time is my current enemy on this challenge. I just don't seem to have much of it anywhere. I'm not sure how much more organized I can get. I feel that I'm more organized and productive than I have been for a long time, but still don't have much spare time to work on this challenge.

Part of it is moving full time to the website as my main job. I could work 24 hours a day and still not do everything I want to do on it, so I find that I'm spending more time trying to make this succeed than i was doing my previous work. The inevitable result is less time to spend on the challenge. I'm not sure how I will address this problem, but I need to find a system that works with all aspects taken into consideration.

It isn't going to help that I have friends coming in for 10 days to visit. It's going to be great spending time with them and taking them around Japan, but it won't help out this challenge any.

I did have 9 cups sell the other day for a total of $186.59 - $21.03 in fees for a profit of $165.56. That gets divided in half which adds $82.78 to my total. I also put up another of the hunting badges on auction which takes $0.60 off the total. I didn't find the time to put on any of the items I had found last weekend which isn't a good sign. Hopefully I can spare a couple of hours this weekend to get them photographed and set up to put on auction.

I won't be making my usual weekend flea market rounds (that is how busy it's become) so that should free up a bit of time. I just have to remind myself to keep plugging away at it when I do have a few moments of free time. Back to work on the site....

Some Good Finds

Previous Total: $1313.82

Current Total: $1243.82

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 76 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges - 11 photos - 1 video - 1 Super 8mm movie - 3 books - 15 cards

Time Spent Since Last Post: 1 hours 13 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 15 hour 20 minutes

It was an interesting day at the flea market. I found what could possibly help me get a lot closer to the goal in an old book box. i had to do some digging through a lot of junk to find it, but when I did and hear the price, I grabbed it in a second. I paid $40 for a box that contained 3 books, a video, an super 8 film and 11 photos. Although the Super 8 movie and video are post war items, the rest are pre war and I think will sell well. The books aren't in the greatest of shape, but they still should have collector interest. I'll get those up this week.

I also purchased 15 Star Wars cards for $30. I'm not sure if that was a smart move or not. When the latest movie came out and there was hype left and right, they would have sold easily for $10 each, but now that the hype has died and there aren't any future movies to keep the fire burning, I'm not sure how well or if they will sell. They are rarer ones, but it is a toss-up. I don't think I'll lose money on them, but they aren't a sure home run either.

That took $70 off my total, but all these are mine so any profits will go 100% to my bottom line. They should make for an interesting week.

A Sliver Of Light In A Disappointing Week

Previous Total: $1256.51

Current Total: $1313.82

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 76 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 4 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 14 hour 07 minutes

Just when I though that that this week was going to be a complete waste, a glimmer of light came through to keep me motivated for next week.

While for the most part all my cups did rather poorly selling last week, there was one that basically saved the entire week which sold for over $60. This one helped make up for all those that sold for less than $1 and a truly depressing week.

After it sold, I looked at the cups that I still had and found that I had 2 more of the same pattern. Since it sold at a price that I was more than willing to get for it, I decided to send 2nd chance offers to the next bidders and as luck would have it, both of them purchased the second chance offers (here and here) for a total of $123.33. With $8.71 in fees, the total came to $114.62 and a happily added $57.31 to my total. Let's hope this is a harbinger of things to come next week...

The Week Ends Like It Started

Previous Total: $1205.45

Current Total: $1256.51

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 78 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 17 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 14 hour 03 minutes

I've had a number of things happen since my last post. As usual, to keep it all straight I'll make a post for each of them.

I had another 13 sake cups sell and it was gain not a pretty site. The total came to $108.54 which again just made me a bit of a profit. i guess I shouldn't really complain because there was a profit, but it wasn't what I wanted for the time I spent and to reach closer to the goal. Due to the low prices that the cups with chips and cracks are getting, I think the alternative strategy that I've been thinking about (only unique cups on ebay, the rest sold through the Internet at a set price) is the way to go.

The fees came to $6.42 for a total of $102.12 and my share coming to $51.06. It wasn't a good week for all the auctions I had, but I still came out ahead, even if it was by just a bit...

A Few More Auctions Listed

Previous Total: $1208.15

Current Total: $1205.45

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 91 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 38 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 13 hour 46 minutes

I went through a portion of the cups that I still have and cherry picked the best of the lot to put on auction. The ones that were a bit unusual that could possibly get collectors in a bidding war. That gave me 9 new cups that I put on for a cost of $5.40 and $2.70 to me. The rest I think I will list at a set price and see if they sell.

There are a number of countries in Europe that can't access my auctions because of laws regarding WW2 with German items. Ebay's solution was to block items in those categories even if they were perfectly legal like mine. I'm sure that collectors there would like the cups, but I haven't figured out a good way to sell them. I'm hoping search engines will pick up the ones I list and that will eventually get some sales. I'll have to think about how to approach that a bit more.

I did put a couple of unusual items up that will either sell for very little or a lot - you just can never tell. One is a whistle sake cup which you don't come across too often. Another surprise find was that one of the "sake cups" was actually a tea cup which is quite unusual and has the potential to sell for a bit - especially since it has a nice pattern on it and was made by Kutani. I just will keep my fingers crossed on them and hope that the decision to try the auctions was the right move.

Tomorrow's auctions ending look pretty miserable again. most cups are still under $5 which is never a good sign. I'm hoping that now that some people have purchased, they will want to add to save on shipping, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

A Bit Better, But Still A Long Way To Go

Previous Total: $1017.32

Current Total: $1208.15

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 91 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 17 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 13 hour 08 minutes

I had 7 bottles and 5 cups end and those were the only saving grace for this week. The total they sold for was $404.31 with $22.64 in fees for a total of $381.67 which gets split in 2 for an addition of $190.83 to my total. While today was a bit better, overall the selling of the cups has put me in a hole that will be difficult to crawl out of. There are only 2.5 months left and I still have an enormous way to go. I haven't given up completely, but I'm certainly not as confident as I was earlier.

I still have quite a bit of stock with my partner and now it is time for me to find some higher priced items that I can hopefully sell with a good margin. I will be searching hard this coming weekend.

Another Disappointing Round

Previous Total: $945.37

Current Total: $1017.32

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 7 sake bottles, 96 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 25 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 12 hour 51 minutes

I will do this post in a couple of steps so that I can keep it all straight. The second batch of 26 cups sold, but they didn't do a whole lot better than the first batch of 20. I made a little bit, but a very little bit. They sold for a total of $155.48 with $11.58 in paypal and ebay fees for a total of $143.90. That gets divided in 2 for a total of $71.95 into the pot.

It was another disappointing round. Probably the only good thing is that I'm back above $1000, but a long, long way from my goal. I decided that I would alter my plan a slight bit. Most cups are going to go onto the blog site as I said before, but I will pick a few that I'm confident will sell well due to their pattern and past experience.

A Change In Tactics

Previous Total: $945.37

Current Total: $945.37

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 7 sake bottles, 122 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 0 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 12 hour 26 minutes

Major change of plans. I spent an hour in bed thinking what I need to do to make this challenge work with my new time schedule. Looking at the auctions ending today, it's not going to be a pretty scene again. Instead of throwing more onto auction and hoping for the best, I'm going to relegate the cups to the blog that I set up and sell them at a set price. How and when they sell is anyone's guess, but it's better than selling them for little profit at all.

The other decision is that I will look to buy more items on my own. While the partnership has worked out well, I only get to add 50% of the profits to my total. It would be great to continue if I had more time, but since I don't, I need to concentrate on items that I can sell and wrap quickly myself. That will be the plan for this weekend.

Pretty Disastrous Day

Previous Total: $896.36

Current Total: $945.37

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 7 sake bottles, 122 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 0 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 12 hour 26 minutes

I've been avoiding writing this entry as long as possible, but here goes. The auctions did not turn out well at all and overall we lost money when all the fees are taken into consideration. It was a lot of work for a negative return, but I guess that is part of the risk. Here are the numbers:

The 20 cups sold for $105.56 with $7.54 in ebay and paypal fees for a total of $98.02. That gets divided in half with adds $49.01 to my total.

Lessons Learned: Never, ever end auctions on a Sunday evening. Twice burned now and I'm not looking to strike out.

The verdict on the $0.01 starts is still out, but it looks like I may need to scrap it. The auctions ending later today also aren't doing very well. This is certainly a slump that I don't need at the moment.

That's because the decision to try and do the site and blog full time means I have little to no free time to work on this project. I love working on both, but they entail 16 hour days if I'm going to make them work. I will put in every spare moment I have into this challenge and hopefully in the end it will all work out. I sure hope I don't have to write another post like this in the evening (sweat dripping from the forehead with nervousness)

First Big Blunder?

Previous Total: $896.36

Current Total: $896.36

Inventory:

Half Ownership - 7 sake bottles, 142 sake cups

Full Ownership - 5 mini trays - 6 hunting badges

Time Spent Since Last Post: 0 hours 0 minutes

Time Spent Total: 1 day 12 hour 26 minutes

Well, it looks like I may have made my first big mistake today. With 2 hours left for the auctions of 20 of the cups to end they are all selling for a grand total of $24. I need them to triple in price (have them all sell for $100 combined) just to break even on them which is definitely not a good sign. While a loss at this point won't hurt me in the sense that I can't go on, it will make it much more difficult to reach my goal, especially if the cups from the other auctions later this week sell the same way. My partner also won't be happy having to wrap all those packages for nothing.

I may have to rethink my $0.01 starting price on the auctions. I know doing so gets more people to look at them and this usually results in them selling for a higher price than if I set them starting off at a higher price, but when a day like this comes along, it makes me wonder if I should set them at $0.99 to start. I'll have to think that over.

Time to do something else to take my mind off this...otherwise I'll drive myself crazy. Will report on the final damage in a few hours.