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Showing posts with the label Nothing in Particular

Interview with Myself, John Leschak, Owner of SecondMoonshot

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Since most of us will never really be interviewed (or even be asked), I decided that I would just interview myself…who better to ask the compelling questions that no one else is going to ask or care about. It was a joke conversation Zabrina and I were having in the car and thought it would be fun to do and a non-traditional way to share some information about us and SecondMoonshot. Part II, A Year Later is here . John: Welcome John, thank you for taking the time to talk with me. Let’s start with the basics, tell us in a nutshell the fundamentals of yourself. JOHN: Thanks John, it is truly [emphasized excessively] a pleasure to meet you in person! Well, I was born in Indiana in 1965, as a child I rode bikes and skateboards with no helmet, probably didn’t wear a seatbelt until I was 25 too. Average middle class raising in a military (Marines) family with 2 sisters and 1 brother - all older. Divorced 13 or so years ago, hope the ex is happy, she’s a good person, we had 2 wonderful childr

Zen, Philosphy, and SecondMoonshot - Organic(ish) Quotes

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Having nothing better to do, figured I would capture some of my greatest thoughts since they come so few and far between. One day you may find one of these gems in a quotation book in your bathroom. “It’s not that ‘Life Got In The Way’, but that it ‘Is Life’. So embrace the good, the sorrowful, the bad.”    -me, on life in general “The best part about working for yourself is that you can do the right thing without fear of getting fired.”    -me, on starting a business “There is no  quicker way to learn something than to lose money at it.”    -me, on eBay selling “Love me for what I am and not what I could be.”   -me, whenever Zabrina tries to change me, inspired by my sister who told me “you’ve become the man you should have been” “The joy is in the journey, not the destination.”   -probably not me, but the dream and execution is so much more fun than attainment. Just core to my happiness. “The employee is the most important asset to the company, The customer is the most important asse

Fun with Photos, Amazing Moon/Cloud Formation, Before and After COVID, New Branding Ideas

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  Amazing moon and cloud phenomenon that I only noticed after zooming on on our Surf City day trip pictures. Learning some photo editing tools.  This is me in January of 2017. A before and after…this is what COVID does to you. Looks like it ages you 20 years.  Some fun while learning about photo editing: Cat tattoo, nothing better than a cat that supports the brand. Branded flag flying high. John

Resemblance? Zabrina Thinks So

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Me…not so much. John

Day Trip - Last Minute Day Trip to Surf City, NC

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Friday evenings are usually booked for the OMT 6pm auction, but Zabrina and I wanted to do something, so a drive and a hike or new small town tour are always great candidates. Looking for a state park within a few hours didn’t turn up anything that sparked our interest, so decided on a small beach town where a friend of ours moved to last year…Surf City, NC. We tend to like smaller towns and cities, and this place was great, walkable, excellent beach vibe, less than average tourism domination (but still plenty) and a good locals spots and trendy spots to eat. We walked the beach when we got there for an hour as the tide was coming in, and true to the name, plenty of surfers. Wind was blustery to say the least and my beard felt like a sail. Great beach.  When we headed back to the car, we were a little disappointed there was no place to wash off. We later found the central strand beach access had decent bathrooms and two showers outside which we took advantage of. Parking was not too ba

My Work Area for Photography of eBay Listings

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I know some people go all out with light boxes and making perfect pictures for their listings. Not sure why, but I like the raw, almost a amateur look to my photos, but want them to be clear and properly represent the item for sale. I never do the masking of the background which eBay app can do. In most pictures, I keep a folded bed sheet with a light pattern for the background and as that gets dirty I simply fold it over and over to a clean section until I have to wash it. Clothing and pictures I usually just put on the sleeper sofa in my office and point the lights there. Anything large hanging goes on a door hinge to a closet and just take the pictures there…making sure to shut the door as my other half is working from home across the hall. I broke the light I have been using…one of those high end (over priced) crafting lights (Ott or something) and found some new LED-based lights with built in diffusers which were under $75 for two and work great. Probably last years model, but the

Lunch at Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard, NC

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Decided to take a drive up to Brevard where my wife and daughter are doing a girls week getaway in Brevard, NC. Also meeting a friend on Sunday to go do a few hours of driving around. I had one SecondMoonshot sticker left in my wallet, so added it to the wall. Cool place. Guess I should be prepared for a spike in sales on Sunday! John

What I have Learned So Far - What I Like and Don’t Like about eBay Selling and Life in General

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I am closing in on my 18 month milestone of starting SecondMoonshot and my second career selling on eBay. Not so much a lessons learned, but a few things I like and some I don’t, some about eBay, some about life in general. In no particular order. eBay gets a lot of gripes on the forums, but for what they offer on the platform, I have no issues and fully support the direction they have taken. Likes In-person auctions: human interaction, meet new people, better people, better wins The thrill of finding a gem and paying little for it I get to spend time with Zabrina I get to drive around in my cars most days I am learning every day, keeping my mind active and feeling productive; by nature I am a workaholic; I will never know everything and that’s a good thing I run the business like I want to, treat customers the way I want to, every good decision and mistake is mine, I am solely accountable; I.e. if a customer is not 100% satisfied, they get a full refund plus shipping, no questions ask

A Week in the Life of SecondMoonshot

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I thought I would document what a typical week is like for me with SecondMoonshot. I’ll start with Monday and close with Sunday. This will be a live blog post and will update as I progress through the week of May 16th to 22nd, 2022. Monday Monday through Thursday are mostly days filled with posting new listing from purchases acquired over the weekend. I start the week with creating new listings on my iPad. I normally will have all the items filtered in the great room downstairs an sort between garbage, donate/yard sale and resale by Monday morning. Garbage goes in garbage, donate/yard sale goes in attic waiting for the next neighborhood yard sale, and resale goes into the office for new listings. Zabrina hates when I have the piles in the living room for too long so have to have everything moved by Sunday night.  Purchases will have come from One Man’s Treasure Auctions primarily, consignments I picked up the prior week, with an occasional estate sale or thrift store thrown in. I usual