August was another busy month, and we are continuing to make strong progress toward our yearly goal. We are still seeing the summer slowdown, especially at the Manhattan store, but that is not unexpected.
School is just starting back up, students are returning, and football season should bring more people into Manhattan. Hopefully, once students are back in town and start getting more settled, we will see an uptick in sales. We will see soon.
Sales Update
Our sales goal for the year is $3.5 million.
At the end of July, we were at $1,745,733.00, or 49.88% of our goal.
At the end of August, we are now at $2,118,892.61, or 60.54% of our goal.
That means we moved $373,159.61 closer to the goal this month and increased our progress by 10.66 percent..
We still need $1,381,107.39 to reach our goal, which means we have 39.46% left to go.
Here is the current sales breakdown, sorted from highest to lowest:
| Channel | Sales | Added Since July |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Renewed | $692,540.66 | +$145,040.66 |
| Shawnee Retail | $669,441.00 | +$108,610.00 |
| Manhattan Retail | $434,076.00 | +$64,688.00 |
| Amazon Used | $251,654.12 | +$42,705.12 |
| eBay | $64,446.83 | +$9,581.83 |
| Other Sales | $6,734.00 | +$2,534.00 |
| Total Sales | $2,118,892.61 | +$373,159.61 |
| Progress Toward $3.5M Goal | 60.54% | +10.66 Points |
| Amount Remaining to Goal | $1,381,107.39 | 39.46% Left |
Other Sales includes Whatnot sales.
Summer Slowdown
We are definitely still seeing the summer slowdown, especially in Manhattan. That is not the fault of the Manhattan team. A lot of the college population was gone for the summer, and school is just now starting back up.
I am hopeful that as students get settled, get bored, and start looking for things to do, we will see more traffic. K-State football season could also help bring more people into town and hopefully into the store.
Manhattan is still a store I am excited about. We may just need to do more marketing specifically focused on that location.
Back-to-School Sale
We ran our first non-holiday sale this month, and overall it went pretty well.
Shawnee sales were definitely better than a typical weekend, which was great to see. Manhattan sales were more on par with a normal weekend, but that is still helpful information for us.
That does not mean Manhattan did anything wrong. It just gives us a better idea of what works, what does not, and where we may need to put more marketing attention in the future.
We are going to keep looking at doing more sales going forward.
$1K Speedrun Shopping Spree
We also ran our $1K Speedrun Shopping Spree, and the winner has been announced.
Congratulations to Eric Merz.
This one was especially exciting because Eric is someone we have worked with for years. It is always cool when something like this goes to someone who has been around Nerd Nation for a long time.
Largest Website Submission Yet
We had our largest website submission to date this month.
Someone submitted a collection worth roughly $22,000, and we paid out around $12,000. That puts us in roughly the 55% to 60% payout range, which is a great spot to be and a number I think customers will be excited to see.
I expect we are going to start seeing more website submissions going forward, especially as we keep improving the website and making the process easier for customers.
Website, Trade-Ins, and Free Shipping
Right now, a lot of my time and attention is focused on continuing to improve our website and making it the best buyback website possible.
On September 1, we launched free shipping for customers who want to sell games to us with a submission value of $100 or more. This is a big step for the website and should make it easier for customers across the country to send us inventory.
I am also working a lot with Thomas on marketing and finding better ways to grow the business and represent Nerd Nation well. Expect even more on that going forward.
The biggest priorities right now are improving the website, growing the trade-in program, marketing better, and continuing to buy more inventory so we can reach our goals.
Cash Flow and Inventory
We are working to get cash flow and inventory into a better spot.
It is pretty normal for cash flow to get tighter this time of year, but we do not usually run into inventory issues at the same time. Because of that, Shannon and I have injected some personal funds into the business to help put us in a better spot for buying inventory.
I want to be very clear: I am not concerned about the state of the business right now. This is pretty normal and not something to panic about. We are just operating a little leaner right now instead of approving every supply request or spending freely on everything.
Inventory is still one of the biggest focuses. We need to keep buying, processing, listing, and moving product as efficiently as possible.
Why Amazon Money Takes Time
One thing I want to explain better is how long it can take for money to come back to us after we buy inventory, especially when that inventory goes to Amazon.
A sale number does not always mean the money is immediately sitting in the bank. Sometimes we spend money today and do not see that money come back for close to two months.
Perfect World Scenario
| Timing | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Michael buys a game from Facebook Marketplace on a Friday. |
| Day 1 | The game is given to a game cleaner and cleaned that same day. |
| Day 1 | The game goes to the Amazon shelf for the game processors. |
| Day 1 | Added to a batch, submitted to Amazon, boxed up, and picked up by UPS. |
| Tuesday | The box arrives at Amazon if UPS moves perfectly. |
| Same Day | Amazon checks in the box and makes the game available for sale. |
| Same Day | The game sells immediately because it is a desirable item. |
| Next Day | The customer receives the game and loves it. |
| 2 Weeks Later | Amazon pays us for the sale. |
That is the perfect version. Everything moves fast, nothing gets delayed, the game sells immediately, and the customer keeps it. This means we get our money after 20 Days
Realistic Scenario
| Timing | What Usually Happens |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | A game is traded into the store and the offer is accepted. |
| 2–7 Days Later | The game is sorted and put into the correct cleaning bin for Amazon. |
| Next Day | A game cleaner cleans it. |
| 1 Day Later | If it needs resurfacing, it may need another day before it is ready. |
| 2–5 Days Later | The game sits on the Atlantic bookcases until a game processor puts it into a batch. |
| Friday | The box ships to Amazon. |
| About 1 Week Later | The box arrives at Amazon. |
| 1–4 Weeks Later | Amazon checks in the box and makes the game available for sale. |
| 1 Day to 180 Days Later | The game sells. For this example, we will call it 2–3 weeks. |
| 2 Weeks Later | If the customer does not return it, we finally get paid. |
This means we get our money after 81 Days. So when we say cash flow matters, this is a big reason why. We may buy something today, but the money from that item may not come back for weeks or even months.
That is why processing quickly, keeping shelves organized, shipping batches consistently, and reducing delays matters so much.
Continued Push for the Goal
We are now at 60.54% of the way to our $3.5 million goal.
I am giving everything I can to help us get there. I am focused on buying inventory, improving the website, pushing marketing, building better systems, and putting us in the best position possible.
But reaching the goal takes all of us.
The team is the group that benefits from hitting the yearly goal. I do not get a bonus from it. I have not increased my pay or salary since I started the business in 2021, and I am not the highest-paid employee.
I say that because I want everyone to understand this goal is not about me taking more home. It is about what we can build and what the team can earn if we hit it.
There is nothing wrong with having fun at work. We are all human, and I want people to enjoy working here. But it is worth thinking about when people are moving slowly, being careless, making avoidable mistakes, or screwing off for long periods of time.
That time matters. Those mistakes matter. The speed we move at matters.
If we want to hit the goal, it is going to take everyone staying locked in.
Third Store
We are still planning and thinking through what another store could look like, but we are reevaluating the best path forward.
Another store is still something I want, but we are looking more carefully at what kind of market makes the most sense and whether another college town is the right move.
Nothing is finalized right now. This is still very much in the planning and evaluation stage.
Looking Ahead
August was a strong month overall, even with the normal summer slowdown and some cash flow pressure.
We are now at $2,118,892.61 for the year, which puts us at 60.54% of our annual goal. We still need $1,381,107.39 to hit $3.5 million.
The next few months are going to matter a lot. We need to keep buying inventory, getting product processed, keeping Amazon moving, improving the website, marketing better, and making sure the stores are ready for the stronger sales months ahead.
We are in a good spot. We are just in the part of the year where we need to stay focused, stay disciplined, and keep pushing.
