Tagging Miles

Join me at the Frequent Traveler University in DC this summer!

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Frequent Traveler University (FTU) is one of the biggest conference series in the mile and point community (alongside the Chicago Seminars). Lucky for those of us in the National Capital Region, FTU is coming back to the Washington DC area 11-12 August 2018!

Frequent Traveler University in DC

FTU is bringing a great group of speakers to DC, and I say that not just because I’m included! 

Ok in all seriousness, it’s really a solid line-up:

  • Tiffany Funk – she’s the one writing all those great posts about redeeming miles and points over at One Mile at a Time.
  • Matthew Klint – He’s not just the guy fighting airlines like Aeroplan and Swiss, he’s also traveled to more exotic places than anyone else I know.
  • Spencer Howard – This guy travels in first class almost as much as I do! He’s also explored some interesting manufacturing techniques like RoomiPay
  • Jeanne Marie Hoffman – She looks at travel from a completely different view than I do, and she knows the ins and outs of Las Vegas – luckily, she’ll be sharing some of her secrets!
  • Stefan Krasowski – Ok, maybe Matthew doesn’t go as far flung as Stefan, he’s been to more places than most. He was the First Guest at the Four Season’s in Seychelles, and travels faster than me! I’m sure he’s already blown my 74 hours in India–which included a wonderful stay at the Oberoi in Agra–out of the water.
  • Becky Pokora – If you’ve ever traveled and done a “hop on, hop off” bus, or other “sightseeing” options, you need to hear what Becky does as she demonstrates and advocates SightDOING.
  • Ed Pizzarello will be considering the beltway battle between American and United in the DC area, as well as other topics.  
  • And many others! 

So, if you’re not already attending, you can grab tickets with this link enter code: EASTER by Midnight PST on 10 April 2018 to Save $30! (net cost ends up being $219 per ticket).

Will I see you at Frequent Traveler University in DC?

Last Chance! NapaDO tickets close March 9th!

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We attempted to break the mold–yet again–with NapaDO. We kind’ve broke the mold with the first few ResellingDO’s. That said the Merryvale winery, that is graciously working with us to make this the most amazing ResellingDO event so far, requires that we lock in attendee numbers a week early. I can’t fault them. Everyone needs to plan.

Why should you attend NapaDO?

If you have a reselling business, this is probably a no brainer. If you’re in the miles and points game and you have a reselling business, this might be the event for you. If you’re a casual travel hacker, well, I’m going to be honest, it’s probably not the event for you. All that said, I think it’s important to highlight the type of value you will get from this event.

When I plan events like these, the first thing I ask myself, is: What are my blind spots? What am I not smart enough on? Then I bounce those ideas off of friends and mentors–people that are experts in their fields–and we come up with a plan. This event is a perfect example of that. My friends, we have an amazing cadre of speakers, as I’ve shared before.

Here is a recap:

  • Matt (aka @Saverocity) talks about why he is excited about NapaDO, His presentation will provide you insight into how you can leverage the new tax laws to increase your tax deductions. He says it’s likely worth an additional 5-6 figure deduction in 2018! As if that wasn’t enough:
  • Joey (aka @joeyredmond) will get you smart on Tactical Arbitrage. If you’re not familiar with Tactical Arbitrage, it is one of the gold standards for Online Arbitrage. Also, this is a great opportunity to see how you can further leverage one of my favorite reselling cards, the AT&T Access More.
  • Geoff (aka @Alpen_Geoff) will show you how to do Seller Fulfilled Prime shipping. He’ll show you how you can use Seller Fulfilled Prime shipping to increase profit, and not go crazy doing it! This will be even more important as Amazon raised FBA fees on 22 February.

Of course, Amazon released some interesting numbers in their recent February notes. That got me thinking. Typically our March events are for fairly experienced folks. Looking at the attendees, I’d say you’re talking about a pretty significant percentage of folks that are in that 140,000 of sellers with greater than $100,000 annual sales.

Bottom line: If you want to network with folks that are doing significant numbers on Amazon, you need to be at NapaDO.

NapaDO Information: 

The event will definitely be one not to miss. It’s clearly exclusive, and we’ll be incorporating a true Napa experience.

  • When: Saturday, March 17th, 2018
  • What: A full day of networking, presentations on more advanced reselling topics.
  • Where: Merryvale Winery, Gott’s Napa and the Westin Napa
  • Tickets: Buy your ResellingDO Tickets here

Will you be at NapaDO?

Will you supercharge your Reselling business with #NapaDO?

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I’ve been putting on ResellingDO events for years. On average, we do 2 events per year. #NapaDO is the latest of those events, but I find some of the feedback I’ve received privately rather interesting. Since the first ResellingDO I’ve been uber conscious on cost. The event series started out as an idea to get resellers together and as Hawaiians say: “Talk Story”. It has grown to so much more. It has supercharged so many folks’ reselling businesses that I’ve lost count. 

Supercharge your reselling business with #NapaDO!

Full disclosure: Our March events are generally for more advanced resellers. We focus on more entry level to intermediate topics in the second event of the year. That said, We will have speakers that are veritable experts in their fields. 

  • Matt (aka @Saverocity) talks about why he is excited about NapaDO, His presentation will provide you insight into how you can leverage the new tax laws to increase your tax deductions. He says its likely worth an additional 5-6 figure deduction in 2018! As if that wasn’t enough:
  • Joey (aka @joeyredmond) will get you smart on Tactical Arbitrage. If you’re not familiar with Tactical Arbitrage, it is one of the gold standards for Online Arbitrage. This is a great opportunity to see how you can further leverage one of my favorite reselling cards, the AT&T Access More.
  • Geoff (aka @Alpen_Geoff) will show you how to do Seller Fulfilled Prime shipping. He’ll show you how you can use Seller Fulfilled Prime shipping to increase profit, and not go crazy doing it! This will be even more important as Amazon raises FBA fees on 22 February.

Why Napa?

A few folks have reached out to me privately and asked why Napa? Answer: From the start, I have been focused on providing attendees unique experiences. The first ResellingDO was held at a brewery and included a tour of that brewery. Each successive event has been held in a unique location. The fact is, Napa is pricier than previous locations for ResellingDO’s. But, it offers us a very unique opportunity. We’ll be enjoying presentations in a winery with excellent wine–I should know, I had the opportunity to taste those same wines just two weeks ago. You’ll get a tour of the Merryvale winery and you’ll get to taste their wonderful wines, too. 

 

The Details:

  • When: Saturday, March 17th, 2018
  • What: A full day of networking, presentations on more advanced reselling topics.
  • Where: Merryvale Winery, Gott’s Napa and the Westin Napa
  • Tickets: Buy your ResellingDO Tickets here

Its hard to put a value on networking

Perhaps the biggest focus on ResellingDO events is networking. Generally that networking includes alcohol–but it is of course optional. We ensure that there is at least a few opportunities for networking. This event will be no different. However I really wanted to include something unique. In the evening networking, I’d like to include an unconference style lighting talk series, for any attendees that have something they’d like to share. We might even have a bottle of wine for folks that feel emboldened to share their expertise with the group. 

Will you supercharge your reselling business with #NapaDO?

 

Announcing the NapaDO Speakers!

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Last week we opened tickets to this March’s ResellingDO in Napa, California – aptly named NapaDO.

ResellingDO, NapaDO

These events are so valuable for two reasons – the people that attend them, and the experts who volunteer to share their knowledge. 

ResellingDO heads to Napa!

That’s right folks, we’re making a West Coast swing this March, heading to Napa Valley. Here are the details:

  • When: Saturday, March 17th, 2018
  • What: A full day of networking, presentations on more advanced reselling topics.
  • Where: Merryvale Winery, Gott’s Napa and the Westin Napa
  • Tickets: Buy your ResellingDO Tickets here

Announcing the NapaDO Speakers

We’ve locked in some excellent speakers:

In a few weeks, we’ll be sending out a survey to narrow in on the discussion topics, but I can guarantee that these folks’ breadth of knowledge is definitely going to make this the best ResellingDO yet!

Feel free to leave a comment with any topics you’d like to hear about at NapaDO

ResellingDO heads to Napa!

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ResellingDO, NapaDO

After ResellingDO Special Edition last year, many asked for another smaller DO in a cool location. Napa was a logical destination because of a number of factors, and it will be a fantastic experience!

ResellingDO heads to Napa!

That’s right folks, we’re making a West Coast swing this March, heading to Napa Valley. Here are the details:

  • When: Saturday, March 17th, 2018
  • What: A full day of networking, presentations on more advanced reselling topics.
  • Where: Merryvale Winery, Gott’s Napa and the Westin Napa
  • Tickets: Buy your ResellingDO Tickets here

Because we’ll be in Napa, we’ll be meeting for a half day of presentations at the Merryvale winery. We’ll follow that up with a wine tasting before heading across the street to Gott’s Napa for lunch. Since we’ll be doing a wine tasting, and in Napa, we’ll hop on a bus back to the Westin Napa (rather than having to drive). 

We’ve locked in some excellent speakers, including 2 that have not spoken at previous ResellingDO events, so we’ll definitely have fresh material and fresh insights to learn from!

Will you be joining us at NapaDO?

Reminder Talk Travel and Bring a Toy on 30 Nov (This Thursday!)

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Just a quick reminder on this Cyber Monday, that I’m partnering with Ed from Pizza in Motion and Jeanne from Le Chic Geek to host a frequent traveler happy hour this Thursday.

For planning purposes, its great if you sign up here. 

The event will be in Arlington, VA, thanks to Jeanne’s amazing contacts with seemingly every DC restaurant. Details below:

Tortoise & Hare Bar and Grille
567 23rd St S, Arlington
Crystal City Metro Station
Arlington, VA 22202

If you haven’t yet figured out on a Toy to bring, well, you’re in luck, because there are few deals going on at the moment that you could leverage.

Toys R Us: Get 15% off your purchase online. Go through a shopping portal for a bit extra, even better? Pick it up in store and get a $5 gift card!

Target: Also get 15% off your purchase online today.

You can also stack with gift cards, as Mike, Joe and I discussed on the latest podcast.

Wrapping Up 

Hope to see many of you at the Tortoise & Hare Bar and Grille on Thursday evening!

Doing Good, Join us for Happy Hour on 30 November, and bring a toy!

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Last year, I partnered with Richard Kerr and Travel Hacking Award Travel 101 to host a Toys for Tots Happy Hour.

Frequent Travelers Do Great Things

Last year you (the travel hacking / frequent traveler community) donated 50 toys to Toys for Tots. That is amazing. Just look at all the toys:

Frequent Traveler Community

50 Toys bound for Toys for Tots!

This year, I’m partnering with Ed from Pizza in Motion and Jeanne from Le Chic Geek, Tagging Geeky Pizza Event for a in support of Toys for Tots. We’d have Richard with us if he weren’t hosting his own event on the West Coast a couple days later (I tried to convince him that he could fly same day, because, you know, American is that reliable!) but we will keep Richard with us in spirit.

The event will be in Arlington, VA, thanks to Jeanne’s amazing contacts with seemingly every DC restaurant. Details below:

Tortoise & Hare Bar and Grille
567 23rd St S, Arlington
Crystal City Metro Station
Arlington, VA 22202

The event will be 30 November, 6-9pm. We’ll have representation from the US Marine Corp to accept the toys (and our appreciation for their service). We’ll have friends, fellowship, and I’m sure the Tortoise & Hare staff will be pouring plenty of enjoyment!

Please take a moment to register.

We are asking that you bring a toy for a child that might otherwise not have a toy underneath their tree. 

Doing Good

When I originally got into this community, I got in via blogs that shared tips to generate miles and points–and ultimately–great experiences, because they wanted to help. Randy founded FlyerTalk, then later partnering with others–including Pizza in Motion himself– founding MilePoint with a similar goal in mind. Sharing the amazing things available for folks that want to put some effort in, to get amazing travel opportunities. That grew further to include doing good for others. There’s a MilePoint Kiva Lending Team that is doing amazing good for people who might otherwise not get microloans to do good in their own community. All of these things were inspiration for us in the travel community to do good.

With that in mind, I invite you to the bring a toy, do some good, and share in the holiday revelry with fellow travel hackers.

If you’re wondering about the best way to procure such toys, Ed, Jeanne, and I will be posting about opportunities to purchase toys in ways that you might even get some extra miles yourself. For example, you can utilize Shopping Portals to generate as much as 12,000 miles/points at the moment.

Highlighting The Speakers of ResellingDO 5

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ResellingDO 5 is only a few weeks away now, so I wanted to take the time to highlight our speakers.  

ResellingDO 5

ResellingDO 5 Key Details

  • When: Saturday, August 12th, 2017
  • What: A full day of networking, presentations on reselling covering topics such as scaling, Merch by Amazon, and niche sourcing.
  • Where: Hyatt Place Orlando Airport
  • Tickets: Buy your ResellingDO 5 Tickets here

ResellingDO 5 Speakers

We have an excellent line-up of speakers, as well! 

  • Hans: Hans loves to travel and take photos, flying at least 100k miles every year. In 2011 he leveraged a SkyMall deal to earn 1 million Delta miles by buying $40k worth of cameras and reselling them. That opened his eyes to the possibility and he went into business with a fellow FlyerTalker who he had become friends with. That business that he co-founded now sells more than $5m in electronics every year on Amazon and eBay, and is poised for big further growth with some key foundations having been laid in the past year. Hans made a number of mistakes in scaling up that caused a lot of stress and headaches. He’ll share those mistakes and offer advice on how to avoid making those same mistakes in the scaling up process.
  • Haley: Haley’s a reseller of merchandise as well as an expert in Merch by Amazon, having done rather significant growth in Merch by Amazon over the past year – if you’ve been approved for Merch by Amazon but are not sure what the next step is, this will be one to definitely attend! If you haven’t applied for a Merch by Amazon account, there is still time, do it now!
  • Kenny : Will highlight local Retail Arbitrage sourcing away from the big-box stores in cities both big and small, small-town sourcing, and selling strategies for replenishables.
  • Geoff: Scaling up means focusing on many different aspects; one of the ways you can realize near immediate savings is shipping product via pallets whenever possible. Geoff will give a primer on Less than Truck Load (LTL) shipping and how it can save you shipping costs. 

Announcing the next Maryland Meet-up – 22 April

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It’s been a while since we’ve done a Maryland Meet-up, perhaps a bit longer than a while. So why not change that? 

Saturday, April 22. Starting around 12 noon (why not open the place?), going till whenever! The food truck will be my personal favorite, Bullhead Pit Beef. 

Jail Break Brewing Company
Suite F, 9445 Washington Blvd N, Laurel, MD 20723
(443) 345-9699

As I’ve commented before, networking is key to really maximizing the miles and points game.

Will we see you there? Please leave a comment if you can make it!

maryland meet-up

ResellingDO 5 Tickets on sale now!

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After a successful smaller ResellingDOse in Las Vegas, we’re putting together a bigger event–but capped to 65 attendees–the first ever at a hotel! Its a bit of a break from restaurants and breweries, but, I like to keep changing things up. 

ResellingDO 5 takes on Orlando

That’s right folks, you read that right, we’re leaving the Baltimore, MD area for the second ResellingDO in a row, this time heading down to the sourcing treasure trove that is Orlando! Here are the details:

  • When: Saturday, August 12th, 2017
  • What: A full day of networking, presentations on reselling covering topics such as scaling, Merch by Amazon, and niche sourcing.
  • Where: Hyatt Place Orlando Airport
  • Tickets: Buy your ResellingDO 5 Tickets here

We’ll of course be enjoying lunch and the hallmark of ResellingDO’s, an evening reception.

As we get closer that we’ll also be looking to include “no-host” meet-ups on Friday evening, and as is typical, groups usually form for dinner after the event.

Also of note, we’ve arranged for a $99 rate at the host hotel, the Hyatt Place Orlando Airport, and, if you’d rather use points, its only 5,000 points per night!

Reselling DO 5 Speakers

I’m very excited to announce that we will have at least three speakers that have never spoken at a previous ResellingDO event. All three bring an enormous amount of experience in the space. 

  • Hans Mast – Lessons Learned from Scaling Up 
  • Haley Bach – Merch by Amazon
  • Kenny Burrows – Small Town Sourcing

If you’re not sure what you’ll get from ResellingDO 5, here are some thoughts from ResellingDO 3 to give you an idea. Overall, there is excellent value with the people you meet, the networking, as well as with the awesome line-up of speakers that we have. Perhaps I’m a bit biased, but I think this is going to be the best event yet!

Will you be at ResellingDO 5?

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