posted on April 24, 2004 04:57:03 PM new
Just for fun, I know that are going to be allot of people that type up sarcastic remarks about "what profits" or such but for those of us that did make a profit last year, what did you buy with your ebay profits?
I purchase a large screen 65" Samsung HDTV and a sony playstation 2 and more merchandise.
posted on April 24, 2004 05:23:05 PM new
I invested in more stuff to sell on EBay. The more stuff I get the more I either need a storage container or I have to move out.
posted on April 24, 2004 05:23:20 PM new
I don't buy anything special with my Ebay profits. I'm with Fluffy, not needing more "things" as I get older. The months I'm selling, I pay our monthly utility and other bills, and we've started modest college funds for our three grandsons.
After all, the reason I started selling in the first place was to dump ours and our extended family's "things" on people who want them!
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posted on April 24, 2004 07:08:56 PM new
I Drank it All,,,,,,NPB's,20 days of HOOPS,,,,,,,,Replies to Dumb Questions that were stated right in the auction...e bays not doing what ,,,I,,,,know is RIGHT.............Dealing with NON readers,,,,will NOT ship,,,,300 pound refer,,,,they buy it anyway,,,Michigan,,,Me, California,,,,E bays insane United States location,,other e bayers burning each other, doing the SAME things, back stabbers,,,,killing the competition,,,,,sellers destroying each others feedbacks,,,,,,,AAAAAAAAAA. After 4,,,,,years of this,,,,,,Two months ago, I pulled up my boot strings and went BACK to face to Face swap meet selling,,,,,As is,,,,, the way it is, and that's it....NO NEGS,,,,,And,,,,,, I think,,,, some of my eaby sales bought some,,,, o my 14 footer box trucks and they are ALL rented out per week,,,,,Movin' on up and out,,,,,Yup, I'll still,,,,, deal with e bay too.......Anyway I,,,can make it,,,,,,30 some years , Unemployed and I,,,,, love it......the American Dream,,,,,Self sufficiant!...
posted on April 24, 2004 07:34:20 PM new
My fabulous lifestyle : )
Since ebay is my employment it has paid my rent and day to day expenses plus, like Classic, two dvd recorders and a duplicator, a couple new VCRs, a piece of crap printer that is supposed to print directly onto disks (got what I paid for on that one!), a monster of a sheepskin rug (what a perfectly yummy surface to step onto when getting out of bed) and most of the contents of my kitchen. This year it will finish furnishing my new place.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 25, 2004 06:17:40 AM new
I upgraded my own jewelry collection, treated my guy to dinner out, boxing (best seats), and generally enjoyed having a few extra bucks to spend on the grandkids. Like a couple of others here, I don't really need more "things." My collection will go to my daughter. I have found that after a while, things own you instead of you owning them.
posted on April 25, 2004 06:28:17 AM new
November and December were my best months - I went Christmas present crazy. Including a laptop for one goddaughter (she's in law school and her's "died" and a digitial camera for the other goddaughter.
This year my goal is to sell consistently enough that my vehicle payments come out of Ebay profits. (not that you asked )
posted on April 25, 2004 08:53:32 AM new
Earthmum: How true! Some of us spend our days taking care of our things instead of living. The more we have, the more we have to take care of, worry about, hide from burglars, etc.
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posted on April 25, 2004 09:00:41 AM new
What a great thread! Often wondered what folks did with their earnings...
Hubby and I both retired several years ago and found retirement wonderful, but confusing at first. After years of work and raising the kids the sudden 'freedom' left us a bit adrift. We left the Silicon Valley (California) and relocated between our kids on the west coast and Texas, bought some acreage and an older home that needed TLC, and soon found new ways of filling our lives...
Prior to eBay selling, I was doing the flea market/garage sales thing and consignment sales through a local antique store. Now, through eBay selling, a new dimension (and profits) have been added.
I have three funds I divide my "rewards" between. Summer vacations with the three grandsons, their college education funds and home/property improvement.
Every June for the past five years I've taken the grandsons (now 8, 11 and 12) on a one month 'educational' vacation in the motor home; Southwest Native American culture, the Oregon Trail Part I (Part II is scheduled for this spring), Geology of the West, Mining in the West, National Parks of the West, and so on... The boys choose the 'subject' for their trips, then do library and Internet research before we leave. They also save their earnings from small neighborhood jobs, and Grandma matches their savings for the their vacation spending money. Mom and Dad enjoy the break and have time for each other, I have one-on-one time with the kids (who live two states away), and the boys have really learned a lot from these 'adventures'. Grandpa and the cats stay home and have their own vacation. The dogs go with the boys and me (protection) and it works great for everyone!
Two years ago I opened College Bound funds for each boy, in their individual names, and a portion of the monthly earnings are added to those funds. The boys are always eager to see their quarterly statements — and that seems to cement the idea of further education for them. Money well spent!
And then there are the home improvement projects. When hubby and I retired from the hustle and bustle of the Silicon Valley and retreated to the wilds of the Southwest, we bought acreage and a home that needed attention. Having been city-folks all of our lives, we had no idea how MUCH we were biting off! Phew! But slowly — ever so slowly! — we have made progress. Right now the master bedroom and bath are undergoing remodeling and the patio and fire-pit in the backyard are almost completed. A huge garage (for inventory) and large carport (for the motor home) were last year's projects. We've even managed to get some lawn, a veggie and herb garden and fruit trees going.
EBay has been great for filling the otherwise slower months of winter. Can't say I'm making a fortune on eBay, but the net has certainly been a most welcome addition to my projects and goals. I'm loving it — and looking forward to the spring vacation with the boys. (Can NOT, however, imagine doing this twelve months a year! I admire those who can -- and do -- pursue eBaying year-round.)
posted on April 25, 2004 09:14:26 AM new
Pat1959: What a great response, and what wonderful ideas for when our own 3 grandsons are a bit older.
It's interesting to me how many of us retirees are thinking college funds for our grandkids. We do know how much more college will cost by the time they're older and it's scary. Our goal, as we told our children, is for the boys to have at least one year of private college funded OR more years of public college, their choice.
Our oldest daughter called and implored us not to fully fund college for her son, wisely, I think. She said he wouldn't appreciate it as much if he didn't have to contribute to part of his education. I assured her that couldn't happen, at the rate we're adding to the funds.
And this from a daughter who moaned and groaned when we asked her to get a job to pay for only $1,000 a year of private college! May we all live long enough to see our wisdom bear fruit in our children!
Pat, you sound like someone I'd enjoy knowing if you were a neighbor. I like your values. ~Adele
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posted on April 25, 2004 09:15:37 AM new
Pat: Where had you lived in Silicon Valley?
Granted that retirement is 15 years off, I can't get my partner's mind around the idea of retiring somewhere else. (The time to buy is NOW...rent it out, and when you retire, it's paid for. Voila.) He wants to live *here* on the Peninsula forever. That's insane, as you well know.
--
Answers to Questions Nobody Asked, #39:
Swingline never made a red stapler before the video release of the cult classic "Office Space". However, due to demand among cubicle-bound employees, it now offers one on its Web site.
posted on April 25, 2004 10:44:49 AM new
Roadsmith:
The fund for the boys was set up through my investment counselor with a seed of $15,000 each. We can add — or not — to the fund through the years. Mom (my daughter) and Dad are also adding to the fund, and the boys will soon be putting a few of their own dollars into those funds. If the funds are not used for education purposes, the balance will roll-over. (No dollars inheritance to those who do not use it.) Not to mention, Mom wants to go back for her master degree soon, and those funds can also be used by her. If not used by any of the designates, the funds move on to the next generation...and so on.
Check with your bank (Wells Fargo is mine) and they can help you set up a College Bound Fund. You don't have to put a lot of money into it, either, to get it started. I had those funds available at the time as I'd sold off some of my real estate investments in California and had no immediate need for them here. The cost of living in the middle of nowhere is SO much less! But wonderful!
Fluffy:
We lived in the Cupertino-Sunnyvale area. Hubby was in the high-tech industry and I sold real estate from a Cupertino office.
Yes! Invest! Even though the prices are high, it is the way to go! Originally, (we needed write- offs!) I bought repo homes, cleaned them up and rolled them over in cash-to-loan sales, then bought two more with the equity I'd gained from one. Pyramiding! As I was turning properties pretty fast after a couple of years, I had to get licensed. Hence, getting into the real estate sales field. Rents on the properties covered the expenses of maintenance and repairs. I kept my rents just UNDER market and kept my good tenants! Never had a bad experience with any of them. Lucky me!
That was back in the 60s and 70s when I began. (Cupertino was still mostly orchards!) Don't know if you could do it now with the cost of housing so high in the Valley. Haven't done the buying/renting/selling thing since selling off my properties several years ago.
As for your partner... The day will come when the rat-race of the Valley becomes overwhelming, even for "Partner". My hubby didn't want to leave the Valley, either, but I persisted, found a home and land here and settled in. He actually commuted for three years before finally deciding he would make the big move. He's glad he did! He loves it now! A whole new life filled with wild animals, mountains, seasons and BLUE skies! NO TRAFFIC! It's a 30 mile trip for bread and milk — and shipping!
But, admittedly, it was a big gamble. I risked it all on my love for him — and his for me. It paid off!
Meantime, sock away a few of your earnings and buy property in your own name. That's what I did — and have NEVER regretted it!
posted on April 25, 2004 11:07:13 AM new
I bought a Volvo wagon to transport things in, then opened my own mid-century modern furniture store here in Portland.
posted on April 25, 2004 11:21:30 AM new
FENNIX-I see you also bought something else I did-I just bought a printer thats supposed to print on cd's-which one did you get??
posted on April 25, 2004 12:15:30 PM new
Pat: It sounds as though you're still in California somewhere; mind telling us roughly where it is? We moved to Idyllwild (mountains above Palm Springs) with a little grocery store right here but a trip "off the hill" for major supplies. It IS the LIFE, isn't it, being somewhere away from all that traffic.
We invested, for college funds, in one of the Calif. programs and are very happy with it. We started with $5,000 each, adjusting up or down considering the ages of the kids when we began (6, 2, and just born) so it would all be fair when they were college age.
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posted on April 25, 2004 12:57:20 PM new
Classic - a true pierce of junk! It an epson modified for direct to CD printing. you can see them on ezcdprint.com. The problem is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to calbrate the damn thing so that the print is actually where it needs to be on the CD. The print quality is nice but it really does not matter if it is not on the CD. The modifications also make regular printing sketchy at best. it feeds more paper than it actually prints on. loves to error out and outmatically turns itself off in a manner that requires it to be unplugged before it can be turned back on.
I plan on buying a real one this summer.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 25, 2004 01:05:03 PM new
Mostly just everyday living stuff and more stuff to sell on ebay. Otherwise my fun purchases for the year were my DVD recorder - LOVE IT - it hasn't stopped running since last September when I bought it (I have a lot of Hawaiian seminars and shows to put on DVD - not to mention kids home movies), my compaq IPAQ, and a trip to Hawaii.
I almost bought a printer that prints on CDs/DVDs, but the man at Best Buy told me you had to buy special DVDs that have a special coating, and that it takes 24 hours for them to dry. Is that true?
The purchase I want to do soon is a very small laptop type of thing that will just do internet and email and will hook up to bluetooth which my new cell phone has - any ideas anyone? My Ipaq does it, but I can't figure it out and neither can Cingular - they aren't sure it's possible yet since the technology is so new.
posted on April 25, 2004 01:13:44 PM new
A new side by side refrigerator, a new stove, a new Honda, our monthly mortgage, insurance (health, car, property), college tuition, utilities, food, computers, printers, and everything else. I moved my business from ther brick and morter world to the internet in August 2000 and do this full time.
posted on April 25, 2004 01:19:39 PM new
Hula - not that I have noticed. You do have to make sure that they are not gloss coated but those are pretty easy to find. I buy mine off ebay all the time and the prices have been dropping dramaticly. I am paying 30 cents for the same ones I was paying about a buck a piece for last year.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 25, 2004 04:00:28 PM new
We sell on eBay to maintain our "addiction" to stuff! We buy more stuff! We buy stuff to sell & other stuff to collect dust & sit on the shelves with all of our other collectibles. Someday, if we can ever retire, we will have lots of good stuff to sell!
posted on April 25, 2004 06:10:25 PM new
Hello all;
This is a nice thread with some sweet entries in it. I bought my wife a used hot tub (She has arthritis quite bad). I bought myself the complete leatherette L. L'Amour books (120). There is another out but is doubtful he wrote it as his daughter has ghost written for him. I also have bought some other wonderful books, paid bills and otherwise bailed us out when the regular money was not there.
Ebay has been good to me for near five years however I no longer really sell. I mostly buy as Ebay is cheaper than anywhere in the planet. I don't expect that to last either, but is nice for now.
Good night all...... David
posted on April 25, 2004 08:20:27 PM new
I bought my camera with first good sale and got take a really nice vacation in the mountains for a week last year but since then I've had this problem lol every time I get good sales something breaks lol and i have to spend the extra ebay money for it...so I'm now calling my ebay sales God way of providing. He provided a very nice Volvo station wagon about a month ago when my Suzuki died and this pass week he paid for my daughters doctors visits ...she had a really bad virus in her throat she got from eating a taco.The shell cut the throat and a week later she had lymph nodes poppin up everywhere and was running temps of 101-102.8 for 6 days ...Thank God it's under control now !!! So pretty much just day to day life but it sure is nice having it if it's needed.
posted on April 27, 2004 07:24:17 AM new
Now that Ebay is my full time job -
Office furniture, new printer, shelving, a new camera, an espresso machine for "my office" (without caffiene I would get less work done),
more inventory.
The ability to go out to eat if I don't feel like cooking.
Best of all - time to spend with my family. I have two daughters who are competitive swimmers. Anybody here who has kids involved in sports knows how much time and money is involved. Ebay keeps my daughters in Speedo suits, goggles, sunscreen, caps, towels, shampoo, swim bags, team shirts, team pants, club fees, entry fees, away meets - hotel, meals, heat sheets.........Oh, and let's not forget high school season..............................................Hey, once they graduate I'll have lots of extra money!.........Oh, no wait - then there will be college............???? Does it ever end???
posted on April 27, 2004 09:00:58 AM new
I guess I am not that much into material possessions. I am thinking of a new car, but probably will stick to the one I have, don't want to spend so much! I've been taking vacations though, taking an Alaska cruise in June (2nd cruise this year, last one was to Mexico) - I also have been using auction profits to fund a Roth IRA for my wife and myself, as well as making monthly contributions to my kids' 529 college savings plan. I also very much like being self employed, I can't imagine working for a company at this point, I think I will stay self employed! Ebay is paying for my retirement though, which is still a few decades away for me!
........Dealing with NON readers,,,,will NOT ship,,,,300 pound refer,,,,they buy it anyway,,,Michigan,,,Me, California,,,,E bays insane United States location,,other e bayers burning each other, doing the SAME things, back stabbers,,,,killing the competition,,,,,sellers destroying each others feedbacks,,,,,,,AAAAAAAAAA. After 4,,,,,years of this,,,,,,Two months ago, I pulled up my boot strings and went BACK to face to Face swap meet selling,,,,,As is,,,,, the way it is, and that's it....NO NEGS,,,,,And,,,,,, I think,,,, some of my eaby sales bought some,,,, o my 14 footer box trucks and they are ALL rented out per week,,,,,Movin' on up and out,,,,,Yup, I'll still,,,,, deal with e bay too.......Anyway I,,,can make it,,,,,,30 some years , Unemployed and I,,,,, love it......the American Dream,,,,,Self sufficiant!...
and a digitial camera for the other goddaughter.