posted on September 5, 2000 06:50:35 PM new
I dont sell due to a hanicap but due to situations at home am limited in the hours and over time I can do, and auctions seemed to be a way for me to fill this void.
I have to say even though sales arent as regular as pay checks no garentee of a fixed amount of sales per week over the month it goes a long way I would say they couldnt have paid me in overtime what I made in sales this year selling online.
also when thing slowed down in the factory where I work over the summer and they were laying off and sending people home cause of lack of work I still had this income infact I found in that time the more hours I poured into these auctions the more sale I got.
nothing is waisted use less gas the car travels less miles per week, stamp prices can go up they still get more miles per stamp then my car gets miles on gas.
and this is great for near everyone I see people wheel chair bound at flea markets buying talking about ebay sales you dont see much of that one the production floor in a factory.
its also something the whole family can enjoy and make $500 in a good week rather then spend it.
Also because of promises made at my job to all make the sacrific and it will pay us all that never came through we found our self credit handicaped, auctions are a great way to make money back at the pace we use to make credit card and personal loan debt.
I am finding when the auction are slow they are very slow but the weeks sale are up they are very good and even at this rate if it can keeps up for about 5 or 6 years I could make as much money at auctions as I made in my full time job in the last 16 years thats not chicken feed inless your one who was makeing 3x more then me already heheh .
posted on September 5, 2000 06:52:09 PM new
Ok, I'll go. I have a "part time" chronic physical problem that is partly responsable for my not "working". I have what the neurologist called "Probable Mild Benign MS (multiple sclerosis)"
My physical symptoms are mild but many, I can have vertigo, crushing fatigue, nystagmus (eye flutter), depression, cognitive trouble...and so on. I can go weeks and months and have no trouble at all, and then wake up one morning and have all of the mentioned symptoms.
Trying to work a job where I am tied to someone else's schedule and demands just would not work for me. It would totally stress me out when added the demands of a house with 4 kids ages 20, 18, 16, and 13.
eBay gives me an opportunity to work as I am able. I haven't listed a thing since the beginning of May, life has just been too hectic. I would like to start again, and am considering it.
posted on September 5, 2000 06:55:16 PM new
"Do you eBay due to a handicap or limiting factor?"
Answer: Yes, several. Some diagnosed and documented sufficiently to meet Social Security standards for being considered "totally and permanently disabled". Add to that the present chronological age, if not maturity, I have reached and some general issues of social maladjustment and there is no question of gray area in my answer of "Yes".
Hard work which can be adjusted to most limitations is certainly part of a valid defination of online selling
I have hesitated to go forward, in any but a limited way, to introduce the opportunity to others because of my hesitation in exposing vulnerable people to what I now consider an unstable venue with management that is hostile towards small sellers.
posted on September 5, 2000 06:58:07 PM new
Yep! 4 Shoulder op's in 2 yrs -- I'm awake 22hrs/day with the ouch! eBay keeps me noggin from turning into Cream-of-Wheat!
posted on September 5, 2000 07:12:39 PM new
Yup. Similar symptoms to meya's, but I've got fibromyalgia and - oh heck, there goes the cognitive stuff - something to do with low blood pressure due to neurochemistry. Means I can't stand up fast or I'll pass out. Lots of pain, can't do math, some days am stuck in bed and can't talk.
I started quilting to help me exercise my spatial relationship ability, which has diminished considerably. There's only so many quilts one person can use here in FL, so I started selling 'em on ebay, and then started selling a bunch of stuff I acquired over the years and then whatever I found when I went on my occasional forays into the outside world. Despite excellent profits, it's no living, mostly because my illness causes serious "downtime"; if I have 4 functional hours a day (including showering and dressing)where I'm not either drooling or in pain, I'm doing great. If I weren't selling we'd be bankrupt from my fabric-buying habits and smothered under dozens and dozens of quilts
posted on September 5, 2000 07:15:45 PM newHCQ, don't ya just HATE it when you drool on the check you are trying so carefully to write out, as the 13 year old checkout girl looks on? They must think I am forging the signiture, since how many 41 year old women do you know who have to think about each letter as they write it?
M...e...l...i...s...s...a who really doesn't like those "Bright White Spots" in her brain.
posted on September 5, 2000 08:04:23 PM new
Yes,doctor made me quit working last year.I've got severe arthritis and a bad back.Doctors won't let me stay on medication which no good anyway.If I attempt to work I can't get through 4 hours anymore,so here I am.I E-bay and do funeral arrangements and flowers for Memorial Day and part time Flea Marketing.
posted on September 5, 2000 08:08:46 PM newMeya, I can do you one better. I have been known on more than one occasion to blithely hand the cashier my entire checkbook as if it were a wad of cash, thank her and waltz right out the door of the shop! (OTOH, it does beat standing there saying "Now what was my name again? And we are - where? And I am buying...what?"
posted on September 5, 2000 08:33:18 PM new
Yep, me too. I have cronic back pain and fibromyalgia. I closed my retail shop this year when I found myself several times with my head on the counter sleeping while people where walking in and out of the store! I worked 7 days a week for 7 years. I had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day off. My husband was ready to divorce me over the hours I was putting in. Now he's complaining about the hours I'm putting into my auctions!
posted on September 5, 2000 08:34:13 PM new
HCQ I also have Fibro sure is the pits isn't it? Do you ever get lost just going to the store? Before I got diagnosed every time I went to sleep I thought I wasn't going to wake up and also thought I was going crazy.
Thank goodness for eBay! I just can't list very much at one time. Never know when I might have a flare and be in bed for days in pain and too tired and weak even to roll over. Or be so fogged I wouldn't know who was who or who bought what.
posted on September 5, 2000 08:46:14 PM new
chococake
Isn't it odd how fibro affects different people. I can't sleep because the pain from being in one position is incredible. But my meds are starting to kick in so I shall good-nite to all.
posted on September 5, 2000 08:46:26 PM new
I am unable to work outside the home right now because I take care of my Dad who must have constant care. I was a business owner and really enjoyed the people part of my business! When my Dad had his stroke, while he was still in the hospital, someone walked into my store and wanted to know if I would be interested in selling my business! Poor guy, I had him down at the lawyers office before the sun went down and the whole thing was done in less than 2 weeks. That has to be some sort of record! You know the saying "the Lord will provide"!
I live in a secluded area and the days were really long and I missed the interaction with all the different kinds of folks you meet in a retail enviornment. My son gave me a computer for Christmas, showed me how to turn the darn thing on and even got me hooked up to the internet! Took me awhile to get the courage to actually register with an auction site, but I finally did. Then I got the courage to actually bid on something. After the first few times (I really feel sorry for the poor sellers who had to deal with this newbie) I was off and running. Then I saw an auction I liked that said something about AW so I clicked on the link and found you guys and boy was I happy as a little pig in a mud puddle. I have even given selling a try, but I can't seem to get it right. It really is quite different than my retail business in many ways. Luckily I don't have to depend on auctions to keep the roof over me and my Dad's head! Eventually I will probably start another business, but until then, the auction scene AND AW keeps me feeling connected to people! Is THAT sappy or WHAT??????
posted on September 5, 2000 09:10:42 PM new
helnjoe A few years ago you hardly even heard of Fibro. But now there are so many of us, and why I think it is a big part environmental. I wasn't suprised when people with Gulf War Syndrome had the same symtoms as with Fibro.
Yes we are different. I sleep when the pain meds wear off (but wake up just as tired as I was before I went to sleep).
posted on September 5, 2000 09:17:32 PM new
Me, too! Several chronic illnesses leave me sick or well for weeks at a time. The auctions kind of run themselves while I am sick and I don't list much new at that time, just relist and go to the post office every day. When I am well I buy and list new items and really enjoy working for myself. Except for the lack of medical benefits, I couldn't ask for a better arrangement.
posted on September 5, 2000 09:45:58 PM new
I've had MS for over 12 years and I've found that ebay lets me still enjoy my collections even when I have trouble with walking(and yes-brain fog too). I don't sell --yet but have been thinking about it so I can buy more.
posted on September 5, 2000 10:01:44 PM new
I was diag. with Fibro about a year and a half ago. I still work outside the home, but less and less all the time. 3 days a week now, and even that is beginning to be too much and I am considering doing less.
My husband has a tramic spondolalysis.(a break in the vertabrea just above the tailbone, which will never heal and can not be repaired).He is unable to lift more than a gallon of milk, can't not bend unless absolutely necessary, can't twist at all. Doing any of these things could cause the vert. to slip in front of the tailbone, which would most likely cause paralysis, permanently. He also works, at a desk job and still has to be very careful.
So we work and we do ebay, it helps not only pay the bills, but get those things that our kids just can't seem to live without.
posted on September 5, 2000 10:24:33 PM new
I worked as a print journalist for 25 years, but about eight years ago I began having severe migraines that made me have to retire from my high-stress profession. After much trial and error, we finally found the right combo of medications to control the migraines and treat them when they did occur. But the trauma of what I had gone through to reach that point -- two years of near-constant pain, terrible weight gain due to some of the meds, clinical depression following my forced retirement -- made me realize I could *never* go back to a "job" job.
Almost two years ago I began selling my daughter's clothing she had outgrown on eBay. Then I "graduated" to buying things to sell. I love being able to set my own pace and my own hours, and the (almost) totally stress-free life. And the *money*!! This summer I was able to take my 8-year-old daughter to a beautiful mountain town in Mexico for A MONTH of studying art and Spanish and just being together (no TV, no Pokemon, no computer, just us) -- with my eBay earnings!
Best of all, we decided to start homeschooling this year (today was the first day of school for us) because I am home all day.
posted on September 5, 2000 11:26:14 PM new
I've been told that I'm in the early stages of M.S. also. I haven't embraced that idea yet - but MRI shows white spots on the brain and whatever it is that is going on seems to mostly effect my vision. My eyes blur for a few minutes - see double sometimes too - then, back to normal. It's unpredictable and I really don't know if an "employer" would look too kindly upon dealing with it. Up until two years ago I was confident enough to remain gainfully employed doing contract work as a freelance writer. Unfortunately, my memory has been effected as well and I find that I've forgotten too much to trust myself anymore as a writer. It's very frustrating to know that "I used to know how to spell/say that" and now - I just don't.
Oh well, life is good and thank God for eBay. I'm somewhat of a workaholic and running auctions allows me to take breaks when I need to, but still feel as active as I want to be. I'm still hoping that one of the doctors will finally figure it out - fast cure, ya know? But, even if I were 100% healthy I suspect I'd stick to eBaying - way too much fun!
posted on September 5, 2000 11:43:30 PM new
I am legally handicapped for several physical things and a chemical brain disorder. I take medicine for the brain disorder and pain killers for the physical disabilities. Tie that in with being a know-it-all on management and leadership techniques, as well as how to run macro business operations and you can bet that I'm unpleasant to be around on most job as I won't suffer fools, idiots, and trouble makers, whether they are fellow employees who think that a job is more than a nine-to-five but is a place for pettty office politics which have nothing to do in the job descriptions; nor do I suffer supervisors or managers whose idea of obtaining loyalty is through bully tactics. I have sued and won lawsuits employers before - even some recognizeable brand names as I do not and will not have to put up with corporate shenannigans.
Therefore - the computer.
I have an established web design business that does well that I started from scratch and I am currently taking on a partner in order to expand our operations. I also sell jewelry on eBay and will soon be doing trade fairs sitting down mostly. I'm a workaholic and I pay taxes on all of my business doings.
posted on September 6, 2000 03:55:27 AM newMAH645, have you ever tried Celebrex for your arthritis? My husband is taking it for a bad shoulder. When we did research into it, we found that many people are using it very successfully for athritis pain. It is not like a pain med, so there is no drowsiness to cope with. It is a prescription medicine. Perhaps it would help you...
mybiddness, that is one of the reasons that doctors take so long to give a final DX of MS to anyone. Employers don't look too keenly on someone who could be dealing with major physical problems at some point.
I have two friends with Fibromyalgia. One has severe pain in her neck, and she swears by one of those magnet necklaces. She said she only bought it as a last resort, having no faith or confidence that it could possibly help. She says the difference is amazing, and she still feels a bit funny telling folks about it, since it sounds so odd.
posted on September 6, 2000 04:23:43 AM new
Not to turn this into a fibromyalgia thread, but it's no surprise that your friend's neck pain has gone into remission. For six months I had hip pain so bad I couldn't walk; I woke up one morning - fine, except now I couldn't turn my head. After a few weeks of that, it moved to my left ankle. And on, and on, ad nauseam (and sometimes some nausea too). There are weeks when I can't see to thread a needle thanks to eye muscle spasms that affect the shape of the eyeball (and therefore my vision). Last night I had restless legs syndrome, but I haven't had a migraine in 5 days so I guess I should count my blessings It is absolutely one of the weirdest, most elusive disease I've ever come across. And like MS, all signs point to neurochemistry. Unlike MS and arthritis, however, it's neither disfiguring nor potentially fatal. We just feel like we're dying sometimes
Anyway - sounds like ebay came along at just the right time for me and a lot of other folks, yes?
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Sep 6, 2000 04:25 AM ]
posted on September 6, 2000 06:02:40 AM new
I don't know if I can answer this one nicely. I started Ebaying after giving up a wonderful job in preparation for a move to my new hubby's hometown. That disintegrated when my ex started a custody battle to prevent the move. We had a lot of inventory on hand for the antiques/collectibles store that we'd planned to start, so it's gone to Ebay to supplement our monthly income--DH is a medically retired civil serpent/vet. Do the diminished mental capacity and emotional handicaps of others count (meaning the ex, of course)? (BTW, before anyone feels too sorry for the ex, be aware that he's never paid a cent toward these kids' upkeep since the divorce, as I passed on child support because he convinced me that he couldn't afford it and paying it would break him. Maybe that's why I tend to be rather cynical in my Ebay dealings.....I've got some wondeful news for him, should I prevail in the current custody proceedings. Muhahahaha.....)
posted on September 6, 2000 08:11:47 AM new
DANNKIM - There was medical coverage during the evening national news on one of the 3 major TV channels within the past tens days concerning a new treatment that might be of interest.
As it did not apply to me in anyway I retain only a vague rememberance of details but I believe they are testing the injection of a filler/glue substance out-patient and getting very positive results.
I don't know if it has application in your husbands case but I do believe all the networks have web sites, as in something like www.NBCnews.com where recent stories can be researched.
posted on September 6, 2000 11:15:39 AM new
I feel for everyone on this thread. I have agoraphobia and panic attacks. For years I had them sporadically and I worked and went to school like everyone else, but last year I had three car accidents within a six month period and they intensified my disorder to the point where I was experiencing panic every time I got behind the wheel or left my house for more than a few hours. My heart would pound, I would feel dizzy and disoriented and all I would know is that I desperately needed to get back to my house where I could feel safe. I'm fine when I stay in my house and luckily I have many indoor interests which keep my life happy and fun. (And lots of good friends to talk to and visit with.) I also have good days and weeks where going away from home doesn't bother me, but i can't predict them in advance. I am not crazy but at the same time, I'm not sure I could adapt to a regular working situation without unbelievable stress. Also, the place where I live requires a car to get to any other place I could work and make a decent amount of money. And I do not want to change the place I live since I have a great place at a great rent, and it's my one "safe place." So ebay is a great alternative for me and thank god I found it just as I was about to have to take yet another commuting job. I am much calmer and more serene now that I don't worry every single moment about having to find some kind of work.
posted on September 6, 2000 12:14:47 PM new
I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, with a little bit of fibromyalgia (the two are closely related). I am a lot better than three years ago when I was diagnosed. I quit my job in May to work at home on a consulting basis. Ebay is some nice extra money (which I need to pay for medical insurance.)
posted on September 6, 2000 12:47:39 PM new
brighid868, you're not alone in feeling panic behind the wheel of a car. I was in an accident last year - my car was totalled by a cab that ran a red light. I was lucky in that the physician whom I saw for a follow-up after the accident said that 80% of the people involved in traffic accidents suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome afterwards. ( I don't know where she got her data.) It helped to know what to anticipate and made recovery a little easier. For months, I panicked everytime I got on the interstate highways as a passenger in a car. It took months for the feeling that I was going to be smashed by every car in the adjoining lanes to subside, but it finally did. Now only in times of stress do I feel that way. (Ask me how I feel next week after an interstate trip for a vacation.) Perhaps your physician can recommend some reading material to help you with your anxiety about being in cars - I can certainly understand.
posted on September 6, 2000 02:29:11 PM new
I talked to a psycologist at our local hospital who said that a little more than half the people in the psyc unit here come in with the psycological problem not the primary problem but as a result of a long stretch of stress from untreatable pain or recovery from a trauma such as an auto accident that overhelmed them or resulted in acute sleep depravation.
[ edited by macandjan on Dec 3, 2000 09:26 PM ]
I have a "part time" chronic physical problem that is partly responsable for my not "working". I have what the neurologist called "Probable Mild Benign MS (multiple sclerosis)"
