posted on November 30, 2000 02:17:18 PM new
I just wanted to know if anybody out their has made a living on eBay? You read stories about Power Seller's in eBays Magazine all the time. I was just wondering if you could make money at auctions. Does anybody have any of their own personal stories that they could share?
posted on November 30, 2000 05:14:29 PM new
I haven't made a living at it, but it helps keep my kids in shoes and clothes. I'm a stay at home mom, and the extra money comes in handy.
I have a friend who did nothing but ebay for several months. She would list hundreds of auctions a week. Stay up all hours of the day and night, listing, emailing, packing, ect...
Some weeks were good for her, and some not so good. She is a single mother, and it was her only source of income. When it was a good week, the bills got paid, but when it wasn't she would get very stressed.
The time that she had to spend on it was unbelievable. As far as the hours she put in and the money she made, even in the good weeks, she was working for penies.
She now has a full time job again, but still ebays.
posted on November 30, 2000 05:25:27 PM new
Im sure with enough want to most anyone can make a liveing doing most anything.
You would need a good mix of Items and Price ranges as you would have need of a more the a few hundered dollars in sales weekly and you would need to work well under high stress .
I sell small time compared to many here and even at a rate of 100 or so auctions a month on ebay slow times can be stressfull as there is money put out with little return at these times to keep listed.
posted on November 30, 2000 07:05:46 PM new
I have been making a living on ebay for 3 years now. I quit a very good job, with full benefits to work at home and sell on ebay. The best move I've ever made. Of course, I sold part time for 9 months before I decided to take it on full time and quit my job.
posted on November 30, 2000 07:07:34 PM new
We are making enough to pay for three full time salaries (the partners in the business) and 3 part time packers.
It takes a lot of time on our part (50-60 hours a week for each ) but we are growing our sales rapidly. Last week we sold as much as we did in all of November last year.
We've been doing EBAY for 2.5 years now and full time for 1.5 years. It can be lucrative but requires time, energy, knowledge, connections and hard work.
It is not for everyone. Though the hobby side of it can be!
posted on December 1, 2000 02:45:48 AM new
I quit my full time job of many years in April and "make a living" with E-bay. The hardest part is our politicians' favorite topic "healthcare costs" - they are eating me alive right now. <p>I work 60-80 hours per week. I find that one of the pitfalls is having enough diverse inventory to sell. <p>I sold part-time for two years before I quit my job. I would do it again in a heartbeat but it is much more work than I ever imagined and not for the faint of heart.
posted on December 1, 2000 04:18:21 AM new
I think a person may be able to make a living on ebay dependng on two things.
1. How much time, and energy a person wants to put into it. Ebay is not all easy money, it's hard work that requires disipline and a person to wear many hats.
2. How high do you want your standard of living to be. If you want a 2,500 square foot executive home with a new Cadillac in the garage, and vacations in Europe every year, then probally no. If you can live on much less, and you can apply yourself and are disiplined, then maybe yes.
It seems with ebay, some people struggle and some don't. It may have to do with personal finances in some cases.
posted on December 1, 2000 06:46:18 AM new
Yes, one can make a good living,selling on line - BUT not just using eBay - I also use Yahoo and we have a large web site. I do well enough to have a full time packer, and have occasional need to use one of our shop girls to help the packer.
BUT, I have been at this for 5 plus years, and spend endless hours working the auctions, working with customers, learning the latest photography, and editing programs, etc. You should NEVER stop learning in this business or improving your ad presentation.
From my experience in helping others get started in on line sales - I would say that maybe 1 out of a thousand, that is a Very Generous, may make it as a profitable, full time seller.
Why don't most people make it -
1. Lack of time
2. Lack of organization
3. Lack of business experience
4. Lack of personal commitment
(To be self employed you have to do the job without supervision, or without having to have some one tell you when to work and how)Self-Discipline is a must.
5. Lack of ability to recognize product viability
6. Lack of ability to obtain product at the best prices
7. Lack of initiative to learn the market and to venture into various products which may be of no interest to the seller but which will sell well and bring in income.
8. Failure to reinvest into their business and seeing profit from an item as all income and then proceeding to spend it on personal items.
8. Lack of an understanding mate! Sounds odd, but the truth, a few of the folks I know who have tried & failed in on line sales, have done so because their mate was not a computer person, and they became jealous of the time it takes on line to be successful.
9. The seller went into this business thinking it would be easy, fast money with little work.
Why do we do so well? We had been in a similar business, plus we have a large antique shop, which gives me endless products purchased at wholesale to chose from (we are direct importers of antiques from England and Europe). We have keep up with the market and attend at least one major convention of wholesalers, which brings in over 8,000 wholesalers of anything and everything - and we definitely branched out beyond antiques.
To sum up, actually 3 things make the difference - self discipline, the right product at the right price - and basic business knowledge - PLUS HARD WORK!
