posted on January 13, 2001 11:18:39 PM
I know many people make a full time business out of this. Me, I have my eBay income as a second income, but I try not to touch the money, except for postage, packing supplies, new invetory, etc.
I've been saving most of the money I make to buy something really nice for myself next year, like a nice vacation, or a car, etc.
I work 20-40 hours a week on eBay (and I'm trying Yahoo! Auctions as well, we'll see how that works). I'm working nearly full time hours for part time money. This will change! By April I hope to have my new plan implemented, I'm going to work smart, not hard, and part time!
You don't need to disclose exact dollar amounts, I'm just curious if this is a full time, part time, or occasional job for you (or anywhere in between)
posted on January 13, 2001 11:41:11 PM
I due it for the thrill and fun. I have learned to be a bargain finder and really enjoy it.
I have sold for over a year now. Have enough profit in the bank to make me happy. In December for the first time I took money out for me, went to Vegas. Won enough there that I put what I took out back in. So now I am trying to decide what I want to spend this money on. But until then, I just take out the expenses (postage, inventory etc). And let it keep adding up.
I really need a body tuck, after losing 141 pounds. But I just can not see me ever spending that much money on myself (about $25,000). Who knows, maybe someday I will decide to get it done.
Other then that I am lucky enough to have every thing I need, so I just save it. I would really like to make enough to do I full time, but I don't so I work full time and do it for fun.
I've been doing eBay for less than a year, and I'm doing this part time with a pursuation of a friend who is VERY successful. I'm a stay at home mom, and what a perfect opportunity for me to bring in some extra income for the cushion that a single income family needs!
So far, most of my profits have been going back into inventory. November and December sales were beyond my expectations. I really thought some extra pocket money would do our family good, but now, like you, am working smarter and developing a strategy for a smoother operation.
Not a big operation yet, but plan on expanding my line.
posted on January 14, 2001 12:18:31 AM
I'm a stay at home mom, too. I'm just cleaning out the closets, plus selling off the inventory from my gift shop that I closed a while back.
Part of the money goes to charity, part goes into a "movie fund" for the kids, part to my husband to pay a few bills....and the rest goes to support my habit: BUYING ONLINE.
I keep it part-time, manageable and fun. Still, I try to be as professional as possible. And, I've learned a lot from the more experienced Sellers who post here in this Message Center. Thanks to all of you.
posted on January 14, 2001 12:25:19 AM
I forget to mention, I got started as a buyer, looking for some rare auto parts for my father.
I saw what people were selling, and making good money at it. I thought to myself, I've got lots of good things to sell, so that's what I did.
In anticipation of a big Christmas rush, I actually bought things to sell. Unfortunatly it wasn't as busy as I hoped, but I'm expecting to sell a lot in the spring and summer.
Based on what I saw last summer, that's one of the best times to sell auto related items. When I fist started I wasted lots of time creating every ad from scratch on eBay's web site, with no pictures. Boy, have things changed!
I am a stay at home wife and do this as a way to have extra money to spend and each year for my husband's BD I send him to Myrtle Beach to play Golf for a week. My first year in 1997 was fabulous and beyond my wildest expectations. Since then, things sure have changed. Now I mostly sell Books.
RichieRich,
OMG congratulations. I am battling just 20 lbs and can't seem to lose it. Start a thread in the RT and tell us how you did it!!!!
posted on January 14, 2001 01:47:49 AM
Selling on eBay is my full time occupation.
I make a lot of money but I don't devote all of my energies to it. My life is full and balanced.
I started selling when I was 45. I am now 47.
I had a career starting out as an accountant, then businss manager, then heading accounting and finance for various companies. So I started my eBay business with a solid business background.
Another advantage I had is that my husband and I worked hard throughout our working careers, we saved and invested, we didn't spend money foolishly, we kept our vehicles until they fell apart. When I started the eBay business I went into it with no mortgage, no debt, no car payments and a strong investment portfolio.
I've never looked backwards. My life is my own. My hours are mine to structure as I want. When there is a crisis I have the flexibility to adapt. For example, last year my husband suffered a serious stroke to the thalamic part of the brain that put him on immediate and permanent retirement. Since I work at home I can be his caretaker and I feel grateful that I have the freedom to do so.
Most importantly though, as I stated at the beginning of this post, my life is balanced.
posted on January 14, 2001 06:56:58 AM
Part time unfortunately...just sell beads..and there really isn't a whole lot of money there + lots of competition.
But that is fine with me. I make enough to support my habit and that was my goal to begin with..so I have accomplished something.
posted on January 14, 2001 01:46:41 PM
This is all I do and it pays all the bills, but vacation time has taken a big hit. I used to travel 30 times a year and now travel once a year. Now there's less stress and more R & R, so vacations aren't a high priority, and now spend my afternoons at the lake, even in winter. If I did this PT, it'd take me about ten years to sell all my stuff. When I started to sell lower priced items I though I'd have to go back to work, but instead my sales tripled making up the difference. It's been more work listing items, but less work packaging.
posted on January 14, 2001 02:27:23 PM
With a few minor changes, (add a few years to the age, and change the disease to cancer), my story is *remarkably* similar to darcyw's!
Hi!
If you have any kind of insurance it WILL pay for your 'tummy tuck'...you are simply calling it in a cosmetic term and so they deny it right away.
You need to find a surgeon that knows how to get past the first level of your insurance and get them to LISTEN that this is 'excess skin removal'..
The excess skin medically is bad...causes back, neck, leg problems, infections under the folds of skin, you can't exercise because of the 'flopping' etc. Look under OBESITY.COM and you will find surgeons that will help you.
I had it done almost a year ago..my insurance paid for it. Even if you have medicare it will pay for it.
Why? Because it isn't for COSMETIC reasons..it for HEALTH reasons. Even if your insurance states it WILL NOT pay it really WILL PAY because you have lost so much weight.
Hope this helps!
Carole
who's lost 120 lbs and still loosing.
posted on January 14, 2001 05:58:37 PM
This is my one and only job. I've been doing this for a little over 3 years. Started out selling things around the house just for fun, then for "Additional money" then I finally got up the nerve to quit my VERY good job to work at home. Best move I ever made. The only thing I miss is interacting with actual people in person. (Which I guess could explain why I spend so much time on these boards!)
posted on January 14, 2001 08:57:17 PM
for the DH auctions are what he does... for me, I have a sorta full/part time thing going... I work part time from home, part time at the office and get a sorta full time income... kind of.
Depends on how busy we are what my income is.
Sooo the auctions usually pay the bills, the other job buys food and such.
Not a bad deal from something that started out as an online garage sale because I couldn't have one at the apartment complex I live at.
posted on January 15, 2001 08:09:57 PM
I thought about expanding into ebay fulltime but the government makes it so difficult for a new business to start legit. There's federal and state income tax, self employment tax, business license, fictitious name file, etc. After paying all those fees I would have a negative.
I just sell (and buy) as a hobby. I keep a balance book and declare any income after expenses so I'm on the up and up.
Richie--How do you lose all that weight? Was it a special diet or just stopped eating so much? I only need to lose a few pounds but they don't want to budge (no pun intended).
posted on January 15, 2001 08:31:03 PM
I have a *real* full-time job and I do this on the side. I just started last summer - I figured out that I didn't make anything at all last year. (I wasn't very good.) But I'm getting better and have actually started making a little money. I also sell books at Amazon.com and half.com. It's a good part-time hobby and I'm saving for a vacation this spring.
posted on January 15, 2001 08:48:32 PM
I started doing this as a hobby ~ to support my online buying habit..........after I was laid off from my job..........I discovered that I loved being with me kids. I work on ebay 6-8 hours a day.............usually most of that is after they go to bed at night ~ I pay about 1/3 of our expenses each month with my income ~ additionally it should be noted that I have done away with all my work related expenses ~
posted on January 15, 2001 08:59:00 PM
I'm retired and only sell on EBAY part-time. I earned my first 300 feedbacks buying, I couldn't keep doing that forever. Now selling takes up so much time, I hardly buy anymore.
My profit supplemented our Christmas this year. This may sound artificial, but I used my EBAY profits to buy our widowed moms really nice Christmas presents.
posted on January 15, 2001 11:29:36 PM
I should mention, when I started as a buyer I thought there was no room for another seller, but then saw what was being sold. Since I had some of those things just collecting dust, I decided to give selling a try.
At first I didn't include any pictures, nor did I use templates. I was still able to sell a few things, but decided to buy a scanner, since I was planning on getting one anyways. I used H***ty at first, then they kept having so many problems, I started usinf AuctionWatch.
As I added pictures to my listings, and learned HTML, and got better at writing ads, I promised I would list at least 5 items per week.
Now I list anywhere between 15-50 items per week. I have some really good weeks, and some that are pathetic. Some weeks I spend more time than others, but I'm still more-a-less part-time (at least I get part-time earnings anyways), but I've been saving most of it, and it adds up nicely. Next year I should have enough to buy a nice car or go on a good vacation.
I'm not sure if I have enough courage to try and make it full time on eBay, but I hope to list more high end items later, maybe I'll still be able to work part-time and make more money.
