posted on July 24, 2001 12:13:57 PM
I need to be listing everything I can right now, I am expecting my first child.......but some days I have to force myself to list. I love selling on ebay, I am not sure what makes me put off getting descriptions typed. How do you all keep motivated?
posted on July 24, 2001 12:42:58 PM
It's funny I was just thinking about the same thing today and then I think about going back to my "regular" job and that keeps me motivated. :}
posted on July 24, 2001 01:20:15 PM
I have several methods. One is to do some heavy duty listing for a couple of weeks, then take a little mini Ebay holiday where I don't list anything for a week. If you double up on listings prior to the little holiday with good selling items it should even out and you won't notice the lack of income for the week you didn't list (just manage your windfall from the previous couple of weeks well!). Granted you still have to pack and ship, but you have that little vacation from listing and following auctions. Another is to change what you are listing. I list mostly horse magazines and books. However, I've been doing some major house and storage shed cleaning so that gives you an opportunity to list something new. Working with a different product and different buyers seems to liven it up a bit.
posted on July 24, 2001 01:30:36 PM
The thing that helps avoid burn out is winning bids the more you sell the more motivated you are to list. http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
posted on July 24, 2001 01:48:49 PM
zeeesdreams is right ! always remember the only thing worse than having to do something is having someone tell you to do something. I burn out all the time but come back and list like crazy. last week I was about to walk away but the mailman brought bills instead of checks and I became inspired.
I do think you need at least one other friend on ebay that you can talk to and have pep talks and %$#&*^ sessions with. it helps. hang in there and good luck! one homerun on ebay will kill the burnout..........for awhile at least.
posted on July 24, 2001 01:54:20 PM
What a great thread. Maybe we will all get some ideas to avoid burnout. I myself am pretty competitive and that is one thing I actually miss with my last sales job so I have a friend that sells as well and we compete with each other to see who can list the most in a time period. He usually wins but I always try hard to whoop his hiney!
I also like to do what the above post said and list like crazy and then if I have to take a week off I can. What a joy. Can you imagine telling your 'old' boss that since you worked real hard last week that you aren't going to be coming in this week. Yeah right. But I too, am most motivated by money and I don't let things stay in my house for more than 2 months. If I haven't sold them by then then Salvation Army gets a call and I get a tax write off.
Good luck and just think how happy that baby is going to be knowing Mommy worked at home so he/she can know you better!!!
There's no danger of developing eyestrain from looking at the bright side of things!
posted on July 24, 2001 02:01:27 PM
Try scheduling your time--as if it were a "real" job. i.e. --I WILL have a 30 minute coffee break at 10 a.m.--I WILL take my lunch from noon until 1--I WILL not list nor even check my computer after 5 p.m. In fact, I will turn it off so I'm not tempted. This way, you don't feel like the job goes on forever and ever and ever and ever and....
posted on July 24, 2001 02:39:13 PM
Thanks for all of the tips, I especially like what paintpower & joycel said. I am hoping some of it is hormones, & that it will pass. I am going to try putting myself on a schedule for one.
It is nice to know that I am not the only person that goes through this.
Selling on ebay is time consuming, but it is not hard work. I think it is a great way to get to stay home with my baby, but if I don't get off my duff I won't be able to. I do appreciate the tips, keep 'em coming!
posted on July 24, 2001 02:53:27 PM
For me it's just getting started. More often not once I get started I get on a roll and it becomes fun. So I just have to get off my butt and get started! I tell myself I am going to start at noon and work hard for 4 hours and can call it a good listing day. Better then working hard for 8-9 hours at a job where you're producing for someone else.
posted on July 24, 2001 05:12:43 PM
WEll, when I was pregnant between the hormones and insomnia and exhaustion I was pretty must out of it, though I was working full time and the second time around of course I already had a child. I wonder if I could have done ebay seriously then? I don't know. It was easier to sleep at my desk at work...just kidding.
As for the question, I'm in a bit of doldrums right now, myself. Too many no bids lately, a whole lot of auctions that I can't seem to conclude due to people saying they paid via PayPal but I never got the payment, lagging replies to email, excuses, etc. That sort of burns me out.
I do like to diversify and try other venues besides ebay to avoid putting all my eggs in one basket, so right now I am also listing on Yahoo and doing more on Amazon. It's not really any more exciting but it's interesting to try new things. Especially if they work [ie. not Bidville]
posted on July 25, 2001 11:46:02 AM
I think this thread may come in handy for me. I gave my 3-week notice at work on Monday. I'm going to try Ebay full-time for awhile. I know, I know, it's not a dependable income but I'm not the major breadwinner either. It's just something I love to do. I would appreciate advice and opinions. Positive and negative. Also, if anyone wants to share any tips with me, please email me at [email protected] I would love to correspond with someone who has taken the same chance I'm taking. I have been with the same company for 18 years and I am soooo tired of it. I know that now is a slow time but I need to get into a routine for the winter. Please wish me luck. I'm going to need it.
posted on July 25, 2001 11:53:02 AM
Good luck! I can relate; this past winter I quit the job I'd had for 9 years, through two pregnancies and births, and expected to hang onto forever. But we got reengineered and life was so stressful. I found myself questioning seriously the value of working away from home with small kids. Also, my ebay business was just starting and I wanted to give more of myself to that.
I'm glad I did. I don't make my old salary of course, but enough to really make a difference.
BTW, I just tried to BUY a widget on ebay and couldn't due to fierce bidding! I thought it would be easy since it is a low-glamour, more or less everyday widget. I bid up someone's reserve until I gave up...others were already too high. So while I don't know those sellers' profit margins, there is still plenty of buying going on!
Meanwhile, I need to go to Target to get my widget...
posted on July 25, 2001 04:06:21 PM
LOw bids make me have burnout . high bids have me listing like crazy! and of course the bills, bills bills!!!
HOwever, listed a number of auctions~ went on holidays ~ spent lots and came home to no bids practically! So I think it is a very slow time of year and will pick up in October! Hang in there and after the heat wave things will pick up. Congrats on your " first baby" and buy something nice for yourself from auction money. Cheers, suz23. (( I think Keziak 's advice re trying other auction sites especially amazon or yahoo if you had success there) and everyone else's makes a lot of sense~ as I get burnout at all kinds of jobs including even housework and gardening ))
posted on July 25, 2001 10:04:27 PM
If it becomes too overwhelming, take a break. If you can afford to, a month off is great--you don't have to worry about shipping.
posted on July 26, 2001 12:00:26 AM
I BURN OUT REAL QUICK!!!! Thank goodness this is my OFF season!! But here's what I do when it's my ON season and I'm burning the e-Bay candles. Make a game out of pushing money lines--50 pushes to 75-pushes to 100 and on and on 900 pushes to 1000....Once you reach one goal--move on to the next! Find a GOOD eBay pal!!!! Someone said that earlier!!! Normal folks just don't understand the headaches of non-paying bidders--checks that have been mailed 3 times--and you STILL have NOT received a ONE! Yakka de Yak Yak!!! I have a great eBay pal--we are very simular in the way we list...what we list....and can cry, crab and complain via e-mail! We have the same sleep patterns and believe it or not--two family members in each of our family's are named the same and we don't live in the same town--though we do live in the same state--so there is never any fear of fighting over the same finds!!! Take a day off from worrying about eBay or Listing. Then get started! Best of luck to YOU!
posted on July 26, 2001 05:31:05 AM
It is a Hard thing...I did like the idea of setting up like a so-called "real" job...and folks, you know eBay is a "Real" Job.
anyway,maybe work a few hrs in the morning take a lunchbreak and maybe a few others also.
I think even better is to go 3 days straight and do your photos,listing,etc......then take the other 4 days of the week and don't do a whole lot besides answering emails,shipping,go to flea markets,etc...that may help you avoid some of the "Burnout"
posted on July 26, 2001 06:23:20 AM
I have been posting on eBay and elsewhere for 6 years and actually was so excited and thrilled in the beginning that I didn't experience "burn out" for a couple of years.
After a couple of years, I find I have a "burn out" period about twice a year. When I find I am actually dreading the posting of one more auction; when I find I hate the thought of one more order/sale, then I know it is time to pull back and quit for a couple of weeks; and that is what I do.
Normally, for me, in a couple of weeks, I am going in to emotional "sales withdrawal," and am champing at the bit to get back to selling.
The ONLY time I don't allow myself to surcome to "burn out" take off time, is during our best sales periods, in the fall, Christmas, and during the winter. If a "burn out" time appears during this period, I just try to slow down a little, but not stop posting as that would be a ridiculous and costly business decision.
We do close our auction sales/posting about 2 weeks before Christmas as there is no guarantee on items arriving on time, and buyers are so up tight, nervous, and ill tempered, we have found it best to avoid this period. Also during this time, the USPS and UPS is totally unreliable, and many packages are extremely slow in arrival, and many lost, which just makes for after Christmas problems and upset buyers, neither of which I wish to deal with.
During this present time of year (summer), when things are slow, we take it easy and don't push. We try to prepare during this time of year for the busy season when we have to use an extra packer to keep up with orders. Normally, we have only one full time packer.
