posted on August 2, 2001 02:24:37 PM
I am considering selling on eBay full time. I was wondering how many of you are selling full time sucessfully (making a living). I know a lot depends on what you are selling. I thought it would be helpful to post the type of items that you sell.
I sell vintage eyewear and accessories, part time.
posted on August 2, 2001 03:26:06 PM
As a few others will probably say....
Don't quit your day job!
ebay (and the auction world) are a fickle place and staking ones well being on it at this point is akin to placing your life savings in internet stock. (my worthless opinion)
ebay is quite different once you jump from part time to full time. It becomes work.
I work 20 to 25 hours per week at a regular job and goof around on ebay in my spare time.
Many of our 'friends' ask why I don't do auctions full time but this works very well for me.
posted on August 2, 2001 04:24:48 PM
I do eBay as a hobby and it pays my ISP costs. I win some, I lose some. Do no not give up the day job as you have Worldwide competition. My current auctions are now targeted at the Southern Hemisphere as it is winter there.
posted on August 2, 2001 04:30:14 PM
I sell part time and it works just fine for me...more than a hobby as it is helping me meet specific financial goals (paying for my kids education) but not something I would want to give up my day job to do. When those goals are met I will have a final blow out 1-cent no-reserve everything-must-go sale and reclaim my apartment from what has become my eBay apartment.
Gerald
"Oh but it's so hard to live by the rules/I never could and still never do."
posted on August 2, 2001 04:36:06 PM
Hmmm ... I guess it depends on what your full-time job is. Selling on eBay gives no guarantees. No health insurance. No protection ... you are out there all alone. The entity making all the big bucks is eBay. I sell in my spare time (hah!), and take frequent breaks. As a previous poster commented, it is a fickle venue.
I have considered selling full-time when I retire (in only two short years).
I must say that it is addictive. When I don't list, I miss checking my auctions. I miss e-mailing with my winning bidders.
BUT - as something to pay all my bills and keep me warm and fed - I don't think so. The internet in general is changing - as usual, it is all about money. And that is when the sharks come out. For the long-term, I would not rely on eBay for your daily bread.
Just my humble opinion. But, I am old and (some say) wise.
posted on August 2, 2001 05:58:57 PM
My husband and I both (fools that we are) quit our day jobs for full-time online sales and haven't regretted it yet. Yea, long hours, hard work -- but we absolutely love what we're doing.
The key for us is realizing this is our business -- and treating it as such. We have a business plan (with short, medium and long term goals/objective), business accounts, and so on. We're expanding our business, shifting our focus, and constantly adjusting to the changes in the market.
It won't work for everyone -- but for us, its been a wonderful alternative to workin' for someone else.
posted on August 2, 2001 08:08:50 PM
I am a seller of computer parts, its part time/hobby for me.
Trust me, ebay is very risky...no matter how big of a seller you are, ebay is still reeping alot of ur percentage.
If you have a crappy job, then go full time on ebay, since you have nothing to lose. But if you have a good steady job, there is absolutely no reason to leave and go on ebay.
You may regret it 1 year down the road.
Just layout a systematic plan, and see how your goals and objectives are achieved. Trust me, there is no "unique product" out there that can make you millions! Competition IS 100% TOUGH. They will win your actions and find out where you get your goods, and copy you and under cut you! I have had that happen. I sold 1 Unique webcam, on dutch. 1 week later, 3 guys are selling the same thing for 1/3 the price!
If your a doctor, engineer, lawyer, or anything that earns more than 45K /year. DON"T QUIT!
posted on August 2, 2001 09:53:13 PM
I started selling on eBay about six months before I retired from a full time job three years ago. It was fun and I made a few bucks. When I retired, I quickly learned that social security benefits will not feed you and keep you clothed. So I experimented again with selling on eBay. I discovered that it added to my income enough that I can survive; without it I can't. So I work hard to sell what items I can. That means spending about five hours a day on the internet three or four days a week. The rest of the time I am thinking about the auctions because it is so addictive. I sell collectibles.
posted on August 3, 2001 04:59:15 AM
Xifene is not my seller ID on eBay. I have two different IDs for sales on eBay, one on Amazon and recently added two websites to further diversify my online sales. We sell (primarily) retro-hobby stuff and new bras. We'll sell anything that seems profitable (Disneyana, books, etc) but those are our mainstays.
It wasn't so much that our jobs were crappy as that we could see potential in this that exceed the potential of our jobs. After working full-time at this for a couple months (we'd been part-time for a year before), we up and moved our family to the part of the country we'd always loved 'cause we didn't have jobs to tie us down. The non-monetary benefits mean a lot to us.
posted on August 3, 2001 05:07:19 AM
I'm retired from my previous career, and sell on EBAY as a hobby. I sell used books. They come from yard sales & thrift shops. I live an hour from a decent sized city, and my inventory comes from there.
It pays for my summer vacation (of visiting families in other states) and a large part of Christmas. Even if I wanted to, I could not make a living at it just now, I could never scrape up enough inventory.
posted on August 3, 2001 09:35:00 AM
Well, the only reason I can make a living at it is because my home and auto are paid for. All I need is enough to pay for internet service, and utilities. My social security takes care of the groceries and that's all it does. We shop the yard sales and estate sales on weekends for inventory, and buy mini-storage contents at auction. We get a lot of junk in the mini-storage units, but a lot of treasures, too.
posted on August 3, 2001 10:45:39 AM
Regardless of your plan, cover your assets. You need to be alive and well for six months to a year without any income whatsoever and no outstanding debt. Most businesses fail because of a lack of capital.
You need lots of volume. If I quadrupled my listings I might be able to make enough, but I would probably have to go eight times that amount and really work very hard.
It is possible if you have plenty of product and a carefully laid out plan.
An alternative is to run eBay full-time and use a part-time job as a supplement until everything is at full-speed.
posted on August 3, 2001 04:13:14 PM
good thread...
I do the internet auction (s) full-time. My wfie works with me, but also has a full-time position.
It can be great, but a lot of hours.
Recently, we also began to spread out to other sites - bargainandhaggle in particular.
List on both. Now, its getting better.
I've built plans, targets, inventory controls, etc. However, in the collectible and antique market, you get it when its there or lose it... Sales... vary - great sometimes, horrible other times...
I love the business, eBay is still quite young and growing... even if the so-called big fish come in, I don't worry.
As a suggestion: If you have an auxillary income, try it; if you're own your own, try a couple of months of just living on the internet auction income and stockpile your day job income...
