posted on December 17, 2001 10:53:06 AM new
And will be selling on ebay full time for the time being, till I figure out what it is that I want to do with my life.
I currently maintain about 60-80 auctions a week, bringing in a profit between $600-$700 monthly. Obviously I'll need to up the ante a bit and hopefull bring in a profit of $1000/month.
Any suggestions or words of advise?
I have to say, I'm not quite as devestated about losing my job as i suppose I should be
posted on December 17, 2001 11:08:49 AM new
I know this is going to sound stupid, but sell more stuff?
Actually, the hard part will not be selling more stuff, you will have the time to do that. The hard part will be to FIND the stuff you can sell to make money.
posted on December 17, 2001 11:09:19 AM new
I know this is going to sound stupid, but sell more stuff?
Actually, the hard part will not be selling more stuff, you will have the time to do that. The hard part will be to FIND the stuff you can sell to make money.
posted on December 17, 2001 11:26:58 AM new
That's actually what i'm most concerned about, my inventory - I have a good supply for part time work, I just hope I can make it thruogh full time. My inventory basically consists of buying in bulk on ebay and taking the lots apart to resell, it's worked out pretty well for me so far.
I sell low dollar items, but I do it in large enough portions that I've been taking home okay money for part time not my "real job" income - I just hope i can kepe it up to supplement my unemployment check for however long it takes to figure out what I want to be when I grow up....
posted on December 17, 2001 11:27:55 AM new
skruggie -- If you overlist the same items, your end bids will be lower. I suggest diversifying your items and research other sources to buy from. If you contact the seller directly, you can negotiate a better price since the seller does not pay any venue fees. Definitely use a second buyer id instead of your seller id to minimize any problems.
[ edited by sun818 on Dec 17, 2001 11:36 AM ]
posted on December 17, 2001 11:37:23 AM new
skruggie -- what do you sell? Is it unique items or retail items that you can buy in bulk?>>
No, It's not retail items - I mostly deal in magazines of a celebrity nature. I put a lot of times into listings so that I Have maximum exposure, I don't bring a lot of money in per each listing per say, but it all adds up to a decent amount of moeny when all is said and done.
<<This way you get better prices for each item you list. It has not been a problem processing 100 sold items per week with auction management software.>>
By auction management software, do you mean software that automatically lists for you? The only thing I use right now is Shooting Star, to keep track of my finances, but I haven't even been using Mr. Lister to list my items, I do everything by hand.
posted on December 17, 2001 11:51:29 AM new
skruggie, sounds like it's time to start going to yard sales, thrift stores, flea markets, auctions and the like. I've picked up stacks of celebrity magazines in terrific condition at yard sales for 25 cents an issue, usually less when buying the whole pile. It's also time to diversify and learn about other second-hand items that can be turned over for a profit - books, videos, CDs, records, collectibles of all sorts. Study Ebay's closed auctions in various categories that interest you and you'll get a quick education as to what's hot and what's not. Good luck and have fun.
posted on December 17, 2001 12:03:14 PM new
May I suggest taking a look at
www.strongnumbers.com
(its free)
They track EBAY past auction histories for approx 6 months. You should be able to look up various items outside your specialty to give you a better idea of what to pay when purchasing.
posted on December 17, 2001 02:00:46 PM new
In my life I've been laid off many times. For some reason I was always happy it happened, and either jumped to the next thing or collected u/c for a while.
I have been doing ebay for several years, and finally was able to give up my brick and mortar stores and do ebay fulltime.
You are fortunate in that ebay is coming into its three strongest months for magazines, books, cds and videos as the grip of winter keeps most of the nation indoors.
Ephemera about certain celebrities is something I can't get enough of. So you are in a good position. You might try branching out as has been suggested.
Ebay is trial and error for me. If you succeed in one of every two things you try, then you will grow your business. Of course once you find something new that works, keep a low profile. The copycats are out there looking for ideas. They let others do the homework, research and prove a market exists and then move in and undercut your prices, glutting the market.
posted on December 17, 2001 04:21:33 PM new
Thanks for the advise, especially about checking out local garage sales - I'm defientely going to look into that, hopefully I'll be able to expand my inventory.
That'e the one thing I'm really concerned about more than anything else, not being able to keep up inventory wise. I guess it's a matter of research and leg work...lord knows i'll have the time for it now!
posted on December 17, 2001 04:39:35 PM new
I hope you have enough socked away to buy better dollar per sale items. Lots of low price items does not cut for a full time business unless you are doing hundreds of auctions weekly to rake in enough bucks. I do not know your circumstances, but my guess is you need 4X volume for what you are currently making. A rough way to make ends meet.
posted on December 18, 2001 12:13:03 PM new
go for quality merchandise,if you cant sell it today,there will be a tomorrow.
not sure about the cheap resin casted stuff.
posted on December 18, 2001 01:11:41 PM new
The way I'm looking at it, if at the very least I keep as much income as I"m currently making via ebay, I won't be rich but I won't starve either.
I'll get enough in umemployment checks to pay my rent and most of my car payment, ebay needs to cover everything else - not impossible on a short term basis.
posted on December 18, 2001 02:24:29 PM new
You Will Need to start makeing 4x What you are now which is to say 4X what you pay for your Inventory and more if you want to Incress your listing and mantain it at higher levels.
as well you will need Extra $$ put away to handel the incressed listing fees and daily shipping costs.
When buyers pay with Checks the SHipping is paid for on the spot but if you get many online payments it can take up to 5 days to turn these payments into cash in the bank.. http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
posted on December 18, 2001 03:16:50 PM new
dman3 makes a good point. Cash reserves. I purchase on average $500 a week in postage. I do a lot of priority mailing. If it takes a week to collect these online payments even 3 days or a long weekend you need the cash reserve to pay up front. Optionally you need to be good with float which I am sure you will be if not already.
If you are purchasing product you have to be prepared to have cash tied up in inventory. Cash in inventory does you no good when paying the bills.
Even if you turn over your inventory in 2 weeks time which makes a total of 3 weeks for all the cash to get back to you, that can be a long time and you need to have product on the way if not already there so there is no lag in listings.
Basically saying watch your cash flow when you get started, you can not tie it up too long until you get enough of it.
