posted on February 1, 2002 10:17:35 AM new
I've been a very part-time seller on online auctions for a few years and LOVE IT. I've made enough money to treat my family to extra goodies and was able to contribute to bills etc. I want to do so much more and make ebay selling a nice money making job for myself. I can use all the advise I can have from all you folks who sell on ebay to make a living or at least make some decent extra money.
PS: I'll be selling mostly childrens clothes, videos etc. as well as collectibles.
posted on February 1, 2002 12:20:40 PM new
You can scale your business on eBay quite easily and will find that the more items you list, the more you will sell and the larger your operation will become. This statement is a bit simplified, but the truth is that it is amazing how much product can be sold on eBay. You can do as much business as you want, but have to be sure to have the infrastructure in place to properly handle customer service and shipping functions. Your'e limited only by your aspirations!
posted on February 1, 2002 12:39:27 PM new
Earning a living on Ebay! I feel it can be done! I've been trying to do it for some time now. My biggest problem is locating good's to sell. And of course you need the funds to buy when you do find.
posted on February 1, 2002 02:49:14 PM new
Put more time into selling, and less time in buying, packaging and other duties. That means buy in bulk, do Dutch auctions and buy ready made boxes. Buying and selling one item at a time limits your income.
posted on February 1, 2002 10:17:39 PM new
eBay is not a free ride ... or an easy job. AND if you really do something they do not like POOF and you're NARU.
posted on February 2, 2002 05:13:46 AM new
I never thought it was a free ride nor easy. I asked for advise on how to make ebay work for me not whether or not I should quit my day job (which is totally irrelevent since I did that years ago because I refuse to be a pee-on in the toilet of the corporate world). IMO, I think auctions are a great way to supplement household income and the easiest way to do it (I dont see alot of work from home ads that are legit) and my goal is too make as much profit as I can using my laptop and digital camera (oh yeah, and all that stuff I gotta buy to sell).
Thanks to those who took time to actually give me some useful tips : )
posted on February 2, 2002 08:35:39 AM new
you said,
auctions are a great way to supplement household income and the easiest way to do it (I dont see alot of work from home ads that are legit---------
---------------------------------------
it is a double edged sword- it could be a great way to drain household income!!!!!!!
say you buy things which you cant sell-you wasted your hard earned money on listing fee and goods,if you use your credit card,there is monthly interest you have to pay if you dont pay the entire balance in full.
these days,it is not too difficult to have this scenario-list 100 items in a month,received bids on 10-40 items,some never send payment,some do.
the profit you make on the ones which receive payments have to pay for their own listing fee,final value fee,listing fee of those which did not sell,and possibly chargeback fee.
posted on February 2, 2002 08:47:20 AM new
Ebay is my full time job, it has been for three years now. The best advice I can give you is to have a partner who knows what you do in every stage of your work....
Last week I had the "flu", it developed into pneumonia and I was put in the hospital. My husband and I never sat down and taught him what I do all day (email contact, eoa's, paypal acess, how to send a billpoint invoice, etc.). So my hubby was helpless as the business made demands he couldn't handle...
I had to sign myself out of the hospital to get work taken care of...(I am fine, the Dr Gave me all the medicine a body can handle...).
I wish the hubby and I had put our heads together before this, but work went on and we actually did great..considering we both had pneumonia by Tuesday..
40+ packages were shipped and many new items listed...
Ebay is highly demanding, be sure to have help....
posted on February 2, 2002 01:03:32 PM new
Some one mentioned scalability for eBay sellers.
Let me expand on scalability. It is not just that you can run more auctions, scalability means expanding actual sales, not just listings.
Just because you have a 40% sell through rate working part time does not mean you will have an 80% sell through full time. In fact, full time may have an even smaller sell through rate.
Does being full time on eBay actually mean your listings will expand comensurate with the more time you put in. Not necessarily.
If part time you can list 50 items a week, will full time mean 100 listings ?
Will your full time eBay earnings equal your part time eBay earnings plus what you make from your job ?
Are you selling a large amount of single items ? That is, if you are selling 100 thingys a month part time, is there a market for 400 thingys a month ?
Markets do not expand just because you divert more time to them or "LOVE" doing it. In fact, a part time seller should have strong cues to become a full time seller FROM the market itself, not from any "rational or irrational" outside decision process.
The market should be giving you tips and signals on how or whether to become full time.
posted on February 2, 2002 01:37:56 PM new
I disagree that you "shouldn't give up your day job". Buyers are way too demanding for you to work a day job and ebay at the same time. Plus, doing ebay exclusively allows you to become devotional to buying, selling and imroving upon your business. Ever see an Olympian win a gold medal doing their sport parttime?
Anyway, katmommy already quit her job long ago and has developed experence. Very smart, and the enthusiasm will help a great deal. Some people lose their enthusiasm when they devote more hours to their business and things become routine. Don't let that happen to you. Enthusiasm is the most valuable asset you can have because it will allow you to pull though any situation, and buyers will enjoy buying from you.
Make a plan ahead of time with worse case scenerios. Figure how much money needs to go back into buying more inventory, and what will be left over for bills.
Have back up plans with regard to your inventory. What will happen if people stop buying what you have? What will happen if they start paying less? Always keep looking for lower cost suppliers including packaging supplies and inventory.
posted on February 2, 2002 01:52:22 PM new
I would diversify. What I mean is don't just at Ebay. List at Yahoo too. And with the very slow items, put them on at places like bidbay, epier ect... just to keep them in the public eye. I have found that many people don't just do business at one venue. They tend to do business at many or they pick one and don't jump around to others. You want your items to be seen by as many people as possible. That will give you a better chance for a sale.
If you do your homework and keep on top of trends, you can do very well in the online auction scene. If you quit your day job, just be sure you have the infrastructure of supply and re-supply to meet any demand and new trends. If you have that, then I see no reason that you couldn't do it full time at home and still have time for your family when needed.
Good luck to you,
bp
[ edited by barparts on Feb 2, 2002 01:56 PM ]
posted on February 2, 2002 03:07:09 PM new
Since you have already been selling for awhile, trust your judgement about what has already worked for you. We each have different strengths and weakness. What works for others may not work for you (and vice-versa).
I would encourage you to diversify, both in acquisition and distribution.
From what you said, you plan to be a retailer (buy from a manufacturer or distributor) and sell to the end user. Remember, ebay and the internet are a method of communication, nothing more. You must have products at prices people would be willing to pay even if there were no internet.
I would recommend you also have at least a web page that people can order from. You can give the link with your end-of-auction letter. Saving postage is a strong draw.
You might also consider selling locally at swap meets, flea markets, even a yard sale twice a year (Put your business stuff out with your personal items). You can make business cards on your computer to hand out with your web site listed.
If you go for a daily walk, consider walking in parking lots and leaving flyers on windshields or house doors.
Develop one product line at a time and become an expert at it.
Look for unique items that you can make or assemble, or that a local business manufactures. Consider improving the products you sell. If you sell a video of Titanic, you might also say "Also in the box is a photocopy of an article about the story the movie was based on." Or, get some sew on letters and say, "Dress includes letter of your choice sewn on upper left." There are a zillion possibilities.
Remember the term "opportunity cost." Don't be afraid to stop selling an item or technique if it doesn't work. Don't be afraid of using different techniques or items depending on the season.
posted on February 2, 2002 03:33:38 PM new
As others have already stated, by all means, diversify - both online and in the brick and mortar world.
Also, if you're going to rely on ebay to produce a large chunk of your revenue, then make sure you're familiar with and abide by their rules. The AW boards are full of posts by full-time ebay sellers - who put most of their eggs in the ebay basket - then got suspended. Two things I can think of off the top of my head that will get you in hot water real quick are 1) direct links to another site where you sell the same merchandise and 2) stating that you charge extra for any sort of credit card/Paypal/Billpoint transactions. There's a lot of others (selling prohibited items, etc) but these seem to be the violations that get people in trouble the most.
posted on February 2, 2002 07:19:05 PM new
holdenrex:
Are you talking about the folks that state the winning bidder has to pay 50 cents more to pay through Paypal? If so..Ive seen those..I never do that nor do I link anything. I go strictly by the book.
posted on February 2, 2002 07:35:38 PM new
katmommy - yes, that's the type of thing I'm talking about. If you charge extra for payment through Paypal or other payment services, somebody can turn you in to Safeharbor. Apparently Safeharbor will generally tell you to revise the auctions within a period of time or else they'll yank the auctions. Neither option is very appealing, especially if you're a full-timer who has hundreds of auctions running at one time and depend on ebay as your major source of income. Repeat offenders get suspended. About once a month somebody who has had this happen to him comes onto the AW forums to bellyache about it, so I thought that might be one of the pitfalls you should be aware of in order to avoid it.
Ironically, if you charge a handling fee, you can simply "pad" the handling fee to cover your extra expenses from Paypal, etc. without getting in trouble. It's one of those "don't ask, don't tell" kinda situations.
posted on February 3, 2002 06:25:46 AM new
Ahhh OK..gotcha. I do have a Paypal acct. that can accept credit cards but dont use it. I opened another Paypal acct. a few months ago and since I sell smaller ticket items, I keep the newer acct. the standard plan (I cant accept CC's) and have had no problems at all and avoid Paypal fee's. I figure that if I come across something with a bigger ticket and sold it.. I guess I could accept a CC with my business acct and add the "fee" to the shipping cost.
Funny you mention about folks actually saing in their auctions "Paypal users please add 50 cents"..I saw at least 5 of those yesterday and was actually turned off by it and didnt bother to bid.
posted on February 3, 2002 07:46:02 AM new
Actually, the people who said "Don't give up your day job" gave you useful information.
That you choose to reject it does not mean it doesn't have value.
Selling on eBay full-time requires discipline and a willingness to keep learning. Buyers will not take kindly to messages such as "Your item hasn't been shipped because my child is ill and I can't leave the house."
Owning my own eBay business means I get to work twice as hard for half the pay I got in the corporate world. Am I complaining? Nope. But it's not for everyone.
posted on February 3, 2002 07:58:56 AM new
I've already mentioned that quitting a day job has no relevance in my situation. I've already set up back-ups for every aspect of selling "just in case".
I already know there is ALOT of work involved but to me, this is enjoyable. Online auctions are something I love to do and if you knew me at all..if I havent gotten sick of it yet..that says ALOT.
I'm not a dreamer that thinks I will make $40,000 a year selling video tapes on Ebay but if I can clear a few hundred a month (which is my goal right now and so far successful) from home, thats worth more to me then a weekly paycheck from a corporation who doesnt have MY best interest at heart.
I can go on and on about why this is for me but my child is ill and I cant leave the house : )
posted on February 3, 2002 08:02:52 AM new
Here's another thing:
You've got to track your sales, expenses and inventory pretty much constantly. Why? Because there are thousands (maybe more) eBay sellers who are going broke slowly and not realizing it because they have cash flow.
Since she sells the same type items I do, I've been tracking one particular seller who has 3,000 unique items listed at any one time. Most of her opening prices are between $9.99 and $20, so there's a 55 cent listing fee right there on many pieces. Her listing price is a 100% markup over wholesale. (I know where she gets her stuff.) She doesn't charge enough for shipping to cover the cost of postage, materials and labor and combines auctions into one package, to boot. She accepts credit cards, so there's a transaction fee and probably 2% hit on every charge card sale. Her sellthrough rate is less than 20%. I don't even want to think of the cost of carrying all that inventory. (Hint: not all costs are direct, and indirect costs can hurt you just as badly as the ones you have to write a check for each month.)
She has absolutely fabulous feedback. Small wonder: she's giving away her store. We correspond periodically. She told me she got 4 days off last year.
Four days of vacation. That corporate job looks better and better all the time.
posted on February 3, 2002 09:13:42 AM new
i dont think paypal allow us to have more than one account??
there is a recent thread on someone whose accounts got locked up for that??
posted on February 3, 2002 09:20:00 AM new
I am not asking advise about life. I am not a naive "wanna be"..I simply asked for advise and tips from those who either make it a living or make decent income.
You are coming across as someone who gets a thrill of shooting people down. As I said before, I have no job (besides accountant, housekeeper, babysitter, cook, laundress, limo driver, teacher) to quit. For a long time I have been recording expenses and profits and it's worked well for me. I just want to do more one step at a time.
posted on February 3, 2002 09:24:14 AM new
Paypal does allow for more then one acct. I called them with a question about my original acct before I opened a new one and I was told I didnt have to cancel the original one in order to have a new one. What it comes down to is I have 1 business acct. and one standard acct and Paypal is very aware of this.
posted on February 3, 2002 10:15:24 AM new
Enjoy your Ebay career. I think it can work and I am going to go full time as soon as I retire. Ways to hold costs down. Get friends to save 'peanuts' and bubble wrap for you. Also, some of the stores will save boxes and packing material if you ask. I keep my shipping prices low and people really appreciate it, no one has complained about the packing material. I have even used leftover carpet padding (new} from when we recarpeted. Boxes, I like Uline for the small boxes I buy. Of course you all ready know about the Post Office free Priority Mail boxes, they are great! My husband is very, very helpful. He can list and does all of the running to the post office while I work my 10 hour days. We both love auctions and yard sales and church sales, this is where we get most of our inventory. We collect a lot of things and the left overs get sold to support our 'habits'. Good luck to you, this is a great community with lots of very helpful folks.
posted on February 3, 2002 10:45:49 AM new
I'd think I'd reserve judgement about making anything full-time until the shipping cost increases shake out. I think alot of $20 and under items will go by the wayside if shipping is going to be nearly 1/2 of the original purchase price. (people may pay the shipping but they'll consider that when bidding so any profit margin will be less than say 2 years ago)
Am I the only one thinking that other than media mail items that the only thing left on eBay are going to be higher priced items where the buyer doesn't mind paying the shipping ($100 plus $10 to ship.....)
Besides shipping increases, the antiques and collectibles market is taking a hit on the majority of items due to lack of rarity. (I know...there's the occassional hard to find item....) I remember selling vintage toys for $300 or more back in 1998 and you you'd be lucky if you get $50 now for the same item!
I've been selling all my big items now (saving media mail items for later). I've been selling since July 1997 and this is the first time I see "doom and gloom" 6 months from now.
Yes, you can make a few hundred bucks selling some items here and there, but I think if you really subtracted the purchase price, packing items, etc....It really isn't as high as one might think.
posted on February 3, 2002 11:01:56 AM new
ihave seen more sellers using padded envelopes when they should be using boxes,eg, a lot of metal jewelry!!
also instead of taking out insurance,they use delivery confirmation on nice jewelry.
posted on February 3, 2002 02:05:18 PM new
The only thing I pay for is Packing tape and that goes a long way. Boxes of all sizes are readily available at supermarkets (just find out delivery days). As far as labels..I use the regulation priority mail labels or scrap white paper. As far as packing material...I use plastic from the market as well as newspaper. This all works real well if you arent sending something real valuable.e I once sold a convection oven and packed it myself at no cost.
posted on February 3, 2002 03:03:57 PM new
It's as simple as standing on a corner with a sign that say's "I'll work for food" and if you don't think these loosers and con's don't make money think again!If you work hard,treat it right,be smart, the E-bay world is your pearl!I make money hand over fist.Go for it like anything it has it's ups and downs.But once you get a base of customers,newbies,and dealers buying from you.It's all good!
No Boss to Toss...take off when you want...make what you want,I pull anywhere from $3,000 to 10,000. a month depens on what I feel like posting....Bottom line it's Great.And remember people hate your independence.Thats why say "don't quit your lame day job"You think they said the same to Sam Walton,Donald Trump,Howard Stern and Bill Gates....you THINK!
