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RE: Ebay :D - 7/26/2008 12:01:11 PM
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LCannon
Posts: 1259
Joined: 2/22/2007
From: Lebanon, OR
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I know a young family that was, perhaps still is, trading on EBay and other like swapping forums, as their primary income source. Both parents have quit(or were laid off)from other employ.
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play Mozart and then too our dear Lord listens with special pleasure."(Karl Barth)
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RE: Ebay :D - 7/28/2008 11:01:15 AM
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Row1
Posts: 248
Joined: 12/2/2005
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if you are not familiar with it, list and sell a few things. you need to get a feel for how things go. like how much description you need to provide, how much a 'listing' costs, the different ways you could ship something, how to make sure to get good versus bad feedback, how to detect scammers versus people who truly want to simply pay according to how it is supposed to work, how much time it takes to post an item, how much time it takes to package and mail an item, how to receive payments like are you gonna use paypal, etc.
if you are already familiar with it, then develop your entire plan to 'make a living' from ebay. calculate out the income that would be acceptable to you as a minimum - like, if you could CLEAR $50,000 per year, you would devote 40 hours per week to this.
If you sell some item, and CLEAR $1 profit each time, then you would have to sell 50,000 per year to CLEAR $50,000. If you worked 50 of the 52 weeks in a year, you would have to sell 1,000 of these items per week to CLEAR $50,000 in one year.
There are lost of things you could sell to clear a dollar at a time, but my point is that I would not quit my day job, because it takes a lot of dollar bills to add up to $50,000.
Time yourself listing, then packaging up and mailing ONE item. It can eaasily take one hour. If you get some routine down, such as a rubber stamp for return address, or printing postage versus licking 1,000 stamps per week, then you can start to see how any time savings would lead to more money. Going to the post office and asking them at the counter to put the lowest-cost postage on each of a thousand packages is gonna make each of us in line behind you very upset.
if you have some item that would CLEAR you $50, then you would only need to sell 1000 per year, or 20 per week. I am not sure what you could reliably sell 20 of per week that would be reasonable to mail to people that would clear $50 each item. But this is America, and anything is possible.
I have sold some garage sale items I happened to come across. I bought an old bike for $8, because a few parts were collector's items for cycling enthusiasts - and I sold them for $90. But that was the ONLY time I have ever lucked in to that. I bought a cycle trainer for $5 at a garage sale, and sold it for $50. But that was the ONLY time I lucked into that. If I could find 10 of these bikes a day, I could clear $50,000. But it would take me ALL DAY to scour every garage sale and pawn shop, and I know I might only find 3 or 4 things per week. So, I keep my day job.
My friend buys in bulk some specialized things for motorcycle enthusiasts - like special leather gloves - and sells them by the pair on Ebay and CLEARS several dollars per pair. to reliably make money, you have to have some way to reliably keep getting whatever it is you are selling. Thrift stores and garage sales don't reliably have this for you.
From my example, you can see that it is possible, and people do this, but it takes a lot of work.
so - to think this through some more, maybe tell us what you might sell.
*****
Make sure you do the 'math,' like I have just done for you!!!
The way some people CLEAR $50,000 per year on Ebay is by selling YOU a $5 guide to 'making money on Ebay.' This most likely will NOT make YOU $50,000, but you will help THEM make $50,000.
Their guide to making a living from Ebay may have some good tips and tricks, but at the heart of the matter is this reality: to CLEAR $50,000, you need to sell enough items to CLEAR $50,000.
"What are you going to sell" is the heart of the matter.
The hints and tricks are often simply ways to be efficient, or make a bit more than you usually make - like listing a book in some way to CLEAR $1.20 versus $1.00.
I don't mean to discourage you. I know a couple people who have gone after this idea, and so I have reviewed the 'math' with them to figure out how to make it work. And I know that for most people's ideas, it is not easy, although some one will gladly sell you their 'guide' telling you it is easy.
What would your ideas be? Do you have some product to sell?
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RE: Ebay :D - 7/28/2008 11:24:44 AM
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Row1
Posts: 248
Joined: 12/2/2005
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it is a great thing for a stay at home mom.
if she figures out some thing to sell, then she can devote whatever time she has available. if she has a modest amount of time, and can sell 10 things per week and clear $2 per item, hey, that is 20 per week = $80 per month. for my family, that would really help out with our budget.
we have thought about this idea. but my wife just is not into all the points and clicks it takes to list and to complete the transaction. there are many steps to it. you have to write up and post a description. you have to take and upload pictures. you have to enter an auction start time and end time. you have to enter the shipping cost. when the auction is over, you have to get the packaging materials, package it, address it, and get postage on it and get it in a mailbox or the post office or ups. you have to keep track of the shipping number in case the item never shows up, or in case someone claims it never shows up. if you use paypal, you have to transfer the money you made from paypal to your checking acct.
but - if you get a good thing going, you can make it worth your while.
i enjoy listing and selling things now and then, but my wife dreads the multiple steps, so she won't do it, even though she has the time.
so, i think a good first step is to go through ALL of this with a few items, then think about doing it systematically, once she knows ALL that is involved.
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RE: Ebay :D - 7/28/2008 12:31:19 PM
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stellaluna
Posts: 4281
Joined: 4/11/2005
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Be sure to figure in the final value fees. They're a lot higher now than they used to be. (Since mid-May)
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RE: Ebay :D - 7/28/2008 1:43:07 PM
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isaacsmom
Posts: 1995
Joined: 12/2/2005
Status: online
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The fee that ebay charges based on the sales price of your item (basically, their commission). They bill it to you later. So one has to be sure to hold enough out of her profit to pay the ebay fees that get billed once per month.
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<<< My littlest punkin'
*~*~*Rachel*~*~*
pirtlefarm.blogspot.com
Beware of posing as a profound person -- God became a baby. ~Oswald Chambers
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RE: Ebay :D - 7/29/2008 11:02:05 AM
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ladioffaith
Posts: 2998
Joined: 3/31/2005
From: NE Ohio (L.A. . . Lower Akron)
Status: offline
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A friend of mine had lots of Partylite to sell. So he posted the items separately on ebay. They charge for every little thing, photos, you name it. The stuff did not sell and he was out a bunch of money.
At least Craigslist is free.
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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with
his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph. 3:17
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RE: Ebay :D - 7/29/2008 1:33:58 PM
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Row1
Posts: 248
Joined: 12/2/2005
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craigslist works very well. we have sold furniture and other things on craigslist. many many people browse it, so you have a lot of people looking when you post, just like ebay.
it is basically like the old-fashioned want-ads, but online. the best part is that it is free. i think they only charge one category, like real estate, and the rest of us get to post whatever for free - musical instruments, household appliances, etc.
craigslist is more local. it is beter for selling heavier things. it just doesn't work well to sell a couch or lawnmower on ebay, because these things are difficult and expensive to wrap and ship. but on craigslist, you just arrange to have the person come look at your item - just like want-ad.
but for things that are easily mailed, like books, clothes, cds, small household things, and some collectibles, ebay is nicer.
so, it just depends on what you are selling.
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RE: Ebay :D - 7/29/2008 1:36:08 PM
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Row1
Posts: 248
Joined: 12/2/2005
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quote:
Be sure to figure in the final value fees. They're a lot higher now than they used to be. (Since mid-May)
--this is why, in my note, I said that you need to figure out what you clear. After expenses, you can end up losing money. If you buy a used book for 50 cents at a local garage sale, and sell it on Ebay for a dollar, plus $2 shipping, you will lose money. Whether you sell one or 50,000.
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RE: Ebay :D - 7/29/2008 4:33:35 PM
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ladioffaith
Posts: 2998
Joined: 3/31/2005
From: NE Ohio (L.A. . . Lower Akron)
Status: offline
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And if you have a bunch of books to sell, post them individually with photos for each and DON'T sell it, you will also lose money!
As for Craig's, I've learned that if you see a deal you need to jump on it. Also, before listing, do a search and see what category people post that item under. If you have candles to sell and people are posting them under "household," chances are they won't see them if you post them under "collectibles."
It's also a good idea to keep the price OUT of the headline. People will be turned off by seeing, say, $50 for a microwave, but if they open it up and see that the microwave is brand new, 1200 watts and was bought a month ago for $100, they might see things differently.
_____________________________
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with
his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph. 3:17
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
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RE: Ebay :D - 8/14/2008 10:05:51 PM
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coolfamily6
Posts: 259
Joined: 4/18/2005
Status: offline
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As far as items to sell, if I had the time and money to invest I would buy little girls clothes on deep, deep clearance at stores like Macy's, Dillards, etc. These NWT auctions always seem to bring in great money. I used to buy dd's clothes for $2-3 a season ahead, but never had the extra to try to sell.
Don't forget you have to pay taxes on your earnings, so that would have to be deducted from your "profit".
_____________________________
If your bible is a mess; your life won't be.
~Encouragement a mom gave to our children at our First Grader's Bible Ceremony!
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RE: Ebay :D - 8/15/2008 10:19:25 AM
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dianetavegia
Posts: 2030
Joined: 8/23/2005
From: Southern Baptist, Non Calvinist, Pro Life Ga. girl
Status: offline
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We listed some stereo on Craigslist and got dozens of those scam type emails wanting to send us Western Union wires with money.
Ebay is fine when you plan ahead and make sure your cost covers all their charges. Then... Paypal charges you too. I've actually sold some things that ended up a zero balance and sold things that I bought for a dollar at a close out store and gotten $15.00 for it.
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