Can You Make a Living on Ebay?

Can you make a living selling items on ebay? That depends. There is no "yes" or "no" answer to that question. I tried it for three months and nearly went broke. I know now that I make a better part time seller than a full time seller.

Full time selling on ebay IS a full time job. You will be working harder at it than you ever did at a real job. Finding merchandise to sell, cleaning and taking photos of it, then listing it takes a lot of time. In order to streamline this process, you could sell a lot of the same item, using a template listing specific to that item and use the same photo for every listing. Shipping everything USPS Priority or UPS in the same packaging also would save a ton of time. But this is provided that you have the capital to buy that item in bulk and can make a significant profit on it. This is how most ebayers with Powerseller status do it. Not all of them, but most of them. Lynn Dralle, the Queen of Auctions, is a Powerseller who still shops at yard sales and thrift stores and manages to turn a profit. She has also written several books about ebay. She now teaches seminars, makes television appearances and has a DVD out. She got her start in colectibles and antiques at a very young age. Her grandmother, Cheryl Leaf, owned an antique store for many years. Lynn helped her grandmother run the store and in the process, learned a lot about collectibles and antiques. She has an uncanny knack for finding one-of-a-kind treasures at yard sales and thrift stores and reselling them for a pretty decent profit! I am sure that her other ventures have helped her out as well. But you can tell that she loves what she does. She has a good attitude and I think that makes all the difference in the world.

I truly believe that your geographical region has a lot to do with how well you do on ebay. Lynn does most of her yard saling in California. She tends to find vintage and antique collectibles, limited edition plates and glassware and other unique, high quality items that she can resell. Unlike me, she has the knowledge of what she is finding and knows if it will sell. If she doesn't, she will pay $5.00 or less for it or pass on it. Here in Missouri, antiques in good shape are hard to come by because our people actually USED their antiques. Now primitives and rustics, we got ya covered. In North Carolina, where my husband is from, their pottery is highly sought after by collectors.

If you want to be serious about selling on ebay full time, treat it like a business. Hiring an assistant to help with all aspects of the business is a smart move. If you try to do everything yourself, you will burn out quick. I did not mind finding items to sell, taking photos and listing. But, for me, packing items for shipping was tedious. I hired my grandma to help me. She worked cheap (free). Also tedious was starting the bid too low, having to sell it at that price and then getting a negative feedback from a newbie seller who did not have the sense to contact me before she left feedback. Anything that was wrong, I could have fixed. Another problem I had was selling outside of the country. I had a few pleasant experiences, but then I had a few that made me want to pull my hair out! Some of the buyers from other countries would balk at the high shipping costs, even though it was plainly stated in the listing. Others would threaten to leave negative feedback because their item was taking to long to get to them, even though that was plainly stated on the listing as well. Maybe it was a language barrier or a culture thing. I am not sure. International packages always require a trip to the post office and extra paperwork as well.

Although I could not make a living doing it full time, that does not mean that it cannot be done. Stay at home moms might find that it works perfectly for them to sell on ebay part time and still stay home with their kids. Also, owners of brick and mortar stores may find that selling full time on ebay works better for them than the overhead cost of rent, electricity and the supplies needed to keep their store running. They like the flexiblilty of not having set hours as well. Be prepared to offer excellent customer service to your buyers. Repeat buyers are a big part of selling on ebay.

I have done well selling my son's gently used clothing, books by certain authors, Longaberger baskets, and vintage signs and rulers that belonged to my grandpa. I like to look for vintage and newer Fisher Price Little People at yard sales and thrift stores. They are light weight, making them easy to ship. They are also inexpensive to ship. Just a note about shipping. Be sure to check both USPS and UPS to the cheapest, quickest way to ship. Shipping costs keep rising and that can really cut into your profit. Although the buyer pays shipping, if they feel shipping is too high, they will not bid as much or they will move on to another seller. The exception to this rule would be if what you are selling is a hard to find item, or a HOT collectible or toy of the moment.

Some of the things that usually sell well on ebay are electronics such as game systems, digital cameras, cell phones, Blackberrys and MP3 players. Antiques such as furniture, hardware, textiles and garden or architectural items are always hot items. Vintage toys, dolls, bears, Barbies, all hot. Musical instruments and sports equipment, exercise equipment and sports memoriabilia are all good sellers on ebay. Desktops and laptops are also hot items to sell on ebay. Here are more collectibles that historically have sold well on ebay: WW II memoriabilia, coins, transportation themed items, Japanese animation items, comics, different types of advertising items, especially antique and vintage, action figures, American Girl dolls, Art Deco, folk art, Harley Davidson items, Star Wars, Nascar, Longaberger baskets, Hull and Roseville pottery and Fenton glass.

Before you chuck your job, sit down and make an ebay selling strategy. Know how much you need to make monthly off ebay to survive. Take into consideration packing and shipping supplies and ebay transaction fees. Make sure that you keep good tax records as well. Then decide what you need to do and how you are going to do it. Writing up a business plan is always a good idea. Set goals and try to reach them. Good luck!