ron_jon

A few of my mates have set up successful businesses on ebay and managed to get to the point where they are making enough money to have a very good living off it.

Has anybody else done this on here, or tried it and it hasnt worked or thinking about doing it etc.

Please leave your views please.

Cheers,
Ron jon

Jye

Perhaps you could explain how *they* made their money then, spread a few tips on SN yourself, along with the wealth eh

pslewis

I would think that you need to find a niche market, something others are not doing.

I saw a program on a bloke who started by selling his collection of model soldiers on e-bay .... he sold them so well that he set up a business and he is making a good living from it now!

The side effect of all this is simply excellent quality of life, he now lives in a beauty spot somewhere where his house cost pennies, he spends 2 hours a day posting and wrapping the models, he spends an hour listing and taking photos of the models to sell.

He goes to some trade fairs now and again and loves life .......... I wish I had the bottle to do it!! But going to work and picking up a wedge every month is too easy!

Pete

ron_jon

Cant say what people have done. But when they first started and said thats what they were doing. A lot of the people just laughed at them and took the pi55.
They still stuck by their idea and now they only have to work about 2-3 hours a day if that. Or just do a full day on it and have the next 2 off. Now they have time to do other stuff setting other bits and bobs up !!

StickyMicky

not sure how things are now, but i used to make a tidy sum on ebay as a buisness selling bathroom towels

pure dropshipping style
people were paying over RRP for my towels lol
only really packed it in because i was taking over a much bigger buisness and needed to put all my time into the carwashing

ebay is all about the advert, i had people under cutting my prices when i was doing it, yet my stuff sold and theres did not, maybe that was partly down to the faultless feedback ratings?

Vegescoob

If you have to ask about it it isn't for you.
True entrepeneurs are "self starters".
They see the opportunity and go for it.

GaryK

But surely if you only need to work 2-3 hours per week you can do it and still work your current job?

I sell bits and bobs on there but the key is getting the stuff people want for a decent price and bear in mind listing fees and factor in your time to see if it really is viable.

Gary

Freak

I do it with records- it helps that that is related to my main career so i know whats hot etc, and also helps that i work at night leaving my days free for this stuff.

I can buy 10 copies of a sought after test press/promo and sell them for 4 times what i paid for them..... just gotta be quick and know what to buy, when to buy and where to buy them from.
Bear in mind i currently buy retail too- if i buy trade ( i am close to setting this up) my profit should increase.

1- expect to ocassionally take a loss on some products. You cant win all the time- example: i currently have a record i sourced in finland and someone uk based (the only other guy on ebay selling copies i might add) is selling for £1.01 less than they cost me to buy in. So until he runs out of copies i am running at a potential loss on them.

2- factor in ebay listing, final value and paypal fees, and dont rip people off with postage.
3- be organised
4- be quick- it pisses me off no end waiting weeks for something to arrive. I always post same day
5-Always always always send recorded mail.
6- Know your limits and the products limits


It looks easy in theory- executing it well and for a profit is the tricky bit.

p.s- i dont sell via auction. I sell using 'Buy it now'

ron_jon

Yes but sometimes you can make the business as big or as small as you want it to be.

Sometimes u can make an even better living by only doing those few hours and maybe you cant be bothered or dont like working for somebody........

matt85

As somebody above said, its all about finding a 'niche'

I got some genuine Von Dutch stuff about a year ago and made MASSIVE money on it.

Now i couldn't give it away (and believe me i've tried) because every Tom, Dick and Chav is buying and selling it (and its mostly cr*p). See Prada, Burberry, Stone Island etc etc.. as well.

You need to have a good idea what is going to be popular and in short supply, aquire as much as you can, get in and out quickly, and move onto something else.

It helps if you know what you are selling as you can predict this better, but again be prepared to make losses on some things

Occasionally niches do occur, you just have to be ready to exploit them when they do..

Something to think about.

StickyMicky

i know a lad who makes about 30k/year from ebay
buys stuff in india while on "holiday"
comes back and sells it on ebay

his parents are building a house out there, so his holidays are pretty cheap as well.
the stuff he sells is not the genuine article, but clever adverts still make them shift.
agreed with waiting for goods to arrive, you hear the same ****en excuses time and time again when your a buyer,
sell without them and your a winner from the word go IMO

GaryK

Yes but what I was alluding to was why not work it part-time because you can even if it means staying in the job you dont like short term just so you can see if its viable.

Good Luck!