eBay Business

[Kellyb]

Hi all, I'm a newbie...
Have given up my full time job to become a stay at home mum and would like to try and earn a bit of cash, flexibly.
Just wondered whether anyone had had any success in using eBay for a small business? If so, what wholesalers etc have been used.
Thanks

 

[Jon]

Hi Kelly

I've done this sort of thing before many years ago and to be honest unless you are either mass selling something or offering people an item they can't get elsewhere you will get squeezed out of the market by the huge number of Chinese sellers

If you have quit you job it sounds like you need guaranteed income which the likes of leapforce / appen / lion bridge would provide but I really don't think eBay would


What were you planning on selling anyway?

 

[Twiggy]

I did an ebay business for years, alongside an online shop too. I used to import items from the US and at the time I was the only one in the country doing so for these items and it was brilliant, I was making an easy wage. Then, one seller came along and I don't know what he did but I was nowhere to be seen on search results etc. I have sold a manner of different things on ebay, including dropshipping, and I wouldn't recommend just going to wholesalers as you will not get anything different and so it will be harder to sell for a good price. I eventually left to do other things (on here mainly!) because despite having 5 figure feedback, powerseller and TRS status, some auctions were getting 2 hits in total! Anyway, I won't go on, ebay is good and I will be back on there, but here is my advice for selling;

- Second hand items
- Vintage (something quirky or collectable)
- Good buys/brands etc found in poundshops and the like
- something different

I only say this as I am assuming you are going into it small scale and there is a lot of competition for most stuff on there.

Plan out your fees, postage and profit before you even buy if you are buying to sell.

 

[alditoharrods]

eBay is really competitive these days that the only thing I do is sell on my unwanted goods. I made a killing in the past 2-3 years buying stuff at boot sales to sell on, but that has dried up too.

 

[RickyRaj]

eBay is great for getting rid of stuff and to attract the most buyers. Can't speak about it as a business but great for decluttering.

My advice would be to look on eBay to see if others are selling what you are thinking of selling (as an individual or business), and if the prices they are selling at will help you make a profit.

I got lucky for a while with camera lenses for SLR cameras and was making about £25 per lens - this was the closest I got to selling as a business.

 

[Kellyb]

Thank you all for your replies. I don't want to waste money if an eBay business is not likely to be profitable. I was only thinking of selling something small ( wasn't really sure what!) but I guess it's probably not going to be for me. I like the idea of selling vintage stuff though, maybe ill go to a boot sale at the weekend and see if there's anything that takes my eye there to resell.

 

[Jon]

I used to hit car boots buying old console games

Snes/Nes/N64 stuff used to fetch a decent price, the rest not at all but it takes time to figure out what will sell and what won't in any market

 

[Kellyb]

True!
Has anyone made anything creative/handmade etc and sold on a forum like eBay or etsy? Sorry I'm at the very initial stages of trying to figure out what direction to go in! Any tips I would be grateful for! Thanks, Kelly

 

[Julesfh2012]

Yes I had a small craft business for a few years. I started out making hair accessories and then moved to making home accessories. I found the best way to sell was via a Facebook page but then FB changed so many things it became a total loss.
I also sold on Etsy and EBay. Of the two I preferred Etsy. The problem is that unless you have something really niche, it's hard to stand out and as Jon says you are competing against the Chinese who sell everything so cheaply. . I found selling at craft fairs worked well.

If you go down the handcrafted route I would also suggest Folksy and Wow Thank You.

Good luck x

 

[Kellyb]

Thank you julesfh for taking the time to reply.
I guess I've just got to take a risk and have a go with a few different ideas to start with. Are etsy's fees cheaper than eBay? eBay and paypal seem to take quite a chunk.

 

[alditoharrods]

I believe that Etsy charge you to list, whereas eBay charge once you sell (at least there aren't listing fees for the first 20 listings per month). And Paypal will still take their fees from Etsy sales too.

Are you sure you want to go down the route of selling? I've made over £1,500 this month alone from things like blogging, surveys, Quidco, etc.

 

[Kellyb]

No I'm not certain that selling is the route I want to take . I'm interested in doing anything really that's online and flexible. I just need to be able to juggle it around my mummy job. What's quidco? What do you blog about? I doubt I've got anything anyone would want to read!!!!

 

[Jon]

No I'm not certain that selling is the route I want to take . I'm interested in doing anything really that's online and flexible. I just need to be able to juggle it around my mummy job. What's quidco? What do you blog about? I doubt I've got anything anyone would want to read!!!!

Hi [member=2120]Kellyb[/member]

I suggest you take a look at the beginner guide toolkit for earning online that we have here

http://blog.themoneyshed.co.uk/working-from-home-toolkit/

An easy £600+ a month right there you can earn and easily fit around your mum duties

 

[alditoharrods]

No I'm not certain that selling is the route I want to take . I'm interested in doing anything really that's online and flexible. I just need to be able to juggle it around my mummy job. What's quidco? What do you blog about? I doubt I've got anything anyone would want to read!!!!

I blog about making extra money and saving money. I have been at it for over 4 years now (might even be 5) and earn a decent amount there.

Quidco is a cashback website where you earn cash back when you purchase items.

I've got a great blog post about the top ten ways to make extra money - it is a great starting point

http://fromalditoharrods.com/top-10-ways-to-make-extra-money/

 

[Twiggy]

If you're a business then you have to pay for your ebay listings.

I agree with above posters - look at doing other stuff from here 8)

 

[Kellyb]

Thanks everyone.
I had a read of the guide and I have gone a totally different direction and undertook my first field agent job this morning!!
Felt a bit random standing in the middle of town taking pictures of a billboard though!!!
Have signed myself up for quidco as well (not sure how much online shopping ill be doing from now on though now monies tight)!

 

[Jon]

Well done [member=2120]Kellyb[/member]
great work

don't worry, you get used to feeling odd when you are taking photos of random stuff lol

 

[Kellyb]

Thank you! D you happen to know whether you get more jobs made available to you the more you do with field agent of whether it is the same whether you've completed 1 job or 100? Thanks

 

[Jon]

Thank you! D you happen to know whether you get more jobs made available to you the more you do with field agent of whether it is the same whether you've completed 1 job or 100? Thanks

it's the same

Roamler is the only app I know that lets you access more tasks based on how many you have done previously

 

[Kellyb]

I've tried to sign up for roamler this morning but nothing available at the moment.
Feeling quite motivated on the field agent front so far! Thinking I may even do another task this morning!