posted on November 22, 2002 01:10:13 PM new
We hear a lot of stories from the Fulltime sellers, I thought it'd be interesting to hear from the parttime weekend sellers. What type of items do you sell? How you fit it into your busy schedule? If you're thinking of going FT ebay? Hobby? First time selling anywwhere? Whatever you would like to share.
posted on November 22, 2002 01:19:35 PM new
I'm self employed but do business 100% online, but ebay is only a part of what I do. I also do internet consulting/web site design & hosting. Ebay and half.com have become a larger part of my online business this past year, and I hope to increase it more as it has been going well. I guess I am sort of inbetween part timer and full timer, because since I work from home, I have a flexible schedule instead of having an 8-5 job to go to.
posted on November 22, 2002 02:16:06 PM new
I sell part-time, too. Mostly jewelry. I tried the collectible arena, but found that shipping breakables (no matter how safely packaged) is too nerve racking. If I list 15 items in a week, that's a lot for me. I work in an alternative medicine care center as an office manager and we are going to restructuring right now. STRESS! Ebay is a fun hobby for me. I've met a lot of nice people (so far, knock on wood) from all over the world. I also enjoy the boards here on AuctionWatch. It's been very educational (a good sense of humor should be mandatory if you are going to post here, though). My other hobby is designing logos, newsletters and newspaper ads on my computer at home. Great and fun thread, by the way.
"If it isn't documented, it was never done!"
posted on November 22, 2002 03:15:40 PM new
I work as an MIS manager in a mental health clinic and try to do about 15-20 auctions a week. I sell collectibles and collect vintage costume jewelry (the fun kind not the expensive kind).
I first started on ebay about 18 months ago. I was browsing on ebay and as I looked around my apartment I would do a search on whatever caught my eye. I was amazed to find most of the things in my home being sold on ebay so I decided to try mine.
The fever got me when a bowl of beaded fruit that I had paid $2.99 years ago sold for $173. And then a Pez that hubby had in his junk drawer sold for $98....WE WERE HOOKED!!!!LOL.
My boss asks me if I thought I could do it fulltime...I would love to if I didn't have to give up my benefits I have at work.
posted on November 22, 2002 04:46:07 PM new
I guess I am a part timer although, I don't have a regular job (retired) I only put on about 20-25 auctions a week. I ususally make up 2 or three a day & then start them all on Thursday night & run for 10 days. This way the end on Sunday night so they go through 2 weekends.
posted on November 22, 2002 05:50:32 PM new
I've been a part-timer for 4-5 years. I run auctions in the winter and look for stuff to sell during the summer. I have sold a mix of things including cars, car parts, books, antiques, tools, and junk from my cellar!
posted on November 22, 2002 06:16:41 PM new
I am a part-time seller with a full time job. I spend most of Sunday putting my auctions together and I usually list between 12 and 20 things per week. I started out selling a collection of water dip travel decals (hundreds of them), then met a lady who had rooms full of replacement dishes. I did the listing, collecting and shipping, and we split 70/30. She moved away, but I learned alot and started buying my own pieces, at thrift shops, garage sales, etc, and list my own items now. Mostly what I sell now, though, is postcards. We have about 4000 that we've collected over the years. Many go for my listing price of $5.00, but I've sold dozens for more than $50.00. It still amazes me, enough to keep me coming back week after week. With almost 600 transactions, I have never had a non paying bidder, and only ever had one check returned, which the buyer replaced with a money order, including the $11.00 my bank charged me!
20 auctions a week is plenty for me, and I think I will probably stay at this level for some time. So far, eBay has been berry berry good to me!!
posted on November 22, 2002 06:21:37 PM new
I've been selling rare books and paper items part time since 1999, and its been great. I started selling excess books in my collection and could not believe the prices I was getting. Selling rare books now takes up a lot of my time, but my wife and my children help out and that I love. Today it helps to pay for my childrens college, gasoline and even some groceries. No I can't go full time, but would love to... Maybe some day.
posted on November 22, 2002 06:25:47 PM new
I work full time as an office manager and Ebay on the weekends. I've been buying about four years and selling on and off for two years. The first year it was just a hobby but this year my husband lost his job and so it got a little more serious. I like selling older collectibles but also am getting into pop culture items. I usually list 20-25 items per week. I buy at rummage sales, estate sales, and a FEW auctions. It is silly, but "live" auctions make me nervous! I have an older person who was looking for something to do, who does all my packing and shipping for me for a small fee. It works out very well for both of us. If I had to do all that too, I don't think I would have enough time. This is the first time I have been selling during the holiday season so I'm looking forward to seeing how that works out. I will only buy what I personally like and it appears enough people have the same taste that I do. I grew up with parents who were "into" antiques and I think that helped more than I realize to develop "a feel" for what is valuable and might sell. Of course I make mistakes though! I have a very small work area and limited storage space, so most of the items I sell are small. I have met a lot of nice people, a few stinkers, and a sprinkling of celebrities. (The celebs were all in the nice people category). I think I can tell the rest of my family, friends, coworkers, etc., how much time is involved selling on Ebay but I know they really have no concept whatsoever. I still love it!
posted on November 22, 2002 08:06:25 PM new
Hobby seller, I guess, for some extra spending money and just the fun of selling sometimes, especially when I find something at a garage sale and think it would go on eBay and see if I can make more than I spent.
posted on November 22, 2002 10:53:05 PM new
I started buying things on ebay, then selling family stuff no one wanted. Now I got to yard sales for my "product." We are retired, and I list an average of 15-20 items a week. But usually I go in spurts. Have a busy week of taking photos, editing, uploading, researching categories, writing descriptions, launching auctions. Deal with the post-sale business the following week, getting payments, shipping stuff off. And then usually I need to either rest up or get going on the routine of photos and listing, etc. again. But there are fallow periods during the year, like mid-summer, when I don't do much. If we have visitors, I don't do much. Etc. Depends on my mood.
What I looooove about it is this: I'm playing a really fun game and getting paid to play it at the same time! And I get smarter at it all the time, too. As long as it stays a game for me, sort of like fly fishing where you send out the bait and wait to see what happens, I'll continue.
posted on November 23, 2002 02:11:40 AM new
My wife and I are part time sellers, since I have a full time job and my wife has a part time job outside of eBay.
I started selling on eBay the summer of '99. I had been surfing eBay for quite a while, and had a lot of fun checking on items for myself. My dad had some old karate and kung fu magazines he wanted to sell, so I told him I'd like to try on eBay. Well, we sold one with Bruce Lee on the cover for $950.00, another with Chuck Norris for $70.00, and the remaining boxful for $200.00. Needless to say, I was hooked. I started going through my childhood toys that had been stored away for years, seperating out what I HAD to keep, and what I didn't care about. Those items I sold online, and made a handsome profit.
Well, this caught the attention of my wife. All of a sudden, she was in on it, and has been running it ever since. I do the pictures, she finds the items, lists and emails, and we both package and ship. It works out well, with very little stress, and we profit on average about $500.00 a month. Not enough to retire on, but it was never meant to be.
We sell mainly older toys, but will try to move anything we feel we could make a profit on. It's been a lot of fun, has provided us with some extra $$ to play with and to purchase more goodies for ourselves And yes, I try to buy on eBay as often as I can. Might as well share the wealth.
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
[ edited by koto1 on Nov 23, 2002 02:13 AM ]
posted on November 23, 2002 03:10:44 AM new
I've been using eBay since 1998, as a bidder mostly. But I sell things once in a great while. I'm a trial attorney, which unfortunately does not dovetail neatly with eBay selling. Selling 20-30 items can eat an incredible amount of time, and stretch out for several weeks.
I got into "trouble" the last time I listed, which was back in Sept. I only listed 30 items, but several bidders were very slow to pay, which stretched the whole experience way beyond the time I had alloted. I ended up in the middle of a nerve-wracking two week jury trial and completely lost track of remaining post-sale loose ends--ended up sending the wrong packages to two bidders (luckily both very cool about the whole thing, but a tremendous hassle).
If my wife was interested or my daughter was older, I'd be okay because of the extra hands, but for now, I'm holding back.
The truth is, even bidding is getting to be a tremendous hassle (paypal is becoming a nightmare). Too many options--sellers seem very self-centered about payment requirements and post sale contacts.
I suppose this is because most of us are part-timers and none of us have the time to accommodate the way we'd like to.
I also suppose that these hassles are part of what we find attractive about eBay, since it lends a frontier mentality to the whole experience--i.e., if you hang in there and sweat it out, if you go the distance, you glean some incredible bargains and profits.
I admire those who do it full-time and fantasize about going full boat myself, but I'm chicken.
posted on November 23, 2002 03:45:58 PM new
Im definitely part time seller-I only list maybe 5-10 auctions A WEEK.Its not much,and I deal mostly with anything to do with rock an roll,mostly videos.Is something I really enjoy,which is why I love dealing on ebay.I have a regular job,so money is not an issue.I make enough money on ebay during the year to buy my toys and get practically all my christmas shopping done.With ebays lower prices and the money I make,all the goodies I get is practically for nothing--HEY IS LIEF GOOD OR WHAT??
posted on November 23, 2002 08:14:18 PM new
My husband and I have had our own antique sales and restoration business for about 30 years as our full time jobs. We laugh that our retirement account is our collections but guess that wasn't the smartest way to go since my husband is now disabled and we have no big nest egg to fall back on. Since he was the buyer and can't get out much anymore to keep our shop exciting, I started listing things on ebay to reach a wider market for the things we had left. Traffic in the shops around here is way down so the exposure on ebay sure helps. I like to list 3 to 5 items a night because that seems to be about all I have time to do. If I get too many things ending at once it takes me too long to get the emails out and shipping figured, etc. I know some of you like to end auctions on certain days but I haven't seen any indication that one day does better than another for me. It just depends on how neat and unusual the particular items are.
And yes, I try to buy on eBay as often as I can. Might as well share the wealth.
Sniping works up a thirst"