Success story on eBay?

[shellybelly]

I just switched up to the $50 store and I feel that it is so much cheaper than a store front with a much bigger customer base. i now have about 250 items on buy it now. I buy very low and sell reasonable. I love being able to be home and make money and am hoping to retire my husband by this time next year. If you are willing to start small and work at it you can get a good income fairly fast. Finding inventory can be fun especially if you have a picker gene. I do and that is the most fun for me... finding the treasures to sell. Oh and I keep my family and I in designer clothes for a fraction of the price.

It can be done... but it has to be what you love to do

[GAjewel]

I have lots of success stories on eBay over the years! Even while I was working full-time years ago, I was still able to bring in $2000-$2500 extra each month.

The key is understanding what to buy. If you don't understand that, you will waste a lot of time and money playing the nickel and dime games. Here are some success stories off the top of my head:

* One dinner plate that I paid $1 for - sold for $125 in 24 hours (turned out to be super rare and in a museum LOL)

* A broken bronze statue I found at an estate sale. Paid $40, sold for $600 within 6 hours to New Zealand.

* Hair curlers from the 1970s - paid $3 sold for $69

* 1990s leather coat - paid $40, sold for $190

The list could go on and on....

Charity

[Reizende]

I used to make an extra $400 a month selling silk wedding flowers. I just don't know if that's a good seller any more with the economy like it is.

[mhoffman]

It does depend what you sell when it comes to the fees. Fashion has a higher fee but still well worth it. I find handbags and clean them up and resell. I have had my store for almost 2 years now and I'm glad I do i was just laid off so I stepped up my store about 20 more listings and I had a really good week. I'm thinking of starting another one for new items but looking into wholesalers to get the right items. Good luck!!

[31DLORB]

It seems like as long as you sell something you know about, and sell a lot, you can be really successful on Ebay. Thanks for all the advice!

[momtoaboy]

Do you ever have to pay taxes outside of e-bay fees if you just sell individual items?

[johntpc]

Originally Posted by momtoaboy

Do you ever have to pay taxes outside of e-bay fees if you just sell individual items?

I think if your yearly sales are over a certain amount you have to file taxes for your business. Paypal now sends information to IRS if your sales are over a certain amount as well.

Also, if you sell new items to someone in the same state as you, you may have to charge sales tax by law.

If you want a serious eBay business you are better off setting up a business to do so. Ask some friends or people you know that have knowledge of laws and business, this may give you some direction. If you are just doing a little on the side, you might not have much to worry about.

[marrid66]

My problem was finding what to sell. It's so hard to come up with something that doesn't have tons of competition. Sigh

[khakigirl]

Here's my tip: don't sell on eBay. I know that's what this thread is about but there *are* some decent alternatives. One is Amazon. Their fees are more reasonable and sometimes buyers will pay more because they have Amazon gift cards or cash back with their Amazon credit card. Plus, Amazon has a better reputation than eBay.

There are also free alternatives. The only one I've tried is Yardsellr but I've been selling for just a little over a month and have sold almost $400 worth of items, many of which I normally would have sold at a yard sale for 25 cents to $1. I've recently starting searching thrift stores for items to "flip" and I've had a good bit of luck. For example, I found an uncut sewing pattern for a Marilyn Monroe Halloween costume. I paid just 10 cents and it sells for $35+. That's 350 times what I paid. I've also found vintage clothing and books, rare/hard to find board games, designer handbags, etc.

The key is having the right tools. In this day and age, it's easy. Just bring a smartphone and if you find something you think is worth money, grab it and then go look it up on eBay or Amazon before you pay. You could also try your hand at searching clearance at retail stores and searching outlet stores like Big Lots. There's a great book called Barcode Booty where the author details different smartphone apps you can use to see if it's worth buying an item to "flip" on Amazon or eBay. I haven't tried with those because I've had a lot of luck with the thrift store shopping but you may want to give them a try.

[aprilhomer]

it really inspires me a lot whenever I read topics about success