Does anyone sell on ebay for your income?

[Vickie46]

I have read here before that some people sell on ebay as part of what the rely on for income?

I was just wondering if that could be done...

I am looking for at a home job..

 

[An_Island_Girl]

I sold on eBay for 3 years, and actually made a good income. It was a lot of work, but if you can find an exclusive product to sell, you can do quite well. With all of the fees and the new feedback, I have stopped selling on eBay, and am working on revising my business model.

I had to get an EIN number to be able to purchase wholesale, and a business licence in both my state and my town. We now lease a warehouse to store inventory as my house was getting to be a storeroom. I treat it as my business and have office hours I have to keep. We do claim every last bit of income on our taxes, and will be looking for employees after the new year.

It is a great feeling to be your own boss!

 

[C.Ann]

No longer a good (or in most cases) a viable solution.. Fees are crazy; Paypal is witholding payments after auctions close; people are not bidding items "up" (if you advertised 99 cents, most of the time you're going to get 99 cents); you no longer have the option of accepting checks or money orders; feedback rules have changed dramatically; traffic is down; sales are down; etc., etc..

Unless you are a discount store - or mass marketing the same stuff over and over again - it's no longer a place to consider as anthing even "close" to a decent income.. Sorry..

 

[dismom24]

I have sold full time on Ebay for several years and it has really been a blessing to be home with my little ones, but the economy has really hit my business this year. I have gone back to school because I think the days of making a fulltime income on ebay are slowing down.

 

[jlparedes]

Not anymore. Never made enough to compare with my full time income, however did make decent part time income some months. With all the new changes and the waybuyers have been lately, I'm out of eBay. I've donated all my stock and won't be selling for awhile.

 

[mkel34]

No longer a good (or in most cases) a viable solution.. Fees are crazy; Paypal is witholding payments after auctions close; people are not bidding items "up" (if you advertised 99 cents, most of the time you're going to get 99 cents); you no longer have the option of accepting checks or money orders; feedback rules have changed dramatically; traffic is down; sales are down; etc., etc..

Unless you are a discount store - or mass marketing the same stuff over and over again - it's no longer a place to consider as anthing even "close" to a decent income.. Sorry..

This is the truth +++

 

[2kids1dog]

Not anymore. It just seems harder and harder to sell on eBay these days.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Not anymore. Never made enough to compare with my full time income, however did make decent part time income some months. With all the new changes and the way buyers have been lately, I'm out of eBay. I've donated all my stock and won't be selling for awhile.

Same here. I used to make a good bit on ebay but with the new feedback system and the higher fees it just isn't worth it anymore.

I cleaned out all of my kid related items I had to sell and took them to kid's consignment sales or put the big items on Craigslist. I made about $900 and only paid about $15 in fees ($5 each for 3 kids sales). I didn't have to ship anything either!

There is another sale next month that I am taking the remainder of my items to and I hope to make a little bit there for some extra Disney spending money. Everything left after that is going to Goodwill for a tax writeoff.

 

[DMRick]

It's still a big part of our income. We sell under a couple of names, one for items that we produce (fixed price) and one for 'old' stuff, antiques, garage sale finds etc. The biggest changes is that sellers can no longer leave anything but a positive. That didn't turn out to be the doom and gloom many of us thought it would be, and I'm used to it now. I apparently have good service, so the negs haven't started coming.

I was not happy when eBay said we could no longer advertise checks and money orders (people have been asking today via messages if I will take a money order, and I still do, if they ask, which is still allowed), but I changed over a bunch of stuff to Paypal only, and I'm getting used to being paid immediately. Another thing that just took getting used to. No more asking if payment has been sent. That's a good thing! And, I'll be able to give up my post office box (another savings), since we have decided starting January, we are only accepting Paypal. No more trips to the PO..since the mailman picks up my mail for free. Lots of gas and time savings.

While end of auction fees went up, listing fees have gone down on fixed price items, which is what I sell under my first name. For the fixed price items, you can now list as many as you want for that same .35. You can also list them for 30 days now. This has saved me a bundle..I get four weeks for the price of one, and I can list a number of the same items! Auction items are not getting the crazy prices they used to, but if you have stuff people want, there is still a market there.

If your DSR's (another type of feedback) is up, eBay gives us (that might just be for power sellers, I'm not sure, but that program is revamped too, and it's much easier to become a power seller, even if you sell inexpensive items) 10, 15 or 20% off our monthly account, and that has been very nice and has offset the end of listing fees on auction items.

So all these changes that we all talked about for months, have not for me anyway, turned out to be all bad. Is eBay work? Yes. I wouldn't expect it not to be, since it is a 'job'. But it's a job I can do in my pj's, often be on the road camping and be able to answer questions on line, I can shut it down when I wish and go on a cruise or to Disney. You just have to see if it works for you. It does for me.

We have been on 10 cruises in two years (and leaving for a two week cruise a week from Sunday) all funded by eBay. Again..it's work, but the payoff is great.

I obviously don't sell any of the items that Paypal is witholding payments on, so that doesn't affect me.

 

[lisaross]

hi, can i ask you a couple of questins - you seem pretty experienced on ebay and i've just started this month - pretty much i'm putting up genly used kids clothing and doing ok usually put it up for .99 and let people bid up. I just bought a few things in the Mall for about 75-90% off if i list these for a fixed price i can list them all for just .35c? do you suggest listing them for a few dollars more than i paid - example a boys NIKE shirt NWT i paid 2.79 goes for about 15 retail thinking of putting it up for 4.99?

thanx for any suggestions

lisa

It's still a big part of our income. We sell under a couple of names, one for items that we produce (fixed price) and one for 'old' stuff, antiques, garage sale finds etc. The biggest changes is that sellers can no longer leave anything but a positive. That didn't turn out to be the doom and gloom many of us thought it would be, and I'm used to it now. I apparently have good service, so the negs haven't started coming.

I was not happy when eBay said we could no longer advertise checks and money orders (people have been asking today via messages if I will take a money order, and I still do, if they ask, which is still allowed), but I changed over a bunch of stuff to Paypal only, and I'm getting used to being paid immediately. Another thing that just took getting used to. No more asking if payment has been sent. That's a good thing! And, I'll be able to give up my post office box (another savings), since we have decided starting January, we are only accepting Paypal. No more trips to the PO..since the mailman picks up my mail for free. Lots of gas and time savings.

While end of auction fees went up, listing fees have gone down on fixed price items, which is what I sell under my first name. For the fixed price items, you can now list as many as you want for that same .35. You can also list them for 30 days now. This has saved me a bundle..I get four weeks for the price of one, and I can list a number of the same items! Auction items are not getting the crazy prices they used to, but if you have stuff people want, there is still a market there.

If your DSR's (another type of feedback) is up, eBay gives us (that might just be for power sellers, I'm not sure, but that program is revamped too, and it's much easier to become a power seller, even if you sell inexpensive items) 10, 15 or 20% off our monthly account, and that has been very nice and has offset the end of listing fees on auction items.

So all these changes that we all talked about for months, have not for me anyway, turned out to be all bad. Is eBay work? Yes. I wouldn't expect it not to be, since it is a 'job'. But it's a job I can do in my pj's, often be on the road camping and be able to answer questions on line, I can shut it down when I wish and go on a cruise or to Disney. You just have to see if it works for you. It does for me.

We have been on 10 cruises in two years (and leaving for a two week cruise a week from Sunday) all funded by eBay. Again..it's work, but the payoff is great.

I obviously don't sell any of the items that Paypal is witholding payments on, so that doesn't affect me.

 

[DMRick]

Unfortunately I know nothing about selling clothing. The .35 price would be for each item if you list them at a fixed price. If that is the way you want to go, I would suggest you look at completed items and see what the clothes you want to sell have been selling for. If you have been happy putting them up for .99, that is even cheaper for you..just .15 each item.


While I can put up as many items as I want for .35, they have to be the same type of item. For instance, if I have 5 of the same girls shirt, size small, they can all go up under that fixed listing fee of .35, If you are asking if you can put all the items (girls shirts, boys shirts, pants) up in one fixed price auction the answer is no..you can't generally offer a choice. There is an exception..from eBay:

'In general, sellers are permitted to offer a choice of sizes, colors and configurations of a particular item within a listing, However, a listing may not offer buyers a choice of completely different items.'

When you do that, in the past you have had to been able to cover everyone..for instance, if you had 10 items up and someone wanted 10 larges, you had to have 10 larges available. Lately I have seen people offer..5 large, 2 small, and 3 mediums, and once those are gone, they list that. I don't know how they do that, since it's not a category I have listed in.

I hope this was helpful. I know when first starting it is very confusing. eBay often offers free classes..they are great to take advantage of. Also, the eBay boards have a ton of info on them from experienced people in your category. This may help you: http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum.jspa?forumID=4011

hi, can i ask you a couple of questins - you seem pretty experienced on ebay and i've just started this month - pretty much i'm putting up genly used kids clothing and doing ok usually put it up for .99 and let people bid up. I just bought a few things in the Mall for about 75-90% off if i list these for a fixed price i can list them all for just .35c? do you suggest listing them for a few dollars more than i paid - example a boys NIKE shirt NWT i paid 2.79 goes for about 15 retail thinking of putting it up for 4.99?

thanx for any suggestions

lisa

 

[smokymtns]

We have sold on eBay for over 5 years and it accounts for 80% of our income. It used to be more but my husband has included some more batch work to our business. We own a machine shop and sell our own product (dirtbike and ATV accessories) on eBay. It used to be that we could sell a $40 item on eBay and the final value fees would be 2 bucks or less. Now that same $40 item costs $4.8 in final value fees not to mention the listing fees. They might have changed the listing fees but they are getting greedy with the final value fees. We are trying to change our parts to another source to get the same amount of business but not the high fees. We do have our own website but it does not generate the same amount of business that our eBay does.

Sales on eBay are also down at least for us. If you are going to start a new business on eBay be sure to figure in all the costs associated with it. And know that the costs are probably only going to go up! Ebay is not really user friendly anymore nor is it looking out for the little guy.

 

[jlparedes]

So I did sell children's clothing and honestly that market is pretty saturated. Nike and that type of stuff definitely doesn't do that well (shoes are another story). You need designer or boutique stuff to get the $$ and even then, it's still pretty saturated. I think eBay is wonderful for those who have a unique item to sell or maybe something hard to find or that they make. You definitely have to find your niche as everyday run of the mill kids clothes don't go for what you would hope they do.

Also, about feedback. I definitely don't see the negatives either, however it seems like lately people don't even bother leaving it. I'm probably short about 20 feedbacks in the past month or two. That's just weird to me. I also ship my items next day ALWAYS and sometimes same day and my shipping stars still get dinged, try explaining that LOL.

 

[beattyfamily]

I just sold something recently for the first time in awhile and I am very disappointed in the latest change with Paypal. They hold your money until either you ship the item (through them) or you get positive feedback from the seller.

I've been an Ebayer since 1998 and Paypal since 2002 but because my feedback (100% positive) is under 100, I have to have a hold on my money until there's proof of delivery or positive feedback.

I got positive feedback yesterday and still the money is being held.

I'm not very happy with all the new changes.

 

[MusiqChic99]

I don't use it for income purposes but I do use it to get rid of things I no longer need or can't use. For instance I had a pair of jeans that I got on sale but lost weight before I ever wore them. They have the tags still on them and right now they are going for $15.00. But like the others said you have to have name brand or designer things to do well anymore. And even that I have seen people bid on things they could just buy in the store for the same price. To me ebay is something I look for a bargain for. And I think that is what a lot of people are doing right now with the economy the way it is so don't expect really high bids unless you have something EVERYBODY wants.

I still sell things on occasion but I've started taking my old clothes to consignment stores that give money. It's never much but at least you dont have to worry about the hassle and fees from selling on Ebay.

 

[MusiqChic99]

I just sold something recently for the first time in awhile and I am very disappointed in the latest change with Paypal. They hold your money until either you ship the item (through them) or you get positive feedback from the seller.

I've been an Ebayer since 1998 and Paypal since 2002 but because my feedback (100% positive) is under 100, I have to have a hold on my money until there's proof of delivery or positive feedback.

I got positive feedback yesterday and still the money is being held.

I'm not very happy with all the new changes.

Is that just for people under 100? I haven't noticed them doing that to me but I have 174.

 

[beattyfamily]

Is that just for people under 100? I haven't noticed them doing that to me but I have 174.

Here's when they hold the money:

Why are my payments being held?

Payment holds for eBay items are an effort to increase marketplace safety. We hold payments when we suspect a transaction may be risky. Here are the most common instances in which an eBay item payment may be held:

You have been an eBay member for less than 6 months, and you sell an item for more than $100
You have an eBay feedback score of less than 100, and you sell an item for more than $100
You have a buyer dissatisfaction percentage* greater than 5%
You have an average DSR of less than 4.5
You have received fewer than 20 Detailed Seller Ratings in the last 12 months
You are listing your item in a high-risk category such as gift certificates, video games, cell phones, computers, or consumer electronics.

When will PayPal release the hold?
Your funds will be released when one of the following occurs:

The buyer leaves you positive feedback
3 days pass after proof the item was delivered**
21 days pass without a dispute, claim, chargeback, or reversal filed on the transaction

We may hold the funds longer if your buyer files a dispute, claim, chargeback, reversal or has otherwise taken action to dispute the transaction.

 

[C.Ann]

It's still a big part of our income. We sell under a couple of names, one for items that we produce (fixed price) and one for 'old' stuff, antiques, garage sale finds etc. The biggest changes is that sellers can no longer leave anything but a positive. That didn't turn out to be the doom and gloom many of us thought it would be, and I'm used to it now. I apparently have good service, so the negs haven't started coming..

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I think your situation is unique - because for the largest part of your eBay sales you are basically running a store - selling the same type of thing(s) over and over for a "fixed" amount - so you don't run into the problems with fees and needing items to "bid up" and such that the smaller sellers would.. (Those selling assorted items they have picked up here or there - or have hanging around the house and just want to get rid of..) For those people, eBay is no longer profitable enough to deal with the increased fees and all of the other hassles they have created for the "small" sellers.. I would strongly suggest that those people go the consignment route or Craigslist.. We have been very, very happy with Craigslist - lots of people are making that switch - both selling and buying..

For the types of things I was selling in the past, I definitely don't miss the hours and hours and hours it took to do everything needed to list, monitor, collect payments, package, and ship - not to mention purchasing shipping supplies and such.. Watching the fees go up and reading about all of the hoops they have the small seller jumping through now, I have no regrets that I chose a different route.. Heck - I don't even buy from eBay anymore - LOL..

Glad it's working out for the big, store-type sellers - and those such as yourself who can continue to sell the same items over and over - but it's just not business friendly for the small seller anymore and I highly doubt it ever will be again..

OT: Did you have your surgery? If so, I hope it went well..

 

[DMRick]

I think my eBaying may not be what you think it is. Actually this is only true under my eBay name where I sell fixed items. I sell a few auction items under my fixed item name, to draw people in and to my website. But, like many others I have three eBay names. One for my fixed price items, one for my regular stuff, and a buying name. I also have a shed/attic and cellar full of older items (antiques) as well as items from garage sales and my own junk, as well as items my grands no longer want, and a lot of my past Disney pins and items. I'm only in fear that I'll never run out. My "regular items" eBay name runs all auctions and no fixed 'repeat' items. I certainly do want and need people to bid up. I however, never start at .99 and hope. I start at what I would be happy with.

eBay is the only name of the game right now, and their fees still make it profitable for a large amount of people, compared to brick and mortor. I hang on a lot of eBay boards, and believe me, there are a lot of people making a nice business, with a good profit on eBay, and many start with items around the house. They get good at eBaying, and start looking at garage sales and other places to get stuff.

I still see some of the types of items you used to sell, (especailly now that the fee to list those items is lower (you used to have to pay for gallery..that is a big discount getting it for free now)..and some of those people are on the ebay boards, and still say it's profitable for them. Remember, you are for months living outside of the city, and by your own admission far from a city, and getting items, shipping materials, using gas to go to the post office affects your bottom line more than it may others. Obviously, if it's not profitable for you to sell household items, then you are wise to not do it. I thought at one time you liked it just for the extra spending money and the thrill of the chase..but if that is no longer the case and you aren't earning enough to make it worth it..then it was time to step away from eBay. I would too.

As for the hours and hours it was taking you..most everything I do is done automatic now. My end of auction notes are automatic. I haven't purchased any materials to ship in years..it all comes from a local store that gives me their leftovers. I take a picture, item is packed (I do have my husband for that, but we sell a lot..often 30-40 items go out a day..but that time would lesson for just a few items), I put it up on eBay..often with very little description, depending on the item. It sells, and now that we're switching to all Paypal (OK, so we were forced into it..but I'm just as glad now), I print the label and 4 out of 5 days the mailman picks up our order at my front door (we go the 5th day to the post office, to check our box, because we use it for our website).

As for the hoops for the small sellers, I'm still confused over which hoops you mean. The listing fees have been the same or gone down. Fixed price items are a bargain, for those finding like items to sell. Yes, the selling fees have gone up, but what hasn't? If I had a store, my utilities would be hitting the ceiling. I'm not affected by Paypal holding any of my payments, but if it's coming as a surprise to people, they really have to read the agreements. As a buyer, there are times I wish I had my funds being held until I got an item. I'd rather they not do that..but it's just not a biggy. Mail the item, show proof of delivery, and yoru money is yours again. Once they do more selling that should stop. Am I happy that I can't leave a neg to a non payer? No, but ever that didn't turn out to to be the big brahou (is that a word?) we all thought it would be. I guess I'm still a happy eBayer. Do I never complain about them? No, I still find things that make me write nasty letters to them..like when they counted my neutral as a neg..but enough of us wrote and they changed that. As for not buying on eBay..some people think it's a buyer's market with the new rules. I'm still buying.

I've done Craigslist for years and I have things up there as I write, and while I've done good selling bigger items, that too has problems. First, you have to either meet someone somewhere, or reveal your address. Second, the amount of no shows on Craiglist is very high. Third, many people want to pay via check, and in person, there is no holding time. Fourth, even on the craiglist board there are many people talking about being scammed. There is no perfect venue, but I wouldn't discourage someone from trying eBay or Craigslist. It may be their chance to make some extra money, and some people take to it like a duck to water.


Thanks for asking about the surgery. The Neurological surgeon thought it was not a good idea, as it would affect the disks above and below the injured ones. I have a neat machine that stops the pain, and so I am good to go! Maybe in the future, but not now..yeah!

------------------------

I think your situation is unique - because for the largest part of your eBay sales you are basically running a store - selling the same type of thing(s) over and over for a "fixed" amount - so you don't run into the problems with fees and needing items to "bid up" and such that the smaller sellers would.. (Those selling assorted items they have picked up here or there - or have hanging around the house and just want to get rid of..) For those people, eBay is no longer profitable enough to deal with the increased fees and all of the other hassles they have created for the "small" sellers.. I would strongly suggest that those people go the consignment route or Craigslist.. We have been very, very happy with Craigslist - lots of people are making that switch - both selling and buying..

For the types of things I was selling in the past, I definitely don't miss the hours and hours and hours it took to do everything needed to list, monitor, collect payments, package, and ship - not to mention purchasing shipping supplies and such.. Watching the fees go up and reading about all of the hoops they have the small seller jumping through now, I have no regrets that I chose a different route.. Heck - I don't even buy from eBay anymore - LOL..

Glad it's working out for the big, store-type sellers - and those such as yourself who can continue to sell the same items over and over - but it's just not business friendly for the small seller anymore and I highly doubt it ever will be again..

OT: Did you have your surgery? If so, I hope it went well..

 

[C.Ann]

Remember, you are for months living outside of the city, and by your own admission far from a city, and getting items, shipping materials, using gas to go to the post office affects your bottom line more than it may others. Obviously, if it's not profitable for you to sell household items, then you are wise to not do it. I thought at one time you liked it just for the extra spending money and the thrill of the chase..but if that is no longer the case and you aren't earning enough to make it worth it..then it was time to step away from eBay. I would too.

I've done Craigslist for years and I have things up there as I write, and while I've done good selling bigger items, that too has problems. First, you have to either meet someone somewhere, or reveal your address. Second, the amount of no shows on Craiglist is very high. Third, many people want to pay via check, and in person, there is no holding time. Fourth, even on the craiglist board there are many people talking about being scammed. There is no perfect venue, but I wouldn't discourage someone from trying eBay or Craigslist. It may be their chance to make some extra money, and some people take to it like a duck to water.


Thanks for asking about the surgery. The Neurological surgeon thought it was not a good idea, as it would affect the disks above and below the injured ones. I have a neat machine that stops the pain, and so I am good to go! Maybe in the future, but not now..yeah!

---------------------------

If I were to do eBay again, it would be in the winter - which is when I normally did the majority of my selling before.. DD's new house is right around the corner from a large post office, so getting there would not be an issue.. It's just too much of a bother for the very small profit (if any) I would make..
Heck - I don't even go to garage sales to find stuff anymore.. LOL It was definitely a "thrill" for awhile, but as the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end"..

DD's DH takes care of the Craigslist.. He gets a kick out of it and we've done a great job of emptying out the attic - which was overflowing after we moved in there in 2006.. Couldn't believe how much stuff we dragged with us from the previous house - forgot there was a HUGE attic over the garage as well as the entire back side of the house.. So far there haven't been any no shows; everyone has paid in cash; and if he's not home himself when the buyer comes, his dad is there.. (Yes - he's still there every gosh darn day.. ) I don't know anything about scamming - probably because it hasn't been an issue with us.. Once he finishes selling off the rest of the stuff that ended up in the basement - and the big things that are in one of the three garages (Camaro car hoods; car doors; etc.) we'll be in good shape.. Maybe then we can actually organize the things we've kept where we can find them!

Glad to hear you didn't need the surgery.. Hopefully it will continue that way..