We recently swore off eBay, selling on it, that is. The prices of postage went up as well as Pay Pal and eBay itself. It seemed a lot of other people did that as well. But now, and maybe this is just me, people seem to be returning.

What do you think?

I had a hard time selling my dd's uniforms. I ended up letting them go for dirt cheap. I got about $20 for $160 worth of NWOT clothing.

I hope there is a comeback! I havn't done it in about a year or so I got really burnt out on it. But I plan on starting back up again, even though the cost of everything has gone up. I hope its worth it!

__________________
~Missy~Mommy
Meghan8.Samantha7,Cameron4

Well....it won't be making a comeback for me. Here's my "go" at making a living on eBay. I was a powerseller, but that doesn't mean I made any money. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it sure isn't easy.

I sold on eBay and Amazon full-time last year, and have closed up shop. The crazy people coming in and selling at a loss to undercut the competition made it hardly worth the effort. I also refused to sell cheap import items from China, only quality NEW retail items. Customer service was my top priority, and I had many happy customers. My one and only import was a really neat magnet, and I didn't know it was an import until I already had 288 of them sitting in my house. LOL

The above mentioned, along with the high fees, made the profit margin unacceptable in the arena I was selling in.

Last year's numbers? I sold $22k gross sales, cost of goods was ~$10k, and with fees (eBay, Paypal, Amazon) and expenses (gas/postage/supplies/advertising/business use of home), my net profit was a whopping $246 on my tax return! Never will I do that much work again for so little profit in the end.

I've gone out and found a job working for a merchandising company and am in the processing of expanding my piano studio instead of selling on eBay. I'm bringing in more money and working a lot less.

I'm still glad I gave it a try, it was fun to do for a year, and I didn't lose my shirt. Turning a profit in the first year of any business is difficult to do. This is just one I didn't feel like continuing.

Wow! That is depressing.

Pianolady: What was selling on Amazon like? I'm not looking for a retail front, but rather a place to unload books (hardcover, like new, read once) and other things....did they have a lot of fees?

__________________
Make someone's heart smile today.

Would you like to join our Mommysavers' Holiday Ornament/Decoration Swap? Details and signup:
http://mommysavers.com/boards/chit-c...p-sign-up.html

Hurry! Deadline is Near way before Santa comes!

I had stopped for about 6-9 months but just listed & sold some things recently and did very well! I do agree, the pricing is high!!!

__________________

Amazon is the place to sell books. You don't get charged any fees up front, and they set the shipping charges for you. Amazon then gives you a credit for the shipping fee, which is almost always more than the actual cost to sell the book (especially if first class or media mail). You'll see a lot of sellers selling books for a penny, that probably means they're mailing them media mail and pocketing the difference of the shipping credit. They must be selling a lot of books to make enough money to do it as a job at that rate.

The thing about eBay is that it is an environment that is constantly changing and that will always be the case. Demand for certain items will always change, something may be hot one day and cold the next. Fees will go up and down (mostly up though lol) and rules will change, but as long as you are flexible with your business and change when you need too it can be very profitable. Coincidentally I also grossed roughly $22K last year on eBay and my profit was thousands more than the poster above. It all depends on what you sell. I've sold everything from used clothes and toys found at yardsales to new wholesale clothes and toys, antiques and collectibles, books, niche items like plus size and maternity..etc. Quitting is not an option for my family so I change what/how I sell when needed and it works for me.

Amazon is great but again, you have to figure out what works for you. Selling books and selling clothes are two TOTALLY different things on Amazon. Different fees, different platforms etc. eBay lets anyone sell, Amazon lets anyone sell books and a few other categories but you have to be invited or know the secret handshake basically, to be able to sell clothing, shoes, jewelry, etc. on Amazon. You have to get into the Seller Central platform to be able to sell in "closed" categories so you'll want to work on that. You also want to be eligible to sell toys on Amazon during Christmas as the numbers are unreal during November/December. They restrict toy sellers during that time and only let the best in. If you can get in you will have it made.

Just don't give up, change when things go downhill and you will do very well on eBay/Amazon.

__________________
Shelby

I used to sell on ebay years ago. I was a home interior consultant at the time and I would buy home interior or figurines and collectables at yard sales and resell. I made extremely good money doing it. I even bought some brass leaves that needed a reallllly good cleaning for like .25 at a yardsale and I thought on the way home I'll never get rid of these...well they sold for $42. I was floored and the person that bought them LOVED them. Bought figurines for $4-5 and would resell for $60-70 easy.

It was an easier time back then. ebay was fairly new, digi cameras were pricey so not everyone would go and buy a camera. Just not alot of sellers in general. Now theres just too much competition. Plus the fees will kill you. Paypal used to be * gasp *FREE! LOL Between Ebay Fees Paypal and gas to post office, you'd just have to decide if its for you.

__________________
Happily Married to Terry
Proud Mommy to Andrew ('96) & Caitlin ('97)
Proud Mommy to Raven & Stormy (Cats) & Prince & Coco (Dogs)