The best advice I can give for basic stealthing

[techdawg]

I wrote down a few thoughts the other night to share here, mostly aimed at newer stealthers still learning, but some tips may provide insight to all walks of the stealth lifestyle.

Thanks to this community here I am alive and well, now is my turn to give some advice back:

1. Sell over time, make more accounts to spread out sales. If you have 10 accounts with a 5 limit, you can sell 50 items per month right off the bat.
   
2. Don't rush anything, and don't be a cheapskate.You have to spend money to make money.
   
3. Take your time, and take care of every customer. The customer is always right, always make sure they are happy in the end and bend over backwards to give great service.
   
4. NEVER let your emotions get in the way of communicating over Ebay and Paypal. Always take a reserved standpoint for disputes with buyers.
   
5. The more stealth accounts you have, the safer your business model becomes. It is vital to keep accounts on the “back burner” and always be aging accounts.
   
6. USE SPREADSHEETS!!! They do all sorts of things that help your efficiency. Learn from youtube if you are new, OpenOffice is a great freeware clone you can use for spreadsheets.
   
7. Sell your first item a few days after you have browsed around on Ebay and watched things and built a history. It is also advisable to bid on items too, if you are sure you will not have the winning bid.
8. It is wise to go ahead and sell after the first few days of waiting and building history, as long as the item is low risk and cheap.
9. To lift the 21 payment hold on all US Ebay transactions for new accounts, you must be 90 Days, $200 in sales, and at least 20 items sold. It may not lift right at 90 days, but if you keep selling it will lift soon after those requirements.
10. It is also wise to also get your first sale in early, but still build history first, on aging accounts, that way by the time you use them they are already near the 90 day mark.
11. Wake up with a positive attitude every day. Set aside time EVERY DAY to research and develop your business model and products.
12. Cut things out of your life that have a negative impact on your motivation, and success for your business.
13. Focus on research and creativity related tasks when you have a fresh start in the day, and a clear mind.
14. Try to develop diligent studying habits when it comes to researching and improving your Business Model.
15. Be happy, and love what you do. This will help a lot in the long run. Having several accounts can be stressful without the right tools and attitude.
16. Always have a backup for important files. Research on how to secure your files on a seperate drive.
    

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Final Word:

Remember, you get out of Ebay what you put in. We're talking about long nights, LOTS of Caffeine, outsourcing work to outside help, etc; with a lot of Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Managing a large Ebay Business can sometimes be very stressful.
Do what you feel comfortable with. Never overextend your means to succeed. Always have your R&D moving faster than your ability to sell and source.

Learning is the key to success. Research EVERY DAY, the more you know the more power you have over your own reality. The possibilities to improve your quality of life with eCommerce are immense, but you have to make some moves first. Your Business is defined by the actions you take. Think hard, and make smart decisions for your long term goals. Keep your head held high! Your confidence is a big factor in your motivation. Be prepared to do what it takes to get sh** done. Be fast, efficient, and courteous.

TL:DR
Play the game, do the things, win the points

Good luck.

[rsot]

Good stuff techdawg - adrenaline rush

[warnka1]

Awesome!!!!

[SilentHill]

Great advice. Great Thread.

[Omgoozle]

Kind've corny, kind've rote. Maybe I've just been on these boards for too long.

I get a lot of PM's and questions on these boards, many of them directly ask about my success with stealth and how I'm able to produce the numbers I do.

I just wanted to add one or two things that I think are helpful -

17. The internet is always on, and you should be too. That means every moment you are awake is an opportunity for you to be making more money, or working towards making more money. There is no such thing as "down-time" in our business. You can always be researching new products, looking up prices for something you may have a lead on, or even making new accounts.

That hour you spent infront of the TV watching that Family Guy episode you've seen 3 times before? You could have made 3-6 spare stealth accounts.

You're on the subway on the way to quit your job because you're making so much money online? You should be researching the latest tech industry and eB-related news stories on your phone.

You're at the supermarket? Do they have the VCC's you're looking for?

You're at a pharmacy picking up your grandmother's prescription? Oh! I wonder if any of these 99.99% discounted items under the back table in the Clearance section would sell for profit? Maybe you should ask the Manager if they have any more of these ______ that look like I can sell for a nice gain. What's that you say Mr. Manager? Sure, I'd love to buy the 7 cases of the stuff you have in the back. Yes, you can call me when you have anything else like this that you're about to send back to the distribution warehouse.

18. When you work from Home, all of the people who gain from your employment and increased financial status become your indentured servants.

You have a buddy coming over, but he has to run a few errands first? Ask him to grab you some 9x11 envelopes while he's at Wal-Mart. He drinks too much of your damn beer anyway.

Every time my girlfriend comes over she knows there's a 50/50 chance she's going to be roped into helping me pack & ship some of the dozens of items I need to ship every day. It's gotten to the point where we know what jobs we like to do. I hate using tape, for example. She loves it. It's weird.

I don't feel bad dropping an extra few dollars on a nicer meal for her later that evening.

[techdawg]

Originally Posted by Omgoozle

Kind've corny, kind've rote. Maybe I've just been on these boards for too long.

17. The internet is always on, and you should be too.[/B] That means every moment you are awake is an opportunity for you to be making more money, or working towards making more money. There is no such thing as "down-time" in our business. You can always be researching new products, looking up prices for something you may have a lead on, or even making new accounts.

That hour you spent infront of the TV watching that Family Guy episode you've seen 3 times before? You could have made 3-6 spare stealth accounts.

You're on the subway on the way to quit your job because you're making so much money online? You should be researching the latest tech industry and eB-related news stories on your phone.

You're at the supermarket? Do they have the VCC's you're looking for?

You're at a pharmacy picking up your grandmother's prescription? Oh! I wonder if any of these 99.99% discounted items under the back table in the Clearance section would sell for profit? Maybe you should ask the Manager if they have any more of these ______ that look like I can sell for a nice gain. What's that you say Mr. Manager? Sure, I'd love to buy the 7 cases of the stuff you have in the back. Yes, you can call me when you have anything else like this that you're about to send back to the distribution warehouse.

18. When you work from Home, all of the people who gain from your employment and increased financial status become your indentured servants.

You have a buddy coming over, but he has to run a few errands first? Ask him to grab you some 9x11 envelopes while he's at Wal-Mart. He drinks too much of your damn beer anyway.

Every time my girlfriend comes over she knows there's a 50/50 chance she's going to be roped into helping me pack & ship some of the dozens of items I need to ship every day. It's gotten to the point where we know what jobs we like to do. I hate using tape, for example. She loves it. It's weird.

I don't feel bad dropping an extra few dollars on a nicer meal for her later that evening.

Absolutely true in every aspect. Great advice to add here, Thanks for the contribution! Yes, it may sound "corny" to some, but this is actually advice I had written for myself long ago. I did it to help keep myself motivated every day. It's good to know there are others out there like me who have similar ways of thinking. +1

[123]

Great post and really good info especially for people starting out! And you arent kidding about those long nights, its 4 am here

[Hotspur999]

Really great post - well done and thanks