Forum

Earning a living?
 

Is it possible to earn a living with ebay & Paypal? I'm trying to find a way to work from home because my father is dying & I'm the only child & the primary caregiver. So until he dies my house is also my prison. So I'm trying to figure out a way to earn money online but everything seems like a lie.

After the ebay & Paypal fees I don't see how you can make any profit. I just need around $1600.00 a month or $300-$400 a week to live comfortably but nothing I've tried has worked. I'm getting really tired, run down & worn out from trying to sift through all the BS. I need to find something that actually works. I'm running out of time. As soon as he dies I'm instantly homeless with $0 income. And I can't get a job around here because of the large employment gap. NOBODY will give me an interview, not even McDonald's.

Re: Earning a living?
 

U just need to find something to sell than find a supplier and than sell it on eBay or Amazon

There's no overnight fix, it takes a lot of time, a lot of trial and error, and you need to constantly be changing to keep up with the competition

No one will hand you a living, if your speaking about some magic online business where you pay $500 to start up, the only one that makes money is the person you give the $500 to

Re: Earning a living?
 

No, I'm talking about something that you can work at & actually see results. I've been selling on ebay since the mid 90's, I have lots of experience. I used to sell toys, mostly Transformers. There's no money in that & I ran out of stuff to sell.

So now I'm trying to figure out if there are any products out there that sell well & actually earn a profit. When you say "find something to sell" that's not helpful in the slightest. Obviously I need something to sell, that's all you do on ebay. Saying I need something to sell is like saying I need an internet connection to access a website. NO DUH! The thing I need help with is "SELL WHAT"? What actually works? Selling toys & action figures makes no money unless you get lucky & find a variant or an item is limited. I need something more steady & reliable. Something that makes putting up with ebay & Paypal's crap totally worth it.

So that's my question. Is there something out there that is worth the hassle & will allow you to eke out a meager existence? Toys are no good. I always read electronics are a problem because of scammers. Handbags & clothing also seem to be a problem area.

I'm not going to put up with ebay's BS unless it's totally worth it. My income has to be on a higher level than all of ebay's BS. During the years I've been selling on ebay I mostly felt like it wasn't worth the trouble. I had a couple really awesome sales that blew my mind. One time I was trying to get $60 for an item & it ended at $464. I know that's totally rare but that really made it feel like it was worth my trouble. But most of the time after ebay & Paypal take their cut it just isn't worth the trouble.

I'm trying to figure out how to make it feel worthwhile. I want to feel like I'm accomplishing something. I want the peace of mind knowing that I'll have the rent money when it's due every month. But if it's going to be a constant uphill battle then I need to look elsewhere. I'm too old for that crap! I don't need to be banging my head against a brick wall constantly, I just want to be able to scratch by & pay my bills.

Re: Earning a living?
 

I know I can, but I have no idea if you can.

Some people retire at a very early age selling on ebay...

It really comes down to your skill, mindset, dedication, ability to hire, source goods, raise capital, manage risk and stress, etc..

Re: Earning a living?
 

I started with a £68 investment and now 6 months later I turn over around £5k a month and 50% of it is profit, if not more.
If I can do it, so can you.

Re: Earning a living?
 

Hire? You have to hire people?



What kind of background or training do you have? I would say my skill level is very low. How can I raise my skill level? I know how to sell on ebay but that's about it. No skill or experience hiring people or sourcing goods. That's all stuff I need to learn. And I need to learn pretty fast, I'm running out of time. I don't want anything overnight but I need to be learning & moving in the right direction instead of just sitting here rotting.

Re: Earning a living?
 

Firstly I am so sorry for what you are going through with your father, I can only imagine that must be a struggle alone without the stress of ebay x

There are a lot of popular categories on eBay, I do agree about what you say about the toy category, I mean in the uk you cannot even walk down a street without tripping over a child, but yet eBay isn't so hot with sales on this unless you selling Lego or Frozen items ...

Have you looked at your competitors to try see what other categories they are selling?
We also have a wholesale talk section on the forum for places that will have ideas for you.

Re: Earning a living?
 

I'm pretty much in the place where most normal people would commit suicide. A couple words that come to mind are destitute & despair.

I'm trying to fight through it. I'm going to get training as a CNA because that's what I'm doing here anyway, might as well get paid for it. The problem is I don't know exactly when my father will die, could be tonight, could be 5 or 10 years from now. After he dies I'll have total freedom, I planned it that way, no girlfriend or wife, no kids, no brothers or sisters & no family. Just me alone to live my life the way I want to. I have plans for after he dies but I'm trying to get some money for myself right now. I'm using his SSI check to pay all the bills but that leaves me with nothing for myself. Since I know how to sell on ebay I'm trying to figure out how to crank up the volume. I was doing it for fun before but now I need to crank things up to the professional level.

I've been reading the past few years that ebay sales are down for most people. And ebay blocks your listings so not all people can see them. This is the BS that I'm worried about. If ebay is going to limit the people that can actually see your listings then I want no part of that nonsense. I'm not interested in playing stupid baby head games, that's why I don't have a girlfriend anymore. I can't tolerate BS!

Re: Earning a living?
 

Ill say this: As much as ebay jerks me around, with the help of this forum and ebay, I Sorry for your father being ill :(

was able to keep my home and help support my family.

Granted, I still have ways to go, but ebay essentially, saved my life and for the first time in YEARS, I can get the things I want AND have the things I need.

It is my livelihood, and its also hard work and dedication.
All the issues you are having can be usurped by learning and having many accounts.
Never put all of your eggs in one basket.

Re: Earning a living?
 

Yes.

It all depends on what you are selling,

and how much you can get it for.

basic concept buy low and sell high....

eBay requires a lot of money.....stealth accounts.....connections......also you have to factor in competitors scamming you on eBay and trying to tear your business down.....it all costs money and time.....

I easily net in 3k a month from just local sales....and other varying websites I sell....eBay is not my primary sales channel I sell on many different platforms...

Re: Earning a living?
 

Sorry to hear about your father. It is always difficult when a parent is terminally ill.

As to eBay/Amazon, YES, you CAN earn a living. But it is not a process that provides instant results unless you are very lucky. I sell mostly books. I make a good amount of money, but it took me about a year before it produced a full time income. I also have added other things, but it takes a lot of research. You have to find a niche - one that has a decent amount of sales and limited competition. I probably spend 8-10 hours researching items to fine ONE good (non-book) product to sell and the profits are usually $100 - $200 per month for each product, although they CAN be higher or lower. And a profitable niche can disappear, because I am not the only one looking for niches - others are too. Many of the products I sold 2 or 3 years ago are no longer profitable to sell.

eBay and Amazon are the most competitive marketplaces in the world. It is hard work making money. Not hard work like a construction job, but it is still not easy. If you are thinking that you can buy a wholesaler list and make a million in the first month, you will be sadly disappointed. First you have to find a good niche, then you have to find a supplier that has prices low enough for you to make a decent profit. Then you have to fend off the competition for as long as you can. I am an adult living in the US with a family to support. But I have to compete with college kids, looking for money for their next beer party. And sellers from China, where they make EVERYTHING and the Chinese government subsidizes their shipping costs. They can mail an HDMI cable from China to the USA cheaper than I can send one from Chicago to Orlando. Then there are the part-timers, who are satisfied if they can make an extra $200 a month. When these guys find one of my niches, the prices quickly drop to the point where it is no longer profitable for me to sell.

It is tough to start on eBay and expect it to produce enough income to replace a full-time job right away. For that you would need to work 16 hours a day, or have a hot new product that others do not have easy access to.

Re: Earning a living?
 

This post is gospel.

Re: Earning a living?
 

Honestly, my suggestion would be to start dropshipping even though in the long run it would be more easier to obtain certain products rather than shifting 1000s for low margins. Anyway, check this topic out http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackha...-detailed.html as I didnt bother looking for one on aspkin forums. It requires basically no startup and you dont need to wait weeks/months before finding your niche, supplier, ordering shipping supplies and etc, etc. So, you can start earning something right away or at least faster. After that I would recommend switching to the strategy jeffweico suggested or adding it along until you eventually hit the comfort level of your earnings.

And yes, there are no shortcuts for your success. I myself spend many and many hours but it pays off more than you can imagine. I honestly dont even think about this as a job, this is the lifestyle being creative and doing something that I can teach myself to do.

Re: Earning a living?
 

check this link out bro

hope you find something to sell asap. YOU CANT QUIT. it took me 3 months to find a niche.
but after I found it I never needed a job again.


may I ask what did you ell for 454$ ?? maybe you can sell that ?

Re: Earning a living?
 

bags of Kanye west AIR is going for 60,000


FIND A NICHE!

Re: Earning a living?
 

Sorry to hear about what your going through mate.
Keep on going mate , things will get better .

Silenthill quick question about the vid . Would you be drop shipping the chair or would you buy then ship out yourself ? Also what woul happen with returns ?

Wrighty

Re: Earning a living?
 

Sorry to hear about your situation, it must be tough. Just know that things will get better.

Dont think about ebay sales being down and visability issues, just concentrate on finding profitable items.

If you pm me I might be able to give you a bit of help.

Re: Earning a living?
 

Glad to see there's a reach out and soft side to this forum. I'm shocked but glad for all the members reaching out and encouraging and not discouraging.

Re: Earning a living?
 

What does this mean?

Re: Earning a living?
 

Who discourages? This forum is all about moving forward and making money.
:cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer:: cheer:

Re: Earning a living?
 

N7 Shadow...take a couple minutes and step back and take a deep breath. Your posts are so frantic and all over the place. So many things leading back to you telling yourself "I cant do that." Youre never going to make it by telling yourself you cant do it. Youll never own anything by telling yourself you cant own it. All I see in your posts is a bunch of bull spit. Youll never advance with that attitude. Sorry to put it that way, but someone needs to give you a dose of the truth.

Take a step back, tell yourself you CAN do it, breathe....then post. You may be dealing with a lot in life...but we all are. Nobody can help you but yourself. That starts with a positive outlook on things. And quite frankly, YES there is a market in toys...I have turned a hefty profit on them. There are so many things that are profitable, its crazy to think someone is actually saying "theres no money there."

Re: Earning a living?
 

I'll help a little more than what has been stated . I'll send you a pm . I wouldn't want to expose all my secrets :-)

Re: Earning a living?
 

Haha plenty of posts from members saying and I quote "if you can't take the heat get the fVck the kitchen! You little crybaby b@tch!" Unquote

Re: Earning a living?
 

I must miss every single one of them....

Re: Earning a living?
 

I thought I saw you post that exact quote yesterday!?!? :lol:

:focus:

Re: Earning a living?
 

Hey man first of all i'd like to say i admire you buddy looking after your old man like that really nice to see
Secondly in terms of money making i do clothing (mens) and make around £40 per item
I wont say exactly what i buy and sell (DM me) but for example

I buy 18 items for £290
Sell all 18 and at the end i have around £950 in total
I sell 18 items roughly every two weeks which can make me around £2k a month depending on how hard i try

I can use a wide range of clothing and trainers to earn even more
Would highly recommend it

Re: Earning a living?
 

Nothing is telling me I can't do it. Past experience is telling me I shouldn't do it.

I was hoping 2 things would happen, but they never will.

1. People would finally get fed up with ebay's BS policies & walk away like I did.

2. Another better site would rise up & knock ebay back & break their monopoly.

Unfortunately those 2 things will never happen because no matter how bad it gets, people will always stick to ebay. Just like all those women that get beat & battered by their boyfriend or husband but still cling to him no matter how bad it gets. People love to complain about it on the forums & ebay's message board, but no matter how much they complain & get screwed over they will always keep going back for more.

I'm going to start up another stealth account just so I can move some stuff out of my house. But I don't know after that. If I find a niche that makes money I might stick with it. But I will be doing watever it takes to get something else going for myself so I never even have to think about selling on ebay ever again. I despise ebay & I'm not just saying that. If I had the power to take them down & put them out of business for good I would do it in a heartbeat.:mad:

Re: Earning a living?
 

Ebay makes me a fortunate person. I love ebay and paypal. Cheapest business rent on earth IMO.

Re: Earning a living?
 

Dude Amazon tried to take on EBAY and got busted "Amazon Auctions" If Jeff Bezos couldn't do it nobody can.

Re: Earning a living?
 

Maybe I'll be able to say that someday. But now I have a lot to learn. I used to be all over it, in the beginning I loved ebay. But after all the ridiculous changes & after they started to be 100% pro-buyer & 100% anti-seller my attitude changed. You can only get ****ed over so many times.

Re: Earning a living?
 

I hear you, I liked eBay much better in 1995. You could pretty much sell whatever you wanted and the only way to lose an account was to rip people off. Now, they have a rule for everything. And sometimes even a rule for the rule. Not as many people see your listings. Scammers have learned how to work the system.

I took a long break from eBay myself, back in 1999. I was fed up with it. In the beginning, selling on eBay was a lot of fun. Fees were low. There was a sense of community. And the bids were VERY, VERY GOOD for most things.

Then eBay created a million new categories. New rules were posted daily. They started banning items left and right. Fees went up. Safeharbor became a nightmare to deal with. Where I enjoyed writing listings before and listing my items, listing them became an abrasive process - Safeharbor seemed to have a problem with EVERYTHING. Either they didn't like the item, or the title, or the category, or the HTML code, or the pictures, or whatever. When they said they removed the item because of, for example, the HTML code, I would ask what was wrong with it and they would give me a canned response: eBay reserves the right, blah, blah, blah, termination of your account, blah, blah, blah, but would never tell me what was wrong. And I was paying them over $5,000 per month in fees.

My profits were down, my blood pressure was up and I threw in the towel. The internet was new back then, and I had never had a dispute with anyone in business that wouldn't explain what it was they had a problem with. I figured that eBay had just decided they no longer wanted me as a seller. And the competition was INSANE - it was not uncommon for 300 people to be listing the same item. I decided to stop torturing myself and leave eBay.

I came back to it, of course. It had changed somewhat. They implemented the Spring and Fall seller updates. That was much better than the old way, which was that they posted new rules on their message boards every day and expected everyone to keep up with them. A lot of the competition was gone and I kind of liked the whole "buy it now" concept. Of course, eBay still changes and we may not like the changes. But it is THEIR WEBSITE and they can do whatever they like. I stopped FIGHTING the system and started WORKING the system.

To be successful, you have to play by THEIR rules. You have to realize that you are going to have to take the occasional hit from a scammer. You have to be nice to even the NASTIEST customers. And even if you do everything right, you can STILL lose your account. That all has to be factored into your business plan. But if you can do that, you should be successful.

Re: Earning a living?
 

I just bought the stealth guide. I'm going to read it & I want to master all of this. I know how to run 1 stealth account but I would feel more secure with 10+ backups. Hopefully I won't get suspended ever again but if I do I'm not going to tolerate it.




2 things that really turned me against ebay was the addition of Buy It Now & when sellers were no longer able to leave negative feedback.

I hate Buy It Now because if I wanted to shop at a store I would go to Amazon or Walmart. The thing that made ebay awesome was the fact that it was an auction site, not a store. What made it fun was never knowing what your item would end at. The bidding war in the final few minutes was such a rush! Then it became a store & it all went downhill when Buy It Now was introduced.

Buy It Now also makes buying suck too! All the items I want are Buy It Now & usually insanely high BIN's. I have to search everyday & usually have to wait weeks or even months for a good old fashioned auction with a low starting bid to show up. I like to snipe in the last few seconds & try to get the item at the lowest possible price. Buy It Now screwed all that up.

Re: Earning a living?
 

When it comes to more expensive merchandise, I often find it cheaper on Amazon. When it comes to little things, eBay is still the best. And for unique stuff, eBay is still the best place, in my opinion, since Amazon usually deals mostly with new items, although you CAN list ALMOST anything in Amazon's "everything else" category.

Like I said, eBay is constantly changing. We can adapt, or we can give up. At first, I HATED the idea of having multiple accounts. But now I see how they help me in MANY ways. I would never go back. So, my advice is to be open to change.

Re: Earning a living?
 

Change can be a good thing!
I gone from(Still have) very large ebay accounts to running 5-10 accounts per week and quite frankly, I am LOVING the multiple small accounts although some things are tricky at first.
Quite frankly, running small accounts is so incredibly easy and if a problem occurs, it is not devastating at all. Simply move onto the next account.

As for the idea ebay is all about the buyer, Hmmm....I understand the sentiment, I hate the "return request" BS now but scammers(in large), competitors and non paying bidders, feedback extortion, and in general "Buyers Remorse" cases are handled so much easier today than ever before, especially for stealth accounts that we don't normally call in on.

I say, if you cant make very good money on ebay, you are going to have a hard time making money anywhere else. Today's ebay makes us better business people. It was hard for me to conform to ebays evolution but when I did, adapted and adjusted, it has always paid off.

Re: Earning a living?
 

I started out years ago making nothing at first, I worked like my life and my family depended on it, I grew it and made more than at my day job. It was a lot of work, got very little sleep, but I was free in all the ways that counted. It takes grit & sacrifice, but it pays off, no quick fix imho

Re: Earning a living?
 

Still reading, sorry to hear what your family is going through

Re: Earning a living?
 

Been there as well - props to you

Re: Earning a living?
 

I've got to do it again, I'd rather work like a dog than risk easy money with a huge price tag, thanks for all the encouragement to poster, it's amazing and thanks RSOT

Re: Earning a living?
 

Off topic, but my dad, as honest as the day is long, got booted off eBay reselling something he didn't know was ⊗⊗⊗⊗, *******s

Re: Earning a living?
 

Another point is that ebay/amazon good to work when you are going through such a tough spot, no boss, no one to see that you are a mess and still generating income