Last Updated on October 30, 2021 by Dave Farquhar
When I was hitting estate sales this weekend, an individual holding a sale figured out I was buying things to resell. He assumed I’m an eBay seller and started asking questions about getting started in eBay. I thought they were interesting, so I’ll repeat what I remember of the conversation here.
Can someone really make a living selling on eBay?
Yes. But it’s hard work. Probably it’s as much work as Amway or similar schemes, but at least the majority of the money you’re making for your work goes to you, not to the people above you.
Most businesses can’t support the owner until they’ve been around for three years. It’s possible for an online business to break that rule and do better sooner, but don’t expect it. Plan on it being a part-time gig for at least a couple of years.
What should you sell?
Sell things that you know and love and will be able to find. You need an ample supply if you want more than just a little mad money, and if you aren’t dealing in something you like, you won’t stick with it. And you need to know it well, otherwise you won’t know a good deal from a ripoff.
A nice example from later in the day: I saw a very large collection of vintage 1950s trains that day, both Lionel and American Flyer, with some desirable stuff from both companies. To a casual obverver, the asking price would have been a steal. Book value on the stuff in primo condition would have been well over $1,000. But lots of experienced train guys, including me, turned it down. I don’t want to think about how much work it would have been to get them running again. Had they offered the lot to me for 50 bucks, I would have taken it, and then I would have wondered all weekend if I’d made a mistake. As it was, the asking price was too high, and half the asking price would have been questionable.
Why’d I tell you that story? You need to deal in something that you know that well, and that you love enough to be willing to spend more than a week fixing up if necessary.
You want some ideas? Here’s some advice on baseball cards, video games, and toy or model trains, specifically, Lionel, Marx, and Tyco. My advice to you is to look for something you know well, and like enough that you’re OK with being stuck with it if you can’t sell some of it.
Where do you find things to sell?
That depends on what you’re selling. I know it sounds evasive, but you need to decide what you’re going to sell, then figure out where you need to go in order to find those things.
Now, this is just a guess, but if your passion is collectible fishing lures and you live in Arizona, you may be out of luck. It helps if the thing you’re looking for is common where you live, but not necessarily common everywhere else.
Still need some ideas? Here’s my advice about garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores in one particular area. You’ll need to know at least as much about your local thrift stores as I know about mine. And here’s some advice on finding vintage computers. If there’s something you’re better at finding than I am at finding vintage computers, then there you go.
What books do you recommend?
There are lots of eBay books out there and I can’t say any of them really blew me away. They pretty much say the same things. If you can describe your item thoroughly and accurately and provide good, clear pictures that don’t hide anything, you know 90% of what you need to know from those books. They didn’t even share my favorite pro tip: Some post offices are open on Sunday. Shipping out a batch of orders on Sunday can make it easier to stay ahead, and getting your orders to sellers a day early is good for your feedback rating.
It’s business knowledge you need, not eBay knowledge. Go to the library and read everything you can about the field that interests you. If you check out a book, read it, renew it, and then don’t want to give it back at the end of the renewal period, you probably should buy that book.
A good book or two about business can be helpful. Principles matter more than specifics. Times change, and they can change very rapidly. If you know specifics, it’s easy to get swept away, but if you have a good grasp on the principles, you can adjust to the changes. If you adjust more quickly than your competition, a change for the worse can actually benefit you.
Closing thought
When I was younger, I found myself doing things for the love of doing them, and it didn’t really matter much to me if I’d get paid for doing them. The field changed and it stopped being fun. Now I’ve found something that I think about when I don’t have to be thinking about it, and I’ll read about it because it’s enjoyable.
That’s really key. Going into business for yourself isn’t going to get you out of working, and especially not at first. I’ve read the books that try to tell you how to become a millionaire and describe a life where their income is pretty much on automatic pilot and they spend most of their time doing leisure activities.
That’s not what being in business for yourself is all about for the majority of people. If anything, they probably work a bit harder, because if they don’t, they won’t get paid. So you pretty much have to do something you enjoy in order to stay motivated.
It’s not an easy road, but it’s not an impossible one either.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.