Our eBay Business - Introduction Part 2

The first thing we ever sold on eBay was a set of 3 birdhouses.  They all went to the same person, living in a small town in Iowa just south its border with Minnesota.  I remember looking to see where the town was, because I had never heard of it.   We packaged them as carefully as we knew how, took it down to the post office and sent it off.   We lost money on the deal, because we did not charge enough for shipping.   That was August 2006, and that was our introduction to selling on eBay.

We've come aways since then.  Shipping costs are no longer the mystery they once were.   And the business has grown from where we only sold something every now and then, to a point where we reasonably expect to sell something every day.  Some days a lot, some days a little, but it's a rare day that we don't package something up & grab the dog and head to the post office. In 2006, that wasn't the case at all.

I suppose some people get rich selling things on eBay.   I don't think we ever had a goal of getting rich via eBay.   In order to get rich, you have to work really hard, and take a lot of calculated risks.  If we wanted to be wealthy, or even well off, we would not be living in Valdese, North Carolina, listing postcards and cabinet photos.  We'd have to live in Charlotte or Asheville at the least, and dress up nice every morning and head out to do whatever.  We've both done that, for years and years.  I for one much prefer sitting out on the porch on a warm afternoon such as today, with Patti Anne & Pickles the Dog, just talking and listening to the birds, and watching the drug deals next door.   

Now this is not to say we don't work.  I'll let you know right now, we are very poorly paid for the amount of hours we put in, and I'll touch on that in more detail later. But, it has it's rewards.  Our schedule is our own, and it really helps with the bills.

We've never had anything like a guaranteed income from eBay.  There have been a few months when we've lost money - our expenses exceeded the income we brought in.   The vast majority of months we have made money, eBay has been profitable for us.   But the amount of money we make each month is very unpredictable.  

These articles will not be a series of "how to's".   There are many books that'll tell you the ins and outs of getting started on eBay.  These articles are  just going to be about our experiences, things we've learned along the way.  

Ok, it's time to bring this rambling quasi-intro part 2 to a close.   I didn't intend to do a part 2, quasi or otherwise, and if you've read this far, my apologies for subjecting you to it.   

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