Is it possible to earn a living off Ebay or is it just for a hobby?

[gigiandcohomewares]

It seems to me with the exorbitant fees that Ebay is taking for the final value fee when an item sells,that it just keeps sellers struggling.
For example,if you bought a dress wholesale for $10.00 and then sold it on Ebay for $20.00 with $5 postage,according to Ebays fee calculator Ebay would take $4.07!
If you sold it for $25 with "free shipping" because we all know there's such a thing as free shipping (sarcasm) ,then Ebay would take $3.98.

So after Paypal fees basically you've just made around $5 (if your lucky).
You would have to sell approx 20 dresses a day to make $100 which is really unlikely when you look at how much people have sold in their feedback.

It seems to me that Ebay is no longer about the hardworking "little" sellers that it originally built it's hugely successful website on but that it's now mainly become a platform for items/sellers from China and big businesses such as Target,City Beach etc so what's to become of the "average joe" seller?

[joxamara]

Profit or living?

If your pricing is sensible and enables a profit then you will make one.  The volume of sales will dictate whether or not you make a living - and "living" is very arbitrary.  What is a living is quite different depending on what you want and need.

[peppers-tree]

Hi DG...I cant see your items for sale and would like to although you have 1350 feedback on this identity....

[chameleon54]

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@joxamara wrote:

Profit or living?

If your pricing is sensible and enables a profit then you will make one.  The volume of sales will dictate whether or not you make a living - and "living" is very arbitrary.  What is a living is quite different depending on what you want and need.

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I would define making a reasonable living as earning the same or more than you could earn in a normal job. I make enough from ebay to pay the laon on our family home, pay the rates and utilities, send two teenage kids to school ( one at a private college, the other public ) run and update the car with a new or near new one every seven years or so, pay for holidays, provide food and the obligitary brand name surf clothes the kids expect. take away or a pub meal once a week etc. etc . etc. Basically do the same things that other people my age do and take for granted. Ebay gives me the income to do this. I make around the same income per hour as I used to make when I owned my own landscaping business. It can be done if you are prepared to work ebay efficiently like a 9-5 job and run a tight, efficient business with products that return good profit margins.

If a seller treats it like a hobby, having fun, spending lots of time browsing for stock to buy, talking to people online ( forums ? ) etc. they are likely to have some fun ( no problems with that ) but may find it hard to make a living.

[digital*ghost]

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@peppers-tree wrote:
Hi DG...I cant see your items for sale and would like to although you have 1350 feedback on this identity....

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Sorry, I post on the forums using my buying ID (that way, sellers who visit here know which one to block....  ).

My selling ID isn't exactly a well-guarded secret, but I don't publicly announce it here, either (various reasons). 

[peppers-tree]

Quite understand..can you message me then...I have no idea who you be as I dont venture onto the boards very often...Thanks...

[digital*ghost]

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@peppers-tree wrote:

Quite understand..can you message me then...I have no idea who you be as I dont venture onto the boards very often...Thanks...

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Posting mostly so you know I didn't ignore this post. 😛 (You should have a message notification at the top of your screen).

[lane-ends]

Poblem is it can be inconsistent, you may have it going right, then something changes and sales drop off dramatically. You may be able to recover but it could take a fair time. As a result it is better as a secondary income.

It is not profit per item you should focus on as you have to cover all the costs involved with items which dont sell.. many dont realize this until they do their tax return.

My sales have dropped to less than 30% of what they were in the last couple of months and I still hjaven't worked out why, no seems to have obviously changed.

I think also the amount of work, and efficiency required to get full time income makes it such a chore the enthusiasm wanes.

[chameleon54]

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@lane-ends wrote:

I think also the amount of work, and efficiency required to get full time income makes it such a chore the enthusiasm wanes.

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It probably depends what you sell. My business grew out of a hobby. Because of this I am surrounded by things that I used to collect and come across some fantastic items I never could have justified buying if it wasnt a business.

As part of my ebay business I picked up a very interesting 110 year old photo a couple of weeks ago. I am currently researching it as it could be quite important. This includes meeting and liasing with curators of archives at national institutions. If the photo turns out to be what we think it could be, it will be sold to one of the federal government departments for their archives. This has been a fascinating exercise and not a chore at all. The photo could be worth two to three thousand dollars, so potentially very profitable too..................................... Fingers and toes crossed.

It all gets back to what you sell. If it is mobile phone covers it could become boring very quickly.

[peppers-tree]

Sorry casn't find anything...can you inbox me please...I would love to see what you are selling...Sorry OP for interupting your post...

[peppers-tree]

Sorry can't find anything...can you inbox me please...I would love to see what you are selling...Sorry OP for interupting your post...