Making a Living on eBay - Can You Do It?
If you have read my profile, you know that I have been doing eBay for 16+ years. Only as a full time seller the last two. The niche I have found for myself is very SLOW this time of year. I do a lot of research on the net and about 6 months ago, I stumbled on a seller's blog. I wish I could remember how I find some of my info, but I just can't remember what lead me to this blog. Thinking back on it, I was probably Googling why my eBay sales were so slow when it was supposed to be my peak time. This seller makes a full time living selling used clothes on eBay that she flips from Goodwill and thrift stores. I knew about Poshmark. I have seen used clothing sellers on Instagram. Never really thought it was something I wanted to do. Mainly because I probably thought it was a side job for these people. I had never thought about making a living doing it. So .... you know me, I started researching. There were many other sellers making a living doing the same thing.
I began to compile me a list of good clothing brands that I could flip for a profit. Then I started my second eBay store with zero feedback. I started building my feedback on eBay. I was very discouraged to begin with because I wanted people to start buying my awesome finds. No one did. I was thinking, 'this might not be for me'. I worried that my picture taking skills were what was causing me to not sell. I redid a lot of my pictures. I took some outside. I took some inside. I took some laying down on the floor. I tried everything.
Then I stumbled on another seller's listing that was sold (again, I have no idea what I was doing to find this listing). It was for a dress (I wish I had saved this info so I cold show you). She sold it for $80. I don't even remember the name brand but it probably was a really nice one. What stood out to me was, the dress was hanging on a hanger. Not ironed, and by that I mean WRINKLED and pretty pathetic looking. But she sold it for $80! I thought to myself, if she can do it, so can I. I quit stressing over my pictures and simply did the best I could.
I incorporated a few of my listings from my other store and reduced the prices so they would sell. I bought everything I needed on my new store so I could get some feedback from that. When I hit about 15 feedback, I got a sale! I made about $10-15 and I almost peed my pants! I was hooked! I am no where near making a living selling these type of items, but I am gaining ground every day. I love, love, love the treasure hunt when I am at a thrift store. I generally have to go out of town to find anything since I am in a small rural town.
The picture above was compiled of listings I found while doing research. It was not made to make fun of any seller but to show you that you too can sell on eBay and if you are committed, you can make a living at it. If these sellers can sell with these types of pictures, YOU can too. I was researching an Anthropologie brand for completed listings the other day. It was a Sparrow sweater. One seller had only the word Sparrow in their title! The title is your billboard for search engines. Make sure you utilize it!
Feel free to share if you are a seller or are contemplating becoming a seller in the comments. If you have any advice, we welcome that too!
