Idea for 2010 Ebay Challenge

[disneysteve]

As 2009 winds down, I'm thinking about the ebay challenge I posted a year ago. As my blog indicates, I did not meet my goal of averaging $100/month. I have auctions running now but even with those, I won't hit the average. I'll probably end up somewhere in the $75/month range which is still quite good.

Anyway, I want to continue this challenge. I realized that one thing that I didn't include in my challenge was where the money would go. With that in mind, I've decided that for 2010, all money I raise with ebay/half.com/craigslist/yard sale sales, after any expenses, will go toward extra principal payments on our mortgage. All of our other savings goals are on track and we have no other debt.

Several people have asked me from time to time if I do something special with my survey income and I've always said no, so I was also thinking about that. I don't think I can put all survey income toward the mortgage because it is used for other things, but I'm going to start out by directing 20% of it toward the mortgage. I'll see how that is going after a few months and can always adjust it up or down if necessary.

[cantretire]

So you make a considerable sum doing surveys? I thought they were all scams.

[disneysteve]

So you make a considerable sum doing surveys? I thought they were all scams.

I'm a physician and have the opportunity to do a lot of medical surveys and market research programs. These are not available to the general public. They pay quite well, on the order of $100/hour or more. I typically earn at least $400/month and sometimes much more. Putting even the 20% of survey income toward the mortgage will be approximately $1,000 over the course of the year.

[creditcardfree]

Great plan, Steve! I will also end the year under my goal. I'll have to update that on my blog soon, as well. Maybe you'll find that knowing where the money is going will motivate you to keep going!

[segmond]

it's good that you are trying something, but $75 a month is terrible. i suggest you think big and find something that will sell, so you can make $7,500 a month. others are doing it, you can do it.

[disneysteve]

it's good that you are trying something, but $75 a month is terrible. i suggest you think big and find something that will sell, so you can make $7,500 a month. others are doing it, you can do it.

segmond, I'm not looking to make a bunch of money on ebay. Been there, done that. What I'm doing is decluttering the house and selling items that I bought to resell years ago and never sold. The money is just a side benefit. Back when I did ebay regularly, I made as much as $3,000/month but I don't want to do that now. And I don't think an extra $75/month going toward the mortgage would be bad at all.

[minnie1928]

So you make a considerable sum doing surveys? I thought they were all scams.

My retired mom does surveys...she probably clears about $40/month with very little time required.

[Daylily]

DisneySteve, I think that is a great idea. It's similar to the idea of putting names to your dollars. I know that you're not someone who budgets and I'm not either but I have found great satisfaction in 'naming' some of my dollars. I do some side work in the way of tutoring and proctoring exams and surverys. All income from these sources go to the vacation fund.

[skruggie]

I make on average a couple of hundred a month on ebay, which goes directly into my vacation fund.

But to be fair, I'm not selling stuff from around the house, I used to be an "almost" full time seller and this is leftover stock that I am getting rid of. Once it's gone, by online sales days are over.

[gamecock43]

I stopped ebay for most of 2009- but started up again around thanksgiving. I sell high end items and have made around $1400.00 in 2009. I met the goal- just not consistently.

[disneysteve]

I make on average a couple of hundred a month on ebay, which goes directly into my vacation fund.

But to be fair, I'm not selling stuff from around the house, I used to be an "almost" full time seller and this is leftover stock that I am getting rid of. Once it's gone, by online sales days are over.

Me, too. I was an "almost" full time seller around 1999-2001 and still have a ton of stock left. That's a lot of what I'm selling, but I'm also always coming across stuff around the house. Today, an auction ended for DD's old Game Boy Advance, for example. Last night, she gave me a bag full of Build A Bear clothes to sell. I'll put those on tonight. Yesterday, I sold a book and CD set from a work seminar my wife went to last year. There is always something around that is not needed and worth some money to someone else.

[jeffrey]

OK, you are all making me feel guilty for the boxes of leftover stock I have stored in the closet from when I was doing eBay full time. I guess I'm going to have to take a few of them out in 2010 to start clearing some of that out....

[disneysteve]

OK, you are all making me feel guilty for the boxes of leftover stock I have stored in the closet from when I was doing eBay full time. I guess I'm going to have to take a few of them out in 2010 to start clearing some of that out....

Join the club, Jeffrey. Apparently, several of us here are ex-full timers.

[michellehell]

Can I ask why you guys no longer do this "almost full time"? I have started dabbling with Craigslist, and have been able to make a little, but it is a lot of headaches with "no shows". I was thinking about trying my hand at ebaying, but reading this has me wondering. Is it just that you got overwhelmed with the amount of time put in? Lost interest/excitement after a while? I do not have a bunch of free time with 3 young kids and a full time job, but I also need a good way to get rid of all the clutter. I have already defeated the boxes of outgrown clothes, and most of the outgrown toys (for now). I did find that I grew tired of Crigslist because I find that I have to continually re-post items. It is very hit or miss. Also there was a lot of people who would want an item, but then not show up to pick it up. It was wasting too much of my time. I finally just donated everything I had left to a good charity. It seems ebay may be a better option, but I would love to heear why you have stuff left over that you didn't sell. What made you stop??
Thank you.

[disneysteve]

Can I ask why you guys no longer do this "almost full time"?

Here's my story. I started selling collectibles in 1986, first through a very small mail-order list that gradually grew to be a 42-page illustrated catalog. I advertised in a couple of collector newsletters. In the late 80s, I also started selling at toy and collectible shows in PA, NJ, DE and MD. In 1994, I got online and started advertising on some newsgroups (remember those?). Then I set up a website and sold through there. Life changed in May 1997 when I discovered ebay. Suddenly, instead of breaking my back working from dawn til dark at a show and having 30% overhead, I could sell from the comfort of my home, reach tens of thousands more people and only have about 7% overhead (and get higher prices for my items in the process). By 1999-2000, I was listing 10 items/day for 10-day auctions, so at any given moment, I had 100 auctions running. I was briefly unemployed during early 2000 and was literally doing ebay as my full-time job.

I went back to work in April 2000, part-time at first and continued pretty regular ebaying. Then my hours increased to full-time and I simply couldn't keep doing it. Also, my daughter was older by then (she was born in 1995) and family obligations took more time as she got older. Plus there was some element of burnout too I'm sure. Juggling 100 auctions at a time is tiring, especially back then when we didn't have all the conveniences we have now. I had to take packages to the post office. I had to wait for checks to clear. Stuff like that. Selling is much easier today.

My wife also tells people that I was unhappy at my old job and ebay was my escape. Once I got my current job where I am much happier, I didn't need that escape as much.

The end result was that I had a lot of items that were bought for resale but never sold. Over the past few years, I've gone through spurts of selling but it never lasted more than a couple of weeks. That's why I made the 2009 ebay challenge and it worked as I sold more in 2009 than I had probably in the 3-4 previous years combined. I still wasn't consistent but I was a lot better than I had been.

So my reasons for stopping had nothing at all to do with ebay. In fact, as I said, selling today is far easier than it was years ago. They've made the process so much more streamlined. I wish I had all that stuff back then. I enjoy selling and it is a great way to make money.