Make 2k a month on ebay????

Quietgirl

Hi, it's me again sorry to waffle, don't know if you've picked up on it but I'm a bit of a waffler I tend to type my thoughts out as if I am having a conversation:)

But I just looked back on what you said about you could live on £1300 per month. Well, with my part-time job, tax credits including the childcare element, child benefit and CSA money, I get just a little bit more than that and I work 20 hours a week. So it could be do able for you.

painted_lady

I sold a lot on ebay 4 years ago when I was on long term sick (& didnt have children then). I made up to £1000 a month, but often less. I was mainly selling old stuff from around the house and signed CD's by a band that were popular at the time, I knew the singer! It was leading up to christmas though and I think most people bought as presents, it wouldnt have been sustainable to keep high sales all year round, the marker on there changes so often, what sells one week wont the next, you have to keep on top of it.
Good luck though

Debt_Free_Dreamer

My OH always said he made loads of money selling records he sourced from car boots and charity shops. I always agrued the fees would have taken a big cut of the profit he 'thought' he was making.

While I was on maternity leave I sold a load of items, but worked the money out properly. I crated a spreadsheet which would calculate the cost price, listing fees, final fees, paypal fees, postage fees etc., using look up tables. (a spreadsheet functionality, which changed the fees depending on the values )

This would tell me what I needed to list the item for, in order to make any profit. It also worked out the cost when you needed to list more than once and I always worked on a 2 listing charge, which meant the item would be listed three times before it sold. If it sold first time, it just meant more profit.

It helped when making decisions about multiple listings too as you could see which would give you the better profit margin.

It was vey enlightening to see exactly how much ebay took, especially on very low cost items. It was also shocking to see how they changed their charges one month without notifiying anyone! It changed while I was developing the spreadsheet, which is why I manged to spot it. :mad:

Chell

If you Google 'ebay calculator' you'll find a site that works out all your fees.

Have you considered childminding as a source of income - www.childmindinghelp.co.uk has lots of information.

I don't think eBaying is an option. Like someone else mentioned, there are times in the summer when it is really quiet sales wise. What about when the weather is bad and there are no carboot sales on? What if the charity shops or sales have nothign worth buying for weeks on end?

I know you can get some great bargains if you know what you are looking for, I recently got something for £5 that sold for over £50 but you can't rely on that.

WhoopieDoodle

I agree in part with Chell. Ebay can be very hit and miss and unless you can find something that is guaranteed to sell all year around, it should not be used as your main source of income.

I have been self-employed for 2 years, running a small business from home. Initially I began on Ebay and whilst I still use Ebay to sell, this is to supplement the income I make from my website.

Basically, I would advise anyone not to put all your eggs in one basket. If you do sell on Ebay, look to having a website too.

Also, it is hard work. I work very long hours with very little time for anything else. This is the sacrifice you have to make if you want your business to be a success.

I'm do not wish to sound negative, only practical. My business is going from strength to strength, but this is due to the website side of things.

Advertising is crucial too for your business as you need to reach as many potential buyers as possible.

I would sit down and go through the figures etc properly before you decide on anything.

However, I would say that being self-employed is great and I don't have any regrets whatsoever.

Regarding HMRC, please bear in mind that as soon as you buy an item to sell, you must register with them.

Good luck

Chell

Whoopiedoodle, I also run my own small business from home. I can't my products on ebay as their fees are too high, I wouldn't make a profit at all.

There are other places to sell though, amazon for instance.

I've been running my business for almost two years, I am making a profit but I can't see me making £2000 a month for a very long time. Nochex or Paypal fees alone take a large percentage of profit and also the cost of petrol to the Post Office and packaging materials.

I've put in hours and hours of work, if you work out my hourly rate of pay it would be pence. I am confident that it will be a sucess but it takes time. Isn't it something like 99% off small business fail in the first two years and the percentage for work at home businesses is even higher.

WhoopieDoodle

Chell, you are right! Ebay does well for me, but as stated before, I wouldn't want to rely on it as my main source of income. Apart from anything else, nothing is certain in this world so you need your fingers in lots of pies.

Chell

https://www.mumszone.co.uk has a really good 'work at home' section for anyone who wants info about what it is really like to run a small business from home.

lisasdiary

Today I am going to research :rolleyes: and find out how much I am likely to make per item an average considering the stock I am going to be selling . Will update you later,
people who are making Good money on ebay please come foward I am sure there must be someone?????????????????????????????????????
I am going to take in to consideration when the carboots run when I would visit charity shops and how often??? It is a lot to think about but I really want to become self employed anyone know any websites that give advice on setting up websites?????????????????????:o
Thanks For your replys:beer:

mizmir

Know how you feel as I also have stressful but well paid job that I want to give up to do something more home-based. But do think carefully about giving up with your debts still hanging over you. I am planning to keep going until I have paid my debts and built up a cushion - maybe just a bit risk averse but I don't want to swap one load of stress for another! And I am a fair way past 30 already so am concerned not to leave this too long as well! But if you can live on £1300 why not try doing that for a while and using the surplus to really hit the debts hard. Will put you in a stronger position to go self-employed and will also show you if you can realistically make the cuts to live on that income.

Good luck!