Retirement....Then What?

Pityme1

I'm new to the forum so apologies if this has been covered previously.

I'm looking at generating income after retiring. Rather than rely on a pension, I'd like to try and start a simple online business of some kind. I've researched this widely and whilst there's a lot of information out there about Ebay shops, Dropshipping, E Commerce etc, there appears to be no practical and tangible help available to get started, in particular, where to source products. I've read Ebay Confidential and a million similar publications but none really help beyond stating the obvious so I'm basically baffled.

I'd like to be financially viable after retirement rather than dependent on a rubbish private pension so has this been discussed before and can anyone suggest where proper help is to be had?

DomRavioli

Well you need to know what kind of "online business" you want to run. Then you can get specific information (which there is a lot of out there), but you need to be specific.

Are you going to sell goods or services? What kind of goods or services? Do you have any knowledge of setting up a website, tax rules etc?

soolin

Pityme1 wrote: »

I'm new to the forum so apologies if this has been covered previously.

I'm looking at generating income after retiring. Rather than rely on a pension, I'd like to try and start a simple online business of some kind. I've researched this widely and whilst there's a lot of information out there about Ebay shops, Dropshipping, E Commerce etc, there appears to be no practical and tangible help available to get started, in particular, where to source products. I've read Ebay Confidential and a million similar publications but none really help beyond stating the obvious so I'm basically baffled.

I'd like to be financially viable after retirement rather than dependent on a rubbish private pension so has this been discussed before and can anyone suggest where proper help is to be had?

As has been said you need to have a clear idea what it is you want to do, then you can taget where you look for advice.

For instance, I run a small business and sell across several categories and the easiest part is the selling , the hardest part was deciding what to sell and then working out how to source it.

Get a clear idea what it is you want to do, then research- but be realistic about what you can source to sell and how much it costs to maintain stock levels, customer returns, losses and breakages etc.

lincroft1710

No-one is going to tell you where to source products, they do not want to encourage more competition in an already busy market place

Pityme1

Thanks to you all for replying. You have all individually hit the nail/s squarely on the head.

DomRavioli - I would like to sell goods on a small-ish scale to start with. I have researched getting a website, creating an Ebay shop is not a problem and the tax side of things is even easier. There is an internet full of information but it's so hard to tell what is good info and what isn't.

soolin - Are you saying that if I were to make a decision and say "right, I want to sell say lip gloss" that would make the product easier to source? That's not the impression I have so far but I'm possibly wrong about that. Can I ask what you mean when you say you "sell across several categories"?

lincroft1710 - Here's the rub, the market seems not only busy but almost saturated. I have found wholesalers all over the world, UK, USA, S Korea, China & India but what I find is that whatever product you pick, you can find that item cheaper on Ebay already. Begs the question - where are these people sourcing and is it now essential to look to manufacturers rather than wholesalers?

Sourcing is very much the stumbling point I find and as you all know, traders aren't going to share that info readily.

Thanks again to you all.

soolin

Pityme1 wrote: »

Thanks to you all for replying. You have all individually hit the nail/s squarely on the head.

DomRavioli - I would like to sell goods on a small-ish scale to start with. I have researched getting a website, creating an Ebay shop is not a problem and the tax side of things is even easier. There is an internet full of information but it's so hard to tell what is good info and what isn't.

soolin - Are you saying that if I were to make a decision and say "right, I want to sell say lip gloss" that would make the product easier to source? That's not the impression I have so far but I'm possibly wrong about that. Can I ask what you mean when you say you "sell across several categories"?
.

As it stands you just know you want to sell 'something' so sourcing items is going to be hard. At least if you get an idea and do research on a category- say lip glosses, you can have an idea what sort of price you need to be looking at per unit, you are not going to be wasting time getting quotes for items that are sold for less money than wholesale on ebay. You can also do research on that item, are there any safety aspects, postage restrictions etc that might put buyers off.


I sell across many categories, by which I mean I don't have one product line only. I actually started in books, then the book market died completely so although I do still have a very small stock I dumped my loss making items and made room for different things. I used to sell a lot of cult and sci fi items as that was a market I knew- I could look at a product and know what a fan would spend on it- and that is half the battle. I have a love of antiques, but that market is quite depressed so although I have several shop categories in the antique line it is not a big seller anymore- but when an item sells it can make a very good profit. I've dabbled in vintage and retro as well, but those markets are quite volatile. I now have all those original categories still ticking over, but have completely different categories that make up my 'bread and butter' sales, ie the things that I can stock easily, pack easily and sell quickly and in large quantities and which make a fair profit per item.

Pityme1 wrote: »

lincroft1710 - Here's the rub, the market seems not only busy but almost saturated. I have found wholesalers all over the world, UK, USA, S Korea, China & India but what I find is that whatever product you pick, you can find that item cheaper on Ebay already. Begs the question - where are these people sourcing and is it now essential to look to manufacturers rather than wholesalers?

Sourcing is very much the stumbling point I find and as you all know, traders aren't going to share that info readily.

Thanks again to you all.

I source from all over the place, I even have one product line that I buy on the high street and can convert to a straight and quick profit. Once you find one item it leads to others, I am often offered new lines, many of which are no hopers so I decline, but some are quick in and out markets, I buy very little stock, sell quickly and then when market dies I dump the rest at cost having made all my profits on the initial stock run.

I watch ebay all the time, I watch my competitors I do sometimes try and source things I see others selling, but often it just gives me an idea of what else I can sell.

Be very careful with your margins, it isn't just a case of buy for x, have y fees and end up with Z, you must take into account losses in the post, buyers returning things due to changing their mind, and also being left with dead stock.

Check you can post your goods- I still have a lot of original art work and prints in storage as I bought it all dirt cheap and no courier will carry them as they are framed and glazed.

Pityme1

Thanks again soolin....It's all very interesting stuff but one thing is becoming sadly apparent..... I was hoping to start a business in a small way and have it nicely chugging along for a while until I retire next year. At that point I was hoping to escalate and make it my source of income. What is dawning on me is that even on a small scale, running a very small business is going to be too time consuming for someone still in full time employment. I really didn't want that situation of ending work then starting from scratch but that is looking more likely.

Thanks
Mark

nortong

Expectations of earning a comfortable living via internet marketing are sadly grossly unrealistic, I know, I have been hammering my head against a brick wall now for six years!

However, I'm not listening to my self as I am still looking for that golden idea - hey ho keep dreaming!

What you could do is sell an idea of how to make money on line and dupe all the idiots such as me and make a killing.

tgon

Im in a similar position to the OP but already recently retired. I posted in the small business forum about drop-shipping on eBay and got a good warning to steer clear. My career was in services from personal skills and knowledge which isnt an ebay commodity that can be packaged, sold and sent off in an envelope. So, OP, I empathise and hope if you work it out, you'll post it here. Good luck

Pityme1

nortong wrote: »

Expectations of earning a comfortable living via internet marketing are sadly grossly unrealistic, I know, I have been hammering my head against a brick wall now for six years!

However, I'm not listening to my self as I am still looking for that golden idea - hey ho keep dreaming!

What you could do is sell an idea of how to make money on line and dupe all the idiots such as me and make a killing.

Completely sympathise with that, it's impossible to identify what is real help and what is bulls**t.

Pityme1

tgon wrote: »

Im in a similar position to the OP but already recently retired. I posted in the small business forum about drop-shipping on eBay and got a good warning to steer clear. My career was in services from personal skills and knowledge which isnt an ebay commodity that can be packaged, sold and sent off in an envelope. So, OP, I empathise and hope if you work it out, you'll post it here. Good luck

We have a government that clearly doesn't want us to get our state pension and which claims to have a basic philosophy of encouraging enterprise and rewarding those who work and help themselves. Wouldn't you think it makes sense to offer something in the way of tangible help and mentoring to those retiring from employment and wanting a new challenge in their later years. There are government funded agencies who do this but guess what....you need to be on benefits to get real help.