Full time - work from home eBayer jorney!

pickledonionspaceraider

Emmaaar22 said:

Can`t wait to follow your story Azzzaa.
I myself have just left my job to become a full time reseller and like yourself I`ve been doing it on the side alongside my job. I sell mostly on Depop and Vinted though, Can`t seem to get anywhere on Ebay, FB Marketplace was once a great place for me to sell but that`s gone downhill for me now too though.
Unfortanely, I don`t have any wholesalers or anything to buy my stock from so it comes direct from Ebay - A lot of searching around etc to find bargains and I do pay it through Paypal credit, The Paypal credit is paid for by doing surveys, searching the web etc.
Feel free to share any tips or hints to help me...(Would be very very very much appreciated)

@em@Emmaaar22 What kind of stuff do you find makes money? 

practicalspender

Azzzaa said:

 I am very fortunate to have very close connections allowing me to get stock very cheap, so sourcing stock is not an issue. 

Am I the only one intrigued by this?

pickledonionspaceraider

practicalspender said:

Azzzaa said:

 I am very fortunate to have very close connections allowing me to get stock very cheap, so sourcing stock is not an issue. 

Am I the only one intrigued by this?

@Azzzaa

Azzzaa

I buy bulk clothing and bric brac at a reduced rate from charities, they SKU their stock so if it doesn't sell within a week in their stores it's sent to a 'rag man' who pays per KG, I offered them more money per KG for certain types of clothing so I got the deal. I get a load of low value clothing but the profit is still there!

Emmaaar22

pickledonionspaceraider said:

Emmaaar22 said:

Can`t wait to follow your story Azzzaa.
I myself have just left my job to become a full time reseller and like yourself I`ve been doing it on the side alongside my job. I sell mostly on Depop and Vinted though, Can`t seem to get anywhere on Ebay, FB Marketplace was once a great place for me to sell but that`s gone downhill for me now too though.
Unfortanely, I don`t have any wholesalers or anything to buy my stock from so it comes direct from Ebay - A lot of searching around etc to find bargains and I do pay it through Paypal credit, The Paypal credit is paid for by doing surveys, searching the web etc.
Feel free to share any tips or hints to help me...(Would be very very very much appreciated)

@em@Emmaaar22 What kind of stuff do you find makes money? 

I stick to clothing...
I haven`t delved into it yet but I think make up does really well too. I`m also looking into doing a large Disney bulk buy as that`s popular.

soolin

I am always interested in how people manage on ebay , I am a tiny business and am always interested to read how other people do things and any pitfulls they might encounter. Currently I am finding ebay very quiet , in fact facebook marketplace is outselling ebay on a day to day basis at the moment. I don't do clothes so a lot of the other newer markets are not really suitable for me.

Emmaaar22 and Azzzaa what sort of shop level do you have ? Clothing is traditionally one of the toughest markets due to change of mind returns , several clothing businesses I talk to on occasions really struggle with returns in some categories- where people buy several sizes or colours and return what they don't want, or even buy, wear and then return later - which is I understand something almost encouraged by bloggers. 

Do you do your own taxes, if so can you recommend any good software that can be integrated with ebay and paypal? I'm sure that sort of discussion would be useful on the dedicated ebay board (see my signature) 

Have you seen the thread I put up on the ebay board about the new managed payments service that was finally announced in yesterdays business seller news? 

Emmaaar22

soolin said:

I am always interested in how people manage on ebay , I am a tiny business and am always interested to read how other people do things and any pitfulls they might encounter. Currently I am finding ebay very quiet , in fact facebook marketplace is outselling ebay on a day to day basis at the moment. I don't do clothes so a lot of the other newer markets are not really suitable for me.

Emmaaar22 and Azzzaa what sort of shop level do you have ? Clothing is traditionally one of the toughest markets due to change of mind returns , several clothing businesses I talk to on occasions really struggle with returns in some categories- where people buy several sizes or colours and return what they don't want, or even buy, wear and then return later - which is I understand something almost encouraged by bloggers. 

Do you do your own taxes, if so can you recommend any good software that can be integrated with ebay and paypal? I'm sure that sort of discussion would be useful on the dedicated ebay board (see my signature) 

Have you seen the thread I put up on the ebay board about the new managed payments service that was finally announced in yesterdays business seller news? 

I`ve discovered a pitfull with Ebay the other day. When they advertise their £1 listing fees, I thought it applied the moment you uploaded something, I didn`t realise you had to click the activation button which is in the ad on the front page - Can`t wait to discover how much I pay in fees now.
However, Ebay is a treasure in itself. You won`t believe the amount of clothing I have brought for about £15, some new with tags, in excellent condition etc and the RRP is £100 and more..For example I`ve found a dress, Worn once being sold for about £13 and the RRP was £166 and only yesterday I discovered a similar dress going for the same amount and the RRP was over £100. I think they will sell, But it will take time. They`re dresses ideal for weddings or proms and people nowadays like a bargain, or don`t want the hassle of going into the shop and so they go onto a selling platform and discover you.
For me personally it`s easy because alongside reselling I also do a blog which is based on fashion, I visit fashion sites everyday and so I can keep on trend with stuff and I know what`s hot and not. I know festival gear is a hot topic each year, With girls looking around Depop to find that fresh, new, unique design. 
I`m not an established business  and I haven`t reached the  threshold yet so I don`t pay taxes.

Edit: As for returns, The seven or more so years i`ve been doing this i`ve never had a return and my clothes are second hand. Refunds - I would say just an handful. However, I find the refund system on Ebay ridicolous. The other day I brought an item and it had a mark on it the seller failed to mention and also the label was cut out. I raised a case for only to be told I had to return it to them, Albeit they pay for the postage - The item is large and bulky..I know on Depop and other places you can get a refund without having to do this.

soolin

If you buy to sell then you are a business, there is no lower threshold , although if you mean the trading threshold for declaration then that’s only £19.23 takings a week (before expenses) which means it’s probably more profitable to do surveys or web based aps
the details are here 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6070793/1000-trading-allowance-is-made-clear-on-tax-return

I would also caution about adding to a diary concept if you are running an undeclared business and pretending to eBay to be merely selling off your own things, there are a great number of business sellers on here and on the eBay board who might not be amused. Your buyers also don’t have the same rights if you use the wrong account . The £1 fee offer for example is also prime example , businesses don’t get these offers so pay full fees and don’t take kindly to unfair competition. 

Azzzaa

I am a business seller and do my own tax, I do not have a shop subscription even though it would be beneficial to me as I have 100's of items listed.

I do have a personal account too which I sell my own items on, as I spend a majority of each day in charity shops I am always picking up clothing, random things for myself, once I've used them or upgraded I sell them on my personal account. 

I think clothing is a tough category yet it's one everyone buys from! I find sales to be steady, only if you're listing the right stock,  

 

soolin

Azzzaa said:

I am a business seller and do my own tax, I do not have a shop subscription even though it would be beneficial to me as I have 100's of items listed.

I do have a personal account too which I sell my own items on, as I spend a majority of each day in charity shops I am always picking up clothing, random things for myself, once I've used them or upgraded I sell them on my personal account. 

I think clothing is a tough category yet it's one everyone buys from! I find sales to be steady, only if you're listing the right stock,  

 

I have just the basic shop, gives me 250 included BIN listings and 50 auctions a month for £30 (including VAT). I like the shop as it means I can mess around with holiday settings as I both travel a fair bit and also work long hours sometimes and being able to close the shop temporarily without ending all my listings. It’s worth looking into and if you want other opinions try starting a thread on the eBay board (see my signature) .

i too have a private account , it gets used sporadically and I have good periods and bad periods on it, but it really depends on which cupboard I’ve sorted out and what I’ve listed of course.