I make a very good full time living off eBay! I haven't had much success from the other auction sites but between eBay and my own website, I keep the heat on!!

I used to make a living online. But the market has changed and I am only about 30% online selling. Now I mainly buy online and sell locally. I still sell sinkers online...when I can find lead. I sell laptops, books and Escalades. I sell books at my flea market booth. I sell laptops wholesale to other dealers. I sell Escalades wholesale to a dealer. I consign other vehicles to different car dealers. All the Escalades I buy either from Ebay, craigslist or the auto shopping site. Yes I haggle a lot, but if I buy more than one vehicle from a seller, I can usually get my price. Laptops I get off craigslist. Books I get through garage sales and the signs on my car "I BUY BOOKS" and then my phone number underneath it. I do make a nice living. Even with the economy in the tank, the well to do people still will buy Escalades (and the crappy gas mileage that comes with it.) Obviously Escalades make me the most money, but books and laptops sell well also. Even in the summer I make 800 a weekend at the flea market. When the snowbirds come back down to Florida, I make 2500 a weekend at the market. Wholesaling laptops nets me 300 a week in profit. Escalades net me a grand a vehicle. I do quite well for someone that "has no job." I am also a poker player and do well most of the time at that.

You guys are making the flea markets versus ebay sound more appealing by the minute!

well i'll try to chime in.. I've been selling in ebay for quite some time now.. i earn decent money but not make living by it.. but i hope so someday ...

GAELICTITCA wrote (View Post): › Well, I for one make my living on eBay and have for many years now. Even with the way the online marketplace has become increasingly fractured, eBay is still where the money is to be made. My goods are also on iOffer, Specialist Auctions, eBid and Bonanzle. My combined sales for 2009 so far on all four of these venues tallies up to a whopping $30.00 I have also listed on many other venues such as Yahoo Auctions (defunct, though it produced sales) Tazbar (gone now too) Wagglepop (also gone the way of the dodo) eCrater (too rudimentary for my wares) BlueJay (waste of time) The AuctionMan (defunct) LowBid (defunct) HighBidder (never even so much as an inquiry) AuctionUniverse (defunct) OnlineAuction (one of the worst ever) MighyBids (defunct) Overstock (some sales, but not enough to offset the fees) Atomic Mall (a few sales, but too limiting on HTML) ......and those are just the ones I can recall off hand. I used to be someone who preached hard that sellers shouldn't have all their eggs in one basket (eBay) and said people should expose themselves over a variety of sites. However, after years of work hoping one of these sites would be that breakout venue that could contribute in a meaningful way to my monthly income, I hate to say it but they all come up seriously short. Even with all it's warts, eBay is still the place for me to turn a profit.

I have heard this before and I'm sure eBay hopes this attitude continues. The idea is that eBay is the only venue that makes money and is too far ahead to ever get serious competition. All I would say to this is that a trip starts with a single step and if we put enough steps together we will reach our goal. eBay got a big lead in the market and it will take time and patience and hard work to build a serious competitor option.

Tell all your eBay associates and friends to shop and sell at Bonanzle.

If you see an item you need on eBay contact the seller and ask them to open a Bonanzle account and sell the item to you from there.

Buy Bonanzle bumper stickers for your vehicle.

I do understand where Gael is coming from but unlike him, I have have had some success at alternatives since I started putting my mind to it last year but not enough to push me off of eBay.....I have several streams of income and do not rely entirely on eBay but it does provide quite a bit of a comfort zone....

We can scream and shout from the highest mountain top to try to push people towards our preferred sites but that isnt going to make much of a difference....people do not like to be pushed, steered or bullied by othere people into making decisions...only when they come to their own conclusions will they truly make a change if they see it is needed...

GAELICTITCA wrote (View Post): › Atomic Mall (a few sales, but too limiting on HTML)

You should try us again Gael - much more flexibility now with the html. You can even add tables and images into the description area, and it covers the full page width as well.

I was curious about your account because I remember you making some fairly decent sales in the early days when you first added product. I looked at your storefront page and it appears that all your PB images except one have gone bye-bye. I bet your sales would pick back up if your listings had valid images to go with the descriptions.

Cheers,
Mike

GAELICTITCA wrote (View Post): › Well, I for one make my living on eBay and have for many years now. Even with the way the online marketplace has become increasingly fractured, eBay is still where the money is to be made. My goods are also on iOffer, Specialist Auctions, eBid and Bonanzle. My combined sales for 2009 so far on all four of these venues tallies up to a whopping $30.00 I have also listed on many other venues such as Yahoo Auctions (defunct, though it produced sales) Tazbar (gone now too) Wagglepop (also gone the way of the dodo) eCrater (too rudimentary for my wares) BlueJay (waste of time) The AuctionMan (defunct) LowBid (defunct) HighBidder (never even so much as an inquiry) AuctionUniverse (defunct) OnlineAuction (one of the worst ever) MighyBids (defunct) Overstock (some sales, but not enough to offset the fees) Atomic Mall (a few sales, but too limiting on HTML) ......and those are just the ones I can recall off hand. I used to be someone who preached hard that sellers shouldn't have all their eggs in one basket (eBay) and said people should expose themselves over a variety of sites. However, after years of work hoping one of these sites would be that breakout venue that could contribute in a meaningful way to my monthly income, I hate to say it but they all come up seriously short. Even with all it's warts, eBay is still the place for me to turn a profit.

I think eBay is a viable venue for many, just the same as OLA is for many others. OLA didn't work for you, but eBay does. eBay doesn't work for me, but OLA does.

That's kind of what I've been trying to say all along. Each person has to find what works for them and their respective business. I've no problem with people selling on eBay or anywhere else. I have no problem with any eCommerce site because I know that just because it didn't/doesn't work for me doesn't mean it doesn't work for others.

If eBay works for you and your business, that is where you should sell.

I like meztymom she makes alot of sense (even thou I'm not at OLA)

METZYMOM wrote (View Post): › GAELICTITCA wrote (View Post): › Well, I for one make my living on eBay and have for many years now. Even with the way the online marketplace has become increasingly fractured, eBay is still where the money is to be made. My goods are also on iOffer, Specialist Auctions, eBid and Bonanzle. My combined sales for 2009 so far on all four of these venues tallies up to a whopping $30.00 I have also listed on many other venues such as Yahoo Auctions (defunct, though it produced sales) Tazbar (gone now too) Wagglepop (also gone the way of the dodo) eCrater (too rudimentary for my wares) BlueJay (waste of time) The AuctionMan (defunct) LowBid (defunct) HighBidder (never even so much as an inquiry) AuctionUniverse (defunct) OnlineAuction (one of the worst ever) MighyBids (defunct) Overstock (some sales, but not enough to offset the fees) Atomic Mall (a few sales, but too limiting on HTML) ......and those are just the ones I can recall off hand. I used to be someone who preached hard that sellers shouldn't have all their eggs in one basket (eBay) and said people should expose themselves over a variety of sites. However, after years of work hoping one of these sites would be that breakout venue that could contribute in a meaningful way to my monthly income, I hate to say it but they all come up seriously short. Even with all it's warts, eBay is still the place for me to turn a profit. I think eBay is a viable venue for many, just the same as OLA is for many others. OLA didn't work for you, but eBay does. eBay doesn't work for me, but OLA does. That's kind of what I've been trying to say all along. Each person has to find what works for them and their respective business. I've no problem with people selling on eBay or anywhere else. I have no problem with any eCommerce site because I know that just because it didn't/doesn't work for me doesn't mean it doesn't work for others. If eBay works for you and your business, that is where you should sell.

GAELICTITCA,

Please don't take this as a personal attack because it is not.

I too have strong political opinions but I realized early on that by making them "in your face" in my business or even suggesting anything towards my opinion cost me sales.

This country is pretty much divided at 50% - 50% so I learned that to make a statement one way or the other would alienate about half my market. Not a smart career move.

Political statements are fine in the right setting. I don't believe that business is one of them unless you're in the "Political" business. It may be satisfying on one level but the price you pay is that even the folks that agree with you will mark you as an amateur and an activist and the rest won't buy anything from you.

By the way, I always read and love your posts, you're a smart gal - please keep them coming!

Jim

SORRY GAELICTITCA!

I meant to say You're a smart GUY!

I think I got my symbols mixed up. Oh brother! Can I claim a "Senior Moment"? I am sorry!

Jim

I take it you just heard the news that Sara Palin as resigned as governor
of Alaska, you taking it pretty hard huh? lol

Don't think GAEL's banner is coming down anytime soon and I doubt he
has lost any sales because of it either, least I don't think so.

Just my opinion...
But I'll let GAEL speak for himself.

HAPPY 4th everyone!!!

Quote: › Tell all your eBay associates and friends to shop and sell at Bonanzle.

Why would I want to do that?

For low cost items, BZs fees are higher than eBay.

For example, the items I sell go for $2-7. The fee is 50¢, which works out to be anywhere from 7% up to 25%.

Not to mention, that some of the mouthiest posters on PSU come from BZ.

fatseal wrote (View Post): › You guys are making the flea markets versus ebay sound more appealing by the minute!

I spent some 8 plus years at my local flea market, selling both new and used merchandise. The first few years went fairly well...sales would climb little by little until I could actually make a living out of what I did there. My best year, I did a little over 85 thousand in sales. Not bad for a place only open three day each week.

Then the market started changing. New management. New attitudes.

More and more sellers offering cheap plastic junk, counterfeits, knockoffs, etc. The place went from one dealer selling adult merchandise to 26. The old security staff was replaced with a new outfit, based solely on cost. What used to be a secure place to leave your items during the week, now became empty of anything the dealers were able to lug home each sunday.

My last weekend in there, I went in to find that some $600 of my inventory was missing. When I complained to the manager about it, she responded with ...."If you don't like the way we run things, then get the f*** out of here."

I left.

That was in 1998.

Since then, that market has been raided numerous times for selling counterfeit and stolen items. One seller in particular had some 650 DVDs confiscated because they were stolen. The next day, the same seller had completely replenished his stock from items he'd had been storing at his home.

I stopped by there last year 3 weeks before Christmas, usually the busiest time of the year for a flea market. You could have played football in the place as empty and dead as it was.

The township plat map shows the building as an empty warehouse, and the local fire department has been told that under NO circumstances are they to enter the building in the event of a fire. They are only to ensure that a fire doesn't spread beyond the confines of the building.

Hey nikkicute!

Don't assume I'm upset re. Palin resigning. In fact I didn't know she resigned. I thought she just wasn't going to run for a 2nd term.

When I said I had "strong political opinions" didn't mean that I held opposite opinions from GAELICTITCA.

What it meant was that I've learned to keep my political opinions to myself when I'm trying to sell something to someone. That way I won't run the chance of antagonizing them.

Antagonizing people when you're trying to sell them something is not profitable.

Jim