Did you turn a hobby into an Ebay business?

Question

If so, what was it and do you do well at it?

Answer 1

My stepdad dealt in coins over EBay. In his last year of life he was unable to do much else. He had a business mind and a HUGE coin collection. He offered it to his sons in equal shares or told them he would give them the cash equivalent of the coins in a share and each took the cash.

So he spent a year or so listing and researching and selling his coins and sold them for a LOT more than the cash-value. His sons def got the short end of that stick, plus it gave him something to do while he was in hospice care and not able to go out or do much. It was a fabulous thing and he learned a lot about EBay. His biggest advantage before going into EBay business was that he was a businessman in life as well. He knew about accounting, inventory, record keeping, customer service, etc. I was the loving daughter who helped him with the technical aspects of the thing such as navigating EBay, etc.

In the end, his total profit from selling coins on Ebay was about $270K. I would say he did well ( =

Oh, we had the book "Running an Ebay Business For Dummies" and it was helpful to him!

Good luck!

Answer 2

Yes. I make some very unique candles and started off at craft shows and etc. Then decided to try my hand at ebay I opened a store and it took off very well at first, but sales started to decline for a while I noticed once you place somethin unique on ebay that sells you will find a lot of copycatters out there. So I just keep finding new and unique candles to make and the coppycatters cant keep up with me now LOL. needless to say if you start an ebay business looking to make good money you will need to give it time and be patient, if you have good products and good customer service customers will return. I now have many wholesale customers that helps me keep my store up and running with tons of return customers. Not only is my store doing well it has also brought in a lot off Ebay sales locally, once customers find out your products are close to them they want to purchase even more (this is how I got most of my wholesale customers). Good Luck to you if this is your plan to open an Ebay business.

Answer 3

Ebay is a great place to sell if you are just starting out. I used them for a couple of years til my website took off.

If you make stuff from other peoples patterns or from kits, you would want to stick with Ebay in order to avoid getting sued for copyright infringement, because they are more likely to believe you are only selling to get money for more craft supplies.

Even if you do your own designs, some shoppers trust Ebay where they might not trust your own website, especially if you are not able to design a professional lookig website.

Answer 4

i sell stuff i find at garage sales and thrift stores this week i sold 4 things and made a hundred dollars, but you have to have a good description of your item and good customer service to the people. any thing will sell on ebay ive sold old records and purses and art work ussually any thing you have around the house will sell. some one sold a casper pez dispenser last week for a hundred dollars.

Answer 5

Try turning it into an Etsy business instead! Etsy is a website dedicated to buying and selling all things handmade (plus commercial supplies for handmade items)

it has been a boon for my business, you get tons of exposure.

check it out!

www.maggiejs.etsy.com
www.etsy.com

Answer 6

hi, youve given me an idea! you see,I make beautiful greeting cards ,and this would be a great way to sell them!thanks a lot!!!!if it works,I ll have you to thank.rubberstampr.

Answer 7

My sister did, she reborns baby dolls and sells them. she does ok, she'd like to make more $ as it takes her a long time to make the dolls....