Ebay store in home

amother

Wed, Sep 23 2020, 7:36 am

I am getting really frustrated with my husband. He's tried his hand at a million and one businesses to no avail. He's barely broke even some years, lost money others and made tops 20k one year. He will not work for someone else. This year he wants to start an ebay store. He claims that to be succesful you need to buy 2000 items and keep re-stocking to replenish. Eventually things sell and you make money. I've had it up to here. My basement is crammed with nick nacks and clutter. I am a minimalist and hate clutter. Would you still encourage your husband to try this out even if this really bothers you? Would this bother you? Am I normal to be frustrated?

happyone

Wed, Sep 23 2020, 7:46 am

Is he researching each product he lists to see if they sell well, competitive pricing and how fast they sell? You can easily check that by reviewing the specific items through "completed listings".
ebay can be successful if you know your data well and review what's worth stocking up on or not.
I feel for you. It's hard to know and tedious listing 2000 plus items which may or may not move .

FranticFrummie

Wed, Sep 23 2020, 7:58 am

OP, your DH sounds like a dreamer. I've known a few of those in my life. I strongly suggest you send him back to school to study for something he's interested in, that can actually be turned into a self employed business. Is he handy with computers, or electrical wiring, or anything else that is practical and NEEDED?

The key here is to find that need, make sure the market isn't already flooded, and then find a way to fill that need in a way that you won't really hate it. People need accountants, but if you hate math, that won't work. On the other hand, if you love to work out, find out how to become a personal trainer!

As for selling things online, if he is planning on buying and reselling, he cannot compete with China.

Right now, Ebay is FLOODED with very inexpensive things, and they are offering free shipping as well. Unless he plans on owning the factory, he will never turn a profit. (Etsy is also flooded with Chinese products, which means that you will never get your items on the front page, ever again.)

I know a woman with an amazing eye for high quality designer and vintage clothing, and she'd shop and list things on Ebay. Really great stuff with the best labels, fabric content, and tailoring. She was barely breaking even.

I know a guy who collected rare used car parts and sold them on Ebay. He spent every waking minute listing, packing, shipping, relisting, answering emails, sourcing parts, listing, packing... you get the idea.

It's HARD WORK, and it's constant. You don't just set up a shop and expect it to run itself.

I had a very successful Etsy shop for a while, and it was a full time job. I did Ebay on the side to move some extra merchandise, and that was also a lot of work. When I had my own website, I spent half my time promoting and looking for good advertising venues, and the other half packing orders.

I barely had time to make the jewelry, and that is why I wanted to be in the business in the first place! "Making money doing what you love", right? Nobody tells you that an being an artist is just as much work as being a lawyer. It's not all creativity, all the time.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Sep 23 2020, 8:02 am

BTW, whenever a guy says

Quote:

He will not work for someone else.

what he's really saying is, "I'm terrified of failure, of being yelled at, of being criticized - but I'm going to hide that by acting like I'm independent and superior."

It basically screams insecurity. He needs to work on that. He may never have a boss, but that attitude will not win him a lot of friends, either. Besides, nobody should go through life being so afraid of what other people will think.