Where to get Stuff to Sell on eBay? (2)

One of the eternal questions (along with the meaning of life, the universe and everything – mind you, that one has been answered and the answer is 42).  Just how do you get stock to build a business on eBay, especially if you have no money?  Well, here is what I did.

I started selling my own stuff as we all do.  However, I wanted to have a regular extra income and selling what I already owned was not going to be sustainable.  What did I do?  I decided what I wanted to sell.  It had to be small, collectable, easy to post.  There are a lot of options, postcards, stamps, Wade Whimsies.  Oh yes, for me it had to be something I liked.  (selling acne cream is tremendously profitable but I could not do it, it holds no interest for me.  I have to like what I do)

My next step was to look on eBay under ‘wholesale’.  There I found a job lot of 4 of the things I wanted to sell.  The cost was a smidgen under 40% of the RRP.  I was amazed that they were so cheap (I was very naive then).  Anyway I worked out that with listing fees, PayPal fees I could list and sell them and then have enough money to buy 6.  I bought them and sold them.  I had enough to buy 6 more, but they were being sold in 4s.  I bought 4 sold them then had enough to but 8.  And so it went on.

Now, my original cost? £20.  My net (after all costs) profit in February 2010? £1,236.54.  I think that that is quite a good return on £10.  The downside? It took 4 years to build to that.  The upside is that I never risked any of my own money (apart from the original £20).  I was able to learn about selling on eBay without fear (if I lost that £20, so what?).  I learnt the importance of dong the maths.  Did you notice how much I made in February?  I did not say about £1,000 or in the region of £1,400 I new exactly, because I keep good records. When I started I needed to keep good records, it is a vital habit to get into.

Finally, I am able to take profit from the business, not much as I am always reinvesting.  I have 3 main lines now 2 different wholesalers (never be dependent on just one if you can avoid it) and am looking to expand my range of products into another 2 areas by the end of 2010.

My point?  Not having a lot of money is no bar to building a sustainable business on eBay.  Having more money reduces the time it takes to build a business.  If the money available is reduced hen the time taken to build the business is increased, that’s all.