Marshal from Bellingham, WA

[Marshal_G]

Hi from the perpetually rainy PNW! My gf and I are now doing eBay full time after starting in 2017 and just starting to get by after struggling to get things going. We sell used clothes from Goodwill like most people starting out because it’s so cheap at the bins. We both realize this is not sustainable due to burnout (creating your own sweatshop) and are looking for other niches and products to sell.

I dabbled in eBay during the Great Recession, around 2008 (Its funny to hear Jay talk about how he was starting selling clothes from Goodwill about that time). I was about to lose my job, had no savings, and about $2k in credit card debt. I was living paycheck to paycheck knowing that any day an unexpected large expense like car breakdown or serious illness could bring financial ruin. I just broke up with my gf at the time and moved in with a family that was renting out a room (what a great idea! there should be a website for that…) They had some financial self help books and one of them was Total Money Makeover, not a great book but more financial info that I’d ever bothered to think about previously. It opened my eyes to a lot of things like investing and owning your own business, or at least thinking of your own finances as a business, and of course owning your own home. I can’t remember if that book or another one mentioned eBay which I’d heard of before, but I decided to get rid of some old crap to try and pay down my debt. I was amazed how easy it was, and how quickly I could sell off old VHS tapes of classic Dr Who (out of print and before being released on DVD just a year or 2 later – lol timing!). I was very impressed at how seamless everything was – that you could list something, sell it, get paid, and purchase postage all from the site. After expenses I didn’t make much (I bought a printer, and things like tape and mailers at individual retail prices) but I was hooked! I had the feeling then in 2008 that I could make a good living selling junk on the internet. My problem was I had run out of junk and didn’t know where to get more. I racked my brain, googled (or maybe Yahoo’d back then) and even searched through the yellow pages but couldn’t think of any products that I could buy low sell high. This was before YouTube, and there wasn’t anybody that I knew of who was reselling online for a living. It never occurred to me that somebody might want to buy used clothes (eew gross!) and I had never even heard of Goodwill or Salvation Army. Or if I did I thought it was where you donated money and canned good and old blankets to go directly to homeless people. I’m from the deep south and the only charity most people ever do is give to their church. I dreamed about being my own boss and kept looking but eventually after a few months I gave up. Such a waste looking back. I can only imagine where I’d be now if I had found a niche.

A little over a year and a half ago I found Raiken Profits and later Rockstar Flipper and a few others on YouTube and was fascinated that you could make a living selling old shoes and t-shirts. I watched as much as I could and then my gf started watching with me. She was fed up with working for somebody else, and had been working crappy retail jobs her entire life. She even worked for 8 years for Value Village (Savers for some of you) and was miserable. She was aware people would come in looking for things to sell on eBay, but she wasn’t computer savvy and thought she couldn’t do it. I don’t know which of us was more excited about the idea of quitting our jobs and reselling on eBay.

I started dabbling in a little of everything, from clothes to books and puzzles, and even sold a Rich Dad Cashflow game new and sealed for $50. I think she got super jealous and she bought a store subscription before I even had one and went at it hard. She worked like a dog, sometimes listing for hours after I went to bed and on her days off. I actually liked my job so I just thought of it as a side hustle and didn’t apply myself, and eventually got bored. Eventually she started selling more than me. One day I came home and she told me she quit her job and I freaked out. I don’t think she had thought it through. She didn’t have a plan or even know her numbers. She just wanted out of the rat race. Eventually though she worked at it and there was a point in the summer of 2017 when I realized she was making more than me at my job, and then it was my turn to be jealous.

Long story short, I quit my job and went at it but didn’t have as much success as she did at first. I struggled with the changing to seasons to fall when suddenly my sheer women’s tops and summer dresses weren’t selling. I just figured out jeans and jackets and priority mail in all its flavors when 4th quarter hit and my sales dropped again. Apparently most people want to buy new stuff for gifts, not used. I hadn’t thought of that, which sucked because I was really banking on mythical Q4 sales to save me. I nearly went under as I burned through my savings and ran up almost $3k in credit card debt when suddenly in the 2nd week of January my sales really took off. I’m just now breaking even and feeling really good. BTW my gf is on fire and making good money but is worried about some gigantic bills she’s dealing with but I think we are both going to be ok.

We both registered as legal businesses this year and are really treating it like a real business, keeping receipts from our sourcing trips out of town. I’m hoping to write off our lunches. I’ve seen people on tv do that and it seems all grown up. We are facing a number of challenges which is why I joined the forums. Without going into too much detail here, basically we are struggling with: sourcing, storage, photos, taxes, and hiring an assistant. I look forward to jumping into the forums and learning from others. I don’t think there’s much I can teach anybody else but I’ll help when I can.

[Jay]

Welcome Marshal. Sounds like you guys are on your way.

Selling clothes is smart, especially when starting out. So easy to find and they sell well. When we established a steady income, that’s when we had the luxury to explore other things to sell.

Go ahead and jump in the forums with specific questions. We all do it step by step.

[Ryanne]

p.s. we love Bellingham.

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