Working Capital
Ok. I realize this will be buried soon enough but I just have to say something.
I"ll preamble by stating that I only buy on eBay but was self employed for a great deal of my working life.
I constantly see sellers complaining of 3 day holds or that they won't get paid until delivery etc.
Working capital folks.
In my self employed life I sometimes didn't get paid for work completed for 90 days or longer. I had to cover labor, materials etc. myself in the interum depending on the job. Yes sometimes I got paid immediately upon completion of the job but not always.
I had to have money set aside that I didn't need for personal expenses for those 90 day holds or for disputes with customers in general.
Sometimes I ran into dishonest customers and had to be able to keep business going while pursuing legal remedies etc.
It seems to me if someone is selling online for needed capital they are basically self employed. A business model that incorporates working capital into it will make their lives much less stressful. I didn't have it at first but set aside part of my profits until a comfortable cushion was achieved.
I know that buffer allowed me to enjoy life without undue worry and to sleep well at night.
Just food for thought...........................
gurlcat
·10 months agoWhat a weird thread. If you are well positioned enough not to need or even want your revenues as soon as possible, does that not make you happy enough? Do you really need to publicly pat yourselves on the back for it and look down your noses at others? Goodness sake have a cookie.
autosol15
·10 months agoEveryone has to start somewhere.
I went into business on my own about 5 years ago after working in the industry for the previous 20....didn't have much money, but I'd socked away about $10K to get started. I started small, low quantity purchasing, about 30 or so items listed on eBay, and some wholesale stuff that I did outside of eBay. I always had at least 1/2 of what I started with in the bank for the first few months....then as the numbers grew, increased inventory, increased items for sale, and now I'm in a spot where want to be....5 years later. There were times in the beginning when the $$ would have really helped, so I didn't have to wait a week or more to place my next stock order, but that's business.
I'm not sure it's fair to compare someone just starting out with a handful of items for sale trying to get their foot in the door to an established business that has learned from every bump in the road over the years. The more seasoned guys can certainly offer advise though...and should (unless they're competitors lol).
onlinecentral
·10 months agoYou can see people who don't effectively manage their Working Capital within eBay discussions.
Selling an iPhone 17 Pro worth 973.83 UK Pounds Sterling equals $1,304.93 US Dollars. You would normally keep that for the useful life of the phone, years. Otherwise, trade it back into the phone store right away, forfeit an early termination fee and still get the majority of your money back. Nope, gotta sell it on eBay because of a cash flow crunch. Then become a victim of the "fake tracking return scam".
So it says my funds will be available for withdrawal Oct 16 it is now the 17th and they still say processing. Businesses operate on Net 30 Day terms. Employees operate on a 2 week payroll cycle. Some eBay sellers operate on instant gratification.
Thinking about my childhood friends, the ones who were paying fees, interest and penalties back in the day are still paying that decades later.
broto_64
·10 months agoI understand, I'm a contractor IRL and the hand-in-mouth attitude of some sellers bothers me as well, more so because from what I understand they're on the verge of insolvency.
I've worked hard to get where I am, in my line of work legal remedies aren't worth the time and effort so if someone doesn't pay then I'm just stuck that way and it's best for me to move forward. Not all people pay, all the time, but after 20-some years I have a clientele that always pays, although some can go 3-6 months before paying too.
Like yourself I have a balance in an account.
Money goes in that account, money comes out.
Everything has to be budgeted, that account can't fall below a certain amount.
It's taken me a long time to get it all good but I also strongly suggest others do the same, build yourself a nest egg.
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoMany Ebay sellers have little working capital and have bills to be paid each month.
Some Ebay sellers have little credit and will not qualify for credit other than at usurious rates.
Many sellers are barely able to balance a checkbook. Let alone capable of raising cash when they need it.
Ebay's growth along with other internet marketplaces was driven by sellers who were short on working capital.
I have had good friends who have sold here since the early days who never had enough capital and sold their products at any price they could get in order to pay their bills. And I saw how some of them were able to actually make some money when they started drawing a pension.
When I ran my computer business, my first $100k+ order was for equipment which I did not have the money or credit to buy. Fortunately, I was able to get some advice on how to creatively finance the transaction from an experienced former boss. I would regularly find my self into a credit line for twice the amount of the line thanks to the techniques I learned. All legal.
A major auto parts manufacturer filed for bankruptcy recently. They failed due to a combination of poor and expensive practices to boost working capital, including factoring, and fraudulent accounting.
Over the years, I have seen many companies with inadequate working capital fail due to their use of factoring and floor planning. Many Ebay sellers will think I am speaking Greek when I mention these techniques. Often these techniques encumber more of the assets of the business than the assets which secure the loans.
Of course, many Ebay sellers have adopted strategies which minimize their need for working capital and only need worry when Ebay makes changes which affect their cash flow. It is the reaction to such changes which is the basis of this thread. Those who live closest to the edge are the most at risk.
stainlessenginecovers
·10 months agoMost sellers are profiting.
Most profits means taxes.
Being 'self employed' by selling on ebay (even if part time) means 15.3% for Self Employment Tax on profit, not to mention the possible 5%, 10%, 20% Fed Tax, and another possible 3%, 5%, 9% (like in Cali) State Income Tax.
So, if you sell $20k in 6 months and profit $8k, you should have about $2k 'saved' for taxes.
Borrow from that for your 'pending' $$.
By the way, Amazon holds sellers money for about 20 days after delivery by the time a seller sees the $$.
sreu3058
·10 months agoIt helps tremendously if everyone in the same house is on the same frugal living plan…
Not always the case, of course, ha!
sin-n-dex
·10 months agoI remember my dad telling me once he used to try to make his clothes last longer and save money by not replacing things. And then my mom would come home with a new pair of shoes (which she didn't need because she had 20 other pair) and say to my dad "so what do you think of my new shoes?" And my dad said all he could think about is he had one pair he was trying to wear until they fell apart, and my mom feels she needs another pair because there's money being saved in the bank. Must have frustrated him tremendously having to support the family, but eventually they split over differences.
I think I inherited traits from both parents... I use things until they break and buy things I don't really need... but I figure it's my money that I earned so I'm allowed. (I'm not married anymore, something to do with me not wanting to support a spouse who had no interest in getting a job... it's kind of like when I got a good job he felt he didn't have to work anymore).
C.
12345jamesstamps
·10 months agoWhen I was a wine director(Cellar Master) on cruise ships I got paid one a month.
It wasn't easy at first...but it got better...The all I can drink wine every day for free really helped.
One has to take the bad with the good.
Think I was drunk almost every day...ðŸ·
wri-8727
·10 months agoWhy don't you sell? Make your missus happy roccotacodad54 by clearing out Ye Ole Curiosity Shoppe you call your study. If I had a study and a PC I would.
roccotacodad54
OP10 months agoYes it probably would make her happy to see alot of my "creepy" things go. I do enjoy my stuff though.
It's worth keeping the things to me just to see the rare person that comes in here get lost in thought looking at them.
Last one was an old friend visiting and after saying his name twice he kind of came back and asked where on earth did I find 6" sand dollars (on the wall in the nautical/ocean area). I told him I got them where we used to go to the beach on Baja years ago before things got wierd there (Sinaloa cartel). That brought back pleasant memories for us both. Renting a cabin, no senoir frogs or any of the touristy nonsense. Local cops in a small beach town happy with our "donations". LOL. Then he moved on to my antique bottle/apothecary stuff.....
I did downsize 20 years ago when I moved back to the NW from S. Nevada. It was hard giving my stuffed grizzly bear to a friend. Miss that bear standing in the corner. $50 from an old guy having a divorce sale. An old large oak desk with large oak chair, deluxe with lean back feature and springs. Another divorce sale while visiting Huntington Beach. Lots of 1800's mining stuff found on excursions in the desert. Lamps, ore samples, even an old ore cart , that one was tough getting into the pickup. I just didn't have room for all of it. Only the small stuff. My friends scored................
wri-8727
·10 months agoIt all sounds good but you
sidestepped the question.
I'm a junk collector but now that I don't have a pick-up anymore my collecting has been curtailed. Lots of old logging camps around here that are always good for finding a Pruex jug or two. I found an old bombing range for sale once in southern Oregon and I said to Her let's buy it and I'll get a metal detector. NO. OK, how about a mining claim? NO. Some people are just no fun so I'm stuck on the farm 24/7. Heck, I don't even get Christmas off):
roccotacodad54
OP10 months agoI guess the answer is that I don't like selling things, mine or in a retail setting either.
When I get rid of my stuff I almost always give it away rather than deal with the disgruntled or thieving buyers.
I intend to give my gun safe contents to the grandkids (3) and leave instructions to draw straws for who goes first second and third on a rotating order. 2 boys (men) and 1 girl (woman) and she will probably score well. Some nice vintage jewelry in there as well as vintage guns and blades geared toward feminine tastes.
A mining claim is cool to have. The state geniuses in charge put a moratorium on claims here.
My grandfather had a sawmill/logging camp on the Klickitat river south of here. No road (gravel/logging or otherwise) access. I talked to a guy that said he saw what appeared to be some sort of old encampment by the river while steelhead fishing about where it would have been. Getting him to take me there in his jet boat is on my bucket list. I never met grandpa but I've seen pictures of him in buckskin leathers with obligatory fur hat in winter. He cut railroad ties for the railroad back in the day and I guess they floated them down the river.
He retired as a mailman later when they told him he had to drive a vehicle and could no longer deliver on horseback or with his wagon (skis on it in another picture, buckskins & hat) and mules in winter....................
wri-8727
·10 months agoI hear you but sometimes people don't appreciate freebies OTOH I've sold books to people who do appreciate them. A good feeling.
My Grandfather was a Klondiker and his Grandfather a 49er . The closest I got was watching Terry Carter the treasure hunter on YouTube.
roccotacodad54
OP10 months agoMy friends in Nevada wanted the stuff. I asked who wanted it and they came. The ore cart is in a friends back yard with the ore samples in a desert landscape.
Klondiker and 49er. Adventurous and tough.
I also live in the sticks like you......Peaceful.................................
wri-8727
·10 months agoGrandpa 49er didn't strike it rich but came back with a herd of Spanish longhorns and Grandpa Klondiker didn't strike it rich either and only came back with frostbite. I don't think they looked at themselves as tough or adventurous in the way we think of tough and adventurous. They were just men of their times. BTW the dates don't pencil out for Grandpa Klondiker to be in on the Rush but it figures he went later.
Regards
onefootflipper
·10 months agoI never understood that either. At this point I could literally get paid only twice a year and I would be fine. Even at the start once a month would have been just fine as well. The only reason I get daily payouts is to get the money into interest bearing accounts and investments as soon as possible.
Everyone should keep a baseline amount of money all the time just in case. I know, all of you are going to comment on how impossible that is for you. However I know real people in real life who say the same thing and I watch all of those people doing the exact same things that make saving money impossible. I actually have one friend who has been sharing 1 car with his wife for a year now because his car needs a thousand dollar repair, and that entire time they were having a cleaning service come by twice a week and paying for frequent food delivery. While other friends have purchase too much car or too much house and that is killing them. All to frequently I have even seen people bankrupting themselves with pets.
You entire life can change if you can just dig yourself out of those holes.
roccotacodad54
OP10 months agoI also see where people effectively sabotage their financial stability.
I told a friend once he should drive a car/truck at least ten years after it was paid off to make buying a new rig worthwhile. His response, "Yea but I get tired of them". He also sold his house in a bad market once because "He was tired of it"
I then pointed out that I was on my second engine and third transmission on my '68 Ford 3/4 ton Custom Cab and only sold it recently in 2021 because it didn't have seatbelts and am too old and don't feel like risking injury with all the careless drivers I see driving/texting. Bought a new F150 in 2009 that I'll probably drive until I'm unable. Put $13,000 down and paid it off early. Basic truck no fancy frills I don't need/want. I remember the salesman asking "You don't want carpet?" I replied "How can I hose it out after camping with carpet?" No electric windows to short out. No GPS, I know where I'm going. Etc. Etc.
We just re-did the suspension and outer oil seals on our 2007 Pontiac G6. It will be good for some years to come.
I also know people that are too lazy to cook dinner. Really? I eat waaaay better than them for less money cooking for us. For what they pay for crummy delivery I can eat a steak dinner (buy on meat sales, foodsaver & freeze) with great sides from our garden.
The same people are always complaining they can't get ahead.
As was once said "If you find yourself getting into a hole, put down the shovel".........................
onefootflipper
·10 months agoTend to buy vehicles about 15 years old. They have stopped depreciating at that point, but are not nearly old enough to have the sort of "old car problems" that my 84 Mercedes and 86 minitruck have. I then usually drive them 4 years, sell them for most of what I paid for them if they haven't fallen apart on me, and buy something else. That takes well care of the "I get tired of it" thing.
roccotacodad54
OP10 months agoSounds like a good strategy.
heckofagame
·10 months agoGood advice. Maybe in a perfect world.
roccotacodad54
OP10 months agoKind of my advice. It's not a perfect world and one is well advised to set up buffers against it.
I had to learn the lesson the hard way when I was young that things don't always go as planned.
Not trying to be overly critical, just food for thought.....................