Looking to start at home business - what sells?

[chaidragonfire]

I'm looking for options to work from home, as I have medical issues that are making it difficult for me to work around other people.

One of my options I'm researching is selling from home.  I've had an ebay account for years now, and have sold stuff just for fun, but now I need to see if it's viable to start an at home business.

I'm not looking to get rich, but I would like something I can buy in bulk, that is small enough to store in a small apartment, but also will bring in around $3,000 a month at least.

Anybody have any ideas of what is small enough to keep onhand in an apartment, and able to make a decent profit off of?  Something that is a constant seller?  Something that doesn't need special licenses or special shipping?

Just researching at this point, trying to get as much info as I possibly can.

Thanks

[sam9876]

I sell around $120K of high-end bicycle parts every month.  Profit is about$25K per month.

[dakot-72]

Look at anything the Chinese sell for pennies, then dont sell that

[bubbleman2010]

Is that $3,000.00 gross or $3,000.00 net?

[tofu107]

tell us what you like to do and what skills do you have?

[the_fancy_fox]

Blue widgets.  They sell much better than the red ones.

Do you have any hobbies? What kind of things do you know a lot about? Sell what you know and know what you sell.

what you seek is not something anyone is going to hand you information on. It's different for everyone and no one wants competition.

[kathieskorner]

Ebay sellers that have time to spend here probably aren't making $3000 per month, and if they were I doubt that they would want to share their secret of success with you. 

Unless you have a specialized area of expertise,  a source for and the funds to invest in inventory that may or may not sell,  and experience in selling and running your own business - the risks are far too great to make this an option for a gauranteed work from home income. 

Many have come here with the hope of making a living here -  more have failed than have succeeded.    And those that have succeeded have done so through the school of hard knocks - not expecting someone to show them the way. 

That may sound harsh - but it's better than encouraging unrealistic expectations. 

[luckythewinner]

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@chaidragonfirewrote:

Anybody have any ideas of what is small enough to keep onhand in an apartment, and able to make a decent profit off of?  Something that is a constant seller?  Something that doesn't need special licenses or special shipping?

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I think what you are asking for is something that 90% of the sellers here would kill to know. 

[mr_lincoln]

@chaidragonfire  There is no "one" thing for you to sell to meet your requirements ... you would need to sell many different things because the day will come when the market gets saturated for the one thing you were selling.

You are also months and months and months away from building up that kind of cash flow unless you find some things that you can buy in bulk and literally fly off your shelves.

That's not being negative but rather realistic ...

[ozarkjoe]

Vintage jewelry?  That would not take up too much space in an apartment.   I would not hope for a stable $3000 per month.

[kathieskorner]

Selling vintage jewelry requires substantial knowledge of jewelry to be able to accurately describe what is being sold.  I have several boxes of vintage jewelry,  but will probably never list much of it here because I don't know enough about it. 

[mr_lincoln]

@ozarkjoe

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@ozarkjoewrote:

Vintage jewelry?  That would not take up too much space in an apartment.   I would not hope for a stable $3000 per month.

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You might be able to get a fairly good supply of older jewelry, mainly costume type and lower end, at local auctions but you really have to know your stuff and be prepared for potential scams ... go to The Community's home page and put in jewelry scam in the big blue search widnow and see what you get.

However, I think to meet or get close to your goal(s) you would have to move a lot of it ... say you average $ 20 per sale ... well, $ 3,000 / $ 20 = 150 sales per month ... if that average sale amount is say $ 10 then you need to sell 300 items per month or like 10 per day.  You can look up costume jewelry on eBay, find a few Sellers, check their items with the Sold selection and go down the list and see how many sales they've had in the last 30 days.

Obviously, to do what you want to do will require a fair amount of up front work and research, planning, organizing and then implimenting.  Is it impossible?  No ...

[castlemagicmemories]

You are looking for items that would be popular, small for storage, and will generate a high volume of profit.

So some things may come to mind, like clothing, or electronics, or jewelry.  But you need to take into consideration other factors as well~clothing is an over saturated category~thus lots of competition.  Electronics is a high risk of fraud category.  Vintage jewelry requires special knowledge.  Current jewelry is subject to fads and going out of style.

In general, you might also consider that sales are cyclical.  There is an inevitable ebb and flow.  The consistency is just not there.  Also, what is popular today may not be tomorrow.

While sellers are generous with their help, they won't be sharing their sources or their inventory with a potential competitor.  A realistic sell through rate might only be 10%.

Just some thoughts.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi, there is a website called WatchCount.com that gives lots of info on what the top selling categories are, trending items, and other statistics on ebay. It might help give you some ideas for what the hot selling items are currently. It’s a starting point.

http://www.watchcount.com/

Also keep in mind that new sellers often have limits on how much they can sell in the first few months. And there can also be PayPal holds on the transaction funds. You may already know this as you have some selling experience. As one poster pointed out, selling on Ebay can be a slow process, requiring months of effort before the desired goals can be reached. But it is possible to make money here. 

Good luck to you in your endeavors, and i hope your health improves. 

[turquoisetulips]

Anybody have any ideas of what is small enough to keep onhand in an apartment, and able to make a decent profit off of?  chaidragonfire - op - unquote -----------------------------------------

Nail art , gems , stickers , necklace chains and charms ,  cosmetics and cosmetic bags  , maps , small books , coins, wallets, watches , socks , shoelaces , garden seeds , small kitchen gadgets, pet clothing  etc . Just remember that presentation is very important , try to make whatever you sell the most beautiful in the world , and always remember to buy low and sell high to expect the best profit . Good luck ! 🙂  Tulips