Part time to full time reselling

[eastcoastbella]

Hi!

I started reselling on eBay in may and have fallen in love with having my own little store. I currently work a full time job and ebay has been my side hustle. For different personal reasons, I am considering leaving my full time job and transitioning to full time reselling. Does anyone have any advice for me? Someone who has done the same and has been successful? 
Thanks 😊 

[richard1rst]

First and foremost understand that if you take that step it will no longer be a “Side Hustle”. It will, and by necessity, MUST be viewed as a full time job.

Next, make a list of your monthly non eBay expenses - rent, utilities, food etc.

Look at your current eBay sales and determine how much you netted. Sales less FVF for example. Did you, or can you, make enough to cover your living expenses and leave enough left over to buy replacement inventory as your items sell.

Do you have ABSOLUTE faith in your abilities?

None of us here can answer the above questions for you. But it is where you start.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

I'll offer some advice.

If you are planning to live off your Ebay sales and do not have savings to use when they are interrupted - don't do it.

There are many types of events will interrupt your Ebay revenue stream, some you might be able to avoid, others which you cannot.

Attempting to live on the proceeds of a single online marketplace often exceeds the level of risk any individual should accept.

You need multiple marketplaces and revenue streams for when things get bad, and at some point they will get bad.

You are selling both new and used clothing and accessories, suggesting you are selling targets of opportunity, rather than part of a distribution chain. Sources dry up. You cannot adequately control the consistency of your merchandise mix. You are at risk of selling inauthentic merchandise. Some of your merchandise, like the used items and certain name brands could not be offered were you to want to sell them on sites like Amazon.

Enjoy what you are making from your part time venture. Save your money. Improve your business skills. Plan for your own business in a way which recognizes the risks and minimizes them. Some of the brands you are selling will not exist by the end of the year, and you do not want to be tied to them or suffer their fate.

[redlinear]

You will be working for eBay, more-so, than for yourself.  
No benefits.
Burnout comes quicker than you think.
AND, ebay search function "seems" to operate as sort of a spin the bottle, as to what gets shown. Especially in competitive categories.   Kind of a "spread the wealth" amongst sellers. 
Just means no matter how hard you try, how good you are, how much you pay?  Still not going to get any better of a share of "seen" than the next seller.

  Keep it a side job and have fun with the extra income

[ten_o_nine]

I would not do it unless I am retiring with a fat 401K, great pension, and a healthy social security check.

Relying on eBay sales to make a living is a big gamble and out of your control.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

And remember you are going to have to pay taxes on your business profits.

Your income tax rate this year will be affected by your salary up to the point you quit as well as your Ebay earnings. You might be paying a higher rate than if what it would be if you had only Ebay earnings.

If your Ebay profits exceed $400 you will have to pay Self-Employment tax of 15.3% not all that much less than Ebay takes off your sales.

[byrd69er]

You'd want to do some serious number crunching over a period of time to evaluate if full-time ebay would support you as well,or better than your current job.

Questions and considerations:

Health care coverage?

Time off or sick time = reduced or no income

Building retirement savings with assistance through an employer's program

Sustainability of getting products

....and much more.

Before I changed jobs, which required moving, I made a large list of pros and cons. I surprised myself. It was obvious I should take the new position and move.

I'm not say you get things like health insurance or retirement contributions through your current employer,  but you certainly won't get them from selling on ebay.

[ckimodog]

@eastcoastbella

Nice to see your site is going well for you.  I would hang on to that other job based on the fact that internet sales are up and down, so you wouldn't be receiving a regular paycheck.  Some days, even weeks can be very slow.  If you are supporting a family or need money for essentials I would hang on to your other job.  You are selling things that many others are selling so lots of competition.  Just my opinion. 

I wish you well with future sales.

[kensgiftshop]

I wouldn't rely on income from Ebay replacing income from a full time job.

You never know if you're going to sell anything from one day to the next.

You might selling pretty good right now, but tomorrow, you might not sell anything and you might not for a few days.

[gloryglorygifts]

Good for you for considering it! My advice? Keep your day job, for now. I don't know your business, at all, but from what I've seen on these boards that market is over-saturated and sales are very inconsistent.  My advice is always sell something that you love and know a lot about. I have a passion for what I sell  and I love sharing them with my customers. I started with a full time job, but was busy every weekend with flea markets and fairs and I had a website and that was 16 years ago. The ebay store came 7 years ago. Maybe try doing flea markets and fairs too? A friend of mine sells antique and new toys and she makes out VERY well doing them on weekends and she started with selling on ebay too. It can be done, but it takes a lot of time and effort and may have very little return in the beginning.

richard1rst and byrd69er make very good points! Good luck to you in your decision.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi @eastcoastbella and welcome!!

Congrats on your eBay efforts!! Your success does you credit.

I’ve been selling for the last 15 years, a part-timer like yourself.  Also like you, i love selling on eBay. 

You have been at this for about 4 months now. To be honest, that is not enough time elapsed to make such a life-altering financial decision. You may be enjoying the “new seller boost” that eBay is rumored to give newbies to help get them established.

But e-retail sales wax and wane, sometimes seasonally, sometimes not. So i would give it a year of eBay selling before relinquishing the security of a full-time paycheck and benefits. 

Whatever you decide, i wish you much continued success. Please keep us posted.

[lisa5768]

You have only been selling a couple of months and have done well in over saturated categories so far. Where are you getting your inventory?  The reason I ask is that eBay is more and more requiring supplier invoices for merchandise. Do you have them for every single item you are listing and can send to eBay when they require them?

What is your plan if you suddenly can no longer sell?

eBay can be a full time income and there are many sellers that it is their income source but they have also built their business over many years. If you really want to turn this into your income source I recommend you talk to a tax accountant about your tax liability, when and how to do tax payments, the best way to set up your business structure and your accounting. They can also help with what your state requires you to file as well.

[eastcoastbella]

Well most of the items I sell are things I personally owned, or clothing items friends and family have donated to my store. Some clothing and vintage items, I find thrifting. I keep all my receipts. New clothing I buy from other resellers when they sell lots, mostly. Or from Facebook marketplace. 

I do plan on speaking with a tax accountant soon actually. My fathers friend has offered his assistance:)

[greatmidwestcoin]

You have only been selling on eBay since May. Not long enough to come to the conclusion that you should quit the workforce. After reviewing your sales and items for sale, it seems to me to be a little premature to leave your regular job. Most of your items are in the $10-$20 range so that must translate to $10 on average clear per sale: eBay fees, income taxes, etc. You had 60 FB for the past 30 days so figuring 60 x $10 that's $600 for the month. Not enough to survive on in my book.

You show you graduated in IT Tech. I was an IT Mgr for most of my career, retired now. If I were a young person where you are in life, I might try to combine your two expertise. Work with sellers to improve their store, sales, etc. Be a contractor. That can be done at home, for the most part. You definitely should not quit the work grind at this point of your life, because if you ever want to return to the outside workforce you will have a huge negative with that gap in your work record. There are several freelance sites for IT work, for example. Create your own company. It is not as difficult as you may think it is. You don't need a lawyer, etc.

You mention in your About ME that you sell mainly slightly used clothing, I assume from your closet. That cannot continue to support a lifestyle. Time yourself as far as how many hours you put in selling for a week. Then do the math on how much that in turn translates to how much it earns you per hour. I believe you may be in for a surprise. I could be wrong.

As far as being successful here on eBay, I have without a doubt been successful, and continue to do so. Under my main selling ID, I have been here since eBay started or about 24 years. I won't get into the numbers, but I have done very well. I did eBay part-time until several years ago when I retired then I took my "hobby" a few steps further. 

I would at least wait until the end of the year to see if your trend continues. Paying all of the fees, shipping and taxes is quite consuming on your sales. In all reality, I normally figure 25% is my break-even point on any sale.

If you have any additional questions on my above suggestions, message me and I will help if I can.

I wish you the best!

[coolections]

DO NOT do it. Please keep your job and just increase your Ebay business. With the cost of fees and shipping you will have a very hard time sourcing items for profit. Everyone starts out real good selling but as the best stuff dwindles the sales become less and less.