ebay as a hobby

[keziak]

Anyone here sell on ebay as a hobby, not as a business? I am trying to come up with a model in which I keep my hand in due to having stuff I can't just list on Amazon instead (such as lots). I am not quite ready to wholesale throw the stuff into a ravine. If nothing else I still have a ton of manga to do something with. Also anime series and some miscellaneous other stuff.

What does selling as a hobby mean to you? Strictly limiting your number of listings and/or the time you spend on the site? 

I am thinking of cutting back to listing only one day a week and not Sunday so I can take more of my weekends off. Maybe just 10 auctions a week or whatever. No more listing single books and gradually removing the listings. Maybe sales will end up being so low I'll finally take the plunge and close up shop. I just don't want to run two full-bore businesses anymore.

[msmaggie060]

I consider myself a hobby seller now, although I still run my store as if it is a business. I have been selling here since 2005 but continue to do so to keep my mind active. I figure if I can keep up with all the rules and changes here it must be good for my brain. I read a lot, watch only the news and Bloomberg on TV and do the crossword puzzles each day, hoping they all help!

I do try to list  1 or 2 items each day and try to keep my listings up to date but I don’t get upset now if I can’t do it all.  Just do what you can and try to enjoy what you are able to do.

I just wish eBay was the “happy” place that it used to be. I keep coming across jokes, recipes and other memorabilia from eBay friends but eBay has grown so much now that everything has changed.

[mike_jayroe]

I am more of a hobby seller. Between 1978 and 1993 I enjoyed riding behind and chasing trains pulled by steam locomotives and 1992 to 2002 watching NASCAR cup races. 

I am now selling everything I bought as I no longer have an interest and just want it out of the house.

First year went great, last year it dried up, and it is still kind of slow. Have added other items, some of which  I have inherited and others I bought.

I just fire up e-bay and off and turn check to see if I sold anything and if so get it to the USPS as soon as I can.

Good luck with your sales.

[mam98031]

I am sure there are many sellers that personally consider themselves a Hobby Seller, but IRS would have a different opinion of that.

Per the IRS:

A hobby is any activity that a person pursues because they enjoy it and with no intention of making a profit.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-hobby-and-a-business-for-tax....

[chapeau-noir]

I'm not a hobby seller (though some of the more doctrinaire people on here would say I was) - I sell part time now to supplement my income and do the same thing when I was full time, only less of it.

[keziak]

Maybe "hobby" isn't the word I am looking for. Maybe just "very part-time".  I don't want to sell anything that did NOT make me at least some profit!  I am reminded of people I see locally who sell on Amazon FBA and pay cash for books, in such volume that they may be "making" a few dollars on some but not all of them, then comes all of the FBA fees which are astronomical. Not at all sure what they are doing but surely making any money isn't it. 

[12345jamesstamps]

I used to collect stamps as a hobby.

Now I sell as well as buy them.

I get the opportunity to see fascinating stamps in my hands before I sell them. 

Some are harder to sell...Although I don't collect stamps anymore...the ones that haven't sold yet I still have as a collection hoping for them to sell one day. I probably have more stamps than a lot of collectors...but I don't collect...yet they are still sitting around in my place.

My idea was to sell something that is easy to store and cheap to ship. I tried toys but shipping is too expensive  these days for boxes...maybe one day I can get rid of my boxes of toys...market is flat for my Star Trek Toys.

[msmaggie060]

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@mam98031 wrote:

I am sure there are many sellers that personally consider themselves a Hobby Seller, but IRS would have a different opinion of that.

Per the IRS:

A hobby is any activity that a person pursues because they enjoy it and with no intention of making a profit.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-hobby-and-a-business-for-tax....

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mam, because we are calling ourselves hobby sellers doesn’t mean that we don’t prepare and send in our taxes each year.

[luckythewinner]

What does selling as a hobby mean to you?

I do not sell as a hobby, so it means nothing to me.

Maybe "hobby" isn't the word I am looking for. Maybe just "very part-time".

It sounds like you have already defined it for yourself.

[sin-n-dex]

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@mam98031 wrote:

I am sure there are many sellers that personally consider themselves a Hobby Seller, but IRS would have a different opinion of that.

Per the IRS:

A hobby is any activity that a person pursues because they enjoy it and with no intention of making a profit.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-hobby-and-a-business-for-tax....

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That's pretty funny since I've turned every single hobby I've ever had into some kind of profit making venture (even if it's a small profit... I can't possibly make a living on sewing handbags, but I have fun designing and making them, I just made so many I might as well sell them).

I was told once at work that I wouldn't be allowed to have my eBay store up when I go on LTD (I have pending surgery and will miss 2-3 weeks of work). Saying the listings can stay up and people can buy and I won't ship them until LTD is over doesn't cut the mustard because there are transactions happening and money is being received during the LTD period.

So what I said was, if I were ever on a leave where I wasn't incapacitated and not allowed to earn money, I'd spend my days designing and sewing jewellery and bags just for fun, like a hobby, and deal with selling them later when not on LTD. No one is going to tell me I can't enjoy my hobbies just because I sell the result of the stuff I make with the materials. I figure selling the bags reasonably cheap is better than being a hoarder, and in reality I'm just looking to cover the cost of fabric. I know I'll never get paid for my time.

C.

[12345jamesstamps]

So a kid selling lemonade at a stand because he is making a profit who is maybe 10 years old should declare that to the IRS? Curious...

[sin-n-dex]

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@keziak wrote:

Maybe "hobby" isn't the word I am looking for. Maybe just "very part-time".  I don't want to sell anything that did NOT make me at least some profit!  I am reminded of people I see locally who sell on Amazon FBA and pay cash for books, in such volume that they may be "making" a few dollars on some but not all of them, then comes all of the FBA fees which are astronomical. Not at all sure what they are doing but surely making any money isn't it. 

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I see eBay as a profitable hobby... but our tax laws in Canada stipulate money must be declared. They don't go after people for a couple of thousand dollars in sales though... no here anyway. Not yet.

With your redefined definition, I would say I'm part time, and that's only because I have a full time job and work 40 hours a week doing paid work. So that leaves around 4 hours a day for eBay, which is part time. I just do whatever I have time for and focus on what needs to get done (like tonight it's packing and shipping orders, later on I will be making listings). I just do whatever I feel like and make sure I do what's needed when I have time.

If I don't feel like making listings today, I'll do something else... there's a list of things that have to be done sooner or later (like the actual business side, accounting and expense tracking). I kind of have a weekly schedule of how to divide my time to get stuff done. What I don't have enough time for is taking photos, processing collections of new stuff and making new listings. There's always much more of that to do than time available. I've been taking days and weeks off work to try and get caught up on these things when it accumulates too much.

C.

[ten_o_nine · Accepted solution]

Selling as a hobby, to me, means:

Leisurely pace: You're not trying to meet strict sales targets or deadlines. You list and sell at your own relaxed pace.
Limited commitment: You don't spend excessive time on the platform, maybe just a few hours a week. You can take breaks whenever you want.
Flexibility: You can change your listings, prices, or availability whenever you feel like it. No strict schedules or inventory management.
Enjoyment: You're doing it for fun, not just for profit. You enjoy the process, and it doesn't feel like a chore.
Small scale: You're not trying to make a full-time income from selling. It's supplemental or just a way to declutter and make some extra money.

Limiting listings and time spent on the site can be part of it, but it's not the only thing. It's about finding a balance that works for you and enjoying the process.

[sin-n-dex]

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@ten_o_nine wrote:

Selling as a hobby, to me, means:

Leisurely pace: You're not trying to meet strict sales targets or deadlines. You list and sell at your own relaxed pace.
Limited commitment: You don't spend excessive time on the platform, maybe just a few hours a week. You can take breaks whenever you want.
Flexibility: You can change your listings, prices, or availability whenever you feel like it. No strict schedules or inventory management.
Enjoyment: You're doing it for fun, not just for profit. You enjoy the process, and it doesn't feel like a chore.
Small scale: You're not trying to make a full-time income from selling. It's supplemental or just a way to declutter and make some extra money.

Limiting listings and time spent on the site can be part of it, but it's not the only thing. It's about finding a balance that works for you and enjoying the process.

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This is an awesome definition of "hobby business" and it does describe what I do, although I do have many sales and am committing considerable time to packing and shipping items.

C.

[keziak]

good heavens, typically you work 40 hours a week at your FT job then an additional 4 hours a day on ebay? Is that every  day? That's a whole lot of work. Maintaining 2 online businesses (ebay and Amazon) has meant a whole lot of work for me and I"m sick a nd tired of [insert whininess everyone has heard before]. I've started working with a nutrition coach to deal with my eating patterns and the conversation got around to issues of overwork and I started tearing up just talking about Ebay. Enough is enough. 

Plus, organically I will be downsizing my auction business a lot due to selling off inventory a nd disposing of a lot of the rest of it. I no longer go out and bring home tons of stuff to list. It feels GREAT to see the house gradually emptying out. I still get lots of books to list on Amazon and if I cut ebay back hard I'll have more time and energy for that while hopefully also taking time off to rest and pursue hobbies like reading and gardening.