ebay...anyone do it full-time?

[HadWayTooMuch]

Originally Posted by CharlieHustle

Not cost effective.
If you're just starting to put up an inventory on ebay, you have to keep cost low and do it all yourself (unless you've got money to burn). Even then, you'd have to re-invest a major share of your profits back into the business for the first several months.
If you have absolutely no time and the only way for you to get started is by hiring someone to do it for you, then it would be best to work off of a profit split or an hourly wage or a combination of both (ex. $2 an hour plus 10% of the profit).
Though if you use a profit split, you'd better keep impeccable records of cost vs profit otherwise you could be headed for danger. Fighting with your family over money is never a good way to run a business.

You'd probably be better off paying your brother an hourly wage to handle the back end of the business (ebay messages, packaging, penny sleeving, sorting, going to the post office, etc) while you handle the buying of new inventory and the listing. IMO, if you hire someone to do ebay, they should handle all the menial tasks, not the money making tasks.

I tried and failed having him do the back end. I'm trying to make it easier. I am hoping with an inventory of 5000 cards and say 2000 are vintage, I might do some extra business. I don't have to get rich. He needs the money and I don't want to lose money. So I guess if I can do $300 worth in the $1.50 to $5 range while paying him $200, I won't lose out.

[Joed25]

Originally Posted by CharlieHustle

I think I've only seen 1 or 2 guys who list every card or every set they get their hands on and mathematically, I'm not quite sure how they make that work. I guess they list enough sellable product to absorb the fees of the pure commons. I know one of those guys also lists MTG cards and he cleans up with those sales by listing every card.
I dont list every card of every set, but I do end up listing about 30% of all the base set cards (stars, semi-stars, minor stars, regional favorites, subset cards, etc). I can say that it's worth it because out of a 792 card Topps base set from the 80's, there are about 220 "sellable" individual cards. That comes out to $6.60 a month in listing fees and on average, you'll sell about 15-30 of those cards per month. The cards sell, you just really have to stay on the ball with keeping them in stock, or else the player selection gets weaker and weaker and you'll start losing money in fees very quickly. You definetely won't get rich doing it, but it is a good way to build a customer base very quickly. And that customer base helps when you list a new release product.
In general, I'd look at those types of cards like packs of gum in the checkout line at the grocery store. They get thrown in as impulse buys with other sales and increase your checkout total.

Do you have someone working for you listing all those lower end cards in your Ebay store? I have hundreds of thousands of cards and many of them could sell on Ebay but there is no way I could post them all.

[HadWayTooMuch]

Originally Posted by Joed25

Do you have someone working for you listing all those lower end cards in your Ebay store? I have hundreds of thousands of cards and many of them could sell on Ebay but there is no way I could post them all.

The question is, at what price point is it cost effective or not cost effective to pay someone to do it?

I'm going to pay my brother $200 to do 1000 listings for me.

My plan is for him to do a total of 3000 listings and then determine if it's worth the money to continue or not.

Most cards will be $1.50 to $5 so I'll have to sell a bunch. We'll see.

[Dragon]

my question would be, if you are just starting out and decide to move some of your PC to eBay to sell, how do you figure out what your cost was for the items. You know uncle sam will have his hand out in April next year and people need to know what their exact profit (or loss) is for tax purposes.

I have considered moving away from my hoarding ways and getting into sales of my 250k plus cards but this is one thing that has kept me from doing it.

[jlcherry2477]

Originally Posted by Dragon

my question would be, if you are just starting out and decide to move some of your PC to eBay to sell, how do you figure out what your cost was for the items. You know uncle sam will have his hand out in April next year and people need to know what their exact profit (or loss) is for tax purposes.

I have considered moving away from my hoarding ways and getting into sales of my 250k plus cards but this is one thing that has kept me from doing it.

Excel Spreadsheet...I list card/cost/sold price. I pick up collections here and there and open some boxes/cases once every 3-4 months. But I usually do an average $ for cost. If I sell a card for $10 I usually say 15% of that card was cost and post $1.50 for cost. Lower cards that sell for $1.99 or less are usually .25/.50 cost.

Others may do it differently, but this is how I at least get a tax advantage at the end of the year due to showing cost for the cards I've sold. I'll know at the end of this year, since it's my first if I actually come out ahead. I know from the looks of the business account I'm in the RED! It's a long process, but hopefully this time next year, I'm profitable.

Also, keep receipts of all purchases made in regards to the business. Whether it's supplies, grading fees, vehicle rentals/flight tickets to conventions, etc...they will all add up in the end. Only thing I don't like is the state taxes I have to pay separately, so I have to track and print those items out for the CPA.

[CharlieHustle]

Originally Posted by Joed25

Do you have someone working for you listing all those lower end cards in your Ebay store?

No, I do it all myself. A typical work week is 6 days and a typical work day is 6 hours. 2 hours shipping, 4 hours maintenance/sorting/listing.
When I was doing more case breaks, those could turn into 14 hour work days and I even had help to do those. Since I've lost access to anyone who can help me, I've given up the case breaks and concentrate more on liquidating collections card by card.

[CharlieHustle]

Originally Posted by HadWayTooMuch

I'm going to pay my brother $200 to do 1000 listings for me.

My plan is for him to do a total of 3000 listings and then determine if it's worth the money to continue or not.

If this was me, I would ask him to work the first week for free and do some on the job training. See what he can do in a week, then take it from there. Make it clear that the future of this agreement hinges on his productivity of this test week. Then, give him a cut of the profit at the end of the week, but only for the first week.
If you decide to move forward, then convert to a per listing fee.
In all honesty though, it sounds like you're less interested in starting a side business and more interested in helping your brother with some income.
That can be tricky, because you might find yourself in a break-even venture in the short term that you'll be stuck paying the taxes on in the long term, because you can break the $20,000 Paypal tax barrier in no time.
15-20 $1 sales per day (with $2.49 or greater, shipping) will get you there in a year. That's hardly enough to justify paying a helper.

[NonFlammable]

Originally Posted by derium

You have to keep in mine if you do eBay full time, this means you need to register it as a business. What's that mean? Oh yeah, getting all your product at cost.

What are the options for obtaining product at cost, Dealernet? I have a business license but don't have the slightest clue where to start...

[CharlieHustle]

Originally Posted by NonFlammable

What are the options for obtaining product at cost, Dealernet? I have a business license but don't have the slightest clue where to start...

GTS Distribution
Contact them and see what they can do for you.

[yankeesfan24]

I have had an ebay store this summer as my "summer job"

I make money, but end up spending it all back in my PC. Seems silly, but allows me to spend 4-5x what I normally would be able to.

almost $2,500 in sales in the past 90 days isnt bad, plus I racked up another $3-400 on the forums

[syriannightmare]

Originally Posted by CharlieHustle

No, I do it all myself. A typical work week is 6 days and a typical work day is 6 hours. 2 hours shipping, 4 hours maintenance/sorting/listing.
When I was doing more case breaks, those could turn into 14 hour work days and I even had help to do those. Since I've lost access to anyone who can help me, I've given up the case breaks and concentrate more on liquidating collections card by card.

How do you obtain your collections? Buy Lots off ebay or through craigslist? Then how do you sell BIN or auction?

[CharlieHustle]

Originally Posted by syriannightmare

How do you obtain your collections? Buy Lots off ebay or through craigslist? Then how do you sell BIN or auction?

I get my collections through another source, not from ebay or CL.
Some are from shows, some are from local collectors, etc.

All my listings are BIN, almost never auction.
I've found that people who complain about not making any money selling cards are probably selling through auction style listings.
The only time I auction is when I'm dealing with a fairly scarce card or if I'm the first one to have a new release card on ebay.

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by jlcherry2477

Excel Spreadsheet...I list card/cost/sold price. I pick up collections here and there and open some boxes/cases once every 3-4 months. But I usually do an average $ for cost. If I sell a card for $10 I usually say 15% of that card was cost and post $1.50 for cost. Lower cards that sell for $1.99 or less are usually .25/.50 cost.

Others may do it differently, but this is how I at least get a tax advantage at the end of the year due to showing cost for the cards I've sold. I'll know at the end of this year, since it's my first if I actually come out ahead. I know from the looks of the business account I'm in the RED! It's a long process, but hopefully this time next year, I'm profitable.

Also, keep receipts of all purchases made in regards to the business. Whether it's supplies, grading fees, vehicle rentals/flight tickets to conventions, etc...they will all add up in the end. Only thing I don't like is the state taxes I have to pay separately, so I have to track and print those items out for the CPA.

I get all that and moving on in the future that is how I would do it, my question was how do I price my cost on cards I have already had in my possession and my PC for any length of time. What if I chose to sell all of my case of 2011 Topps, how would I price out my cost for those to start the biz.

[bziddy]

Originally Posted by Dragon

I get all that and moving on in the future that is how I would do it, my question was how do I price my cost on cards I have already had in my possession and my PC for any length of time. What if I chose to sell all of my case of 2011 Topps, how would I price out my cost for those to start the biz.

I had this discussion with my CPA a while back -- this is what I took away...

...as long as you have receipts you can account for the value of cards in any way that makes sense....

For example if you buy a case that has 2000 cards for $500, you can put the cost down for every card at 25 cents and record sales/profit that way....OR...if you know you are only going to sell 500 and 1500 are going to sit in your inventory as unsellable commons, you can value those top 500 cards at $1 and the bottom 1500 at 0 cents. You just have to remember that when you sell one of those bottom 1500 cards, your acquisition cost is $0. As far as your PC...unless you can establish what it cost to acquire the card, your acquisition cost on the card will be $0.

That's really a very simplified way of looking at the whole thing. Bottom line is keep all of your receipts and come up with a system for accounting for money in/money out.

[paul06901]

I buy/sell 'steals' and have done so for many years now. Some may not like that practice, but it's completely legit and I have no complaints ever from buyers. They are always happy they have a fair shot at a card by the fact I relist at a high buy-it-now, so nobody will hit the buy-it-now, and everyone can put in their offers. I give many international buyers a shot a cards they want, that many sellers have and won't sell internationally on.

Just recently, last year-ish, I began to sell consignment for a client. I since then have picked up another client. I sell at a lower % than most, which is great for the sellers!


I also sell internationally, which is a must to maximize sales profits.

I do this part time while working a full-time job, and completing my undergrad and masters degrees.

It does take another 20 or so hours per week, but it's worth it for me and I get to be around the cards, which I enjoy.


Unfortunately, as someone had mentioned earlier, I also dabble in breaking boxes/cases. My profits are soon balanced with my losses on the product breaks haha. But overall, I do fairly well in a years time. And it's exciting.

But with the way eBay has become, it's making it EXTREMELY hard for us smaller-$$ eBay guys to remain afloat!


But if anyone is looking for a consigner for their breaks/collection/etc ... keep me in mind and/or shoot me a PM

[SaveMeTheGum]

I've tried in the past, with mixed results. I've gone in a little heavier this year, but it's still tough. Time consuming and risky -- it's hard to make $$ breaking cases unless you buy a lot, and even then, it takes a lot of time and money to move them.

That's mainly why I've moved almost exclusively to high end items... less items less time. I've tried quitting, but I enjoy it too much =).

[dashcounter]

Originally Posted by CharlieHustle

I get my collections through another source, not from ebay or CL.
Some are from shows, some are from local collectors, etc.

All my listings are BIN, almost never auction.
I've found that people who complain about not making any money selling cards are probably selling through auction style listings.
The only time I auction is when I'm dealing with a fairly scarce card or if I'm the first one to have a new release card on ebay.

you seem to have one of the bigger ebay stores ive seen around...this is my goal in the next year...

couple questions...
1. do you use a special scanner?
2. do you do ONLY sports cards?
3. what kind of sales and profit are you making annually? or monthly?

thanks in advance.

[benshobbies]

Thanks for posting this thread. And thank you for all the replies! I've been selling on ebay as a part time job for 5 years now, and have started to break even. However, I'm starting to see the writing on the wall, per se and have been thinking about starting full time on ebay and dumping my job at McDs. This recent stint in the hospital was another tell-tale sign that this may be a possibility in the near future.

I'm breaking even right now, with about a $10-20.00 loss a week. I'm selling about $150-175 in revenue/week on toys, gaming cards and sports cards. My question is, if I quit my job at McDonalds and started working 40-50 hours a week on this project, would I be able to swing that $10-20.00 loss around?

My best investments so far are in gaming cards and buying out collections of sports cards. I made about $75.00 profit on a booster box of Club Penguin Card-Jitsu Water. Also made some very good lot purchases. I'm starting to get the hang of good products vs. bad and with the help of friends I'm really starting to make a headway.

For those who are wondering if e-commerce is a viable means of making a living, check out Toy Gaming Emporium - YouTube channel. This guy makes in the 10's of thousands of dollars in profit selling toys and gaming cards on amazon, ebay and his website. He also has bought a new house, has a nice car, and is getting married soon. I've learned a lot from him over the past 3 years or so and we often have long chats on email. To tell you a hint: He makes most of his money off youtube adsense revenue.

[NonFlammable]

Do you need something specific for an ebay-only business, or will a DBA license suffice?

[CharlieHustle]

Originally Posted by dashcounter

you seem to have one of the bigger ebay stores ive seen around...this is my goal in the next year...

couple questions...
1. do you use a special scanner?
2. do you do ONLY sports cards?
3. what kind of sales and profit are you making annually? or monthly?

thanks in advance.

1. Yes, I use an ADF scanner.
2. Currently yes.
I plan to do non-sport cards and possibly comics in the future.
3. Rough profit is 40%. I can't give a solid number because it depends on how much I buy and whether or not I'm breaking cases.

[bziddy]

Originally Posted by CharlieHustle

Yes, I use an ADF scanner.

You aren't worried about it damaging a card while scanning?

[CharlieHustle]

Originally Posted by bziddy

You aren't worried about it damaging a card while scanning?

No.
The only card the scanner ever damaged was a 1989 Topps George Brett Box Bottom card. And I had a feeling it might, because the card felt weird, like it had been sitting in a damp basement for years. The scanner warped the top layer of the card and put a tiny crease in it.
Other than that, you can feed cards in, no problem.

[dashcounter]

Originally Posted by CharlieHustle

No.
The only card the scanner ever damaged was a 1989 Topps George Brett Box Bottom card. And I had a feeling it might, because the card felt weird, like it had been sitting in a damp basement for years. The scanner warped the top layer of the card and put a tiny crease in it.
Other than that, you can feed cards in, no problem.

so you can them one at a time? and it shows up on your computer without having the crop or anything?

so whats your rough estimate for what you make a year?

[Fraser9698]

I think I could make a full time living flipping cards. Of course, who knows after taxes but I plan on staying under the 200 transaction mark so I don't get slammed. Consistently making profits with my 'investment' cards and parlay that money into the cards I plan on keeping for a while(Exquisite) that will only go up.

This is all basketball...as of right now I'm pretty awful at doing football and haven't a CLUE about baseball stuff other than the prospect info my buddy within an organization gives me but who knows whether he knows his ass from a all-star caliber prospect. Thanks Colt McCoy...but still profitable. I think another big thing is to stick with the superstar guys that haven't won a title/MVP and have room to grow. No point in sinking a bunch of money into cheapo autos when 1 or 2 may pan out and go from 10 to 40. When you can buy just a few 2-300 autos and when the team has success they double. Playoffs playoffs playoffs...really no other time to sell unless you're getting a 40%+ return, and just cant turn it down.

[CharlieHustle]

Originally Posted by dashcounter

so you can them one at a time? and it shows up on your computer without having the crop or anything?

You can put a stack of about 8-15 cards into the feeder and it will auto scan them one at a time, no cropping, no image altering.