Poppin Tags, How I Made $1000.00+ on Ebay Last Month in my Spare Time

Long before Macklemore became a household name with the song, I was poppin’ tags as an official junk store junkie. My theatrical life fed my obsession, as any director on a budget will tell you that thrift shops and yard sales are a primary source for props and costumes for any production. Before that, as a teen, almost all of the compliments I got on my cool vintage threads (80s kid, so 50s vintage was the thing) were earned by shopping at thrift shops.

Some of you are probably a bit grossed out by this right now, buying other people’s used items can seem sketchy, but here’s the key, you don’t buy the trash, (there’s plenty of it) you buy the treasure! I’ve purchased designer suits for pennies, found brand new name brand shoes, never worn, with the tags in place, for a buck or two, the bargains are nearly endless. But, this isn’t really about that.

I’ve shared several stories about my business ventures with my Steemit audience already, but recently, I’ve jumped into a new one, Ebay. While there are definitely some hurdles and their user interface and customer service feel like a work in progress, there’s some huge opportunities here to be had. I’ve had an Ebay account, like most denizens of the web, for years, but it’s remained almost entirely unused.

Two of my brothers recently got into buying and reselling on Ebay, with mixed results, but some of their successes were enough to encourage me to give it a shot. I’ve got a pretty successful gig as a freelance writer, but in the past few years, it’s been harder to keep up with regular small clients, when book projects pay so much better. They can be far between, however, so although I’m having a record income year, I was making up for a couple of lean ones and need something to see me through what are typically slow winter months.

Enter Ebay. Before I jumped in, I took the time to research the platform with a Facebook friend that’s made a LOT of money in the resale business. I knew quite a bit about sourcing and the basics of selling, but, I wanted to get his advice on how to get started right. He gave me a few simple rules for bringing home the gold. We’ll call them the Golden Rules, because why not?

Golden Rule Number one

LIMITED STORAGE SPACE

---

This is not to disparage anyone running a $30k per month Ebay cartel in a massive warehouse. You do you. But at least one of my close Ebayer friends has turned his home into an episode of hoarders, so this one sounded like a great idea. My “coach” had this to say.

• He has one small closet. When it’s full, he has to sell to make room for new inventory.
• It makes him more selective about what he brings home, do I really want this taking up half my space if it doesn’t sell for a month?
• Small items are also easier to clean up, prep and ship.

Golden Rule Number Two

LIMITED INVENTORY BUDGET

---

While many will ignore this and buy whatever they think might make them money, this one is a great idea for forcing you to focus, get as good a deal as possible, and research your finds to maximize your earnings. He tries to stay under $100 invested in inventory at any one time.

• My coach keeps nothing in that closet he’s unwilling to throw away in a month if it doesn’t sell.
• Low risk can still yield HIGH rewards, as much as 100x what you paid.
• Limited budget works hand in hand with the limited space. It’s hard to fill a warehouse for $100, and it forces you to focus on selling, which is the name of the game.

Golden Rule Number Three

PATIENCE AND DISPOSABLE INCOME

---

Not everyone will have this luxury. He’s found a full time, work from home gig that he loves. It pays the bills, so that his Ebay can fund other luxuries and investments. The more you rely on this income, the less you’ll be able to hold out for the best price and make the best profits.

• Set your price high, within the recent sales prices for that item, and be prepared to wait.
• This allows you to buy items that may have a narrow audience, but bring awesome profits!
• If, for any reason, it’s not working out, you can walk away from your inventory, temporarily, or permanently, without it disrupting your lifestyle.

So, how am I doing?

So far, I’m totally with him on the first two, but the last one’s been a bit rough over the last month or two. I’ve needed the money and that’s forced me to take a 300% profit, when I probably could have gotten 1000%. Yes, there really are items you can buy that will sell for 100x what you pay.

This series is going to outline what I’ve been up to for the past month and detail some of the money I’ve made. To give you a taste, I’ve invested less than $300 over the course of the month, and sold more $1500, with over $300 in sales waiting to be collected, and another $1000 in merchandise waiting for a buyer. Where else (besides bitcoin in the past few weeks) can you earn that kind of return on your investment?