I have been an online bookseller for over seven years. We have been living off this primarily as a full-time income for nearly seven years. It all started with hanging out with a community of people who loved to talk about books. You just never know how you influence someone else online even in a free discussion forum. I’ll never forget that first night I chatted with ladies who sold books online. These weren’t just homeschool moms they were sages. Booksellers. Not just booksellers but booksellers who knew books and made money off of them. Sometimes well over a $100 on a single book!
One of my Yahoo discussion groups, which I am a member of, has several booksellers who post there. I read those posts with great interest for one whole year before doing a thing. After awhile, I thought *I* can do that! So back in 2001, I registered on eBay and was totally overwhelmed with the amount of information there is to read. I am sure ya’ll don’t know what I mean. <wink> So my screen name sat there for about 9 months with a big 0 behind it. I never even bought anything!
However, I started asking questions at chat with this group of sellers. They were SO encouraging and helpful. A book seller there suggested holding my high end titles to sell until I built feedback up. I thought this was sound advice and worked like a mad woman to get a whopping 50 positive feedbacks to sell my $30 books! I sold, sold, sold. I still hadn’t bought anything on eBay! I was listing at $2.50-$4.99 books for sale regularly. UGH! No wonder my books sold well! I think I kept that pace about two months. We stumbled upon a valuable title almost immediately (Dorrie) and my Dh was hooked! In about 5 months we were granted Powerseller status.
I was making enough money part time to see potential to bring dad home. It was a very do-able business. At the time, my Dh was making very good money working in upper management with the phone co. He even worked at home, but was not FREE! We lived in CA and loved it, but we knew to realize this vision to have Daddy home FT was not going to happen in one of the most expensive cost of living states in the Union. God was also tugging him into a direction into the FT ministry. We prayed and he sought training for the pastorate. Lo and behold, there was a family friendly church that upheld his doctrinal position who also trained men for the ministry in upstate NY where some of his extended family lives. Well, ya’ll know how cheap the rural COLD states are, right? 
So off we went, 9 children and all! Did I mention we have 11 kiddos?
With all that said we don’t work eBay FT. Can it make us more? Absolutely.
We have learned many things as we have lived here the last several years and grown in our business primarily focusing online. We learned that our selling niche that we fell into happens to be a good selling niche to be in. The collectible books are readily available and they sell well. That is, if you know what to look for and where to look. This is where our many mistakes and hours of research have benefited us. We now help others as we learn. We provide a research service for those who are pinched for time or plain hate looking up auctions or are completely overwhelmed with the book categories.
So, for us, eBay has been a wonderful answer to a problem we sought answers for. It not only provided us a glimpse of how to get started in online entrepreneurship, but the vehicle to implement the children in a true FAMILY business. We didn’t lose money in the beginning, but gained a library of “mistakes”. Ha! We haven’t lost time, since we have either been home amongst the troops while listing and truly enjoying the hunt for books while running errands as a family or I’ve been on a date with Dh.
The best blessing in it all is we have been able to help others as they look for answers financially. We have seen successes amongst many women who wanted to help their husbands and were willing to work hard to make their online business succeed. We have helped families list items to pay a bill. We have spent hours encouraging those who felt as if they were spinning their wheels only to fail at yet another at home business. Those who have rolled up their sleeves and weren’t looking to “get rich quick” have been
pleasantly surprised at what eBay can do for their lives. It is work but so much more rewarding than a j-o-b.
We decided four year ago to create a discussion group where folks could support one another in their eBay biz. My heart was to allow folks a safe haven where they wouldn’t feel threatened or intimidated when they needed help. A place where we could network with one another in businesses and friendships. Thus the creation of eBay_Establishings Yahoo group. Now we have over 2000 members! Who woulda thought? Support comes from many other wonderful people who love what they do, not just Dh and I answering one on one emails. We are abundantly blessed to have several very bright and helpful list members there…
eBay has changed my life in more ways than just a plain job would have. …Friends, books and money, too!! I couldn’t be more grateful!
Do you want to know more about how we do what we do? I send a newsletter out where I talk more in depth about what you can sell on eBay and how you can go about learning the ropes of an online business. Sign up here.
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Hey thanks for this useful post
Your knowledge is invaluable! I will continue to visit, please post more of these useful tips…I can’t get enough! Thanks Julie Anna!