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Interesting question.
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products though television"
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products though radio"
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products though magazines"
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products though newspapers"
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products going door-to-door"
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products renting a table at a flea market"
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products though a store at the shopping mall"
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products though their own website"
"Has anyone actually made money advertising their products though online venues such as eBay"
The short answer is yes some people have made money while others have not and that applies to all venues listed above.
Making money is a function of the seller, the products, their demand, their sourcing, their pricing competitiveness, shipping cost (if applicable), service, etc.... The venue (eBay or elsewhere) is a small component in that equation.
First thing to determine is: Do you have products for sale? Do you know those products? Do you have regular and reliable suppliers? Are the products conducive to selling by mail (mattresses for example would not qualify)? Is your pricing competitive (have you really checked what your competitors are offering)? Do you understand the costs of being "in business"?
Mail order business also known as "direct marketing" (that is what eBay is all about) is not for everyone and not for every product.
Sell what you know... Know what you sell.
Good Luck
Hi Nan.
Long time no see.
Best Wishes to you and your family for a Merry Christmas
Yes, we purchased our new home in Napanee about a month ago and will be moving in the spring:
http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Canada-Town-Square/We-are-moving/m-p/287352#U287352
10% of the sellers do 90% of the profit.
Nan, Pierre, myself, are part of the 10%.
It is work, 24/7 work.
My best wishes of the season to all my "colleagues" here. Have a safe and happy holiday, and shut down those computers for tonight and tomorrow. 
BTW, if any of you guys west of Nova Scotia could send us some snow for Christmas, I wouldn't mind it. They're predicting rain and 14 degrees tomorrow here! Not too good for a sleigh ride. Jingle bells anyway to all!
@treasure.hunter.d wrote:
@mr.elmwood wrote:10% of the sellers do 90% of the profit.
Nan, Pierre, myself, are part of the 10%.
It is work, 24/7 work.
I can honestly say that when i started I didn't think it was going to be as much work as it is. I'm definitely not complaining because it is work, that most days, I find enjoyable and it beats punching a clock for some other master.
You can make money provided you put in the effort.
On one of my first business ventures years ago somone asked me what was the best thing about being your own boss and I replied that it was definitely setting your own hours, coming and going as you please, calling all the shots. They also asked me what was the worst thing about being your own boss to which i replied setting your own hours, coming and going as you please, calling all the shots. I can't really claim to be the original person who put it that way as I had heard it somewhere before that but it is true. It's very easy to slack off and not put in the work when there is no one driving you.
All of that being said, I am pretty happy with where I am having only been doing this a couple of years. This last coiuple months have by far been my best to date and of course Christmas has a lot to do with that but still they by far eclipse my holiday seasons to date.
Anyway, in addition to the hard work, I truly believe that the keys to success on Ebay are what many others have said before "Know what you sell and sell what you know." Every time I try to branch out into something outside of my comfort zone it usually doesn't go well, not catastrophic but not successfully either.
All the best, and good luck.
Cheers,
thD
You can make money provided you put in the effort.
Scanning on "lots" in MB and SK a couple months back, I found a fella selling a pile-o-parts. 350 kliks roundtrip, cost me, gas and parts, $475. I have listed around $5000 out of that with another couple grand to go. I hit one (1) part I have listed for $400 US. That was bracketed with a $250 part and a $200 part, followed by a $93 set.
I have passed on stuff going "I don't smell money".
This pile, I stood there and said to myself "I smell money".
I don't go anywhere near stuff I don't know, can't "smell the money".
Pierre: "Sell what you know and know what you sell".
I personally, first person, know people who have hit scores. Who hit one after another.
The money is out there.
Good to see lots of 16-year "veterans" here - it is vastly different than 1998, but so are a lot of things in the world 🙂 I work eBay modestly now, and if I wasn't making any money at it (as already stated), I wouldn't keep doing it. Good luck with your move in the spring, Pierre!
