eBay

musicyouneed · ‎12-02-2015

It just seems that my life revolves around ebay and I don't do anything else. Everyday I spend time shopping, cleaning, picture taking, researching, listing, storing, wrapping/shipping, going to the PO, revising listings. Spend some time on the community discussion boards. Now, if I didn't get some satisfaction from it I would not be doing it.

My friends call and I tell them I can't talk right now I am in the middle of listing.

My feeling is you can't sell it if you don't list it.

Do you ever feel that you have no life outside ebay????

westernstargifts · ‎12-02-2015

More and more I am spending time away from eBay. The effort I put into it just does not pay off or satisfy like it did when I began.

Family and friends have no idea how much work and effort it takes to sell here and make some money. It is discouraging when their expectations of me fail to take this into consideration. They also have no idea that there is money to be made here.

I am at the point where I want to have my life back. I have put family, hobbies and other things on hold for too long. Years go by quickly and the next thing you know you are too old to enjoy the things you should have done while you were younger.

That being said, I have tons of stock to unload before I even think of giving it up. Instead I am trying to get a better balance in my life between work and the things I enjoy.

gifts_of_elegance · ‎12-02-2015

I would like to think so but not really. I am driven! I wake up in the morning and walk right into my office in my PJ's. I turn on my computer to see if I sold anything and start working right away. If my husband didn't bring me coffee and breakfast, I would not eat.

I list, I pack, I check whats selling in my category and what has sold. I buy, answer email, etc.etc. etc. It never ends!

I don't socialize, I watch about 3 movies a week, and leave the house about every 10 days to pick up my purchases in USA. Sad part is I don't take care of myself. My husband is retired and he takes care of me and the household.

I think the only thing that saves me is that we take about 3 vacations a year. We are gone for 8-12 weeks in all and I don't take a computer, phone or iPad with me. I shut eBay out completely and I don't miss it. Of course, on our way home, I always turn my thoughts to business and go at it within 10 minutes of arriving.

This is not right.

femmefan1946 · ‎12-02-2015

Well, I wrote a novel last month. (NaNoWriMo 2015).

zee-chan-jpn-books · ‎12-02-2015

I work full time and some occasional over time in my "real life" job that involves some graveyard shifts.

I'm also a part time student (I already finished my BSc two years ago).

Selling on eBay is still sort of fun and profitable for me as long as I pretend the defects system don't exist. The majority of my buyers are straightforward to deal with

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I'm gonna die young

PS. It's my birthday tomorrow and guess what? I'm still on eBay message board...

musicyouneed · ‎12-02-2015

Hope you have a wonderful birthday zee-chan!

westernstargifts · ‎12-02-2015

PS. It's my birthday tomorrow and guess what? I'm still on eBay message board...

Happy, happy birthday!!

westernstargifts · ‎12-02-2015

@gifts_of_elegance wrote:
I would like to think so but not really. I am driven! I wake up in the morning and walk right into my office in my PJ's. I turn on my computer to see if I sold anything and start working right away. If my husband didn't bring me coffee and breakfast, I would not eat.
I list, I pack, I check whats selling in my category and what has sold. I buy, answer email, etc.etc. etc. It never ends!

I don't socialize, I watch about 3 movies a week, and leave the house about every 10 days to pick up my purchases in USA. Sad part is I don't take care of myself. My husband is retired and he takes care of me and the household.

I think the only thing that saves me is that we take about 3 vacations a year. We are gone for 8-12 weeks in all and I don't take a computer, phone or iPad with me. I shut eBay out completely and I don't miss it. Of course, on our way home, I always turn my thoughts to business and go at it within 10 minutes of arriving.

This is not right.

That being said, I have tons of stock to unload before I even think of giving it up. Instead I am trying to get a better balance in my life between work and the things I enjoy.

And what you are saying is exactly what I had been doing but I'm fighting it.....but not sure who will win! If I gave up on eBay I would have to go back to housework.....arghh!

ricarmic · ‎12-02-2015

People momentarily think I have a great life when I tell them I work 6-10.

Then I explain it is 6 am - 10 pm !!!!

I've been selling stamps for 37 years now. I also had a real job for 21 years up until May 30 2008 when I moved to my own business full time. (ohh that was a great day!!!)

eBay is but one of 5 "venues" that I use, (2 of them predate the internet) but eBay remains significantly my "best" in terms of revenue (which is why the many challenges bother me as much as they do).

I am lucky because I can do some of my "evaluation/processing" in front of the TV since stamps are wee things, although my wife barely tolerates my "wee" workshop in the corner of the rec room.

As already mentioned by others people have no idea how much work it takes to sell on ebay or wherever. Folks also think it is so great that you can turn your hobby into your job. The part folks don't get is that 80% or more of running a business is the running the business part, not really the "hobby" type part!

Running your own business does give one much more flexibility. If I decide today it is a nice sunny day and I want to go fishing today I can do that, however it also means I don't get paid today either, so it is certainly a balancing act.

I have ALWAYS had problems not letting my work life overwhelm my home life. Dropping to "only" running my own business has helped.

I also happen to live in the Rhubarb Capital of Ontario, and we have a related festival here each year (Rosy Rhubarb Festival) of which I am part of the committee, so that gets me out and about a fair bit too.

Family and friends and kids are scattered about so that gets us out and about a fair bit as well.

The problem with a home based job is that it blends so much into my day I really have no idea how many hours I put in.... I put the potatoes on for supper, they need a few minutes so back downstairs I go and answer a question a buyer has then back upstairs to start the meat etc.....

Anyway I should really be processing the measly number or orders I have today........

mr.elmwood · ‎12-02-2015

In an odd juxtaposition, eBay is my life and eBay has given me a life. Rather than working for "the man" which I did for 35 years, I now work for myself. I ell people I have my money hidden in an offshore account in Lincoln Nebraska and that I embezzle from my employer. There is a fair amount of cache is being able to say those things.

I walked away from my government, union, guaranteed for life, job to do as I please. I spend my money traveling to business meetings. Legitimate. eBay 20th in San Jose cost me a lot of money. I met, for my third in a row, eBay CEO. I re-connected with eBay friends from all over North America.

Local friends are okay, but, my eBay friends travel all over and actually do things. They are not the "coulda woulda shoulda" people.

I prefer my eBay life as I know some of the smartest, party loving, people you will ever meet.

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nan*55 · ‎12-02-2015

Ebay was my life for 12 years. Than my "real" life got in the way.

But I'm back and planning on going "full speed ahead" after the New Year 🙂

rose-dee · ‎12-02-2015

I had a nose-to-the-grindstone salaried job in professional offices for many years. Although I always gave 110% to my employers, there was very little left of me at the end of a work week. And I was stressed out and angry a lot.

Now, although I earn far, far less than I did in those years, I wake up every morning not with a feeling of dread at having to fight rush-hour traffic, face stressed-out and anxious clients, or deal with troublesome bureaucrats and demanding bosses, but with a sense of adventure and anticipation. I have a creative life now that I was unable to enjoy for many years. In a very real way, despite the hours and effort I put into this business, and the sometimes less than satisfying monetary returns, it has given me back a life.

So I tend now to be grateful for the opportunity to wake up each morning with a smile and a spring in my step. Not to say that eBay doesn't sometimes wipe the smile off my face with its policies and issues. But I seem to always bounce up again, like one of those old kids' tops that you just couldn't permanently knock over.

As for a life outside eBay, I think I have a glorious life now in comparison to the hamster-cage I was in for many years. Now I set my own goals and my own schedule, and measure my achievements against my own parameters. If I want to work from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. for a few days in order to be able to take off for a day or two with my DH and enjoy some summer weather or work in the garden, so be it. On a sunny day in July if I feel like sitting on the back deck with DH and enjoying a 2-hour lunch or an afternoon tea, I do it. Other days I tell DH that my "boss" is only giving me a 15-minute lunch today because I'm on a creative roll. He knows by now not to argue with my boss.

That being said, I'm always amazed at how much time it takes to get things done on eBay. Preparing listings, taking photos, putting up the actual listings, checking, revising, reviewing, etc. etc. Then there's the record-keeping. Truth be told, the actually selling part - handling the sale, printing the label, packing up the item -- is the least time consuming of all the activities I do that are associated with eBay.

I think the key to long-term survival on eBay is to take those breaks -- when you feel you want them or need them -- and not to constantly postpone "life" to an indefinite "tomorrow".

westernstargifts · ‎12-02-2015

@mr.elmwood wrote:
In an odd juxtaposition, eBay is my life and eBay has given me a life. Rather than working for "the man" which I did for 35 years, I now work for myself. I ell people I have my money hidden in an offshore account in Lincoln Nebraska and that I embezzle from my employer. There is a fair amount of cache is being able to say those things.

I walked away from my government, union, guaranteed for life, job to do as I please. I spend my money traveling to business meetings. Legitimate. eBay 20th in San Jose cost me a lot of money. I met, for my third in a row, eBay CEO. I re-connected with eBay friends from all over North America.

Local friends are okay, but, my eBay friends travel all over and actually do things. They are not the "coulda woulda shoulda" people.

I prefer my eBay life as I know some of the smartest, party loving, people you will ever meet.

You are right Mr. Elmwood, when you say that eBay has given you a life. I really have enjoyed selling on eBay and the proceeds have given us some things we would never have been able to afford otherwise.

However, with a sister, sister-in-law and 2 brothers-in-law who are terminally ill, and spending much of my time looking after my elderly mother, I have had to re-evaluate my life. Plus DH and I have had 5 surgeries in the past 2 years, 4 of them major. In spite of what I have said, I do have to tear myself away from eBay....although Pinterest keeps calling louder and louder....lol. That would be because it involves hobbies which I would like to pursue and never have the time for during the winter months. I DO have time for them during the summer when we go to our trailer at the lake thanks to eBay which pays for the season there.

sylviebee · ‎12-02-2015

@femmefan1946 wrote:
Well, I wrote a novel last month. (NaNoWriMo 2015).

I'm not surprised.

Even your posts here display your talent.

I don't even have to agree with everything you say (but most of the time I do). Your posts are always a joy to read.

gifts_of_elegance · ‎12-02-2015

I remember when I had a 9-5 job, 7 days a week, 50 weeks a year. It was awful, just like being a slave.

Then I sold real-estate, and I put in 12 hours a day, and had to do Open Houses every Sunday. The hours were more but I always knew I could walk out of the office whenever I wanted and if I did not show up, I didn't have to explain myself.

I have put more hours into eBay than anything else. But it gave us a lot of extras we never would have had otherwise. It also pays for those vacations we never would have even dreamed of.

My biggest problem is that I am driven and can't get the monkey off my back.

jersey..authentix · ‎12-03-2015

I don't know how you have your ebay set up , but I run 4 ebay sites and have all the time in the world. I choose to spend more time on Ebay than I have to, and only because I am driven. I still have a passion for the items I sell.. I never allow Ebay to dictate by leisure time . I never not go out because of Ebay. I can take ebay with me on my tablet if something needs to be done.

Honestly the only time I spend a lot of time on Ebay is when I have too many sales.

Its all about organizing and proper time management. I have all my Ebay sites basically running on cruise control.

gifts_of_elegance · ‎12-03-2015

@jersey..authentix wrote:
I don't know how you have your ebay set up , but I run 4 ebay sites and have all the time in the world. I choose to spend more time on Ebay than I have to, and only because I am driven. I still have a passion for the items I sell.. I never allow Ebay to dictate by leisure time . I never not go out because of Ebay. I can take ebay with me on my tablet if something needs to be done.

Honestly the only time I spend a lot of time on Ebay is when I have too many sales.

Its all about organizing and proper time management. I have all my Ebay sites basically running on cruise control.

Yes, organization and time management are very important. But its also a fact that handling 1168 listings and 196 sales take up much more time than 32 listings with 19 sales. Have you any idea how much effort goes into creating 1168 listings, not to mention the time and effort it took to acquire such inventory and keep it organized? I have about 1350 listings and I can relate.

reallynicestamps · ‎12-03-2015

Just to be clear, jersey mentions that he has three other eBay IDs.

gifts_of_elegance · ‎12-03-2015

I understand that. I doubt if any of them are more active. I also have another user ID on eBay plus two sites elsewhere but none as active as this one.