eBay

vip-marketplace · ‎05-16-2014

Hey guys,

I just started my little shop here ~1 month ago and as many of you were when you started to sell on here, I’m liking it very much but still struggling with a few issues.

I would appreciate it immensely (and I'm sure many others) if you could share some things/advice you've learned by experience with your eBay business.

Any tips would be appreciated, can be related to anything.

e.g.

Increasing item visibility

Making better/more appealing listings

Ways to deal with buyers

Ways to save on shipping

Ways to save on eBay/PayPal fees

Time saving tips

Day/hour to list

Listing method (BIN or auction)

etc. etc.

May this thread get as big as possible!

Thanks in advance!

mr.elmwood · ‎05-18-2014

I did do the math one day years ago, and It was staggering to see the real costs associated with a full-time job, and the real take-home bottom line.

I have been saying this for years. Then there is the time aspect. People think a 40 hour work week consumes 40 hours. It doesn't it consumes a lot more. M-F, 8-4:30, half hour for lunch. Get up at 6:30, get ready, go, stay, come home, wind down, suddenly it is 6 PM. THAT is 11 1/2 hours per day, times 5 is 57.5 hours a week. There are eighteen (18) hours in there that are consumed by work and there is no pay.

I do not understand people that say "Well, I do not include this, and I do not include that, I dismiss, this, and BOOM BABY, there's my total". I am keenly aware that all my money goes in one pocket and out the other.

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rose-dee · ‎05-18-2014

At one point in my working career, I lived in White Rock, B.C. and worked in the downtown centre of Vancouver. On a really good day, it took me 1-1/2 hours to get to work and 1-1/2 hours back driving my car. On a bad commuting day, 2 hours wasn't unusual.

When I thought I'd be the responsible citizen and take public transit (1 hour bus ride + 45 minute Skytrain ride to downtown + 7 or 8 minute walk at both ends), I had to be out on the street waiting for the bus at 7:10 a.m. in order to be sure to get to my desk by 9:00 a.m.! Coming home, I'd arrive at the door at about 7:30 p.m., provided there were no hang-ups on the Skytrain that caused me to miss my express bus and have to take the milk run.

Either way, I was up around 6:00 a.m., home by 7:30-8:00 p.m., so a minimum 13-1/2 hour day. Often I ate lunch at my desk so I could continue working, so quite frequently my day was 14-16 hours long. Either way I was paying for the privilege of getting to work and back -- gasoline or transit passes.

I also count as a "cost" of that employment not only the stress of the job but the stress of getting to and from. I couldn't afford to live within the city limits, in case anyone is wondering why I'd live so far from downtown -- that was the reality of Vancouver. I had friends who drove in from as far away as Chilliwack, at least a 2-hour commute.

Add to these realities all the other employment-related expenses I mentioned, and it's no wonder I was barely making ends meet. Now I live in a lovely rural setting in Nova Scotia with a view over a bay, do all my business from here, have a 30-second commute from the breakfast table to my dedicated "studio/workroom", my office attire is jeans and a turtleneck sweater, and -- best of all -- I love what I do! How do the occasional blips and issues on eBay compare to my former life -- pshhhhaaa!! -- water off a duck's back.