I wanted to post this as I think some of the new people on the boards could use this as motivation on how to at the very least generate cash to build up capital quickly. Also, using ebay is a great way to learn some business principles in customer service, management, and MARKETING.

So about two years ago I started ebaying with the help of my mentor Jill. (Who is on the board as well). I will say that she was a very big help and gave me the information needed to get going. Even to do this day, some of the advice and tips she gave me has assisted me in growing my business as some of things she told back two years ago took awhile for me to put in place. Again, two years ago...I was a college student working in a dead end job to pay for private school tuition which isn't cheap. I live in rural North Carolina where they are "no jobs" as people always say. The job I did have, I got laid off of but thankfully I had already been ebaying so it wasn't a big let down for me. My location is far from Beverly Hills, fashion isn't a concern (unless it is between wearing a straw hat or John Deere hat!) and at first I was worried this model wouldn't work for me. I learned quickly, you just have to go the extra mile (or many miles in my case) to get to where you want to be. So never let your physical location be a reason to hold you back. Make it an asset!

So, my niche is selling preowned clothing, men's clothing to be exact. Where do I find them? Thrift stores. So basically, just go to a thrift store...know the brands that sell well (designer names) and find stuff that is in good condition. Where I am, I probably average in at around $5 per item. Take good pictures of the items, list on ebay....average item brings $20. Pretty simple, eh? Well, it really isn't THAT easy. I am very motivated and it tested me at times to keep pushing forward. Ebay is a saturated market and items don't bring what they brought 5-10 years ago, much less 2 years ago. You have to stick to your niche, rise above your competitors with better pictures, more inventory, and better customer service.

Now, back to my situation. I got my four year degree, yipee! Where could I go in North Carolina to get a job? Charlotte in the banking industry? Yeah, they are really hiring at the moment! Winston Salem for the tobacco industry....few decades late for that. Raleigh for the tech industry...maybe, but I majored in business so I wouldn't be very marketable. My back was against the wall, so I decided to suck it up and start pushing out some volume on ebay. I went from selling a 150-200 items per month to 400-500 items per month. For this holiday season, I expect my sales revenue to be around 50-60k and I will probably bank half of that. 30k banked in 3 months...not terrible.

You can use any niche to make money on ebay. You just have to have the knowledge and be ready to work your butt off and put up with the BS from customers because it will come. For example today, I am posting 560 new items, sold about 60 items today which I have to send out invoices and packages, process refunds, relist the returned items, deal with items that I bought off of ebay to resell that wasn't as advertised. Oh yeah, and I gave the guy that takes pictures for me about 90 items to picture and he in return gave 120 items already pictured to ANOTHER guy who writes the descriptions for me. Remember I told you about my dieing rural area job market? CHEAP LABOR! Why fool with doing something that anyone can do when I can spend the day shopping and make $500-$1000 EASY. I have made $4k in on store before.

You can make money in any niche. You want to make $10k a month, just create the system and put it in the hours hustling. I have did it before and will again. They are people making a living selling golf clubs, tools, automobiles, parts, you name it.

Some quick advice with ebay.

1. Honesty- Be honest about the item you are selling. If you try to cut corners, you will never make it.

2. Feedback- Does it suck processing a $300 "profit" refund back to a customer after he held onto a suit for two weeks and probably wore it? Yes. But is it worth ruining your feedback which is really the only reason people will trust you do begin with? No. So gives those refunds no quesitons asked. Be a problem solver, be sweeeet, smile! It cost me THOUSANDS per years returning stuff, but without doing it I would be out of business. Ebay gives all the power to buyers, trust me.

3. Hustle- Need I say more? Go buy product, take pictures, kill it on turning inventory. I am now one of the bigger players in my niche. The more you sell, the higher your items will bring cause your repuation grows, customer base grows. Just like any other business....just hustle and grind and the money will come.

4. Focus on the cash- At first, I was worried about each items profit. I bought "x" item for $5, sold for $20. Then ebay fee's, pay pal fee's...I made $10! Forget about it. Now what I do, my paypal account is at $8,500. A week later, it is at $10,000. Great, I gained $1,500. This has been THE key for me. Focus on building your cash up, not your profit per item.

5. Marketing- Find ways to keep customers coming back. Give discounts, send e-mails to former customers...encourage people to do save you as a favorite seller. Stay in touch. This is building your customer base. Some of the guys I compete against have thousands of eyes gauarnteed to be on the auctions every week. This comes with time and delivering on your promise each and every time. See, 1 and 2 again.

Lastly, I will tell any newbie reading this....this isn't glamorous. This isn't passive. You make what you put in to it. This also will never make you rich. I will bet every dollar I have ever made on ebay, you will not make millions on ebay. This is just a way to generate capital and learn some business tatics along the way. This isn't easy....sometimes it SUCKS. I will leave you with this, I am planning on buying my first home with cash. I could be putting it into something else like apt buildings or such but I am just not comfortable with that yet. But can you imagine buying your first home with cash....no monthly payments. Pretty nice. I will be doing this at the start of next year and it all came "one piece at a time" (Johnny Cash flashback for a moment).

Again, any niche will work. You just have to figure out your plan and HUSTLE with it. I worked until 2am last night, who cares? I make double what any of my friends are making at the local bank. If you are selling used golf clubs, people will laugh at you. They have laughed at me. Guess what? They will still be renting a year from now and working a dead end job. I will own a a home worth six figures free and CLEAR. I let them have a laugh...I will be laughing at them when they are 60 something and still working. With no bills or worries, I can eventually work less on ebay and more on my fastlane business if I so desire. It is all about having the choice! If you are in that dead end job slaving away with no plan, you have zero choice. Just keep punching the clock and packing the lunch bag, you are owned.

This isn't a career, this isn't a fastlane business. It is just a step to get the next step in your fastlane plan. I hope this helps one broke college kid somewhere who has a dream because if I can do it, so can you!

Luke