KEN'S KORNER - NOVEMBER 2006

FINDING IT ON eBAY
BY AUTHOR, EDUCATOR & DRIVER KEN SKAGGS

Throughout my career as a professional job-hopper, there has always been a repeating cycle of hard work and then starting my own business. I’d drive a truck for six months or a year, save some money, start a business, work the business for two to twenty months, wind up going broke at some point, then, get another job driving a truck again so I can save enough money to try another, bigger idea.

I’ve learned a lot from many mistakes along the way and I still believe that one of these days I will wind up owning several businesses at once and even become a real estate tycoon, eventually. Until then, I have a lot of work to do. My latest hair-brained idea was to try selling things on eBay.

I’ve heard all about thousands of people making their living on eBay and often wondered if I could do it. I was growing tired of the road and wanted to see more of my grandchildren, so I really gave it a lot of thought. For some six years I dabbled on eBay, buying an occasional item and even selling a few here and there. But I never really gave it my all to try to actually make a living at it, until seven months ago when I quit my last driving job.

During that time, I have developed a system – a way of selling on eBay that provides enough income for me to actually pay my bills. I’m not going to get rich doing this, but I can honestly say that I make about as much money doing this as I did when I drove someone else’s truck. I even had a few weeks where I made owner-operator money. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to sell you a book, I’ll just tell you what works for me.

I began selling off much of what I had collected over the years, but soon realized that was a dead-end idea, because sooner or later I’d wind up with nothing left to sell. Then what would I do? I decided that I needed inventory – things I could buy at a low price then sell for more. So I started going to garage sales and auctions, looking for items I thought I could sell on eBay for at least double or triple what I paid. This way, I figure I should at least double my money. A worthy goal, but is it possible to find those deals consistently?

The answer is yes, but you’ll have to look hard to find them. It is a full-time job. Once I faced the fact that I would have to go out almost daily to every yard sale and auction I could find, I began to see a consistent stream of money coming in. It can be a time consuming task, running around to all of these yard sales and auctions. Many of them are a waste of time. Some are not. The more you look, the more you’ll find. Every once in a while, you find something cheap that you know is worth much more. Then, there are times when you think something is worth more but it turns out to be worth a lot less. You will occasionally lose money, but if you study hard, you will usually win in the end. There is a lot of research to do and a lot of studying.

Yes, you’ll have to study eBay. A big part of the job is trying to figure out just how much money you can sell something for. The more I study eBay, the more I realize that it is a buyer’s market (people shopping to buy things on eBay are looking for a good deal and are generally not willing to pay retail) and that supply and demand is king. We’ve all heard about supply and demand, but nowhere is it more easily demonstrated and proven than on eBay.

For example, let’s say that you own a 1930’s Shirley Temple doll. You search eBay for “Shirley Temple Doll” and find twenty of them, with prices ranging from $25 to $500. The $25 one has no clothes and a missing hand, while the $500 one is like new and still in the box. You look at yours and it’s somewhere in between, so you think maybe it will bring in about $100 to $200. You wait two weeks and then search eBay again. This time, there are only five Shirley Temple dolls, with prices between $100 and $800. Fewer available means higher selling price. That’s supply – five available on one day and twenty available on another day.

On the other side of the equation is demand. As you study eBay, notice how many Shirley Temple dolls actually sell per day. It’s usually much closer than supply. While supply fluctuates, demand is more stable. You might notice that about five Shirley Temple dolls sell per day, on average. This is all the (eBay) market will bear. So you wait two more weeks and search again for that doll and notice there are only two, selling for $400 to $900. Now is the time to sell yours – while supply is low.

My wife is my business partner too. When I’m out shopping, I’ll call her and have her check things out on eBay. If I see an item for $40 and she tells me they are selling for $90, I’ll buy it (actually having bids for $90, not just for sale at $90). Remember, it has to be worth at least double because eBay charges some high fees. Frankly, the only ones getting rich on eBay, is eBay. Oh, you will get lucky once in a while and make a thousand dollars, but for the most part, it’s work. They don’t call it “work” at home for nothing. You could put in your time at a steering wheel or at some auctions, but either way, if you want to make some money in this great country, you will have to work. Good luck!

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