For some unknown reason (read: sarcasm), side jobs and freelancing have grown in popularity in the past 2 years. They can be successfully grown into full-time income despite being paired with a 40 hour per week job, ultimately leading to a lifestyle that many people dream of.
It was my boyfriend’s idea to start selling on eBay as a side gig. I thought it was a good idea, and we began to hunt for bargains lost to the shelves of thrift stores and the Goodwill near our house. Our first score was a Guitar Hero bundle that was a total steal according to recent eBay sales, and it became our first sale.
Honestly, the profits weren’t even close to my expectations. We had conceivably hit the jackpot, having paid only half of our well-researched asking price. I was thrilled when I received the notification that our successful find had finally sold.
But after breaking even, paying eBay’s fees and splitting up the final dollar amount (my boyfriend had made the initial purchase), I wasn’t terribly happy with the final payout. And we hadn’t even paid the shipping costs.
Still, we were hopeful. The first sale had been motivating, and we continued to frequent Goodwill searching for items. We did make some good finds over time and put time and effort into listing them. We created a makeshift photography setup to take “professional” looking photos of the products, and I worked on writing the listings with as much detail as possible.
But after the big sale, nothing. We lowered our prices, set up bids instead of fixed terms and tried to only list items we could back up with desirable qualities. Yet still nothing. There was a bid that fell through after the buyer seemingly backed out which turned out to be the last “sale” we’d get.
We decided not to buy any more items to sell for the time being, not until we’ve at least made sale #2. It isn’t something that I’m ready to fully give up on yet.
Lauren Writes 