When I mention to people that our family has a little Ebay business, one of the first questions I get is “can you really make money at it?” and my honest answer is YES! Ebay is one of the simplest home businesses you can start up, that doesn’t cost any extra overhead. You don’t even have to buy product to begin making some extra cash - start by selling unused items from around your home!

There are so many wonderful books and e-books available today to help you start selling, that I’m not going to walk through everything step-by-step here. Instead I thought I would share with you a little about my Ebay experience, and share some of the products I have used to help improve my little business.

According to Ebay, I have been a member since December 1998 - WOW - I can’t believe it has been that long! I started out like most people, buying. I looked for books for my homeschool, toys for the children, little things here and there. It was a great place to find a bargain.

I had been toying with the idea of selling, but was a bit nervous to take that first step. One day my husband came home with a large stack of audio tapes he had purchased at a garage sale for about a buck each. After giving him the “evil eye” for spending money - he told me I should sell them on Ebay - that they might do good. So, I started looking through the seller section to see how to do this. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable with a computer and am a fast learner, so I figured out the basics, and had my first few auctions running in no time. Pictures - LOL - this was before we had a digital camera and scanner so I used my web-cam - LOL! Not the best pictures, but they worked!

All that week I watched my items, and they started getting bids! I was excited! When they ended, we had made back all the money my husband had spent on those tapes - PLUS extra. Most of the tapes sold for between $7 - $10! I WAS HOOKED! LOL

I then began looking around my house for things I could get rid of and maybe sell on Ebay. Anything was fair game - and my “little business” was born.

For the next few years, I sold off and on. Usually homeschool books we didn’t need anymore, or clothing the kids had outgrown that were still in excellent condition. During that time, I re-discovered an old love of mine - Painting. In high school I loved to paint, but it took me forever to get anything done (the perfectionist in me came through too often). Decorative painting however was quicker, so I purchased some books and taught myself how to do it. I didn’t want to do craft shows however because my time was limited with homeschooling, so I began to research Ebay to see if hand painted stuff would sell - and sure enough there was a market - so I started selling my painted items.

When you are selling hand-crafted goods on Ebay, it’s a tough start up - but if you have a good product, and stick with it - you will start to develop a following, and customers will buy from you again and again. Consistency is the key. Always have something up for sale. If you list - they will come!

I loved selling my hand painted items on Ebay, and slowly started to develop a following. Problem was, I just didn’t have the time to paint and list, so sales were here and there. About this same time I began to notice my husband’s commissions were starting to drop due to the industry he is in. I needed to find a way to help supplement that, and the painting wasn’t going to do it. So I began to do some research.

Next time I will continue my story and show you what I found in my research, and how it has affected my selling.