Feb 5, 2014

My Latest Project is FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon)

The second half of 2013 saw me back on ebay, listing and selling like crazy and not making much money. eBay is just too time-demanding to make much money. For each thing I buy, I photograph, write the listing, sit and wait (with lots of unwanted stuff in my office) and then ship. I aim to make at least $10 per item, but even making $10 is not worth the time and the effort I put into one listing.

If only I could sell multiples and re-use that listing more than once......

eBay itself changes policies so regularly it's difficult to keep up. There's the PowerSeller Program, the DSRs, selling limits, VERO, the random rules you don't know about until you break them. And the customer service line that takes you to people who don't speak English is a way I understand.

Added to which, eBay seems to attract buyers who aren't very nice, will scam the seller, leave random negatives, bid and not pay.

If only I could sell multiples and re-use that listing more than once......

Enter Fulfillment By Amazon

I don't know why I haven't done this before. I've been selling on Amazon since 2006, but always liked to keep the stuff myself. Suddenly it seemed a good idea to try. When I did eBay full time, I always loved the buying at garage sales, but didn't like the listing. Selling something on Amazon is so much easier if the listing is already there. You just add your own, pick the condition, choose the price and move on to the next thing to list.

So here I am in 2014 starting Fulfillment by Amazon and Retail Arbitrage. Here's the book that explains it all Arbitrage: The authoritative guide on how it works, why it works, and how it can work for you

And typical for me, as I learn the skill I'm making a webpage and maybe writing a Kindle book so others can learn too.

Jan 2, 2014

Happy New Year to All My Readers

Happy New Year to all my readers. I hope 2014 brings you more income than 2013, as I hope it does for me too. I'm always watching my figures and each month I hope that I earn more than the same month in the previous year, even if it's a tiny percentage, and each year I hope to make more money than the previous one. I'm pleased to say that the income was up in 2013 from 2012.

The reason my income should go up each year is that I am constantly learning new things to do and ways to do the same thing quicker. In the latter half of 2013 I went back to eBay, which was my first online love. I did eBay full time for 3 years until one day I said, "Enough." The reason is that eBay kept changing their policies, people gave negatives and were nasty in the comments and I just got fed up dealing with a constant supply of clutter moving through my house (and so did my family). And so started my journey into online writing.

But earning money from writing articles and later books is a slow process and so is the money. So, during 2013 I went back to eBay. Initially it was fun, but as the year went on I got more annoyed with eBay's complicated policies that are ever-changing, and then received two undeserved negatives. While I'm sure I will never stop doing some eBay, I have other plans for 2014 that are more residual than immediate.

I have 2 books in my head that I want to finish writing and publish. Youtube videos that I want to make, and a lot of clutter that I want to help people move. It's nice that I have so many options, but choosing what is the best thing for me to do next is not easy. Added to which, hubby is within 10 years of retirement and I'm dabbling in stocks to invest his pension money. And the homeschooling still continues. I will, of course, keep you my reader up to date with what I'm doing.

One of the biggest things I've learned is that on the Internet everything can be connected. So tweet, pin and share the Kindle book and eBay auction, add it to a tag line on a forum and do some offline work to balance your online work.

With that said, while I've been doing eBay I've also made some YouTube videos about eBay. They will appear on this blog in the next month or so.

So cheers to everyone reading this, let me know what is working for you and what is not, and I'll continue letting you know too. And have a blessed and prosperous 2014.