eBay And Amazon FBA Are Truly Paying Off: My Results

I’m starting to see some real traction in my eBay store and with Amazon FBA. There hasn’t been a ton of time for me to actually go back out and purchase more inventory.

Truly, I’ve been listing everything in my house and going through what I’ve found via thrifting efforts I made over the last few weeks.

I’m on a spending freeze at the moment until I list every single thing I have in my house because I am getting very overwhelmed. It’s very easy to buy-buy-buy…. it’s harder to list-list-list. That is a true lesson learned.

I guess you can say I’ve had a few lessons learned during my first months selling online. If I had to list them out it would be:

Don’t stress out over losing a few dollars on a sale. It’s about volume with eBay when you are selling low priced items. So, if I am trying to sell a $21 shirt, I should take $18 and be thankful to get it out of my house. List another one and move on.
Originally, I tried to go out two to three times a week to source – without fail. Now, I have so much inventory that I can’t get on top of it. The new rule of thumb is to not go out again until everything else is listed. Otherwise, it’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed. Goods that aren’t listed are wasted cash.
Thrifting is worth it only if you really know what you are doing. There is more value in rummage sales, garage sales and the Goodwill bins. Thrift stores are trying to make a profit just like you.
Don’t run a site-wide sale on your store unless every single item is ready for that. You can get burned with a sale if your item has free shipping on it!
Don’t get caught going to the same three places over and over again. Go look at every store and while you are at it – scan things that aren’t necessarily on clearance. Everything is up for grabs. How much time do you have? Reselling is very lucrative for those who put the time and energy into it.
Online arbitrage. That’s all I’m going to say right now. Marinade in it.
Flipping books is my main side hustle and I love it now that we are finally in August. Textbook season is here!! Bigger returns with these suckers. Go to every garage sale and scan every text book you see.
There are scammers everywhere – be prepared to take a loss each month because losers are ready to cheat the system no matter where you are.
Amazon FBA is really a long-haul run. I mostly do books on Amazon with some clothing and toys mixed in. It takes a while for things to sell but they do and not because I am lowering my prices. I just have to wait for the cheaper prices to go before mine is next in line. I don’t want to get in a price war with other sellers. I set my price and I just wait. Is this the right strategy? I’m not sure – but that’s what I’m doing right now. Amazon FBA is a lower priority for me at the moment. I don’t spend that much time on it – except for books. I tend to send it a box a week.
This is more of a YouTube tip, but consistency is key. I get more comments on a YouTube channel that has only 300 subscribers than I do on one that has 19K subscribers. How is that possible? Because I am so active on the smaller one and I rarely touch the big one. The more you water something, the bigger it will grow. DUH!!!!!! This one angers me though. I’m just being honest. I don’t know how to revive my original channel at this point. It’s not niche and I’m so UPSET about that. Back to reselling.

Sometimes thing sell and they don’t actually sell. You can’t get so caught up on this. I have at least 5 items that sold and I know I am not going to get my money. Does it anger me? Yes. Will I be able to relist this item for free once eBay disputes the issue? Yes. So – it’s not the end of the world. Nothing is a given.
People who live outside of the country can bid on auctions despite my international block. I find this strange. This also requires me to have to cancel and relist items. I don’t like this as it wastes my time, but at least I don’t have to pay for the relisting. Still aggravating because you think that your item is finally going to move and then you have to start all over again… UGH. In the end, nothing is sold until you have money in your PayPal account.
I purchased a wholesale lot and put half on Amazon and half on eBay. The stuff that went on Amazon is moving FAST. I am really happy with it! I will only ever purchase SHELF PULLS or NEW items online. I did a return list and it was a nightmare! I will never purchase returns again. I don’t have the patience for it.

Few more tips here. Would love for you to drop any info you have in the comments below. This has been a great ride! I’m been spending a ton of time focusing on eBay and now I am starting to turn to Amazon.

If I can make at least 2-3K on each account, I will be in a really great place. How much are you hoping to make as a reseller? This is about as realistic as I can get – 5-6K a month reselling. I have a full-time job and I can’t dedicate any more time than that. But I honestly think it’s possible.