Hey MOMS!! If i can do this you can too!

I have been working from the day i turned 16, sometimes having 2 jobs or having a full time job and going to school full time. I waited until 33 to have my first little guy and after looking in those eyes i could not even imagine leaving him and going back to my full time job as a Customer Service Manager for 8 years. I had already been on ebay buying things for my little guy or should i say over-buying! Well after his birth and all my buying plus 3 baby showers i had WAY TO MUCH for just 1 baby! I started selling. I used the money i made to buy more for him. After 2 years of this i learned many many many things the hard way! But i learned all about buying and selling from hours on the computer while my son plus the others I (opened a little daycare) kept napped or played.

About  2 years ago i really started selling to help with the bills. After I finished college my GI bill stopped so we were living off my husbands income mostly (hes a cop so that should tell ya how little it is). SO! I decided a year and 1/2 ago to open a store and i started buying to resell. Everything i sold i re-invested into more product, i started with about 2 pages of items and $100. Now skip ahead a year. This past summer (07) I re-named my store and user name, signed up for seller reports and WOW-earned POWERSELLER STATUS! How did i do it?

I learn what is selling, what all the themes and retired baby items are. I keep a well stocked store and offer LOW shipping prices! I ship internationally! I shop sales at dept stores at season end, holidays, I shop a local new and used childrens clothing store, I shop places that we all go Toys R Us,ebay yes-ebay, Walmart, Old NAvy, and even Goodwill (great for finding retired items). I know what all the fees and shipping prices are, and provide a bright cheery store with lots of tempates.

I also am lucky that my sons (yes by this time i have another baby 19 m apart) are close in age so last summer i moved them into the same bedroom. I have a room just for me! I have a big comfortable chair, a big desk, a book shelf, 4 mannequins, 10 backdrops, bright lighting a big closet - it is like my little workspace! My closet has all my baby clothing items hung up by size, sex or theme, and boxes by theme. Did i mention by this time I have over 500 items listed, over 19 pages of items and who knows over about $5,000 in mdse! Guess what- all from re-investing not a penny from our income- acutually i pay 2-3 bills a month, put gas in my vehicle, dress my boys and myself and do all our Christmas shopping with MY ebay money!

I enjoy it because i felt like being a stay at home  people look at you like you are lazy or do not want to work. I actaully did the pluses and minus of going back to work and i would not make much more by the time you add in all the extras, especially paying a daycare. I am here working harder than i ever worked out in the real world and i was a Firefighter in the Navy and Customer Service Manager VERY HARD JOBS! Little people especailly wild boys do not pick up after themselves, do not feed themselves, and so forth. But the job also does not end at 5pm it ends about 11pm for me. No weekends off. But guess what - ebay is my -feel important thing. I get to make money MY MONEY, I get to stay at home, i get to feel like i am doing something for me!  You can too! Whether you need to do it for the money or if you are lucky and dont need the money do it for you!

Dont mean to ramble forever so - if you are planning on staying at home awhile and could use the money- contact me i am always glad to help new sellers - i have helped many people get started selling. First find your knack- mine is fashion but now its baby fashion- yours may be who knows- books, estate vintage items, adult clothing-fashion, make up- anything that you could be excited about selling! Look it up on ebay and study what sells for what and when! Open a store! Its pretty simple! Make sure you have time to invest at least an hour or two a day and a few days a week an extra hour or two for shipping. Make sure you have a day a week when you can get out to enjoy a day for you! SHOPPING!! (I stay so busy with ebay i only get about 2 days a month to do the shopping now). Start slow and re-invest all you make - build up inventory.. You could even start with your own babies items if you are doing baby clothing or items. Make sure you have a good camera, a place to safely store your items, and most importantly GOOD CUSTOMER SERIVCE SKILLS. That is probably the main ingredient to a successfull ebay business. Dont worry about keeping 100% feedback because on ebay there are going to be problem people- trust me. But keep it as close to 100 as possible, people do read feedback! Always appreciate that people shop with you and are helping you be able to stay at home! See it as your own little shop out in the real world and not just on the computer- treat people like your would in person. You will get addicted trust me! It is so neat to buy something for $5 and watch it sell for $10 or more, multiply that by a few items selling a day like that and wow- it is so neat! I had to actually show my husband what some items sell for he thought i was just sitting and shopping! Now he gets it when i pay a bill with my "ebay money"!

I hope that this will help just one person if so it was worth it to type! Please feel free if you need any help getting started just email me! I will help you all that i can! Stay positive about it and if i can give a bit of advice- if you need a day or two away from it- take it, when you come back the excitement will be there- dont let 1 little bad transaction or person make you want to quit- forget it and move on to the people that are happy!