In the late fall of 2007 I lost my job. It was a great job with decent pay. We relied on my earnings. I filed for unemployment and began my search. Within a few weeks I found a job, making much less than before. I was lucky, but faced the fact that our family income had dropped, big time. That’s when I opened up my closet, pulled out the drawers and ransacked the garage. I knew there was money in there. No, not in the shape of crisp bills, but in the shape of products that I either never or rarely used. I could sell the items to help close the gap in our new income. I first joined ebay in August 1999 – just a little more than a year since it launched. I’m thinking that I might be one of their few thousand or so users. I bought occasionally and sold some, too. It was all for fun, until now. I needed to make some extra money.
Selecting Items to Sell
I had nearly $1000 worth of brand new cosmetics that I had acquired. (Yes, I had once taken a stab at selling make-up.) I knew that was a great place to start. The cosmetics, for the most part, were small enough to fit in a standard manilla 6×9 envelope which for whatever reason I had a big box of back in the closet. I had a food scale that could help with determining the weight of the packages and a decent enough camera to photograph the items. I listed a few to start. Some sold. Some didn’t. Over the next several weeks, in between sending out resumes and tending to my then 1 year old, I sold a few hundred dollars worth of cosmetics and some other items. The cash helped.
Empowered by Ebay
Selling items on ebay gave me a sense of empowerment. I became an entrepreneur with my little cosmetics business and in many ways had fun with it. As our family struggled, my Ebay business served a purpose, a positive purpose. I was motivated to make any and every dollar I could. I wanted to do my part. Selling on Ebay during that time helped us financially and mentally.
Moving Forward
Years later I continue to support my family through sales on Ebay, although not as frequent as before. I know that Ebay is there for me when and if I need it. My closets, drawers and garage are full of items to sell. I know that I can clean house and make money. I love that I can do that.
Variety of Ebay Sellers
Ebay isn’t just for casual buyers and sellers like me. There are people who make a living on ebay. Remember the story of Tristan O’Brien who, like me, helped his family through a difficult financial time. His success was so phenomenal that he now is an Ebay seller full-time! Impressive.
Charitable organizations are also finding the online marketplace as a great place to share their mission and raise funds. Th Michael J. Fox Parkinson Foundation raised 4.7 million dollars in just 10 days through the sale of Back to the Future II style Nike sneakers.
Are you thankful to Ebay? I look forward to learning your story!
This is post is part of a compensated campaign with Ebay. All opinions and experiences are 100% my own!
