how much can you earn being an eBay seller?

[helpmegetintoworkagain]

I'm in a council flat and struggling to find employment that fits around young DC - so self employment would be good and I was going to set up as a virtual assistant

However my council say you can't run a business from your own property

I don't know how to work around this as until something comes up suitable (I have no back up childcare) this is the only way to get myself off income support I think

I was wondering if having a po box address or something could set me up as an EBay seller.. I'm aware that obviously the council would object to deliveries coming frequently to my property but perhaps I could hire a storage box somewhere?

I don't expect to make millions but making similar to income support by actually feeling useful would be OK short term till DC at school

[BeatricePotter]

You might be better off posting this on the eBay forum.

[gaggiagirl]

Definitely ask for this to be moved to the eBay board. Lots of experienced ebayers there.

[helpmegetintoworkagain]

Thanks I will ask for it to be moved, not sure about what to sell - I'm quite good at finding clothes that could probably profit on eBay but would be open to anything that sells and earns really

[HarlettOScara]

Running a business and working from home are 2 different things from a tenancy perspective. I work in social housing and our tenancy agreement has the same clause about not using a dwelling as commercial premises. However, selling Avon, doing telesales or the virtual assistant type thing you mention wouldn't breach our tenancy agreement. You should seek clarification from your LA/HA.

[HopefulHamster]

Do double-check what sort of businesses your council means. I'm sure you'd be able to do virtual assistant work or anything that involves computer work/writing etc.

[helpmegetintoworkagain]

Well they said I couldn't be a childminder though I know ofsted registered ones who are who live in council property... So very confused, the lady I spoke to seemed adamant you can't do anything however she was also relaying the info after checking with colleagues and away from phone a while. I have tried to search my tenancy and council website but had no luck either

[HarlettOScara]

I would write to the manager and ask for clarification. They have to respond to correspondence and you'll get a more accurate response.

[DawnMumsnet]

Hi, we're moving this thread over to our eBay topic now.

Best of luck, OP.

[OneInEight]

It is possible to make money from ebay but will probably never make you a millionaire and is quite hard work.

Think about what you will sell. We sell china and books and in all honesty it has taken over the house. In a small flat it would not be possible to store it all but there are obviously smaller things you could sell - jewellery for instance.

You need a good computer otherwise listing takes ages to upload the photographs.

It takes a lot more time than you would think (or perhaps I am not very efficient). China is a doddle to list but takes a long time to pack. Books take longer to list but are really easy to pack. So swings and roundabouts.

Thinks about your profit margins. If you only make a £1.00 a item then you are going to have to sell 100 things to make £100. That is an awful lot of work for small return. Take into account ebay fees, paypal fees, your cost of purchase and postage costs (including packing).

Think about where you will source the items you sell. We buy most of the things we sell at auction and it is possible to get some good deals this way. Other sources might be carboots but pretty competitive to get the good items and only for those who like Sunday 6 am starts (not me). I briefly looked at buying new things wholesale but couldn't make the numbers stack up.

One good way to select what to sell is to compare the number of active and sold listings for a particular item. If there are more than 100 similar items listed and only a couple sold then it is not a good thing to go for. The unique always sells better and for higher amounts than the common. So we sell books but mainly those printed before the 1940's - anything published post 1970's is usually being sold on ebay at a cost where we would actually lose money!

If you buy to sell then you are obliged to register as a business seller - are you prepared for the paperwork.

The advantage of ebay is you can start with minimum investment costs and scale by as much work as you want to put in. It might just bring in pocket money amounts if done on a small scale but it is satisfying when you make a bit of money. I do it because of its flexibility - I have two children with SN and dh has CFS - so couldn't commit to a job with fixed hours as it is so variable what support they need from day to day.

Good luck!