Will My eBay Success Last Forever?
Posted by dropshipebayer on May 15, 2008
My eBay success has me terrified! Why you might ask? Because now after many months I am really nearing the point where quitting my real job looks like a possibility.
I have been using the methods from the Drop Shipping Sucks guy, Chris, for months now and it is to the point where I really have convinced myself that I am a pro. But am I just fooling myself?
My eBay feedback just today hit the 600 mark. The point when I told myself that if I was making over $400/wk I would consider quitting my job. But, $400/wk is not enough really. Right now I am used to $350 – $400/wk from eBay but also another $512/wk from my job. If I stop working my job now I will lose $512 AND my benefits.
However, if I do not quit now I am not sure how much further I can take my eBay business. I am trying to find as much time as I can but with a full time job it is tough.
So I am asking the advice of my readers, if any still exist. From my experience now I am very confident I can double my eBay profits to $800/wk in under 2 weeks if I had full time to work on it. I also feel pretty sure I can get that up to $1500+ per week if I go at it full time for a month or so and then beyond.
But I am very afraid to take this leap. I could fail and end up with $512 less per week and no eBay business as I spend my time searching for new employment.
PLEASE HELP!
My friend has advised me to take my 2 week vacation from work and try to increase my eBay profits then and if it works then give my 30 days notice. But I don’t have another vacation coming until 2009 so that is a way off and also, once I get the full time eBay started I don’t want to pull back for 30 days.
ARGH! YOUR ADVICE IS APPRECIATED.
This entry was posted on May 15, 2008 at 5:26 pm and is filed under Drop Shipping Sucks, eBay Stories. Tagged: drop ship, drop shipping, dropship, dropshipping sucks, dropshippingsucks.com, ebay, make money on ebay, selling on eBay. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Henrietta said
Do NOT quit your day job.
There are no guarantees on eBay. If and when you have saved enough to carry you for three months without any income at all would be the time to quit your day job.
Dennis said
I agree with Henrietta, don’t quit your job until you have set aside some emergency funds that can hold you over for at least 3 to 6 months while you try to ramp up your eBay business. That and you have the ability to measure how successful you are within that 3 months time frame and whether you will need a job or not.
Good luck!
Bob said
I’d second Henrietta. It’s good that you are doing well in eBay, but there are no guarantees for how long. At the minimum you should consider having at least one own drop-shipping store (i.e. your own website), which is doing well before quitting your job.
Parker said
I’m curious if you’d divulge your ebay username … mine is rawsushiman
I’d say take the vacation … or take a Leave With Out Pay … tell your boss that you’ve got a project you’ve got to get done, and you need 5 days off – without pay.
See if those 5 days gives you a big bump. You might be able to do that every other month
dropshipebayer said
Well, I have not quite my day job nor taken my vacation yet. Right now I am just focusing on my eBay sales and building up a savings. THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT ADVICE!!
As far as my eBay ID, I am still not as brave as you (see http://dropshipebayer.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/ebay-sales-better-after-a-little-slump-phew). I am paranoid some people will start to copy what I am selling.
Your Auction News said
With the way the prices of everything going up, I would recommend not to quit your job yet. Also if things don’t pan out finding a new job may be very difficult (based on not know what you do for a living).
I too have a regular 9-5 job and do eBay as a side business. I have asked myself the same question. Can I quit my job and make the same amount or even more with eBay and my other online business? Currently I can’t and don’t see that hppening soon too. I have to many bills to pay and a lot of finacial respocibilities. Plus I make a good income too.
I would have to agree with the others that you should have an emergency fund. I would actually recommed having a 6-8 moths emergency fund. The reason is due to you actually giving at least 3-4 months towards eBay and 3-4 looking for a new job if eBay doesn’t pan out. If eBay pans out, then you still have a 3-4 month emergency fund that you will be able to use just for emegencies. Like getting the car fixed, fixing the plumbing in the house, etc.
As far as giving out your eBay ID, I really don’t see any harm in letting people know. It actually will give you more exposure. I’m sure you are advertising your listings / store on other media area.
I do see your concers about people duplicating your process and taking away some of your profits. But eBay is such a huge market place. I’m sure you are not the only one selling the items you are selling. Plus most of the time people actually research successful sales on eBay. So even if you don’t give out your ID, the people who sell the same items as you (your competition) do see your listings.
Here is to your suceess
-Carlos
Troy said
I didnt quit my day job until I was making at least 2000 per month. Today, I really wish that I had kept it, as the earnings havent been that high lately. Try other outlets beside ebay, such as your own website, craigslist, and the many other outlets that are available out there.