Can you get rich or make money doing this?

[Droubaysports]

I htink a lot of you are missing the point..
Is it possible to make a living/decent money selling things (cards)
Yes..very possible as long as you do the research and are willing to put the needed time into it
When I feel like selling on ebay and put the effort in I do well and it is usually more than double of what items cost me.. even after fees etc..remember the buyer pays shipping and quite often the cost of shipping products.. you build the estimated fees into the asking price and your time is what you base your money on
Ill give a real example: I dabble in HOF autos fo rlack of a better word and have a pretty good eye for picking things up..let's say you buy a lot of recent famers at 2-3 dollars a piece.. do a bulk cert on them at a couple bucks a piece ( i send in 100-200 autos at a time to get certed) and then resell at 12-15 each plus shipping.. you have 5 or 6 into them will make about 7.50 per after all fees and can sell them all
Now let's go up one level.. still same price fo rthe auto and the cert..now lets matte it with an 8 x 10 (cheeep at costco etc to print) and sell them unframed but matted nice for 25-30.. you are into eacjh one for about 11 dollars at this point and are making $13 or so per

not that hard..
wanna go up one more. i sell these to a store owner who comes to me to buy them..now I am making $14 (sell for 25) each and i have minimal time expenses

 

[BoomerSooner]

I htink a lot of you are missing the point..
Is it possible to make a living/decent money selling things (cards)
Yes..

I don't think anyone is missing the point, but are trying to make sure he understands that it's not as easy as he thinks it's going to be. If it was as simple as buy inventory, sell it for double, get rich, everybody would be doing it.

 

[mintman2]

I don't think anyone is missing the point, but are trying to make sure he understands that it's not as easy as he thinks it's going to be. If it was as simple as buy inventory, sell it for double, get rich, everybody would be doing it.

x2 !

And why all the hiding of the facts ? Started out as buying lots and went to having a supplier of constant sellable inventory.

Is it amway or vitavetavigamin?????

Nothing wrong with that but just be upfront about it

 

[Droubaysports]

but it is as simple as buying inventory and selling it for double and it is done by people on a huge scale everyday...even with cards

 

[cmcjr99]

but it is as simple as buying inventory and selling it for double and it is done by people on a huge scale everyday...even with cards

while selling everything for double what was paid would guarantee steady and consistent profits there are several major points you're missing :

- there is absolutely no guarantee that what CURRENTLY seems to be available in unlimited quantities will remain available forever (especially at the same cost)

- there is absolutely no guarantee that everything bought could be quickly sold , let alone for twice the investment (we won't even get into the OP's model in which he ignores his expenses)

- there is absolutely no guarantee the current retail arena will allow such a business model (ie , access to low-cost online selling avenues could dry up , increased government regulation could eliminate the feasibility , etc)

going a step beyond that , the OP notes his current idea is to acquire small items for $.25 to $1 each and sell them for $2 each plus $2 shipping....he notes that he'd be making $1 profit per sale....in addition to his ignoring expenes , he also neglects to account for maintaining an endless supply of NEW items that would lead customers to come back for more ....

the OP also notes that this is not his full time job and is only a side venture done in his spare time.....in his model , to make $50,000 per year , he would need to sell 50,000 items.....if he used his "spare time" literally all 365 days per year , that would mean 137 sales PER DAY....i sell quite a bit myself and know a little bit about the time required to package items safely and securely...since he says he'll be able to use PWE's i'll even give him the benefit of the doubt and say he can ship an average package in 3 minutes....3 minutes per package time 137 comes out to 411 minutes - yup , that's just 9 minutes short of SEVEN HOURS....every day....JUST packing the outgoing items....do we even need to get into the time required to acquire and list all these items ?

can someone make a nice profit (or even get rich) selling items online ? definitely ....but i think both you and the OP are oversimplifying it....it takes quite a bit of WORK , even more TIME , and add in a bit of luck to boot.... entering such a venture without a well-developed plan is definitely not wise and i honestly think the OP needs to take a step back and collect more data before assuming his model would work the way he thinks....

just my 2 cents.....and i want my change

 

[mm1sub]

I htink a lot of you are missing the point..
Is it possible to make a living/decent money selling things (cards)
Yes..very possible as long as you do the research and are willing to put the needed time into it
When I feel like selling on ebay and put the effort in I do well and it is usually more than double of what items cost me.. even after fees etc..remember the buyer pays shipping and quite often the cost of shipping products.. you build the estimated fees into the asking price and your time is what you base your money on
Ill give a real example: I dabble in HOF autos fo rlack of a better word and have a pretty good eye for picking things up..let's say you buy a lot of recent famers at 2-3 dollars a piece.. do a bulk cert on them at a couple bucks a piece ( i send in 100-200 autos at a time to get certed) and then resell at 12-15 each plus shipping.. you have 5 or 6 into them will make about 7.50 per after all fees and can sell them all
Now let's go up one level.. still same price fo rthe auto and the cert..now lets matte it with an 8 x 10 (cheeep at costco etc to print) and sell them unframed but matted nice for 25-30.. you are into eacjh one for about 11 dollars at this point and are making $13 or so per

not that hard..
wanna go up one more. i sell these to a store owner who comes to me to buy them..now I am making $14 (sell for 25) each and i have minimal time expenses

If you have any Ripken,Gwynn,Larkin,Dawson,etc certified autos for 2.00 let me know. I will probably buy a couple.

 

[Droubaysports]

MM I have and do buy them for that price, never said I sold them at that price (or yo umis-read what I wrote).. also seaver, morgan, bench, sparky anderson, gary carter, robin roberts etc
sometimes it is a matter of connections, sometimes luck and occasionaly both.
I however do not do it for a living anymore. I just buy them, cert them and put them away for now

 

[Droubaysports]

while selling everything for double what was paid would guarantee steady and consistent profits there are several major points you're missing :

- there is absolutely no guarantee that what CURRENTLY seems to be available in unlimited quantities will remain available forever (especially at the same cost)

That was his model, not mine. mine did require putting time in to know what you are looking at and to follow some trends

- there is absolutely no guarantee that everything bought could be quickly sold , let alone for twice the investment (we won't even get into the OP's model in which he ignores his expenses)

I never said quickly.. and I covered expenses and everything I have been selling , including the $30 defensive gems set for $3.00 has at leat doubled my money

- there is absolutely no guarantee the current retail arena will allow such a business model (ie , access to low-cost online selling avenues could dry up , increased government regulation could eliminate the feasibility , etc)

sure there is ..ebay, amazon, sites such as the bench (for sportscards which ois my example)

going a step beyond that , the OP notes his current idea is to acquire small items for $.25 to $1 each and sell them for $2 each plus $2 shipping....he notes that he'd be making $1 profit per sale....in addition to his ignoring expenes , he also neglects to account for maintaining an endless supply of NEW items that would lead customers to come back for more ....

again not my model

the OP also notes that this is not his full time job and is only a side venture done in his spare time.....in his model , to make $50,000 per year , he would need to sell 50,000 items.....if he used his "spare time" literally all 365 days per year , that would mean 137 sales PER DAY....i sell quite a bit myself and know a little bit about the time required to package items safely and securely...since he says he'll be able to use PWE's i'll even give him the benefit of the doubt and say he can ship an average package in 3 minutes....3 minutes per package time 137 comes out to 411 minutes - yup , that's just 9 minutes short of SEVEN HOURS....every day....JUST packing the outgoing items....do we even need to get into the time required to acquire and list all these items ?

again, not my model.. mine acocunts for an average profit closer to 7 dollars per item.. with the possibilty of more

can someone make a nice profit (or even get rich) selling items online ? definitely ....but i think both you and the OP are oversimplifying it....it takes quite a bit of WORK , even more TIME , and add in a bit of luck to boot.... entering such a venture without a well-developed plan is definitely not wise and i honestly think the OP needs to take a step back and collect more data before assuming his model would work the way he thinks....

I was attempting to oversimplify it, to keep it within the conversation.. Having owned a couple stores as well as selling on line for a long time (think rec collect) the actual business model is much more complex. Ive had great product streams and i tokk advantage of them while i could in terms of buying as much as i could afford

just my 2 cents.....and i want my change

payal?

and if anyone would like some 94/5 ultra defensive gems sets for 1.50 per plus shipping I have some available..must buy in bulk

 

[David K.]

You can do fairly good at it....but as far as rich???? Best regards, David

 

[quambomb]

Maybe it has already been said, but I notice that most low-value cards take a while to sell (if they sell at all)

 

[Droubaysports]

rich is all relative

 

[cmcjr99]

edited this to maintain the points in order ...black text is my original message , red is your reply , and blue text is my response to that reply....

Originally Posted by cmcjr99
while selling everything for double what was paid would guarantee steady and consistent profits there are several major points you're missing :

- there is absolutely no guarantee that what CURRENTLY seems to be available in unlimited quantities will remain available forever (especially at the same cost)

That was his model, not mine. mine did require putting time in to know what you are looking at and to follow some trends

his model is what is relevant in this thread...he posed a question and described his model then was told by most that it was unlikely to work as quickly and easily as he described.....you then commented that most people were missing the point and that money can be made selling things online ...we all know that , but your description of how you do/did do so does not fit his model....


- there is absolutely no guarantee that everything bought could be quickly sold , let alone for twice the investment (we won't even get into the OP's model in which he ignores his expenses)

I never said quickly.. and I covered expenses and everything I have been selling , including the $30 defensive gems set for $3.00 has at leat doubled my money

again , this thread was dealing with the OP's model in which he could buy everything and sell virtually 100% of it almost immediately....to me that would indicate he expects this to be a (get rich) quick thing ....he also stated "im NOT factoring into this, the cost of supplies, envelopes, etc" and then followed up with on by saying that he would just "take the cost of supplies and just eat the cost" ....therefore , in HIS model , profits are already going to be less than he expects because he has just casually decided not to consider the expenses.....


- there is absolutely no guarantee the current retail arena will allow such a business model (ie , access to low-cost online selling avenues could dry up , increased government regulation could eliminate the feasibility , etc)

sure there is ..ebay, amazon, sites such as the bench (for sportscards which ois my example)

my fault here - i accidentally rearranged the order of my words in that last point and when i did i inadvertently left off part of it (i noticed it later but didn't feel compelled to edit my post at the time)....the comment should have included the following after the parenthetical portion : "to continue forever...." ...my point there was that while there ARE current avenues that allows individuals access to the masses at reasonable rates , there is no guarantee that will be the case forever....when i started several decades ago it was a huge deal here when i placed a few ads in national magazines for buying cards in bulk....things have changed dramatically since then and will likely continue to change ....i'm sure some of the changes will be good , but i'm also fairly sure that some changes will not be all that wonderful and may even lead to a regression in some areas of retailing....



going a step beyond that , the OP notes his current idea is to acquire small items for $.25 to $1 each and sell them for $2 each plus $2 shipping....he notes that he'd be making $1 profit per sale....in addition to his ignoring expenses , he also neglects to account for maintaining an endless supply of NEW items that would lead customers to come back for more ....


again not my model

again , you noted that people who were commenting on the OP's model didn't get the point....we MUST refer to his model to give him the opinions/advice he is soliciting....



the OP also notes that this is not his full time job and is only a side venture done in his spare time.....in his model , to make $50,000 per year , he would need to sell 50,000 items.....if he used his "spare time" literally all 365 days per year , that would mean 137 sales PER DAY....i sell quite a bit myself and know a little bit about the time required to package items safely and securely...since he says he'll be able to use PWE's i'll even give him the benefit of the doubt and say he can ship an average package in 3 minutes....3 minutes per package time 137 comes out to 411 minutes - yup , that's just 9 minutes short of SEVEN HOURS....every day....JUST packing the outgoing items....do we even need to get into the time required to acquire and list all these items ?

again, not my model.. mine acocunts for an average profit closer to 7 dollars per item.. with the possibilty of more


same as before , HIS MODEL is the one this thread is discussing....his simple theory of almost immediately (and perpetually) doubling his money on virtually every he can get his hands on along with his admission that it is not a full time job but something to do in his spare time is unrealistic....if his profit-per-item was great enough that he only had to sell 50-100 items per week the maybe it could be done as a part-time thing , but at his own projected rate of $1 per item , i just don't see the likelihood of him spending 7-8 hours per day seven days a week year round without falling behind or having to hire help....


can someone make a nice profit (or even get rich) selling items online ? definitely ....but i think both you and the OP are oversimplifying it....it takes quite a bit of WORK , even more TIME , and add in a bit of luck to boot.... entering such a venture without a well-developed plan is definitely not wise and i honestly think the OP needs to take a step back and collect more data before assuming his model would work the way he thinks....

I was attempting to oversimplify it, to keep it within the conversation.. Having owned a couple stores as well as selling on line for a long time (think rec collect) the actual business model is much more complex. Ive had great product streams and i tokk advantage of them while i could in terms of buying as much as i could afford

the OP apparently has/had a very (over)simplified idea of how to double his money and asked for opinions...the realistic comments offered by others were not what he wanted to hear and he kept insisting how easy it would be....each time someone brought up a point he didn't like he would amend his original model a bit (like beginning with buying and selling cards then suddenly shifting to postcards and stickers and then shifting his method of acquisition)....your last line there ("Ive had great product streams and i tokk advantage of them while i could") even helps reinforce one of my own points about there being no guarantee of an endless supply of items in his niche that he could acquire and flip at a sustained level....

but then , i also must keep in mind as i talk about the OP's model that this is coming from the same person who started a thread raving about how great COMC was then after learning a few more facts (the fees and that $8-10 BV gu and autos are NOT bargains at $5 each) started back-tracking there too....again , i'll say that yes ...most definitely ...money can be made in this hobby , but only if one is prepared , and by that i mean one needs to be educated and informed as well as patient and practical (or incredibly lucky)...dollar sings in the eyes and the lure of "easy money" can be a dangerous thing .....

and on that note , i climb back down off my soapbox and wrap up the latest installment of this novella....


just my 2 cents.....and i want my change

 

[Droubaysports]

cmc but will you take paypal?
all valid points and the basis of buy for a dollar and sell for two will certainly fail at some point fairly early.. the concept of being able to double your money and have a decent go at it would be viable but not as described..
on the whole i pretty much agreee with you. I have 20 + years doing this and as such have a ton of time inito what I know and what I look for etc.. there is no quick way to do this

 

[jaderock]

To Droubaysports - as you even alluded to "[it's possible IF] you do the research and are willing to put the needed time into it" which is ALOT of work (see cmcjr99 breakdown).

HOF autos for $2-3 delivered? That certainly would NOT be an everyday thing, right?!?

---

I probably sell more than most members on the site, and although my business model isn't everyone cup of tea, I have done fine the last 4 years. Am I making a killing...no? But everything I buy for my PC and inventory comes directly from the income generated from ebay sales.

The hardest part is finding sources for the cards I buy. NOTHING is forever as many other sellers/collectors catch on (and sometimes VERY quickly) and then the prices double/triple in COST. Also finding a niche is important. If everyone is selling the same widget, then only those on the lower end in price will sell.

Regardless good luck to all.

 

[mrmopar]

Everyone finds a way that works for them eventually. If someone is mainly looking to fund future purchases, unless they are spending a lot of money, then they may not be operating as efficiently as they could. But then again, that type of seller is not out to turn and burn either so it works. That is not what the OP is looking to do though.

I looked at your completed listings and I see what you mean. As a generalization and one that isn't taking much thought so don't feel offended if you don't agree, from what I saw I'd compare your model to that of Burbank Sports Cards. You appear to be looking for that one special buyer for most of your items and you are willing to wait for that person to find you and pay a higher price for harder to find items. That works great as long as you don't mind re-listing things over and over when they don't sell right away, have time to wait and holding inventory isn't a concern. You won't get a high volume of sales, but you'll get more per sale than most.

I probably sell more than most members on the site, and although my business model isn't everyone cup of tea, I have done fine the last 4 years. Am I making a killing...no? But everything I buy for my PC and inventory comes directly from the income generated from ebay sales.

 

[Dilferules]

I've bought a few Dilfers for my collection from Jaderock, and I will tell you that unlike Burbank he is willing to at least listen to some non-lowball offers instead of just saying "if you don't like my price screw you".

I think it's a good niche, though...finding rare cards and setting the price you want, waiting for that collector that NEEDS it to come along and getting a good return on investment. It's perfect for somebody who is just selling part-time and doesn't need to turn over inventory quick.

Richard

 

[Hawaiian BamBam]

sorry guys that a simple question asked turned into such a big snowball! that wasnt my intent. as definenlty wasnt my intent to get some of you guys to make remarks that im back pedaling and lieing and deceiving and withholding info, etc. anyone that knows me and lots of people here do, know that i dont lie, back pedal, deceive or hold back info. thats not my style and not my intent, so sorry if those that are confused thought thats what i was doing. i thought i was asking a VERY simple question with the factors that if i bought something (and it doesnt necessarily have to be baseball cards, just ANYTHING) for $1.00 and sell it for $2.00 , could i make money. i didnt , not once did i say i wanted to do this FOREVER, so im not looking for a forever project. i have a full time job so im not looking to be the next burbank sportscards or walmart. i said im not counting the cost of my supplies, because my ONLY supplies would be the costs of PWE which i could buy a box of 100 for 99 cents, so the cost of supplies would be VERY minimal, so not sure why that drew alot of negative comments. not like im using bubblemailers and bubble wrap and shipping boxes and tape, etc, just PWE so i dont factor in the 1 cent cost per envelope its going to cost me. again sorry a very simple question turned into something bigger than it really is.. those that know me know im probably one of the better and most honest people on this site.

 

[valediction]

sorry guys that a simple question asked turned into such a big snowball! that wasnt my intent. as definenlty wasnt my intent to get some of you guys to make remarks that im back pedaling and lieing and deceiving and withholding info, etc. anyone that knows me and lots of people here do, know that i dont lie, back pedal, deceive or hold back info. thats not my style and not my intent, so sorry if those that are confused thought thats what i was doing. i thought i was asking a VERY simple question with the factors that if i bought something (and it doesnt necessarily have to be baseball cards, just ANYTHING) for $1.00 and sell it for $2.00 , could i make money. i didnt , not once did i say i wanted to do this FOREVER, so im not looking for a forever project. i have a full time job so im not looking to be the next burbank sportscards or walmart. i said im not counting the cost of my supplies, because my ONLY supplies would be the costs of PWE which i could buy a box of 100 for 99 cents, so the cost of supplies would be VERY minimal, so not sure why that drew alot of negative comments. not like im using bubblemailers and bubble wrap and shipping boxes and tape, etc, just PWE so i dont factor in the 1 cent cost per envelope its going to cost me. again sorry a very simple question turned into something bigger than it really is.. those that know me know im probably one of the better and most honest people on this site.

I think part of it is just it seeming like you are changing the questions and circumstances when you're not getting the answer you are looking for. it went from 'if I can ship something like sports cards in a plain white envelope for $2 in addition to the $2 I sell the item I bought for $1, it seems like I could make a lot of money" people point out that shipping cards for $2 PWE isn't the best move, then it's stickers, then it went from $1 cost to maybe .25 or .35. and you asked if you could 'get rich or make money' doing this. You can make money, but when it's pointed out that it can be a lot of work for $1 and would have to be repeated many, many times to become significant money, THEN it became something you'd do in your spare time and not as a sole income source, it doesn't have to be that big and maybe it's a $5 item you sell for $10. You went from 'I'll eat the cost of supplies, not factoring them in' to the only supplies I need are envelopes at less than a penny each. I can understand not wanting to give your idea away, but you have to give us some idea of the reality we're working with. Sure if you can double your cost after all expenses are covered you'll make money, heck, you can buy $5 closeout boxes and sets from dealers and throw them on COMC for .30 a single after the fee structure changes and you'll make money on every one you sell. Problem is, you need to sell an 800 count box a week to net $30 a week, and moving 800 base cards a week is tough. Same with anything else. What are you going to sell 50-200 of a week consistently to get yourself that $200-800 a month spending cash without flooding the market or inviting a load of competitors, some of whom would be more than willing to cut their profit to .75 or .80 cents an item to scoop some of your customers

 

[Hawaiian BamBam]

all very good points, thank you. i think there are just soooo many different variables. i think maybe i should of made a very generic post, one that people wouldnt"automatically" assume it is about sports cards, thats why i said stickers (i was trying to pick an easy item as an example of what could fit in a pwe that was NOT a sports card) anyway, thanks for your response, sorry for all the confusion, that really was not my intent. (to create so much confusion)

 

[Dilferules]

I think this was mentioned a little before, but if you take away all the variables and just assume you can sell as many items as you want with a $1 profit, the question just becomes the dollar value of your time. Figure out the average amount of time it takes you for each transaction, between listing, answering any questions, dealing with nonpaying bidders, sending reminders, and packaging/shipping. Somebody mentioned 3 minutes per auction before...if that was the case, you'd be making $20 an hour. If it's worth it to you to spend 5-10 hours a week selling that would normally be leisure time in order to get an extra $100-200, go for it! Adjust the formula up or down if the variables change, like if you can make $1.50 profit, or it takes 5 minutes per auction.
Richard