I would love to hear your success stories. Anyone?

Hi All,

I would love to hear any success stories.

I am hoping to start up my own site and not return to my job by the time my maternity leave is over. I was hoping to hear from anyone who had managed to leave their full time employment and make a decent living from an online shop.

I really need a reality check but in truth I hope to hear stories of working less hours, earning similar (more?) money than your previous job or that you have your own hours and life is just a lot more rewarding being self employed.

Thanks and good luck to all.

Busy Mama in Sydney

ooooookay...no one?
that is promising

HI catsmother73!!!

I am sure they are all out there somewhere! Your situation is identical to mine! I am on maternity leave also and due to go back in FEB next year. Although i have a well paid job, i hate the thought of leaving my little one! so im going back part-time. I've also just started selling on ebay and am working on opening my own site in the next couple of months so i dont have to return to work full-time in the future (and hopefully quit one day!) so i have the same ambition as you.

We are only just starting to make some money now after nearly 4 mths (2 of those were research and time wasted being scammed on Alibaba!!) I am starting to realise that anythings possible as long as you realise it really is hard work and not necessarily quick money. Although i have to say even though i have worked longer hours in ths past 2 months on my laptop than when i was at work, its still lovely being home. Good luck, would love to know where your at and what your doing??

Grace190208

Try all avenues , I mainly sell to local shop owners, Flea markets, and i do yard sales. i just started doing online, slowly getting there. i no longer work, though i do not make much in sales at this time. I only work on Saturdays and i make anywhere from 300-1000 in about 6 hours at the flea market. There are lots of places besides Ebay and online venues. If you are strapped for cash and need inventory, its risky but it sometimes pays off, call your local self storage and ask them when their next auction will be held, then show up, Here in Los Angeles i can get storage units for about 20-200 per unit, just bring bolt cutters and a truck, sometimes there is good stuff, sometimes its empty, it is rough at the start (unless you have funds to start with) but you will get there if you work hard and find some good sources for product. I started with 1500 so it does not take much to start, i really hope the best for you and if i can think of any more ideas i will post them. And yes it is FANTASTIC to be at home, my daughter is 2 and i love being here with her. :)

Good Luck & Happy $elling

Hi catsmother,

No doubt there is plenty that are having different levels of success in this chosen field, however I'm glad that this thread hasn't been filled with stories of booming success.

To be honest you have chosen one of the most difficult businesses to enter, you have thousands of competitors you are going up against from all over the world when it comes to online sales, and that makes finding both a supplier and a market not so easy.

Plenty do make a living, plenty make just enough to top up their wages, and then there are plenty that unfortunately fail. There are hundreds of articles written about how easy it is to make money from online sales, but in reality it takes many, many, many hours of researching both suppliers and your market.

It takes a bucket load on dedication, and that's a BIG bucket as well. It's a business model that is filled with frustration, but what you always have to remember is that it is a business.

Those that are the most successful in this field are usually those that treat it as a business, and they put the work in required to make this, and any business ultimately successful.

I know you're looking for positive reinforcement, and along comes me with a big dark gloomy cloud lol, but I've seen so many get carried away when they hear of a few others success without knowing how hard the others worked, and how long it took to have that success, and then they ultimately fail because they give up to quickly.

dx has given you a different perspective on some avenues above, and it's always worth noting that ebay is not just a place to sell, but it can be a great place to buy as well, in fact as a supplier for certain stock, ebay is pretty damn hard to beat at times.

Now being in Sydney I would doubt if buying yourself a set of bolt cutters and heading of to a Kenards Self Storage complex will do you much good, and you have only very limited options to source liquidated products unless you want to import from the US, but the second hand market is a tried and true method of generating successful sales on ebay.

Places like garage sales, weekend markets, car boot sales, even thrift shops all offer a great range of products to choose for stock, and if you can talk a good bargain, then you can walk out of those place with a car load of stock, and not spend that much cash at all.

OK, so that's just one avenue, but there are plenty of opportunities to get into the market, but it all comes back to research : )

Stay positive and the best of luck with it.

This quite an insightful thread! :)

Just have faith...And remember, in this business patience will indeed be a virtue coupled with plenty of hard work. But I'm sure the rewards will be worth everything.

And yes, being able to stay at home with the kids is already a very rewarding experience. I just love being around my daughters too! :)

The best of luck to all! =D

I'm from the last generation of mothers who were able to stay home and raise their kids on one salary. I didn't return to work till my youngest was about ready to start secondary school. Then I spent 11 years going out to a job I really hated. I started selling on eBay by getting rid of all the good stuff we had round the house that was no longer used. I was then hooked and with a starting capital of less than $2000 was able to find a really good price on getting some garments made in Hong Kong which sold like hotcakes. I purchased 60 of the same style which sold fast, then another 100, and another 100 until eventually I had sold over 800 of just that one style of dress. I left my job then - even though I was only making wages online. I took that risk because we no longer have a mortgage and I only had to pay my own way. Then I got into selling plus size evening wear suitable for a wedding guest or mother of the bride. Also selling plus sized swimwear. That was a pretty good niche but there was so much work in measuring everything and taking good photos - especially as I only had a size 8 mannequin. I pretty much spend at least a couple of hours or so a day researching and trying to find new products to sell. I wouldn't say I am a success story. It's hard work most days and things have really slowed down but hey, I get up, pack parcels, go to the post office and then I'm in a coffee shop having breakfast and doing the crossword. It's a nice life even though I'm never going to be rolling in money. Second-hand is okay if you have time to trawl garage sales but I'm guessing if you have small children, that's pretty much not an option for you.

Thanks so much for everyones response. It is good to hear you can at least make a living and not be beholden to a boss. I feel as though I dedicate ridiculous hours to research and maybe I should just go forth and start and learn the hard way - by trial and error.
It is great hearing from other Mums too, trawling thrift shops is not really an option at this stage of my life, especially as I have no day-to-day help with my sons.
I think if you are making a living for yourself and no longer beholden to a boss then that is a success in my eyes.