My Alter Ego is Making Some Money...

... and she's getting good feedback too!  I've made about $65 so far with my second eBay account (the one for selling pre-owned, non-designer stuff - and my stash of ugly gifts) and have 100% positive feedback.  Ok, so I've only got 5 feedback so far but still!  This account is really easy to manage because I don't worry as much about all the TINY details of packing and sending people's stuff.  I don't stress if I don't send the item RIGHT THIS SECOND but rather the next business day just like I've stipulated in the listing.  I don't accept returns and I don't stress about listing items that are less than perfect as long as I've disclosed it.  In fact, I recently sold a cashmere sweater with a hole in it.  The lady who bought it LOVED it.  She didn't care about the hole!  All she cares about is she got an awesome cashmere sweater for $16.

So, all in all, things are good for anonymous eBay username number two.  Now, I know some of you are really curious to find my alter ego on eBay, but I think I'll keep it to myself for a little while longer.  At least until I sell all the stuff that I don't want my mother-in-law to see. :)

5 Reasons Why I Don't Quit My Job and Become a Full Time Shopper

1) Stress.  In general, I stress about two things related to running my business.  The first is getting negative feedback and the second is being unable to sell things and winding up more in debt than I started.

2) Money.  At a whopping profit of - MAX - $500 a month (before taxes, and that's if I'm doing the numbers right), my family would starve to death.  It would help if eBay didn't charge such astronomical fees - or if Bonanzle traffic picked up a bit - but that's still only a small faction of what I make doing my full time job.

3) Energy.  I took the day off Thurs and Friday, and yesterday was a public holiday in the U.S., so I had 5 full days of tracking down ridiculously expensive crap for cheap, and as fun as that is, it's exhausting!!

4) Location.  I mentioned in a previous post that I'm here on a work visa.  It's a company-sponsored work visa.  And no, despite the fact that I've been here for a gagillion years and I'm probably as American as they come, I can't get a Green Card.  If I quit my full time job I'd have to pack up my stuff and move to Europe (where I can get hot shoes for cheap, but where supermarkets don't open on Sunday, so no thanks!) or Nicaragua (where I'd throw myself in front of the first oncoming ox-drawn cart I laid my eyes on).

5) Money.  Did I mention money?  My margin on the things I sell is not very high.  Typically I try to make between $15 and $50 on shoes and $10 to $20 on clothes, depending on how good a deal I got and how good a deal I can give the customer.  I don't like selling things that don't allow me to offer at least a 50% discount on retail, so that limits the margin or fee I can keep for myself.

As you can probably tell, after five days of shopping, hanging out online and spending a ton of time with my son, this list is my way of convincing myself becoming a full time retailer is a BAD idea.  I like my full time job, I really do, but I love the independance my side business provides.

Alright folks.  Back to work before my boss catches me blogging on the job.  Hope you all had as nice a weekend as I did!

Stress!!

Hello from Summit, New Jersey, where I haven't been able to stop looking at my computer checking tracking numbers for the items I have en route.  Sometimes, God knows why, even though USPS Priority Mail has delivery confirmation the tracking doesn't update, so I twist myself into knots imagining my buyers don't get their items and I'm out hundreds of dollars.  It's never happened, and it's very unlikely it will happen now, but it still makes me unbelievably nervous.

I was thinking on the way here about how it feels to make a sale.  Several emotions are involved.  The initial adrenaline rush, followed by a knot in my stomach from the time I send the item to the time I hear back from the buyer that the item has arrived safely.  Then relief.  And then it starts all over again.

Anyway, I scored some GREAT purchases of the shoe variety up here and will share them with you guys soon!