Sheldon,I bought several use older Atlas engines from a estate sell on the cheap and with nothing more then the normal e-Bay and Pay Pal fees I made a healthy return by selling on e-Bay with BIN with “free” shipping.
I recycled the shipping peanuts from earlier purchases and had the free boxes.
So what? That is different from doing enough volume to make a living, or even half of a living.
I have made $5,000 dollars a year for the last 6 years on my tractor parts, that’s just a hobby. $5,000 a month is a living.
$5,000 a month in profit, assuming a 20% net profit, requires $25,000 a month in sales - that would take a lot of eastate sale finds…
Sheldon
The secret being is if you sell other peoples stuff, you have $0 to aquire the item. Also shipping paid by buyer and fees from the seller, you are only the lister and sometimes you have to pack stuff but most model railroad stuff comes in a box and more than 1/2 the time that box is shippable. Remember to we are talking about a start, with basically no money. You start here, add to that a few finds you sell for yourself, gradually build up your warchest. Keep an eye open for e-bay mistakes (like the time an add was for a whole box but the heading sounded like one item, you need to read the body of the ad). Then you might wholesale a bit, resell items you can buy in bulk and resell. Learn to set up your own website for direct sales of consignment items, you can sometimes have local hobby shops send stuff your way if they don’t do consignments, maybe you can list stuff for them for a percentage. Look at all the angles and also don’t turn down a listing for some other item other than trains if you think it will sell. Yes you can turn this into a real buisness, you just have to start and keep your eyes open to other possiblitys, you must be fle
Great, we’ve gone from cars to guys waving their electronic wieners at each other to see whose is biggest.
I’m not sure this is an improvement.
[quote user=“rrebell”]
ATLANTIC CENTRAL
Almost any business, even a small part time Ebay business is going to have at least 10% overhead and more likely something close to 20%.
That means to make any money at all you need a 30-35% gross margin, and 40% would be better.
Example:
You buy item for $60.00
You sell item for $100.00
Your overhead:
packing materials, Ebay fees, PayPal fees, etc = $20
Your net profit = $20, or 20% of your gross sales.
Much less than that and you are wasting your time.
But what would I know, I have run a model train department in a hobby shop, sold MATCO TOOLS fro 8 years, sold my own custom tractor parts on Ebay, and been self employed in design and construction for the last 20 years.
Sheldon
The secret being is if you sell other peoples stuff, you have $0 to aquire the item. Also shipping paid by buyer and fees from the seller, you are only the lister and sometimes you have to pack stuff but most model railroad stuff comes in a box and more than 1/2 the time that box is shippable. Remember to we are talking about a start, with basically no money. You start here, add to that a few finds you sell for yourself, gradually build up your warchest. Keep an eye open for e-bay mistakes (like the time an add was for a whole box but the heading sounded like one item, you need to read the body of the ad). Then you might wholesale a bit, resell items you can buy in bulk and resell. Learn to set up your own website for direct sales of consignment items, you can sometimes have local hobby shops send stuff your way if they don’t do consignments, maybe you can list stuff for them for a percentage. Look at all the ang
That is so 1950ish…Today most people cut their lawns or have a professional lawn company to do it.
He will make more money on e-Bay or you tube then cutting grass.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s I made money cutting grass. People still do it today, it really depends on where you live.
Well, in the 1970’s I cut lawns, raked leaves, worked in the hobby shop, docked boats for tips, worked as a janitor, a bus boy, painted houses and even got paid to build a model train layout…all between the ages of 12 to 18.
Still know teens today with similar ambition.
Sheldon
Jim,More then likely but,its far easier and more fun to upload video game or railfan videos then cutting grass.More money in it. Savvy teens knows this.
Both will require daily commitment to make that cash…
Content creation and management plus building and maintaining a viewer base is harder and more work for less gain than shoveling snow.
For instance, you have no idea how long it’ll take before you can monetize your work, but your work starts way before that point. A dude with a snow shovel knows he’s getting paid from the second that shovel touches the ground. A YouTuber has been laboring in vain for a while.
Hard to cut grass after the sun goes down or when its raining or snowing. No we are not fighting over who is the best and I am sure Sheldon has as much $ as I do in the bank. It is just a difference of opinion of the way to do it today. Where I live you would go broke cutting lawns, lots of lawns but they are all under contract unless they are done by the owner. I think Sheldon and me would agree that the most important thing in making it, is hard work and very long hours along with self sacrifice. Most people do not get rich quick and most stop at comfortable, I did but my investments took me further.
Tell that to my 18 year year old Grandson and my two adult nephews…They make pretty good money uploading gaming videos.
They would go broke shoveling snow since we haven’t seen much snow this year.
Interesting thread…lol![;)]
The thread has been reopened. Keep it on topic (that is, the model train business, not other potential sources of income) and you can discuss this all you want. (Just try not to stomp on the OP’s dreams too hard [;)])
Sorry, and I certainly didn’t intend this. But it is crutial that the OP understands the pitfalls along with the facts that they can succeed and that they are aware of how much work is involved.
Wow!props to you for re opening this this thread!That almost never happens!
Dreams are good, but do need to be grounded in reality.
The doom and gloom sayers is why my dream of owning a hobby shop never materialized when I got out of the Army in '77…
I should have fulfilled my dream instead of listening to the doom and gloom sayers.
Back then you would have had a better chance starting small. That is the same time I was working in the hobby/train business. We were doing ok, but we could see the future with the discounting and such…
Sheldon
Let me give you guys a bit of information on mowing grass in Louisiana, I know because I’ve been doing it since I was about 10, the last cut of the year usually is sometime in November you don’t and can’t cut till sometime in February, some years I’ve done the last cut in the first week of December but the same year I didn’t cut again till March/April, so for about 2 to 4 months you don’t mow therefore don’t make money, one thing though is in the height of the season you have to mow at least once every 7 days, sometimes more like every 4 days just because the grass grows so fast.
The mowing is going to be a primary income source but the eBay business and the BBQ tailgating business are going to be “side hustles” I mean let’s say I work 5 days out of a week mowing lawns, I start 6 in the morning work till noon, knock off till 4 and then work till 8 then I’ve done 10 hours of work with a 4 hour lunch break, (trust me you do not /cannot be outside working between 12 and 4 in the middle of summer, in that 4 hours I could work on the eBay stuff, on the weekend I am losing money but if there’s a home game at LSU or theres a ZHS football game then I can make some money there too, I love BBQ and smoking meats, and mowing grass is my favorite summer activity, so I’d be doing something I love and making money for it, if I really start making money now, by the time I’m say 24 and I’m getting married I’ll have an established business with enough income to hire employees to lighten my load, the local fast food brand “Raising Canes” a fried chicken fingers restaurant started with a local guy in college trying to make money on the side so he started selling his fried chicken at tailgating events for LSU he made enough money to open a restaurant, now there’s a canes on every street corner in the Baton Rouge area and theres about 200 restaurants total in the US and 25 restaurants In other countries… it’s all about having the will to d