What about being an in-home dealer for your favorite hobby, rc cars, model railroading etc and then selling them on ebay. I know alot of time stuf on ebay gets higher then retail with shipping and without shipping sometimes. Also dealers get discounted rates. I know some manufacturers like USA Trains requires you to submit a live picture of your business so that would not be able to work for you but some others do allow non-business people to do that.
My hubby is into rc planes and that is always a hot item on Ebay. If you can find good deals at yard sales, etc, then it is a great money maker but I never had much success with dropshipping for companies...
Hi Fireman, Absolutely! Go with what you know and love - hobbies! You'll be a natural. Your passion and knowledge will shine forth in your writing. If you can't quite swing the "dealer" thing at first, you could at least start a site about RC cars or model trains. That's a general topic though. Try drilling down a bit and choose a sub-niche. For example and depending upon what you know, your site might specialize in: Trains of a certain size Train accessories Vintage Trains Fast RC cars Big RC trucks customizable rc cars rc police cars etc... That way you won't be competing head-on with the biggest fish in the pond. Keep us posted, ~Newbie Shield~
If you can get your inventory for a low enough cost to sell it at a profit, you could do very well. The other option would be to market these products as an eBay affiliate.
Before i got a computer i used to buy and sell at auction houses. Buy from one auction place a van full of stuff and the next day sell across town at the other. That when well but i got sick of the traveling so i discovered on ebay sellers selling a space in shipping containers coming in from the uk (im in oz). I had a relative living in Britain track down rare british sports car parts and i set up an ebay business from home it really boomed and i have since passed it on to a family member. Good fun too. I work on the computer now (but i can hardly call it work)
You really do have to go with what you know. I've tried selling outside of my area of expertise, and I get burned that way a lot more than stuff I'm familiar with. Also, eBay's not the only good place these days. You might have to wait a little longer to sell your items, but Amazon Marketplace is a really good place to sell as well.
if you know what you're selling, it should be quite easy. Like dolls, vintage toys, even handicrafts that are useful around the house
