These are difficult times: inflation, cost of living rises, wars, and endless poverty across the globe. Money is scarce and we don't have enough of it. Just meeting the family weekly bills is a strain, so what can we do?
As John Paul Getty, the oil billionaire, once observed the only way to become seriously wealthy is to own your own business. Easy if you are entrepreneurial by nature, less easy if you are not. There is, however, one sort of business that can be set up without much capital and with little or no risk yet which has the potential to become a full-time profession.
A business, furthermore, that doesn’t require experience or specialist skills and which can be started at home on a part-time basis. In fact, all you need to get this business going is access to a computer with a broadband connection and a camera. John Lowe of MoneyDoctors.ie explains.
Reselling sites have boomed in recent years, as more people start clearing out their own belongings for resale, or specifically hunting down items to sell onto others, often creating a bespoke and curated online shop in the process.
Take David Wirtenberg, 28, for example who built up a $10 million jewellery business, Outrageous Diamonds, from the sale of a single, diamond ring on eBay in 2003.
What makes eBay and other resell sites like Depop, Vinted and more such a fantastic money-making opportunity is their simplicity. Essentially, they allow anyone, anywhere in the world, to buy or sell just about anything. The scale of the operation is mind boggling.
A car is sold on eBay every two minutes while MusicMagpie is eBay’s top seller selling tech, music, film, games and books. Last time I checked there were over 10 million items on offer and more than 168 million buyers. You could be selling to those 168 million buyers within minutes of finishing this article for, literally, a few euros. And, selling for a very substantial profit, too.
What could you be selling? Most new online resale entrepreneurs get started by selling unwanted items from their home. This can prove to be remarkably lucrative (I have a friend in West Cork who has made over €3,000 since Christmas selling off unwanted clothes, books, children’s toys and china) and also provides an opportunity to understand how each site works. After you have the hang of it the secret is to find a product area that interests you.
Getting started, by the way, couldn’t be easier. All you need do is complete the online registration for each site, which will ask you for a user name, password, e-mail address and a credit or debit card for verification purposes. This process won’t cost you anything.
Following that you can customise your account to suit how you want to sell items. For example, on eBay you must give product details, the duration of your listing - from one to 10 days - and the starting and reserve price if you want to set one. You have to pay a listing fee, which depends on the item's value and is a maximum of €3. If the item is sold, you pay eBay a final value fee which will be around 5.25% of the closing price.
Once you’ve joined, you can sell anything with a few clicks of the mouse. To really get the edge on competitors, high quality photographs of the item taken in clear lighting and of multiple angles are ideal, and the better your sales copy, the greater the price you are likely to get.
And if you need more reasons to do a closet clearout, here are some benefits:
- You are less cluttered
- You have made someone very happy with the discounted item they have bought from you
- You have made money and tax free too (selling the item for less than you bought will never incur a Capital Gain Tax).
For more information click on John Lowe's profile above or on his website.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ.
