Why Do I Sell on eBay?

Flower, I (Love) You, Butterfly on Rice

I think that of the millions and millions of sellers on eBay, each one would have a different answer.

Yesterday I read a post on message board that got me thinking and validating my commitment to our business.

The poster worked in a 2 person office - her and the boss. She did the best job she could do but as time went on the boss started treating her, as her slave. But to complicate it, the boss also treated her as her best friend. In fact she was hoping her helper would go into a craft business with her.

On Sat. the boss called and asked where the info was for the health insurance company and went on to explain that she wanted to pay it because the end of this month was to be the gal's last day!

The gal is now committed to work eBay full time and to be self employed.

Oh boy how many times have we heard or know of someone going through something similar. It seems the more we give to bosses and companies, the more they take and assume they can demand.

I had my own bad experience in New York. The guy had a Yahoo store and my office was in the basement, next to the washer and dryer. His was solely a drop ship business and in the 1st year he grossed 1.5 million dollars. I was the only employee and at times processed over 100 orders a day.

As business grew I was doing work at home (without extra pay - of course) but having that work done made the job easier so it was in my best interest to do it.

One day after lunch I walked into the office and 'the' wife had hung laundry all over the basement. I told her I was leaving and to let me know when the clothes were down.

After that I knew that I would never work for anyone again. Both Gene and I are retired so our time is our own and we have said, many times, that if we weren't doing eBay http://tinyurl.com/d6qyy6 , craft shows or state fairs, what would we be doing? Sitting around watching TV and getting old? Now we can sell while we are RVing, at home - wherever and whenever we want!!

So what do we do at these shows? We write names or simple pictures on both sides of a grain of rice, put it into a tiny glass vial that then becomes a charm for a necklace, key chain, cell phone fob, etc. I typically do not list these on eBay because each one is custom made and there are many choices to get to the finished product.


At the very least our brains are staying very active and it also gives us something to do that we love.

We have met some fantastic eBayers and other vendors face to face in all our travels and have spent time visiting with them. Without exception every one feels like we have been friends forever and there is never a gap in conversation. In fact there is never enough time to visit!


Why we sell what we sell will be the topic of a future blog. And more about our Rice Necklace business too. So check back often.