Making a Living on eBay
by Alyson Preston

We've all heard the buzz about how you can make money working on the Internet, but what exactly does that mean? In general terms, any sort of telecommuting job falls into this category based on the fact that almost all electronic communication takes place over the Internet. There are also many Internet schemes that offer ways to make money.

Many people want to go into business for themselves, and the Internet certainly offers an extensive marketplace for almost any kind of product. One of the ultimate online marketplaces today is eBay (eBay.com), "the world's online marketplace" as it's billed on the home page. I spoke with several people who have turned to eBay to help establish an online marketplace for their products, and to help further their online careers and their personal dreams.

Tim Fitzmaurice has been in the collectible/antique business for 20 years, and has found eBay to be a steady source of customers for his wares. With several auctions going at once, Fitzmaurice does a brisk business in everything from brooches to glassware. After downsizing from a store to a mall booth, Fitzmaurice now operates his business strictly out of his home located "on a mountaintop in the beautiful Ozark Hills" in Arkansas.

"I'm making enough for my humble lifestyle," he says. "You can do alright if you are not too serious about it."

Another antiques dealer, who prefers to go by his eBay screen name "Buster12," also does all his business on eBay and has no physical store. Buster12 lives in a small town in Ohio. He compares antiquing to fishing. "Take my parents' (antique) shop. If my dad buys a desk for $1,500 and puts it in his shop, he has to wait for a big enough fish to come by. It may take a couple of years for it to get sold," he explains.

"EBay is a big pond," says Buster12, who sells most of his stuff in a matter of days or weeks to buyers in the northeast and the west. "Prices for things are lower on eBay than in those high demand areas," he explains.

"Joscos" also prefers to be called by his email screen name. He's another frequent eBay seller who turned to the Internet to expand his business. "I sell primarily at flea markets and antique shows, and now eBay," explains Joscos, the owner of Joe's Costume Jewelry. Joscos has been selling vintage costume jewelry since 1994 and has been on eBay for over two years. "I entered this medium as a natural extension of the vintage costume jewelry business. I have not had any unpleasant experiences. The endeavor has been moderately profitable and a wealth of marketing experience," he says.

Working on the Internet has become a way of shortening the workweek and improving the quality of life for one Internet auctioneer who specializes in vintage camera equipment. "I don't work; I make a living selling on eBay," says the former cab driver who asked not to be named. "I'm not getting rich, but it's unsupervised work. I have a lot of free time. I stay up when I want to and wake up when I want to. For me that's worth a lot," he says. "I'd say I put in a 40-hour workweek, but there are plenty of weeks I work 20 hours," he explains.

EBay has allowed this camera auctioneer to reach buyers he could never have reached before the Internet came along. "There may be a handful of people [in my area] who collect cameras, and it's difficult for people in the industry to get in touch with each other," he says. "Before the Internet you had monthly brochures, you could post ads, etc. But it was impossible to get in touch with someone from Japan or Germany."

The Internet has certainly changed the way all types of companies do business, but it has also provided a new outlet for individuals to sell on a person-to-person basis. And for many sellers, eBay is their sole marketplace. "EBay establishes the market," says the vintage camera dealer. "For example, say you go down to (the Brimfield Antique Show) and you're looking at a camera. In the old days, they used to quote comparative prices from big shops, and now they quote eBay prices."