The eBay Opportunity - Part I

A little over two years ago I was searching desperately for a way to earn income from home. My husband was working 6 days a week, sometimes 10-12 hours a day and was a member of the National Guard. Due to a variety of circumstances, however, I needed to contribute to our family income as well. A homeschooling mother of three children, I did not want to work outside our home.

As I began exploring the opportunities available to me, I looked at all the typical ones first. Home baking, child care, sewing, typing, house cleaning...for one reason or another these either did not appeal to me or were unworkable. Then I looked at the various multi-level marketing programs and party plans. Having done two or three of these in the past, I knew how much work was involved and I also knew that despite being home-based businesses, they all required many hours outside the home if one was to experience any success. I also knew that I had always felt like somebody else was controlling my business, telling me what to do and setting my goals for me. I wanted something that provided more autonomy than that.

An online friend suggested I try eBay. At first, I scoffed at the idea. I needed a serious way to earn steady income. eBay was not the solution I was looking for. Since I was coming up with no other ideas, though, I decided to see what eBay had to offer. My first foray into the realm of online auctions was not the most spectacular, but it did have a result that lead me to think that possibly eBay could provide the income I sought. About four months later, I decided to try it again - this time more seriously. I haven't looked back since.

My initial earning goal was $400 per month. I achieved that within a few months of starting on eBay and have exceeded that goal every month since but one. Most recently, my sales have exceeded $1000 per month - a figure I once thought impossible to achieve. My next major goal is to replace the income I earned when I was teaching French in a public high school.