How I Have Made Money Online - Part 1 - eBay, Garage Sales and Card Trading
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It sounds wonderful — making money online — that’s why you are here isn’t it? You want to learn how to make money from the Internet. I’ve been doing it now since I first discovered the web in 1998. Yes in a way that makes me a late adopter of this technology. The commercial Internet has been available since around 1993. You see I was a console kid while growing up. I played Nintendo and Sega. I didn’t have a computer until late highschool and only in first year university was I granted the gift of online access.
I didn’t set out to make money online, but I did and still do. I did want to run a business, that is for sure, but during university I had no idea what sort of business. Fast forward to 2005 and I make the majority of my income from e-commerce and intend to continue down the Internet business path. I’m always curious about the ways other people make money online so no doubt you are too. So here in no particular order are the methods I have used to make money on the Internet.
EBay and Online Garage Sales
A lot of people have bought and sold on eBay and while the average user does not trade on eBay as a business that doesn’t mean they haven’t made money from it. One of the first ways I made money online was by selling items I no longer wanted on eBay or by setting up a basic web page, often just a text list, of second-hand goods. I posted a link to my list in local forum communities and newsgroups such as my university newsgroup - uq.forsale.
I didn’t make a lot of money doing this and I really didn’t intend to, I wanted to clear some old junk and make some spare change in the process. I sold things like old video games, movies, books, trading cards, cameras, mp3 players, CDs, discmans, gym equipment, sports gear, anything I had lying around the house.
For thousands of people around the world eBay trading is how they make a living. They might choose to buy wholesale or produce the goods themselves or even scout around local antique shops to find products. Generally the most successful eBay entrepreneurs own a niche market and have access to cheap products so they can maintain respectable margins.
When I was younger before the days of the Internet I used to love a newspaper called the tradingpost. It is a local classifieds paper where people sell second-hand goods. I used it mostly to buy and sell video games. I usually sold my old games and consoles to buy the latest gaming device. I was a wheeler and dealer and really enjoyed haggling with buyers trying to get the best price I could for my goods.
EBay is a natural evolution of this trading concept, taking commerce online and automating the haggling process. Nowadays even the tradingpost is online. I don’t trade second-hand goods online very much anymore because I’m out of things to sell, but whenever I find something of value I don’t need I always go online to sell it. It’s in these marketplaces that I got my basic training in online commerce.
Earnings: These amounts were random and of course depended on what I was selling. This was “spare change” income, a few hundred dollars now and then.
Trading Card Trading
After I grew bored of video games the next major hobby I had was the collectible card game Magic: the Gathering. As any good trading card game, Magic had it’s fair share of collectors and because cards were distributed in rarities — commons, uncommon and rares — it was a heavily traded commodity. As a regular player and tournament competitor I had amassed a reasonable collection of cards and I was a vehement trader in real life and online.
Magic cards are bought and sold on eBay every day, there are many trading sites and some huge trading forum communities dedicated to the game. Luckily for me I was the owner of the main Australian Magic community site which had the largest Aussie Magic trading forums so I had access to a large local marketplace. I bought and sold a lot of cards through this site and a few other sites often profiting by selling product I had won at tournaments. Throughout my late teens I did not have a job because I made enough spending cash from card sales. However I could only do this because I was a respectable competitive player and could stock myself with cards by placing well at tournaments. This was only a reliable revenue source as long as I kept playing the game.
Earnings: I made a reasonably stable income from card trading especially after a big win at a tournament. With a box of new cards (usually first or second place won a box) selling for about $100 and certain rare individual cards selling for between $5 - $20 I could bring in around $500 per month provided I kept winning and attending tournaments. Living at home meant this cash was pure spending money and often went straight back into Magic tournaments.
*****
You can read the other parts of this series here -
- How I Have Made Money Online - Part 2 - Online Stores and Advertising
- How I Have Made Money Online - Part 3 - Online Services and Web Hosting
- How I Make Money Online Part 4 - Blogging
Yaro Starak
Web Entrepreneur
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[...] Continuing the three part series on how I have made money online today I look at operating an online shop and using advertising on a hobby website to generate an income. If you missed the first part of this series you can read it here - How I Have Made Money Online - Part 1 - eBay, Garage Sales and Card Trading [...]
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[...] If you are interested in making money on eBay, check out Entrepreneur’s Journey on this subject. [...]
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[...] How I Have Made Money Online - Part 1 - eBay, Garage Sales and Card Trading [...]
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[...] Yaro Starak - Not just a blogger but an entrepreneur who has lots of ideas that are worth considering. [...]
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[...] Entrepreneurs’s Journey - Entrepreneur’s Journey was created by Yaro Starak, of Australia who makes his money online. His site features several articles about his experiences and guides to developing money making websites. If you are going to persue making money online, read this article. [...]
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[...] whoever you want. If you want to read his business story and pick up an idea or two, check it out here at the Entrepreneur’s Journey website(It’s a four part [...]
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[...] 2006, after reading plenty of How-To articles on making money with the internet (Shoemoney.com, Entrepreneurs-Journey.com, Problogger.net, StevePavlina.com)I got uber-motivated, set up FindFunding.net, and put some Google [...]
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[...] or die, here are some steps to protect your hard work. Internet bloggers and marketers like Yaro Starak report $10K a month and more revenues per their sites. Is he prepared? Here you [...]
I guess I can add to this a little.
I started back on the Web in 1995. Using my Mothers internet connection right here in The University of Queensland while she was finishing her PhD. Back in the days of 256 Color and Win 3.11
I made my first dollars from Advertising banners on my angelfire website (I won’t link to it, because everyone who has seen it, uses it as blackmail) going through PennyWeb. It was great, I would get about $50 a Month (US) from those guys, my parents where proud
Then came the time I used to run LAN events with a friend of mine, the website itself generated little cash but the events themselves were worth it. Ah the internet, so many memories.
I have only taken up the eBay addiction in the last year or so. So far, All I have done is waste money on things I dont need but have a burning desire to own
Good start to another great article. I look forward to reading the rest of it. Nice work as usual.
…looking forward to the next installment as well.
Great article, I agree with you when you say that you didnt make alot of money out of ebay. eBay have so many fees they really do add up in the end..
Very good article thanks
Jason
Lexel Designs Limited
Wow, your blog is an inspiration to me.
Too bad I start real blogging late. But better be late than never.
Hope to learn more tricks and tips from you with blogging.
Cheers, William.
I’m interested to hear that you started so early - even whilst at University.
It’s interesting to note that even people like myself who only started an internet business last year can still get a foot on the ladder and make some pretty useful money.
I’ve bookmarked your blog so I can keep an eye on developments!
Good motivation mate!
The internet is coming of age and its commercial viability is getting more and more lucrative. Anyone that is discounting it as a fad should be royally shot in the butt.
Hi Yaro, I’m looking for make money online site and found your site. It’s hard to find a free informations about make money online because they are selling the informations and I feel great to find your site with full of free informations that I’ve been looking for. Thanks!
Very insightful article mate….I admire your tenacity and belief in online businesses as being financially viable and successful.
I have been using the internet to help grow several businesses with great success.
It’s an amazing tool that allows us to work all over the globe. Whatever the business your in, you have to remember its about people. There is no such thing as getting rich quick in this world. I suggest finding something you can be passionate about and run with it! If you enjoy what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.
“Opportunity is missed by most people because
it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Thomas A. Edison
Thanks for sharing these stories and tips, very inspirational. Really puts things into perspective.
Just shows, a lot can be achieved if you just put your mind to it.
Again thanks.
Hello yaro.
I lost a lot of money initially buying e books promising the ultimate secret to make money online. That’s when i stumbled on to this truth
“Don’t go for tricks of the trade , Go for the trade itself”
Making a business online requires considerable learning of this medium which in itself is always changing.
Thanks for the tips Yaro.
Hi yaro ,
I never had much success with Ebay but i know of many individuals making a decent living selling products. I even know of a store owner who used to sell pool tables but then closed his physical shop to devote his time solely to selling pool tables on ebay !
Well i have used adsense to my blog well. Trying with ebay may be useful lets see.
Good post
The key to success on the internet is adaptability. It is crazy how fast income streams can dry up when saturation occurs. You almost have to have 3 or 4 backup niches to implement when your mainstay expires. Anyone who thinks internet income is easy to develop probably has not tried!
I have made money online using a few various methods. The most successful was the auto surf thing that was great while it lasted if you managed to get in at the right time and better still get out before the crash that happened when StormPay went down and took the lot with it.
I did OK also with HYIP, was like autosurfing but without the surfing and the viruses you got from visiting ceretain websites. Nowadays of course I am protrected fromthe malware by using Apple Mac computing instead of that Malware Windows.
Now all I have left is the online gambling - While this at first sounds and looks bad I have to say that I have found a way to do it safely and with some sophisticated techniques. It is actually less of a gamble that the HYIP and the autosurf was. Besides I prefer to trade more than bet. Most times. I have the profit locked in before the game or race has finished, and sometimes before it has even started.
Not to worry anyway I am not one of those awful interneters that spams all an sundry with links to poker sites and such like.
I have been blogging now for 2 years - started with Blogger and was happy enough with it but have recently changed to WordPress for the blogging and Mambo for the main web site. Mambo is a blogging site on steroids really and seems really confusing at first but with patience is worth the effort. I can now get content online really quickly and have to do less with web page writing . One of the reasons I like blogging so much I think. The Immediacy of it appeals to me greatly.
The other thing I do is Podcasting and have produced 15 podcasts and 1 video cast so far. If you do a search on the iTunes Store in the Podcast section you will find me. I use Libsyn to put the podcast content online so that in case I get popular I won’t get caught by a hefty bandwidth bill.
For RSS of my podcasts I use Feedburner. Some excellent tools in the free part of Feedburner.
All the best with the new venture Yaro
Definately going to get that maths spam protect thing on my comments in WordPress.
Interesting article… Your article makes “making money” seem like child’s play.
You started in 1998 and you are calling yourself late adopter, What about us who started in 2004 :D… Ah well I was in school at that time… I used to think Interest is only for porn
In 2004, I tried my hands on Online money making (ebay too) 2 yrs ago… never made much money… I realized soon its not easy as it seems… You only understand after you put down hundreds of dollars on ebooks and resale rights which you cant’ sell.. Lol…
Thank god for blogging it saved me… Oh btw your plugin for spam protection is neat..
Varun
Varun - I guess it is all relative really! Certainly now with the influx of people attempting to make money online I am not certainly one of the “older statesmen” - getting close to that 10 year celebration in fact!
Thanks for your comment. Yaro
Yaro,
It’s funny you talked about making money with Magic Cards trading. My son, Christopher, collected baseball cards for years (when he was a little tike) and finally saw a market for them. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any really valuable cards but was nevertheless ‘bitten by the bug’ anyway.
Charles
http://www.honestysellsbest.com
Charles - I think a lot of young business owners have a history in card trading - especially the boys anyway!
Thats funny Card Trading. But surprisingly they do make good money. I remember a friend of mine used to make a few hundreds dollars a month trading cards. And another nerdy mate sells collectables like Yoda from star wars and other stuff that he collects since he was 10.
Yeah, business is still business whether it is offline or online. It requires hard work and planning.
Most importantly go with your passion whether eBay or Card Trading, selling Affiliate products, it takes time to learn and to lay the foundation before one reaps the rewards.
All the best.
Yaro, you are an great inspirtation to my online journey and I think with creativity, anyone can make it online just like what you have done.
Majority of my online incomes so far are from autosurfs like what wizardgold has said earlier and the rest from adsense. It is easy to profit from surfs but full of risks.
All the best!
Jackie
Thanks for the helpful post.
I don’t really try to commercialize my site that much–I just try to provide an add-free site.
But it still makes money by referring people. This way it isn’t an ad but produces some sales.
What!! $500 a month trading playing cards!! Good grief am I in the wrong business.. Hey, well done to you though, I never thought there was any money in stuff like that.
Hey there! Great post. I started selling at Ebay just 3 years ago – I am not making huge amount of money, but I am making enough money to cover up our expenses at home. This is great for me since I never have to leave home to earn. Other than selling at Ebay, you can also make money online thru Affiliate Marketing, Network Marketing, blogging with Google adsense, telecommuting jobs thru writing articles for websites, online teacher, virtual assistant, etc. There are so many ways to make money online but the most important thing to keep in mind here is, there is no fast and easy money in the internet – hard work, determination and perseverance is the key to online success.
Adney Joe
http://www.officialfastcashadvances.info
Hey Yaro. Nice blog. I’m from Sydney and am co-founder of Interspire.com - we develop software and have 12 employees. I’m 24. Just started my own blog too - http://www.HarpzOn.com. Up to 1,000 unique visitors a day after 6 days so I’m doing something right
Keep up the posts and good luck with everything. I think I’ll become a frequent visitor.
Yaro,
Thank you for inspiration you convey in multiple articles. People who commented here are correct: making money online is not that trivial business. Which does not mean that it is impossible. There are many positive examples including your success (congratulations). My point is that to be successful online one should try an original idea rather than apply some clone of known approach. It might be niche marketing of something very specific and original, offering better service than others, better advertizing with “breath taking” graphics, whatever that makes real difference. Obviously not everyone can create such thing ;-(. Anyone should think carefully where he/she might be at his/her VERY best to “beat” competitors that are crowding in any online commerce.
Thank you once more.
Hi Mitchell,
Thanks for dropping by. I came across your blog just the other day too - it was great to see another successful aussie.
Great work on your blog too! It’s clear you have a lot of solid experiences to draw on to blog about, which will really help your growth.
Cheers,
Yaro
Hey Yaro!
Hey Yaro I’ve got a website dedicated to helping people make money online. I’m trying to collect some good articles wondering if i could use some of your articles.
Thanks
Hi Cash-Boy - You are welcome to use a couple of my articles as long as you link back to this blog and attribute them using my name.
Okay, I tried to follow along on this site. Since I failed, you have to come to my rescue. I am kind of old and never got the hang of the internet, but now it is necessary. I must have spent a couple of hours trying to make heads and tails of how to have a blogging business. It seemed easy at first…you know, get a place to write, get affiliates like a book company, then get paid a little bit of money each month; perhaps lunch money. But I did not know so much was involved. I am overwhelmed. It is all alien and Greek to me. So I am counting on you to give me the kindergarten version. From point A to point Z, how in the world do I start a blogging business from scratch? It is very important because women are depending on me to figure it out…the blind leading the blind. You see, I belong to a women’s group that specializes in getting women back on their feet from life’s trauma, abuses and mishaps. I have been advertising and supplying these women with information that I find. This women’s group is becoming better known because Star Jones marketed for this group on television and gave a talk there. I recently gave an entire folder of work at home information and links so that a new class could be taught. I did not include details on the blogging business because I did not understand it. I really need help. No matter what I read, I can not seem to get it.
Women from all walks of life need to make money and their ideas, so far, have been okay but no winners for many of us square pegs. One woman in particular is extremely disabled. She is young. She has two young adult children who are also disabled in some way. Since she is wheelchair bound and on oxygen from heart/lung problems, she can not work but she is extremely interested in learning how to make money on the computer. Some other women are too poor to get cloths and transportation to go the work, etc. The idea is to get money from home because it is both economical highly productive. The list goes on. There is someone trying to beat the clock. The day is coming, perhaps this summer or later, when she will be homeless. It can be prevented because she has a job, she just needs a 2nd job that won’t cause her to have a stroke. She already tried working 2 to 3 jobs. It worked out financially but she obtained life long disorders. Continuing oh this path will harm her more. Other women are trying to come back from homelessness or are already in shelters trying to afford homes. The typical story of too many credit card bills or divorce trauma continues. The list goes on.
This is where you come in. All I know is that some folks seem to do well with this blogging business and I NEED to understand it quickly. Forget the kindergarten talk, heck, talk to me like I am a two year old. I don’t want to miss a thing because I can’t afford it.
Thank you. readthisbook@yahoo.com
Btw, I don’t have a book. My email address is to inspire me to write a book or to write something for money. Perhaps blogg, cookbook, children’s book, etc.
Although eBay is great, craigslist is another way to make money online particularly if you want to reach local buyers. Plus, you don’t have eBay fees to deal with and, if you want, you can also expand your market penetration.
Garage sales are a very easy way to make money. I found that out years ago with Don Lapre’s infomercial kit. I was easily able to make a few extra hundred dollars a month
looking forward to reading the rest of your articles. I favour affiliate marketing. If you are a newbie it is without a doubt the way to go.
I started selling blinds online about 4 years ago.. I’ve been met with pretty good success.. but most of that is due to EBAY.. its a bit of a whipping though… I’ve been exploited a few times by SEO companies promising big results at google and in most cases made litte to negative progress.. also know as regression. My point, watch out for the SEO guys. I’m sure there are good ones.. and I’d love to pay one based on results rather than for bogus work..
Even i Used to sell the Old things which i dint need during my school Days
I have been making money online since 1992 with some of the same things as you all have tried as well. I have really made a ton of money lately selling linking services and other internet marketing services to other web masters. I have a few secret circle groups and they bring on some good dough as well.
As you quite rightly say, eBay is a great way of decluttering your home. Trading on eBay can be a lot of fun and make you a bit of cash but it takes a bit of work to get an understanding of what sells well and what doesn’t.
Visiting local car boot sales, fairs and garage sales can often uncover bargain items that can be eBayed for a good profit.
W3WAD
The old adage of buy low sell high even rings true in this day and age. Ebay is a great tool of commerce.
It’s said that blogging also brings some cash if you know how to monetize it. Theoretically I know it’s possible, but practically does somebody make money by blogging?
Thanks.
Teodor
Very interesting article. It shows that internet marketing does have potential for making money. I have not dabbled in ebay but hope to do so one day.
Peter
http://www.peterleehc.com
@ Teador - Umm..this blog you are reading makes money. So, yes it is possible.
Oh man, Ebay brings back a lot of memories for me as well. I used to run an Ebay business (it was relatively successful), but got worn out with all the customer service, etc. Blogging is the way to go!
Would it kill you to fix the scores of javascript bugs on this site? I have never seen so many on a site in my life.
Thanks for the insight Yaro! ebay sure would be useful to declutter my home! and cool, i didn’t know you’re an avid magic cards collector as well!
I recently started my own business and my business research has led me to receiving alerts on certain keywords as well as gift review and fashion blogs. So anyway i received this email today from google that i actually opened, (I say actually b/c I usually just grab them all and file them to their appropriate folders) so imagine my surprise when i read your blog and found all of this useful information. I have been glued to your website for about 1 1/2 hrs now and i just subscribed to your rss feed. I can’t get enough of you. Thanks so much for having a clue and being rich on information. You are appreciated in the online community.
This is a great post, I haven’t really considered looking at trading card games as a method of making a stable 2nd income but the figures you qoute are very intresting. Thanks for the tips and advice. Also how about doing a post on dropshipping, would be interested to hear your thoughts on this subject.
I used to sell on eBay too! I made a decent income from it, but now I do some higher ticket internet based businesses to really explode my income.
Thanks for the info!
-Little Guy Network
I can add to this too. In 2000 I started to sell dancewear locally, and then a friend of mine (www.onlynetwork.com) suggested that I open an online shop. This i did - http://www.the-ballet-shop.com and i have increased awareness of this business in various countries. It is something i enjoy doing. I also have used ebay to sell a few things i did not want, or items which did not sell locally but would sell well abroad. And so it goes. It’s fun if you love your computer, and tends to add a little to your pocket at the end of the month
I found that having a professional web page with basic information about how to reach you and your different web sites as a web entrepreneur can help drive sales. People seem more willing to buy sometimes when they see a way to contact you. I guess they think they are buying from a real professional and they are not at some bot-driven web site that they have no way of contacting if something during the sales process goes wrong.
Yes, enlightening articles, all of them, for a newbie. Certainly I add my bit to the catalogue of praise!
However, where can we get information on the mechanics of, just for instance, selling adspace? Did you invoice your clients? How did they remit? that sort of thing. Can you point us to anybody offering concrete advice?
woow thats an amazing follow up frnd..i really like your blog now..well i also made a blog which is growing very rapidly as i am working hard to update it with best posts, n hoping for your best wishes, my blog is “www.earnmoneyfast.co.cc”
thanks again for this wonderful blog
Wow! its really a good stuff i hope that i can also have all this things and ideas of yours apply in my online business strategies. Again thanks and really impressive one.
Revero
Making money with blog
I think I read through these articles back when I first found your site, maybe it was the links over from Problogger about the blog profits blueprint. But since I’m trying to run up some comments here I thought I would say thanks, even though it’s a bit late.
Seriously, the Blueprint PDF and Mp3 (yes I even listened to it several times) gave me a sense of direction that I could make a little side money from writing about what I love.
Nice Article, but actually here what is more interesting are
sorry Yaro !
the comments
I wonder why people post them here instead of making a very interesting posts in their own blogs with them.
But anyway, I guess that your posts encourage people to speak, which is great.!
I really enjoyed reading this and will be coming back to read the related articles. I sell a lot on eBay (mostly one of a kind collectibles) and enjoy seeing what other people find and sell. I actually have come across several packs of Magic the Gathering cards, but sold them at very low prices because I knew squat about them and the research was taking too long for me since I don’t actually play. Stop by for a visit!
Good motivation mate!
The internet is coming of age and its commercial viability is getting more and more lucrative. Anyone that is discounting it as a fad should be royally shot in the butt.
Ah eBay…I still use them after all this time and actually am growing faster than ever recently.
I’ll always use eBay as one of my revenue streams. It’s simple and reliably sits there providing extra money month after month!
On occasion I have sold Lego’s on eBay and usually make double I bought them for. It is nice to have some income from time to time. I enjoy using eBay as it is the most consistent sales I have had online, because I’m selling products people actually want. Thanks for the article Yaro.