So! You want to know all the answers to how people make money on EBay ...

You've asked or searched the 'community chats' where potential sellers can source wholesale stock and no-one wanted to share their secrets ... you've asked whether people can leave their jobs and survive on Ebay trading, and again, the responses weren't what you hoped for ... Perhaps by starting your Ebay business education here, you might find the following enlightening ...

Online Auction trading can be an exciting, profit making venture.

BUT .... (yes there's always going to be the 'but's') ...

You must be prepared to spend many hours at your computer - working solidly - not playing games, spending heaps of time chatting, or spending all your time buying! Sadly, your computer will become your new best friend.

Working online for 12 hours per day, or more, is not unusual ... doing that for 7 days a week is also not unusual.

Also not unusual is to start at 9am and before long, you realise it's 6pm. You'll feel as though you've done nothing, spoken to no-one, seen not another living being apart from perhaps the postie or the courier, and worst of all - it's all true! Never mind you think, I'll make sure I do tomorrow ... But ... tomorrow is no different ... if you're doing it right!

If you're still keen after reading what you can expect at the very outset and haven't been turned off yet, then keep reading ...

Suddenly after being sleep deprived, lost any social life you had, and noticing that the seasons have changed ... (what happened to Spring you wonder .. or was it Winter? Hmmm, never mind ... I'll catch the Daffodils next year ...) you might wonder "is it all worth it?" ...

And right after that, (trust Murphy's Law) your new best friend gets sick ... Shock Horror!!! Some virus perhaps? Too many late nights? Too much work, not enough play? Who knows, but by this time you've made enough profit to say goodbye to your old friend so you simply shrug and buy a new one ... besides you don't have the time to stop and tinker with it ... much easier to just buy another one ...

So ... can you make a living off EBay? Can you leave your job and work from home in the e-commerce world?

Yes you can ... but it is a long, hard slog - make no mistake about it ... and that's even without lots of heartache along the way. Heartache? Whoever mentioned online trading could have heartaches? Well there are potentially nasty competitors in any particular category who don't like you as competition, your style of listings, amongst any other zillion of issues, plus the influx of foreign traders who don't have to pay the taxes of the Australian government (GST, Import Duties, Customs etc.) and therefore undercut everyone's prices, jealous traders who 'report' any tiny issue to Ebay just to have your listing removed (more often only temporarily), problems with credit card payments via Paypal (that's an entirely other issue) ... plus, plus, plus ...

But if you can handle all of the above, then go for it!

Sit back and smile ... the hard work will eventually pay off!

LATEST ADDITION TO THIS GUIDE - BEWARE! 

Potential Sellers Beware! EBay may suspend/restrict the use of your account - the most important part which allows you to sell and make your living - as they see fit. In our own recent experience, we 'violated' their alleged policy of having a Live Help link. (Mind you we had it before they even added such a policy!) .. Anyway, after giving us 48 hours notice to remove the link, they changed their minds and within 3 hours all our listings were removed - not just the ones which 'violated' their alleged policy, but ALL our listings (with the exception of 6) ... NOW BEWARE if this is to be your only source of income. It has now become apparent to us that eBay should ONLY be used to sell as a HOBBY ... Be very careful before you embark upon an eBay career as a seller if you're considering this as your ONLY source of income ... Personally, I no longer enjoy the confidence of security in selling on eBay as a full time business ...

With a strong background in business, Obemine aka Lindy's Goodies has owned retail businesses, and held Senior Management positions within a variety of industries including Advertising Agencies, Newspaper, Radio, and Recruitment over the last 20 years.

Furthermore, Obemine has also spent many years writing for a local newspaper (and still contributes when time permits!), enjoyed a stint as an on air radio presenter, and is often called upon for advice on business principles including strategies, marketing, sales, importing and advertising.

More Guides will be available and it is hoped that in some way, they will offer some assistance and useful information to all readers.

May all your eBay experiences be good ones!