Making side money on eBay

Teacher masters auctions as an online entrepreneur

September 21, 2005

By DANE GOLDEN
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

There's the guy from Münster, Germany who only wants Big Jim action figures, and the woman in Whitstable, England who prefers Max Steel action figures.

Then there's the man from the Isle of Wight who only wants class photos from the 1920s, the fellow from France who collects Star Wars memorabilia, and the guy in Germany who's nuts about Indiana Jones items. And, of course, there's the gentleman from Dublin, Ireland who bought the Jason Priestley beefcake calendar.

Such is the face of international commerce as conducted from the home office of Debbie Clarke, a Petaluma resident who teaches junior high in Healdsburg. She's been selling collectibles on eBay as a side business for about six years now.

"Thank God for my overseas customers," Clarke said. "They keep me in business."

Clarke makes about 10 percent of her sales in Europe, about 50 percent in the Northeast, 20 percent in the Midwest and South, and another 10 percent of her sales are made to folks right here in Petaluma. All online.

She has a keen eye for items with a window into Petaluma's history, which accounts for her eBay sales to folks in the local zip codes. But she mostly sells items that are not Petaluma-specific, including figurines, dolls, games, offbeat books, dishes, casino items, kitchen stuff and almost anything she has a hunch will sell (and that eBay allows).

"Once I sold a gas mask," she said.

She usually limits herself to selling 20 items a week, as anything more would be too much work in addition to her teaching job. Clarke makes from $500 to $1,000 every month she sells.

"I take a few months off a year, especially during finals and open house at school," she said.

After years of trial and error, Clarke has a number of very good tips for those who want to sell on eBay as a side business, or just sell one item more efficiently.

Knowing your niche market is key, she says. While her niche is collectibles, other good markets right now are baby clothes and dog and cat items.

And Clarke said your niche doesn't have to be things you collect yourself. In fact, sometimes it's better if you don't like what you're selling, because you'll want to get rid of the items much faster.

"You do not want eBay to take over your house," she said emphatically. "You can get totally crazy and pack-ratty."

Clarke begins her weekly process by spending about an hour at various thrift shops around town, often spotting items for 25 cents that she can sell for more than $10.

This coming week, she'll be selling a book called "The Dictionary of Satanism," a Raggedy Ann doll and some stationery from the old Petaluma Coca-Cola plant.

"People in Petaluma go crazy over this, but also Coca-Cola people go crazy over this," she said.

That's one of her skills -- understanding which niche of collectors would be interested in the item. It's even better if the item covers more than one niche.

After acquiring her merchandise, Clarke photographs it with her digital camera on a colored velvet background, then uploads the images and extensive descriptions to her eBay listing pages, using a template she has already set up.

"And it doesn't hurt to know HTML," she said.

Descriptions are very important, too. She measures the item, describes the color and clearly points out chips or cracks or problems, so buyers won't be upset.

But is honesty about the items that important?

"Yes it is," Clarke said, "or you're going to get a negative."

A "negative," or negative rating, is extremely bad in the eBay world, which relies on the rankings of customers to define the reputation of a seller. Clarke recommends only doing business with those who have a 99.9 percent positive rating, and who have many transactions.

Which presents a problem for those just starting out selling on eBay -- how to get a positive rating at the beginning. The solution is actually simple -- become a buyer, and start buying inexpensive items at first, as you begin to learn the system.

Determining a price to start the auction at is another key step where understanding eBay's fee structure pays off. Clarke's auctions usually start at either 99 cents or $9.99.

Having an initial price of $9.99 only costs her 35 cents to list, whereas listing at $10 would cost 60 cents to list. Small costs can add up over time, as any business owner will tell you.

Time budgeting is also important. Clarke now only ships her sales on Tuesday or Thursday, spending an hour each day to pack them in bubble wrap and ship them off via the postal service. She orders the boxes online for free from the post office.

Clarke's auctions run for seven days, so it's easy to get into a weekly rhythm. If the items don't sell the first time, she re-lists them for free, only being charged eBay's final value fee upon sale of the item (which is 5.25 percent for items under $25).

If the seller doesn't like the bidder, who may not have enough "positives," the seller can cancel the bid. However, if the seller doesn't stop the bid, the seller is compelled to sell to that bidder. If the buyer doesn't pay for whatever reason, the seller can send out a second-chance offer to the second-highest bidder.

In-state customers pay sales tax.

Upon purchase, the money is transferred to Clarke's checking account via online fund-transfer system PayPal, which is also owned by eBay.

PayPal charges between 1.9 and 2.9 percent, plus 30 cents, for transfers within the U.S. for each funds transfer, but Clarke said it's by far the easiest way.

"It's better than going to the bank, standing in line and wasting time," she said. Some people still send checks, but it's usually senior citizens who don't have credit cards.

After she receives the money from the buyer, Clarke ships out the item.

"I just put a piece of bubble wrap around it, and stick it in the mail and send it out. And the money goes into my PayPal account. It's a beautiful thing," she said.

Clarke deducts mileage, office expenses, Internet fees, eBay fees and PayPal fees on her tax return at the end of the year.

When she retires, she plans to sell on eBay full-time.

"It's easy to do it full-time, if you do it right," she said.

(Contact Dane Golden at dgolden@arguscourier.com)

RETRODEB, EBAY SELLER

Debbie Clarke

Started selling: 1999

Sole Proprietorship

Number of employees: 1

Yearly revenue: $6,000

Location: home office, Petaluma

Web: on eBay and at www.retrodeb.com

PETALUMA BUSINESSPERSON PROFILE: DEBBIE CLARK

Debbie Clarke has been selling on eBay for six years and has lived in Petaluma almost her entire life. She graduated from Casa Grande and is married to Duane Clarke. They have three kids. Both Duane and her stepson, Hudson, are carpenters in town. She is the Healdsburg Jr. High chair of the English and history department. She likes living close enough to walk downtown, the old-town feel, the ironfront buildings and the people. She collects, but rarely sells, rare lunch boxes on eBay, and is planning on opening a lunchbox museum in Clearlake. One of Debbie's favorite restaurants is Lombardi's Barbecue, and some mornings she also picks up a cup of coffee at the coffee stand there.