dustin_alyssa (1900)  

Labor of Love
Elizabeth Kindred of TAD-bit's Baby Items and MORE started on eBay in May 2003, "basically just selling a few things around the house," she says. "I had a baby in June and took some time off from my full time job to be home. During that time I took particular interest in baby-related items."

Keys to Success
Elizabeth's business grew, sometimes in unpredictable ways. "I started selling items for another online retailer and became close friends with her. I still communicate with her and help her out when I can. Due to limited initial cash flow I searched for other online retailers that didn't use eBay and offered to sell items for them." That let Elizabeth find inventory to sell without investing capital up front, capital that she didn't have.

"It worked out to some degree but wasn't producing profits like I had wanted," she says. "I am an accountant by trade and know a lot about finance and number crunching. I went back to work full time but also worked from my home two days a week. I started shopping at local discount shops to find items that I could sell on eBay. After this started going well, I moved up to finding wholesalers that were selling items I was looking for."

"I just started small and have never had to invest any of my own money in my business. I am now a Silver Level Power Seller ." Elizabeth also maintains another baby products Web site and continues to work fulltime as an accountant.

Besides exploring and finding good inventory sources, Elizabeth's success is based on dedication and effort. She puts it succinctly: "If you work hard, you can succeed on eBay. I attribute a lot of success to good customer service as well; even though not all buyers can always be satisfied, I do all I can to ensure repeat business."

Best Practices
"I wouldn't be able to do it without Turbo Lister and Selling Manager," Elizabeth enthuses. "Both of those programs have proven to be well worth the price. I opened my eBay Store after business started picking up, and it has proven to be well worth it as well. Most customers do not generally buy only one item. They see my auction-format listings and then find my Store and end up buying items there as well, which is great."

"I have three kids and a fiancé, and one room in my home is totally dedicated to eBay stock (plus other shelves and spaces here and there). I spend most of my free time on the computer, and my 20-month-old baby boy knows when 'Mommy is busy with eBay.' My fiancé even tried to set up a private auction to propose to me at Christmas! He realizes how important eBay is to my life."

Share your experiences with other eBay sellers! Submit testimonials and story ideas to inthefield@ebay.comand include "In the Field" in the subject line. (Idea submissions are non-proprietary and non-confidential. eBay assumes no obligation with respect to such submissions.)