News: eBay Sellers Fell Into Careers That Fill Their Lives
June 30th, 2005 by Laurie BarakSource: The Washington Post
What started as a hobby for many has overtaken careers and personal lives, transforming them as a new form of commerce takes shape online. Now that thousands of eBay entrepreneurs have years of selling under their belts, they are wrestling with serious issues of scale.
Eventually, high-volume sellers often buy a small warehouse or storage barn and drop it in their back yards, or rent one in town to not only hold inventory, but provide office space. They hire part-timers to help pack the oodles of stuff they ship to buyers around the world.
All told, eBay reports more than 100,000 merchants belong to its multi-tiered “power-seller” group, which requires sales of at least $1,000 a month and carries various perks. The color-coded levels of the sales club start at bronze and progress to titanium, which requires monthly sales of $150,000. That sounds like a lot, but remember, actual profits are a fraction of sales.
Link to the complete article here.
