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How I grew a Giant Ebay business in 2018 only to see it destroyed in 2019!
A Thread
A Thread
In Spring of 2018 I was getting ready for a vacation. My wife & I were taking a week at the beach along with a lot of our friends.
I decided to pick up a side hustle the month before to make some extra income.
I decided to pick up a side hustle the month before to make some extra income.
I’ve always been an investor with my spare money, but I’d never actually tried to earn more income other than what came from my job.
I decided to go with flipping products after a lot of YouTube research. I picked a bunch of different products, located them, and sold them.
I decided to go with flipping products after a lot of YouTube research. I picked a bunch of different products, located them, and sold them.
I ended up with about $1500 extra for my trip. I was elated. I couldn’t help but share this information with my best friend while I was on the beach trip.
He was psyched about and wanted me to teach him everything I’d learned in that short amount of time...
He was psyched about and wanted me to teach him everything I’d learned in that short amount of time...
A few weeks after the trip was over he came over to my house & we talked about flipping on Ebay.
I had taken a particular liking to 1 product that I flipped.
Neckties.
They were cheap, easy to package, and had insane margins...
I had taken a particular liking to 1 product that I flipped.
Neckties.
They were cheap, easy to package, and had insane margins...
Before the meeting had ended, we had decided to start an eBay store together and focus solely on building a necktie empire.
I had the spare money to finance the venture& purchase the products while he had more time to do the posting & shipping because he was in college...
I had the spare money to finance the venture& purchase the products while he had more time to do the posting & shipping because he was in college...
We absolutely bootstrapped this thing. It was a slow start. The first month which was probably July 18 brought us around $100 profit.
We had vowed to return all the money into the company anyways to build and grow...
We had vowed to return all the money into the company anyways to build and grow...
Each month improved, though. I learned the business better, improved our inventory, and put in more money to go after more valuable product.
We sold ties for $100+ that we literally bought for $1 at a goodwill. 100X on our money!!
We sold ties for $100+ that we literally bought for $1 at a goodwill. 100X on our money!!
That was obviously rare! But it was nothing to sell a tie for $30-40 that we paid a dollar for.
We continued to scale through the holiday season. We invested all the money back into the business and now we’re profiting 4 figures per month and climbing...
We continued to scale through the holiday season. We invested all the money back into the business and now we’re profiting 4 figures per month and climbing...
Then as we crossed into 2019 my friend became very ill. He went to the Doctor and it turned out he had cancer.
Of course, all business matters aside, as a friend I was devastated.
He was still having more good than bad days. However, we decided to split the inventory...
Of course, all business matters aside, as a friend I was devastated.
He was still having more good than bad days. However, we decided to split the inventory...
Now I was covering half of the shipping duties.
Things eventually got worse for my best friend and he could no longer complete his work on a daily basis.
As ties he had in his possession sold, I started canceling the orders. I know longer felt good about asking for the ties...
Things eventually got worse for my best friend and he could no longer complete his work on a daily basis.
As ties he had in his possession sold, I started canceling the orders. I know longer felt good about asking for the ties...
From him. He was sleeping most of the time.
Eventually our eBay store was flagged and my account with hundreds of positive reviews was restricted because of late shipping & a high cancellation rate.
Eventually our eBay store was flagged and my account with hundreds of positive reviews was restricted because of late shipping & a high cancellation rate.
In December of 2019, my best friend passed away. I completely took down the store a few days after.
It basically stopped selling anyways because of the restrictions on our account.
It basically stopped selling anyways because of the restrictions on our account.
It was a hard time. We never quite got it to a 5 figure month in profit but we were getting close.
I had lost my best friend and that’s all that really mattered.
I couldn’t really even stand to think about continuing that business without him.
I had lost my best friend and that’s all that really mattered.
I couldn’t really even stand to think about continuing that business without him.
To this day, I still have thousands of ties in my possession.
Name brand & high end. Idk what I will ever do with them...
Name brand & high end. Idk what I will ever do with them...
This is eventually what led me to Twitter in Jan 2020. I no longer had an outlet for an online type of business.
I decided to hop on Twitter and try to build a personal brand and that’s what led me to this great group of people.
I decided to hop on Twitter and try to build a personal brand and that’s what led me to this great group of people.
The lessons I take away from this story aren’t from business.
I learned to cherish those around me better. To check & care for your friends and loved ones daily.
And though my business failed because of circumstances, I’ve never once been upset with that...
I learned to cherish those around me better. To check & care for your friends and loved ones daily.
And though my business failed because of circumstances, I’ve never once been upset with that...
The memories I got to make with my best friend that year and the journey we went on to build a business for the first time was something I’ll never forget in my lifetime.
I guess to sum this up...
I learned a lot about life & about business.
I made a lot of mistakes but have become better because of it.
I don’t know if I’ll ever build an eBay or Amazon type business again... but I do know that...
I learned a lot about life & about business.
I made a lot of mistakes but have become better because of it.
I don’t know if I’ll ever build an eBay or Amazon type business again... but I do know that...
The memories I made with him building a business are worth more than any amount of money we ever made from it.
Cherish your people! Everything else is second.
Cherish your people! Everything else is second.
