Natalie McCarthy started selling plastic golf clubs on ebay when she couldn’t find any for her son’s golf-themed birthday party after. She had seen her nephews using eBay and making a profit – and enjoying it, too. and she’s managed to to get her whole family involved in the process, too.
Name: Natalie McCarthy
Age:43
Children: Patrick, 10, Tim, 5, Michael, 3
Current employment status: Self-employed
Profit from eBay: enough to pay the household bills
Setup costs: ?1,200 ? for computer and my first stock
How did you start your eBay business?
I saw my nephews selling refurbished mobile phones on eBay and was really impressed. Then I wanted to find something to do from home (as Michael was still a baby) and work in East Devon is quite hard to come by?so I started to think about eBay.
How did you fund it?????? ?
We had some savings when we came to the Uk but we have put all the money back into the business
When did you realise that there was a gap in the market you can tap into? ?
It all started when I wanted to have a ?golf? theme party for Patrick. Could I find 10 sets of plastic golf clubs without spending a fortune? Not a chance?so I looked for a wholesaler and then started thinking about how to dispose of the other 14 sets that I had bought!!! That lead
Will you open your own separate business/website in the future?
Ironically I just (today) finished my first trade fair ? at Torquay Fair ? to try my hand at being a wholesaler of handcrafted fashion handbags from my home country ? the Philippines. It?s a big step up from my evening eBay and involves much more money but who knows where it might go! As for getting ?out there? after four days of people asking me if I have a website?I realised I have to get serious, so that?s the next step!
How did your children get involved in the venture?
My children are my first line of product testing?but amazingly now after 18 months they don?t even blink when they see stuff all around the house in boxes. They hardly ask for things at all ? my older boy is a big fan of Dr Who while the youngest is into Night garden, but they got so used to seeing these merchandise? in the hall and have yet to ask for one. Another thing that made me laugh was that we didn?t have to hide Christmas presents this year (a couple of scooters) because they didn?t even look at the boxes or connect them with Christmas!
They all understand things are going to be sold, even Michael, though Patrick requested I buy a lot of Pokemon figures so he could sell them?when the shipment arrived he separated out the ?special? or rare ones, came up with a pricing strategy (per piece, discounts on five or 10 pieces) and then proceeded to sell them on eBay and at school. One day he came running in shouting “I?ve penetrated the year five market!” (he?s in year six) ? he now has a bank account and monitors it online. I?m still waiting to be called into the headmaster?s office one day!
Does having their involvement make running the business any easier?
Possibly the best thing they give me is motivation to work ? if I can do more, I can give them a better life.
Have there been any conflicts/misunderstanding while the family have worked together?
At first lots of tears over the toys but now they understand the toys are for sale. The two younger boys though voice their fears once in awhile ?Mummy, please don?t sell my toys on eBay.?? We only had one computer for such a long time they knew that when mummy was working they couldn?t play (only weekends anyway) . I have to say to be successful you need a completely supportive husband because when you are busy, someone needs to cook, put the kids to bed, etc.
Do you think your children?s influence has been beneficial to the business – e.g. Your son?s interest in Pokemon?
Certainly ? I would never have thought of that one! I have to say, their tastes are fairly representative of the (boys) market ? shame I haven?t a little girl to give me tips about what?s cool!
By the way, Honey Toast is the name we came up with for the eBay shop, and is now our trading name even for our fashion accessories business. Honey on toast was the only thing my son Tim would eat when he was a difficult toddler.
How does the family switch off?
We like to take walks along the seafront in any weather and go to the allotment in better weather.
What happens to the eBay store when you want to take a holiday?
I do take a couple of buying trips each year and take holidays with family during school breaks. Sales drop dramatically. I have tried to address this by supplying another part-time mum with my goods so at least I generate some income while being away.
Any plans for the future?
I want to keep the eBay going as I enjoy it and it helps pay for shipping/importation costs, however I am now looking at trying my hand at wholesale ? maybe if you do a feature on trade shows in a year I might still be there!
Any tips or advice for mums who might be thinking of setting up an eBay store?
- Sell something you know about and have other ways of getting rid of (I also sell at table tops, Christmas school fairs etc).
- Also, do research on the products and prices they go for. There are a couple of tools available to help you on doing this type of research, and both are free to use.
- One valuable lesson I learnt is that just because an item is not listed on eBay doesn?t mean it doesn?t sell it may be exactly the gap in the market that needs to be filled. The great thing with eBay selling is it?s easy to get started and only requires minimal funds to start, and it?s very flexible hours, you can put in as many or as few hours as you have available.
- On eBay?s search page, you can click Completed Listings on the left-hand column. It will show you, for the item you are searching, which listings have sold, as sold items will be highlighted in green. What , when and how much that item sold for in the past two weeks. That helps you to set your selling/market price, also how many items are selling or not selling, helps you gauge if it?s fast-moving or not.
- www.goofbay.co.uk – it?s a website that is independent of eBay. Apart from other things, it helps you to snoop on other sellers? sales for the past 30 days, items sold/ not sold, quantities, sales volume, their feedback summary esp negative feedback. It?s great for checking on your competition. Forgot to mention earlier, that I became a Powerseller within three months of selling (that means I met certain sales and feedback criteria set by eBay), and largely due to the copious research I did, and it?s ongoing, as it?s important to know what customers are buying and looking for, if you want to stay ahead in the game.
- Another tip: provide excellent customer service.
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