We hear it all the time…if you want to start making extra money, do something you know and love. Now I want to let you in on something….Last night I had a dream I was picking through a huge assortment of used, pre-owned and even well-worn shoes and boots to resell in my online auctions. My shopping cart was full! And in my dream I was excited and couldn’t wait to list them. I’ll let you in on something else…It’s not the first time I’ve had this dream.

    Doing something I know, love and actually dream about helped me declare my personal finance independence and start my own economic turnaround for myself and my family. And you can, too.

     KNOW: What do you know or want to learn about? What did I know when I wanted to start making honest money part-time from home? I knew I had a lot of used clothes, shoes and accessories and I wanted to learn all I could about reselling them in online auctions. I spent countless hours researching online auctions of used clothing, shoes and accessories. That helped calm my nerves and gave me the confidence to start listing pre-owed, used and well- worn clothing shoes and accessories for resell in online auctions. Now, years later, I’ve used (and continue to use) that knowledge to complete thousands of online auctions and make honest money from my home. Take a minute to think about what you know or can learn about quickly that can make you some extra money from home.

     LOVE: What do you love to do in your all too little and precious spare time? I like making time to hunt for clothes, shoes and accessories. I don’t hunt for the new with tag items. That stuff just isn’t interesting enough for me. I love discovering pre-owed, used, and even well- worn clothing shoes and accessories with ‘true lived-in character’, not the look manufacturers today create. But the character that can only come from true age and use. And when I can find that stuff at a price that will make me a good net profit……well, that’s what I love doing in my spare time. Think about what you love to do in your spare time…what do you wish you had more time to do and what gets you going when you are doing it?

     DREAM: Have you ever had a dream you were doing something you like to do? Do you have that dream a lot? I know about reselling pre-owned used, and even well-worn clothing, shoes and accessories and I love doing it so I guess it’s not that unusual I dream about shopping and ‘picking’…But should I be dreaming about it as often as I do? What’s often? About once a month I dream about shopping for used stuff to resell in online auctions! On the surface, I’m pretty sure it’s an indication I have some issues. But I since I’m always having a good time in my dreams, I think it’s also an indication I’m currently living my dream out loud to some extent and I don’t have any personal issues with that. What do you see yourself doing in your dreams? Is it something you could do to start earning an honest part-income from home?

     PERSONAL FINANCE INDEPENDENCE AND TURNAROUND: What is your personal finance Plan A, Plan B, or Plan C? Why do you need one? Well, because stuff happens without any warning that can financially impact your household. Do you know what you would do if you were unexpectedly laid off, had a medical condition that affected your work and employment options or had an unexpected emergency that called for you to come up with extra money outside of your already strained budget? Perhaps you have already experienced one those situations or know someone who has? Well, my family and I have recently experienced all of these life situations: My husband was laid off, he had open heart surgery and my dear mother passed away, all in an 18-month period. Fortunately, I had already started reselling pre-owned, used, and even well-worn clothing, shoes and accessories in online auctions during a down economy because I wanted to experience the feeling of financial self-reliance and start my own economic turnaround. But it just so happened reselling used stuff and the regular 2nd income generated from home would become my family’s Plan A, Plan B and Plan C as we experienced ‘life’. Are you ready with a plan for how to make honest extra money when life happens?

     Don’t  wait anymore! Now is the perfect time to bootstrap something you know, love and actually dream about. Then use it to declare your personal finance independence and start your own economic turnaround today!

~Ronda

It’s Monday afternoon and I just finished doing all my shipping from items paid for over the weekend. And I got it all done from the comfort of my home. This got me to thinking about the financial struggles of the United States Postal Service I’ve been hearing in the news lately. I’ve been watching and listening with great interest and concern. Why? Because as an online microbusiness entrepreneur trying to be efficient while watching every nickel and dime for maximum net profits, I still need my local post office…am I alone here?

The United States Postal Service consistently saves me time and money as I resell pre-owned, used and even well-worn clothing, shoes and accessories in online auctions like eBay. My local post office helps me successfully do this part-time from home to make extra money. Below are the top 7 reasons I can’t do without USPS as part of my online microbusiness success model:

1. Reasonable rates when compared to their competitors
2. No surcharge for the convenience of printing postage from home
3. Free Expresss and Priority shipping supplies in my local post office
4. Free Express and Priority shipping supplies shipped to my home when I order online at usps.com
5. They are local….. in my immediate neighborhood
6. They will pick up packages with paid postage from my home if I go online and request a free carrier pick up
7. They make me look good with fast, trackable shipping to my customers

For all of the above, I thank you, United States Postal Service and I’m sorry for your current business struggles. What can I do for you, usps?
~Ronda

     As an eBay entrepreneur reselling primarily pre-owned, used and even well-worn clothing, shoes and accessories, I take pride in the fact I have received 100% positive feedback from thousands of online bidders and buyers around the world. I work hard to be honest about the condition of the item and I try to accomplish this honesty with factual descriptions of what I see and pictures to support what I see including the good, the bad and the ugly. I guess I’m a little spoiled because I really expect my customers to be happy with their item when they receive it. So when a buyer recently left the following feedback “More faded than pictures indicated, but tread was great. Fast ship. Thx.” (there was a positive annotation with the comments)…….. I was taken aback and a little confused for a few reasons:

 1 They were a pair of strappy sandals I took pictures of from every conceivable angle-11 pictures to be exact
 2 After describing the style and features, the condition was further described as follows “used, worn, fade, and broken in with some surface scratches rubs scuffs marks wear and heel shows some wear”
 3 The customer didn’t contact me about any issues prior to leaving feedback the condition was not necessarily as they expected

     On the surface, it’s no big deal. It’s their opinion (regarding the fading or extent of the fading as they perceive it) and in the end, it shows ‘positive’ for me as a reseller. And constructive comments help keep me on my Ps & Qs. However, reselling in online auctions, particularly pre-owned, used and even well-worn clothing, shoes and accessories on eBay, is largely based on TRUST. As you start to build your reputation on online auctions like eBay, trust must be established before bidders and buyers will even consider what you are reselling. So ‘little comments’ that even hint an item differs from what was expected can discourage buyers from completing transactions with you whether you’re a newbie or experienced reseller.
So what’s a reseller of used stuff in online auctions to do?

• Be absurdly honest with your description, condition and pictures. (yes, I thought I had that covered including 11 unedited pictures)
• Encourage bidders and buyers to contact you prior to bidding with questions and to contact you if they have an issue once they receive the item (yes, I thought I had that covered, too)
• Respond, don’t react. Sometimes you think you’ve done all you can do to provide true and accurate descriptions and there may still be a snag. No matter what, I always encourage polite communication between buyers and resellers and I would have preferred to communicate with the buyer directly and not through feedback. For whatever reason, they chose not to do that. I only knew of their issue via the public feedback they left. I did leave the customer positive feedback and a comment thanking them for the immediate flawless payment. And since eBay allows sellers to respond to feedback left by buyers on a seller’s public feedback profile, I did. Directly under the feedback the customer left on my public feedback profile, I responded with “Sorry you didn’t see all 11 pics & condition description:used,worn,fade,broken in,but thx”

     I don’t dwell on the public feedback I receive but do what I can to manage it. My response was more for future online bidders and buyers because I know smart bidders and buyers will almost always check the feedback of resellers of used, pre-owned and even well-worn clothing shoes and accessories. For that reason, I didn’t want to leave the customer’s ‘more faded than pictures indicated’ comments dangling out there with even a hint I tried to be intentionally deceptive by the pictures, descriptions or condition disclosures I provide. Remember, trust is crucial to reselling your used stuff in online auctions. No trust, no transactions. As you get started reselling your used stuff, be as honest as you can in every way that you can, encourage courteous communication so you and your customers are satisfied with the transaction and protect & manage your public feedback profile for future transactions and resell profits.

~Ronda