Birth of a "Junk" Lady

Have you been bitten by the selling bug?

• 1Start with what you love to collect. Whether it's a true collectible category, or your favorite china or silverware, or shoes. What you love to buy will also be exciting to sell. And you start off with something you already know about.
• 2Do some Internet searches to find sites that carry what you love. Check out some of the dealers on each to determine what resonates with you.
• 3Contact some of the dealers that impress you and ask their opinion of their selling venue. What do they like best about the site? Are the fees reasonable? Are the administrators responsive and helpful? Most dealers love to share their opinions and knowledge. Just don't ask for their sources for purchasing their inventory!
• 4Before you settle on a selling venue, be sure to read the site's terms and conditions - boring and tedious to be sure, but it's very important to understand their rules and regulations and how they will affect you as a seller.
• 5If you just want to get your feet wet, start off small and treat it as a hobby. As you grow, you can look into setting up a business as a sole proprietor. The Small Business Administration in your locale can be very helpful and even give free classes on starting up a business. Of course, the Internet has a wealth of information as well.
• 6Don't forget to take into consideration how to store and organize your inventory. It can quickly take over your life and home. It's best to have a room or area dedicated to your inventory storage so you know where to find an item quickly when it sells.
• 7Find a good accounting software to help you organize your inventory and track your sales and purchases. I personally use QuickBooks, but there are others that might suit your needs. Set a schedule for entering your data so it doesn't become overwhelming. I try to enter data on my sales and purchases within 24 hours, but no less than once a week.
• 8Don't forget to back up your accounting software regularly too. You never know when your computer might crash. It's happened to me a couple of times over the years. Thank God for the back-ups!
• 9Keep separate savings and checking accounts for your business also. If you are not too large, you can just set up sub-accounts under your personal accounts to use for your business. This is usually cheaper than setting up formal business accounts, and works well for a small business owner as a sole proprietor.
• 10If you choose to sell online, invest in a good digital camera and practice taking and editing photos. Each site will have its own policy on adding photos and how many you can put in a single ad. The more views you can have of your item the better. Show every side, top and bottom and close-ups of any maker's marks, as well as damage. It's better to err by giving too much information, then to have a return from a disappointed buyer because you omitted important information. Make sure your photos are as close-up as possible, in focus, and don't show you, your hands, or the kitchen clutter in the background. Be especially careful photographing reflective items. Don't want someone to enlarge a photo of that beautiful silver bowl only to see the photographer in his or her birthday suit reflected in the image!
• 11Unless you choose to go with an auction site, don't expect instant sales. It takes time for an online shop to be picked up in the search engines so customers find you. It's well worth the wait, however. It's so gratifying when you develop repeat customers and especially when a customer shares with you their reason for purchasing your item and how much it means to them. It's nice to know that not only have you made a little money, but you have brought joy to someone's life in a small way.
• 12Take one step at a time, start small with something you know and love, and always remember to have fun!