FOUR years ago Matt and Amanda Clarkson were broke. He was a jobbing carpenter, she sold pies from a rusty white van.
Buttoday they live a life of yachts, luxury cars and designer clothes... aftermaking s8MILLION selling goods on eBay.
The couple who both left school at 16 with few qualifications started their business in the spare room of their two-bedroom flat, and now make s750,000 on average a year.
Amanda,44, says: The eBay site definitely changed our lives. Ours is very much a rags to riches tale. eBay has given us a lifestyle that we only dreamed of.
It's a world away from just a few years ago when Matt was sweating it out onbuilding sites and I was serving builders food in my van called the Pie Princess.
It was an absolute nightmare and after three years I was really worn down. But we both had a dream of doing something more with our lives.
Theyare now one of the auction websites biggest success stories and have beendubbed The eBay Magicians for the business, which has bought them abeach-front home on Australia's Gold Coast, a yacht, luxury cars and {expensiveclothes. Last week Australians Matt and Amanda flew to London for a two-day event to teach would-be entrepreneurs how to set up an eBay business.
Their rise to riches began four-and-a-half years ago when Matt, 38, was working as a carpenter on a millionaires mansion.
Hesays: I was eating my peanut butter {sandwiches when a huge yacht moored rightin front of this beautiful mansion that was in the process of being built. Ican remember it vividly.
The owner came down the gangplank and I {decided there and then I was going to ask this man how he made his money. He told me, I created software for the internet. I didn't even own a computer but I was inspired.
The couple quit their jobs and began selling on eBay in February 2006 using a s400laptop bought with cash from Matt selling the tools of his old trade.
Matt says: Financially we had nothing. It was humble beginnings and with literally no outlay at all. But we went from broke to eBay millionaires in just 24months.
The first item they listed was appropriately a DVD box set called How to Make Money on the Internet.
Matt says: We misspelt the heading and left the r out of internet, which means a lot of people wouldn't have found it. Even so, we still managed to make s77.50.That gave us the belief it could actually work. We went on to sell other DVDs, books, CDs everything we had on the shelf at home. We were making s400-a-week profit just selling things that we no longer wanted. We learned quickly not to assume what people would buy.
We made s500 from a large cardboard box of old movies, even though you couldn't buy a VHS video player in the shops any more. One of the most surprising items I sold was a tatty old book that was barely held together which I sold for s15.I emailed the buyer and said: Why would you want it?. He said, I had this book in college 20 years ago. It had an emotional significance for him. He'd been looking for this edition for years.
Amanda adds: One of our first most popular and unexpected items was a pair of ugly,old-fashioned black pumps I bought for 50p that someone snapped up for s8. When we started to work out what was selling for us, we went and got a credit card and used that to buy stock.
They found that among the bestsellers were {camping cool boxes so they looked up suppliers on the internet until they found a company in China they could buy from directly.
Mattsays: We placed an order with the supplier and bought a container full ofcamping equipment, including camping fridges and cool boxes, all unbranded.It cost s5,000 to buy and ship the stock to our little flat and we made s4,000profit. Our initial goal was to make s1,000 a month but it kept spiralling higher and higher. As the business began to expand, they {reinvested all themoney they made to buy new products and spent thousands attending courses to learn how to improve their skills.
Amanda says: We really worked hard and our social life was non-existent. We were putting in 15-hour days, seven days a week. It was a huge risk. We kept reinvesting our money into more and more stock, importing from China and hired some space in a warehouse. From a standing start, within eight months we were selling a minimum of s24,000 a month. Today most of their {business is selling homeware such as pots, pans and {cutlery. But amazingly they say they spend less than 10 hours a week managing the business, because each time an items sells, eBay automatically puts up a posting for a new one.
That leaves them time to enjoy their wealth. Their stunning mansion boasts a pool,gym and sun room. Matt wears an expensive Breitling watch while Amanda, whose passion is shoes, admits she once bought 14 designer pairs in a shopping spree on a trip to New York. They have a 50ft yacht, a new Mercedes is on order for Amanda and Matt has a top of the range Toyota Land Cruiser.
And now they are spending s2million building their dream home next to the beach.It is built across 80m of sand with a four-car garage, home theatre, heated pool, three suites and a gazebo, beams Amanda. It means I can be close to my family and have them stay at weekends. I come from an ordinary family and mum and dad did the best they could.
My dream was {being able to look after them in retirement and that is what this business was all about for me from the start. Anything worthwhile takes effort and dedication but it is possible to live your dreams.
Ebay facts
1.Start off by selling everything that isn't nailed down in your home, then ask your friends and family to give you stuff to sell so you can get an idea of what sells before you spend your cash. Don't assume what people want.
Small and slow is the best way to get your feet wet. If you're going to make any mistakes its best to make them at an early stage so you don't end up losing money or blemishing your vital feedback rating. We call it the magic 100 as if you have more than 100 positive feedbacks you get more credibility from potential bidders and ultimately more money.
2.Find a niche product. We went round to local flea markets and auctions to get a feel for what people were spending their money on. It was a great way to get information for free. We started with camping cool boxes and then expanded into household items.
3.Use the Internet and other resources to research suppliers both locally around the world to get the best price. Look around you if there are hot, new items in your local department store they'll probably sell on eBay. Look on the back of the packaging and in most cases therell be the manufacturers details. Get on the phone to them.
Were searched suppliers on the Internet and initially emailed firms in China and India with our interest and then purchased a cheap phone card and rang them.
The golden rule when buying stock to sell on eBay is you make your money when you buy, not when you sell.
4.Build relationships with suppliers and customers to ensure a reliable stream of product. Just like the corner shop you use, we all do business with those we know, like and trust. We found it is better to meet face to face with your supplier at first. Once you have built a relationship you dont need to keep flying back constantly.
5.When you advertise your product, take clear, uncluttered photos on a plain background and end your auction at a time when more buyers are looking. The best time is 8pm to 9pmwhen people are at home, relaxing after dinner. If there are flaws, take a close up picture and honestly point it out. People will feel better about trusting you.
6.List your products in the correct category, using key words. There are more than 50,000 categories on eBay so this is a potential minefield. Lets say I wanted to sell womens maternity jeans. Don't list them in womens clothing. We would place it in womens maternity wear. If you have something really weird there is a category called everything else.
7.Describe your products in a way that will make people want to buy them --people shop on eBay for pleasure, not for need. This is one of the main reasons why we make so much money there is massive power in the choice of words we use.Instead of blue jeans wed say: Boot cut, slim fit, flattering jeans.
8.Give outstanding customer service. We decided to automate our business,something that is available as part of eBay. We've made templates of commonly asked questions so we just need to cut and paste. If your service is good you will get great feedback. People want to know that other people have bought your product first, and that they've lived to tell the tale!
9.Build up a data base of customers and email them teasers. With our kitchenalia category we send out recipe ideas and tips monthly. For example with what types of herbs you can use, and then suggest a new blender.
10.Don't ever let go of the end vision of what you would like success to do for you. Matt says: One of the biggest dreams I started out with was I wanted one day to be able to travel business class on flights and that spurred me on.
Tricks of the trade
HERE are Matt and Amanda's top tips for making a mint online...
START off by selling {everything that isnt nailed down in your home, then ask your friends and family to give you stuff to sell so you can get an idea of what sells before you spend your cash.
Don't assume what people want. Small and slow is the best way to get your feet wet.If you're going to make any mistakes its best to make them at an early stage so you don't end up losing money or blemishing your vital feedback rating.
We call it the magic 100 because if you have more than 100 positive feedbacks you get more credibility from {potential bidders and {ultimately more money.
FIND a niche product. We went round to local flea markets and auctions to get a feel for what people were spending their money on. It was a great way to get information for free. We started with camping cool boxes and then expanded into household items.
Use the internet and other resources to research suppliers both locally and around the world to get the best price. Look around you if there are hot new items in your local department store they'll probably sell on eBay.
Look on the back of the packaging and in most cases there'll be the manufacturers details. Get on the phone to them. We researched {suppliers on the Internet and initially emailed firms in China and India with our interest and then bought a cheap phonecard and rang them.
The golden rule when buying stock to sell on eBay is that you make your money when you buy the goods, not when you sell them.
BUILD relationships with suppliers and {customers to ensure a reliable stream of product. Just like the corner shop you use, we all do {business with those we know, like and trust. We found it is better to meet face to face with your supplier at first. Once we built a relationship with ours, we didn't need to keep flying back constantly.
WHEN you advertise your product, take clear, {uncluttered photos on a plain background and end your auction at a time when more buyers look.
The best time is 8pm to 9pmwhen people are relaxing after dinner.
If there are flaws, take a close-up and point it out honestly. People will feel better about trusting you.
LIST your products in the correct category, using key words. There are more than50,000 categories on eBay so this can be a minefield. To sell womens maternity jeans, don't list them in womens clothing. We would place it in womens maternity wear. If you have something really weird theres a section called everything else.
DESCRIBE your products in a way that will make {people want to buy them people shop one Bay for pleasure, not for need. This is one of the reasons we make so much {money there is massive power in the choice of words we use. Instead of blue jeans wed say: Boot cut, slim fit, {flattering jeans.
MAKE sure you give outstanding customer service.We have made templates of commonly asked questions so we just need to cut and paste them to reply to potential buyers. If your service is good you will get great feedback. People want to know others have bought your product and lived to tell the tale!
BUILD up a database of customers and email them teasers. With our kitchenalia category we send out recipe ideas and tips every month. For example we tell them what types of herbs you can use, and then suggest a new {blender.
DON'T ever let go of the end vision of what you would like success to do for you. Matt says: One of the biggest dreams I started out with was I wanted one day to be able to travel business class on flights and that spurred me on.
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