Answering common questions about your eBay business can be stressful and confusing, so it helps to prepare answers in advance. Photo credit: OpenClipArt.org
Building your LEGO empire on eBay, BrickLink and BrickOwl is difficult enough, but the more your business grows, the more questions you will need to field from friends, family and acquaintances about your eBay business.
Many of the initial questions will be the same, so let’s look at some of the most common questions people will ask you about your eBay business and how to develop answers for them.
1. How did you get into selling LEGO on eBay?
This is by far the most common question that anyone will ask you, so you may as well develop your story now. My story is that I found a bunch of Star Wars LEGO sets on deep clearance at KB Toys. I was into Star Wars at the time and had already been selling a few items casually on eBay. I thought I would be able to sell the clearance sets easily and, sure enough, I did.
Realistically, your journey into selling LEGO (or anything else) on eBay may be more nuanced and meandering, but come up with a clear, concise and easy to follow moment that launched your selling career.
2. Where do you buy your inventory?
Usually you can just answer this question honestly and broadly without giving too much detail specific sources. For example, you might say, “I buy sets at stores, part them out, and sell the pieces.” Most people asking this question are only curious and are not out to steal your business. Usually mentioning that you source at garage sales, thrift stores, Target, BrickLink, etc. without disclosing specific strategy will suffice. Only give out as much information as you are comfortable.
3. Do you actually make money selling on eBay?
This “question” is actually more a judgment or hint at skepticism. Sometimes people don’t think of eBay selling as a real job. One option is to come of up with some joke of a response like, “No, I don’t make any money. They’ll probably be shutting off the water in my house any day now” (I’m sure you can come up something funnier/more clever than that!). Another option is to describe a common day selling on eBay. For example, you could say something like, I wake up, answer emails from buyers, research inventory, drive to garage sales, take photos, write descriptions, list new items, pack and ship the day’s orders, answer more questions, etc.
4. How many hours a week do you work?
People ask this question to figure out of if your eBay business is a full time job. They also ask this question to see if it’s a really cushy job. If you work 40 hours a week, then your eBay business seems like a regular job. If you work 10 hours week and make a full time income, then the eBay business seems like a really sweet deal.
If you know the exact amount of hours, feel free to tell the person, if you’d like. Many eBay sellers may not know the exact amount of time they work or it could vary week to week, especially during the holiday season. I know sometimes I find myself packing up and order or answering an email at 10pm. Like the last question, you could use a joke of a response or use the question to describe one of your common days of selling on eBay.
5. What is your markup on your inventory?
If you’re comfortable answering the question, feel free. Otherwise, you can basically give the person a polite “none of your business” answer. You could give an answer like “It depends on the type of item” or “It varies”. For many sellers, the “It depends” answer is actually true anyway.
A few final thoughts
Did you a spot a common thread among the questions? Most of the questions are trying assess how your eBay business stacks up to a traditional 9 to 5 job! Even though some of the questions may seem intrusive and sometimes even rude, usually the person asking them is simply driven by curiosity and not malicious intent. Putting some thought into the answers now will help you feel more confident and at ease when the questions are asked to you in the future.