Scavenger Life Chat: On Earning $13K in a Month and Using eBay to Live the Dream of Self-Employment

Jay and Ryanne of Scavenger Life found me when they googled "Thrifting in Amsterdam" and landed here. I found them when asked to interviewed me for their reselling video series. And the Scavenger Life found us all. It has a way of doing that. I left copywriting/web marketing to resell, Jay and Ryanne left television production. You may have left a day job or you may be planning to. Whatever the case, Jay and Ryanne have the perfect advice for being successful selling on eBay that will inspire no matter what you want to pursue as an alternative to working for The Man. Check it out:

Jay showcasing his mother-in-law's envious reseller basement. Runs in the family. 

1) Hi Scavenger Life Duo! Can you tell us a little about yourselves?

Ryanne and I worked in television. We quit our jobs and formed our own production company. Got tired of the grind of freelance media work, so we started selling on eBay as a side gig. It’s now our main source of income. We’ve become the people we always wanted to be: Scavengers who like making media. Our goal is to become totally debt-free.

Ryanne and Jay

2) When did you start selling on eBay?

It’s the common story: the economy crashed in 2008 and work dried up. We had to do something to make ends meet. Inspiration through desperation. 

Ryanne's mom's amazing eBay set-up! I'd kill for that, it's hard as hell to resell in a 2-bedroom apartment shared with a boyfriend, a best friend, and a kitty.

3) When did it take over and become your full time work?

We never planned for eBay to be our full time living. It took about 18-24 months before we realized that we could make more money and have more fun scavenging than working for other people. It didn’t seem real at first, but it’s just a numbers game. Make more than you spend. 

We started a podcast at Scavenger Life about two years ago to document our selling lifestyle and never imagined it would become so popular. I guess consistently posting every week is a big attractor. We always post our sale profit/costs so new sellers can get a sense of what’s really possible. There’s a lot of hype out there about how much money people make. We like to keep it real by openly discussing the good and the bad. We love the community that has gathered around us. People are smart and help each other. 

Gorgeous DIY renovations made to their eBay funded home in the country. Doing it themselves, using the thrift store to shop for resources and being generally frugal help them live a rich life on less.

4) How long have you collected vintage?

Neither of us are collectors which is one reason why we are successful. We appreciate vintage items but have no need to keep them. We hate clutter and sell almost everything we find. But we both grew up going to thrift stores to buy our clothes because we’ve always known the value in those places. 

“Vintage” just means good quality and interesting. Most mass-produced items these days lack this quality. Only the high-end brands still produce items with craftsmanship, but the cost is out of reach for most of us. Vintage is affordable. As Baby Boomers start to pass away or downsize their estates, there’s an overabundance of the items out there. The amount of unwanted stuff in this country is staggering. 

Sharing more photos from Ryanne's because...the envy! The ability to stretch out like that! Dayum!

5) Agreed with you there, I hate clutter and try to sell all of my finds. And as a hunter, the amount of unwanted stuff is mind-blogging. Would you credit eBay with helping you transition to more fulfilling self-employment? Were there other helpful factors?

As freelancers, our eBay income gives us the ability to say “no” to any job. We still take on media clients, but we get to pick and choose. Our eBay income also makes us feel secure and calm. I think the calm we bring to our media jobs is one reason why our clients like and recommend us. It’s a positive reinforcing cycle. 

We also chose to move from an urban area (San Francisco) and buy an affordable home + land in a rural area. Because our costs are so low now, anything is possible. We recently bought a rental property using our eBay profits. Rural America is wide open.  We have a mountain and a river in our backyard. The internet keeps us connected to everything.

The gorgeous, rural home the couple purchased and renovated on their own. Living the dream.

6) What would you consider the top resources for eBay sellers?

When we started selling on eBay, we didn’t want to spend any money. All we did was put in the hours to list, be organized, and treat customers the way we wanted to be treated. We still do this now. There are no services to pay for or tools to buy that are shortcuts to success. Anyone who says they can teach you to become rich overnight are just trying to make money off the ignorant rubes. Don’t make it complicated. 

7) You guys are so successful at what you do, any top 5 tips to share at being successful on eBay?

Let’s be clear what success is. We feel successful because we own our time. We aren’t rich by any means, but we wake up naturally without alarm clocks and can comfortably pay our bills. Here’s our Manifesto (read here) detailing in five steps how we created our eBay business. 

Photo 1) I know that stuff-to-be-listed mess well. My hallway looks like that Photo 2) Hundreds of orders packed and ready to go.

8) If you don't mind sharing, what was your most successful month and/or year?

December 2012 was our most successful month. We made $13k. Just one of those months where everything clicked. But again, success is really relative. Some sellers seem to want to build huge empires and keep growing. We make the money we need to live the lives we want. Our eBay business lets us travel overseas every year for a month or two. Rent an apartment and experience another culture slowly. Do it now while we’re still young. This is wealth to us. 

The gorgeous rented apartment the couple shared when they stayed in Amsterdam. 

9) Again, agreed with your philosophy. The draw to reselling is the flexibility to work the hours you want to. You just can't buy that freedom. I won't go back to the 9-5 world even though it represents a high, steady income. 

You guys have bought a house and/or pay all your bills on eBay sales alone? Because that is amazing and so inspiring. I have to let the readers know it's a possible alternative to working for the man.

Yeah, it’s all a numbers game. You start making money on eBay. You become thrifty and keep your costs low. Suddenly you have money. We bought and renovated a foreclosure as you can see in these photos (How We Built Our Dream House Using eBay). Then we bought and renovated a rental property (Are we yuppies?). 

Running an eBay business also means we have a lot of time. And time lets us do all kinds of things. When you work 40+ hours for someone else, there’s no time to do anything outside of work or take advantage of random opportunities. 

10) So inspiring! I'm saving up to buy/renovate foreclosures, too! How about any top articles helpful resources from your website?

If there were just three podcasts we’d want people to listen to, it’d be these:

Our Mom and Pop Store Approach- How We Make a Living on eBay

How We Turned Our eBay Hobby Into a Real Full-Time Business

Ryanne and Jay's eBay Lifestyle

Thank you both for sharing this valuable information! You guys are resourceful, hard-working, and so generous to share so much so candidly on your website. I feel like their tips here and on their website can be applied to any indie business venture. And as we discussed in our first interview, eBay and reselling can be the tool you until you start another career of your choice or simply a way for you to make a living while having a flexible schedule so you can do more living.

Anyone else have questions or tips to share? Let's discuss...

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