When eBay first hit ol' Al Gore's I-net, I joined immediately and started making $$$ "on the side". But ... I actually bought a good portion of my inventory on eBay .... then flipped the crap for a profit. A few of those items were just grossly under-priced and I'd be the first shark to grab the deal before anyone else got to it, but usually, I'd buy in lots (many of a certain item) then sell them separately at a nice profit. I also would buy blown up outboard motors for $50 or so (kickers up to 15HP), spend 30-mins. tearing one down, trash the bad part(s) and sell the good pieces. I'd generally have about a $750-$850 return on those parts. The problem was, back in the day, a buyer could look at a seller's buying history. Nothing like trying to sell something for $100 when the buyer knows you just paid $5 for it the day before! So, I opened two accounts. I'd sell on both accounts, but if I made a purchase (on eBay), I'd only use one of those accounts to buy and sell on the other ... away from prying eyes. Well, a year or so ago, I crossed the $150,000 mark in total eBay sales between the two accounts, but I finally closed one and simply operate from one account now. (buyers can no longer access a seller's purchasing history) Problem is, I've lost the figures for the total sales I had on that account before I closed it.

Soooo, I've had a couple of sales this morning and the last one put me over the $100,000 mark for sales on my PRESENT account! $100,037.38 to be exact. I'm just glad I still have fun with it. If that ever ends, it'll be a major blow to our "cruise money" collection jar.