Is it just a numbers game?

Paying my rent by selling books online, I mean.

Up to now, Ebay has led me to think so. Perhaps I have become spoilt that way. The income I have thus far received per 500 books/other items listed is not over-generous, perhaps - maybe £80-£120 a month. But it is reliable, and my landlord is a strange man who likes a reliable income, especially in his tenants.

Amazon income I have also found reliable - reliably underwhelming. With around 700-800 items listed, I regularly sell maybe 3 items a month, for perhaps £5-£20 quid. Whoop-de-doo who needs the lottery...

Now I have joined Ebid, and am up to nearly 100 items listed. Sales so far this month - 0. Zero.

Maybe I'm being unfair. I've been on there about two minutes. Still, that's a lot of listings for no sales at all. But for zero listings fees (minus the seller+ joinup fee), I'm willing to stick with it and give 'em a fair shot. I'm not crying uncle, not for a good 18 months yet. I will build it, and they will come - they damn well will come to www.ebid.net, and their wallets too.

what I'm up to

Ooooh... so anyway, this is what I've got up to so far to bring in the spondoolicks...

Ebay - selling the books, the bric-a-brac, any old whatsit to bring in da moolah.

Ebid.net - finally! I have signed up, after meaning to just forever and ever! And now I must actually list.

Cafepress - well, I've been signed up for weeks and done nothing. Must download Gimp and hone my graphic design skillz so I can throw some T-shirts down.

Slicethepie - again, signed up for weeks and done bugger all. Must check it out.

Etsy - crafted a lot of items, sold a few. I have a lot of items in a half-finished state, need to get 'em finished and listed. I think partly the trouble is I've lost interest in making jewellery, at least to my present standard. I need to learn proper wire-wrapping and get myself a blowtorch. But all of that is very time-consuming, and I need ready money. Also what I'm really feeling is drawing and painting - but again that takes a lot of time before you see any money. Although once I've finished a few pics to a standard acceptable to me I can get prints made, an income stream beyond the initial investment of time.

And yet they are fed

'For consider the lilies of the field, they toil not, neither do they spin...' and nor do the duckies or the birdies. But these buggers look pretty well fed.

I won't worry just yet. Does not the Holy Flying Spaghetti Monster love me much better than they? I will take no thought for the morrow, but instead whack a Buffy tape in the player. And nod off in front of the telly. Ah, for the telly is the life.

MISSION: make SAH money online...

Well, we can all dream can't we? I'm setting out on a semi-planned journey: I always meant to eventually reach the point of making enough money online/from my hobbies and interests to give up work. However when I gave up my last temp job in order to concentrate on getting through a book-keeping course/exam, it was not well-timed. Or very well-timed, if I had wanted it to co-incide exactly with the c/c (shh, credit crunch to you) and simultaneous summer influx of eager young students hogging all the temp jobs.

Where have all the temp jobs gone?

Thusly, my hand is forced. My meagre income from Ebay, and a host of the usual suspects, is my only income currently. And, being as it is that I am already all legit and registered with Her Majesty etc., everything in place, and probably wouldn't get tuppence if I registered for JSA, I might as well go all out. Have a go at the passive income streams/Ebay biz/blogging for dollars nonsense that pf aficionados know so well.

Oh, the SAH thing? Well, I'm not a mum. I'm sure you can work it out...