WHY EBAY.COM?
I've been looking for lawful gainful employment steadily for 4 years. In Washington State (as well as many other states), employers are only required to keep records on former employees for 3 years. In addition to that all but 3 of my former employers remain open for business and two of those no longer operate at the locations I worked. All three that remain open anywhere I worked for longer than 3 years ago. So, verifying my work history or checking professional references is a bit of a challenge or barrier. That's in addition to my being a woman born in 1973 who has multiple disabilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act including arthritis which narrows the field in terms of jobs I can do as I require a predominantly desk job rather than one that requires more physical agility/ability (i.e. standing all day or lifting heavy items). If I stand all day, my knees will swell likely 3x their normal size. If I run briefly, it is likely I'll have difficulty walking for a few days. Unfortunately, I don't qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits nor Social Security benefits in the future because I don't have the work credits to qualify for either so still need those even though I do have some and need about 5 more years of lawful gainful employment to qualify for those benefits. As you can see, I do my best in terms of entrepreneurial endeavors given my limitations. I do have family support and am thankful for that.
If I were to open a brick and mortar store of any sort to sell my own works or act in a retail capacity it would cost between $2000-$5000 for a 1000 sq. ft. retail space in my area per month in addition to 10% of revenue just for the retail space. That wouldn't include payment processing systems, electricity, shelving, displays, or anything else such as office supplies. All of that would be extra. The average brick and mortar small business grosses between $2,500-$30,000/month with most small businesses closing within the first two years. So, for me that's simply not in the budget, certainly not at this time.
I compared Shopify, ebay.com, Etsy, Amazon Marketplace, and Poshmark to determine which would be the best marketplace facilitator given my unique inventory. Amazon Marketplace is reasonable, but works best for those with a lot of inventory in terms of overall value to the sellers and patrons/buyers. I don't have enough inventory to make it worth that option at this time and don't foresee moving to a retail-centered business model. Shopify has no free plan at all and at the end of the day still has the same fees as Etsy, Poshmark, and ebay.com. Etsy, Poshmark, and ebay.com all have similar fee structures. Etsy has a fee for setting up a shop or selling on Etsy in addition to fees per transaction/sale. Between all three of those marketplace facilitator platforms, the fees to the seller amount to about 20% of the selling price regardless of item. Therefore, prices may need to be increased by 20% for sellers to reach minimum revenue goals. Ebay.com allows everyone to list and sell for free, but also has various additional features and a tiered monthly fee model for those. At this time, I've chosen the free listing option, but if it proves successful I may invest in one of the tiered monthly fee models which would reduce the per transaction fees, include additional features and result in potentially lower asking prices depending on the variables including factoring in the monthly fee versus any slight reduction in transaction fees.
I was a professional artist level member of the Center On Contemporary Art (registered nonprofit), but discontinued my membership. My annual membership fee (dues) was $95. They've since restructured and now the maximum cost of membership is $45 annually. The level I paid for wasn't even the most costly at the time. In addition to the membership fee, they received 30%+ of any sales of art sold through their events meaning to make the minimum (I price my items at state and/or federal minimum wage ($7.25) depending on piece x hours spent working on the specific piece being priced+cost of materials with consideration for any potential commission or fees from the marketplace facilitator whether online or in person such as ebay.com and the Center On Contemporary Art) I needed to raise the asking price by at least 30%. Beyond that, the Center On Contemporary Art retained limited licensing rights to any art I showcased through their events and all revenue generated from their prints of my originals as part of the membership agreement. I felt it was a bit exploitative though do recognize their commission was less than the average for profit gallery which is 40-60% of the final sale price. In addition, policy varies among galleries, but many do pay a flat fee or licensing fee to the artist where they generate and sell reprints such as posters. Some agreements do provide for royalties on each reprint sold, but that is rare. And, some galleries solely split the commission on any original work sold with the artist while retaining limited licensing or full licensing rights on reprints and the like if the piece was sold through their gallery or events. This is another reason I'm choosing to sell my own work directly to pass actual savings on to you, my fans, and my patrons.
My books are available through the publisher here https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/glovergirl and are also available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other book retailers. For my art (including wearable art, paintings, and sculptures), I'm now exclusively selling on ebay.com.
In terms of notary services, those are provided for free at any financial institution. But, it is another qualification I've added to my resume' in hopes of finding steady, stable, lawful gainful employment.
I appreciate your interest and support.
For those who may wish to know all my disabilities that are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, I'll disclose here but prefer not to be discriminated against though understand that the job market, like all markets, is a competition where other candidates may apply and better meet market demands. My disabilities include arthritis, hypoglycemia, anemia, allergies, and occasionally psoriasis outbreaks. I manage three with my diet including having small meals/snacks every two hours I'm awake (sometimes a little in between if the snack was too light and I feel it necessary to avoid loss of consciousness or moderate irritability). For arthritis for instance, I do eat anti-inflammatory foods including hot peppers. For allergies I try to avoid allergens (things to which I'm allergic specifically as anyone can develop an allergy to anything including parts of their own body (thankfully I do not have that one but have great compassion and empathy for anyone who so suffers), sometimes try to build tolerances, and keep antihistamine handy but do not currently carry an Epi-Pen and haven't needed one yet. I've had allergies my whole life. My maternal grandfather also had psoriasis and he's one of my heroes. If he has reincarnated I hope he doesn't have it again. But, outbreaks occasionally remind me of him because as far as I know no one else among my mother's immediate family had it, not her brothers and not her. I guess it skipped a generation. TMI? I agree.