There are many people who earn a decent living sourcing product at low prices and then marking them up for sale on eBay. They often make eBay their full-time gig. This is not what we are attempting to do. For us, eBay is a side gig. It has a long way to go before becoming a serious threat to our regular jobs.
What we expect to get out of this side gig, again, is a bit of cash. Any business venture should have the goal of making a profit, even if you just hope to break even. There are often unknown or hidden costs to a break-even venture that turn it into a net loss. Therefore, you are better off simply aiming for a profit. The profit will compensate us for our time and possibly fund some fun times for the family.
Regarding travel rewards, it became evident from reading so many travel hacking blogs that businesses churn through a lot of money in the expectation of making a profit. In the pursuit of making ten bucks, you might spend one hundred. And it is that spend that is so valuable to the travel hacker. Your business needs office supplies, shipping, advertising, travel, and all manner of expenses to make a buck. Typically, these expense categories also get bonus rewards with your travel credit card. Of course, you also need to buy products to sell.
In the end, it is possible we could end up having massive success with online sales. On the other hand, even if we have modest success at our side gig, the travel rewards that come with the effort are well worth the trouble. Business spending can very easily dwarf any spending we would do for our household expenses.
You could compare this, somewhat, to buying a house that will be rented out. Your customer pays the note and you keep all the equity. Well, in online retail, your customers are paying for your merchandise, your advertising, your labor, and all other business expenses, assuming it's profitable. Of course, the customer is also paying for your profit.
Technically, all that spending is in your business books. But, when it comes down to it, the customer is actually paying for all of it. My comparison falls apart a bit here because you may or may not build equity in your business, depending on whether you pull out money and how much. However, you can get some equity in terms of travel rewards that you bank.
Overall, we are excited to start this venture and spend some time together sourcing products for resale. It gives us something to do with our time off that we can do together as a family. And, if we do it successfully, we can benefit from travel adventures too.