Working From Home On EBay: A Stay At Home Mom's Story

I am a stay at home mom and I work from home on eBay. It sounds almost like I am at an AA meeting doesn't it? Here is a snippet of my life as I homeschool and run a work from home on eBay business.

It is Monday morning; the kids are all up and starting to eat breakfast. I have 10 items to ship out today and I use the kitchen table as my shipping department. My children range in ages from 2 to 13 years in age. Right now two are fighting, the 8 year old is putting the sold items into their correct boxes, and the 2 year old is pouring his Cheerios and milk into one of the packages. I sure hope that box is empty!

The two year old has been removed from the shipping area and is now happily playing in the living room. The fight that had broken out was only minor; the warring parties have called a truce. They are now building a catapult out of Popsicle sticks and plastic spoons. 2 of the 10 boxes need to be repackaged. That little one can fill up a shipping box with cereal faster than you can blink. I have to be sure that the items marked for shipping are really supposed to be shipped. Sometimes, we get our books mixed up with the customers.

I go to the computer to print out the packing lists and shipping labels. Then I turn the computer over to those who need it for research. Back to the shipping department, kitchen area I go. Breakfast is now finished and one of the kids left the backdoor open. The dog has made a break for it and the three older children are chasing him down the sidewalk. I expect they will bring him back soon. Good thing this is a quiet neighborhood (quiet is a relative term). Time to check on the two year old – he is still happy and playing with his toys. Dishes are in the sink, cereal disasters are cleaned up, catapult testing has begun and I can start to finish packing up these boxes. My 5 year old daughter is helping me with the packing tape. Well, she will be once she frees herself from the entangled mass of tape that has one of her arms attached to the table.

It is now noon. Amazingly the boxes are all taped, labeled, and ready to ship. The children and dog have returned from their excursion out into the neighborhood. The two year old is napping, the catapult works great – it can shoot a lima bean 6 feet! The five year old has been freed from the table and we are reading together. The rest of the children have their assignments to do. All we have to do now is to wait for the mailman to arrive, so that he can pickup the Priority Mail. Hopefully it will be the usual carrier. The kids and the dog tend to scare off substitutes.

While the chaos has come to a standstill, I quickly run off to the computer to check email and to see if any auctions have closed. I respond to the email messages, send out winning bidder notices, check my inventory, and get back to the kids. Wow – it's 3pm and I forgot to eat lunch.

Door bell rings, chaos resumes, dog is barking, children are yelling, toddler is crying. Mail Carrier has arrived to pick up the packages, the landscapers are here blowing leaves, and the delivery truck has arrived with 4 pallets of inventory. Where did that dog go... Packages go out; pallets are in the driveway waiting for the older boys to help unload. Now my living room looks like a warehouse. I send the 13 year old to go print out an inventory sheet and get a copy of the purchase order. He and his younger brother check the order for completeness. This time all is well!

That is a typical Monday in my household. The rest of the week is similar. I like the fact that I can stay at home, teach my children and earn income. I am a mom working from home on eBay. This month, I became a PowerSeller! You can balance your home, work and family with an eBay business. Just keep a sense of humor and it will all work out fine.