If working at home is your idea of a dream come true, the opportunities to make a killing are slim but definitely out there. Just take the relatively recent success story of Jeffery Morin. Over a few, short years, the Marine veteran has built up what started as a small, at-home business manufacturing and selling challenge coins on eBay, into a multi-million dollar enterprise. Challenge coins are small medallions traditionally carried and given to military servicemen for participating in specific groups, activities, or being part of a certain unit. It all started in WWI when a pilot for the brand new “air corps” gave out these unique medallions to his fellow wingmen.
Seen as tokens of luck, the pilots kept their medallions close during battle. Apparently, when a lieutenant was captured by the French, his only form of identification left, his medallion, kept him from execution. Since then, these medallions, or challenge coins, have been traditionally given and collected by servicemen for a variety of reasons. The practice of giving out and carrying these unique tokens has recently been extended to non-military servicemen such as firemen and policemen.
When Jeffrey saw people bidding on these commemorative coins on eBay, he realized he could purchase them from his Marine Corps base and sell them for a small profit. First, Jeffrey followed the coins on eBay in order to figure out the trends their sales were exhibiting. Then, starting with a bulk purchase of 30 coins, Jeffrey tweaked his eBay marketing skills as he went along. Working from his mother’s basement to package and mail the coins, pretty soon, Jeffrey was making a profit of $300 to $500 a month!
When the mom of a marine asked Jeffrey if he could find her a medallion emphasizing mothers and their military sons, Jeffrey found a manufacturer, designed the medallion, and created a whole new space in which his business could expand. Walmart and other retail giants have recently taken great interest in Jeffrey’s business. He has even had offers from various people who would like to buy his venture.
Keeping an eye out for creative opportunities on eBay and other areas could be the key to your success in working from home. eBay has launched many successful at-home businesses. Even without making millions, an online at-home business can give you a steady income. If you’re interested in trying your hand at an eBay business, do your research and your homework before investing money into a specific product. Follow eBay for months and pay attention to how much items are selling for and how items are being presented. A major key to learning ways to make money on eBay is being able to create a situation where people engage in a bidding war. Knowing what key words to include in your description can be the difference between an okay profit and a huge, fat check. This kind of business has very low overhead, which means that, depending on what you’re selling, a low initial investment.