CORPORATIONS Good or Evil?

[zorgon]

CORPORATIONS  Good or Evil?

Okay let me start by eliminating all the Evil corporations   We all know that money and power can corrupt most people...

I want to cover the GOOD side and how it can work for the average Joe

I live in NEVADA... this is important for several reasons...  but specifically for corporations.

Thanks in large to the Casinos that pay a hefty fee for being allowed to operate (and the patrons who pay a hefty entertaiment tax) we have no state income tax

That also applies to corporations. There is no corporate income tax in the State of Nevada

Also you can open a corporation BY YOURSELF as the ONLY director, you do not need to reside in Nevada or be a US Citizen.  The annual fee to hold a corporation in Nevada is $200.00 and nevada DOES NOT have a sharing agreement with the IRS ( a private Rothscild organization )  Here is the pertenant section on Wiki

Nevada's tax structure is also a large benefit to incorporation in Nevada.

Nevada has no franchise tax. It also has no corporate income tax or personal income tax.

While Nevada likes to promote that there are "no corporation taxes" in the state, there is an annual $200 "Business License Fee" which is paid to the Secretary of State's Office at the time of formation or renewal of the corporation.

Nevada additionally applies a 1.17% tax on gross wages to most businesses with a payroll over $62,500. Nevada and Texas are the only two states that do not have information sharing agreements with the Internal Revenue Service. In addition there are,

No state corporate income tax, franchise tax, personal income tax, or taxes on corporate shares

No IRS information-sharing agreement (although other states' incorporation laws often supersede Nevada law in certain cases)

Low annual fees and minimal reporting/disclosure requirements

Stockholders, directors, and officers are not public record, not required to reside or hold meetings in Nevada, and are not required to be US citizens

Directors not required to hold stock

Officers/directors are protected from personal liability for lawful acts of the corporation

Corporations may purchase, hold, sell, or transfer shares of its own stock

Corporations may issue stock for capital, services, personal property, or real estate, including leases and options

Directors may determine the value of any transactions; their decision is final once determined

Also just a side note:

If you start ANY business in Nevada you can do so NO CHARGE and get a sales permit if your gross annual sales are below $62,500

Just an additional FYI Ebay, etsy, Amazon are not required to report your sales to the IRS UNTIL you sell in access of $20,000.00 a year (If you get close to that just open a separate account )


So... you do NOT need to be RICH or an ELITE to own a corporation

ANYONE can open one and be protected. Sure there are other things you need to know but in effect opening a corporation in Nevada is about as simple as it gets

Opening a starte business or partnership even easier... and fees are waived until your income passes that $62,500 mark. (or you hire employeees  that is a differnt game altogether because of workman's comp etc)

[zorgon]

Here is an example of how corporations work that might educate some people

I will use me as example

I Ron Schmidt, can open a Corporation in the State of Nevada and Nevada Law says I only need ONE PERSON (me) Most states require THREE peopl on a board of directors to be allowed to form a corporation.

Here is the benefit to YOU as a corporation owner

1) Liability.  A corpoartion has limited liabilty for its actions and rarely does it go back on the owner. You are protected from personal law suits in most cases

2) Money:

The corporation does business and makes money. As long as that money is in the corporations account there is no state income tax on it. YOU own the corporation, but in effect you are an employee. So you only pay income tax on the portion of money that you pay yourself and since Nevada has no personal income tax, you only need to worry about the federal portion.

3) Stuff the Corporation Owns

Now let us say that my corporation made some really big money (I wish ) So I decide to buy a Lear Jet for the corporation.  The Corporation owns that Lear jet, not Ron Schmidt...

BUT Since I own that corporation, efectively it is my Jet. As I am the sole owner/director of that corporation, in effecrt I have the sole use of that Jet tax free.

Same applies for that new car every year etc...  the title is in the name of the Corporation, but I get sole use of it.  That also applies to any partner directors I may include

ANYONE can open a Nevada corporation, so this is not for the Eliteor the Rish. It only costs $200.00 a year

Dr Joe Resnick lives in North Carolina but his businesses are registered Nevada Corporations

Now before you go crying FOUL or UNFAIR you need to realize that the money corporations make do circulate in other ways so it all works out in the end.

The trick is to get YOURSELF set up to use the same rules and tools the rich use to better your life. This is not tax evasion because this is the actual laws of Nevada. They have realized that most businesses fail in the first few years and it costs them more in the long run so they made it easy to start up for free.

Wanna go sell at an event in Arizona or California? Just right the government a few weeks before the event and get a FREE temporary sellers permit (California is 3 months location specific  Arizona is for life, but you need to respecify location of each event as they have local share taxes)

One of the main reasons Nevada did this is to reduce bankruptcy claims...  It is hard to fail when startup is free

[Phedre]

Such a hard topic Zorgon, as these days you say Corporations and people have been trained to foam at the mouth. I would say statistics wise, the majority are good and enhance our lives. It is only the few 1%, that want to rule the World and the People on it, are the true danger to us people.

I posted some things on another thread. It is so hard to explain as it is very complicated, people need to look behind the curtain and to understand at least a tiny bit of what they are seeing.

[zorgon]

NON PROFIT CORPORATION

Many people are under the impression that a non profit corporation means you cannot make money. This is TOTAL FALSE

Now again in Nevada the laws are 'user friendly'  Like a regular corporation you can open a non profit under ONE director...  The fee for a 501c3 corporation is $500.00 a year.

Once you have that you can legally petition for donations  UNLIMITED

1)  The Money:

When you have a non profit, you need to spend that money you get on the project you stated. In my case it was for a Renaissnace Guild. So let us break this down a bit. And I will use Oppurtunity Village as an example

Opportunity Village is a non profit charity that helps mentally handicapped people. The founder, Linda Smith has such a child herself and created this org to help her son.

So  let us say that you have anual sponsors that give you money. A non profit corporation MUST HAVE NO PROFIT at the end of the year so they MUST spend all that money (save a small percentage for operating into the new year) before the end of their finacial year. If they do not, they cannot collect that same donation next year.

THIS is what is meant by a non profit... no money left over.

2) The stuff.

HOWEVER that does NOT mean directors do not get PAID...  The non profit corp can own vehicles for example and the directors can use them as perks. many other perks are available to directors and perks can be awarded to other volunteers who help out.

Example: We did a lot of support for events held by OV with our Guild. In return we got to hob knob with Las Vegas Who's Who. When they held their fund raising dinners for donations, WE were at the head table in our custumes. One perk we got was tickets to las vegas shows... One time I got 50 tickets to Imagine  (which ran $62.50 a ticket)  It so happens one of our members actually worked on those mermaid costumes ) But I had 50 free tickets to hand out to all my members and friends

At the end of the year OV throws a lavish Thank You party to use up any extra money for the directors and volunteers

3) Directors Salary

You can have as many directors as you need on a non profit board. These directors can get a SALARY... that salary can be as high as $120,000.00 a year  I know this because that is what a director of OV gets  In fact when they tried to raise that Nevada used that figure to set a cieling for director's salary.   

Salary is NOT profit  it is OPERATING EXPENSE thus a valid legal thing, set forth in the laws of the state

I am planning to restart my Non profit for the Guild IF I can find a few good people who want to make it happen.  I am too old tpo do all the setup myself anymore but would like to see my Guild survive me   Another local group had better luck and now have 43 chapters around the USA

4)  Profit with Non profit

You CAN have BOTH.  You can have a for profit business and a Non Profit business as a joint venture

A good example is Ronald McDonald House and mcDonald's Inc

There is only ONE RULE... the flow of money

Your FOR PROFIT business CAN send money to your Non profit and you CAN right that donation off on the federal taxes of your for profit company... but you CANNOT channel ANY money from the non profit to the profit company.

You CAN however be a director of BOTH

So there ya go... there is NO REASON you cannot take advantage of all this for a mere few dollars  out of pocket

And if you have ZERO dollars, you can always just sell an IDEA to a few people and take them on board. In the case of a non profit, you can ask for doantions to get started (Gofundme and Kickstarter are just two LEGAL entities to help you do that

[zorgon]

It is only the few 1%, that want to rule the World and the People on it, are the true danger to us people.

Yes precisely  Only a small percent  because otherwise we would not have all the things we take for granted.

The trick is to EDUCATE people on how to use the tools

I know not everyone can afford to pull up stakes and move to Nevada BUT if your at the bottom of the barrel, moving to a tax free state (I think there are 6) is a good way to begin

I posted some things on another thread. It is so hard to explain as it is very complicated, people need to look behind the curtain and to understand at least a tiny bit of what they are seeing.

It is only complicated because no one teaches the solutions. It is not in the interste of the 1% to share the simplicity of their system

IF we taught basic economics and PERSONAL finances in school  we would be better off as a whole

[zorgon]

For example...

What if I could show you a way to use OTHER PEOPLES MONEY to help yourself? Would anyone be interested?

It does require TWO things

1) A strong will to want to fix things and NOT continue spending the way you used to IE Self control. If you don't have that this is not for you

2) A steady paycheck for one year Does not have to be a big paycheck, just a steady one

[zorgon]

I really cannot stress enough that if you need to make some money you really do need to use Ebay and Paypal

Ebay gives you INTERNATIONAL reach for your yardsale stuff and paypal makes it easy to safely collect money  all for a small fee and you get up tp 20% discount on shipping chatges from the post office

You never have to go to the post office because they mail you FREE priority mail packaging and pick up FREE...  You print your label at home with a 2% to 20% postage discount depending on the amount of postage and your sales level

A few recent examples of mine

A pair of shoes we picked up at the Trift store for 1.00 before my senoir discount of 33%



Sold it on Ebay for $15.00  The person also paid $15.50 for shipping to Canada

The shipping discount I get is enough differenct to pay for the Ebay and paypal fees so I net 14.00 profit on that one item

Sugar Factory Lollipops  All the RAGE

One store closed in las Vegas so they donated all the stock to Opportunity Village thrift store. We bought them up at 1.00 each minus my 33% discount.

They are marked 24.50 each  We sell them on Ebay for 14.50 each or make an offer



We also bought 24 packs of refills at $5.00 a box  sell them 3.00 each online. Most have benn going to the UK    (Sugar Factory charges $100.00 to ship to UK) From us it is $13.50 to the UJ First-Class Package International Service for up to 8 oz

Why would you pay that much for a lollipop? It's a Kardashian thing

The point is you can sell anything on Ebay  Just find it cheap and sell it below what others do.

Once you have a bunch of stuff listed you will see a steady daily trickle

need an idea of what to sell? Here is my shop  ( I pay the 49.99 a month for 1000 free listings)

http://stores.ebay.com/Land-of-Legends-Gallery

[Payton]

I read the whole thing, very interesting. I didn't know most of this stuff. I didn't even know that Nevada has no state income tax, which im kinda embarrassed to say lol

so you can have an internet business that you can essentially have based/registered in Nevada?

I would love to have my own business and not have to work for the man but not sure I have the smarts for it lol although you make it sound pretty easy

[zorgon]

I read the whole thing, very interesting. I didn't know most of this stuff. I didn't even know that Nevada has no state income tax, which im kinda embarrassed to say lol

Seven U.S. states currently don't have an income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. And residents of New Hampshire and Tennessee are also spared from handing over an extra chunk of their paycheck on April 15, though they do pay tax on dividends and income from investments.

so you can have an internet business that you can essentially have based/registered in Nevada?

Yes you can  but if your just starting out you can use Ebay etc to make money and open a store at each site  Ebay Etsy and Amazon do all the work for you. They DO charge a percentage but its a lot cheaper than opening your own store.

I can get ya started if you like. You do not need a business license to sell stuff online  (not yet anyway )

It is easy enough but it does require effort

[astr0144]

Interesting to read what you say "Z" and to see some egs of what you have done and achieved..

It would be very good if you had some sort of main product that was your own that you could sell on a consistent basis..

some products that you can have that require NOT having to keep looking for the next type of things to sell each week.... you need some items that you can rely on to sell consistently weekly..

I did write a thread the other day to ask will you ever write your own book ?

If you were able to... you could hopefully sell so many copies each week..and also on ebay...maybe as a downloadable version...on your own website that you promote..

Information products that are downloadable can be seen as an ideal business once set up if you have the right in demand thing to offer..

Finding it is the issue..

one eg of much in demand type of information  products in the last 10 years has been  on "Internet Marketing"... anything to do with how to sell information products online...

What products to consider to sell... How to create a website.. How to promote and market it... How to get traffic or prospects to visit your website... (That is one of the main things one has to consider after one has a product and website and can be the hardest to achieve effectively as it can prove very expensive or time consuming that most people do not realise.. its a huge topic and very important..and many people will fail if they do not know how best to go about it) I am sorry to say that even the experts have issues with it today as things have got so competitive and expensive to what they were say 5 years ago.. when you could promote ones offer for a few cents..per visitor..

but it has become a flooded market with numerous various related products and now what seems far too many doing very similar things..

but there are no doubt still new ideas arising and ways to go about doing things in a more more modern way as technology changes.

initially we may have sold items just by sales copy text html websites and a paypal link that prospects can buy or order with..... today we now use video and audio websites to do a similar job but that is the newer way to go about it.. it seems the older ways are no longer effective..or so I am told by the experts.

webinars are also the latest thing that marketers use.. which I do think can be very effective..but it takes time to learn and  there are cost and time involved to obtain and learn.. as well as being of the right personality to go about doing it.. not everyone may feel they are confident to speak to try to promote their offers to others by spoken words...where one is like a salesperson..or presenter..

sometimes that may not always be the case however..

With the type of material you have on PRC... How much is that in demand that a set % of people would consider buying... and how much is it easily available to find for free.

some or maybe a large % of people don't have the time or want to spend years searching for info.. they like to have it easily available in a book form maybe..and would be willing to pay for it.

can you create your own type of book version on your views on a combination of related topics say from PRC that you can sell..

Even if you use another name to hide your real name if you don't want that sort of publicity..

I also can understand there is a buzz in trying to search around for items to sell on ebay..

one can also look for bargains on ebay and re market then at double what you buy them for or more..but as you know its time consuming...

There are no doubt many ideas and routes one can consider..

but some no doubt could be better than others.

There are courses that you can attend on Ebay or there used to be..but I have been informed that ebay may be starting to loose its appeal and may be short lived than we may imagine..
How true that is I am unsure.

Some of the courses that I have seen used to also offer special software to help one market their items to look more appealing..
such as how to lay out a series of photos and how to list the offer in a better way..but it was a bit of an expence..maybe $5 to 10k to purchase and get the training..

Not too long ago I could have gone to my local tip and obatined numerous items that were being discarded.. with many in reasonable condition that one could either repair or do up to sell.
BUT now .. its like Fort Knox... with security on it and you can not take away any items...at least with ease..or without bribe..

There are so many items that seem perfectly good condition  being thrown away.. that I am sure one could resell on ebay and make a reasonable profit on them. Some items just get thrown away as someone wants the latest thing and they cannot be bothered to sell it.. they would rather just chuck it away... but to other poorer folk... those items may seem a well worth item to have..that they would have gladly paid for..

There are now some people running around the area in vans with a bull horn offering to collect items for a small fee to save people taking them to the tip themselves... no doubt they collect items and resell them.. as well as make some money in collecting and removing the items.. It may well be a profitable enterprise..

the local council has a similar service but charges so much per item..and probably just dispose of the collected items..

Have you also ever consider selling Amazon items on a larger scale ? Its problem however is you only get small %s on items sold say 6%..

Again having ones own product that they can sell that is in demand on a consistent basis is the best option.. if one can find the right solutions to create and offer..

For me .. Id mainly want a type of ebay business if It did not take too much of my time and I could at least cover my basic living costs... which could be as low as say $7000 to $10,000 a year.

is that easy to achieve for most on ebay I wonder ?

or do most just make a few hundred to a couple of thousand a year in doing it..

The point is you can sell anything on Ebay  Just find it cheap and sell it below what others do.

Once you have a bunch of stuff listed you will see a steady daily trickle

need an idea of what to sell? Here is my shop  ( I pay the 49.99 a month for 1000 free listings)

[zorgon]

It would be very good if you had some sort of main product that was your own that you could sell on a consistent basis..

True that would be nice but that requires spending money on a product line and hoping it will sell   I prefer to have different items for different events. For example A Medieval Event I need different items than at a gem and mineral show

some products that you can have that require NOT having to keep looking for the next type of things to sell each week.... you need some items that you can rely on to sell consistently weekly..

Rock will work   But I procrastinate

I did write a thread the other day to ask will you ever write your own book ?
If you were able to... you could hopefully sell so many copies each week..and also on ebay...maybe as a downloadable version...on your own website that you promote..

Where would I start I have enough pages written on the website to make an encyclopedia

What products to consider to sell... How to create a website.. How to promote and market it... How to get traffic or prospects to visit your website... (That is one of the main things one has to consider after one has a product and website and can be the hardest to achieve effectively as it can prove very expensive or time consuming that most people do not realise.. its a huge topic and very important..and many people will fail if they do not know how best to go about it) I am sorry to say that even the experts have issues with it today as things have got so competitive and expensive to what they were say 5 years ago.. when you could promote ones offer for a few cents..per visitor..

That sounds like a full time career   I am retired

but it has become a flooded market with numerous various related products and now what seems far too many doing very similar things..

True that  one lady sells tips on where to buy stuff but what she ends up doing is spoiling the market for those who found those sources. Example  You can find stuff at the Dollars stores and resell them  But if you tell everyone that, they will just go to the Dollar store

It really only works because not every place has a dollar store and a lot of stuff they get in are from insurance claims (crashed truck, store fire etc) so it can be a one time deal  Buy for a buck  sell for 5-7.00

but there are no doubt still new ideas arising and ways to go about doing things in a more more modern way as technology changes.

Biggest problem right now is not finding stuff to sell but getting people to buy  Being this election is crazy and has everyones attention  sales are slow.

With the type of material you have on PRC... How much is that in demand that a set % of people would consider buying... and how much is it easily available to find for free.

Well judging by how many people have asked for access to the material while it is FREE I doubt many would pay for it   I can't even get Pegasus members to buy a Pegasus Coffee Mug   yet I can sell used logo mugs on Ebay for 15.00 

The John lear talks about Bob lazar DVD   I have sold those to NASA people on Ebay  I wonder how many pegasus members have purchased a copy?



http://www.ebay.com/itm/DVD-John-Lear-Talks-about-Bob-Lazar-Educational-/112153743075

We have a CD with some of the best webpage stuff including a full res scan of the Full Moon photo from Mike Deegan...  They have been in the garage so long that the plastic case is literally falling apart and needs to be replaced

We have a full size poster of the famous John Lear Copernicus crater photo from Lunar orbiter  The photo that got me started in this back at ATS  It is an enlarged contact sheet from the original negative



How many members have a copy on their wall?



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Copernicus-Crater-Poster-18-x-24-John-Lear-/112153743070

[zorgon]

I also can understand there is a buzz in trying to search around for items to sell on ebay..

FINDING stuff is easy LOL  I get so much stuff I have no room to put it anywhere.  The problem is learning what your stuff is WORTH  You can do that on the internet but it takes time.

Back in the good old days of swap meets, you put your stuff on a table and waited for people to buy it  or batter for it... But with Ebay you have to photograph it, package it, describe it accurately, and list it for 30 days.  Takes a lot of time but you work at home at your own speed  Did I say I procrastinate? I DO  when I have sold enough I take a break I am retired after all

one can also look for bargains on ebay and re market then at double what you buy them for or more..but as you know its time consuming...

yes because newbies to ebay will just post stuff cheap  Have done that a few times  but i get so much stuff from thrift stores... my daughter bought a Chinese Screen for 300.00  We just happened to pop intoi a Salvation Army store on the way home and they just put it out...

It is an awesome piece  likely worth at least $20,000   (she will keep it )  It is not painted but made of all gemstones carved and inlaid  Here is the picture  The four seasons...  right click to see full detail

[zorgon]

There are courses that you can attend on Ebay or there used to be..but I have been informed that ebay may be starting to loose its appeal and may be short lived than we may imagine..
How true that is I am unsure.

Ebay recently hired a new person in charge of merchant relations  I happened to catch him on day one because he sent an email to all merchants. I laid it out on the line what all was wrong with ebay  Was rather lengthy When he got back in on Monday he was shocked at the replies (several hundred people had flaged me with "Yeah Couldn't have said it better myself" posts

End result: He actually FIXED many issues and things are a lot better now. I upgraded to a premium store ($49.99 a month)  I needed the extra free listings  1000 is a lot to use up even counting relisting ones that didn't sell

Some of the courses that I have seen used to also offer special software to help one market their items to look more appealing..
such as how to lay out a series of photos and how to list the offer in a better way..but it was a bit of an expence..maybe $5 to 10k to purchase and get the training..

Ebay is doing away with ALL the fancy pages  It bogs down their servers too much best rule  keep it SIMPLE  just the facts and add LOTS of keywords

Not too long ago I could have gone to my local tip and obatined numerous items that were being discarded.. with many in reasonable condition that one could either repair or do up to sell.
BUT now .. its like Fort Knox... with security on it and you can not take away any items...at least with ease..or without bribe..

Yeah I forgot you are in the UK Here we have trash nite weekly and its just on the curb  twice a month they do heavy trash  (like furniture)  All the scrap metal hunters are out and I look for anything old wood.  (old dresser handles are worth a lot)

Do you not have thrift stores run by charities? Church sales?  You need to learn what has value but with today's cell phones with net access you can look up an item before you buy
If you become a regular at those stores, let them know you resell and what you are looking for  They will usually call you and give you a deal because you buy a lot  and they need to move the stuff

There are so many items that seem perfectly good condition  being thrown away.. that I am sure one could resell on ebay and make a reasonable profit on them. Some items just get thrown away as someone wants the latest thing and they cannot be bothered to sell it.. they would rather just chuck it away... but to other poorer folk... those items may seem a well worth item to have..that they would have gladly paid for..

For large items hard to ship here we use Craigslist  It is FREE and people come to you to pick it up and pay cash. Wife just found a set of dressers and end tables when someone moved out of her complex...  she grabbed them cleaned them up and put a note in the apt laundry room  Sold it the next day for 300.00  From TRASH to CASH  people moving out just don't want the bother

There are now some people running around the area in vans with a bull horn offering to collect items for a small fee to save people taking them to the tip themselves... no doubt they collect items and resell them.. as well as make some money in collecting and removing the items.. It may well be a profitable enterprise..

That is done here too  One example is aluminum drink cans. The scrap yard pays 35 cents a pound  but you can find buyers on craigslist that are offerring 85 cents to 1.00 a pound.  People will offer to clean your garage for a FEE  they get to keep the stuff.

Storage units that arer abandoned are auctioned off

Have you also ever consider selling Amazon items on a larger scale ? Its problem however is you only get small %s on items sold say 6%..

The 6% is for affiliates  It starts at 4.5% every month and goes to 6.5% depending on how many people buy a product or book.  For every item a person buys on Amazon via YOUR link. Amazon pays you that % as 'advertizing fee' It's really a good deal but you never know how much you get until it appears in your bank account. It costs the buyer nothing  Amazon just does this.  There are many other affiliate accounts out there like Think Geek  I just need to post the ads

But yes I DO sell on Amazon when I can... but Amazon has a different system. You CAN list any item that someone else already has  If you look at an item on Amazon you will see a little text "Have one to sell?" Click on that and list yours  Simple 2 minute post, set you price new or used and it stays active until you sell it  You will pay no fee till it is sold

You can list NEW items if you have a UPC number... You can list USED items but that costs you 40,00 a month for an Amazon store (but it drops the .99 cent listing fee per item) You are also limited in some categories 

I have several items on Amazon  I sold all my old Security System parts through them. They do charge a higher fee 15% and shipping is odd so you have to watch it  but it is an easy form to sell

And you can forget about the listings because when an item sells they send you a notification

Example: My daughter is selling THIS game

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KGTRAX0

If you look and click on the "40 new from $59.62" link you will see ours is at the top (cheapest price) so the next person looking for it will likely buy ours

Bottom right of that link you will see a button Sell on Amazon  Go ahead and click on it and see the page

Again having ones own product that they can sell that is in demand on a consistent basis is the best option.. if one can find the right solutions to create and offer..

Having your own product has issues like licensing and meeting government requirements. getting a UPC code for your product can be expensive too. Good for someone looking for a full time job  

But if you just want extra income, you can set your own limits

For me .. Id mainly want a type of ebay business if It did not take too much of my time and I could at least cover my basic living costs... which could be as low as say $7000 to $10,000 a year.
is that easy to achieve for most on ebay I wonder ?

10,000 a year? Sure that is easy enough  That is only $834.00 a month.  Not sure how Ebay UK is but I see they list things much higher than we do. Shipping is an issue for you though

But you can start by spending a few hours a day and just letting stuff sit  Make sure you use the FREE monthly listing (50 basic per month  250 with the basic store 1000 with the premium) They also usually give away free listings before every holiday   With the free listings you only pay the fee for stuff you sell

I check my accounts daily to see what has sold  print label put it outside for the postman and transfer any money from paypal to my account Even slow days I get something like today a 5.00 glass ornament and a 10.00 mineral specimen  Oh wait I see two more just popped up

It all depends on where you want to be. As I said before Ebay Etsy Amazon  (any site really) has a 20,000 annual limit before they need to tell the government.  You are not selling as a business but as a person getting rid of your stuff.  Government has yet to figure out how to tax this as it goes across international lines

or do most just make a few hundred to a couple of thousand a year in doing it..

Botgh  There are those just selling off a few things to Chinese merchants that run full time businesses  You can make a little or make a lot depending on what you want to do.  I have sold some really big ticket items but mostly the little stuff that keeps cash flowing just to pay the bills...

My next step is to try the various professional auction houses for the good stuff

I have a stamp that should fetch some good money It is an error stamp



and this First Airmail to Newfoundland letter



So  I need to stop procrastinating and get busy posting

[astr0144]

Interesting to read your replies "Z".

If one had one or two main products to offer to what maybe in areas  of your main type of interests.. Then they could be good niche area options to consider trying to market those / your products to, if you thought that there was a demand for them.

Doing some upfront market research could give you some idea what the demand maybe for such things...if you maybe was not sure...but from some of your own experiences you may know what may be of interest to your target audience..which would be great to know !

Be those some sort of physical products that you can create or obtain , that  hopefully would be in demand from your target audience.. or maybe a related information type product that you may be able write or have made such as a CD or DVD or downloadable ebook that relates to your expert knowledge in those topics that people would find of enough interest to want to pay you for it.   

True that would be nice but that requires spending money on a product line and hoping it will sell   I prefer to have different items for different events. For example A Medieval Event I need different items than at a gem and mineral show

If you mean mineral type Rock / gems... or fossils ,those type of things and you were able to obtain / find them with relevant ease if say you have areas around Las Vegas to obtain them..and there is a demand for them.. then yes that would be a good example.

I always wondered would Rocks from the Grand Canyon  sell on ebay ? if one was to visit and collect so many (and not get pulled up from the Rangers) or later have some sort of online like police do you for selling such things from a Govt owned Nat Park on ebay..

Rock will work   But I procrastinate

With so many similar related things on the Internet that can be found for free.. and others who run UFO type forums or websites..some have membership type sites..or offer books, DVDs / videos that they often also sell at events. but is there enough people who will pay for such info...or the right type of info.. or does it require too much time and effort to try to make something out of it.. such as some gurus... will do videos.. interviews with other experts and hold seminars etc...and write books etc..which they do sell..Like Kerry Cassidy as an eg.

but for the average person who looks into such stuff.. its a long road to try to find out what maybe or maybe not worth while info..
and then it can be down to ones opinions..and not all want to attend seminars or events..but would consider buying certain things online..

It maybe that the likes of you could help save them a lot of trial and error in spending a lot of time trying to find what may or may not be BS and what maybe worthwhile stuff..like you may have done for many a PRC member..

some gurus don't care and would sell anything .. true or false..

but the more genuine Gurus would only consider offering what they see as a more Truthful opinion on any info that you offered..based upon your views.. . but I am sure all of us if we did try to do such a thing would always try to add in the more appealing side to things and market things that would impress as a way or marketing ones material..I think all the gurus would do that to some degree..as some things just would not sell or be seen as of enough Interest..

But your encyclopedia offers you numerous options.

why not just start with a general over view of what you may see as the 10 best topics to write about..and break it down in stages..

what things would you think would be good to tell Joe public who is interested in UFO type stuff.. the truths about  in the UFO world as an eg

Create a free initial type ebook and offer it on a website for people who will give you their name and email details, there are ways to collect email addresses...using whats known as an opt in page that has an opt in form on a webpage..some are free to obtain others you may have to pay for...but they are a main way gurus build a list of interested prospects.. as it can be good to build a list of people who show interest...as they become your target audience....

There are ways to create single simple websites that target certain phrases and keywords related to UFOs as an eg... that you can create freely and get listed in the search engines on page 1 on google in some cases...these are on keyword or phrases on googles pages that people are searching for...so they are quite well targeted individuals searching for the words your relating to.

then in your free book you have a link to your main other items that you want to promote...

you then have a series of short emails wrote that you send out twice a week to your built email list of prospects.. that refer to other things that relate to your free offered material and also to your main products that you want to sell ..so your giving them some useful free info of interest each time..but always leading them to your offers..

That is how the marketing Gurus do it who make money from selling their products.

Where would I start I have enough pages written on the website to make an encyclopedia

I am forgetting ! 

but yes in many ways for many who do try such projects it can become more than a full time job !...

if one is able to get the right formula however there can be great rewards..but I suspect most will fail..

Experience may  help even when retired.. but you could create something that could pay better than some basic  type pensions..and use other experts to create certain things without you having to do all the tasks..(admittedly that would entail paying out some money to achieve the goals) to create the project.

That sounds like a full time career   I am retired

Yes finding unique places to obtain such items can be the key..
no one does not want to tell everyone where to obtain similar items at such local stores or too many would be doing it..or beating you to find the same items before you got there.

True that  one lady sells tips on where to buy stuff but what she ends up doing is spoiling the market for those who found those sources. Example  You can find stuff at the Dollars stores and resell them  But if you tell everyone that, they will just go to the Dollar store

It really only works because not every place has a dollar store and a lot of stuff they get in are from insurance claims (crashed truck, store fire etc) so it can be a one time deal  Buy for a buck  sell for 5-7.00

As much as fellow members who are lucky to be invited to your website forum for free..

Sometimes offering Free can make the material you have seem worthless..if your aim was to consider marketing such a forum or another similar forum that you could set up that just say contains  10% of your main forum...that maybe also could be part of your promotion.

it also would depend who you were targeting.. extreme researchers may or may not pay for material.. and it depends if they are the types who will search for info for free or pay for it.. which can vary..

I am sure there could be an audience who does not have the time to spend a lot of time researching..and would be glad to obtain and read or look at shorter type versions of certain information related material that is more targeted for certain topics of what interests them... 

When you refer to selling your mugs on ebay .. is that the PRC ones ? if so that is interesting that you sell more on ebay than on your forum or other websites.

That maybe down to how you market and how and who your targeting..

With Bob Lazar and John Lear.. it maybe that they have had their best days when they would have been more in demand when they were more talked about.. or maybe you need to remind people..many newbies wont even know who they are !

To some of us Bob Lazar and John Lear are some of the most interesting valid topics in ref to say the UFO niche...

but as we know those who are aware of the story who may not know the real details... it may not appeal to a certain %..but they may have other similar type of interests in other UFO related topics.

Would Bob and John material still be in high enough demand ?

does it need a reminder or some new added content to re gain interest...?

and it may also be you are not marketing them as well as you could...... It maybe you need some updated website with some  impressive copy or a good video (maybe also a youtube one ) to help sell it..

maybe the same with the other stuff you offer..

I don't think you are doing a good enough targeting..

there are ways to highly target certain things on the net to the right audiences but sometimes you need good marketing material to promote it better..

id say that is more than likely the problem ..

But trying to determine what may be in demand and what may sell is not an easy challenge in some cases..

you can do quite some good research via google to get some good idea....there are ways to go about it in some detail, but it can be time consuming.. and depends on the individual..

once some have learned how.. it becomes much easier when trying it next times..

there is a learning curve in anything.

Sometimes they do come to nothing which is annoying..

and trying to find one that is worth doing can be hard to determine..  but if you manage to find the right thing, it can be well worth while doing..

Well judging by how many people have asked for access to the material while it is FREE I doubt many would pay for it   I can't even get Pegasus members to buy a Pegasus Coffee Mug   yet I can sell used logo mugs on Ebay for 15.00 

The John lear talks about Bob lazar DVD   I have sold those to NASA people on Ebay  I wonder how many pegasus members have purchased a copy?

We have a CD with some of the best webpage stuff including a full res scan of the Full Moon photo from Mike Deegan...  They have been in the garage so long that the plastic case is literally falling apart and needs to be replaced

We have a full size poster of the famous John Lear Copernicus crater photo from Lunar orbiter  The photo that got me started in this back at ATS  It is an enlarged contact sheet from the original negative

Yes I can understand trying to value  2nd hand items can be a challenge..knowing what to sell it for.. but at least you sell it more than you pay for it is the main thing ..plus cover expenses..

I would also do the same ..spend a day or two looking for items.. and then doing the other tasks in listing them etc..

then take a week off ! 

That was an amazing find from your Daughter !

what many a  folk dream off ! but few ever obtain..

FINDING stuff is easy LOL  I get so much stuff I have no room to put it anywhere.  The problem is learning what your stuff is WORTH  You can do that on the internet but it takes time.

Back in the good old days of swap meets, you put your stuff on a table and waited for people to buy it  or batter for it... But with Ebay you have to photograph it, package it, describe it accurately, and list it for 30 days.  Takes a lot of time but you work at home at your own speed  Did I say I procrastinate? I DO  when I have sold enough I take a break I am retired after all

one can also look for bargains on ebay and re market then at double what you buy them for or more..but as you know its time consuming...

  yes because newbies to ebay will just post stuff cheap  Have done that a few times  but i get so much stuff from thrift stores... my daughter bought a Chinese Screen for 300.00  We just happened to pop intoi a Salvation Army store on the way home and they just put it out...

It is an awesome piece  likely worth at least $20,000   (she will keep it )  It is not painted but made of all gemstones carved and inlaid  Here is the picture  The four seasons...  right click to see full detail

[astr0144]

Interesting about your comments and that he fixed those issues.

its good if you are able to cover the $49 a month fees..you are doing something right ! 

Ebay recently hired a new person in charge of merchant relations  I happened to catch him on day one because he sent an email to all merchants. I laid it out on the line what all was wrong with ebay  Was rather lengthy When he got back in on Monday he was shocked at the replies (several hundred people had flaged me with "Yeah Couldn't have said it better myself" posts

End result: He actually FIXED many issues and things are a lot better now. I upgraded to a premium store ($49.99 a month)  I needed the extra free listings  1000 is a lot to use up even counting relisting ones that didn't sell

I  was not aware of that !...whether that includes some of those pages from the software I refer to I dont know, if it does.. back luck for those who bought or sell it..

Ebay is doing away with ALL the fancy pages  It bogs down their servers too much best rule  keep it SIMPLE  just the facts and add LOTS of keywords

You are lucky if you have free collections in L.V..

we have to pay £15  or more to have say upto 5 larger items collected by councils.


Yes we do have charity shops and I know where you are coming from.. they are like car boot sales in somethings that you find in them and at the prices that they sell for.. although some items can be quite pricey even 2nd hand.. as you say you have to know the bargains..

Yeah I forgot you are in the UK Here we have trash nite weekly and its just on the curb  twice a month they do heavy trash  (like furniture)  All the scrap metal hunters are out and I look for anything old wood.  (old dresser handles are worth a lot)

Do you not have thrift stores run by charities? Church sales?  You need to learn what has value but with today's cell phones with net access you can look up an item before you buy
If you become a regular at those stores, let them know you resell and what you are looking for  They will usually call you and give you a deal because you buy a lot  and they need to move the stuff

Yes I think most countries can use CL to sell larger items at a low costs or for free.

For large items hard to ship here we use Craigslist  It is FREE and people come to you to pick it up and pay cash. Wife just found a set of dressers and end tables when someone moved out of her complex...  she grabbed them cleaned them up and put a note in the apt laundry room  Sold it the next day for 300.00  From TRASH to CASH  people moving out just don't want the bother

Metal collection is or  has been something we have here.. maybe not too many do the can collection, but at one time they may have.

Ive seen those USA storage auction programs.. luck of the draw, but some seem to get lucky or make it their business.

That is done here too  One example is aluminum drink cans. The scrap yard pays 35 cents a pound  but you can find buyers on craigslist that are offerring 85 cents to 1.00 a pound.  People will offer to clean your garage for a FEE  they get to keep the stuff.

Storage units that arer abandoned are auctioned off

I am aware of some gurus who have done well selling amazon, but they complain its a lot of work for just 6.5% but they may have created many websites to sell what items they see will be best sellers to target certain products and sell them over and over again..which is ok if you can select the best things to sell and create and market / promote those websites.. it can be a lot of work.. but if you say have 20 to 50  or more best  ietm sellers.. well worth it.

The 6% is for affiliates  It starts at 4.5% every month and goes to 6.5% depending on how many people buy a product or book.  For every item a person buys on Amazon via YOUR link. Amazon pays you that % as 'advertizing fee' It's really a good deal but you never know how much you get until it appears in your bank account. It costs the buyer nothing  Amazon just does this.  There are many other affiliate accounts out there like Think Geek  I just need to post the ads

But yes I DO sell on Amazon when I can... but Amazon has a different system. You CAN list any item that someone else already has  If you look at an item on Amazon you will see a little text "Have one to sell?" Click on that and list yours  Simple 2 minute post, set you price new or used and it stays active until you sell it  You will pay no fee till it is sold

You can list NEW items if you have a UPC number... You can list USED items but that costs you 40,00 a month for an Amazon store (but it drops the .99 cent listing fee per item) You are also limited in some categories 

I have several items on Amazon  I sold all my old Security System parts through them. They do charge a higher fee 15% and shipping is odd so you have to watch it  but it is an easy form to sell

And you can forget about the listings because when an item sells they send you a notification

Example: My daughter is selling THIS game

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KGTRAX0

If you look and click on the "40 new from $59.62" link you will see ours is at the top (cheapest price) so the next person looking for it will likely buy ours

Bottom right of that link you will see a button Sell on Amazon  Go ahead and click on it and see the page

I am not sure about Licencing...(maybe that applies in the USA for certain things) that can apply to some products or promotions.

Some Gurus buy licenced products to sell on to others. or they have their own product and licence it for others to sell at a very high fee.. say they may sell their DVD set to us to be able to sell as we please for say $10,000...and they allow say 10 to 100 people to obtain that product.. but they have to restict how many they offer it to.

I have bought a licenced product once in my early days when I tried to sell a Internet product from a website..

I know of one person who bought that same product and has made well over a £1 Million with it in 2 years.. selling it at £500 a time..

but he was able to do adwords when it was very cheap to pay for them...he was paying pennies per lead..and built a huge list..of over a million people interested in that niche..

I just didn't have the experience or knowledge how to make it work at that time.. but I did get close to may making it work until I ran out of money..

but it was very interesting to watch how well he did with it..

he has since made maybe £10 Million with other related products.

but he did become untrustworthy...as I at one time purchased something from him and he had become very misleading..

Now its a mine field of gurus online selling numerous similar items..with many being very misleading.

Having your own product has issues like licensing and meeting government requirements. getting a UPC code for your product can be expensive too. Good for someone looking for a full time job  

But if you just want extra income, you can set your own limits