RV Couple Reveals eBay Pays for Their Travel
Can you imagine having eBay fund your RV travels? That’s exactly what Ben & Rebecca, also know as Traveling Sellvation, have done!
Today we’re talking to this RV couple to learn why they chose to RV, and how they use eBay to earn the income that finances their RV life.
Let’s dive in!
Why Full Time RV Life?
Ben & Rebecca started RV life full time when they decided to buy land and build a house. They planned to buy a camper for a few thousand dollars and live in it while building a house.
“We had the resources, the skill, and the knowledge to actually build our own home with primarily only the cost of the materials to consider,” says Ben.
They searched for RVs to use as a basecamp during construction. However, the couple quickly realized their RV budget needed to be bigger than initially planned.
“One evening, we were looking on Facebook Market Place and ran across a 1999 Fleetwood Bounder that had only around 26k miles. It had a washer dryer combo, a generator, and a floor plan that we could really work with.”
So, they scooped it up, gave it a beautiful facelift, and decided to use it for traveling – not just a home-construction basecamp.
And actually, to call it a facelift doesn’t do the RV renovation justice. They completed an all-out RV remodel.
Rebecca says, “So that’s what we did, and we have been traveling full time for right at two years now.”
How Do Ben & Rebecca Finance Full Time RV Travel?
Before eBay was their source of income, the couple owned a Real Estate company. They sold that business before hitting the road.
Ben says, “(the sale of our real estate company) wasn’t a windfall, but it was enough to pause and reset with. We were looking for another business to start that we could work from home, and when we started traveling, that task got a little bit more difficult.
We had no idea of what type of business we could do on the road that didn’t involve a food truck or contract work that would ground us for months and months at a time. We were actually watching YouTube and happened upon a couple of eBay reseller channels.”
Ben and Rebecca decided to give eBay selling a shot, and in their first month, they profited $1,000.
They say, “Of course we thought to ourselves if we can do 4-6 times that amount, we’ll be making a significant amount of money, and we have done just that ever since. We buy items all the way from Nike Air Jordans to Taylor Made Golf Clubs, to Gucci apparel and everything in between. Every day is a treasure hunt and an adventure, and it really has been amazing!”
We love the sound of that…but we need more details!
Where Do You Find Items to Sell on eBay?
Fortunately, Traveling Sellvation share their secrets on YouTube. It seems that the flexibility of traveling full time helps them score cool finds across the USA.
“We go to Goodwills, yard sales, estate sales, answer local ads on Facebook Marketplace and other online forums, we go to antique malls, and roadside junk stores, those can be just amazing places to go; almost like museums, but anywhere that we see an opportunity to get a great deal…we’re there.
We’ve bought things on trips to retail stores at times.”
Do They Search for New, Used, or Vintage Stuff?
“We look for all of the above.
Here’s a look at some of their finds:
“We’ve bought used sporting goods, and we’ve bought brand new ceiling lighting sealed in the box. We just today purchased a Brand new $300 Bunn commercial coffee maker that we only paid $60 for.”
However, the couple’s real passion is for vintage and antique items.
“It is so cool to find a vintage item from your childhood that’s now worth $500 or a really cool antique item that was popular when your grandparents were teenagers.”
They found an antique 1920’s toy sewing machine once at a Goodwill for $1.99. They sold it for $75.
“Finding a Grateful Dead Tshirt from 1986 worth $200; again, great money but super fun at the same time!”
How Does All Their Inventory Fit In An RV?
Their best tip is selling quickly! However, when the couple renovated their RV, they removed a lot of excess weight.
Freeing up carrying capacity and room, they can haul around 250 items.
“We initially had concerns about storage space but we soon found that we had way more space than we thought. Most resellers that we know, or that we see online, sell out of a shed in their backyard or they sell out of their garage. If we pulled up with our motorhome, with our storage compartments empty, we could easily empty their storage shed or garage into our motorhome and still have none of it in our living space.”
Tips for RVers Who Want To Try eBay Selling
We suggest hopping over to YouTube and watching their videos to learn all the deets.
But, Ben and Rebecca shared a few with us today:
“Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. What we do is an alternative way of living and when you start out, it feels a little weird and you will, we promise, ask yourself if you are crazy.
You’re not.
It’s just not your average nine to five.
Also, try to have some capital; it’s best to own your RV outright; this is why we renovated it.
If you do not have the capital or the RV and you are currently in a career that you want to transition out of, take it one step at a time,…buy the RV, get it paid for, save money, get a little inventory built up, and start getting sales.
Whatever you do, keep taking steps towards the goal of RVing and buying and selling full time. We can promise you that if you do that, at some point, you will realize that you are not dreaming about doing it…but, you will actually be doing it!”
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