Host your own live shopping event and earn money from the comfort of your own home

Hosting a shopping event live from your kitchen table (perhaps with a generous glass of wine nearby) seems like an easy way to earn extra money. And the popularity of these local live shopping shows has exploded.

The entertainment value of seeing neighbors peddling handmade jewelry, home decor, antiques, or flea market finds keeps potential buyers hooked. Here’s what two vendors, one five years later and the other launched less than a year ago, had to say.

A HOME SHOP

Five years ago, Lynesha McElveen of Atlanta began selling her discount Diva offerings, including handbags, womenswear and accessories, at live shopping events on Facebook.

“I kind of converted my living room and dining room into a boutique space,” she says, hosting live events three times a week.

McElveen is now building an online network of other “business divas”.

Her Facebook group has grown to over 15,000 members and serves as a platform for around 300 Facebook Live sellers to help shoppers, as she puts it, “get your Gucci right on the go.”

“In this group, I have people who just post articles for sale, but the vast majority of them do hour-long lives,” says McElveen. Salespeople are scheduled in fixed time slots each week, “like a TV show,” she says.

“I want to be a 24 hour live streaming service. That’s what I shoot for. McElveen says she receives “a small fee” and provides training to salespeople on how to increase viewership and increase sales.

GO LIVE NOW, REPLAY LATER

Pinkey Stewart of Lombard, Illinois, is a newcomer to organizing online shopping events. She has been making jewelry by hand for about six years. Stewart launched his PinkGLITZ website in 2019 and began hosting Facebook Lives in late 2020.

How are the shopping events carried out?

“It depends,” she admits. “It’s so watered down now,” as more and more social networks compete for user attention. She has had live broadcasts with only two or three viewers at a time, but often more people watch the reruns, which stay online and can be viewed at the viewer’s convenience.

However, the shows build a relationship with the viewer, she says, and that builds trust.

HAVE AN EYE FOR GOOD PURCHASES

You can start selling online by buying inventory for a few hundred dollars, or even less, depending on the two sellers.

“At the start of your freshman year, if you can make $ 10,000, I would say you are doing really well,” says McElveen. “But don’t quit your day job.”

McElveen’s business was founded on resale inventory bought for savings at yard sales, flea markets, thrift stores and more.

You need to know how to find good deals and how to price the items for sale, she says. “You have to have patience. There are literally people who stay out of these stores for hours before they open because they know some days there is new inventory coming in, and they’re there to get it.

TIPS FOR GETTING STARTED

McElveen cautions new sellers to avoid overheads, such as having a physical location. Doing shopping events live from your home is a low risk way to start.

“I always tell my salespeople: people buy from who they like,” she says. “Don’t feel like you have to be perfect. I have had Lives where my kids are screaming in the background. Live pauses in the middle, and I have to get over, “Oh, the Wi-Fi went out!” People want to know that you are a real person.

Other tips offered by both sellers include:

– Rate shipping services like Shipt or Stamps.com. Customers these days expect cheap and preferably free delivery.

– Check your technology. Stewart says she started streaming video to her computer, but noticed a grainy image and a hum. She started using her smartphone with built-in lighting to get a better look.

– Consider flea sales for in-person opportunities to sell merchandise, gain visibility for you and your products, and get real-time feedback from potential customers.

– Explore supplier lounges online. These virtual supplier events are often linked to a regional or national conference or trade fair.

“People who really want to do this have to really have a passion for it and not get discouraged and just keep going,” says Stewart. You might be expected to jump over the door with a high volume of sales, “and that doesn’t always happen”.

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This article was provided to The Associated Press by the NerdWallet personal finance website. Hal M. Bundrick is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @halmbundrick.

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