Woman Says She Makes Millions on eBay Each Year — and That You Probably Have $3,000 ‘Just Lying Around’

Linda Lightman went to law school, but she didn't make millions by being in the courtroom.

The 53-year-old who lives near Philadelphia told the Daily Mail that she's made $25 million just by selling her stuff on eBay. The online bidding website, now in its 20th year, helped Lightman launch what is now the multlimilion dollar luxury consignment store, Linda's Stuff.

"Most people don’t know that the average household has over 52 items worth over $3,000 just lying around their house ready to sell," Lightman said.

Linda Lightman (Image source: WPVI-TV)

Lightman said she started her business by making money off her son's video games. After all those were gone, she turned to her own clothes, shoes and accessories.

"Within weeks, my friends asked me to sell their clothes and so on," Lightman told the Daily Mail. "Word of mouth is a very powerful marketing tool and it spread quickly. I instantly knew I was on to something."

Fast-forward to 2006 and Lightman was already employing 20 people and operating out of a 5,000-square-foot office space. Nearly a decade later, she's raking in more than $25 million per year.

Linda's Stuff now has about 140,000 items for sale and lists about 5,000 new items each day.

Image source: eBay

"I was fascinated with every aspect of eBay’s model," Lightman said. "How to take the right pictures, write the perfect listing and market each item to ensure that my friends and I would get the most money for them."

Lightman said she kept putting her own things and friends' belongings up for sale but eventually it just became too much.

She needed to hire help.

Lightman said her first employee was from a local art school, but her staff over the years has come from many different walks of life, including the company's current CEO, who went to Columbia Law School.

And here's an interesting detail: the current CEO of Linda's Stuff is also her husband, Fred Lightman. The couple of 26 years also employs their 25-year-old son Max as the vice president of business development.

Years later, thousands of items sold and millions of dollars made, Linda's Stuff is the very definition of a thriving family business. But, even after nearly a decade, Lightman hasn't forgotten how she made it to where she is today.

"People say if you do what you love and love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life," Lightman said. "I never believed it until I started Linda’s Stuff."

(H/T: Daily Mail)

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