ANY money you make on ebay is considered "earnings". Of course; no one reports it for taxes unless they make megabucks and the government finds out. In this case; I think Chris has filed taxes maybe ONCE his whole life. That's it. He won't report any of this income into the government "BECAUSE HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW!!! HE DOESN'T KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE THINGS AND HE'S WORKING ON HAVING HIS PEOPLE HELP HIM WITH IT!!"
So yes, it counts as earnings; no it won't effect his tugboat because he won't report it. Although; not reporting your taxes can be a federal crime; and once you are convicting of federal crimes, a lot of governmental support programs fly out the window....