Method #5 -> Selling on ebay the old stuffs

My cousins does this and has earned quite a bit. She is a stay at home mom and does this to supplement their income so she does not have to work. You just have to know what you are looking at and what will sell.

I'd recommend this method of earning extra cash, but with a couple of added cautions (from a long-time Ebay seller):

-WATCH THE FEES. Ebay gets you coming and going, with a listing fee, plus extra charges for all the bells and whistles on the listing (larger photo package, designer background, etc.), and then charges you once the auction is over (Final Value Fee). If you accept Paypal (all new sellers are now required to accept payment via Paypal, according to a recent policy change), there is a charge for receiving your payment. You need to figure these additional charges into your price for your item. If you try to start your items out at $0.01 or $0.99 to draw bidders, you may end up selling your item for $0.01 or $0.99 and paying out $3.00 to $5.00 in fees...a losing proposition. Plan your pricing strategy very carefully.

-RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! Check out what similar items have sold for on Ebay before you list yours. I once had a co-worker give me an entire collection of Nascar-related items to list for him - 4 storage totes worth. I was excited for him, thinking he would be able to make out pretty well on this collection. Wrong - after researching identical items on Ebay, I found that only 5 of his 80+ items were even garnering any bids at all, and those were minimum bids - less than he paid for the items. I gave his items back to him with the bad news that they were not worth selling. Timing is everything, and research is critical. That Nascar collection would have gone for big bucks several years ago, when Nascar was young - but not now. The market has reached the saturation point with Nascar and has moved on to other "hot" items.

-LIST COMPLETELY & CAREFULLY. If you are selling used clothing items, list any flaws like holes, stains, damaged zippers/buttons/snaps. Unmentioned flaws will get you negative feedback from an unhappy bidder who receives a damaged item that they thought was in good condition. With clothing, do not take pictures of it folded up, or a lot of clothing all folded up - spread it out, take pictures of the whole item and close ups of any special features on the item. Take measurements and list them - we all know a size 12 in one brand of jeans does not always fit the same as a size 12 in another. Measure the sleeves, the bust, the hips, the waist, the inseam, etc. Also, list out your policies for your auctions on every single listing. Tell your bidders what forms of payment you accept (or don't accept), when you ship (what days of the week you ship), whether you include handling fees in your shipping charges, and what your return/refund policy is. Your bidders will appreciate the extra info and will buy from you again!

-READ EBAY'S RULES. And follow them - to the letter. For every honest Ebay seller out there, there are more than a few dishonest ones. Distinguish yourself as an honest seller and bidders will do a lot of return shopping. Leave honest feedback as soon as you know your item has been received and the bidder is happy. Communicate with your bidders in an open and friendly manner. Ebay is cracking down on careless and dishonest sellers who don't ship on time, sell shoddy items and defraud bidders.

Ebay is still a great place to make money - but you have to keep the above items in mind when you do it. With a little care on your part, you can still do well on Ebay! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me - I've sold on Ebay almost since they first started out, and have learned quite a bit about the ins and outs of being a successful seller.

you're right Suebee, I was so focused on the positive aspect of this method that I neglected to mention that ebay can figuratively **** you with fees.

I have most of my stuff listed on ebay's sister site, half.com which is ok. They only take a small commission after the sale but their shipping 'reimbursment' is laughable at best, it barely covers your shipping/handling costs.

[color=Red]****Adult term removed - Jason[/color]

SueBee is right--know what you are doing! The research for previous items sold is very valuable.

My brother does EBay for a living. Years ago he decided to make extra money, so he turned to EBay. As a child he used to hunt and fish, and still does, so he decided to do items relating to fishing and arrowheads. He got alot of books on the topics and did research on the web so he could sell old fishing lures, equipment, etc. He als goes to auctions, estate sales and put out some business cards at grocery stores, etc.

I have a friend whose daughter does EBay, but, she does it with an Ebay store and has done fairly well selling her childrens clothes, purses, etc. But like SueBee said, you need to spell out every detail-good or bad, so you can receive good feed back.

As with any business endeavor, you need to know what you are doing, have the time, and know that you aren't going to get rich the first month!..Karen

I have sold a few things here and there on ebay. I've always been pleased with the money I've gotten, but you really have to have some serious extra time to do it, something I don't usually have! I would definitely recommend it, though, it's hard to go wrong.

A few more tips for selling on Ebay:

-Buy a decent digital camera. They can be had fairly cheap these days - less than $100 in some cases. It doesn't have to be a top of the line camera with all the bells and whistles - but it needs to take decent pictures. Kodak and HP both make great, inexpensive cameras. (I have an HP myself and love it.)

-Buy a mannequin if you are going to sell clothes. Am I kidding? A mannequin?? Nope, not kidding. Go on Ebay and search on "mannequin" or "hang up mannequin". There are sellers who sell male and female versions of an armless torso (in both black and white plastic) which is merely a shell of a torso, with a hollowed out back and a metal hanger (like a clothes hanger hook) on the top. These things are fantastic for photographing clothing to list on Ebay, and they look so much more professional than just laying the clothes out on the floor, sofa, etc. I think I paid about $15 each for mine (bought one black and one white) a few years ago. Now that I have them, I'd never do it any other way.

-Buy a decent scale for shipping. Ebay has tons of scales listed - digital postage scales go for anywhere from $5 to $60, and vary in capacity, features, etc. If you're going to be shipping items yourself, you'll need to weigh them carefully and be sure you charge only exact shipping costs - or your bidders will be sure to let you know about it in their feedback. On the other hand, undercharge for shipping, and you're shooting yourself in the foot. Don't guess - get a scale!

-Find a niche if you can. Ebay has pretty much everything under the sun - but if you can find something that is unique to your area, or something that doesn't appear very often on Ebay and seems to be in demand, you've got it made!

-Consider selling for other people. Ask friends, neighbors, co-workers if they have items they'd like to list. Many people want to sell items they have on Ebay, but they don't want to mess with learning how or don't have time. They'll probably be happy to give you a cut of the sale to get it sold. However, a word of warning: make sure the agreement is clear and in writing between the two of you - if you list the item on Ebay, they can't sell it to someone else in the meantime, and it has to be available to you to ship or arrange pickup by the winning bidder. Also, be careful of high-dollar items...if you are listing a high-dollar item for someone (like a car or valuable antique item!), it would be best to leave it in their possession until it sells. Don't bring it to your home, to avoid any problems - in the event of a break-in, fire or damage to the item, your homeowner's insurance would not cover the item, because it was not yours - unless you carry business bailee insurance!

-Read Ebay & Paypal's new policies! Things have changed drastically in the past few months, and to my knowledge, Ebay is not backing down on the new policies, regardless of the recent seller "strike" and general discontent in the seller community with the changes made. Sellers can no longer leave negative feedback for bidders as of May 1st (I think that's the date) - so if someone buys from you and doesn't pay, or pays late, you can't leave negative feedback - but the bidder can leave a negative for you. Also, Paypal now has a policy in place that all new sellers' funds from Ebay sales will be held for up to 21 days - meaning funds for the sale of the item AND the shipping money. (There are also other reasons for them holding funds, but that's the biggie.)

Just thought I'd throw a few more tips out there for those interested in selling on Ebay. I'm not trying to make it sound difficult - it's really not - but you have to know what you're getting into and what to watch out for!

A couple more 'tips'

- Answer every question a potential buyer asks, no matter how stupid the question may be. Excellent customer service will equal repeat buyers. I used to have a guy who bought from me all the time even though my prices were a higher then some of the megasellers. He appreciated my honesty and fast communication.

- Don't let negative feedback get you down! Everyone is bound to get negative feedback but don't let it bother you. Also don't retaliate with negative feedback that makes you look immature and a hothead. Believe it or not, customers do judge you based on how you react to an unhappy customer.

- To go along with Suebee's comment about shipping, overcharging on shipping can bite you in the butt if ebay thinks you're trying to get around the 'fees' by charging an arm and a leg for shipping. For example, selling an item for 1 cent with $10 shipping/handling. That will get your auction pulled and can get you in trouble.

- Going back to answering every question, don't forget to communicate with your buyer. If something comes up and you can't get to the post office right away, TELL THEM! Most buys are very understanding as long as they know the progress.

- Back to shipping, send everything with delivery confirmation. If you print postage off paypal, it only costs 18 cents for delivery confirmation. It saves a lot of headaches if something happens to your package.

All very good points, drjonah!

Communication is key to success on Ebay. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes that, and as you mentioned above, negative feedback is almost inevitable. I once sold a collectible doll to a lady as a gift for her daughter. I was sitting watching the auction as it ended, tickled at the price it was reaching in the final moments, and when it ended, I got excited and jumped up out of my chair, knocking my coffee cup over, which landed directly on top of the box containing the doll! The box was part of the package, and increased the value of the doll, so I told her right away about it, and offered a discount for the damaged box. She accepted, and also agreed to accept a different box than the one the doll came in. She turned around and left negative feedback, saying the doll wasn't in the original box as listed!! Go figure!

So, sometimes, even communication can backfire on you! :lol: But, call it a lesson learned. I don't keep my items anywhere near my desk anymore!

Speaking of communication, the ebay forums are extremely helpful for people. Never be afraid to ask questions there or spend lots of time reading and learning the ins and outs of ebay

Another good point - the information is out there on Ebay, just have to do a little research on the site itself and you'll come up with a load of info.

not only can you get lots of helpful tips from the ebay forums, but you can also learn when ebay is going to have special sales on listings, pictures, etc. About 5 times a year ebay lowers the price for listing or adding pictures or upgrading to premiere auctions, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE

I thought i'd chime in some more, if you find sales on ebay/half to be slow, there are other sites you can sell on

I have my books, cds, dvds and vhs's all listed on both half.com and amazon.com. Amazon charges a little more in fees if you're not a 'merchant' but you can list stuff there for 60 days unlike 7 days on ebay

If you have a lot of books to sell, there are TONS of sites you can list on, not just ebay and amazon. There's a website called bookfinder where you can search book prices

I wanted to add one more warning about ebay, as apparently, this is a scam that happens quite often on Ebay and I didn't even know it until it happened to me.

I used to do a lot of selling on ebay when I was in college to help give me some income. I sold a lot of my old kid stuff and a lot of the porcelain tea sets, vases, and jewlery boxes that used to grace my room. Every transaction was going just fine until one day, I received an email from one of my buyers complaining that the porcelain unicorn they had purchased had a broken horn that looked like it broke during shipping. They said it looked like there was old glue on the broken piece and on the "stump" which meant that apparently, the item had already been broken at one time and glued back together, and that I had neglected to state that in the auction information. Now they wanted to return the item for a refund.

As a kid, a lot of my porcelain collectables got knocked over and broken, and a lot of them got "glue-jobs". I was pretty certain that that particular item had NEVER been one of them, but since I couldn't remember 100%, I agreed to refund their money and cover the cost of shipping it back to me.

When I got it back, I pulled it out to look at it. Yes, the piece was broken and there was old glue residue on it...but this was NOT the original item I mailed. Sure, it was the exact same thing, but not the one *I* had had. I knew this because the eyes were painted slightly differently, and on the bottom of the piece, mine had had a little bubble near the artist's signature whereupon, this one, had not.

What had happened was that this bidder already had one of these items, but theirs was broken. So what they did was search ebay for an identical item, found mine, went through with the transaction, got mine in the mail, and then switched the two items, claiming I sent them broken junk. So in essence, they got my item for free after I refunded the money to them. And I was left with their old broken piece.

So yeah, just something to look out for.

Also, I now require that ALL my items be mailed out with insurance. My first and only negative feedback I ever received was when a buyer turned down the optional insurance on an item, and then claimed I 'frauded' them when the package never arrived at their door. Sure, this other ebayer had more than 13 negatives claiming they were a scammer on their feedback profile, but still, that first negative really hurts for some reason, lol.

So I can only suggest that every item you sell and ship out, you require it to go with insurance, and maybe tracking even. It's more to protect YOU than the other person.

You have a good point, there are always going to be people trying to rip others off like that. I've discovered that a good way to protect yourself is by using a 'sellers mark' which is a mark on the item using a UV pen (granted its not good for collectibles and brand new items)

I've also found even mentioning to the buyer 'sure I will gladly return it, just ship it back to me and as soon as I can verify the sellers mark on it, I will refund in full'...that usually scares them off

I made a lot of money from ebay. Back in my high spending days, I bought several high end luxury items. Luckily, their value held true and I sold all of them back to pay off debt. I easily made about $1,000.00 one month.

WOW! There have been some GREAT contributions of eBay tips offered here!

Anyone who is familiar with eBay knows that their fees have been increasing, just like the cost of everything else...

Just thought I'd mention that they are doing a promo right now - anyone selling in the "fixed price" format will get a deal on their listing fees. The MAXIMUM fee is 50 cents during this promotion.

If you've been thinking of listing some items for sale, and know how much you'll take for them, this might be a good time to try listing them...

-notyour

i have a question - i am looking to get back into ebay to make extra money that i need pretty badly. hmph. :(
my question is that how do you find what to sell? one summer i made a couple of thousands selling stuff i had but thats gone and i do not think i really have anything good to sell. what exactly do you sell? i basically have nothing lol.. is there anyway i could buy stuff and resell it? how do you find stuff to sell? or is it always stuff you happen to have? i have one dooney and bourke purse to sell but after that, it's all pretty much gone.

that's what I've been doing is selling off my old videos, games, books, etc. Also once in a while I buy clearance DVD's from Walmart ($4 and under). Then I take them home, check the going rates and if there is no profit in it, I take them back. Otherwise I list them for like $7-$10

Sure it's not much of a profit but if you sell enough, it adds up.

Something i also used to do was to go to goodwill/salvation army and buy books (older hardcover books). You can generally buy them for under 50 cents. If you do enough research and know what to look for, it can add up to a really good profit.

Some friends of mine do this and they make a lot of money; you just have to be smart about it. Thanks for the tips!

thanks, i was successful in the past with ebay but it was selling something i was very familiar with and i knew it would make a really good profit.
i am going to list to sell something today, and perhaps i could go on from there.
thanks.

i do recommend this and make money with it, the only problem is i have noticed a rise in fees and in postage so its starting to become pointless. the other day i sold some of my sons school clothes that he never wore (to dressy for him) 2 arizona dress shirts, 3 dress shirts, 3 pairs of cargo pants, and 1 slightly used coat. sold for 15.00 good deal at first i thought. then ebay took thier fees, it was 8.00 to ship it, and i was out of my free boxes so i had to pay for the box, till it was all said and done i barely broke even. but other things i have sold have made up the difference. I really wish i new more about old dishes and cups and sort, im a big thrift shopper and think that i have passed things that probably could have made me alot of money.

Thanks for the input, i have a designer purse to sell and i know it will do okay.. but after that i do not know. i have sold designer things, and can scoop them out (i am really good at spotting fakes, etc - in my other life i used to be quite high matience, heh) and get used ones for good prices and than resell.. but that takes money to start up with..
i never really sold other stuff, i always charge for shipping what it costs, but if i am selling things that will not go for much, i am not sure how much the buyer is willing to go for that.. :(
i really am losing hope..

I sold on ebay about 8 yrs ago and I did mostly depression glass and older glass items.I restarted about 8 months ago.I sell vintage glass items and vintage jewelry.It takes alot of time and patience.I have some very good reference books and spend alot of time researching on ebay what sold and for what price.The glass can be a big pain to wrap and ship but it can be profitable.I recently bought a set of Homer Laughlin china and sold it in lots.I paid $8.75 and ended up selling it all for about $120 before ebay and paypal fees.I shop at Salvation Army and thrift stores in the area but even better is first pick at church rummage sales.I hAve to get there early and fight the other shoppers for the items I am looking for.Anchor Hocking Fire King items are very popular on ebay and especially in Japan.I ship worldwide for the best customer base.Vintage jewelry that is signed is popular also,especially the bigger rhinestone pieces,jewelry is much easier to ship also.I do some brand name clothes and larger size clothes,ladies and mens plus with tags are a great seller.It takes a large amount of time though and research.Barnes and Noble in the store has great reference books,you can check them out in the store and then order the books on half or ebay websites.I love the shopping and listing part,hate the wrapping and mailing.I make about $200-$300 a month but sad to say I usually reinvest and buy more items.

Thanks again, i do not mind the researching and buying, listing, etc. i have sold many items and have really, really good feedback as a seller. i just ran out of the things i normally sell, :)

thanks again!

Well I am no longer an ebay member, I tried to sell some old stuff last year and ebay took the auction down 3 different times.

They told me that I could not sell my wife. So I just dropped her a$$ off at the salvation army. LOL

lol :)
i fell for that one at first! but only because i used to get my auctions cancelled all the time (people said my stuff was fake, and it was 100% real, i think some people just like to knock other sellers' down).

Nice to know that.........I GOT'CHA!!!!

LOL

No I have been selling on and off for the past 9 years. I am going to start selling more thanks to my daughters growing up. I will have many grab bags of clothes, toy, and books to sell.

i just have to get a paypal debit card, that thing was awesome, it was like instant payment! but i waited too long to activate it than paypal caught on that i do not have a credit card any longer (just my debit card) and i hate waiting for the money to transfer!

Yeah I need to figure out what paypal account I want to use. Cuz whenever I get sent money they take out a % for fees. I think that is because I am setup for taking creditcards or something like that.

Hello Count Vlad -

If you want to receive money via Paypal for Ebay auctions, you have to have a professional/business account on Paypal. They will take the % out for the fees, no way around it. If you try to have people send you the money via Paypal using a regular account, they'll stop you after 2 or 3 receipts and let you know that you can't keep receiving money without upgrading your account.

Sorry to say, it's their game, gotta play by their rules if you want to play. I don't like it either, but I've found that trying to sell anywhere but Ebay is just a waste of time. I tried for 8 months to sell elsewhere, came back to Ebay 2 months ago, and have already sold more in 2 months than I did in 8 months anywhere else.

Well that just sux, it figures.

I agree Suebee. I only sell certain things on ebay, no auctions, just 'buy it now'. But I also have those same things listed on Amazon. They sell much faster on ebay plus the fees are lower. Amazon really sticks you with the fees if you're not an 'upgraded member'

i forgot about amazon.. i actually like the auction but always had a reserve price.. i found my buy it now price was always too low and i made more in an auction

I've made decent money by selling stuff on eBay. I had a lot of books and I sold them on eBay (through half.com) and made over $200, and that's not even counting textbooks that I've sold. I also sell my husband's old video games, comics, and trading cards.

i had my first problem ever today on ebay. sold a item to this lady it came from my friends gift store price tag and all. she did not purchase the insurance so i stuffed it completely full of newspaper to protect it. well of course somehow it ended up broken,(my luck) i offered a refund if she sent it back well she dont want to spend the money to send it back. so she then in return is now arguing that the angel is not new like in the discription which it is, in origional box and packaging, the piece of foam was broke that it was packaged in and she tells me that is how she came to the conclusion that it is not new (you know how the foam breaks when you pull out the item to inspect it? well thats what happend.) so i emailed her again told her that if she takes detailed pics i will still riemburse her. she is still giving me problems with even that! i dont know how to accomidate her anymore than i have and scince i only have like 60 feedback (all 100%) im so scared shes gonna give me bad feedback wich i do not want at all i wanna keep my good feedback but i swear this lady is impossible.

love_my_things -

you may want to contact Ebay about this - I have my return policy set up on my listings as "buyer pays shipping for return" - I'm not sure, but I think this is a default setting for all listings. You might want to check it out.

Unfortunately, some people will complain if hung with a new rope, so to speak. I once had a lady that bought a collectible Shirley Temple doll from me (I hated to sell it, but times were hard). I was so excited about how high the bids were going, that I watched it until the very last second, and when it sold (for $125! Yay!), I jumped up out of my chair in my excitement...AND KNOCKED OVER MY COFFEE CUP RIGHT ONTO THE BOX THE DOLL WAS IN!!! :shock:

I was able to save the doll, but the box was stained, and despite my best efforts, could not be cleaned. (Ever try to get a coffee stain off of a box?) I e-mailed the bidder immediately and let her know, and sent her pictures of the box. She agreed to accept the doll in a different box, with a small refund for the damaged box not being included, no problem, said she was more interested in the doll anyway. So I boxed it up and shipped it out the next day. 5 days later, was I ever shocked to get NEGATIVE FEEDBACK from this bidder, stating that "item took WAY TOO LONG to get here, not in original box as listed - very disappointed!" I sent her a "what the heck?!?" e-mail, but she never responded.

Just goes to show that you can't make everyone happy - Ebay is a HUGE marketplace - worldwide - and there will always be one bad apple in the bunch.

However, having made over $300 extra in the past month selling outgrown clothing and unneeded items from around the house, (even after fees), I'm sticking with Ebay.

suebee - that story is awful! i have had some crazy buyers in my selling history.. people who insisted my items were not authentic (they were though..) people who said i took to long to ship (i shipped the day it was sold?!?)
the worst was when one buyer disputed the sell on paypal - and froze all of my funds.. because she said she never recieved it. dispite the fact that i had proof that it was recieved.

ah, im starting to worry know about selling on ebay. thier fees are getting so high, then have to deal with that sort of thing.

love_my_things -

please don't worry so much about it - these are just a few stories in thousands of good transactions. There are good and bad in every crowd, and Ebay is a world-wide marketplace. You're going to occasionally run into an odd duck - you deal with them and move on.

Don't think Wal-Mart doesn't get their share of oddballs that walk into the store and try to walk out with their pants full of frozen veggies, or the one that walks up to the elderly greeter and curses them out for handing them a shopping cart....

It's still a good way to make money - you simply have to follow their rules (like I've said before - it's their game!), price your items appropriately so that you don't end up just paying fees with your sales.

I am getting ready to go into something I may regret later :lol: My brother does E-Bay, as the way to support he and his wife.

He has done it for a number of years, puts many,many hours into it,etc. He goes to auctions, estate sales,word of mouth to find products. He buys fishing lures,tackle, primitives,and some other things.

He has quite alot of merchandise that he needs to move, but doesn't have the time to do it all, so he asked me to help. I will be putting his stuff on ebay,taking pictures, packing and shippping. He will pay me a percent of his sales. If will help me to get started and then I will go into it also, if we don't kill each other first!.

LOL Bossy!

I hear that loud and clear - listing for a relative can get tricky! Heck, listing for a friend can get tricky, let alone a relative.

I'm working my listings full steam ahead today - have been on the computer most of the day. Got one tote full of stuff listed, working on the next one. As I get them listed, they go into my storage room, so at least they're not in my living room!

The Ebay tutorial I had listed here somehow got corrupted, and most of the info is missing, so if you (or anyone else) needs pointers, please feel free to PM me. I'll be glad to help!

Thanks Sue, I know I will need help at some point! As soon as I get the hang of it and make some money from my brother, I am going into it for myself. There are a few things I need to study up on concerning particuliar items, and estate sales and auctions and garage sales are already starting here.

I spent most of the afternoon yesterday taking pics and listing items. On one item, I had not had it posted but a few minutes and already started getting bids.

How did your article get corrupted? Did someone delet info or what?

I don't know what happened to the article, Karen. I e-mailed support about it, and they said it was a tech issue and they were working on it. I've run across other older threads with the same problem. It's like the text was replaced by something else. It's weird.

eBay new sellesr don't stand a chance with their new dsr and feedback ratings good luck Bossy if you don't have multiple i.d.'s on the NEW eBay!!!!!!

what is so different about ebay now? i bought stuff recently and did not see any difference? i do have perfect feedback and sold over 100 items, so i am pretty sure it will be okay.

I have always had an ebay name and account and 100% feedback- just haven't been selling in a long time on a regular basis. I thought about getting another account with them and starting over, but without feedback,it may be difficult.

The last time I sold, didn't have any problem.

thanks, bossy - i did not think it would be a problem? i still have not gotten around to selling again! it has been a long crazy week for me..

i was just concerned she was going to ruin my perfect feedback thankfully she did give me decent feedback. I cant say to much considering this was my first problem. i made probably 500.00 in the last 6-8 weeks. before that i was making my own handcrafted jewelry last summer and i know i made alot more than that, but the cost of my materials now is too much people dont want to pay that much for it so i had to change what i was doing.

thanks for the tips :)

Please don't let one guest's posting scare you off from using Ebay to make extra money. You simply have to follow the rules, ship promptly and make sure you treat your customers as you would like to be treated.

The DSR's and Feedback Policy are not my favorite thing either, trust me, but if you're an honest seller, there's no reason you can't succeed there - and you don't need multiple user ID's to do it.