Ebay question: have you ever...

[drcbpearce]

Have you ever bought something specifically with the purpose of selling on Ebay? What did you buy? Did it sell well? I'm new to this, I ran across a high-end designer skirt at a thrift store and snatched it up w/the thought that I might be able to make a little (maybe more) on it. I've heard tales of people making money on Ebay, but is it a real possbility? Do you have to devote ALOT of time to it, or is it something you could do in a couple of hours a week? I'm a 'domestic goddess' w/two school-age children, so I could spend an hour a day, or so, doing something like this if it would give a little extra cash for my budget. Any info/input would be appreciated! I"d like to hear from someone who's actually done it.

 

[robb01]

My son did w/ the PS3 when it first came out, he made some decent money too

 

[ameraumi]

I have done it a few times. Especially if I am thrifting and find something high end.

Most recently I found a St. John Collection blazer at Goodwill that I am going to sell on ebay. I also snatched up a couple of Tickle Me Elmos when they first came out and sold those.

 

[drcbpearce]

I have done it a few times. Especially if I am thrifting and find something high end.

Most recently I found a St. John Collection blazer at Goodwill that I am going to sell on ebay. I also snatched up a couple of Tickle Me Elmos when they first came out and sold those.

Were you able to make some money? I don't know that I've heard of St John, is that the company that had Angelina Jolie as their 'face' for a while? I found a vintage Burberry skirt that is just gorgeous, perfect condition, that I"m hoping will sell well. I nearly fell over when I found it. The style is dated, 80's, but it could be easily tailored to be more current. Thanks for the info!

 

[Cruise]

I did it years ago when I worked at a Hallmark store and beanie babies were all the rage.

I don't bother with ebay anymore though. Between the changes in fees, the way feedback works, and (what seems like to me, anyway) the increased number of scammers, it's just not worth the bother or frustration.

 

[horseshowmom]

I used to do that some with horseshow stuff from time to time. I bought a horsemanship shirt/vest combo for $100 (knowing it had sold new for $800 and only been worn a handful of times). It sold quite easily for over $300 (after I let DD wear it a few times too). I've also bought a used Billy Cook show saddle for $500 and sold it Buy It Now for about $800 (priced it too low because it was gone in less than 30 minutes).

You have to know the market pretty well though (you can search through completed auctions to see if there's a market for what you have).

 

[zoemurr]

I bought 18 small stuffies at a sale for $3. They were the "Misfit Toys" from the Rudolph specials. I just got $85 for them! I also got $45 recently for a home made Dorothy dress that I paid $1 for.

I have also made $65 on a $4 purchase of Thomas wallpaper boarder, and $25on a $1 American Girl nightgown.
$60 for $10 box of K'nex.. and I'm sure there's more, but those have been my best ones.

I love going to sales in the summer and finding bargains to sell. Sometimes I call my mom and have her look it up before I buy it, and sometimes I just know, or am willing to take the chance. I shop in the summer, sell in the fall, and buy holiday gifts in the winter with my paypal money.

 

[Piecey]

Yes...

DH had Insurance on his last cell phone and hated what they offered as a replacement. He paid $50 for the deductible, took the brand new phone and we came home and listed it on Ebay for the suggested price ($159) and it sold within a few hours.

He then connected one of my old phones to his line and he's pretty happy..

 

[jwfla422]

It's really a tough call. It can be "anything" that sells to make a good profit and it can change month to month.

Several years back when I was really selling on Ebay I found this purse with pictures of shoes on it. I bought 4 of them each for about $10 and they sold for $30 a piece plus which was a great profit. Another year I had a My Pretty Pony I picked up for like $4 after Xmas. I put it away for dd but she never used and the next Xmas they were selling for $30-$40. The same thing happened with a Webkinz when they first came out. I sold an old version of Photoshop software for over $200 because people were upgrading which was much cheaper than buying it new for $600 plus. (it was like $149 to upgrade) I've bought boutique kid's items at the Goodwill stores and resold them and made some $$.

But it's all pot luck because what's hot now may not be hot in a few weeks and it's real tough to predict what's going to be hot. Many things that I thought would sell well tanked! Timing is a big thing too but as some posters have mentioned the fees and feedback "laws" have really gotten out of hand which has made it VERY tough for sellers, sellers that have relied on Ebay for years. The feedback procedure they have now is just not fair and has opened the door up to too may scammers. I still list stuff periodically but nothing like I used to.

Like already mentioned it's just not worth it and it does take a lot of work. Once you sell your item you have to pack it, postage it and ship it. It does take time and if you sell a lot it takes a lot of time. And, you have to make sure you charge the right amount for shipping because if you miscalculate you can lose your profits by not charging the right amount for shipping.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

No one has mentioned it yet, but the good days of selling on ebay are pretty much over. Since they've changed their fee structure, I'm paying about 24% in fees! How?

Listing fee - $0.50
Final Value Fee - 12% of the 1st $50, plus 9% on the amt over $50
Paypal fee (now mandatory) around 2.65% + $0.39 per transaction
Tax you paid on your item - 5-8%
If you offer free shipping, you pay the FVF on your shipping too, and you also pay PP fees on shipping no matter what.

All in all, it can come up to be around 20-24% of what you sell for. So when you try to price your item (because auction style bidding can be brutal in this economy and this time of year in some categories), you need to factor in all these costs to see what your minimum selling price will be in order to just break even and then add something in for your profit.

I have sold on ebay for over 7 years, and as soon as I'm finished selling a couple more bins of my DD's clothing, I am not selling on Ebay anymore. Even if I find something at a garage sale for cheap, it's going to be a cold day in HALE before I can make the big profits on things like it used to be. When I saw that first invoice after they raised their fees, I knew it was over for me, and believe me - - it is a major bummer b/c I really enjoyed garage saling and reselling on Ebay. It was a really fun hobby. But now it's just not worthwhile anymore.

With the new feedback system where only the buyer's feedback matters, bad buyers are really coming out of the woodwork. People are contacting sellers for discounts off the price, making up flaws that weren't there and demanding a price adjustment, demanding a return even if you don't do returns. And if you say no, they'll give you a negative. If the Post Office ships slow, even if you're postmarked the day after the sale, they can leave you a bad mark on shipping time just because they feel like it.

Too many bad marks on your shipping costs or speed, and oops! Your ebay fee table goes to an even higher bracket until you "improve". Sellers cannot leave any bad feedback for buyers, even if they pay slow, are difficult, are trying to scam you for flaws that weren't there....

I dunno... I'm disenfranchised with ebay now. Maybe you'll have better luck in other categories that aren't priced as high as clothing and toys.

 

[lowie]

with those kind of fees i don't know how people make money. i just bought an item (ipod case) for $3.90 including shipping. they shipped via DHL, how do they make money?

 

[mafibisha]

No one has mentioned it yet, but the good days of selling on ebay are pretty much over. Since they've changed their fee structure, I'm paying about 24% in fees! How?

Listing fee - $0.50
Final Value Fee - 12% of the 1st $50, plus 9% on the amt over $50
Paypal fee (now mandatory) around 2.65% + $0.39 per transaction
Tax you paid on your item - 5-8%
If you offer free shipping, you pay the FVF on your shipping too, and you also pay PP fees on shipping no matter what.

All in all, it can come up to be around 20-24% of what you sell for. So when you try to price your item (because auction style bidding can be brutal in this economy and this time of year in some categories), you need to factor in all these costs to see what your minimum selling price will be in order to just break even and then add something in for your profit.

I have sold on ebay for over 7 years, and as soon as I'm finished selling a couple more bins of my DD's clothing, I am not selling on Ebay anymore. Even if I find something at a garage sale for cheap, it's going to be a cold day in HALE before I can make the big profits on things like it used to be. When I saw that first invoice after they raised their fees, I knew it was over for me, and believe me - - it is a major bummer b/c I really enjoyed garage saling and reselling on Ebay. It was a really fun hobby. But now it's just not worthwhile anymore.

With the new feedback system where only the buyer's feedback matters, bad buyers are really coming out of the woodwork. People are contacting sellers for discounts off the price, making up flaws that weren't there and demanding a price adjustment, demanding a return even if you don't do returns. And if you say no, they'll give you a negative. If the Post Office ships slow, even if you're postmarked the day after the sale, they can leave you a bad mark on shipping time just because they feel like it.

Too many bad marks on your shipping costs or speed, and oops! Your ebay fee table goes to an even higher bracket until you "improve". Sellers cannot leave any bad feedback for buyers, even if they pay slow, are difficult, are trying to scam you for flaws that weren't there....

I dunno... I'm disenfranchised with ebay now. Maybe you'll have better luck in other categories that aren't priced as high as clothing and toys.

This is exactly what happened to my DSIL. And now she does quite well on Craigs List.

She has sold alot to people in different states who apparently *searched* and found her listings. She doesn't like paypal so takes money orders or waits until the check clears before shipping. No listing fees or taxes and has paid for all her Christmas shopping with her profits!

She has inspired me so much that I too, am starting to do a little on Craigslist, so we'll see what happens!

Give it some thought and let us know what you do.

 

[Darkside]

Yes, you can make money on ebay and yes, I have bought things just for the purpose of making money on ebay. I have sold new and used car parts, purses, toys(new and old), dirt bike brouchures from the 80's, comic books, baseball cards, beanie babies(never made any money on those),magazines, computer parts, jet ski parts, old cell phones, and a lot of other things I can't remember. I do believe ebay's days are numbered. Sites like Craigslist and Amazon will be the next wave of money making opportuities.

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

I try not to buy just for resale unless it's an item I'm sure there's a market for. I'm also getting fed up with ebay's new changes & fees but there's no other way to "clean the house" so to speak.


Craigslist hasn't done a thing for me. We had a couple replies & I answered with our phone number so we could meet so they could see the item & didn't hear back. It's also hard to list there, I think, as I can't figure out how to "relist" without typing the whole thing over & over again. Is there a link to be able to relist an item that hasn't sold?

 

[TheLittleRoo]

This is exactly what happened to my DSIL. And now she does quite well on Craigs List.

She has sold alot to people in different states who apparently *searched* and found her listings. She doesn't like paypal so takes money orders or waits until the check clears before shipping. No listing fees or taxes and has paid for all her Christmas shopping with her profits!

She has inspired me so much that I too, am starting to do a little on Craigslist, so we'll see what happens!

Give it some thought and let us know what you do.

Just curious how she's listing to get noticed by a lot of people searching nationally. Also, what is she selling? It might be more sought after than clothes and toys. Do you know how she does it? I've never had anyone ask me to sell and ship to them via CL. I would too, if they were good with a money order.

 

[disneysteve]

Tax you paid on your item - 5-8%

You really can't include sales tax among your ebay expenses. If you are selling an item that you originally bought for personal use and are now reselling, sales tax shouldn't count as an ebay fee. If you are doing business on ebay and buying items specifically for resale, you should have a business license and be exempt from paying sales tax. I've been selling on ebay for 11 years and got my business license ages ago. When I purchase items for resale, I just tell the merchant and they give me a form to sign with my tax ID.

If you are buying for resale and paying sales tax, you aren't doing it properly.

Has ebay changed? As someone who has been actively selling since 1997, I would certainly agree that it has. Can you still make money? Absolutely. Ebay is bigger and more popular than ever, especially now with the economy struggling, people are turning to ebay and craigslist to find bargains. I hadn't sold for a while and just started listing again 2 weeks ago. Between ebay and half.com, I've already taken in over $217. Quite a few of the items I've sold were things I either got for free or personal items that we no longer wanted, so my cost basis was zero. The items that I bought for resale have all sold at a profit.

Is it a lot of work? If you don't do it regularly, it can be. If you can set up one space in your house for ebay tasks, however, and keep everything you need together, it makes it much quicker and easier.

 

[mafibisha]

I do believe ebay's days are numbered. Sites like Craigslist and Amazon will be the next wave of money making opportuities.

ITA. Just came back from a neighborhood meeting (for our Christmas party) where I found out that MANY use Craigs list, and also sell and send to out of towners!

I'm pumped now and plan to list alot tomorrow!!!

Craigslist hasn't done a thing for me. We had a couple replies & I answered with our phone number so we could meet so they could see the item & didn't hear back. It's also hard to list there, I think, as I can't figure out how to "relist" without typing the whole thing over & over again. Is there a link to be able to relist an item that hasn't sold?

DSIL never ever gives her phone number. She emails quite a bit, agrees on a place to meet (with her husband or me) in the daylight. She'll occasionally be given the buyers cell but rarely uses it (her number would appear). So far only one person didn't show, and she's sold dozens, probably hundreds of things on Craigslist.

Just curious how she's listing to get noticed by a lot of people searching nationally. Also, what is she selling? It might be more sought after than clothes and toys. Do you know how she does it? I've never had anyone ask me to sell and ship to them via CL. I would too, if they were good with a money order.

There's a way to search on the main page.
She has sold and sent old videos, dvds, a few classic and rare fragrances, many types of collectibles and hard to find toys, some jewelry, hmm, thats all I can think of but I know there's a variety of things.

But if someone is looking for an item they'll search and find it and if they want it, they'll pay to ship. Still cheaper for both parties than ebay.

 

[disneysteve]

Sites like Craigslist and Amazon will be the next wave of money making opportuities.

I can't see how craigslist would replace ebay. They are not the same thing. Craigslist can be great for selling locally, but ebay is national and international. In the past week alone, I've sold to buyers in 4 US states, Canada and South Africa. Add in my Half.com sales (they are a division of ebay), and that's 3 more states. And that's just this week.

 

[disneysteve]

Listing fee - $0.50
Final Value Fee - 12% of the 1st $50, plus 9% on the amt over $50

I didn't think this sounded right. It isn't.

Listing fee starts at $0.15 ($0.01-0.99), then $0.35 ($1.00-9.99) then $0.55 ($10.00-$24.99).

Final Value Fee is $8.75% of the first $25.00, then 3.5% beyond that up to $1,000. That's a lot lower than what you said.

I just checked my last auction. All fees combined came to 14.48%, a lot less than 24%.

 

[drcbpearce]

Wow! I knew I did the right thing asking my DIS friends for info! You've all given me alot to think about. I had no idea about all of the fees. It sort of sounds intimidating, almost like they're nickel and diming you for selling through them.

I'm going to check out Craigs list and half.com just to see what's there. I'm also going to look at the closed auctions to see if these things I've found are selling well, or at all. My thought is, I'll give it a go, if it doesn't sell for what I hope to make, I can always donate it back to the Goodwill store and take a tax write-off on it.

Thanks, you guys!