How much can you make ebaying?

[Tiggeroo]

I"m sitting here trying to weed my way thru all the ebay postings. I have a pile of stuff to list, and love going to yardsales so I will have more. I"m a substitute teacher, and frequently have some free time. If I put in a few hours a few days a week, what could I earn. What do you think is a good side income from ebay, if somebody were to list things from their home, yard sales, etc.
Has anybody come close to earning the cost of their disney trip thru ebay? I have made decent money yardsaling.

 

[disneysteve]

It will depend greatly on what type of merchandise you are selling, how cheaply you can acquire it, and how many auctions you are able to keep going. At my peak (early 2000) I was running 100 auctions at all times. Every day I listed 10 new items for 10 day auctions (that was before they started the extra charge for the 10 day auction). At that time, my monthly sales were $2000-$3000 and about 70% of that was profit.

Now, on the other hand, ebay is a very small part of my life. I'm running about 5 auctions a week with sales of $100-$200/week.

So ebay is truly one of those things where what you get out of it will depend totally on what you put into it.

Steve

 

[marcyinPA]

I've been selling on eBay since the end of December. I have had auctions going every week since then. Sometimes as many as 20, sometimes as few as 5. I don't have a weekly figure, but minus fees/ postage/ supplies, I have earned about $800 so far just selling the junk in my house.

I am starting to run out of "good stuff" and have started scanning clearance racks for bargains. I find that clothing sells best...kids used clothing in brand names....and PAJAMAS sell REALLY well! Toddler and little kid jammies...Carters, etc. I made a mint selling my son's old jammies!

Good luck!
Marcy

 

[Cindy B]

It all varies. One month we cleared after fees and such $1100 per month, and some months after fees about $400/300 per month.

I also work in the school system, so I do have some free days as well.

Its not a bad gig. It does supplement but its not enough to quit my job.

 

[ceecee]

It's all about what you have to sell. I have bought stuff really clearanced (80 -90 %) and not made a whole lot after fees. So I gave up on that. Kid's clothes with name brands (mostly Gymboree) are the only things I've had luck with. I put 3 NWT pair of my daughters PJ's on and got $5.99! Would have done better putting them out at my garage sale. New pair of Skeechers and only got $9.99.

 

[jacksonsmom]

Originally posted by Tiggeroo

Has anybody come close to earning the cost of their disney trip thru ebay? I have made decent money yardsaling.

YES!!!!
Last year we paid for our WHOLE Disney trip with money we earned through Ebay. We did have one garage sale where we also combine the money into the Disney account
Ebay paid for our plane tickets (5), TWO resot rooms at the CBR for 13 days, FIVE annual passes, ALL food meals and we even had extra money left over for all other goodies we wanted. NO ONE had to dig in their own pocket for extra money. This was for June of last year.

Last December we earned enough on EBay to pay for our resort stay (at the POLY) , our character meals (there were 5 of them), our rental car. 3 MVMCP tickets & 3 plane tickets.

And This upcoming trip we are selling on Ebay again. I just started back up heavily with selling on Ebay about a month ago & with even minusing the Ebay fees we already have $1100 in our Disney account.

I LOVE EBAY!!!!!!!!

 

[CheapMom]

What do you think is better- selling individual items of clothing or selling by the lot?

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by CheapMom
What do you think is better- selling individual items of clothing or selling by the lot?

I haven't sold a lot of clothing, but I'd vote for selling by the lot. The main reason is that the postage kills you when selling individual items. It is a much better value to the buyer to get several items at a time since the average cost of postage per item is lower.

Steve

 

[summerrluvv]

Originally posted by CheapMom
What do you think is better- selling individual items of clothing or selling by the lot?

Definately by the lot!! I sold my sons Summer wardrobe from last year recently. It was 33 pieces, a lot of name brands (polo, gap, etc.) and I got almost $100 for it. Great deal for the buyer and some extra money for me since I would've probably just donated them to a local thrift store if ebay wasn't around. People don't want to pay shipping for an individual article of clothing (unless it's something they *have* to have).

My auctions have been so slow lately I was doing really good on some pirate invitations I was selling, but those sales seem to have died down

 

[kashkdz]

Originally posted by CheapMom
What do you think is better- selling individual items of clothing or selling by the lot?

I would have to disagree with the others and say that you'll make more money selling 'individual items'. I have been selling (and buying too) on ebay for years and have a rather high feedback rating. Here's my reasoning---Sure you will pay more in fees because you have more auctions listed, but you'll make that up and more elsewhere. If you notice, other sellers normally charge around $3 to $6 for shipping per clothing item. This cost includes postage costs, supplies, as well as "time and effort". As an example, if you ship a pair of kids jeans, it will actually cost around $2.50. If you charge $5 (which is typical for this item), the difference is $2.50. Subtract, say, $.50 for a postage envelope and total ebay fees (which is a high amount), your profit is $2.00. In regards to the prior post-er which sold 33 pieces of clothing, depending upon the items, if some of them were sold individually, the profit in addition to the actual item price would of been around $40-50 more. It's all how you manage your auctions (same ending times for multiple auctions), and how you mimimize your costs when you ship items (shipping multiple items on each trip to post office).

 

[disneysteve]

kashkdz - Actually, I don't think you're disagreeing but rather looking at it from the seller's end instead of the buyer's end. It is true that you may make more money by selling individual pieces. But I happen to think that auctions for small lots of similar items will attract more attention because of the postage issue. For example, if I bought 3 pairs of jeans individually and paid $3 shipping on each, my total postage cost is $9. But if I bought a lot of 3 pairs, shipping would be several dollars less, so a better deal as the buyer.

Since most clothing items, especially kids clothing, are inexpensive, I think some folks are reluctant to bid on an item when the postage equals or exceeds the value of the item.

JMHO,
Steve

 

[ceecee]

I have had better luck with smaller lots (2 to 5 piece) outfits. I do combine shipping and have had many people win several of my auctions to take advantage of this.

 

[Tiggeroo]

I can't wait to get started now. I'm really nervous about getting things set up, especially whether to set a minimum and how to do the pictures. The ebay threads are just sooo looong.
I have a jeep wrangler with a soft top. During the winter dh and I spotted a pair of the hard metal doors in the trash, in really good shape. We picked them up but they don't fit with the type of soft top I have. I looked on ebay. They are selling for a minimum of $200. I run across things like this all of the time. Plus I have a storage room with stuff I don't really need or want. And I homeschooled my boys for a year and have tons of homeschooling books. And some clothes that my boys refuse to wear that have never been worn. This should get me started. And we're just going into yardsale season. I wish I could get a feel for what things sell best, that I could also be picking up at yard sales. You guys are such a big help. Thanks alot.

 

[summerrluvv]

Originally posted by disneysteve
kashkdz - Actually, I don't think you're disagreeing but rather looking at it from the seller's end instead of the buyer's end. It is true that you may make more money by selling individual pieces. But I happen to think that auctions for small lots of similar items will attract more attention because of the postage issue. For example, if I bought 3 pairs of jeans individually and paid $3 shipping on each, my total postage cost is $9. But if I bought a lot of 3 pairs, shipping would be several dollars less, so a better deal as the buyer.

Since most clothing items, especially kids clothing, are inexpensive, I think some folks are reluctant to bid on an item when the postage equals or exceeds the value of the item.

JMHO,
Steve

What Steve said

As a buyer, If I'm looking for new clothes for my DS, I don't want to pay $2.50 shipping for one item. I would rather buy in a lot and pay one price for shipping for several things. That said...I really don't buy clothing off ebay for DS since I can find the same deals on Polo, Tommy, etc. for TJ Maxx and Marshalls for about the same price as they go for on ebay.

 

[r3ngels]

I have 2 questions: Do you the sellers have to pay income tax on what they sold? and Do you only sell items that you have around the house or do you buys items on sale at local stores specifically for selling on ebay? My DH and I have been thinking about selling some items... we are going to WDW in June and again next April and want to get some spending money.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by r3ngels
I have 2 questions: Do you the sellers have to pay income tax on what they sold? and Do you only sell items that you have around the house or do you buys items on sale at local stores specifically for selling on ebay?

As for taxes, technically, income derived from ebay sales is taxable. However, if all you are selling is some no longer needed household items or used clothing, I don't think most of those sellers report that, just as most people don't pay taxes when they have a yard sale.

If, however, you are intentionally buying merchandise and reselling it for a profit, you are operating a business and should handle it as such.

As for what I sell - I do both. I sell unwanted household stuff, outgrown clothing, etc. But the bulk of my business is merchandise purchased for resale - yard sales, auctions, estate sales, occasionally really great store clearances, etc. I've been in the collectibles business since 1986 and on ebay since 1997. I pay income tax, collect sales tax, have a business license, the whole deal.

Steve

 

[r3ngels]

DisneySteve, thank you so much for your answers... you are awesome!!!

 

[HappyLawyer]

do you think anyone would buy the beanie babies on ebay i am not sure if they are still popurlar or not but i have 2 of every one, --use to work for the company and i see no point of keeping them anymore.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by HappyLawyer
do you think anyone would buy the beanie babies on ebay i am not sure if they are still popurlar or not but i have 2 of every one, --use to work for the company and i see no point of keeping them anymore.

Do a search on ebay and see what has been selling. Search both current and completed auctions so you'll get an idea of what people have been listing, whether or not they have been selling, and what kind of prices they have been getting.

Steve

 

[vhoffman]

Insofar as taxes go, you only pay taxes on a profit. That is, if you sold something for more than you paid for it (that includes taxes, shipping, postage, etc.) then you pay taxes on the amount you sold it for minus your cost. Obviously, if you bought something and sell it for less, such as used items at a garage sale or on EBay, you haven't earned a profit so you don't owe any taxes. If you sell some items for a profit and some for a loss net them together to see if you have a net gain or loss.