I just became an e-bay-er! I have a question...

[Chicago526]

Inspite of the problem I had last month with e-bay (seller claims to have sent me e-mails with payment instructions that I never got), I had been toying with the idea of selling some odds and ends on e-bay that I didn't want anymore, yet were a little to valuable just to send to Goodwill.

So I've listed 4 items! No bids so far, but this is kind of fun!

My question is, once I run out of household junk...I mean...valuable auction items , what's the best way to obtain things so I can keep selling? How do I figure out what people will want, and if my purchase price is low enough that I can turn around and make a profit? I know that there will be some trial and error, but any tips or ideas that will minimize the odds of getting stuck with something I can't sell would really be appreciated!

 

[christinadei]

The best way is to do reasearch before hand. Take time looking on ebay to see what things go for, what's popular, etc. Name brand kids clothes are always a big hit. I'd look at outlets or for clearances.

 

[Crazy Hakim]

Garage Sales!
Once you get a good feel for what sells on eBay and what don't, you can pick up items and list them on eBay. I go out every Saturday morning.

 

[4fordisney]

Also read the community boards on ebay. You learn so much from them. What to do and what not to do. Garage sales are the best way to go for me. I am just itching for them to start again. Not only do I get great stuff for myself, but I get great stuff for selling on ebay. I never sell enough to make a killing, by choice, but I do like to have some spending money. Good luck!

 

[disneysnowflake]

Make sure you don't get discouraged. eBay is a great way to get rid of junk.

Yard sales are the best way to get items for ebay. Maybe, if you've already sold some stuff, look at the feedback of those buyers to see what else they have bought. Then look at completed auctions to see what items usually sell for.

Just remember, you may get good money and sometimes you don't. I took a break from ebay and just started selling again last week. I only listed 2 things. I thought for sure both would sell. It cost me $3 to list both items. Only 1 sold. That one items sold for $10 less than I expected. After the listing fees for both auctions, the end of auction fee for the auction that sold, and the paypal fees I was left with a little over $25. That's $25 more than what I had before though.

The market can be strange.
Example.. in the late 90s I bought a doll on ebay for $50. I kept her for several years and in late 2003 I resold her on ebay. I was shocked to see that she sold for $205!! That was awesome for me as a seller. However, the person who bought this doll tried to resell her not too long ago. She sold that same $205 doll for $39. The market was swamped with these dolls and the prices took a nosedive last year. You just never know.

Make sure you use delivery confirmation on every item you mail out.
If a buyer says they didn't get the package and tries to get a refund from paypal the only proof paypal will take is a delivery confirmation number.
Someone tried to do this to me last year, and good thing I use delivery conf. every single time I mail something out.

Good luck!!!!

 

[robinb]

I sell books on Amazon.com . I pick them up at thrift stores, garage sales, friends of the library sales, etc. It started out slow, but now it pays for a lot of my WDW trips and my Chicago Cubs season tickets. It's really quite a bit of work to get to where you are making more than just "pin money". I spend hours and hours a week book scouting, listing and packing. Plus, I pay others for time saving programs like automated ordering system, electronic postage and book scouting.

The hardest thing with home sales like eBay and Amazon is finding your nitch. Buying general junk at Goodwill to resell may not be worth your while.

 

[robinb]

The market can be strange.

Two words: Beanie Babies.

Someone made money on those things, but it certainly wasn't my mother who spent tons of money on them in "investments". Don't even get me started on her Disney pin obsession.

 

[seashoreCM]

If you think you are having problems with email not being answered or received, turn off your spam filter.

Most toy investments, including Beanie Babies, are supposed to be for several decades, not jsut a few years. The Beatles memorabilia is very expensive now but most items were very cheap say ten years from when they were manufactured.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm
_______________________

<small>If you are using a self service checkout in a supermarket you'll make fewer mistakes if you use just one hand when picking up items, scanning them, and putting them in the bag.</small>

 

[Chicago526]

The market can be strange.
Example.. in the late 90s I bought a doll on ebay for $50. I kept her for several years and in late 2003 I resold her on ebay. I was shocked to see that she sold for $205!! That was awesome for me as a seller. However, the person who bought this doll tried to resell her not too long ago. She sold that same $205 doll for $39. The market was swamped with these dolls and the prices took a nosedive last year. You just never know.

Great three of my items are dolls! Oh well, they were gifts, I could sell for $5 each and still make a few bucks!

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking of baby clothes, I have a Carter's outlet near my house...

 

[disneysnowflake]

I sell books on Amazon.com .

May I ask how you do this?
Last year I tried selling some of my son's newer condition hardcover childrens books for $2.49 each, but after a month none sold.
I clearly listed they were hardcover and in like new condition, but no takers.

What surprised me is how much Amazon charges if one of my $2.49 books would have sold. Amazon takes 99 cents plus a 15% commission fee for each book.
My profit for selling a $2.49 book would have been only 92 cents. Amazon would have kept the rest.

What do you do about tracking a book? Do you have to spend your own money to purchase delivery confirmation? Will the post office even allow you to purchase delivery conf. on media mail shipped items? What if a buyer claims to have never received an item?

I was really surprised that none of my books sold with Amazon.

 

[Crazy Hakim]

>May I ask how you do this? Last year I tried selling some of my son's newer condition hardcover childrens books for $2.49 each, but after a month none sold. I clearly listed they were hardcover and in like new condition, but no takers.
Books are very strange. From what I see, books rarely sell on eBay for a nice price. You would be better off on the eBay owned, Half.com

>What surprised me is how much Amazon charges if one of my $2.49 books would have sold. Amazon takes 99 cents plus a 15% commission fee for each book. My profit for selling a $2.49 book would have been only 92 cents. Amazon would have kept the rest.
Yes, Amazon takes the lion's share of the profits, but they have a much larger market especially when looking for books.

>What do you do about tracking a book? Do you have to spend your own money to purchase delivery confirmation? Will the post office even allow you to purchase delivery conf. on media mail shipped items? What if a buyer claims to have never received an item?
I always add Delivery Confirmation at my own cost to my Amazon.com sales. Yes, you can now use DC on all sorts of postage including Media Rate. I do this because most of my Amazon.com items are a "one-of-a-kind" and I cannot replace the item. It's worth the money for piece of mind. Plus Media Rate can take 2-3 weeks to arrive and DC helps reassure the buyer that your are legit, the item was mailed, and that it will arrive (eventually).

>I was really surprised that none of my books sold with Amazon.
Well, I find with Amazon you need two advantages:
1. If you can list your item as "Collectible" you have a better chance of selling it (First Edition, Signed)
2. You have to try to be one of the lowest prices in your category so that you appear on the first page.

Finally, include a good description, I just a common format of "Publisher: * Copy-write Date: * Condition of Book and Pages, etc"
I know this is important to me when I am the buyer and I am willing to pay a little more when the seller has taken the time to describe the item.

 

[robinb]

May I ask how you do this?
Last year I tried selling some of my son's newer condition hardcover childrens books for $2.49 each, but after a month none sold.
I clearly listed they were hardcover and in like new condition, but no takers.

Well ... it all depends on the books. If a book has a huge printing (like Danielle Steel's Mass Market Paperbacks) the market will be glutted with them. While there may be plenty of people looking to buy a book, there are also plenty of people willing to sell that book for as low as 1 penny. OTOH, if a book is not that popular the price may be better, but there are also fewer buyers. The best book is one that is esoteric enough to demand a higher price and also one that will sell quick .

What surprised me is how much Amazon charges if one of my $2.49 books would have sold. Amazon takes 99 cents plus a 15% commission fee for each book.
My profit for selling a $2.49 book would have been only 92 cents. Amazon would have kept the rest.

Amazon makes a ton of money off us ( I share my book business with a friend). Our volume is such that we became "Professional Sellers" about 2 years ago and we now pay Amazon $40 per month flat fee instead of $1 per book. My book partner sold 11 books yesterday and I sold 6. As you can see, we break even in a couple of days. Amazon still takes their 15% cut and they also keep $1.23 out of each and every standard speed shipping fee.

What do you do about tracking a book? Do you have to spend your own money to purchase delivery confirmation? Will the post office even allow you to purchase delivery conf. on media mail shipped items? What if a buyer claims to have never received an item?

I "self insure" for any book that sells for less than $4. If someone emails me and says "My book didn't arrive" then I will refund their money after they check with their friends and neighbors. I always include a delivery confirmation on higher priced books. I have had people email me that the book did not arrive and I check the DC and see that it did in fact arrive. Are they scammers? Who knows. They usually email back and say "oops! I found it!". . I use electronic delivery conformation though my postage program from www.endicia.com and it only costs 13 cents instead of 55 cents. Before I used Endicia I would print out my DC labels though USPS's Postal Assistant. It would print my label (no postage) with the electronic DC on it and then I would pay at the post office for postage plus 13 cents for the DC. Now I print my labels with postage and drop my books off in the nearest mailbox.

I was really surprised that none of my books sold with Amazon.

Bummer . It's tough to get going. My book selling friend and I cam from eBay. It used to be a hobby ... something to do while me DD was in pre-school and while I wasn't on the DIS. Now, it really is a part-time job. I have about 100 books I need to list on Amazon today ( a couple of hours of work) and I should re-price some of my books (another couple of hours) since new people come in and undercut the current price of a book instead of matching it. Soon, my "good" condition book is pushed down behind a bunch of "very good"s and "like new"s. Then, I need to find, pack and postage my sales today (probably another 45 minutes).

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

In regards to children's clothing, I suggest you go over to the childrens clothing board over at ebay. Those ladies know their stuff. I usually lot carters in with "mall brands" (gap, old navy, etc) to sell in a lot. You can occassionally sell it alone on a cuteness factor, but it is a hard sell. I get alot of stuff at thrifts, outlets, friends who are going to donate anyways, the above mentioned yard/garage sales, for books check with your library to see if they have an annual book sale. Ours does a "fill a bag for a dollar sale".

 

[rflorek]

Just be aware: when you start purchasing items specifically to resell on eBay, you have become a business and should be reporting your eBay operation as a business on your income taxes.

I knew of someone who did this, and was selected randomly for an IRS audit 2 years ago. The auditor "discovered" their eBay "business" and they were hot with back taxes and penalties for not reporting this extra income.

Good luck!
Robyn

 

[Chicago526]

Just be aware: when you start purchasing items specifically to resell on eBay, you have become a business and should be reporting your eBay operation as a business on your income taxes.

I knew of someone who did this, and was selected randomly for an IRS audit 2 years ago. The auditor "discovered" their eBay "business" and they were hot with back taxes and penalties for not reporting this extra income.

Good luck!
Robyn

I kind of figured that was the case. I don't plan on making a killing, just picking up the odd item on clearance if the price is low enough and I think I can get a good bid! I just want some pin money! Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[CheapMom]

If you run out of junk:
Start hitting the post-seasonal clearances at places like Target and then save the stuff until the next year when it becomes "in-season" again. I did this with Halloween costumes last year and it was great. I bought them for between $3.00 and $7.50. None of them sold under $19.00. A few of them went over $45.00!

 

[ChrislovesMinnie]

I would not worry about buying items and reselling. The IRS won't come knocking on your door. What you need to worry about are the deadbeats who bid and then don't pay. Or the ones who you send money to and then don't get the merchandise or receive junk not as advertised. You are still stuck with paying ebay until several months go by trying to get a credit back. It is a pain. Then for every one good buyer, you have several who try to ignore emails or say they sent you emails and YOU didn't reply. Not a result of blocking, just a result of people scamming.
I had my fill of ebay. The few good people don't make up for all the people who are trouble on ebay. Stick with garage sales or your local papers.