What sells well on Ebay?

[shelly3girls]

I have a houseful of stuff. I just cleaned out the playroom and have three large trash bags of toys. I also have little girl boutique dresses. In addition I have the usual extra stroller, carseats, etc. sitting around. Is it worth listing any of this on Ebay. I am very busy like most and only want to list what is worth my time, the rest I will donate to a local women's shelter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I have never sold anything on Ebay before.

 

[DMRick]

The best way to tell is to look on completed auctions. I dont have a use for any of the things you mentioned, so any answer I give would be tainted..but look and see if other's do.

Go to search at the top of any ebay page, click on advanced. put your item in and then click (a bit down the page) on completed auctions. You might want to change the per page amoutn, so you dont' ahve to keep flipping the pages.

 

[Juliet25]

What brands of girls clothes are they? Certain brands sell really well. I've had luck selling Oilily, Hartstrings, Hanna Andersson, and Kelly's Kids. Gymboree is also great, as long as you know the line it's from.

I've only sold clothes, so I don't know about the other stuff.

 

[shelly3girls]

I have all the lines you listed plus several upscale boutique dresses (originally $150+). I think I just need to go through everything and try to put together some lots of dresses and clothes. I also have a couple Christmas dresses but I guess I should wait until the fall to list them.

 

[maggiew]

I think the boutique and name brand dresses will sell well by themselves, i.e. not in lots. Put other, non-name brand stuff in lots.

I sell lots of my girls kids clothes. If you price them right and give reasonable shipping, you will sell them.

As far as the stroller and car seat, I would worry about the shipping. I bet it would cost A LOT to ship. I once sold an American Girl Doll bed (not very heavy, but bulky because of the shape) and it cost me nearly $20 to send it. I lost money on that one. So I think you would have to make the shipping really high and then it wouldn't be worth a bidders while to bid.

Maggie

 

[BrerMama]

As someone who has been buying a lot of Hanna Andersson and Gymboree at ebay, only sell in a group if it is a complete set. I think the complete sets (with socks and hair accessories, etc.) go pretty well. But don't sell dresses in lots. I've actually gotten some good deals on lots of Gymboree dresses; I'm not sure why they go higher separately than in lots, but they do. Plus clothing is easy and inexpensive to ship. Get the Tyvek envelopes from USPS; they're virtually indestructable.

 

[jwfla422]

Definitely list the boutique dresses and if they're in very good condition don't start too low, make sure to list the brand in the title so when buyers do searches they will come up in the search.

Some others that do well include: Lily Pulitzer, Flapdoodles, Fresh Produce, Kash Ten, JM Originals...most Gymboree does well. Try going with the larger sizes first. Most sizes in the boutique brands should do well.

I sold a carset for $60 in a BIN (buy it now) listing. It was in good condition but used (for 3 years!) It was a big seller at the time though (a Fisher Price Safe Embrace). The stroller may be a little tough because it's a large item to ship but if you have the box and you can fit it in you'll be in luck). The buyer pays the shipping or you can offer it as a "local pickup". It may limit the amount of buyers but I sold an exersaucer this way.

It's worth it if you have lots of stuff to get rid of and it's in decent condition. I've been making a part time living of cleaning out my home on Ebay lately:-D and trying to save for our next WDW trip. GOOD LUCK!

 

[mom2mira]

Like everyone said, those boutique items will go like hotcakes. My first acution since I really started e-baying for the trip was a new stroller. I had gotten it for 75% off at Target and it sold for over what the original price was. I shipped UPS and would definitely ship that way or Fed-Ex on that and the car seat. You can always put one of the shipping calculators on your auction or say that buyer pays actual shipping and calculate after so you are not too off. If they are in good shape and are well-known brands, I'm sure they will go without a problem. Though it would be great to donate, if you don't sell the bigger items on e-bay, consider a small garage sale, especially if your community does one. Last year I had a sale and the first things to go were the used travel system and a new car seat(75% off again).

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

As a person who volunteers at the local women's shelter, I just want to thank you for thinking of the women and their kids!

They need all the help they can get. Some have left home wth only the clothes on their backs.

 

[shelly3girls]

CoolDisneyCat
Thank you but I cannot take all the credit. So far we have donated 2 pick-up truck loads of toys, highchair, strollers, etc. to the shelter. It really is through the hardwork of my neighbor who actually takes the stuff to the shelter. She even came to the house to pick the stuff up. We did the easy part, she did the work!
I have already listed one Hartstrings set just to "get my feet wet." I have started taking pictures of everything else. If anyone out there has a DD, be sure to be on the lookout for 2T boutique dresses. Someone is sure to get a steal!
I decided to donate the larger stuff to the shelter.
Thank you everyone for your help!

BTW I have many fall/winter special occassion dresses. I really want to get rid of the now so I can have the money for our June trip, but would it be better to wait until the fall to list them?

 

[Tigge50447]

I find that toys and videos sell well too.

I would put any small toys in lots, baby toys, fisher price people together. I've sold several toys. I do not put large toys on ebay because of the shipping.

I did however buy a little tikes doll house with a ton of pieces with it like the cozy coupe car and table and chair set and several people (which was a big item). Little tikes does not make this item anymore. Although my son did play with it and sometimes still does. I actually purchased it hoping someday I'd have a girl

Its funny because there are a few toys I'd buy just because I had them as a kid.

Good luck and happy ebaying.

 

[JKanownik]

When trying to figure out what to donate and what to sell remember that the donations are tax deductible and carry their own value. If you are donating a large amount of items the reduction in your taxable income can also have other benefits besides the actual tax savings.

 

[momm2four]

I don't know if you have any or not, but maternity clothes sell very well (or at least they did when I sold mine several years ago).

Lori P.

 

[shelly3girls]

Oh maternity clothes, that is a great idea. I gave most of them away but kept the nicer outfits. They will be next on my list.
Any thoughts on when to list the fall/christmas dresses?

 

[pcottrell]

I am no expert by any means since I have only been selling a few weeks on ebay, but I am only selling in season clothes. I think you will make a better profit if you wait and sell your winter stuff in the fall. If you really want to get rid of it now and your stuff is nice I think you can sell it on ebay, but I don't think you'll make as much as if you wait until the fall.

HTH,
Paige

 

[momm2four]

I would list the fall dresses in August or September, whenever you notice the stores starting to put out their fall things. I would list Christmas items mid to late November.

Lori P.

Oh, I noticed today that almost every item in the Bath & Body Works category has a bid on it, so if you have some laying around you could sell that pretty easily. I found two full bottles at a yard sale today for $.50 each. Also, Creative Memories and Discovery Toys sell well.

 

[shelly3girls]

I just sold my first item through BIN. I am very excited, but there is a problem. I clearly stated on my auction that I do not accept CC, but the buyer paid with CC through PayPal. I sent a very nice email notifying her that I do not accept them stating that I would work with her in any way to correct the problem. I really don't want bad feedback this early in the game (43 pos. feedbacks). At the same time I do not want to start accepting CC and have to pay the fee on all auction. What should I do?

Also, thank you for all of the advice. The B&BW idea is great. I have many pieces sitting around that I received for Christmas. I am allergic to scented lotions and stuff, but often receive them as gifts.

 

[epcotfan]

At the same time I do not want to start accepting CC and have to pay the fee on all auction. What should I do?

I would really reconsider accepting CC on Paypal. The fewer payment options you have, the less bids you may receive. Oftentimes the extra bids will justify the small fees associated with Paypal.

 

[maggiew]

Originally posted by shelly3girls
I just sold my first item through BIN. I am very excited, but there is a problem. I clearly stated on my auction that I do not accept CC, but the buyer paid with CC through PayPal. I sent a very nice email notifying her that I do not accept them stating that I would work with her in any way to correct the problem. I really don't want bad feedback this early in the game (43 pos. feedbacks). At the same time I do not want to start accepting CC and have to pay the fee on all auction. What should I do?

Also, thank you for all of the advice. The B&BW idea is great. I have many pieces sitting around that I received for Christmas. I am allergic to scented lotions and stuff, but often receive them as gifts.

Do you have the little Paypal icon checked off in your "accepted Payments" area?? It sounds like you may. That will often confuse people. Even if you state "Accept Paypal (no credit cards)" or whatever in your auctions, it doesn't matter. People don't read that. But if the paypal logo appears during checkout, they will try to use it.

This won't help you this time, but I just wanted to raise that possibility.

Maggie

 

[shelly3girls]

Thank you for the advice. I decided to add cc as an option by upgrading my account. I think the above poster was right about more people willing to bid.
Thanks again, I could not have done it without all of the advice from this board.