Worth it to sell on Ebay

[GJM]

I have never sold anything on Ebay - I have sold some stuff on Craigslist and a facebook page for my area.

But I have some of DS clothes that haven't sold and my sister has some old Dawn Dolls that she doesn't want. When I look on Ebay it seems nothing has bids.

I don't even know what the fee's are for listing or selling. Do you think it is worth it or should I just donate the clothes

 

[timmac]

Only my opinion, but for run of the mill kids clothing (unless there is something spectacular or otherwise unusual about it), there might not be a ton of profit margin. Yes, you can probably have selling price higher than the fees, so in theory you're making a profit, but relative to the time and energy involved... meh. Remember you need to take pics, write up listings, get them posted, and for whatever sells, go to a post office and send it.

Some people claim to have great success and swear by it, I am not one of them.

 

[jgreco]

I was a power seller back in 2004, I made a good bit of money. I tried to list some things recently and the results were just terrible. The cost of shipping has really made it cost-prohibitive to sell anything online and the Ebay/Paypal fees just did not justify the time.

I also got a bunch of really stupid emails and requests. One guy asked for the item for free (a Gucci belt), because his son was in the hospital with a terminal illness and his son always wanted one. .

Another person (who was not the high bidder) asked for me to sell them the item for less than the current high bid because they only had $x in their Paypal account and could not spend more.

Another person told me that the person photographed in an antique photo I had listed had come to her in a dream and told her to ask me to take the auction down.

I tried Craigslist for some large items and the email/phone call exchanges were enough to make me change my mind about meeting some of these people in person.

If the clothes are decent, take them to a consignment shop.

 

[GJM]

Thank you - I am thinking it is just not worth the time.

Good idea on the consignment shop, I will try that

 

[melancholywings]

I was a power seller back in 2004, I made a good bit of money. I tried to list some things recently and the results were just terrible. The cost of shipping has really made it cost-prohibitive to sell anything online and the Ebay/Paypal fees just did not justify the time.

I also got a bunch of really stupid emails and requests. One guy asked for the item for free (a Gucci belt), because his son was in the hospital with a terminal illness and his son always wanted one. .

Another person (who was not the high bidder) asked for me to sell them the item for less than the current high bid because they only had $x in their Paypal account and could not spend more.

Another person told me that the person photographed in an antique photo I had listed had come to her in a dream and told her to ask me to take the auction down.

I tried Craigslist for some large items and the email/phone call exchanges were enough to make me change my mind about meeting some of these people in person.

If the clothes are decent, take them to a consignment shop.

I'm sorry that you had to deal with all that but it made me feel better about the question I got. I had an auction up that already had multiple bids and someone emailed me asking if I could sell her part of it directly because she didn't want to pay that much.

I've had better luck with eBay than craigslist and etsy though.

 

[kbsparky]

eBay charges around 9% commission for final value fees. Add another 3% for PayPal fees, and you're out 12% from the get-go.

They used to be more reasonable, but they got greedy it would seem.....

 

[nunzia]

Don't just look at auctions still underway. Many people bid at the last minute so to get a true indicator of what something might sell for be sure and check completed auctions.

 

[tzeitel]

Don't just look at auctions still underway. Many people bid at the last minute so to get a true indicator of what something might sell for be sure and check completed auctions.

I second this. Check completed listings not what is still available.

Also - kids clothes wont sell very well right now unless it is new with tags and/or heavy Winter stuff. Anyone shopping for Fall/Winter is not shopping on Ebay since it would take time for the listing to end and then shipping.

What will sell in the next month and a half is anything that can be given as a gift. Stuff that is new with tags/box, used toys in great condition, collectibles, dvds, video games etc. Sellers are working on listings for the holidays, what you see on Ebay right now is the stuff that did not sell before and it is out there just to have stuff listed.

 

[Dish]

Don't just look at auctions still underway. Many people bid at the last minute so to get a true indicator of what something might sell for be sure and check completed auctions.

This is a very good advice.