Cash, Resources

An eBaying We Shall Go, An eBaying We Shall Go

It has been a few months since I listed anything on eBay.  While getting out of debt, I made over $1000 selling baby clothes and books on eBay.  Now that my kids are older, I really don’t have any baby clothes to sell, and I’ve already sold most of my books!  So, I will be selling some of my daughter’s dresses and my son’s shirts and pants.  I like to sell clothes because they are lightweight, easy-to-ship, and easy-to-describe.  Here’s what I try to do when I sell something on eBay:

1.  I always take a good picture, and I always use a free “picture hosting” service if I need to have more than one picture of the item.  I like imageshack.us.

2.  I make the starting bid equal to the minimum amount that I will take for an item.  I then multiply that number by 1.75 and use that result as my Buy It Now price.  For instance, a dress that I would sell for $9.99, I list at $9.99 and then have Buy It Now price as $17.49.  Alternatively, if I simply want to “get rid” of an item, I’ll start it out at $.99.

3.  I try to create a good description and I ALWAYS tell the truth about an items condition.  If the shirt is a “B-“, I don’t list it as a “B”.

4.  I leave feedback after every transaction.

5.  I ship items as SOON as I RECEIVE payment.  I only use Paypal.

6.  I use Priority Shipping for every item.  I believe in fast shipping.

I know that some folks have had issues with eBay, but I find that if I create a quality listing, answer emails promptly, and ship products qucikly, I have few (if any) problems.  If you are thinking about getting out of debt, I STRONGLY recommend selling some of your “stuff”.  If you don’t like the idea of using eBay, have a yard sale or use your local classifieds.  I like selling “stuff” for two reasons:  It frees up room in my house, and it brings in “extra” money!  I would almost guarantee that 99% of the people who read this blog have $100 worth of stuff just sitting in a closet.  (If you had a $100 bill sitting at the bottom of your closet, would you go get it and deposit it in your bank account?  YES!  The same thing is true about $100 worth of unused “stuff”!)  Selling “stuff” rocks!

4 thoughts on “An eBaying We Shall Go, An eBaying We Shall Go

  1. NCN,

    We used to get the Clark Howard show locally, but it has stopped. I was a huge Clark Howard fan, but over time I found that he was a bit too frugal for me (my problem, not his).

    Merle S

  2. Pingback: Debt Blitzkrieg » Blog Archive » What I’d take to my island…

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