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!
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
great info! Thank you.
I’ve bought from ebay, and I’ve wanted to try to sell on ebay. Good info.