Selling On E-Bay…
For Fun & Profit
Actually our experience with Ebay selling over the past 6 years has been more fun than profit. We are retired, enjoy playing on the internet, and got into ebay pretty much by accident. We were having a big garage sale, and our daughter was home from college. She asked if she could sort out a few of the t-shirts we were trying to sell for 50 cents, and first thing we knew she had taken photos and listed them on ebay, and was selling them for $10-15 each. Hmmmm.
So with her help, we got started in ebay selling, with clothing, books, knives, and things we had around the house. We needed a digital camera, so we looked for things we could sell to raise some money for a camera. I had a collection of books and hunting knives, so we sold some of those. We got into buying t-shirts, books, and jerseys at garage sales, thrift stores, library book sales, wherever. It is fun to list an item you have paid a buck or so for and watch the bids climb to $10, 20, even higher. We use the proceeds for our bingo fund.
There have been some remarkable successes over the years. I had a hunting knife I bought for fifty cents at a garage sale, used it for 20 years, and sold it for $900. We have bought shirts for $1 and sold them as high as $100. I sold a collectible hunting book for $200, then found another copy for $2 and sold it for $325. An old empty shotgun sell box sold for $95. Those make it interesting.
Ebay selling is not difficult, if one follows their rules, and knows the basics of computers. We take our own photos, upload them to our server, then use them on the auction listing. Before listing an item, we like to research similar ones that have sold or are selling. We never copy another seller’s listing information or photos. Good clear pictures and a good description are very important, as well as details on shipping cost, payment methods, etc. For example, if you tell bidders that you accept cash, ebay will cancel your auction. Not allowed. Paypal costs a little more, but works best for buyer and seller.
Give it a try, and have fun.
And that is Just My Opinion.