Selling on ebay | Imamother

Log in / Sign Up

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following My Posts Bookmarks

Private Messages Advanced Search Rules New User Guide FAQ Advertise Contact Us

Forum -> Working Women

Selling on ebay

1 2 Next

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Sun, Oct 07 2007, 11:29 pm

Does anyone here sell stuff on ebay?
How did you start?
Where do you buy the products that you sell?
I wanna work from home but so far I havent found anything so I was considering selling stuff online.
Any tips?

spinkles

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 12:17 am

Parents magazine ran an article on this a while back--I don't know how to link it, but if you go to parents.com and type "ebay" in the search box, the first link that pops up is the one I'm talking about. They interviewed four moms who sell on ebay. One works 15-20 hours a week (and full-time during the "holidays"), and makes $12,000 a year, selling vintage toys she finds at thrift shops. One works 20-25 hours a week, and makes $12,000-$15,000 ("We live near an outlet mall, so I buy new kids' clothing out of season. Then I sell it for a profit when the right time of year rolls around."). One works "up to 20 hours a week" and makes $3,000 a year, selling Pokemon cards. One works 40-60 hours a week and makes over $100,000 a year, selling PlayStation games.

From my experience, and my friends' experiences, the lady making $100,000 is NOT the norm. So I guess you have to decide if you're willing to work half-time or more and make $3,000-$12,000 a year. For me, it's not enough.

Ebay is a lot of hassle standing in line at the post office, dealing with winning bidders who decided they don't want the item anymore, and answering endless emails from buyers who have questions. You also have to pay listing fees, so even if your item doesn't sell, it costs you. People shopping on ebay are looking for killer bargains, so unless you have a unique or collectible item, you're not going to make any money; there are thousands of sellers on ebay trying to undercut each other by pennies. If you have mazel, you can do okay, but most people are not making decent money on ebay.

There are lots of good books you can check out from the library that will give you the basics on selling on ebay. But before you spend any time reading them, look carefully at what products are currently selling well--and profitably for the seller--and then ask yourself--do I have access to a cheaper source for these items than the current sellers? Also visit the seller forums and lurk there, to get an idea of some of the issues that come up for sellers.

Mama Bear

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 1:00 am

I work on ebay selling items for a store. You can always sell other people's unwanted items - that's called being a 'Trading Assistant'. If you can get your hands on things that really sell well, like cell phones, PDAs, electronics, etc, you could make nice money. It's very tough. I know of a few yungeleit in willy who are rich from selling BATTERIES! anything can sell on ebay if you market it the right way. Your first objective is to see what you can get for wholesale. Or you might try to learn how to ebay well and then offer your services to an existing actual store.

su7kids

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 11:49 am

Just for the record, yo udo not have to stand in line at the post office. As long as you have ONE priority package, the post office will pick up from your house. You print your stamps from paypal.

I started by selling stuff lying around my house that I didn't wnat and was in good condition. Then other people found out about it and said "will you sell this on ebay for me" and it grew.

Now I'm taking a break, but really should get back to it, because I have so much junk.

Just know that there ARE costs involved, and sometimes we forget about them when we bring in a check. There is listing fees and final value fees and always be careful what you list for postage, make sure you're accurate with your assessment.

You can find "beginners" tutorials on ebay itself. Go learn.

its not "money for nothing" it IS a lot of hard work, but its so cool when the checks arrive.

If you can find a lot of something, where you're selling the same thing over and over, that is helpful, too, because then the listings are the same.

amother

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 12:09 pm

I was considering buying things in bulk for cheap and selling them, for example toys or housewares, things like that. Do you think that would be a good thing to sell on ebay?

su7kids

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 12:15 pm

make sure its not junk and make sure no=one else is selling the same thing, or is selling it successfully.

I don't think its such a great idea to invest until you've got the hang of it.

For listing help, try www.auctiva.com its free.

mugsisme

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 12:20 pm

I have sold on Ebay, and still do. (I am a powerseller right now.) I used to sell boutique outfits. First of all, it is very cut-throat in the boutique world. You are dealing with a lot of non jews who are just not nice. (I am not deriding non jews, just the ones I dealt with.) I am talking about the other sellers. I did meet some very nice women, but I got out of it because it was so unpleasant to deal with these other ladies.

Also, Ebay is not what it used to be. There are too many people trying to sell the same things. What I always recommend people do before they start selling is to check out what their product is going for. Say you can get pots and pans. So you go to Ebay, and do an advanced search. Type in pots and pans, and click on completed auctions. It will up the last 30 days of completed auctions. (Same thing when you want to bid; you get an idea of what the item sold for.) My brother wanted me to sell some books for him, but when he heard that they didn't even sell at a $1.50 a piece, he said forget it. You also have to take into account that you have Ebay fees. You have a listing fee and a final value fee. You also have PP fees. So to me, I don't sell stuff for dirt cheap because it isn't worth it. There is another site called esti.com that is for craft items. I know some ladies have had good luck selling there. Also realize that you need to answer questions. People will ask the same thing over and over. They also do not read the auctions. I have had so many people bid on my items, and then want to pick them up. Can't, as they drop ship. I also had one guy get real mad that I didn't answer their email right away. Well, it was Shabbos, and I don't do that. By the time Shabbos was over, they were really mad and wouldn't respond to my email. Fine, who needs to deal with someone like that.

You also want to build up your feedback. Even doing some buying. You do not want to start selling with a very low feedback. People are leery, especially if you have big ticket items.

Good luck. It is a good way to earn money.

Leah

chocolate moose

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 12:36 pm

It's hard to make money on ebay these days. There are a lot of ebayers and everyome looks for a bargain.

I sold lots of stuff we didn't need anymore so that was "found" money, but of course it wasn't what I paid for it.

Mama Bear

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 1:31 pm

before you sell anything, go on ebay and do a search for the item. See if other people are selling it, and if it's a going item.

See, if you sell a TON of stuff , you eventually turna profit cuz you have so much stuf up. If youre just selling a few things laying around your house, you're not gonna striek it rich.

For isntance I just listed my son's purim costume, figuring it'll go well for halloween, and was shocked to see ONE HUNDRED THIRTY FIVE bumble bee costumes listed, and only about five were selling. LOL!
edited by mod2

MrsLeo

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 1:48 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

. See, if you sell a TON of stuff , you eventually turna profit cuz you have so much stuf up. If youre just selling a few things laying around your house, you're not gonna striek it rich.

To start something like that I would need to invest a lot of money just to buy the stuff (that might not even sell)

mugsisme

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 3:23 pm

My brother bought those President's wives gold coins, figuring he would make a fortune selling them on Ebay. The first few people who got theirs listed made a killing, some selling for almost $10,000! Then, once more people started to receive their coins, it dropped. Even though they only made 2000 pieces, it still sold for not as much as people had hoped they would. That is the other "chop". You have to grab something and get it up quick. Those first I-Phones went for a lot, and then quickly dropped.

Leah

Maya

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 3:28 pm

I have sold many things on eBay; not to make a living, just for the fun of it. I sold (and bought)many makeup samples, some designer handbags and more.

Of course, with the money in my PayPal account, I bought some things for myself on eBay. I think it's difficult to actually make a living on eBay. People are only looking for designer or brand names, or things that they can't find in stores, like discontinued items.

MahPitom

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 3:40 pm

Buying & selling is risky. You can stay stuck with the stuff. Find a dropshipping business opportunity. You make the sales, and they will drop ship direct to the customer, and pay you commission.

amother

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 3:44 pm

MahPitom wrote:

Buying & selling is risky. You can stay stuck with the stuck. Find a dropshipping business opportunity. You make the sales, and they will drop ship direct to the customer, and pay you commission.

You still need to have money to invest. Like that new ad here. its $299. its a lot of money.

MahPitom

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 3:57 pm

Reminds me of the old chant: Honey, I need money , it’s not funny… I’d anytime in vest 299 or 1099 if I know I have a reliable vendor. If I have to buy bandages and re-sell it on ebay, how will I know if people will want it?

I had an opportunity once to buy a container from china for $35,000 and in the end, I didn’t’ do it (the money, what else). Anyway, we researched it later and the product was NOT a hot item, like they said. What would I have done with the junk sitting in a warehouse then…!

You can walk into any store on main street and say, I’ll sell for you on Ebay, for $5.00 per sale and try that.

Mama Bear

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 7:39 pm

plenty of stores wouild be delighed if you would do their selling. So many stores would love to be set up on ebay but dont have the time or know how. IYH once all my kids are off in school (like in 12 years from now Very Happy

) I hope to start a business selling on ebay for other people.

btw, some of the best going items on ebay are BROKEN electronics, computers, dvd players etc, as well as vintage used toys, discontinued vintage used ANYTHING.

amother

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 8:39 pm

KIDS? am I missing something, do u have more then one kid?

Mama Bear

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 8:43 pm

Nope, but I'm far from done yet! So... when I will finally give up trying to have more, which will be about when I'll hit the 40 mark, I'll wait for whatever kids I then have, to start Pre 1-A to start my business Very Happy

amother

Mon, Oct 08 2007, 8:46 pm

nice plan, good luck!!!

rachel19977

Mon, Nov 26 2007, 12:24 am

We've been selling on eBay for 7 years and still going strong. We sell new items from Macy's and WalMart, and JCPenny, depending on the deal. You need CONNECTIONS to get that - the new items.

Before we moved to Israel we sold our business and they are still selling on eBay, with a warehouse store in Florida.

Last year we set up a friend also in the States with the Macy's items - new- and they are doing VERY WELL on eBay - Baruch Hashem.

If you want more information on where to start, please PM me. If you get a containor or a pallet of toys, makeup, or whatever you are interested in, it's great RIGHT NOW because of the X-mas season!

If that is too hard for you, if you have kids, always buy the "good quality stuff" from Gap, Children Place, and Osh Kosh, even Carters. Gymboree. Hit the stores hard when there's sales and you'll find $1.00 items. Travel to the outlets and get the stuff. Re-sell them on eBay. They go for the retail price if not more, that's not with your markup of shipping.

When I started selling on eBay I'd sell my old stuff - even my used "MAC" makeup, old shirts that were too small/big, stuff laying around. I got "smarter" and hit the flea market where I found a vendor selling Lancome makeup and such. Even Shu Umera makeup, if you are familliar. I even hit the 99c stores in my area, wrote down the stuff that looked more then "0.99c", re-searched on eBay, and went back and re-sold them. Even if I made $1.00 I was happy, cuz it was a start and it got my "Foot in the door".

Well I can go on and on, if you have any questions let me know!

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next