Any Ebayers Here?

Green Squall · Jan 29, 2017

Anyone use Ebay for an extra income source? If so, what do you sell? I'm always looking for new ideas! I've had success selling used books, promotional items like t-shirts/stickers and small antiques. I avoid large items because of high shipping costs. I'd love to start buying products in bulk and starting an Ebay store, but I'm not willing to do that without a solid plan first. Would love to hear peoples thoughts.

brown_thumb · Jan 29, 2017

I've bought and sold on eBay since eBay was just a 2-year-old baby... okay a really big baby.

IMO, there are only two ways to make good money: 1: Sell millions of new items and pay helpers next to nothing to do the work, 2. Sell oddball esoteric items for plenty of profit.

eBay isn't like it was in its infancy... or rather sellers and buyers are more savvy now. But if you work your tail off intelligently searching for good "buy-it-now" deals and poorly advertised items then do a really efficient/good job of reselling the right kinds of items then a decent second income can be made. There will be days you make nothing. Other days, you'll make $50. Then there are days you make $2000. It's pot luck and hard work. You won't get wealthy.

It might be possible to set up an automated ordering drop/ship program but i don't know how to do that.

aridbud · Jan 29, 2017

Sold t-shirts and photo cards...did ok, not great. Between the chunk of change eBay charges and payment system....it's a way to make a little $$.

troutman · Jan 29, 2017

I only use Ebay to buy stuff.

Selling would be cool though.

Green Squall · Jan 29, 2017

brown_thumb said:
I've bought and sold on eBay since eBay was just a 2-year-old baby... okay a really big baby.

IMO, there are only two ways to make good money: 1: Sell millions of new items and pay helpers next to nothing to do the work, 2. Sell oddball esoteric items for plenty of profit.

eBay isn't like it was in its infancy... or rather sellers and buyers are more savvy now. But if you work your tail off intelligently searching for good "buy-it-now" deals and poorly advertised items then do a really efficient/good job of reselling the right kinds of items then a decent second income can be made. There will be days you make nothing. Other days, you'll make $50. Then there are days you make $2000. It's pot luck and hard work. You won't get wealthy.

It might be possible to set up an automated ordering drop/ship program but i don't know how to do that.

I'm small time. I use the 50 free insertions a month and take advantage of the promotions they have every now and then.

Your right about oddball items. That's why I'm always on the lookout for antiques and vintage items. Definitely can't get wealthy, but its nice to have a trickle of money coming in.

Green Squall · Jan 29, 2017

troutman said:
I only use Ebay to buy stuff.

Selling would be cool though.

Give it a try. Like I said, you get a certain amount of free listings a month. The Ebay App is super easy to use too.

brown_thumb · Jan 29, 2017

Green Squall said:
I'm small time. I use the 50 free insertions a month and take advantage of the promotions they have every now and then.

Your right about oddball items. That's why I'm always on the lookout for antiques and vintage items. Definitely can't get wealthy, but its nice to have a trickle of money coming in.

I'll give you an example: I can buy lots of 20-30-50-200 instruction manuals for an average of fifty cents each. Then I can cull the worthless ones (burn them) and sell the rest (individually) for an average of $5 each plus shipping. If I buy 1300 manuals, burn 300 of them and sell the other 1000 I can make $4500 (minus fees) on the others. All I have to do is toss the pamphlet in an envelope so shipping is quick and easy. It takes many months to sell so many manuals and some won't sell at all for years but that's just one example.

The insertion fees will KILL you on inexpensive stuff like that but my monthly subscription allows for 1000 free insertions every month. It's a good deal for those willing to fully utilize the subscription limits. My problem is I've been very unmotivated for many months so my subscription costing $70 per month doesn't pay for itself.

Lastly, if you sell enough and acquire an excellent seller reputation then eBay will give you a 20 percent discount on final sales fees plus a discount on shipping, which you can pocket.

Ready4 · Jan 29, 2017

Many different ways to make some good extra $ from Ebay, Amazon, Etsy etc.
The best start would be with products that you know very well & know their value range. Some great deals can be had right on Ebay buying from people who are too lazy and/or stupid to take good photos and know what they are selling. Also some of these people just auction off items that end at odd times or during weekdays.
Odd items sure will sell well, most of them at least - basic supply and demand economic rules apply.
Items can be got at good deals from estate sales, yard sales, garbage (don't laugh lol), storage auctions, newspapers, etc
If you work, you can make more. If you are lazy, forget it lol
Getting some products at wholesale prices ( quantity, take some $) then retail auctioning can be good.
also smaller auctions, in person, can be really great sometimes.
Learning what is collectable and what is not can be a learning curve for sure ! :tiphat:

Green Squall · Jan 29, 2017

Ready4 said:
Many different ways to make some good extra $ from Ebay, Amazon, Etsy etc.
The best start would be with products that you know very well & know their value range. Some great deals can be had right on Ebay buying from people who are too lazy and/or stupid to take good photos and know what they are selling. Also some of these people just auction off items that end at odd times or during weekdays.
Odd items sure will sell well, most of them at least - basic supply and demand economic rules apply.
Items can be got at good deals from estate sales, yard sales, garbage (don't laugh lol), storage auctions, newspapers, etc
If you work, you can make more. If you are lazy, forget it lol
Getting some products at wholesale prices ( quantity, take some $) then retail auctioning can be good.
also smaller auctions, in person, can be really great sometimes.
Learning what is collectable and what is not can be a learning curve for sure !

I've found many good items at estate sales, yard sales not so much. And no I'm not laughing at garbage. At the local transfer center (garbage and recycling) we have a "swap shop" where you can you can leave or take what you please.

@brown thumb - I have 100% positive feedback. How much do you need to sell to get those discounts? I only have around 500 sales.

hazyfontazy · Jan 29, 2017

i buy from auction houses and sell on ebay

brown_thumb · Jan 29, 2017

Green Squall said:
I've found many good items at estate sales, yard sales not so much. And no I'm not laughing at garbage. At the local transfer center (garbage and recycling) we have a "swap shop" where you can you can leave or take what you please.

@brown thumb - I have 100% positive feedback. How much do you need to sell to get those discounts? I only have around 500 sales.

eBay has their seller requirements posted on their website.....

Top Rated Seller Requirements

matt11 · Jan 29, 2017

I used to sell a lot of stuff on eBay. But all the seller fees eBay charges and also the PayPal fees, your really getting fucked. Unless your selling at such a high volume then it might be worthwhile.

brown_thumb · Jan 29, 2017

matt11 said:
I used to sell a lot of stuff on eBay. But all the seller fees eBay charges and also the PayPal fees, your really getting fucked. Unless your selling at such a high volume then it might be worthwhile.

That's largely true. I just never buy anything unless I can make a minimum of $50 after all fees and I never pay more for something than I can break even with, even if it's in horrific condition. Even then, it has to be something very easy to sell and ship. I take into account the seller's knowledge and reputation and adjust what I'm willing to pay. I never pay more than approximately half of what something is probably worth so I don't pay more than $100 (including shipping) for something worth $200 (plus shipping). If I buy lots of small items, such as instruction manuals, I pay practically nothing for those and sell them one at a time. If I see an item worth $1000 with a buy-it-now price of $200 then I'll buy and re-sell it. This may seem like an abusive way to do business but I never try to low-ball anyone.

Green Squall · Feb 1, 2017

Check your promotions section on the sellers page. Lots of people are getting 500 free Buy It Now listings :dance013:

I'm gonna be busy the next few days.

brown_thumb · Feb 1, 2017

Green Squall said:
Check your promotions section on the sellers page. Lots of people are getting 500 free Buy It Now listings

I'm gonna be busy the next few days.

Yes but that only lasts 30 days... and WATCH OUT for automatically relisted items because eBay will charge you when they're relisted. I never take advantage of eBay's "SPECIAL PROMOTIONS" because there's ALWAYS a "GOTCHA!!".

Green Squall · Feb 1, 2017

brown_thumb said:
Yes but that only lasts 30 days... and WATCH OUT for automatically relisted items because eBay will charge you when they're relisted. I never take advantage of eBay's "SPECIAL PROMOTIONS" because there's ALWAYS a "GOTCHA!!".

Yup I know. I'm pretty well seasoned on Ebay and never use the automatic relist items option for that very reason.

I always use the special promotions. Never had a problem or a gotcha moment. 500 free 30 day listings is a deal!

brown_thumb · Feb 1, 2017

Green Squall said:
Yup I know. I'm pretty well seasoned on Ebay and never use the automatic relist items option for that very reason.

I always use the special promotions. Never had a problem or a gotcha moment. 500 free 30 day listings is a deal!

Okay, so you spend how much time and effort listing 500 items during eBay's 30 day promotion... and sell how many items? After 60 days the listings you created are no longer available to be relisted... even if you're willing to pay the fees. So most of your time is wasted... unless you pay their fees. It's a 'gotcha'.

Green Squall · Feb 1, 2017

brown_thumb said:
Okay, so you spend how much time and effort listing 500 items during eBay's 30 day promotion... and sell how many items? After 60 days the listings you created are no longer available to be relisted... even if you're willing to pay the fees. So most of your time is wasted... unless you pay their fees. It's a 'gotcha'.

It's actually a 7 day promotion and I obviously won't use all 500. I have about 75 items listed right now and will triple that in the next couple days once I'm done listing. Using the Ebay App doesn't take much time or effort imo. I sell mostly books, unique ones at that, and have a good track record with sales.

If I can't relist the few I don't sell after 60 days, then I will just make a new listing. I never pay for insertion fees..ever...

Loc Dog · Feb 1, 2017

aridbud said:
Sold t-shirts and photo cards...did ok, not great. Between the chunk of change eBay charges and payment system....it's a way to make a little $$.

E-bay was 3% commission, now 10%.

Jaqen H'gar · Feb 1, 2017

Loc Dog said:
E-bay was 3% commission, now 10%.

It really annoys me how much they take.

Say you sell a car for $5000, they want $500 just for a listing that maybe 100 people viewed. Yeah f**k that. I sell some old stuff that i no longer need on there but anything of value i sell somewhere else.

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