any EBAY sellers? (i need advice)

[NOKUY]

i have a few things to sell on ebay, and probably wanna see if i can get to where we could maybe "half-live" off doing some selling on there.

i find bargains all the time, and its stuff i know i can sell for alot more.

is it worth it to have an "e-bay store"?

any advice on how to do listings?.

...im scared to make what i have now an auction, so just putting it as 'buy it now'.

 

[Stoner4Life]

I think if you get 'eBay Store' status that you also start collecting/paying state sales tax if a buyer from TX (where you ship/sell from) buys your item. no advantage imo. what other perks exist in having an eBay store?

 

[Double Kindness]

It really depends on how you get paid. Paypal will only let you get $500 in cash per month, unless you have a business account. The scetchy thing about getting money orders or checks is that they could be fake or forged. Those are really the only things you really have to think about, it's all great and dandy to make a killing on ebay, but if paypal is holding all that money, what good does it do you? I can't pay my bills with paypal, which is what I have a problem with.

 

[White-rhino]

People do sell there, so I guess its possible. Its also easy to get caught up in additional charges to get your ad seen. And requires a lot of work.

Also next year all earnings will be reported to the IRS, thanks to Chris Dodd (D) and his Foreclosure Prevention Act (that didn't prevent any forclosures BTW). All online sales through Ebay get reported to the IRS (Form 1099-K, Merchant Card and Third-Party Payments). So that $20 profit on a garage sale item could turn into $1000 in interest and penalties if you don't report it. Thank your local democrat.

 

[NOKUY]

i have purchased alot of stuff off there, just never sold.

the item i put today was a heavy sweatshirt/jacket "name brand" and fancy, not my style, but something i know that i see all the Highschool emo kids sporting.

we purchased at 'ross' today for 12 bucks brand new with tag, and i put it on there now for $60 bucks. (original tag on it say $110).

once i figure it out i got tons of rare bike parts, that will fetch a small fortune.

 

[LiveFreeOrDie]

Rather than go an ebay store route, look into EPN (Ebay Partner Network). You can earn commissions instead of deal with the actual products.

 

[tonto]

Ebay For Dummies

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4908421/eBay_Business_All-in-One_For_Dummies


+read comment for opening

 

[kerlito]

I´m good , but not always

 

[Maria_Vanessa]

I used to sell extra stuff that I had lying around the house on Ebay. But I never opened up my own Ebay store or became a part of their Ebay Partner Network, so I cannot give you advise on that.

But I can advise is that when you do start selling items:

1. Be very descriptive and specific about the items you are selling. Take as many picutres as you can and be very honest. If there are minor scratches and stuff, state them specifically and honestly so your potential customers know. People appreciate the that honestly above all else even if what you are selling isn't picture perfect.

2. Communication. Make sure your buyers have a way to contact you and reply back as soon as possible, if not immediately.

3. When shipping, get a tracking number. That way i you get a suspect buyer that says, "I didn't receive my shipment!", whip out the tracking number. I would just automatically add tracking into the shipping and handling cost for the buyer. When I was selling on Ebay, I lived within walking distance of a post office in a mall, so that is what I used.

4. Some people are just jerks. An overwhelming majority of people just want a smooth transaction, but there are some people that get off on being dicks. Just stay professional, and never stoop down to their level.

That's all I can think of off hand. Good luck!

 

[Snagglepuss]

On ebay everybody wants a good deal....Who doesn't i guess ....Most stuff will sell for way below its value...I woudn't recommend getting a store unless your going to do like 300$ or more a week in sales every week....Try to find things that no-one else has and create your niche for a certain item ,,,you will get a better chance at a higher price...Always look up yer shit before listing, to save the wasted time of putting up things that might not sell..You can make a bunch of money,looking for items in thrift stores and other places and listing em ..Buying stuff at auctions is also a good way to get things rolling into a buisness...Stick with what you know, usually works best.....I'd be putting stuff up now ,but i still owe them a couple hundred bucks...Good luck with your selling!!!!

Remeber selling stuff on their is like working or having to work another job,,,it can be time consuming ..Having your own label printer(i use the eltron UPS 2442) will save you TONS of time when finishing transactions .They can be had cheap too like $15 bucks for the printer and $30 buck for the replacment label rolls..No ink needed it operates on heat...hope this may help ya ...

 

[Maria_Vanessa]

By the way, the items I sold on Ebay were Beanie Babies. This was around the time when they were still popular, but not when people were going apeshit about them when they first dropped. In addition, I also sold some books, old video games and movies.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

ebay sucks...my friends boost stuff and still have problems making decent coin on there. ebay takes their ten percent cut too...for every auction that i sell an item for 30 dollars, theres about 3 dollars in various charges.

also, dont expect to get high prices. for example, if an item has a retail value of 150, and other ebay stores are selling it for 120, and you put your item up with regular bidding, it will sell for like 50-80 bucks.
i just put up a deadstock pair of promo nikes from tony parker, another ebay vendor had a buy it now up for 140, my shoes sold for 70, like a dollar above my reserve.


make sure you put a reserve too, so that if you dont get your asking price you can relist.


it also depends what your selling. my friends rack little digital art creators that are worth like 250 and they usually fetch a solid 130 or so on ebay. also weird stuff like saw blades can sell for decent coin and are easy to gaffle.


if your buying and re-selling on ebay, i cant see any serious coin in it.

 

[redspaghetti]

Only open an ebay store when you have 50 + items for sale or its not going to be worth it because of the fee they charge,

They also charge listing and ending fee's there are ways to get around it ...

Then you have to deal with paypal which also more fee's lol, i remember back then people used to send cash, money orders, check ect... now with this econ, everyone use paypal or bank cards. Which mean the item that were sold for 10 bucks, ebay will get some of it, paypal will get some of it, you'll end up with barely anything.

If you want to make money on ebay, list your item cheap with a HIGH shipping price, neither ebay or paypal will be able to charge you on that, there are many more ways, you just gotta really dig it out

cheers,
red.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

so those shoes i sold for 60 dollars....just checked my ebay invoice and they want a 8 dollar cut.

fuck ebay and fuck meg whitman....8 dollars out of 60 is more than 10%!!!

 

[Haps]

Yes4, but you are selling stolen stuff are you not? And ebay is robbing you? Bloody rich irony.

I looked at the cost on ebay, figure minimum 20% is coming off the top, for all their bullshit nickle and dime charges, fees, and pay pal. Not saying don't do it, just price so that you make your profit above their cut.

 

[Sam the Caveman]

between ebay and paypal fees, you will be slightly sickened every time you sell an item

In the past few months I've noticed fewer and fewer items for any given search, they charge too much and people are leaving.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

Yes4, but you are selling stolen stuff are you not? And ebay is robbing you? Bloody rich irony.

I looked at the cost on ebay, figure minimum 20% is coming off the top, for all their bullshit nickle and dime charges, fees, and pay pal. Not saying don't do it, just price so that you make your profit above their cut.

naw the shoes i paid for...i sometimes sell stuff for my homies on ebay, but the profits are way less that way. lately alot of my buddies who rack dont sell on ebay, they just return for store credit.

 

[Stoner4Life]

all depends what you have. supply & demand.
my 1st eBay sale was for 5 brand new in box advertising signs from 1954; 2 Dairy Queen signs & 3 Tastee Freeze signs, I found them in the attic of my garage as I renovated it. I hit it big on that sale as brand new 1954 signs just can't be had, someone out in colorado bought them as I recall.

find something you like (hobby of yours) such as skate boarding, bmx'ing, knife collecting (my hobby) and invest in your inventory from there. I go to garage sales, auctions, I talk old folks into checking the backs of kitchen drawers for old bone handled pocket knives (I love & collect the Remington's) and I eBay them.

BMX stuff? recognize vintage parts/upgrades (brakes, bars, shifters,gear kits) on bikes then buy & strip 'em; parts sell faster, ship easier and take up less room, junk the common frames by selling for scrap and sell the better frames. go to garage sales and ask the lady of the house if her kid had bmx bikes, did he have parts laying around etc.

The "Wanted To Buy" ads are free in many newspapers, take advantage of that.

sell it on eBay by keeping your ad fees @ $3.00 or less, realize that the SALE fees (if you succeed in selling it) are part of life and an actual auctioneer gets 20% plus some handling fees to boot! ~ eBay is by far the most trouble free way to go & nation wide unlike CraigsList which forces a person to search for an item by scanning/searching 100's of various city locations in the lower 48.

don't be a true ripoff on shipping & handling fees but you can make up some of your auction fees by padding your packaging in more ways than one.......

 

[!!!]

E-bay is an excellent place to sell, but competition is generally fierce (as with all e-commerce in general). You'd need to experiment with the products you're selling and in how you write your ad copy. Some items don't sell very well, but others nearly always sell, even if the price is higher than most online retailers.

Your feedback is important, and I suggest reading some copywriting books if you don't know how to write ad copy (ads/persuasive writing.)

Selling in bulk on ebay is profitable if you have a good supplier.