Just a word of advice: I see a lot of articles and feedback on many thrifty websites suggesting that a great way to make extra money is to sell on Ebay. PLEASE PLEASE be careful that you are actually MAKING money in the long run! I have sold and bought off Ebay for quite a while now and there are times when the cost of driving to the post office, or the packing materials, or even the time involved in listing an item negates the earnings.
And PLEASE watch out for Ebay's fees. They can mount quickly and then you discover that after selling a ton and cheering for your windfall, half of it goes right back out the door to Ebay. I think Ebay is a great sales tool but some things are really better sold on craigslist (no fees), private chat boards (like Diaperswappers for us cloth diapering moms) or at a yard sale. By all means, use Ebay but please be careful.
Victoria from Carpentersville, IL
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
that's pretty much what my experience was when I sold my collection on eBay, you really have to watch that your enterprise doesn't turn into a charity benefitting eBay. And I had not heard of Diaperswappers, thanks! I just need some old soft diapers for cleaning around here, I'll go look into it.
wow
You hit it right on the head! Ebay is one of the most time-consuming things to do, and sometimes you have to consider all the things you said. I also resell great used books on half.com, which is a subsidiary of ebay, but only takes seconds to list, compared to many minutes with ebay. Ya also gotta watch that most your profits are not going back in to get more things to sell.
I've been selling on eBay since 2002 as a hobby.
Yes, I have to admit that eBay's listing fees, final value fees and credit card fees can eat into your profits.
But I didn't do too bad because I was able to save all of my profits and just paid cash for a new vehicle this year.
Marge from NY
Case in point..My cousin was so THRILLED to buy a small decorator plate ( 6")on EBAY, her bid was one penny. YES she won the bid and it cost her $6.00 in fees/postage. I said to her, Couldn't you have gotten a small plate like that at Wal-Mart or at a yard sale for 25-50 cents? She said "Oh maybe"it was just that fact that she was able to "win" a bid at one cent... huh...WIN???? LOL
You are very right in your thoughtful post. When I sold on Ebay, I made a spreadsheet on the computer to track assets and debits. I recommend that to everyone who sells on Ebay.
I had a good experience. I had a spring garage sale and profited $800 that spring. It is hard work and makes your house messy, but well worth the time if you put forth the effort.
Dont forget to recycle mailing products. Try to be frugal where you can, but not to the point where products arrive damaged. I sometimes split my mailing tape in half lengthwise to attach a paper label used to cover the old writing on my mailing envelope. It makes the tape go twice as far.
Good luck
another very important point see that if you buy on ebay and then decied to return for what ever resson make sure you get your money right way back or report it to ebay with in 60/90 days if not you may have a big problems .My brother is having this issue now he purchased a Laptop when he recvied it was not working right so the seller said to send it back and he will refund him this was last march he has not been refund his $150.oo
Yes, ebay auction sucks buyers...just an exprience...my cousin bought a small item worth 1 dollar but the shipment was 30 dollars...
Can you post that Craigs List site address. I have tried to find it but so far no good. I'm tired of ebay myself. I bought a pair of earrings that looked like they may have been as large as the topsection of your little finger, when I got them they were about the size of a short fingernail.
I couldn't agree more. In between the amount of time it took to list items, the fees and charges added up, not to mention buyers who disappeared and the hassle involved getting Ebay to refund the fees charged, etc. I broke even at best! No more Ebay selling for me!
I have never used eBay but I have done quite a bit of shipping for my business...you can get free shipping boxes from USPS or UPS or FED EX. USPS has also has a flat rate Priority Mail box that you can ship anywhere in the US for $8.95 up to 70 lbs. I do not remember what Canada or International rate is but if you go to www.usps.com/
I went to the library and took out a book called: Selling Beyond ebay by Greg Holden. He gives a lot of other web address' to post your stuff by catorey such as: www.justbeads.com for beaded jewelry or www.potteryauction.com for pottery to name a few. Let's start thinking out of the box there are other web sites and you can find them.
I went to the library and took out a book called: Selling Beyond ebay by Greg Holden. He gives a lot of other web address' to post your stuff by catorey such as: www.justbeads.com for beaded jewelry or www.potteryauction.com for pottery to name a few. Let's start thinking out of the box there are other web sites and you can find them.
I've been on Ebay for 12 years now. I've been a buyer more than a seller. I have a niece with a mitochondrial metabolic disorder/ feeding tube. When her Gastrointerologist changed the medical food she was on my sister had an abundance of what she was on before. Over 9 cases of it. It is very expensive to buy.
I sold her extra on ebay. I deducted the listing fees, what it cost to ship, and the final value fees. We then split the profit in half. We each made over $200 after everything was said and done!
Patg, if your brother paid with PayPal (most ebay items are paid for through paypal) he may be able to get some help through them. They offer buyer protection. I do not know the specifics of this buyer protection, but it might be worth his time to contact them, if he did indeed pay with paypal.
For the person that asked, Craiglist can be found at www.craiglist.org. I have found more than a few fake people on there. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Use caution if you buy something from craiglist, maybe meet in a public place. Not too long ago a man ran an ad on there, and then killed the men that answered the ad. A guy in Texas went to buy a car he saw on craiglist. He was robbed and killed. Use extreme caution please!
I agree, the same is true for iOffer or even a yard sale. Oft-times, it's easier to donate items (and take the tax deduction) or, for very low/no value items, freecycle.
I had a mixed experience selling on ebay. I didn't make a lot of profit, but I enjoyed taking the photos and writing descriptions. I had one buyer that was just a "crazy lady" and she emailed me a lot! I purchase quite a bit on ebay and love it.
Quite agree ~ I see sellers all the time loosing money and driving down the prices just for an ego thing.
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
