It’s been a little while since I last posted so lots of things to say. My job has hijacked my time which is why I haven’t been able to write much. I am definitely looking to find something else – my time is worth too much. Anyway, my last post was about quick and easy ways to earn money and I thought I would try out tip #4 – ebay. I’d never actually bought or sold anything on ebay until last week but it always came up as a way to make money online. Since I’d done every other thing on my list except for that, I thought I’d give it a shot. I’m sure there are many of you who would be interested in hearing how the process works and how successful (or not) it is.
Setting up
Creating an account was easy. I actually had one from college that I had never used. You need to disclose your email address, address and phone number. They try to make sure only real people sign up. It’s best to create a paypal account and link it to your ebay account to make transactions smoother.
Listing an Item for Sale
I used the auction feature but you also have the option to set a fixed price (buy it now). This review is going to focus on the auction style of selling. As a first time user, they told me I could list my item for free (no listing fee) and I was excited about that. It seemed like a risk-free way of trying ebay out. I’m not sure if they offer that all the time but read the disclosures. Unfortunately, it was not totally free because of all the “extras” I wanted. The free listing only allows one picture and it doesn’t allow that picture to be enlarged. To have more pictures you have to pay extra. To have bigger pictures you also have to pay extra. I wanted my listing to have a reserve price (which allows you to keep your item if no one bids up to that amount) and that costs extra too (the charge depends on your reserve price). All in all, for 2 items I paid $9. Not too bad, but not free either.
The Bidding Process
My items were listed for 10 days (which also costs extra, standard is 7) and the first 5 were the most excruciating days of my life. I kept checking but I had no bids. What was frustrating was that I could see that many people had looked at the item and 9 people were “watching” it. Finally, I got my first bid. I was excited but not hopeful. I still had a long way to go before it reached my reserve price (i made the initial bid low like is recommended). I got a bunch of questions from buyers mostly about international mailing which I had opted out of because it seemed more complicated. The real bidding didn’t start until 2hrs before the deadline but it was not enough to get the items to a price I was comfortable selling at. Sadly, neither one of my items sold.
Relisting
I decided that it would be worth the effort to try and relist my items. It seemed like people waited till the last minute to bid and that showed me that at least some people were interested in the items. I offered international shipping this time around and hopefully it will make a difference. I think the fact that I don’t have a rating (because I’m new to ebay) is not helping my case but I am hopeful I will sell this time around. I paid about $7 to relist (i lowered my reserve) and if it does not sell, I will try some other avenue. If you’re interested, I’m selling a Prada and Calvin Klein bag.
Conclusion
I think ebay is useful. It might be best for newbies to sell small electronics or things that people can be sure about (like books and vcrs). Apparel seems to be something that people with higher ratings do better with. Your rating from half.com is shared with ebay so if you want, you can sell books there first. The problem I’ve had is that none of my half.com customers leave feedback. Also, don’t get to excited if a lot of people are watching your item. At some point 15 people were watching it but I had zero bids. Some google research pointed out that a lot of people watch items similar to what they have so they can get an idea on how to price their item.
All in all, I think it’s work a shot. $15 is an acceptable gamble for me and if it doesn’t work out, there’s always craigslist. What has been your experience with ebay? Do you have any other tips for newbies?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Good luck with the relisting. I listed five items for the first time last month and sold two (a Wii game and a cookbook). I’ve since sold several DVDs and books on half.com.
I haven’t tried clothing items and can see how that might be a little harder to sell than the items I did with the free listing option.
FYI, your ebay score is a combination of feedback from buyers as well as sellers.
I enjoy your blog… Interesting story and great ideas for becoming debt free. Please keep up the good work.
I’ve used eBay off and on for both selling and buying, so I got a marketing email from them the other day about inserting listings for free. I went ahead and listed a couple of items that I’d been trying to sell locally (craigslist) without success. I paid a little for some extras (extra photos, bold listing, etc.), but for two items I paid around $2.
I can’t link to their website from work (blocked), but I think it’s a general promotion going on right now to submit up to 5 items each week for free (before extras).
Regards, Brian
Hi
My name is Mark. I’m from NYC too. I loved your post about making money. Especially the part about surveys. I didn’t know that it’s possible to make $150 in 3 months with them. Obviously you done your research and through trial and error discovered which survey websites work. You already listed some of them that you use. I was thinking why don’t you tell us all the survey websites that you use? In this way you will save us time since you know which ones are real and which ones are fake. Thanks a lot!
Mark
My experience with Ebay (I have been using Ebay for 11 years) is that there is no real reason to have an auction longer than 3 days unless you are selling something truly unique. It will sell in 3 days if it is going to sell. If you have no ratings at all, people will not buy from you. Buy some things and be a good buyer (pay promptly, primarily) and build your feedback up. Also, use reserve prices cautiously. I prefer to price accordingly and if I think that Ebayers won’t pay what I believe my item is worth, I will sell that particular item on Craigs List. Finally, if you can get your hands on gently used or new children’s clothes, they will sell every time!
I agree that reserve auctions are to be used cautiously, as well. After all, sellers want to assume a buyer wants a steal of a deal, and if they see Reserve Not Yet Met and that Snoopy Pencil Sharpener from the 1970s has a current bid of $32.99 they may feel intimidated and move on. They might wonder, Gosh, what does that seller want for it? $100? $200? A better choice may be “Buy it Now or Best Offer”. That’s in my opinion and experience (9 years on eBay). I just sold a stereo amp from the 80s which a little research like you described gave me an idea of how much I could get ($250), but my unit was a little used, a little scratched and I needed the cash so I listed it for $100 or best offer. I wound up selling it for $100 but got many offers –and I got the offer at the very last second of the listings life on ebay (You can post Buy It Now ad infinitum (sp) for 3 days or as much as 30 days plus a month to month fee thereafter.) I figured if I had done a reserve auction I might have been disappointed for it not to have sold at all so the Buy it Now or Best offer is a great set up. You command your top price but Buyers have a way to let you know just what they’d be willing and able to shell out and you’re in control of accepting those terms or not.
Also, you’d be surprised these days coupons, club card certificates, etc all sell very well. Don’t throw out that Macy’s ad or your Baby’s R Us circular with a $50 off coupon (I made those up). Sell them on ebay and as long as they cover your ebay fees, paypal fees and postage they are great tools for recouping those costs on other sold items or just plain money makers for you , depending. Certainly you can earn more selling them on Ebay than just by recycling those $$ off offers in the recycle bin!