It was not long after I left my job to become a stay at home mom that it was realized our "on paper budget" was not exactly reality. There were things that we just did not budget or plan for.
Our bad for sure.
However we still knew that we had made the right decision for our family and we were just going to have become creative, not just in how we saved money, but also in how we could earn money.
Over the next few weeks I want to share with you what we have done to bring in extra income and how you can do it too.
Today I want to share with you how we have fared on Ebay.
Ebay has probably been one of my most favorite ways to generate income. I love that I can shop (mostly garage sales and thrift stores, but those are my favorite places to shop anyway) and not feel guilty knowing that what I purpchase has the potential to bring in income. That's right..guilt free shopping!
First things first, before you can sell on Ebay, you must first set up an account with them. It is very easy to do and you can do so here.
You must also set up an account with Paypal. It will be through Paypal that your customers will pay for their purchase. It is also a requirement of Ebay.
Now comes the fun part...you start purchasing your inventory. There are some things that are prohibited from selling on Ebay and you can find that list here, although I am confident that whatever it is you want to sell will not be on this list.
I have found that I do best selling women's name brand clothes that I have picked up from garage sales and thrift stores. I have learned a lot about selling clothes from the ladies at My Dear Trash, as well as by trial and error.
Below are what I have found works for me on Ebay as it relates to selling clothes.
1. I do not spend over $1.00 for clothing to sell unless I am confident it will sell at a higher than normal price.
2. Plus size and "tall" clothing sell really well, while petites do not. I haven't quite figured that one out yet.
3. Only sell well known name brands..Walmart, Target and other department store brands just do not sell well, even if they are "new with tags".
4. Be diligent in looking over your item before listing. Look for loose buttons, non-working zippers and holes. Also pay attention to how worn it is. If it looks really worn, it will probably not sell and if it does sell, the customer will be disappointed after its arrival and may give you a negative. (You do not want negative sales)
5. If you find an article of clothing that you really think would sell, but it's missing a button or is unravelling at the hem....be honest and state that in your listing. I have listed and sold items that had minor but fixable flaws, I just always made sure that I disclosed any flaw.
6. Finally, be patient...be patient...be patient. Timing is everything on Ebay. Just because an item did not sell the first time you listed it, does not mean it will not ever sell. I have listed items that did not have so much as a watcher and then upon relisting had a bidding war between two customers. Having said that, I typically list an item a maximum of three times any more than that I feel I maybe wasting my time.
While the above tips are geared towards those who sell clothing, they really hold true to any item you sell..
Since this is getting lengthy I will save my tips for shipping your item and completing the transaction for next week.
If you have had success in selling on Ebay and have other useful tips, I would love to hear from you!
Linking up to Works For Me Wednesdays
and Women Living Well.
I hope this post proves to be useful to you, it is something that I have been wanting to share for awhile now, however, I do want to disclose that some (not all) of the links above are referral links.
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