How to start with NO money. (P.S. you might need to get off the couch for this one)
Many times I hear people say 'I have no money - literally not a penny to my name, how do I start selling on eBay?
As you know, there is always a trade-off without working capital. One saves you 'time' and one saves you 'money'. With money, you can save on time, and with time, you can save on money. But, it doesn't mean that the ends are any different. In fact, when I started, I opted to begin with the 'free' option because I, frankly, didn't have the luxury of having a lot of working capital.
So, for you who are in the situation that I was in, here are some things that you can do.
For some quick cash, by far the best thing to do is sell items you ALREADY own. The cost to acquire is zero anyway. Even if you purchased this in the past for for a decent price, you DIDN'T purchase it for the purpose of resell. Because of this, the cost to acquire is ZERO. You still need to figure out all of your deductions, but the profit you make on these sales will QUICKLY and EASILY give you more than enough working capital to acquire items.
One complaint I hear in this scenario is: "But I don't own anything to sell".
C'mon.
Everyone has something to own, and everyone has something that will yield a profit. IF YOU ARE IN DEBT you do not have the luxury of holding onto items that you cannot afford anyway. I'm not suggesting you sell heirlooms, but you can sell ANYTHING that yields a profit. RUN the numbers. You cannot automatically make a blanket statement 'I do not own anything that will yield a profit' without running the numbers on ANYTHING. After all, I'm sure your place of residence does not look like a desert.
Even if it did -- pick up some dirt and run some numbers! (You get the point)
Free Sections - In many online classified (like Craigslist of ksl.com [in selected Western States]) there are the 'free sections' of products.
Now, one complaint I hear is "There is only crap in those sections!" and well, many times there is! And the reason why is because the GOOD stuff isn't there for long at all. And the 'crap' only lasts for a few minutes or seconds and then the seller is inundated with so many calls that they need to take it off quickly. Does that mean the 'free sections NEVER have good items?' No. It means that the free sections have great stuff all the time - but you need to watch them carefully -- and WHEN they show up, you need to be the FIRST person to call them - within the minute it is posted.
"But that seems HARD!" Remember - you don't have the working capital to make this 'easier'. So we have to be creative here. One saves you 'time' the other saves you 'money'.
However, if you see that an item is a great item, and it might not sell well on eBay, BUT it might sell well in another section of the classified ad site, you can REPOST it for a price!
For example - someone is trying to get rid of a china cabinet for free - you get it, but then relist it in the furniture section for 100 bucks or so - Bam. Profit. Of course it wouldn't have made a profit on eBay, but it would have on Craigslist.
Consignment sales - this is also a great way to sell items for a profit. When you put your name out there as someone that sells on eBay, and will sell items FOR people, you will be amazed at how many people will FLOCK to you to sell their products.
The agreement you give to people is that 1, they are responsible to ship out the product, 2, they are responsible for the fees, and 3, they are responsible to pay you a percentage of the sale. (Negotiated, of course)
The good thing about KNOWING how much the item sells for BEFORE you list it because of your knowledge of the research is that the seller KNOWS how much they'll be paid for their item. Also, they KNOW that they 'can' or 'cannot' get a certain amount for an item before it's listed as well.
Many times people say, 'Only sell it if I can get xxx.xx amount for it'. But showing them how much the MARKET will give them for the item will help them have a better feeling in selling with you.
These are some great ways to start selling on eBay and build up your working capital to acquire items! In fact, some people EXCLUSIVELY make money in consignment as it is a viable way to capitalize their eBay skill.
-Auction Debt Eliminator-
As you know, there is always a trade-off without working capital. One saves you 'time' and one saves you 'money'. With money, you can save on time, and with time, you can save on money. But, it doesn't mean that the ends are any different. In fact, when I started, I opted to begin with the 'free' option because I, frankly, didn't have the luxury of having a lot of working capital.
So, for you who are in the situation that I was in, here are some things that you can do.
For some quick cash, by far the best thing to do is sell items you ALREADY own. The cost to acquire is zero anyway. Even if you purchased this in the past for for a decent price, you DIDN'T purchase it for the purpose of resell. Because of this, the cost to acquire is ZERO. You still need to figure out all of your deductions, but the profit you make on these sales will QUICKLY and EASILY give you more than enough working capital to acquire items.
One complaint I hear in this scenario is: "But I don't own anything to sell".
C'mon.
Everyone has something to own, and everyone has something that will yield a profit. IF YOU ARE IN DEBT you do not have the luxury of holding onto items that you cannot afford anyway. I'm not suggesting you sell heirlooms, but you can sell ANYTHING that yields a profit. RUN the numbers. You cannot automatically make a blanket statement 'I do not own anything that will yield a profit' without running the numbers on ANYTHING. After all, I'm sure your place of residence does not look like a desert.
Even if it did -- pick up some dirt and run some numbers! (You get the point)
Free Sections - In many online classified (like Craigslist of ksl.com [in selected Western States]) there are the 'free sections' of products.
Now, one complaint I hear is "There is only crap in those sections!" and well, many times there is! And the reason why is because the GOOD stuff isn't there for long at all. And the 'crap' only lasts for a few minutes or seconds and then the seller is inundated with so many calls that they need to take it off quickly. Does that mean the 'free sections NEVER have good items?' No. It means that the free sections have great stuff all the time - but you need to watch them carefully -- and WHEN they show up, you need to be the FIRST person to call them - within the minute it is posted.
"But that seems HARD!" Remember - you don't have the working capital to make this 'easier'. So we have to be creative here. One saves you 'time' the other saves you 'money'.
However, if you see that an item is a great item, and it might not sell well on eBay, BUT it might sell well in another section of the classified ad site, you can REPOST it for a price!
For example - someone is trying to get rid of a china cabinet for free - you get it, but then relist it in the furniture section for 100 bucks or so - Bam. Profit. Of course it wouldn't have made a profit on eBay, but it would have on Craigslist.
Consignment sales - this is also a great way to sell items for a profit. When you put your name out there as someone that sells on eBay, and will sell items FOR people, you will be amazed at how many people will FLOCK to you to sell their products.
The agreement you give to people is that 1, they are responsible to ship out the product, 2, they are responsible for the fees, and 3, they are responsible to pay you a percentage of the sale. (Negotiated, of course)
The good thing about KNOWING how much the item sells for BEFORE you list it because of your knowledge of the research is that the seller KNOWS how much they'll be paid for their item. Also, they KNOW that they 'can' or 'cannot' get a certain amount for an item before it's listed as well.
Many times people say, 'Only sell it if I can get xxx.xx amount for it'. But showing them how much the MARKET will give them for the item will help them have a better feeling in selling with you.
These are some great ways to start selling on eBay and build up your working capital to acquire items! In fact, some people EXCLUSIVELY make money in consignment as it is a viable way to capitalize their eBay skill.
-Auction Debt Eliminator-
"Because in the end, you won't remember the time spent working in the office, or mowing the lawn. Climb that damn mountain."
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