Anyone Making Good Money Selling Stuff On Ebay?

On a small scale, I sometimes buy collectables and hold them for a couple of years and them sell them again on ebay.

You can always try Amazon. No fee's to list either! Simply find a hot product that is selling in whatever category you want and then try to locate a supplier for wholesale product.

You can make a few $s on ebay, there are ways to check out what others are selling and how well they are doing, then copy them !!, there are several ways of doing this.

I know someone who makes a killing marketing fancy dress clothes but she never touches anything, she just sends the orders to the supplier who dropship the goods.

Remember with ebay control is out of your hands, you could loose your feedback score for numerous reasons not your fault, bad postage etc etc

Your step dad could take a look at the knowledge he has, we all hold knowledge that is marketable to groups of people out there as information products.

Im still on youtube with a little information product i put out once, it generates automated income, people will pay for knowledge, if the price is right they will buy to save themselves time, as long as you market it correctly that is.

All the best

Is your step-dad good with electronics? If so, I know A LOT of people are selling refurbished iPods that they buy for super cheap and replace the parts--then flip for a profit on eBay. Man the sky really is the limit here.

Why don't you sit down with him and brainstorm the things that he is interested in, and then do some market research on those things. If there is a market, a supplier, and a respectable profit margin (variable) then I think you could make something work.

Don't think of ebay just as a place to sell stuff. It can be a great place to buy stuff that you can resell elsewhere. I have two friends that do this. One of them buys software and resells it back on ebay for a higher price or to a local computer supplier. Another friend buys printer cartridges from ebay and sells them to local businesses.

I think the easiest way for your step-dad to get started on ebay would be to sell print coupons. This will help him quickly increase his ratings and give him time to think about what else he can sell or buy and resell.

-Samir

you can make money on ebay but you have to take the proper steps:

1. use real dropshippers not middlemen, check realdropshipper.com
2. use drop ship software to mirror your suppliers inventory in your ebay listings, so you dont end up selling something out of stock, drop ship software should support ebay file exchange.
3. try to buy in bulk from manufacturers or distributors and stock some items yourself, you can make a lot on hot selling items if you can create a large price mark-up and still be competitive.

Looking at what already sells well doesn't tell you if that niche is already overcrowded.

Believe me, most of the obvious ones, like consumer electronics, are.

If you can come up with a unique spin and make 100% sure no customer of yours ever goes away angry, then you have a chance of succeeding on eBay.

As a member of PeSA, I know a number of sellers in the top echelon. Most have left eBay but the ones still there have either cut their listings way back or are struggling.

fLufF
--

i got double the price for what i got in an item i sold on ebay

I've noticed that some drop shippers actually charge slightly higher then people who sells on ebay, it's a little bit confusing sometimes, best to get reliable sources.

amazon charges 6-25% of you total sale plus closing fees, way, way, too much, better off running your own shopping cart.

It's better if you own your own site and SEO it. You don't need to pay "fee" to anyone.

I have always wonder if people are successful on EBay. I purchased my wife's engagement ring from a guy who used EBay and his secret to success was amazing customer service. EBay was just an outlet to find customers as opposed to the final place.

My point is EBay can be a great tool but it has to be supplemented with something special for it to work.

<--- eBay guy. I've got years and years of experience under my belt now, took a long long time to find sources, small niches other can't find, how to manage inventory, logistics, etc. New guys almost don't have a chance. Not trying to deter you, but less than 1% of all eBay Sellers in the world make what is considered a "living." More than often, people with thousands and thousands of transactions don't make a good profit. I encourage you to attend some kind of eBay convention or meeting/gathering. It becomes very apparent very quickly that some of them aren't familiar with having money.

Here is the big secret to eBay.

Wide variety, sacrifice individual item profit to provide a larger selection of different items. If 1 pink bouncy ball costs $1.00, or I could buy 100 pink bouncy balls for $0.90 a piece... I would pick the 1 pink bouncy ball, so that I could also sell blue, red, black, orange, green, etc. The chances of selling off a complete inventory of pink bouncy balls within 60 days is not realistic.

Gaming eBay. Be prepared to lose your account, sell 1000 items a month on one account, but keep an account that sells 20 items a month on the back burner. Know how to run several accounts at once.

Getting close to the source. I've received hundreds of complaints from "competitors" because my prices are cheaper than what they buy them for. I shouldn't have to tell you that profit is good, but profit=growth. Growth=wider selection of items.

Use past sales history. eBay Advanced Search has made me 1 happy man. Perceived value items are awesome, items that you think would sell well on eBay, but 80% of your inventory NEEDS to be items that have past sales history in which you can analyze profit before you even invest in inventory. The other 20% of items is where you make the good money, but that 80% of items with past sales history is what will totally carry your business.

here's my 0.2

I'd personally stay away from the wholesale lists and drop shipping side of eBay.

back in 2004 I built my first eBay account and started with the exact same thoughts - wasted a TON of time.

by June 2005 I built my first import company selling motorbikes on eBay (actually that was my very first 6 figure business)

but these days our focus is on selling information on CD to customers - with direct mail attached selling HIGHER TICKET products to targeted customers.

end of day ... eBay is a GREAT place to go where the buys are ... but its TOUGH out there.

so sell cheap - sell in volume - then give your customers what they want - MORE STUFF FOR SALE

really hope you guys get an income stream running right away ... ( its possible with eBay )

regards

Alex Jeffreys

here's my 0.2

I'd personally stay away from the wholesale lists and drop shipping side of eBay.

back in 2004 I built my first eBay account and started with the exact same thoughts - wasted a TON of time.

by June 2005 I built my first import company selling motorbikes on eBay (actually that was my very first 6 figure business)

but these days our focus is on selling information on CD to customers - with direct mail attached selling HIGHER TICKET products to targeted customers.

end of day ... eBay is a GREAT place to go where the buys are ... but its TOUGH out there.

so sell cheap - sell in volume - then give your customers what they want - MORE STUFF FOR SALE

really hope you guys get an income stream running right away ... ( its possible with eBay )


Regards

Alex Jeffreys

hey all - i have sold some good stuff on eBay. the last items i sold were gold related, bits of jewellery etc. you get a better price on there then selling it into a "cash for gold" type of crowd. when you find pieces of old jewellery etc don't just shove them back into the box or drawer, stick them up and see what happens - you'll be surpirsed :-)

I'm no good seller at ebay. But with amazon, simply the best. I have sold a lot of second hand books and I may not be full time but my experience as a seller on amazon is simply the best!

With ebay I think you have to buy low and sell it if you can. I have sold info products on there but they too are a few here and there.

Hi. When I first started online dropshipping was what i started with and to be honest you won't make much money at all. The profits are just too small but Ebay can be a good starting point if you know what you are doing.

Take a look at John Thornhill's 90 day powerseller challenge. It's an excellent guide to selling on ebay and last time i looked it was only $1. Just Google it.

Kerry

I heard selling your kidney is a good idea too. I read that somewhere in a "make money on ebay book."

I sell three original ebook products (one includes a spreadsheet) on ebay. I deliver them electronically, and the two highest prices are $67 and $19.99 respectively. I will be listing two new (related) product soon and it will be a physical product (on CD). The moment I actually have to burn and send something physically the process becomes a pain, but I hope to price them at $27/$37 so it will be worth the inconvenience.

I get enough sales to pay for my ebay store and the WSO's/IM products I like to buy online during the month. I consider it my internet marketing education cash stream.

I hope that helps,

~Mat

Yeah Steve some people make a fortune on Ebay and Amazon, craigslist and all those sites. I heard that people have on average $5K-$10K of stuff sitting around there house unused that could be sold.

I don't do it as a business, but I have sold thousands of dollars of stuff myself, just old things I never use anymore.

If you want a business, try Matt and Amanda Clarkson - they're known for ebay selling in Australia -I think it's biddingbuzz.com, or just google the name, you'll find them very easily.

A few years ago i use to make money everyday. What i did was go to forums / sell forums etc where there was a "free" section. I'd offer to that anything and everything.

When i got it I sold it on eBay. you'd make a few $$ here and there sometimes you'd make over a $100 on something you'd get for free.

I ran an e-bay business for a little while.

I would go to garage or yard sales, estate sales, auctions, and even thrift stores to find my merchandise. These items are collectable and I knew they were worth more than I was purchasing them for. Thanks to technology and having the E-bay app right on my phone, I could look up completed auction and see if there was a demand and how much it was going for.
The problems with E-bay is the you will sit on merchandise for some time. But with patience you can keep re-listing and having a store (which is not that much money). One can have a several items listed each month.
Also feed back has changed and E-bay no longer offers private sales. Many times someone will have missed the auction and wish to purchase the item but all a seller can do is re-list for everyone for that particular item.
Plus shipping costs have gone up greatly and e-bay protects the buyers in this cost and not the seller. Be sure to make your ad on the bottom to clearly state any rules you wish to apply. Such as returns and if shipping also includes handling. It is your time to get these items ready to be shipped. But USPS does offer free supplies and of course they pick up from your house.
All in all, I would do it again but with most business there is a learning curve. So for now I will be taking a break from E-bay.

Good Luck!

Buying old cars, fixing them up and reselling for $.

Or look into wholesale or dropshippers.

you can make a good living on ebay!

i have in the past myself!

dropshipping is a great way to start

what i would reccommend in researching what you can sell with how much profit you can make! you dont want to end up trying to sell a product for more alot more expensive than others!

Start off by selling unwanted items that are lying around your house. Then, if you enjoy it, spend alot of time researching a niche area, such as antique postcards with pictures of dogs on them. One you've got a product which yo u can sell again and again you won't need to spend time writing seperate listings. Eventually you could get into dropshopping where someone else ships the product for you.

Hey Steven,

I've sold consumer electronics on eBay and did 6 figures my first year.

You can build a good list of buyers quickly with eBay as long as you have more things to sell on the backend. Just download the PayPal account email addresses to market to them in the future

If you want to get a huge jump start on eBay I'm selling my account. It has 5640 100% positive feedback scores with an account age of 5 years 8 months.

I'm selling it because I've devoted my time elsewhere providing SEO to local businesses but that's a whole other story.

But this is only if you're serious about selling on eBay. New accounts and sellers don't have a chance anymore against the big feedback guys.

PM me if you're interested

You have gotten some very good replies here - I have been an Ebay seller for over six years now and the game has changed a lot from when I started!

The drop-shipping never worked for me - too much competition. UNLESS you can find a local company to sell for. I sell furniture for a local company on Ebay and that works as there isn't as much competition. But what I love the most is going to yard sales, picking up odd stuff and selling it for a profit. It is very addicting.

Here are a few ideas of things I have picked up and sold. Some I make more money on and some things not so much... some things I have to store in my basement for my own yard sale. hehe

* box of Harley Davidson bike parts - paid $20 - sold parts individually for over $300
* 2 Madame Alexander dolls (had to run home and look what they were worth.lol) - $15 for 2 - sold them both for $50
* here is my FAVORITE as it was a blast to do - I bought a big box of Transformer and Power Rangers for $10 - parted them out and got over $400 on Ebay for it!
* auto repair manuals - you can often pick them up for a buck and they sell pretty good
* Name brand clothes if they are in good shape
* Name brand shoes if they are in good condition
* TIP: If you can pick it up for a quarter, and think it may be worth some money - give it a shot. It's only a quarter.

When i first started online, i went on ebay without thinking it through and got myself into $30,000 debt

With the money you need to spend out for stock and the business plan needed (which I didnt do) I wouldn't ever want anyone to get into the position i did a few years ago

I now make more with a few affiliate sites than i did on ebay

If i was in the same position, i would offer a service locally and put leaflets through doors. It's not a magic solution but more sustainable than online when you need money quicker

Rob

eBay is continuously raising their fees for sellers, which is the biggest reason why a lot of people are deciding to go elsewhere. It makes it very hard to get a decent profit in most categories.

Ebay is a wonderful place to make money. You can sell a wide variety of things. My best advice is to buy something in bulk. Iphone socks sell well or maybe iPad cases, I havent tried the iPad ones but things like those items sell really well. You can buy 30 sock cases for about £10 and sell them on for £3 each gaining yourself a healthy £90 revenue or a profit of £80 per batch.

Try it out! Make yourself appear professional and make sure to customize your description part of the ebay listing

I saw a good WSO that taught how to get stuff from Overstock.com and then sell it on Ebay. It was pretty cool.

I have a buddy who can fix broken iphones cheap. I buy broken ones for next to nothing, pay him to fix them, sell them on ebay and PROFIT

I used to be an ebay powerseller and ebay top rated seller after 4 months of selling on ebay. My advice would be to sell in a niche, and find a good wholesaler. You guys should use a service like "World Wide Brands" to find wholesalers. It'll cost you $300, but what you get in return is outstanding. Plus, Ebay is just so easy to make money with. You guys will learn very quickly what works and what doesn't.