Making Money on eBay

Author: S.A.M.
Date: 8/23/2005

Part of our "Making Money Online" series, we look at eBay on our first stop to web riches.

Guide to Make Money on eBay
Have you ever heard the saying that one man's junk is another man's treasure? This statement has never been more true than on eBay. Posting what you deem as to be junk on eBay is like having a garage sale and having thousands of people show up everyday. Chances are someone will think of your junk as a treasure and make an offer for it. Use this article as your free guide to making money on eBay.

Be a Seller not a Buyer
If your goal is ultimately to make money on eBay then don't waste any of your gains buying somebody else's junk. Always remember that eBay is made to make surfers want to buy something on impulse. Use that to your advantage. Set the trap and avoid getting caught in it. Having a garage sale with the stuff in your basement, attic or garage is the best place to start. Look hard enough and you will find stuff you can sell. Toys, books, souvenirs, office supplies, tools, electronics, magazines, etc. Most importantly if you set a reasonable price you can sell anything.

Don't Over-Evaluate your Stuff
If you can't stand the thought of parting with your stuff then don't because you will probably set the price too high. Setting your opening bid too high is the most common mistake people make and it can work against you in two ways. If the price is too high and similar items listed next to yours are much lower, potential buyers or bidders may not even open your item to see the details. It will also cost you more to list an item at a higher price. Do not inflate the price of your item with sentimental value. Do some research on eBay and see how similar items are priced and use your judgment.

Set a Low Opening Bid
Don't set your opening bid at a penny or $1 for that may give your item the appearance of being junk to a potential buyer. Be realistic but keep the price low. For example if an item is worth $100 it is unrealistic to sell it for $1. However, it would appear to be a great bargain if the opening bid was $10 or $15.

The best way to determine the best starting bid is to do the proper research on eBay and other sites on the Internet and decide how to set your opening bid so it is low enough to generate some interest and high enough so it does not appear to be junk. It will rise to its actual value.

List your Item for 1 Week
7 days is the standard for listing an item on eBay. You may be tempted to shorten that period in the hopes of generating bids quicker but you will be missing out on many more prospective buyers who may return when it is close to the end of the bidding period. You must allow enough time to let the bids rise to the price you are shooting for.

Make your Item Appealing
If you don't have a scanner or digital camera, get one. The least you have to do to make your listing appealing is to add a picture of the item. You can describe your product as much as you want but a picture is worth more than a 1000 words. It lets the potential buyers know exactly what they are getting. Present your product as best as you can because after all the more items you can sell the more money you will make on eBay. You don't need to buy any extras like bold listings, slide show, or gift tags. They only end up costing you more to list your items which in turn reduce your profits.

Covering your Costs
Don't just guess the cost of shipping, use the actual cost. Include the costs for the shipping and packing materials as well as the cost of postage. In the beginning, you can take your packaged item to the post office or use a website like postage.com to calculate the cost,

Get Paid with Paypal
Paypal and eBay are one and the same. Using Paypal as the mode of payment when you sell your stuff on eBay lets you get paid instantly. Paypal is easy to use and free to register. Would you rather wait for a check in the mail or would like to get your money right away?

Rinse and Repeat
As with any business, the key to making money is volume. Your not going to have much of a business if you only sell one item, even if you sell it with a large profit margin. What you want to do is end up selling many items on a regular basis. Get your feet wet by selling a few items on eBay and learn the process. You will soon find that the best things to sell on eBay are the ones that you make an honest profit on but most importantly the ones that you can sell quickly. A few dollars a day can turn into thousands of dollars in a year or a pretty nice vacation fund.

Buy Stuff to Sell
Once you have cleaned out your inventory of useless items in your attic, garage or basement, and have sold everything, hopefully you will have learned enough to spot deals in your neighborhood so that your can buy it and resell it on eBay for a profit. Garage sales, yard sales, church sales and flea markets are all places you should frequent often to scope out potential items that you can make money with by selling them on eBay. You will also find great deals in your local newspaper classified ads.

In My Opinion (and experience), you can easily make money on eBay if you follow the simple steps outlined in this article and before you know it, you'll have a nice second income or even your very own legitimate Internet business.

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