How To Make Money Selling On Ebay

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Thrift Stores - The Ebay Sellers' Supermarket

Hi Folks

Want to find some good products to sell on eBay? Consider your local thrift store. There's great stuff available - if you know what to look for.

I recently published an article about eBay which I'm sure you will find interesting if you click through and read it.

This blog is about eBay and how you can make good money from it either as a Trading Assistant or a Power Seller.

Walk through any thrift store (USA) - we in the UK call them Charity Shops or second hand shops although we also have 'Poundland' where everything is one GBP).

Anyway in those thrift shops there's a pretty good chance you would bump into an eBay PowerSeller or two replenishing their eBay inventory. The truth is there are still good bargains available at thrift stores for resale on eBay if you’re astute enough to spot them.

While it’s true you’ll probably pay more at a thrift store than you would at a garage or yard sale (again we in the UK call them 'Jumble Sales', the prices for some items are still low enough for you to make a decent profit. The key, of course, is to do enough research on eBay to know what types of used items are hot sellers. And, I don’t mean a quick little glance. I mean really do your homework.

For example, if you’re interested in buying and selling used men’s shirts, go to eBay and perform searches for “used men’s shirt,” “nearly new shirt,” “gently worn” and all the other synonyms you can find for “used.” Go through the “vintage” category and the “collectibles – cultures, ethnicities” for Hawaiian shirts. Research the labels. Note any patterns and colours. Do some sizes sell better than others? (you might find that its harder selling men’s shirts in a smaller size).

Do the same type of research with all the used items you may find at a thrift store: clothing, shoes, boots (especially used cowboy boots), purses, books (don’t ignore cookbooks – they can sometimes sell very well, especially the Betty Crocker Pie Cover cookbook).

When you find a thrift store or two (or, hopefully, more) that offers good quality used products go back often as new items are added every day.

With used clothing it’s very important to thoroughly check for any tears or stains, because once you buy it, it’s yours, you can’t take it back. I once bought several collectible Hawaiian shirts I had checked for tears and stains, but failed to check the collars. When I got them home I found they all had a bad case of “ring around the collar” which didn’t come out in the wash. Of course, I had to disclose that in my descriptions on eBay. The shirts sold, but for less than what they could have sold for in better condition. Also check for any odours that may be tough to get out with washing or dry cleaning. (Do make sure you wash or dry clean all used clothing you list on eBay.)

While it’s true that used clothing and other items do sell well on eBay, your research will help you spot items with which you’ll actually make a profit. There’s a thought out there among some that you can slap anything on eBay and make money. Not true. If you don’t do your research you may find yourself losing money. Don’t just assume there’s a sucker born every minute and that anything will sell on eBay. Without proper research you might end up finding out the sucker is you.

Make Money As An eBay Powerseller

This way of earning some extra income from the internet could well suit single parents who don't actually have a lot of money to begin with. What little extra money they do have could very well make them a lot more. It would also suit 'Stay At Home Moms & Dads'. But anyone can do this. My own daughters started of making money on the internet this way and now both have a thriving business and no longer have to come to dear old dad for a helping hand with the monthly bills. It can do the same for you.

Well worth having a read of my article. Lots of info and lots of links for further info.

Enjoy your day and the weekend to come. And leave a comment below with any more little ideas you have about earning some extra cash.

Robert Allan

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Recent Comments

27

Thank you for the information Robert. I have been seriously looking into selling on ebay and this idea would work well for me!

No probs Keith and read my article as well.
Lots of good info if you follow the links in it.
Thank you for your comment.
Robert

great info Robert, many thanks :)

No probs Chrissie and perhaps this opportunity has got you interested.
Lots of info in my article and if you follow the links so there is plenty there to get you thinking about it.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and for your comment.
Enjoy your Saturday.
Robert

Many thanks Robert. I looked at your website and it is really interesting and helpful :)

Thank you Chrissie, bet you didn't leave me a comment on it though.
I wonder why people don't do that?
No matter you took the time to visit and read and that's why I put the info on there.
Take care and enjoy your evening.
Robert

So sorry, I should have!! I will get round to it I promise :)

Ok, let you off this time lol.
Now I'm going to sign off coz a hot bath has my name written all over it lol.
Catch you again.
Robert

Are there any stats on which items are selling well on e bay that you might find in a thrift store Robert!

Hi Mike and thank you for reading my blog and leaving a comment.

I personally haven't done anything on eBay since I got my daughters started on it a couple of years ago but this info taken from an eBay info page might help you determine what to sell on eBay -

The Manual Way.

If you're just starting out, you might find it easier to simply
go to your category, tick 'Completed listings' in the left-hand
menu, and then click the 'Show items' button. Sort them by
highest price first, and there you have it: the items that sell
for the highest prices. In most categories this will change
often, but it's still useful to know - if you think you can get
an item quickly for less than the kind of prices it is selling
for, then go for it.
eBay's search interface can be slow and hard to use, however,
and you're unlikely to discover everything you could learn this
way.

Keep Your Finger on Pulse.

If you want a quick, big-picture snapshot of what people are
looking to buy on eBay, then go to http://pulse.ebay.com. This is a page where eBay list the top 10 most searched for words, and the top 5 largest eBay stores.
Looking at it, it's easy to spot current trends. For example,
right now all of the top stores are selling media items, either
books or music. That suggests that these are good things to be
selling, at least if you want to shift volume. Right now the
word 'ipod' is at number 4, and 'ipod mini' is at number 6 -
there are a heck of a lot of people out there looking for a
cheap iPod or iPod mini. If you could find a good supplier for
them then you could make a lot of money.

Thank you for your opportunistic insightful reply Robert!

No probs Mike, always happy to help out if and when I can.
Have a good one.
Robert

Thank you for the info Robert.

No probs Nelson and thank you for taking the time to read my blog and leave a comment.
Enjoy your day.
Robert

I am selling on eBay and making fairly good money. I'm getting rid of unwanted stuff in my house in preparation for moving in the near future.

Good for you Karin.
Starting in a small way is the way to go until you get the hang of it.
Did you read my article, lots of good tips and advice and of course those links to follow to give you even more of them.
Enjoy your day over there in Penn.
Robert

Yes I read it. Thanks

Good idea but I need to master affiliate marketing first. Thanks. Debbie

Hello Debbie and thank you for reading my blog.
You could be right about learning affiliate marketing first.
One step at a time and eBay isn't going to go away is it?
Enjoy your day/evening.
Robert

We have many shrift stores here in The States...and our family has donated I don't know how many items to the Salvation Army over the years, but your suggestion here is very interesting...

Maybe worth a closer look Arthur?
Next time you and your family have stuff get it onto eBay and make some money from it.
Actually eBay does have ecommerce stores you can get up and running as a Seller.
Enjoy tour day.
Robert

Thank you ,very interesting idea

Hello Lisa and thank you for reading my blog.

Was there anything in it that could convince you that there might be potential for earning some money though?
Maybe worth some more research and that's why I gave the links in my site article.
Enjoy your day.
Robert

Interesting Robert, I have sold stuff on eBay in the past, not for a few years now, but what puts me off is the posting, what weight, and other stuff, but in saying that living here in Thailand there must be something I could make a profit on. Interesting!!

Hello Lou and thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment.

I know that people do make a living from the net in Thailand and in fact there are WA members who do.

Don't ask me how because they play their cards pretty close to their chest.

However I came across this webpage that might help you out and I'm sure if you do a Google search you will come up with more.

https://www.thailandretirementhelpers.com/making-money-in-thailand/

Enjoy your evening.
Robert

Cheers Allan!

Firstly, thank you for explaining what a thrift shop is. I've never heard of that - being from England.

Also, do you have any expertise at creating an eBay store?
Before I start an eCommerce site, I want to start a store that I can sell computer hardware and other computer related goods.

Its been many years since I had an eBay store so things will have changed since then.

Here's a web page where you can get some info on How To -

http://sellercentre.ebay.co.uk/business/ebay-shops

Thank you for your comment and have a great day.
Robert

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