Before I end this tutorial I want to tell you a success story I had with some old Coca-Cola salt and pepper shakers I sold on eBay after finding them at a garage sale. At the beginning of this tutorial I mentioned that one way to find old and used collectibles at a decent price is at garage and estate sales. The reason for this is that some people do not know the value of things they want to get rid of.

ONE PERSON’S JUNK IS ANOTHER PERSON’S TREASURE

A couple of years ago I was watching one of those cable TV shows I mentioned earlier and a guy said he found what he was trying to sell at someone’s yard sale. I said to myself, Robert, you should go to all of the sales they have around this area and see if you can find some hidden treasures. So that is what I did. In this area of New Jersey on the weekends and when the weather is nice, many people have sales.

So I checked on Craigslist, because that is where most people advertise their garage / yard / estate sales. Most times people will post pictures and list some of the things they are selling. I found this sale not far from me that was selling Star Wars and superhero action figures, new and still in the boxes. I got there and started looking around. It was a young guy who looked like the type to have these collectibles.

The majority of the stuff was in great condition but his asking price on what I was interested in was too high for me to buy and flip on eBay for a profit. So I kept looking around and I found a table with some old items that didn’t look like they were his, perhaps his parents. Then I saw these two old Coca-Cola mini bottle salt & pepper shakers, see below picture.

I immediately knew they were worth something because they were made of the older greenish colored glass and had the red-painted letter logo. The newer replicas are clear glass with either white-painted logo or just a clear raised logo. I snatched them up, asked how much and he said, uhm…give me three dollars. SOLD! I then went home, listed them on eBay for a starting bid of $5 and they sold for $37.

HOW TO INCREASE TRAFFIC TO YOUR EBAY ACCOUNT

If you have an eBay sellers account but you have an affiliate website that has nothing to do with the make money online niche, just mention that you also sell on eBay in your About Me page content. Then include a link to your eBay profile screen. Visitors to your eBay profile screen will have access via a link to all of the items you currently have on sale.

To find the link to your eBay profile is very simple. Log into you eBay account and locate your username. Now click on your username and this will take you to your eBay User Profile screen. I bet you didn’t know you had one. You may want to provide some information about yourself if you haven’t already. Just like here at WA, it is always good to have people see / read that you are a real person.

Another great way to share your eBay User Profile link or the actual link to an active auction is on social media. There are even Facebook Groups and Google+ Communities that are for people who want to share links for what they currently have for sale on their eBay accounts. These were the best ways I personally experienced for an increase in traffic to my auctions.

Plus if you look at any of your auction or buy it now eBay listings, in the upper right side just under the item title and above the seller information, there are social share buttons for Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. So being able to share on social media is encouraged on eBay. You can also email links to your listings to people too.

So if you should come across anything old, authentic and in decent to good condition, you just might have a money making item to sell. I knew a guy that had a collection of old black and white World War II photographs of combat in France. He asked if they would sell and I said they probably would, let us see what happens. All 12 pictures sold for about $250. You never know just how valuable collectibles can be.

If you liked this training tutorial please show your love by clicking the Green Like This button below. If you should have any questions regarding collectibles or if an item you have is considered a collectible, leave your question below and I will let you know if I think it is worth some money or how you can find out yourself. – If you haven’t read my first two eBay training tutorials, see the links below.

How to Sell and Make Money on eBay - Part 1

How to Sell and Make Money on eBay - Part 2 - Sourcing Items