When I first took an interest in making money several years ago, eBay was the first thing I tried. And I still use it to make a little extra cash to this day. In fact, I have to hit the post office first thing in the morning to mail a package.
The thing I love most about selling stuff on eBay is that I can make as little or as much money as I want. It just depends on how much effort I want to put in. Living with a chronic illness, some days I can’t put in as much as others, but that’s okay. It’s all up to me.
There have been months I’ve made thousands of dollars. And that’s with maybe 5 or 6 total hours of effort each week. These days, I don’t have that much time to spare. I spend most of my time writing and working on the Ellis Michaels website. Perhaps you’ve heard of it!
For the past few months, I’ve spent maybe an hour or two each week doing eBay related stuff (I’ll explain what that means later). Even with that little effort, I’m able to make a few hundred dollars every month.
Now let’s get into how I make money with eBay and how you can, too.
First thing’s first
Table of Contents
You can’t sell stuff on eBay if you don’t have an eBay account. I’m not gonna explain how to set up an account here, but it’s real easy. And there are plenty of tutorials out there to show you how to do it if you need help.
You also need a way to get paid. eBay does this by linking your account with your bank account. Until recently, eBay would send your payments to PayPal. But for reasons I’m not familiar with, they recently decided to end their relationship with PayPal. Unfortunately, that’s no longer an option.
It shouldn’t take very long to get your eBay account linked up with your bank account. And once you’re done, you’re ready to start making money.
What to sell
Anything that people will pay for. So, just about anything.
The first things I sold were books, CDs, DVDs, and old clothes. I had tons and tons of old books that I knew I’d never read again; CDs I’d never listen to again; DVDs of movies I can easily find for free on the internet; and clothes that fit 2005 me, but not 2021 me.
I was surprised by how fast most of my items sold. Before long, I was running out of extra stuff around the house to sell. My options were to either quit using eBay or to go out and find more stuff to sell. So that’s what I did. I’ll explain how it’s done in the next section.
You can sell just about anything on eBay. Do you have old clothes that are still in good condition? Books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, Blu Rays, or video games? Pottery, jewelry, silverware, art work, musical instruments? Electronics, collectibles, sports memorabilia, furniture, or board games?
Go on eBay and just look around at all the stuff that people are selling (and buying). If you have anything laying around that you don’t use and want to get rid of, odds are somebody will buy it on eBay. Just so long as the price is right.
If you run out of stuff to sell or don’t have much to sell in the first place, there are plenty of places you can find things to sell on eBay.
Where to find stuff to sell on eBay
You know how sometimes you never notice things until you are looking for them and then you notice them everywhere? Like when I bought a Nissan Altima a few years ago, I never noticed how many of them were out there on the road. Now that I own one I notice them everywhere!
It’s the same thing with stuff to sell on eBay. I’ll be out shopping somewhere, see something, and be like “You know, I could sell that on eBay for twice what they’re charging.” Once you’re tuned into it, you’ll see stuff everywhere.
Be creative and think of places in your area where you can find cheap or free stuff to sell on eBay. Here’s where I’ve found stuff to sell that you can, too.
Thrift Stores
These are my go-to when I want to make a lot of money on eBay. If you’ve never been a thrift store like Salvation Army, you’re missing out. They have tons of stuff and it’s all dirt cheap.
My secret weapon is my smart phone. I bring it with me and make sure it’s fully charged. I’ve completely drained batteries in thrift stores before. What I do is look up every item I find that I think I could make money on. I look it up on eBay to see if anyone is selling it, how much they’re selling it for, and if any of the same or similar items have sold in the past.
For example, I found a mint condition Winnie the Pooh collectible plate that I thought might be worth something. It was selling for $1. I looked it up on my phone and found out that the same one sold on eBay two months prior for $30!
Of course, I bought it. After doing some research (checking eBay, Amazon, and a quick Google search) I decided to list it on eBay for $19.99, plus $4.99 shipping and handling. It sold in just over a month.
Thrift stores are an amazing place to find stuff to sell on eBay. I know people who do this full-time and make $50,000+ every year – some much more.
And here’s one last insider tip: Thrift stores generally have the best stuff first thing in the morning – especially Monday mornings. That’s when they put out all the inventory they got over the weekend.
Dollar Stores
This is another great place to find cheap stuff to sell at a higher price. I don’t go to dollar stores specifically to look for stuff to sell on eBay. But if I see something that can be sold for $4 or more, I buy it.
An example of this is when I found a really nice looking hard cover diary at one of my local dollar stores. I could have sworn I saw the same one selling for $9.99 at Walmart. And after checking my phone, I found out I was right.
I bought just one at first to test the waters. I listed it on eBay for $5.99 and it sold within a couple of weeks. So I went back to the dollar store and bought a few more. And I sold them all.
If you frequent your local dollar store, keep your eyes out for stuff that you could resell for a profit.
Yard Sales
These are hit or miss. I’ve walked out of yard sales with items worth hundreds of dollars that I only paid a few bucks for. But more often than not, I walk out with nothing.
You never know what you’re going to find at a yard sale. Generally, it’s people getting rid of crap that’s useless to them and useless to you. But sometimes you find that gem.
To me, it’s worth it. I kinda like going to yard sales anyway. It gives me a chance to meet new people and see what kinds of treasures (and junk) they’ve collected over the years.
Like thrift shops, the early bird gets the worm. Get there early to find those gems.
Flea Markets/Swap Meets
There is a great flea market a couple of towns over from me every Sunday. There are hundreds of booths selling thousands of items.
Sometimes I find things there that are way underpriced. For example, I found a Super Nintendo cartridge worth $50 that was selling for $5. Cha ching!
The problem is that flea markets are like real life eBays. Most of the people there are selling things they got cheaper somewhere else. That means the sellers generally know what their merchandise is worth.
Like yard sales, I enjoy going to the flea market every once in a while. I don’t go specifically looking for stuff to sell on eBay. But when I’m there, I always keep my eyes open.
Landfills
Yup, you read that right. Landfills.
My local landfill has a section near the recyclables where you can leave books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and other media items. People leave stuff there all the time.
There’s always an amazing selection of books. Many of them are old and beat up. But there are also many books in great condition. Some even look brand new!
I’ve made tons of money from going through books at the landfill and seeing which ones I can sell on eBay. I just scan the bar code or type in the ISBN to see how much they’ve sold for in the past.
Oh, I forgot to mention the best part: these items are all free! Take as many or as few as you want.
I usually leave there with a backseat full of books. And if for some reason one of the books you get from there doesn’t sell, just bring it right back to the landfill.
I don’t know how common this is. I would imagine there are a lot of towns that probably do this. If yours does, take advantage of it. It’s basically free money.
Make stuff to sell
This is one I haven’t done myself. But I’ve met quite a few people who have and they all find it both profitable and rewarding.
Do you like to make stuff? Jewelry? Pottery? Art? If so, this may be a great option for you.
People love to buy homemade stuff on eBay. There’s a huge market for these things. That means there’s a lot of competition, as well.
If there’s something that you like to make and you make it really well, think about selling it on eBay.
How to list your items
When I first started using eBay, I just threw up my items for sale with one stock photo, no description, at whatever price I thought I could get. Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
You need to maximize your listings. Make people want to buy your items. If there’s 20 people selling something for around the same price, how can you get them to choose your item?
Here’s how. Use these tips to sell more stuff.
Pictures
Don’t use stock photos like I did at first. People want to see exactly what they’re buying.
Take pictures with the best camera you have. A cell phone will do just fine or a digital camera if you have one. Take good pictures that clearly show the item you’re selling.
And always list multiple pictures. I find a direct correlation between how many pictures I have up and how quickly an item sells. The more pictures you have up, the more interest you will get from prospective buyers.
People want to know what they’re buying. Especially if it is something used. For example, when listing a book I take a photo of the front, the back, the side, and one of the inside. This clearly shows what condition the book is in.
I also like to use a size reference for certain items. For the Winnie the Pooh collector’s plate I mentioned earlier, I took one picture of it next to a quarter. That way when people look at it, they know exactly how big it is by comparison.
Have multiple, clear pictures and your items will sell faster.
Description
Again, when I first started using eBay, I never added a description for my items. What a mistake.
People not only want to see what they’re buying, they want to hear about it too! Don’t be afraid to hype up your listings a little bit. Just make sure to keep it honest.
The more details, the better. If it’s an item you’ve personally used, talk about your experience with it (assuming it was positive). Selling a book you’ve already read? Talk about what a page-turner it is. Selling a used DVD? Write about how it had you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
Just write something. Write an accurate and honest description about what you’re selling and people will be more willing to buy. Adding a little hype (not too over the top – again, keep it honest) may help, too.
Price
When deciding on a price for an item, I always check at least 2 things: what other people are currently selling it for and what others have sold it for in the past.
You can find out what other people are selling an item for by simply searching for it. To find out what similar items have sold for in the past, there is a box on the left that you can click that shows you sold items.
I usually list my items a little lower than the lowest ones currently selling. But it depends on the item. Once you do this for a little while, you’ll get a feel for how to price items.
The key is to find a balance between listing an item low enough to sell it fast and high enough to make a profit.
Shipping
There’s a debate among eBay sellers on what works best: higher prices with free shipping or lower prices with paid shipping.
As far as I know, no one has figured it out for sure. I suspect each works best under different circumstances. I’ll let you decide for yourself. But I’ll also tell you what I do.
I always list a shipping price. I tried doing the higher prices with free shipping and my items seemed to take a little bit longer to sell. But again, there are a lot of people out there who got the exact opposite results.
I list my shipping as exactly what it will cost me. For example, it costs me $2.49 to send a CD First Class through the USPS (or at least it did when I wrote the first draft of this article). And the bubble envelopes that I use costs $0.50. So I charge $2.99 to send CDs. I don’t make or lose money on shipping.
Some people charge excessively high shipping prices to make extra money. I’d advise against this. It’s shady and most people will see right through it.
I’ll leave it up to you how you want to charge for shipping. There’s no one right answer.
Conclusion
And there you have it. Those are the basics of making money on eBay. If it seems overwhelming, don’t get too stressed out. Like anything, once you get into it, it gets easier and easier.
The thing I love the most about eBay is that, once you learn how to do it, you can choose how much or how little you want to make. It just depends on how much time and effort you’re willing to put in. And selling stuff on eBay can be a great way to make extra money for people living with a chronic illness. You can work when you want and how you want depending on how you feel.
But maybe you’d rather find another way to make some extra money besides eBay. If you, you may want to read the following:
Now I’d love to hear about your eBay experiences. Have you ever sold anything on eBay? How about on one of the many other online marketplaces? Please leave your answer in the comments section at the bottom.
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